Newspapers / Masonic Journal (Greensboro, N.C.) / Aug. 29, 1876, edition 1 / Page 2
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i:ij > .• m .. .. ..•Jvr'^f'A JUj S .. p;,'l .^|||j '■^'Jilllti ■-r4i ■II THE MASONIC J 0 U E N A J. FREEMASONRY. By rev. BBO. Vf. M. LEGGETT, LONDON, ENG Ilail, matcliless tie, that so unites the hearts of fellow me.i. That nought but crime can e’er dissolve their unity again! ’iVhether from Europe’s proud domain, or Asias ancient plain. Or Afric’s burning soil, or young America’s Wild scenes. Prom East to West, from Korth to South, tlie still unsullied robe Of true Masonic Charity, infolds the mystic Globe! Its luminous display of truth, antiquity of fame, And sacred preservation of the three^one spoken name,* The friendly hand the prudent lip, the well- instructed ear, The holy memories enshrined witliin the heart sincere. Are binding as th’eternal hills, tliat earth quakes cannot tear From their antique foundations, for the arm of GOD is there. Freemasoniy, the pow’r of old, ordain’d by highest Heav’n To keep the sac"ed Bolls, that are for mans’ instruction giv’n, Ev’n when a Deluge drown’d the world,t and when in after days. All other pow’rs would have consigned them to the pagon blaze,— Freemasonry tliou archetypej of every truth ful creed, I love thee—0 I love the more, the more I feel my need. The uninitiated ask whence sprung the match less tie,— With awe pi-ofound we point them to the Heav’n of Heav’ns and say The Architect supreme, by whose behest the world awoke From chao.5—even He who thus omnipotently spoke ^'Let there be and there was fight!— from the great source we spring— Our glorious Grand Master is the universal KING. ♦The Incommunicable name of God has been preserved in its tliree-fold sense, by a certain Order of Freemasonry. tVide the Pillars. ♦This religion is of the highest antiquity. Would that all its professed disciples practical ly observed its precepts ! Then every man would do to his neighbor as he would be done t>y- The Transition Period in Ma sonry. Any one who will give a searching glance into the history of Freemasonry, for the past four or five centuries, will be thoroughly satisffed that there has been a verj' remarkable transformation in the religious character of the institution. As the transition rocks mark in geology the period that intervened between the unin habited and the habited globe, so the transition stage in Ma.sonry may be a term used to mark the gradual change which took place, about the beginning of the eighteenth century, in the religion of the institution, from the sectarian char acter of the earlier period to the cosmopol itan spirit of the later. While Freemasonry was predominant ly operative in its organization, and was represented by the guilds aiid building corporations of the Middle Ages, it was exclusively Christian in its religious char aoter. The Old Records of both the English and German Masons—those in valuable guide-posts which so faithfully direct us in our backward journeying into the past—conclusively show this character. The constitutions and charg es begin, for the most part, with a solemn invocation to the Holy and Blessed Trin ity. Thus, the “Ordeis' and Constiln- tions conta.ined in the Flarleian MS the date of which is supposed to be about the beginning of the seventeenth century, begin with these words-: j “The might of the Father of heaven, with the wisdome of the glorious Sone, through the goodness of the Holy Ghost, that be three persons in one God, be with us in our beginning, and give us grace so to govern us in our lyveing, that we may come to His blisse that never shall have ending.’’ And in the still older manuscript pub lished by Mr. Halliwell, the date of which he supposes to be not later than the lat ter part of the fourteenth century, there are continual allusions to Christian usage. The craftsman is directed how to conduct himself in church, and at the celebration of the mass, and it ends with a prayer for Christ’s grace. The same spirit prevailed among the German Operative Masons of the Middle Ages. The Constitutions of Strasburg, whose date is 1459, begin with an invooa tion of the Trinity, and also of the Vir gin Mary, and of the four crowned Mar tyrs. But it would be useless to multiply citations. All through these old Con stitutions this sectarian feature is found, which indicates, beyond the power of de nial, that these guild or operative Ma sons were exclusively Christian associa tions. Now, compare the manuscript Consti tutions and Charges, whose dates are an terior to the eighteenth centuiy, with the first charges which were published after what is called the revival of 1717, namely, those approved by the Grand Lodges and printed in 1723 in the first edition of the constitutions of Anderson, and the change to which we have allud ed, as the transition from exclusive Chris tianity to universal toleration will be evident. The words of the Charge, which are inserted for the convenience of those to whom a copy of these old Charg es may not be readily accessible, are as follows: 'A Mason is obliged, by his tenure, to obey the moral law; and if he rightly understands the ai t, be will never be a stupid atheist, nor an irreligious libertine. But though in ancient times Masons were charged in every country to be of the re ligion of that country or nation, what ever it wa.s, yet ’tis now thought more expedient only to oblige that religion in which all men agree, leaving their par ticular opinions to themselves; that is, to be good men and true men of honor and honesty, by whatever denomirrations or persuasions they may be distinguish ed ; whereby Masonry becomes the cen tre of union, and the means of concilia ting true friendshin among persons that must have remained at a perpetual dis tance.” Now, it is evident that, before this charge could have been prepared in the form in which it is presented, a very great change must have taken place in the religious tendencies of the institution. In 1650, and onward.s, almost to the end of the seventeenth century, we find the Christian spirit set forth in allusions to the church and its ceremonies, and invo cations to the Trinity, and references to saints. In 171’i there is a revival or re organization of the Order, and the first Charge, published six years after that event boldly proclaims the emanciption of Masons from all sectarianism, and while it refers to the former existence of a Christian element, it also declares that henceforth they were required to profess “that religion in which all men agree.” It was the change from Christianity to Theism—from exclusiveness to lolera tion. Now, what were the influences that were at work to produce this important change? What could have so powerful ly acted on the character of the institu tion, as to take it completely out of the ecclesiastical dependence in which it was first begotten, and in which, tor so many centuries, it had continued, and