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Article OPERATIVE AND SPECULATIVE. Page 1 of 2 Article OPERATIVE AND SPECULATIVE. Page 1 of 2 →
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Operative And Speculative.
OPERATIVE AND SPECULATIVE .
FROM THE VOICE OF MASONRY . IN the later years there has been recognised a noted distinction between Operative and Speculative Masonry . Tho first is supposed to allude to tho building of Temples and other great pnblio structures . Tho construction of the Temple of Solomon , at Jerusalem ; the Pyramid structures on and near tho Nile , in Egypt ;
St . Peter ' s , in Rome , and St . Paul ' s , iu London , and a thousand other great achievements in the building art , by skilled artificers , from centuries before tho Advent down to seventeen hundred years after it . The second , Speculative Masonry , is intended to teach the moral virtues , a belief in the existence of the Deity and a recognition of
His Divine Law , with all which that law embraces , —temperance , fortitude , prudence , justice , love to GOD and obedience to His will , consideration for others and charity to all , involving the obligation — " do good to all . " These and their kindred constitute the moral virtues , and what is known as Speculative Masonry . Now , inasmuch as the old theory of * Operative Masonry , as the
foundation or illustration of Speculative , has passed away or remains in abeyance , might it not be advisable to re-construct the language nsed , and permit the dead theory to slumber amid the crumbling structures of tho dead past ? What have we to do with Operative Masonry in 1881 , except occasionally to go throngh tho ceremony of placing and adjnsting a corner or foundation stone of some public
building or structure ? The mere ceremony is remembered , the procession , the music , and the oration , the placing of the corner-stone in its proper position , the three mystic blows , of which not one out of a thousand knows the meaning , the spreading of a little cement andall is ended ! I shall not say that I am in favour of the entire abolition of these ceremonies , for they keep fresh in memory the assnmed
practices of the ancients—show our rich and beautiful costumes—our feathers and fancy work , regalias befitting a prince , and costumes rich and resplendent in golden embroidorie 3 ! Are there no other works by which ancient Operative Masonry may be kept in the memory ? Are the labours in the forest and in the quarries , the preparation of the stones and their conveyance to the seat of the
great Temple to adorn tho summit of Moriah and become the centre of that mystical worship vouchsafed to the Jewish people to be continually conned over , because there is no o ^ her way of keeping in memory the achievements of tho ancient builders ? Where is the Temple of Solomon , with all its glory and magnificence ? Its walls are thrown down by barbaric forces , but its foundations are still
there , and blocks prepared by the skill of those ancient workmen have been transported to Europe , and even to our own country of the starry flag . What ether mementoes do we need ? There are the stones of the original walls cropping out from the mountain ' s brow , with their peculiar level of two thousand years ago . Are they not sufficient ? If the object be merely to keep in memory the character
and calling of " our ancient brethren , " we can linger about the crumbling ruins of the great Temple which once adorned the summit of Moriah ; or we can go to Baal-beck and gaze in wonder at its unequalled ruins ; or we may travel to the Nile and stand with astonishment before its still grander wonders , and lament in tears the march of the Destroyer .
