A MODERN MASONIC PHILOSOPHER
And Other Inspired Masonic Works
Edited by Michael R. Poll
Copyright © Michael R. Poll 2011
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Table of Contents
BY FRANCIS W. SHEPARDSON
THE SYMBOLISM OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE
BY ALBERT G. MACKEY
BY E. M. SHOWALTER
BY JOSEPH FORT NEWTON
BY FRANK L. HAYCOCK
BY WILDEY E. ATCHISON
MASONRY -- ITS PATRIOTIC OPPORTUNITY
BY J. F. KIRK
BY O.D. STREET
BY GEO. E. FRAZER
SPECULATIVE MASONRY IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
BY OSSIAN LANG
THE INSTALLATION CEREMONY AND RITE
BY A. S. MACBRIDE
BY J.L. CARSON
THE PEACE CELEBRATION OF THE GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND
BY GEO L SCHOONOVER
BY H. A. KINGSBURY
THE PLACE OF MASONRY IN THE RENAISSANCE OF DEMOCRACY
BY GEORGE B. THOMAS
BY THE REV. GEORGE OLIVER, D.D.
BY WM. F. KUHN
BY LOUIS BLOCK
BY WILLIAM H. TAYLOR
BY HAROLD A. KINGSBURY
BY JOSEPH BARNETT
ACCESSION OF SOLOMON: BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM, B.C. 1017
BY HENRY HART MILLMAN
AFTER DEATH SHALL WE LIVE AGAIN?
BY R. I. CLEGG
BY E.R. BURKHALTER, D.D.
BY J.L. CARSON
BY GEO. W. BAIRD
BY LEWIS A. McCONNELL
BY PRESIDENT WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT
BY H. A. KINGSBURY
THE EARLY DAYS: HISTORY VS. TRADITION
BY WM. G. MAZYCK
BY LEO FISCHER
THE QUATUOR CORONATI, OR THE FOUR PATRON SAINTS OF THE ORDER OF MASONS
BY C. PURDON CLARKE
THE RELATIONSHIP OF MASONRY TO THE LIBERATION OF SPANISH AMERICA
BY HENRY BIXBY HEMENWAY, A.M., M.D.
BY HENRY BANKS
THE THREE SUPPORTING PILLARS OF A LODGE
BY H. A. KINGSBURY
BY HAROLD A. KINGSBURY
BY J. GEORGE GIBSON
BY WM. F. KUHN
BY FRANCIS W. SHEPARDSON
PHILOSOPHICAL in title and deeply philosophical in their interpretation of the study and thought of the wise men of Freemasonry, Dr. Roscoe Pound's "Lectures on the Philosophy of Freemasonry" reflect in admirable fashion the ideal and the earnest purpose of the National Masonic Research Society, which has just re-published them in attractive and convenient form. The lectures were prepared primarily for members of the Acacia Fraternity, the college secret society which is composed of Master Masons. They were delivered also either in part or in their entirety before the Grand Lodges of Nebraska and of Massachusetts. They made the most striking series published in the first volume of "The Builder," and many who read them first in the periodical will be happy now to have them in compact book form for the library shelf.
Professor Pound's discontent with the ordinary aimless speeches made in Masonic lodges by visiting brethren first led him to determine to try to give out something of real value when, as often was the case, he himself was called upon to respond "for the good of the order." A thorough student, ever seeking foundation principles upon which to build, and so paving in his own field of legal inquiry a sure road that led him eventually to the coveted chair of Carter professor of jurisprudence in Harvard University, he found in the marvelous mechanism of Masonry just the sort of inspiration to investigation that appealed strongly both to his nature and to his philosophical training. Of the five departments of Masonic study, Ritual, History, Philosophy, Symbolism and Law, he chose the one dealing with Masonic fundamentals, and then proceeded, with wide reading and rare insight, in the preparation of the "Lectures," which are certain to be counted of high value by those who, without his patience, application, or constructive energy, will not pursue individual researches but will turn to his carefully-phrased pages for their own enlightenment.
In the titles alone there is an appealing subtlety which attracts attention right at the start and is certain to prove stimulating to the thoughtful mind. The wealth of materials is revealed; the breadth and depth of the inquiry is reflected; the unfolding development of the institution is made clear; the comprehensive character of Masonry is magnified. In Preston, Krause, Oliver and Pike are found, in order, the exponents of Masonry in its relation to education, to morals and law, to religion, to metaphysics and the problem of reality. And then, climacteric in position and of deep significance to the Mason of today and tomorrow, is the study-of the relation of Masonry to civilization, an attempt to answer the three questions, ever present and ever pressing, What is the purpose of Masonry, What is its place in a rational scheme of human activity ? How does Masonry achieve its end?
Philosophy in itself is not an easy subject. Its problems are large. The nature of reality, the conduct of life, the relation of the human being to the universe, are topics which carry the mind to the border land of infinity. The terminology of the study is difficult for the uninitiated and untrained. But there are few who pass the outer gates into the Kingdom of Masonry who do not at times ponder these themes and feel the longing of the mind for light upon them. To interpret the thought of Masonic philosophers and phrase it in terms intelligible to any one who will read carefully and consecutively is no slight undertaking; to succeed in it is a distinct triumph. This Professor Pound has done.
