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Lights And Shadows Of Masonry.
LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF MASONRY .
AT the closing meeting ( for the season ) of the Regents Pack Lodge of Instruction , on Monday , 22 nd ult ., a lecture was delivered by Bro . Dr . Mordaunt Sig ismund on the above subject . Bro . Sigismund said : Not the least of the virtues of our Craft is , or should be , truth . At some of the Masonic Lodges
on the continent , an eye-illuminated adorns the chair of K . S ., symbolical of the All-Seeing Architect of the Universe . In Synagogues , over the receptacle of the Scrolls of the Law , the words " know thyself" meet the eye of the worshipper . Fancy for the moment—my Brethren—that over the chair at which I momentarily preside you perceive those words of deep significance , KNOW
THYSELF , encircled by a halo . Conjure up , furthermore , a mirror in my hand in which your features are reflected . Supposing that amongst you there is one with tolerably good features but instead of an aquiline nose a turned up one ; another with the most symmetrical Grecian features , yet a scarcely perceptible squint in one eye . Would you—woman-like—be angry with the
mirror for reflecting beside the regular handsome features , the turned-up nose or the squint ? No . If therefore I say anything not exactly pleasing to your palate , blame the mirror and not me . Were I to dwell upon the grandeur of our Order , a whole night would barely suffice . The incalculable benefit it has conferred on society at large , you are all aware of . Its ranks are
recruited among crowned heads , princes and rulers . Society ' s most influential members , men of eminence , savants , leaders in arts and science , in diplomacy , in politics , in the financial world , besides good , excellent men in the lower ranks of life—among the unprivileged classes : none the less worthy for that—who vie with
each other in this legion of fervent worshippers of The Beneficent One , to emulate the examples of those who have gone before us , to shed light—where hitherto darkness alone has reigned supreme ; to assuage suffering , and instil into our work something of the true spirit of the- Most High .
Unlike tnc divisions in other Orders—so numerously represented in this as in other countries ; unlike the nobility—commencing with the simple Knight—up the ladder—to the Prince of the blood ; our beloved Order is a true democracy . Masonry is a great leveller ! If the precepts taught by us were only followed , we should no longer have to wait for the millcnium . Do we
practice what we preach ? Ah , that " If" and " Do ''! There is a concealed venom of the most deadly nature in those two little words of two letters . Yet our Order is no long-faced sanctimonious one , as the K . and F . degree and a certain portion of our ritual in which the chastity of our wives , sisters , and daughters alone are indicated will testify . Our Order is indeed a Creed ;
a cult it is called on the continent , where they can boast of but little religion . The Germans have practically no religion ; Masonry there is the substitute ; our German Brethren call every one outside the pale of Masonry profane . The French , Italians , and Belgians belong to the Roman Catholic religion , and from the moment they join our Craft the enlightened and liberal Church of Rome excommunicates them . With them therefore our Order
becomes their Creed . Let us now , my Brethren , have a glance how our Order compares with other orders . The oldest order extant is the Spanish Golden Fleece . Ask any inhabitant of the Antipodes what he knows of it , and ninety-nine out of a hundred will answer that thev neither know , or care to know . The Golden Fleece of that
country alone he is thoroughly acquainted with . The great orders of this realm ;—cross but the Channel , and not one in ten thousand will know anything of even the most exalted order of this country . How different is it with our cherished Order ; in the American swamps and the burning sands of Arabia , the Australian bush and the Indian jungle , the Mexican ranches and
the icefields of Iceland and Labrador ; in the joss-house of China , as well as in the civilised cathedrals and other fanes ; in the deserts of the Sahara—up to the very apex of the Pyramid of Cheop ; is there a part of the globe where our Order is unknown or where it is not recognised ? It is a jewel which dazzles the eyes of the profane !
I recollect , whilst on the continent in 1888 I read the account of the proceedings at the Albert Hall in June of that year , when ° . - £ 5 > ° oo was collected for Masonic Charity , my hearers , German Brethren , could not credit their ears . Only recently , at the Installation of the Grand Master it was announced that
during the Grand Mastership of the Prince of Wales no less than two million pounds was spent in Masonic Charities . Docs that not speak with the voice of the trumpet and silence the traduccrs of our Order ? We should consider our Order as a Messiah descended direct from Heaven in the form of a little square and compass .
