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| There
are those who believe that Freemasonry originated with the very beginning
of civilization, indeed with the start of intelligent thinking man.
However, there is no absolute basis for such a belief. We do know that
as time and experience proved certain truths, these truths were taken
and carried to the thinking people of the various tribes. We do know,
also, that in several of the ancient civilizations there existed certain
mystic societies; that these mystic societies had a Lodge form, with
Lodge officers, all similar in character and all teaching moral living.
Thus it might rightfully be supposed that the ideals and teachings
of our Order have come to us from the learning and wisdom of the dim
past.
While we refer to ourselves as "Freemasons," the accepted
term for hundreds of years was simply "Masons." Defined, Mason
means "Builder." Starting some 800 years ago, and lasting nearly
400 years, was the era during which were built in Western Europe the
hundreds of great Gothic cathedrals. Many of these immense structures
still stand as a memorial of the past and as an inspiration to the people
of today.
To us, it is almost incomprehensible that these magnificent
cathedrals were built completely by hand, with only the simplest of tools.
The credit
goes to the Builders, or Masons, of that era. It was their ingenuity,
imagination, resourcefulness and industry which produced these monuments.
To
accomplish what they did, these Masons banded themselves together into
Workmans' Guilds. Each of the Guilds formed a Lodge, with regular
Lodge officers and each with three levels of membership. The first, or
lowest form of members, were apprentices or bearers of burdens. The second
form were craftsmen, or fellows, the skilled workmen on the Temples.
The third, and highest form, were the masters, constituting those who
were the overseers and superintendents on the building. Also, certain
states of proficiency were required before a man could pass from one
degree to the next. Furthermore, they all taught and required of their
membership certain attributes of moral conduct. It was these Guild Lodges
that actually gave birth to modern Masonic Lodges and to present-day
Freemasonry.
We refer to these Guild Masons as "Operative" Masons, because
they actually operated as and performed as working masons in the building
of the cathedrals. However, during the sixteenth century there began
the decline of the Gothic building and with it a decline in the strength
of the Guild Lodges. For two hundred years these Lodges struggled and
fought for their very existence. During this struggle some of the Lodges,
to preserve themselves, began taking in other members -- that is, men
of high moral character, but not necessarily followers of the builders'
trade. These non-operative members were referred to as "Accepted" Masons
and later as "Speculative" Masons. Eventually the Guild Lodges
came to be known as "Speculative Lodges." This was particularly
true in the British Isles, where a considerable number of men in all
walks of life were admitted to membership in the Lodges of Freemasons.
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