The Builder Magazine 

November 1919 - Volume V - Number 11 


THE ENCYCLICAL LETTER ’’HUMANUM GENUS” OF 
THE POPE LEO XIII 

As a result of the publication of "A Catholic Treatise on Masonry" from the Catholic 
Encyclopedia, in the July, August, September and October issues of THE BUILDER, 
we have been asked by a large number of our readers for further light on some of the 
papal edicts against Freemasonry mentioned in the last instalment of that article. For 
the enlightenment of these inquirers and the Fraternity at large we here publish one of 
the most prominent of these rescripts, the letter "Humanum Genus" of Pope Leo XIII, 
issued on April 20th, 1884. 


Albert Pike, the then Grand Commander of the Supreme Council 33d for the Southern 
Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite, called attention of the Craft to this encyclical letter in 
his Allocution delivered before the Supreme Council in October of the same year and 
then issued a reply to it. The extract from Brother Pike's Allocution and his reply to 
the Bull will follow in early issues of THE BUILDER. 


To all venerable Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops in the Catholic world 
who have grace and communion with the Apostolic See: Venerable Brothers: Health 
and the Apostolic Benedictions 


THE HUMAN RACE, after, by the malice of the devil, it had departed from God, the 
Creator and Giver of heavenly gifts, divided itself into two different and opposing 
parties, one of which assiduously combats for truth and virtue, the other for those 
things which are opposed to virtue and to truth. The one is the Kingdom of God on 
earth that is, the Church of Jesus Christ; those who desire to adhere to which from 
their soul and conductively to salvation must serve God and His only begotten Son 
with their whole mind and their whole will. The other is the kingdom of Satan, in 
whose dominion and power are all who have followed his sad example and that of our 



first parents. They refuse to obey divine and eternal law, and strive for many things to 
the neglect of God and for many against God. This twofold kingdom, like two states 
with contrary laws working in contrary directions, Augustine clearly saw and 
described, and comprehended the efficient cause of both with subtle brevity in these 
words: "Two loves have made two states: the love of self to the contempt of God has 
made the earthly, but the love of God to the contempt of self has made the heavenly." 
(De Civ. Dei, lib. xiv., chap. 17.) 


The one fights the other with different kinds of weapons, and battles at all times, 
though not always with the same ardor and fury. In our days, however, those who 
follow the evil one seem to conspire and strive all together under the guidance and 
with the help of that society of men spread all over, and solidly established, which 
they call Free-Masons. Not dissimulating their intentions, they vie in attacking the 
power of God; they openly and ostensibly strive to damage the Church, with the 
purpose to deprive thoroughly if possible Christian people of the benefits brought by 
the Saviour Jesus Christ. 


Seeing these evils, we are compelled by charity in our soul to say often to God: "For 
lo! Thy enemies have made noise; and they that hate Thee have lifted up the head. 
They have taken malicious counsel against Thy people, and have consulted against 
Thy saints. They have said: Come and let us destroy them, so that they be not a 
nation." (Ps. lxxxii., 24.) 


In such an impending crisis, in such a great and obstinate warfare upon Christianity, it 
is our duty to point out the danger, exhibit the adversaries, resist as much as we can 
their schemes and tricks, lest those whose salvation is in our hands should perish 
eternally: and that the kingdom of Jesus Christ, which we have received in trust, not 
only may stay and remain intact, but may continue to increase all over the world by 
new additions. 


The Roman Pontiffs, our predecessors, watching constantly over the safety of the 
Christian people, early recognized this capital enemy rushing forth out of the darkness 
of hidden conspiracy, and, anticipating the future in their mind, gave the alarm to 
princes and people, that they should not be caught by deceptions and frauds. 



Clement XII. first signalized the danger in 1738, and Benedict XIV. renewed and 
continued his Constitution. Pius VII. followed them both; and Leo XII., by the 
Apostolic Constitution quo graviora recapitulating the acts and decrees of the above 
Pontiffs about the manner, validated and confirmed them forever. In the same way 
spoke Pius VIII., Gregory XVI., and very often Pius IX. 


The puipose and aim of the Masonic sect having been discovered from plain evidence, 
from the cognition of causes, its laws, Rites and commentaries having come to light 
and been made known by the additional depositions of the associated members, this 
Apostolic See denounced and openly declared that the sect of Masons is established 
against law and honesty, and is equally a danger to Christianity as well as to society; 
and, threatening those heavy punishments which the Church uses against the guilty 
ones, she forbade the society, and ordered that none should give his name to it. 
Therefore the angry Masons, thinking that they would escape the sentence or partially 
destroy it by despising or calumniating, accused the Pope who made those decrees of 
not having made a right decree or of having overstepped moderation. They thus tried 
to evade the authority and the importance of the Apostolic Constitutions of Clement 
XII., Benedict XIV., Pius VII., and Pius IX. But in the same society there were some 
who, even against their own will, acknowledged that the Roman Pontiffs had acted 
wisely and lawfully, according to the Catholic discipline. In this many princes and 
rulers of States agreed with the Popes, and either denounced Masonry to the Apostolic 
See or by appropriate laws condemned it as a bad thing in Holland, Austria, 
Switzerland, Spain, Bavaria, Savoy, and other parts of Italy. 


But the event justified the prudence of our predecessors, and this is the most 
important. Nay, their paternal care did not always and everywhere succeed, either 
because of the simulation and shrewdness of the Masons themselves, or through the 
inconsiderate levity of others whose duty required of them strict attention. Hence, in a 
century and a half the sect of Masons grew beyond expectation; and, creeping 
audaciously and deceitfully among the various classes of the people, it grew to be so 
powerful that now it seems the only dominating power in the States. From this rapid 
and dangerous growth have come into the Church and into the State those evils which 
our predecessors had already foreseen. It has indeed come to this, that we have serious 
fear, not for the Church, which has a foundation too firm for men to upset it, but for 
those States in which this society is so powerful or other societies of a like kind, and 
which show themselves to be servants and companions of Masonry. 



For these reasons, when we first succeeded in the government of the Church, we saw 
and felt very clearly the necessity of opposing so great an evil with the full weight of 
our authority. On all favorable occasions we have attacked the principal doctrines in 
which the Masonic perversity appeared. By our Encyclical Letter, quod apostolic 
muneris, we attacked the errors of Socialists and Communists; by the Letter, 

Arcanum, we tried to explain and defend the genuine notion of domestic society, 
whose source and origin is in marriage; finally, by the letter which begins Diutumum, 
we proposed a form of civil power consonant with the principles of Christian wisdom, 
responding to the very nature and to the welfare of people and Princes. Now, after the 
example of our predecessors, we intend to turn our attention to the Masonic society, to 
its whole doctrine, to its intentions, acts, and feelings, in order to illustrate more and 
more this wicked force and stop the spread of this contagious disease. 


There are several sects of men which, though different in name, customs, forms, and 
origin, are identical in aim and sentiment with Masonry. It is the universal center from 
which they all spring, and to which they all return. Although in our days these seem to 
no longer care to hide in darkness, but hold their meetings in the full light and under 
the eyes of their fellow-men and publish their journals openly, yet they deliberate and 
preserve the habits and customs of secret societies. Nay, there are in them many 
secrets which are by law carefully concealed not only from the profane, but also from 
many associated, viz., the last and intimate intentions, the hidden and unknown chiefs, 
the hidden and secret meetings, the resolutions and methods and means by which they 
will be carried into execution. Hence the difference of rights and of duties among the 
members; hence the distinction of orders and grades and the severe discipline by 
which they are ruled. The initiated must promise, nay, take an oath, that they will 
never, at any way or at any time, disclose their fellow-members and the emblems by 
which they are known, or expose their doctrines. So, by false appearance, but with the 
same kind of simulation, the Masons chiefly strive, as once did the Manichseans, to 
hide and to admit no witnesses but their own. They seek skilfully hiding places, 
assuming the appearance of literary men or philosophers, associated for the puipose of 
erudition; they have always ready on their tongues the speech of cultivated urbanity, 
and proclaim their charity toward the poor; they look for the improvement of the 
masses, to extend the benefits of social comfort to as many of mankind as possible. 
Those puiposes, though they may be true, yet are not the only ones. Besides, those 
who are chosen to join the society must promise and swear to obey the leaders and 
teachers with great respect and trust; to be ready to do whatever is told them, and 
accept death and the most horrible punishment if they disobey. In fact, some who have 



betrayed the secrets or disobeyed an order are punished with death so skilfully and so 
audaciously that the murder escaped the investigations of the police. Therefore, reason 
and truth show that the society of which we speak is contrary to honesty and natural 
justice. 


There are other and clear arguments to show this society is not in agreement with 
honesty. No matter how great the skill with which men conceal, it is impossible that 
the cause should not appear in its effects. "A good tree cannot yield bad fruits, nor a 
bad tree good ones." (Matt, vii., 18.) Masonry generates bad fruits mixed with great 
bitterness. From the evidence above mentioned we find its aim, which is the desire of 
overthrowing all the religious and social orders introduced by Christianity, and 
building a new one according to its taste, based on the foundation and laws of 
naturalism. 


What we have said or will say must be understood of Masonry in general and of all 
like societies, not of the individual members of the same. In their number there may 
be not a few who, though they are wrong in giving their names to these societies, yet 
are neither guilty of their crimes nor aware of the final goal which they strive to reach 
Among the associations also, perhaps, some do not approve the extreme conclusions 
which, as emanating from common principles, it would be necessary to embrace if 
their deformity and vileness would not be too repulsive. Some of them are equally 
forced by the places and times not to go so far as they would go or others go; and yet 
they are not to be considered less Masonic for that, because the Masonic alliance has 
to be considered not only from actions and deeds, but from general principles. 


Now, it is the principle of naturalists, as the name itself indicates, that human nature 
and human reason in everything must be our teacher and guide. Having once settled 
this, they are careless of duties toward God, or they pervert them with false opinions 
and errors. They deny that anything has been revealed by God; they do not admit any 
religious dogma and truth but what human intelligence can comprehend; they do not 
allow any teacher to be believed on his official authority. Now, it being the special 
duty of the Catholic Church, and her duty only, to keep the doctrines received from 
God and the authority of teaching with all the heavenly means necessary to salvation 
and preserve them integrally incorrupt, hence the attacks and rage of the enemies are 
turned against her. 



Now, if one watches the proceedings of the Masons, in respect of religion especially, 
where they are more free to do what they like, it will appear that they carry faithfully 
into execution the tenets of the naturalists. They work, indeed, obstinately to the end 
that neither the teaching nor the authority of the Church may have any influence; and 
therefore they preach and maintain the full separation of the Church from the State. So 
law and government are wrested from the wholesome and divine virtue of the 
Catholic Church, and they want, therefore, by all means to rule States independent of 
the institutions and doctrines of the Church. 


To drive off the Church as a sure guide is not enough; they add persecutions and 
insults. Full license is given to attack with impunity, both by words and print and 
teaching, the very foundations of the Catholic religion; the rights of the Church are 
violated; her divine privileges are not respected. Her action is restricted as much as 
possible; and that by virtue of laws apparently not too violent, but substantially made 
on purpose to check her freedom. Laws odiously partial against the clergy are passed 
so as to reduce its number and its means. The ecclesiastical revenue is in a thousand 
ways tied up, and religious associations abolished and dispersed. 


But the war wages more ardently against the Apostolic See and the Roman Pontiff. He 
was, under a false pretext, deprived of the temporal power, the stronghold of his rights 
and of his freedom; he was next reduced to an iniquitous condition, unbearable for its 
numberless burdens until it has come to this, that the Sectarians say openly what they 
had already in secret devised for a long time, viz., that the very spiritual power of the 
Pope ought to be taken away, and the divine institution of the Roman Pontificate 
ought to disappear from the world. If other arguments were needed for this, it would 
be sufficiently demonstrated by the testimony of many who often, in times bygone 
and even lately, declared it to be the real supreme aim of the Free-Masons to 
persecute, with untamed hatred, Christianity, and that they will never rest until they 
see cast to the ground all religious institutions established by the Pope. 


If the sect does not openly require its members to throw away of Catholic faith, this 
tolerance, far from injuring the Masonic schemes, is useful to them. Because this is, 
first, an easy way to deceive the simple and unwise ones and it is contributing to 
proselytize. By opening their gates to persons of every creed they promote, in fact, the 



great modem error of religious indifference and of the parity of all worships, the best 
way to annihilate every religion, especially the Catholic, which, being the only true 
one, cannot be joined with others without enormous injustice. 


But naturalists go further. Having entered, in things of greatest importance, on a way 
thoroughly false, through the weakness of human nature or by the judgment of God, 
who punishes pride, they run to extreme errors. Thus the very truths which are known 
by the natural light of reason, as the existence of God, the spirituality and immortality 
of the soul, have no more consistence and certitude for them. 


Masonry breaks on the same rocks by no different way. It is tme, Free-Masons 
generally admit the existence of God; but they admit themselves that this persuasion 
for them is not firm, sure. They do not dissimulate that in the Masonic family the 
question of God is a principle of great discord; it is even known how they lately had 
on this point serious disputes. It is a fact that the sect leaves to the members full 
liberty of thinking about God whatever they like, affirming or denying His existence. 
Those who boldly deny His existence are admitted as well as those, like the 
Pantheists, admit God but min the idea of Him, retaining an absurd caricature of the 
divine nature, destroying its reality. Now, as soon as this supreme foundation is pulled 
down and upset, many natural truths must need go down, too, as the free creations of 
this world, the universal government of Providence, immortality of soul, fixture, and 
eternal life. 


Once having dissipated these natural principles, important practically and 
theoretically, it is easy to see what will become of public and private morality. We 
will not speak of supernatural virtues, which, without a special favor and gift of God, 
no one can practice nor obtain, and of which it is impossible to find a vestige in those 
who proudly ignore the redemption of mankind, heavenly grace, the sacraments, and 
eternal happiness. We speak of duties which proceed from natural honesty. Because 
the principles and sources of justice and morality are these, a God, creator and 
provident mler of the world, the eternal law which commands respect and forbids the 
violation of natural order; the supreme end of man settled a great deal above created 
things outside of this world. These principles once taken away by the Free-Masons as 
by the naturalists, immediately natural ethics has no more where to build or to rest. 
The only morality which Free-Masons admit, and by which they would like to bring 
up youth, is that which they call civil and independent, or the one which ignores every 



religious idea. But how poor, uncertain, and variable at every breath of passion is this 
morality, is demonstrated by the sorrowful fruits which partially already appear. Nay, 
where it has been freely dominating, having banished Christian education, probity and 
integrity of manners go down, horrible and monstrous opinions raise their head, and 
crimes grow with fearful audacity. This is deplored by everybody, and by those who 
are compelled by evidence and yet would not like to speak so. 


Besides, as human nature is infected by original sin and more inclined to vice than to 
virtue, it is not possible to lead an honest life without mortifying the passions and 
submitting the appetites to reason. In this fight it is often necessary to despise created 
good, and undergo the greatest pains and sacrifices in order to preserve to conquering 
reason its own empire. But naturalists and Masons, rejecting divine revelation, deny 
original sin, and do not acknowledge that our free will is weakened and bent to evil. 
To the contrary, exaggerating the strength and excellency of nature, and settling in her 
the principles and unique rule of justice, they cannot even imagine how, in order to 
counteract its motions and moderate its appetites, continuous efforts are needed and 
the greatest constancy. This is the reason why we see so many enticements offered to 
the passions, journals, and reviews without any shame, theatrical plays thoroughly 
dishonest; the liberal arts cultivated according to the principles of an impudent 
realism, effeminate and delicate living promoted by the most refined inventions; in a 
word, all the enticements apt to seduce or weaken virtue carefully practiced things 
highly to blame, yet becoming the theories of those who take away from man 
heavenly goods, and put all happiness in transitory things and bind it to earth. 


What we have said may be confirmed by things of which it is not easy to think or to 
speak. As these shrewd and malicious men do not find more servility and docility than 
in souls already broken and subdued by the tyranny of the passions, there have been in 
the Masonic sect some who openly said and proposed that the multitudes should be 
urged by all means and artifice into license, so that they should afterward become an 
easy instrument for the most daring enterprise. 


For domestic society the doctrine of almost all naturalists is that marriage is only a 
civil contract, and may be lawfully broken by the will of the contracting parties; the 
State has power over the matrimonial bond. In the education of the children no 
religion must be applied, and when grown up every one will select that which he likes. 



Now Free-Masons accept these principles without restriction; and not only do they 
accept them, but they endeavor to act so as to bring them into moral and practical life. 
In many countries which are professedly Catholic, marriages not celebrated in the 
civil form are considered null; elsewhere laws allow divorce. In other places 
everything is done in order to have it permitted. So the nature of marriage will be soon 
changed and reduced to a temporary union, which can be done and undone at 
pleasure. 


The sect of the Masons aims unanimously and steadily also at the possession of the 
education of children. They understand that a tender age is easily bent, and that there 
is no more useful way of preparing for the State such citizens as they wish. Hence, in 
the instruction and education of children, they do not leave to the ministers of the 
Church any part either in directing or watching them. In many places they have gone 
so far that children's education is all in the hands of laymen: and from moral teaching 
every idea is banished of those holy and great duties which bind together man and 
God. 


The principles of social science follow. Here naturalists teach that men have all the 
same rights, and are perfectly equal in condition; that every man is naturally 
independent; that no one has a right to command others; that it is tyranny to keep men 
subject to any other authority than that which emanates from themselves. Hence the 
people are sovereign; those who rule have no authority but by the commission and 
concession of the people; so that they can be deposed, willing or unwilling, according 
to the wishes of the people. The origin of all rights and civil duties is in the people or 
in the State, which is ruled according to the new principles of liberty. The State must 
be godless; no reason why one religion ought to be preferred to another; all to be held 
in the same esteem. 


Now it is well known that Free-Masons approve these maxims, and that they wish to 
see governments shaped on this pattern and model needs no demonstration. It is a long 
time, indeed, that they have worked with all their strength and power openly for this, 
making thus an easy way for those, not a few, more audacious and bold in evil, who 
meditate the communion and equality of all goods after having swept away from the 
world every distinction of social goods and conditions. 



