Masonic wallpapers designed by Bro. John Paul Gomez

Masonic Bow tie coming soon

Here's the preview

2011 Masonic Necktie Collection

Here's my latest creations plus some old designs from our 2010 collection. Enjoy!

Black Creek Masonic Lodge

My family and I had a great time with the Brethren and friends at the Black Creek Pioneer Village. Click the thumbnail below to view the album.

Breakfast of Champions

Sunday morning. Waiting for the wife and kids to wake up.

And here's what waiting for them.

"The Blazing Star" Ingredients: Fried luncheon meat, julienned fresh tomatoes

The 47th Problem of Euclid" Ingredients: Fried firm tofu

"The Blazing Star" angle 2 Ingredients: Fried luncheon meat, julienned fresh tomatoes

"Food for the Goat" Ingredients: Julienned carrots and cucumbers

"Grain" Ingredients: Steamed Milagrosa rice

"Le Awesome Omelet" Ingredients: Fresh eggs, chopped onions, tomatoes, and luncheon meat. A little bit of salt and pepper

The Cooke Manuscript- now with images!

I've been trying to read the entire Cooke Manuscript for the longest time. But everytime I try to, I always get distracted by something. I just can't give it my complete attention. Probably because I find it boring. I thought that if it just come with supplementary images it would have been a much more interesting read- and it may be able to hold my attention better.

And so that's what I did- I searched the Internet far and wide for images which may be relevant to this revered Manuscript. I have crawled through the deepest belly of the Weird Wild Web and all the while conquering the lures and dangers of pr0n to present you this The Cooke Manuscript in its entirety PLUS images!

Enjoy reading!

Bro. John Paul Gomez
Doric Lodge 316 of A.F. & A.M. GRC



This Manuscript is said to be the oldest of a class of about one hundred early documents known as Freemasonry's Gothic Constitutions, and the second oldest known manuscript in Masonic history next to the Halliwell Manuscript (a.k.a. Regius Poem). It was published by R. Spencer, London, 1861 and was edited by Mr. Matthew Cooke, hence the name.

The Cooke Manuscript

"The Ancient Of Days" by William Blake

Thanked be God, our glorious Father, the founder and creator of heaven and earth, and of all things that therein are, for that he has vouchsafed, of his glorious Godhead, to make so many things of manifold virtue for the use of mankind. For he made all things to be subject and obedient to man. All things eatable of a wholesome nature he ordained for man's sustenance. And moreover, he hath given to man wit and the knowledge of divers things and handicrafts, by the which we may labour in this world, in order to therewith get our livelihood and fashion many objects, pleasant in the sight of God, to our own ease and profit. To rehearse all these matters here were too long in the writing or telling, I will therefore refrain ; but I will nevertheless, tell you some ; for instance, how and in what manner the Science of Geometry was first invented, and who were the founders both thereof and of several other crafts, as is declared in the Bible, and other histories. 

"The Seed of Life" by Charles Gilchrist

How, and in what manner this worthy Science of Geometry took its rise, I will tell you, as I said before. You must know that there are seven liberal sciences, from which seven all other sciences and crafts in the world sprung ; but especially is Geometry the first cause of all the other sciences, whatsoevor they be. 

The seven liberal arts – Hortus deliciarum of Herrad von Landsberg

These seven sciences are as follows: 


The first, which is called the foundation of all science, is grammar, which teacheth to write and speak correctly. 


The second is rhetoric, which teaches us to speak elegantly. 


The third is dialectic, which teaches us to discern the true from the false, and it is usually called art or sophistry (logic). 


The fourth is arithmetic, which instructs us in the science of numbers, to reckon, and to make accounts. 


The fifth is Geometry, which teaches us all about mensuration, measures and weights, of all kinds of handicrafts. 


The sixth is music, and that teaches the art of singing by notation for the voice, on the organ, trumpet, and harp, and of all things pertaining thereto. 


The seventh is astronomy, which teaches us the course of the sun and of the moon and of the other stars and planets of heaven. 

"Seven Liberal Arts" by Marten de Vos

Our intent is to treat chiefly of the first foundation of Geometry and who were the founders thereof. As I said before, there are seven liberal sciences, that is to say, seven sciences or crafts that are free in themselves, the which seven exist only through Geometry. And Geometry may be described as earth-mensuration, for Geometry is derived from geo, which is in Greek "earth," and metrona or a measure. Thus is the word Geometry compounded and signifies the measure of the earth. 

