Be Exclusive.

BE EXCLUSIVE .

FREEMASONRY is sometimes charged with being " exclusive " and justtly . It is " exclusive , " and it ought to be . It is a sieve which lets 'through only those who are fitted by nature toi get through . You must pass in by the " needle ' s

eye " to reach our adytum . Nay , more—no one can enter the Lodge for the first time except via the very exclusive ballot box . The living question that one meets on the threshold of Masonry is not , how many good men can be got into the

Fraternity , but , how many bad men , who are applicants , can be kept out . Freemasonry , by its very genius , seeks not to include , but to exclude ; and the same assertion is true of the great kindred mystic societies which preceded it in the early ages of the world .

The Ancient Mysteries owed their downfall to " letting down the bars . " When a large membership was coveted , then the qualifications were abridged , and the quality of the initiates deteriorated . Take , for example , the Eleusinian Mysteries . At first only Athenian citizens were admitted .

As a consequence , those born out of Attica , who sought initiation , were first adopted , or naturalised , into the Athenian family . Afterward initiation was permitted to all Hellenes who were otherwise approved ; and subsequently the mystic rites were granted also to the Romans and only barbarians

and slaves were absolutely excluded . What was the result ? The gradual decline of the morale of the institution . It became just what its membership was , and no better . The philosophers , thinkers and observers of the time soon noted this fact . Plato complained of the easy accessibility of the

mysteries , saying , " If these things contain some secret doctrine , they ought not to be shown to all at no more cost than the sacrifice of a common pig ! " A man . had only to pawn his coat , to get sufficient to purchase initiation ! Apuleius , the pagan philosopher , and author of the romance of the

" Golden Ass , " history records did this . So common was initiation that it came to be considered scandalous not to be initiated . Not only men , but women and children , " ran to be initiated . " Apuleius tells us , " There was an influx of a crowd of those who- had been initiated into the sacred rites

consisting of men and women of every degree , and of every age . " Thus they not only let the bars down to all men , but also to women and children ! There was an " omnium gatherum . " It was then as customary to be initiated as it is now to be baptised . Every festival of Ceres brought to > Eleusis

thirty thousand of the initiated . Then , as now , there were those who " joined all the secret societies they could find . Apuleius , of whom we have spoken , was one of these . In his " Apology" he says , " I have been initiated in Greece

into many mysteries . I carefully guard certain of their signs and tokens which have been committed to me by their priests . I have learned numerous mysteries , and very many rites , and various ceremonies . "

Freemasons may learn much from a review of the past , but the great key lesson is , be exclusive . But how shall we be exclusive ? By having no cheap Masonry , no cheap initiations . Freemasonry is worth a good price , and ought always to bring it . To cheapen it is to

degrade it . The possession of a certain amount of money is needed to give one character and respectability , and no man is eligible to Freemasonry who has not some visible means of gaining for himself and family an honest and adequate livelihood . The first requisite , then , is that the applicant should

be in comparatively easy circumstances . Not onl y do we want no paupers , but we want no one who cannot easily spare the amount of the required initiation fee . In England the Fraternity goes farther in the matter than we do in America . Not only must every candidate pay the initiation fee , but

every Grand Officer ( except the Grand Master , Grand Chap lains , Grand Organist and Grand Pursuivant ) on his appoint ment to Office must pay' a certain fee , according to rank

This has been the law of the Craft there since the year 1813 , and prevails , we believe , not only in England , but also in Ireland and Scotland , and we may add , it is thought to work to the advantage of Freemasonry .

There are other methods of making Masonry properly exclusive , besides the character and the money tests . One of the most important of these is the physical test . This is justified by long experience , and by the analogies of the Ancient Mysteries . The latter excluded those who possessed any bodily defect , The Mysteries were regarded as a sacred .

Be Exclusive.

institution , and for many years no one could be initiated who was not physically fitted to be a priest . De Pauw says , " No person who was born with any remarkable bodily imperfection , could be consecrated in Egypt ; and the very animals , when deformed , were never used either for sacrifice or in symbolical

worship . " Freemasons do wisely in excluding those who are of defective physical formation . How can they symbolise perfect ashlars ? We must stand by our symbology , for Masonry without it is , what ? We are aware that some jurisdictions , at home and abroad , have let down this bar , but in

doing so , they have acted unwisely . Freemasonry needs not to be more inclusive , but more exclusive . We want whole men , morally , mentally , pecuniarily , and physically . So long as we have these only , so long will Freemasonry maintain its vaunted high character ; but when we fail to require any one

or more of these , we lower , so far , the status of the Craft , and invite the coming of the evil day when all men shall " run to be initiated . " The Masonic gates should always be strictly tyled , never " stand ajar , '' far less be thrown wide open . We want no free-and-easy Masonry . — " Keystone . "

Inanition.

INANITION .

STIR and noise are the essence of life . A country , a society , or a household , in which no sound struck the ear , would be appalling as a tomb . Everywhere , except in the

grave , we look for noise and stir , and failing to find it , we conclude that we are attending a funeral , that the country , society or family is dying or dead , and awaiting burial . We reason justly—action is life , inaction is death . Let us look at this subject Masonically .

There are some Lodges that metaphorically need stirring up with a long pole . They have been prosperous in the past , and mayhap have amassed a respectable permanent fund ; they have an excellent paper roll of membership ; their history is rich in recollections of diligent Masonic work ; their

charity has been liberally and wisely dispensed ; but now they are sleeping on their honours , and probably without being aware of it are making themselves ready for Masonic sepulture . To such we may say , in Miltonic language , " Awake , arise , or be forever fallen ! "

Let us recur to this lethargic condition of Lodges in its incipient stages , when it is easy to correct it , and ward off paralysis and death . When you enter a Lodge in which you find no stir or noise , look out for an early visit from the Masonic undertaker . Where no interest is displayed , where

no one has anything to offer for the benefit of Masonry , where the Lodge simply opens and closes , the danger line has been crossed . Brethren , do not be afraid of earnest discussion , even of unreasonable discussion . Such

intellectual thunder and lightning may clear the Lodge atmosphere . Let the Brethren exhibit their pyrotechnics . Let there be even a healthy war of words . Let there be anything but deathlike silence .

Some Brethren are afraid of the expression of differences of opinion in the Lodge . Instead of being feared , they should be courted . Remember the apostolic precept : " Prove all things ; hold fast that which is good . " It is natural for thinkers to differ . What is the use of thinking

if truth be not evolved . A one-sided argument is disagreeable to most people , and is by no means certain of being correct . We need the balances , the presentation of both

sides , the pros and cons of every subject . Of course the old Past Masters will differ . Let them differ and agree to differ . So that Brotherly love permeates all that they say and dp , no matter how much they formally differ .

It is but form . All have a common end in view—the good of the Brotherhood and the advancement of the particular interests of the Lodge with which they are connected , Do you ask what is the healthiest kind of stir and noise ? We reply unhesitatingly , work . The making of Masons

rejoices the Masonic heart . It brings into co-operation with us good men and true , who will lend their aid , as we lend ours , for the upbuilding of the Masonic edifice ; and attracts , as nothing else attracts , a full attendance of members and visitors . What a glow of pleasure mantles each brow in a

well-attended Lodge ! "What a contagion of good feeling there is in a full house ! And when all the Brethren labour together , either in the making , passing or raising of Craftsmen , there is mutual satisfaction of the Highest possible order ,