From these few hints it is easy to understand what is the Masonic sect and what it 
wants. Its tenets contradict so evidently human reason that nothing can be more 
perverted. The desire of destroying the religion and Church established by God, with 
the promise of immortal life, to try to revive, after eighteen centuries, the manners and 
institutions of paganism, is great foolishness and bold impiety. No less horrible or 
unbearable is it to repudiate the gifts granted through His adversaries. In this foolish 
and ferocious attempt, one recognizes that untamed hatred and rage of revenge 
kindled against Jesus Christ in the heart of Satan. 


The other attempt in which the Masons work so much, viz., to pull down the 
foundations of morality, and become co-operators of those who, like brutes, would see 
that become lawful which they like, is nothing but to urge mankind into the most 
abject and ignominious degradation. 


This evil is aggravated by the dangers which threaten domestic and civil society. As 
we have at other times explained, there is in marriage, through the unanimous consent 
of nations and of ages, a sacred and religious character; and by divine law the 
conjugal union is indissoluble. Now, if this union is dissolved, if divorce is juridically 
permitted, confusion and discord must inevitably enter the domestic sanctuary, and 
woman will lose her dignity and the children every security of their own welfare. 


That the State ought to profess religious indifference and neglect God in ruling 
society, as if God did not exist, is a foolishness unknown to the very heathen, who had 
so deeply rooted in their mind and in their heart, not only the idea of God, but the 
necessity also of public worship, that they supposed it to be easier to find a city 
without any foundation than without any God. And really human society, from which 
nature has made us, was instituted by God, the author of the same nature, and from 
Him emanates, as from its source and principle, all this everlasting abundance of 
numberless goods. As, then, the voice of nature tells us to worship God with religious 
piety, because we have received from Him life and the goods which accompany life, 
so, for the same reasons, people and States must do the same. Therefore those who 
want to free society from any religious duty are not only unjust but unwise and 
absurd. 



Once grant that men through God's will are born for civil society, and that sovereign 
power is so strictly necessary to society that when this fails society necessarily 
collapses, it follows that the right of command emanates from the same principle from 
which society itself emanates; hence the reason why the minister of God is invested 
with such authority. Therefore, so far as it is required from the end and nature of 
human society, one must obey lawful authority as we would obey the authority of 
God, supreme ruler of the universe; and it is a capital error to grant to the people full 
power of shaking off at their own will the yoke of obedience. 


Considering their common origin and nature, the supreme end proposed to every one, 
and the right and duties emanating from it, men no doubt are all equal. But as it is 
impossible to find in them equal capacity, and as through bodily or intellectual 
strength one differs from others, and the variety of customs, inclinations, and personal 
qualities are so great, it is absurd to pretend to mix and unify all this and bring in the 
order of civil life a rigorous and absolute equality. As the perfect constitution of the 
human body results from the union and harmony of different parts, which differ in 
form and uses, but united and each in his own place form an organism beautiful, 
strong, useful, and necessary to life, so in the State there is an infinite variety of 
individuals who compose it. If these all equalized were to live each according to his 
own whim, it would result in a city monstrous and ugly; whereas if distinct in 
harmony, in degrees of offices, or inclinations, of arts, they co-operate together to the 
common good, they will offer the image of a city well harmonized and conformed to 
nature. 


The turbulent errors which we have mentioned must inspire governments with fear; in 
fact, suppose the fear of God in life and respect for divine laws to be despised, the 
authority of the rulers allowed and authorized would be destroyed, rebellion would be 
left free to popular passions, and universal revolution and subversion must necessarily 
come. This subversive revolution is the deliberate aim and open puipose of the 
numerous communistic and socialistic associations. The Masonic sect has no reason to 
call itself foreign to their puipose, because Masons promote their designs and have 
with them common capital principles. If the extreme consequences are not everywhere 
reached in fact, it is not the merit of the sect nor owing to the will of the members, but 
of that divine religion which cannot be extinguished, and of the most select part of 
society, which, refusing to obey secret societies, resists strenuously their immoderate 
efforts. 



May Heaven grant that universally from the fruits we may judge the root, and from 
impending evil and threatening dangers we may know the bad seed ! We have to fight 
a shrewd enemy, who, cajoling Peoples and Kings, deceives them all with false 
promises and fine flattery. 


Free-Masons, insinuating themselves under pretence of friendship into the hearts of 
Princes, aim to have them powerful aids and accomplices to overcome Christianity, 
and in order to excite them more actively they calumniate the Church as the enemy of 
royal privileges and power. Having thus become confident and sure, they get great 
influence in the government of States, resolve yet to shake the foundations of the 
thrones, and persecute, calumniate, or banish those sovereigns who refuse to rule as 
they desire. 


By these arts flattering the people, they deceive them. Proclaiming all the time public 
prosperity and liberty; making multitudes believe that the Church is the cause of the 
iniquitous servitude and misery in which they are suffering, they deceive people and 
urge on the masses craving for new things against both powers. It is, however, true 
that the expectation of hoped-for advantages is greater than the reality; and poor 
people, more and more oppressed, see in their misery those comforts vanish which 
they might easily and abundantly found in organized Christian society. But the 
punishment of the proud, who rebel against the order established by the providence of 
God, is that they find oppression and misery exactly where they expected prosperity 
according to their desire. 


Now, if the Church commands us to obey before all God, the Lord of everything, it 
would be an injurious calumny to believe her the enemy of the power of Princes and a 
usuiper of their rights. She wishes, on the contrary, that what is due to civil power 
may be given to it conscientiously. To recognize, as she does, the divine right of 
command, concedes great dignity to civil power, and contributes to conciliate the 
respect and love of subjects. A friend of peace and the mother of concord, she 
embraces all with motherly love, intending only to do good to men. she teaches that 
justice must be united with clemency, equality with command, law with moderation, 
and to respect every tight, maintain order and public tranquility, relieve as much as 
possible public and private miseries. "But," to use the words of St. Augustine, "they 



believe, or want to make believe, that the doctrine of Gospel is not useful to society, 
because they wish that the State shall rest not on the solid foundation of virtue, but on 
impunity of vice." 


It would, therefore, be more according to civil wisdom and more necessary to 
universal welfare that Princes and Peoples, instead of joining the Free-Masons against 
the Church, should unite with the Church to resist the Free-Masons' attacks. 


At all events, in the presence of such a great evil, already too much spread, it is our 
duty, venerable brethren, to find a remedy. And as we know that in the virtue of 
divine religion, the more hated by Masons si as it is the more feared, chiefly consists 
the best and most solid of efficient remedy, we think that against the common enemy 
one must have recourse to this in wholesome strength. We, by our authority, ratify 
and confirm all things which the Roman Pontiffs, our predecessors, have ordered to 
check the purposes and stop the efforts of the Masonic sect, and all these which they 
establish to keep off or withdraw the faithful from such societies. And here, trusting 
greatly to the good will of the faithful, we pray and entreat each of them, as they love 
of their own salvation, to make it a duty of conscience not to depart from what has 
been on this point prescribed by the Apostolic See. 


We entreat and pray you, venerable brethren, who co-operate with us, to root out this 
poison, which spreads widely among the Nations. It is your duty to defend the glory 
of God and the salvation of souls. Keeping before your eyes those two ends, you shall 
lack neither in courage nor in fortitude. To judge which may be the more efficacious 
means to overcome difficulties and obstacles belongs to your prudence. Yet as we find 
it agreeable to our ministry to point out some of the most useful means, the first thing 
to do is to ship from the Masonic sect its mask and show it as it is, teaching orally and 
by pastoral letters the people about the frauds used by these societies to flatter and 
entice, the perversity of its doctrines, and the dishonesty of its works. As our 
predecessors have many times declared, those who love the Catholic faith and their 
salvation must be sure that they cannot give their names for any reason to the Masonic 
sect without sin. Let no one believe a simulated honesty. It may seem to some that 
Masons never impose anything openly contrary to faith or to morals, but as the scope 
and nature is essentially bad in these sects, it is not allowed to give one's name to 
them or to help them in any way. 



It is also necessary with assiduous sermons and exhortations to arouse in the people 
love and zeal for religious instruction. We recommend, therefore, that by appropriate 
declarations, orally and in writing, the fundamental principles of those truths may be 
explained in which Christian wisdom is entertained. It is only thus that minds can be 
cured by instruction, and warned against the various forms of error and vice, and the 
various enticements especially in this great freedom of writing and great desire of 
learning. 


It is a laborious work, indeed, in which you will have associated and companioned 
your clergy, if properly trained and taught by your zeal. But such a beautiful and 
important cause requires the co- operating industry of those laymen who unite 
doctrine and probity with the love of religion and of their country. With the united 
strength of these two orders endeavor, dear brethren, that men may know and love the 
Church; because the more their love and knowledge of the Church grows the more 
they will abhor and fly from secret societies. 


Therefore, availing ourselves of this present occasion, we remind you of the necessity 
of promoting and protecting the Third Order of St. Francis, whose rules, with prudent 
indulgence, we lately mitigated. According to the spirit of its institution it intends only 
to draw men to imitate Jesus Christ, to love the Church, and to practice all Christian 
virtues, and therefore it will prove useful to extinguish the contagion of sects. 


May it grow more and more, this holy congregation, from which, among others, can 
be expected also this precious fruit of bringing minds back to liberty, fraternity, and 
equality; not those which are the dream of the Masonic sect, but which Jesus Christ 
brought into this world and Francis revived. The liberty, we say, of the children of 
God which frees from the servitude of Satan and from the passions, the worst tyrants; 
the fraternity which emanates from God, the Father and Creator of all; the equality 
established on justice and charity, which does not destroy among men every 
difference, but which, from variety of life, offices, and inclinations, makes that accord 
and harmony which is exacted by nature for the utility and dignity of civil society. 



Thirdly, there is an institution wisely created by our forefathers, and by lapse of time 
abandoned, which in our days can be used as a model and form for something like it. 
We mean the colleges or coiporations of arts and trades associated under the guidance 
of religion to defend interests and manners, which colleges, in long use and 
experience, were of great advantage to our fathers, and will be more and more useful 
to our age, because they are suited to break the power of the sects. Poor workingmen, 
for besides their condition, deserving charity and relief, they are particularly exposed 
to the seductions of the fraudulent and deceives. They must, therefore, be helped with 
the greatest generosity and invited to good societies that they may not be dragged into 
bad ones. For this reason we would like very much to see everywhere arise, fit for the 
new times, under the auspices and patronage of the Bishops, these associations, for the 
benefit of the people. It gives us a great pleasure to see them already established in 
many places, together with the Catholic patronages; two institutions which aim to help 
the honest class of workingmen, and to help and protect their families, their children, 
and keep in them, with the integrity of manners, love of piety and knowledge of 
religion. 


Here we cannot keep silence concerning the society of St. Vincent de Paul, celebrated 
for the spectacle and example offered and so well deserving of the poor. The works 
and intentions of that society are well known. It is all for the succor and help of the 
suffering and poor, encouraging them with wonderful tact and that modesty which the 
less showy the more is fit for the exercise of Christian charity and the relief of human 
miseries. 


Fourthly, in order more easily to reach the end, we recommend to your faith and 
watchfulness the youth, the hope of civil society. In the good education of the same 
place a great part of your care. Never believe you have watched or done enough in 
keeping youth from those masters from whom the contagious breath of the sect is to 
be feared. Insist that parents and spiritual directors in teaching the catechism may 
never cease to admonish appropriately children and pupils of the wicked nature of 
these sects, that they may also leam in time the various fraudulent arts which their 
propagators use to entice people. Those who prepare children for first communion 
will do well if they will persuade them to promise not to give their names to any 
society without asking their parents' or their pastor's or their confessor's advice. 



But we understand how our common labor would not be sufficient to outroot this 
dangerous seed from the field of the Lord, if the Heavenly Master of the vineyard is 
not to this effect granting to us His generous help. We must, then, implore His 
powerful aid with anxious fervor equal to the gravity of the danger and to the 
greatness of the need. Inebriated by its prosperous success, Masonry is insolent, and 
seems to have no more limits to its pertinacity. Its sectaries bound by an iniquitious 
alliance and secret unity of purpose, they go on hand in hand and encourage each 
other to dare more and more for evil. Such a strong assault requires a strong defence. 
We mean that all the good must unite in a great society of action and prayers. We ask, 
therefore, from them two things: On one hand, that, unanimously and in thick ranks, 
they resist immovably the growing impetus of the sects; on the other, that, raising 
their hands with many sighs to God, they implore that Christianity may grow 
vigorous; that the Church may recover her necessary liberty; that wanderers may 
come again to salvation; that errors give place to truth and vice to virtue. 


Let us invoke for this puipose the mediation of Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, that 
against the impious sects in which one sees clearly revived the contumacious pride, 
the untamed perfidy, the simulating shrewdness of Satan, she may show her power, 
she who triumphed over him since the first conception. 


Let us pray also St. Michael, the prince of the angelic army, conqueror of the infernal 
enemy; St. Joseph, spouse of the most Saintly Virgin, heavenly and wholesome patron 
of the Catholic Church; the great Apostles Peter and Paul, propagators and defenders 
of the Christian faith. Through their patronage and the perseverance of common 
prayers let us hope that God will condescend to piously help human society threatened 
by so many dangers. 


As a pledge of heavenly graces and of our benevolence, we impart with great 
affection to you, venerable brethren, to the clergy and people trusted to your care, the 
Apostolic benediction. 


Given at Rome, near St. Peter, the 20th of April, 1884, the seventh year of our 
pontificate. 



LEO, PP. XIII. 


THE YOUNGER BROTHER 

BY BRO. GERALD NANC ARROW, INDIANA 

If we have some younger Brother 
Who is learning his new part, 

Let us, as we prompt and question, 

Teach him also from the heart; 

As he learns his new found science 
Let us teach to him the art. 

Let us aid him in the shaping 
And the smoothing of his block; 

Let us spread the binder mortar 
And thus add a firmer mortar 
To our structure; Make him granite 
By the knowledge we unlock. 



Show him more than words and phrases, 
More than empty form and shell, 

Let him see the wealth of beauty 
In the lessons which we tell; 

Help him move toward strength and service 
And to meet his trials well. 




AN OLD MASONIC HEADSTONE 


BY BRO. CLARENCE E. CHURCHILL, OHIO 


THIS quaint symbolic gravestone of Brother Calvin Austin is located in the old 
graveyard on the banks of the Mahoning River, within the city of Warren, Trumbull 
County, Ohio, a part of the old land grant known as Western Reserve, a Connecticut 
school grant. Many of the pioneers came from that State. 


When Brother Austin came to this section is not definitely known, but he was one of 
twenty-two petitioners to the Grand Lodge of Connecticut, in the early part of the year 
1803, for a charter which was granted October 19, 1803. 


Samuel Tylee, another petitioner, was sent to Connecticut after the charter. He was 
appointed Deputy Grand Master and directed to dedicate the lodge and install the 



officers. These ceremonies took place March 15th, 1804, the following officers being 
installed: 


Master - Tuckland Kirtland. 

Senior Warden - John Leavitt. 

Junior Warden - William Rayen. 

Treasurer - Calvin Austin. 

Senior Deacon - Aaron Wheeler. 

Junior Deacon - John Walworth. 

Stewards - Charles Dutton and Arod Way. 
Tyler - Ezekiel Hover. 


The lodge was chartered as Erie Lodge No. 47, A. F. & A. M., and worked under that 
charter until 1814 when it was chartered as Erie Lodge No. 3, Marietta, Ohio, and 
Cincinnati, Ohio, antedating it. This lodge is still working and known as Old Erie No. 
3. 


The gravestone is remarkably well preserved, being quite smooth and of fine grain. 
The graven symbols are finely cut, though shallow. The inscription on the stone reads: 


Calvin Austin Esqr 
Formerly of Suffield 
Conn. Died Oct. 2, 1819 
in the 57th year of his 



age. 


C. Ferris. Engraver. 


-o- 


FREEMASONRY AND EDUCATION 


BY BRO. JOSEPH BARNETT, CALIFORNIA 


THE TRAINING of the intelligence, the development of the ability to think and 
reason, is Education. This factor, whether evolved in the schools or in the active 
pursuits of commercial life, produced and sustains civilization; and Freemasonry 
teaches that its direction is not only toward progress, but is also Godward. 


In ancient times, Science was considered of Divine origin, and Art was held in 
singular esteem. Both were taught by the priesthood; for the Temple included the 
School. In the most ancient civilization with which we are familiar, men who had 
made some progress in the arts and sciences were deemed worthy to be initiated into 
an order of the priesthood of Egypt. In Greece, with which we are still more familiar, 
the temple Mysteries included both science and religion; and Divinity was symbolized 
by one of the sciences, Geometry. From the beginning, knowledge dependent on the 
reasoning powers was associated with Omniscience. 


Freemasonry asserts "the importance of the study of the liberal arts and sciences." It 
impresses on men the duty of applying them; the teaching is that "rational and 
intelligent beings should ever be industrious ones." From their study comes 
understanding, and from their application is developed skill. Reason is honored for its 
guidance, and labor for its productiveness; in both we recognize the intelligence that 
tends toward progress. Freemasonry admits no illiterates. Every initiate must be able 



to read and write. Lack of this ability offers evidence that the candidate is lacking in 
those basic qualities that go to the making of Masons. Masonry holds all such unfit, 
because Masons are men who have a "desire for knowledge"; and he who in this land 
has not learned to read and write he who in this land has not learned to read and write 
has evinced no such desire. It teaches that education, the development of the 
reasoning powers, is the plain duty of every man; and it could offer no objection if our 
government should make illiteracy a bar to citizenship. 


Since the earliest priesthoods were the first teachers, it might have been expected that 
modem priesthoods would have been their natural heirs in all that tends toward 
progress, and that they, too, would have been the intellectual leaders and benefactors 
of mankind, especially since they have borrowed and adapted so much from ancient 
priestcraft. But for two thousand years, ecclesiastics have affected to despise the 
reasoning powers that developed civilization, and have urged in place of them faith 
and obedience. Modem priestcraft has notoriously opposed every advance in the 
natural sciences; its attitude recently toward the theory of evolution is its attitude three 
hundred years ago toward the theory of the rotation of the earth. Ancient priestcraft, as 
culminating in the Mysteries, sought after knowledge of the natural world, and 
expressed the forces of nature in terms of Divine beings. Astronomy, Geometry, and 
other sciences, grew out of their "survey of nature." And with the book of nature as 
their only revelation they found God. The forces of nature were His symbols, and in 
them was seen the manifestation of His puiposes toward man. Freemasonry has kept 
the spirit that finds God in nature as in the written word, the spirit that investigates the 
mystery of leaf and bud and blossom and fruitage, and the return of springtime and 
harvest, and encourages men to contemplate and understand "the glorious works of 
the creation." Our Fraternity has never taught that all knowledge is equally important; 
but it does teach that the useful application of all knowledge is equally to be admired 
and encouraged. 