to bring it into distinct antagonism to all secta rianism ? Findel has, in his “History of Freema sonry,” given much consideration to this subject; but I do dot think that his read ers will be ready, without at least some protestation, to submit to the correctness of all his reasoning. He attributes the change, in the first place, to the influence upon the public mind of the liberal sen timents of the philosophers of the seven teenth century, and su far he is unaoubt edly right; for the labors of such men as Bacon and Locke were calculated to give a more elevated and popular tone to the popular thought. But I think he com mits a great error when he .says, that “the last, and at the same time most decisive agent in accomplishing the transforma tion of Masonry was the intellectual movement known under the name of English Deism.” The Deists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, although it is ad mitted that they enrolled many men of learning in their number, were never popular as a religious sect, and conld never have exerted anything but a damaging tendency, so far as popularity was concerned, on the organization of any association. Their rejection of the Christian scheme, as well as all other revealed religion, gave great offense to the religious part of the community, and placed them in antagonism to the general sentiment of the people. The revival of 1717, which gives us the first record of the transition, whether it was an entirely new organization, as is contended by the opponents of what is called “the 1617 theory,” or simply a re organization of a modified plan, was inaugurated by such men as Desaguliers and Anderson, both clergymen and doc tors of divinity. It is absurd to suppose that they would be found as oo-eperators in any scheme controlled and influenced by the Freethinkers, to whom they were professionally opposed. Indeed the use of the phrase “irreli gious libertine.” in the Charge of 1723, in juxtaposition with “Atheist,” it is more than probable, was intended in that place to refer to the school of Dei.sts, who were often called “Freethinkers,” and quite as often “irreligious libertines.” The libertinism alluded to was not licentiousness of conduct, but licentious ness of belief. The transition of universal toleration was not O'jmpleted at once. Dr. Oliver tells ns that the Common Prayer Book of the Established Church formerly consti tuted a part of the furniture of the Lodge and in the first system of lectures, the Grand Architect of the Universe was explained as meaning Jesus Ohrist, “him that was taken to the topmost pinnacle of the Temple.” All the symbols at that early period were of a Christian origin, and even the edification of a temple, the great and peculiar symbol of the Order, may be traced to a Pauline metaphor. The fact is, that the transition of Ma sonry from an operative to a speculative association, caused it to pass from the control of ignorant workmen into that of educated philososophers. These latter were in the midst of the revolution of public sentiment, and were themselves the movers in the intellectual and moral progress of the age. Freemasonry, pat ronized by them, felt the effect of this : progress. To this alone are we to at tribute the tolerance and cosmopolitan spirit which has distinguished it ever since the revival of 1717, and which was first developed in the liberal character of the Charge adopted in 1721. This progressive advancement is gtiH going on. Every now and then there ig a battle between the liberal and intoler- ent, but the former always wins Christian symbols will always remain in the Lodge, because these symbols were invented or adopted at a time when Ma sonry was entirely Christian ; but their interpretation will never be offensive because the spirit of toleration will al' ways control our teachings. The Jew the Mu.ssulman, the Brahmin, the Budd hist, the Parsee, may all kneel with the Christian around the altar of Masonrv because the universal Father is there worshipped as the Grand Architect, and and each, may bring and lay between its horns whatsoever he deems the true tres.-, tie-board of the Grand Arobiteot—the book in which he has inscribed his plans for the building of man’s spiritual tem ple—whether that trestle-board be the Pentateuch, the Koran, the Dammapada the Zendavesta, or the Go.spels, for they all speak of God and the immortal life and these alone constitute the points ofa Mason’s creed.—j/aefey’s National Free mason. The Secret of Success. No man now standing on an eminence of influence and power, and doing a great work, has arrived at his position by going up in an elevator. He took the stairwav step by step. He climbed the rooks, oft en with bleeding hands. He prepared himself by the work he is now doing. He never accomplished an inch of his eleva tion by standing at the foot of the stair way with his mouth open and longing. There is no “royal road” to anything good—not even to wealth. It goes as it comes There is no element of perma nence in it. The man who reaches his money in an elevator does not know how to enjoy it ; so it is not wealth to him. To get a high position without climbing to it; to win wealth without earning it, to do tine work without the discipline necessary to its performance, to be fam ous, or useful, or ornamental, without pre liminary cost, seems to be the universal desire of the young. The children would begin where their fathers left off. Wu.at exactly is the secret of true suc cess in life? It is to do without flinching, and with utter faithfulness the duty that stands next to one. When a man has mastered the duties around him he is ready for those of a higher grade, and he naturally takes one step upward. When he has mastered the duties of the new grade, he goes on climbing. There are no surprises to the man who arrives at eminence legitimately. It is as entirely natural that he should be there, as at the foot of the stairs. Thei-e are heights above him, and ho remains humble and simple. Preachments are of little avail, per haps, but when one comes in contact With .so many men and women who put yearning for earning, and h-nging for la boring, he is tempted to say to them : “Stop looking up and look around you !” Do the work that first comes to your hand, and do it well. Take no upward step until you come to it naturally, and have won the power to hold it. The top in this little world is not so very high, and patient climbing will bring you to it. A gentleman handed up a $10 bill to one of the Boston coaches from which one- j fare, five cents, wa.s to be tak&®. “Lock I a here,” said the driver, down through ! the hole, “which one of these horses do I you want to buy with this $10 ?’ “Well,’ I eooly replied the gentleman, “I thought I might get both of them for that.”
Masonic Journal (Greensboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 29, 1876, edition 1
2
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