CHAPTER XXI.

MASONIC TEACHINGS— HINDU BEGGAR— ROMAN CATHOLICISM.
TjI VBRY man and brother who desires to thoroughly comprehend
\ Masonry must be endowed with intellectual qualifications, in
order to be enabled to understand and appreciate the grandeur and sub- limity of its teachings. Therefore, if he is not intellectually inclined, he will never rise above the foundation of the Symbolic Degrees, but will become a mere drone in the busy hive of Masonry instead of an active worker. He will assuredly go through the various ceremonies of Initia- tion, Passing and Raising, receiving the degree of a Master Mason ; but he will never become a Master, in very deed, until he has solved the various problems of its profound philosophies and understands the sub- lime teachings that permeate those ancient degrees — then, and theit only^ will he realize the true meaning of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. If he be true to his vows, he will be true to his fellow men, and will labor for the benefit and upbuilding of the human race by endeavoring to show them the Light of Truth, and help them on to a knowledge of the Law of Love and Righteousness.
It is the duty of every Mason to labor earnestly and^ incessantly for the advancement of his brother, both mentally and morally ; teaching him that it is by the development of the intellectual qualifications that man begins to learn something about himself, and his own potential forces that are latent within. Because a man cannot read or write, that is no reason why he should not be enabled to learn to do so.
The acquisition of knowledge is a gift to some, but every living man, with a well balanced brain, has the potentiality of acquiring knowledge and becoming wise, by deep thought and earnest study. He must learn to think for himself; for, as a man thinks in the depth of his heart, so he becomes, and it will not be long before he will begin to realize that the key-note to Wisdom is Meditation. Then will he be enabled to
488 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
trample beneath his feet the snarling serpent of Ignorance, Falsehood and Intolerance, and help humanity by showing them the Light of Free Thought, Free Speech, and a profound veneration for tlie Supreme ArcJiitect of the Universe.
Masonry tolerates all religions, and emphatically asserts that no man has the right to dictate to another what he shall or shall not believe, and claims that no one Religio?i possesses the ivhole of Truth^ and that every man has a perfect right to believe according to the dictates of his own con- science. Unless a man is allowed Freedom of Thought, he is not a Free man at all ; for if Man is possessed of Free Will, and is not permitted to exercise it by following his own reasoning faculties, where is his freedom ?
Every Religion, and the so-called Truths of " Inspired " writings, depend entirely upon the testimony of Man himself. The evidences brought forward by him are produced as proofs of the Truth of his asser- tions. Masonry claims that all men have the right to judge of the Truth of the claims put forward, and to examine the proofs of the varions so-called "inspired" writings, and then to judge them, from a common sense reasoning standpoint. Then, if they stand the test of their inves- tigations, it is Truth for them.
Man becomes what he Wills himself to be, and he can never get outside of the world that he makes for himself. Death cannot destroy the seeds that he has sown, for they all in good time ripen, and he receives the fruition thereof. No confession, no repentance, no sacrifice, or imploring of God, can ever change the mighty Law of Cause and Effect (Karma). This Law is a law of perfect Justice, knowing neither Love nor Hate, but moves to perfect Righteousness. A man's Faith belongs to himself alone, as much as his reasoning faculties, and his free- dom consists in being enabled to think and reason for himself, without let or hindrance, from any source at all whatever, exercising both to the uplifting of his Lower Manas (lower mind) to a higher plane of spiritual unfoldment, and thus dominating the Kaniic elements^ or animal propen- sities that are continually battling against his Higher Self. When he has accomplished this, subjugating the animal within, then he has con- quered himself, and is worthy of more honor than he who has conqnered kingdoms, for he has kept his " first vow," and has learned to subdue his passions, and in doing this he has improved himself in Masonry.
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We find in " Morals and Dogmas," page 371 et seq.^ that " Symbols were the almost universal language of ancient theology. They were the most obvious method of instruction ; for, like nature herself, they addressed the understanding through the eye, and the most ancient expressions denoting communication of religious knowledge, signify ocular exhibition. The first teachers of mankind borrowed this method of instruction, and it comprised an endless store of pregnant hieroglyphics.
" The Ancient Sages, both barbarian and Greek, involved their meaning in similar indirections and enigmas ; their lessons were con- veyed either in visible symbols, or in those ' parables, and dark sayings of old ' which the Israelites considered it a sacred duty to hand down unchanged to successive generations. The explanatory tokens employed by man, whether emblematical objects or actions, symbols or mystic ceremonies, were like the mystic signs and portents either in dreams or by the wayside, supposed to be significant of the intentions of the Gods ; both required the aid of anxious thought and skilful interpretation. It was only by a correct appreciation of analogous problems of nature, that the will of Heaven could be understood by the Diviner, or the lessons of Wisdom become manifest to the Sage.
" The Mysteries were a series of symbols ; a:nd what was spoken there consisted wholly of accessory explanations of the act or image ; sacred commentaries, explanatory of established symbols ; with little of those independent traditions embodying physical or moral speculation, in which the elements or planets were the actors, and the creation and revolutions of the world were intermingled with recollections of ancient events : and 3'et with so much of that also, that nature became her own expositor through the medium of an arbitrary symbolical instruction, and the ancient views of the relation between the human and divine received dramatic forms.