He gives the reader the key to the mysteries. The student of the Masonic philosophers needs "chiefly to connect the Masonic thinking of these masters of the philosophy of the Craft with the general thought of the time and place in which they wrought and to perceive the problems raised by the civilization of those times and places in their relation to the ethical and social problems of today."
No better plan for the accomplishment of this ideal could have been followed than that of this volume. For, in the case of the four philosophers studied, the story of each is fitted into a sort of mold. Who was the man? What were the prevailing characteristics of the period in which he lived and thought? What was his conception of the meaning of Masonry? The review of the biographical and environmental details involved in answering the first two queries is so stimulating and suggestive as to make the careful reading of the "Lectures" well worth while to any Mason, even if he be neither disposed nor equipped to follow the close thought connected with the answer to the last question.
The fifth lecture is a natural outcome of the other four. No one can learn what Preston, Krause, Oliver and Pike thought, each in his own day and generation, without applying their views of the philosophy of the Craft to present conditions. Times change and we change with them. So of this institution of ours. If it is to have a vital part in twentieth-century affairs, it must relate itself to twentieth-century thought. But it is far easier to look back upon a-completed story than to interpret clearly what is passing through the minds of contemporary-men. It is not at all improbable, therefore, that the Masonic student of tomorrow, reading with pleased satisfaction the Pound "Lectures," will find their greatest value in the discussion of the Masonic philosophy of today by a writer of such keen intellect, logical force, and clarity of expression as the author is. Masonry today achieves its end "by its insistence on the solidarity of humanity, by its insistence on universality, and by the preservation and transmission of an immemorial tradition of human solidarity and of universality."
The three centuries tell of knowledge, of the individual moral life, of the universal human life. It is a story of steady advance. It is the cumulative, constructive, forward-looking development of life toward "that divine, far-off event, toward which the whole creation moves." So we give this volume of Masonic "Lectures" high rank in the literature of philosophy, convinced that it will find increased appreciation as the days and years roll by.
And since it was written avowedly for students, its concluding pages contain a carefully selected and classified bibliography for the encouragement of those earnest souls who may wish, for themselves, to make excursions, now and then, into fields of investigation which are certain to yield rich returns to the inquirer.
One who reads this book appreciates how Professor Pound has heeded that obligation taken by the little group which with Benjamin Franklin as its inspiring genius formed the "Junto," each member of which promised, with his hand on his heart, "to love the truth for the sake of the truth, to seek diligently for it, and when found, to make it known to others."
THE SYMBOLISM OF SOLOMON’S TEMPLE
I have said that the operative art is symbolized-that is to say, used as a symbol-in the speculative science. Let us now inquire, as the subject of the present essay, how this is done in reference to a system of symbolism dependent for its construction on types and figures derived from the temple of Solomon, and which we hence call the "Temple Symbolism of Freemasonry."
Bearing in mind that speculative Masonry dates its origin from the building of King Solomon's temple by Jewish and Tyrian artisans, the first important fact that attracts the attention is, that the operative masons at Jerusalem were engaged in the construction of an earthly and material temple, to be dedicated to the service and worship of God-a house in which Jehovah was to dwell visibly by his Shekinah, and whence he was, by the Urim and Thummim, to send forth his oracles for the government and direction of his chosen people.
Now, the operative art having, for us, ceased, we, as speculative Masons, symbolize the labors of our predecessors by engaging in the construction of a spiritual temple in our hearts, pure and spotless, fit for the dwelling-place of Him who is the author of purity-where God is to be worshipped in spirit and in truth, and whence every evil thought and unruly passion is to be banished, as the sinner and the Gentile were excluded from the sanctuary of the Jewish temple.
This spiritualizing of the temple of Solomon is the first, the most prominent and most pervading of all the symbolic instructions of Freemasonry. It is the link that binds the operative and speculative divisions of the order. It is this which gives it its religious character. Take from Freemasonry its dependence on the temple, leave out of its ritual all reference to that sacred edifice, and to the legends connected with it, and the system itself must at once decay and die, or at best remain only as some fossilized bone, imperfectly to show the nature of the living body to which it once belonged.
Temple worship is in itself an ancient type of the religious sentiment in its progress towards spiritual elevation. As soon as a nation emerged, in the world's progress, out of Fetichism, or the worship of visible objects,-the most degraded form of idolatry,-its people began to establish a priesthood and to erect temples.54 The Scandinavians, the Celts, the Egyptians, and the Greeks, however much they may have differed in the ritual and the objects of their polytheistic worship, all were possessed of priests and temples. The Jews first constructed their tabernacle, or portable temple, and then, when time and opportunity permitted, transferred their monotheistic worship to that more permanent edifice which is now the subject of our contemplation. The mosque of the Mohammedan and the church or the chapel of the Christian are but embodiments of the same idea of temple worship in a simpler form.
The adaptation, therefore, of the material temple to a science of symbolism would be an easy, and by no means a novel task, to both the Jewish and the Tyrian mind. Doubtless, at its original conception, the idea was rude and unembellished, to be perfected and polished only by future aggregations of succeeding intellects. And yet no biblical scholar will venture to deny that there was, in the mode of building, and in all the circumstances connected with the construction of King Solomon's temple, an apparent design to establish a foundation for symbolism.
