Was Shakespeare A Freemason ?

fullness and perfectness of the Great Master ' s knowledge ; it is here we obtain our most beautiful and touching illustrations . We will suppose , in the first instance , the moral virtues ask for recognition . With very little search we are able to clothe a model Mason with them , and present him not merel y " bearing the badge of Faith , " but " keeping it firm and inviolable "— " strong as a tower in Hope " —and " bound by Charity "—

For charity itself fulfills the law , And who can sever love from charity ? Next in order would come the princip les upon which the Order is said to be founded , and in like manner we find them also noticed . Brotherly love by the injunction " Use your brothers brotherly "—Relief : " Wherever sorrow is "—and Truth : " To the end . "

For truth can never be confirmed enough , Though doubts did ever sleep . And yet once more the trul y Masonic utterance , I will find Where truth is hid , though it were hid indeed Within the centre . A rapid reference to the cardinal virtues is all we can allow ourselves . A true

Mason will ever " let his own discretion be his tutor "— " will acquire a temperance "— " endure out of the fortitude of his soul "— -and "will be just and fear not . " And of him may be said in truth—¦ His life is paralleled E'en with the stroke and line of his great justice . And lastly we will endeavour to see whether the Great Master in any way

recognized "Virtue , Honour , and Mercy , " as being the distinguishing characteristics of a Freemason . There are those , no doubt , who agree with Bevis , in Henry VI . , that Virtue is not regarded in handicraftsmen , but we prefer to hold otherwise , and desire , in conclusion , to place on record our firm belief that there are good and true representatives of the ^ Ancient

Brotherhood of whom it can be righteously said , as regarding their lives and practice , that they " show Virtue her own feature , " " hold Honor far more dear than life , " and regard Mercy as "Nobility ' s true badge "—that there are those who can add conscientiously :

My Virtue is my privilege Mine Honor is my life . I render deeds of Mercy . And to whom do the well-known , oft-repeated , beautiful lines which follow , appeal with more eloquence and force than to a Freemason ? to whom are they more familiar ? to whom do they convey the like meaning or the same teaching ? The quality of Mercy is not strain'd , It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath ; it is twice blest ; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes .

And thus for the moment our inquiry must end . The presentation , as a whole , is not an unfair or misleading one ; and if in some few instances a bearing has been given to passages and expressions which may not possibly stand the test of severe critical analysis , yet enough is left , more than enough , fully to establish our claim . It has been , explained how it came about the present examination was undertaken—more in light pleasantry than in sober