During the Dark Ages, when priestcraft was cunningly building up a sinister power 
based on the negation of human reason, there was some learning and a little art in the 
monasteries, and here and there individuals were groping after the light of science. 
Masonry had some teaching peculiar to itself; and recognizing in the monks a respect 
for knowledge and an aspiration to usefulness similar to their own, Masons for several 
centuries held their meetings in the monasteries. When the monkish orders were 
robbed and dissolved, Masons suffered with them, and were held in suspicion by both 
king and priest as possible sources of plots and heresies. Statecraft for the most part 



abandoned this attitude long since, but priestcraft has maintained it. Hierarchies never 
willingly tolerate anything that cannot be made subservient to their interests. 


King and Pope have both claimed absolute power. They agreed, as autocrats have 
always agreed, that much thinking was not good for the masses, and should be 
confined to the classes; otherwise there would be constant discontent. They failed, or 
pretended to fail, to realize that progress can only be attained when people begin to 
think for themselves, and that progress can never he achieved by that contentment that 
lets others do our thinking for us. Freemasonry states explicitly that in youth "we 
ought industrially to occupy our minds in the attainment of useful knowledge," and 
that in manhood "we should apply our knowledge to the discharge of our respective 
duties." Both royalty and hierarchy have claimed Divine Right; they have asserted 
their superiority to other men. Freemasonry teaches that all men alike are sons of God, 
and that as such all have equal claims. It allows no distinction among men on account 
of the accidents of birth or fortune, or because of any boast of special commission or 
mediumship between God and man; the teaching is not that all men are equal in 
usefulness, but that all men have equal rights both human and Divine. It teaches that 
the Divine Right of all men is associated with the immortal soul of man, and that the 
manifestation of the living soul is the intelligence developed by education, whether 
the education is of the schools or of the trades. Freemasonry offers no lure to the 
faithful, presents no cunning inducement, makes no promises, but in their place asks 
service intended to develop "those talents wherewith God has blessed us," and points 
out that these qualities are in origin Divine. In particular, Freemasonry teaches that no 
man should be content with ignorance. It states emphatically that "he who will not be 
endeavouring to add to the common stock of knowledge and understanding ... is a 
useless member of society." 


As the church has its ecclesiastical classics, so the Greek and Latin literatures are the 
classics of the schools. Up to a couple of generations ago, it was the particular 
ambition of college students to be able to read the classics in the original tongues, and 
a great deal of their effort was to that end. Translating the classics is now being given 
over more and more to specialists, and training the student intellect is accomplished 
more and more by the sciences. This is the method that Masonry has always urged; 
not that erudition is slighted, but that science is more useful Learning by observation 
and experience is important Learning by instruction and information is important But 
both of these sources of knowledge are limited by opportunity. The knowledge we 
gain by reasoning out the problems of life is not limited by opportunity; the more we 
think for ourselves, the more we are able to think for ourselves. Other knowledge 



increases be arithmetical progression, by addition. This knowledge increases by 
geometrical progression, by multiplication It depends neither on the senses nor the 
emotions, but on the intelligence. Its processes are called education and it is what 
Masonry has always esteemed and encouraged. 


The beginning of education, the foundation of useful citizenship, is the Public School. 
It is the outcome of the same influences that developed Freemasonry the desire for 
knowledge that can be made useful. And the same agencies that with puerile 
anathemas assail Freemasonry, also, by slyer methods, attack the Public School. So 
notoriously has priestcraft, even when exercising autocratic power, never attempted to 
establish a general educational system, that in countries where the priesthood have 
maintained direct political influence, the people are the most ignorant and backward 
among civilized nations. And in every country where the people have established the 
Public School, priestcraft has constantly endeavoured to obtain autocratic influence in 
the schools, so as to exploit them for its own purposes. In this country, the 
mischievous, foreign-bom thing is called "The Parochial School"; its intent is to train 
children to become sectarian partisans, instead of intelligent citizens. Freemasonry 
teaches religious tolerance, and opposes priestly meddling. It is an institution pledged 
to uphold the State; and it is particularly interested in the schools which the State has 
established for the development of intelligence in the young that makes for better 
citizenship. 


Civilization tends to specialization. It is the particular province of the church to 
consider the relationship of man to God, of the schools to prepare youth for better 
citizenship, of the arts to secure more material productiveness. Freemasonry in its 
teachings associates all these interests together. It asserts that a combination of all 
these factors makes the complete man; that every man should be religious, intelligent 
and industrious. The priest, the pedagogue, the laborer, are all too apt to magnify their 
own particular interests, too prone to see life only from narrow viewpoints. 
Freemasonry's survey of life has ever been broader; it asserts that, whatever his 
occupation, it is the development of all his faculties that makes man capable f 
reaching, and shows that he is worthy of reaching, ;hat high destiny which has been 
the hope and aspiration of mankind through all the ages. 





WITHIN THE SANCTUARY 


BY BRO. N. W. J. HAYDON, ONTARIO 

The shadows deepen round thy quiet shrines, 
The candles' golden plumes grow tall and still, 
The censer's fragrant echoes fill thine aisles, 
And clouds of prayer contrast life's noisy mill. 

Hither I turn my weary steps at eve, 

One seat, familiar, holds a welcoming arm, 
Here I can kneel and, to our heavenly Friend, 
With silent words and daily plea return. 

The silent twilight grows more eloquent, 

The sanctuary lamp swings gently overhead, 
Without, the hurrying steps of man and beast 
Make dearer still this peace wherein I'm led. 

Unwilling, I must leave this hallowed place, 
Far up there clangs a loud resounding bell, 
Calm and austere beside me Duty stands, 



"Resume thy life, my son, with thee shall all be well." 


Thanks be to God for thee, oh goodly fane 
Whose tinted windows veil the garish day; 
From Him the thoughts embodied in thy walls, 
By Him thy pillars stand, thy scourges lay. 

His, too, the stones that rear thee heavenward, 
His skill that planned thy winding tracery; 
Praise be to Him who doeth all things well, 
Who maketh us His craftsmen fit to be. 

BY BRO C. A. SNODGRASS TENNESSEE 


In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 
John 1:1. 

I 

I sought to leam the Builder's Art, 

And in life's cornerstone I placed 



Those treasured archives of the heart, 
In Faith and Hope and Love embraced. 
I chose the solid rock of Truth 
To build upon, lest I should slip, 

And on the trestleboard of youth 

I traced a man's apprenticeship. 

II 

Upon this rock I saw, upraised, 

The shafts of Wisdom and of Strength, 
To guide me o'er life's devious ways; 
And guided thus, I stood, at length 
Where man may view in retrospect 
The rude unfinished stones that lie 
Where he has striven to erect 
A model of life's Masonry. 

And though the broken ashlars there 
Betrayed a youthful, unskilled hand, 
Unused to gavel, plumb or square, 

Or knowledge of the Art’s demand, 

I, to the paths of knowledge turned, 



To learn anew life's handicraft, 

And meekly felt that I had earned 
The wages of a Fellow Craft. 

Ill 

I sought the Master’s Trestleboard, 

And there discerned a Master-plan, 

And vowed, henceforth, that I would build 
In firmer faith with God and man; 

And from the quarry-beds of Truth 
I fashioned each imposing shaft, 

That I had pictured in my Youth 
Or modeled as a Fellow Craft. 

But though I wrought with Master hand 
And Master's knowledge of the Art, 

'Twas but the handiwork of man 
And of the man the counterpart. 

My choicest plans were set at naught, 

I saw my columns turned to clay, 

And found that ere the last were wrought 
The first had fallen in decay. 



But lo! within the rubbish there, 

Where the Omnific Word was lost, 

I found at last the Jewel rare, 

The missing stone I needed most; 

That glorious Gift of God to man, - 
The Keystone of immortal fame, 

Whose loss had blighted every plan 
And left me Master but in name. 

CONCLUSIONS 

O mortal man! if thou wouldst be 
A Master of the Builder's Art, 

First bow thyself at Calvary's Tree 
And welcome Christ within thy heart. 
His wisdom molds each Master thought, 
His love inspires the Master mind, 

And only by His grace is wrought 
The Masonry of humankind. 

His cross should be thy trestleboard, 

His life indeed for thine was spent, - 



Thy life in His should be restored 
By God's own plan, most excellent. 

He is the one "Great Light" divine, 

Whose wisdom, grace and love imparts 
Immortal strength to thee and thine 
And crowns the Holy Roval Arch. 

THE LEGENDARY ORIGIN OF FREEMASONRY 


BY BRO. DUDLEY WRIGHT, ASSISTANT EDITOR "THE FREEMASON," 
LONDON, ENGLAND 


MANY writers assert that the Craft is as old as, if not, indeed, older than Adam, some 
stating even that he was the first Grand Master of the Craft. The Rev. Dr. Dodd, in his 
famous Oration on Freemasonry, refers to the origin of the Craft in the following 
words: 


"Though it might owe to the wise and glorious King of Israel some of its many mystic 
forms and hieroglyphic ceremonies, yet certainly the Art itself is coeval with Creation, 
when the Sovereign Architect raised on Masonic principles this beauteous globe; and 
commanded that master science Geometry to lay the rule to the planetary world, and 
to regulate by its laws the whole stupendous system in just, unerring proportion, 
rolling round the ventral sun." 



One Masonic tradition states that on the occasion of the transgression of our first 
parents a certain sign or token was used, which has peen peipetuated in Royal Arch 
Masonry. This sign was used by Moses when he came down from the mount. It was 
again brought into requisition at the building of the second Temple; and when 
Alexander the Great, with his victorious legions, approached the city of Jerusalem in 
order to destroy it. he was met by the High Priest in his pontifical robes, accompanied 
by the priests and Levites in solemn procession, who saluted him with this significant 
sign. It is an historical fact that Alexander was so much struck with the sight of this 
procession that he did homage to God's viceregent; and it is said, on more 
questionable authority, that his reverence proceeded from the mutual recognition of 
the Masonic Brotherhood. 


Another Masonic tradition asserts that it was the Sacred Word which expelled our 
erring first parents from Paradise, which was uttered again at the universal deluge, and 
on several occasions manifested itself to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and 
also to Moses at the burning bush; after which it assumed a material and permanent 
form and dwelt in the cloudy pillar as the image of the glory of God. This appearance, 
it is asserted, was no other than the Tetragrammaton, which is commemorated in 
many of the higher degrees of Freemasonry. This is the word which conversed with 
Adam in Paradise, and is referred to in Genesis iii, 8: "And they heard the voice of the 
Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day." 


Dalcho suggests that the Word is to be found in no language that ever was used. "It 
is," he says, "not a word, but merely a jumble of letters, forming a sound without 
meaning." The time and circumstances attending the loss of the Word are thus stated 
in one of the degrees: 


"The moment when the veil of the Temple was rent: when darkness and consternation 
covered the earth; when the stars disappeared and the lamp of day was darkened; 
when the implements of Masonry were lost and the cubical stone sweated blood and 
water: that was the moment when the great Masonic Word was lost." 


Freemasonry contains a legend of a cubical stone which was inscribed with a mystical 
diagram that represented the Sacred Name and was possessed of many virtues. It 



informs us that this stone was in the possession of Adam in Paradise, that he held it in 
the highest estimation, because it bore the sacred characters, and reminded him of that 
sublime and holy Being, who had been his friend, his companion, and his guide in that 
delightful place. On this stone he made his offerings to God, when the divine promise 
of a mediator who should bruise the head of the reptile which had caused his defection 
from innocence, was formally revealed to him that he might not entirely sink under 
the oppression and misery in which a sense of deserving God's displeasure had 
involved him. On the same holy altar he offered a sacrifice of praise of thanksgiving 
at the birth of his children. 


The Babel incident is embodied in a degree known as the Noachites, or Prussian 
Cavaliers, of which the following is the legend: 


"The descendants of Noah, notwithstanding that God had appointed the rainbow as a 
token of the covenant that He would not again destroy the earth by a universal deluge, 
resolved to erect an edifice, which, by its height, should place them beyond the reach 
of divine vengeance. For this puipose they assembled together in the extended plane 
of Shinar. They laid the foundation and carried on the building for ten years; at which 
time, God seeing their pride, determined to interfere. He confounded their language, 
and by that simple process, put an end to their design. Hence the tower was called 
Babel, which signifies confusion. Some time after this, Nimrod began to establish 
degrees of rank amongst his subjects which had not existed before. He built the city of 
Babylon and arrogated to himself the honours of divine worship, ft was on the night of 
the full moon, in the month of March, that God confounded their language. And, 
therefore, the Noachites held their great meeting on that particular night; and their 
common monthly meetings were only held when the moon was at full, and they used 
no other light in their lodges. After the language was confounded, and the people 
obliged to separate, each tribe pursued its own course. Peleg, who suggested the plan 
of this tower, and had been the Great Architect during its construction, being struck 
with the force of conscience, condemned himself to a most rigorous penance. He 
migrated with his followers to the north of Germany, after having suffered great 
miseries and encountered great dangers in passing the mountains and plains on his 
way thither In that part of the country which is Slow, called Prussia he took up his 
residence. Here he built a triangular temple, where he enclosed himself, that he might 
be at leisure to worship God and implore Him to pardon His transgression. In the 
course of excavation in the salt mines of Prussia, A. D. 553, there was discovered, at 
the depth of fifteen cubits, the foundations of a triangular edifice, in the center of 
which was a small pillar of marble, on which the above history was inscribed in 



Hebrew characters. A tomb was also found in which an agate stone was encrusted, 
containing these words: 'Here were deposited the ashes of the Great Architect of the 
Tower of Babel. God showed him mercy because he humbled himself.' " These relics 
are said to be still in the royal archives at Berlin. 


There is a Masonic tradition descending from time immemorial involving certain facts 
unknown to the world, that the sacred ark, together with the Book of the Law, was 
removed from the most holy place, under Masonic direction, and so deposited as to 
escape that overwhelming destruction which swept away the whole land of Judaea. 
From this tradition we learn where, and under what circumstances the Book of the 
Law was found. 


Masonic tradition claims that the pure science of Masonry was practiced by Daniel 
and his associates in opposition to the spurious system, which was celebrated in the 
old tower of Belus, the lower apartments of which were used for the purpose of 
initiation. Their steady adherence to the practice of primitive Freemasonry drew down 
upon them the vengeance of the priests and princes of Babylon, and brought upon the 
three principal brethren the punishment of fire, and upon Daniel that of being 
sentenced to be tom in pieces by wild beasts. 


From his knowledge of Geometry, Euclid is supposed to have been enabled to restore 
to Masonry its ancient systematic usages and customs, as well as to regulate the 
affairs of Egyptian agriculture, and he became a general benefactor, "giving," says an 
old record of the Craft, "to his system the name of Geometry, which is now called 
Masonry." According to Masonic legend, Euclid was Senior Grand Warden to Grand 
Master Ptolemy Soter, who founded at Alexandria a museum or college of learned 
men, for the improving of philosophy and all other knowledge. 


The famous Charter of Colne says: 


"Our Brotherhood had its origin in those times when a few of the initiated, filled with 
a desire of tme knowledge and a correct interpretation of the Mysteries of Christianity 



separated themselves from the various sects who professed the Christian religion; for 
in those times a few wise and enlightened men perceiving that certain heathenish 
ceremonies had been introduced into Christianity, which would destroy the principle 
of brotherly love, united themselves with an oath, to preserve and maintain, in its 
original purity, the Christian religion, with its benign influence on the hearts and 
consciences of mankind; to bring the true light out of darkness, and to labour together 
in combatting ignorance, intolerance, and superstition, and to establish peace and 
happiness amongst mankind, by teaching and enforcing every human virtue. Thus the 
Masters of our Order took the names of Initiated Brethren of St. John, following the 
footsteps and imitating the conduct of St. John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Light 
and the first martyr of the enlightened. The teachers and writers, according to the 
customs of the times, were called Masters, and chosen from the experienced and 
learned of their disciples, or fellow labourers, from whence we derive the name of 
Fellow-Craft; while the remainder of the Brotherhood, according to the custom of the 
Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans, were called Apprentices." 


— o- 


TRANSPORTATION IN PALESTINE 


Crossing the Dead Sea proved no easy task in a land where commerce is at a standstill 
and transportation facilities are virtually nil. A Red Crops engineer who recently 
returned from Palestine tells how it was done. 


"It was necessary to carry a boat from Jaffa, on the seacoast, to Jerusalem in order to 
cross the Dead Sea to Jericho to get grain to take back to Jaffa. This journey of 
something more than one hundred and twenty miles was over an almost impassable 
terrain, some of it lowland, hundreds of feet below sea level, and much of it nigged, 
mountainous country. The Dead Sea itself is one thousand feet below sea level. 


"This is typical of transport difficulties all over Palestine." 



O 


THE STEPPING STONE 

BY BRO. L. B. MITCHELL, MICHIGAN 

There was built for man a home and to it a stepping stone 
By the nature forces true in the work, below, above; 

For in coming he would know every human joy and woe, 

So the stepping stone was made of the pearl of human love. 

'Twas the granite tried and proved as the mighty forces moved 
To the time and fire test that in ages was to come,- 
It was nature in her plan ending in a world for man 
That should mean, as such to him, all that makes a home a home. 

For this consciousness the world was with beauty rare impearled, 
For its every real need there was rich provision made; 

But with all its golden store it were mockery the more, 

Worthless as such if not on love's redeeming altar laid. 



And the anchorage that holds all that consciousness extols, 

Is the power that moves the world in its sway by human love; 
Without it the race would be without e'en a mystery; 

Not a flower would bloom to it and no star glint from above. 