"God the Geometer"

Marvel not because I said that all sciences exist only through the science of Geometry. For there is no art or handicraft wrought by man's hands that is not wrought by Geometry which is a chief factor (notabulle cause) thereof. For if a man work with his hands he employs some sort of tool, and there is no instrument of any material in this world which is not formed of some sort of earth (ore) and to earth it will return. And there is no instrument or tool to work with that has not some proportion, more or less. And proportion is measure, and the instrument or tool is earth. And Geometry is earth-mensuration therefore I affirm that all men live by Geometry. For all men here to this world live by the labour of their hands. 


Many more proofs could I give you that Geometry is the science by which all reasoning men live, but I refrain at this time because the writing of it were a long process. 

And now I will enter further into the matter You must know that among all the crafts followed by man in this world, Masonry has the greatest renown end the largest share of this science of Geometry, as is stated in history, such as the Bible, and the Master of History," and in the Policronicon a well authenticated (or trustworthy) chronicle, and in the history called Beda De Imagine Mundi, and Isodorus Ethomolegiarum Methodius Episcopus & Martiris. And many others say that Masonry is the chief part of Geometry and so methinks it may well be said, for it was the first founded, as is stated in the Bible, in the first book of Genesis and the fourth chapter. And moreover all the learned authors above cited agree thereto. And some of them affirm it more openly and plainly, precisely as in Genesis in the Bible. 

Lamech and his Two Wives by William Blake

Before Noah's Flood by direct male descent from Adam in the seventh generation, there lived a man called Lamech who had two wives, called Adah and Zillah. By the first wife, Adah, he begat two sons, Jabal and Jubal. The elder son Jabal was the first man that ever discovered geometry and masonry, and he made houses, and is called in the Bible the father of all men who dwell in tents or dwelling houses. And he was Cain's master mason and governor of the works when he built the city of Enoch, which was the first city ever made and was built by Cain, Adam's son, who gave it to his own son Enoch, and give the city the name of his son and called it Enoch, and now it is known as Ephraim. And at that place was the Science of Geometry and Masonry first prosecuted and contrived as a science and as a handicraft. And so we may well say that it is the first cause and foundation of all crafts and sciences. And also this man Jabel was called the father of shepherds. The Master of History says, and Beda De Imagine Mundi and the Policronicon and many others more say, that he was the first that made partition of lands, in order that every man might know his own land and labour thereon for himself. And also he divided flocks of sheep, that every man might know his own sheep, and so we may say that he was the inventor of that science. 

Fludd's elemental music and spheres.

And his brother Jubal or Tubal was the inventor of music and song, as Pythagoras states in Polycronicon, and the same says Isodorous. In his Ethemolegiis in the 6th book he says that he was the first founder of music and song, and of the organ and trumpet; and he discovered that science by the sound of the weights of his brother's, Tubal-Cain's, hammers. 


And of a truth, as the Bible says, that is to say, in the fourth Chapter of Genesis, Lamech begat by his other wife Zillah a son and a daughter, and their names Tubal Cain, that was the son, and the daughter was called Naamah. And according to the Policronicon, some men say that she was Noah's wife; but whether this be so or not, we will not affirm. 

Ye must know that this son Tubal Cain was the founder of the smith's craft and of other handicrafts dealing with metals, such as iron, brass, gold and silver as some learned writers say; and his sister Naamah discovered the craft of weaving for before her time no cloth was woven, but they span yarn and knit it and made such clothing as they could. And as this woman Naamah invented the craft of weaving it was called woman's-craft. 


And these four brethren knew that God would take vengeance for sin, either by fire or water. And they were much concerned how to save the sciences they had discovered, and they took counsel together and exercised all their wits. And they said there were two kinds of stone of such virtue that the one would not burn, called marble, and the other named "Lacerus" would not sink in water. And so they devised to write all the sciences they had found on these two stones, so that if God took vengeance by fire the marble would not burn, and if by water the other would not drown, and they besought their elder brother Jabal to make two pillars of these two stones, that is of marble and of "Lacerus," and to write on the two pillars all the sciences and crafts which they had found and he did so. And therefore we may say that he was the wisest in science, for he first began and carried out their purpose before Noah's flood, 

Pythagoras of Crotona by J. August Knapp

Fortunately knowing of the vengeance that God would send, the brethren knew not whether it would be by fire or water. They knew by a sort of prophecy that God would send one or the other, and therefore they wrote their sciences on the two pillars of stone. And some men say that they wrote on the stones all the seven sciences, but [this I affirm not]. As they had it in mind that a vengeance would come, so it befell that God did send vengeance, and there came such a flood that all the world was drowned and all men died save only eight persons. These were Noah and his wife and his three sons and their wives, of which sons all the world is descended, and they were named in this wise, Shem, Ham and Japhet. And this flood is called Noah's Flood, for he and his children were saved therein. And many years after the flood, according to the chronicle, these two pillars were found, and the chronicle says that a great clerk, Pythagoras, found the one, and Hermes the philosopher found the other, and they taught the sciences that they found written thereon. 

