wilmshurst,walter leslie-the meaning of masonry

8/13/2019 Wilmshurst,Walter Leslie-The Meaning of Masonry

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The Meaning of Masonry by W.L. Wilmshurst

THE MEANING OF MASONRY

by Walter Leslie WILMSHURST (18671!"!#Past Provincial Grand Registrar in West Yorkshire !GL"

# $hiloso$hical e%$osition of the character of the &raft ' ()*+

Table of Contents

,ore-ord/TR01!&T0/

The Position and Possibilities of the Masonic 0rder&2#PT"R The 1ee$er 3ymbolism of ,reemasonry

&2#PT"R

Masonry as a Philoso$hy&2#PT"R

,urther /otes on &raft 3ymbolism.

The ,orm of the Lodge

The Positions of the 0fficers of the Lodge.The Greater and Lesser Lights

0$ening and &losing the Lodge

,irst or "ntered #$$rentice 1egree3econd or ,ello-'&raft 1egree

Third or Master'Mason4s 1egree

The Masonic #$ron# Prayer at Lodge &losing

&2#PT"R 5

The 2oly Royal #rch of 6erusalem.The &eremony of "%altation

&2#PT"R 5.

,reemasonry in Relation to the #ncient Mysteries.

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FOREWOR$

,R""M#30/RY has had many great scholars -ho devoted their time and talents to the

$hiloso$hical e%$osition of the character of the &raft the meaning of &raft symbols andthe religious as$ects of the ,raternity7 #lbert Pike Robert ,reke Gould ,ort /e-ton

#lbert Gallatin Mackey and W. L. Wilmshurst.

Walter Leslie Wilmshurst 8(9:;'()ation. Truth the most difficult

$rinci$le to recogni>e and thus the most difficult to achieve has long been neglected.

Wilmshurst carefully $laces his designs u$on the trestle board to build his thesis that the

al$ha and omega of ,reemasonry is not the re$etition of the ritual nor the safeguarding ofsecrets but the regeneration of the ?rethren.

This book im$lores the reader to learn to see in ,reemasonry something more than a

$arochial system en@oining elementary morality $erforming $erfunctory and insignificantrites and serving as an agreeable accessory to social life. The greater system of s$iritual

doctrine contained in the rituals is strongly em$hasi>ed.

The Meaning of Masonry -as -ritten -ith a vie- to-ard $romoting a dee$er

understanding of the ,raternity and this goal has been achieved. The ideals of the Masonic,raternity have a -ide a$$eal to the best instincts of men and the &raft has become one of

the greatest social institutions in the -orld. n this ne- #Auarian age -hen many

individuals and grou$s are -orking in various -ays for the eventual restoration of themysteries an increasing number of as$irants are beginning to recogni>e that ,reemasonry

may -ell be the vehicle for this achievement.

We have here a sincere effort by a learned and earnest ?rother to $oint to the source of

Masonic Light in elegant and at times $rofound language. They -ho look -ith him mayen@oy the same felicity.

The great value of this book is that it -as -ritten by one -ho sets an e%am$le for all

Masters of Lodges. 2is -as a soul filled -ith the -onder of -isdom strength and beauty.

n these $ages he -his$ers the $ass-ord to those of us -ho still clamour at the gateenabling us to enter that inner chamber -here -e can @oin the true initiates and share

e%$eriences no- veiled from all but a handful of ?rethren.

#LL#/ ?0!1R"#! P2.1. &urator and Librarian Grand Lodge of ,ree and #cce$ted

6uly ()9+ Masons of the 3tate of /e- York

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INTRO$U%TION

THEPOSITIONANDPOSSIBILITIESOFTHEMASONICORDER

T2" $a$ers here collected are -ritten solely for members of the Masonic 0rderconstituted under the !nited Grand Lodge of "ngland. To all such they are offered in thebest s$irit of fraternity and good-ill and -ith the -ish to render to the 0rder some small

return for the $rofit the author has received from his association -ith it e%tending over

thirty't-o years. They have been -ritten -ith a vie- to $romoting the dee$er

understanding of the meaning of MasonryB to $roviding the e%$lanation of it that oneconstantly hears called for and that becomes all the more necessary in vie- of the

un$recedented increase of interest in and membershi$ of the 0rder at the $resent day.

The meaning of Masonry ho-ever is a sub@ect usually left entirely une%$ounded and that

accordingly remains largely unreali>ed by its members save such fe- as make it their$rivate studyB the authorities of -hat in all other res$ects is an elaborately organi>ed and

admirably controlled community have hitherto made no $rovision for e%$laining andteaching the Cnoble scienceC -hich Masonry $roclaims itself to be and -as certainlydesigned to im$art. t seems taken for granted that rece$tion into the 0rder -ill

automatically be accom$anied by an ability to a$$reciate forth-ith and at its full value all

that one there finds. The contrary is the case for Masonry is a veiled and cry$tice%$ression of the difficult science of s$iritual life and the understanding of it calls for

s$ecial and informed guidance on the one hand and on the other a genuine and earnest

desire for kno-ledge and no small ca$acity for s$iritual $erce$tion on the $art of those

seeking to be instructedB and not infreAuently one finds ?rethren discontinuing theirinterest or their membershi$ because they find that Masonry means nothing to them and

that no e%$lanation or guidance is vouchsafed them. Were such instruction $rovided

assimilated and res$onded to the life of the 0rder -ould be enormously Auickened anddee$ened and its efficiency as a means of nitiation intensified -hilst incidentally the fact

-ould $rove an added safeguard against the admission into the 0rder of unsuitable

members by -hich is meant not merely $ersons -ho fail to satisfy conventionalAualifications but also those -ho -hilst fitted in these res$ects are as yet either so

intellectually or s$iritually un$rogressed as to be inca$able of benefiting from nitiation in

its true sense although $assing formally through nitiation rites. 3$iritual Auality ratherthan numbers ability to understand the Masonic system and reduce its im$lications into

$ersonal e%$erience rather than the $erfunctory conferment of its rites are the desiderata of

the &raft to'day.

#s a contribution to re$airing the absence of e%$lanation referred to these $a$ers have beencom$iled. The first t-o of them have often been read as lectures at Lodge meetings. Many

reAuests that they should be $rinted and made more -idely available led to my e%$anding

their sub@ect'matter into greater detail than could be used for occasional lectures and

accordingly they are here am$lified by a $a$er containing fuller notes u$on &raftsymbolism. To com$lete the consideration of the &raft system it -as necessary also to add

a cha$ter u$on that -hich forms the cro-n and culmination of the &raft 1egrees and

-ithout -hich they -ould be im$erfect the 0rder of the Royal #rch. Lastly a cha$ter hasbeen added u$on the im$ortant sub@ect -hich forms the background of the rest the

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relationshi$ of modern Masonry to the #ncient Mysteries from -hich it is the directthough greatly attenuated s$iritual descendant.

Thus in the five $a$ers have sought to $rovide a survey of the -hole Masonic sub@ect as

e%$ressed by the &raft and #rch 1egrees -hich it is ho$ed may $rove illuminating to the

increasing number of ?rethren -ho feel that ,reemasonry enshrines something dee$er and

greater than in the absence of guidance they have been able to reali>e. t does not $rofessto be more than an elementary and far from e%haustive surveyB the sub@ect might be treated

much more fully in more technical terminology and -ith abundant references toauthorities -ere one com$iling a more ambitious and scholarly treatise. ?ut to the average

Mason such a treatise -ould $robably $rove less serviceable than a summary e%$ressed in

as sim$le and untechnical terms as may be and unburdened by numerous literary

references. 3ome re$etition due to the $a$ers having been -ritten at different times maybe found in later cha$ters of $oints already dealt -ith in $revious ones though the

restatement may

be advantageous in em$hasi>ing those $oints and maintaining continuity of e%$osition. ,or

reasons e%$lained in the cha$ter itself that on the 2oly Royal #rch -ill $robably $rove

difficult of com$rehension by those unversed in the literature and $sychology of religiousmysticismB if so the reading of it may be deferred or neglected. ?ut since a survey of the

Masonic system -ould like the system itself be incom$lete -ithout reference to thatsu$reme 1egree and since that 1egree deals -ith matters of advanced $sychological and

s$iritual e%$erience about -hich e%$lanation must al-ays be difficult the sub@ect has been

treated here -ith as much sim$licity of statement as is $ossible and rather -ith a vie- toindicating to -hat great heights of s$iritual attainment the &raft 1egrees $oint as

achievable than -ith the e%$ectation that they -ill be readily com$rehended by readers

-ithout some measure of mystical e%$erience and $erha$s unfamiliar -ith the testimony of

the mystics thereto.

