freemasonry was the diffusion of deistical opinions by Locke’s school in
philosophy. Though the lodges then, as now, made loud protestations of
orthodoxy, they could not withdraw themselves out of the deistical
atmosphere of the period.
The resultant of these different influences gained the upper hand in the
clubs or lodges of the quondam masons, now Freemasons. They now aimed at
a more thorough betterment of morals on a conservatively deistical
basis. But the necessity of a closer organization was recognized. Two
theologians, Theophilus Desaguliers (who was both a naturalist and a
mathematician) and James Anderson, together with George Payne,
antiquary, were the foremost men of those who, in the year 1717,
effected the union of the four lodges of masons in London in one Grand
Lodge, and procured the election of a Grand Master and two Grand
Wardens, thus instituting the Freemasons’ Union as it exists at this
day. What Jerusalem is to Jews and Mecca to Mohammedans, and Rome to
Catholics, that London is to Freemasons.
Henceforth the masons of England were no longer a society of
handicraftsmen, but an association of men of all orders and every
vocation, as also of every creed, who met together on the broad basis of
humanity, and recognized no standard of human worth other than morality,
kindliness and love of truth. The new Freemasons retained the symbolism
of the operative masons, their language and their ritual. No longer did
they build houses and churches, but the spiritual temple of humanity;
they used the square no more to measure right angles of blocks of stone,
but for evening the inequalities of human character, nor the compass any
more to describe circles on stone, but to trace a ring of brother-love
around all mankind. It was, perhaps, a picture of the young league of
the Freemasons that Toland drew in his “Socratic Society” (1720), which,
however, he clothed in a vesture the reverse of Grecian. The symposia or
brotherly feasts of this society, their give-and-take of questions and
answers, their aversion to the rule of mere physical force, to
compulsory religious belief, and to creed hatred, as well as their mild
and tolerant disposition and their brotherly regard for one another,
remind us strongly of the ways of the Freemasons.
Though differences of creed played no part in the new masonry,
nevertheless the brethren held religion in high esteem, and were
steadfast upholders of the only two articles of belief that never were
invented by man, but which are borne in on the mind and heart of every
man, the existence of God, to wit, and the soul’s immortality.
Accordingly every lodge was opened and closed with prayer to the
“Almighty Architect of the universe”; and in the lodge of mourning in
memory of a deceased brother, this formula was used: “He has passed over
into the eternal East”—to that region whence light proceeds. Political
parties, also, were not regarded among Freemasons: one principle alone
was common to them all—love of country, respect for law and order,
desire for the common welfare.
Inasmuch as the league must prize unity, one of the first decrees of the
Grand Lodge was one declaring illegitimate all lodges created without
its sanction. Hence to this day no lodges are recognized as such which
are not founded originally and mediately from London. Despite this
restriction there sprung up even in the first years after the
institution of the Grand Lodge a multitude of new lodges, which received
authorization from the Grand Lodge. With these numerous accessions the
need of general laws became pressing, and at request of the Grand Lodge,
Anderson, one of the founders, undertook to compare the existing
statutes of the order with the ancient records and usages of the
Stonemasons, and to compile them in one body of law. The result was the
“Book of Constitutions,” which is still the groundwork of Freemasonry.
It has been printed repeatedly, and is accessible to every one. Another
foundation stone of Freemasonry was laid by the Grand Lodge in 1724,
when it instituted the “committee for beneficence,” thus giving play to
one of the most admirable features of the order—that of giving help to
the needy and unfortunate, whether within the order or without.
The inner organization of the order, finally, was completed by the
introduction of the Degrees. Brothers who had filled the post of
Masters, on retiring from office, did not return to the grade of
Fellows, but constituted a new degree, that of Masters: on the other
hand, newly admitted members were no longer forthwith Fellows, but only
apprentices: these degrees were instituted probably in 1720; at that
time no other higher degrees were known. The right to promote
apprentices to the degree of Fellow, and Fellows to that of Master,
previously a function of the Grand Lodge, was accorded to the
subordinate lodges in 1725.
Soon Freemasonry spread abroad. Lodges arose in all civilized countries,
founded by English masons or by foreigners who had received masonic
initiation in England; these lodges, when sufficiently numerous, united
under Grand Lodges. The Grand Lodge of Ireland was created in 1730,
those of Scotland and of France in 1736, a provincial lodge of England
at Hamburg in 1740, the Unity Lodge of Frankfort-on-the-Main in 1742,
and in the same year a lodge at Vienna, the Grand Mother Lodge of the
Three World-spheres at Berlin in 1744, etc. A lodge was instituted at
Boston, Mass., in 1733, and from Boston the order spread to
Philadelphia. Thus in the space of thirty years from its origin
freemasonry existed in all civilized lands, and so did not lag behind
its opposite pole, Jesuitism, in respect of rapidity of propagation.