I propose now to illustrate, by a few examples, the method in which the speculative Masons have appropriated this design of King Solomon to their own use.
To construct his earthly temple, the operative mason followed the architectural designs laid down on the trestle-board, or tracing-board, or book of plans of the architect. By these he hewed and squared his materials; by these he raised his walls; by these he constructed his arches; and by these strength and durability, combined with grace and beauty, were bestowed upon the edifice which he was constructing.
The trestle-board becomes, therefore, one of our elementary symbols. For in the masonic ritual the speculative Mason is reminded that, as the operative artist erects his temporal building, in accordance with the rules and designs laid down on the trestleboard of the master-workman, so should he erect that spiritual building, of which the material is a type, in obedience to the rules and designs, the precepts and commands, laid down by the grand Architect of the universe, in those great books of nature and revelation, which constitute the spiritual trestle-board of every Freemason.
The trestle-board is, then, the symbol of the natural and moral law. Like every other symbol of the order, it is universal and tolerant in its application; and while, as Christian Masons, we cling with unfaltering integrity to that explanation which makes the Scriptures of both dispensations our trestle-board, we permit our Jewish and Mohammedan brethren to content themselves with the books of the Old Testament, or the Koran. Masonry does not interfere with the peculiar form or development of any one's religious faith. All that it asks is, that the interpretation of the symbol shall be according to what each one supposes to be the revealed will of his Creator. But so rigidly exacting is it that the symbol shall be preserved, and, in some rational way, interpreted, that it peremptorily excludes the Atheist from its communion, because, believing in no Supreme Being, no divine Architect, he must necessarily be without a spiritual trestle-board on which the designs of that Being may be inscribed for his direction.
But the operative mason required materials wherewith to construct his temple. There was, for instance, the rough ashlar-the stone in its rude and natural state- unformed and unpolished, as it had been lying in the quarries of Tyre from the foundation of the earth. This stone was to be hewed and squared, to be fitted and adjusted, by simple, but appropriate implements, until it became a perfect ashlar, or well-finished stone, ready to take its destined place in the building.
Here, then, again, in these materials do we find other elementary symbols. The rough and unpolished stone is a symbol of man's natural state-ignorant, uncultivated, and, as the Roman historian expresses it, "grovelling to the earth, like the beasts of the field, and obedient to every sordid appetite;" but when education has exerted its salutary influences in expanding his intellect, in restraining his hitherto unruly passions, and purifying his life, he is then represented by the perfect ashlar, or finished stone, which, under the skilful hands of the workman, has been smoothed, and squared, and fitted for its appropriate place in the building.
Here an interesting circumstance in the history of the preparation of these materials has been seized and beautifully appropriated by our symbolic science. We learn from the account of the temple, contained in the First Book of Kings, that "The house, when it was in building, was built of stone, made ready before it was brought thither, so that there was neither hammer nor axe, nor any tool of iron, heard in the house while it was in building."
Now, this mode of construction, undoubtedly adopted to avoid confusion and discord among so many thousand workmen,has been selected as an elementary symbol of concord and harmony-virtues which are not more essential to the preservation and perpetuity of our own society than they are to that of every human association.
The perfect ashlar, therefore,-the stone thus fitted for its appropriate position in the temple,-becomes not only a symbol of human perfection (in itself, of course, only a comparative term), but also, when we refer to the mode in which it was prepared, of that species of perfection which results from the concord and union of men in society. It is, in fact, a symbol of the social character of the institution.
There are other elementary symbols, to which I may hereafter have occasion to revert; the three, however, already described,-the rough ashlar, the perfect ashlar, and the trestle-board,-and which, from their importance, have received the name of "jewels," will be sufficient to give some idea of the nature of what may be called the "symbolic alphabet" of Masonry. Let us now proceed to a brief consideration of the method in which this alphabet of the science is applied to the more elevated and abstruser portions of the system, and which, as the temple constitutes its most important type, I have chosen to call the "Temple Symbolism of Masonry."
Both Scripture and tradition inform us that, at the building of King Solomon's temple, the masons were divided into different classes, each engaged in different tasks. We learn, from the Second Book of Chronicles, that these classes were the bearers of burdens, the hewers of stones, and the overseers, called by the old masonic writers the Ish sabal, the Ish chotzeb, and the Menatzchim. Now, without pretending to say that the modern institution has preserved precisely the same system of regulations as that which was observed at the temple, we shall certainly find a similarity in these divisions to the Apprentices, Fellow Crafts and Master Masons of our own day. At all events, the three divisions made by King Solomon, in the workmen at Jerusalem, have been adopted as the types of the three degrees now practised in speculative Masonry; and as such we are, therefore, to consider them. The mode in which these three divisions of workmen labored in constructing the temple, has been beautifully symbolized in speculative Masonry, and constitutes an important and interesting part of temple symbolism.
