Ar00600

NOTICE . 0 The Subscription to THE F REEMASON is now \ os . per annum , post-free , payable in advance . Vol . I ., bound in cloth 4 s . 6 d . Vol . II ., ditto 7 s . 6 d . Vol . III ., ditto 15 s . od . Reading Cases to hold 52 numbers ... 2 s . 6 d . United States of America . THE FREEMASON is delivered free in any part of the United States for 12 s . per annum , payable in advance .

Ar00604

NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS . Tlie Office of " THE FREEMASON is now transferred to 198 , FLEET STREET , E . C . All communications for the Editor or Publisher should therefore he forwarded to that address . All communications for THE FKHEMASON should be written legibly on one side of the paper only , and , if intended for insertion in the current ( lumber , miwt be received not later than ro o ' clock a . m . on Thursdays , unless i , i very special cases . The name and address of every writer must be sent lo us in confidence .

Ar00605

TheFreemason, SATURDAY , NOVEMBER 4 , 1871 . THE FREEMASON is published on Saturday Mornings in time Tor the early trains . The price of THE FREEMASON is Twopence per week ; annual Subscription , 10 s . ( payable in advance ) . All communications , letters , & c , to be addressed to the EDITOR 398 , FJcct'Strcet , E . C . The Editor will pay careful attention toalJ MSS . entrusted to him hut cannot undertake to return them unless accompanied by postage Stamps .

The Crown Prince Of Prussia On Masonic Knowledge.

THE CROWN PRINCE OF PRUSSIA ON MASONIC KNOWLEDGE .

THE FIRST DEGREE , OUR attention has been directed , by a

valued correspondent , to a remarkable passage in the Masonic oration delivered by the Crown Prince of Prussia at the recent

centenary celebration of the Grand Lodge of Germany at Berlin , and we are requested to express our views thereon . The Prince is reported to have said that

' All knowledge in Masonry was contained in the first degree , " and added that , " if this truth became a reality , it would remove the suspicion that the higher

degrees taught anything but St . John ' s ( or , as wc in England term it , 'Craft' ) Masonry . " At first sight , these axioms appear to lead to contradictory conclusions ,

an ! to involve a certain amount of inconsistency . It will be necessary , therefore , to place on record some of the reasons which , to our mind , justify the observations of our

illustrious brother , even if they do not corroborate his ideas to the fullest extent . It will be generally admitted that the lessons imparted to a candidate in the first

degree are of exceeding significance and importance ; but that point is not the question at issue . What wc have to

consider is simply this : Does the symbolism of the degree bear such an interpretation as to warrant the somewhat startling assertions , that " all knowledge in Masonry " is con-

The Crown Prince Of Prussia On Masonic Knowledge.

veyed to an Entered Apprentice , and that the higher degrees merely confirm and illustrate—so to speak—the teachings of the Craft ? Now , to understand these

theories in all their ramifications , we must bear in mind that the object and design of all the ancient mysteries—in fact , the grand aim of initiation in the primitive

ageswas to introduce the neophyte into a new sphere ; to make him , as it were , a being apart from the uninitiated world , a partaker in loftier hopes and diviner

aspirations than those which swayed the vulgar herd . How far this design is preserved in Freemasonry , we shall now proceed to examine and explain . A lodge of Masons

—whether it be opened in the first or the third degree—is an epitome of the world ; but of the world divested of its cares , its sorrows , its ambitions , and its hates . The

symbols of the lodge are in harmony with this conception . Thus , the sun , bright ruler of the day—whose beneficent influence is felt throughout the realms of

naturefinds an appropriate representative in a Masonic lodge . The moon , " refulgent lamp of night , " although shining with reflected splendour , is also a conspicuous

emblem ; and from these luminaries , we are taught to advance to the type of " intellectual light , " and to endeavour to attain that illumination of heart and spirit which the

child of Truth inherits and enjoys . In the ancient Grecian mysteries , similar symbols were employed , and the office of torchbearer , or light-giver , was one of the most

honourable in the secret rites of Eleusis . The Entered Apprentice Freemason is thus brought out of figurative darkness into light orknowlcdge , andthercforeoneof thegreatest