Opposite poles these two societies are, for each possesses precisely
those qualities which the other lacks. The Jesuits are strongly
centralized, the freemasons only confederated. Jesuits are controlled by
one man’s will, Freemasons are under majority rule. Jesuits bottom
morality in expediency, Freemasons in regard for the wellbeing of
mankind. Jesuits recognize only one creed, Freemasons hold in respect
all honest convictions. Jesuits seek to break down personal
independence, Freemasons to build it up.
2. CONSTITUTION OF THE ORDER.
The Society of Freemasons, because of its historic propagation, through
sets from the English stock and through further budding and branching of
these, forms no unitary organic whole. It has no central or supreme
authority, no common head, whether acknowledged or unacknowledged. Its
sole unity consists in a common name and a common end, in the common
recognition signs, in agreement as to the general internal polity, and
in a general uniformity of usages, though these show marked differences
also. But very different between one country and another are the methods
employed for attaining the ends of Freemasonry; different also is the
organization of the lodge and the arrangement of the work.
Regarding the common end and aim of Freemasonry there is lack of perfect
definiteness. In this regard Freemasonry presents a strong contrast to
its rival, Jesuitism, which has only too clear perception of its aim.
But so much is absolutely indisputable, that the end of Freemasonry is
neither religious nor political, but purely moral. “Freemasonry labors
to promote the wellbeing of mankind”: here all Freemasons are at one,
though some of them may lay more stress on material wellbeing, some on
purely moral, some on spiritual welfare, while again others will
consider the wellbeing of the whole, and still others, the wellbeing of
individuals as the object of the society. But as these several views are
by no means mutually exclusive, but, in fact, complementary of one
another, this lack of definition in the end of the society cannot be any
hindrance to the society’s beneficent labors. And as matter of fact the
society has wrought much good. Not only does it help its own members in
need; no worthy person in need ever appeals to the order for relief in
vain.
But as it is impossible that in so widely diffused a society the members
should know one another personally, it became necessary to establish
tokens by which a mason may be able to recognize the masonship and the
degree of a fellow mason. These tokens consist of a word uttered in a
peculiar way, a sign made by various motions of the hand and a peculiar
pressure given in shaking hands (the grip). The mason is also recognized
by his knock on a door, his way of drinking, etc., provided he cares to
make use of these methods of intimating his masonry.
Besides these peculiarities common to all Freemasons there are
specialties shared only by particular sections of the masonic body. The
whole body of Freemasons, because of its diffusion among diverse
nationalities, is divided into a number of “systems” differing one from
another in the ceremonies of initiation, of promotion to higher degrees,
of the lodge of sorrow, and of other occasions. The differences consist
largely in the form and tenor of the solemn addresses and
counter-addresses, or questions and answers with which the meetings are
opened and closed: these forms are an imitation of the rituals of the
ancient stonemason lodges, and of other secret organizations. The ritual
for the reception of an applicant into the first degree, that of
apprentice, is modeled on the stonemasons’ ritual; and the ceremonies of
the higher degrees are amplifications of the same originals, with
embellishments. In brief, the ritual of admission is such as was used by
the monkish and the knightly orders; but the prototype of all these
rituals was undoubtedly the ceremonial of baptism in the Catholic
Church.
No doubt many persons are desirous of knowing what takes place on the
admission of a would-be Freemason. For the sake of such persons it may
be remarked that these ceremonies are different in different systems,
and that consequently an exposition of them would require a more than
ordinarily voluminous work; that, furthermore, when communicated in
writing, they lose all the effect they have when employed in the act of
initiation; and that they would be likely to make no impression whatever
on one who should desire to know them out of mere curiosity.
In the ceremonial of Freemasonry symbols or emblematic devices hold a
prominent place. Of these the most ancient are borrowed from the
stonemasons’ lodges, and, therefore, represent masons’ tools and
implements; other symbolic devices are reminiscent of various secret
societies or of ecclesiastical rites. But both in symbolism and in
ceremonial many abuses have, in the course of time, crept in, and
innovations have been made which mar the native simplicity of the order
and divert it from the pursuit of more useful ends.
