CHAPTER I.

Sfje SLaiitrmarrfcs, or tfje SIntoritten 2Lato
Sir William Blackstone commences Ms Com- mentaries on the Laws of England with the succinct definition, that " law, in its most general and com- prehensive sense, signifies a rule of action, and is applied to all kinds of action, whether animate or inanimate, rational or irrational." It is in this sense that we speak of the laws of a country as being those rules, whether derived from positive enactment of the legislative authority, or from long- established custom, by which the conduct of its citizens or subjects is regulated.
So too, societies, which are but empires, kingdoms, or republics in miniature, are also controlled by rules of action which are, to their respective mem- bers, as perfect laws as the statutes of the realm. And hence Freemasonry, as the most ancient and universal of all societies, is governed by its laws or rules of action, which either spring out of its
14 THE LANDMARKS, OR
organization, and are based upon its long-established customs and usages, or which are derived from the enactment of its superintending tribunals.
This difference in the origin of the Laws of Masonry leads to a threefold division of them, as follows :
1. Landmarks.
2. General Regulations.
3. Local Regulations.
The writers on municipal law have made a divi- sion of all laws into unwritten and written — the " leges non-scriptze" and " leges scriptae."* Apply- ing these terms to the threefold division of Masonic Law, we should say that the unwritten laws or cus- toms of Masonry constitute its Landmarks, and that the written law is to be obtained in the regulations made by the supreme Masonic authority, and which are either general or local, as the authority which enacted them was either general or local in its character.
* Blackstone defines the " unwritten laws" as those whose " original insti* tution and authority are not set down in writing as acts of parliament are, but receive their binding power and the force of laws by long and imme- morial usage, and by their universal reception throughout the kingdom." And he defines the " written laws" to be the " statutes, acts or edicts made by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal and commons in parliament assembled." — Comment. Irdrod., § 3. The civil law of the Romans made a similar distinction into the "jus scriptum" and the " jus non scriptum," the latter or unwritten law being also called the "jus moribus constitutum," or the law founded on " consuetudo inveterata," or immemorial custom. The Hebrews, too, had their double set of laws, the written, which are found in the Pentateuch, and the oral, said to have been given by God to Moses, to be by him orally communicated to Aaron aud the elders, and thence traditionally handed down to future generations.
THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 15
Of the nature of the Landmarks of Masonry, there has been some diversity of opinion among writers ;* but perhaps the safest method is to re- strict them to those ancient, and therefore universal, customs of the Order, which either gradually grew into operation as rules of action, or if at once enacted by any competent authority, were enacted at a period so remote, that no account of their ori- gin is to be found in the records of history. Both the enactors and the time of the "enactment have passed away from the record, and the Landmarks are therefore " of higher antiquity than memory or history can reach."
The first requisite, therefore, of a custom or rule of action to constitute it a Landmark is, that it must have existed from " time whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary. "f Its antiquity is its essential element. Were it possible for all the Masonic authorities at the present day to unite in a universal congress, and with the most perfect unanimity to adopt any new regulation, although
* " With respect to the Landmarks of Masonry, some restrict them to the 0. B., signs, tokens and words. Others include the ceremonies of initiation, passing and raising; and the form, dimensions and supports ; the ground, situation and covering; the ornaments, furniture and jewels of a lodge, or their characteristic symbols. Some think that the order has no landmarks beyond its peculiar secrets." — Oliver, Bid. Symb. Mas. All these are loose and unsatisfactory definitions, excluding things that are essential, and admitting others that are non-essential.
f- Blackstone says, (Introd. § 3) , " the goodness of a custom depends upon its having been ue-ed time out of mind: or in the solemnity of our legal phrase, time whereof tho memory of man runneth not to the contrary. This, it is, that gives it its weight and authority." All this may be applied in the precise terms +o the Landmarks of Freemasonry.
16 THE LANDMARKS. OR
such regulation would, so long as it remained unre pealed, be obligatory on the whole craft, yet ii would not be a landmark. It would have the character of universality, it is true, but it would be wanting in that of antiquity.
Another peculiarity of these Landmarks of Ma- sonry is, that they are imrepealable. As the con- gress to which I have just alluded would not have the power to enact a Landmark, so neither would it have the prerogative of abolishing one. The Land- marks of the Order, like the laws of the Medes and the Persians, can suffer no change. What they were centuries ago, they still remain, and must so continue in force until Masonry itself shall cease to exist.
