I. Concerning GOD
and RELIGION.
A Mason is oblig'd 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. But though in ancient Times Masons
were charg'd in every Country to be of the Religion of that
Country or Nation, whatever it was, yet 'tis now thought
more expedient only to oblige them to that Religion in which
all Men agree, leaving their particular Opinions to
themselves; that is, to be good Men and true,
or Men of Honour and Honesty, by whatever Denominations or
Persuasions they may be distinguish'd; whereby Masonry
becomes the Center of Union, and the Means of
conciliating true Friendship among Persons that must have
remain'd at a perpetual Distance.
II. Of the CIVIL
MAGISTRATES
supreme and subordinate.
A Mason is a peaceable Subject
to the Civil Powers, wherever he resides or works, and is
never to be concern'd in Plots and Conspiracies against the
Peace and Welfare of the Nation, nor to behave himself
undutifully to inferior Magistrates; for as Masonry hath
been always injured by War, Bloodshed, and Confusion, so
ancient Kings and Princes have been much dispos'd to
encourage the Craftsmen, because of their Peaceableness and
Loyalty, whereby they practically answer'd the Cavils
of their Adversaries, and promoted the Honour of the
Fraternity, who ever flourish'd in Times of Peace. So that
if a Brother should be a Rebel against the State he is not
to be countenanc'd in his Rebellion, however he may be
pitied as an unhappy Man; and, if convicted of no other
Crime though the loyal Brotherhood must and ought to disown
his Rebellion, and give no Umbrage or Ground of political
Jealousy to the Government for the time being; they cannot
expel him from the Lodge, and his Relation to it
remains indefeasible.
III. Of LODGES.
A LODGE
is a place where Masons assemble and work: Hence that
Assembly, or duly organiz'd Society of Masons, is call'd a LODGE,
and every Brother ought to belong to one, and to be subject
to its By-Laws and the GENERAL
REGULATIONS.It
is either particular or general, and will be
best understood by attending it, and by the Regulations of
the General or Grand Lodge hereunto annex'd.
In ancient Times, no Master or Fellow could be
absent from it especially when warn'd to appear at it,
without incurring a sever Censure, until it appear'd to the
Master and Wardens that pure Necessity hinder'd
him.
The persons admitted Members of a Lodge must be good
and true Men, free-born, and of mature and discreet Age, no
Bondmen no Women, no immoral or scandalous men, but of good
Report.
IV. Of Masters, WARDENS,
Fellows and Apprentices.
All preferment among Masons is
grounded upon real Worth and personal Merit only; that so
the Lords may be well served, the Brethren not put to
Shame, nor the Royal Craft despis'd: Therefore no
Master or Warden is chosen by Seniority, but for
his Merit. It is impossible to describe these things in
Writing, and every Brother must attend in his Place, and
learn them in a way peculiar to this Fraternity: Only
Candidates may know that no Master should take
an Apprentice unless he has sufficient Imployment for
him, and unless he be a perfect Youth having no Maim or
Defect in his Body that may render him uncapable of learning
the Art of serving his Master's LORD,
and of being made a Brother, and then a
Fellow-Craft in due time, even after he has served such
a Term of Years as the Custom of the Country directs; and
that he should be descended of honest Parents; that so, when
otherwise qualify'd he may arrive to the Honour of being the
WARDEN,
and then the Master of the Lodge, the Grand
Warden, and at length the GRAND
MASTER
of all the Lodges, according to his Merit.
No Brother can be a WARDEN
until he has pass'd 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, who is also to be nobly born, or a Gentleman
of the best Fashion, or some eminent Scholar, or some
curious Architect, or other Artist, descended
of honest Parents, and who is of similar great Merit in the
Opinion of the Lodges. And for the better, and easier,
and more honourable Discharge of his Office, the
Grand-Master has a Power to chuse his own DEPUTY
GRAND-MASTER,
who must be then, or must have been formerly, the Master
of a particular Lodge, and has the Privilege of
acting whatever the GRAND
MASTER,
his Principal, should act, unless the said
Principal be present, or interpose his Authority by a
Letter
These Rulers and Governors, supreme and
subordinate, of the ancient Lodge, are to be
obey'd in their respective Stations by all the Brethren,
according to the old Charges and Regulations,
with all Humility, Reverence, Love and Alacrity.
V.
Of the Management of the CRAFT
in working.
All Masons shall work honestly on
working Days, that they may live creditably on holy Days;
and the time appointed by the Law of the Land or confirm'd
by Custom, shall be observ'd.
The most expert of the Fellow-Craftsmen shall be
chosen or appointed the Master or Overseer of the
Lord's Work; who is to be call'd MASTER
by those that work under him. The Craftsmen are to
avoid all ill Language, and to call each other by no
disobliging Name, but Brother or Fellow; and
to behave themselves courteously within and without the
Lodge. The Master, knowing himself to be able of
Cunning, shall undertake the Lord's Work as
reasonably as possible, and truly dispend his Goods as if
they were his own; nor to give more Wages to any Brother or
Apprentice than he really may deserve.
Both the Master and the Masons receiving their Wages
justly, shall be faithful to the Lord and honestly
finish their Work, whether Task or journey;
nor put the work to Task that hath been accustomed to
Journey.
None shall discover Envy at the Prosperity of a Brother, nor
supplant him, or put him out of his Work, if he be capable
to finish the same; for no Man can finish another's Work so
much to the Lord's Profit, unless he be thoroughly
acquainted with the Designs and Draughts of him that began
it.
When a Fellow-Craftsman is chosen Warden of
the Work under the Master, he shall be true both to
Master and Fellows, shall carefully oversee
the Work in the Master's Absence to the Lord's
profit; and his Brethren shall obey him.
