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Where The Secret Is.
gate thp snpposed science and philosophy of the Institution of which Ttfl-n * 'have heard a great deal , look about for other sonrpp . of information . OF thesq . or what are supposed to 1-p sn' -h . thev find tw * . One is the wbnndant supplv o M * isnn o writ'rifs of all sorts , and the other is the so-callerl
" lu ' ir li nen-reps . " Tf they inqnire of any one of those M .-isons whom they h *> vo seen occupying a conspicuous position among tho Orders which are " away up" i '
Masonrv . and who wears strange and highly enigmatic . I jewelrv ntfc > ehed to his watch chain , they are assured at once that fche onlv source of kiowlpdge is to be found in
the superior "Capitular . " " Cryptic , " "Templar" or " Ineffable" grades , a < - the ease may be . to which the jewel and " o-old mounted" philosopher has attained . They further learn that they cannot extract much , if anything .
fr . m " the first three degrees , " or if more properl y spoken , "the first three degree , " or , as more likely they will be termed , " tho inferior degrees , " or , as they have been recently designated in fche allocution of an "Eminent Grand Commander , " the " subordinate and appendant degrees . "
Tho inquirer , never noticing that such informants have themselves nothing whatever in the shape of Masonic knowledge to communicate , which concerns " the inferior degrees , " beyond what he has been able to pick up from
the other members who are Master Masons—never stopping to inquire why it is , if they are in possession of such snpe rior illumination , that they cannot explain to him either the steps " Dieu qar &* s" signs , positions , ambulations ,
words , floors , geometric figures , or the meanings of the implements actually used , or the characters or names of thoso who use them in the most important and solemn parts of the work , concludes that he ought to have some
more degrees . He inquires the terms on which thev may be obtained , and particularly how long he must wait before ba can bo " put through , " and , to see whafc can bo found in the meantime in books , he takes up one of the
Masonic cyclopo 3 lias . He finds it filled with illustrations . He receives his first impressions from the larger and full pige engravings , which of course must be considered o more Masonic importance than the small figures , scattered
here and there m the body of the text . Perhaps the first which arrests his attention is the half page illustration in Mackey \ s Cyclopaedia , showing "the Arms of Freemasonry , " and the figure containing the cherubim , ark , lion , ox , man
and eagle , he , and from the text he learns tbat this last is the Arms of the Grand Lodge of England . He inquires if any representations of this exists about the Lodge , and finds that sach a thing was never heard of in " the blue
Lodge , " as it is now called , hut , finally discovers that it is only to he found in the Chapter , where ifc is a prominent representation . This shows him thafc tho Chapter is a far more exalted body than the Lodge . He goes on , and
before he gets through the book he finds eight full page illustrations of degree chambers , and fifty-three smaller engravings appertaining to Scottish Rite and Templar decrees , two full page and seventeen lesser engravings of
Chapter matters , four of the Eastern Star , one full page illustration ( ancient trestle board ) and three small figures for the benefit of the Lodge of " Ancient Craft Masonry . " As to the reading matter , it appears largely devoted to the
magnifying of the so-called " high degrees . " The effect of all this is twofold ; first , to direct his attention to the Orders which have grown np among the Craft , as being the only accessible sources of knowledge in
Masonic mysteries and lore , and secondly , and still more unfortunatel y for Masonry , to divert his attention from tbe : Lodge , and from any attempt to explore what it contains ; and thus thousands of scholarly men who could
aim : would have long ago brought many things to light in the Lodge , for fche benefit of the Craft , after trying the Chapter , and perhaps some other organization , and finding
nothing there which they had expected , nor any reason why there should be , have-dropped the whole subject of Masonic research , and have taken little or no interest in
the Lodge or any of the Orders ontside of it , ' The effect of all this is to sap and undermine the Lodge , and lower the esteem in which Masonry is held throughout the Fraternity ; And the evil is one which tends at all
times to propagate and increase itself . In proportion as " high degrees " are multiplied and find votaries , the newly entered . in the Lodge have * . heir attention diverted from
wl'at . « if .: to be found therein by'proper observation and examination , and in like proportion loss of truly Masonic modes / , and habifcs of thought prevail , and innovations and confusion are bi-ooght in . v . . r - - * ii &)* u ; :: ¦ ' : ; ..- >• : ?¦; - ? . ¦; . •_ - _ . ( . - ¦ orlw ¦ ' -.- ¦ : •' . ' ; ¦ ¦• .