It is fortunate for the stability of Masonry, that Landmarks so unchangeable should exist ; they stand in the way of innovations controlling and checking theni,* and if sometimes inadvertently' violated, are ever bringing the reflective and conscientious Mason back again under their influence, and preserving that general uniformity of character and design which constitutes the true universality of the insti- tution. But it is equally fortunate for the prosper- ity of the Order, and for its capacity of keeping up with the progress of the age, that these Landmarks
* " The preservation of the ancient customs is a very considerable point in respect to manners. Since a corrupt people seldom perform any memor- able actions, seldom establish societies, build cities or enact laws; on the contrary, since most institutions are derived from people of simple or severe morals; to recall men to the ancient maxims is generally recalling them ta Virtue." — Montesquieu Spirit of haws, V. vii.
THE UNWKITTEN LAW. 17
are few in number. They are sufficiently numerous to act as bulwarks against innovation, but not suf- ficient to stand in the way of needful reform.*
The Landmarks of Masonry, so far as I have been enabled to compute them, after the most care- ful examination, amount only to twenty-five in num- ber, and are as follows :
aatitrmavit jFirst.
The modes of Recognition are, of all the Land- marks, the most legitimate and unquestioned.? They admit of no variation ; and if ever they have suffered alteration or addition, the evil of such a violation of the ancient law has always made itself subsequently manifest. An admission of this is to be found in the proceedings of the late Masonic Congress at Paris, where a proposition was pre- sented to render these modes of recognition once
* The fundamental principles of Freemasonry are, it is true, the same now that they were in the very beginning of the institution, and must always con- tinue the same. And yet there can be no doubt that, like every other science, Freemasonry is progressive in its character. It must of necessity be in- fluenced by the progress of the age. Even now it is in a transition state in this country, passing from the simply social condition which it presented less than half a century ago to the character of a scientific and philosophical asso- ciation. For proof of this, look to the Grand Lodge proceedings of 1815 and of 1858. With the progress in literary improvement, the Landmarks do not interfere.
t Smith says that at the institution of the order to each of the degrees, " a particular distinguishing test was adopted, which test, together with the explication, was accordingly settled and communicated to the fraternity previous to their dispersion, under a necessary and solemn injunction tG secrecy; and they have been most cautiously preserved and transmitted down to posterity by faithful brethren, ever since their emigration.'' — Uss and Abuse of Freemasonry, p. 46.
18 THE LANDMARKS, OR
more universal* — a proposition which never would have been necessary, if the integrity of this im- portant Landmark had been rigorously preserved.
Sartitrmar& Secontr,
The division of Symbolic Masonry into Three Degrees,? is a Landmark that has been better pre- served than almost any- other, although even here the mischievous spirit of innovation has left its traces, and by the disruption of its concluding por- tion from the third degree, t a want of uniformity has been created in respect to the final teaching of the Master's order ; and the Royal Arch of Eng- land, Scotland. Ireland, and America, and the " high degrees" of France and Germany, are all made to differ in the mode in which they lead the neophyte
* That proposition is contained in the 7th resolution of the Congress, and is in these words : " Masters of lodges, in conferring the degree of Master Mason, should invest the candidate with the words, signs and grips of the Scottish and Modern rites/' If the Landmark had never been violated, the resolution would have been unnecessary. The symbolic degrees being the foundation of all masonry, should never have been permitted to differ in any of the rites.
f Smith thus accounts for this Landmark: " Though there were no ap- prentices employed in the building of the temple, yet as the craftsmen were all intended to be promoted to the degree of Masters, after its dedication; and as these would receive a succession by receiving apprentices, who might themselves in due time become Masters, it was determined that the gradations in the science should consist in three distinct degrees." — Use and Abuse of Freemasonry, p. 46. Lond., 1783.
X Dr. Oliver says that " the difference between the ancient and modern systems (that is, between^the ancient and modern Lodges in the 18th cen- tury) consisted solely in the mutilation of the third degree." See " Some Account of the Schism," &c, which contains a full relation of this disrup tion of the Royal Arch from the Master's degree.
TBE UNWRITTEN LAW. 19
to the great consummation of all symbolic Masonry.* In 1813, the Grand Lodge of England vindicated the ancient Landmark, by solemnly enacting that Ancient Craft Masonry consisted of the three de- grees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason, including the Holy Royal Arch.t But the disruption has never been healed, and the Landmark, although acknowledged in its integrity by all, still continues to be violated.
The Legend of the Third Degree is an import- ant Landmark, the integrity of which has been well preserved. J There is no rite of Masonry, practised in any country or language, in which the essential elements of this legend are not taught. The lectures may vary, and indeed are constantly changing, but the legend has ever remained sub- stantially the same. And it is necessary that it
* Tho true icord, which is the symbol of divine truth, is the great ob- ject of Freemasonry. Any system without it must be imperfect; and there- fore in all the various rites, and I might almost say that their name was legion, this true word is sought for, but the search is in each, prosecuted in a different way, which really constitutes the essential difference of the masonic rites.
f " It is declared and pronounced that pure ancient Masonry consists of three degrees, and no more; viz: tloseof the Entered Apprentice, the Fellow Craft and the Master Mason, including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch." — Articles of Union between the Two Grand Lodges of England, 1813. Art. ii.