And because this stepping stone to all that makes earth a home 
Is the royal way to all that with it to man is given, 

There could be no other plan, for the attributes of man 
Would be worthless save as love qualifies for home and heaven. 

OMNIPRESENCE 

BY FINLEY PAUL CURTIS, JR. 

A soft blanket of snow, vast and crystal white 
Under the cold limpid radiance of pale Luna 
O'er the earth sprawls like a gigantic ghost-shadow. 

It is the absence of all color: perfect white. 

I look forth from the window, and my tongue, 

Manned by a Power invisible, unconsciously and irresistably 



Utters: "It is the Supreme. It is God!" 

Wonderment and thoughts unutterable absorb me. 

A lump of coal in the grate bursts into a thousand fragments, 
Hissing and crackling as if in the agony of death. 

Then from the window, aroused from my abstraction, I turn. 
Fire-flames lept upward from the white-hot ashbed 
Like long, blood-red, avid reptile tongues. 

Again my lips fashioned these unbidden words: 

"Why! The Unseen is here, too. God is everywhere 

Then I understood the ineffable peace which enveloped my soul: 
I was not afraid. 

Before my soul was a cork bouncing on the sea of life: 

But now it was an immovable Gibralter! 


CORRESPONDENCE CIRCLE BULLETIN No. 32 



DEVOTED TO ORGANIZED MASONIC STUDY 


Edited by Bro. H. L. Haywood 


THE BULLETIN COURSE OF MASONIC STUDY FOR MONTHLY LODGE 
MEETINGS AND 

STUDY CLUBS 


FOUNDATION OF THE COURSE 


THE Course of Study has for its foundation two sources of Masonic information: 

THE BUILDER and Mackey's Encyclopedia. In another paragraph is explained how 
the references to former issues of THE BUILDER and to Mackey's Encyclopedia may 
be worked up as supplemental papers to exactly fit into each installment of the Course 
with the papers by Brother Haywood. 


MAIN OUTLINE: 


The Course is divided into five principal divisions which are in turn subdivided, as is 
shown below: 


Division I. Ceremonial Masonry. 


A. The Work of the Lodge. 

B. The Lodge and the Candidate. 



C. First Steps. 

D. Second Steps. 

E. Third Steps. 

Division II. Symbolical Masonry. 

A. Clothing. 

B. Working Tools. 

C. Furniture. 

D. Architecture. 

E. Geometry. 

F. Signs. 

G. Words. 

H. Grips. 

Division III. Philosophical Masonry. 

A. Foundations. 

B. Virtues. 

C. Ethics. 

D. Religious Aspect. 

E. The Quest. 

F. Mysticism. 


G. The Secret Doctrine. 



Division IV. Legislative Masonry. 


A. The Grand Lodge. 

1. Ancient Constitutions. 

2. Codes of Law. 

3. Grand Lodge Practices. 

4. Relationship to Constituent Lodges. 

5. Official Duties and Prerogatives. 

B. The Constituent Lodge. 

1. Organization. 

2. Qualifications of Candidates. 

3. Initiation, Passing and Raising. 

4. Visitation. 

5. Change of Membership. 

Division V. Historical Masonry. 

A. The Mysteries— Earliest Masonic Light. 

B. Studies of Rites— Masonry in the Making. 

C. Contributions to Lodge Characteristics. 



D. National Masonry. 

E. Parallel Peculiarities in Lodge Study. 

F. Feminine Masonry. 

G. Masonic Alphabets. 

H. Historical Manuscripts of the Craft. 

I. Biographical Masonry. 

J. Philological Masonry— Study of Significant Words. 

THE MONTHLY INSTALLMENTS 


Each month we are presenting a paper written by Brother Haywood, who is following 
the foregoing outline. We are now in "First Steps" of Ceremonial Masonry. There will 
be twelve monthly papers under this particular subdivision. On page two, preceding 
each installment, will be given a list of questions to be used by the chairman of the 
Committee during the study period which will bring out every point touched upon in 
the paper. 


Whenever possible we shall reprint in the Correspondence Circle Bulletin articles 
from other sources which have a direct bearing upon the particular subject covered by 
Brother Haywood in his monthly paper. These articles should be used as supplemental 
papers in addition to those prepared by the members from the monthly list of 
references. Much valuable material that would otherwise possibly never come to the 
attention of many of our members will thus be presented. 


The monthly installments of the Course appearing in the Correspondence Circle 
Bulletin should be used one month later than their appearance. If this is done the 
Committee will have opportunity to arrange their programs several weeks in advance 
of the meetings and the brethren who are members of the National Masonic Research 



Society will be better enabled to enter into the discussions after they have read over 
and studied the installment in THE BUILDER. 


REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTAL PAPERS 


Immediately preceding each of Brother Haywood's monthly papers in the 
Correspondence Circle Bulletin will be found a list of references to THE BUILDER 
and Mackey's Encyclopedia. These references are pertinent to the paper and will 
either enlarge upon many of the points touched upon or bring out new points for 
reading and discussion. They should be assigned by the Committee to different 
brethren who may compile papers of their own from the material thus to be found, or 
in many instances the articles themselves or extracts therefrom may be read directly 
from the originals. The latter method may be followed when the members may not 
feel able to compile original papers, or when the original may be deemed appropriate 
without any alterations or additions. 


HOW TO ORGANIZE FOR AND CONDUCT THE STUDY MEETINGS 


The lodge should select a "Research Committee" preferably of three "live" members. 
The study meetings should be held once a month, either at a special meeting of the 
lodge called for the purpose, or at a regular meeting at which no business (except the 
lodge routine) should be transacted— all possible time to be given to the study period. 


After the lodge has been opened and all routine business disposed of, the Master 
should turn the lodge over to the Chairman of the Research Committee. This 
Committee should be fully prepared in advance on the subject for the evening. All 
members to whom references for supplemental papers have been assigned should be 
prepared with their papers and should also have a comprehensive grasp of Brother 
Haywood's paper. 



PROGRAM FOR STUDY MEETINGS 


1 . Reading of the first section of Brother Haywood's paper and the supplemental 
papers thereto. 


(Suggestion: While these papers are being read the members of the lodge should make 
notes of any points they may wish to discuss or inquire into when the discussion is 
opened. Tabs or slips of paper similar to those used in elections should be distributed 
among the members for this purpose at the opening of the study period.) 


2. Discussion of the above. 


3. The subsequent sections of Brother Haywood's paper and the supplemental papers 
should then be taken up, one at a time, and disposed of in the same manner. 4. 
Question Box. 


MAKE THE "QUESTION BOX" THE FEATURE OF YOUR MEETINGS 


Invite questions from any and all brethren present. Let them understand that these 
meetings are for their particular benefit and get them into the habit of asking all the 
questions they may think of. Every one of the papers read will suggest questions as to 
facts and meanings which may not perhaps be actually covered at all in the paper. If at 
the time these questions are propounded no one can answer them, SEND THEM IN 
TO US. All the reference material we have will be gone through in an endeavor to 
supply a satisfactory answer. In fact we are prepared to make special research when 
called upon, and will usually be able to give answers within a day or two. Please 
remember, too, that the great Library of the Grand Lodge of Iowa is only a few miles 
away, and, by order of the Trustees of the Grand Lodge, the Grand Secretary places it 
at our disposal on any query raised by any member of the Society. 



FURTHER INFORMATION 


The foregoing information should enable local Committees to conduct their lodge 
study meetings with success. However, we shall welcome all inquiries and 
communications from interested brethren concerning any phase of the plan that is not 
entirely clear to them, and the Services of our Study Club Department are at the 
command of our members, lodge and study club committees at all times. 


QUESTIONS ON "THE WINDING STAIRS" 


I To what extent is the origin of the symbolism of the Winding Stairs generally known 
? Is it essential that we discover the exact facts in order to intelligently pursue our 
present study ? 


Have there ever been advanced Satisfactory answers concerning the Source of the 
symbolism ? To what extent should discussion of the origin be considered of value? 


Do you agree with the contention of early scholars that there was actually a winding 
stair of three, five and seven steps in Solomon's Temple? What can you offer in 
support of such contention ? Could the semi-circular stairway at the Gate Nieanor 
where the Levites chanted the "Psalms of Degrees" have been taken as the prototype 
of our winding stairs? What is your opinion concerning this theory, What does Sir 
Charles Warren say concerning the Staircase? 


What is the "Theological Ladder" ? When and by whom was it introduced into the 
ritual? What was the symbolism of the "Theological Ladder" ? Have we anything 
similar to it in our ritual of the present day ? What does Brother Haywood say about 
this interpretation ? 



II What is the theory of the Operative origin of the symbolism? Can this theory be 
depended upon? If not, why not? 


Since the origin of the Winding Stair symbolism cannot be accurately traced, how 
should we view the use of the stairs in our work? 


Ill What does the use of the mystical numbers suggest to you ? Of what is the 
Winding Stair as a whole a symbol ? 


What is Pike's theory concerning the number "15"? What would happen should our 
present Symbolic arrangement of the Winding Stairs be changed ? Would a change be 
of any material advantage? 


Is the use of numbers in symbolism of modem origin ? Can you give a reason for even 
numbers being used to denote earthly or human things and odd numbers to suggest 
divine or heavenly tmths? Has this always been the ease? What was "the number of 
the beast" and its interpretation? How were ancient temples usually approached ? 

Why should we feel gratified that the symbolism of odd numbers is retained in 
Masonry? 


What is the "triad" or "ternary" ? How was it considered by philosophers? 


How does Brother Haywood explain the number "5"? 


Of what is the number "7" the symbol? How was knowledge divided in medieval 
times ? What does Gould say about the seven sciences? 



IV 


How can our ritual be made to be of assistance to us in our everyday life ? 


What is our most familiar explanation of the "three steps" ? How does Masonry help 
the individual ? Should a Mason feel that he is being left apart and alone in his 
endeavors to improve his physical and spiritual condition ? 


What great lesson is revealed to us in the five steps? 


How is the group of seven steps inteipreted? Is this teaching a necessity ? Does 
Masonry approve ignorance ? Is the expression "I have no time to read or study" one 
of yours ? How did Burritt, Franklin, Livingstone and others secure their education? 
What grows out of ignorance? 


V Do you believe that the human race is still progressing ? What must we avoid in 
measuring progress ? In what manner alone can the human race progress ? What are 
your answers to Brother Haywood's closing questions? 


SUPPLEMENTAL REFERENCES 


THE BUILDER: 


Vol. II. The Winding Stairway, p. 239. 



Vol. IV. Symbolism of the Three Degrees, p. 266. 


Mackey's Encyclopedia: 


Legend of the Winding Stairs, p. 850; Middle Chamber, p. 483; Winding Stairs, p. 
850. 


Mackey's Symbolism of Freemasonry: 


Legend of the Winding Stairs, pp 210, 217, 218, 219, 225. 


Ars Quatuor Coronatorum: 


Vol. I, pp. 42, 57; vol. IV, p. 88; vol. XXIX, pp. 262, 299. 


SECOND STEPS BY BRO. H.L. HAYWOOD, IOWA 


PART VII THE WINDING STAIRS 


I THE THREE, Five and Seven Steps have long been a puzzle to the candidate and a 
problem to the Masonic scholar; in the present connection there is no need that we go 
into the erudite debates that have circled about the matter, for our main concern is 
with that living and practical truth of which the stairs are a symbol. 



Whence came this symbolism? To that question many answers have been offered, 
some ingenious but none very convincing. Any discussion of origin is valuable only 
as it throws light on the symbol itself. 


Some scholars have contended, though not in recent years, that there was a winding 
stair of three, five and seven steps in Solomon's temple itself. It is thought that at the 
Gate Nicanor there was a semicircular stairway leading from one court to another, and 
that it was on the successive steps of this stair that the Levites chanted the fifteen 
"Psalms of Degrees," specimens of which remain in the Book of Psalms. But the 
archaeologists who have learned most about the Temple as it actually existed, are 
generally agreed that this stairway could not have been the prototype of the three, five 
and seven steps as we find them in our Second degree. Sir Charles Warren, as eminent 
in archeology as he was in Masonry, writes that "there was a winding staircase, 
certainly, but this led to little cells or chambers a few feet square in the thickness of 
the Temple walls, in which the functionaries (Temple attendants) kept their stores for 
the votive offerings." (A. Q. C. vol. 1, p. 42) 


Other scholars have opined that the steps were originally the same as the Theological 
Ladder, and had the same historical origin. This Theological Ladder, which appears 
on our Tracing Board, and represents by its seven rungs the three theological virtues 
of Faith, Hope and Charity, and the four cardinal virtues of Temperance, Fortitude, 
Prudence and Justice, was introduced into the ritual, it is thought, by Martin Clare, in 
1732. This ladder was made to stand for the progress of the soul from the earthly to 
the heavenly and it was looked upon as a Masonic type of a similar symbol used in 
several of the Ancient Mysteries, (especially in Mithraism) in Brahminism, etc., and it 
was generally held to be, in its strictly Masonic form, a suggestion of that ladder 
which Jacob saw in his vision, up and down which the angels came and went. 
Inasmuch as this Theological Ladder symbolized progress, just as does the Winding 
Stair, some argued that the latter symbol must have come from the same sources as 
the former. This interpretation of the matter may be plausible enough, and it may help 
toward an interpretation of both symbols, but it suffers from an almost utter lack of 
tangible evidence. 



II Other scholars of more modem views believe that the symbol may have been 
devised by Operative Masons during the Saxon period in England. It seems that the 
numbers three, five and seven were in the air, so to speak, at that time, as is proved by 
Gould, who gives examples to show that these numbers were grouped together in 
laws, religious doctrines, superstitions, etc., "with startling frequency," especially 
during the years 449-1066. But this latter date, it will be seen, is some two centuries 
earlier than our oldest Masonic record, consequently there can be no hope of tracing 
the Winding Stair symbol to that time with any degree of accuracy. 


Thus it is that we are thrown back upon conjecture; accepting that alternative we may 
believe that the stairway was first used simply because it was a necessary part of the 
symbolic temple of the Second degree. Here were the pillars standing at the entrance 
on the porch; yonder was the Middle Chamber, on a higher level; some means of 
ascent was obviously needed to wet the candidate from one to another. 


ITT But the difficulties in the way of accounting for the origin of the symbol need not 
peiplex us in searching for an inteipretation, for that is plain; the mystical use of 
numbers in the ascent suggests to us that the climb itself is a divine task, worthy of the 
noblest in man; the stair is as a whole a symbol of the progress of a man from the low 
level of natural ignorance toward that high level of spiritual power and insight 
symbolized by the Middle Chamber. 


The number Fifteen itself can not have much mystical significance because it is 
another one of those dreaded "American innovations" which have given so much 
scandal to certain inteipreters. In some eighteenth century tracing boards the stair is 
composed of only five steps, in others of seven. Preston divided them into 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 
and 11, making 36 in all. The Hemming lectures, which replaced Preston's at the time 
of the Union, struck out the group of 1 1 steps, thus reducing the number to 25. The 
American ritual, in turn, further reduced the number to 1 5 by striking out the 1 and the 
9. Albert Pike was of the opinion that the 9 should have been retained because he 
believed that the series 3, 5, 7 and 9 had a very ancient and very precious meaning. 

"As long ago as the time of Zarathustra," he writes, "the Irano-Aryan Soldier and King 
of Bactria, 5,000 years or snore before our era, (this date is most certainly wrong. H. 

L. H.) the Barecura, or bundle of twigs used in the sacrifices, were bound by 3, 5, 7 
and 9 twigs, and even then the number 7 had a peculiar significance." I consider it a 
fine thing that the architects of the House of The Temple at Washington, which is a 



monument to Albert Pike quite as much as it is the headquarters of the Scottish Rite of 
the Southern Jurisdiction, have divided the steps that lead from the street to the 
entrance of that noble building into groups of 3, 5, 7 and 9. But while it may possibly 
be true that the original symbolism should have contained the group of 9, the Winding 
Stair as it now exists in the Second degree can never be changed; to do so would 
dislocate the entire structure of the ritualism of the Second degree and it is doubtful if 
the additional group would give us any additional meanings. 


From ancient times numbers have been much employed in symbolism as is proved by 
the records of all the ancient nations, philosophies, and religions. For one reason or 
another, too complicated to explain here, the even numbers were usually made to 
denote earthly or human things while the odd numbers were revered as expressions or 
suggestions of divine or heavenly truths. This was not always the case for the early 
Christians used 888 as the number of Jesus; but even they made 666 to stand for the 
human or demonic and 777 to mean absolute perfection. It is now believed that the 
"number of the beast" spoken of in the Book of Revelation, and given as 666 in our 
Authorized version was really 616, which was the numerical value of the words 
"Kaiser Theos," or "God Caesar," and referred to the worship of the emperor. At any 
rate, with few exceptions, number symbolism has always made the odd number to 
suggest that which is divine or very noble and as such we may understand the use of 
the odd numbers, 3, 5 and 7. An old Roman historian of architecture notes that ancient 
temples were nearly always approached by an odd number of steps because they led to 
the divine precincts; we may rejoice that the builders of our symbolic temple have 
also retained this symbolism because it is certain that there is nothing more divine 
accessible to human feet than that which is pictured for us in the Middle Chamber. 


The Three, or triad, or ternery, is found scores of times throughout the ritual, and it is 
bodied forth in the triangle, the symbol of Deity. It would be impossible in the present 
space even to hint at the wealth of instances in which the triad occurs in the various 
symbolic systems of the past; we must satisfy ourselves with the following paragraph 
from Pierson's "Traditions of Freemasonry": 


"The ternary is the first of unequal numbers. The triad, mysterious number, which 
plays so great a part in the traditions of Asia, the philosophy of Plato, the mysteries of 
all ages, an image of the Supreme Being, includes in itself the properties of the two 
first numbers, (that is, 1 plus 2, equals 3. H. L. H.) It was to philosophers the most 



excellent and favorite number, a mysterious type, revered by all antiquity and 
consecrated in the mysteries; wherefore there are but three essential degrees among 
Masons, rho venerate in the triangle the most august mystery that of the Sacred Triad, 
object of their homage and study." 