",. " There has ever been an intimate alliance between the two systems,
Y the symbolic and the philosophical, in all the allegories of the monu- ments, of all ages, in the symbolic writings of the priests of all nations, in the ritiials of all secret and mysterious societies ; there has been a con- stant series, an invariable uniformity of principles, which comes from an aggregate, vast, imposing and true, composed of parts that fit harmoni- ously only' there.
490 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
" Symbolical instruction is recommended by the constant and uniform usage of antiquity ; and it has retained its influence throughout all ages, as a system of mysterious communication. The Deity, in his revelation to man, adopted the use of material images for the purpose of enforcing sublime truths, and Christ taught by symbols and parables.
" All the ideas of the Priests of Hindostan, Persia, Syria, Arabia, Chaldea and Phoenicia were known to the Egyptian Priests. The rational Indian Philosophy, after penetrating Persia and Chaldea, gave birth to the Egyptian Mysteries. We find that the use of Hieroglyphics was preceded in Egypt by that of the easily understood symbols and figures from the mineral, animal and vegetable kingdoms used by the Indians, Persians, and Chaldeans to express their thoughts ; and in this primitive philosophy was the basis of the modern philosophy of Pythagoras and Plato.
" All the philosophers and legislators that made Antiquity illustrious were the pupils of the initiation ; and all the beneficent modifications, in the religions of the different peoples instructed by them, were owing to their institution and extension of the Mysteries. In the chaos of popular superstition's those mysteries alone kept man from lapsing into absolute brutishness. Zoroaster and Confucius drew their doctrines from the mysteries that emanated from the Ancient Wisdom. Clemens, of Alex- andria, speaking of the Great Mysteries, says : ' Here ends all instruc- tion. Nature and all things are seen and known.' Had moral truths alone been taught the Initiate, the mysteries could never have deserved or received the magnificent eulogiums of the most enlightened men of Antiquity — of Pindar, Plutarch, Isocrates, Diodorus, Plato, Euripides, Socrates, Aristophanes, Cicero, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and others ; — philosophers hostile to the Sacerdotal Spirit, or historians devoted to the investigation of Truth. No : all the sciences were taught there ; and those oral or written traditions briefly communicated, which reached back to the first age of the world."
Masonry, lineal descendent of those Ancient Mysteries, yields her glorious Truths to the earnest student who meditates upon the sublime and profound syrabology of our most illustrious Fraternity, and to all those who diligently search, or seek, they will most assuredly find. But it must be thoroughly understood, that it will be very difificult to unveil
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EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 491
the secrets of her profound philosophies. They are only to be obtained by great mental exertion, but once they are unveiled, and comprehended, they will never be forgotten ; because what has been acquired through deep, earnest study, and a great mental exertion, is more easily remem- bered, and is generally more highly prized. Our own beloved Scottish Rite, like the Greater Mysteries, unfolds to her postulants, the true meaning of her profound symbology, so that they may be enabled to see the Light of Truth, in all its variant phases. Having acquired Know- ledge and Wisdom, they should not be content with simply keeping it hid within their own heart, and be indifferent to the wants and needs of their fellow man and brother; but should ever strive to assist them along these lines of thought, so that they may be enabled to attain to the sub- lime Truths of the " Holy Doctrine. "
In order that we may be enabled to come to a thorough understand- ing of Divine Wisdom^ we must light within our own heart the Lamp of Reason^ and wander studiously among the rich field of Religion, Science and Philosophy, wherein will be found not only the " Holy Doctrine '' but the Royal Secret. A knowledge of the one will unfold the other to all who earnestly desire the Truth in all its sublimity and grandeur. Reason and Meditation are rays of Divine Ideation which illuminates our mind and opens up to our consciousness Divine revelations.
In order that you, my dear readers and Brothers, may better under- stand my meaning let me say : When a man sits within the Light of Reason and Meditates upon the various problems of Religion, Science or Philosophy, no matter how difficult they may be to solve and understand, under the Light of Meditation, by concentrating his thoughts upon them he sets in vibration thought forces, that go out into the infinitude of space and into Divine Ideation, that return to him, bringing back with them a reflex action from the Divine Mind that illuminates his inner vision and the problem is solved. No matter what the subject or problem may be, or how difficult to understand. Concentration of the Mind will help us on to the solution of the greatest discoveries in all fields of investigation.
The law of vibration can be very easily proven to your entire satis- faction, and vibratory forces can be very clearly demonstrated, so that you may have ocular proof of the existence of there. Take a guitar, for
492 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
instance, and tune it to a piano, and after they are in accord, set fhe guitar at the far end of a large room, or hall, then have some one strike the key note upon the piano, by which it was tuned, and we shall not only see the strings move, but hear them vibrate in harmony or unison, as the notes are struck upon the larger instrument. In the same manner in Concentration ; the Mind of Man is a part of the Divine Mind and when, by profound Meditation and Concentration, we set up vibrations that pass out into the infinitude of space, they will come back to us illuminated by Divine Ideation, and thus we are enabled to discover the Truth for which we are searching, or solve the problem that we have been studying. Here we begin to see and understand that vibratory forces in Thought or Act are powerful factors for Good or Evil. We shall also realize that Thoughts are Tilings, that Thoughts are Personal Entities, and in knowing this to be a fact, we can better understand what is meant by the statement that " Curses like chickens come home to roostT
"You can never tell what your thoughts will do, 111 bringing j-ou hate or love ; For thoughts are things, and their airy wings Are swifter than carrier doves.
" They follow the law of the universe. Each thing must create its kind ; And they speed o'er the track, to bring j'ou back Whatever went out from your mind."