Every chronicle and history and many other writers and the Bible especially relate the building or the tower of Babel; and it is written in the Bible, Genesis, Chap. x how that Ham, Noah's son, begat Nimrod, who grew a mighty man upon the earth and waxed strong, like unto a giant. He was a great king and the beginning of his kingdom was the kingdom of Babilon proper, and Erech and Arend and Calnch and the land of Shinar. And this same Ham began the tower of Babel and taught his workmen the Craft of Masonry and he had with him many masons, more than 40,000, and he loved and cherished them well. And it is written in Polycronicon, and in the Master of History, and in other histories, and beyond this the Bible witnesses in the same 10th chapter, as it is written, that Ashur who was of near kindred to Nimrod went forth from the land of Shinar and built the City of Nineveh and Plateas (sic) and many more. For it is written "Do terra illa" [&c.] 


It is but reasonable that we should plainly say how and in what manner the Charges of the Mason's Craft were first founded, and who first gave it the name of Masonry And you must know that it is stated and written in the Polycronicon and in Methothus Episcopus and Martiris that Ashur who was a worthy lord of Shinar, sent to Nimrod the king to send him Masons and workmen of the Craft that they might help him make his city which he was minded to make. And Nimrod sent him 3000 masons. And as they were about to depart and go forth, he called them before him and said to them, "Ye must go to my cousin Ashur to help him build a city, but see to it, that ye be well governed, and I will give you a Charge that shall be to your and my profit. 

"When you come to that lord, look that you be true to him, even as you would be to me, labour at your Craft honestly, and take a reasonable payment for it such as you may deserve. Love each other as though you were brothers and hold together staunchly. Let him that hath most skill teach his fellow, and be careful that your conduct amongst yourselves and towards your lord may be to my credit, that I may have thanks for sending you and teaching you the Craft." And they received the charge from him, being their lord and master, and went forth to Ashur and built the city of Nineveh in the country of Plateas (sic) and other cities also that are called Calah and Rosen, which is a great city between Calah and Nineveh. And in this manner the Craft of Masonry was first instituted and charged as a science. 


Elders of Masons before our times had these charges in writing as we have them now in our Charges of the story of Euclid, and as we have seen them written both in Latin and in French. 

Euclid of Alexandria

But it is only reasonable that we should tell you how Euclid came to the knowledge of Geometry, as stated in the Bible and in other histories. In the XlIth chapter of Genesis it is told how Abraham came to the land of Canaan and our Lord appeared unto him and said, "I will give this land to thy seed." But a great famine reigned in that land and Abraham took Sarah, his wife, with him and made a journey into Egypt to abide there whilst the famine lasted. And Abraham, so says the chronicle, was as a wise man and a learned. And he knew all the seven sciences and taught the Egyptians the science of Geometry. And this worthy clerk Euclid was his pupil and learned of him. And he first gave it the name of Geometry ; although it was practised before his time, it had not acquired the name of Geometry. But it is said by Isodoras in the 5th Book and first Chapter of Ethomolegiarum that Euclid was one of the first founders of Geometry and gave it that name. 

River Nile by Piri Reis

For in his time, the river of Egypt which is called the Nile so overflowed the land that no man could dwell therein. Then the worthy clerk Euclid taught them to make great walls and ditches to keep back the water, and by Geometry he measured the land and parcelled it out into sections and caused every man to enclose his own portion with walls and ditches and thus it became a country abounding in all kinds of produce, and of young people and of men and women : so that the youthful population increased so much as to render earning a livelihood difficult. And the lords of the country drew together and took counsel how they might help their children who had no competent livelihood in order to provide for themselves and their children, for they had so many. And at the council amongst them was this worthy Clerk Euclid and when he saw that all of them could devise no remedy in the matter be said to them "Lay your orders upon your sons and I will teach them a science by which they may live as gentlemen, under the condition that they shall be sworn to me to uphold the regulations that I shall lay upon them." And both they and the king of the country and all the lords agreed thereto with one consent. 

RAPHAEL, The School of Athens (detail): Euclid

It is but reasonable that every man should agree to that which tended to profit himself ; and so they took their sons to Euclid to be ruled by him and he taught them the Craft of Masonry and gave it the name of Geometry on account of the parcelling out of the ground which he had taught the people at the time of making the walls and ditches, as aforesaid, to keep out the water. And Isodoris says in Ethomologies that Euclid called the craft Geometry. 


And there this worthy clerk Euclid gave it a name and taught it to the lord's sons of that land whom he had as pupils. 


