Masonic Ritual: Its Purpose And Treatment.

structure at once noble in all its parts and honourable to the builders . Tho other day , whilst reading the delightful writings of Prof . Wilson , which are grouped under the title of Noctes Ambrosinae , and having this effort of mine weighing upon my peace of mind , I instinctively connected the attributes of our ritual as enumerated by me with tho following passage : — " Quoth tho ' Shepherd , ' as ho sits

wrapped in admiration at the learned disquisition of Christopher North on tho ' Pleasures and dangers of Imagination '— ' Listenin' to ye , sir , is like lookin' into a well . At first ye think it clear , but no vorra deep ; but . yo let drap in a peeble , and what a length of time ero tho

airbells come up to tbe surface frae the profoond ! ' " And now , having made a bald and superficial review of tho aims and objects of our ritual , let us consider how and in what manner it should be used and interpreted . Let mo start off with the truism that no success in this direction can be accomplished without an honest and

sustained effort to commit its phraseology to memory in as perfect a manner as possible . This is almost essential—I do not say absolutely ; for many an intelligent brother , having a complete grasp of its meaning at its various stages , will easily fill up any lapse or gap caused by a momentary or temporary loss of memory , and leave no painful evidence

to those present that the slip from the well beaton track has landed him in the slough of confusion . If this occurs and he is hopelessly adrift , how can a ceremony be termed to have been successfully performed ? That it does happen ha 8 been painfully apparent in most of our experiences . How often has it happened Avithin our knowledge that a brother has come to a full stop because ( as we well knew )

he had devoted neither the time nor the care to tho committal of the ritual to memory which its own importance and his duty to his brethren demanded at his hands . " Slumming " work is discreditable under all circumstances in life . It entails nothing but a loss of respect . It

produces nothing but a varying degree of sorrow for want of ordinary attention , and well deserved contempt for studied indifference to duty when tbe latter is palpable . Still , with some natures committal to memory is not easy ; indeed , one

might say that to bnt very few does the task appear easy . In my own case I approached it with fear and trembling , as in no previous period of my life had I been called upon to exercise the faculty , and I had grave doubts on that score whether I ought rightly to assume the responsibilities

of a position such as that of Master , wero the demands upon one ' s retentive faculties are so serious and so sustained . However , as in many another experience of life , I discovered that by applying myself diligently to the task the horror of its magnitude became gradually effaced by the

attractiveness of its fairly rapid extinction . Let none despair on this score , for over and above all criticism there ought to be—and we know there does exist—a tender feeling of sympathy with all brethren whose lapses are known by

their manner and deportment to have been caused not by " slumming" their work , but entirely duo to physical causes . Next in importance , and most decidedly of far superior value , is the manner in which tho rendering ought

to be made . For ourselves we abhor the flippant , jaunty , and free-and-easy style ; we have an equal objection to that style which is usually suggestive of an educated and highly cultured member of a feathered tribe which usually haunts

the eucalypti of this continent . We havo as much reverenco and respect for that style as we have for the ajsthctic parson who considers that the idoal of a church service is one in which the liturgy is read in the quickest time on

record and in a tone and manner most likley to completely dissociate it from tbe " vulgar " tongue in which it is written and understanded of the people . Would yon have yonr Lodge listen to you with pleasure and interest

?then remove all trace of artificiality in your speech and manner . Would you have your brethren follow your words with kindly attention and encouraging heed ?—then

speak naturally and without circumvention . Let your words and actions betray an attractive simplicity , free from all taint of laboured and borrowed effect . Bear in mind

that the chief purport of our Ritual in its tendeney is exhortatory , not declamatory , and that in order to secure for its lessons the best form of success your manner should be that of one treating of serious things with all due

gravity and impressiveness . Such a method , if pursued , will in all probability remove that taint of listlessness and inattention which so often accompanies our Lodge proceedings , and which is made known by a general murmur of subdued conversation carried on among tho brethren ,