The symbol of the Rose Croix is the pelican, tearing open its breast, in order to feed its young with its heart's blood, thus demonstrating to our Brothers of the Scottish Rite, Compassion and Love for our fellow Man, and teaches us that we should ever labor in the interest of humanity, by sacrificing ourselves, if need be, in a cause that all good, and true men should advocate : Ereedom of Thought, Ereedom of Speech and Equal rights to Alan throughout the u'orld universal. When Christ was asked by the lawyer, " Master, which is the great commandment in the law ? " Christ answered and said, " Love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart This is the first and great commandment. . . . Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Matthew 22 : 37-39.
How many are there who follow this advice? The great majority of people simply live for themselves alone, believing that the gratification
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 493
of the animal propensities is the height of human happiness. They are perfectly willing that their neighbor should sacrifice all his desires for either him or them, and consider it nothing but right and proper for him to do so, but they will never give anything in return for the sacrifice. Thus they demonstrate their selfishness. The love that the great majority of mankind has at heart, is the love of Self. The fulfilment of the desires for their own good and selfish purposes, they consider to be true happiness. They will eventually find, however, that true happiness can never be attained b}^ seeking it for ourselves alone, but only in sacri- ficing our own desires for the benefit of our fellow man, and in the practice of selflessness. It is far better to give than to receive. There- fore in seeking the happiness of others, doing good to all men, because we know it to be otir duty, asking nothing nor expecting atiything iti return^ is really and truly the Law of Love ; which will lead us on to perfect bliss.
The man who has during the whole course of his life endeavored to accumulate vast wealth, and miser-like, hoards it away, gloating over untold sums of gold and precious gems, does not realize that not one pennyweight of it belongs to him in reality ; he has acquired it most cer- tainly, but only as a loan, as it were, and just as he does with it, so will he reap reward or punishment. He cannot carry away with him beyond the grave one hair's weight of it, but the good that he has done with it, in deeds of charity and loving kindness, will be recorded and he will find, that that which he hath given away, that he will carry with him. The height of human happiness consists in man being enabled to truthfully say : I want nothing for myself alone in this world, and I live for the express purpose of helping my fellow man.
Masonry has ever labored to give humanity Freedom of Thought, Freedom of Speech, and a Free government, for the people and b}^ the people, and all those who enter into the Hol}^ House of the Temple should ever work to free their fellow man from the bonds of imposture and priestly arrogance. Man's birthright is freedom, but he has been enslaved b}' his fellow man.
Every Scottish Rite Mason who has the good of the fraternity at heart is a Priest of Trnth, of Toleration, of Philosophy, and of Rational Liberty, and it is therefore his bounden Duty, First: to take Tyranny,
494 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
Injustice^ and Usurpation by the throat, and by the assistance of his Brothers Free the Human Race^ irrespective of Creed, Caste or Color, from all who would enslave it. Second : to Free his own country from Despots and Despotism and thus give to the people, both temporal and spiritual Freedom, which includes all the inalienable rights of Man.
To ever labor for the upbuilding of the human race is the Duty of every true Man and Mason. They know full well that the greatest of all gifts to Man is ManJwod. They also know that true Manhood can never be found in the mumbling chants and invocations of Romish Priests, or Sectarianism, and in religious Dogmas or Creeds. Our beloved Scottish Rite teaches us that our main object and Duty in life is for us to do our duty to all men, even to the neglect of our own personal comfort, ever and always striving to make others happy, because it is right for each and every man to do his Dut}^ to all men, without hope of fee, or reward. Happiness will surely follow the man who performs his duty. At the same time we must ever remember that self-gratification should never be the incentive to do good, but to do it because it is right for us to do so. If Man would only practice Love and good fellowship to all men, and follow the -teachings of our glorious Fraternity, Mankind would be far happier and this world would be a veritable paradise.
God commands us to do good, and Altruism has ever been taught by all the great Reformers, long centuries before our present Christian era. It is still taught and preached, but it is never or seldom CMer practiced. This fact reminds me of an incident that happened to me in India, while travelling through that country a few years ago.
I was going from Dinapoor to Allahabad for the purpose of attending a celebrated Mela, that was to be held at the confluence of the Jumna with the Ganges, when I overtook a man who carried a beggar's bowl and staff. He seemed to be begging his way apparently from town to town. As I approached the man, I looked at him closely, and noticed that he was quite an athletic looking fellow, standing full}' six feet two inches tall, with a very fine phrenological development, and from his expressive features I judged him to be a Frenchman, and said to him, in that language, ete vous Francaise? He replied to me in Italian, saying, " No, sir!" I answered him in that language, telling him that I could speak Italian, when he said to me in good plain English : " I am neither French nor Italian, sir ; and
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 495
why do you stop me upon the roadside and ask such questions ? Is there not room for you and me to pass, or is it customary in the country from which you come to accost the casual pedestrian and ask him all manner of questions ?"
To say the least, I was very much surprised, and said to him : " No sir; it is certainly not customary to do so in any country I know, but being struck by your personal appearance, and seeing you in beggar's garb, I thought possibly that I could be of some assistance to you," at the same time, pulling out my purse in order to give him a few rupees, saying, " I have the greatest compassion for the poor in particular, and mankind in general. Seeing you begging your way along the road I wanted to help you." I then offered him some money, when he smiled upon me and said : " No, my dear sir, I have no need for money, these good people (pointing along the road) give me all that I need to eat and drink." I said : " That no doubt is quite true, your food is assured, but what about your sleeping at night, we all must rest." He answered me : " A neighboring tree furnishes me all the shelter that I need, and the glorious stellar vault above enwraps me in a Divine essence, and I sleep the refreshing sleep of childhood." I said to him : " Why do you not go to our Missionaries ? They would help you and give you more comfort- able clothing than the yellow ' copra ' that you are wearing, besides you surely believe in the teachings of Christ, do you not ?"