Where The Secret Is.
Afc this time more than a hundred degrees , constituting > ver half a dozen rites , are claiming attention , each organzafcion assuming that it has something valuable to impart ; ome from one source and some from another ; wbile most
of the time many of them aro occupied with internal uproar over the authenticity of pretended documents purporting to have been issued by some self-assumed nithority , as though it could make any difference in the
value of their establishment , whether the original pronunciamentos wero forged or not . Preposterous legends ancl astounding titles , with all the other " modern improvements " necessary to a high degree outfit , can be fabricated
now with as little expense as at any former time , and mada genuine , if that is any object , without difficulty . While all this is going on , some of the Grand Lodges are organizing Schools of Instruction , not schools to ascertain or teach
whafc Masonry is and what it contains , but to teach the ritual . This is all well ; tho ritual is about all thafc is left to teach ; and that is in a mutilated condition for want of knowing what the ritual is about . By all means let the
ritual be taught until every Lodge shall have somebody in its ranks who can confer a Masonic degree with decency and dignity . But the way to preserve the ritual is to teach the Craffc what it means . As soon as a Lodge can
be made to understand whafc the work contains , they will be able to remember ancl recollect the form of ifc , and more than this , to correct former blunders , which now they cannot do , for they have no criterion to which they can resort .
It is because of the condition of things in the Lodges that Masonic writers appear to have so little idea of the character of Masonry . All the causes now afc work to lower the character of tho Craffc Lodge , aud inflate tho
•' hig h degree" balloon , have not been without effect . The withdrawal of attention from the exploration of Masonry , where it can be found in the body of the only
Lodge designed and constructed to contain it , ancl which 'done can contain ifc , has left the most of our writers where the other members are , with no idea of Masonry ofcher than a collection of ceremonies which excel those of other
societies which claim what they call degrees . They do not understand that Masonry teaches anything of Us own , nor that everything in the Lodge , and its work from beginning
to end , is an indispensable part of the system . If they knew this some of them would go to work in the invesfcisation of ifc . The belief mentioned above thafc there is
something hidden in the complex of the work , though extremely vague and unsatisfactory , would prompt some research , if it were not for two hindrances . The first is a conviction that whatever it may have been one * ., the secret
lore of the Craft has become hopelessly lost , for it is the common idea that it was committed to memory and tradition , and as it has passed from memory it is beyond recovery , except by something like a miracle . The second
cause is , that they do not know thafc Masonry has for its object the demonstration and illustration of the divine order in the universe , in its three degrees , and thafc this was not left to memory or tradition , but to geometry and
its kindred sciences , and the known physical structure and mental and moral constitution of man , and the physical structure of the universe , and other known truths and facts , by means of all which the entire system is so
inwrought in the work , from bcg ' . aa . ug to end , thafc such parts as may be lost may be restored , as long as the knowledge of geometry and the other sciences involved , together with some considerable portion of the work , may remain .
It is for want of being informed on this subject that Masonry ia so commonly regarded as a mere system of teaching by aid of symbols and oral instruction , and that whatever sublime truths were incorporated in it originally ,
the mode of setting fchem forth depended on memory and tradition , as well as on that which remains . This is , doubtless , the principal reason why so many are carried away by the notion of high degrees , and why great results
from that source aro expected : they supposing that if any hidden lore is over to be revealed , it must be found in some memory of ancient knowledge preserved in some of those degrees by oral tradition or legend ; they not being
in a condition to reflect that if nothing can be found and yerified in the Lodge itself "founded in gaometry " ifc will be idle to seek for it in councils anl divers other bodies
which have nothing to do with oid-r or geometry , bufc muster all the miscellaneous ceremonies they can to com . pose a rite , a , ny two or ten degrees of which might change
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Where The Secret Is.
