The Builder Magazine

February 1922 - Volume VIII - Number 2

 

Memorials to Great Men Who Were Masons

GENERAL HUGH MERCER

BY BRO. GEO. W. BAIRD, P.G.M. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

THIS FAMOUS General Officer of the Revolutionary Army was a member of Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4, in Virginia - the lodge in which George Washington was made a Mason. General Mercer was a close personal friend of Washington, and the idol of the people of Fredericksburg. Not only was he held in high esteem by the Fredericksburg citizens, but they also raised a monument to him. In Philadelphia, where he died, the Saint Andrew's Society (Scotch), with 3000 others, followed his remains to the grave, and erected a monument to his memory in Laurel Hill Cemetery.

 

Hugh Mercer was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1870; received his education in the Aberdeen University, and graduated a Doctor of Medicine. It is remarkable how many medical men were General Officers in our Revolutionary War. Mercer was an Assistant Surgeon in the Army of Prince Charles Edward, and was in the battle of Colloden in 1745. His participation in that rebellion, it is thought, was the reason for his migrating to the Colony of Virginia, in 1747. He made his first home at Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, where he practiced medicine.

 

The so-called French and Indian War was well understood by Mercer - it was a war between the Protestant Colonists and the French Romish Colonists, and it did not take Mercer long to see that his future religious liberty was at stake.

 

In 1755-56 Mercer became a Captain in the Company of Colonel George Washington. In the expedition of General Braddock, and at his terrible defeat at the battle of Monongahela, July 9th, 1765, Mercer was severely wounded and left on the field for dead. But he revived in a few hours and made his way to a stream of water and thence to a thicket. He was weak from loss of blood, and hungry, and managed to kill a rattlesnake which he skinned and on which he subsisted until he had gained a little strength and finally was enabled to reach Fort Cumberland.

 

The Corporation of Philadelphia afterwards gave him a gold medal in appreciation of his conduct during that that campaign.

 

When the Provincial forces were reorganized in 1758 Mercer was promoted to a Lieutenant-Colonelcy, and accompanied the Army of General Forbes to Fort Duquesne (Pittsburg) where he commanded the Post until relieved. He then fixed his residence at Fredericksburg, Virginia, and resumed the practice a medicine.

 

When the Revolutionary War broke out Mercer warmly espoused the cause of the Colonists, quitted his profession and became the commandant of three regiments of Minute Men, in the year 1775. In 1776 he organized and drilled the Virginia Militia. On February 13th of the same year he was promoted to be Colonel of the Third Virginia Regiment, and on June 5th, 1776 was commissioned a Brigadier General by the Continental Congress, at the request of General Washington.

 

When the American Army retreated through New Jersey General Mercer was with it, and he led the column to attack the enemy at Trenton on December 6th, 1776, and it is claimed that he advised the daring night march on Princeton, on January 3rd, 1777.

 

The situation of the American Army on the evening of January 2nd was extremely perilous, Washington having but five thousand men, half of whom were militia who had been in camp but a few days. To fight the veteran soldiers before them looked like madness - to attempt to recross the Delaware river under the fire of the enemy would have been futile. The march to Princeton having been decided upon, the advance command was given to Mercer.

 

This was at the time when the British regiments at Princeton were about to begin their march to reinforce Lord Cornwallis in the south, and it was these regiments that discovered the approach of Mercer, at Princeton. Mercer attacked, but was repelled, and the enemy followed the Americans until they were reinforced by Washington's Regulars and the Pennsylvania Militia. During the fighting Mercer was felled by the blow of a Briton's musket, for the fighting was hand-to-hand. Mercer rose, refused quarter, and defended himself with his sword. He was bayoneted, and left on the field for dead. After the battle a farmer carried Mercer to his house, where he suffered great pain until his death, which occurred on January 12th.

 

In the year 1773 Congress made provision for the education of the younger son of General Mercer, in appreciation of the great services the General had rendered to his country.

 

The Secretary of Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4 has gone to great pains to search out and give to the writer the Masonic history of General Mercer, and, I may say, it was recorded in no other place. From the excerpt furnished the writer, and its wording, it is evident that the brother who served as Secretary of that lodge during the particular period mentioned in this article, set a splendid example. Fredericksburg changed hands at least twenty times during the Civil War, but not a Masonic possession was

disturbed. Those were days of gallant men.

 

----o----

 

MASONIC BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

BY BRO. SILAS H. SHEPHERD, WISCONSIN

 

The homely adage that one cannot make rabbit soup until he has captured his rabbit is brought home to the Masonic student times without number, for if there is anything difficult to capture it is a Masonic Bibliography. And they who undertake to fashion the same, and who succeed therein, even in small measure, deserve the plaudits of the Craft. All this is by way of introducing one of the most successful essays in Masonic Bibliography that has ever come to the ink-stained desk of ye editor. The literary engineer responsible for the success of this venture is Bro. Silas H. Shepherd who has been for years a member of the Committee on Masonic Research of the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin, and whose name is familiar to our readers, albeit not as familiar as it should be, and will be, we trust. "Masonic Bibliographies and Catalogues" is published in paper bindings by the above mentioned Committee, and is number 11 in the series of their publications. Bro. Shepherd has been assisted by Brothers Henry A. Crosby and George C. Nuesse, his colleagues on the Committee.

 

(Concluded from January Issue)

 

98. Masonic Publishing Co. *

 

Semi-annual Catalogues of Masonic Works, sold by the Masonic Publishing Co., in their salesroom in the City of New York, from June, 1877, to May, 1899. 8vo. 1000 pages. (Listed in Catalogue No. 46 of the Masonic Pub. Co., Nov., 1899.)

 

The writer has an incomplete set of 21 of these old "auction catalogues" from 1877 to 1902. They afford a fund of information in regard to the works then offered for sale. It causes regret that many of the items listed are now impossible to procure at any price.

 

99. Masonic Publishing Co. *

 

Semi-annual Catalogues of the Masonic Publishing Co., dating from 1899 to 1902. (Numbers 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51.)

 

No. 51 was the last eatalogue issued in the series. The business changed hands and has since been conducted by the Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Co., which has issued many catalogues.

 

100. Miner, William Harvey *

 

Freemasonry. A Catalogue of Books, for the most part of Masonic interest, with a selection of standard and important works on allied subjects. No. 65, The Torch Press Book Shop, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (No date - about 1915.) 47 pages.

 

The Torch Press Book Shop is no more. William Harvey Miner now issues catalogues for The William Harvey Miner Co., Inc., St. Louis, Mo., and still sells Masonic books, although the No. 66 of the Torch Press had more scarce items than have since been offered, and was of more value to the student than the ordinary trade catalogue.

 

101. Miner, W. H. *

 

Catalogue No. 6 from the William Harvey Miner Co., Inc., Antiquarian Booksellers, 3518-20-22 Franklin Ave., St. Louis, Mo. 36 pages.

 

Practically all of this catalogs is devoted to Masonic items, and is well compiled.

 

102. Miner, W.H. *

 

Catalogue No. 11. The William Harvey Miner Co., Inc. 20 pages.

 

103. Missouri, Grand Lodge of

 

A correct list of the works collected and bound for the use of the Grand Lodge of Missouri, as referred to in the Grand Secretary's report of 1872. By George Franz Gouley, Grand Secretary. St. Louis, 1872. 8vo. paper, 6

pages.

 

104. Moore, C.

 

Catalogue of the Masonic Library of C. Moore, editor of "The Masonic Review," Cincinnati. (No date - about 1865.) 15 pages.

 

This catalogue contains 264 numbers and is noted in the Masonic Bibliography by E.T. Carson. "The entire collection was purchased by the Masonic Library Association of Cincinnati."

 

105. Morgan, W. W.

 

A Catalogue of Rare, Interesting and Curious Books pertaining to the Craft Universal, by W.W. Morgan, London, 1889. 8vo. 16 pages.

 

106. Morrison, Dr.

 

A Catalogue of the Rare and Valuable Collection of Masonic Books. Sold by Mr. Bernardy. London, 1850. 8vo. 27 pages.

 

107. Morton, John Metcalfe *

 

A Catalogue of Books, Rare, Curious, Occult, Masonic and Miscellaneous, etc., for sale by John Metcalfe-Morton, Antiquarian Bookseller of Ye Olde Booke Shoppe, No. 1 Duke Street, Brighton, England. No. XLVIII. 192C

 

This catalogue contains 72 Masonic works, some of considerable interest. The catalogues of John Metcalfe-Morton are issued quite frequently, and always contain enough to make them very desirable to the Masonic collector and bibliophile

 

108. New York Grand Lodge Library

 

Annual Report of the Librarian:

 

1879   13 pages 1888            16 pages

1884   11 pages 1889            11 pages

1886   16 pages 1890            12 pages

1887   16 pages 1891            12 pages

1892     6 pages 1906            not paged

1899   32 pages 1908            36 pages

 

The series is probably continued

 

109. New York Grand Lodge Library

 

Library of the Grand Lodge of New York. (Catalogue.) Included in the proceedings of the Grand Lodge of N. Y. of 1888. A catalogue of additions in the 1891 proceedings.

 

110. New York

 

Collection made by Committee of Antiquities of the Grand Lodge of F. & A. M. of New York. 1905.

 

111. Nova Scotia Grand Lodge

 

Catalogue of Ancient Masonic Documents, in possession of Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia, A. F. & A. M. Halifax, N. S., 1890. 74 pages.

 

This Catalogue is the subject of a bibliographical article in the “Northern Freemason" of 1906, by R.F. Gould. (See "Gould, R. F.," in second section.)

 

112. Oliver, George

 

Works on Freemasonry, lately published by George Oliver. London: Spencer. (1842.)

 

113. Oliver, George

 

Works on Freemasonry by George Oliver. Published by Richard Spencer, London, 1860. 22 pages. 8mo.

 

114. Oriental Consistory Library *

 

Catalogue of Oriental Consistory Library, S. P. R. S. 32d, Chicago, Ill., 1919, by Miss Mabel K. Dixon, Librarian. 61 pages.

 

This Catalogue was compiled and arranged according to the Dewey Decimal System, and is strictly a catalogue. The Catalogue compiled serially by George Warvelle may be used to advantage in connection with this one. See "Warvelle, George." (No. 166.) Parvin, Theodore Sutton

 

See "Iowa Masonic Library." (Nos. 70 to 75.)

 

115. Pennsylvania, Library of the Grand Lodge of

 

Catalogue of the Library of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. Phila., 1881. 66 pages.

 

As Pennsylvania has been among the foremost of Grand Lodges in the promotion of its literary phases this Catalogue is of more than ordinary interest. The Grand LoIge of Pennsylvania is now compiling an up-to-date catalogue, and this will be a boon to the Pennsylvania brethren. as well as a very welcome help to librarians and bibliophiles in sister jurisdictions.

 

116. Peterborough (England)

 

Catalogue of the Museum and Library. Peterborough, 1915. 20 pages.

 

117. Peterborough

 

Supplement and Catalogue. Peterborough, 1920. 15 pages.

 

118. Pope, A. Winthrop

 

Remarks on some Masonic book-plates and their owners. By A. Winthrop Pope. Boston, 1908-1911. 61 pages. In two parts.

 

119. Prescott, Winward *

 

Masonic Book-plates. Boston. The Four Seas Co., 1918. By Winward Prescott. 29 pages.

 

A little booklet which tells the book lover’s life through his book-plate. Many of the illustrations contain studies in symbolism of more than ordinary interest.

 

120. Purnell, Jesse R.

 

Catalogue of Standard and Rare Masonic Books Pamphlets, Proceedings, etc., contained in the library of the late Jesse R. Purnell. 10 pages. (No date.)

 

Pythagoras Lodge

 

We list three catalogtles of the Library of Pythagoras Lodge viz., 1869 and May and Nov., 1887. These three catalogues tell the story well known to the book lover. The first Catalogue represents the collection and classification, and the last two the final dispersion that other libraries may be enriched.

 

121. Pythagoras Lodge (1)

 

Catalogue of Books and Medals, collected by Pythagoras Lodge, No. 1, in Brooklyn. New York, 1859. 8vo., pages XII - 145.

 

This Catalogue contains 1,395 numbers, many of which are in foreign languages, and most of which are of a philosophical and occult nature.

 

122. Pythagoras Lodge (2) *

 

Twenty-first semi-annual sale Catalogue of the Masonic Publishing Co., embracing the extensive collection of Rare and Antique Masonic Books, Catalogues, Magazines Periodicals, etc., in the late Masonic Library of Pythagoras Lodge, No. 1 of N. Y., to be sold at their salesrooms, 63 Blenker Street, N. Y., on Wednesday, May 18th, 1887. New York. Masonic Publishing Co.

 

This sale attracted such collectors as Hughan, Lawrence, Watson and others, and such works as "Multa Pancis" (1763) were included in the many rare bargains they obtained. The catalogue of Not., 1887 (No. 3) contains a reprint from the London Freemason describing the May sale.

 

123. Pythagoras Lodge (3) *

 

The Masonic Library of Pythagoras Lodge No. 1, Free and Accepted Masons of New York. New York, (November.)

 

This is one of the "Auction Catalogues" of Geo. A. Leavitt & Co., and contains the remainder of the Library of Pythagoras Lodge after the previous sale in May, 1887. See No. 122.

 

124. Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076, London*

 

A Classified Index to the Catalogue Slips, Lodge of the Quatuor Coronati, No. 2076, London. Edited by G.W. Speth, Secretary. Margate, 1893.

 

The index of 105 pages gives ready aceess to the 2247 "Catalogue Slips," many of which are enriched by the notes of Brother Speth

 

125. Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076, London*

 

A List of Articles Contained in Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, volumes I to XXX, with an Enumeration and Roll of Authors, compiled by Rodk. H. Baxter. Margate, 1919. 23 pages.

 

This is a valuable asset to the student fortunate enough to have access to the "Ars," and makes reference to the many distinguished contributors easy.

 

126. Reading, England

 

A Catalogue of the Library in the Masonic Hall, Reading. Reading, 1896. 12 pages.

 

127. Reeves, James S.

 

Catalogue of the Masonic Library of the late Dr. James S. Reeves, East Tawas, Mich. 103 pages. (No date.)

 

An interesting Catalogue in manuscript in the Library of Supreme Council, S. J., at Washington, D. C.

 

128. Riggs, W. H.

 

Catalogue of Standard and Rare Masonic Books, Magazines, Pamphlets, Proceedings, etc., contained in the library of W. H. Riggs, Martinsburg, W. Va., 1884. 14 pages.

 

129. Ross, Peter

 

Rough list of Books, Pamphlets, etc., bearing upon the Morgan Controversy, by Peter Ross. 1902. 7 pages.

 

Sadler, Henry

 

See "England, United Grand Lodge." (No. 36.)

 

130. Scotland*

 

Grand Lodge of Scotland. Catalogue of Books and Manuscripts in the Library at Freemasons' Hall, Edinburgh. Published by authority of Grand Lodge by the Grand Secretary, 1906.

 

This catalogue is of particular value to the student on account of containing the valuable library which Dr. Charles Morison, who died in 1849, bequeathed to the Grand Lodge of Scotland. “The Books and Manuscripts consisted of over two thousand works, mainly in the French language. They chiefly consisted of the larger part of the library of the Grand Lodge of 'The Scots Philosophic Rite' at Paris." The objects of this rite were Masonic archaeological research, etc.

 

131. Simons, John W.*

 

Catalogue of Masonic and Miscellaneous Books, Pamphlets, Magazines, etc., contained in the library of John W. Simons, of New York. N. Y. Masonic Publishing (No. date.)

 

This is one of the "Auction Catalogues," and was issued subsequent to 1870, as works up to that date are included. Brother Simons is best known through his "A Familiar Treatise on the Principles and Practice of Masonic Jurisprudence" (1864). The catalogue shows the interest he took in this phase of Freemasonry by the large percentage of Constitutions, Ahiman Rezons, Monitors and manuals it contains.

 

132. Shanklin, England

 

Masonic Exhibition held at "The Chalet," Pylstone, Shanklin. Catalogue of exhibit edited by Alfred Greenham, with archaeological notes by Wm. J. Hughan, Shanklin, 1886. 102 pages.

 

The custom of holding these exhibitions combined the raising of funds for benevolent purposes with improvement in historical and archaeological phases of Freemasonry.

 

133. Sheffield, England

 

Sheffield Masonic Library Scheme. Sheffield, 1876. 15 pages. Pages 10 to 15 contain list of Masonic Books.

 

134. Sheffield, England

 

Catalogue of Books in the Library of the Hallamshire College. (Soc. Ros. in Anglia.) Sheffield, 1917. 72 pages.

 

135. Snyder, William

 

Catalogue of William Snyder's Masonic Library. Lafontaine, Indiana. (No date.) 9 pages.

 

136. Spencer, R.

 

Catalogue of a valuable collection of books on Freemasonry (500 titles). London. (No date.)

 

137. Spencer, London

 

Catalogue of a valuable collection of books on Freemasonry, comprising many curious, rare and interesting works relating to the Order in this and foreign countries; including Histories of the Knights Templars, Knights of Malta, and of St. John of Jerusalem; the Rosicrucian Brethren, Mystic Writers, etc.; also a small collection of Masonic engravings, portraits, etc., the whole illustrating the origin, principles and progress of Masonry throughout the world. 8vo., 31 pages. London. Spencer. (No date - about 1860.)

 

Enoch T. Carson describes this catalogue as "A fine collection, the largest and best that has been offered for sale in England. It contains about 600 numbers of books, manuscripts and engravings, in English, French and German. It was sold en bloc."

 

138. Spencer, R.

 

Catalogue of Books sold by R. Spencer. London, 1875.

 

Richard Spencer was one of the foremost promoters of the Masonic book trade, and his catalogues are of great interest. The older ones are now very scarce. The firm of Spencer & Co. still do a large business in Masonic books. The first Richard Spencer published Masonic books in 1799. "Early in the next century he was succeeded by the second Richard Spencer, his nephew. He in turn was succeeded by Walter Spencer, his (the second Richard’s) son, and since about 1878, the firm has been known as 'Spencer & Co.' "

 

139. Spencer & Co.*

 

Spencer & Co.'s Masonic Illustrated Price List of Jewels, Clothing, Furniture, Banners, and all Requisites for Freemasonry. London. 19th edition.

 

A Portion of this catalogue is given to books (a large percentage of which are rituals). To the American Mason the advertising of rituals "in a form intelligible only to the initiated" appears a strange phraseology.

 

140. Spencer & Co.

 

Catalogue of a valuably collection of books on Freemasonry.

 

1870   81 pages 1874            31 pages

1873   19 pages 1885            43 pages

1873   7 pages 1892            30 pages

 

141. Spencer & Co.*

 

Catalogue of Standard Works on Freemasonry, Music, etc., Spencer & Co., 19-20-21 Great Queen Street, London, W. C. Established 1801. 25 pages. (No date.)

 

A full set of all the catalogues issued by this old firm would be a splendid treat for the Masonic bibliophile.

 

Speth, G. W.*

 

See "Quatuor Coronati Lodge, No. 2076, London." (No. 124.)

 

142. Speth, G. W.*

 

A Masonic Curriculum, by G. W. Speth. American edition, published by the Palestine Bulletin, Detroit, Mich., 1901.

 

An English edition was issued several years before this one. This work is a proposed course of study and refers the student to the best works to be read and consulted on the many phases of Freemasonry and allied subjects. It is one of the best works of one of the most profound and thorough Masonie scholars. It is now out of print. but we hope to see a reprint soon.

 

143. Staton, James W.*

 

Catalogue of the Masonic Library of James W. Staton, deceased. Now offered for sale by his administrators, R. E. & H. W. Staton, Brooksville, Ky. 1904. 155 pages.

 

This catalogue is largely made up of "proceedings," and when the library was placed on the market it afforded an opportunity for many libraries to obtain numbers of proceedings they desired. It is of considerable interest in having the proceedings well classified.

 

144. Staton, James W.

 

Bibliographical notes on the proceedings of the Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of the State of Kentucky. By James W. Staton, Brooksville, Ey., 1881. 5 pages.

 

145. Staton, James W.

 

Masonic Bibliographical memoranda relating to reprints. By James W. Staton, Brooksville, Ky., 1887. 19 pages.

 

The reprints of early proceedings are of great value to students, and it is now very difficult to obtain many of the reprints.

 

146. Steinbrenner, G. W.*

 

Catalogue of Important Masonic Books. Being a private collection gathered during many years, with much care and at a large cost, comprising choice and scarce works in several languages, on the Origin, History, Usages, etc., of the Order of Freemasons throughout the world. Bangs, Merwin & Co., New York, 1867. 17 pages.