lessons of life is made familiar to his mind . Even as the giant oak is evolved from the tiny but potential acorn , so , from the foundation of the first degree , springs a

superstructure of wisdom and morality . In this sense , " all knowledge " may truly be said to be comprised in the primary grade of Freemasonry . But a further investigation

will convince all who believe in revelation , that the truths of Freemasonry arc based upon the Sacred Volume ; and we need scarcely add that this knowledge is at once

conveyed to the initiate . He is told that his faith is to be guided and governed by the unerring laws laid down in the code of inspiration ; he is directed to look beyond

the illusions of sense to the never-fading glories of eternity . And although these great lessons arc again forcibly inculcated in the third degree , nothing can surpass the

simple sublimity of a creed which is embodied in the words , " Faith , Hope , and Charity . " In the first degree , the candidate is dedicated , or set apart from the outer

world ; he receives the seal of Freemasonry , and is clothed with the badge of a Mason , which is a token of innocence and purity . From the most primitive times , a white

garment lias ever been deemed a sign of regeneration . In the early days of Rome , candidates for civic offices arrayed themselves in white robes as emblems of their

The Crown Prince Of Prussia On Masonic Knowledge.

tegrity , and hence the very term " candidate " is derived from the Latin word , candidus , which signifies " white . " But the newlymade Mason ' s instruction does not

terminate here ; the three great jDrinciples of the Fraternity into which he has been admitted are also communicated and explained"Brotherly Love , Relief , and Truth , " at

once the foundation and apex of the moral temple of Freemasonry . Upon the nature of the ceremonies by which these grand principles are enforced it is not our province

to expatiate ; but we may observe that when performed with earnestness and dignity , the initiatory rites of the Order are calculated to produce a lasting impression upon the mind of any thinking man .

In thus tracing the figurative career of an Apprentice Freemason , we learn that he enters a new world , into which the baser passions of life should never penetrate ;

that his conduct , should be influenced by faith , stimulated by hope , and adorned by heaven-born charity . May it not , therefore , be said , with some truth , that he who can

comprehend these things knows enough , and that further developments or degrees in Freemasonry merely amplify or elaborate the teachings of the first degree ?

In a future article , we shall endeavour to reconcile the seeming inconsistency of advancing to higher grades , when the first step leads so far . Let us , in the meanwhile ,

counsel our readers to study the ritual and symbolism of Apprentice Freemasonry , and to consider its relations with the succeeding degrees , whether they be the Master

Mason ' s , the Royal Arch , or the Christian orders . Viewed as a scries , we believe that all these degrees will be found to be based upon one central idea , from whence radiate

varying interpretations . The subject is undoubtedly an important one , and the remarks of our royal German brother being cvidently the result of careful thought , may

well engage our attention , especially as thereis every reason to believe that an impartial investigation of the claims of the several

Masonic degrees , now so extensively practised , will but strengthen our admiration of the first great bond which associated us with the Soils of Light .

THE Annual General Communication of the Prov . Grand Lodge of Leicestershire and Rutland , will be held at Loughborough , on Friday , 24 th day of November instant , under the auspices of the Howe and Charnwood Lodge , No . 1007 .

RED CROSS OF COXSIAMINE —We arc informed that the Right Hon . Lord Skelmersdale , Past Grand Warden of England , and seven other brethren , were admitted into the Red Cross Order in the Liverpool Conclave , No . 55 , on Wednesday , the 1 st inst .

ROSICRUCIAN OHDER . —By dispensation from the Manchester , Liverpool , and Northern Counties College , the Right Hon . Lord Skelmersdale , Deputy Prov . G . M . West I . ancashire , was , after passing the required tests , initiated into this Order by the Suffragan , Frater Captain Turner

( vii . ) , at the Adelphi Hotel , Liverpool , on Wednesday , the 1 st inst , and admitted to the grade of Zelator . Fratrcs Smith , Treasurer-General ; Goepel , Fourth Ancient ; Robinson , C . of N . ; Mawson , Herald ; Clark , Torch-bearer ; and others , being also present .