Words arc inadequate to depict its glory , its refulgent light , its splendour . The prayers and blessings of the widow and orphan shower upon our little emblem . With " us it might with truth be said that the giver is as much blessed as the receiver . Such is the Order wc belong to . The practical , visible proof of ths beneficence of our Craft , is undoubtedly greatest among the English speaking Fraternity .
Let me now lift the veil of the obverse side of the medallion . Again , I reiterate , if it is in the slightest degree unpalatable , blame the mirror , not me . A bitter pill is often not less efficacious because it is not coated with sugar ; the surgeon can only hope to heal a wound by inserting the probe deeply , regardless of the momentary pain he inflicts ; pray , pray , my Brethren , do not let a single word of what I am about to utter offend , much less wound ) ' ° u ; it is the love 1 bear our Order which imperatively demands
Lights And Shadows Of Masonry.
that I should lay some of the sores on the Masonic body bare , so that in the end we might hope to cleanse and ultimately heal them . A glimpse at our recruiting system will perhaps best explain thi imperfections in our ranks . In this country a candidate will rarely—if ever—receive any opposition . Investigations , inquiries into the antecedents of the would be member , arc practically nil .
The Secretary of a Lodge , with or without the introduction of a member of the Lodge , is generally ready to be the proposer , and without the slightest difficulty he will induce some other Brother to " second . " The chief , the sole question which may for a moment disturb the equilibrium of the Secretary—or some other " worker" for the good of the Lodge—will probably be whether the
cheque will duly put in its appearance . Opposition the candidate need only fear if he has a personal enemy in the Lodge . Does interest pla " y any part in the desire to join the Craft ? I fear I may say without any hesitation , yes ! A late distinguished Brother told me that he had been very much urged by Masonic
friends , " and "•—added he— " it has paid me well . " That , my Brethren , is applicable in a considerable degree to Brethren in the higher spheres fully as much as to those of the more humble ranks—to the aristocrat as well as the plebian ,. That , my Brethren , is the primary cause of the numerous black sheep , of the pariahs in our midst .
How different it is on the continent . You will all have recognised by my " Globe trotting " lecture that I am not passionately in love with the Germans either individually or collectively , I must , however , give them their clue . In that country a candidate ' s whole past life is thoroughly investigated , a committee is generally appointed for the purpose , and it is rarely that less than three
months are devoted for that purpose . Here , I was once present at a Lodge when the candidate in the E . A . degree , when asked whether he had anything to give , & c , brusquely , and with a certain degree of vehemency , replied , " I have given quite enough to-night for my entrance fee , and I refuse to give more . " The W . M . gave a " sweet-sour" grin , and the Brethren a titter , and
the ceremony continued as if nothing had happened . This excellent and promising Brother was a prestigateur or , vulgarly speaking , a conjurer . When I was on the point of joining the Craft the Secretary—a good old fossil—now retired to the G . L . above , in answer to my request that he would . name some
distinguished member of the Lodge , complied by giving Judah Benjamin , ex-minister of War and Vice President of the . defunct confederate State of America . Subsequentl y I discovered that the distinguished member was onl y a namesake of the celebrated American lawyer and ex-vice President .
Unhappily the K . and I . degree plays a very considerable part in our Order ; it is true that the stomach is very often the vestibule to the heart . There can , however , be too much of the vestibule , which naturally leaves room only for an atrophised
heart . How often do you find that Brethren arrive only just in time for closing of Lodge and the opening of the portals to the K . and F . degree . When work in Lodge is not followed by that degree , very , very many Brethren will be conspicuous by their absence .
