Papers On Masonry.

PAPERS ON MASONRY .

BY A IJEWIS . X . —MASONRY AND ATHEISM . " I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way . O , when wilt thou come' unto me ? I will walk within my house -with a perfect heart . "—Psalm ci ., ' v . 2 . " A Mason is obliged , by his tenure , to obey thc moral law ; and , if he rightly understand the Art , ha will never be a stupid Atheist , nor an irreligious libertine . "—Ancient Charge .

Of modern—that is , " speculative "—Freemasonry , the genius of England has unquestionably the rig ht to consider itself the creator . The "Institutions" of Anderson , collected from older sources , from the traditions of the operative Masons , breathe—indued as they were by the affectionate care of the compiler with a life—and form , a " landmark" of no mean order .

Even hazy traditions of the past attribute to Britain no inconsiderable influence over the moral and relig ious conduct of mankind . Hence the Druids promulgated tho vast and cheering idea of a circulation of souls . Here the pious Joseph of Arimathea is—in the neighbourhood of Glastonbury—supposed to have rested , after the holv office he performed towards the

founder of the Christian Faith . From this land passed forth , without hesitation , pilgrims of good to all mankind . Noble Coeur de Lion was our own ; Ty . ndale was of us ; and Latimer ' s honest sense of right and justice illustrated a great page of our history . The Anglo-Saxon Church was , to an extent , by him restored . Iu his own words—he lighted up u fire in

England not easily to be put out . Masons , even , affectionately cling to the Athelstane Charter ; but none of this leads to Atheism . Do not the very first words of the antient charges directly contravene the idea ? T . G . A . O . T . U . rules supreme ; but I learn from various reports that in some Masonic" quarters it is

proposed to substitute Lucretius for Ihe Ineffable . I am neither astonished nor afraid . In so many words—It can ' t be done . To whomsoever this may come I bid him count the drops in the seas , or arrest the river ' s course , than really and utterly shako any man ' s true faith in a Supreme Being . Tallyrand , bishop and diplomatist , said , " If there

were not a God it would be necessary to invent one . " Such is the verdict of humanity , and humanity is right . Details may be wanting , but while we cannot raise the veil we can see the outline . Even suppose that Nature is God , then , as men and "Masons—in the universal sense—we see His robe , though His face remain hidden . If wc enter into thc minds of men

and it is possible—we see that the physical form does not , as vain phrenologists presume , give any indication as to the glorious mind within ; the fine animal is generally the stupid animal rem genus homo . Socrates , ono of the ugliest , was one of the wisest of men ; Alcibiadcs , one of the most handsome , and the most reckless . The one , contented to obey the laws of his

country , swallowed the poisoned cup , and died , remembering the cock due to iEscuIapius , * the other , after profaning the Hermaic Statues , became an outcast from bis great estate . Wo need not start from a skeleton when we know it is contrived by a . ureal and glorious Creator ; and , therefore , why recoil from the necessary corollary of His existence ?

Although myself only a Lewis—in which sense I have written these papers , and shall continue to write them so long as it appears to give pleasure—I am not without some light . But for English Masons to consent to the removal of the First Great Li ght from the appointed place—to substitute a vague worship of powers in nature for the innate reverence for the

cause , would bc a step backward never to bo taken . ' In science wo proceed inductively , and French science has produced us an Atigusto Cointo . Would lie , now some time deceased—he , who wished and attempted the foundation of the religion of humanity , desire us to relapse into the metaphysical or feteshistic period ? For one , I sav—No !

Let ns consider rather the motto I indignantl y wrote at the beginning of this paper . Let us consider its magnitude . " I will behave myself in a perfect way . " Is the Ark ofthe Covenant never to bc transported in peace ? I ask it symbolically and strai ghtforwardly . Whatever sense we may attach to the first clause , it is indissolublv connected with the second . T . G . A . O . T . U .

says He will walk in a perfect way , anil thus invites all mankind to walk with him . When will you come to Him ? Freemasonry , or any other organization , were useless without the Divine invitation . To quote the excellent Hebrew translation of M . Cohen "I will walk , in the integrity of my heart , in the centre of my own house . " And now it is proposed to rend the veil iu twain , to

part man from the hopes of heaven , and render earth unendurable by the abnegation of that which alone can render life , with its innumerable troubles , endurable ! O ! monstrous I England the birth place , the cradle , of western civilization , will not have it ! Let it bc tried ; Masonry is so charitable that it will forgive tinerror , perhaps seek to gather a lesson from this stress

