"Which Is Correct?"

" WHICH IS CORRECT ?"

MANY brethren will remember tbat in onr earlier issues a considerable amount of correspondence passed

relative to certain moot questions as to ritual and observance ; now , in order to elicit further information on these subjects , we have been prompted to ventilate a few thoughts and suggestions wbicb have been made to us , under the above interrogatory . We do not , as a rule , like to infringe

upon ground that has been trodden previously by our correspondents ; and we had hoped that our Bro . James Stevens would have been able to continue to give and adduce information , as he did on many previous occasions through the columns of this journal . We trust , however ,

that by taking the old theme in hand , Bro . Stevens and others may be induced to follow up the coui'so of investigation so weH begun , so that assistance may be rendered to the increasing number of our brethren who aro pressing forward in search of further Masonic light . It cannot be

gainsaid that the ceremonials of Freemasonry would be very much better worked were the system , and the traditions upon which it is founded , more thoroughly understood . By the explanation of minor points of detail much that is

now only a matter of indifference would be made intelligible , and the whole Lodge working invested with tenfold greater interest than at the present time . It is very well to say and do certain things , but all their significance is lost unless the brethren who witness the ceremonies have

a lively apprehension of every sentence uttered , and every movement made . And yet , how seldom in our Lodges do we hear even tho initiation ceremony given in its beautiful entirety ? Is not tbe teaching of the tracing-board invariably deferred until some more convenient season , when

there are fewer candidates for passing or raising , and there is little less anxious looking towards the south ? The reading of the tracing-board and the recital of the traditional history are , after all , not so much a matter of importance to those who are immediately concerned as

to those who , having already heard , the sublime lessons inculcated , need constantly to be reminded of them , in order that they may duly estimate the rites in the performance of which they are called to assist . Will any one say that the burial service read by the grave-side is for the

benefit of the inanimate clay which has been consigned to its kindred dust , and not to that of the quick who stand around the open tomb ? And in like manner , when the charges are read , and the splendid tenets of Freemasonry are forced home to the heart and mind of the candidate ,

they should awaken a corresponding interest in the minds of all assembled , and create in them a thirsting for deeper draughts from that well of knowledge which is both fathomless and inexhaustible . How many even amongst the rank of Master Masons could , if called upon unawares , give oven

the faintest outline of the tracing boards , or lectures , or explain to an inquiring student the meaning of even the ordinary interior fittings of the Lodge ? Why are the positions of the lights so regulated , and why the peculiar design of the three columns on the pedestals ? In a well-regulated

Lodge there is no expression , no movement , without its significance ; and it is this very hidden meaning which is revealed to the searcher after truth that goes to make up our inner Masonic life . If our ceremonials were only dumb

show , and our ritual a mere string of meaningless platitudes , the fabric of Masonry must long ere this have crumbled into dust , and the monstrous fallacy would have exploded . It is the very existence of a satisfying fountain of truth and wisdom which springs from the

"Which Is Correct?"

remotest depths of Masonry , and comes coursing through every vein and artery of its system , that has kept tho Institution intact , and preserved its mysteries from becoming the common property of the " popular world in general . " This is the reason why it has repolled all

the assaults that have been made against it , and has enabled it to withstand all the buft ' ettings from without and the treachery of perjured foes within . But , even as other sciences only become beautiful and attractive by closer study , as the works of the G . A . O . T . TJ . are revealed

in all their marvellous perfection by the aid of the telescope and the microscope , so Masonry unfolds its grandeur and its sublimity only as the student dives into its deeper mysteries , and carefully interprets , by the aid of his Masonic Light , the symbols and traditions which have been

handed down to us from time immemorial . Everybody has heard of a person in the witness-box who when asked whether he knew Greek , shrewdly replied , " Yes , by sight ! " Such is the characteristic of any man who goes through the formalities of his Lodge without discerning

the true beauties which they are intended to reveal . Masonry is indeed as prolific in the number and variety of its designs as a kaleidoscope ; but unless those grand forms and artistic shapes are utilised and retained thoy will bo as evanescent as the toy with which tho child plays for a

while and then casts aside . What is the reason so many who enrol themselves under our banner speedily tire , and lapse in their attendance at our meetings ? They " cannot see anything in it . " There has been a weakness somewhere . They have either preconceived false ideas of the

Institution into which they were prompted to find an entrance , or perhaps their initiation was so conducted as to create feeble impressions of the real beauty of the Craft , if indeed it had not inspired them with levity even while dealing with solemn things and sacred . At any rate ,

there are many who do not receive that breath into their nostrils which is the germ of true Masonic life , which causes the heart to pulsate and the mind to reach out after fresh supplies of sustenance and growth . It is this careful observance of first principles to which we draw the

attention of Officers , past and present , who are under responsibility as mentors and preceptors . As the child when learning the pianoforte longs to dash into bounding euphony before she has mastered the exercises , so precisely many a young Mason trips before he has gone far along

the chequered floor . It is , therefore , the duty of past and present Masters to guard and regulate the early progress of those who come under their rule , and help each student so to apprehend the meaning of every step he takes that each successive sip from the well-spring of wisdom mnv

create in him a longing for the deeper draughts . When such is the case—when under the fostering care of true Masonic guardians the brother has made sure and firm his foundation—he treads along with confidence and lively aspiration , discovering fresh beauty in the progressive

lessons that are laid before him , and which the sound training he has received in his earlier stages enables him thoroughly to understand and to appreciate . In visiting the various Lodges in different parts of the country where our profession leads us , it is easy to discern that our

provincial brethren pay greater heed to these important details than is usually to be found in the metropolis . They aim not so much at the working of the ceremonies and the

ritual as to discuss various points and to grasp at symbolic meanings . By means of these friendly debates , especially in Lodges of Instruction , the minds of men become stored with gems of Masonic teaching , and through them