Of the number 5 it is more difficult to speak. If we combine the first even number, 2, 
and the first odd, 3, we have 5; if 2 represents the human, and 3 the divine, 5 would 
naturally suggest a union of the two. It may also be that 5 won an early recognition 
through being the number of the senses, even as our Monitor suggests. 


The number 7 usually stands for perfection, and it may not be without meaning that in 
the V. S. L. it occurs, as one writer has said, "an incredible number of times." During 
the medieval periods knowledge was usually divided among seven branches of 
learning; first was a group of three, called the trivium, and composed of grammar, 
rhetoric, and logic; secondly was the quadrivium, which comprised arithmetic, 
geometry, music and astronomy. It is interesting to observe how our Monitorial 
interpretation of the third group of steps preserves this old idea. Gould says that 
during the same period these seven "sciences" were thought of as "a number of steps 
leading to virtue, and finally to heaven." 


IV By this time you are probably beginning to ask yourself, What has all this to do 
with Masonry? What is there in this that I can use in my every day life? I hope you 
really have been asking this question; if more Masons would always seek for the vital 
contact between Masonry and the practical affairs and problems of existence, the 
ritual would cease being the academic plaything which it too often is; and I believe 
that in every symbol of the work, even as in the present case, there is that which can 
be put into immediate use, with the greatest benefit to the user; and furthermore I 
believe that one need not stretch his imagination or twist the ritual in order to do this. 


Let us glance first at the group of three steps. The most familiar explanation of this is 
that these represent the three degrees or the three principal officers of the lodge. In 
either case the first three steps suggest to the candidate that he is being helped on his 
way by an organized- fraternity, represented by the degrees or the officers, whichever 
it may be. Does not that have much to tell us? Is not this one of the prime functions of 



Masonry? Instead of leaving the individual to climb on alone it surrounds him with its 
inspiration and its help just as the organized school stands back of the child that 
begins the ascent to an education. No individual Mason need fail in his attempt to lead 
the divine, the kingly, life; a world-wide brotherhood, with its almost inexhaustible 
resources, is at hand to help him. Have you ever kept that in mind during dark days ? 
No Mason climbs alone, even from the start; the entire Order, sensitive to his needs, 
and responsive to his call, is ever ready to help him on and up. 


If we glance at the next group of five steps we find another teaching, equally valuable 
and quite as practicable, a teaching that takes my breath away by its very boldness 
whenever I think of it. Let us agree with the Monitor, that this group of steps now 
represents to us (whatever it may have originally meant) the five senses; in other 
words, our physical body with its organs, functions and faculties. What does this mean 
? Is it not this, that the very body itself, when kept in control by thorough discipline 
and when trained by education, may be a stepping stone toward the highest life? This 
was an exceedingly bold teaching when first promulgated, for it was at a time when 
religious teachers and moralists were telling people that the body was evil in itself and 
must be put under foot. Masonry does not despise the physical but urges us to prepare 
it so as to serve as a stair-way toward the noblest life. 


The third group of seven steps is interpreted as referring to the liberal arts and 
sciences; in other words, we are told that right learning and culture of the mind will 
lead us up and on. This is a teaching as badly needed now as ever because so many 
men tend to make light of knowledge, or to excuse themselves for not having it. But 
Masonry condemns this attitude, teaching us as it does in this connection that 
ignorance is a sin. If we lay our prejudices aside here and are brave enough to face the 
facts, I believe that we must agree with Masonry. We may say that we have no time to 
read, or to learn; the fallacy of this is proved by the number of men about us who are 
as busy as we, yet manage to get an education in odd moments. We may say that we 
have not the opportunities for securing an education, that we can not go to school, or 
that we can not buy books. We do not need to go to school; we can turn our bedroom 
into a school and be our own teacher, like Elihu Burritt, or Benjamin Franklin, or 
David Livingstone. Nor do we need to buy books; they can always be borrowed from 
public libraries or from our friends. When we remember how superstition, crime, 
fanaticism, disease, poverty and kindred evils grow out of ignorance, we can well 
afford to study again the lessons of the Winding Stairs. 



V The Winding Stairs, as a whole, is a symbol of progress. When is a man 
progressing? Let Ruskin answer: "He alone is advancing in life whose heart is getting 
softer, whose blood warmer, whose brain quicker, whose spirit is entering into living 
peace." In spite of the Great War, which recently dragged its bloody coils across the 
world, we may still believe that the race progresses, that 


"Step by step since time began We see the steady gain of man." 


But we must not fall into the error of measuring progress by merely mechanical 
achievements as the custom is; the race as a race goes forward only as mankind as a 
whole becomes possessed of those qualities described by Ruskin. Do you not believe 
that Masonry has a leading role to play in this real progress of mans Can you think of 
a better recipe for advancement than Masonry's to unite with others for co-operation, 
to control the passions and discipline the faculties, to enlighten the mind, and to keep 
ever before one a great ideal, as is suggested by the Holy of Holies? Are you giving 
your private share to Masonry's contribution to world Progress? 


THE TOMB OF HIRAM, KING OF TYPE 


BY BRO. CHARFES B. SINDEN, BERMUDA 


ANCIENT PHOENICIA or Tyre has bequeathed to the world many interesting relics 
of a civilization long buried beneath the dust of the ages, many of which are of special 
interest to our Masonic Fraternity. Tyre and Joppa; two of her ancient cities, are 
names well known, while her tombs, architecture, metal castings and pillars hold for 
us more than a passing interest. The purpose of this writing is to call attention to the 
tomb in the vicinity of Tyre, which the natives call "Kabir-Hiram" or the Tomb of 
Hiram. 



Hiram, King of Tyre, is a character familiar to all Masons. His identity is clearly 
established in Sacred History as also by the corroborative evidence of Josephus the 
Hebrew historian. Unlike some stories of the other Hiram, knowledge of him is placed 
beyond tradition. The son of Abibal, he was contemporary with, and a friend of, both 
David and Solomon, Israelitish kings; the latter a very important figure in Masonic 
lore. Early in David's reign he supplied "cedar trees and carpenters and masons and 
they built David a house." 2 Sam. 5:11. Forty years later Solomon applied to his 
father's old friend and received an equally courteous response for "Hiram sent to 
Solomon saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will 
do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar and concerning timber of fir . . . and they 
two made a league together." 1 Kings 5. Josephus tells us that the correspondence 
regarding these matters was in his day, preserved in the archives of the Kingdom of 
Tyre. 


The ancient Phoenicians seem to have been contented with tombs of a quiet character 
ordinarily constructed beneath the surface in a series of vaults without elaboration. 
They did, however, during some periods probably remote, erect monuments to stand 
as permanent memorials and at the same time to be attractive to the eye. Well 
acquainted with Egypt they would be aware of her obelisks, pyramids and lofty 
tombs; of the tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus the famous Greek city of Asia Minor 
with its Ionic columns and pyramid, then one of the seven wonders of the world; and 
of the tomb of the Maccabees in Modin where "Simon also built a monument upon the 
sepulchre of his father and his brethren and raised it aloft to the sight, with hewn stone 
behind and before. Moreover he set up seven pyramids, one against another, for his 
father and his mother and his four brethren. And in these he made cunning devices, 
about the which he set great pillars." 1 Mace. 13. It is not strange then, that we find 
such a tomb as Renan describes in his "Mission de Phenicie," viz., the Burdj-el- 
Bezzak, which was evidently constructed to resemble the pyramids. It is situated near 
to Amrith the ancient Marathus, and is an edifice built of large blocks of stone and 
rising to a height of thirty-two feet above the plain. Wit is thought that originally the 
cubic mass was surmounted by a pyramidical roof, many stones from which were 
found scattered around. The height of the monument would thus be increased to about 
sixty-five feet. 


The tomb, however, of most interest to Masons is that already mentioned and which 
Robinson in "Researches in Palestine" names as the "Tomb of Hiram." Renan says 
that the name is modem and no great importance can be attached to it, but Prof. 
Rawlinson in his "History of Phoenicia" declares the monument to be undoubtedly 



ancient, perhaps as ancient as any in Phoenicia, whilst Perrot and Chipiez in "Hist, de 
l'Art" conclude that "if the tomb does not actually belong to the time of Solomon's 
contemporary and ally, at any rate it is anterior to the Greco-Roman period." The 
tomb itself according to Renan, is composed of eight courses or layers of huge stones 
superimposed one upon another, some being twelve feet long and seven broad and 
three deep. The four lower courses are almost regularly one on top of the other while 
the fifth projects considerably beyond the fourth, and the three remaining courses 
slightly retreat as they rise after the style of a pyramid. The effect is that of a stele or 
pillar, more than the usual type of pyramid, the width at the top being only a trifle 
smaller than at the base. The monument is a solid mass and a rectangular oblong or 
"oblong square" fourteen feet long by eight and a half feet wide. A flight of steps cut 
in the rock which forms part of the base in the two lowest courses leads down to a 
sepulchral niche where possibly once reposed the body of our Grand Master. This 
monument has no inscription or figure of any kind engraved upon it which is of 
course no evidence that it is not the tomb of the one to whom tradition assigns it. 


There may not be any especial advantage in seeking to prove this tomb to be the 
identical last resting place of Hiram but at the same time there is considerable interest 
and for a number of reasons tradition may be correct. First, because tradition is 
usually, possibly correct. Eastern people preserved a great deal of history in this way 
which cannot be ignored because not written or printed as our modem records. Then 
its situation near to Tyre suggests unmistakably that it was erected to an important 
personage of that city. Taking that together with its undoubted age we have a 
substantial link in the chain of evidence. The lack of figures of gods or goddesses on 
its surface supplied us with another point. Hiram coming into contact with Solomon 
and learning of the True God for whose Temple his workman and materials were 
furnished, would probably have become a worshipper of Jehovah and thus no figures 
of heathen deities would appear on his tomb as have been found on some others. The 
"oblong square" may or may not be admitted as evidence but it is of distinct Masonic 
interest. The rugged grandeur of the tomb seems fitting to the character of this early 
king. Taking these things together they form a piece of cumulative circumstantial 
evidence in favor of assuming that the monument described is in reality that of Hiram, 
King of Tyre. 





WHAT CAN MASONRY DO FOR DEMOCRACY? 


BY BRO GARY C. BURKE, J.G.W., IDAHO 


Democracy stands for the idea of rule by the many, by the people. Autocracy, the 
opposite idea, stands for rule by one man. These two ideas are as opposite as the 
poles; as opposite as light and darkness; as opposite as black and white. They can no 
more be reconciled than darkness can exist beneath the mid-day sun; and when once 
the idea of democracy was implanted in the heart of man it could no more be removed 
than could an universe of darkness extinguish a candle light. Hear what Abraham 
Lincoln has said of this: "Two principles have stood face to face from the beginning 
of time and will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity 
and the other the divine right of kings." 


How many of the problems, great and small, confronting our government could be so 
much better settled, and how many misunderstandings in doing so could be avoided, if 
we would endeavor to exercise temperance in our attitude toward the other man's 
viewpoint; if we would endeavor to give him credit for the same honesty of purpose 
that we think we possess. How many more good men and true could be enlisted in the 
ranks of those who manage the affairs of our government if we would have the 
fortitude to endure the annoyance and even the financial loss incident to a more active 
participation in the affairs of government. What nobler work can Masonry do than to 
teach its members that they should not pussyfoot when men are needed to lead some 
great movement which wilt make our country a better place to live in? 


It has become the fashion to sneer at the "politician." I will not enlarge upon this, you 
all know that it is true, and you all know why. But let us have the justice to recognize 
the fact that the man who aspires to office and who is elected to it, is just as good or 
just as bad as the man who elects him. The American politician, the American 
officeholder, is the reflection of the American people. This may not be a pleasant 
thing to think about sometimes, but let us be just and honest about ,it and set ourselves 
to remedy it. In doing so we will be good Masons. In short, I would have Masonry 
seek, in a practical way, to apply its teachings towards making good citizens. 



He who prophesies in this day is foolhardy. But I will say this: Great changes are 
coming as a result of the war. Changes in the map of the world, changes in men's 
views concerning government sin places where no one dreamed a few years ago that 
any was possible. Changes in men's views as to personal responsibility in government. 
Many things that men have come to look upon as established forever will stand in a 
different light in the future. I firmly believe that all things must hereafter stand in the 
rays of the great searchlight of Truth to determine their utility for aiding in man's 
progress. And those things which do not bear well its scrutiny will be discarded 
Masonry among them, if it does not measure up. Men in future will be too much 
occupied with real, big things, to bother with mere talk and theories. Keep this in 
mind democracy must have men on fall. Masonry can make them, and it must, or fail. 


— o- 


MEMORIALS TO GREAT MEN WHO WERE MASONS 
BY BRO. GEO. W. BAIRD, P.G.M., DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 


ROBERT TREAT PAINE 


ROBERT TREAT PAINE, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was bom in 
Boston in 1737, and died there in 1814. He was a member of a Massachusetts Lodge, 
record of which is in the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge, Volume I, page 64. He 
entered Harvard Unversity at the age of 14 years, and supported himself by teaching; 
engaged in the study of law, and in 1755 was a Chaplain of Provincial troops. He was a 
member of the Convention which met upon the dissolution of the General Court by the 
Governor for refusing to rescind the circular letter to the other colonies, calling for 
certain action against the infringement of their chartered rights. 



Paine was employed by the Bostonians for the prosecution of the perpetrators of the 
"Boston Massacre." He was a member of the General Assembly, and assisted in the 
impeachment of the Chief Justice of the Province. He was a delegate to the First 
Continental Congress. He was active in promoting the manufacture of saltpeter, as well 
as of larger guns. 


With Jefferson and Rutlege he reported rules for procedure and debate in Congress, and 
on July 4, 1776, he signed the Declaration of Independence. At one time Same was 
Spearer ot the House of Representatives in Massachusetts; at another time he was 
Attorney General of the State, and he served on a committee to regulate the price of 
labor, provisions and manufactures. 


A staunch friend of the Constitution, he gave Washington hearty support. He was a 
founder of the American Academy in 1780 and received the Honorary Degree of LL. D. 
at Cambridge. 


As a Puritan and a patriot, he was devoted to civil and religious liberty. 


Paine died on the 1 1th of May, 1814, and was buried in the Granary Burying Ground, 
near Boston. His grave is in a tomb, shown in the engraving - a modest memorial for so 
great and good a man. Whether his countrymen should erect a memorial fitting to this 
great man, or suffer the present primitive memorial to stand, is debatable. The simple, 
almost rude structure is an emblem of the simple, modest life of the man, which a great 
monument could not amplify. 


But on the day set apart for the decoration of the graves of soldiers, May 30th, some 
brother Mason might drop a rose on the tomb of Brother Robert Treat Paine. 





MASONIC CUSTOMS IN GREAT BRITAIN 


In case the Grand Master is a Prince of royal blood, he appoints a "Pro” Grand Master, 
only seldom presiding in person. 


The Grand Lodge of England meets in March, July, September, and December, the 
annual festival taking place on the last Wednesday in April. The Grand Lodge of 
Ireland meets in Dublin in March, June, October and December, and the annual festival 
takes place at noon on St. John's Day, December 27th. The Grand Lodge of Scotland 
meets in Edinburgh in Lebruary, May, August and November, and the Grand Lestival is 
held on November 30th, St. Andrew's Day. 


To the American Mason the United Grand Lodge seems to be a complicated 
organization, as all present and Past Grand Officers, all Past Masters of lodges, and all 
Wardens, during ther terms of office, have the right of admission. The Grand Honors of 
Nine are given in England only to the three present officers. The Grand Treasurer, the 
President of the Board of General Puiposes, the Grand Chaplain, and the Grand 
Wardens receive seven, while all others receive only five. The office of Grand 
Treasurer is the only elective office other than that of Grand Master, and it is an 
unwritten law that the Grand Master shall be of royal blood whenever possible. He 
appoints all officers excepting the Grand Treasurer, and the only chance for a 
"commoner" to wear the royal purple of the lodge is to be elected Grand Treasurer, and 
by an unwritten rule no person of "title" has been elected to that office for many years. - 
Silas B. Wright, Llorida. 


— o- 


THE QUATUOR CORONATI, OR THE FOUR PATRON SAINTS OF THE 
ORDER OF MASONS 



BY BRO. C. PURDON CLARKE, ENGLAND 


We are indebted to Brother D. D. Berolzheimer, a member of Johnkeer Lodge No. 
865, Yonkers, N. Y., for the manuscript of the following address delivered before that 
lodge by Brother Clarke, a Past Master of Quatuor Coronati Lodge, while he was 
director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. 


IT would be superfluous to enter into the details of the evidence in favor of the history 
of the four sculptors who, with their recently received apprentice or associate, suffered 
for their faith a year before the commencement of the last great persecution of the 
Christians under the Emperor Diocletian. 


Bro. Gould's magnificent research in his History of Freemasonry establishes the 
general acceptance of the story at a period within a few years of their martyrdom and, 
moreover, shows that in an age when the Christian Church was becoming a dominant 
power and able to honor openly those who had fallen in her cause, very marked 
distinction was, for some peculiar reason, bestowed upon the memory of those four 
humble craftsmen, although their trials and sufferings do not appear to justify their 
elevation over many of their comrades in the noble army of martyrs, who had equally 
been faithful unto death during the many persecutions of the preceding two hundred 
and forty years. 


The solution of this problem which formed itself in my mind was that the popularity 
of the craftsmen martyrs was due, in some measure, to a democratic undercurrent 
which had from its commencement been furthering the cause of the Christian religion. 
Any one who glances, however slightly, at the records of the social and political 
condition of Rome after the death of Julius Caesar and the break-up of the 
Commonwealth cannot but realize how welcome the new faith was to the great 
industrial classes, who found in it a creed representing everything that the better part 
of their natures felt was good, and a priesthood free from the obviously corrupt 
practices of the spiritual and temporal upholders of their time-serving and decayed 
religion. 



Romeos first period under martial kings lasted two hundred and fifty years; then a 
Consular Government was established which, however, was but an oligarchy and 
involved a constant struggle between the military patricians and the commercial 
plebians which latter only succeeded after one hundred and twenty years agitation and 
several civil wars in obtaining a representative from their own ranks. During this 
second period Rome became a colonizing power and wars for defense became wars of 
aggression, and, although these are generally attributed to the ambition of popular 
leaders or the national desire for glory and plunder, it is more probable that they were 
but the inevitable results of extended commerce. 