And he gave them a charge. That they should call each other Fellow and no otherwise, they being all of one craft and of the same gentle birth, lords' sons. And also that the most skilful should be governor of the work and should be called master ; and other charges besides, which are written in the Book of Charges. And so they worked for the lords of the land and built cities and towns, castles and temples and lords' palaces. 

A painting on the wall of the tomb of Khnumhotep

During the time that the childen of Israel dwelt in Egypt they learned the craft of Masonry. And after they were driven out of Egypt they came into the promised land, which is now called Jerusalem, and they occupied that land and the charges were observed there. And [at] the making of Solomon's Temple which king David began, King David loved masons well, and gave them [wages] nearly as they are now. And at the making of the Temple in Solomon's time, as stated in the Bible in the third book of Kings and the fifth chapter, Solomon held four score thousand masons at work. And the son of the king of Tyre was his master mason. And in other chronicles and in old books of masonry, it is said that Solomon confirmed the charges that David his father had given to masons. And Solomon himself taught them their usages differing but slightly from the customs now in use. 


And from thence this worthy science was brought into France and into many other regions. 

Charles II by Sir Peter Lely

At one time there was a worthy king in France called Carolus Secondus, that is to say Charles the Second. And this Charles was elected king of France by the grace of God and also by right of descent. And some men say he was elected by good fortune, which is false as by the chronicles he was of the blood royal. And this same king Charles was a mason before he became king. And after he was king he loved masons and cherished them and gave them charges and usages of his devising, of which some are yet in force in France ; and he ordained that they should have an assembly once a year and come and speak together in order that the masters and follows might regulate all things amiss. 


And soon after that came St. Adhabelle into England and he converted St. Alban to Christianity. And St. Alban loved well masons and he was the first to give them charges and customs in England, And he ordained [wages] adequate to pay for their toil. 

Æthelstan presenting a book to St Cuthbert (934)

And after that there was a worthy king in England, called Athelstan, and his youngest son loved well the science of Geometry ; and he knew well, as well as the masons themselves, that their handicraft was the practice of the science of Geometry. Therefore he drew to their councils (or took counsel, or lessons, of them) and learned the practical part of that science in addition to his theoretical (or book) knowledge. For of the speculative part he was a master. And he loved well masonry and masons. And he became a mason himself. And he give them charges and usages such as are now customary in England and in other countries. And he ordained that they should have reasonable pay. And he purchased a free patent of the king that they might hold an assembly at what time they thought reasonable and come together to consult. Of the which charges, usages and assembly it is written and taught in our Book of Charges; wherefore I leave it for the present. 

Good men! for this cause and in this way Masonry first arose. It befell, once upon a time, that great lords had so many free begotten children that their possessions were not extensive enough to provide for their future. Therefore they took counsel how to provide for their children and find them all honest livelihood. And they sent for wise masters of the worthy science of Geometry, that through their wisdom they might provide them with some honest living. Then one of them that was called Euclid a most subtil and wise inventor regulated [that science] and art and called it Masonry. And so in this art of his he honestly taught the children of great lords according to the desire of the fathers and the free consent of their children. And having taught them with great care for a certain time they were not all alike capable of exercising the said art, wherefore the said master Euclid ordained that those that surpassed the others in skill should be honoured above the others. And [comman]ded to call the more skilful "master" and for [him] to instruct the less skilful. The which masters were called masters of nobility, of knowledge and skill in that art. Nevertheless they commanded that they that were of less knowledge should not be called servants or subjects, but fellows, on account of the nobility of their gentle blood. In this manner was the aforesaid art begun in the land of Egypt by the aforesaid master Euclid and so it spread from country to country and from kingdom to kingdom 


Many years after, in the time of king Athelstan, sometime king of England, by common assent of his Council and other great lords of the land on account of great defects found amongst masons, a certain rule was ordained for them. 

Once a year or every three years as might appear needful to the king and great lords of the land and all the comunity, congregations should be called by the masters from country to country and from province to province of all masters, masons and fellows in the said art. And at such congregations those that are made masters shall be examined in the articles hereafter written and be ransacked whether they be able and skilful in order to serve the lords to their profit and to the honour of the aforesaid art. And moreover they shall be charged to well and truly expend the goods of their lords, as well of the lowest as of the highest ; for those are their lords for the time being of whom they take their pay in recompense of their service and toil. 

The first article is this. That every master of this art should be wise, and true to the lord who employs him, expending his goods carefully as he would his own were expended; and not give more pay to any mason than he knows him to have earned, according to the dearth (or scarcity and therefore price) of corn and victuals in the country and this without favouritism, for every man is to be rewarded according to his work. 