Pur$osely these $a$ers avoid dealing -ith matters of &raft history and of merely

antiAuarian or archDological interest. 1ates $articulars of Masonic constitutions historical

changes and develo$ments in the e%ternal as$ects of the &raft references to old Lodges

and the names of outstanding $eo$le connected there-ith these and such like matters canbe read about else-here. They are all subordinate to -hat alone is of vital moment and

-hat so many ?rethren are hungering for kno-ledge of the s$iritual $ur$ose and lineage

of the 0rder and the $resent'day value of rites of nitiation.

n giving these $ages to $ublication care has been taken to observe due reticence in res$ectof essential matters. The general nature of the Masonic system is ho-ever no-adays

-idely kno-n to outsiders and easily ascertainable from many $rinted sources -hilst the

large interest in and out$ut of literature u$on mystical religion and the science of the

in-ard life during the last fe- years has familiari>ed many -ith a sub@ect of -hich as issho-n in these $a$ers Masonry is but a s$eciali>ed form. To e%$lain Masonry in general

outline is therefore not to divulge a sub@ect -hich is entirely e%clusive to its members butmerely to sho- that Masonry stands in line -ith other doctrinal systems inculcating the

same $rinci$les and to -hich no secrecy attaches and that it is a s$eciali>ed and highly

effective method of inculcating those $rinci$les. Truth -hether as e%$ressed in Masonryor other-ise is at all times an o$en secret but is as a $illar of light to those able to receive

and $rofit by it and to all others but one of darkness and unintelligibility. #n elementary

and formal secrecy is reAuisite as a $ractical $recaution against the intrusion of im$ro$er

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$ersons and for $reventing $rofanation. n other res$ects the vital secrets of life and of anysystem e%$ounding life $rotect themselves even though shouted from the houseto$s

because they mean nothing to those as yet unAualified for the kno-ledge and unready to

identify themselves -ith it by incor$orating it into their habitual thought and conduct.

n vie- of the great s$read and $o$ularity of Masonry to'day -hen there are some three

thousand Lodges in Great ?ritain alone it is as -ell to consider its $resent bearings andtendencies and to give a thought to future $ossibilities. The 0rder is a semi'secret semi'

$ublic institutionB secret in res$ect of its activities intra mFnia but other-ise of full $ublicnotoriety -ith its doors o$en to any a$$licant for admission -ho is of ordinary good

character and re$ute. Those -ho enter it as the ma@ority do entirely ignorant of -hat they

-ill find there usually because they have friends there or kno- Masonry to be an

institution devoted to high ideals and benevolence and -ith -hich it may be sociallydesirable to be connected may or may not be attracted and $rofit by -hat is disclosed to

them and may or may not see anything beyond the bare form of the symbol or hear

anything beyond the mere letter of the -ord. Their admission is Auite a lotteryB theirnitiation too often remains but a formality not an actual a-akening into an order and

Auality of life $reviously une%$eriencedB their membershi$ unless such an a-akeningeventually ensues from the careful study and faithful $ractice of the 0rder4s teaching haslittle if any greater influence u$on them than -ould ensue from their @oining a $urely

social club.

,or CnitiationC for -hich there are so many candidates little conscious of -hat is im$lied

in that for -hich they ask -hat does it really mean and intend t means a ne- beginning8initium=B a break'a-ay from an old method and order of life and the entrance u$on a ne-

one of larger self'kno-ledge dee$ened understanding and intensified virtue. t means a

transition from the merely natural state and standards of life to-ards a regenerate and

su$er'natural state and standard. t means a turning a-ay from the $ursuit of the $o$ularideals of the outer -orld in the conviction that those ideals are but shado-s images and

tem$oral substitutions for the eternal Reality that underlies them to the keen andundivertible Auest of that Reality itself and the recovery of those genuine secrets of ourbeing -hich lie buried and hidden at Cthe centreC or innermost $art of our souls. t means

the a-akening of those hitherto dormant higher faculties of the soul -hich endue their

$ossessor -ith ClightC in the form of ne- enhanced consciousness and enlarged $erce$tivefaculty. #nd lastly in -ords -ith -hich every Mason is familiar it means that the

$ostulant -ill henceforth dedicate and devote his life to the 1ivine rather than to his o-n

or any other service so that by the $rinci$les of the 0rder he may be the better enabled todis$lay that beauty of godliness -hich $reviously $erha$s has not manifested through him.

To com$ly -ith this definition of nitiation -hich it might be useful to a$$ly as a test not

only to those -ho seek for admission into the 0rder but to ourselves -ho are already

-ithin it it is obvious that s$ecial Aualifications of mind and intention are essential in acandidate of the ty$e likely to be benefited by the 0rder in the -ay that its doctrine

contem$lates and that it is not necessarily the ordinary man of the -orld $ersonal friend

and good fello- though he be according to usual social standards -ho is either $ro$erly

$re$ared for or likely to benefit in any vital sense by rece$tion into it. The true candidatemust indeed needs be as the -ord candidus im$lies a C-hite manC -hite -ithin as

symbolically he is -hite'vestured -ithout so that no in-ard stain or soilure may obstruct

the da-n -ithin his soul of that Light -hich he $rofesses to be the $redominant -ish of his

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heart on asking for admissionB -hilst if really desirous of learning the secrets andmysteries of his o-n being he must be $re$ared to divest himself of all $ast

$reconce$tions and thought'habits and -ith childlike meekness and docility surrender his

mind to the rece$tion of some $erha$s novel and une%$ected truths -hich nitiation$romises to im$art and -hich -ill more and more unfold and @ustify themselves -ithin

those and those only -ho are and continue to kee$ themselves $ro$erly $re$ared for

them. CIno- thyselfJC -as the in@unction inscribed over the $ortals of ancient tem$les ofnitiation for -ith that kno-ledge -as $romised the kno-ledge of all secrets and allmysteries. #nd Masonry -as designed to teach self'kno-ledge. ?ut self'kno-ledge

involves a kno-ledge much dee$er vaster and more difficult than is $o$ularly conceived.

t is not to be acAuired by the formal $assage through three or four degrees in as manymonthsB it is a kno-ledge im$ossible of full achievement until kno-ledge of every other

kind has been laid aside and a difficult $ath of life long and strenuously $ursued that alone

fits and leads its follo-ers to its attainment. The -isest and most advanced of us is $erha$sstill but an "ntered #$$rentice at this kno-ledge ho-ever high his titular rank. 2ere and

there may be one -orthy of being hailed as a ,ello-'&raft in the true sense. The full

Master'Mason the @ust man made $erfect -ho has actually and not merely ceremonially

travelled the entire $ath endured all its tests and ordeals and become raised into consciousunion -ith the #uthor and Giver of Life and able to mediate and im$art that life to others

is at all times hard to find.

3o high so ideal an attainment it may be urged is beyond our reachB -e are but ordinary

men of the -orld sufficiently occu$ied already -ith our $rimary civic social and familyobligations and follo-ing the obvious normal $ath of natural lifeJ Granted. /evertheless to

$oint to that attainment as $ossible to us and as our destiny to indicate that $ath of self'

$erfecting to those -ho care and dare to follo- it modern 3$eculative Masonry -asinstituted and to em$hasi>ing the fact these $a$ers are devoted. ,or Masonry means this or

it means nothing -orth the serious $ursuit of thoughtful menB nothing that cannot be

$ursued as -ell outside the &raft as -ithin it. t $roclaims the fact that there e%ists a higherand more secret $ath of life than that -hich -e normally tread and that -hen the outer

-orld and its $ursuits and re-ards lose their attractiveness for us and $rove insufficient to

our dee$er needs as sooner or later they -ill -e are com$elled to turn back u$onourselves to seek and knock at the door of a -orld -ithinB and it is u$on this inner -orld

and the $ath to and through it that Masonry $romises light charts the -ay and indicates

the Aualifications and conditions of $rogress. This is the sole aim and intention of

Masonry. ?ehind its more elementary and obvious symbolism behind its counsels tovirtue and conventional morality behind the $latitudes and sententious $hraseology 8-hich

no-adays might -ell be sub@ected to com$etent and intelligent revision= -ith -hich after

the fashion of their day the eighteenth'century com$ilers of its ceremonies clothed itsteaching there e%ists the frame-ork of a scheme of initiation into that higher $ath of life

-here alone the secrets and mysteries of our being are to be learnedB a scheme moreover

that as -ill be sho-n later in these $ages re$roduces for the modern -orld the mainfeatures of the #ncient Mysteries and that has been -ell described by a learned -riter on

the sub@ect as Can e$itome or reflection at a far distance of the once universal science.C

?ut because for long and for many Masonry has meant less than this it has not as yet

fulfilled its original $ur$ose of being the efficient initiating instrument it -as designed tobeB its energies have been diverted from its true instructional $ur$ose into social and

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$hilanthro$ic channels e%cellent in their -ay but foreign to and accretions u$on the$rimal main intention. ndeed so little $erceived or a$$reciated is that central intention

that one freAuently hears it confessed by men of eminent $osition in the &raft and -arm

devotion to it that only their interest in its great charitable institutions kee$s alive theirconnection -ith the 0rder. Relief is indeed a duty incumbent u$on a Mason but its

Masonic inter$retation is not meant to be limited to $hysical necessities. The s$iritually as

-ell as the financially $oor and distressed are al-ays -ith us and to the former eAually-ith the latter Masonry -as designed to minister. Theoretically every man u$on rece$tioninto the &raft ackno-ledges himself as -ithin the category of the s$iritually $oor and as

content to renounce all tem$oral riches if ha$ly by that sacrifice his hungry heart may be

filled -ith those good things -hich money cannot $urchase but to -hich the truly initiatedcan hel$ him.