He smiled upon me again and said, " Certainly, who is there that does not believe in those teachings of the Man of Nazareth ; but let me tell you, my dear sir, that there is not one word that the Lowly Nazarene preached, and practiced, that has not been taught and acted upon by all the Masters of every age, and each, and every one of those glorious Truths are embodied in all religions. They have been preached and practiced by all the Great Reformers long ages before your Christ was ever born or dreamed of, when He came down the winding way that led to Jerusalem, in order to take possession of His kingcSm, riding bare- backed upon an Ass, with the glorious sunlight from heaven streaming down upon His bared head, light, that was free to all men. The people came flocking out from the City Gates, in order to welcome this so-called son of God, strewing palm leaves before Him, and shouting hosanna to the meek and lowly Nazarene, who in the humbleness of heart and
496 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
humility of soul rode barefooted and bareheaded upon an Ass to preach Love and Compassion to all men. The people fell prone upon the earth in order to kiss the very hoof marks of the ass upon which He rode, because He taught Love in all its sublimity and grandeur, and He prac- ticed what He preached. Compassion and Love to all Men.
" NoW about the Missionaries that you ask me to go to. Do you think that they understand the practice of se/Jiessness as the Master taught it ? — I tell 3'ou No ! they do not. The love that they have, is not so much for their fellow man, as you imagine, and the love that they have at heart, is the love of women, wine, fine clothes, fast horses, and above all, plenty of money, in order to gratifytheir animal passional nature. When they drive out in their carriages their runners who go before shout out in their language, ' Look out, the Great Man is coming ! ' These so-called teachers of the Lowl}^ Nazarene would not walk ten rods barefooted to help any man unless they were well paid for doing so, or gained the credit of being an exception to the general rule."
Long after I had parted from him I thought that there was a great measure of Truth in what he had told me. I knew that the religious teaching of all the great Moral Reformers, long ages before the Christian Era, was Love and Compassion, and that they were not only preached but practiced.
The Religion of Buddha is full of the most beautiful and unselfish acts that have ever been taught in any age, for instance, " Be y& all of one mind, having compassion one of another; love as brethren; be pitiful; be courteous; not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing; but con- trawise, blessing." Again the teachings of Chrishna show a most pro- found depth of thought, that equals anything that is credited to Jesus Christ, for instance: "Above all things, cultivate love for j'our neighbor." " When you die ^-ou leave 3-our worldh- v.ealth behind you, but your virtue and vices follow after you." " Do good for its own sake, and expect not your reward for it on earth." See Cliapter XI]' of tins work.
The Moral teachings of Christianity are sublimely grand, and beau- tiful, but they were preached and practiced centuries before the so-called, Light of the New Dispensation ; and they are not new for they each and all originated in the Pagan philosophies of a prehistoric age. Our modern Ethics are most beautiful, and when we hear them read to us,
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 497
they thrill us to the very centre of our being ; but what are mere words without action.
H. P. Blavatsky says in the Key to Thcosophy^ page 238, "Self-sac- rifice for practical good to save many or several people, Theosophy holds as far higher than self-abnegation for a sectarian idea, such as that of ' Saving the heathen from dam7tation^ for instance : — In our opinion, Father Damien, the young man of thirty who offered his whole life in sacrifice for the benefit and alleviation of the sufferings of the lepers of MoLOKAi, and who went to live for eighteen years alone with them, to finally catch the loathsome disease and die, he has not died in vain. He has given relief, and relative happiness to thousands of miserable wretches. He has brought to them consolation, mental and ph3'sical. He threw a streak of light into the black and dreary night of existence, the hopelessness of which is unparalleled in the records of human suffer- ing. He was a trtie Theosophist^ and his memory will live for ever in our annals. In our sight this poor Belgian priest stands immeasurably higher than — for instance- — all those sincere but vainglorious fools, the Missionaries who have sacrified their lives in the South Sea Islands, or China. What good have they done? They went in one case to those who are not ripe for any truth ; and in the other to a nation whose sys- tems of religious philosoph}^ are as grand as any, if only the men who have them would live up to the standard of Confucius, and their other sages. And they died victims of irresponsible cannibals and savages, and of popular fanaticism and hatred. Whereas, by going to the slums of Whitechapel, or some other such locality of those that stagnate right under the blazing sun of our civilization, full of Christian savages, and mental lepers, they might have done real good, and preserved their lives for a better and a worthier cause." In all of which I ,do most heartily concur.
We are certainly in great need of Missionaries in all our large cities, to work among many of the people, with whom we come in contact, every day of our lives. In every part of the civilized world, are to be found men and women, who are mere beasts of burden, who toil and live in squalor, misery, and ignorance. Women who are insensible to shame, and w^ho revel in the luxuries that have been purchased by the loss of everything that women hold to be the brightest jewel in the crown of 32
498 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
true womanhood. Is there not a rich field for Missionary work at the very thresholds of our own homes ? I have stated in a previous chapter of /h's work^ that the world was never more full of open and unblushing vice than it is to-day. Our churches and ministers are unable to cope with it ; they do not seem to understand the cause, and much less the remedy.