Masonic Ritual: Its Purpose And Treatment.

who , finding time hang heavily on thoir hands and discovering no merit in the treatment of tho proceedings , seek for relief in social intercourse which ought to bo reserved for times of refreshment . Then again , brethren ^ I think we lack pomp in our

conduct of Masonic ceremonials . I do not mean that quality of pomp which is the outward expression of ostentation and display , but rather that species which leads one to connect it with the dignity of stateliness and punctiliousness . From the entry of the W . M . and Officers into a Lodge prior to its opening , until their exit after closing there should be more of a justifiable formality . My idea is that every private Lodge ought to be opened and cloned

with the same degree of ceremonial as Grand Lodge usually is . * * * If , after all have reached their places , the Master addresses a few words expressivo of hearty and fraternal greeting to the brethren present ,

I consider he acts with dignity and in conformity with the honourableness of his office . How much better must all this be as compared with the slipshod , slovenly stylo so much in vogue in many of our Blue Lodgos ! And here

I would remark , though by no means relevant to our subject , that to my mind too great laxity is allowed in the admission of visitors before the opening of our Lodge ? . It is a very common custom to allow visitors to take their

seats in Lodge before commencing to open . By this procedure some of the recognised forms of inquiry or of proof are evaded , and it might be possible for a cowan or profane to take part in our proceedings without our knowledge .

The time for admission of visitors is after the Lodge has been opened , when by the announcement of their narrn s every member of the Lodgo has ample opportunity of knowing their bona fides , or of boaring testimony to their

worthiness or otherwise . Moreover , it might happen that tho admission of even a well-known visitiug brother might be obnoxious to some member of the Lodge , and surely ho ought to have in his own Lodge tbe right of preserving

his immunity from disturbing and disquieting associations . Then again , my remarks as to stateliness and formality apply in full force to the whole of the work of the entire staff of officers . Deacons especially , owing to their

prominence and importance in all ceremonial matters , ought to be urged to carry out their duties and perambulations with exactitude aud punctiliousness . Often and often havo I seen the part of a careful and coutoieiitious

Master utterly ruined by tbe bungling of Deacons . This is very trying and very depressing , yet is easily romedied . More especially have I witnessed it in that peculiarly delicate piece of ceremony in tho First Degree , where the

newly initiated is appealed to for an expression of his charitable instincts . It needs great care to preserve it from running into the porforinauce of a farce , or of an " idle and dishonourable proceeding . " Properly , seriously ,

and delicately performed , with quiet , unobstrusive promptings , it forms a beautiful homily ; slovenly and boorishly attempted , it presents as coarse and as ridiculous a burlesquo as one can well imagine .

And now comes tho last aspect upon which I shall attempt to expatiate . Granted that our Ritual is ancient and beautiful—granted that it ombodies some of the very best lessons in morality that we arc capablo of learning

and of attempting to carry into practice—have we licence to alter its phraseology iu thc slightest degree ? I know this to bo a dobateablo question . Somo brethren bold

that no Master or Officer has any right to depart from the strict letter and form as preserved in our Forms of Ritual , and that to do so is a direct violation of our obligation .

I have myself been kindly and fraternally admonished for peccadillos of such nature . Still , despite all admonitions I maintain alterations within proper bounds are allowable . Firstly , because tho peculiar style aud often disconnected

phrases do not agree with tho particular diction of every one—they do not flow easily and fluently ; and secondly , because one cannot agree with many of the sentiments set forth and expressed . Who , for instance , agrees with tho

declaration that tho C points out to us the advantago of education , by which means alone we are rendered fit members of regularly oiganised society ? And yet it appears to bo generally and almost always so repeated

when the W . T . of the First Degree are presented . Then again , who can applaud thc narrow conceptions of Masonic Fraternity contained in those words which an Installing

Master is supposed to address to the brethren of a Lodge on the occasion of the investiture of a fresh batch of Officers , when he proceeds seriously to warn them against display-