?ut if Masonry has not as yet fulfilled its $rimary $ur$ose and though engaged in

admirable secondary activities is as yet an initiating instrument of lo- efficiency it may

be that -ith enlarged understanding of its designs that efficiency may yet become veryconsiderably increased. 1uring the last t-o centuries the &raft has been gradually

develo$ing from small and crude beginnings into its $resent vast and highly elaboratedorgani>ation. To'day the number of Lodges and the membershi$ of the &raft are increasingbeyond all $recedent. 0ne asks oneself -hat this gro-ing interest $ortends and to -hat it

-ill or can be made to lead The gro-th synchroni>es -ith a corres$onding defection of

interest in orthodo% religion and $ublic -orshi$. t need not no- be enAuired -hether or to

-hat e%tent the sim$le $rinci$les of faith and the humanitarian ideals of Masonry are -ithsome men taking the $lace of the theology offered in the various &hurchesB it is $robable

that to some e%tent they do so. ?ut the fact is -ith us that the ideals of the Masonic 0rder

are making a -ide a$$eal to the best instincts of large numbers of men and that the 0rderhas im$erce$tibly become the greatest social institution in the "m$ire. ts $rinci$les of

faith and ethics are sim$le and of virtually universal acce$tance. Providing means for the

e%$ression of universal fraternity under a common 1ivine ,atherhood and of a commonloyalty to the headshi$ and established government of the 3tate it leaves room for

divergences of $rivate belief and vie- u$on matters u$on -hich unity is im$racticable and

$erha$s undesirable. t is utterly clean of $olitics and $olitical intrigue but neverthelesshas unconsciously become a real though unobtrusive asset of $olitical value both in

stabili>ing the social fabric and tending to foster international amity. The elaborateness of

its organi>ation the care and admirable control of its affairs by its higher authorities are

$raise-orthy in the e%treme -hilst in the conduct of its individual Lodges there has beenand is a $rogressive endeavour to raise the standard of ceremonial -ork to a far higher

degree of reverence and intelligence than -as $erha$s $ossible under conditions e%isting

not long ago. The Masonic &raft has gro-n and ramified to dimensions undreamed of byits original founders and at its $resent rate of increase its $otentialities and influence in

the future are Auite incalculable.

What seems no- needed to intensify the -orth and usefulness of this great ?rotherhood is

to dee$en its understanding of its o-n system to educate its members in the dee$ermeaning and true $ur$ose of its rites and its $hiloso$hy. Were this achieved the Masonic

0rder -ould become in $ro$ortion to that achievement a s$iritual force greater than it can

ever be so long as it continues content -ith a formal and unintelligent $er$etuation of ritesthe real and sacred $ur$ose of -hich remains largely un$erceived and $artici$ation in

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-hich too often means nothing more than association -ith an agreeable semi'religioussocial institution. &arried to its fullest that achievement -ould involve the revival in a

form ada$ted to modern conditions of the ancient Wisdom'teaching and the $ractice of

those Mysteries -hich became $roscribed fifteen centuries ago but of -hich modernMasonry is the direct and re$resentative descendant as -ill a$$ear later in these $ages.

The future develo$ment and the value of the 0rder as a moral force in society de$endtherefore u$on the vie- its members take of their system. f they do not s$irituali>e it they

-ill but increasingly materiali>e it. f they fail to inter$ret its veiled $ur$ort to enter intothe understanding of its underlying $hiloso$hy and to translate its symbolism into -hat is

signified thereby they -ill be mistaking shado- for substance a husk for the kernel and

seculari>ing -hat -as designed as a means of s$iritual instruction and grace. t is from lack

of instruction rather than of desire to learn the meaning of Masonry that the &raft suffersto'day. ?ut as one finds every-here that desire e%istsB and so for -hat they may be

-orth these $a$ers are offered to the &raft as a contribution to-ards satisfying it.

Let me conclude -ith an a$ologue and an as$iration.

n the &hronicles of srael it may be read ho- that after long $re$aratory labour afterem$loying the choicest material and the most skilful artificers 3olomon the Iing at last

made an end of building and beautifying his Tem$le and dedicated to the service of the

Most 2igh that -ork of his hands in a state as $erfect as human $rovision could make itB

and ho- that then but not till then his offering -as acce$ted and the acce$tance -assignified by a 1ivine descent u$on it so that the glory of the Lord shone through and filled

the -hole house.

3o if -e -ill have it so may it be -ith the tem$le of the Masonic 0rder. 3ince the

ince$tion of 3$eculative Masonry it has been a'building and e%$anding no- these lastthree hundred years. ,ashioned of living stones into a far'reaching organic structureB

brought gradually under the good guidance of its rulers to high $erfection on its tem$oral

side and in res$ect of its e%ternal observances and made available for high $ur$oses andgiving godly -itness in a dark and troubled -orldB u$on these $reliminary efforts let there

no- be invoked this cro-ning and com$leting blessing that the 3$irit of Wisdom and

!nderstanding may descend u$on the -ork of our hands in abundant measure $ros$eringit still farther and filling and transfiguring our -hole Masonic house.

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%HA&TER I

THEDEEPERSYMBOLISMOFFREEMASONRY

/11#T" $ro$osing to enter ,reemasonry has seldom formed any definite idea of thenature of -hat he is engaging in. "ven after his admission he usually remains Auite at aloss to e%$lain satisfactorily -hat Masonry is and for -hat $ur$ose his 0rder e%ists. 2e

finds indeed that it is Ca system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbolsC

but that e%$lanation -hilst true is but $artial and does not carry him very far. ,or many

members of the &raft to be a Mason im$lies merely connection -ith a body -hich seemsto be something combining the natures of a club and a benefit society. They find of

course a certain religious element in it but as they are told that religious discussion -hich

means of course sectarian religious discussion is forbidden in the Lodge they infer thatMasonry is not a religious institution and that its teachings are intended to be merely

secondary and su$$lemental to any religious tenets they may ha$$en to hold. 0ne

sometimes hears it remarked that Masonry is Cnot a religionCB -hich in a sense is AuitetrueB and sometimes that it is a secondary or su$$lementary religion -hich is Auite untrue.

#gain Masonry is often su$$osed even by its o-n members to be a system of e%treme

antiAuity that -as $ractised and that has come do-n in -ell'nigh its $resent form from

"gy$tian or at least from early 2ebre- sources7 a vie- -hich again $ossesses the merestmodicum of truth. n brief the vaguest notions obtain about the origin and history of the

&raft -hilst the still more vital sub@ect of its immediate and $resent $ur$ose and of its

$ossibilities remains almost entirely outside the consciousness of many of its o-nmembers. We meet in our Lodges regularlyB -e $erform our ceremonial -ork and re$eat

our catechetical instruction'lectures night after night -ith a less or greater degree of

intelligence and verbal $erfection and there our -ork ends as though the ability to

$erform this -ork creditably -ere the be'all and the end'all of Masonic -ork. 3eldom ornever do -e em$loy our Lodge meetings for that $ur$ose for -hich Auite as much as for

ceremonial $ur$oses they -ere intended vi>.7 for Ce%$atiating on the mysteries of the&raftC and $erha$s our neglect to do so is because -e have ourselves im$erfectly reali>ed

-hat those mysteries are into -hich our 0rder -as $rimarily formed to introduce us.

Yet there e%ists a large number of brethren -ho -ould -illingly re$air this obvious

deficiencyB brethren to -hose natures Masonry even in their more limited as$ect of itmakes a $rofound a$$eal and -ho feel their membershi$ of the &raft to be a $rivilege

-hich has brought them into the $resence of something greater than they kno- and that

enshrines a $ur$ose and that could unfold a message dee$er than they at $resent reali>e.

n a brief address like this it is ho$eless to attem$t to deal at all adeAuately -ith -hat have suggested are deficiencies in our kno-ledge of the system -e belong to. The most

one can ho$e to do is to offer a fe- hints or clues -hich those -ho so desire may develo$

for themselves in the $rivacy of their o-n thought. ,or in the last resource no one can

communicate the dee$er things in Masonry to another. "very man must discover and learnthem for himself although a friend or brother may be able to conduct him a certain

distance on the $ath of understanding. We kno- that even the elementary and su$erficial

secrets of the 0rder must not be communicated to unAualified $ersons and the reason forthis in@unction is not so much because those secrets have any s$ecial value but because

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that silence is intended to be ty$ical of that -hich a$$lies to the greater dee$er secretssome of -hich for a$$ro$riate reasons must not be communicated and some of -hich

indeed are not communicable at all because they transcend the $o-er of communication.

t is -ell to em$hasi>e then at the outset that Masonry is a sacramental system

$ossessing like all sacraments an out-ard and visible side consisting of its ceremonial its

doctrine and its symbols -hich -e can see and hear and an in-ard intellectual ands$iritual side -hich is concealed behind the ceremonial the doctrine and the symbols and

-hich is available only to the Mason -ho has learned to use his s$iritual imagination and-ho can a$$reciate the reality that lies behind the veil of out-ard symbol. #nyone of

course can understand the sim$ler meaning of our symbols es$ecially -ith the hel$ of the

e%$lanatory lecturesB but he may still miss the meaning of the scheme as a vital -hole. t is

absurd to think that a vast organi>ation like Masonry -as ordained merely to teach togro-n'u$ men of the -orld the symbolical meaning of a fe- sim$le builders4 tools or to

im$ress u$on us such elementary virtues as tem$erance and @ustice7 the children in every

village school are taught such thingsB or to enforce such sim$le $rinci$les of morals asbrotherly love -hich every church and every religion teachesB or as relief -hich is

$ractised Auite as much by non'Masons as by usB or of truth -hich every infant learnsu$on its mother4s knee. There is surely too no need for us to @oin a secret society to betaught that the volume of the 3acred La- is a fountain of truth and instructionB or to go

through the great and elaborate ceremony of the third degree merely to learn that -e have

each to die. The &raft -hose -ork -e are taught to honour -ith the name of a CscienceC a

Croyal artC has surely some larger end in vie- than merely inculcating the $ractice ofsocial virtues common to all the -orld and by no means the mono$oly of ,reemasons.

