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Some Background for an Aspirant
This information has been prepared in
order to acquaint the candidate for Masonry, as well as his wife
and family, with those aspects of Masonic history which will
make for a more enlightened beginning. The first half of this
booklet is taken verbatim from the publication of the same name
by the Grand Lodge of Minnesota.
It is the nature of Freemasonry that
Masonic education is never-ending. This is but a portion of the
much larger Lodge System of Education which is designed for the continuing enlightenment of the Craft.
We hope that the reader will obtain as much pleasure from these
pages as we have had in assembling them.
How Old is Masonry?
This question cannot be definitely
answered. For Masonry was not created at a given moment, or even
in a single day, month, or year. Its distant origins, the actual
beginnings of our Craft, are veiled in the mists of antiquity.
We find striking similarities in the Solar Mysteries of Egypt,
which it is believed may have been evolved as early as the year
2000 B.C. Pythagoras, Plutarch, Plato, and Pindar were
among the initiates into the Greater Mysteries, which were the
repository of the highest then known "secrets" of astronomy,
geometry, religion, the fine arts and the laws of nature.
Centuries later, the Roman Collegia emerged; these were small,
local groups of artisans-goldsmiths, dyers, builders, potters,
and others. They acted upon petitions for membership, received
members through initiations, had rooms like those of present day
fraternities, divided the membership into grades„ had a common
table, had a charity fund, used passwords, grips, tokens, and
symbols. Each group was self-governing. Some were religious
(often pagan) in nature; others were socially inclined, while
still others were mostly concerned with their particular trade
or profession.
The Guilds
About the third century A.D. there began a series of incursions
of warlike tribes from east of Europe, which finally overran the
Roman Empire and destroyed the civilization of the time. For
more than seven centuries the so-called Dark Ages ensued. Then
Europe began gradually to re-erect its
civilization, and one of the first features of this process was
the development and training of craftsmen of all kinds. Later
these craftsmen formed societies called "guilds," comprising the
men in a particular locality who performed a definite and
specific type of work or service. These were much like the old
Collegia, though there seems to have been no connection between
the two. Most of them had carefully guarded secrets, which
members were bound not to reveal to nonmembers.
(It is to be remembered that printing
had not yet been invented, and only a relatively few people
outside the clergy could read or write; therefore much of the
practical knowledge and also of th
e learning of that day reposed
within the crafts as trade secrets, and were handed down by word
of mouth.) Masons Most of these artisans seldom went more than a
day's journey away from home. However, this was not true
of the stone masons. Their work consisted largely of the
erection of cathedrals, castles, and other large structures,
many of which required many years, sometimes centuries, to
complete. Local guilds were not equipped either in numbers or in
skills to perform this type of work, and the Masonic craft of
necessity became migratory. The employer (oft times the Church
or the Crown), would select a Master of the Work, and he would
arrange for the traveling of the various groups of workmen from
their previous jobs to the site of the new work. There, after
providing for their homes or barracks, they would construct a
workshop which would be used also for rest, refreshment, and
relaxation; this was called a Lodge, and this word also
designated the organized body of workmen who used the building.
Freemasons
Any type of builder was called
a Mason, and the craft as a whole was called Masonry. It
included quarrymen, wallers, hewers, slaters, tilers, rough
masons, cutters, plasterers, carpenters, and all others who
worked upon the structure. At the head of the project were those
who today would be called architects or engineers; they
understood engineering and geometry as the result of long and
arduous training, and many were proficient in a number of the
"arts" connected with the building trade, such as carving and
sculpturing, the making of stained glass windows, mosaics, and
other highly specialized skills. They were called "Freemasons,"
perhaps because they were free to move from place to place as
they might desire, whereas the lesser workmen were generally
serfs, and could travel only at the pleasure of their masters.