The Second article is this. That every master of the art shall be warned beforehand to come to his congregation in order that he may duly come, there, unless he may [be] excused for some cause or other. But if he be found [i.e., accused of being] rebellious at such congregation, or at fault in any way to his employer's harm or the reproach of this art, he shall not be excused unless he be in peril of death. And though he be in peril of death, yet must, he give notice of his illness, to the master who is the president of the gathering. 


The [third] article is this. That no master take no apprentice for a shorter term than seven years at least, for the reason that such as have been bound a shorter time can not adequately learn their art, nor be able to truly serve their employer and earn the pay that a mason should. 


The fourth article is this. That no master shall for any reward take as an apprentice a bondsman born, because his lord to whom he is a bondsman might take him, as he is entitled to, from his art and carry him away with him from out the Lodge, or out of the place he is in. And because his fellows peradventure might help him and take his part, and thence manslaughter might arise ; therefore it is forbidden. And there is another reason ; because his art was begun by the freely begotten children of great lords, as aforesaid. 

France, Philip IV, 1285 - 1314 A.D.

The fifth article is this. That no master shall pay more to his apprentice during the time of his apprenticeship, whatever profit he may take thereby, than he well knows him to have deserved of the lord that employs him ; and not even quite so much, in order that the lord of the works where he is taught may have some profit by his being taught there. 

The sixth article is this. That no master from covetousness or for gain shall accept an apprentice that is unprofitable ; that is, having any maim (or defect) by reason of which he is incapable of doing a mason's proper work. 


The seventh article is this. That no master shall knowingly help or cause to be maintained and sustained any common nightwalker robber by which nightwalking they may be rendered incapable of doing a fair day's work and toil: a condition of things by which their fellows might be made wrath. 


The eighth article is this. Should it befall that a perfect and skilful mason come and apply for work and find one working who is incompetent and unskilful, the master of the place shall discharge the incompetent and engage the skilful one, to the advantage of the employer. 

The ninth article is this. That no master shall supplant another. For it is said in the art of masonry that no man can so well complete a work to the advantage of the lord, begun by another as he who began it intending to end it in accordance with his own plans, or [he] to whom he shows his plans. 


These regulation following were made by the lords (employers) and masters of divers provinces and divers congregations of masonry. 


[First point] To wit : whosoever desires to become a mason, it behoves him before all things to [love] God and the holy Church and all the Saints ; and his master and follows as his own brothers. 


The second point. He must give a fair day's work for his pay. 


The third [point]. He shall hele the counsel or his fellows in lodge and in chamber, and wherever masons meet. 


The fourth point. He shall be no traitor to the art and do it no harm nor conform to any enactments against the art nor against the members thereof : but he shall maintain it in all honour to the best of his ability. 

Petrus Christus: A Goldsmith in His Shop

The fifth point. When he receives his pay he shall take it without murmuring, as may be arranged at the time by the master; and he shall fulfil the agreement regarding the hours of work and rest, as ordained and set by the master. 


The sixth point. In case of disagreement between him and his fellows, he shall unquestioningly obey the master and be silent thereon at the bidding of his master, or of his master's warden in his master's absence, until the next following holiday and shall then settle the matter according to the verdict of his fellows; and not upon a work-day because of the hindrance to the work and to the lord's interests. 

The seventh point. He shall not covet the wife nor the daughter of his master or of his fellows unless it be in marriage neither shall he hold concubines, on account of the discord this might create amongst them. 


The eighth point. Should it befall him to be his master's warden, he shall be a true mediator between his master and his fellows : and he shall be active in his master's absence to the honour of his master and the profit of the lord who employs him. 


The ninth point. If he be more wise and skilful than his fellow working with him in the Lodge or in any other place, and he perceive that for want of skill, he is about to spoil the stone upon which he is working and can teach him to improve the stone, he shall instruct and help him ; so that love may increase the more amongst them and the work of his employer be not lost. 

Temple Church, London

When the master and fellows, being forewarned are come to such congregations, the sheriff of the country or the mayor of the city or alderman of the town in which the congregation is held, shall if need be, be fellow and associate of the master of the congregation, to help him against disobedient members to maintain the rights of the realm. 


And at the commencement of the proceedings, new men who have never been charged before are to be charged in this manner. Ye shall never be thieves nor thieves' maintainers, and shall do a fair day's work and toil for your pay that you take of the lord, and shall render true accounts to your fellows in all matters which should be accounted for to them, and love them as yourselves. And ye shall be true to the king of England and to the realm : and that ye keep with all your might and [power] all the aforesaid articles. 