How often I have heard people laugh and scoff at the attempted harmony of the bands of the " Salvation Army." I tell you my dear Brothers, those people are doing a noble work. They may not furnisli a grand rythmic harmony of sound, but they are most assuredly doing both grand and noble work in their efforts to raise the fallen and disso- lute, to a liigher plane of morality. In siich work there is a wide, wide field for our Missionaries, and if they would only try to save our own heathen, who wander around the very thresholds of our own homes, they would be doing far more good than sacrificing their lives, and being barbecued upon a stack of their own tracts and bibles, and thus fur- nishing a rare feast to a lot of savages unable to understand either tbem or their teachings. They are being brutally murdered by the followers of Confucius, whose ethics are as beautiful and grand as our own code if properly understood.
To help our fellow man and to do the most good for the upbuilding of the human family, does not consist in losing our own lives, effecting no good results by the sacrifice ; but to help our fellow man by sacrificing our own personal comfort and desires, to give to him from our own earnings and help him on to a higher plane of spiritual unfoldment, so that he may come to an understanding of himself is the duty that we owe to all men. We should ever remember, that wise aphorism of Epictetus " Be not diverted from your duty, by any idle reflections the silly world may make itponyoit^ for their censures are not in your power, and consequently should not be any part of your concern."
Do good to all men, and try to recognize in the whole human race one great family of which you yourself are a part. Every true Knight Kadosh labors for the benefit of his fellow man and Brother in order to improve their condition both Mentally and Morally, teaching them never to submit to Oppression, Injustice and Usurpation; and whose watch- words are — Humility, Patience and Self-denial. They are always willing
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to hazard their lives for the welfare of their country, the interest of humanity, and to sacrifice their lives for their fellow man, if humanity may be benefited thereby.
The dogma of Masonry is that of Zarathustra and Hermes ; its Law is progressive Initiation ; its principles, Equality, regulated by Hierarchy and universal Fraternity. It is the continuation of the Greater Mys- teries, and of the School of Alexandria, and it is the heir of all the ancient Initiations. It is the depository of the secrets of the Apocalypse and the Sohar. It is the conserver and preserver of the Wisdom pertain- ing to the Secret Doctrine. The object of its worship is Truth which is represented in our Lodges, Chapters, Councils and Consistories, by the Light that it dispenses.
It antagonizes no creed, but tolerates all, and professes the teachings of the Ancient Wisdom^ and claims that " There is no Religion higher THAN Truth." It seeks Truth alone and strives to lead by Degrees all intellects to Reason, allowing ever}' Brother to profess and practice any Religion or Philosophy that his conscience may dictate ; or none if it be preferable to him, only asking that they believe in the Supreme Archi- tect of the Universe. It is a Philanthropic and Scientific Fraternity that believes in and teaches the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man, and that every man should have the right to Freedom of Thought^ Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Conscience.
Through every age of the world's history, Masonry has ever been the Champion of the Rights of People, endeavoring to teach, practice, and disseminate a knowledge of Truth, among all men, throughotit the world universal, ever striving to free them from their own animal pas- sional nature and to free them from Ignorance, Bigotry, Intolerance, and Mental and Spiritual Slavery. It stands to-day at tlje head of human affairs, and will most assuredly guide and direct us safely on through the approaching Crisis to the inalienable Rights of the People — Liberty of Thought, Freedom of Conscience and Free Government for the People and by the People.
There has never been a time when our illustrious Fraternity conspired against the Government to which it owed due and lawful obedience, and it is always ready and willing to draw its sword in defence of the down- trodden aud oppressed of every country. We have a bitter, vindictive,
500 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
and relentless foe in Jesuitry, which would if it were possible, throw the world back again into the same conditions as when the fires flamed throughout the so-called civilized w^orld in Aiiio da fes of the Romish Church, who have ever and always been the advocate, and upholder of the '''' Nicolaitan " theory — the rule of the priesthood over the People. Con- sequently she is the bitter foe of all that tends to enlighten and educate the masses, such as Free Secular Schools, a free press, freedom of thought and opinion, by which I mean — Religious Freedom, and as I have pre- viously stated — A Free Government for the People and by the People.
It behooves every true Man and Mason to stand upon his guard against the interference of Jesuitry with our Secular Free Schools, con- ducted for the express purpose of instructing our children in pure secular learning. They may obtain herein a thorough and complete knowledge of reading, Avriting, and speaking the Knglish language correctly, also arith- metic, with the higher branches of mathematics, as well as a thorough comprehension of History, Geography, etc. All of which is actually necessary not only for the future benefit of our American citizen, in par- ticular, but for our beloved country in general, that her citizens should be men of education, intelligence and refinement. Men who are free from all bigotry, and intolerance of Creed and Dogmas such as pertain to the Romish Church, and her Jesuitical Bigots.
There has been much comment about " Godless Schools " promulgated most assuredly by our bitter foes the Romish Church and the Jesuits ; but m}' dear Friends and Brothers, it is the Duty of our Country to teach the Known and not the Unknown. Ever}' intellectual man will most assuredly come to an understanding of the Supreme Architect of the Universe, if he be permitted to light the lamp of his own reasoning faculties, and follow the dictates of his own conscience, by thinking for himself He will never under any circumstance allow either Jesuit or Romish priests to attempt to compel him to believe, as he or they may desire. May the Good God preserve our Secular Schools and Free Institutions from the ruthless hands of what Pope Pius VII called his " Sacred Militia '' — the Jesuists.