There is—I grieve to say—an excess of publicity given by individual Masons to symbols . These are not always absent in commercial intercourse—over shops and in shops . Of the latter I had ocular proof only a few days ago , when in the Restaurant ( superior class ) of a Brother . Whilst you are discussing your viands , th ; benevolent features of the host—life size—look down upon you with that mystic gaze , which must of necessity exercise
its magic influence on the gazer . Our Brother is not only invested with the Masonic apron , but proudly wears the sash of the R . A . —and now , let any one dare , within si ght of the keen' gaze of that Field Marshal depicted on the wall , grumble at the food , wine , or cigars . The private drawing room , or even the privacy of the bed chamber , would—in my opinion—be a far more proper place to exhibit his Masonic paraphernalia . Is this a solitary case ? Alas !
The very foundation of our Order , Brotherly love and Charity , is often manifested-within the Lodge ; does it accompany many of the Brethren into the " profane" world ? Masonry undoubtedly engenders good-fellowship and sociability , if , however , it stops there with many Brethren they might have found those in the clubs of the upper classes , and in the convivial friendly societies of the lower .
A certain amount ) of knowledge is required to enable a Brother to occupy the chair of K . S . Is that requisite knowledge always evinced ? Between the ah-ah ' s of some and those who aspirate and occasionally do actual violence to the King ' s English I scarcely know which to choose .
_ I once visited a very aristocratic Lodge , in fact , I was made a F . C . there ; the W . M . opened and closed the Lodge with many ah-ah ' s and drawls—stumbled at almost every third word and had to be helped out by the P . M . who actuall y did the work of the degree . The P . M . was the Chaplain of the Lodge .
At the ba . nqueting table , the occupant of K . S . ' s chair performed his onerous duties with eclat . This , however , I am glad to admit ; in the bourgois Lodges the Brother elected to the chair , as a rule , does his work without assistance . At times the pronunciation may grate somewhat upon the hearer ' s ears , and I have occasionally asked mvseif whether
I do not prefer after all the reading of the ritual—as it is on th 2 continent . Remember , my Brethren , the W . M . will only read out of a huge MS . those parts which are published here for the guidance and instruction of Brethren ; S ., W . and T . are not written down . A clergyman will read his lesson from the pulpit , although thoroughly competent to dispense with the book , It is
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Lights And Shadows Of Masonry.
LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF MASONRY .
AT the closing meeting ( for the season ) of the Regents Pack Lodge of Instruction , on Monday , 22 nd ult ., a lecture was delivered by Bro . Dr . Mordaunt Sig ismund on the above subject . Bro . Sigismund said : Not the least of the virtues of our Craft is , or should be , truth . At some of the Masonic Lodges
on the continent , an eye-illuminated adorns the chair of K . S ., symbolical of the All-Seeing Architect of the Universe . In Synagogues , over the receptacle of the Scrolls of the Law , the words " know thyself" meet the eye of the worshipper . Fancy for the moment—my Brethren—that over the chair at which I momentarily preside you perceive those words of deep significance , KNOW
THYSELF , encircled by a halo . Conjure up , furthermore , a mirror in my hand in which your features are reflected . Supposing that amongst you there is one with tolerably good features but instead of an aquiline nose a turned up one ; another with the most symmetrical Grecian features , yet a scarcely perceptible squint in one eye . Would you—woman-like—be angry with the
mirror for reflecting beside the regular handsome features , the turned-up nose or the squint ? No . If therefore I say anything not exactly pleasing to your palate , blame the mirror and not me . Were I to dwell upon the grandeur of our Order , a whole night would barely suffice . The incalculable benefit it has conferred on society at large , you are all aware of . Its ranks are
recruited among crowned heads , princes and rulers . Society ' s most influential members , men of eminence , savants , leaders in arts and science , in diplomacy , in politics , in the financial world , besides good , excellent men in the lower ranks of life—among the unprivileged classes : none the less worthy for that—who vie with
each other in this legion of fervent worshippers of The Beneficent One , to emulate the examples of those who have gone before us , to shed light—where hitherto darkness alone has reigned supreme ; to assuage suffering , and instil into our work something of the true spirit of the- Most High .