After that an enquiry shall be held whether any master or fellow summoned to the meeting, have broken any of the beforesaid articles, which, if they have done, it shall be then and there adjudicated upon. 

Therefore be it known; if any master or fellow being forewarned to come to the congregation, be contumacious and appear not; or having trespassed against any of the aforesaid articles shall be convicted; he shall forswear his masonry and shall no longer exercise the craft. And if he presume so to do, the sheriff of the country in which he may be found at work shall put him in prison and take all his goods for the use of the king, until his (the king's) grace be granted and showed him. 


For this cause chiefly were these congregations ordained ; that the lowest as well as the highest might be well and truly served in the aforesaid art throughout all the kingdom of England. 


Amen, so mote it be.

The Book of Thel, William Blake

Freemasons and Popular Culture - The Simpsons

The Simpsons: Stonecutters Song "We Do"

Who controls the British crown?

Who keeps the metric system down?

We do! We do!

Who leaves Atlantis off the maps?

Who keeps the martians under wraps?

We do! We do!

Who holds back the electric car?

Who makes Steve Guttenberg a star?

We do! We do!

Who robs the cave fish of their sight?

Who rigs every Oscars night?

We do! We do!

Donald in Mathmagic Land (MUST SEE)

The Tubal Cain Song

I found the text somewhere. Has anyone actually ever heard of it?

"Tubal Cain" (circa 1846-56)
The Words by Charles Mackay, Esq.
The Music Composed and Sung by Henry Russell, 1812-1900.

1.
Old Tubal Cain was a man of might,
In the days when Earth was young;
By the fierce red light of his furnace bright,
The strokes of his hammer rung,
And he lifted high his brawny hand
On the iron, glowing clear,
Till the sparks rush’d out in scarlet rout,
As he fashion’d the sword and spear;
And he sang “Hura! for my handiwork!
Hurra for the spear and sword!
Hurra for the hand that shall wield them well,
For he shall be King and Lord!”

2.
To Tubal Cain came many a one,
As he wrought by his roaring fire,
And each one pray’d for a strong steel blade,
As the crown of his own desire;
And he made them weapons sharp and strong
Till they shouted loud for glee,
And gave him gifts of pearls and gold,
And spoils of the forest free;
And they sang “Hurra for Tubal Cain
Who hath giv’n us strength anew¬¬
Hurra for the smith! hurra for the fire!
And hurra for the metal true!”

3.
But a sudden change come o’re his head
Ere the setting of the sun;
And Tubal Cain was fill’d with pain
For the evil he had done;
He saw that men, with rage and hate,
Made war upon their kind;
And the land was red with the blood they shed
In their lust for carnage blind;
And he said “Alas! that ever I made,
Or that skill of mine should plan,
The spear and the sword for men whose joy
Is to slay their fellow man!”

4.
And for many a day old Tubal Cain
Sat brooding o’er his woe;
And his hand forbore to smite the ore,
And his furnace smoulder’d low:
And he rose at last with a cheerful face,
And a bright courageous eye,
And bar’d his strong right arm for work,
While the quick flames mounted high;
And he sang “Hurra for my handiwork!
And the red sparks lit the air,¬¬
Not alone for the blade was the bright steel made,”
And he fashion’d the first ploughshare.

5.
And men, taught wisdom from the past,
In friendship join’d their hands,¬¬
Hung the sword in the hall, the spear on the wall,
And plough’d the willing lands;
And sang “Hurra for Tubal Cain,
Our staunch good friend is he;
And for the ploughshare, and the plough,
To him our praise shall be.
But while oppression lifts its head,
Or a tyrant would be lord,
Though we may thank him for the plough,
We’ll not forget the sword.”

A Peculiar Necktie

More details here http://www.facebook.com/FraternalTies

Free the Masons: Toronto Truth Seekers meet a Freemason

Bro. Raoul Gomes, the incoming Master of my Mother Lodge- Doric Lodge No. 316, shares his insights and observations about character building, the "New World Order", and good citizenship.

The video below is the 2nd part of the interview.

Travel Light!

Reading Masons And Masons Who Do Not Read

By Albert G. Mackey

I suppose there are more Masons who are ignorant of all the principles of freemasonry than there are men of any other class who are chargeable with the like ignorance of their own profession. There is not a watchmaker who does not know something about the elements of horology, nor is there a blacksmith who is altogether unacquainted with the properties of red-hot iron. Ascending to the higher walks of science, we would be much astonished to meet with a lawyer who was ignorant of the elements of jurisprudence, or a physician who had never read a treatise on pathology, or a clergyman who knew nothing whatever of theology. Nevertheless, nothing is more common than to encounter Freemasons who are in utter darkness as to every thing that relates to Freemasonry. They are ignorant of its history - they know not whether it is a mushroom production of today, or whether it goes back to remote ages for its origin. They have no comprehension of the esoteric meaning of its symbols or its ceremonies, and are hardly at home in its modes of recognition. And yet nothing is more common than to find such socialists in the possession of high degrees and sometimes honored with elevated affairs in the Order, present at the meetings of lodges and chapters, intermeddling with the proceedings, taking an active part in all discussions and pertinaciously maintaining heterodox opinions in opposition to the judgment of brethren of far greater knowledge.