3urely then it behoves us to acAuaint ourselves -ith -hat that larger end consists to

enAuire -hy the fulfilment of that $ur$ose is -orthy to be called a science and to ascertain-hat are those CmysteriesC to -hich our doctrine $romises -e may ultimately attain if -e

a$$ly ourselves assiduously enough to understanding -hat Masonry is ca$able of teaching

us.Reali>ing then -hat Masonry cannot be deemed to be let us ask -hat it is. ?ut beforeans-ering that Auestion let me $ut you in $ossession of certain facts that -ill enable you

the better to a$$reciate the ans-er -hen formulate it. n all $eriods of the -orld4s history

and in every $art of the globe secret orders and societies have e%isted outside the limits ofthe official churches for the $ur$ose of teaching -hat are called Cthe MysteriesC7 for

im$arting to suitable and $re$ared minds certain truths of human life certain instructions

about divine things about the things that belong to our $eace about human nature andhuman destiny -hich it -as undesirable to $ublish to the multitude -ho -ould but

$rofane those teachings and a$$ly the esoteric kno-ledge that -as communicated to

$erverse and $erha$s to disastrous ends.

These Mysteries -ere formerly taught -e are told Con the highest hills and in the lo-estvalleysC -hich is merely a figure of s$eech for saying first that they have been taught in

circumstances of the greatest seclusion and secrecy and secondly that they have been

taught in both advanced and sim$le forms according to the understanding of their disci$les.

t is of course common kno-ledge that great secret systems of the Mysteries 8referred toin our lectures as Cnoble orders of architectureC i.e. of soul'building= e%isted in the "ast

in &haldea #ssyria "gy$t Greece taly amongst the 2ebre-s amongst Mahommedans

and amongst &hristiansB even among uncivili>ed #frican races they are to be found. #ll the

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great teachers of humanity 3ocrates Plato Pythagoras Moses #ristotle 5irgil the authorof the 2omeric $oems and the great Greek tragedians along -ith 3t. 6ohn 3t. Paul and

innumerable other great names -ere initiates of the 3acred Mysteries. The form of the

teaching communicated has varied considerably from age to ageB it has been e%$ressedunder different veilsB but since the ultimate truth the Mysteries aim at teaching is al-ays

one and the same there has al-ays been taught and can only be taught one and the same

doctrine. What that doctrine -as and still is -e -ill consider $resently so far as -e areable to s$eak of it and so far as Masonry gives e%$ression to it. ,or the moment let memerely say that behind all the official religious systems of the -orld and behind all the

great moral movements and develo$ments in the history of humanity have stood -hat 3t.

Paul called the kee$ers or Cste-ards of the Mysteries.C ,rom that source &hristianity itselfcame into the -orld. ,rom them originated the great school of Iabalism that marvellous

system of secret oral tradition of the 2ebre-s a strong element of -hich has been

introduced into our Masonic system. ,rom them too also issued many fraternities andorders such for instance as the great orders of &hivalry and of the Rosicrucians and the

school of s$iritual alchemy. Lastly from them too also issued in the seventeenth century

modern s$eculative ,reemasonry.

To trace the genesis of the movement -hich came into activity some *H+ years ago 8ourrituals and ceremonies having been com$iled round about the year (;++= is beyond the

$ur$ose of my $resent remarks. t may merely be stated that the movement itself

incor$orated the slender ritual and the elementary symbolism that for centuries $reviously

had been em$loyed in connection -ith the mediDval ?uilding Guilds but it gave to them afar fuller meaning and a far -ider sco$e. t has al-ays been the custom for Trade Guilds

and even for modern ,riendly 3ocieties to s$irituali>e their trades and to make the tools

of their trade $oint some sim$le moral. /o trade $erha$s lends itself more readily to suchtreatment than the builder4s tradeB but -herever a great industry has flourished there you

-ill find traces of that industry becoming allegori>ed and of the allegory being em$loyed

for the sim$le moral instruction of those -ho -ere o$erative members of the industry. amacAuainted for instance -ith an "gy$tian ceremonial system some H+++ years old -hich

taught $recisely the same things as Masonry does but in the terms of shi$building instead

of in the terms of architecture. ?ut the terms of architecture -ere em$loyed by those -hooriginated modern Masonry because they -ere ready to handB because they -ere in use

among certain trade'guilds then in e%istenceB and lastly because they are e%tremely

effective and significant from the symbolic $oint of vie-.

#ll that -ish to em$hasi>e at this stage is that our $resent system is not one coming fromremote antiAuity7 that there is no direct continuity bet-een us and the "gy$tians or even

those ancient 2ebre-s -ho built in the reign of Iing 3olomon a certain Tem$le at

6erusalem. What is e%tremely ancient in ,reemasonry is the s$iritual doctrine concealed

-ithin the architectural $hraseologyB for this doctrine is an elementary form of the doctrinethat has been taught in all ages no matter in -hat garb it has been e%$ressed. 0ur o-n

teaching for instance recogni>es Pythagoras as having undergone numerous initiations in

different $arts of the -orld and as having attained great eminence in the science. /o- it is$erfectly certain that Pythagoras -as not a Mason at all in our $resent sense of the -ordB

but it is also $erfectly certain that Pythagoras -as a very highly advanced master in the

kno-ledge of the secret schools of the Mysteries of -hose doctrine some small $ortion isenshrined for us in our Masonic system.

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What then -as the $ur$ose the framers of our Masonic system had in vie- -hen theycom$iled it To this Auestion you -ill find no satisfying ans-er in ordinary Masonic

books. ndeed there is nothing more dreary and dismal than Masonic literature and

Masonic histories -hich are usually devoted to considering merely unessential mattersrelating to the e%ternal develo$ment of the &raft and to its antiAuarian as$ect. They fail

entirely to deal -ith its vital meaning and essence a failure that in some cases may be

intentional but that more often seems due to lack of kno-ledge and $erce$tion for thetrue inner history of Masonry has never yet been given forth even to the &raft itself. Thereare members of the &raft to -hom it is familiar and -ho in due time may feel @ustified in

gradually making $ublic at any rate some $ortion of -hat is kno-n in interior circles. ?ut

ere that time comes and that the &raft itself may the better a$$reciate -hat can be told itis desirable nay even necessary that its o-n members should make some effort to reali>e

the meaning of their o-n institution and should dis$lay sym$toms of earnest desire to treat

it less as a system of archaic and $erfunctory rites and more as a vital reality ca$able ofentering into and dominating their livesB less as a merely $leasant social order and more as

a sacred and serious method of initiation into the $rofoundest truths of life t is -ritten that

Cto him that hath shall be given and from him that hath not shall be taken a-ay even that

-hich he hathCB and it remains -ith the &raft itself to determine by its o-n action -hetherit shall enter into its full heritage or -hether by failing to reali>e and to safeguard the

value of -hat it $ossesses by suffering its o-n mysteries to be vulgari>ed and $rofaned its

organi>ation -ill degenerate and $ass into disre$ute and deserved oblivion as has been thefate of many secret orders in the $ast.

There are signs ho-ever of a -ell'nigh universal increase of interest of a genuine desire

for kno-ledge of the s$iritual content of our Masonic system and am glad to be able to

offer to my ?rethren some light and im$erfect outline of -hat conceive to be the true$ur$ose of our -ork -hich may tend to dee$en their interest in the -ork of the 0rder they

belong to and 8-hat is of more moment still= hel$ to make Masonry for them a vital factor

and a living serious reality rather than a mere $leasurable a$$endage to social life.To state things briefly Masonry offers us in dramatic form and by means of dramaticceremonial a $hiloso$hy of the s$iritual life of man and a diagram of the $rocess of

regeneration. We shall see $resently that that $hiloso$hy is not only consistent -ith the

doctrine of every religious system taught outside the ranks of the 0rder but that ite%$lains elucidates and more shar$ly defines the fundamental doctrines common to every

religious system in the -orld -hether $ast or $resent -hether &hristian or non'&hristian.

The religions of the -orld though all aiming at teaching truth e%$ress that truth indifferent -ays and -e are more $rone to em$hasi>e the differences than to look for the

corres$ondences in -hat they teach. n some Masonic Lodges the candidate makes his first

entrance to the Lodge room amid the clash of s-ords and the sounds of strife to intimate

to him that he is leaving the confusion and @arring of the religious sects of the e%terior-orld and is $assing into a Tem$le -herein the ?rethren d-ell together in unity of

thought in regard to the basal truths of life truths -hich can $ermit of no difference or

schism.

#llied -ith no e%ternal religious system itself Masonry is yet a synthesis a concordat formen of every race of every creed of every sect and its foundation $rinci$les being

common to them all admit of no variation. C#s it -as in the beginning so it is no- and

ever shall be into the ages of ages.C 2ence it is that every Master of a Lodge is called u$on

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to s-ear that no innovation in the body of Masonry 8i.e. in its substantial doctrine= is$ossible since it already contains a minimum and yet a sufficiency of truth -hich none

may add to nor alter and from -hich none may take a-ayB and since the 0rder accords

$erfect liberty of o$inion to all men the truths it has to offer are entirely Cfree toC usaccording to our ca$acity to assimilate them -hilst those to -hom they do not a$$eal

those -ho think they can find a more sufficing $hiloso$hy else-here are eAually at liberty

to be Cfree fromC them and men of honour -ill find it their duty to -ithdra- from the0rder rather than suffer the harmony of thought that should characteri>e the &raft to bedisturbed by their $resence.