They are ever and always working and plotting to enter the thin end of the wedge into our Free Secular Schools, and destroy them. Our Laws and Constitution would be torn down and trampled beneath the feet
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of these bigoted and intolerant Jesuits, and a repetition of the horrors of the Inquisition would occur as it did during the ^^ Dark Ages'''' and the- Eve of Saint Bartholomew would be repeated, not only in our own coun- try, but in ever}' other that was not thoroughly under the dominion of the Romish Church.
There was quite a furore among the Jesuits and priests of the Romish Church, when the Prince of Wales succeeded his mother good Queen Victoria, and was crowned King of England, on account of the Oath that was taken by him at the time. In order that you may be enabled to thoroughl}' understand the nature of this Oath I will quote you from " Fifty Years of Masonry in California," Vol. II, page 537.
The following is the Coronation Oath, taken in Section VII of the Order of Coronation Ceremonies : " The sermon being ended, and his Majesty having in the presence of the two Houses of Parliament made and signed the Declaration, the Archbishop goeth to the King, and stand- ing before him administers the Coronation Oath, iirst asking the King,. ' Sir, is 3' our Majesty willing to take the Oath ? ' And the King answer- ing, 'I am willing.' The Archbishop niinistereth these questions, and the King, having a copy of the printed Form and Order of the Corona- tion Services in his hands, answers each question severally as follows : ' Archbishop. — Will 3'ou solemnlj^ promise and swear to govern the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and Ireland, and the dominions thereto belonging, according to the Statutes in Parliament agreed on, and the respective Laws and customs of the same ? King. — I solemnly prom- ise so to do. Archbishop. — Will you to the utmost of your power, main- tain the laws of God, the true profession of the Gospel and the Protestant Reformed Religion established by Law ? And will 3'ou maintain inviolably the Settlement of the United Church of England and Ireland, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established within England and Ireland, and the territories thereunto belonging? And will you preserve unto the bishops and clergy of England and Ireland, and to the churches there committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges as by law do or shall appertain to them or any of them ? King. — All this I promise to do.
" Then the King arising out of his chair, supported as before, and assisted by the Lord Great Chamberlain, the Sword of State being carried
502 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
before liim, shall go to the altar, and there, being uncovered, make his solemn oath in the sight of all the people to observe the premises ; lay- ing his right hand upon the Holy Gospel in the Great Bible, which was carried before him in the procession, and is now brought from the altar by the Archbishop and tendered to him as he kneels upon the steps, saying these words : King — ' The things which I have here before promised I will perform and keep. So help me, GoD.' Then the King kisseth the book and signeth the Oath."
Now let us examine the form of oath taken by the Jesuits, and which was published by " The Standard " of London, England, March 20th, 1901, and is as follows: "I, A. B., now in the presence of Almighty God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Blessed Michael, the Blessed St. John the Baptist, the Holy Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, and all the Saints and the Sacred Hosts of Heaven, and to you ni}^ Ghostly Father, do declare from ni}' heart, without mental reservation, that His Holiness Pope Leo is Christ's Vicar General, and is the true and only Head of the Catholic or Universal Church throughout the earth, and that, b}^ the virtue of the keys of binding and losing given to His Holiness by my Saviour Jesus Christ, he hath power to depose heretical Kings, Princes, States, Commonwealths and Governments, all being illegal without his Sacred Confirmation, and that thej^ may be safel}^ destroyed. Therefore, to the utmost of my power, I shall and will defend this doctrine, and His Holiness' rights and customs against all usurpers, especially against the new pretended authority, and the Church of England and all adher- ents in regard that they and she be usurpal and heretical, opposing the Sacred Mother Church of Rome. I do renounce and disown any allegi- ance as due to any heretical King, Prince, or State named Protestant, or obedience to an}^ of their inferior Magistrates or officers.
" I do further declare the doctrine of the Chtirch of England, of the Calvinists, Huguenots, and of others of the name Protestant to be damna- ble, and they themselves are damned and to be damned that will not for- sake the same. I do further declare that I will help, assist and advise all or au}^ of His Holiness' agents in any place in which I shall be, in England, Scotland and Ireland, or in any other territory or Kingdom I shall come to, and do my utmost to extirpate the heretical Protestant doctrine, and to destroy all their pretended power, legal or otherwise.
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 503
" I do further promise and declare that notwithstanding I am dis- pensed to assume any religion heretical for propogating of the Mother Church's interest, to keep secret and private all her agents' counsels from time to time as they interest me, and not to divulge, directly or indirectly by word, writing, or circumstances whatsoever, but to execute all what shall be proposed, given in charge, or discovered unto me, by you my Ghostly Father. All of which I, A. B., do swear by the Blessed Trinity and Blessed Sacrament, which I now am to receive, and on ui}- part to keep inviolabl}-, and do call the Heavenl}^ and glorious Host of Heaven to witness these my real intentions, and to keep this, my Oath. In testimony hereof I take this hol}^ and blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist,
and witness the same further with m}^ hand and seal this ■ day ,
Ann Dom., etc."
Now, if we compare the two Oaths, I am certain that you will agree with me that the English Protestants have far more complaint against the Romish Church and the black soldiers of Loyola (the Jesuits) than the Church of Rome and her " Sacred Militia " have against Protestants and the Oath of King Edward of England and her dependencies.