Unlike tnc divisions in other Orders—so numerously represented in this as in other countries ; unlike the nobility—commencing with the simple Knight—up the ladder—to the Prince of the blood ; our beloved Order is a true democracy . Masonry is a great leveller ! If the precepts taught by us were only followed , we should no longer have to wait for the millcnium . Do we
practice what we preach ? Ah , that " If" and " Do ''! There is a concealed venom of the most deadly nature in those two little words of two letters . Yet our Order is no long-faced sanctimonious one , as the K . and F . degree and a certain portion of our ritual in which the chastity of our wives , sisters , and daughters alone are indicated will testify . Our Order is indeed a Creed ;
a cult it is called on the continent , where they can boast of but little religion . The Germans have practically no religion ; Masonry there is the substitute ; our German Brethren call every one outside the pale of Masonry profane . The French , Italians , and Belgians belong to the Roman Catholic religion , and from the moment they join our Craft the enlightened and liberal Church of Rome excommunicates them . With them therefore our Order
becomes their Creed . Let us now , my Brethren , have a glance how our Order compares with other orders . The oldest order extant is the Spanish Golden Fleece . Ask any inhabitant of the Antipodes what he knows of it , and ninety-nine out of a hundred will answer that thev neither know , or care to know . The Golden Fleece of that
country alone he is thoroughly acquainted with . The great orders of this realm ;—cross but the Channel , and not one in ten thousand will know anything of even the most exalted order of this country . How different is it with our cherished Order ; in the American swamps and the burning sands of Arabia , the Australian bush and the Indian jungle , the Mexican ranches and
the icefields of Iceland and Labrador ; in the joss-house of China , as well as in the civilised cathedrals and other fanes ; in the deserts of the Sahara—up to the very apex of the Pyramid of Cheop ; is there a part of the globe where our Order is unknown or where it is not recognised ? It is a jewel which dazzles the eyes of the profane !
I recollect , whilst on the continent in 1888 I read the account of the proceedings at the Albert Hall in June of that year , when ° . - £ 5 > ° oo was collected for Masonic Charity , my hearers , German Brethren , could not credit their ears . Only recently , at the Installation of the Grand Master it was announced that
during the Grand Mastership of the Prince of Wales no less than two million pounds was spent in Masonic Charities . Docs that not speak with the voice of the trumpet and silence the traduccrs of our Order ? We should consider our Order as a Messiah descended direct from Heaven in the form of a little square and compass .
Words arc inadequate to depict its glory , its refulgent light , its splendour . The prayers and blessings of the widow and orphan shower upon our little emblem . With " us it might with truth be said that the giver is as much blessed as the receiver . Such is the Order wc belong to . The practical , visible proof of ths beneficence of our Craft , is undoubtedly greatest among the English speaking Fraternity .
Let me now lift the veil of the obverse side of the medallion . Again , I reiterate , if it is in the slightest degree unpalatable , blame the mirror , not me . A bitter pill is often not less efficacious because it is not coated with sugar ; the surgeon can only hope to heal a wound by inserting the probe deeply , regardless of the momentary pain he inflicts ; pray , pray , my Brethren , do not let a single word of what I am about to utter offend , much less wound ) ' ° u ; it is the love 1 bear our Order which imperatively demands
Lights And Shadows Of Masonry.
that I should lay some of the sores on the Masonic body bare , so that in the end we might hope to cleanse and ultimately heal them . A glimpse at our recruiting system will perhaps best explain thi imperfections in our ranks . In this country a candidate will rarely—if ever—receive any opposition . Investigations , inquiries into the antecedents of the would be member , arc practically nil .
The Secretary of a Lodge , with or without the introduction of a member of the Lodge , is generally ready to be the proposer , and without the slightest difficulty he will induce some other Brother to " second . " The chief , the sole question which may for a moment disturb the equilibrium of the Secretary—or some other " worker" for the good of the Lodge—will probably be whether the
cheque will duly put in its appearance . Opposition the candidate need only fear if he has a personal enemy in the Lodge . Does interest pla " y any part in the desire to join the Craft ? I fear I may say without any hesitation , yes ! A late distinguished Brother told me that he had been very much urged by Masonic
friends , " and "•—added he— " it has paid me well . " That , my Brethren , is applicable in a considerable degree to Brethren in the higher spheres fully as much as to those of the more humble ranks—to the aristocrat as well as the plebian ,. That , my Brethren , is the primary cause of the numerous black sheep , of the pariahs in our midst .