The admission of every Mason into the 0rder is -e are taught Can emblematical

re$resentation of the entrance of all men u$on this mortal e%istence.C Let us reflect a little

u$on these $regnant -ords. To those dee$ $ersistent Auestionings -hich $resentthemselves to every thinking mind What am Whence come Whither go Masonry

offers em$hatic and luminous ans-ers. "ach of us it tells us has come from that mystical

C"astC the eternal source of all light and life and our life here is described as being s$entin the CWestC 8that is in a -orld -hich is the anti$odes of our original home and under

conditions of e%istence as far removed from those -e came from and to -hich -e arereturning as is West from "ast in our ordinary com$utation of s$ace=. 2ence every&andidate u$on admission finds himself in a state of darkness in the West of the Lodge.

Thereby he is re$eating symbolically the incident of his actual birth into this -orld -hich

he entered as a blind and hel$less babe and through -hich in his early years not kno-ing

-hither he -as going after many stumbling and irregular ste$s after many deviationsfrom the true $ath and after many tribulations and adversities incident to human life he

may at length ascend $urified and chastened by e%$erience to larger life in the eternal

"ast. 2ence in the ".#. degree -e ask C#s a Mason -hence come youC and the ans-ercoming from an a$$rentice 8i.e. from the natural man of undevelo$ed kno-ledge= is

C,rom the WestC since he su$$oses that his life has originated in this -orld. ?ut in the

advanced degree of M.M. the ans-er is that he comes C,rom the "astC for by this time theMason is su$$osed to have so enlarged his kno-ledge as to reali>e that the $rimal source

of life is not in the CWestC not in this -orldB that e%istence u$on this $lanet is but a

transitory so@ourn s$ent in search of Cthe genuine secretsC the ultimate realities of lifeBand that as the s$irit of man must return to God -ho gave it so he is no- returning from

this tem$orary -orld of Csubstituted secretsC to that C"astC from -hich he originally came.

#s the admission of every candidate into a Lodge $resu$$oses his $rior e%istence in the

-orld -ithout the Lodge so our doctrine $resu$$oses that every soul born into this -orldhas lived in and has come hither from an anterior state of life. t has lived else-here

before it entered this -orld7 it -ill live else-here -hen it $asses hence human life being

but a $arenthesis in the midst of eternity. ?ut u$on entering this -orld the soul must needs

assume material formB in other -ords it takes u$on itself a $hysical body to enable it toenter into relations -ith the $hysical -orld and to $erform the functions a$$ro$riate to it

in this $articular $hase of its career. /eed say that the $hysical form -ith -hich -e have

all been invested by the &reator u$on our entrance into this -orld and of -hich -e shallall divest ourselves -hen -e leave the Lodge of this life is re$resented among us by our

Masonic a$ron This our body of mortality this veil of flesh and blood clothing the inner

soul of us this is the real Cbadge of innocenceC the common Cbond of friendshi$C -ith-hich the Great #rchitect has been $leased to invest us all7 this the human body is the

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badge -hich is Colder and nobler than that of any other 0rder in e%istenceC7 and though itbe but a body of humiliation com$ared -ith that body of incorru$tion -hich is the

$romised inheritance of him -ho endures to the end let us never forget that if -e never do

anything to disgrace the badge of flesh -ith -hich God has endo-ed each of us that badge-ill never disgrace us.

?rethren charge you to regard your a$ron as one of the most $recious and s$eakingsymbols our 0rder has to give you. Remember that -hen you first -ore it it -as a $iece of

$ure -hite lambskinB an emblem of that $urity and innocence -hich -e al-ays associate-ith the lamb and -ith the ne-born child. Remember that you first -ore it -ith the fla$

raised it being thus a five'cornered badge indicating the five senses by means of -hich

-e enter into relations -ith the material -orld around us 8our Cfive $oints of fello-shi$C

-ith the material -orld= but indicating also by the triangular $ortion above in con@unction-ith the Auadrangular $ortion belo- that man4s nature is a combination of soul and bodyB

the three'sided emblem at the to$ added to the four'sided emblem beneath making seven

the $erfect numberB for as it is -ritten in an ancient 2ebre- doctrine -ith -hich Masonryis closely allied CGod blessed and loved the number seven more than all things under 2is

throneC by -hich is meant that man the seven'fold being is the most cherished of all the&reator4s -orks. #nd hence also it is that the Lodge has seven $rinci$al officers and that aLodge to be $erfect reAuires the $resence of seven brethrenB though the dee$er meaning

of this $hrase is that the individual man in virtue of his seven'fold constitution in himself

constitutes the C$erfect LodgeC if he -ill but kno- himself and analyse his o-n nature

aright.

To each of us also from our birth have been given three lesser lights by -hich the Lodge

-ithin ourselves may be illumined. ,or the CsunC symboli>es our s$iritual consciousness

the higher as$irations and emotions of the soulB the CmoonC betokens our reasoning or

intellectual faculties -hich 8as the moon reflects the light of the sun= should reflect thelight coming from the higher s$iritual faculty and transmit it into our daily conductB -hilst

Cthe Master of the LodgeC is a symbolical $hrase denoting the -ill'$o-er of man -hichshould enable him to be master of his o-n life to control his o-n actions and kee$ do-nthe im$ulses of his lo-er nature even as the stroke of the Master4s gavel controls the

Lodge and calls to order and obedience the ?rethren under his direction. ?y the assistance

of these lesser lights -ithin us a man is enabled to $erceive -hat is again symbolicallycalled the Cform of the LodgeC i.e. the -ay in -hich his o-n human nature has been

com$osed and constituted the length breadth height and de$th of his o-n being. ?y their

hel$ too he -ill $erceive that he himself his body and his soul are Choly groundC u$on-hich he should build the altar of his o-n s$iritual life an altar -hich he should suffer no

Ciron toolC no debasing habit of thought or conduct to defile. ?y them too he -ill

$erceive ho- Wisdom 3trength and ?eauty have been em$loyed by the &reator like three

grand su$$orting $illars in the structure of his o-n organism. #nd by these finally he -illdiscern ho- that there is a mystical Cladder of many rounds or stavesC i.e. that there are

innumerable $aths or methods by means of -hich men are led u$-ards to the s$iritual

Light encircling us all and in -hich -e live and move and have our being but that of thethree $rinci$al methods the greatest of these the one that com$rehends them all and brings

us nearest heaven is Love in the full e%ercise of -hich God'like virtue a Mason reaches

the summit of his $rofessionB that summit being God 2imself -hose name is Love.

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cannot too strongly im$ress u$on you ?rethren the fact that throughout our rituals andour lectures the references made to the Lodge are not to the building in -hich -e meet.

That building itself is intended to be but a symbol a veil of allegory concealing something

else. CIno- ye notC says the great initiate 3t. Paul Cthat ye are the tem$les of the Most2ighB and that the 3$irit of God d-elleth in you CThe real Lodge referred to throughout

our rituals is our o-n individual $ersonalities and if -e inter$ret our doctrine in the light

of this fact -e shall find that it reveals an entirely ne- as$ect of the $ur$ose of our &raft.

t is after investment -ith the a$ron that the initiate is $laced in the /.". corner. Therebyhe is intended to learn that at his birth into this -orld the foundation'stone of his s$iritual

life -as duly and truly laid and im$lanted -ithin himselfB and he is charged to develo$ itB

to create a su$erstructure u$on it. T-o $aths are o$en to him at this stage a $ath of light

and a $ath of darknessB a $ath of good and a $ath of evil. The /.". corner is the symbolicaldividing $lace bet-een the t-o. n symbolical language the /. al-ays signifies the $lace

of im$erfection and undevelo$mentB in olden times the bodies of suicides re$robates and

unba$ti>ed children -ere al-ays buried in the north or sunless side of a churchyard. Theseat of the @unior members of the &raft is allotted to the north for symbolically it

re$resents the condition of the s$iritually unenlightened manB the novice in -hom thes$iritual light latent -ithin him has not yet risen above the hori>on of consciousness anddis$ersed the clouds of material interests and the im$ulses of the lo-er and merely sensual

life. The initiate $laced in the /.". corner is intended to see then that on the one side of

him is the $ath that leads to the $er$etual light of the "ast into -hich he is encouraged to

$roceed and that on the other is that of s$iritual obscurity and ignorance into -hich it is$ossible for him to remain or rela$se. t is a $arable of the dual $aths of life o$en to each

one of usB on the one hand the $ath of selfishness material desires and sensual indulgence

of intellectual blindness and moral stagnationB on the other the $ath of moral and s$iritual$rogress in $ursuing -hich one may decorate and adorn the Lodge -ithin him -ith the

ornaments and @e-els of grace and -ith the invaluable furniture of true kno-ledge and

-hich he may dedicate in all his actions to the service of God and of his fello- men #ndmark that of those @e-els some are said to be moveable and transferable because -hen

dis$layed in our o-n lives and natures their influence becomes transferred and

communicated to others and hel$s to u$lift and s-eeten the lives of our fello-sB -hilstsome are immoveable because they are $ermanently fi%ed and $lanted in the roots of our

o-n being and are indeed the ra- material -hich has been entrusted to us to -ork out of

chaos and roughness into due and true form.