Operative Masonry , however , has passed away , so far as modern Freemasonry is concerned or connected with it . Its dilapidated walls , its legendary glories , its accumulated centuries , its weird stories of old wonders—are now but myths ' . The venerable ruins , the buried workmen , temple and tower covered by the debris of forgotten ages , all remind us of what was , but is not ; it is all a dream which dissolves
at the approach of day , and is gone and forgotten like the centuries through which it has passed . But as we may not ignore all allusions to ancient Operative Masonry , and make it secondary in our symbolic system of Instruction , why may we not give it a less prominent position ? We regard the erection of public buildings as Operative Masonry , but we have no use , as Freemasons , for the culture of that
art now , and never dream of engaging in it . We may , to a certain extent , let the dead past bury its dead , while we build a cenotaph to memory , and wait and watch for better days and more consi stent labours . Now let us turn a leaf and ascertain the meaning of Speculative Masonry : What does the expression mean , and how does it differ
from Operative Masonry ? Speculative Masonry relates to moral dnties , —a firm and consistent belief in the Deity and His divine attributes ; the obligation of His divine law , our conformity to that law f > n 1 obedience to all He may require of us . " By Speculative Masonry we learn to subdue the passions , act upon the square , keep a tongue of good report , maintain
Becrecy and practise charity . It is so far interwoven with reli gion as to lay us under obligations to pay that rational homage to the Deity which at once constitutes our duty and our happiness . " This is speculative Masonry , which proclaims what should be our duty , and the basis on which that duty is fonnded , —our firm belief in tho existence and attributes of the Deity , a recognition of His Divine
law , and onr obligations to obey that law in all its entirety . Such is Speculative Masonry , as distinguished from Operative . But , in the recognition of Operative Masonry , may we not have gone too far , and , forgetting both tbo Operative and Speculative , have merged all in the ideal of old building associations , forgetful of the obligations we owe to tbe purely Speculative ? The memories of the past are one thing ; the duties of to-day are quite another . To square an ashlar
and prepare it for the builder ' s use in the construction of an edificiis one duty and one achievement ; to feed the hungry , clothe the naked , comfort the sorrowing and distressed , is another and quite n different work . If Masoury was , in the olden times , an association ol builders or artificers exclusively , may it not be equally so in moderr days as an association devoted exclusively or chiefly to good workiand charity , —to hel ping the needy , assisting the distressed , and
Operative And Speculative.
sheltering the homeless ? Why not ? Is not the one quite a 3 im . pnrtant as tho other ? To bnild a Temple in which GOD may be wor . shipped and His ordinances administered is not more important than loing His work , obeying His law , and fitting the soul for its immortal labitfUioo in tho heavens . May not Masonry , therefore , bo still nominally speculative , but practically operative ? Operative is of no
importanco now , while speculative or moral Masonry is of the highest importance aud iu it is tho glory of the Order . Let me illustrate b y referring to the works and fruits of * Speculative Masonry . Between thirty and forty years ago an eminent citizen and discinguished Freemason , a Past Grand Master in the State iu which he resided , reported tbe following as an illustration of Speculative
Masonry . We may not say who the Grand Master was , but his deeds will be read and known of all men in a coming day . We quote : " Within my own recollection , and generally under my own obser . vation , the firm of Howard and Thompson ( I use fictitious names ) in the city of , fell into some commercial difficulties , which the limited capital of the junior partner was unable to surmount . The
senior partner , with tbe aid of friends , compromised the debts , con . rinued the business in his own name , and became in time a wealthy man . Thompson , lacking energy of character , but possessing some pride , declined a subordinate siation in a counting room , until his habits became so bad that he was deemed unfit for any place of trust , and he sunk to ntter destitution with a rapidity I never saw before , nor since , equalled in any man to whom crime was not to be imputed .
" He became brutified ; whole days would he lie on the public wharves , drunken with the liquor extracted from the hogsheads being landed at the time , and his rags hung npon him so carelessly that decency stood aghast at his appearance . He was not merely a drunkard—soberness to him was a rarity . He had lost all moral standing , all claim to decency ; while self-respeot had fled , and he
was the nearest approach in habits and appearance to the brute that I ever saw in man . " The reader is ready to say , Well , this man is lost to everything ; ho has sunk so low that it were loss of time to make an effort to raise him up to even tho ordinary standard of humanity , for nothing that man can do will accomplish tho work . And yet this man had a
soul , and an immortal destiny , and to lift him up , and prepare him for a noble work and a glorious hereaf tor , were a greater achievement than were the rearing of tho Pyramids , or building old temples that should be the wonder of succeeding ages ; and yet Speculative Masonry was able to accomplish so great a work . Hear the Past Grand Master conclude his description : —
" One day , it was a clear sunshine in January , Thompson had thrown himself against the southern anglo of a public building ; and about noon , as the members of the came from the Hall , he looked for a little eleemosynary aid that would enable him to add a loaf of bread to his more easily acquired liquor . But member after member passed on—the case was too disgusting to excite
sympathy . One member only was left ; he came round the corner of the building towards the place of egress from the premises , and , attracted by the appearance of the object before him , he was about to offer alms when , looking closer , he exclaimed— ' Are you not Thompson ? ' 'Yes . ' ' Well , here is something—but come to my office this evening . '