Victorious commanders returning from time to time in triumph brought back to the 
Capital the wealth of the then known world, and became in the eyes of the masses 
heroes who were more to be trusted than the politicians of whose wrangling they were 
heartily tired. Rome was, therefore, ripe for a change when the Imperial purple was 
offered to Julius Caesar and afterwards secured by Augustus, but the succeeding three 
hundred years of military despotism caused a reaction, which paved the way for the 
introduction of the new cult. 


It is to be regretted that Roman history does not record sufficiently the succession of 
events from the point of view of the burgher or craftsman. The historians either 
belonged to the patrician casts and did not care to chronicle other events than those in 
which their class played an important part, or, when the writers were plebians, "the 
histories of their times were falsified through fear," or written to please the powers 
who could regard flattering services. 


With such scanty materials to help us we can only assume that as Christianity had 
permeated none but the artisan classes to any great extent, their ecclesiastics would 
naturally glorify the martyrs belonging to the industrial plebeian class, who were 
moreover bound to them by co-fellowship of the Collegium Fabrorum. 


The four sculptors must of necessity have been members of the trade society 
established in the city in which they worked. How far this Collegium was in 



connection with, or affiliated to, similar Collegia in other towns I cannot say, but of 
one thing I am sure, and that is, that at the period to which they belonged, where was a 
dead uniformity of style and ornamentation in building work executed by the Fabri, at 
places so remote from each other that the only explanation which could be offered is 
that of a central controlling body, or even more, a central school in which a single 
style was taught complete in all its parts, whether technical or artistic. 


As an illustration I offer mosaic floors, one from Sussex, the second from Carthage, 
on the north coast of Africa, the other from Balkeish on the Tigris above Baghdad. All 
might have been designed and executed by the same hand. Wherever the Romans 
colonized and built in their enduring method, the remains of their walls present the 
same features and show how little local styles interfered with their established system. 


Therefore it may be assumed that our four craftsmen belonged to an important trade 
organization which at that time extended from Persia to Great Britain, in which latter 
country alone there were fifty-three important cities each with its Collegium 
Fabrorum. This connection with a powerful society probably accounts for the extreme 
leniency and patience with which these sculptors were treated by Diocletian, who only 
ordered their destruction after their commission of "lese-majeste" by refusing to make 
the statue of the Assculapius when ordered by their Emperor. 


The barbarous execution of four members of a coiporate body, which was connected, 
at least by the bond of common interests, with the other trade societies, must have at 
that peculiar period made a deep impression on the minds of their fellows, and, as it 
was but eighteen years later that the Emperor Constantine openly favored the 
Christian religion, the memory of the martyrs was then still preserved by men who 
had known them and they became the favorite saints of the solid industrial classes 
whose wholesale conversion to Christianity had alone made it possible for the 
Emperor to forsake the old religion and, within another ten years, order the 
destruction of all the heathen temples. 


The connection between these Roman Collegia which we know to have existed in all 
the countries between England, Spain and Persia and the trade gilds of medieval 
Europe, may never be satisfactorily proved. Similarities in organization would 



naturally arise from the requirements of similar circumstances, but it is certain that in 
all portions of the great Roman Empire, however completely the tidal wave of 
barbarian removed the traces of that marvelous, complex civilization, the impress of 
Roman customs and Roman laws remained deeply and securely rooted in many 
centres, to spring up into life, little by little, through the dark ages, until culminating 
in the great period of the Renaissance, which commenced the history of modern 
civilization. 


Nothing could throw more light on the connection between the Roman Collegia and 
the medieval Gilds, so far as England is concerned, than the discovery of some earlier 
history of the Church of the Four Crowned Martyrs at Canterbury, and the mention by 
Bede of its existence in A. D. 619, at the time of the great fire which nearly destroyed 
the city and only stopped when this church was reached. 


I cannot pass over the inference that this church withstood the fire better than the 
other buildings and churches owing to its having been built in Roman times in either 
brick or stone, whereas the rest more probably belonged to the period of wholesale 
building of churches and monasteries which followed the conversion of the Saxons in 
A. D. 597, and were principally constructed in wood. 


If this supposition be correct, the Church of the Quatuor Coronati at Canterbury had 
survived the destruction of everything Roman- British, after the defeat of Vortimer by 
Hengist at Crecanford, in Kent, in 457. Such an escape is possible and can well be 
accounted for when we consider that after the Saxons landed in Thanet in A. D. 449 
they dwelt on friendly terms with the Britons for five or six years, during which time 
they would naturally avail themselves of the services of craftsmen, and probably 
prefer to spare them for their usefulness at the time of the general massacre of the 
Britons a few years later. Such an incident is not uncommon in the histories of 
barbarous invasions. 


It must also be conceded to the Saxons that they possessed a sufficient amount of 
civilization to appreciate the value of the workers in iron, brass and wood, the potters, 
weavers and others who inhabited these polytechnic cities. In their own countries they 
had already become acquainted with the productions of the Roman craftsmen, who 



were attached to the military colonies and actually formed part of each legion. The 
cruel devastation of the country after their first great success against the British was, 
in their eyes, justified by necessity, as they, the great founders of the AngloSaxon 
race, had not as yet acquired the patience which is so necessary in dealing with Celtic 
races. 


It is also beyond doubt that members of the Collegia Fabrorum in the British towns 
had, for a hundred years before the Saxon invasion, become Christians and that, 
therefore, the Church of the Quatuor Coronati, the popular Saints of several trades, 
was more likely to have been built at the time when Canterbury possessed a large 
community of Christian craftsmen than to have been founded by St. Augustine 
immediately after his arrival, in 597, although the church may have been desecrated 
during the one hundred and forty years which had elapsed since the destruction of the 
British rule in Kent. 


From the date of Bede's record of the existence of this church in Canterbury in A. D. 
619 until the foundation of a fraternity of sculptors and masons in Rome in 1406, we 
find, at various intervals of time, references to the history of the original Basilica, 
founded in memory of the Quatuor Coronati by Pope Melchiades within twelve years 
of the date of their martyrdom. About the same time as the fire at Canterbury the 
Roman Basilica was rebuilt by Honorius I (in A. D. 622) and in A. D. 847 the 
Cardinal titular of the Basilica, who had become Pope, rebuilt it with greater 
magnificence. In the year 1 1 16 it was again rebuilt by Paschal II, who added a palatial 
residence to it, and when the Lateran Palace was destroyed in A. D. 1308, the Popes 
for some time made it their residence. Then in the 15th century we find that in "the 
very ancient Oratory of St. Sylvester, in the portico of the Basilica, was the Chapel of 
the Confraternity of Sculptors and Masons founded in the time of Innocent VII, 1506 
A. D. 'under the invocation of the Holy Quatuor Coronati and the other five Holy 
Martyrs who had followed the profession of sculptors:' The members of the 
Confraternity wore a dress of red with blue sashes." 


Here we arrive at the foundation of a medieval gild with the nine martyrs as their 
patron saints and, moreover, a mention of their livery or distinctive clothing. 



A few years later, the Gild of Smiths, Caipenters and Masons (l'Arti dei Fabbri e 
Legnaioli) in Florence instructed Nanni di Banco, an amateur sculptor, to execute a 
memorial niche for or San Michele, the Church of the Trade Gilds of that city. This 
building had been constructed in the previous century as the Gildhall, and, in 1339, 
two years after the laying of its foundation stone, the Gild of Silk Merchants were 
allowed to undertake the decoration of one of the niches with the statues of their 
patron saint, St. John the Evangelist. 


Other gilds followed, and the fourteen niches which were evenly spaced around its 
external walls, were allotted to the Companies representing the Professions, 
Merchants and Artizans of Florence. 


The Company became so wealthy after the plague of 1338, owing to legacies and rich 
gifts, that they resolved to convert the Loggia, or Gildhall, into a Church, which was 
finished in 1359, but the filling of the niches was not completed for two centuries 
later. That of the Smiths, Caipenters and Masons, was finished about the middle of the 
fifteenth century. This niche does not occupy a symbolical position, but is the second 
of four, counting from the west on the north front. Two excellent photographs, by 
Alinari Brothers, of Florence, show the whole niche with the statues of the Four 
Martyrs in a group in ancient Roman costume, with an under panel representing three 
of them working as medieval sculptors, whilst a fourth is constructing a wall; in the 
background, conspicuously placed, are the plumb rule, level, compass and square. A 
cast from this panel is in the South Kensington Museum in London. 


From Italy the fashion for adopting the Quatuor Coronati as patron saints spread to 
Germany and France, but in the latter country a single individual of the four became a 
popular saint in a manner to the exclusion of the others. 


The "Martyrology" of Du Saussay stated that the bodies of the five Martyrs Claudius, 
Nicostratus, Simphorianus, Castorius and Simplicius "were afterwards brought from 
Rome to Toulouse and placed in a chapel which was erected in their honor in the 
Church of St. Sernin. Subsequently the greater part of the relics of St. Claudius were 
taken from Toulouse to the FranceComte. In 1049 these relics were honored in the 
Church of Maynal, one of the oldest in the Jura. When Pope Leo IX came to the 



Council of Rheims in 1049, he confirmed the Archbishop of Becancon, Hugh the 
First, in possession of this domain. Also in his Bull, dated 14th of November, he 
mentions the Church of Maynal 'where reposes the body of St. Claudius. . .' The most 
ancient traditions of Maynal attest that St. Claudius was always honored there as a 
martyr. He is represented on the parochial banner in the attitude of a man invoking 
heaven, with his face brightened with a ray of light; he holds a chisel in one hand and 
in the other a hammer, and by his side is shown a bust of which the white color 
imitates marble. It is evident that the painter intended thus to represent one of the five 
sculptors who, according to the old legend, worked with great perfection, invoking the 
name of Jesus Christ." "This martyr Saint was generally named St. Clod, or Cloud 
which is the name under which he is generally designated in various documents 
relating to the Parish of Maynal." 


Du Saussay further states that "a chapel was also built in honor of St. Claudius by the 
monks of Ilay upon the summit of a rock near the village of Denezieres where some 
portion of his relics was placed, having been taken from the Church of Maynal. The 
surrounding territory from this time was named 'Terre, de St. Cloud' and it is under 
this title that it is designated in several charters of the 12th century." The Palace of St. 
Cloud, near Paris, does not owe its name to St. Claudius the Martyr, but to St. Cloud 
the grandson of Clovis. 


It should be noted that in DuSaussay's account no mention whatever is made of any 
connection between St. Claudius and the other martyrs with any Craft Gilds, nor does 
he mention that they were in any way patron saints of the Crafts. This strengthens 
Bro. Gould's statement that there is no authority for any connection between the 
Quatuor Coronati and the European Trade Gilds until the 1 5th Century. 


I have nothing to add to the list of German Cathedrals, Churches and Breviaries which 
are mentioned by Bro. Gould in connection with shrines and other memorials of the 
Martyrs, but during a visit to Brussels I found a very interesting representation of 
these martyr sculptors in a large picture belonging to the Municipal Museum, in which 
they are depicted as masons rather than sculptors. This picture is of great interest to 
those studying the manner of operative work amongst medieval craftsmen; and I 
noticed a peculiarity of dress which distinguished the sculptors from the burgesses and 
others shown in the picture. They are dressed in very short tunics and tight hose 
whereas the other people are in long gowns. 



I must give a few details of the Societies of Builders which exist in some parts of the 
East and probably throw some light upon the inner working of the Roman Collegia 
and the craft gilds of medieval Europe. 


In various forms craft gilds are to be found in all the principal cities of Asia, and there 
is evidence that the various trades have been accustomed to form themselves into 
societies for mutual protection and for the proper regulation of their commerce. These 
gilds vary considerably in their organization and powers and, generally, do not openly 
take any part in municipal government for the very good reason that in the East 
countries are ruled by officials, created by the Sultans or the Padishas, who again 
appoint subordinate officers, generally men who have been able to buy from them the 
position and right to get as much as they possibly can out of the people, in the same 
manner that they, the upper officials, pay the Sultan for the privilege of retaining their 
posts. There is, therefore, little similarity between the trade gilds of the East and the 
free Roman Collegia, and less so with the medieval gilds of Europe of the period 
when municipalities obtained great political powers. 


The present condition of the builders' gild in Persia, has beep enquired into by General 
A. H. Schindler, who has spent nearly thirty years in the country and is the best living 
authority in all matters concerning it. He informs us that a trade gild is called "Senf," 
and possesses a Chief, or "Syndic" named the Ra'is, who represents the gild in matters 
concerning municipal regulations, payment of taxes, etc. It is not necessary that the 
Ra'is should be a master of the craft of his gild. The ordinary term for a master 
craftsman is "Ustad"; for an apprentice, or pupil, "Shagird." In the building trades the 
names "Ma'mar" and "Bana" stand indiscriminately for architect, builder and mason, 
but a superior Bana a master builder is called a Ma'mar, and a superior Ma'mar affects 
the title of "Ma'mar-Bashi," the latter being a Turkish title denominating a Chief or 
Head. The title "Ustad" has not the same value as master in Europe, but is applied to 
the master- builder in charge of the building of a palace, as well as to a man who 
cannot correctly put half a dozen bricks in a line. As far as can be ascertained at 
present, no ceremonies are used in accepting a new comer into a craft. Any boy may 
become a "Shagird," but good builders will only accept him upon the condition of his 
agreeing to remain a certain number of years. Other "Shagirds" do not bind 
themselves, but receive daily wages from the beginning. When the Ustad starts on his 
own account he becomes a "Bana," or builder, but as there is nothing to prevent 
anyone calling himself a master builder you may meet with men who are known as 



Ustad, Bana, who cannot do more than construct a mud hut. These, however, are not 
recognized as members of the gild, and are seldom seen in towns. Sometimes masters 
of the craft are restricted to certain quarters of a town and are not allowed to work 
outside of the quarter in which they reside. 


In the winter of 1 894 I showed General Schindler a large collection of Persian 
architectural drawings, which I had purchased from the State Architect in Teheran; on 
his return to Persia in 1895 he made many efforts to obtain some but without success. 
When asking for some technical terms and their explanation, he found the men 
exceedingly reticent respecting them and he concluded that they regarded these 
matters as secrets which they were obliged to keep to themselves. 


In a recent paper read by Yoshitaro Yamashita, Chancellor to the Imperial Japanese 
Consulate in London, before the Japan Society, he mentions the "Hiden" (secret 
tradition), the "Hijutsu" (secret art), and the "Okugi" (inner mysteries) as terms in 
common use and applied to nearly every undertaking, and he goes on to explain that 
there is nothing absolutely mysterious or supernatural about them, and that these 
terms are used with respect to valuable secrets which are carefully guarded by 
Professors on account of the peculiar benefit they receive for imparting them to their 
pupils. 


Here we have arrived at the key note of the bond of fellowship in operative gilds in all 
periods. Their secrets have always been valuable possessions requiring every 
protection to prevent them becoming common property. Then, to prevent undue 
competition, the interest of the community of a gild was placed before that of its 
individuals, and lastly, in its relations with the Government, the gild was better able, 
especially when supported by the gilds of other crafts, to secure an equitable 
adjustment of taxation as a strong united body. 


It is on these grounds that I form the conclusion respecting the origin of the popularity 
of the Quatuor Coronati as the patron Saints of the Masons and Sculptors. The early 
Christian Church consisted principally of members of the industrial classes, all of 
whom were of necessity "magistri" or "operarii" of their respective trade Collegia. 

The four sculptors and their associate were not only martyrs to the new faith, which 



by that time was professed either openly or in secret by the bulk of their fellow- 
craftsmen, but were regarded as victims of tyrannical interference with the privileges 
of the Collegia which most probably possessed powers to deal with all matters 
relating to the due execution of the work of each craft. 


Either from jealousy or fear, several of the Roman Emperors had already attempted to 
suppress the Collegia both in Rome and in her colonies, and even the just and broad- 
minded Trajan objected to the trade gilds and charitable benefit societies upon the 
ground that they became turbulent and factious. Christianity was first brought to his 
notice as still another of these societies forming in a distant colony, and was duly 
reported upon by Pliny in the same manner as when he was requesting direction from 
the Emperor in dealing with a volunteer fire brigade and a society for old age 
pensions. 


The gilds of medieval Europe were similarly disliked by arbitrary rulers of all kinds, 
whether Popes, Emperors, Kings or Republican Governments, and in our own times 
the greatest gilds in the world, those of the City of London, have not been free from 
molestation from the would-be tyrants of the hour. 


But these attempts to destroy Institutions which form the backbone of civic liberty, 
like the war waged on Freemasonry by the Roman Church, could but end in the 
discomfiture of the attacking powers. These societies are the outcome of the practical 
side of human nature, in its hard-headed and sober desire to do its best to obtain 
freedom to work for due reward, to live in peace and harmony with its neighbors and 
to combine for mutual protection when the necessity arises. 


— o- 


MAN SHALL PREVAIL 



BY BRO. GERALD A. NANC ARROW, INDIANA 


Beneath the jewel studded form 
Of God's Celestial Sphere, 

His greatest handiwork, a Man, 

Doth small indeed appear. 

But Man, the tiny being, filled 
With part of God's great soul, 

Ever grasping parent power 
Shall compass yet the whole. 

We do not count a man's years, until he has nothing else to count. 
Emerson. 

EDITORIAL 


THE EDUCATION OF THE CRAFT 



THE EDUCATION of Freemasons in the principles of Freemasonry imposes upon 
leaders in the Craft serious and weighty obligations. The very necessity of urging this 
duty today constitutes a serious indictment against leaders in the Craft for gross 
negligence in the matter of instructing the new initiates. The instruction of the lodge 
room in the precepts of wise morality and the interpretation of the drama of human life 
having the pre-eminent place has caused to be relegated to a very insignificant place the 
sort of instruction that reveals the genius of Freemasonry in history and the all- 
important part it has played in securing for free peoples that to which they are 
inherently entitled. 