$ " After the union of speculative and operative Masonry, and when the temple of Solomon was completed, a legend of sublime and symbolic mean- ing was introduced into the system, which is still retained, and consequently Known to all Master Masons."— Oliver. Landmarks, vol. ii. p. 169.
110 THE LANDMARKS, OR
should be so, for the legend of the Temple Builder constitutes the very essence and identity of Masonry. Any rite which should exclude it, or materially alter it, would at once, by that exclusion or alteration, cease to be a Masonic rite.
3Lantrntaiit jFourtfj,
The Government of the Fraternity, by a pre- siding officer called a Grand Master, who is elected from the body of the craft, is a fourth Landmark of the Order.* Many persons ignorantly suppose that the election of the Grand Master is held in conse- quence of a law or regulation of the Grand Lodge. Such, however, is not the case.t The office is in- debted for its existence to a Landmark of the Order. Grand Masters are to be found in the records of the institution long before Grand Lodges were estab- lished ; and if the present system of legislative government by Grand Lodges were to be abolished, a Grand Master would still be necessary. In fact,
* " No brother can be a Warden, until he has passed the part of a Fellow Craft; nor a Master, until he has acted as a Warden ; nor Grand Warden, until he has been Master of a lodge; nor Grand Master, unless he has been a Fellow Craft before his election." — Old Charges, iv.
t The mode and time of his election is, in modern times, prescribed by a regulation of the Grand Lodge, it is true, but the office itself exists inde- pendently of any such regulation. When installed into office, it is not as the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge, but as the " Grand Master of Masous." — See Anderson's Constitutions, Id edit, passim. The earliest references to the office in English Masonry is in the time of the Emperor Carausins, in the third century, who, as Preston states, " granted the Masons a charter, and commandMl Albanus to preside over them in person as Grand Master."- - Preston, Illustrations, p. 125. Oliv. edit.
THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 21
although there has been a period within the records of history, and indeed of very recent date, when a Grand Lodge "was unknown, there never has been a time when the craft did not have their Grand Master.*
Santrmarfc JFCftfK
The Prerogative of the Grand Master to Pre- side over every assembly of the craft, wheresoever and whensoever held, is a fifth Landmark. It is in consequence of this law, derived from ancient usage, and not from any special enactment, that the Grand Master assumes the chair, or as it is called in Eng- land, " the throne," at every communication of the Grand Lodge ;t and that he is also entitled to pre- side at the communication of every Subordinate Lodge, where he may happen to be present.^:
SLantrmarlt gsixtij.
The Prerogative of the Grand Master to grant Dispensations for conferring degrees at ir- regular times, is another and a very important
* " The Grand Master is not a creation of the General Regulations, the Ancient Charges or Written Constitutions. He existed when all those that we know anything of were made."— Com. of Correspond. G. L. N. Y., 1851.
f The Thirty-nine General Regulations, adopted in 1721, acknowledged this Landmark in the following words: " The Grand Lodge consists of and is formed by the Master and Wardens of all the regular particular Lodges on record, with the Grand Master at their head." — Twelfth Regulation.
X Thus, in the First General Regulation: " The Grand Master, or his Deputy, hath authority and right, not only to be present in any true Lodge, but also to preside wheresoever he is, with the Master of the Lodge on hia left hand."
22 THE LANDMARKS, OR
Landmark. The statutory law of Masonry requires a -month, or other determinate period, to elapse between the presentation of a petition and the elec- tion of a candidate. But the Grand Master has the power to set aside or dispense with this probation, and to allow a candidate to be initiated at once. This prerogative he possessed in common with all Masters,* before the enactment of the law requiring a probation, and as no statute can impair his pre- rogative, he still retains the power, although the Masters of Lodges no longer possess it.
3Lantrnrar!t Sebeittfj.
The Prerogative of the Grand Master to give Dispensations for opening and holding Lodges, is another Landmark. He may grant, in virtue of this, to a sufficient number of Masons, the privilege of meeting together and conferring degrees. The Lodges thus established are called " Lodges under Dispensation.'7 They are strictly creatures of the Grand Master, created by his authority, existing only during his will and pleasure, and liable at any moment to be dissolved at his command. They may be continued for a day, a month, or six months ; but whatever be the period of their existence, they
* Preston says: " A sufficient number of Masons met together within a certain district, with the consent of the sheriff or chief magistrate of th place, were empowered at this time, (i.e. anterior to 1717) to make Masons and practice the rites of Masonry without warrant of constitution. Tii6 privilege was inherent in them as individuals; and this privilege is still en- joyed by the two old Lodges now extant, which act by immemorial constito tion."— Illustrations, p. 182, ncie.