Thus we know, from our own experience among modern workmen, who still pursue the same method, as well as from the traditions of the order, that the implements used in the quarries were few and simple, the work there requiring necessarily, indeed, but two tools, namely, the twenty-four inch gauge, or two foot rule, and the common gavel, or stone-cutter's hammer. With the former implement, the operative mason took the necessary dimensions of the stone he was about to prepare, and with the latter, by repeated blows, skillfully applied, he broke off every unnecessary protuberance, and rendered it smooth and square, and fit to take its place in the building.
And thus, in the first degree of speculative Masonry, the Entered Apprentice receives these simple implements, as the emblematic working tools of his profession, with their appropriate symbolical instruction. To the operative mason their mechanical and practical use alone is signified, and nothing more of value does their presence convey to his mind. To the speculative Mason the sight of them is suggestive of far nobler and sublimer thoughts; they teach him to measure, not stones, but time; not to smooth and polish the marble for the builder's use, but to purify and cleanse his heart from every vice and imperfection that would render it unfit for a place in the spiritual temple of his body.
In the symbolic alphabet of Freemasonry, therefore, the twenty-four inch gauge is a symbol of time well employed; the common gavel, of the purification of the heart.
Here we may pause for a moment to refer to one of the coincidences between Freemasonry and those Mysteries which formed so important a part of the ancient religions, and which coincidences have led the writers on this subject to the formation of a well-supported theory that there was a common connection between them. The coincidence to which I at present allude is this: in all these Mysteries-the incipient ceremony of initiation-the first step taken by the candidate was a lustration or purification. The aspirant was not permitted to enter the sacred vestibule, or take any part in the secret formula of initiation, until, by water or by fire, he was emblematically purified from the corruptions of the world which he was about to leave behind. I need not, after this, do more than suggest the similarity of this formula, in principle, to a corresponding one in Freemasonry, where the first symbols presented to the apprentice are those which inculcate a purification of the heart, of which the purification of the body in the ancient Mysteries was symbolic.
We no longer use the bath or the fountain, because in our philosophical system the symbolization is more abstract, if I may use the term; but we present the aspirant with the lamb-skin apron, the gauge, and the gavel, as symbols of a spiritual purification. The design is the same, but the mode in which it is accomplished is different.
Let us now resume the connected series of temple symbolism.
At the building of the temple, the stones having been thus prepared by the workmen of the lowest degree (the Apprentices, as we now call them, the aspirants of the ancient Mysteries), we are informed that they were transported to the site of the edifice on Mount Moriah, and were there placed in the hands of another class of workmen, who are now technically called the Fellow Crafts, and who correspond to the Mystes, or those who had received the second degree of the ancient Mysteries. At this stage of the operative work more extensive and important labors were to be performed, and accordingly a greater amount of skill and knowledge was required of those to whom these labors were entrusted. The stones, having been prepared by the Apprentices (for hereafter, in speaking of the workmen of the temple, I shall use the equivalent appellations of the more modern Masons), were now to be deposited in their destined places in the building, and the massive walls were to be erected. For these purposes implements of a higher and more complicated character than the gauge and gavel were necessary. The square was required to fit the joints with sufficient accuracy, the level to run the courses in a horizontal line, and the plumb to erect the whole with due regard to perfect perpendicularity. This portion of the labor finds its symbolism in the second degree of the speculative science, and in applying this symbolism we still continue to refer to the idea of erecting a spiritual temple in the heart.
The necessary preparations, then, having been made in the first degree, the lessons having been received by which the aspirant is taught to commence the labor of life with the purification of the heart, as a Fellow Craft he continues the task by cultivating those virtues which give form and impression to the character, as well adapted stones give shape and stability to the building. And hence the "working tools" of the Fellow Craft are referred, in their symbolic application, to those virtues. In the alphabet of symbolism, we find the square, the level, and the plumb appropriated to this second degree. The square is a symbol denoting morality. It teaches us to apply the unerring principles of moral science to every action of our lives, to see that all the motives and results of our conduct shall coincide with the dictates of divine justice, and that all our thoughts, words, and deeds shall harmoniously conspire, like the well-adjusted and rightly-squared joints of an edifice, to produce a smooth, unbroken life of virtue.
The plumb is a symbol of rectitude of conduct, and inculcates that integrity of life and undeviating course of moral uprightness which can alone distinguish the good and just man. As the operative workman erects his temporal building with strict observance of that plumb-line, which will not permit him to deviate a hair's breadth to the right or to the left, so the speculative Mason, guided by the unerring principles of right and truth inculcated in the symbolic teachings of the same implement, is steadfast in the pursuit of truth, neither bending beneath the frowns of adversity nor yielding to the seductions of prosperity.
The level, the last of the three working tools of the operative craftsman, is a symbol of equality of station. Not that equality of civil or social position which is to be found only in the vain dreams of the anarchist or the Utopian, but that great moral and physical equality which affects the whole human race as the children of one common Father, who causes his sun to shine and his rain to fall on all alike, and who has so appointed the universal lot of humanity, that death, the leveller of all human greatness, is made to visit with equal pace the prince's palace and the peasant's hut.
Here, then, we have three more signs or hieroglyphics added to our alphabet of symbolism. Others there are in this degree, but they belong to a higher grade of interpretation, and cannot be appropriately discussed in an essay on temple symbolism only.