 

This is one of the many "Auction Catalogues" which were issued during the last half of the Nineteenth century. These old catalogues are of interest in showing many works which are now extremely scarce advertised for sale. At present it is customary for the one desiring a rare book to advertise for it. Such rare works as Preston's Illustrations of Masonry (2nd edition) and Thory's Acta Latomorum are advertised in this catalogue. This was the collection of the Masonic historian and writer, G. W. Stembrenner.

 

147. Stevens (London)

 

Catalogue of a valuable Library founded by the late Dr. H. B. Leeson, to be sold by auction. London, 1873. 31 pages.

 

148. Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction, U. S. A.*

 

Catalogue of the Library of the Supreme Council, 33d, for the S. J. of the U. S. Washington, D. C., 1880. 42 pages.

 

149. Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction, U. S. A.*

 

Libraries of the Supreme Council of the 33d for the Southern Jurisdiction of the U. S. A. at Washington, 1st Jan., 1884. J. J. Little & Co., 1884. 267 pages.

 

150. Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction, U. S. A.

 

The Taylor Collection in the Library of the Supreme Council 33d, A.A.S.R. Washington, D. C., 1905. 98 pages

 

One of the best collections of occult works in the United States.

 

151. Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction, U. S. A.

 

The Busby Collection in the Library of the Supreme Council, Washington, D. C. Press of the Wilkin-Shiery Printing Co., 1907. 82 pages.

 

All scientific books.

 

152. Tait, William*

 

A Catalogue of Books, Ancient and Modern, 1914. Freemasonry, Kabalah, Mythology, Oriental Religions, Symbolism. William Tait, Bookseller and Publisher, Belfast, Ireland. (No. 16.) 40 pages.

 

This is one of the best catalogues issued as a trade catalogue recently.

 

153. Tarratt (Leicester)

 

Catalogue of the Library of the late W. Kelly, to be sold at auction by W.H. Tarratt, Feb., 1895. Leicester. 21 pages. Taylor, George

 

See "Worcestershire Masonic Library and Museum.” (No. 172.)

 

154. Taylor, T.

 

A Catalogue of Books on Freemasonry, the Templars, Astrology, Platonists, by T. Taylor, London. Gardner, 1897

 

Thorp, J. T.*

 

See "Leicester, England." (No. 84.)

 

155. Triibner & Co.

 

Catalogue of American Books on Freemasonry, on sale by Trubner & Co., London, 1857. 8 pages.

 

156. Warvelle, George*

 

Library of Oriental Consistory, Chicago, Ill. A serial catalogue in ten parts, by George Warvelle. (No date. 156 pages.

 

This catalogue was compiled by an ardent book lover who was thoroughly conversant with Masonic literature, but did not compile it with sufficient system to make its valuable contents readily available to those who used it. It is, however, an interesting bibliographical treasure to the student and may be used to advantage with the later catalogue of Oriental Consistory.

 

157. Watson, William

 

Catalogue of Masonic Works. The property of W. Watson, Leeds. Leeds, 1890. 12mo. 24 pages.

 

This catalogue is noted in "Catalogue slip" 1053, of Speth's "A Classified Indent to the Catalogue Slips."

 

158. Westcott, Dr. Wm. Wynn*

 

Catalogue of Books from the Library of Dr. Willian Wynn Westcott, by F. L. Gardner, 14 Marlborough Road Gunnersbury, London, W. 4. 1919.

 

Dr. Westcott was a Masonic and Rosicrucian student, whose library reflects the zeal and labor of his quest for Light.

 

159. West Yorkshire

 

Provincial Library Report, West Yorkshire.

 

Provincial Library Report. Leeds, 1890, 19 pages.

Provincial Library Report, Leeds, 1891, 12 pages.

Provincial Library Report, Leeds, 1892, 16 pages.

Provincial Library Report, Leeds, 1894, 28 pages.

 

West Lancashire

 

See Liverpool. (No. 88 and 89.)

 

160. West Yorkshire Provincial Priory

 

First Annual Report of the Provincial Librarian. 1912 18 pages.

 

Contains lists of Masonic books donated.

 

161. Whymper, H. J.

 

Acts of Parliament, referring to Freemasonry, by H. J Whymper, 1892. 20 pages.

 

162. Whymper, H. J.

 

Catalogue of Works on Freemasonry. Gora Gali, 1888 8vo. 19 pages.

 

163. Whymper, H. J.

 

Catalogue of works on Freemasonry. H. J. Whymper, London, 1899. Printed by Ram Saran. First edition. 54 pages.

 

A second edition was issued in 1891, which was enlarged to 66 pages. Both editions were limited and are now very scarce.

 

164. Whymper, H. J.

 

Catalogue of works on Freemasonry, by H. J. Whymper, London, 1891.(See No. 163.)

 

165. Whymper, H. J.

 

A Catalogue of Bibliographies, Lists, and Catalogues of Works on Freemasonry, by H. J. Whymper, London, January, 1891. Only 100 copies printed.

 

We know of only two copies of this catalogue in America, being the one in the Congressional Library at Washington, D. C, and one owned by F. H. Marquis of Mansfield, Ohio.

 

166. Whymper, H. J.

 

Minutes of the Proceedings of Lodge "Albert Victor," No.2370, E. C., of a Regular Meeting held on the 31st January, 1891. Lahore. Printed at the Albert Press, 1891. Appendix B. Catalogues and Bibliographies, by H. J. Whymper, C. E. I.

 

This is a choice bibliographical item, and is an address on Masonic literature by H. J. Whymper, who was among the very few students who have left records of their knowledge of the literature of Freemasonry. This pamphlet is included in "'Masonic Miscellany," second series, vol. 1, of Oriental Consistory Library, Chicago, Ill., catalogued as 366.1 M. 3.

 

167. Whymper, H. J.

 

Early Printed Literature Referring to Freemasonry, by H. J. Whymper, 1892, London.

 

In this work special reference is made to Academie of Armorie (1688) by Randle Holme Natural History of Staffordshire (1686) by Dr. Plot Diary of Elias Ashmole.

 

168. Wigan Public Library*

 

Works relating to Freemasonry catalogued by Henry Tennyson Folkard, Public Librarian, Wigan, and Secretary Wigan Lodge No. 2326, Wigan. Privately printed for presentation only, by Strowger & Son, 1892. Third edition. 64 pages. Only 100 copies printed. 1st edition, 1880, 12mo. 2nd edition, 1882.

 

The Manchester Association for Masonic Research has discovered records which warrant their claiming a Grand Lodge being established at Wigan, in 1823, which makes this catalogue of further interest, as Wigan is to most American Masons an unknown place

 

169. Wilson, John

 

Occult Literature: catalogue of 1000 works, all curious and interesting and many of great rarity. London, 1884. 8vo. 32 pages.

 

170. Woodhead, Thos. M.*

 

Catalogue of Books on Freemasonry in the Library of Thomas M. Woodhead. Bradford. 1903. 96 pages.

 

818 books are catalogued with the full title pages of most of them. The compiler says, “If it is successful in arousing some interest in Masonic Literature in the minds of the brethren it will have fulfilled the purpose for which it has been issued."

 

171. Worcester, England

 

Masonic Soiree and Exhibition, held at Guild hall, Worcester. Catalogue of exhibits edited by George Taylor, with archaeological notes by Wm. J. Hughan. Kidderminster, 1884. 73 pages.

 

172. Worcestershire Masonic Library and Museum*

 

Catalogue of Books, Manuscripts, Articles, Engravings, Aprons and other curios relating to Freemasonry, and now forming the Worcestershire Masonic Library and Museum. Edited by George Taylor, with bibliographical notes by Wm. J. Hughan. London. Published by George Kenning, 1891.

 

The 75 pages of this catalogue which are devoted to Masonic books are of the greatest value to the student. The library contains some very rare works, and all the works of importance are given attention in the notes by Brother Hughan.

 

173. Yarker, John*

 

A Catalogue of Books on Freemasonry. By John Yarker. Belfast, 1909.

 

This catalogue is included in “The Guild Charges," by Yarker. (1909.) Only 600 copies printed.

 

174. York, England

 

Masonic Conversazione and Exhibition held at York, 20th July, 1884, under the auspices of York College (Society Rosecrucia in Anglia). Catalogue of exhibits. York, 1884. 24 pages.

 

175. York, England

 

Catalogue of Masonic Exhibits at reception to the British Association at York on Sept. 6, 1881. York. 19 pages.

 

176. Zacharias (Bro. Ernest)

 

Catalogue of the Masonic Library of. Dresden, 1847.

 

SUPPLEMENTAL REFERENCES

 

References to bibliographical notes in other than strictly bibliographical works or catalogues.

 

NOTE - Supplemental to the list of Catalogues and Bibliographies, a few references to articles of interest to bibliophiles, and portions of standard Masonic works dealing with its literature are here given. This reference portion might be made much longer with the information in the hands of the compiler, but the present list will point the way to the best sources, without becoming burdensome with details.

 

1. Begemann, William

 

An Attempt to Classify the Old Charges, by William Begemann.

 

Contained in "Are Quatuor Coronatorum," volume 1, page 162.

 

2. Calvert, A. F.

 

The Grand Lodge of England, 1717-1917, by A. F. Calvert, London, 1917.

 

This work contains a facsimile reproduction of the first 33 pages of the 1738 edition of the "Book of Constitutions": eighteen frontispieces of the "Engraved list of Lodges": a frontispiece of "The Freemason's Calendar" for 1775, a frontispiece of Dermott's "Ahiman Rezon" (1764): and three frontispieces of different editions of the "Book of Constitutions."

 

3. Clarke, Clyde

 

Notes on Masonic Bibliography, by Hyde Clarke.

 

Contained in “The Freemasons Magazine" of Feb. 16th and 23rd 1859 pages 307 and 348. Referenee to it in Ars Q.C. vol. 18 (1905).

 

4. Crowe, Fred J. W.

 

Inaugural address. Q. C. Lodge.

 

Ars Q. C. volume 22 (1909).

 

5. Gould, R. F.

 

An Inventory of Ancient Craft Documents, by R. F. Gould.

 

An article in The Northern Freemason of 1906 reviewing a catalogue of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia entitled "Ancient Masonic Documents." The Nova Scotia catalogue has 74 pages.

 

6. Gould, R. F.*

 

Collected Essays and Papers Relating to Freemasonry, by R. F. Gould, Belfast, 1913.

 

Chapter XV. “Notes on Historical Freemasonry " and XVI "On the Masonic Press" contain much of bibliographical interest.

 

7. Hughan, W. J.

 

Bibliography of the Old Charges, by W. J. Hughan.

 

Contained in Ars Q. C. volume 9 pages 85 to 87.

 

8. Hughan, W. J.

 

George Oliver's Unpublished Masonic Works, by W. J Hughan.

 

An article in the Masonic Review No 48 page 8 (1876) describing 18 of Oliver's then unpublished works. Three have since been published viz.:

 

Discrepanices of Freemasonry.

A Dissertation on the Grand Hermesian Anaglyph.

The Pythagorian Triangle.

 

9. Hughan, W. J.

 

Notable Rosicrucian Works, by W. J. Hughan.

 

A series of articles in The Freemason of London in 1869. The first of the series commences on page 227.

 

10. Hughan, W. J.

 

Sketches of notable Masonic works, by W. J. Hughan.

 

A series of reviews in the Freemasons' Magazine and Masonic Mirror of 1868 and 1869.

 

11. Hughan, W. J.

 

Masonic Bibliography, by W. J. Hughan.

 

A series of articles in The Voice of Masonry commencing October, 1876. Among the splendid reviews which Hughan wrote in this series the 22 page description of Godfrey Higgins' "Anacalypsis" is of particular interest. Richard Carlile asserts that Godfrey Higgins once observed to him that there were but two Masons in England himself (Godfrey Higgins) and the Duke of Sussex.

 

12. Hughan, W. J.

 

Masonic Bibliography, by W. J. Hughan.

 

"A general artiele making reference to the leading catalogues" in The Freemason of 1898. No. 29 page 52.

 

13. International Bureau for Masonic Affairs

 

Year Book of the International Bureau for Masonic Affairs, 1917.

 

This contains a list of books which the compilers deemed the most important. It is particularly valuable in giving the English reader an acquaintance with the standard foreign works.

 

14. Iowa

 

Quarterly Bulletin of the Iowa Masonic Library. Volume 1, No. 1, January, 1898.

 

Published quarterly until Nov. 1906 when it became an "occasional" bulletin. Resumed as a quarterly January 1, 1911. This publication is largely devoted to bibliographical items, and no attempt will be made to more than mention that W. J. Hughan was a contributor from the first issue and the first volume contains some of his best articles among which is "The Spencer Masonic Sale 1875.”

 

15. Mackey, A. G.

 

Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, by A. G. Mackey and Chas T. McClenachan. Revised edition, by Edw. L. Hawkins and W.J. Hughan

 

Concluding pages of this work are given to bibliography and while the list is comparatively short it is the most available one to the average reader.

 

16. Mackey, A. G.

 

Thoughts on the Selection of a Masonic Library, by A. G. Mackey.

 

An article In The Masonic Trowel No. 6 (1867).

 

17. Marquis, F. H.

 

The Early Editions of Webb's Freemason's Monitor, by F. H. Marquis.

 

This is the best description of the Webb Monitors available. It is contained in Vol. 1, No. 9, of "The Masonic Bibliophile." (Dec. 1912.)

 

18. Marquis, F. H.

 

The Pocket Companions, 1735-1831, by F. H. Marquis.

 

This is a description of the many editions of Pocket Companions and will be appreciated by all who desire to become familiar with this important textbook of our brethren when the Pocket Companion served as a history, monitor, music manual, and in fact every function that was utilized by a book on a large percentage of the brethren. The article is contained in The Masonic Bibliophile. vol. 2, No. 8 (Nov., 1913).

 

19. Masonic Magazine

 

A Catalogue of Masonic Books in the British Museum.

 

April, 1879, to March, 1880. Believed to have been compiled by A.F.A. Woodford.

 

20. Morris, Robert

 

The Universal Masonic Library Advocate, a bimonthly publication devoted to the single interest of establishing a library of Masonic literature in every lodge. Vol. 1, No. 3 Robt. Morris, Fulton, Ky. 1855.

 

In addition to the notices of The Universal Masonic Library, the publication contains catalogues of the E. T. Carson, John W. Leonard, Iowa, and Georgia Masonic libraries. The History of Freemasonry in Kentucky, by Robt. Morris (1859), contains many bibliographieal notes.

 

21. Oliver, George

 

Masonic Institutes, by George Oliver.

 

The introduction of 21 pages is entitled, "Remarks on the Masonic Literature of the Eighteenth Century," and contains many interesting features, among which the list of spurious works is one. Oliver's Revelations of a Square has many notes of bibliographical interest.

 

22. Oliver, George

 

Works on Freemasonry, by George Oliver, pub. by R. Spencer.

 

Contained in Oliver's "A Dictionary of Symbolic Masonry.' (1853.)

 

23. Rebold, Emmanuel

 

A General History of Freemasonry in Europe. By Emmanuel Rebold. Amer. Ed. Cin. O. 1869. J. F. Brennan.

 

Chapter on "Documentary Evidence" contains a list of 24 works which Rebold considered authoritative.

 

24. Steinbrenner, G. W.

 

The Origin and Early History of Masonry, by G. W. Steinbrenner, New York, 1864.

 

Chapter 2, "The Historical Literature of Masonry." Chapter 3, "The Legend of the Guilds." Reference is made to the "Old Charges" and the early "Constitutions."

 

25. Thorp, John T.

 

List of 29 early editions of Prichard's "Masonry Dissected.” ed." 1907 Masonic Reprints of Leicester Lodge of Research.

 

26. Thorp, John T.

 

History of 23 editions of "Pocket Companions." Trans. Leicester Lodge of Research, 1918.

 

27. Waite, A. E.

 

An Alphabetical Catalogue of works on Hermetic Philosophy and Alchemy.

 

Contained in “Lives of Alchemystical Philosophers," by A. E Waite, London, 1888. Pages 276 to 306.

 

----o----

 

DR. WM. STUKELEY, F. R S.

 

BY BRO. DUDLEY WRIGHT, ENGLAND

 

Among the lesser figures that live in our memories because of their association with early English Masonry there are few more lovable, or more picturesque, than the erudite Dr. Stukeley, of whom Brother Wright gives us a speaking likeness in this brief sketch.  It is urged upon the careful Masonic student that he pay especial heed to the extracts from Dr. Stukeley's diary, for therein he will find items of much importance, inasmuch as they furnish us with certain undeniable facts about early eighteenth century Freemasonry, facts that are often disputed.

 

DR. WILLIAM STUKELEY may well be described as "a man of many parts," although it cannot be said that he mastered thoroughly any of the subjects on which he posed as an authority.  From his earliest days he was imbued with an earnest desire for knowledge of all kinds of subjects, but he was not successful in becoming as he wished, and, indeed, claimed to be, an authority on any one in particular, least of all, a number of them.  He was born at Holbeach, Lincolnshire, on 7th November, 1687, the son of John Stukeley, an attorney, and his wife, Frances, the daughter of Robert Bullen, of Weston, Lincolnshire, who was descended from the same ancestors as Annie Bullen, or Boleyn, the ill-fated queen of Henry VIII.  His father was also the descendant of an ancient family, his ancestors having been lords of Great Stukeley, near Huntingdon.

 

In 1692, William Stukeley was sent to the Free School at Holbeach, where he received a good preliminary education.  It is recorded that as a boy he was fond of retiring into the woods to read and also to collect plants.  A pen picture has been drawn of his listening occasionally behind a screen in his father's study to his learned conversation with a Mr. Belgrave, whom the son describes as "an ingenious gent." and in refutation of whose arguments he says he wrote a small manuscript book. Young Stukely says that he also collected coins, bought microscopes and burning glasses, and learned something of wood-carving, dialling, "and some astrology withal."

 

On 7th November, 1703, William Stukeley was admitted as a pensioner to Bennet (now Corpus Christi) College, Cambridge, of which he became a scholar in the following April.  He was intended by his father for the legal profession, but the study of law and its attendant subjects was distasteful to him and he turned early to scientific subjects, and particularly anatomy.  He says that in his undergraduate days he "went frequently a simpling and began to steal dogs and dissect." When at home he "made a handsome sceleton of a cat." Stephen Hales of the Royal Society and Dr. John Gray of Canterbury were among his botanical associates and he made large additions to Ray's Catalogus Plantarum circa Cantabrigiam.  On 21st January, 1709, we find his name among the graduates as a Bachelor of Medicine.  On leaving Cambridge in that year he studied medicine under Dr. Mead at St. Thomas's Hospital and Anatomy Under Rolfe, a surgeon in Chancery Lane.

 

In 1710, he set up in practice at Boston, in Lincolnshire, where he, remained until 1717, when he removed to Great Ormond Street, London, next to Powis House.  On the 20th March of the same year he became a Fellow of the Royal Society on the nomination of Dr.  Mead. In 1718 we find him taking a part in the establishment of the Society of Antiquaries, of which body he acted as Secretary for nine years.  On the 7th July, 1719, he graduated at Cambridge as a Doctor of Medicine and on the 30th September of the same year he was admitted as a candidate of the College of Physicians, becoming a fully-fledged Fellow exactly twelve months afterwards, i.e., on 30th September, 1720, the same year in which he published in account of Arthur's Oon and Graham's Dyke.

 

About this time he began to turn his thoughts to Freemasonry.  Masters, in his History of the College of Corpus Christi, says that "his curiosity led him (Stukeley) to be initiated into the mysterys of Masonry, suspecting it to be the remains of the mysterys of the antients, when with difficulty a number sufficient was to be found in all London.  After this it became a public fashion not only spred over Brittain and Ireland, but all Europe."

 

Stukkey himself refers to this fact in his Common Place Book, wherein he says: "I was the first person made a free mason in London for many years.  We had difficulty to find members enough to perform the ceremony.  Immediately after that it took a run and ran it self out of breath thro the folly of members." Stukeley's initiation took place on the 6th January, 1721 at the Salutation Tavern, Tavistock Street, with Mr. Collins, Capt. Rowe, who wade the famous "diving engine."

 

For a time, at any rate, Stukeley appears to have taken a great interest in the doings of the Craft.  At any rate he seems to have become sufficiently prominent and active to secure an invitation to the Quarterly Commiunicatian of Grand Lodge held in the June following his election, judging from the following entry in his Diary:

 

"1721. 24th June.  The Masons had a dinner in Stationers' Hall. Present, Duke of Montague, Ld.  Herbert, Ld. Stanhope, Sr.  And. Fountain, &c.  Dr. Desaguliers pronounc'd an oration.  The Gd.  Mr. Mr. Pain produc'd an old MS. of the Constitutions which he got in the West of England 500 years old.  He read over a new sat of articles to be observ'd.  The Duke of Montague chose Gd.  Mr. next year.  Dr. Beal, Deputy."