" Thompson kept the promise and presented himself at the office . He was not seen again for several weeks , and , if they thought of him , it was to congratulate themselves that they were relieved from the presence of so squalid an object . " About two months afterwards , as the troops of the United States marched through the city on their way to the north-western frontier ,
Thompson was seen in the manly uniform of a lieutenant of infantry . He acquitted himself like a man , and died honourably as a captain in the service . The world recollected that Thompson had been a member of an association of which his patron and friend had been tho principal ; and they imputed the kindness which lifted him from his degradation , to a social feeling on the part of his benefactor . But
there were others who knew that the benefactor was Master of a Lodge when Thompson was once an active and useful member ; and that had appeals to the Master ' s good feeliugs been earlier made much suffering and disgrace might have been spared ; as it was the relieved died a captain in the service , and the reliever lived to be Grand Master of a Grand Lodge . "
What a beautiful illustration of the power of Masonry to do goodgreater good than the erection of Temples constructed of brick and mortar , or even of granite . "How instructive would it be to know just what passed in that evening ' s interview between those two Masons , —the appeals and persuasions on the part of the Senior , and the yieldings of the erring Junior ; to have witnessed the new gush
of self-respect when it was proposed ho should hold a commission , and that there was one who not only could have influence with the government to procure the appointment ; bnt still more , would have confidence in him to be responsible for his future conduct . We may not lift the veil to look in upon the scene ; Masonry , while she works such good , tiles the door , and lets others judge of the meaus by the
beauty and excellence of the euds . " That Grand Master became eminent for every social quality and moral virtne , and afterwards represented our Government at a foreign Court . He now sleeps the sleep of the just . The following describes another temple built by Speculative Masonry .
Some forty years ago , in the market at Cincinnati , early one cold morning , there was a lady a little past the meridian of life , in widow's weeds , and with a heart apparently swollen with grief , begging bones with which to make soup . After obtaining a supply , she left i hem in her basket with the butcher , and stepped across the street to
II , drug store . As she entered the door she was met by a respectable physician of the city , who knew her , and who had frequently , dnring fur husband ' s lifetime , met in Lodge with him . On inquiring into her situation , he learned that she was destitute of both food and fuel ; that one of her children was sick in bed , aud the other three
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Operative And Speculative.
OPERATIVE AND SPECULATIVE .
FROM THE VOICE OF MASONRY . IN the later years there has been recognised a noted distinction between Operative and Speculative Masonry . Tho first is supposed to allude to tho building of Temples and other great pnblio structures . Tho construction of the Temple of Solomon , at Jerusalem ; the Pyramid structures on and near tho Nile , in Egypt ;
St . Peter ' s , in Rome , and St . Paul ' s , iu London , and a thousand other great achievements in the building art , by skilled artificers , from centuries before tho Advent down to seventeen hundred years after it . The second , Speculative Masonry , is intended to teach the moral virtues , a belief in the existence of the Deity and a recognition of
His Divine Law , with all which that law embraces , —temperance , fortitude , prudence , justice , love to GOD and obedience to His will , consideration for others and charity to all , involving the obligation — " do good to all . " These and their kindred constitute the moral virtues , and what is known as Speculative Masonry . Now , inasmuch as the old theory of * Operative Masonry , as the
foundation or illustration of Speculative , has passed away or remains in abeyance , might it not be advisable to re-construct the language nsed , and permit the dead theory to slumber amid the crumbling structures of tho dead past ? What have we to do with Operative Masonry in 1881 , except occasionally to go throngh tho ceremony of placing and adjnsting a corner or foundation stone of some public
building or structure ? The mere ceremony is remembered , the procession , the music , and the oration , the placing of the corner-stone in its proper position , the three mystic blows , of which not one out of a thousand knows the meaning , the spreading of a little cement andall is ended ! I shall not say that I am in favour of the entire abolition of these ceremonies , for they keep fresh in memory the assnmed
practices of the ancients—show our rich and beautiful costumes—our feathers and fancy work , regalias befitting a prince , and costumes rich and resplendent in golden embroidorie 3 ! Are there no other works by which ancient Operative Masonry may be kept in the memory ? Are the labours in the forest and in the quarries , the preparation of the stones and their conveyance to the seat of the
great Temple to adorn tho summit of Moriah and become the centre of that mystical worship vouchsafed to the Jewish people to be continually conned over , because there is no o ^ her way of keeping in memory the achievements of tho ancient builders ? Where is the Temple of Solomon , with all its glory and magnificence ? Its walls are thrown down by barbaric forces , but its foundations are still
there , and blocks prepared by the skill of those ancient workmen have been transported to Europe , and even to our own country of the starry flag . What ether mementoes do we need ? There are the stones of the original walls cropping out from the mountain ' s brow , with their peculiar level of two thousand years ago . Are they not sufficient ? If the object be merely to keep in memory the character
and calling of " our ancient brethren , " we can linger about the crumbling ruins of the great Temple which once adorned the summit of Moriah ; or we can go to Baal-beck and gaze in wonder at its unequalled ruins ; or we may travel to the Nile and stand with astonishment before its still grander wonders , and lament in tears the march of the Destroyer .