We now reach the third degree, the Master Masons of the modern science, and the Epopts, or beholders of the sacred things in the ancient Mysteries.
In the third degree the symbolic allusions to the temple of Solomon, and the implements of Masonry employed in its construction, are extended and fully completed. At the building of that edifice, we have already seen that one class of the workmen was employed in the preparation of the materials, while another was engaged in placing those materials in their proper position. But there was a third and higher class,-the master workmen,-whose duty it was to superintend the two other classes, and to see that the stones were not only duly prepared, but that the most exact accuracy had been observed in giving to them their true juxtaposition in the edifice. It was then only that the last and finishing labor63 was performed, and the cement was applied by these skilful workmen, to secure the materials in their appropriate places, and to unite the building in one enduring and connected mass. Hence the trowel, we are informed, was the most important, though of course not the only, implement in use among the master builders. They did not permit this last, indelible operation to be performed by any hands less skilful than their own. They required that the craftsmen should prove the correctness of their work by the square, level, and plumb, and test, by these unerring instruments, the accuracy of their joints; and, when satisfied of the just arrangement of every part, the cement, which was to give an unchangeable union to the whole, was then applied by themselves.
Hence, in speculative Masonry, the trowel has been assigned to the third degree as its proper implement, and the symbolic meaning which accompanies it has a strict and beautiful reference to the purposes for which it was used in the ancient temple; for as it was there employed "to spread the cement which united the building in one common mass," so is it selected as the symbol of brotherly love-that cement whose object is to unite our mystic association in one sacred and harmonious band of brethren.
Here, then, we perceive the first, or, as I have already called it, the elementary form of our symbolism-the adaptation of the terms, and implements, and processes of an operative art to a speculative science. The temple is now completed. The stones having been hewed, squared, and numbered in the quarries by the apprentices,-having been properly adjusted by the craftsmen, and finally secured in their appropriate places, with the strongest and purest cement, by the master builders,-the temple of King Solomon presented, in its finished condition, so noble an appearance of sublimity and grandeur as to well deserve to be selected, as it has been, for the type or symbol of that immortal temple of the body, to which Christ significantly and symbolically alluded when he said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
This idea of representing the interior and spiritual man by a material temple is so apposite in all its parts as to have occurred on more than one occasion to the first teachers of Christianity. Christ himself repeatedly alludes to it in other passages, and the eloquent and figurative St. Paul beautifully extends the idea in one of his Epistles to the Corinthians, in the following language: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the spirit of God dwelleth in you?" And again, in a subsequent passage of the same Epistle, he reiterates the idea in a more positive form: "What, know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" And Dr. Adam Clarke, while commenting on this latter passage, makes the very allusions which have been the topic of discussion in the present essay. "As truly," says he, "as the living God dwelt in the Mosaic tabernacle and in the temple of Solomon, so truly does the Holy Ghost dwell in the souls of genuine Christians; and as the temple and all its utensils were holy, separated from all common and profane uses, and dedicated alone to the service of God, so the bodies of genuine Christians are holy, and should be employed in the service of God alone."
The idea, therefore, of making the temple a symbol of the body, is not exclusively masonic; but the mode of treating the symbolism by a reference to the particular temple of Solomon, and to the operative art engaged in its construction, is peculiar to Freemasonry. It is this which isolates it from all other similar associations. Having many things in common with the secret societies and religious Mysteries of antiquity, in this "temple symbolism" it differs from them all.
BY E. M. SHOWALTER
AT this hour, on this day, in each year, in every asylum of Knights Templar under the jurisdiction of the Grand Encampment of the United States, do members of this order assemble to plight anew their vows of Christian knighthood; and to reverently drink to the toast "For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord." And to its response also, which has been heralded in anthems of praise and in the consecrated devotions of men through nineteen centuries of unceasing struggle to bring themselves within the full rays of the light of its interpretation, "Peace on Earth, good will to men."
As you lift your goblets from the triangle about which you assemble on this occasion, yours is the inheritance of the chivalry of the ages. In partaking of these several libations, you do so, not as primitive creatures ignorant of the elements which compose them and of the principles of which they are the symbols, but as rational men who by intellectual development and culture have been brought to a reasonable comprehension of these rites and observances and their significance. And as you go from this place refreshed, having plighted your unsullied honor in a reenlistment under the banner of King Immanuel, you do so with the assurance that the sovereignty of your King is universal and eternal, and that under the banner of His cross you can not fail to conquer.
Thus on each succeeding Christmas do we celebrate the birthday of the Prince of Peace, and acknowledge the sovereignty of Jesus of Nazareth. Not because of the antiquity of the religious system which He gave the world, for Confucianism, Buddhism, and Brahmanism antedated it by several centuries. Not because of imposing and enduring monuments and temples and statues erected to Him, for in that respect we were excelled in the very morning of civilization in the valley of the Nile, where for thousands of years have stood temples set in avenues of sphinxes and obelisks with statues of Athor and Osiris in granite, that have outlived the gods which they represent. Nor yet because of the miracle of His birth, the humble surroundings of His childhood or His crucifixion; for the birth of Gotama is attributed to divine interposition; and we are told that many of the Greek heroes were descended directly from the gods; and it is claimed that prototypes of divinity in other religious systems have even suffered death like unto the crucifixion on Calvary.