The &eremony of our first degree then is a s-ift and com$rehensive $ortrayal of theentrance of all men into first $hysical life and second into s$iritual lifeB and as -e e%tend

congratulations -hen a child is born into the -orld so also -e receive -ith acclamation

the candidate for Masonry -ho symbolically is seeking for s$iritual re'birthB and herein

-e emulate -hat is -ritten of the @oy that e%ists among the angels of heaven over everysinner -ho re$ents and turns to-ards the light. The first degree is also eminently the

degree of $re$aration of self'disci$line and $urification. t corres$onds -ith that

symbolical cleansing accorded in the sacrament of ?a$tism -hich in the churches is soto s$eak the first degree in the religious lifeB and -hich is administered a$$ro$riately at

the font near the entrance of the church even as the act itself takes $lace at the entrance of

the s$iritual career. ,or to all of us such initial cleansing and $urifying is necessary. #s hasbeen beautifully -ritten by a fello-'-orker in the &raft7''

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CKTis scarcely true that souls come naked do-nTo take abode u$ in this earthly to-n

0r naked $ass of all they -ear denied.

We enter sli$shod and -ith clothes a-ry#nd -e take -ith us much that by'and'by

May $rove no easy task to $ut aside.

&leanse therefore that -hich round about us clingsB

We $ray Thee Master ere Thy sacred hallsWe enter. 3tri$ us of redundant things

#nd meetly clothe us in $ontificals.

n the schools of the Mysteries -hen as$irants for the higher life -ere -ont to Auit the

outer -orld and enter tem$les or sanctuaries of initiation $rolonged $eriods -ere allottedto the $ractical achievement of -hat is briefly summari>ed in our first degree. We are told

seven or more years -as the normal $eriod though less sufficed in -orthy cases. The most

severe tests of disci$line of $urity of self'balance -ere reAuired before a neo$hyte -as

$ermitted to $ass for-ard and a reminiscence of these tests of fitness is $reserved in our

o-n -orking by the conducting of the candidate to the t-o -ardens and submitting him toa merely formal trial of efficiency. ,or it is im$ossible to'day as it -as im$ossible in

ancient times for a man to reach the heights of moral $erfection and s$iritualconsciousness -hich -ere then and are no- the goal and aim of all the schools of the

Mysteries and all the secret orders -ithout $urification and trial. &om$lete stainlessness of

body utter $urity of mind are absolute essentials to the attainment of things of great andfinal moment. CWhoC says the Psalmist 8and remember that the Psalms -ere the sacred

hymns used in the 2ebre- Mysteries= CWho -ill go u$ to the hill of the Lord and ascend

to 2is holy $lace "ven he that hath clean hands and a $ure heartCB -hence it comes that

-e -ear -hite gloves and a$rons as emblems that -e have $urified our hearts and -ashedour hands in innocency. 3o also our Patron 3aint 83t. 6ohn= teaches C2e -ho hath this

ho$e in him $urifieth himself even as 2e 8i.e. the Master -hom he is seeking= is $ure.C,or he -ho is not $ure in body and mind7 he -ho is enslaved by $assions and desires orby bondage to the material interests of this -orld is by the very fact of his uncleanness

$revented from $assing on. /othing unclean or that defileth a man -e are told can enter

into the kingdomB and therefore our candidates are told that if they have Cmoney or metalsabout themCB if that is they are sub@ect to any $hysical attraction or mental defilement

their real initiation into the higher things of -hich our ceremony is but a dramatic symbol

must be deferred and re$eated again and again until they are cleansed and fitted to $ass on.

#fter $urification come contem$lation and enlightenment -hich are the s$ecial sub@ects ofthe second degree. #foretime the candidate for the Mysteries after $rotracted disci$line

and $urification enabling his mind to acAuire com$lete control over his $assions and his

lo-er $hysical nature -as advanced as he may advance himself to'day to the study of hismore interior faculties to understand the science of the human soul and to trace these

faculties in their develo$ment from their elementary stage until he reali>es that they

connect -ith and terminate in the 1ivine itself. The secrets of his mental nature and the

$rinci$les of intellectual life became at this stage gradually unfolded to his vie-. You -illthus $erceive ?rethren that the ,.&. degree sometimes regarded by us as a some-hat

uninteresting one ty$ifies in reality a long course of $ersonal develo$ment reAuiring the

most $rofound kno-ledge of the mental and $sychical side of our nature. t involves not

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18/91


$laced in his -ay are utilised by the "ternal Wisdom as the necessary means of develo$ingthe latent and $otential good in him and that as the rough ashlar can only be sAuared and

$erfected by chi$$ing and $olishing so he also can be made $erfect only by toil and by

suffering. 2e sees that difficulty adversity and $ersecution serve a beneficent $ur$ose.These are his C-agesC7 and he learns to acce$t them C-ithout scru$le and -ithout

diffidence kno-ing that he is @ustly entitled to them and from the confidence he has in the

integrityC of that "m$loyer -ho has sent him into this far'off -orld to $re$are thematerials for building the tem$le of the heavenly city. #nd so as the sign $eculiar to thedegree suggests he endeavours to e%amine and lay bare his heart to cast a-ay all im$urity

from it and he stands like 6oshua $raying that the light of day may be e%tended to him

until he has accom$lished the overthro- of his o-n in-ard enemies and of every obstacleto his com$lete develo$ment.

The as$irant -ho attains $roficiency in the -ork of self'$erfecting to -hich the ,.&. grade

alludes has $assed a-ay from the /. side of the Lodge the side of darkness and

im$erfectionB and no- stands on the 3.". side in the meridian sunlight of moralillumination 8so far as the natural man may $ossess it= but yet still far removed from that

fuller reali>ation of himself and of the mysteries of his o-n nature -hich it is $ossible forthe s$iritual ade$t or Master Mason to attain. ?efore that attainment is reached thereremains for him Cthat last and greatest trialC by -hich alone he can enter into the great

consolations and make acAuaintance -ith the su$reme realities of e%istence. n the $laces

-here the great Mysteries have al-ays been taught -hat is ceremonially $erformed in our

third degree is no mere symbolical re$resentation as -ith us but an actual vital e%$erienceof a most severe character7 one the nature of -hich can hardly be made intelligible or even

credible to those unfamiliar -ith the sub@ect. refrain therefore from more than mere

mention of it observing only that it is one not involving $hysical death and in this res$ectonly is our ceremony in accord -ith the e%$erience symboli>ed. ,or if you follo- closely

the raising ceremony although distinct reference to the death of the body is made yet such

death is obviously intended to be merely symbolical of another kind of death since thecandidate is eventually restored to his former -orldly circumstances and material comforts

and his earthly Masonic career is not re$resented as coming to a close at this stage. #ll that

has ha$$ened in the third degree is that he has symbolically $assed through a great andstriking change7 a rebirth or regeneration of his -hole nature. 2e has been Cso-n a

corru$tible bodyCB and in virtue of the self'disci$line and self'develo$ment he has

undergone there has been raised in him Can incorru$tible bodyC and death has been

s-allo-ed u$ in the victory he has attained over himself. sometimes fear that the toocons$icuous dis$lay of the emblems and tra$$ings of mortality in our Lodges is a$t to

create the false im$ression that the death to -hich the third degree alludes is the mere

$hysical change that a-aits all men. ?ut a far dee$er meaning is intended. The Mason -hokno-s his science kno-s that the death of the body is only a natural transition of -hich he

need have no dread -hateverB he kno-s also that -hen the due time for it arrives that

transition -ill be a -elcome res$ite from the bondage of this -orld from his $rison'likehusk of mortality and from the daily burdens incident to e%istence in this lo-er $lane of

life. #ll that he fears is that -hen the time comes he may not be free from those Cstains of

falsehood and dishonourC those im$erfections of his o-n nature that may delay his after'

$rogress. /oJ the death to -hich Masonry alludes using the analogy of bodily death andunder the veil of a reference to it is that death'in'life to a man4s o-n lo-er self -hich 3t.