Papal Rome is the bitter foe of all English speaking people who are not under her control, and if she can b}^ any means disrupt the Anglo- Saxon Race, her aim will be accomplished. To-day her main object is to stir up strife and discord between England and America and thus destroy both if possible, then upon the ruins of two of the grandest nations of the earth, she would raise her standards and rule the world with a rod of iron. Her long war against humanit}' and human progress, Science and civili- zation, if successful, would be smothered in the smoke and flame of Auto da Fes^ and Free Masonry would be stamped out of existence by those Ruthless and Intolerant Bigots, the Jesuits and Catholic priests.
I now quote you from General Albert Pike's answer to the letter of Pope Leo XIII, known as the letter, " Humanum Genus " : " Thanks be unto the God of Hosts, from whom all glories are ! Free Masonry is mightier than the Church of Rome ; for it possesses the invincible might of the Spirit of the Age and of the convictions of Humanity ; and it will continue to grow in strength and greatness, while that Church, in love with and doting upon its eld traditions, and incapable of learning any- thing, will continue to decay. The palsied hand of the Papacy is too
504 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
feeble to arrest the march of human progress. It cannot bring back the obsolete doctrine that Kings reign by divine right. In vain it will preach new Crusades against Free Masonr}^, or Heresy, or Republican- ism. It will continue to sigh iu vain for the return of the days of Phillip II and Mary of England, of Loyola, and Alva and Torquemada. If it succeeds in instigating the Kings of Spain and Portugal to engage in the work of extirpating Free Masonry, these will owe to it the speedy loss of their crowns. The world is no longer in a humor to be saddled and bitted like an ass, and ridden by Capuchins and Franciscans. Humanity has inhaled the fresh, keen winds of freedom, and escaped from companionship with the herds that chew the cud, and the inmates of stables and kennels, to the highlands of Liberty, Equality and Brother- hood.
" The world is not likely to forget the infallible Pope Urban VII. Barber ina set his signature to the sentence which condemned to per- petiial imprisonment, to abjuration, and to silence, Galileo Galilei, who, it is known, avoided being burned at the stake by denying on bended knees the deductions of positive science, which demonstrated the move- ment of the Earth, etc
" Nor are Free Masons likely to forget that when the Bull of Clement XII, which Leo XIII now revives and re-enacts, was published ; Cardinal Firrao explained the nature of the punishments which were requested to be inflicted on Masons, and what the kind of service was which the Pope demanded from ' the Secular Arm.'
" ' It is forbidden,' he said . . . . ' to affiliate one's self with the Societies of Masons .... under penalty of death, and of confis- cation OF GOODS, and to DIE UNABSOLVED AND WITHOUT HOPE OF SALVATION.'
"Who will be audacious enough to censure us for replying defiantly to a decree which, by revivor of the Bull of Clement, condemns every Free Mason in the world to death, and confiscation, and damns him in advance to die without hope of salvation ? The world has not forgotten that when Charles IX of France and the Due de Guise at first disowned responsibility for the massacre of twenty thousand Protestants and others, on the eve, and after the Eve of St. Bartholomew, the Catholic Clergy assumed it. Heaven adopted it, they said : ' it was not the
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 505
massacre of the king and the Duke : // luas the Justice of God^ Then the slaughter re-commenced, of neighbor by neighbor, of women, of children, of children unborn, in order to extinguish families the wombs of the mothers were cut open, and the children torn from them for fear they might survive.
'' Men remembered that at Saint Michael, the Jesuit Auger, sent thither from the college of Paris, announced to Bordeaux that the Arch- angel Michael had made the great massacre, and deplored the sluggish- ness of the Governor and Magistrates of Bordeaux. After the 24th of August there were feasts. The Catholic Clerg}- had theirs at Paris, on the 28th, and ordered a jubilee, to which the King and Court went, and returned thanks to God. And the King who proclaimed that he had caused Coligni to be killed, said that he would have poinarded him with Bis own hand, was flattered to intoxication by the praises and congratu- tions of Rome. Do men not remember that there were feasts and great gaities at Rome on account of the massacre ? That the Pope chanted the Te Deimi Laudmnus and sent to ' his son,' Charles IX (to win for whom the whole credit of the massacre, the Cardinal of Lorraine moved Heaven and Earth) the Rose of Gold? was coined by Rome to commem- orate it, and a painting of the bloody scene was made, and until lately hung in the Vatican ?
" Free Masonry is strong enough, everywhere now, to defend itself, and does not dread even the Hierarchy of the Roman Church, with its great revenues, and its Cardinal Princes claiming to issue the decrees, and Bulletins of God, and to hold the keys with which it locks and unlocks, at pleasure, the Gates of Paradise. The Powers of Free Masonry, too, sending their words to one another over the four Conti- nents and the great Islands of the Southern Seas, colonized by English- men, speak but with only the authority of reason, Urbi et Orbi, to men of free souls and high courage, and quick intelligence. ' It does not need that Free Masonry should take up arms of any sort against the Church of Rome. Science, the wider knowledge of what God is, learned from His works ; the irresistible progress of Civilization, the Spirit of the Nineteenth Century ; these are the sufficient avengers of the mutilations and murders of the long ages of a horrid Past. These have already avenged Humanity, and Free Masonry need not add another word, except
506 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
these, that there are two questions to be asked and answered, thereunto demanded of all Roman Catholics in the United States, who are loyal to the Constitution of Government under which they live, patriotic citizens of the United States : I?oes not yotir conscience tell yoti that what is now demanded of yoti by Pope Leo XI If by the General of the fesziits ajid the Chief Inquisitor is to engage actively in a conspiracy against that Constitution of Government, and the principles on which it is founded; after the dethronement of which principles that Con- stitution OF Government could not live an hour?
