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  • The Masonic Magazine
  • Oct. 1, 1874
  • Page 31
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The Masonic Magazine, Oct. 1, 1874: Page 31

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    Article WHAT IS THE GOOD OF FREE MASONRY? ← Page 2 of 3 →
Page 31

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

What Is The Good Of Free Masonry?

are alike forbidden in Lodge ; and though in olden days , Avheii skilled craftsmen worked together in travelling bands , leaving magnificent monuments of civilization and p iety in their train , the objects of association Avere better understood , they Avere not

more practical in their results than IIOAV . It is impossible to belong to a Masonic Lodge , or oven to cat Masonic dinners Avith regularity , Avithout helping to support some of the most noble charities in the land . You are caught , Ave will say , by tho promise

of a festivity , and the hope of enjoyment . You knoAV a jovial set , and Avould like to bo one of them , and you are in due course proposed , elected , ancl initiated in some Masonic body . From that moment you are a cog in a mighty Avhecland can no

, more help moving Avith the rest of the machinery in tho directions of good Avorks , than you can avoid Avearing your apron Avhen on duty in your Lodge . Your earliest lesson is that of charity and toleration ; but the great advantage of the rules of the

community you have entered , is , that no individual demerits or torpor can long Avithstand their beneficial tendency . 0 thei precepts you may neglect or ignore . Your

priA r ate life may bo far from irreproachable . A ou may be depreciated by your fellowmembcrs as " a knife-and-fork-Mason "that is , one Avho cares more for the table of the tavern than the table of the Law—and may be quoted by outsiders in proof of the evil effect of belonging to a secret societ .

y All this rests Avith yourself . Even Avhat we calf the inner mysteries of our Order—mysteries Avhich it takes so much time and application to master and comprehend—do not protend to alter character . A selfish man Avill be a selfish Mason , a

churlish man a churlish Mason , a conscientious man a conscientious Mason , to the end of time . It is iviser to disclaim all legerdemain , and freely confess that no purif ying 0 r aAvakening talisman is given to the Masonic neophyte . The knoAvled

ge imparted is moderate in extent , and the man obtaining it finds that he has but learnt the rudiments of an elaborate system , the true bearing of Avhich is veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols . Those who sneer at Masonic symbolsAVIIO ask

, with conventional irony why Masons cannot accomp lish tho good they profess to seek without donning aprons and bedeckin g thumsolves with glittering baubles , should ,

to be consistent , denounce symbolism . Take the House of Commons , and note the precise formality Avith Avhich old rites and customs arc observed there , ancl say Avhether the solemn Speaker AVOUIC ! look as Avise and dignified in a shooting-jacket or a dressinggoAvn . and Avhother the quaintly Avigged

and gOAvned figures beloAv him are not more appropriately attired than if they Avore the paletot ancl Avide-aAvake of country life . Eegard the throne Avith its surroundings of velvet and ermine and jeAvels and gold ; the pulpit with its

conventional black , and Avhite ; the bench Avith . its time-honored robes ; the bar with its Avigs ancl gOAvns ; or , turning to private life , remark IIOAV the symbolism of dress and ornament attends us from the cradle to the grave . The Avhite draperies of the

christening ceremony , the orange-fioAvers and favours of the Avcdding , the ghastly mockery of the nodding black feathers on the hearse , are surely as open to criticism as ' our Masonic blue and A \ diite aprons , or the gay ornaments . Freemasons , let it be remembered , rarely obtrude their finery on the outer Avorld . There are other excellent societies , the members of Avhich periodically

break out in buff boots and green tunics , or march Avith linked fingers through the toAvn , to the clashing of Avind instruments , and behind banners bearing copy-book axioms of approved morality . But Avith Freemasons it is a point of honour not to Avcar the costume of their Craft or

, any adornment pertaining to it , save in their OAvn Lodges . To do otherwise—to flaunt collar , apron , or jewel in other places—is a serious Masonic oitence , and one censured Avith severity by the authorities . The sole exception to this rule is some important

public occasion , Avhen a Dispensation is granted by the Grand Master of the Order , and the first stone of some great building is laid , or the remains of some distinguished Brother are committed to the earth . The exceptional character of these occurrences

entitles us to the boast that our symbols are only worn for the benefit of those who understand them , and to whose technical knoAvledge they appeal . In some cases , they mark the rank of the Avearer , like the soldier ' s uniform ; in othersthe practical

, good he has effected , like—shall Ave saythe bishop ' s mitre . Each division of the Order , called a Lodge , is ruled over by certain officers , AVIIO