Masters
The guilds divided their members into
apprentices, fellows, and masters. The former were lads in their
teens who were indentured to skilled workmen for
training-commonly for seven years. When they were able to
demonstrate sufficient skill and ability, they were advanced to
full membership, and were known as "Fellows." If, later, they
exhibited exceptional skill, administrative ability, and
qualities of leadership, they became "Masters." Our Lineage Now,
there are Masons, some of them eminent, who have attempted to
trace the lineage of Masonry, as one would trace his ancestry,
back through the guilds and the Roman Collegia, even to the
Ancient Mysteries, and they present substantial evidence in
support of their hypothesis. But while their evidence is
certainly plausible, some of it even credible, there are links
in the chain of proof which remain hypothetical. For while
studies of ancient peoples show that their religions,
philosophies, social systems, folk thought and folk ways all had
much in common, (and they do disclose arresting resemblances to
certain superficial aspects of Freemasonry), nevertheless the
line of descent is far from clear, and rests upon legendary
lore, rather than upon history. It is, however, true that
present day Masonry is the heritor of all that was good in the
organizations which preceded it, and its ritual clearly reflects
that ancestry.
Operative and Speculative Masonry
The Masons of those days were actually
builders, and their trade secrets were handed down from mouth to
mouth, as has been said. This was true not only as to the proper
way to do things, but it was also true of a philosophy based
upon the tools they used, traces of which persist in our
conversations of today, such as "On the square," "On the level,"
"An upright man," etc. Because they were builders, we call them
"Operative" Masons. But gradually there came about a change,
following the Dark Ages. At first it was scarcely perceptible,
but there came a day when someone sought membership who was in
no way connected with the building trades, because he was
attracted by the philosophical teachings of Masonry. Others
followed in increasing numbers. (Incidentally, this is the
origin of the term, "Ancient Free and Accepted Masons"; these
men though not builders, were "accepted" as Masons.)
The First Grand
Lodge
This movement appears to have
taken place during the seventeenth century. Undoubtedly it was
greatly influenced by the printing of the Bible in 1455. This
and the other books which followed opened the field of knowledge
to the common people, and they began to think. The Reformation
had come in the early fifteen hundreds, when the Church of
England broke away from the rule of Rome, and with it came an
increased intellectual freedom, until, toward the end of the
seventeenth century, it became evident that the building
monopolies of operative masons had seen their day. No longer
could the "secrets" of geometry and architecture be maintained;
they became more or less common knowledge. Now men of wealth,
culture and distinction of all manner of occupations were freely
admitted to membership in the Craft, and their numbers grew
until, in 1717, an event took place which marks the dividing
line between the old Freemasonry and the new; between the last
lingering remains of Operative Masonry and a Craft which is
wholly speculative (that is, a theoretical Craft, rather than
physical- a mental concept, rather than practical). In June of
that year, four Lodges met and organized the first Grand Lodge
of Masons. Its authority was at first limited to "within ten
miles of London," but it soon invaded the provinces, and is
today recognized as the "Mother Lodge" of Masonry.
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How Old?
Thus far, we have discussed the
background of Masonry without being too specific about the
history of Masonry itself. Actually, it can be proven that it is
old-very old. For there are in existence about a hundred of what
are known as "The Old Charges," sometimes called constitutions;
they were drawn up by individual Lodges and were used by them
much as we use Constitutions and By-Laws in today's
organizations. The best know of these is called the Regius Poem,
or the Halliwell Manuscript (after the name of the man who
discovered it in the British Museum). It was written about 1390
A.D., and it shows that even then Masonry was very old. There is
rather convincing evidence that operative Masonry was in
existence at least as early as the year 926 A.D.
Masonry in America
There seems to be no evidence of the
advent of Freemasonry into America prior to 1717, though it is
known that individual Masons did appear in the American colonies
soon after that, and that they represented speculative Masonry.
The first Lodge in America of which there is documentary
evidence existed in Philadelphia as early as 1730. Three years
later, on petition from a number of Masons living in Boston, the
Grand Lodge of England appointed Henry Price as "Provincial
Grand Master of New England and Dominions and Territories
thereunto belonging." Later in that year he formed a Grand
Lodge, and then granted the petition of eighteen brethren,
constituting them into a Lodge now known as St. John's Lodge of
Boston. The Lodge of St. Andrew (also of Boston), received its
charter from the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1756. Among its
members were Joseph Warren, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Paul
Revere, William Dawes, and Thomas Hutchinson, Governor of
Massachusetts at the time.
American Independence
Space does not permit the telling of
the story of Masonry during the American Revolution. We can only
say that it is illustrious and that we can take great pride in
it.