But you do have this assurance of victory and you do celebrate this day of His birth; because, the system of religious philosophy which is embodied in His teachings and in the sermon on the Mount, and exemplified in His pure and blameless life, being an appeal to Man's intelligence, to do right, not because of future reward or punishment, but because it is right; to be just because it is just, and to love truth for truth's sake; constitutes the purest philosophy and the highest standard of living ever conceived by gods or men; whose foundation and capstone, whose ritual and creed, whose confession of faith are all included in one word of one syllable--LOVE.
EDWIN BOOTH AS A MASON
IN an earlier issue reference was made to a statue of Edwin Booth, the great master of tragedy, recently erected in Gramercy Park, near the Players Club, of which Booth was the founder. Designed by E. T. Quinn - who also wrought the bust of Poe, in Poe Park - it reveals the vanished actor in his favorite role of Hamlet, which temperament, training and personality had made peculiarly his own. Believing that his readers would like to know more about Booth, both as a man and a Mason, ye editor has made some research among his relatives and friends, the results of which he offers herewith, along with certain observations on a man who was as noble in his life as he was great in his art.
Those who wish to know the story of Booth in detail - and a memorable story it is, worthy of being told many times - may find it recorded with exquisite insight and skill in the "Life and Art of Edwin Booth," by William Winter, the Plutarch of our stage. Truly, it is a fascinating book, as much for its descriptions of Booth on the stage as for its account of his habits in private life - for, in the art of interpreting the personality of an artist, there is no one like Winter, no one near him. Such genius is rare, and the more precious for that the art of a great actor dies with him, save as it may live, for a brief time, in the minds of the generation before whom he appears. Happily, an intimate fellowship united with literary power to preserve the image and art of Booth, and to these was added life-long love of the man - as witness these words:
"Farewell; nor mist, nor flying cloud,
Nor night can ever dim
The wreath of honors pure and proud,
Our hearts have twined for him !"
Spiritual personality eludes definition; to be is more than to do, and the soul of Edwin Booth was greater even than his achievement. He was a benefactor to thousands, revealing to them, now in forms of beauty and color, now in shapes of terror and power, the wonder of human nature and its destiny. By birth and heredity he possessed those qualities of beauty grace, charm and expression which others strive in vain to attain. His face, his voice, his gesture, and his brilliant and beautiful spirit gave him conquest - those dark eyes flashing divine fire, not alone of physical vitality, but of imagination, emotion, and exaltation of soul. He had no need of novelties; he was himself a novelty. In Richelieu, Othello, Iago, Lear, Bertuccio, and Brutus, but most of all in Hamlet, his power was made manifest; power of insight, of intense emotion, of richness and color of personality, of thoughtful, brooding habit of a stately mind - all abstracted fron passion and suffused with a mysterious melancholy and the pensive, dreamlike soul of a poet. Such qualities made his Hamlet an unforgettable picture of sorrowful grandeur, sad majesty, ineffable mournfulness, and grief-stricken isolation, as of one who walked a troubled way amid the foul crimes of the living and the phantoms of the dead. Whether in the glittering halls of Elsinore, on its midnight battlements, or in its lonely wind-beaten place of graves, the lovely, suffering, awestruck spirit of the Prince seemed to wear once more his robe of flesh.
In private life Booth was the soul of honor, gentle, affable, often playful, and uncommonly apt in telling comic stories, albeit men felt that he dwelt somewhat apart and aloof - sometimes mistaking an excess of modesty for haughtiness, whereas beneath his reserve there was an abundance of kindness and good fellowship. As a son he was tenderly devoted, thoughtful of everything that could solace the declining years of an aged mother, provident of blessings, tireless in service; and his reverence for the memory of his father was akin to religion. A devout Christian in faith, he had, nevertheless, a foreboding nature, and expected every kind of disaster - except the most terrible one of all which befell him when his brother murdered Lincoln. It was pitiful to see him then, bowed low under the shadow of a tragedy greater than he had portrayed on the stage. Youth goes; age comes; and Booth passed into the sear and yellow leaf with dignity and sweetness, and never knew "the set gray life and its apathetic end."