Operative Masonry , however , has passed away , so far as modern Freemasonry is concerned or connected with it . Its dilapidated walls , its legendary glories , its accumulated centuries , its weird stories of old wonders—are now but myths ' . The venerable ruins , the buried workmen , temple and tower covered by the debris of forgotten ages , all remind us of what was , but is not ; it is all a dream which dissolves
at the approach of day , and is gone and forgotten like the centuries through which it has passed . But as we may not ignore all allusions to ancient Operative Masonry , and make it secondary in our symbolic system of Instruction , why may we not give it a less prominent position ? We regard the erection of public buildings as Operative Masonry , but we have no use , as Freemasons , for the culture of that
art now , and never dream of engaging in it . We may , to a certain extent , let the dead past bury its dead , while we build a cenotaph to memory , and wait and watch for better days and more consi stent labours . Now let us turn a leaf and ascertain the meaning of Speculative Masonry : What does the expression mean , and how does it differ
from Operative Masonry ? Speculative Masonry relates to moral dnties , —a firm and consistent belief in the Deity and His divine attributes ; the obligation of His divine law , our conformity to that law f > n 1 obedience to all He may require of us . " By Speculative Masonry we learn to subdue the passions , act upon the square , keep a tongue of good report , maintain
Becrecy and practise charity . It is so far interwoven with reli gion as to lay us under obligations to pay that rational homage to the Deity which at once constitutes our duty and our happiness . " This is speculative Masonry , which proclaims what should be our duty , and the basis on which that duty is fonnded , —our firm belief in tho existence and attributes of the Deity , a recognition of His Divine
law , and onr obligations to obey that law in all its entirety . Such is Speculative Masonry , as distinguished from Operative . But , in the recognition of Operative Masonry , may we not have gone too far , and , forgetting both tbo Operative and Speculative , have merged all in the ideal of old building associations , forgetful of the obligations we owe to tbe purely Speculative ? The memories of the past are one thing ; the duties of to-day are quite another . To square an ashlar
and prepare it for the builder ' s use in the construction of an edificiis one duty and one achievement ; to feed the hungry , clothe the naked , comfort the sorrowing and distressed , is another and quite n different work . If Masoury was , in the olden times , an association ol builders or artificers exclusively , may it not be equally so in moderr days as an association devoted exclusively or chiefly to good workiand charity , —to hel ping the needy , assisting the distressed , and
Operative And Speculative.
sheltering the homeless ? Why not ? Is not the one quite a 3 im . pnrtant as tho other ? To bnild a Temple in which GOD may be wor . shipped and His ordinances administered is not more important than loing His work , obeying His law , and fitting the soul for its immortal labitfUioo in tho heavens . May not Masonry , therefore , bo still nominally speculative , but practically operative ? Operative is of no
importanco now , while speculative or moral Masonry is of the highest importance aud iu it is tho glory of the Order . Let me illustrate b y referring to the works and fruits of * Speculative Masonry . Between thirty and forty years ago an eminent citizen and discinguished Freemason , a Past Grand Master in the State iu which he resided , reported tbe following as an illustration of Speculative
Masonry . We may not say who the Grand Master was , but his deeds will be read and known of all men in a coming day . We quote : " Within my own recollection , and generally under my own obser . vation , the firm of Howard and Thompson ( I use fictitious names ) in the city of , fell into some commercial difficulties , which the limited capital of the junior partner was unable to surmount . The
senior partner , with tbe aid of friends , compromised the debts , con . rinued the business in his own name , and became in time a wealthy man . Thompson , lacking energy of character , but possessing some pride , declined a subordinate siation in a counting room , until his habits became so bad that he was deemed unfit for any place of trust , and he sunk to ntter destitution with a rapidity I never saw before , nor since , equalled in any man to whom crime was not to be imputed .