 

The following extracts from his Diary are also of interest: "27th December, 1721.  We met at the Fountain Tavern, Strand, by consent of Grand Mr. present. Dr. Beal constituted a new Lodge there, where I was chosen Mr."

 

Commenting on this entry in The Freemason of 31st July, 1880, Bro.  T. B. Whyteheid wrote: "Nothing is named about the qualification for the chair, and as Bro. Stukeley had not been twelve months a Mason, it is manifest that any Brother could be chosen to preside, as also that the verbal consent of the Grand Master, or his Deputy, was sufficient to authorise the formation of a Lodge."

 

"25th May, 1722.  Met Duke of Quensboro, Lord Dunbarton, Hinchinbrok, &c. at Fount. Tav. Lodg. to consider Feast on St. John's."

 

"3rd Nov. 1722. The Duke of Wharton & Ld. Dalkeith visited our Lodg. at the Fountain."

 

"7th Nov. 1722.  Order of the Book Instituted."

 

"28th Dec. 1722. I dined with Ld. Hertford introduced by Ld. Winchelsea.  I made them both members of the Order of the Book or Roman Knighthood."

 

It would be interesting to know more about this Order, of which Stukeley gives no further particulars.  In 1722, also, he became a member of the "Gentlemen's Society" at Spalding, a literary association which was patronised by many members of the Craft, including Dr. Desaguliers, the Earl of Dalkeith, and Lord Coleraine, Grand Masters in 1719, 1723, and 1727 respectively; Martin Folkes and Dr. Thomas Manningham, Deputy Grand Masters, 1724 and 1752-1756; Francis Drake, Grand Master of All England, 1761-1762; Joseph Ames, David Casley, Sir Richard Manningham, and Andrew Michael Ramsay.

 

In 1722 he was Gulstonian Lecturer when he delivered a discourse on the spleen.  About this time he began to suffer from the gout, which he partly cured by using Dr. Roger's "oleum arthriticum" and partly by long rides in search of antiquities.  The first fruits of his antiquarian expeditions appeared in 1724, when he published his Itinerarium Curiosum.  About the same time he became one of the Censors of the College of Physicians, a member of the Council of the Royal Society, as well as of the Committee appointed to examine into the condition of the astronomical instruments of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.  He was well known to the Earl of Pembroke, the Earl of Winchelsea, and to "all virtuosos in London" and had a particular friendship with Sir Isaac Newton.  He went on long expeditionary tours with Roger Gale, whose brother-in-law he afterwards became, the twain visiting various parts of England.  He traversed the whole length of the Roman wall and drew out plans and descriptions of numerous old cities, roads, altars, etc. In 1723 he presented an account of a Roman Ampitheatre at Dorchester to a Masonic lodge which had that year honoured him by appointing him Master.

 

In 1726 Stukeley went to live at Grantham where he quickly secured a lucrative medical practice.  Here he laid out a garden and a sylvan "temple of the Druids," with an old apple tree, overgrown with mistletoe in the centre.  It was at Grantham where Sir Isaac Newton received the first part of his education and where he intended to have ended his days if he could have met with a suitable house.  Stukeley was consulted by the Dukes of Ancaster and Rutland, the families of Tyrconnel, Cust, etc., indeed, most of the principal families in the county were glad to seek him for advice. He declined an invitation from the Earl of Hertford to settle as a physician at Marlborough.

 

He refers in his Common Place Book to his life at Grantham in the following words:

 

"June, 1726, being sadly plagu'd with the gout, I retired to Grantham, thinking by country exercise to get the better of it, and by means of that, and a method of life and management which I found out, I was not disappointed in my expectation.  Here I set up a lodg. of freemasons, wh. lasted all the time I lived there."

 

Later on in the Diary he also wrote:   "In two years time I lost an incredible number of my most intimate friends there, Sr. lsaac Newton, Ld.  Winchelsea. . . . my friend Mr. Ja. Anderson, a scotsman, a learned & ingenious Antiquary . . . My Land lord Lambert of the Fountain Tavern, Strand, where I was Mr. of a new lodg. of Masons: & many others."

 

On 6th February, 1727, he wrote from Grantham to Samuel Gale, as follows: "In the town we have settled a monthly assembly for dancing among the fair sex, and a weekly meeting for conversation among the gentlemen.  We have likewise erected a small but well- disciplined Lodge of Freemasons."

 

In 1728 he married Frances, daughter of Robert Williamson, of Allington, Lincolnshire.  Whether this had anything or not to do with his decision is not stated, but a few months afterwards he decided upon a change of profession, giving as his excuse "being overcome with fatigue in his profession and repeated attacks of gout." He decided to enter the Church and in this decision he was encouraged by Archbishop Wake, who ordained him at Croydon on 20th July, 1729.  Almost immediately he was offered the living of Holbeach, his native place, by Dr. Reynolds, Bishop of Lincoln, while the Earl of Winchelsea also offered him another, but he declined them both, accepting that of All Saints, Stamford, to which he was presented by Lord Chancellor King, and to Stamford he removed, but on his removal from Grantham to Stamford he appears to have ceased all Masonic activity.

 

In 1736 he publised his Palaeographia Sacra, the object of which was to demonstrate "how heathen mythology is derived from sacred history, and that the Bacchus of the poets is no other than Jehovah in Scripture." Four years later he published his book on Stonehenge, as the outcome of his frequent visits.  Druidism was to him "the aboriginal patriarchal religion" and his intimate friends called him "Chyndonax" and "the Arch-Druid of this age." In 1739 he was given the living of Somerby by Grantham, which he held in conjunction with that of Stamford until 1747, when he accepted from the Duke of Montague the rectory of St. George the Martyr in Queen Square, Bloomsbury.  From 1748 onwards he lived in Queen Square and at a house in Kentish Town, over the door of which he placed the following inscription:

 

O may this rural solitude receive And contemplation all its pleasures give  The Druid priest.

 

His wife had passed away in 1737, leaving him with three daughters, but, in 1739, he was married to Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Gale, Dean of York, and sister to Roger and Samuel Gale, the celebrated antiquarians.

 

Stukeley's interest in his original profession and in the College of Physicians continued right up to the end of his life.  He not infrequently attended meetings and took part in business of the College, as seen from several notes made by him in his own copy of the Pharmacopoeia of 1746.  As a clergyman, he was noted for his unconventionality. It is said that on one occasion, in April 1764, he postponed the service for an hour in order that the congregation might go outside the church and witness an eclipse of the sun.  When he was nearly seventy-six years of age he preached for the first time in spectacles, selecting for his text the words: "Now we see through a glass darkly," while, in his discourse, he dwelt on the evils of too much study.

 

He was seized with paralysis on 27th February, 1765, and passed away on 3rd March following at his rectory in Queen Square, in his seventy-eighth year. He was buried in the churchyard of East Ham, and, according to his special request, without any monument.

 

Stukeley was undoubtedly a clever man, but in many instances he gave expressions to opinions before they were matured and before he had carefully weighed the pros and cons.  As a result he made some curious and amusing blunders.  He published a pamphlet on "Oriuna, the wife of Carausius" through his misreading of the word Fortuna on a coin of that emperor.  It was he, however, who drew up the plans, prospectus, and rules of the Society of Antiquaries, so that he is entitled to be claimed as the principal founder of that body. His Diary contains some interesting notes and reminiscences of famous people. He tells us, for instance, under date of 22nd August, 1754 that "Sir Christopher Wren smoaked to his death.  I have smoaked a pipe with him when he was almost 100. (He was 91 when he died)." Later, he vouches the information that Wren was a great drinker of coffee.  Munk, in his Roll of the CoRege of Physicians, refers to Stukeley as "that learned and indefatigable antiquary," and Canon Richard Parkinson, the editor of some of the publications of the Chetham Society, says that "his learning was extensive and profound, and his writings prove him to have been a divine, philosopher, and antiquary of a high order." There is in the possession of the Chetham Society a Manuscript collection of poems by Dr. Stukeley which have never been published.

 

Dr. Warburton, the learned author of the Divine Legation of Moses, writing on 4th March, 1765, to Richard Hurd, afterwards Bishop of Worcester, said: "Poor Dr. Stukeley, in the midst of a florid age of eighty-four, was last Saturday struck with an apoplectic fit, which deprived him of his senses.  I suppose he is dead by this time." A few days later he wrote: "You say true.  I have a tenderness in my temper which will make me miss poor Stukeley; for, not to say that he was one of my oldest acquaintance, there was in him such a mixture of simplicity, drollery, absurdity, ingenuity, superstition, and antiquarianism, that he often afforded me that kind of well-seasoned repast, which the French call an Ambigu, I suppose for a compound of things never meant to meet together.  I have often heard him laughed at by fools, who have neither his sense, his knowledge, nor his honesty; though it must be confessed that in him they were all strangely travestied."

 

Sir John Evans, in his Ancient British Coins, wrote: "Dr. Stukeley, prior to his death in 1765, had prepared twenty-three plates of the coins of the ancient British kings, which were published by his executor Richard Fleming. They are not accompanied by any letter-press description, but on the first fifteen plates, which appear to have been engraved from Dr. Stukeley's own sketches, many of the coins have inscriptions beneath them, giving the names of the princes to whom he attributed them.  The coins themselves are most inaccurately drawn, and in many instances are merely bad copies of the engravings in Camden and elsewhere."

 

Weld, in his History of the Royal Society, has another criticism.  He says: "It is to be feared that Stukeley's love for Geology did little to advance the Science: for it appears that he communicated some geological papers to the Society, containing so many absurd hypotheses, that even at that period (1751) when Geology was so little understood, the Council determined that they should not be printed. He also made several communications in which he asserted in the most positive manner that corals were vegetables.  These papers were likewise rejected, whch made the sturdy antiquary very angry.  He gives vent to his feelings in forcible language and concludes: 'Whoever has eyes must see that they are vegetables.

 

Stukeley's library, which consisted of 1121 items altogether, occupied in its sale the six evenings of the week commencing Monday, 28th April, 1766.  It contained nothing of Masonic interest, unless an excepti is made in favour of the two "Catalogues of the MSS. of Thomas Rawlinson, Esq."

 

----o----

 

MORMONISM AND MASONRY

 

By BRO. SAM H. GOODWIN, GRAND SECRETARY, UTAH

 

In THE BUILDER for February and March, 1921, appeared two articles on the subject of Mormonism and Freemasonry, which attracted much interest and received many laudatory comments.  We consider it a matter of great good fortune to be able to present herewith a third and concluding article by the same writer.

 

The several articles by Brother Goodwin have been reprinted in pamphlet format and will be found listed in the monthly book list on the inside back cover of the magazine.

 

UNDER all circumstances great care should be exercised in the selection of material for membership in Masonic lodges.  This holds true everywhere and at all times and is a duty that in an especial sense devolves upon those who in a representative capacity first pass upon the qualifications of applicants for our mysteries.  A number of reasons for this might be given some of which it is the purpose of this article to set forth.

 

In a general way it may be said that the historic, well known and consistent position held by the Craft of this jurisdiction, practically, from the very inception of organized Masonry - back in '65 - to the present time furnishes one reason for caution on the part of Utah investigating committees. (1) Further, there is a noticeable tendency on the part of some who are young in Masonry - and of others who, though older, are inclined to be lenient toward a relaxation of requirements - to take account only of the superficial and to base their conclusions upon an imperfect apprehension of facts which cannot be ignored with safety.  In what follows attention is directed to certain facts no one of which, perhaps, taken alone may seem to be of any great consequence, but which in the aggregate are worthy of serious consideration.  In seeking to attain the object in view we may pass boundaries which, somehow, have acquired a pseudo-sanctity and find ourselves in fields too rarely entered by those who, for the time being, are charged with the duty of guarding well our outer portals.

 

That there may be no uncertainty as to what is here undertaken, it may be stated that we are dealing with the general subject of "Mormonism and Masonry," and that the particular phase of the subject upon which we now enter relates itself to any would-be applicant who at the same time is a member of the Latter Saints organization.

 

Masonry requires of its initiates, among other things, that they shall come of their own free will accord.  By implication, principle and teaching it assumes that those who come into its fellowship are, and will remain, free from any influence or agency that might interfere with the performance of such duties as may devolve upon them.  With this in view the petitioner is required to declare that he is not a member of any organization whose rules are incompatible with membership in the fraternity.  This is not done in criticism of any organization that curtails the freed of thought or action of its adherents.  Such criticism does not lie within the province of Masonry.  But Masonry, like other organizations, does claim and exercise the right to erect such standards as may seem to be necessary; to fix upon and apply tests; to pass upon the qualifications of would be members, and to decide in any and every case, whether its requirements can be, or have been satisfactorily met.  In the exercise of these, as of all other functions, Masonry is a law unto itself.

 

With the ground thus cleared we may proceed the consideration of certain facts the bearing and significance of which can hardly be mistaken.

 

If we do not mistake the meaning of the words those who are authorized to speak, the Latter Day Saints organization makes such demands upon those who accept its principles and leadership as to produce results which do not accord with the genius of Freemasonry.  For example, great stress is laid upon the authority and power of the priesthood.  We are told that a man may not honestly differ from the "presiding priesthood" without being guilty of apostasy and subject to excommunication.  This principle was declared in no uncertain phrase by Brigham Young and George Q. Cannon, and in effect it has frequently been set forth since. Said Cannon, on one occasion when Brigham Young was present: "It is apostasy to differ honestly with the measures of the President.  A man may be honest even in hell." (2) And President Wells, on the same occasion, declared in no less unmistakable terms that one "might as well ask the question whether a man had the right to differ honestly with the Almighty." (3) Presumably these rather startling assertions rest upon the doctrine frequently promulgated, that the president of the church is "the very mouthpiece of God" (4); "His vicegerent on earth, (5), and the sole channel through which He communicates His will and purpose concerning all that pertains to His Kingdom on earth." (6)

 

Illustrations of the practical application of the principle under consideration are not wanting and these furnish convincing proof of the vitality of the doctrine.  W.S. Godbe and his colleagues were cut off from the church because they presumed to deny the right of Brigham Young to restrict freedom of thought and speech or to discipline them for opinion's sake and because they did not accept his financial policy. (7) Moses Thatcher held opinions concerning his rights and privileges as an American citizen which did not accord with those of the First Presidency and the other members of the quorum of Apostles and he "declined to take counsel," and he was disfellowshipped for his temerity. (8) Smurthwaite felt that the President of the church should not enter the commercial field in competition with persons less highly placed, and he gave voice to his opinion to his Bishop and was cut off from the church. (9) B. H. Roberts, noting an unmistakable partiality in the application of a church rule in the interest of one political party and against the other, entered politics at once without the approval of the church authorities and was made feel the sting of their displeasure, but later was "reconciled" with his brethren. (10) Roberts, who is perhaps the brainest man in the church, as he is the most independent thinker and most prolific writer, recently gave frank expression - in a conference address - to his belief that the Mormon people had not always been blameless; that their conduct had not always been defensible; that on the part of some individuals narrowness and fanaticism and bigotry and unwisdom had been exhibited; that the disasters which overtook the followers of the prophet in Missouri were due, in part at least, to boastfulness, overzeal, fanaticism and unwisdom on the part of the people, and that "In his early experiences even the prophet Joseph Smith made his mistakes and was several times reproved of the Lord because of them." (11) For this frank avowal of facts, of the truth of which his historical studies had convinced him, he was taken sharply to task in the same session of the conference by the President of the church, Joseph F. Smith. (12) Such results as are here indicated, need occasion no surprise, for it must be remembered that the authorities - the Priesthood - are "in very deed a part of God" (13) and as such they can fix, irrevocably, the ultimate status of man, for to them belongs the power "to bind on earth that which shall be bound in heaven and to loose on earth that which shall be loosed in, heaven"  (14) ; "to remit sin" (15); "to say what shall be done and how it shall be done and on what occasions it shall be done," (16) and when the President of the church speaks "anything as the mind and will of the Lord, it is just as binding upon us as if God spake personally to us." (17)

 

Those who are at familiar with the teachings and literature of the Mormon church need no proof of the necessity of absolute obedience to the Priesthood on the part of adherents, or of the insistence upon this from the beginning to the present.  As already indicated, denial of this principle was one of the chief offenses of those who were responsible for the "Utah Schism." (18) "It had been argued that we must passively and uninquiringly obey the Priesthood because we could not otherwise build up Zion," complained E.L.T. Harrison, in "An Appeal to the People and Protest." (19) And such obedience appears to be required in all the relations of life - in things spiritual and temporal. (20)

 

Some of us who are unacquainted with the refinements, or modifications, or qualifications to which such teachings may be subjected in their application to individual cases may well be pardoned if we question whether a member of an organization which makes such unusual demands is, or really can be, in a position to act freely in determining what course shall be pursued.  And if he is not really free in this particular could he, being so circumstanced, be considered good material for our Rites? Could he answer, honestly and satisfactorily, that question in our petition to which reference has already been made?

 

We are familiar with the fact that leaders of the Latter Day Saints organization have repeatedly declared that their followers are as free to act in all the affairs of life (21) as are the votaries of any other faith or philosophy of life.  But when issues of the most vital concern - having to do with time and eternity - are made to hinge, absolutely, upon acceptance of this fundamental principle we are forced to confess such assertions make an unwarranted and impossible demand upon our credulity. (22)

 

Another set of facts which cannot or ought not to be ignored in this study has to do with the matter of polygamy.  The writer understands that by many this is regarded as a dead issue. He is mindful of the further fact that a Manifesto was issued by the President of the church in 1890, which advised the people to refrain from the practice of this principle, (23) and that later this famous document was construed a s prohibiting not only new marriages, but also those who had previously entered this relation from living with their plural wives. (24) It is to be remembered, too, that the present head of the church recently declared - with so much earnestness that he afterwards apologized for the manner in which he had spoken, having been, as he expressed himself, "gloriously mad" - that "No man on earth has the power to perform plural marriages," and, "We have excommunicated two patriarchs who have pretended to perform plural marriages." (25) All this and these - for reasons that follow - do not remove the subject beyond the purview of the Mason, or the Lodge, that may be seeking information as to the fitness of material to come into our fellowship.  It is conceded that this subject does not have the importance for the Mason and citizen that it had when Grand Secretary Diehl sent out his Circular in which he set forth the position of the Grand Lodge of Utah with reference to the Latter Day Saints, their teachings and practices. (26) But after all allowances have been made there still remain considerations that are pertinent to our purpose - at all events, such is the conviction of the writer.  He is not convinced that this subject is a "dead issue," for he recalls the fact that a President of the church - the "very mouthpiece of God," as we have seen - declared concerning this practice and doctrine: ". . . It is one of the most vital parts of our religious faith; it emanated from God and cannot be legislated away. . . . Take this from us and you rob us of our hopes and associations in the resurrection." (27) And hardly less pertinent is the fact that this principle, like the revelation which established it, still holds its place in the teachings, beliefs and literature of the Mormon people.

 

The uninitiated may experience some difficulty, perhaps, when they undertake to reconcile one set of facts with another set of facts which appears to be at the opposite pole.  This is the situation.  It is known that the practice of polygamy has been abandoned - according to repeated statements made by those who are in authority - and that this principle is no longer taught by the church.  Yet, it is a matter of common knowledge that the present head of the organization is a polygamist - as also was his immediate predecessor in that position and all who preceded him - at least, such was his status it the time of the Smoot investigation when he was "a fugitive from justice" (28) on account of his marital relations. (29) There are other leaders associated with the President of the church who are similarly situated.  These men are the leaders of the thought and exemplars of the principles of the organization and are "living their religion." (30) This is referred to here, not in any spirit of criticism, but for the purpose of calling attention to the teaching value of such facts.  "Your actions speak so loud that I cannot hear what you say," is an adage which is not without suggestiveness in this connection.  The influence of the First Presidency, and more particularly of the President of the church, is greater than that of any other man or set of men.  How could it be otherwise in view of his alleged relationship to Deity and of the great and unusual powers he exercises by virtue of that relationship.  It must follow that the words, the actions, and the daily life of one vested with such singular prerogatives exert a tremendous influence in the direction of shaping opinion and belief; of determining the attitude of multitudes of people toward the institutions and the laws of the land, (31) in fact, of making the individual what he is.  For a man or for men, so placed, to take the position for any considerable length of time, that a law with which they do not find themselves in accord is unconstitutional and therefore is to be ignored, (32) as was done for nearly two decades; to insist that the practice of polygamy "is ordained of God, . . . is ecclesiastical in its nature and government," and because of this "it is therefore outside constitutional law," and so, "being within the pale of the church, its free exercise cannot be prohibited," (33) again, for the "vicegerent of God" to testify in the conspicuous manner (though not of his own free will and accord) that he had been, and was then, living in known violation of the laws of his country church and his God, (34) that he expected to continue so doing and that he was willing to take his chances the laws of the State, (35) and for other leaders, only a little less prominent than the President to testify the same conditions in their marital relations (36) - for such a situation to develop and exist and be taken as a sort of matter of course, or even approved and mended, by so large a body of people, cannot be productive of results that are far from being reassuring.  How can it be otherwise than that such attitude toward law, and such examples on the part of such influential men, should have a powerful effect upon young manhood and womanhood of the Latter Day Saints organization? We are of the opinion that it is not desirable - certainly, it is not in accord with Masonic ideals and teachings - to subject young people to character-forming influences which must tend to make them indifferent to law.  Many thoughtful Craftsmen earnestly believe that these are times in which regard for law should be emphasized on all suitable occasions, and that the too general practice, in effect, of nullifying and repealing law by individual disregard of law, instead of making use of the means provided by law, is a proceeding dangerous beyond calculation, a positive, subtle menace to the very foundation of those institutions which are our boast.