THE UNWRITTEN LAW. * 23
are indebted for that existence solely to the grace of the Grand Master.*
fLcOttnuarfc Htgfjtfs.
The Prerogative op the Grand Master to make Masons at sight, is a Landmark which is closely connected with the preceding one.f There has been much misapprehension in relation to this Landmark, which misapprehension has sometimes led to a denial of its existence in jurisdictions where the Grand Master was perhaps at the very time substantially exercising the prerogative, without the slightest remark or opposition.! It is not to be
* If, according to the preceding note, the privilege of meeting and confer- ring the degrees was originally inherent in all Masons, as individuals, then it must also have been inherent in the Grand Master, and was therefore his prerogative, as well as that of every other member of the craft. But at the reorganization of the order in 1717, the Masons, as a body, surrendered tliis prerogative to the Grand Lodge; (see Preston, as above,) but they could not surrender the prerogative of the Grand Master, for it was not theirs to surrender. Consequently he still exercises it, and may assemble Masons together either personally or by proxy; in such cases, the Lodge meets, as of old, without a warrant of constitution; and to enable it to do so, the Grand Master issues his dispensation ; that is, he dispenses with the law enacted in 1717, which requires such warrant.
f " We think this to be the rule, because we do not think the regulation of June 24th, 1717, restricting the future assemblage of Masons, except in the four old Lodges in London, to Lodges held under warrant, was intended to apply to the Grand Master or the Grand Lodge in session, but rather to the craft in other respects."'— Com. of Correspond. G. L. ofN. Y., 1851. Of course not; for if it did, supposing that it legally could, then the Grand Master would be deprived of the power of granting dispensations to open Lodges, for his prerogatives of making Masons at sight and of opening Lodges are founded on the oame principle.
% That is, whenever the Grand Master granted h:3 dfepemation to an unchartered Lodge :o dispense with the necessary probation, and was
24 # THE LANDMARKS, OR
supposed that the Grand Master can retire with a profane into a private room, and there, withou- assistance, confer the degrees of Freemasonry upon him. No such prerogative exists, and yet many be- lieve that this is the so much talked of right of " making Masons at sight/7 The real mode and the only mode of exercising the prerogative is this : The Grand Master summons to his assistance not less than six other Masons, convenes a Lodge, and with- out any previous probation, but an sight of the can- didate, confers the degrees upon him, after which he dissolves the Lodge, and dismisses the brethren. Lodges thus convened for special purposes are called " occasional lodges/7 This is the only way in which any Grand Master within the records of the insti- tution has ever been known to " make a Mason at sight.77 The prerogative is dependent upon that of granting dispensations to open and hold Lodges. If the Grand Master has the power of granting to any other Mason the privilege of presiding over Lodges working by his dispensation, he may assume this privilege of presiding to himself ; and as no one can deny his right to 'revoke his dispensation granted to a number of brethren at a distance, and to dissolve the Lodge at his pleasure, it will scarcely be contended that he may not revoke his dispensa- tion for a Lodge over which he himself has been presiding, within a day, and dissolve the Lodge aa soon as the business for whbh he had assembled it
present and presiding at the conferring rf the degrees, he was -virtual flaking a Mason at sight.
THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 25
is accomplished. The making of Masons at sight is only the conferring of the degrees by the Grand Master, at once, in an occasional Lodge," consti- tuted by his dispensing power for the purpose, and over which he presides in person.
3Lantrmar& Nuttf).
The Necessity for Masons to Congregate in Lodges is another Landmark.f It is not to be un- derstood by this that any ancient Landmark has directed that permanent organization of subordi- nate Lodges which constitutes one of the features of the Masonic system as it now prevails. But the Landmarks of the Order always prescribed that Masons should from time to time congregate to- gether, for the purpose of either operative or specu- lative labor, and that these congregations should be called Lodges. Formerly these were extemporary meetings called together for special purposes, and then dissolved, the brethren departing to meet again at other times and other places, according to the necessity of circumstances. But warrants of con- stitution, by-laws, permanent officers and annual
* These occasional Lodges have been often called by the English Grand Masters since 1717, and frequent records of the fact are to be found in Anderson's Constitutions. Almost all of the princes of the royal family, when made Masons, were initiated, passed and raised at sight, and in occasional Lodges.
f " A Lodge is a place where Masons assemble and work; hence that assembly or duly organized society of Masons is called a Lodge, and every brother ought to belong to one, and to be subject to its by-laws and the gene- ral regulations." — Old Charges, iii.
