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          Speculari--Speculatus--Speculativus
          by
          Howard R. Stewart, MPS
          
          In a recent baccalaureate address, I heard the speaker urge
          soon-to-be graduates to be speculative about the future, to
          form visions that see beyond obstacles, and to set goals
          which will maintain a needed focus. A short time later, I read
          these words by Jim Tresner, editor of The Oklahoma Mason,
          "The eternity in front of it [Masonry] is as infinite as the one
          behind." Although neither statement constitutes a startling
          revelation, both encompass the future, not only of Masonry
          as we know it, but that of the entire world. And, I wondered if
          modern Masons are truly speculative, or do the vast majority
          memorize bits and pieces of the ritual and then dismiss them
          from further contemplation. (1)
          The stimulus for this paper, or the  "why did I write it? ", is
          the word speculative and its role in Masonry today. During
          the research phase, I found another stimulus in the words of
          Martin Clare, from Defence of Masonry, written around 1730
          A.D.
          Masonry, as it is now explained, has in some
          circumstances declined from its original purity.
          It has run long in muddy streams, and, as it
          were, underground; but notwithstanding the
          great rust it may have contracted, there is
          still much of the fabric remaining; the essential
          pillars of the building may be discovered 
          through the rubbish, though the superstructure
          be overrun with moss and ivy, and the stories,
          by length of time, be disjointed.
          A line by line analysis of this passage reveals an admission,
          a defense, and a relevancy to Masonry's present condition.
          Defence of Masonry was written during Masonry's convivial
          period, a time of almost total intemperance which H.L.
          Haywood called "a Noah's flood of drunkenness." While
          debauchery no longer enters the picture, Masonry has again
          experienced decline in recent years and still "runs long in
          muddy streams." Although never absent, the "braying" of
          Masonic critics has increased of late, and even though the
          rubbish of earlier times has been swept away leaving the
          superstructure and fabric of Masonry intact and strong, it
          may be that Masons need to gather and speculate about the
          future. 
          So, assuming that  "speculative " does have a role in
          modern Masonry, let's examine the word. It is first an
          adjective of the noun,  "speculation. " Multiple definitions are
          involved, but the list can be shortened considerably by
          excluding those relating to the financial world. The Pocket
          Masonic Dictionary, published by the Masonic Service
          Association, defines speculative as "non-operative: all
          Freemasons now are speculative, not actual builders with
          stone." That definition, while historically correct, sheds little
          light. Funk and Wagnalls New Practical Standard Dictionary
          , 1955 edition, defines speculative as "strictly theoretical,"
          speculation as the act of theorizing, and speculate as
          meaning to form conjectures or judgments from incomplete
          evidence. In the scientific field, a theory, though unresolved,
          is considered to be verifiable by experimentation. These
          definitions would limit a Mason's exploration unless he were
          willing to accept that spiritual reality can be established by
          precedent. Also worthy of mention is the Latin word 
          "speculum, " meaning mirror or tool affording a view or a
          vision. From that it is possible to visualize a speculum in the
          hand of an intellectual who is striving for better
          understanding by looking into the very heart of the matter
          before him. The word was used in this sense by the French
          poet, John Gower, in Speculum Meditantis, the theme of
          which is the contest of the seven vices and the seven virtues
          for possession of man's soul. (2) 
          In Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, 1966 edition,
          page 958, the following appears: "The word Speculative is
          used by Freemasons in its primary sense as symbolic, or
          theoretical, when opposed to Operative." That is a little
          better, but symbolic of what--the intellectual deductions
          drawn from an operative art? The key word is  "intellectual, "
          referring to the doctrine that the ultimate principle of all
          reality is intellect or reason and to the concept of exercising
          the reason or the thinking processes. For the present
          discussion, this can be condensed into a simple statement:
          Speculation requires intellect. 
          The lectures of the Symbolic Degrees tell us that our ancient
          brethren wrought in both Operative and Speculative. Can
          this be illustrated? Yes, 
          by noting the progressive improvement in architectural
          design and the increasing efforts to achieve spiritual
          harmony. This should make it obvious that  "thinking " men
          were involved, men who theorized and experimented, men
          who were applying intellect. And, if intellect is applied to
          speculation, Speculative Masonry can be defined as Mackey
          did, as "the scientific application and the religious
          consecration of the rules and principles, the language, the
          implements, and materials of Operative Masonry to the
          veneration of God, the purification of the heart, and the
          inculcation of the dogmas of a religious philosophy." 
          At about the same time, Dr. George Oliver also spoke of the
          influence of the intellect upon Masonry by saying, "None
          could comprehend or practise it [Masonry] but the honoured
          few whose minds were enlightened by a taste for science
          and philosophy . . . " (3)
          When one reads of lodge customs during the convivial
          period, it becomes apparent that scant speculation was
          occurring. Masonic historian Harry Carr openly avoided
          using the word  "speculative " when referring to it. To have
          called the average Mason of that period a speculative
          Mason would have necessitated extending the phrase  "a
          peculi'r system of morality" to include lewdness and
          drunkenness. Actually, we can link the development of
          Speculative Masonry to the development of the ritual during,
          as Carr called it, the  "speculative reformation.  " Without the
          ritual, Masonry's cabinet would have been bare, and it could
          easily have become just another club or else ceased to
          exist. Those who believe in an uninterrupted transition from
          Operative Masonry to Speculative Masonry should keep in
          mind that the intellectuals who infiltrated the fraternity
          possessed the reasoning powers to propagate the ideas and
          ideals lying at the root of the speculative reformation.
          Undoubtedly, the formation of the Grand Lodge in 1717 was
          a decisive step in the reformation, for it gave a new meaning
          and purpose to Masonry, and work was begun to
          standardize the ritual. (4) 
          In Texas, from 1934 to December 4, 1982, Lightfoot's
          Manual of the Lodge With Ancient Ceremonies and
          Commentaries was the official Grand Lodge Monitor. In the
          Commentary, "Operative and Speculative Masonry,"
          Lightfoot said, " . . . He who knows nothing of the philosophy
          of Freemasonry will be apt to become lukewarm and
          indifferent, but he who devotes himself to its contemplation
          will feel an ever increasing ardor in its study." 
          Fortunately, there is ardor among the few. They are the
          ones "driving the truck" while the majority of today's Masons
          are along for the ride. While the paucity of Masonic
          educational programs at lodge level is disheartening, it is to
          be remembered that true speculation occurs in workshops,
          "skull sessions or "think-tanks," not in history classes. If a
          lodge tends only to the mundane and conducts no
          contemplative sessions regarding its future and the future of
          all Masonry, its members can hardly be called "Speculative
          Masons." (5)
          Bibliography
          1. Jim Tresner, "The Temple Shook With Hate," The
          Scottish Rite Journal, June 1995, 39-42.
          
          2. "Speculum Meditantis," Encyclopedia Americana, 1958
          edition, 25:379.
          
          3. Mackey's Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry (1966
          edition), 2:959; William Hutchinson, The Spirit of Masonry,
          Reprinted by Bell Publishing Co., 1982, ed. George Oliver,
          D.D., 3.
          
          4. Harry Carr, Harry Carr's World of Freemasonry (London:
          Butler and Tanner Ltd., 1983), 68-71. 
          
          5. Jewell P. Lightfoot, Lightfoot's Manual of the Lodge with
          Ancient Ceremonies and Commentaries, The Grand Lodge
          of Texas, 1935 Lodge Edition, 205-6.