 

Another angle of this phase of our subject should not be overlooked.  Not only is the doctrine taught by example, and that by the most influential men in the Latter Day Saints organization, but it appears in the literature, and often in the instruction given the people. The "Doctrine and Covenants" is one of the four standard works adopted by formal action of this organization.  It is the word of God and is of equal authority with the Bible, the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price.  Sometimes Latter Day Saints controversialists have strenuously objected when their opponents have quoted statements made by Conference speakers in place of adhering strictly to these standard works of the church. (37) Now, as noted above, the Doctrine and Covenants is authoritative and standard.  Section, or chapter, 132, of this book records the Revelation on plural marriage.  If it ever taught this principle - and there is no controversy on this score - it still teaches it, for the late President of the church, Joseph F. Smith, testified under oath that it had not been annulled or repealed, (38) and so far is known to the writer, no action of this sort has ever been taken.  It is still part and parcel of the authoritative teachings of the church, as also is the rather severe sentence which it pronounces upon those who fail to accept this teaching. (39)

 

In the material provided for study by the young people's organizations of the church considerable stress is laid upon the "Lives" of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Brigham Young and others of the leading men in the history of this people, all of whom "lived their religion." These men are held up as heroic characters whose words and example are presented for instruction and emulation. (40) Sometimes speakers when addressing large numbers of this faith declare their adherence to the principle under consideration. (41) Some years after the Manifesto was issued an Apostle declared that the principle of plural marriage is as true today as it ever was, and asserted that those "who prevent you from obeying are responsible to God for so doing." (42) B.H. Roberts, in a church periodical published for the guidance and instruction of young people - members of the Mutual Improvement Association - has a long article in defence of this principle. (43) Other illustrations of the matter under consideration could easily be assembled if they were deemed necessary but enough has been said, it would seem, to show what is being done along this line.  We do not undertake to reconcile the contradictions which must be apparent to every observant Craftsman - we are simply calling attention to facts.

 

As these pages are being written in the hope that they may prove to be helpful, in a measure, to investigation committees, there is another point of view that should be presented here.  Sometimes it is asserted with reference to one who has applied, or is desirous of applying, for the degrees: "He does not practice polygamy; never has done so, and though a member of the Latter Day Saints organization he never has accepted it even in principle.  Why, isn't he good material?" Such a question would

seem to call for an affirmative answer and, other things being equal, to leave little room for objection.  But even in such a case there are certain considerations which should have weight, and it is not any one thing, but all those matters which have to do with conduct and character - which really help to place a man - that should be laid on the scales.  There is, we believe, such a thing as - for want of a better term - group responsibility. By this it is meant that a man can hardly cut himself off, relieve himself of, responsibility by declining to hold to one principle at the same time that he claims the privileges and accepts the benefits accruing from membership in an organization of which that very principle is fundamental.  To illustrate: The writer might claim affiliation with the I.W.W., for example, but strenuously insist that, while a member of that organization and ready to aid in the promulgation of its principles and philosophy of life, be does not now, and never has, believed in the use of dynamite for the destruction of life and property in order to gain the ends which this particular organization his in view.  Could he, justly, be shrived of responsibility when the organization of which be is a member uses dynamite? Perhaps, in the payment of dues and assessments which, among other things, were to keep him in good standing in the organization, his money helped to buy the dynamite used in the destruction of life. Should his protest of disbelief in a principle outweigh the practical, concrete assistance he gave to the organization which does hold to the principles he disclaims? Whether the analogy is close and satisfactory in all particulars or not, there is a suggestion here which investigating committees should not ignore when arriving at a conclusion.

 

There is another objection, and one that at first blush would seem to be conclusive, that is sure to appear when the suggestion is made that one's belief is to be considered when passing upon the qualifications of an applicant.  The impression prevails quite generally that Masonry does not assume the right to question a petitioner on this score - that, in effect, he may "believe what he pleases," and, if all right in other respects he may be received into our fellowship. Of course, a moment's reflection must convince us that this is not the case.  We do claim - and constantly exercise - the right to demand that a man must believe certain things or his petition will not even be presented to the lodge.  It must be evident, too, to the well informed that the range of inquiry touching what must be accepted by applicants is not fixed by any so-called "immutable landmark," for the requirements in this respect vary in different jurisdictions.  Further, one can hardly follow a candidate through the ceremonies of the several degrees without noting how often, by direct question and scarcely less direct implication, the matter of belief is involved.  Some years ago a prominent leader in the Latter Day Saints organization when taken to task by critics for his avowed belief in the principle under consideration - and be was "living his religion," and still is doing so - responded: "Well, gentlemen, whose business is it? What are you going to do about it ?"(44) We are not prepared to say that, under the circumstances, that is not a proper and sufficient answer. But here the situation is very different.  Masonry has erected certain standards to which applicants must conform; does pass upon qualifications; necessarily must pass upon character, and in order to judge character, it is needful to know somewhat of the material, as it were, that has gone into the making of character. Hence, many questions are asked, or should be if the information is not at hand, that do not appear in our petitions.  And so, on occasion and when in doubt, we make inquiries concerning the habits and practices of an applicant.  Circumstances might arise which would lead us to satisfy ourselves whether or not the applicant is a "dope-fiend," or "booze-fighter," or libertine; whether he abuses his wife, or neglects his children, or defrauds his creditors, or is wedded to the gaming-table.  And we do not hesitate to satisfy ourselves as to his physical condition; whether he is crippled, or defective in any respect, or is subject to ailment or disease which might bring him to be a burden upon the lodge.  These intimate matters of health and character are not our business until application is made for admission to our fraternity.  Then the candidate says in effect: "The bars are down; ask any questions needful, for I am desirous of meeting the conditions in order that I may be made a Mason." That one of the most powerful character-shaping influences should be excluded from consideration would be absurd, if it were required, or even permitted.  Our right to make such inquires, and the necessity for them, appear to be beyond question.

 

In this connection, and as further emphasizing the importance that may be attached to a state of mind  not an overt act - to a "belief," as a determining factor in estimating character, the decision of a Salt Lake Judge in the Third District Court is illuminating and suggestive.  The matter came up on the petition of an alien to become a citizen of the United States.

 

In framing the naturalization laws under the statute certain requirements are set forth.  Failure to satisfy any one of these conditions results in defeating application for citizenship.  Among other declarations required the petitioner must state under oath that he is not "a polygamist or believer in the practice of polygamy," and further, he must make it "appear to the satisfaction of the court" that be is attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States. (45) In the case under consideration the applicant for citizenship took the oath as required, with reference to being a polygamist and his belief in the practice of polygamy.  At the hearing, however, he was interrogated with respect to fulfilment of conditions required for admission to citizenship.  The testimony showed - with reference to belief in the practice of polygamy - that the petitioner based his disbelief in the practice upon the conviction, and upon no other ground, that so long as they exist, the prohibitory rules of church and state should be obeyed.  He did not disbelieve in it because of any objection to the practice itself: apart from its relationship to ecclesiastical and legal prohibitions he does believe it now." (46) He was willing to obey the law, and to have it obeyed, but it was shown that he did not believe in, and was unsympathetic with, the forbidding canons of both church and state.  The Court held that "One cannot honestly believe in a practice apart from the fact that it is against the law, and at the same time be honestly attached to the law forbidding it." And further, that since his testimony shows a lack of attachment to the law against polygamy, a law fundamental in our scheme of government, he has fated to fulfil that important condition requiring petitioners to show to the satisfaction of the court that they are attached to the principles of the Constitution.'" (47) Admission to citizenship was therefore denied him.

 

The point to which attention is especially directed in this incident is the significance attached to a "belief," as disclosing an unfavourable attitude of mind toward the laws of the land.  Masonry, like citizenship acquired through naturalization, is a privilege, not a right, and a privilege conditioned upon compliance with certain requirements and those requirements are fixed by the written and unwritten laws of the Fraternity.

 

We pass now to another matter.  Masonry directs the attention of its initiates to the Bible as "God's inestimable gift to man as a rule and guide to his faith and practice." In Anglo-Saxon Masonry the "Great Light" occupies a prominent and well-known position in the ritual.  The attitude of the Latter Day Saints organization toward the Bible is not without its significance for us.

 

The Bible is accepted as the "Word of God, so far as translated correctly." (48), The Book of Mormon is equally the word of God, as also are the Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price - these are the "standard books" of the Mormon church.(49) In this particular, of course, there could be no criticism, for "a Book of the Law" on the, altar meets the requirements.  But, as we understand the matter, a fundamental teaching of the church is what may be termed the principle of a continuous or "immediate revelation." By this is meant that the President of the church who, as we have seen is the "very mouthpiece of God," (50) may at any time substitute something better than any one of the four books named or than all of them together, and such pronouncement would be the very word of God, binding alike upon all the adherents of that faith.  "The whole of them (i.e., the four books listed above) are not all we need. . . . the Lord has his mouthpiece to say what shall be done and how it shall be done and on what occasion it shall be done.'"(51) The authorities of the church are the "living oracles of God and they are worth more to the Latter Day Saints than all the Bibles, all the Books of Mormon and all the Books of Doctrine and Covenants that are written.  If we could have but one of them give me the living oracles of the Priesthood for my guidance." (52) "When compared with the living oracles," declared Brigham Young, 'those books are nothing to me; those books do not convey the word of God direct to us now, as do the words of the Prophet or a man bearing the Holy Priesthood in our day and generation. I would rather have the living oracles than all the writing in the books." These words - quoted by President Woodruff (53) - were spoken in the presence of Joseph Smith, who immediately arose and said: "Brother Brigham has told you the word of the Lord and he has told you the truth." (54)

 

We do not call attention to these things by way of criticism.  These teachings concerning the Bible, in relation to the "living oracles," are for those who can, and who care to, accept them.  But we do suggest, that such ideas concern us when they are held by those who would apply to our lodges for the degrees, and who, because of the source whence such principles emanate, might feel moved at any time to substitute some man's dictum for the Great Light in the affairs of life.  Under these circumstances we submit that the word that might be declared by the "living oracles" might not accord in any particular or respect with the fundamentals of Masonry.  And this might very probably be the case in as much as the Latter Day Saints organization is opposed to all secret societies - except its own. (55)

 

One other matter is worthy of passing notice, at least, in this connection.  This relates itself to Deity.  Masonry requires of its initiates an avowal of belief in God. It does not undertake to say what one's conception of God shall be, so that in this particular a member of the Latter Day Saints organization can meet the requirements. But this fact does not preclude a consideration of conceptions so fundamental in life and character as one's apprehension of Deity.  Here also is disclaimed any attempt or thought of criticism.  The purpose is simply to get as much light as possible upon the influences and forces and beliefs which work together in the great task of shaping character.

 

Latter Day Saints are taught, and, we assume, believe in, a plurality of gods. "The head god organized the heavens. In the beginning the heads of the gods organized the heavens and the earth." (56) In the beginning the Bible shows there is a plurality of gods beyond the power of refutation." (51) "The head of the gods appointed one God for us." (52) The Deity of the Latter Day Saints ". . . is an exalted man." (59) He has parts and passions like men, including the procreative power, which he exercises, having With Him, as "He sits enthroned in yonder heaven," a female Deity. (60) Whatever allowance may be made, in the matter of leaving every man at liberty to conceive of God as he may, this much may be said: Such a materialistic idea of God differs so widely from that held by Masons generally, but more particularly in this country, that the question night well arise whether those holding it would fit into the Masonic institution.  The peace and harmony of a lodge is of prime importance.

 

Reference has been made to the fact that the Latter Day Saints organization is opposed to secret societies and the reason for this "must be clear to every well-informed, intelligent Latter Day Saint." Masonry, according to the late President Joseph F. Smith, is an "institution of the evil one," as is abundantly shown by many passages in the four standard books of the church. (61) Now, this being true, it must follow that a member of that organization who would join the fraternity in the face of these facts would act in direct opposition to the positive declarations of church leaders, and no less explicit injunctions of the four standard works of the church, which he has accepted as the very word of his God.  This being true, such a person would necessarily be a "bad" Mormon, and Masons may be excused for seriously doubting if a "bad Mormon" can make a good Mason.

 

Now, briefly to summarize the principal matters presented in the foregoing pages so that there may be seen at a glance some of the reasons which have weight with Utah Masons today:

 

1. Historical: Attitude of the Nauvoo Masons toward Masonic customs and law.*

2. Clandestinism: Temple ceremonies and use of language and symbols.

3. Priesthood: Unlimited power of and right to direct and dictate in all things, temporal and spiritual the "mouthpiece of God."

4. Polygamy: This is taught:

a. In original revelation which has not been annulled or repealed, nor can it be.

b. In positive declarations of belief in it by leaders and prominent teachers.

c. In the literature of the organization, and,

d. By the example of the leaders who "live their religion."

 

5. Attitude toward law: Enforcement of law against polygamy was "persecution," and is still so held and taught

 

6. Petition: Inability of applicant honestly to answer one question in petition.

 

7. Great Light: Substitution of "living oracles" (Priesthood) for the Bible.

 

8. Deity: Conception of male and female deity out of harmony with that of Anglo-Saxon Masonry.

 

9. Membership prohibited: L.D.S. organization holds Masonry to be "of the evil one" and is opposed to members having any connection therewith.

 

 

 

*See THE BUILDER for March, 1921, p. 36.

1 Proc. New., 1866, pp. 120-121; Proc. Utah, 1882, pp. 28-53; 1883, pp. 24-26.

2 Tullidge's Quar. Mag. 1881, Volume 1, p. 33; On the general subject of obedience to the priesthood, see George Q. Cannon, "Contributor," 1894, volume 29, p. 745.

3 Tullidge's Quar. 1881, Vol, 1, p. 33

4 Manual Mutual Impv. Assn. 1901-2, pp. 81-82; 69th Annual Conf.  Rept. 1899, pp. 5, 6, 7; 70th Annual Conf. Rept. 1900, p. 52; "Outlines of Ecclesiastical History," Roberts, p. 368.

5 69th Annual Conf. Rept. 1899, p. 5.

6 "The Thatcher Episode," 1899 (B. Young, Jr.), p. 14; Salt Lake Tribune, April 4, 1921, p. 1.

7 Tullidge's Quar.  Mag. 1881, Vol. 1, p. 32.

8 "The Thatcher Episode," 1896, p. 19, Cf. pp. 29-31.

9 Smoot Investigation, 1906, Vol.  IV, pp. 78-81.

10 "The Thatcher Episode" 1896, p. 35; Smoot Investigation, 1904, Vol. I pp. 723, 1012.

11 80th Semi-Annual Conf. Report, 1909, pp. 103-104.

12 80th Semi-Annual Conf. Report, 1909, pp. 124, 125.

13 "New Witness for God," Roberts, p. 187; Cf.  Smoot Investigation, Vol. I, 1904, Note 1, p. 1; Doc. & Cov., Sect. 107:5.

14 72nd Semi-Annual Conf. Report 1901, p. 2; 75th Semi-Annual Conf. Report 1904, p. 5; Doctrine and Covenants, See. 124:93.

l5 75th Semi-Annual Conf.  Report, 1904, p. 5.

16 69th Annual Conf.  Report 1899, p. 17.

17 Cf. Des. News, Oct. 4, 1896 Geo. Q Cannon.

18 Tullidge's Quar. Mag. 1881, Vol. 1, p. 33.

19 Tullidge's Quar. Mag. 1881  Vol. 1, p. 32.

20 Jour. Desc., Vol. 12, p. 59, Vol. 5, p. 100 Vol. 6, p. 345; "An Epistle to the Presidents," etc., by President John Taylor, 1882, pp. 7, 8, 9, 10; "Inside of Mormonism," 1903, p. 67; Doct. & Cov., Sec. 124, p. 436; Deseret Apr. 25, 1895; Logan Journal, May 26, 1898.

21 Cf "Thatcher Episode," 1896.

22 Cf. Refercnce No. 15, above.

23 Pres. Woodruff's Manifests; Proc. of the Semi-Annual Conf., Oct. 6, 1890. Pamplet, entire; Smoot Invest., 1904, Vol. 1, p. 332-333; Doct. & Cov.  Ed. 1914, 493-94.

24 "Defense of the Faith of the Saints," Roberts, 1912, Vol. 2, p. 333; Cf.  Smoot Investigation, 1904, Vol. 2, p. 968.

25 Salt Lake Tribune, Apr. 5, 1921.

26 Proc. Utah, 1883, pp. 24-26.

27 President John Taylor, Tullidge's Quar. Mag. 1883, Vol. 2, pp. 7, 8.

28 Smoot Investigation; D. H. Roberts, 1904, Vol. 1, pp. 74-211. (F.M. Lyman).

29 Ibid.

30 Smoot Investigation, 1904, Vol. 1, p. 712.

31 Smoot Investigation, 1904, Vol. 1, p. 336.

32 An Epistle of the First Presidency," etc., 1886, entire; "An Epistle of the Apostles," etc., Oct. 10, 1887, p. 4; "The Mormon  Problem," 1882, Opinion of Supreme Court, U. S., p. 70.

33 "Handbook of Reference," A.H. Cannon, 1884, p. 102

34 Smoot Investigation, 1904, Vol. 1, p. 334. (Jos F. Smith)

35 Smoot Investigation, see No. 34, above.

36 Smoot Investigation, (B.H. Roberts), 1904, Vol. 1, p.718. (F.  M. Lyman), p. 430; Cf. Jour. Disc. Vol. 5, pp. 1-38, 100; "Inside of Mormonism," pp. 79-80; Des.  News, Jan. 16, 1889.

37 "Defence of the Faith," etc., 1921, Vol. 2, p. 293.

38 Smoot Investigation, 1901, Vol. 1, p. -; Apostle Hyrum M.  Smith, son of President Joseph F. Smith, some time after his father testified as above, declared that the revelations could not be changed.  His words were: "These revelations are written in the Doctrine and Covenants, Book of Mormon and Pearl of Great Price. . . . They were proclaimed by revelation as I have stated, and up to this time, after over seventy-seven years of existence of the Church, not one principle or doctrine thus revealed has been receded from by the members of the Church.  We have never repudiated any of the truths revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith and to his successors in the office of Prophet, Seer and Revelator to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We have never relinquished our belief in any one of these doctrines and principles. . . . We have never been called upon or found it necessary in any stage of our progress to eliminate any revelation from the record.  Neither have we ever denied any of them.  We testify in all soberness that these revelations are from God.  They are therefore the same yesterday, today and forever, and are everlasting and essential to the salvation of those unto whom they are given." Seventy-eighth Annual Conf.  Report 1907.  Page 31.

39 Doctrine & Convenants, 1914, Sect. 132:4, p. 464.

40 87th Annual Conf.  Rept., 1917, pp. 6, 7.

41 Salt Lake Herald, Apr. 5, 1918 (2000 people present). 

42 Logan Journal, Jan. 20, 1898.

43 Improvement Era, 1898,.Vol. 1, pp. 472, 475, 478, 482.

44 "Defence of the Faith," etc., 1912, Vol. 2, p. 331

45 "Naturalization Laws & Regulations," 1915 p. 5.

46 Decision of Judge Harold M. Stephens, (Mss.) 1917, pp.

2,3

47 Ibid p. 8; Cf R.W.Young, Smoot Investigation, 1904, Vol 2, p. 968.

48 "Articles of Faith," Talmage, 1899, p. 240 f.