“The Masonic Magazine: 1874-10-01, Page 31” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 29 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmg/issues/mmg_01101874/page/31/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
Monthly Masonic Summary. Article 1
THE AGE OF ANCIENT MASONIC MANUSCRIPTS. Article 2
THE NEW MORALITY. Article 4
CELIA'S MOTH. Article 5
A DREAM OF FAIR FACES. Article 11
Untitled Article 11
CHARLES DICKENS—A LECTURE. Article 12
COURAGE. Article 17
THE CHANGE OF YEARS. Article 18
A LITTLE COMEDY Article 19
ORATION BY M.W. GRAND MASTER VAN SLYCK, OF RHODE ISLAND. Article 20
Our Archaeological Corner. Article 23
A LITTLE GOOD ADVICE. Article 24
LOIS' STRATEGY. Article 27
PEOPLE WILL TALK. Article 29
WHAT IS THE GOOD OF FREE MASONRY? Article 30
"THE NIGHTINGALE." Article 32
IN MEMORIAM. Article 32
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

What Is The Good Of Free Masonry?

are alike forbidden in Lodge ; and though in olden days , Avheii skilled craftsmen worked together in travelling bands , leaving magnificent monuments of civilization and p iety in their train , the objects of association Avere better understood , they Avere not

more practical in their results than IIOAV . It is impossible to belong to a Masonic Lodge , or oven to cat Masonic dinners Avith regularity , Avithout helping to support some of the most noble charities in the land . You are caught , Ave will say , by tho promise

of a festivity , and the hope of enjoyment . You knoAV a jovial set , and Avould like to bo one of them , and you are in due course proposed , elected , ancl initiated in some Masonic body . From that moment you are a cog in a mighty Avhecland can no

, more help moving Avith the rest of the machinery in tho directions of good Avorks , than you can avoid Avearing your apron Avhen on duty in your Lodge . Your earliest lesson is that of charity and toleration ; but the great advantage of the rules of the

community you have entered , is , that no individual demerits or torpor can long Avithstand their beneficial tendency . 0 thei precepts you may neglect or ignore . Your

priA r ate life may bo far from irreproachable . A ou may be depreciated by your fellowmembcrs as " a knife-and-fork-Mason "that is , one Avho cares more for the table of the tavern than the table of the Law—and may be quoted by outsiders in proof of the evil effect of belonging to a secret societ .

y All this rests Avith yourself . Even Avhat we calf the inner mysteries of our Order—mysteries Avhich it takes so much time and application to master and comprehend—do not protend to alter character . A selfish man Avill be a selfish Mason , a

churlish man a churlish Mason , a conscientious man a conscientious Mason , to the end of time . It is iviser to disclaim all legerdemain , and freely confess that no purif ying 0 r aAvakening talisman is given to the Masonic neophyte . The knoAvled

ge imparted is moderate in extent , and the man obtaining it finds that he has but learnt the rudiments of an elaborate system , the true bearing of Avhich is veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols . Those who sneer at Masonic symbolsAVIIO ask

, with conventional irony why Masons cannot accomp lish tho good they profess to seek without donning aprons and bedeckin g thumsolves with glittering baubles , should ,

to be consistent , denounce symbolism . Take the House of Commons , and note the precise formality Avith Avhich old rites and customs arc observed there , ancl say Avhether the solemn Speaker AVOUIC ! look as Avise and dignified in a shooting-jacket or a dressinggoAvn . and Avhother the quaintly Avigged

and gOAvned figures beloAv him are not more appropriately attired than if they Avore the paletot ancl Avide-aAvake of country life . Eegard the throne Avith its surroundings of velvet and ermine and jeAvels and gold ; the pulpit with its

conventional black , and Avhite ; the bench Avith . its time-honored robes ; the bar with its Avigs ancl gOAvns ; or , turning to private life , remark IIOAV the symbolism of dress and ornament attends us from the cradle to the grave . The Avhite draperies of the

christening ceremony , the orange-fioAvers and favours of the Avcdding , the ghastly mockery of the nodding black feathers on the hearse , are surely as open to criticism as ' our Masonic blue and A \ diite aprons , or the gay ornaments . Freemasons , let it be remembered , rarely obtrude their finery on the outer Avorld . There are other excellent societies , the members of Avhich periodically

break out in buff boots and green tunics , or march Avith linked fingers through the toAvn , to the clashing of Avind instruments , and behind banners bearing copy-book axioms of approved morality . But Avith Freemasons it is a point of honour not to Avcar the costume of their Craft or

, any adornment pertaining to it , save in their OAvn Lodges . To do otherwise—to flaunt collar , apron , or jewel in other places—is a serious Masonic oitence , and one censured Avith severity by the authorities . The sole exception to this rule is some important

public occasion , Avhen a Dispensation is granted by the Grand Master of the Order , and the first stone of some great building is laid , or the remains of some distinguished Brother are committed to the earth . The exceptional character of these occurrences

entitles us to the boast that our symbols are only worn for the benefit of those who understand them , and to whose technical knoAvledge they appeal . In some cases , they mark the rank of the Avearer , like the soldier ' s uniform ; in othersthe practical

, good he has effected , like—shall Ave saythe bishop ' s mitre . Each division of the Order , called a Lodge , is ruled over by certain officers , AVIIO

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