gate thp snpposed science and philosophy of the Institution of which Ttfl-n * 'have heard a great deal , look about for other sonrpp . of information . OF thesq . or what are supposed to 1-p sn' -h . thev find tw * . One is the wbnndant supplv o M * isnn o writ'rifs of all sorts , and the other is the so-callerl
" lu ' ir li nen-reps . " Tf they inqnire of any one of those M .-isons whom they h *> vo seen occupying a conspicuous position among tho Orders which are " away up" i '
Masonrv . and who wears strange and highly enigmatic . I jewelrv ntfc > ehed to his watch chain , they are assured at once that fche onlv source of kiowlpdge is to be found in
the superior "Capitular . " " Cryptic , " "Templar" or " Ineffable" grades , a < - the ease may be . to which the jewel and " o-old mounted" philosopher has attained . They further learn that they cannot extract much , if anything .
fr . m " the first three degrees , " or if more properl y spoken , "the first three degree , " or , as more likely they will be termed , " tho inferior degrees , " or , as they have been recently designated in fche allocution of an "Eminent Grand Commander , " the " subordinate and appendant degrees . "
Tho inquirer , never noticing that such informants have themselves nothing whatever in the shape of Masonic knowledge to communicate , which concerns " the inferior degrees , " beyond what he has been able to pick up from
the other members who are Master Masons—never stopping to inquire why it is , if they are in possession of such snpe rior illumination , that they cannot explain to him either the steps " Dieu qar &* s" signs , positions , ambulations ,
words , floors , geometric figures , or the meanings of the implements actually used , or the characters or names of thoso who use them in the most important and solemn parts of the work , concludes that he ought to have some
more degrees . He inquires the terms on which thev may be obtained , and particularly how long he must wait before ba can bo " put through , " and , to see whafc can bo found in the meantime in books , he takes up one of the
Masonic cyclopo 3 lias . He finds it filled with illustrations . He receives his first impressions from the larger and full pige engravings , which of course must be considered o more Masonic importance than the small figures , scattered
here and there m the body of the text . Perhaps the first which arrests his attention is the half page illustration in Mackey \ s Cyclopaedia , showing "the Arms of Freemasonry , " and the figure containing the cherubim , ark , lion , ox , man
and eagle , he , and from the text he learns tbat this last is the Arms of the Grand Lodge of England . He inquires if any representations of this exists about the Lodge , and finds that sach a thing was never heard of in " the blue
Lodge , " as it is now called , hut , finally discovers that it is only to he found in the Chapter , where ifc is a prominent representation . This shows him thafc tho Chapter is a far more exalted body than the Lodge . He goes on , and
before he gets through the book he finds eight full page illustrations of degree chambers , and fifty-three smaller engravings appertaining to Scottish Rite and Templar decrees , two full page and seventeen lesser engravings of
Chapter matters , four of the Eastern Star , one full page illustration ( ancient trestle board ) and three small figures for the benefit of the Lodge of " Ancient Craft Masonry . " As to the reading matter , it appears largely devoted to the
magnifying of the so-called " high degrees . " The effect of all this is twofold ; first , to direct his attention to the Orders which have grown np among the Craft , as being the only accessible sources of knowledge in
Masonic mysteries and lore , and secondly , and still more unfortunatel y for Masonry , to divert his attention from tbe : Lodge , and from any attempt to explore what it contains ; and thus thousands of scholarly men who could
aim : would have long ago brought many things to light in the Lodge , for fche benefit of the Craft , after trying the Chapter , and perhaps some other organization , and finding
nothing there which they had expected , nor any reason why there should be , have-dropped the whole subject of Masonic research , and have taken little or no interest in
the Lodge or any of the Orders ontside of it , ' The effect of all this is to sap and undermine the Lodge , and lower the esteem in which Masonry is held throughout the Fraternity ; And the evil is one which tends at all
times to propagate and increase itself . In proportion as " high degrees " are multiplied and find votaries , the newly entered . in the Lodge have * . heir attention diverted from
wl'at . « if .: to be found therein by'proper observation and examination , and in like proportion loss of truly Masonic modes / , and habifcs of thought prevail , and innovations and confusion are bi-ooght in . v . . r - - * ii &)* u ; :: ¦ ' : ; ..- >• : ?¦; - ? . ¦; . •_ - _ . ( . - ¦ orlw ¦ ' -.- ¦ : •' . ' ; ¦ ¦• .