49 Smoot Investigation, 1904, Vol. 1, p. 179.

50 69th Annual Conf. Rept, 1899, pp. 5, 6, 7, 17.

51 69th Annual Conf.  Rept, 1899, p. 17.

52 68th Semi-Annual Conf. Rept., 1897, pp. 23-24.

53 Ibid, p. 23.

54 Ibid.

55 Joseph F. Smith, Improvement Era,,1900, Vol. 4, pp. 8, 9.

56 "Mormon Doctrine of Deity," Roberts, 1903, p. 231.  Quoted from Joseph Smith's words, spoken June 16, 1844.  Mil.  Star, Vol. 24, p. 108.

57 Mormon Doctrine of Deity," Roberts, 1903, p. 231.

58 Ibid; Cf. p. 42.

59 "Mormon Doctrine of Deity,"- Roberts, 1903, p. 10; Jour. of Disc., Vol. 6, Disc.  No. 3; Improvement Era, Vol, 1, 1898, p. 755.

60 Cf. 69th Annual Conf. Rept. 1899, pp. 18, 20; "Defence of the Faith," 1912, Vol. 2, p. 270.

61 "Improvement Era," 1900, Jos. F. Smith, Vol.  IV, pp. 58-59.

 

----o----

 

THE GREAT POET

 

BY BRO. H. L. HAYWOOD, IOWA

 

O God is a Judge, O God is a King,

An almighty Monarch who rules everything;

O God is a Warrior, O God is a Lord

And terribly flasheth the might of His sword:

But this I affirm for I certainly know it

That God above all other things is a Poet.

Wherever I listen, His melody streams,

And always I'm hearing Him crooning His dreams;

And whatever it is that He chooseth to say

He says in a poet's own beautiful way.

 

----o----

 

COMMITTEES OF INVESTlGATION

 

Grand Masters have complained during the past year of great laxity in the matter of investigating petitioners for the degrees. The principal reasons assigned for this apparent Masonic neglect are to be found in the overwhelming number of petitions which are sent to lodges and the inability to get members to devote proper time to look up those who apply for the privileges of the Fraternity. It cannot be doubted but this is an age which demands the careful scrutiny of everyone who knocks at the door of the lodge. There are so many individuals in the country at the present time who hold ideas which are at variance to those of Masonry that the admission of such would be a most serious calamity. It is believed that the problem of proper investigation of petitioners for the degrees is one which ought to be worked out along new and more progressive lines. The old idea of secrecy in appointing an investigating committee and the present practice of picking anybody as a member of such committee does not comport with present day conditions. It is believed that we have reached a period in our Masonic development when a single committee on petitions composed of men who have the time and ingenuity to devote to the cause would be desirable. It is an old saying that what is everybody's business is nobody's business, and this seems to be largely true in the matter of investigating candidates for the privileges of the Fraternity. This is a problem with which we must grapple sooner or later and it is believed that it can be worked out in due time when thoughtful men give to the subject that attention which it should receive.

- Proc., Grand Lodge of Illinois

 

----o----

 

MASONIC EDUCATION

 

The need of the hour is education - American education, Masonic education, synonymous and interchangeable terms. We as Masons, must bend our energies to influence public opinion not only by precept, but by example. Public opinion is the force that rules the country. With a warped and jaundiced public opinion the country is diseased and in danger; with a correct and righteous public opinion the country is healthy and safe. Public opinion is but the crystalization of individual opinion. We must therefore, work upon the individual, and in aid of that work the individual Mason must thoroughly learn the principles, the tenets and lessons which are taught him in the lodge room, and then he must go out into the highways and by-ways of the community and exemplify the practice of these principles in his dealings and actions with his fellow men. Every Masonic lodge must become the center of good influence and wise counsels in the community in which it is established. In this way will our noble Order justify its existence and secure and safeguard American principles and American institutions to the end of time and to the uttermost generation.

 

- Proc., Grand Lodge of Louisiana.

 

----o----

 

A TOAST TO THE LAMBSKIN

 

Here's a toast to the Lambskin, more ancient by far

Than the fleece of pure gold, or the eagles of war;

'Tis the badge of a Mason, more noble to wear

Than the garter of England, or order so rare.

 

Let the king wear his purple, and point to his crown

Which may fall from his brow when his throne tumbles down

For the badge of a Mason has much more to give

Than a kingdom so frail that it cannot long live.

 

Let the field marshal boast of the men he can guide,

Of the infantry column and heroes who ride,

But the white leather apron his standard outranks

Since it floats from the east to the death's river banks

 

'Tis the shield of the orphan, 'tis the emblem of love,

'Tis the charter of faith from the Grand Lodge above.

 

- Parkway News.

 

----o----

 

THE TEACHINGS OF MASONRY

 

BY BRO. H.L. HAYWOOD, IOWA .

 

The following paper is one of a series of articles on "Philosophical Masonry," or “The Teachings of Masonry," by Brother Haywood, to be used for reading and discussion in lodges and study clubs - From the questions following each section of the paper the study club leader should select such as he may desire to use in bringing out particular points for discussion. To go into a lengthy discussion on each individual question presented might possibly consume more time than the lodge or study club may be able to devote to the study club meeting.

 

In conducting the study club meetings the leader should endeavor to hold the discussions closely to the tenet of the paper and not permit the members to speak too long at one time or to stray onto another subject. Whenever it becomes endent that the discussion is turning from the original subject the leader should request the members to make notes of the particular points or phases of the matter they may wish to discuss or inquire into and bring them up after the last section of the paper is disposed of.

 

The meetings should be closed with a "Question Box" period, when such questions as may have come up during the meeting and laid over until this time should be entered into and discussed. Should any questions arise that cannot be answered by the study club leader or some other brother present, these questions may be submitted to us and we will endeavor to answer them for you in time for your next meeting.

 

Supplemental references on the subjects treated in this paper will be found at the end of the article.

 

PART VIII - EQUALITY

 

IT IS not often that one of the subjects of speculative thought becomes the burning issue of the hour but that is what happened in our own national history between 1850 and 1861 with the doctrine of equality. The whole matter, needless to say, was brought to the front by the slavery issue. Anti-slavery orators never wearied of reminding their southern friends that the fathers of the nation, in their Declaration of Independence, had openly proclaimed "that all men are created equal": if that is true, they argued, then negroes deserve the rights of citizenship, for negroes are men.  The pro-slavery advocates retorted by saying; that the fathers of the country, many of them, had themselves been slave holders, and that they had really meant to say that "all men are created equal except negroes." He who reads through the more important debates on that subject - such a one will be richly rewarded - will learn how exceedingly difficult it is to frame any definition of human equality that will at once do justice to things as they are and to things as they ought to be.  Equality is an aspiration, (in Masonry as elsewhere) a hope, a dream, an, ideal, hard to capture in a net of words, difficult to envisage by the mind, and one must remain content after all his thinking about the matter he has not yet been able to think it through.

 

Do you believe that the "negro" is the equal of the white man? If you do not how do you reconcile such a disbelief with the Masonic teaching that "we meet upon the level" and with the Declaration of Independence? If negroes are equal why is it that when left to themselves they are so backward? What was Lincoln's theory of the negro in this connection? What was his scheme for solving the negro problem?

 

It is as difficult to arrive at a clear conception of equality from the history of Masonry as it is from the history of this nation.  The old Craft Mason did not have any equality except in a very special sense.  His guild was a helpless part of an aristocratic social order.  He himself had a place in his own guild determined by the most rigorous regulations laid down from above.  The guilds themselves were graded in importance, and the members inside each guild were held fast in a similar hierarchy. There is no evidence to show that at any time prior to 1717 any  form of Masonry explicitly taught and enforced the doctrine.  Subsequent to 1717 the doctrine has come to the fore, and in some countries has almost occupied the first place among Masonic teachings.  But ever, so there have been many exceptions.  In the Masonry of Latin countries equality has not, for obvious reasons, been very much emphasized.  Even in England, the home of democracy, it has never had a very rigorous application to the social classes of an aristocratic society.  When the Earl of Carnovan inducted King Edward VII into his seat as Grand Master he was careful to remind that Potentate that English Masonry had never been subversive of the monarchical system as it had been in other countries.

 

It is in France and in America that we find the Masonic doctrine of equality most in evidence, and most influential.  The part played by Masonry in the French Revolution is, and perhaps will ever remain, pretty much of a mystery.  But there is sound evidence to prove that Masonry had much to do with convincing the French masses that they had rights of their own.  To this day liberty and democracy is widely understood in France in the equalitarian sense.  "Liberty, Fraternity, Equality" is a slogan that has not yet lost its power of appeal.

 

But it is in our own land that equality has played its major part in Masonic history.  It may be that it as Masonry itself (though this point is hotly disputed) that wrote into the Declaration the words "All men be created equal." It is certain that Masonry had with the strain of equalitarianism that runs the Constitution.  It is certain that the Craft forefront in demanding for the negro the of that principle.  And it is certain that at present moment equality and Masonry are almost synonymous in many, many minds.

 

It is Russia, strange to say, that now finds equality a living issue.  Sovietism, unless we have been all deceived as to its nature and purposes, goes in for equality as the chief good.  To level all classes, to do away with distinctions, even such distinctions as those at exist between the learned and the unlearned, to be a part of the Lenine program.  It would be a curious experiment to send a questionnaire around our Masonic leaders and spokesmen to ask them what they think of the Soviet program, and if they would be willing to see Equality really tried out.  The answers might not throw much light on the Russian experiment, but they would surely help us all to learn just what equality means to Masons.

 

How many kinds of guilds were there? Was Operative Masonry a guild? Do you, consider England a democratic country where equality is a fact? What do you know about the connection between Masonry and the French Revolution? Are Bolshevists in Russia aiming at equality? or at Communism? what is the difference, if any, between the two? Is equality, as Soviet Government understands it, a possibility?

 

I have my own theory as to what Equality means a Masons, and I shall give it: but I give it as nothing other than my own private opinion, and not as an expression of a generally held formulation of the doctrine. I wish that such a general interpretation could be made because Masonic thinking demands it.  Until we can work out such an interpretation the whole matter will ever remain as foggy as it seems to be now (if one may from Masonic literature, speeches, and journalism), and not many Masons will understand what is it is said that all Masons "meet upon the level."

 

It is easiest to approach the subject by a process of elimination. By equality we cannot mean that all men are equal in the original endowment of their nature. There are big men and little men, and we all know that in many cases a big man "was born that way," and that a little man cannot become big by ever so much effort.  Why this is so is a mystery, and appears to be (though it doubtless is not) a fundamental injustice in the very structure of the universe.  I had brought to mind recently while reading the third volume of "The History of the United States" by James Ford Rhodes, wherein he carries through several pages a comparison of Lincoln and McClellan.  McClellan was spiteful, vainglorious, and ill-mannered; he was a good organizer but he did not have the courage which naturally belongs to a general.  He treated the President with rudeness, and wrote to his wife in such strains of pride as made her believe the fate of the Union depended on him alone.  Lincoln was a great incarnation of human power who could be magnanimous, meek, patient for that very reason.  In contrasting the two men one cannot help but believe that the sundering difference was a matter of original nature, and that at birth Lincoln was more of a human being than McClellan.  An inequality like that, one that goes down to the roots of being, is one that is hard to reconcile with our sense of the evenhanded justice of Nature. But the fact is there, and it is everywhere, for no two men have the same aboriginal endowments, let abstract theorists say what they may.

 

We cannot say that men are equal in nature: neither can we say that they are equal, or can be equal, in opportunity.  That may possibly happen in small circles all the members of which live under the same conditions, as in the case of a family, or a neighbourhood, but it is untrue of the race when viewed in the large.  The Australian Bushmen, to take an extreme example, never can have the opportunities for education, for wealth, for pleasure, fame, what not, as are enjoyed by the average American youth.  Men should have equal opportunities but they do not have them. They never can have them because the earth itself varies too much over its surface ever to make it possible for all men everywhere to be born into equal opportunities for the goods of life.

 

Men are not born equal in abilities.  On this it is not needful to say much because that kind of inequality is one that confronts us everywhere.  It used to be the fashion among theorists to teach that if only all men could receive the same education and have the same chances at wealth, and live under equal laws, and be freed from unnatural restrictions, all would come up to the same average.  Horace Mann firmly believed that if all the boys and girls of this nation could get into college all of them would turn out scholars, proficient in Greek, Latin, and the arts.  But those who have had any experience with boys and girls in college know that nothing is more certain and unvarying than differences of ability.  One student, no matter how hard he tries, cannot master mathematics; another seems to be mathematical by nature.

 

In the last place - there is no need further to multiply instances - there can be no such thing as social equality, if by that term one means social uniformity.  Social classes there are, and always will be, because social needs and instincts are so various.  If a social class (I use the word in its largest sense) is based on caste, or aristocratic privilege, or any other kind of special privilege, then it is an evil.  But there are many social classes that are based not on the principle of the superiority of one group of persons to another but upon the fact of difference among men.  I shall use a very homely example.  In a small town a group of fifty persons organize themselves into a literary club, and in the activities of such a club meet each other socially, get acquainted with each other, and all share in the common enjoyment of literary art.  Let us suppose, for clearness of illustration, that admittance to this club rests purely on the desire to share in the study of literature.  It is plain that there will be a great number of persons in the community who will never desire membership, because in every community there are so many who care nothing for literature.  This example, as I said above, is of trivial character in itself, but,it may serve to remind us of how many social gradations, classes, cliques, clubs, etc., there are everywhere which rest not on any fact of superiority but upon the fact of the difference of interests, tastes, and aims among people.  As long as such differences exist (which will probably be as long as there is a human race) there will never come a time when such social groupings will vanish away, and there will consequently never come a time when all men will enjoy the same social advantages.  To work for the advent of such a social state, as the Communists have ever done, as in the case of Owen, Fourier, St. Simon, etc., is to strive for the impossible.  Such social communism is not equality in any possible sense.

 

Do you consider yourself equal in endowment to a Jesus or to a Socrates? Were those men "great" in nature from birth on? Do you believe the same opportunities as those enjoyed by the son of J. D. Rockefeller? Why not? Do you believe, that you could paint as great a picture, as Raphael if you "had the chance"? Do you have social equality in your community?

 

What, then, is Equality? Instead of attempting any exhaustive definition, I shall make a generalization concerning it, and then trust to a series of examples to do the defining for me.  The statement is follows:

 

Every man is entitled to the right, equal to the right enjoyed by other men, to the unhindered and normal functionings of his own nature.

 

Sir Isaac Newton had a great intellect, one of the very greatest, all historians agree, that has ever appeared on the earth.  My intellect cannot in any sense be spoken of as equal to his. Nevertheless I claim the same right to use my intellect, such as it is, that he enjoyed; and he, if he were living, would have no right whatsoever, merely because of his own superiority, to deny me the prerogatives of thought. For him to do so, and for me to submit to such abasement would be a crime against nature.  The right to use the mind is for all men everywhere and always the same right, whatever may be the inequalities of mental ability.  Whenever this right is interfered with, or controlled in the interests of some clique or class, as has often happened, society suffers, individuals suffer, and a wrong is done that merits condign punishment.

 

The same thing holds good of practical ability.  William Morris had an extraordinarily versatile genius.  He could weave tapestry, carve wood, paint pictures, write poetry, make speeches, model in clay, print books, and a score of things beside, and do all with rare skill.  There are few of us who could claim any such ability, but even so, we have the same right to use our powers that Morris had to use his. In that fundamental and all-important regard, William Morris was no better than the awkwardest apprentice in his workshops.

 

Every one of us is social by nature, and nearly every one of us appreciates the rare privilege of friendship.  But some men seem to have a genius for friendship.  Theodore Watts-Dunton, comparatively unknown himself, was the centre of a circle of friends almost every one of whom became famous in some line.  Our own Charles Eliot Norton, than whom no rarer spirit has ever dwelt in this land, numbered among his close friends such men as Ruskin, Carlyle, Emerson, Lowell, George William Curtis, Charles Darwin, Leslie Stephen, and nobody knows how many more such outstanding personalities.  You and I may number our friends on the fingers of one hand, and they may be the humblest imaginable so far as attainments go, but for all that each of us has the right to friends, the same right as that enjoyed by Watts-Dunton and Eliot Norton.  Such a statement may seem banal enough, but there are places in the world now, and have been many places in the past, where social life has been so rigidly classified and graded that custom and aristocratic dictation have made impossible to all but a few the unhindered exercise of so fundamental a thing in human nature as the cultivation of friendship.

 

Do you agree with Brother Haywood's description of equality? If not, will you send your criticism of his description to THE BUILDER? Can you furnish types of equality, to Harmonize with his description, which he has not given? Do you possess the same rights to have friends as any other men? In what countries is it impossible for men to be free in their choice of associates? What is the cause of those restrictions?

 

The right of human equality has been oftenest violated, it seems, in religion, the one field in which men should enjoy the largest measure of it.  What a tale of unrightful usurpation, tyranny, and aristocracy has been the history of the world's churches. One no sooner thinks of the matter than examples flock to the mind in unmanageable numbers. During one great period of their history the Egyptian people were entirely abased beneath the feet of a priestly hierarchy that crushed out in the masses the very instincts of worship, or made use of that instinct for the advantage of their own class.  After Buddha had unveiled to the eyes of his people the sacredness of each individual soul before the ineffable and eternal realities of the universe, the Brahmans came back with their castes and their engines of oppression and the people lost once again all uses of their own religious faculties.  Jesus camp forth to make each man know himself is a son of God, bound together in the great circle of brethren, but after time went on, and the priestly leaven had its opportunities to work, it required a Lutheran revolution to restore to Christians the "liberty of a Christian man." The old lady across the street, who reads her Bible morning and evening, who arises and retires with prayer, and, who lives in her humble and unlearned way such a religious life as she is capable of conceiving of, is worlds removed in religious faculty from a Buddha, a Jesus, a Luther: but she is as much entitled as they to think her poor religious thoughts, and to lead her life of little pieties.

 

From this it will be seen that equality is not a utopian theory which men have dreamed as being desirable in this harsh world.  Far from it! Equality is a necessity of our nature, without which we live mutilated unhappy lives.  It is a necessity, when properly understood, like food, clothing, and shelter.  He who robs men of that equality which Nature ordains is committing a crime against human beings.  He does something that must necessarily be followed by tragic consequences, as is true of the violation of any other condition made necessary by Nature herself. It is because this that the doctrine is not a mere plaything for erudites but a pressing problem for every man, however busy he may be.

 

"But," some reader may here rightfully interject, is all, very good, and nobody will deny that equality is a right but what about equality as a fact? One needs only look about him to see that even the simple and basic equality which you have described, is not being enjoyed by the masses of people to any degree at all!"

 

"True enough," I should reply, "but you have merely stated the complementary fact (complementary, is, to what I have hitherto said) that equality is a task as well as a right, and it is precisely because equality is a right that it is for us all a task" "By that I mean, that if we are clear in our mind that every man is justly entitled to a reasonable measure of equality then it is for us all, insofar as we are good Masons and citizens, to see that every man gets it.  To see that man gets it is precisely one of the great missions in which Masonry is engaged.

 

 

Give other examples in which men have been denied religious equality. How would you define religious equality? What does

Masonry teach about religious equality? Can you give specific examples to illustrate what Brother Haywood says about equality being a necessity of human nature? In what way does that make the problem a pressing one, and resting on the shoulders of every man?

 

Let us consider a moment equality before the law. There was a time in England when only the rich had access to the protection of the "law" at all, and when priesthood had its own courts where priest administered the law to priest.  Poor men were arrested without warrant; sentenced without being tried; and often executed without evidence.  It all depended upon the whim of the earl, or the baron, or bishop, or king, or what-not.  But very gradually there was developed in England a genuine equality before the law, as may be traced through the following important watermarks of the evolution of the freedom of English-people: 1. Magna Charta; 2. The petition of Rights, 1628; 3. Habeas Corpus, 1679.  In our Colonial days these gains made by the people of England naturally were enjoyed by the early settlers and they at last, after writing a Declaration of Independence, incorporated basic equality before the law in the Constitution, and in the first seven or eight amendments thereto.