Papers On Masonry.

and storm . Is this Unity ? Is it Brotherhood ? All submitted to the same test , and yet those who know how hard it is to kick against the pricks are to emulate the Romish priesthood in absurdity ! To abrogate God—to use the Pope ' s recent words , " to drive God out of heaven " ( a pretty piece of blasphemy

for the occupant of St . Peter's (?) chair !) would be to destroy Masonry , and introduce Apollyon . Stones would supersede bread , and serpents take tbe place of fishes . Even the Roman Catholics have defended the Freemasons against the imputation of Atheism . I find in

the work of a very learned and bigoted Roman Catholic who attacks the Protestants zealously , published in 1736 , a long note in defence of the Craft ( Ceremonies et Coutumes Religieuses de tous les Peoples du Monde , 7 vols , folio . ) The author , Bernard Picart , ( vol . iv ., p . p . 251-2 , note b ) does not hesitate to say

that the respectability ofthe members ofthe Fraternity in his day totally refutes tbe possibility of Atheism . It were to be wished that modern Roman Catholic ecclesiastics were as tolerant and reasonable . Indeed , without a hig her incentive to exertion than mere self-indulgence and enjoyment life would be

worthless , and razors or pistols acceptable . Personally , I would not be harsh ; I wouldallow every one to select his own path as he thinks best , provided always that he can seo his way . But what would be the result of the flat equality of Itebold and his school ? Where would the inspiring principle of Charity hide itself ?

Our ideal would be thrown down—not as a Dagon is cast down—but in the manner of a moral , intellectual , and physical cataclysm . Then , indeed , might we call for the hills to hide us , and the mountains to cover us . T . G . A . O . T . U . gave us universal love from man to man—indiscriminately to be shown where worthily

sought—the labourer being worthy of his lure . But the employer destroyed , lost , hidden , and found at last a very carcase , must we not deem traitors to be in tho camp , and till the most useful and excellent labours suspended ? For my part , I trust , believe , and hope that these

idle rumours fostered by bastard , not real , Masonry , will come to nought . Continental Masonry , to my certain knowledge , has never , for a long time past , pursued the ancient timehonoured channels . It has , on the Lessops principle , been cutting a Suez Canal over which the angry

sand simooms of those devoted to the study of the Art will ultimately burst and fill up . I can only deeply deplore the position in which Itebold and his school , although his work contains much that is both interesting and valuable , have placed the Fraternity of Charity . CRYPTONYMUS . '

Ineligibility Of Bastards As Freemasons.

INELIGIBILITY OF BASTARDS AS FREEMASONS .

It is an imperative law in Freemasonry—obligatory on every member of the Craft—that the ancient landmarks shall be upheld in their entirety . All our present laws are derived from the ancient landmarks of the Order , and the crowning landmark of

all is that these landmarks can never be changed . Now , in the eighteenth landmark it is declared among the necessary qualifications of a candidate for admission iuto the Order , that he" be able in all degrees—that is , freeborn , no bastard , of a good kindred , true , and no bondman , and that he have

his right limbs as a man ought to have . " And the old charges give the qualifications as follows : — " The persons admitted members of a lodge must be good aud true men , free-born , no bastard , and of mature and discreet age ; no bondman , no woman , no immoral and scandalous men ; but men of good

report . Nor can any who do not possess these qualifications , even although they may have been initiated , continue to act its Freemasons or to practice the rights or receive the benefits of the Order . " The qualifications arise from the very nature of the Masonic institution , and from its symbolic teachings ,

and have always existed as landmarks . It has been an indisputable rule , and constantly acted upon in lodges in Britain in olden times , that no bastard could be received as a Freemason . It was quite customary to inquire if the candidate was born in lawful wedlock ; and along with his petition

for admission into the lodge , he presented a certificate of his birth or of his baptism , or some other equally authoritative document , as a proof that he was born in lawful wedlock . In Scotland , thisancient landmark and law has been

maintained with almost noexception ; and itisnotlong since , in a lodge holding a hi gh position in the Craft , two men were positively rejected on no other ground than that they could not show the legitimacy of their birth .