Where The Secret Is.
Afc this time more than a hundred degrees , constituting > ver half a dozen rites , are claiming attention , each organzafcion assuming that it has something valuable to impart ; ome from one source and some from another ; wbile most
of the time many of them aro occupied with internal uproar over the authenticity of pretended documents purporting to have been issued by some self-assumed nithority , as though it could make any difference in the
value of their establishment , whether the original pronunciamentos wero forged or not . Preposterous legends ancl astounding titles , with all the other " modern improvements " necessary to a high degree outfit , can be fabricated
now with as little expense as at any former time , and mada genuine , if that is any object , without difficulty . While all this is going on , some of the Grand Lodges are organizing Schools of Instruction , not schools to ascertain or teach
whafc Masonry is and what it contains , but to teach the ritual . This is all well ; tho ritual is about all thafc is left to teach ; and that is in a mutilated condition for want of knowing what the ritual is about . By all means let the
ritual be taught until every Lodge shall have somebody in its ranks who can confer a Masonic degree with decency and dignity . But the way to preserve the ritual is to teach the Craffc what it means . As soon as a Lodge can
be made to understand whafc the work contains , they will be able to remember ancl recollect the form of ifc , and more than this , to correct former blunders , which now they cannot do , for they have no criterion to which they can resort .
It is because of the condition of things in the Lodges that Masonic writers appear to have so little idea of the character of Masonry . All the causes now afc work to lower the character of tho Craffc Lodge , aud inflate tho
•' hig h degree" balloon , have not been without effect . The withdrawal of attention from the exploration of Masonry , where it can be found in the body of the only
Lodge designed and constructed to contain it , ancl which 'done can contain ifc , has left the most of our writers where the other members are , with no idea of Masonry ofcher than a collection of ceremonies which excel those of other
societies which claim what they call degrees . They do not understand that Masonry teaches anything of Us own , nor that everything in the Lodge , and its work from beginning
to end , is an indispensable part of the system . If they knew this some of them would go to work in the invesfcisation of ifc . The belief mentioned above thafc there is
something hidden in the complex of the work , though extremely vague and unsatisfactory , would prompt some research , if it were not for two hindrances . The first is a conviction that whatever it may have been one * ., the secret
lore of the Craft has become hopelessly lost , for it is the common idea that it was committed to memory and tradition , and as it has passed from memory it is beyond recovery , except by something like a miracle . The second
cause is , that they do not know thafc Masonry has for its object the demonstration and illustration of the divine order in the universe , in its three degrees , and thafc this was not left to memory or tradition , but to geometry and
its kindred sciences , and the known physical structure and mental and moral constitution of man , and the physical structure of the universe , and other known truths and facts , by means of all which the entire system is so
inwrought in the work , from bcg ' . aa . ug to end , thafc such parts as may be lost may be restored , as long as the knowledge of geometry and the other sciences involved , together with some considerable portion of the work , may remain .
It is for want of being informed on this subject that Masonry ia so commonly regarded as a mere system of teaching by aid of symbols and oral instruction , and that whatever sublime truths were incorporated in it originally ,
the mode of setting fchem forth depended on memory and tradition , as well as on that which remains . This is , doubtless , the principal reason why so many are carried away by the notion of high degrees , and why great results
from that source aro expected : they supposing that if any hidden lore is over to be revealed , it must be found in some memory of ancient knowledge preserved in some of those degrees by oral tradition or legend ; they not being
in a condition to reflect that if nothing can be found and yerified in the Lodge itself "founded in gaometry " ifc will be idle to seek for it in councils anl divers other bodies
which have nothing to do with oid-r or geometry , bufc muster all the miscellaneous ceremonies they can to com . pose a rite , a , ny two or ten degrees of which might change