Part 7 (2/2)
[82] Hearing that the Masons had certain secrets that could not be revealed to her (for that she could not be Grand Master) Queen Elizabeth sent an are at York, on St John's Day, December 27, 1561 But Sir Thomas Sackville took care to see that so in the communication, made ”a very honorable report to the Queen, who never e or disturb them; but esteemed them a peculiar sort of men, that cultivated peace and friendshi+p, arts and sciences, withoutin the affairs of Church or State” (_Book of Constitutions_, by Anderson)
FELLOWCRAFTS
/ _Noe person (of what degree soever) shalbee accepted a Free Mason, unless hee shall have a lodge of five Free Masons at least; whereof one to be a master, or warden, of that lie shalbee kept, and another of the trade of Free Masonry
That noe person shalbee accepted a Free Mason, but such as are of able body, honest parentage, good reputation, and observers of the laws of the land
That noe person shalbee accepted a Free Mason, or know the secrets of said Society, until hee hath first taken the oath of secrecy hereafter following: ”I, A B, doe in the presence of Alhty God, and my fellows, and brethren here present, promise and declare, that I will not at any time hereafter, by any act or circumstance whatsoever, directly or indirectly, publish, discover, reveal, or es, or counsels, of the fraternity or fellowshi+p of Free Masonry, which at this time, or any time hereafter, shalbee made known unto mee soe helpe mee God, and the holy contents of this booke”_
--HARLEIAN MS, 1600-1650 /
CHAPTER II
_Fellowcrafts_
I
Having followed the Free-ive soanization, laws, ees Such a study is at once easy and difficult by turns, owing to the mass of s much of the work of a secret order is not, and has never been, matter for record By this necessity, not a little must remain obscure, but it is hoped that even those not of the order may derive a definite notion of the principles and practices of the old Craft-masonry, from which the Masonry of today is descended At least, such a sketch will show that, from times of old, the order of Masons has been a teacher of enius, noble in its spirit, and benign in its influence
Taking its ethical teaching first, we have only to turn to the _Old Charges_ or _Constitutions_ of the order, with their quaint blending of high truth and homely craft-law, to find the moral basis of universal Masonry These old documents were a part of the earliest ritual of the order, and were recited or read to every young man at the time of his initiation as an Entered Apprentice As such, they rehearsed the legends, laws, and ethics of the craft for his information, and, as we have seen, they insisted upon the antiquity of the order, as well as its service to mankind--a fact peculiar to Masonry, _for no other order has ever clai studied that legendary record and its value as history, it remains to exa taken a solemn oath of loyalty and secrecy, was instructed in his duties as an Apprentice and his conduct as a man
What that old code lacked in subtlety is ht all be stated in the words of the Prophet: ”To do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before God,”--the old eternal moral law, founded in faith, tried by time, and approved as valid forto the _Regius MS_, we find fifteen ”points” or rules set forth for the guidance of Fellowcrafts, and as many for the rule of Master Masons[83] Later the nuinal code; and by the time we reach the _Roberts_ and _Watson_ MSS a similar set of requirements for Apprentices had been adopted--or rather recorded, for they had been in use long before It will make for clearness if we reverse the order and take the Apprentice charge first, as it shohat manner of men were admitted to the order No man was made a Mason save by his own free choice, and he had to prove hiitiood repute, else he was not eligible Also, he had to bind hiid rules for a period of seven years, vowing absolute obedience--for the old-tiand its symbolism, but the seven sciences as well At first the Apprentice was littletheat once a test of his character and a training for his work If he proved hies were increased, albeit his rules of conduct were never relaxed How austere the discipline wasfaith in God, an Apprentice vowed to honor the Church, the State, and the Master under who not to absent hiht, save with the license of the Master Hethe secrets of the craft, or the confidence of the Master, or of any Free-mason, when communicated to hi adultery or fornication, and hehis apprenticeshi+p He , respectful to all Free- obscene or uncivil speech, free from slander, dissension, or dispute He must not haunt or frequent any tavern or ale-house, or so o into them except it be upon an errand of the Master or with his consent, using neither cards, dice, nor any unlawful ga even to the value of a penny, or suffer it to be done, or shi+eld anyone guilty of theft, but report the fact to the Master with all speed
After seven long years the Apprentice brought his e--or, in earlier times, to the annual assembly[84]--and on strict trial and due examination was declared a Master Thereupon he ceased to be a pupil and servant, passed into the ranks of Fellowcrafts, and became a freehis living and choosing his own e selected a Mark[85]
by which his work could be identified, he could then take his kit of tools and travel as a Master of his art, receiving the wages of a Master--not, however, without first reaffir his vows of honesty, truthfulness, fidelity, teations to uphold the honor of the order Again he orn not to lay bare, nor to tell to any e, and to keep the secrets of a fellow Mason as inviolably as his own--unless such a secret iood name of the craft He furthermore promised to act as mediator between his Master and his Fellows, and to deal justly with both parties If he saw a Felloing a stone which he was in a fair way to spoil, he must help him without loss of time, if able to do so, that the whole work be not ruined Or if he met a fellow Mason in distress, or sorrow, he must aid him so far as lay within his power In short, he must live in justice and honor with all men, especially with the members of the order, ”that the bond of , if possible, were the vows of a Fellowcraft when he was elevated to the dignity of Master of the Lodge or of the Work