Paul referred to -hen he $rotested C die daily.C t is over the grave not of one4s dead body

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but of one4s lo-er self that the as$irant must -alk before attaining to the heights. What ismeant is that com$lete self'sacrifice and self'crucifi%ion -hich as all religions teach are

essential before the soul can be raised in glory Cfrom a figurative death to a reunion -ith

the com$anions of its former toilsC both here and in the unseen -orld. The $erfect cubemust $ass through the metamor$hosis of the &ross. The soul must voluntarily and

consciously $ass through a state of utter hel$lessness from -hich no earthly hand can

rescue it and in trying to raise him from -hich the gri$ of any succouring human hand -ill$rove but a sli$7 until at length 1ivine 2el$ itself descends from the Throne above and-ith the Clion4s gri$C of almighty $o-er raises the faithful and regenerated soul to union

-ith itself in an embrace of reconciliation and at'one'ment.

n all the schools of the Mysteries as -ell as in all the great religions of the -orld the

attainment of the s$iritual goal @ust described is enacted or taught under the veil of a tragice$isode analogous to that of our third degreeB and in each there is a Master -hose death the

as$irant is instructed he must imitate in his o-n $erson. n Masonry that $rototy$e is

2iram #biff7 but it must be made clear that there is no historical basis -hatever for thelegendary account of 2iram4s death. The entire story is symbolical and -as $ur$osely

invented for the symbolical $ur$oses of our teaching. f you e%amine it closely you -ill$erceive ho- obvious the corres$ondence is bet-een this story and the story of the deathof the &hristian Master related in the Gos$elsB and it is needless to say that the Mason -ho

reali>es the meaning of the latter -ill com$rehend the former and the veiled allusion that is

im$lied. n the one case the Master is crucified bet-een the t-o thievesB in the other he is

done to death bet-een t-o villains. n the one case a$$ear the $enitent and the im$enitentthiefB in the other -e have the cons$irators -ho make a voluntary confession of their guilt

and -ere $ardoned and the others -ho -ere found guilty and $ut to deathB -hilst the

moral and s$iritual lessons deducible from the stories corres$ond. #s every &hristian istaught that in his o-n life he must imitate the life and death of &hrist so every Mason is

Cmade to re$resent one of the brightest characters recorded in our annalsCB but as the annals

of Masonry are contained in the volume of the 3acred La- and not else-here it is easy tosee -ho the character is -ho is alluded to. #s that great authority and initiate of the

Mysteries 3t. Paul taught -e can only attain to the Master4s resurrection by Cbeing made

conformable unto 2is deathC and -e Cmust die -ith 2im if -e are to be raised like 2imC7and it is in virtue of that conformity in virtue of being individually made to imitate the

Grand Master in 2is death that -e are made -orthy of certain C$oints of fello-shi$C -ith

2im7 for the Cfive $oints of fello-shi$C of the third degree are the five -ounds of &hrist

The three yearsK ministry of the &hristian Master ended -ith 2is death and these refer tothe three degrees of the &raft -hich also end in the mystical death of the Masonic

candidate 'and his subseAuent raising or resurrection.

The name 2iram #biff signifies in 2ebre- Cthe teacher 8Guru or enlightened one= from

the ,atherC7 a fact -hich may hel$ you still further to recogni>e the concealed $ur$ose ofthe teaching. !nder the name of 2iram then and beneath a veil of allegory -e see an

allusion to another MasterB and it is this Master this "lder ?rother -ho is alluded to in our

lectures -hose Ccharacter -e $reserve -hether absent or $resentC i.e. -hether 2e is$resent to our minds or no and in regard to -hom -e Cado$t the e%cellent $rinci$le

silenceC lest at any time there should be among us trained in some other than the &hristian

,aith and to -hom on that account the mention of the &hristian Master4s name might$ossibly $rove an offence or $rovoke contention.

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To ty$ify the advance by the candidate at this stage of his develo$ment the a$ron hereassumes greater elaborateness. t is garnished -ith a light blue border and rosettes

indicating that a higher than the natural light no- $ermeates his being and radiates from

his $erson and that the -ilderness of the natural man is no- blossoming as the rose in theflo-ers and graces incident to his regenerated natureB -hilst u$on either side of the a$ron

are seen t-o columns of light descending from above streaming into the de$ths of his

-hole being and terminating in the seven'fold tassels -hich ty$ify the seven'fold$rismatic s$ectrum of the su$ernal Light. 2e is no- lord of himselfB the true Master'MasonB able to govern that lodge -hich is -ithin himselfB and as he has $assed through the

three degrees of $urifying and self'$erfecting and sAuared levelled and harmoni>ed his

tri$le nature of body soul and s$irit he also -ears on attaining Mastershi$ the tri$le TauB-hich com$rises the form of a level but is also the 2ebre- form of the &rossB the three

crosses u$on the a$ron thus corres$onding -ith the three crosses of &alvary.

To sum u$ the im$ort of the teaching of the three degrees it is clear therefore that from

grade to grade the candidate is being led from an old to an entirely ne- Auality of life. 2ebegins his Masonic career as the natural manB he ends it by becoming through its

disci$line a regenerated $erfected man. To attain this transmutation this metamor$hosis ofhimself he is taught first to $urify and subdue his sensual natureB then to $urify anddevelo$ his mental natureB and finally by utter surrender of his old life and losing his soul

to save it he rises from the dead a Master a @ust man made $erfect -ith larger

consciousness and faculties an efficient instrument for use by the Great #rchitect in 2is

$lan of rebuilding the Tem$le of fallen humanity and ca$able of initiating and advancingother men to a $artici$ation in the same great -ork.

This the evolution of man into su$erman -as al-ays the $ur$ose of the ancient

Mysteries and the real $ur$ose of modern Masonry is not the social and charitable

$ur$oses to -hich so much attention is $aid but the e%$editing of the s$iritual evolution ofthose -ho as$ire to $erfect their o-n nature and transform it into a more god'like Auality.

#nd this is a definite science a royal art -hich it is $ossible for each of us to $ut into$racticeB -hilst to @oin the &raft for any other $ur$ose than to study and $ursue this scienceis to misunderstand its meaning. 2ence it is that no one should a$$ly to enter Masonry

unless from the dee$est $rom$tings of his o-n heart as it hungers for light u$on the

$roblem of its o-n nature. We are all im$erfect beings conscious of something lacking tous that -ould make us -hat in our best moments -e fain -ould be. What is that -hich is

lacking to us CWhat is that -hich is lostC #nd the ans-er is CThe genuine secrets of a

Master MasonC the true kno-ledge of ourselves the conscious reali>ation of our divine$otentialities.

The very essence of the Masonic doctrine is that all men in this -orld are in search of

something in their o-n nature -hich they have lost but that -ith $ro$er instruction and by

their o-n $atience and industry they may ho$e to find. ts $hiloso$hy im$lies that thistem$oral -orld is the anti$odes of another and more real -orld from -hich -e originally

came and to -hich -e may accelerate our return by such a course of self'kno-ledge and

self'disci$line as our teaching inculcates. t im$lies that this $resent -orld is the $lace

-here the symbolic stones and timber are being $re$ared Cso far offC from that mystical6erusalem -here one day they -ill be found $ut together and collectively to constitute

that Tem$le -hich even no- is being built -ithout hands and -ithout the noise or hel$ of

metal tools. #nd this -orld therefore being but a transient tem$orary one for us it is

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necessarily one of shado-s images and merely Csubstituted secretsC until such time asbeing raised not merely symbolically but actually in character and kno-ledge and

consciousness to the sublime degree of Master Mason -e fit ourselves to learn something

of the Cgenuine secretsC something of the living realities that lurk and live in concealmentbehind the out-ard sho- of things. #ll human life having originated in the mystical

C"astC and @ourneyed into this -orld -hich -ith us is the CWestC must return again to its

source. To Auote again the verse of the ?rother have already citedB''

C,rom "ast to West the soul her @ourney takesB#t many bitter founts her fever slakesB

2alts at strange taverns by the -ay to feast

Resumes her load and $ainful $rogress makes

?ack to the "ast.C

Masonry by means of a series of dramatic re$resentations is intended to furnish those

-ho care to discover its $ur$ort and to take advantage of the hints it thro-s out in

allegorical form -ith an e%am$le and -ith instructions by -hich our return to the C"astC

may be accelerated. t refers to no architecture of a mundane kind but to the architecture of

the soul4s life. t is not in itself a religionB but rather a dramati>ed and intensified form ofreligious $rocesses inculcated by every religious system in the -orld. ,or there is no

religion but teaches the lesson of the necessity of bodily $urification of our first degreeBnone but em$hasi>es that of the second degree that mental moral and s$iritual

develo$ments are essential and -ill lead to the discovery of a certain secret centre C-here

truth abides in fullnessC and that that centre is a C$oint -ithin a circleC of our o-n naturefrom -hich no man or Mason can ever err for it is the divine kingdom latent -ithin us all

into -hich -e have as yet failed to enter. #nd there is none but insists u$on the su$reme

lesson of self'sacrifice and mystical death to the things of this -orld so gra$hically

$ortrayed in our third degreeB none but indicates that in that hour of greatest darkness thelight of the $rimal divine s$ark -ithin us is never -holly e%tinguished and that by loyalty

to that light by $atience and by $erseverance time and circumstances -ill restore to us theCgenuine secretsC the ultimate truths and realities of our o-n nature. We are hereMasonry teaches as it -ere in ca$tivity by the -aters of ?abylon and in a strange landB

and our doctrine truly tells us that the richest harmonies of this life are as nothing in

com$arison -ith the songs of ionB and that even -hen -e are installed into the highesteminences this -orld or the &raft may offer it -ere better that our right hand should forget

its cunning and that -e should fling the illusory treasures of this transitory -orld behind

our backs than in all our doings fail to remember the 6erusalem that lies beyond.