Of his Masonic fellowship, his brother-in-law, J. H. Magonigle, writes: "Yes, Edwin Booth was an ardent Mason, and for twenty-five years before his death, on June 7th, 1893, was a member of New York Lodge, No. 330. He was always proud of the Fraternity, but the exactions of his profession prevented his regular attendance at Lodge. For the same reason, he was kept from being the Master of a Lodge of Masons, which was one of his dearest ambitions. Nevertheless, the Brethren held him in high esteem and were proud of his association." Brother A. A. Auchmoedy gives this interesting reminiscence:
"I was Master of a Masonic Lodge in Omaha a good many years ago. Edwin Booth was playing in the city. I knew that he was a Mason, and sent a committee over to invite him to meet with us after the play. He sent back word that he would do so with pleasure, and we sent a committee to escort him to the Lodge. The examination was brief, but entirely satisfactory, and when he entered the room every member was on his feet, greeting him with hearty applause. He seemed much interested in the closing exercises, and at the banquet which followed he was a happy member of the party. There were songs, in which Booth joined heartily with his wondrously sweet voice, and several brief speeches before the great actor was called upon. He began by saying:
'Mr. Toastmaster and Brothers: I am like a boy out oft school tonight. It is a delight to be with you. If I act like a boy, kindly overlook it.' Then he told many interesting stories of his connection with Masonry and of his career as an actor - how deeply grateful he had been at the forethought and tender consideration of his brethren in times of great distress, hinting at the days when he felt himself under a cloud, when President Lincoln met his death at the hands of his brother. Continuing, he said: 'I shall never forget that wherever I went Masons rallied about me and cheered my drooping spirits. But for their love and forethought I can tell you now, my Brethren, I do not think I should have resumed my life as an actor after that awful event.'
Suddenly he switched to a pleasantry, and had all of us laughing. His readings seemed brighter and better than they ever were on the stage. One Brother asked him what was his favorite poem, and after thinking a moment he answered: 'Please put the question differently, and ask me what my favorite hymn is.' We all wondered what it would be. Then, in a voice low and sweet, he said: 'That hymn which the world knows as Jesus Lover of My Soul' - and without waiting, he recited it as we had never heard it recited before. A member asked for his favorite piece of prose:
'I thank you, my Brother,' he said, 'for asking that question. The most beautiful, impressive, noble, and unforgettable and uplifting words that were ever uttered and preserved to the world I shall do myself the honor of reciting. Please be standing with me.' And with bowed head he recited the Lord's Prayer."
Naturally, it was the dramatic element in Masonry that attracted the attention of a man like Booth, and he never ceased to wonder at the simplicity, power, and firm grip on the bitter, old and dark reality of life displayed in the drama of the Third Degree. Surely he was no mean judge of tragedy, and he left this testimony:
"In all my research and study, in all my close analysis of the masterpieces of Shakespeare, in my earnest determination to make those plays appear real on the mimic stage, I have never, and nowhere, met tragedy so real, so sublime, so magnificent as the legend of Hiram. It is substance without shadow - the manifest destiny of life which requires no picture and scarcely a word to make a lasting impression upon all who can understand. To be a Worshipful Master, and to throw my whole soul into that work, with the candidate for my audience and the Lodge for my stage, would be a greater personal distinction than to receive the plaudits of the people in the theatres of the world."
Toward the end, Booth lived much alone - reading, musing, pondering upon his art, and, especially, thinking of that one other subject which engaged him most deeply - Religion. He had the constant spirit of a believer, the impartiality of a philosopher, and the soul of a poet; and so, whether in youth or age, diffused an influence of strength, grace, and peace. The charm of his nature was blended composure, gentleness, and power. Upon the marge of that vast mystery which encircles our little lives like a sea, he stood in awe, wonder, and confidence - and so drifted away. Around his name is a halo of romance that will never fade. His character and conduct are summed up in the words of Hamlet to Horatio, which he once wished might be his epitaph:
"Thou hast been
As one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing,
A man that Fortune's buffets and rewards
Hast taken with equal thanks."
FOUNDATION STONES
ANOTHER year has ended: another year has commenced. If the old year has had its lessons for us, let us hope the new will have even more. And though we may not hope to make Masonry different, or more than what it is, and has been, we may still strive to come in closer contact with its principles and precepts, and seek its secrets still deeper, that we may have a better understanding of its hidden meaning.
For there is a hidden meaning yet. Let no brother presume to have grasped the meaning of all of our ceremonies: let no one think that the lectures so far as they go in our three degrees of symbolic Masonry are even intended to convey the true meaning of our initiatory ceremonies.
In Masonry, as in the arts and sciences, "there is no Royal road to learning." What we learn we must seek for: what is buried we must uncover.
But as was the case with our traditional sprig of Acacia, the place is marked, the way is pointed out, the line is drawn that we may or must follow. If we lose the road it is our own fault. If the real secrets persist in remaining heled, we must dig if we would find them. Rubbish must be cleared away. Our highest reasoning powers must be invoked; and the best that is in our intellect be brought to bear.
As I went over in my own mind what I might have to offer to the brethren on this occasion, I was minded to give it the title "Foundation Stones"; and later I was reminded of a little verse from our Great Light; and the thought struck me that any discourse pertinent to Masonry, must of necessity, partake somewhat, if not fully, of a moral or at least of an ethical nature; and I wondered if a text would be out of place. If not, then the text I would take, or rather the text I would in my humble way endeavor to enlarge upon, is in Proverbs, and reads, "In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." And in Proverbs also by the way, there is another verse that is applicable, which says, alluding to wisdom and understanding:-- "Her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace." This verse is a poetic gem by itself, but the thought in it is far grander than all the poetry that was ever written.
To those whom I fail to impress with what I am about to say, I would recommend a reading of that beautiful book of Proverbs, especially the 2nd, 3rd and 4th chapters.