Fet us readily confess, it will be a sorry day for us when we fail in those functions of 
instruction in wise morality and displaying the significance of human life through the 
work of the Third degree. But let us take note also that the greater function of Masonry 
becomes a negligible quantity and Masonry will cease to exist if Masons do not receive 
the historical light that reveals what Masonry has stood for in the past and what it must 
stand for in the present and the future. Hence the necessity devolving upon all leaders in 
the Craft today to state the purpose and methods employed by Masonry in the 
establishment in the world of that wider brotherhood that has for its foundation stones 
Justice, Equality and Freedom. 


The only apology permissible today for the existence of an institution of the magnitude 
of the Masonic Fraternity is, first, it must exist because of its being an indispensable 
factor in the preservation of a humane civilization and form of government, or it must 
exist because of the invaluable service it can render in the transformation of an 
erstwhile chaotic social condition, so that civilization will be humane and its 
government desirable from the points of justice and equity. And to secure this end we 
must in no wise in the future admit into our ranks those who have not an appreciable 
understanding of this puipose as it is written in our history and is discovered to be 
fundamental in our present program. 


Those within the Fraternity who have but a limited conception of the world mission of 
Masonry we must at once intelligently convince what Masonry can do in this great land 
of ours, at this moment of chaotic national condition, toward setting ourselves solid 
again on the bedrock of democracy, as we have hitherto understood it and have 
endeavored to practice it. 



Freemasonry, let it be understood by every Freemason in these United States, is an 
institution that is vital in its relationship to American destiny. A just and necessary 
understanding of this in all its phases will involve only such study as will enable any 
Mason to intelligibly state the analogy between Masonry and Americanism. His life and 
example should evince the fact that to be a good Mason is to be a good American. For 
Americanism, we are emboldened to say, is the latter day effort to incarnate our age old 
Masonic idealism in law for the governing of an entire nation. That such teaching might 
become part and parcel of every future American we are ready to declare ourselves as 
favoring the acquiring at no distant date a number of institutions of learning throughout 
the country to work under strict Masonic patronage with sufficient endowment that will 
give instruction to Masons so desiring that instruction free from sectarian or 
ecclesiastical bias, which will afford a future leadership in the Craft and nation that can 
be depended upon always to state in language easily understood the identity of 
principles of Americanism and Freemasonry. 


Americanism conceived upon a lofty basis is the laudable effort to practice the religion 
of the Hebrew prophets and of the sages and saints of every clime in which humility, 
justice and mercy were the shining virtues, and for the social establishment of which in 
the world Jesus of Nazareth and every other God-conscious, human loving martyr laid 
down his life. 


We are compelled to state further that we are of the firm opinion that the American 
social problems can be solved only in an American way. If we will carry into the larger 
field of our social activities that which we practice among ourselves we can meet as 
man to man, and, stating our differences in the atmosphere of reasonable discussion, we 
can arrive at the middle ground where justice for the contending parties is invariably 
alone possible. Prolonged study of the great problems confronting us at the present 
moment, however, is impossible the times are too critical and investigations of 
commissions are proving quite costly, and such procrastination of their settlement as 
thorough analysis would demand might find us soon in the throes of civil war. 
Something must be done immediately to avert the possible disaster. Let us then throw 
the flashlight on the main issues that, as Masons, we may choose without hesitation that 
platform on which to act in order that what we have hitherto apprehended as 
Americanism might in no wise be compromised or set aside. 



We are convinced on both historical and economic grounds fully and fairly that 
whatever just grounds there were for the Russian revolution that has since culminated in 
a conglomerate mass of one hundred millions of people experimenting with industrial 
democracy no such conditions as they experienced in Russia have existed here that for 
one moment warrant the present national indiscriminate Bolshevic tendencies in our 
midst. 


No one will deny but that we must insist that whatever problems exist shall be solved 
on the basis of American political democracy before we take up such a panacea as is 
spelling mad ruin for all peoples who are undertaking it. Let us firmly and strenuously 
resist foreign interpretation and imputation of our economic evolution and conditions. 
We have different valuations, standards and basis of life. We breathe in a different 
atmosphere. What further proof do we need of this than is furnished by groups of 
foreign bom protesting against enforced naturalization, or other groups insistently 
declaiming upon their right to speak and cultivate in their children the habit of speaking 
the language of their parents' nativity. Tmly they are with us, but not of us. 


Recently a gentleman traveling in this country, and incidentally, through the prosperous 
State of Iowa, referred to its inhabitants as people of "the State of hogs and corn." That 
would probably suit us were it not that he added, "They have no ideals." This man of 
the supercillious air, mind you, never deigned to talk with the farmers of the State of 
Iowa to discover whether or not they had ideals, and his stupidity prevented him from 
discerning the ideals reflected in our homes and bams and well-tilled fields. We fear 
that the conferring of a title upon him, about which he unremittingly reminded his 
audiences, had spoiled him. Verily our offer of liberty to those who sought our shores 
for various noble reasons has come to spell license. 


For more than a hundred years we have been at work in making practical a league of 
nations in these United States. Here we believe God Almighty intended should be 
evolved that creature bom of many nations; a creature that should be free from 
slavishness to caste, clan, prejudice, monarchial or ecclesiastical tyranny, or the 
murderous fanaticism of mob mle. And that this might yet be every Mason is pledged 
by the traditions, example and sacrifices of all the good men - including the Father of 
his Country, who had the same hope and the same vision. 



As a people we have attained a character that is distinct from Russian, British or 
German. Our body politic, our aspirations nationally, our social sympathies are not 
always alike. Neither king rule nor mob rule will find a place in our economy. The only 
ground of common perspective generally is on the plane of certain national and 
international relationships where commensurate courtesies and obligations are involved. 
But labor and social problems in America must be solved in America and not by 
Russians in or out of America, or Germans who still harbor a conviction that self- 
determining free peoples are an impossibility. 


The Monroe doctrine must be extended so as to protect our soul as well as our body. 
We must therefore resist all invasion of our America whether it be garbed in 
ecclesiastical raiment or in the blood-red form of anarchy. We can do so if we will but 
draw the line that will speedily reveal the thing that is American and the thing that is 
un-American without laying ourselves open to the charge of opposing the League of 
Nations. We are all concerned here, let us state frankly, with the vital issues that 
confront the American people which are daily threatening in more deadly fashion our 
national disintegration. 


We are not concerned in bolstering up what might be sneered at as petty nationalism. 
We are concerned rather with the preservation of the sort of nationalist that Masonry 
has always stood for - the nationalism of a free people working out their destiny under a 
democratic form of government that assures to rich and poor, high and low, learned or 
ignorant, absolute equality before the law and equality of opportunity for each and all. 


As a nation we have shown the stuff of which we are made. We stood by England and 
France against the mad onslaught on the liberties of the world by a power-obsessed 
nation. And whether there be aught realized in the near future that will bind us either 
morally or legally, let the liberties of free peoples be ever endangered and America's 
millions would again stand willing to bleed for sake of Freedom. But America's present 
duty predominant is the preservation of American institutions and to that end must 
Masonry with her tremendous power respond. Robert Tipton. 


* * * 



LODGE NIGHT 


In these busy days, when we wonder how long our nervous energy can last, and 
whether, after the closing of our war work, we can meet the drains of the strenuous days 
to come, how many of us appreciate what "Lodge Night" can be made to mean to us? 
We have given so much of ourselves to the great cause, during the war - and this may 
almost be said to apply to us in inverse ratio to the demands upon our time - that there is 
an unrest in our souls, which not even a prolonged vacation can overcome. Perhaps it is 
the strain which is pervading those who call themselves our "working classes" and 
makes them oversensitive to the so-called enticements of bolshevism and other "isms." 
Who knows? Is the whole atmosphere of unrest which pervades the world nothing but 
this? Has our sense of fairness been so internationalized that we cannot reduce its 
horizon? Has the reawakening of the instinct of brute force done for us that which we 
intended it to do for our late enemy? Has the determination to win focused our mental 
eyes on selfish things? 


Ask these things of yourself, my brother. Then consider what "lodge night" meant to 
your father. To him it was a time of relaxation, characterized by an exchange of 
confidences, a haven of rest. He mixed up with the ritualistic consideration of higher 
things a few hours of that close, intimate, warmly-personal fellowship which in these 
modem days we sometimes call gossip. Those things which affected the welfare of his 
brother were of moment to him. At least half of the enjoyment of the meeting was the 
ante -room talk and the almost hilarious accompaniment of the session - sandwiches and 
coffee. Nowadays the lodge meeting begins just before or just after the dinner hour - or 
as often in the afternoon, so that the degree mill can complete its work. And by the time 
the lodge closes, everyone is so tired that there is a msh home for bed, unless there is to 
be a banquet, with long, barren, boresome talks. Of real fellowship there is little. We 
say there is not time. WHY is there not time? 


Dare you take your lodge's temperature? Is there not evidence that in Masonry, as in 
nearly all things else, we are feverish? Do we ever sit around a steam radiator, as our 
fathers sat around the red hot stove, and talk and talk and talk, settling all the great 
problems of the universe? We don't! We think of such discussions, with an occasional 



story that would not pass muster in a drawing room, as "a waste of time." Was it that? 
Or did it serve a puipose? 


A salesman who traveled by an overland route called one day on an Arkansas farmer. 
An exchange of "howdydos" was followed by an elaborate presentation to the farmer of 
the merits of some stock- food. The farmer was not interested. More argument on the 
part of the salesman. Still no evidence of interest. "This food, mixed with the regular 
grain diet which you now feed, will increase your production." "Yaas." "Don't you see, 
if you will buy five hundred pounds of this food, and mix it with the com and oats you 
now feed, you will save time?" "Mebby so, yes." "Won't you try it ?" "Nope." "Now, 
you don't seem to understand what I'm saying. If you will mix this food, about one 
bushel to five of your regular grain rations, the hog will fatten in two months as much 
as he would fatten without this food in three months. Don't you see how much time will 
be saved?" "Yaas, but what's time to a hog?" Ye Scribe would cast no aspersions at 
ritualism - he is a ritualist himself - but if we remain ritual worshippers only we are no 
more progressive than the farmer. Our Fraternity may well spend time in serious 
consideration of an exchange of much of our ritual for a sane and up-to-date 
interpretation of it. 


Whether our descent be from gilds, companies or colleges of artificers means little 
unless we apply the principle of education which was the foundation of them all. 
"Apprentice, Fellow Craft, Master" - even the words denote progress. The lodge was a 
school in practical things. He who presided was a skilled artisan, all the more so if he 
were in fact an architect. The teaching was an application of a great heritage of 
principles to the work in hand, the labor of the day or year. 


The lesson is obvious, and absurdly simple. 


The crying need of our Fraternity today is for a leadership which will grasp the meaning 
of these fundamental truths. What possible excuse can we offer to posterity for an 
arrested development? We can boast of our numbers, our wealth and the character of 
our membership. Each of these elements is potentially virile and upstanding. Why are 
2,000,000 of us, individually so strong, so impotent as a group? America - the World - 
craves most, without knowing it, that which is our priceless heritage. True brotherhood, 



put into action, will heal the misunderstandings, direct the latent energies and palsy the 
hand of hate. It is written in our fundamental documents, both as a nation and as a 
Fraternity. Time was when our Masonic forbears were writing those documents, and 
upholding our Government - challenging all who would break it down. The 
Government and the Fraternity were both weak in numbers, in those days. Today there 
is an increasing number of those who point to that Government as a monument of 
failure. In essence they claim that the brotherhood has all oozed out of it. 


Ought not every Mason to be a missionary in behalf of this great governmental 
experiment - if, in fact, it remains an experiment any longer? Missionaries have to be 
taught, if they would be efficient exponents of their doctrine. 


Who is going to teach them? 


Is not the task a worthy one? Will it not make "Lodge Night" worth while? G.L.S. 


— o- 


MASONRY’S OBJECTIVE 


BY BRO. L. B. MITCHELL, MICHIGAN 


Masonry, to be its best in the "better by and by" 

When the "safety first" of men is the peace that's to endure, 
Must have its one real objective to a point beneath the sky 
It must all its millions use for a purpose, noble, pure; 



It must wield its splendid strength for the highest concept known, 
It must keep its heart of hearts on the altar all its own. 

But we find the wide world o'er that for common needs of men 
Institutions ever rise as the servants of the race 
And that more and more is dreamed of the time a coming when 
Each may have his right in right, each his wage in every place. 

But all these should have their care, they are mainly things that lie 
Where the practical begins in the world's economy. 

So the mystic Art of ours seems to stand out quite alone 
Clear of every interest where mere policies are met 
On a plane where those of heart are distinctively its own 
Where the limit for the race in its upper trend is set. 

So whate'er may come to this ever troubled world again 
Masonry's objective still must be that of making men. 

This has been its one objective with relief, which goes with heart 
And its lessons to the Craft prompt to Love and Sacrifice, - 
Fundamental things that go to make it the gracious Art 
Reaching to the things supreme by which man may win the prize. 
Then let Masonry make men for the callings of the earth, 



'Tis the highest world objective, giving to all others, worth. 


— o — 


A man may be outwardly successful all his life long, and die hollow and worthless as a 
puff-ball; and he may be externally defeated all his life long, and die in the royalty of a 
kingdom established within him. A man's true estate of power and riches, is to be 
himself; not in his dwelling; or position, or external relations, but in his own essential 
character. That is the realm in which he is to live if he is to live as a Christian man. - 
H.W. Beecher 


— o — 


Rightly viewed no meanest object is insignificant. All objects are as windows through 
which the philosophic eye looks into Infinitude itself. - Thomas Carlyle. 


-o- 


The cautious seldom err. - Confucius. 




THE LIBRARY 


EDITED BY BRO. ROBERT TIPTON 



The object of this Department is to acquaint our readers with time-tried Masonic books 
not always familiar; with the best Masonic literature now being published; and with 
such non-Masonic books as may especially appeal to Masons. The Library Editor will 
be very glad to render any possible assistance to studious individuals or to study clubs 
and lodges, either through this Department or by personal correspondence; if you wish 
to leam something concerning any book - what is its nature, what is its value, or how it 
may be obtained - be free to ask him. If you have read a book which you think is worth 
a review write us about it; if you desire to purchase a book - any book - we will help 
you get it, with no charge for the service. Make this YOUR Department of Literary 
Consultation. 


FOR THE YOUNG MASTER MASON - AND OTHERS 


"A Primer of Masonic History," by Bro. Henry Falls Evans. Published by Square and 
Compass, 4412 Beach Court, Denver, Colorado. Price 25 cents 


THERE recently came to our desk a small paper-covered book to which we desire to 
draw the attention of all lodges. We feel that it fills a long felt need among the Craft. 
Written under the title of "A Primer of Masonic History" it gives ample satisfaction 
through reading and proves to fulfill its mission. Its notation of authorities readily 
points out the breadth of the author's Masonic reading. His topical arrangement leaves 
little wanting and gives the new initiate the things that he should become acquainted 
with. 


Lodges could well indeed afford to possess themselves of this little work, which sells 
for 25 cents, and present it to their newly made Master Masons. We feel it would 
satisfy that interest which invariably is shown by the newly made Mason and which is 
so frequently left to go unministered to. 


* * * 



CAPABLE DISCUSSIONS ON VITAL QUESTIONS OF THE HOUR 


"The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science," published by 
the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Station B. Philadelphia, Pa. 
Single copies of monthly issues, $1.00. 


In the July issue of the above-named publication, International Reconstruction in 
Europe and Asia is ably dealt with by a score or more capable specialists. The Turkish 
and Russian situations are dispassionately viewed and discussed by such men as 
Abram T. Elkus, Morris Jastrow, Raymond Robbins and Baron Rosen, while the Peace 
question is aptly handled by such men as Vice President Marshall, John Hays 
Hammond, Senator Hitchcock and former Governor McCall of Massachusetts. 


The unprejudiced, scientific inquiry of eminent men upon topics of international 
import cannot but minister toward an intelligible appreciation of the world problem 
and consequently lend the invaluable aid to those who by their leadership and position 
are trusted with the equitable adjustment of affairs after the war. We could wish that 
the Annals were in the hands of every influential man in every community. It would 
serve to temper the demagogue spirit and would assure a reasonable discussion of the 
vital issues of the hour that would be void of senseless passion, distrust and fanaticism. 


* * * 


AN INTERPRETATION OF ANATOLE FRANCE 


"Anatole France," by Lewis Paget Shanks. The Open Court Publishing Company, 122 
South Michigan Ave., Chicago, 111. $1.50. 



Those desiring an epitome of the life and works of Anatole France will find their desire 
gratified in this volume by Lewis Paget Shanks. This appreciative interpretation of the 
great Frenchman ought to arouse wider interest for the perusal of his works. It contains 
vivid pictures of the transformation of the French dean of letters which displays the 
evolution of the healthy human who is ever awake to the new movements and things 
that are happening in the world. In France is displayed that commingling of pessimism 
and idealism which has so often characterized those who ultimately were revealed as 
great benefactors of human kind. 


* * * 


AN INTERESTING BIOGRAPHY OF AN ENGLISH MAN OF AFFAIRS 


"The Story of My Life," by Sir Edward Clarke, K. C. Published by E. P. Dutton and 
Company, 681 Fifth Avenue. New York. N Y 


In this biographical volume a distinguished Englishman and Freemason has given us a 
splendid picture of the English man of affairs. The charming candor with which the 
book has been written leaves no doubt as to its worth. From beginning to end a real life 
is presented. Sorrow tinges it here and there, touching for one moment a folly of 
childhood, the next concerned with the irreparable loss of loved ones. 


But foremost of impressions perhaps is left after perusing Sir Edward's political 
ambitions. From this angle the book would have inspirational value for many of our 
budding statesmen in the Craft. In tenor it is strictly English in its atmosphere, even as 
Sir Edward's interests are strictly English. He is of the noble type of conventional 
Englishman who takes it for granted that England, and London in particular, is the hub 
of the universe. He builds a church, addresses workingmen's clubs, is of 
unquestionable loyalty toward his party leaders, thanks God for his wealth, health and 
strength, and is a lover and worthy representative of our brethren of the tight little 
Island. 



* * * 


AN INTERESTING LITTLE BOOK ON NEW THOUGHT WRITTEN IN AN 
UNUSUAL VEIN 


"The Law of Mind in Action," by Fenwicke L. Holmes. Published by Robert M. 
McBride, 31 Union Square, N., New York City. Price $1.25. 