Why, it may well be asked, should such things be? Why, in Masonry alone, should there be so much ignorance and so much presumption? If I ask a cobbler to make me a pair of boots, he tells me that he only mends and patches, and that he has not learned the higher branches of his craft, and then he honestly declines the offered job. If I request a watchmaker to construct a mainspring for my chronometer, he answers that he cannot do it, that he has never learned how to make mainsprings, which belongs to a higher branch of the business, but that if I will bring him a spring ready made, he will insert it in my timepiece, because that he knows how to do. If I go to an artist with an order to paint me a historical picture, he will tell me that it is beyond his capacity, that he has never studied nor practiced the compotation of details, but has confined himself to the painting of portraits. Were he dishonest and presumptuous he would take my order and instead of a picture give me a daub. It is the Freemason alone who wants this modesty. He is too apt to think that the obligation not only makes him a Mason, but a learned Mason at the same time. He too often imagines that the mystical ceremonies which induct him into the Order are all that are necessary to make him cognizant of its principles. There are some Christian sects who believe that the water of baptism at once washes away all sin, past and prospective. So there are some Masons who think that the mere act of initiation is at once followed by an influx of all Masonic knowledge. They need no further study or research. All that they require to know has already been received by a sort of intuitive process.

The great body of Masons may be divided into three classes. The first consists of those who made their application for initiation not from a desire for knowledge, but from some accidental motive, not always honorable. Such men have been led to seek reception either because it was likely, in their opinion, to facilitate their business operations, or to advance their political prospects, or in some other way to personally benefit them. In the commencement of a war, hundreds flock to the lodges in the hope of obtaining the "mystic sign," which will be of service in the hour of danger. Their object having been attained, or having failed to attain it, these men become indifferent and, in time, fall into the rank of the non-affiliates. Of such Masons there is no hope. They are dead trees having no promise of fruit. Let them pass as utterly worthless, and incapable of improvement.

There is a second class consisting of men who are the moral and Masonic antipodes of the first. These make their application for admission, being prompted, as the ritual requires, "by a favorable opinion conceived of the Institution, and a desire of knowledge." As soon as they are initiated, they see in the ceremonies through which they have passed a philosophical meaning worthy of the trouble of inquiry. They devote themselves to this inquiry. They obtain Masonic books, they read Masonic periodicals, and they converse with well-informed brethren. They make themselves acquainted with the history of the Association. They investigate its origin and its ultimate design. They explore the hidden sense of its symbols and they acquire the interpretation. Such Masons are always useful and honorable members of the Order, and very frequently they become its shining lights. Their lamp burns for the enlightenment of others, and to them the Institution is indebted for whatever of an elevated position it has attained. For them, this article is not written.

But between these two classes, just described, there is an intermediate one; not as bad as the first, but far below the second, which, unfortunately, comprises the body of the Fraternity.

This third class consists of Masons who joined the Society with unobjectionable motives, and with, perhaps the best intentions. But they have failed to carry these intentions into effect.

They have made a grievous mistake. They have supposed that initiation was all that was requisite to make them Masons, and that any further study was entirely unnecessary. Hence, they never read a Masonic book. Bring to their notice the productions of the most celebrated Masonic authors, and their remark is that they have no time to read-the claims of business are overwhelming. Show them a Masonic journal of recognized reputation, and ask them to subscribe. Their answer is that they cannot afford it, the times are hard and money is scarce.

And yet, there is no want of Masonic ambition in many of these men. But their ambition is not in the right direction. They have no thirst for knowledge, but they have a very great thirst for office or for degrees. They cannot afford money or time for the purchase or perusal of Masonic books, but they have enough of both to expend on the acquisition of Masonic degrees.

It is astonishing with what avidity some Masons who do not understand the simplest rudiments of their art, and who have utterly failed to comprehend the scope and meaning of primary, symbolic Masonry, grasp at the empty honors of the high degrees. The Master Mason who knows very little, if anything, of the Apprentice's degree longs to be a Knight Templar. He knows nothing, and never expects to know anything, of the history of Templarism, or how and why these old crusaders became incorporated with the Masonic brotherhood. The height of his ambition is to wear the Templar cross upon his breast. If he has entered the Scottish Rite, the Lodge of Perfection will not content him, although it supplies material for months of study. He would fain rise higher in the scale of rank, and if by persevering efforts he can attain the summit of the Rite and be invested with the Thirty-third degree, little cares he for any knowledge of the organization of the Rite or the sublime lessons that it teaches. He has reached the height of his ambition and is permitted to wear the double-headed eagle.