When we leave the Apprentice degree behind, with its teachings of Morality and Virtue, and arrive symbolically at the foot of the winding stairs, many things are pointed out to us that demand our close attention if we would improve our opportunities. Unfortunately, it seems, there is so large a scope covered within a short time dealing with the different arts and sciences, that even with the closest concentration, most of us are unable when we hear it, for even many times, to retain or grasp its connection with Masonic principles.
This is confirmed in my mind by an incident that occurred in this very Lodge many years ago, when. I heard one of the principal officers of our Grand Lodge remark, speaking of this degree, that, he "could write a better degree himself."
But when within the middle chamber, the meaning of the letter "G" is explained to us, we should then begin to conceive the true import of the meaning of various things. I shall always contend, that while the lodge may be as its members make it, Masonry itself is founded so firmly, and rooted so deeply in enduring verities, that if all of one lodge, or of many lodges should depart almost wholly from everything Masonic, but its forms and ceremonies, yet no one could justly say that Masonry is as Masons make it. It is the fact of its "Foundation Stones" that I seek to show - the fact that it has endured so long conclusively proving their existence.
All through this degree the attempt is made to link together, operative and speculative Masonry; and we are told near the end, speaking of geometry and architecture, "Geometry, the first and noblest of sciences is the basis upon which the superstructure of Masonry is erected."
To my mind, that does not mean just what it says. The superstructure of Masonry was never erected upon a simple science; but, the application of geometry to the science of astronomy did, by determining the fact of a regular and systematic order in the movements of the heavenly bodies, inspire in men's minds a greater, firmer, and a larger respect for a supreme governing power whom we sometimes term the Grand Artificer of the Universe.
Later we are told:--"A survey of Nature and the observation of her beautiful proportions, first, &c—
This idea of a foundation is something that all men have inherently considered. We have always sought to know what was at the bottom of things. It is natural for man to turn to the acquisition of wisdom when purely animal wants and desires are satisfied. In this one thing more than in anything else, man differs from the rest of the animal kingdom. And, as one generation thrives upon the gathered knowledge and accumulated wisdom of those who have been before, we pay our debt to humanity by adding a little bit more and passing it to posterity.
The first architect, what of him? His first structures were made with the idea of stability and security, if we are to believe the tales told of the cave-men. Then probably came rude huts with growing trees used as corner posts, poles from one to the other, and other poles on them, a covering of wild grass or skins for roof, brush woven together for walls. As architecture advanced, men were not satisfied with what was purely for utility in dwellings and structures, and the idea of ornamentation crept in; and this at times in the past has been carried to such an extreme, that the cheap and gaudy embellishments of certain periods would seem ridiculous in a building of today. Some of our plainest structures, that follow symmetrical lines, we now consider the most pleasing to the eye.
But even in our towering buildings with their noble spring of arch, piercing of sky-line, heavy cornice, and symmetrical ornaments, do we, in admiring their general pleasing effect to the eye, consider what the architect was forced to consider! namely, the solid foundation on which it must rest, and the strength so cunningly hidden, to form the support of its towering superstructure? A tall, beautiful building, shorn of what goes to make up its general finished appearance, has about as much beauty as a hay rack. The extreme height of some of the structures of today, demand extremes in foundations, and these go deeper and yet deeper, and the builder is but following natural laws in his plans and provisions.
And here is the lesson that architecture teaches to Masons--that we should embellish and adorn our minds with useful knowledge; but that our principles should conform to the laws of God, as the architect's plans conform to the laws of nature and of physics. The Masonic edifice is founded on firmest supports, else we could not build thereon. We cannot build without starting squarely over and upon these underlying truths and fundamental principles.
As it is with Masons, so with all society and the State as a whole; for what is good for Masons is good for all. Masonry may be big enough some day to embrace all mankind. I have no doubt but what it will when mankind shows itself worthy. I believe that Masonry in its inception, (that is, modern Masonry) was intended to be helpful to society, to improve the social state, through inspiring in men's minds, the necessity of considering the existence of a supreme Being who was all wise--who had prescribed laws for all human acts- -who, to discourage men from attempting to rear an artificial state, had so arranged things that men might not with impunity ignore the least of his laws-- that any infringement, any departure from what the "great intelligence" had said should be, would result only in confusion and suffering.
As one writer has put it, "the core and essence of our belief is, that there is in social relations, as in physical relations, a law, an order, a law which everywhere coincides with the divine law, an order which shows intelligence and beneficence."
As society grows and becomes more complex, we, who superintend the building must, if we are true Masons and real builders, go more and more to the bottom of things--seek further and further for the governing laws which we are taught exist--endeavor with all the intelligence at our command to interpret the true meaning of the search for the "Master's word."
The higher we go in the scale of civilization, the deeper we must delve into the question of what supports it, just as, the higher the architect goes up with his structure, the deeper he must go down with foundation.
I consider it a privilege and an honor to be placed with a society whose fortune it is to make men wiser, better, and consequently happier. It should be a noble work, and to do it and do it well, the "foundation stones" should be sought out and securely placed.
If our acts, either as an individual or as a Lodge, or in the State and the community as a whole, will bear the supreme test of having "acknowledged Him" let us not think it strange that the result is misery and suffering, and poverty with all its attendant ills.