26 THE LANDMARKS, OR
arrears, are modern innovations wholly outside of the Landmarks, and dependent entirely on the special enactments of a comparatively recent period.
2Lan&tmirft Snttfj,
The Government op the Craft, when so con- gregated in a Lodge by a Master and two Wardens, is also a Landmark.* To show the influence of this ancient law, it may be observed by the way, that a congregation of Masons meeting together under any other government, as that for instance of a president and vice-president, or a chairman and sub- chairman, would not be recognized as a Lodge. The presence of a Master and two Wardens is as essential to the valid organization of a Lodge as a warrant of constitution is at the present day. The names, of course, vary in different languages, the Master, for instance, being called " Venerable" in French Masonry, and the Wardens " Surveillants," but the officers, their number,? prerogatives and duties, are everywhere identical.
Hatrtrmarft Bicbentf),
The Necessity that every Lodge, when Con-
* The Old Charges allude to the antiquity of these officers in the follow- ing language : " In ancient times no Master or Fellow could be absent from the Lodge when warned to appear at it, without incurring a severe censure, until it appeared to the Master and Wardens that pure necessity hindered him." — Charges, iii.
f The number, three, of these offices, is essential to the symbolism of the Order, because they refer, as corresponding officers always did, in the ancient Mysteries, to the sun at its rising, its meridian height, and its setting. So long as Masonry preserves its symbolic character, these officers must be retained, and their peculiar positions preserved.
THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 27
GREGATED, SHOULD BE DULY TlLED, IS ail important
Landmark of the institution, which is never neg- lected. The necessity of this law arises from the esoteric character of Masonry. As a secret insti- tution, its portals must of course be guarded from the intrusion of the profane, and such a law must therefore always have been in force from the very beginning of the Order.* It is therefore properly classed among the most ancient Landmarks. The office of Tiler is wholly independent of any special enactment of Grand or Subordinate Lodges, al- though these may and do prescribe for him addi- tional duties, which vary in different jurisdictions. But the duty of guarding the door, and keeping off cowans and eavesdroppers, is an ancient one, which constitutes a Landmark for his government.
The Right of evert Mason to be Represented in all general meetings of the craft, and to instruct his representatives, is a twelfth Landmark. f For- merly, these general meetings, which were usually held once a year, were called " General Assemblies,"
* The appointment of a Tiler is so evidently a Landmark, and the necessity of such an officer so apparent, from the very character of the Masonic insti- tution, that neither the Old Charges nor the General Regulations make any allusion to him, except that the latter refer to the qualifications of the Grand Tiler of the Grand Lodge.
t This Landmark is recognized by the General Regulations in these words: s privilege of giving instructions to their Master and Wardens before the as- sembling of the Grand Chapter or Grand Lodge."— Gen. Reg., Art. x.
28 THE LANDMARKS, OR
and all the fraternity, even to the youngest Entered Apprentice, were permitted to be present. Now they are called " Grand Lodges," and only the Mas- ters and Wardens of the Subordinate Lodges are summoned. But this is simply as the representa- tives of their members. Originally, each Mason represented himself ; now he is represented by his officers. This was a concession granted by the fra- ternity about 1717, and of course does not affect the integrity of the Landmark, for the principle of representation is still preserved. The concession was only made for purposes of convenience.*
3Lmtlmiar& STijtrtetntf)*
The Right of every Mason to Appeal from the decision of his brethren in Lodge convened, to the Grand Lodge or General Assembly of Masons, is a Landmark highly essential to the preservation of justice, and the prevention of oppression. f A few modern Grand Lodges, in adopting a regulation that the decision of Subordinate Lodges, in cases
* See a full relation of the history of this concession in Preston. (Oliver's edition, pp. 182-184.) The result of the concession is given in these words: " Matters being thus amicably adjusted, the brethren of the four old Lodges considered their attendance on the future communications of the society as unnecessary, and, therefore, like the other Lodges, trusted implicitly to their Master and Wardens, resting satisfied that no measure of importance would be adopted without their approbation."— IllusL, p. 183.
t The Old Charges recognize this right of appeal in these words: " If any complaint be brought, the brother found guilty shall stand to the award and determination of the Lodge, who are the proper and competent judges of all such controversies, unless you carry it by appeal to the Grand Lodge.'' — Charge vi., 1.
THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 29
of expulsion, cannot be wholly set aside upon an ap- peal, have violated this unquestioned Landmark, as well as the principles of just government.