 

As may be expected, equality before the law is not yet a realized fact for all.  The lawyer for a great corporation told me that his employers were so powerful through their wealth that he would guarantee to keep any case indefinitely in the courts, and thus wear out any adversary, however just might be that man's claims.  "The law's delays," is often a sad calamity for a poor man.  In my own old home community I knew of two men whose opposite experiences illustrate this unfortunate fact.  One was the president of a great corporation who in a federal court was found guilty on ten serious counts, but being a corporation president, and very wealthy, and very prominent, he paid not a cent of fine and did not spend a day in jail.  When he returned to his home city he was met at the depot by a band and a long procession.  The other man about whom I knew was a poor fellow who stole a coil of copper wire from a car-barn in the same city and served two years in the penitentiary for so doing! The reader knows of such cases, I have no doubt, and so does everybody.  But this is only to say that any right which humanity gains is always imperfectly held and must be evermore completely won, and that every right must evermore be carefully guarded, for the whole tendency of human society, if men relax their vigilance, is to slide backwards.  Equality before the law as we now enjoy it in this country is found nowhere else in the world save in England, France, and a few other nations.  In the great portion of the world it is a thing unknown.  If that equality is not yet a perfect thing, the challenge is to us; it is no sense a proof that the doctrine of equality is an impossible thing.

 

Can you narrate the history of the winning of such political equality as we know have? What is political equality? Do you have equality before the law ? Do you have it as much as the Standard Oil Company? What should be done about "the law's delays"? Does not the man who can hire a good law firm stand a better chance than the poor man who cannot hire a lawyer at all? Is that right? What can be done about it?

 

What holds true of equality before the law holds true of equality in every right and just sense.  And we Masons are under a peculiar obligation to devote ourselves to the task of making equality everywhere a fact.  For equality is one of our central tenets.  The Fraternity never permits us to forget that; the ritual impresses it upon the candidate in every way; the lodge is so organized that everyone "meets upon the level." The candidate is made to feel that without the assistance of his fellows he is a poor, naked, blind, destitute thing without hope: the member is made to know that every Mason has the Masonic rights equal to every other Mason, and pays the same dues, enters on the same conditions, holds office on the same terms, and shares equally with all others the burdens and obligations of the Order.

 

Tell what you can about Masonic equality. How long has Masonry taught the doctrine? How much equality is there in the lodge room? Why is it the duty of Masons to enforce equality everywhere?

 

SUPPLEMENTAL REFERENCES

 

Mackey's Encyclopedia-(Revised Edition):

 

Equality, p. 247; Level, p. 442.  Freemasonry, holding to a democratic course, avoids that anarchy-begetting confusion and asserts that equality of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man.

 

Russia, p. 655; Russia, Secret Societies of, p. 655.  Reference to the Soviet control of Russia suggests consideration of the Masonic history of that country.  For many years the inactivity of Freemasonry has added one more curious phase to the peculiar current events of that country.

 

----o----

 

OUR STUDY CLUB PLAN

 

"The Bulletin Course of Masonic Study," of which the foregoing paper by Brother Haywood is a part, was begun in THE BUILDER early in 1917. Previous to the beginning of the present series on "Philosophical Masonry," or "The Teachings of Masonry," as we have titled it, were published some forty-three papers covering in detail "Ceremonial Masonry" and "Symbolical Masonry" under the following several divisions: "The Work of a Lodge," "The Lodge and the Candidate," "First Steps," "Second Steps," and "Third Steps." A complete set of these papers up to January 1st, 1921, are obtainable in the bound volumes of THE BUILDER for 1917, 1918, 1919 and 1920, and the remaining papers of the series may be had in the 1921 bound volume which will be ready for delivery early in December. Single copies of 1921 back numbers are not obtainable, our stock having become exhausted.

 

Following is an outline of the subjects covered by the current series of study club papers by Brother Havwood:

 

THE TEACHINGS OF MASONRY

 

1. - General Introduction. - A. Reasons for a course explaining what the "teachings of Masonry" mean. - B. How one can arrive at his own Philosophy of Masonry. - Conclusion. The Philosophy of Masonry is not a study of philosophy in general, but a study of Masonry such as a philosopher gives to any great intellectual problem.

 

2. - The Masonic Conception of Human Nature.

 

3. - The Idea of Truth in Freemasonry.

 

4. - The Masonic Conception of Education.

 

5. - Ritualism and Symbolism.

 

6. - Initiation and Secrecy.

 

7. - Masonic Ethics.

 

8. - Equality.

 

9. - Liberty.

 

10. - Democracy.

 

11. - Masonry and Industry.

 

12. - The Brotherhood of Man.

 

13. - The Fatherhood of God.

 

14. - Endless Life.

 

15. - Brotherly Aid.

 

16. - Schools of Masonic Philosophy.

 

This systematic course of Masonic study has been taken up and carried out in monthly and semi-monthly meetings of lodges and study clubs all over the United States and Canada, and in several instances in lodges overseas.

 

The course of study has for its foundation two sources of Masonic information, THE BUILDER and Mackey's Encyclopedia.

 

HOW TO ORGANIZE AND CONDUCT STUDY CLUB MEETINGS

 

Study clubs may be organized separate from the lodge, or as a part of the work of the lodge. In the latter case the lodge should select a committee, preferably of three "live" members who shall have charge of the study club meetings. The study club meetings should be held at least once a month (excepting during July and August, when the study club papers are discontinued in THE BUILDER), either at a special communication of the lodge called for the purpose, or at a regular communication at which no business (except the lodge routine) should be transacted - all possible time to be devoted to study club purposes.

 

After the lodge has been opened and all routine business disposed of, the Master should turn the lodge over to the chairman of the study club committee. The committee should be fully prepared in advance on the subject to be discussed at the meeting. All members to whom references for supplemental papers have been assigned should be prepared with their material, and should also have a comprehensive grasp of Brother Haywood's paper by a previous reading and study of it.

 

PROGRAM FOR STUDY CLUB MEETINGS

 

1. Reading of any supplemental papers on the subject for the evening which may have been prepared by brethren assigned such duties by the chairman of the study club committee.

 

2. Reading of the first section of Brother Haywood's paper.

 

3. Discussion of this section, using the questions following this section to bring out points for discussion.

 

4. The subsequent sections of the paper should then be taken up and disposed of in the same manner.

 

5. Question Box. Invite questions on any subject in Masonry, from any and all brethren present. Let the brethren understand that these meetings are for their particular benefit and enlightenment and get them into the habit of asking all the questions they may be able to think of. If at the time these questions are propounded no one can answer them, send them in to us and we will endeavor to supply answers to them in time for your next study club meeting.

 

FURTHER INFORMATION

 

The foregoing information should enable study club committees to conduct their meetings without difficulty. However, if we can be of assistance to such committees, or any individual member of lodges and study clubs at any time such brethren are invited to feel free to communicate with us.

 

----o----

 

THE SWORD POINTING TO A NAKED HEART

 

BY BRO. FRANK C. HICKMAN, MICHIGAN

 

A thought, a mental picture, queer!

A waking dream; as I recline

And think upon it s message clear:

The truth of which survives all time.

The picture is a two-edged sword,

It points toward a naked heart,

Then there's the eye of God our Lord

Watching the planets as they dart.

The moral which they demonstrate,

The lesson that they teach to us;

Is, justice whether soon or late,

Will certainly overtake us.

And, though our thoughts, from man concealed,

To God will ever be revealed.

 

----o----

 

The noblest contribution which any man can make for the benefit of posterity, is that of a good character. The richest bequest which any man can leave to the youth of his native laned is that of a shining, spotless example.

 

- B.C. Winthrop.

 

----o----

 

EDITORIAL

 

MASONIC WORLD UNITY

 

A RECENT ISSUE of an English Masonic journal announces that the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of New York had just celebrated its Diamond Jubilee, and then goes on to congratulate "our colored brethren" for the earnestness with which they "enter upon their Masonic duties." Here is a typical example of the anomalous condition that exists throughout the Masonic world. English Masons acknowledge the validity of Negro Masonry and welcome the Negroes into their fraternal circles; American Masons refuse to extend the fraternal hand and declare with an almost unanimous voice that Negro Masonry is clandestine; and yet English and American Masonry is in the closest affiliation, and almost all the Masonry in this country has descended from the Mother Grand Lodge across the sea.

 

Thus is it with a score of equally important matters. Some of our Grand Lodges do not like Swedish Masonry because it is specifically "Christian," and others similarly turn the cold shoulder to the Grand Orient because, forsooth, it is "atheistic." One Grand Lodge refuses to recognize the Grand Lodge of Panama because it has no legitimate ancestry: another Grand Lodge extends a fervent welcome because the Masonry of Panama is legitimate. And so it goes.

 

There is no need that anybody feel much concerned about this. The same anomalous situation may be found among churches, governments, and every other human institution that makes any attempt to establish an international comity. An ideal and perfect Masonic unity is, and always will be, an impossibility. But what of it? There is a unity now existing, in spite of all the differences above suggested, and it is quite sufficient for all Masonic purposes, albeit this must not be understood to mean that no attempt should be made to bring all members of the Brotherhood into closer amity.

 

The work advocated by The National Masonic Research Society from its inception is one of the surest methods for bringing a common mind and spirit into the great unequal Masonic world. The large number of our differences and divisions spring from an uninformed comprehension of Freemasonry; its history, nature, and mission. When the majority of Masons know the history and evolution of the Order, and have learned the A B C's of its philosophy, and know a little about Masonry as it has variously developed in the countries of the world, there will be less dogmatism in their souls and more fraternalism.

 

* * *

 

A GREAT DEFINITION OF FREEMASONRY

 

Countless have been the attempts to capture in words that meaning and spirit of Freemasonry, and almost as countless have been the failures, for he must be a master of words indeed who can succeed in such a task. For the which reason a success in this difficult undertaking is something to make note of, and preserve, and study, all of which will surely be done with the definition offered herewith. It was given by Brother W.N. Ponton of Canada, in one of those address that have made him famous throughout the Fraternity.

 

"Masonry, whose condition and status we are considering, is something more than a secret society (though secrecy is an element in esoteric work); more than ritualism (though the ritual, simple in its dignity and quaint and rhythmic in expression, is a factor); more than symbolism (though symbolic teaching is significant and transfigures the commonplace); more than philosophy (though it speculatively teaches how to live wisely and well); more than religion (but not greater than religion, yet discerning the divinity in humanity); more than mere landmarks (though these have their defining, historical, and traditional place); more even than brotherhood (for as in the Pythagorean days, it is educational and intellectual as well as social and fraternal); more than constructive and practical philanthropy (though love crowns all); yet it is all of these together with that something more of which language is inadequate to express the subtle mystery, even to those few choice spirits who seek to penetrate to the heart of its often unconscious power, and the span of life too brief to enable those who endeavor to attain the ideal perfection of that living organism, whose countersign is 'manhood,' whose inspiration is the God-head - that Masonic edifice of which love and truth form base and spire - Nisi Dominus frustra."

 

* * *

 

THE RELIGION OF FREEMASONRY

 

A contemporary recently appeared with an editorial in which occurs these astonishing statements:

 

"A Mason owes every conceivable obligation to support and uphold the church. There is probably not as much need of emphasizing this upon our Hebrew friends as the rest of us. They seem to have a deeper realization of their obligations and responsibilities, but as they stand for their belief in God as revealed in the old testament dispensation, we who are Christians should be as faithful and zealous in upholding the new dispensation as revealed to us in the life and work of Him whom we call Son of God and the foundation of the Christian church.

 

"The more degrees one receives in Masonry the stronger is the truth impressed that religion as revealed in God and His son, Jesus Christ, is the basis of the Masonic order."

 

In other words unless the present writer has misinterpreted the somewhat ambiguous language of the above, Freemasons are either Christians or Jews ! Shades of the fathers! Does not this brother scribe know that there are millions of men and women in this land who are neither but who for all that are good people and true, with a firm belief in the one God and in the life everlasting, not to mention brotherhood and righteousness? And has he forgotten that there are thousands and thousands of Masons who are Mohammedans, Brahmins, Buddhists, Confucianists, Behaists, etc., etc?

 

It raises the old, old question of the religion of Freemasonry, which is not a question at all to one who will take the trouble to read a little history. As plain as plain can be are the words "Concerning God and Religion" in the Constitutions fundamental to Craft Masonry the world over, which tell us that a Mason is bound to the moral law and will never be a stupid atheist, but that for the rest may choose what religion he will, or no religion.

 

Freemasonry is not Christian; neither is it antiChristian; nor is it Jewish, or Mohammedan, or Buddhist. It is itself. It has its own unique place in the world with its own unique work to do, and sadly does he misconstrue its mission who would have it made an appanage of any one faith. To its own principles only does it hold its children, and if they wish to add other tenets to their faith so be it, that is no concern of Masonry. And if a Mason is free of all religious connections, will sign no creed, and offer no fealty to any revelation or dispensation whatsoever, but hold fast to a firm faith in God, in Immortality, and in Brotherhood, also so be it.

 

* * *

 

THE MASONIC BURIAL SERVICE

 

There are signs here and there, if one may trust THE BUILDER'S correspondence, that brethren are beginning to make some attempt to revise the Masonic burial service. It is surely time! The stiff, cold, cheerless form so widely in use, which sounds like the wailing of a winter day, and gives expression to a philosophy of death that is as false as it is bleak, has seen its day and should cease to be.

 

A burial service should above all things be sincere, for hypocrisy in religious expression is never more deadening than at a funeral. If brethren do not believe that the dead lie in the earth they should not say so, and they should not convey the impression of believing that the deceased will moulder away in the dirt until some remote future. If they really believe in the immortality of man they should let that triumphant belief suffuse the entire ceremony with a dignified and noble confidence. If they believe that the ceremony is performed in behalf of the living, and especially those that mourn, they should not address it to the corpse in the grave. Also, and much intense earnestness goes into this "also," no mawkish poetry should be brought in merely to give a tone of sentimentality, or to dress the ceremony up in colors that do not belong to it. A burial service should be brief, simple, sincere, and heartening; and it should draw its power from the adequacy with which it expresses the hopes and faiths which enable us to conquer the fear of death.

 

Two or three years ago the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts appointed a Committee on Burial Service which submitted a report that embodied the true principles to govern such a rite: they are worth pondering over:

 

"1. The Masonic burial service should be complete in itself. That is to say, it should be so arranged that it could be used as a complete service in case there were no church or other service held. It should, however, be so arranged that it could be readily shortened so as to be used in connection with a church service if desired.

 

"2. It should be simple and should be accompanied by sufficiently full directions to make it easy to be conducted by those not much experienced in such matters.

 

"3. It should be deeply religious, but not exclusively Christian.

 

"4. It should not be a repetition, in whole or in part, of any church service which might be used in connection with it.

 

"5. Its emphasis should be laid on life, hope, and immortality.

 

"6. Its endeavor should be to comfort and to convev the assurance of sympathy."

 

----o----

 

NATURE'S OPEN BOOK

 

BY BRO. L. B. MITCHELL, MICHIGAN

 

If heaven shall be made up of those, who, by the way of creeds

Seemed to get through St. Peter's gate, though somewhat shy on deeds,-

Or those dear pious ones who find salvation in their way

More than they do in things that bring life's best into its play,

I shall be disappointed much, for sentiment and cheer

Is, after all, what makes the place worth living in down here.

 

But this, of course, presumes that I, so human here on earth

Might be among the company that by creeds measure worth;

If not, I shall be satisfied to find, among the rest

Those who "rubbed elbows" with me here in ways that gave me zest;

And it may be that to the place where I shall have to go

I'll find the Lodge Celestial of the ritual here below.

 

And the Concordant Orders too may in the place be found,-

The place the most delightful where the Brothers hang around;

Then, too, the Sisterhoods so blest, the White Shrine and the Stars

May be near by to fashions swap with Sisters right from Mars;

So it may be that those Book-made old Jew-forged streets of gold

Will be the lonesome part of heaven when time its tale has told.

 

If we are ever changed from what we are by nature made

And placed in the environment the "good folks" have essayed,

We ne'er can "carry on" the things that gave to life its cheer,

For we must as ourselves reflect the things made precious here.

And this is my apology for what herein you see,

For nature's open book, as read, seems as the truth to me.

 

----o----

 

And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

For loan oft loses both itself and friend,

Neither a borrower nor a lender be.

 

- Shakespeare.

 

----o----

 

THE LIBRARY

 

MASONIC LEGENDS AND TRADITIONS

 

"Masonic Legends and Traditions," by Dudley,Wright. Published by William Rider & Sons, London, 1921. Copies may be had through the National Masonic Research Society, Anamosa, Iowa. Price $1.50, Dostnaid.

 

BROTHER DUDLEY WRIGHT'S is a name that has become a household word among the flourishing family of THE BUILDER, so there is little need to introduce him at length to the readers of these columns. He is a Masonic scholar, a writer, an editor, and a very courteous gentleman, who devotes his time to Masonic research, for the which he has abundant opportunities and facilities, seeing that he resides in the ancient and very bookish town of Oxford, England. Out of the great research libraries of that favored spot he has excavated an immense mass of materials relating to Freemasonry and to cognate subjects, but all this weight of lore and learning he carries lightly, so as not to let it bear down too heavily upon his readers. He writes with ease and simplicity, and never tries to put on airs, as is often the fashion with authors in his field; neither has he ever permitted himself to go mad with occultism and pseudo-occultism, like Churchward and others of his colleagues that might be named.

 

Brother Wright's good British sense for fact and for straightforward narrative shows to good advantage in "Masonic Legends and Traditions," a little book of 152 pages, done in blue cloth, and printed on the light and attractive paper that English publishers use. Besides the Introduction there are nine chapters, all of which deal connectedly with those materials that may be described as "our own mythology." In the first chapter is an account of some of the legendary origins of the Craft, prominent among which is the Noahic account which Dr. Oliver so loved to talk about. In chapter two - one of the most valuable in the book - is a collection of traditions concerning the beginnings of Freemasonry in Britain: these various accounts are collated from the Harleian Mss. No. 1942; the Lansdowne Mss. (circa 1560); Prichard's "Masonry Dissected"; and so on, with a very long account reprinted in full from the Wilson Ms., which A. F. Woodward dated at 1650. The chapter concludes with a list of the traditional and historical Grand Masters of England, beginning with Albanus in 292 and concluding with H. R. H. the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, K. G., 1901.

 

Chapter three recounts several of the legends that have come to cluster about Solomon's Temple - I imagine fhat some of this material may be new to THE BUILDER readers. Chapter four is a kind of supplement to chapter three, and gives an accumulation of "Solomonic Lore and Legend," a theme of peculiar interest and human appeal. In chapters five and six Brother Wright has pieced together all the traditions concerning Hiram, King of Tyre, and concerning Hiram Abiff. Chapter seven is devoted to legends concerning the Queen of Sheba; chapter eight takes up a number of the Christian legends; and chapter nine is devoted to "Miscellaneous Legends," among which are the traditional origins of the Winding Stairs, the Golden Fleece, etc.

 

Brother Wright does not clothe all these varied materials with a dress of verbiage but sets them out one after another in rapid succession so that a busy man need not be plagued to get at the meat of the matter. The usefulness of the book lies in the fact it that assembles in compendious form so many things that elsewhere lie scattered about in scores of volumes, so that one is saved much labor. Also, one has a mass of traditions set before him in order, and this enables him to understand the thing as a whole, like a picture. The one fault with Brother Wright's work is that it lacks an index! Where would Brother Wright himself have got to by this time had he not had indexes to use?

 

* * *

 

THE CHILDREN OF THE SUN

 

"The Islanders of the Pacific, or The Children of the Sun," by Lieut.-Col. T. R. St. Johnston, late District Commissioner of the Lau Islands, Fiji. Published by D. Appleton and Company, 29-35 W. 32nd St., New York, N.Y., 1921, at $6.00.

 

Somewhere amid the multitudinous prophecies collected into our Book of Isaiah there lies a sentence like a pearl which reads "The isles shall wait for his law.” In the back of the mind of ye present scribe there lies a memory of the impression made on him by the first reading of that beautiful and very poetical saying; it conjured up an image of something very large and remote, of far and alien folk living on sea-washed islands in the ends of the earth, and of dim multitudes somehow waiting for a friendly and superior people to come to them with light and leading.

 

On opening the pages of this ample volume I found myself confronted by the "isles," and saw in veridical photographs the strange faces of these sometime children of dream, these people who, since Captain Cook pushed his way amid their archipelagoes, have dwelt more in romance than in reality, but who are at last being completely "discovered" by the white man and his laws. If anyone supposes because these folk live in islands that therefore they are few in number and negligible in  consequence, let him turn to an accurate map of that part of the Pacific which covers the equatorial zone, and stretches from Queensland to Hawaii, from the Ladrone Islands to Paumoto Archipelago. He will find there great swarms of islands, flung across a vast stretch of sea, forming a kind of bridge, half marine and half land, almost to South America. It is a mighty empire of land and people, the story of which is as yet almost as completely sealed as "the Lamb's book of life."