In other parts of tho world the same landmarks and lawof Freemasonryis steadilymaintained . The M . W . Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia , in addressing the Grand Lodge of Virginia , just a very few months since , in a speech which would have done credit to the G . M . of any Grand Lodge in the

Ineligibility Of Bastards As Freemasons.

world , showed clearly and distinctly that by the Constitution of our Order no bastard can be admitted into it . A person coming . under this description does not approach our portals with the necessary qualifications . It is easy to see whence this landmaik and ancient

law of Freemasonry is derived . It is from the old Jewish law , which we find' in Deut . xxiii . 2 , " A bastard shall not enter into tbe congregation of the Lord ; even to his tenth generation shall- he not enter into the congregation of the Lord . " The reasons on which the law is founded are also

evidently the same . It may seem to be hard to subject a man to exclusion from au honourable Order because of a sin which is not his own , but that of his parents . No country , however , has by its laws done otherwise iu this matter than to accept and act upon the principle that tbe sins of parents must be visited upon

their children . A bastard has the ordinary rights of a citizen or subject , but he is filius nullius—the son of no one . He cannot inherit property , nor can he transmit inheritance to any except his own children . The hardship of his case results from the very circumstances of his birth , and to do away with

this hardship would be a wrong to society . The Jewish law , which has been adopted as a landmark by Freemasons , and which has beeu preserved amongst them from the earliest times , has evident respect to the maintenance of purity in the relations of human life . It discourages every thing that is

evil , and upholds all that is good . Freemasonry has always reprobated violations of domestic purity , and nothing is more derogatory to the character of a member of the Order . If it were possible to relieve bastards from the disadvantage of their position , one of the barriers against vice would be removed .

But , indeed , it is impossible , without shaking the very foundations of society . We may pity the man wbo , in consequence of the sin of his parents , is excluded from privileges common to others ; but we cannot wish his position improved , when we consider what would be involved in its improvement . We cannot wish the law of the land to be changed so as to be

made more favourable to him , nor the ancient landmarks , laws , and charges of Freemasonry to be overlooked that he may bo received as if there were no stain on his birth . A strict regard for the moral law , and a continual enforcement of every rule which tends to maintain it , are the chief honour of our Order .

Numerous Masonic authorities have advocated the maintenance of this landmark in its entirety ; and among them the late Bro . Dr . Oliver , whose name will long be remembered with respect among Freemasons throughout the whole world , strenuously advocated the enforcement of the old law . It is a law

which , when its purpose and operation are considered , must receive the approbation of every worthy Freemason . An inclination may be felt to relax it in particular cases , when they are viewed merely by themselves ; but a wider view of the subject to which it relates must lead not only to an approbation

of it , but to its constant enforcement . A man who knows the illegitimacy of his own birth , and knows also the ancient landmark of Freemasonry precluding the admission of bastards—as he ought or must know it from the very form of petition which , he has to sign previous to his admission—exhibits

consummate impudence in presenting himself as a candidate for the privileges of our ancient and honourable Order ; aud if admitted can only be so on false pretences and through very culpable deceit on the part of those who recommend him to the lodge . How can he answer the questions which must be

put to him before his admission ? There is one thing , however , which saves the credit of the Order , that the moment the fact of the case is discovered , the lawcomesinto operation to preventhiscontinuing to act as a Freemason , to practice the rights , or enjoy any of the privileges or advantages of the Order .

, _ It is very evident that , as Freemasons on becoming members of the Order are required to make certain professions and to comply with certain conditions , according to the ancient landmarks , laws , and charges , so the obligations under which they lie to the Order are connected with the maintenance of

these landmarks , laws and charges . If any of theso landmarks aro violated , it becomes the duty of a Freemason who knows it to point out the violation , and then of the lodge to rectify tbe evil , which , if the lodge fail to do , the party informing the lodge of the facts , ought to appeal to the Grand Lodire .

The appeal could not be unsuccessful in the Grand Lodge ; or if it were , the party who made it , and all who along with him take tlie landmarks of the Order for their rule , would be free from the obligations under which they had come as members of the Order , on the faith that these landmarks wcr » to be maintained as forming an essential part of ita

constitution . Freemasonry , however , is too pure ever to allow so monstrous an innovation . Nothing but what was perfect was allowed to enter our first Temple . Let all strive still to keep it so , and give it to those who shall succeed us , without adding to it , or taking from it , and in the same pure state that it has come down to us . CI PES