Once more he took solemn oath to keep the secrets of the order unprofaned, and more than one old MS quotes the Golden Rule as the law of the Master's office He must be steadfast, trusty, and true; pay his Fellows truly; take no bribe; and as a judge stand upright He must attend the annual assembly, unless disabled by illness, if within fifty , however, in different MSS Heonly such as are fit both physically andnone without assurance that he would stay seven years in order to learn his craft He ently, encourage theht, ”unless in the pursuit of knowledge, which shall be a sufficient excuse” He must be wise and discreet, and undertake no work he cannot both perform and complete equally to the profit of his employer and the craft Should a Fellow be overtaken by error, herather to help than to hurt, abjuring scandal and bitter words He e or of the Work, or belittle his work, but reco it Hea Felloho has fallen upon evil lot, giving hiht, or if he has no work, ”relieve hie” For the rest, hethe nobility of his office and his order
Such were some of the laws of the ht to train its ood and truetheir Fellows; to which, as the Rawlinson MS tells us, ”divers new articles have been added by the free choice and good consent and best advice of the Perfect and True Masons, Masters, and Brethren” If, as an ethic of life, these laws seem simple and rudimentary, they are none the less fundaate and way by which those o up to the House of the Lord As such they are great and saving things to lay to heart and act upon, and if Masonry taught nothing else its title to the respect of mankind would be clear They have a double aspect: first, the building of a spiritual reat and siious faith in the Fatherhood of God, the Brotherhood of ht by Masonry froood day Morality and theistic religion--upon these two rocks Masonry has always stood, and they are the only basis upon which man may ever hope to rear the spiritual edifice of his life, even to the capstone thereof
II
Iether by sole over the most abominable roads toward the site selected for an abbey or cathedral Traveling was attended with ers, and the company was therefore alell ar such a precaution necessary Tools and provisions belonging to the party were carried on pack-horses or e of keepers The co the work, Fellows of the craft, and Apprentices serving their time Besides these we find subordinate laborers, not of the Lodge though in it, termed layers, setters, tilers, and so forth Masters and Felloore a distinctive costued in its fashi+on for no less than three centuries[86] Withal, it was a serious company, but in nowise soleuiled by song, story, and the humor incident to travel
”Wherever they came,” writes Mr Hope in his _Essay on Architecture_, ”in the suite of missionaries, or were called by the natives, or arrived of their own accord, to seek eoverned the whole troop, and named one man out of every ten, under the name of warden, to overlook the other nine, set the temporary huts for their habitation around the spot where the as to be carried on, regularly organized their different departments, fell to work, sent for fresh supplies of their brethren as the object deain they raised their encampment, and went elsewhere to undertake other work”
Here we have a glianization, alratory life; although they had atireat cathedral Sometimes, it would seem, they made special contracts with the inhabitants of a tohere they were to erect a church, containing such stipulations as, that a Lodge covered with tiles should be built for their accommodation, and that every laborer should be provided with a white apron of a peculiar kind of leather and gloves to shi+eld the hands from stone and slime[87] At all events, the picture we have is that of a little cos, with a Lodge roo cathedral--the Master busy with his plans and the care of his craft; Fellows shaping stones for walls, arches, or spires; Apprentices fetching tools orall offices of a sie was the center of interest and activity, a place of labor, of study, of devotion, as well as the co, as we learn froan with devotion, followed by the directions of the Master for the work of the day, which no doubt included study of the laws of the art, plans of construction, and theof ornaments and ee being closed to all others, and guarded by a Tiler[88] against ”the approach of cowans[89] and eavesdroppers” Thus the work of each day was begun,forward amidst the din and litter of the hours, until the craft was called from labor to rest and refreshment; and thus a cathedral was uplifted as a monument to the Order, albeit the names of the builders are faded and lost Eether in the Lodge, it is not strange that Free-masons ca of loyalty to their craft, unique, peculiar, and enduring Traditions of fun and frolic, of song and feast and gala-day, have floated down to us, telling of a coenuine If their life had hardshi+p and vicissitude, it had also its grace and charm of friendshi+p, of sympathy, service, and community of interest, and the joy that coh and noble art
When a Mason wished to leave one Lodge and go elsewhere to work, as he was free to do when he desired, he had no difficulty in ns, grips, and words[90]
Such tokens of recognition were necessary to men who traveled afar in those uncertain days, especially when references or other means of identification were ofttimes impossible All that many people knew about the order was that its ns, and that no Mason need be friendless or alone when other Masons ithin sight or hearing; so that the very nanition Steele, in the _Tatler_, speaks of a class of people who have ”their signs and tokens like Free-ns and tokens, as we are more than once told--in the _Harleian MS_, for exans” What they were may not be here discussed, but it is safe to say that a Master Mason of the Middle Ages, were he to return from the land of shadows, could perhaps e of today No doubt sonize the officers of the Lodge, its forht, and its ht in symbols Besides, he could tell us, if so minded, much that we should like to learn about the craft in the olden times, its hiddenof its sy was yet alive