A little volume of interest written on a metaphysical basis. It is unusual in that it does 
not follow the well-worn paths of the average New Thought book. Its lessons find a 
psychological warrant and its atmosphere is redolent with devotional idealism. 


To those interested in New Thought we recommend the addition of this volume to their 
collection. 


NOVEMBER BOOK LIST 


Publications Issued by the Society 


1915 bound volume of THE BUILDER $ 3 .00 

1916 bound volume of THE BUILDER 3 .00 

1917 bound volume of THE BUILDER 3 .00 



1918 bound volume of THE BUILDER 


3.50 


Philosophy of Masonry, by Bro. Roscoe Pound, Dean of the Harvard Law 
School 1.25 

1 722 Constitutions (reproduced by photographic plates from an original copy in 
archives of the Iowa Masonic Library, Cedar Rapids.) Edition limited to 1,000 
copies 2.00 


"The Story of Old Glory, The Oldest Llag," by P.G.M. Barry, Iowa, red buffing 
binding, gilt lettering, illustrated 1 .25 

Same paper covers .50 

Symbolism of the Lirst Degree, Gage, (pamphlet) . 1 5 

Symbolism of the Third Degree, Ball, (pamphlet) .15 

Symbolism of the Three Degrees, Street, paper covers .35 
Deeper Aspects of Masonic Symbolism, Waite, (pamphlet) .15 


* * * 


Publications from other sources, kept in stock at Anamosa 


The Builders, a story and study of Masonry, by Brother Joseph Port Newton, 
formlerly Editor-in-Chief of THE BUILDER 1 .50 

Mackey's Encyclopaedia, 1918 edition, two volumes, black Fabrikoid binding 
15.00 

Symbolism of Freemasonry, Mackey 3.15 


True Principles of Freemasonry, Grant 2.00 



Speculative Masonry, MacBride 


2.00 


"The Comacines, Their Predecessors and Their Successors," last remaining copies of 
the original English edition, cloth covers, sold only in combination with the Society 
reprint of "Further Notes on the Comacine Masters.” Both by W. Ravenscroft, 
England. Combination price 1.50 

Concise History of Freemasonry, Robert Freke Gould, English Edition 4.50 


* * * 


The above prices include postage and insurance or registeration fee on all items 
except pamphlets. The latter will be sent by regular mail, not insured or registered. 




THE QUESTION BOX 


THE BUILDER is an open forum for free and fraternal discussion. Each of its 
contributors writes under his own name, and is responsible for his own opinions. 
Believing that a unity of spirit is better than a uniformity of opinion, the Research 
Society, as such, does not champion any one school of Masonic thought as over against 
another, but offers to all alike a medium for fellowship and instruction, leaving each to 
stand or fall by its own merits. 


The Question Box and Correspondence Column are open to all members of the Society 
at all times. Questions of any nature on Masonic subjects are earnestly invited from our 
members, particularly those connected with lodges or study clubs which are following 
our "Bulletin Course of Masonic Study." When requested, questions will be answered 
promptly by mail before publication in this department. 



DEMIT OR DIMIT 


We have been asked which form of this word is correct and why. Some Masons use 
one form and some another, while still others use either form without distinction. The 
leading dictionaries of the English language are not in all respects uniform in their 
definitions of these words, nor are they necessarily in conflict except as to some 
unimportant details. These dictionaries are the Oxford in England, and the Standard 
and Webster's New International in this country. To these we might also add the 
Century and Worcester, though the last named is now considered out of date. In order 
to avoid a one- sided view of the subject we will consider what all these dictionaries 
have to say about these words and their derivatives, insofar as they have an 
application to Masonry. Therefore, consulting these dictionaries we find that the verb 
"digit" is given by the Century and Standard with the meaning, to dismiss, to permit to 
go, to send away. It is given as obsolete but with the same definition by the Oxford 
and Worcester, and it is not given at all by Webster. The verb "demit" is given as 
obsolete by Worcester, but all the others give it as a living word with the meaning to 
resign, to give up, to lay down, (as an office, etc.). 


The noun "dimit" is given by the Century as meaning a dimissory letter, written 
permission to leave a lodge. The Standard gives it with the same meaning, but marks 
it obsolete. None of the others give it at all. The noun "demit" is given by the Standard 
and Webster as meaning a letter of recommendation given a person removing from 
one Masonic lodge to another; a letter, certificate, or the like, certifying that a person 
has (honorably) demitted, as from a Masonic lodge. The other dictionaries do not give 
it at all. 


The noun "dimission" is given as obsolete by all the dictionaries here quoted, but they 
all give the noun "demission" with the meaning, a relinquishment, a resignation, etc. 


Consolidating these definitions and assuming for the present that we should recognize 
as valid a definition given as such by any one of these dictionaries, we find that: 



The verb "dimit" means to dismiss, to permit to go, etc. 


The verb "demit" means to resign, to relinquish, etc. 


Thus it would be incorrect to say "a brother dimits from a lodge" since he does not 
dismiss or grant permission to go. The correct word is "demit" in this case, since he 
resigns or relinquishes membership. If the lodge had the right to accept or reject his 
resignation, to grant or refuse him permission to go it might be correct to say the 
lodge dimitted the brother. If, however, the lodge has no option, but must grant the 
request of the brother, if he is in good standing, it cannot be said that they permit him 
to go. They cannot permit what they cannot refuse. The power to permit implies also 
the power to refuse. A man cannot prevent the sun from rising or setting and therefore 
cannot permit it. The sun does not rise by reason of any such permission nor is a 
brother's right to demit dependent on a permission granted by his lodge. In most 
jurisdictions the only eases in which the lodge has an option in the dismissal of a 
member is when he has been found guilty of unmasonic conduct, and such dismissal 
is called expulsion. 


The noun "dimit" is a written permission to leave a lodge and if valid at all can apply 
only in cases where the lodge has the right to grant or refuse such permission at its 
option. The noun "demit" is "a letter, certificate or the like certifying that a person has 
(honorably) demitted, as from a Masonic lodge." This correctly describes the fact and 
should therefore be the proper word to use. The definition given by the Standard also 
includes the definition given by the Century for the word "dimit" and implies that 
under either definition the word should be spelled "demit." 


The fact that the word "dimission" is given as obsolete by all these dictionaries and 
the word "demission" is given as valid by all is further evidence that the best and most 
consistent usage is to use the correlative verb and noun "demit" rather than "dimit." 



When we consult Masonic authorities we find more diversity of opinion and practice, 
but here also the weight of authority is in favor of "demit" rather than "dimit." In 
England the word "dimit" has never been used at all. Anderson's Constitutions, where 
the word is used at all, gives it "demit." Dr. Oliver uses "demit" in his Dictionary. The 
Proceedings of the Ars Quatuor Coronati Lodge gives it "demit." The same thing is 
true of other English Masonic writers. I have never seen the word "dimit" used by 
English writers and even "demit" is now obsolete among English Masons. They use 
the word "resign" and "resignation" instead. In this country the word "demit" has been 
constantly used though not universally as in England. In the English editions of 
Dermott's Ahiman Rezon as published in 1756 and subsequently, the word is given 
"demit." The same is true of the American editions, though in some the word ' 
resignation" takes its place. According to Mackey the word "dimit" was not used in 
America prior to 1860, and he calls its use "a modem, American, and wholly 
indefensible corruption of the technical word 'demit.'" He also says "A Mason demits 
from his lodge: he resigns. He takes out his demit; he asks for and receives an 
acceptance of his resignation." 


The American authorities usually cited to establish the validity of word "dimit" are 
Lockwood's "Masonic Law and Practice," Chase's "Digest of Masonic Law," 
Drummond's "Maine Masonic Text Book" and Macoy's "Cyclopedia." On 
investigating the references to these works, I find that Lockwood defines a "dimit" as 
the effect of a majority vote granting the "dimission." This is certainly something 
entirely different from the present idea of a demit and would not apply to a ease where 
the lodge had no vote. It also loses sight of the fact that all the dictionaries now give 
"dimission" as obsolete. Dmmmond also makes the demit depend upon a vote of the 
lodge granting it. Chase uses "demit" instead of "dimit" and I cannot understand why 
he should have been cited as giving "dimit." Macoy defines "dimit" as a withdrawal 
from membership, which is contrary to the universally accepted definition of this form 
of the word. He also says that the word "dimit" is from the Latin "dimitto" meaning "I 
permit to go." This is true, and the word "dimit" derived from it, if valid at all is "a 
permission to go" not "a withdrawal." 


Much confusion has been caused by a misconception of the derivation of these words. 
It has been generally stated by Masonic writers that "dimit" comes from the Latin 
word "dimitto" and "demit" from the word "demitto." The latter word means I let 
down, I lower, I sink, I stoop, etc., and there are English words derived from it which 
have the same or similar meanings. This, however, is not the word used in Masonry. 
The prefix "di" in Latin means away from, and so does the prefix "de," but "di" means 



on the same level, while "de" carries the idea of downward and a lower position. 

Many words in passing from the Classical Latin into English changed their forms, and 
so words in "di" frequently change to "de." That is the ease with this word. The 
Century, the Standard, Webster's New International, and the Oxford dictionaries are 
agreed that the word "dimitto" in passing into English took both the form "dimission" 
and "demission" and that the form "dimission" is now obsolete. When we turn to the 
Latin dictionary we find that the word "dimitto" has two meanings, (1) "I send away," 
"I dismiss," etc. (2) "I voluntarily let go, give up, abandon." 


Coming into the English by way of the late Latin or French, words in "di" frequently 
change to "de" and thus it happens that both "dimitto" and "demitto" came into 
English as "demission" instead of "dimission." The dictionaries give the following: 


Demission, from dimitto, obsolete. A lowering; degradation; depression. 


Demission, from demitto, living. A relinquishment; resignation; transference. 


Dimission, from dimitto, obsolete. Leave to depart. 


Demit, verb, from demitto, obsolete. To lower; depress; submit; humble. 


Demit, verb, from dimitto, living. To lay down formally, as an office; resign, 
relinquish; transfer. (Not given by Worcester.) 


Dimit, verb, from dimitto, living according to Century and Standard; obsolete 
according to Oxford, Worcester and Webster. To dismiss; permit to go. 



Demit, noun, from demitto. Living according to Standard. Not given by Webster, 
Oxford, Century or Worcester. A letter of dismissal; specifically, a recommendation 
given to a person removing from one Masonic lodge to another. 


Demit, noun, from dimitto. Not given by Standard, Century, Oxford or Worcester. 
Living according to Webster. Act of demitting; also, a letter, certificate or the like, 
certifying that a person has (honorably) demitted, as from a Masonic lodge. 


Dimit, noun, from dimitto. Not given by Oxford, Standard, Webster or Worcester. 
Living according to Century. A dimissory letter; written permission to leave a lodge, 
implying good standing in the lodge left, and thus no disability to affiliate with 
another lodge. 


As Worcester does not recognize either "demit" or "dimit" in the form of either a verb 
or a noun, we shall confine our summary to the other four dictionaries. 


Of the living verbs, all four give "demit," and two, the Century and Standard, also 
give "dimit," but with a different meaning from "demit." 


Of the living nouns the Oxford gives neither "demit" nor "dimit"; the Century gives 
only "dimit," and two, the Standard and Webster, give "demit" with similar meanings 
though they derive it from different Latin words. 


C. C. Hunt, Iowa. 


(A study of the forty-nine Codes of the Grand Lodges of the United States reveals the 
fact that forty-one use the word "dimit" while but eight use "demit." - Editor.) 



* * * 


SHRINE HISTORY AND MAGAZINE 


Can you inform me if there are any books or histories published on the A.A.O.N.M.S. 
(Shrine) ? 


If so, how and where may I obtain them ! A.M., Georgia. 


About three years ago there was announced the prospective publication of a "History of 
the Mystic Shrine" written by William Ross, historian of Lulu Temple, Philadelphia, 

Pa. As to the scope and value of this work we cannot speak, there being no copy of it in 
the Society's library. Neither have we the address of Brother Ross but this can doubtless 
be obtained by writing Brother John Bolard, Masonic Temple, Philadelphia. 


To any one in search of a newsy little Shrine magazine we would recommend "The 
Crescent," published by The Crescent Publishing Company, St. Paul, Minn., as the best 
of its kind coming to our exchange table. 


— o — 


CORRESPONDENCE 


LODGE NOTICES 



Brother Master, and Brother Secretary, do you send out lodge notices week after week 
on the usual postal card form, with substantially the same wording every time: "A 
Special Communication of Blank Lodge No. Blank will be held on Wednesday, 
November 5th, at 8 p. m. Work in the Blank degree. Come"? And then after acquiring a 
quorum about 8:30 or 8:45 p. m. are you compelled to press into service several Past 
Masters (if any such happen to be present) or others who may only have a superficial 
knowledge of the part they are asked to take, to enable you to initiate, pass or raise 
some young brother who is expecting a great deal more than he sometimes gets? And, 
after the work is over, are you compelled to apologize to the visitor from another lodge 
who has dropped in, and sometimes to the candidate, for the poor degree work and 
small attendance? And do you then sit around a while in the anteroom before going 
home and ask each other "why Brother So-and-So never comes out to the meetings any 
more" and wonder "if the attendance will ever pick up" ? 


Change your advertising system! 


Dig up a publicity man out of your membership. Get him to write "copy" for your lodge 
notices, insert a few chatty personals, take a few ideas from some of the articles you 
have read in a recent issue of THE BUILDER and write a few paragraphs on them, tell 
how many were present at your last meeting and about the good time you had. After 
you have had a little experience with the first two or three notices you will find it easier 
to get up the next ones. New items will continually suggest themselves and you will 
soon be piled up with stuff that you will have to hold over for the next bulletin. 


If yours is a small lodge with a resident membership of around one hundred, more or 
less, you can get your bulletin out on a typewriter, using thin paper and making carbon 
copies. Or you cart get some business man who is a member of the lodge to run them 
off on his duplicating machine for you. The expense would be almost nothing, and if a 
duplicating machine were used you could mail the notices in unsealed envelopes for 
one-cent postage. But it would be better to spend another cent and send them out in 
sealed envelopes. 


Ye scribe personally knows of a lodge that started this scheme several years ago and the 
average attendance has since been over seventy-five per cent, of the resident 



membership and at many meetings it is practically one hundred per cent. Continual 
weekly, bimonthly or monthly bulletins each containing a few interesting items on 
Masonic subjects and stressing the gains in attendance at each meeting will wake up the 
majority of the neglectful ones and bring them out to the meetings. Get a bunch of 
boosters to form the habit of speaking to those of irregular attendance every time they 
meet them on the street and get them to promise to come out to the next meeting. If the 
bulletins are sent out to these brethren regularly they cannot offer the excuse that they 
are not informed as to what is going on at the lodge. 


If you want to try out this scheme here is a specimen of a bulletin issued by Hatheway 
Lodge No. 869. at Rome. N. Y.: 


THE HATHEWAY HANDBILL 
Vol. l,No. 3 Friday, Sept. 19,1919. 


FIRST DEGREE 


this week Friday. On your toes now and make it a whale of a meeting. Give your 
officers encouragement. They will give you a snappy degree. By the way we worked 
the Third in full form last Friday and closed at 10:30. That's moving some! The 
Hatheway gavel falls at the stroke of eight. 


BUCK UP 

says Harry Buck, our R.W.D.D. in the enclosed circular. Don't forget it's this week 
Saturday the 20th. Meet at OUR Temple not later than 12:30. We will try to get under 
way at 1 : 00. Bring your auto. If you haven't one we will find you a seat. 


UTICA 



The six Utica lodges have re-adjusted their initiation fees on a uniform basis of $75. 
Utica Masons are vigorously pushing a movement to erect a new Temple. 


EDICT 

The enforcement of the Grand Master's Edict, requiring all lodges in this jurisdiction to 
work in the English language has been postponed to January 1 st, next. 


ROUND NUMBERS 

2,000,000 Masons in the U.S., 200,000 inN. Y. State, 660 in Rome. 500,000 R. A. and 
250,000 K.T. Masons in the U.S. 


CONCLUSIONS 

"The conclusion drawn by your mission (our overseas mission - Ed.) is that the 
Masonic fraternity's efforts to engage independently in overseas vicar relief work were 
secretly opposed and thwarted by influences hostile to us." Interested? Then phone. We 
have a number of copies of this amazing report for circulation among our members. 


MASSACHUSETTS 

Grand Lodge recently sent a check in the sum of $5,000 for the use of our overseas 
mission. Hats off to Mass. 


PROVE IT 


"The ways of virtue are beautiful. Knowledge is gained by degrees. Wisdom dwells 
with contemplation; there we must seek her." First and third Fridays each month. First 
degree this week. 



THE PRINCE 


of Wales, now on this side of the pond, was recently Raised in Household Brigade 
Lodge. His great-uncle, the Duke of Connaught, is Grand Master of England. 

SWEDENBORG 

The divine essence itself is love and wisdom. 

RESERVOIR 

until Friday night. Grab your boot-straps and pull. 

Frank S. Baker, Master-Ed. 

Kenneth M. Bow, Sec'y-Pub. 

Jas. F. Maclaughlin, Printer. 

* * * 


A RECORD-BREAKING COMMUNICATION 


An unusual event in Masonic history occurred at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, when the 
longest Communication ever held by any Masonic lodge in the world was held by 
Oklahoma City Lodge No. 36, A. F. & A. M., beginning at High Twelve, Wednesdey, 
August 27th, and remaining in continuous session until Low Twelve, Saturday, August 
30th, 1919. This Communication was held for the purpose of conferring the Master 
Mason degree upon a class of sixty-nine candidates. 



The work was done under the direction of C. M. March, Worshipful Master, A. G. 
Hoge, Senior Warden, E. C. Stentz, Junior Warden, G. W. Spencer, Secretary. The 
degree work was done by four teams, working shifts of six hours each. The degrees 
were put on in full form, with but one candidate and one team working at a time. The 
candidates were not railroaded through, but given the work, one hour being taken for 
each candidate. It was concluded with the twelve Fellow Craft movement and full 
explanatory lectures. 


Refreshments were served continually to a large number of workers and visitors, the 
exercises being concluded with a banquet and ball. William Noble, Oklahoma.