The So-Called Swedenborg Rite.

eminent Masons of the time—the Brother Swedenborg . " And if it had not been for the over zeal of Bro . Beswick , I think that onr Masonic Cyelopsedists would never have questioned Swedenborg ' s connection with the Craft .

Thn * -, one bv one , the pretensions of the high degrees were exposed But vet such is the prevailing appetite for more degrees that the last swindle , viz ., " The Mystic Shrine , " seems 'o he a success , for hundreds are madly rushing into it in all the State " , from the Atlantic to the Pacific .

BOSTON , U . S ., 17 th February 1886 .

Masonic Triples.

MASONIC TRIPLES .

PART I . —THE FOUNDATION .

INTRODUCTORY to the subject it may be well to explain that in what follows it is not intended that any new system of philosophical reasoning * will be presented , nor is it expected , if it were possib ' e , that al '

the ground will be covered which is suggested by the subject : Masonic Triples . But the object is to unlock a part of the mysteries of Masonry with the assistance of the threefold key , and inquire what the Institution is , what it teaches , and what are the duties whioh it enjoins ?

The subject itself is threefold , and an analysis based upon the symbolism of 'he Temple logically presents the parts in 'he order we have chosen : First , the foundation ; second , the edifice ; third , the ornamentation . The man who is made a Mason is earlv told that he is

about to receive truths which will enable him to build his trne Masonic edifice ; or , in other words , as a Mason his character must become conformed , to the proper contour of the stones of that spiritual building , that temple not made with hands . How shall he do it ? What door does

the triple-key unlock that light may shme and give the neophyte " good and who l esome instrnction ?" Let us inquire , What is Masonry ? The authorized Text-Book of Vermont , and it agrees substantially with

the manuals or monitors of all the other jurisdictions , answers the question in these words : "It is a beautiful svstem of morality , veiled in allegory and illustrated by

svmbnls . Truth is its centre , the point whence its radii diverge . Ifc leads its disciples to a correct knowledge of the Great Architect of the Universe , and the moral laws He has ordained for their government . "

The threefold answer as contained in the " Ancient

Constitutions , " whioh are declared to he " obligatory , as fundamental regulations , in all parts of the world , " is in these wor Is , which we number to emphasize the proper division , as follows : ( 1 . ) "Whoever , from love of

knowledge , interest , or curios-ty , desires to be a Mason , is to know that as his foundation and great corner-stone , he is firmly to b' -lieve in the Eternal God , and to pay that worship which is due to Him as the Great Architect and

Governor of the Universe . " ( 2 . ) " A Mason must observe the moral law . And if he rightly understands the royal art , he will never be an atheist , or an irreligious libertine ; and will never act against the great inward light of his

own conscience . " ( 3 . ) " He will likewise shun the errors of bigotry and superstition , making a due use of his own reason , according to that liberty wherewith a Mason is made free ; for though in ancient time Masons were charged

to comply with the religious opinions and usages of the country or nation where they sojourned or worked , yet it is now thonght mosfc expedient that the brethren in general should only be charged to adhere to the essentials of

religion , in which all men agree , leaving each brother to his own judgment as to particular forms . Whence , being good men aud true , of unsullied honour and unfailing honesty , the Order becomes the centre of union , and the means of conciliating true friendship . "

The literature of the Fraternity upon this subject is both voluminous and learned . The best energies of many minds have been spent in throwing light upon the theory of our Institution , and these brothers , while they have been far

from a texnal ' igreement ,. have imparted disting'U'shing cbarao'eiistics to the prblic tfachines of onr Craft which are well known . Because of this fact we begin by quoting the original language in which our ancient brethren

promulgated the "fundamental regulations" so that the reader may see clearly the foundation of the system . And this is the more necessary because we are known , in the

Masonic Triples.

world around us , by what our own writers have averred were the tenets of the Fraternity . We find in a leading encyclopa > dia , in connection with a long ancl scholarly history of Freemasonry , this answer to the question of

" What is Masonry ? " and while the inference to be drawn therefrom is not as palatable as a true and loyal brother could wish , there is no use in trying to argue ifc aside . It is the studied , candid , and ( we may say ) impartial verdict

of a board of editors second to none in the world . They state : "As regards the future of Freemasonry , it is impossible at least for outsiders to say much . The celebration of the Brotherhood of Man , and the cultivation

of universal goodness in the abstract , seem rather indefinite objects for any society in this unimaginative age . There is , on the one hand , a tendency to degenerate into mere conviviality ; while if schools , or asylums , or other

charities are supported , to that extent of course the society becomes local and even exclusive in its character . In tho meantime , Masonry is to blame for keeping afloat in the minds of its members many of the most absolutely puerile

ideas . A more accurate knowledge of its own singular and not undignified history would tend more than anything else to give worth and elevation to its aims . No one now believes the stupid slander that Freemasons are

engaged in any definite con-piracy against the state , religion , or social order . There is , however , something in their fundamental principles , the fraternity of men , ancl their indifference to theolog'cal belief , and also in their

recent movements , which perhaps justifies the suspicion , and even hatred , with which they are regarded by the Ultramontane party . Masonry in each country , of course , takes its colouring from fche state of thought and feeling by

which it is surrounded , but it cannot be disputed that the German , Dutch , Belgian and French magazines of the Craft occasionally exhibit a tone whioh is not favourable to Christianity regarded as a special revelation . The

tendency of political opinion in such an association is also necessarily democratic ; and while it would be absurd to make the brotherhood answerable for the opinions of Mnzzini , or the outrages of the Commune , and while the

majority of Brethren are loyal subjects , ancl probably orthodox Christians ( in the theological sense , ) the Institution itself undoubtedl y ' makes for' liberty in matters both civil and spiritual . "

In this excerpt fche reader ' s mind grasps fche verdict of history upon the first one hundred and sixty-eight years of our Institution as Speculative Craft Masonry . Is it true ? We think it is false in several important particulars ; that

the " fundamental regulations " of tho Ancient Constitutions convey a very diverse impression , ancl that it is high time the arguements pro and con concerning Freemasonry ' s antiquity , its hi gher or three degrees , were merged into a

candid inquiry how shall a brother best learn and practise the three great duties which , as a Mason , he is charged to inculcate : to God , to bis neig hbour , and to himself ? The symbolism of the Institntion sinks to a secondary place

beside this question . "Ifc is the design of the Masonic Institution to make its votaries wiser , and therefore better , " and if this design is not achieved , what matters it whether there be any legitmate degrees or any society at all ?

The voice of Masonic Trip les , based upon tho first part of the Ancient Constitutions , cited above , teaches that the foundation of the Masonic edifice is " to believe in the Eternal God . " This certainly implies that the regulating

power is supernatural ; that a belief in Revelation is an essential , and logically explains why there are " three great lights , " and that the chief one of these is the Bible . This position admitted , the Holy Bible ( the New Testament as

well as the Old ) becomes indeed a "rule ancl guide , " and in all Lodges is "dedicated to God , because it is the inestimable gift of God to man . " Our investigition , therefore , will be from a Christian standpoint . We say

Christian advisedly , but nofc in a sectarian sense . B y Christianity here we mean that Spirit of God in the world which saves from the blight of sin ; the power which is destined to work the world's redemption from the curse of

the broken law ; the leaven which will ultimately restore man to the holiness marred by sin , ancl whioh , when it shall have filled the earth , will usher in thafc era of universal brotherhood which is the fulness of the Masonic

type . In short , fche voice of the first great Masonic Tri ple teaches the God of the Bible , the brotherhood of the Bible , the manhood of the Bible ; these , and nothing less , or the Masonic Institution belies the plain readings of its ritual .