 

The author of this three-hundred-page volume spent many years of his life as a law commissioner amid the Pacific Islands and he is glad of it, for he has enjoyed his life there. Also he has accumulated, throughout all these years, a respectable amount of erudition, as the present volume bears witness to. However, he does not bore one with overmuch learning, or with priggishness - he is no learned pundit. "This book does not intend to be more than a popular treatise," he candidly writes, "it is 'Ethnology from an Easy Chair,' if you will - and dealing, for the first time I believe, with the Pacific as a whole." There are chapters on the ancient migrations from Asia and Europe, by means of which the Pacific archipelagoes were first populated; chapters on religions, myths, secret societies, burial customs, tabus, tatus, cannibalism, totems, dolmens, languages, and what not, along with three or four dozen very excellent illustrations, all from photographs.

 

Gaguin, the eccentric painter, by a kind of spectacular gesture, called our attention to this world of islands; then came O'Brien with his now famous book, "White Shadows Over the South Seas." Hawaii has become a popular resort. In Tahiti is a lodge of Masons. The Sunday Supplements have begun to make the Children of the Sun their property, along with other primitive and half-dressed folk from New York and Paris. The National Geographic Magazine and numberless books are pouring floods of information into our ears. But it is as yet too soon for us far-of people to come to any very real acquaintance with the Pacific Islanders, though every such book as the present is to be welcomed as assisting to that end. They are still living, most of them, their ancient life unbothered by the white man and the white man's laws, and one of the charms of learning about them is that one may see the human being as he must have been before he learned how to civilize himself, six or eight thousand years ago.

 

In this connection lies the appeal of the present volume to the Masonic reader. There is nothing, so far as I have been able to find, of any direct interest to a Craftsman, but there is much of an indirect interest, such as the pages on primitive mythology, symbolism, and secret societies. More and more it is coming to be realized by our savants that though it may be true that much of what we now know as Freemasonry came into existence in 1717 or since, there is very much else in it that is as old as man himself: and this applies not so much to any one symbol, or emblem, or rite, as to the deeply-rooted and oft concealed psychological roots out of which such institutions as ours inevitably grow. If any one would discover how it comes about that a secret society is created, of what it is made, how it functions, and why it has its rites and initiations, let him acquaint himself with primitive man. There he will have the process of origins going on before his eyes; and with that in mind he can all the better understand the highly developed and very sophisticated Fraternity of which he is himself a member. Alike for the light it throws upon the simple psychology of the secret society and for the information it gives relative to the most primitive uses and developments of some of our own symbols and myths, Colonel Fohnston's "Pacific Islanders" will have its own angle of Masonic interest for those who may care to read it for such a purpose.

 

* * *

 

THE LIFE STORY OF ALBERT PIKE

 

"The Life Story of Albert Pike," by Fred W. Allsopp. Published by Parke-Harper News Service, Little Rock, Arkansas, 1920.

 

The good genius of literature bestowed on Albert Pike living all her choicest gifts of authorship and fame; but on Albert Pike dead she has not, alas, showered so many of her favors. Pike's works have never yet been carefully edited or adequately published, notwithstanding the fact that he wrote so many thousands of pages which should be considered among the most priceless treasures of Freemasonry; and Pike's life has not yet been written. Indeed, he is the most inadequately biographized of all great Americans.

 

A perusal of the little volume named in the caption will not cause the Masonic reader to modify the sweeping statement just made, for Mr. Allsopp's volume is anything but a "life story of Albert Pike." It is little more than a collection of rough notes well enough fitted to serve as a magazine article but painfully insufficient for the uses of a volume on such a subject.

 

Mr. Allsopp is evidently a prentice at the game of writing. Note the following sentence as it appears at the top of page eleven:

 

"He was of the same staunch stock as Nicholas Pike, author of the first arithmetic published in America and the friend of George Washington; as Zebulon Pike, who explored the Rocky Mountains, and other eminent Americans." One grows curious to learn what other eminent Americans Zebulon Pike explored!

 

On page 129 Mr. Allsopp describes the Pike monument erected by the Scottish Rite in Washington in 1899 as "with a book in his right hand." If one will refer to the cut of the monument published on page 112 he will see that Pike holds the book in his left hand. There are a score or more of such minor errors through the 130 pages of this little volume, and they tend to distress the reader, who wonders why the author did not take more pains with his work.

 

The volume as a whole is most disappointing to the Masonic reader, especially if he has waited long for a Pike biography. Consider the fact that in a book of only 130 pages but six pages are devoted to Pike's Masonic career, and of these, four are filled with two long quotations from Masonic orations! The same lack of proportion is discovered in the first portion of the work wherein 24 pages, or three chapters, are devoted to Pike's adventurous trip across the Staked Plains, an interesting but quite unimportant episode in an important career.

 

On page 108 occurs this very curious paragraph:

 

"A biography should be entirely truthful, and, with a respectful consideration for the honored dead, it must be stated that, while most of the old settlers who knew him speak of Pike with greatest veneration, there are some who do not. A few are inclined to shake their heads, and to suggest that maybe Pike in his younger days did not always practice what he preached. None, however, have been found who could cite definite instances of remissness on his part. Every forceful man makes some enemies, and everybody will not speak well of anybody. None of his few detractors will gainsay that Pike was intellectually an unusual man."

 

Could anything be more irritating than that ? Why doesn't Mr. Allsopp give us something specific instead of leaving in our minds a vague suspicion that Pike may have been guilty of some serious fault or other which had better be hushed up at the same time that it is acknowledged ? And what a curious thing to toss aside such suspicions by saying that Pike "was intellectually an unusual man." What has his being intellectual to do with such a matter, and why say anything about it, unless one says something definite?

 

The book as a whole is amateurish, poorly written, disproportioned, and disappointing. Nevertheless, and all such strictures to the contrary notwithstanding, it is a volume that every Masonic student will care to own, because, unsatisfactory as it is, it contains a number of references and items of fact not previously gathered into any sketch with which the present scribe is familiar. The literarily inclined will be interested to learn that "the Pike home (in Little Rock, Arkansas) afterwards became the property of Colonel John Gould Fletcher, a prominent banker of Little Rock; and his son, John Gould Fletcher, the 'imagist' poet, has given a picture of this house, which was built in the style of the old south and 'fronts foursquare the winds, with its six white columns,' in his 'Goblins and Pagodas.' It is to this day one of the finest old southern homes to be found in the state." The researcher will care to make notes of the following items: W. E. Woodruff, Jr., in his "With the Light; Guns," tells of some of Pike's experiences with Indians. Hempstead's "History of Arkansas" treats of Pike as a political character and as a writer. John Hallum's "Biographical and Pictorial History of Arkansas (1887) tells the famous story of Pike's series of "Hymns to the Gods." Mr. Allsopp refers to "The Book News Monthly" as containing an article on Pike and Edgar Allan Poe but does not give the date. Volume 3 of the Publications of the Arkansas Historical Society contains a sketch of Chester Ashley by Judge U. M. Rose which includes reminiscences of Pike. The biographer of the future (may he come speedily !) may find these references of value.

 

The account of Pike's Masonic affiliations and offices is given briefly beginning on page 113. Inasmuch as this account may be of interest to readers of THE BUILDER for reference purposes the paragraphs will be given in full:

 

"He was initiated in Western Star Lodge, Little Rock, in 1850; received the degree of Worshipful Master (sic. Mr. Allsopp here betrays his membership among the profane!) in the following July; was created a Knight Templar in 1853; served as Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Arkansas in 1852-1854; received the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite from the 4th to the 32nd degree in 1858, and in January, 1859, was elected M.P. Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States.

 

"Upon the instituting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of the United States of America of the Royal Order of Scotland, Sir and General Albert Pike was named in the warrant from Edinburgh, Scotland, bearing date October 4, 1877, as the Provincial Grand Master ad vitam.

 

"He was an honorary member of the Supreme Councils of the Northern Jurisdiction of the United States, England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Franc Belgium, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Mexico, Brazil, Egyp Tunis, Peru, Canada, Colon, Nueva Granada, and Hot orary Grand Master and Grand Commander of the Sx preme Councils of Brazil, Tunis, and Egypt.

 

"His daughter, Mrs. Lillian Pike Roome, state that Sovereign Grand Commander Joseph H. Honou] his predecessor, resigned that office expressly that Gels eral Pike might be elected as Sovereign Grand Com mander. General Pike held that office from 1859 unti his death, a peliod of thirty‑two years, which is a re markable record."

 

Mr. Allsopp's book is graced by a kindly Introduc tion by Charles E. Rosenbaum, 33/.

 

PUBLICATIONS WANTED, FOR SALE, AND EXCHANGE

 

We are constantly receiving inquiries from members of the Society and others as to where they might obtain books on Masonry and kindred subjects, other than those listed each month on the inside back cover of THE BUILDER. Most of the publications wanted have been out of print for years. Believing that many such books might be in the hands of other members of the Society willing to dispose of them we are setting apart this column each month for the use of our members. Communications from those having old Masonic publications will also be welcomed.

 

Postofflce addresses are here given that those interested may communicate direct with each other, no responsibility of any nature to be attached to the Society.

 

It is requested that all brethren whose wants may be filled through this medium communicate with the Secretary so that the notices may then be discontinued.

 

WANTED

 

By Bro. D. D. Berolzheimer, 1 Madison Ave., New York, N. Y.: "Realities of Masonry," Blake, 1879; "Records of the Hole Craft and Fellowship of Masons," Condor, 1894; "Masonic Bibliography," Carson, 1873; "Origin of Freemasonry," Paine, 1811.

 

By Bro. Ernest E. Ford, 305 South Wilson Avenue, Alhambra, California; Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, volumes 3, 6 and 7, with St. John's Cards, also St. John's Cards for volumes 4 and 6; "Masonic Review," early volumes; "Voice of Masonry," early volumes; Transactions Supreme Council Southern Jurisdiction for the years 1882 and 1886; Original Proceedings of the General Grand Encampment Knights Templar for the years 1826 and 1835.

 

By Bro. David E. W. Williamson, P.O. Box 754, Reno, Nevada: Perdiguier's "Livre du Compagnonnage," and W.H. Rylands' "Freemasonry in the Seventh Century," quoted in Gould's "Concise History of Freemasonry."

 

By Bro. E. A. Marsh, 820 Broad Ave., N. W., Canton, Ohio: "The Traditions of Freemasonry," by A.T.C. Pierson, published at St. Paul, Minn., January 1865.

 

By Bro. Silas H. Shepherd, Hartland, Wisconsin, "Catalogue of the Masonic Library of Samuel Lawrence," "Second Edition of Preston's Illustrations of Masonry."

 

By Bro. H. H. Klussmann, 310 Monastery St., West Hoboken, N. J.: "Traditions of Freemasonry," by A. T. C. Pierson; "Illustrations of Masonry," by Preston.

 

FOR SALE OR EXCHANGE

 

By Bro. Silas H. Shepherd, Hartland, Wisconsin, "Stray Leaves from a Freemason's Note Book," by George Oliver. This volume also contains "Some Account of the Schism showing the presumed origin of the Royal Arch Degree." Univ. Mas. Lib. edition. Price $3.00. "Lights and Shadows of Freemasonry," by Robert Morris. (Fiction and anecdotes.) Price $3.50.

 

By Bro. F. R. Johnson, 3425 East 61st St., Kansas City, Mo., "The History of Freemasonry," by Robert Freke Gould, published by the John C. Yorkston Co., silk cloth binding, first-class condition, four volumes, $17.00; "History of Freemasonry," by J.W.S. Mitchell, P.G.M. of Missouri 1844-45, full morocco binding, $15.00; "The History of Freemasonry," by Albert G. Mackey, seven volumes, practically new, $30.00; "The Standard History of Freemasonry," by J. Fletcher Brennan, published in 1885, one volume; "Gems from the Quarry," by John H. Brownell, Editor of the American Tyler, 1893, $6.00; "Antiquities of the Orient Unveiled," by M. Walcott Redding, 1877, $5.00; "History and Cyclopedia," by Oliver and Macoy, full morocco binding, $10.00.

 

----o----

 

THE QUESTION BOX

 

THE BUILDER is an open forum for free and fraternal discussion. Each of its contributors writes under his own name, and is responsible for his own opinions. Believing that a unity of spirit is better than a uniformity of opinion, the Research Society, as such, does not champion any one school of Masonic thought as over against another, but offers to all alike a medium for fellowship and instruction, leaving each to stand or fall by its own merits.

 

The Question Box and Correspondence Column are open to all members of the Society at all times. Questions of any nature on Masonic subjects are earnestly invited from our members, particularly those connected with lodges or study clubs which are following our "Bulletin Course of Masonic Study." When requested, questions will be answered promptly by mail before publication in this department.

 

SOVEREIGN COLLEGE OF ALLIED MASONIC AND CHRISTIAN DEGREES OF AMERICA - THE RITE OF MEMPHIS - CERNEAUISM - THE WHITE SHRINE OF JERUSALEM

 

Will you kindly answer the following questions in THE BUILDER?

 

1. I read in the New International Encyclopaedia that there exists in the United States an institution by the name of the Sovereign College of Allied Masonic and Christian Degrees of America. This institution, according to the article, has a charter empowering it to confer academic as well as ritualistic degrees. The highest of the academic degrees is that of Doctor of Universal Masonry which was granted to only five Masons. Can you tell us something more about this college? I am sure that many brethren would be interested in it.

 

2. What is the rite of Memphis? Is it practiced in the United States?

 

3. What is Cerneauism ? Where is it practiced ? Is it recognized in the United States?

 

4. What is the White Shrine? How far is it recognized by Masonic and Eastern Star bodies? Can you give a short history of the same?

 

M. F., Wisconsin.

 

1. The Sovereign College of Allied Masonic and Christian Degrees of America was organized at Richmond, Va., in 1890, by Hartley Carmichael, William Ryan, and C. A. Nesbitt, all 33rd degree men. It is an assemblage of various and sundry degrees drawn from various sources, and has never become very widely patronized in this country. It is in fraternal relations with the Royal Ark Council, the Grand Conclave of Secret Monitors, and the Grand Council of the Allied Masonic Degrees, all of England. The five Masons to which you refer as having received the "degree" of Doctor of Universal Masonry are Josiah Drummond, W. J. Hughan, D. Murray Lyon, the Earl of Euston, and Prince Demetrius Rhodocanakis of Greece. This degree is not "academic" in the sense that it would be so accepted by a university, but in the sense that it is similar to degrees conferred by institutions of learning.

 

2. On page 255 of THE BUILDER for August 1916 a member of the Rite of Memphis gives an explanation of the nature and functions of the Order which you will care to read. He says that it "is a branch of Masonry devoted to the study of Philosophy and Comparative Religion and the explanation of the ritual ceremonies and symbols of ancient Craft Masonry. As organized in the United States, it does not confer, or work, the three symbolic or fundamental degrees, but receives into fellowship only Master Masons of good standing. The organization has been in existence in the United States since 1867. The late Brother John Yarker was its Sovereign Grand Commander in England. The ritual work in this country was one time coordinated with the Scottish Rite of 33 degrees, but was later restored to its original ninety-five degrees." It is to be found in several states of this country. See THE BUILDER, Vol. II, pages 30, 210, 250, 255 and 285.

 

3. Joseph Cerneau was a Masonic charlatan, born in Villeblerin, France, in 1763, who moved to New York in the first years of the nineteenth century. In 1807 he launched a body claiming to confer the degrees of Scottish Rite Masonry. By 1813 this organization had grown to some proportions, and was opposed most vigorously by the regular Supreme Council at Charleston, and also by a few Grand Lodges, whose jurisdiction it flouted. After a vigorous struggle of forty years it at last gave up the ghost. What was left of it was absorbed by the regular Consistory at New Orleans. This Masonic heresy is no longer practiced anywhere.

 

4. The Order of the White Shrine of Jerusalem was founded by Charles D. Magee of Chicago. In its early years it made the claim of being to the Order of Eastern Star what the so-called "higher bodies" are to Ancient Craft Masonry and this absurd claim brought it into conflict with the O.E.S., with the result that the White Shrine was compelled to reorganize itself. It is now very active, and seems to flourish in the majority of states. It is an order composed of both men and women who must be members in good standing of the O.E.S. Where the O.E.S. is deistic, or theistic, the White Shrine is a Trinitarian Christian body.

 

----o----

 

MASONIC BAPTISM

 

According to the clipping I am enclosing there must be such a thing as "Masonic baptism"; is that true ?

 

H. C. F., Colorado.

 

The Scottish Rite uses a ceremony which is sometimes called "baptism" but should more correctly be known as "the rite of lustration." It is an inheritance from the Ancient Mysteries, wherein the candidate had to bathe his hands or entire body in consecrated water as a symbolical act signifying inward purity and consequent fitness for the ceremonies. The Scottish Rite bodies of a western city recently had a rather large affair in which quite a number of youths received the rite of lustration. Some of the members and all of the newspapers described it as "Masonic baptism." There is no such thing in Masonry as "baptism." The use of that term gives needless offense to churchmen.

 

* * *

 

TWO QUERIES ABOUT PIUS IX

 

Is it true that Pius IX, prior to his election to the office of pope, was a Freemason, and that he was expelled from the Order ?

 

L. E. D., California.

 

I am enclosing a clipping which tells that Pius IX was Freemason before he became pope. Is this reliable?

 

W. F. G., Kentucky.

 

According to the account which has enjoyed a wide currency Mastlai Ferritti, afterwards known as Pope Pius IX, was made a Mason in Sicily and was later expelled by the Grand Lodge which met at Palermo on the 27th of March, 1873. The Masonic Journal of Cologne Germany published the minutes of the lodge of which Ferretti had been a member; they read as follows:

 

"A man named Mastlai Ferretti, who was initiated in Freemasonry, and solemnly pledged his love and membership of the same, has, now he has been crowned as Pope, and King, cursed all his former brethren and excommunicated all members belonging to the Order. He, Mastlai Ferritti, is hereby expelled from the Order by the Grand Lodge of the East of Palermo on the grounds of perjury."

 

This account has an apocryphal odor about it, as one will detect after several readings, but for all that it may well be true. We are writing abroad for accurate and authoritative information and will publish the same as soon as it is received.

 

* * *

 

THE ORDER OF EASTERN STAR IN ENGLAND.

 

Is the Order of Eastern Star recognized in any way by the Grand Lodge of England? I sometimes hear that it is, and then again that it isn't. Perhaps you can set me right.

 

S. O. R. Alabama.

 

All matters to be brought before the United Grand Lodge of England are first sent to the Board of General Purposes, which acts as a sifting committee. After it has carefully canvassed every proposal the Board makes a report of recommendations and disapprovals to the next ensuing Quarterly Communication of the United Grand Lodge. In its last report of this nature the Board dealt with the Eastern Star. In examining the status of the "Star" the Board found that it touches Masonry very closely at two points, though it is in no valid sense a Masonic body: (1) its membership is limited to Master Masons in good standing and to their wives, daughters, mothers, widows, and sisters; - (2) it is provided in the regulations of the O.E.S. that a Worthy Patron must preside at meetings that confer the degrees and that this official must be a Freemason "in good standing." The Board considered that the latter condition, especially, is reprehensible from the standpoint of the immemorial customs of the Grand Lodge, for, according to those customs, it is irregular for the Secretary to tell anybody outside the Order whether a man is a Freemason in good standing or not. As we may quote:

 

"As there are various bodies of great and apparently growing popularity in the United States and some parts of the British Empire which, while not formally claiming to be Masonic are, at the least, imitative of the Masonic institution, the Board thinks it necessary to state the general principles upon which it feels bound to act in regard to them. The Craft is not concerned with bodies - whether composed entirely of men, of women, or of both sexes - which do not claim to be Masonic in either ritual or practice, and do not make Masonry a test of membership or of participation in their ceremonies. But it is clear that a grave risk is incurred by Brethren who enter into association with bodies making Masonry in any way a test of admission to membership, while admitting as members persons who would not be qualified to join a Lodge under the jurisdiction of the United Grand Lodge of England.

 

"No Freemason is entitled to attend, as such, any nonMasonic meetings at which Masonry by direct implication is introduced, or to participate in any ceremony which is quasiMasonic or is held under some pseudo-Masonic and unauthorized auspices. The Secretary or any member of a Lodge who gives to anyone outside, and particularly to a non-Mason, information on Masonic matters known to him because of his Masonic connection, commits a breach of discipline which, when proved, will be severly dealt with."

 

* * *

A GUIDE TO AN INVESTIGATING COMMITTEE

 

Will you kindly refer me, through the Question Box of THE BUILDER, to some book, pamphlet or paper that will aid an Investigating Committee in making an investigation of an applicant for Masonry?

F. J. E., South Carolina.

 

We know of no book devoted to this subject, though it is possible that some reader may. THE BUILDER has published a score or so of articles on "Qualifications" which you will find listed under that caption in the various annual indexes found in the bound volumes. You may get some help from some of those Grand Lodges, New Jersey is one of them, that make use of a formal printed questionaire. The Grand Secretary of that state will be glad to send you a copy on request.