" He became brutified ; whole days would he lie on the public wharves , drunken with the liquor extracted from the hogsheads being landed at the time , and his rags hung npon him so carelessly that decency stood aghast at his appearance . He was not merely a drunkard—soberness to him was a rarity . He had lost all moral standing , all claim to decency ; while self-respeot had fled , and he
was the nearest approach in habits and appearance to the brute that I ever saw in man . " The reader is ready to say , Well , this man is lost to everything ; ho has sunk so low that it were loss of time to make an effort to raise him up to even tho ordinary standard of humanity , for nothing that man can do will accomplish tho work . And yet this man had a
soul , and an immortal destiny , and to lift him up , and prepare him for a noble work and a glorious hereaf tor , were a greater achievement than were the rearing of tho Pyramids , or building old temples that should be the wonder of succeeding ages ; and yet Speculative Masonry was able to accomplish so great a work . Hear the Past Grand Master conclude his description : —
" One day , it was a clear sunshine in January , Thompson had thrown himself against the southern anglo of a public building ; and about noon , as the members of the came from the Hall , he looked for a little eleemosynary aid that would enable him to add a loaf of bread to his more easily acquired liquor . But member after member passed on—the case was too disgusting to excite
sympathy . One member only was left ; he came round the corner of the building towards the place of egress from the premises , and , attracted by the appearance of the object before him , he was about to offer alms when , looking closer , he exclaimed— ' Are you not Thompson ? ' 'Yes . ' ' Well , here is something—but come to my office this evening . '
" Thompson kept the promise and presented himself at the office . He was not seen again for several weeks , and , if they thought of him , it was to congratulate themselves that they were relieved from the presence of so squalid an object . " About two months afterwards , as the troops of the United States marched through the city on their way to the north-western frontier ,
Thompson was seen in the manly uniform of a lieutenant of infantry . He acquitted himself like a man , and died honourably as a captain in the service . The world recollected that Thompson had been a member of an association of which his patron and friend had been tho principal ; and they imputed the kindness which lifted him from his degradation , to a social feeling on the part of his benefactor . But
there were others who knew that the benefactor was Master of a Lodge when Thompson was once an active and useful member ; and that had appeals to the Master ' s good feeliugs been earlier made much suffering and disgrace might have been spared ; as it was the relieved died a captain in the service , and the reliever lived to be Grand Master of a Grand Lodge . "
What a beautiful illustration of the power of Masonry to do goodgreater good than the erection of Temples constructed of brick and mortar , or even of granite . "How instructive would it be to know just what passed in that evening ' s interview between those two Masons , —the appeals and persuasions on the part of the Senior , and the yieldings of the erring Junior ; to have witnessed the new gush
of self-respect when it was proposed ho should hold a commission , and that there was one who not only could have influence with the government to procure the appointment ; bnt still more , would have confidence in him to be responsible for his future conduct . We may not lift the veil to look in upon the scene ; Masonry , while she works such good , tiles the door , and lets others judge of the meaus by the
beauty and excellence of the euds . " That Grand Master became eminent for every social quality and moral virtne , and afterwards represented our Government at a foreign Court . He now sleeps the sleep of the just . The following describes another temple built by Speculative Masonry .
Some forty years ago , in the market at Cincinnati , early one cold morning , there was a lady a little past the meridian of life , in widow's weeds , and with a heart apparently swollen with grief , begging bones with which to make soup . After obtaining a supply , she left i hem in her basket with the butcher , and stepped across the street to
II , drug store . As she entered the door she was met by a respectable physician of the city , who knew her , and who had frequently , dnring fur husband ' s lifetime , met in Lodge with him . On inquiring into her situation , he learned that she was destitute of both food and fuel ; that one of her children was sick in bed , aud the other three