" If you cannot see it iu that light, do not yottr conscietice and cotn^non sense tell yoti that to approve, and favor, and give aid and assistance
TO AN OPEN conspiracy AGAINST EVERY OTHER REPUBLIC, AND EVERY
Constitutional Monarchy in the world, and the principles on which they are founded, is to play a part that is inconsistent with the
principles that you profess to be GOVERNED BY HERE, IS IN OPPOSITION TO ALL THE SYMPATHIES OF THE COUNTRY IN WHICH YOU LIVE, AND IS HOS- TILE TO THE INFLUENCES OF ITS EXAMPLE AMONG THE PEOPLE OF OTHER COUNTRIES, TREACHEROUS TO YOUR OWN COUNTRY, AND UNWORTHY OF
American citizens. You will have to answer these questions ; for they will not cease to be reiterated until you do ; and not by Free-Masonry
ALONE."
Let me quote you from an article by H. T. B., of Kansas City, Mo., published in the " Trestle Board " of June, 1896 :— " The English-speak- ing race, rising from the sea of nations first lighted the fires of religious liberty in the British isles. The history of this race for eighteen hun- dred years has been a continuous struggle for religious and political freedom against the papal hierarchy, and nearly all its bloody and unceasing warfare has been in self-defence, or in defence of others of like faith, or for the purpose of extending the faith by enlargement of area.
" Excommunicated and opposed at times by nearly all the world at the instigation of Rome, it has disrupted its enemies and caused them to cripple each other, and has emerged stronger and wealthier than ever, until in our own day one-third of the world and its inhabitants is under its influence or direct rule, and the end is not yet. With all branches of this race united, no other power on earth can hold control, and Rome
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 507
which aims at universal dominion is well aware of the fact. ..." By- flattery, and fanning the flames of jealousy, she strives to promote ill feeling between us and our natural allies, and would make us believe that the world is too small for both, and that their policy, no matter what it is, must be necessarily opposed to our interests.
" She urges that an alliance with the degraded and financially- impoverished South American despotisms (masquerading as republics), with their priest-ridden and rickety governments, with no trade, no enter- prise and no love for us or our institutions, is preferable to the friendship of our own kith and kin, whose flag is the emblem of what we hold most dear, who ofi"ers free ports, free schools, free religious opinions, free press, free welcome and protection to all, who if she extends her territory makes no restrictions in favor of her own subjects, and under whose flag the missionary may proclaim his message assured of protection, who if she erred in the past has profited by experience, and now seeks to rule by wisdom and not by force, and has beyond contradiction improved the con- dition of all her colonies.
" What have we in common with anj^ people on earth outside our own royal race ? On what is the pretended friendship of Russia based but self-interest, and rivalry of England, and the desire to make a fool of us.
" Did France assist us through love, or because she hated Great Britain ?
" What do the mongrel races of South America care for us except as a cats-paw to pull their chestnuts out of the fire, or as a defence behind which they can run riot and be impudent at will ?
" If Rome loves our institutions as she professes to do, why does she not essay to introduce them where her will is sole authority ? So far from this, here and in Canada, she would destroy our schools if she could ; and, so far from upholding our institutions, with her followers in power, she has corrupted our nobly-conceived government until it has degenerated into a mixture of spasmodic anarchy, aggravated by a riot of trusts domi- nated by the wire-pulling of a short-sighted plutocracy.
" Luckily our people are awakening to the danger. The foreigner by sentiment, if not always by birth, is wresting the sceptre from our grasp, and we are in imminent danger of losing our birthright.
508 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
" Great Britain like ourselves, by reason of her views, has not a friend in the world, and undoubtedly her desire at the present time is to win our love and alliance, and to effect this is willing to sacrifice anything but honor and self-respect. There is room for both in the world. What she cannot control herself she would only be too glad to see controlled by a friendly, Protestant, English-speaking people like ourselves, and to save it from the ckitches of her hereditary Foes."
Free Masonry neither fears, nor hates, any Sect or Societ}', but stands on guard to protect Humanity from the Intolerance of Jesuitry and the waning power of the Romish Church, and to give Man empire over him- self, never permitting Tyranny, Fanaticism and Ignorant Brutality to dominate the world as they did in the days of old. " Nekani Adonai.'"
Cfiebes— ©olossi— IBer^el^Baftari-Huxor-Earnafe,
509
POEM FOUND INSCRIBED ON THE FRONT OF THE PEDESTAL OF THE VOCAL MEMNON.
'8ca-borti Cbctis, learned Mcmnon suffered never pangs of d)nng.' 'Still, where Libyan mountains rise, sounds the voice of bis loud
erying ' — '(Mountains wbieb tbe JVilc-stream, laving, parts from 'Cbebes, the
bundrcd-gated ) ' — ' dbcn be glows, tbrougb rays maternal witb warm ligbt illumi- nated.' ' But tby son who, never-sated, dreadful battle still was seeking,' 'Dumb in "Croy and Cbessaly, rests now, never speaking.'
— ASKLEPICDOTUS.
510
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 511