 

It is better, however, for you to make a careful study of the laws and regulations of your own Strand Lodge and of the bylaws of your local lodge, because lodges and Grand Lodges differ much among each other as to specific requirements for membership. For your own Grand Jurisdiction you will find the requirements very definitely specified in your "Blue Book" or Constitutions and Regulations. Write to your Grand Secretary: he will give you the references.

 

You will find a carefully compiled list of the requirements in most general use in Mackey's Encyclopeedia, Vol. II, page 603, in an article entitled "Qualifications."

 

* * *

 

THE KAISER NOT A MASON

 

Is the Kaiser - or rather the late Kaiser - of Germany a Mason ?

L.O.P., District of Columbia.

 

He is not. His father was a Mason, and so was his grandfather, Wilhelm der Grosse. Frederick the Great, his great uncle, was a most enthusiastic Mason.

 

* * *

 

HINDUS IN MASONRY

 

May I ask if natives of India are permitted to unite with Masonic lodges ? I have received a letter from a friend who has been visiting in India to the effect that the English lodges are too aristocratic to admit natives, and I am writing to ask if this is correct, for I have had a different impression.

 

H. F. G., Vermont.

 

Your informant is mistaken. Since 1842, when H. R. H. the Duke of Sussex was Grand Master of England, natives have been received into Masonic lodges. English Freemasonry was founded in Calcutta, which is still its centre, in 1740, by the Grand Lodge of England. At the present time all lodges under that obedience form a Provincial Grand Lodge. The Scotch Grand Lodge established the Provincial Grand Lodge of Western India at Bombay in 1836. In 1846, so prosperous were the Scottish lodges, another Provincial Grand Lodge was organized.

 

These two worked side by side until 1883 when they were consolidated in The Grand Lodge of All Scottish Masonry (don't confuse this with what we call "the Scottish Rite). Accordingly there are now two Grand Lodges in India, one Scotch, the other English; and the subordinate lodges of both bodies receive natives into membership, including both Hindus and Mohammedans.

 

* * *

 

WHEN DID SPECULATIVE MASONRY BEGIN?

 

I have often read and heard the statement that Speculative Masonry began in 1717. Isn't that rather inaccurate? It appears to me from what reading I have been able to do that there was quite a Speculative element in the old Operative lodges.

 

J. V. B., Kentucky.

 

You are quite right, and the brethren who make the statement about which you question would all agree with you, for the term "Speculative" is used in a very broad sense to denote a period in Masonic history, and it is therefore not to be too rigidly applied. Neither should one take in too narrow a sense the distinction that is made between Operative and Speculative Masonry in the Ritual. There was a living and rich element of Speculative Masonry in the earliest Operative lodges of which we have any record, and it was that Speculative element which survived the era of transition and revived to propagate itself in modern Masonry, enlarged and glorified.

 

* * *

 

WORKS ON ALCHEMY

 

How can I get some good dope about the Alchemists? I don't want something soft and sentimental written by a poet, but the real thing, done in prose, and dependable.

 

C. H. K., Indiana.

 

You are evidently on the right track, but don't fear lest you will overdose yourself with poetry on that subject! Consult any good history of Medieval Europe. The Cambridge Medieval History is as good as any. One of the best volumes on the subject, one that will exactly fit your requirements, we believe, is "A History of Chemistry, From the Earliest Times Till the Present Day," by the late James Campbell Brown. This is truly a noble work, and one that may be implicitly relied upon, for there have been few better qualified to deal with the subject. Dr. Brown was one of the patriarchs of science in England, where, at the University of Liverpool, he was Professor of Chemistry for many years. His book was published by J. & A. Churchill, London, 1913. You can bank on what he says, and you need have no fear of encountering any "poetry"l

 

* * *

 

THE  SECRETS OF FREEMASONRY

 

You will understand that I am not opposed to Masonic education. I am a reader of THE BUILDER and have been for two years, and I enjoy, now and then, a Masonic book. But isn't there danger that all this lecturing and writing about Masonry may tell the profane world too much about the secrets of Freemasonry?

H.T.Y., Ohio.

 

Not at all. It is our business to read a good many Masonic periodicals, and Masonic books, and to listen to a good many Masonic speeches, and these, as a matter of fact, are almost always well within the obligated bonds of discretion. It is seldom that the most loquacious Mason ever talks too much in public about forbidden things. Moreover, it is well to remember what are the secrets of the Craft. Masonry is not, public opinion to the contrary notwithstanding, in the strict sense of the words a secret society; for a secret society per se is one that keeps from the public its aims and methods. Freemasonry does not keep from the public any of its aims and methods. The only thing secret about it is its mode of conferring initiation; that, along with the matters pertaining to the business of the order and to the private fortunes of the brethren, is to be kept within the faithful breast. But of the purposes, activities, and principles of the Fraternity too much cannot be said. And it is about these last mentioned matters, you will surely agree, that most hooks are written, and speeches made.

 

* * *

 

RELIGIOUS BELIEFS

 

A long dispute about French Masonry at a recent lecture given in our lodge started some of us to arguing about the various kinds of belief and unbelief so far as God is concerned. But we get all muddled up about the varieties of such. Won't you please, if it isn't wandering too far from the subject, set us right about this?

 

R. O., Idaho.

 

Ye scribe is neither a theologian nor the son of a theologian and his suggestions in these premises may lack official authority, but such as he knows on the matter is freely offered, and quite as freely does he ask the theologians among THE BUILDER readers to supplement or to correct his statements on a matter of such palmary importance.

 

There are many men, and these usually are found in countries having a low degree of culture, who believe that everything has a soul in it. The elementary distinction between the living and the non-living has not yet established itself in their minds. These folk are known as "Animists." For a long discussion of this consult "Primitive Culture" by Tylor, the savant who, if I remember aright, was the first to use this word.

 

Some believe that back of the phenomena of the world there are many gods, or ruling spirits, or divine powers: these, as the etymology of the word would itself suggest, are "Polytheists." Polytheism is in the background of Homer's Iliad.

 

When a people select out of all the gods which they believe to exist one favorite god whom they choose to rule over their own tribe or nation, they are known as "Henotheists." The Hebrews, during an early stage of their evolution, are to be so designated. They believed that "Jahwe" belonged to them in a peculiar sense, and was their god, but they at the same time believed in the reality of other gods.

 

The ancient Persians believed that the universe was ruled by two gods or powers of almost equal divinity who divide between themselves all existing things and who, because of their opposite characters, make war upon each other. This is known as "Dualism." The popular notion about a personal devil belongs to this category.

 

Those who believe that there is but one divine being or power in existence that rules over all things and is to be worshipped are "Monotheists," which word, according to its Greek origin, means "one god."

 

Those Monotheists who believe that God created the world, and that in some sense He is present in it to rule and to manage, and who believe that God may be in some relation with us men, and that He may be implicated in our struggles, joys, and sorrowings, are known as "Theists," while those who believe in one God but hold that He is far "above the battle" and neither suffers nor is in any way implicated in our human fortunes, are "Deists." During the eighteenth-century in England and parts of Europe Deism ran rife. The poet, Alexander Pope, was a Deist, and so was Voltaire.

 

There are some, like the Dutch-Jew philosopher Spinoza, who hold that there is but one Reality, and that all existing things are but more or less illusory and phenomenal appearances, and that this one Reality is God. These are known as "Pantheists," which term means that "God is the sum total of all existences," or that "God is all."

 

Those who deny that there is such a being as God, and who believe that they can demonstrate the same, are "Atheists." The famous Latin poet Lucretius was an atheist; so was Charles Bradlaugh.

 

Those who say that they don't believe that God exists but that there is no way of proving whether He exists or not are "Agnostics," which word means "I do not know." Thos. Henry Huxley and Robert Ingersoll were Agnostics.

 

Those who believe that God exists in the form of three persons, one of whom is the Eternal Son, and that this Eternal Son became incarnated on this earth as Jesus of Nazareth are Trinitarian Christians. Those Christians who accept Jesus as a great moral teacher but deny his deity are Unitarian Christians.

 

There you have it. If I have missed any variety about which you have been disputing let me know.

 

* * *

 

ON MAGIC AND ALCHEMY

 

The Knights of the Sun degree has set me to wondering if there has really been a connection between Magic and Freemasonry. Isn't that degree connected with Magic in some fashion, and am I right in believing that Magic and Alchemy were Ioriginally the same thing? I have read the article on Alchemy in Mackey's Encyclopaedia but need more light on the subject than he gives me.

 

G. L. R., Ohio.

 

For reply we may quote the following from "A History of Chemistry" by Dr. James Campbell Brown, an authoritative work on the subject:

 

The term "alchemy," or, as it was spelt until the nineteenth century, "alchymy," derived from the Arabic, is said to have come originally from a Greek word (chyma) signifying things melted and poured out. It is more probably derived from Khem, "the land of Egypt," which was so named from the dark color of its soil, composed of crumbling syenite. Alchemy, according to this derivation, is the "art of the black country," the Black Art. In Egypt it was carried to a high degree of development, and consequently this theory of the origin of the name received support from the philological character of the derivatives, al, the Arabic definite article, and Khem, dark - because the term first came into use when the Arabian Mohammedans dominated Egypt, learned the secrets of the temple laboratories, and spread throughout the civilized parts of Western Europe the knowledge they had thus acquired.

 

"The application of the term has frequently, but wrongfully, been restricted to the pretended arts of making gold and silver, and the more profitable arts of adulterating and of imitating gold. It had, however, a wider application, and ought to be regarded as including all the arts known in ancient times, which dealt with things now comprehended in the science of chemistry."

 

* * *

 

LODGES AND IMMORALITY

 

It may seem like a question that I should ask of somebody else for it may not be in your line, but I should like to ask you if you do not think that our lodges should do something to stop the great amount of immorality that is going on in our cities, especially among young people. I am an old man, soon to get out of this world, but these things still worry me.

 

G. F. T., California.

 

"These things" should worry us all. Moral rottenness seems to have filtered into everything, colleges, public schools, the press, magazines, books, and the streets, not to mention the home which seems everywhere to be losing its old moral authority. But it does not appear that Masonic lodges can do more than they are doing - more, that is, in the sense of performing more functions. The responsibility rests squarely on parents. If a father and mother can't keep a sixteen year old boy or girl off the streets at night, and out of vile places, who can? Parents, it would appear to us, have delegated altogether too much of their own responsibility to other agencies.

 

* * *

 

CRAFT GUILDS AND TRADE UNIONS

 

I have long had the impression that our modern Trade Unions have descended from the old-time Craft Guilds, but it has recently come to my mind that there may be some doubt about the matter. Can you give me some information on this question ?

H. G., Texas.

 

There is very much doubt about the matter. Modern economists believe that there never was any real historical connection between the Craft Guilds and our Trade Unions, and that the latter would surely have come into being had the former never existed. The recently issued new edition of "The History of Trade Unionism" by Sidney and Beatrice Webb, than whom there are no better authorities, gives an emphatic negative to your question. On page 13 of that work we may read:

 

"The supposed descent in this country [England] of the Trade Unions from the Medieval Craft Guilds rests, as far as we have been able to discover, upon no evidence whatsoever. The historical proof is all the other way."

 

There is not room to repeat "all the historical proof” as given by these authors but it may suffice to say that they hold that the Craft Guilds were always in the hands of Masters and that mere apprentices and journeymen seldomly had much voice in their management; and that whatever origins of modern Trade Unions can be found in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are identified with the ephemeral societies often attempted by journeymen and apprentices, but seldomly with much success.

 

* * *

 

THE PELICAN

 

It seems a strange thing to me that the Pelican should be a Masonic symbol. It is a bird strange to us and also strange, I should suppose, to the English. In what Masonic degree is it used, and what does it mean?

A.P.H., Arkansas.

 

In the Middle Ages, when Europe was rife with occultism, mysticism, esotericism, and kindred interests, "The Physiologus,” by Epiphanius, Bishop of Constantia, in the Island of Cyprus, was so widely used and believed that it may be described as one of the bibles of the time. On page 30 of the edition printed by Plantin in 1588 (you will find the book in any large library you will find an account of the Pelican which, we may believe, is the fountainhead of the popular beliefs concerning that bird. Here is his account:

 

"Beyond all birds the Pelican is fond of her young. The female sits on the nest, guarding her offspring, and cherishes and caresses them and wounds them with loving; and pierces their sides and they die. After three days the male pelican comes and finds them dead, and very much his heart is pained. Driven by grief he smites his own side, and as he stands over the wounds of the dead young ones, the blood trickles down, and thus are they made alive again.”

 

The bishop believed all this very literally and so did his readers. One old writer proposes to account for this nature history myth by saying that the pelican's bill is tipped with red, and that this may have suggested the blood-letting to an imaginative peasantry. There are many variations of the myth, into which there is not space to go. Shakespeare uses the idea many times, as when he makes Lear say; "And like the kind life-rendering pelican, Repast them with my blood." He uses it similarly in Richard II, in Henry VI, and in "As You Like It.” Paper-makers used the bird as a waterwark. Printers works it into their symbolical headpieces and tailpieces. Architects were fond of using it in church ornamentation, most of which was emblematic, as in St. Savior's Church, Reading, England, where the lectern has the pelican shape. Dante refers to Christ as "nostro Pelicano," - "Our Pelican."

 

The meaning of the symbol is apparent. It refers to self sacrifice, the giving of one's very blood, or life, to another. The great example of that, in all the symbolical systems, is the self giving of Jesus. Also, it carries with it the idea of a resurrection from the dead, for the young pelicans were resuscitated by the blood of the parent. It has both these meanings in the Rose Croix Degree of the A. & A.S.R. in which it appears.

 

* * *

 

"FREEBORN" AND "FREE"

 

We demand of a man that he be "free," or "free born.” Why is it necessary in this day when all men are free born? That requirement would seem to be obsolete. Why shouldn't it be abandoned?

D.L.C., Oregon.

 

Your point is well made, but even so why drop the requirement? It is one more thing that cements us to our past, and that past is one of our greatest treasures. Also, are you quite sure that every man who knocks at our gates is really "free"? Free, that is, in the Masonic sense? Aren't many men already members of other organizations which would seriously interfere with their lives as Masons ? The whole point of the requirement is that a man shall not be in any kind of bondage that will hamper his Masonic activities. It is not enough that a man shall not be a bondman or a slave in the old sense - it is equally necessary that he be not bound by obligations to other interests that would conflict with his Masonic duties and obligations.

 

* * *

 

MATERIAL ON THE CORNER STONE

 

I have been asked by our Study Class to prepare a paper on "The Northeast Corner," including some materials on Corner Stone Laying. Can you furnish me with some information?

 

H. R. B., New York.

 

Write to the Masonic Library, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, care Newton R. Parvin, for a copy of the Quarterly Bulletin for October 1920. The entire number is devoted to Corner Stone Laying, and matters connected therewith. On the Northeast Corner see THE BUILDER for December 1918, Correspondence Circle Bulletin, page three.

 

----o----

 

CORRESPONDENCE:

 

AN INTERESTING MASONIC MEDAL

 

Laramie Lodge No. 3. A. F. & A. M., of Laramie, Wyoming is the possessor of the original of the very interesting meda here shown. It was presented to the lodge by Bro. J. A. Mc Heffey, Hantsport, Nova Scotia, who received it from a Mr. Crawford, who once acted as his guide on a fishing trip. Bro. McHeffey had it in his possession for thirty years. The medal bears the date "Octr, th 21, 1784," and carries the initials "G. B." Among the familiar emblems assembled in this beautiful little medal, which was made of silver, are a few not so well known, the Key, the Fire, the Hand holding the Line, the sharp Hammer, and the Latin motto. What is the meaning of the queer little house, and of what appears to be a cluster of stars just above it? Why are there fourteen stars scattered a the top? What explains the position of the square and com passes? Will some antiquarian among our readers throw some light upon these emblems?

 

* * *

 

INFORMATION WANTED

 

In the Christian Science Monitor for May 21st last in an article on "Trade Guilds in Old Mexico" the statement is fount that "The earliest guild mentioned in America was that of the Stone Masons of the island of Santo Domingo, who began constructive work in 1510." Can any brother throw more light on this? What was the history of this guild? Was it a fraternity? Did it have secrets, legend, etc?

 

* * *

 

The London Daily News, for February 17, 1881, has an article in which it is stated that a certain Herr Pietsch made "elaborate investigations of Goethe's fifty years of Masonship." This undoubtedly refers to Goethe's membership in Freemasonry, and is therefore of some interest to Masonic students. Does any brother know of this Herr Pietsch or of his book ? Has any one a copy of the Daily News in question and, if so, will he forward us the clipping? Information on this matter will be welcome to THE BUILDER.

 

* * *

 

"SATIRE IN STONE"

 

The following story I clipped from a daily paper of August 29th, and it was given to the public by the Associated Press:

 

SATIRE IN STONE NOW HUNTED AS "FAD"

 

"NEW YORE, Aug. 29. - Devoting spare hours to careful inspection of public buildings in the hope of finding satire in stone has become a fad. It began with the discovery by a reporter that architects had carved a dollar-sign as a twin motif to the lovers' knot over the 'bridge's entrance' to St. Thomas’ church on Fifth avenue. A few days later some one leaving the Sunday services observed for the first time that miniature faces of modern men and maids of the avenue had been chiseled above the main door of the edifice. A congregation that went to pray remained to laugh.

 

"Some of these caricatures wore monocles, others wore smiles; some were surely tired business men and good housewives, while others manifestly were flappers and boulevardiers. Everybody conceded that they represented modern Fifth avenue 'types.'

 

"One face was not so modern, however. It was a year or two behind the times. On its nose was the unmistakable bulge of a 'rum blossom.' Another had such a bored look observers were sure it was a man who just went to church to please the wife.

 

"Rumors that many well-known buildings in New York had been subjected to jocose treatment by the artisans who worked upon them moved whole flocks of people to sally forth, some with spyglasses or lorgnettes, to look for sculptured jokes. Architects gave interviews explaining how serious the satire was; this sort of humor has been practiced since the middle ages, not in a spirit of levity, but with the design of presenting to the people examples of right and wrong in thought and action, they said. Skeptics persisted in believing the architects had just had their little joke, and none would have been surprised in finding a bust of Lenine concealed in the decorations of the New York stock exchange, or a carving of Falstaff at the headquarters of the Anti-Saloon league.

 

"At New Haven it was noted that Harkness Memorial Quadrangle - which every Yale man considers the last word in college architecture in America - sheltered among the nooks of its buildings many faces, figures and symbols of college life. There was the placid bulldog with horned rimmed spectacles and a grimvisaged bulldog wearing a football helmet, and there were many shades of Blue history revived in stone.

 

"The students, unlike some of the parishioners of St. Thomas church, were pleased with the decorative work. It is believed no Yale student will raise a single sigh of objection unless somebody discovers a Harvard man graven in the structure.

 

"Designers of Gothic buildings always have been possessors of a humorous drafting pen. Their satiric chuckles at clergy and laity have come down through the centuries in the stone of many of the sober old cathedrals of Europe. The medieval craftsmen were downright boisterous in some of their caricatures. Gluttony is portrayed in clerical robes on the battlements of Magdalen college, Oxford. In a Yorkshire church 'Eclesiastical Sincerity' is rendered by two foxes, representing the sporting clergy of the Middle Ages listening to a bishop's instructions. Out of their hoods peep the heads of stolen geese.

 

"Thirteenth century fun-makers guffawed mightily at all orders of clergy in an ornamentation of the Strasburg cathedral depicting 'The Funeral of the Fox.' This sculpture created so many irritating embroglios among churchgoers that it was demolished in the middle of the 19th century. Wandering minstrels of the Middle Ages were satirized for the fondness of free meals, one of the stalls of Westminster cathedral showing a fiddling pig.

 

"Architects have said that many churches of America, unknown to their congregations, contain humorous decorations. Prevailing interest in finding them is expected to increase church attendance."

 

This article has a peculiar interest to Masons, it would seem to me, for every student will recall how in the Middle Ages the Masons would poke fun at the monks and priests by carving satirical pictures of them - cartoons in stone - here and there amidst the ornamentation. If one is exceedingly well versed in these matters he could, I have no doubt, interpret a great deal of that sort of thing as a silent (and contemptuous) attack on the ecclesiastics on the part of the builders. In short, it would give us a little chapter in the long warfare between workers and monks, between the Fraternity that stands for free thought and liberty and the old hocus pocus institution that tried to destroy free thought, free speech, and liberty.

 

F. J. H., Montana

 

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