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Definition of Freemasonry. Definition of Freemasonry realistically has seldom been attempted but many assertions, oversimplified, incomplete, and misleading and many extended dissertations, wandering and confused, have been issued in great numbers. Many repeat un-analytically such statements as that "Freemasonry is a beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols"; and "Freemasonry is a progressive science, taught by degrees only"; and "Freemasonry is not religion but is emphatically religion's handmaid," imagining that they have defined Freemasonry. But all those, if true, are but aphorisms. Moreover, they are not quite true. The morality of Masonry is not veiled at all, but is set forth in quite clear English in the monitorial portion of the ritual. So far from being illustrated by symbols, a study of the abundant literature on the subject shows that it is the symbols, themselves, that require explanation! Freemasonry is not a science, and, if it is progressive, then a large segment of the Craft is mistaken in supposing that it is fixed and unalterable. Freemasonry is undoubtedly religion; it has a dogma; and it practices rites, though the religion is simple and creedless and the dogma is mild. "Religion's handmaid" possibly means that Masonry is an aid to religion, but why religion should need assistance is not apparent. A non-religious ally of a religious body might not be helpful. A definition must describe a thing so as to include all its characters and exclude everything that is not a character of it. Freemasonry has spread so widely, has expanded into so many degrees, and has undergone so many changes, to say nothing of having been so diversely interpreted, that the question: "What is Freemasonry?" must first be answered by asking another question: When, where and what phase of it? Though much of Masonic doctrine has remained remarkably stable, the laws have changed, the degrees have changed, the ceremonies have changed, and doubtless the concepts of its members have changed. There are submitted the following definitions of Freemasonry at different times and places: Definition of Freemasonry in all times and places: Freemasonry is an oath-bound fraternal order of men; deriving from the medieval fraternity of operative Freemasons; adhering to many of their Ancient Charges, laws, customs, and legends; loyal to the civil government under which it exists; inculcating moral and social virtues by symbolic application of the working tools of the stonemasons and by allegories, lectures, and charges; the members of which are obligated to observe principles of brotherly love, equality, mutual aid and assistance, secrecy, and confidence; have secret modes of recognizing one another as Masons when abroad in the world; and meet in lodges, each governed somewhat autocratically by a Master, assisted by Wardens, where petitioners, after particular enquiry into their mental, moral and physical qualifications, are formally admitted into the Society in secret ceremonies based in part on old legends of the Craft. Every Masonic lodge in existence or that ever has existed, so far as known, answers that description; no other order that exists or ever has existed does so. Definition of Modern Craft Masonry supplementing the above: In modern times, the Fraternity has spread over the civilized portions of the globe and has experienced some mutations in its organization, doctrine, and practices, so that lodges have come to be subordinate to, or constituent of, Grand Lodges presided over by Grand Masters, each sovereign within a given nation, state, or other political subdivision, and there is generally, though not universally, inculcated in, and demanded of the candidate, who ordinarily seeks admission of his own free will and accord, a belief in a Supreme Being and, less generally, in immortality of the soul, the Holy Bible or other Volume of Sacred Law being displayed in the lodge and used for the obligation of the candidate during his course through the three degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason, the last including the legend of King Solomon's Temple and Hiram Abif, though additional degrees and ceremonies are not found objectionable in some jurisdictions. Definition of Freemasonry in its broadest sense: Freemasonry, in its broadest and most comprehensive sense, is a system of morality and social ethics, a primitive religion, and a philosophy of life, all of simple and fundamental character, incorporating a broad humanitarianism and, though treating life as a practical experience, subordinates the material to the spiritual; it is a religion without a creed, being of no sect but finding truth in all; it is moral but not Pharisaic; it demands sanity rather than sanctity; it is tolerant but not supine; it seeks truth but does not define truth; it urges its votaries to think but does not tell them what to think; it despises ignorance but does not proscribe the ignorant; it fosters education but proposes no curriculum; it espouses political liberty and the dignity of man but has no platform or propaganda; it believes in the nobility and usefulness of life; it is modest and not militant; it is moderate, universal, and so liberal as to permit each individual to form and express his own opinion, even as to what Freemasonry is or ought to be, and invites him to improve it if he can. Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, Henry Wilson Coil, 33o,
Macoy Publishing & Masonic
Supply Company, Incorporated,
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