All Masons employed shall meekly receive their Wages
without Murmuring or Mutiny, and not desert the Master
till the Work is finish'd.
A younger Brother shall be instructed in working, to
prevent spoiling the Materials for want of Judgment, and for
increasing and continuing of Brotherly Love.
All the Tools used in working shall be approved by the Grand
Lodge.
No Labourer shall be employ'd in the proper Work of
Masonry; nor shall Free Masons work with those that
are not free, without an urgent Necessity; nor shall
they teach Labourers and unaccepted Masons as
they should teach a Brother or Fellow.
VI. Of BEHAVIOUR, VIZ.
1. In the Lodge
while constituted.
You are not to hold private
Committees, or separate Conversation without Leave from the
Master, nor to talk of anything impertinent or
unseemly, nor interrupt the Master or Wardens,
or any Brother speaking to the Master: Nor behave
yourself ludicrously or jestingly while the Lodge is
engaged in what is serious and solemn; nor use any
unbecoming Language upon any Pretense whatsoever; but to pay
due Reverence to your Master, Wardens, and
Fellows, and put them to worship.
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),
and to whom they ought to be referr'd, unless a Lord's
Work be hinder'd the mean while, in which Case a particular
Reference may be made; but you must never go to Law about
what concerneth Masonry, without an absolute
necessity apparent to the Lodge.
2. Behaviour after
the LODGE
is over and the Brethren not gone.
You may enjoy yourself with
innocent Mirth, treating one another according to Ability,
but avoiding all Excess, or forcing any Brother to eat or
drink beyond his Inclination, or hindering him from going
when his Occasions call him, or doing or saying anything
offensive, or that may forbid an easy and free
Conversation, for that would blast our Harmony, and defeat
our laudable Purposes. Therefore no private Piques or
Quarrels must be brought within the Door of the Lodge,
far less any Quarrels about Religion, or Nations,
or State Policy, we being only, as Masons, of
the Catholick Religion above mention'd, we are also
of all Nations, Tongues, Kindreds, and Languages,
and are resolv'd against all Politics, as what never yet
conduct'd to the Welfare of the Lodge, nor ever will.
This Charge has been always strictly enjoin'd and
observ'd; but especially ever since the Reformation
in BRITAIN,
or the Dissent and Secession of these Nations from the
Communion of ROME.
3. Behaviour when
Brethren meet without Strangers, but not in a
Lodge form'd.
You are to salute one another
in a courteous Manner, as you will be instructed, calling
each other Brother, freely giving mutual instruction
as shall be thought expedient, without being ever seen or
overheard, and without encroaching upon each other, or
derogating from that Respect which is due to any Brother,
were he not Mason: For though all Masons are as
Brethren upon the same Level, yet Masonry
takes no Honour from a man that he had before; nay, rather
it adds to his Honour, especially if he has deserv'd well of
the Brotherhood, who must give Honour to whom it is due, and
avoid ill Manners.
4. Behaviour in
Presence of Strangers not Masons.
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, and sometimes you shall divert a Discourse, and
manage it prudently for the Honour of the worshipful
Fraternity.
5. Behaviour at
Home, and in your Neighbourhood.
You are to act as becomes a
moral and wise Man; particularly not to let your Family,
Friends and Neighbors know the Concern of the Lodge, &c.,
but wisely to consult your own Honour, and that of the
ancient Brotherhood, for reasons not to be mention'd
here You must also consult your Health, by not continuing
together too late, or too long from Home, after Lodge Hours
are past; and by avoiding of Gluttony or Drunkenness, that
your Families be not neglected or injured, nor you disabled
from working.
6. Behaviour
towards a strange Brother.
You are cautiously to examine
him, in such a Method as Prudence shall direct you, that you
may not be impos'd upon by an ignorant, false Pretender,
whom you are to reject with Contempt and Derision, and
beware of giving him any Hints of Knowledge.
But if you discover him to be a true and genuine Brother,
you are to respect him accordingly; and if he is in want,
you must relieve him if you can, or else direct him how he
may be reliev'd: you must employ him some days, or else
recommend him to be employ'd. But you are not charged to do
beyond your Ability, only to prefer a poor Brother,
that is a good Man and true before any other
poor People in the same Circumstance.
Finally, All these Charges you are to observe, and also
those that shall be recommended to you in another Way;
cultivating BROTHERLY-LOVE,
the Foundation and Cape-stone, the Cement and
Glory of this Ancient Fraternity, avoiding all
Wrangling and Quarreling, all Slander and Backbiting, nor
permitting others to slander any honest Brother, but
defending his Character, and doing him all good Offices, as
far as is consistent with your Honour and Safety,
and no farther. And if any of them do you Injury, you must
apply to your own or his Lodge, and from thence you
may appeal to the Grand Lodge, at the Quarterly
Communication and from thence to the annual GRAND
LODGE
at the Quarterly Communication, and from thence to
the annual GRAND
LODGE,
as has been the ancient laudable Conduct of our Fore-fathers
in every Nation; never taking a legal Course but when
the Case cannot be otherwise decided, and patiently
listening to the honest and friendly Advice of Master
and Fellows, when they would prevent your going to
Law with Strangers, or would excite you to put a
speedy Period to all Law-Suits, so that you may mind
the Affair of MASONRY
with the more Alacrity and Success; but with respect to
Brothers or Fellows at Law, the Master and
Brethren should kindly offer their Mediation, which ought to
be thankfully submitted to by the contending Brethren; and
if that submission is impracticable, they must, however,
carry on their Process, or Law-Suit, without
Wrath and Rancor (not in the common way) saying or doing
nothing which may hinder Brotherly Love, and good
Offices to be renew'd and continu'd; that all may see the
benign Influence of MASONRY,
as all true Masons have done from the beginning of
the World, and will do to the End of Time.
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