How different it is on the continent . You will all have recognised by my " Globe trotting " lecture that I am not passionately in love with the Germans either individually or collectively , I must , however , give them their clue . In that country a candidate ' s whole past life is thoroughly investigated , a committee is generally appointed for the purpose , and it is rarely that less than three
months are devoted for that purpose . Here , I was once present at a Lodge when the candidate in the E . A . degree , when asked whether he had anything to give , & c , brusquely , and with a certain degree of vehemency , replied , " I have given quite enough to-night for my entrance fee , and I refuse to give more . " The W . M . gave a " sweet-sour" grin , and the Brethren a titter , and
the ceremony continued as if nothing had happened . This excellent and promising Brother was a prestigateur or , vulgarly speaking , a conjurer . When I was on the point of joining the Craft the Secretary—a good old fossil—now retired to the G . L . above , in answer to my request that he would . name some
distinguished member of the Lodge , complied by giving Judah Benjamin , ex-minister of War and Vice President of the . defunct confederate State of America . Subsequentl y I discovered that the distinguished member was onl y a namesake of the celebrated American lawyer and ex-vice President .
Unhappily the K . and I . degree plays a very considerable part in our Order ; it is true that the stomach is very often the vestibule to the heart . There can , however , be too much of the vestibule , which naturally leaves room only for an atrophised
heart . How often do you find that Brethren arrive only just in time for closing of Lodge and the opening of the portals to the K . and F . degree . When work in Lodge is not followed by that degree , very , very many Brethren will be conspicuous by their absence .
There is—I grieve to say—an excess of publicity given by individual Masons to symbols . These are not always absent in commercial intercourse—over shops and in shops . Of the latter I had ocular proof only a few days ago , when in the Restaurant ( superior class ) of a Brother . Whilst you are discussing your viands , th ; benevolent features of the host—life size—look down upon you with that mystic gaze , which must of necessity exercise
its magic influence on the gazer . Our Brother is not only invested with the Masonic apron , but proudly wears the sash of the R . A . —and now , let any one dare , within si ght of the keen' gaze of that Field Marshal depicted on the wall , grumble at the food , wine , or cigars . The private drawing room , or even the privacy of the bed chamber , would—in my opinion—be a far more proper place to exhibit his Masonic paraphernalia . Is this a solitary case ? Alas !
The very foundation of our Order , Brotherly love and Charity , is often manifested-within the Lodge ; does it accompany many of the Brethren into the " profane" world ? Masonry undoubtedly engenders good-fellowship and sociability , if , however , it stops there with many Brethren they might have found those in the clubs of the upper classes , and in the convivial friendly societies of the lower .
A certain amount ) of knowledge is required to enable a Brother to occupy the chair of K . S . Is that requisite knowledge always evinced ? Between the ah-ah ' s of some and those who aspirate and occasionally do actual violence to the King ' s English I scarcely know which to choose .
_ I once visited a very aristocratic Lodge , in fact , I was made a F . C . there ; the W . M . opened and closed the Lodge with many ah-ah ' s and drawls—stumbled at almost every third word and had to be helped out by the P . M . who actuall y did the work of the degree . The P . M . was the Chaplain of the Lodge .
At the ba . nqueting table , the occupant of K . S . ' s chair performed his onerous duties with eclat . This , however , I am glad to admit ; in the bourgois Lodges the Brother elected to the chair , as a rule , does his work without assistance . At times the pronunciation may grate somewhat upon the hearer ' s ears , and I have occasionally asked mvseif whether
I do not prefer after all the reading of the ritual—as it is on th 2 continent . Remember , my Brethren , the W . M . will only read out of a huge MS . those parts which are published here for the guidance and instruction of Brethren ; S ., W . and T . are not written down . A clergyman will read his lesson from the pulpit , although thoroughly competent to dispense with the book , It is