Such Masons are distinguished not by the amount of knowledge that they possess, but by the number of the jewels that they wear. They will give fifty dollars for a decoration, but not fifty cents for a book.

These men do great injury to Masonry. They have been called its drones. But they are more than that. They are the wasps, the deadly enemy of the industrious bees. They set a bad example to the younger Masons - they discourage the growth of Masonic literature - they drive intellectual men, who would be willing to cultivate Masonic science, into other fields of labor - they depress the energies of our writers - and they debase the character of Speculative Masonry as a branch of mental and moral philosophy. When outsiders see men holding high rank and office in the Order who are almost as ignorant as themselves of the principles of Freemasonry, and who, if asked, would say they looked upon it only as a social institution, these outsiders very naturally conclude that there cannot be anything of great value in a system whose highest positions are held by men who profess to have no knowledge of its higher development.

It must not be supposed that every Mason is expected to be a learned Mason, or that every man who is initiated is required to devote himself to the study of Masonic science and literature. Such an expectation would be foolish and unreasonable. All men are not equally competent to grasp and retain the same amount of knowledge. Order, says Pope-Order is heaven's first law and this confess, some are, and must be, greater than the rest, richer, wiser.

All that I contend for is that when a candidate enters the fold of Masonry he should feel that there is something in it better than its mere grips and signs, and that he should endeavor with all his ability to attain some knowledge of that better thing. He should not seek advancement to higher degrees until he knew something of the lower, nor grasp at office, unless he had previously fulfilled with some reputation for Masonic knowledge, the duties of a private station. I once knew a brother whose greed for office led him to pass through all the grades from Warden of his lodge to Grand Master of the jurisdiction, and who during that whole period had never read a Masonic book nor attempted to comprehend the meaning of a single symbol. For the year of his Mastership he always found it convenient to have an excuse for absence from the lodge on the nights when degrees were to be conferred. Yet, by his personal and social influences, he had succeeded in elevating himself in rank above all those who were above him in Masonic knowledge. They were really far above him, for they all knew something, and he knew nothing. Had he remained in the background, none could have complained. But, being where he was, and seeking himself the position, he had no right to be ignorant. It was his presumption that constituted his offense.

A more striking example is the following: A few years ago while editing a Masonic periodical; I received a letter from the Grand Lecturer of a certain Grand Lodge who had been a subscriber, but who desired to discontinue his subscription. In assigning his reason, he said (a copy of the letter is now before me), "although the work contains much valuable information, I shall have no time to read, as I shall devote the whole of the present year to teaching." I cannot but imagine what a teacher such a man must have been, and what pupils he must have instructed.

This article is longer than I intended it to be. But I feel the importance of the subject. There are in the United States more than four hundred thousand affiliated Masons. How many of these are readers? One-half - or even one-tenth? If only one-fourth of the men who are in the Order would read a little about it, and not depend for all they know of it on their visits to their lodges, they would entertain more elevated notions of its character. Through their sympathy scholars would be encouraged to discuss its principles and to give to the public the results of their thoughts, and good Masonic magazines would enjoy a prosperous existence.

Now, because there are so few Masons that read, Masonic books hardly do more than pay the publishers the expense of printing, while the authors get nothing; and Masonic journals are being year after year carried off into the literary Academia, where the corpses of defunct periodicals are deposited; and, worst of all, Masonry endures depressing blows.

The Mason, who reads, however little, is it only the pages of the monthly magazine to which he subscribes, will entertain higher views of the Institution and enjoy new delights in the possession of these views. The Masons who do not read will know nothing of the interior beauties of Speculative Masonry, but will be content to suppose it to be something like Odd Fellowship, or the Order of the Knights of Pythias - only, perhaps, a little older. Such a Mason must be an indifferent one. He has laid no foundation for zeal.

If this indifference, instead of being checked, becomes more widely spread, the result is too apparent. Freemasonry must step down from the elevated position which she has been struggling, through the efforts of her scholars, to maintain, and our lodges, instead of becoming resorts for speculative and philosophical thought, will deteriorate into social clubs or mere benefit societies. With so many rivals in that field, her struggle for a prosperous life will be a hard one.

The ultimate success of Masonry depends on the intelligence of her disciples.

- Source: The Master Mason 1924