SLtut&matlt jFourteentg)*
The Eight of every Mason to Yisit and sit in every regular Lodge is an unquestionable Land- mark of the Order.* This is called " the right of visitation." This right of visitation has always been recognized as an inherent right, which inures to every Mason as he travels through the world. And this is because Lodges are justly considered as only divisions for convenience of the universal Ma- sonic family. This right may, of course, be im- paired or forfeited on special occasions by various circumstances ; but when admission is refused to a Mason in good standing, who knocks at the door of a Lodge as a visitor, it is to be expected that some good and sufficient reason shall be fur- nished for this violation, of what is in general a Masonic right, founded on the Landmarks of the Order.
* The MS. in possession of the Lodge of Antiquity, and which contains charges written in the reign of James II., between 1685 and 1688, recog- nizes this right of visitation in the welcome which it orders every Mason to give to a strange brother: " Thirteenthly, that every Mason receive and cherish strange Fellows, when they come over the country, and set them on work, if they will work, as the manner is; that is to say, if the Mason have any mould stone in his place, he shall give him a mould stone, and set him on work; and if he have none, the Mason shall refresh him with money unto the next Lodge." All this implies the right to claim and the duty to extend hospitality to a visiting brother,
30 THE LANDMARKS, OR
Santrmarfe jFtfteatti). It is a Landmark of the Order, that no Visitor,
UNKNOWN TO THE BRETHREN PRESENT, or to SOme
one of them as a Mason, can enter a Lodge without first passing an examination according to ancient usage.* Of course, if the visitor is known to any brother present to be a Mason in good standing, and if that brother will vouch for his qualifications, the examination may be dispensed with, as the Landmark refers only to the cases of strangers, who are not to be recognized unless after strict trial, due examination, or lawful information.
2lantrmarfe Sirtcnxt?).
No Lodge can Interfere in the Business of another Lodge, nor give degrees to brethren who are members of other Loclges.t This is undoubtedly an ancient Landmark, founded on the great prin- ciples of courtesy and fraternal kindness, which are at the very foundation of our institution. It has been repeatedly recognized by subsequent statutory enactments of all Grand Lodges.
* Reference is made to this important Landmark in the Old Charges,vi. G, in the directions for " behavior to a strange brother," where we find the fol- lowing language: " You are cautioned to examine him in such method as prudence shall direct you, that you may not be imposed upon by an ignorant pretender, whom you are to reject with contempt and derision, and beware of giving him any hints of knowledge."
f Thus in the MS. charges of the Lodge of Antiquity: " That no Master or Fellow supplant others of their work; that is, if he hath taken a work or else stand master of any work, that he [i.e. any other,] shall not pui him out, unless he be unable of cunn'ng to make an end of his work."
THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 31
It is a Landmark that Every Freemason is Ame- nable to the Laws and Regulations of the Ma- sonic Jurisdiction in which lie resides, and this although he may not be a member of any Lodge.* Non-affiliation, which is, in fact, in itself a Masonic offence, does not exempt a Mason from Masonic jurisdiction.
2.anfcm?irfc 32iQ$t?rnt§,
Certain Qualifications of Candidates for In- itiation are derived from a Landmark of the Order.f These qualifications are that he shall be a man — shall be unmutilated, free born, and of mature age. J That is to say, a woman, a cripple, or a slave, or one born in slavery, is disqualified for initiation into
* Tke same charges recognize this Landmark in these words : " Tenthly, that every Master and Fellow shall come to the assembly, if it be within fifty miles of him, if he have any warning. And if he have trespassed against the craft, to abide the award of Masters and Fellows." And again : " Eleventhly, that every Master Mason and Fellow that hath trespassed against the craft, shall stand to the correction of other Masters and Fellows to make him accord, and if he cannot accord, to go to the common law."
f Thus in the same MS. charges these qualifications are referred to : " Thirdly, that he that be made, be able in all degrees ; that is, free born; of a good kindred, true, and no bondsman ; and that he have his right limbs as a man ought to have." And the Old Charges, collected in 1717, give the qualifications as follows : " The persons admitted members of a Lodge must be good and true men, free born and of mature and discreet age, no bond- men, no women, no immoral or scandalous men, but of good report."
} In the regulations adopted by the General Assembly, 27th December,, 1663, the age is placed at twenty-one years : " That no person be accepted unless he be twenty-one years old or more." — See Anderson, 2d edits p. 102.
32 THE LANDMARKS, OR
the rites of Masonry. Statutes, it is true, have from time to time been enacted, enforcing or ex- plaining these principles ; but the qualifications really arise from the very nature of the Masonic institution, and from its symbolic teachings, and have always existed as Landmarks.
2,antrmar& 'NiixzUmtl).