The recognition signs, the ceremonial, and the symbols are the only
secrets in Freemasonry. Mysteries, that is to say, knowledge of things
that are hidden from all other persons, the order has none, and the
claims that have been made in that regard are without foundation.
Discretion, with respect to the business of the lodges and the
membership, Freemasonry enjoins in common with many other societies; and
so far the order is a close society, or a private society, and not a
secret society. Of secret machinations and intrigues such as are hatched
in the Jesuit order and in the secret political associations of our
time, there is no trace in Freemasonry.
The masonic organization of each country exists for itself and in entire
independence of other countries. A minor union of Freemasons, consisting
of members, all of whom, as a rule, attend its meetings, is called a
Lodge. The place (city, town, village, etc.,) in which there are one or
more lodges is called Orient; the presiding officer of a lodge is the
Master, and with him are associated two Wardens besides other officers.
The assemblage of the members, as well as the place in which they meet,
is called a lodge. A lodge may be an isolated one, that is, entirely
independent; but that is rarely the case; as a rule each lodge belongs
to a union of lodges, called Grand Lodge, or Grand Orient. The several
lodges of such a union work sometimes on one common system, sometimes on
different systems. Again, the grand lodges differ greatly in their
organization. As a rule they have a Grand Master, with several Grand
Officers, and these are either elected by delegates from all the
associate lodges, or are named by certain specially privileged lodges.
The freest masonic constitution is that of Switzerland, adopted in 1844:
there the seat of the Grand Lodge is changed in every five years. In
monarchical countries the royal residence city is usually the seat of
the Grand Lodge. There are in Germany eight grand lodges, whose
jurisdictions overlap one another, so that often there may be in a given
city several lodges belonging to as many different grand lodges: but
that does no prejudice to fraternal harmony. France, Belgium, Spain, and
Brazil have each two grand lodges, each with a distinct system of
ritual. But in Holland, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, England, Scotland,
Ireland, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, and Greece all the lodges of each
country belong to one grand lodge. In each of the states of the American
Union there is a grand lodge, and the same is to be said of the larger
states of Central and South America. In the British colonies and
dependencies, India, the Cape, Australasia, etc., the lodges are under
the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of the United Kingdom: British
America, however, has its own Grand Lodge. The grand lodges of the world
number more than 90, the subordinate lodges more than 15,000, and the
members, perhaps, one million, reckoning only those in good and regular
standing; but this is only a rough estimate; precise figures are not
obtainable in default of a unitary organization.
3. THE LODGE.
The several lodges are named after persons, virtues, masonic emblems,
historic events, etc. In America and England they are often designated
by numbers indicative of the time of their foundation. A lodge may be
erected wherever a certain number of resident accepted brethren, among
them at least three masters, desire to effect an organization, and
obtain the approval of the grand lodge having jurisdiction. An
indispensable requisite for a lodge is a “well tiled” apartment—one well
protected against the intrusion of outsiders, spies, or eavesdroppers.
Usually the lodge is a square oblong hall or room, furnished after the
manner of the time and country, and decorated with the masonic insignia.
The attire of the assembled brethren is usually black, with white gloves
(emblematic of hands not soiled by unjust gain) and a short white
leather apron, a memento of the stonemasons and of the obligation to
labor. The use of other insignia and of tokens to indicate the rank of
the officials is left to the discretion of the several lodges. In
England and her colonies, in the United States, Belgium and France on
festive occasions Freemasons appear in public and on the streets in full
masonic regalia, bearing the emblematic insignia of the order: in
Germany and Switzerland such parade is frowned upon by Freemasons as
unbecoming.
A Freemason lodge is an Apprentice Lodge, a Fellowcraft Lodge, or a
Masters’ Lodge, according to the degree of its members. In the
Apprentice lodge, masons of all degrees take part: its business is to
deliberate upon the affairs of the lodge, and to admit new apprentices.
