Preface

The Library
SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY AT CLAREMONT
WEST FOOTHILL AT COLLEGE AVENUE CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA
THE BUILDERS
THE BUILDERS
aS A STORY AND STUDY
Hos N¢ OF MASONRY
BY
JOSEPH FORT NEWTON, Lirr. D.
GRAND LODGE OF IOWA
When Iwas a King and a Mason— A master proved and skilled,
1 cleared me ground fora palace Such asa King should build.
I decreed and cut down to my levels, Presently, under the silt,
I came on the wreck of a palace Such as a King had butili/
—KIPLING
xx
CEDAR RAPIDS IOWA THE TORCH PRESS NINETEEN FIFTEEN
Coryrient, 1914
By Josern Fort Newron
First Printing, December, 1914
To The Memory of THEODORE SUTTON PARVIN
Founder of the Library of the Grand Lodge of Iowa, with Reverence and Gratitude; to
LOUIS BLOCK Past Grand Master of Masons in Iowa, dear Friend © and Fellow-worker, who initiated and inspired this study, with Love and Goodwill; and to the YOUNG MASONS
Our Hope and Pride, for whom this book was written With Fraternal Greeting
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a
s THEOLOGY LIBRARY
— f5/2% » SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
SS | AT CLAREMONT CALIFORNIA
THE ANTEROOM
Fourteen years ago the writer of this volume en- tered the temple of Freemasonry, and that date stands out in memory as one of the most significant days in his life. There was a little spread on the night of his raising, and, as is the custom, the can- didate was asked to give his impressions of the Or- der. Among other things, he made request to know if there was any little book which would tell a young man the things he would most like to know about Masonry — what it was, whence it came, what it teaches, and what it is trying to do in the world? No one knew of such a book at that time, nor has any been found to meet a need which many must have felt before and since. By an odd coincidence, it has fallen to the lot of the author to write the little book for which he made request fourteen years ago.
This bit of reminiscence explains the purpose of the present volume, and every book must be judged by its spirit and purpose, not less than by its style and contents. Written as a commission from the Grand Lodge of Iowa, and approved by that Grand body, a copy of this book is to be presented to every
Vili THE BUILDERS
man upon whom the degree of Master Mason is con- ferred within this Grand Jurisdiction. Naturally this intention has determined the method and ar- rangement of the book, as well as the matter it con- tains; its aim being to tell a young man entering the order the antecedents of Masonry, its develop- ment, its philosophy, its mission, and its ideal. Keep- ing this purpose always in mind, the effort has been to prepare a brief, simple, and vivid account of the origin, growth, and teaching of the Order, so writ- ten as to provoke a deeper interest in and a more earnest study of its story and its service to mankind.
No work of this kind has been undertaken, so far as is known, by any Grand Lodge in this country or. abroad — at least, not since the old Pocket Com- panion, and other such works in the earlier times; and this is the more strange from the fact that the need of it is so obvious, and its possibilities so fruit- ful and important. Every one who has looked into the vast literature of Masonry must often have felt the need of a concise, compact, yet comprehensive survey to clear the path and light the way. Especial- ly must those feel such a need who are not accus- tomed to traverse long and involved periods of his- tory, and more especially those who have neither the time nor the opportunity to sift ponderous volumes to find out the facts. Much of our literature — in-
THE ANTEROOM ix
deed, by far the larger part of it — was written be- fore the methods of scientific study had arrived, and while it fascinates, it does not convince those who are used to the more critical habits of research. Consequently, without knowing it, some of our most earnest Masonic writers have made the Order a tar- get for ridicule by their extravagant claims as to its antiquity. They did not make it clear in what sense it is ancient, and not a little satire has been aimed at Masons for their gullibility in accepting as true the wildest and most absurd legends. Besides, no his- tory of Masonry has been written in recent years, and some important material has come to light in the world of historical and archeological scholarship, making not a little that has hitherto been obscure more clear; and there is need that this new knowl- edge be related to what was already known. While modern research aims at accuracy, too often its re- sults are dry pages of fact, devoid of literary beauty and spiritual appeal — a skeleton without the warm robe of flesh and blood. Striving for accuracy, the writer has sought to avoid making a dusty chronicle of facts and figures, which few would have the heart to follow, with what success the reader must decide.
Such a book is not easy to write, and for two rea- sons: it is the history of a secret Order, much of whose lore is not to be written, and it covers a be
x 7 THE BUILDERS
wildering stretch of time, asking that the contents of innumerable volumes — many of them huge, dis- jointed, and. difficult to digest — be compact within a small space. Nevertheless, if it has required a prodigious labor, it is assuredly worth while in be- half of the young men who throng our temple gates, as well as for those who are to come after us. Every line of this book has been written in the conviction that the real history of Masonry is great enough, and its simple teaching grand enough, without the embellishment of legend, much less of occultism. It proceeds from first to last upon the assurance that all that we need to do is to remove the scaffolding from the historic temple of Masonry and let it stand out in the sunlight, where all men can see its beauty and symmetry, and that it will command the respect of the most critical and searching intellects, as well as the homage of all who love mankind. By this faith the long study has been guided; in this confi- dence it has been completed.
To this end the sources of Masonic scholarship, stored in the library of the Grand Lodge of Iowa, have been explored, and the highest authorities have been cited wherever there is uncertainty — copious references serving not only to substantiate the state- ments made, but also, it is hoped, to guide the reader into further and more detailed research. Also, in
THE ANTEROOM xi
respect of issues still open to debate and about which differences of opinion obtain, both sides have been given a hearing, so far as space would allow, that the student may weigh and decide the question for himself. Like all Masonic students of recent times, the writer is richly indebted to the great Research Lodges of England —especially to the Quatuor Coronati Lodge, No. 2076 — without whose pro- ceedings this study would have been much harder to write, if indeed it could have been written at all. Such men as Gould, Hughan, Speth, Crawley, Thorp, to name but a few —not forgetting Pike, Parvin, Mackey, Fort, and others in this country — deserve the perpetual gratitude of the fraternity. If, at times, in seeking to escape from mere legend, some of them seemed to go too far toward another extreme — forgetting that there is much in Ma- sonry that cannot be traced by name and date — it was but natural in their effort in behalf of authentic history and accurate scholarship. Alas, most of those named belong now to a time that is gone and to the people who are no longer with us here, but they are recalled by an humble student who would pay them the honor belonging to great men and great Masons.
This book is divided into three parts, as every- thing Masonic should be: Prophecy, History, and
xii THE BUILDERS
Interpretation. The first part has to do with the hints and foregleams of Masonry in the early his- tory, tradition, mythology, and symbolism of the race — finding its foundations in the nature and need of man, and showing how the stones wrought out by time and struggle were brought from afar to the making of Masonry as we know it. The second