A Belief in the Existence of God as the Grand Architect of the universe, is one of the most im- portant Landmarks of the Order.* It has been al- ways deemed essential that a denial of the existence of a Supreme and Superintending Power, is an abso- lute disqualification for initiation. The annals of the Order never yet have furnished or could furnish an instance in which an avowed atheist was ever made a Mason. The very initiatory ceremonies of the first degree forbid and prevent the possibility of so monstrous an occurrence.
SLamftmarfc Slyenttetf).
Subsidiary to this belief in God, as a Landmark of the Order, is the Belief in a Resurrection to a Future Life.t This Landmark is not so posi-
* It were needless to cite authorities on this point. We might say, that the very first of the Old Charges begins by declaring that "a Mason is. obliged by his tenure to obey the moral law ; and if he rightly understands the art, he will never be a stupid atheist, nor an irreligious libertine."
f The whole scope and design of the third degree is, to teach the resurrec- tion from the dead, as that of the Royal Arch is to inculcate the rewards of a future life. K the doctrine of the resurrection were false, then would the ceremonies of the third degree be simply a farce ; and hence Hutchinson,
THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 33
ti vely impressed on the candidate by exact words as the preceding ; but the doctrine is taught by very plain implication, and runs through the whole sym- bolism of the Order. To believe in Masonry, and not to believe in a resurrection, would be an absurd anomaly, which could only be excused by the re- flection, that he who thus confounded his belief and his skepticism, was so ignorant of the meaning of both theories as to have no rational foundation for his knowledge of either.
Slantrnrarfc Stoeut^jFfrst.
It is a Landmark, that a " Book of the Law" shall constitute an indispensable part of the furni- ture of every Lodge.* I say advisedly, a Booh of the Law, because it is not absolutely required that everywhere the Old and New Testaments shall be used. The " Book of the Law" is that volume which, by the religion of the country, is believed to contain the revealed will of the Grand Architect of the universe. Hence, in all Lodges in Christian countries, the Book of the Law is composed of the Old and New Testaments ; in a country where Judaism was the prevailing faith, the Old Testa- ment alone would be sufficient ; and in Mohamme-
who had profoundly studied its symbolism, says, that the Master Mason's order " testifies our faith concerning the resurrection of the body." — Spirit of Masom^y, p. 101.
* The presence of a Book of the Law in a Lodge, as a part of its furniture, is strictly a ritualistic Landmark, and the authorities for it will be at once evi dent to every Mason.
2*
34 THE LANDMARKS, OR
dan countries, and among Mohammedan Masons, the Koran might be substituted. Masonry does not attempt to interfere with the peculiar religious faith of its disciples, except so far as relates to the belief in the existence of God, and what necessarily results from that belief.* The Book of the Law is to the speculative Mason his spiritual Trestle-board ; without this he cannot labor ; whatever he believes to be the revealed will of the Grand Architect con- stitutes for him this spiritual Trestle-board, and must ever be before him in his hours of speculative labor, to be the rule and guide of his conduct. The Landmark, therefore, requires that a Book of the Law, a religious code of some kind, purporting to be an exemplar of the revealed will of God, shall form an essential part of the furniture of every Lodge.
The Equality op all Masons is another Land- mark of the Order. t This equality has no refer- ence to any subversion of those gradations of rank which have been instituted by the usages of society.^
* On the subject of the religious, or rather the doctrinal, requirements of Masonry, the Old Charges utter the following explicit language : " Though in ancient times, Masons were charged in every country to be of the religion of that country or nation, whatever it was ; yet it is now thought expedient only to oblige them to that religion in which all men agree, leaving their particular opinions to themselves." — Charge i.
t " Masons meet upon the level." — Ritual.
% " Though all Masons are as brethren upon the same level, yet Masonry takes no honor from a man tha; he had before ; nay, rather it adds to his
THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 35
The monarch, the nobleman or the gentleman is en- titled to all the influence, and receives all the respect which rightly belong to his exalted position. But the doctrine of Masonic equality implies that, as children of one great Father, we meet in the Lodge upon the level — that on that level we are all traveling to one predestined goal — that in the Lodge genuine merit shall receive more respect than boundless wealth, and that virtue and knowledge alone should be the basis of all Masonic honors, and be rewarded with preferment.* When the labors of the Lodge are over, and the brethren have retired from their peaceful retreat, to mingle once more with the world, each will then again resume that social position, and exercise the privileges of that rank, to which the customs of society entitle him.
The Secrecy of the Institution is another and a most important Landmark.f There is some diffi-
honor, especially if he has deserved well of the brotherhood, who must give honor to whom it is due, and avoid ill manners."— Old Charges, vi.,3.