0ur teaching is $ur$osely veiled in allegory and symbol and its dee$er im$ort does nota$$ear u$on the surface of the ritual itself. This is $artly in corres$ondence -ith human life

itself and the -orld -e live in -hich are themselves but allegories and symbols of another

life and the veils of another -orldB and $artly intentional also so that only those -ho havereverent and understanding minds may $enetrate into the more hidden meaning of the

doctrine of the &raft. The dee$er secrets in Masonry like the dee$er secrets of life are

heavily veiledB are closely hidden. They e%ist concealed beneath a great reservationB but

-hoso kno-s anything of them kno-s also that they are Cmany and valuableC and thatthey are disclosed only to those -ho act u$on the hint given in our lectures C3eek and ye

shall findB ask and ye shall haveB knock and it shall be o$ened unto you.C The search may

be long and difficult but great things are not acAuired -ithout effort and searchB but it may

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be affirmed that to the candidate -ho is C$ro$erly $re$aredC 8in a much fuller sense than-e conventionally attach to that e%$ression= there are doors leading from the &raft that

-hen knocked -ill assuredly o$en and admit him to $laces and to kno-ledge he at $resent

recks little of. ,or him too -ho -ould enter u$on the greater initiations the same rulea$$lies as that -hich -as symbolically re$resented u$on his first entrance into the 0rder

but this time it -ill no longer be a symbol but a realistic fact. 2e -ill find mean that a

dra-n s-ord is al-ays threatening in front of him and that a cable'to- is still around hisneck. 1anger indeed a-aits the candidate -ho -ould rush $reci$itately and in a state ofmoral unfitness into the dee$er mysteries of his being -hich are indeed Cserious solemn

and a-fulCB but on the other hand for him -ho has once entered u$on the $ath of light it is

moral suicide to turn back.

#nd no- ?rethren to bring to an end this brief and im$erfect survey of the dee$ermeaning and $ur$oses of our &raft $ray that -hat is no- s$oken may hel$ to $rove to

some of you a further restoration to that light -hich is at all times the $redominant -ish

of our hearts. t rests -ith ourselves -hether Masonry remains for us -hat u$on itsout-ard and su$erficial side a$$ears to be merely a series of symbolic rites or -hether -e

allo- those symbols to $ass into our lives and become realities therein. Whateverformalities -e may have gone through in connection -ith our admission into the 0rder -ecannot be said to have been Cregularly initiatedC into Masonry so long as -e regard the

&raft as merely an incident of social life and treat its ceremonies as but rites of an archaic

and $erfunctory nature. The &raft as have already suggested -as given out to the -orld

from more secret sources still as a great e%$eriment and means of grace and as a greato$$ortunity for those -ho cared to avail themselves of -hat is little kno-n and little taught

outside certain sanctuaries of concealment. t -as intended to furnish forth an e$itome or

syno$sis in dramatic form of the s$iritual regeneration of manB and to thro- out hints andsuggestions that might lead those ca$able . of discerning its dee$er $ur$ose and symbolism

into still dee$er initiations than the merely su$erficial ones enacted in our Lodges. ,or as

on the e%ternal side of the 0rder -e may be called to occu$y $ositions of honour andoffice in the Provincial Grand Lodge or may enter other Masonic grades outside the &raft

so also u$on its internal side there are eminences to -hich -e may be called that -hilst

offering us no social distinction and no visible advancement are yet really the true $ri>esthe most valuable attainments of Masonic desire. To this goal all may attain -ho truly

seek to do so and -ho $re$are the -ay for themselves by a$$ro$riating the truths lying

beneath the su$erficial allegory and the symbolic veils of the &raft teaching. #nd since

there seems to'day a genuine and -ides$read desire on the $art of many members of the0rder to enter into a fuller understanding of -hat the 0rder itself conceals rather than

reveals feel should not be discharging my duties as a Master in the &raft did not take

advantage of that $osition to share -ith them some measure at least of -hat have beenable to glean for myself.

?ut finally must ask you to remember that in accordance -ith the general design of our

system every Master of a Lodge is but a symbol and a substitution and that behind him

and behind all other the grand officers of the Masonic hierarchy there stands the CGreatWhite 2eadC the CGreat nitiatorC and Grand Master of all true Masons throughout the

!niverse -hether members of our &raft or not. To -hom let us all bo- in gratitude for the

invaluable gift accorded to us in this our 0rderB and to -hose $rotection and to -hoseenlightening guidance into its dee$er mysteries commend you all.

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%HA&TER II

MASONRYASAPHILOSOPHY

3G/3 are not -anting that a higher Masonic consciousness is a-akening in the &raft.Members of the 0rder are gradually and here and there becoming alive to the fact thatmuch more than meets the eye and ear lies beneath the surface of Masonic doctrine and

symbols. They are beginning to think for themselves instead of taking the face'value of

things for granted and as their thought develo$s facts that $reviously remained

un$erceived assume $rominence and significance. They discern the Masonic system to besomething dee$er than a code of elementary morality such as all men are e%$ected to

observe -hether formally Masons or not. They reflect that the $henomenal gro-th of the

&raft is scarcely accountable for u$on the su$$osition that modern s$eculative Masonry$er$etuates nothing more than the $rivate associations that once e%isted in connection -ith

the o$erative builders4 trade. They recogni>e that there can be no $eculiar virtue or interest

in continuing to imitate the customs of ancient trade'guilds for the mere sake of so doingBor of kee$ing on foot a costly organi>ation for teaching men the elementary symbolism of

a fe- building tools su$$lemented by a considerable amount of social conviviality. !$on

a little thought it becomes $retty obvious that our Third 1egree and the great central

legend that forms the clima% of the &raft system cannot have and can never have had anydirect or $ractical bearing u$on or connection -ith the trade of the o$erative mason. t

may be urged that -e have our great charity system and that the social side of our

$roceedings is a valuable and humani>ing asset. Granted but other $eo$le and othersocieties are $hilanthro$ic and social as -ell as -eB and a secret society is not necessary to

$romote such ends -hich are merely su$$lemental to the original $ur$ose of the 0rder.

The discernment of such facts as these then suggests to us that the &raft has not yet

entered into the full heritage of understanding its o-n system and that side'mattersconnected -ith Masonry -hich -e have long em$hasi>ed so strongly valuable in their

o-n -ay as they are are not after all the $rimary and $ro$er -ork of the 0rder. The -orkof the 0rder is to initiate into certain secrets and mysteries and obviously if the 0rder fails

to e%$ound its o-n secrets and mysteries and so to confer real initiations as distinguished

from $assing candidates through certain formal ceremonies it is not fulfilling its original

$ur$ose -hatever other incidental good it may be doing.

/o- as these facts are the basis u$on -hich this lecture $roceeds let me at the outset make

my first $oint by stating that as the $rogress in the &raft of every ?rother admitted into its

ranks is by gradual successive stages in like manner the understanding of the Masonic

system and doctrine is also a matter of gradual develo$ment. 3tated in the sim$lest terms

$ossible the theory of Masonic $rogress is that every Member admitted to the 0rder entersin a state of darkness and ignorance as to -hat Masonry teaches and that later on he is

su$$osed to be brought to light and kno-ledge. Putting it in other terms he enters the&raft symbolically as a rough ashlar and it is his business so to develo$ both his character

and his understanding that ultimately in virtue of -hat he has learned and $racticed he

may be as a finished and $erfect cube.

/o- the understanding of the Masonic scheme tends to develo$ u$on $recisely similarlines. ts meaning is not discernible all at once and unless our minds are $ro$erly $re$ared

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and our understandings carefully trained they are unlikely ever to $artici$ate in the realsecrets and mysteries of Masonry at all ho-ever often -e may -atch the $erformance of

e%ternal ceremonial or ho-ever $roficient -e may be in memori>ing the rituals and

instruction lectures. The first stage the first conce$tion of -hat Masonry involves isconcerned merely -ith the surface'value of the doctrineB -ith an acAuaintance -ith the

literal side of the im$arted kno-ledge -hich -e all obtain u$on entering the &raft. ?eyond

this stage the vast ma@ority of Masons it is to be feared never $asses. This is the stage ofkno-ledge in -hich the &raft is regarded as a social semi'$ublic semi'secret communityto -hich it is agreeable and advantageous to belong for sociable or even for ulterior

$ur$osesB in -hich the goal of the Mason4s ambition is to attain office and high $referment

and to -ear a breastful of decorationsB in -hich he takes a literal su$erficial and historicvie- of the sub@ect'matter of the doctrineB in -hich ability to $erform the ceremonial -ork

-ith dignity and effectiveness and to kno- the instruction catechisms by heart so that not

a syllable is -rongly rendered is deemed the height of Masonic $roficiencyB and -hereafter discharging these functions -ith a certain degree of credit his idea is often to have

the Lodge closed as s$eedily as may be and get a-ay to the rela%ation of the festive board.

/o- all these things belong to -hat may be called the very rough'ashlar stage of theMasonic conce$tion. am not of course alluding to any individual Mason. confessfrankly to having come -ithin this category myself and think -e may agree that -e have

all $assed through the $hase have described for the sim$le reason that -e kne- nothing

better and had no one able to teach us something better. Let us not com$lain. f -e look

back u$on the $rogress of the &raft during the last (H+ years -e cannot but congratulateourselves u$on the enormous if gradual strides made in Masonic $rogress and decorum

even in the rough'ashlar stage of our conce$tion of it. #nyone familiar -ith the records of

old Lodges -ill have been brought into close touch -ith times -hen almost every elementof reverence and dignity seems to have been lacking. Lodges -ere held in the $ublic rooms

of taverns. Whatever official furniture decorated these $rimitive tem$les Auart'$ots and

Cchurch-ardensC figured largely among the unauthori>ed eAui$ment. n one of the greatLondon galleries there hangs a famous $icture called C/ightC by the great artist and

moralist of his age 2ogarth. 2is $ur$ose -as to de$ict a characteristic night'scene in the

streets of London as they a$$eared in his time. #mong the ty$ical s$ecimens of de$ravityhaunting those ill'lit streets the great artist has held u$ to the derision of all time the figure

of a ,reemason staggering home drunk still -earing his a$ron and bei

wilmshurst,walter leslie-the meaning of masonry

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