George Washington was a Mason, as were
General Warren (previously mentioned), LaFayette and
over half
of the other American generals. So were John Hancock, Benjamin
Franklin, James Monroe, Anthony Wayne, Ethan Allen, and
Nathaniel Greene to mention a few. Following the war, it was
quickly determined that since political relations had been
severed between this country and England, Masonic allegiance to
the Grand Lodges of England and of Scotland had also been
severed. A new Grand Lodge was organized, and from it were
chartered other Grand Lodges throughout the country.
So much for the history of Masonry, as
briefly as we can state it, and still outline its principal
features. There is a wealth of material on the subject, and it
makes fascinating reading; we recommend it to you. Perhaps one
of the best sources is, "A History of Freemasonry," by Haywood
and Craig.
The Essence of Masonry
Earlier in this discussion we dealt at
length on operative Masonry, barely mentioning the entry of the
speculative- though we did give you a hint of its nature.
As a matter of fact, Freemasonry has both a physical and an
intellectual, or spiritual, nature. The former is the
organization itself, manifested in its rites and ceremonies;
these have been brought down to us from ancient times and are
still preserved, largely in ancient form. Hidden by a veil of
allegory and symbolism, but constituting the very heart of
Masonry, lie its spiritual values - the lessons it teaches. Only
because of these fundamental truths, the rock upon which Masonry
was built, and the steadfast courage of the men who have upheld
its banner, has Masonry endured through the ages.
It is, of course, essential that you
know something about how Masonry is organized, and for the
present, we shall confine ourselves to a brief outline.
Blue Lodges
We have already mentioned the Grand
Lodges of the various states, each supreme in its own
jurisdiction. They charter, or "constitute," subordinate lodges,
popularly known as "Blue" Lodges, and this Lodge which you are
about to enter is one of them. Its principal officers are the
Worshipful Master, Senior Warden, Junior Warden, Treasurer,
Secretary, Senior Deacon, Junior Deacon and Tyler. Other
officers are a Chaplain, Stewards and a Marshal. The first five
principal officers are elected annually; the others are elected
or appointed by the Master in accordance with the By-Laws of
each individual Lodge. All their respective duties will be made
clear to you later. The Master's authority is beyond question,
the only appeal from his decision being to the Grand Lodge.
Meetings are called Communications, and may be "Stated" or
"Special." The former refers to a meeting held at a stated time
and hour specified in the By-Laws while the word "Special" means
a meeting at some other time, called at the will and pleasure of
the Master.
The Three Degrees
The fundamental principles of Free
masonry are exemplified in three degrees: the Entered
Apprentice, the Fellow craft, and the Master Mason. The first is
not to be regarded merely as a stepping stone to the second, nor
the second to the third. They should, rather, be thought
of as a series of concentric circles, the smaller contained in
the larger, for in a very true sense the Master Mason is still
an Entered Apprentice, as he is also a Fellow craft. Your
passage will require some weeks-perhaps months, but the effort
will be rewarded in due time.
Your Duties
You will become a member of this Lodge
when you have received the three degrees, proved your
proficiency in them in open Lodge and have signed the Roll of
Membership. It will always be your duty to be loyal to the
fraternity, faithful to your superior officers, and obedient to
Masonic Law. You will be expected to pay your dues promptly and
regularly, to stand ready to help a brother Mason in sickness or
distress, and to support the charities of the Lodge. You are
also expected to attend the communications as regularly as
possible, and to discharge such specific Masonic duties as may
be assigned to you.
Being a Mason means being a good
citizen, loyal to your government, and conducting yourself as a
wise and upright man, charged with an individual responsibility
for maintaining the world's respect for Masonry.
What is it like in a Masonic Lodge Room?
Click on the link below to see an interactive display of a lodge
room and the various stations. This if from a
Massachusetts lodge. In the Oklahoma lodges, we have no inner
sentinel.
You will need a Quicktime plug-in for your browser
in order to see
this site.
Masonic Education
You
will hear more of these things. The meaning of all you will hear
and see may not be entire
ly clear to you at the time
you go thru your degrees, for Masonry's method of instruction is
such that its full significance can hardly be immediately
apparent to the initiate. That is the "raison d'etre" of this
Educational Program.
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Frontier Masonic
Lodge#48
322 W.Miller
Stillwater, OK 74074
(405)372-7520
e-mail -
stillwater.masons@gmail.com