* " All preferment among Masons is grounded upon real worth and per- sonal merit only." — Old Charges, iv.
t There are abundant cautions in the Old Charges which recognize the existence of this Landmark, and the necessity of preserving it. Thus in the direction for the behavior of brethren who meet without strangers, it is said :
" You will salute one another in a courteous manner freely giving
mutual instruction as shall be thought expedient, without being overseen or overheard ;" and in the presence of strangers : " You shall be cautious in your words and carriage, that the most penetrating stranger shall not be able to discover or find out what is not proper to be intimated."
36 *HE LANDMARKS, OR
culty in precisely defining what is meant by a u secret society." If the term refers, as perhaps, in strictly logical language it should, to those asso- ciations whose designs are concealed from the pub- lic eye, and whose members are unknown, which produce their results in darkness, and whose opera- tions are carefully hidden from the public gaze — a definition which will be appropriate to many politi- cal clubs and revolutionary combinations in despotic countries, where reform, if it is at all to be effected, must be effected by stealth — then clearly Free- masonry is not a secret society. Its design is not only publicly proclaimed, but is vaunted by its dis- ciples as something to be venerated — its disciples are known, for its membership is considered an honor to be coveted — it works for a result of which it boasts — the civilization and refinement of man, the amelioration of his condition, and the reforma- tion of his manners. But if by a secret society is meant — and this is the most popular understanding of the term — a society in which there is a certain amount of knowledge, whether it be of methods of recognition, or of legendary and traditional learn- ing* which is imparted to those only who have passed through an established form of initiation, the form itself being also concealed or esoteric,
* The Leland MS., containing the answers of the Masons to the questions of King Henry the Sixth, gives a long list of the secrets which the Masons " conceal and hide," the catalogue of secret sciences ending with "the nniversalle longage of Masonnes," that is, the peculiar modes of recognition.
THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 37
then in this sense is Freemasonry undoubtedly a secret society. Now this form of secrecy is a form inherent in it, existing with it from its very founda- tion, and secured to it by its ancient Landmarks. If divested of its secret character, it would lose its identity, and would cease to be Freemasonry.* Whatever objections may, therefore, be made to the institution, on account of its secrecy, and however much some unskillful brethren have been willing in times of trial, for the sake of expediency, to divest it of its secret character, it will be ever impossible to do so, even were the Landmark not standing be- fore us as an insurmountable obstacle ; because such change of its character would be social suicide, and the death of the Order would follow its legalized exposure. Freemasonry, as a secret association, has Hved unchanged for centuries — as an open society it would not last for as many years.
The Foundation of a Speculative Science upon an Operative Art, and the symbolic use and ex- planation of the terms of that art, for purposes of religious or moral teaching, constitute another Landmark of the Order.f The Temple of Solomon
* " Finally, keep sacred and inviolable the mysteries of the Order, as these are to distinguish you from the rest of the community, and mark your conse* quence among Masons." — Charges to an Ent Apprentice.
t " We work in speculative Masonry, but our ancient brethren worked in both operative and speculative '—Bilual of F. 0. degree.
38 THE LANDMARKS, OR
was the cradle of the institution,* and, therefore, the reference to the operative Masonry, which con- structed that magnificent edifice, to the materials and implements which were employed in its con- struction, and to the artists who were engaged in the building, are all component and essential partr of the body of Freemasonry, which could not be subtracted from it without an entire destruction of the whole identity of the Order. Hence, all the comparatively modern rites of Masonry, however they may differ in other respects, religiously pre- serve this temple history and these operative ele- ments, as the substratum of all their modifications of the Masonic system.
SLcratrmarfc Stents- jFtftij*
The last and crowning Landmark of all is, that these Landmarks can never be Changed. f No- thing can be subtracted from them — nothing can be added to them — not the slightest modification can be made in them. As they were received from our
* " As this temple (Solomon's) received the second race of servants of the true God, and as the true craftsmen were here proved in their work, we will crave your attention to the circumstances which are to be gathered from holy writ, and from historians, touching this structure, as an illustra- tion of those secrets in Masonry, which may appear to such of our brethren as are not learned in antiquity, dark or insignificant, unless they are proved from thence." — Hutchinson, Spirit of Masonry, p. 83.
f Our " first most excellent Grand Master" has declared with a signifi- cance which Masons will understand — " Remove not the ancient Landmarks which thy fathers have set." Dr. Oliver remarks — " It is quite clear, how- ever, that the order against removing or altering the Landmarks was univer Bally observed hi all ages of the craft." — Diet of Sym. Mas.
THE UNWRITTEN LAW. 39
predecessors, we are bound by the most solemn obli- gations of duty to transmit them to our successors. Not one jot or one tittle of these unwritten laws can be repealed ; for in respect to them, we are not only willing, but compelled to adopt the language of the sturdy old barons of England — " Nolumus leges mutarL"