In the Fellowcraft lodge the Fellows and the Masters take part: its
function is simply to promote members from the first to the second
degree. The Masters’ lodge is for masters exclusively: the masters
direct the work of the apprentices and promote Fellowcrafts to the
master’s degree. Besides, in each degree there is given instruction upon
the symbolism and work of the same—this is called a “Lodge of
Instruction.” Each degree has its special meaning, a sum of doctrines
and a certain number of symbols. The purport of the Apprentice degree is
the seeing of the light in the spiritual sense—the spiritual birth of
man: an explanation is given of the nature of the order, its aims and
its constitution. The Second degree deals with the life of man, its
joys, its griefs, its fears: teaches to withstand passion and
temptation, to know oneself, and to form an idea of the model human
career. Finally, the teaching of the master’s degree treats of the end
of life, death, its inevitableness; proposes for imitation the examples
of great men who have given up their life for humanity; suggests
thoughts concerning the immortal life. Sometimes, also, the three
degrees are explained as the embodiment of the masonic motto: Beauty,
Strength, and Wisdom. These degrees are also known as the Saint John
degrees, and the lodges as lodges of St. John, the Baptist being the
chosen patron of the order, as he was also of the medieval stonemasons
and of the Templars. The fact that the masons are under the patronage of
Saint John the Baptist is interpreted to mean that the order is the
forerunner of a happier condition of mankind, as John was the forerunner
of Jesus. On the feast of Saint John (June 24th) or thereabout, in the
year 1717, the first meeting of the Grand Lodge of London was held; and
on that same day there is held in every masonic lodge throughout the
world a festival at once grave and joyful.[3]
Footnote 3:
We make no mention here of the so-called “higher degrees,” which are,
in fact, but amateurish fabrications, without any practical aim. They
are distasteful forms of the true freemasonry; they differ as to name
and number between one system and another; and the true lodges of
Saint John freemasons recognize no such “supergraduation.” The higher
degrees are considered in another part of this work.
All males who have attained legal majority, and who are of good repute
and their own masters, are eligible for admission to the order, without
regard to race, station, calling, or creed. Unfortunately, Freemasons
have not always and everywhere been free from antiquated prejudices in
the admission of new members. Down to this day lodges in the United
States shut their doors in the face of men of color, i. e., of those who
are not whites; and many German, Danish, and Swedish lodges, both grand
and particular, exclude Jews; in consequence, there are very many lodges
of colored men and in Germany some Jewish lodges, whereas in the British
colonies brethren of all colors and creeds work together in the same
lodges.
Women and children are not altogether shut out from Freemasonry
everywhere. It is the almost universal custom to admit, before the
attainment of majority, masons’ sons, who may have been instructed by
their fathers as to the meaning of Freemasonry. There are also special
meetings which the wives, the betrothed, the sisters, and the daughters
of masons are permitted to attend. But we have an unmasonic excrescence
and an abuse when, as in French lodges, with doors open to the public, a
masonic baptism and a masonic marriage ceremony are performed with
special ritual; still more worthy of reprobation are the Adoption lodges
or Women’s lodges, instituted at various times in France: in these women
were initiated with a ceremonial adapted to the occasion, and were
promoted to various degrees; thus, before the Revolution the luckless
Princess de Lamballe, in the time of Napoleon the Empress Josephine, and
under the Restoration the Duchess de Larochefoucauld were presidents of
lodges. In other quarters also the cry has been raised for the admission
of the fair sex: but needless to say that such an innovation would very
seriously compromise the gravity, the dignity, and the secrecy of the
order, and breed trouble, both in the lodges and in the families of the
members. Once a woman was unwittingly admitted to the secrets of
Freemasonry. Elizabeth Aldworth, daughter of the Irish viscount
Donneraile, in whose house a lodge used to hold its meetings, on one
occasion, in her young girlhood, peeped through a crack in a partition
and witnessed the admission of a mason. She was caught in the act, and,
to prevent betrayal, was herself initiated. In her after life she was
noted for her acts of benevolence, and once, wearing the masonic togs,
headed a public walk of the brethren. The Empress Maria Theresa also, it
is said, dressed in man’s apparel, once stole into a lodge in Vienna,
having been informed that her husband, the Emperor Francis, was in the
habit of meeting women there; but as she saw no women in the lodge, she
withdrew in haste. Quite recently a Hungarian lodge admitted to
membership a countess resident in its locality; but the Grand Lodge of
Hungary canceled the act.
_PART TENTH._
_Secret Societies of the Eighteenth Century._
1. MISCELLANEOUS SECRET SOCIETIES.
Conditions in the 18th century were specially favorable to the vogue of
secret organizations: illuminism was making headway, but at the same
time there remained many a relic of medieval barbarism. The manifest
contrasts of opinion naturally inclined men of like mind to come
together in secret societies for the advancement of their favorite
principles. These societies copied the methods of Freemasonry, and were,
in a greater or less degree its rivals. Some of them admitted women to
membership.