CHARLATAN

by Bro.  T. Hargreaves

From the topic bag, I drew a slip of paper on which was typed the
word, 'CHARLATAN'.  My own interpretation of the word had been
close to a scoundrel' or a 'rogue' but on referring to the
Britannica-Webster Dictionary, I found the more precise meaning:
'A person who pretends to have a particular knowledge or
ability,' 'a Quack.'

My next task was to associate the word in some way with
freemasonry or to a freemason. That I found to be more of a
challenge than I had expected. On searching through my books, 
however, I came upon a particular volume containing George
Crabbers poetical works and on leafing through it my attention
was drawn to a particular poem called, 'Clubs and Social
Meetings.'

Although Crabbe was a surgeon, it was apparent he was no 'quack'
in that sense of the word.  Whether or not he was a pretender,
remained to be found.  Whether he was writing as a mason or was
writing only of something he professes to have knowledge of, was
the puzzle.

Fernando Rojas, the Spanish author, said, 'We should believe only
in deeds; words go for nothing everywhere' - in the case of
Crabbe, the reverse is true.  Although he had some remarkable
achievements to his credit (not the least of which was that he
was a surgeon as well as being an ordained minister) it is
apparent that his words spoke louder than his deeds, because it
is as -a poet that he is remembered.

Born in 1754, George Crabbe was exposed in his early years, to
the everyday hardships and poverty of the English coastal village
of Alsborough in Suffolk.  Though not a Blake or Milton, he is
recognized as one of the major poets of his day.

He wrote this poem about freemasonry:

Masons are ours, Freemasons - but, alas!
To their own bards I leave the mystic class.
In vain shall one, and not a gifted man,
Attempt to sing of this enlightened clan;
I know no Word, boast no directing Sign,
And not one Token of the race is mine:
Whether with Hiram, that wise widow's son,
They came from Tyre to royal Solomon,
Two pillars raising by their skill profound,
Boaz and Jachin through the East renowned:
Whether the sacred Books their rise express,
Or books profane, tis vain for me to guess:
It may be, lost in date remote and high,
They know not what their own antiquity:
It may be, too, derived from cause so low,
They have no wish.their origin to show:
If as Crusaders, they combined to wrest
from heathen lords, the land they long possessed;
Or were at first some harmless club, who made
their idle meetings solemn by parade;
Is but conjecture, for the task unfit,

Awe-struck and mute, the puzzling theme I quit:
Yet, if such blessings from their Order flow,
We should be glad their moral code to know;
Trowels of silver are but simple things,
And Aprons worthless as their apron strings;
But if indeed you have the skill to teach
A social spirit now beyond our reach;
If man's warm passions you can guide and bind,
And plant the virtues in the wayward mind;
If you can wake to Christian love the heart -
In mercy, something of your powers impart.
But, as it seems, We Masons must become
To know the Secret, and must then be dumb;
And as we venture for uncertain gains,
Perhaps the profit is not worth the pains.
When Bruce, that dauntless traveller, thought he stood
On Nile's first rise, the fountain of the flood,
And drank exulting in the sacred spring,
The critics told him it was no such thing;
That springs unnumbered round the country ran,
But none could show him where the first began:
So might we feel, should we our time bestow,
To gain these secrets and these Signs to know;
Might question still if all the truth we found
And firmly stood upon the certain ground;
We might our title to the mystery dread,
And fear we drank not at the river-head.

I felt that if I rewrote the poem according to my own
interpretation, I might be better able to determine if in fact
George Crabbe was a mason. My translation follows:

Masons are part of our community. However, I refer to this
mysterious group their own poets.  It is not possible for a
person who is not gifted, to understand these knowledgeable
people.

I don't know any of their words. I don't profess to know any of
their signs and I have none of their passwords.

Whether Hiram Abiff, the wise widow's son, came from Tyre to King
Soloman to raise with their intelligence and skill, the two
pillars, Boaz and Jachin, which are known in the East, is hard to
tell.

It's impossible for me to guess whether profane books or sacred
books describe the rise of masons.  It may be that they do not
know how old their craft is because it is lost in remote
antiquity.

It may be that they do not wish to reveal their origin because
they are derived from a dishonest cduse.

It is a guess, whether as Crusaders they got together to win
brick their own lands from heathen lords or in fact they formed
at first, some harmless club and made their lazy meetings solemn
by parading about.

I am not fit to understand this.  I am awe-struck and mute and so
I stopped trying.

But if such blessings from from the Order, we should be glad to
know their moral code.

Silver trowels are simple things and aprons are worthless as
their apron strings. But if you have the skill to teach, and a
social spirit which is now beyond our reach, if you can guide and
bind man's warm passions and plant virtues in a wayward mind, and
if you can wake your heart to Christian love, then you should
give something of your powers. It would seem we must become
Masons to learn the secrets and then not speak of them.  So we
search to gain uncertain benefits. Perhaps the profit and the
pleasure is not worth the pains.

When the fearless explorer, James Bruce, thought he hdd found the
source of the River Nile and drink from it, critics said it was
not so because there were hundreds of springs in that area but
nobody could prove where the first spring began. We might also
feel the same, if we spend time to gain masonic secrets and
signs.  Not knowing where they originated, we might dread their
origin, because just like the source of the Nile, we are not sure
how the Masonry began.

After putting the poem into my own words, I was still undecided
as to Crabbe's validity as a mason. A brief search at the Grand
Lodge Library produced no further proof, so I turned to a few
brief bibliographies of Crabbe from various encyclopaedias. My
final conclusion was that George Crabbe, if not a mason, was a
good man, and a devoted husband and father. I personally believe
he was a mason.

Crabbe's Poem was taken from:

George Crabbe's Poetical Works (Crabbe's Life by A.C. Cunningham,
Esq.)
Publisher:  Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. No. 13 Astor Place, New York.

Quote on Fernando Rojas taken from:

The New Dictionary Thoughts by Tryon Edwards, D.D.
Publisher:  Standard Book Company Copyright 1963

Definition of the Word Charlatan taken from:

Britannica-Webster Dictionary & Reference Guide
Copyright 1981

Biographies of Crabbe referred to in:

The Storehouse of General Information
Cassell & Company Limited
London Paris & Melbourne 1891

Enclyclopdedia Britannica Copyright 1980 15th Edition

Colliers Encyclopaedia
Copyright Crowell-Collier Educational Corp. 1968


GLIMPSES OF MASONIC HISTORY

It's really surprising the misconceptions some people have about
Freemasonry .... both within and outside the Craft. 
Unfortunately, a lot of this stuff is all too often propagated by
the press, despite the fact that it may be undocumented and
historically unsound.

A case in point is an Associated Press Article which was released
some months ago relating to the Mexican General Santa Anna (the
man who stormed the Alamo) who stood before a firing squad under
the command of the U.S. General Sam Houston.

The triggers were never pulled, however, and the alleged reason
was that "Santa Anna was a Mason and he had given a secret
distress signal to Houston a Brother Mason" just before the order
was given to fire.  The Mexican General was subsequently given
his freedom after signing a peace treaty.

This bit of folklore appeared in a History of Texas as early as
1855, and it took until 1955 for the true version to make its
public appearance, when a Dr. James D. Carter published his
"MASONRY IN TEXAS, BACKGROUND, HISTORY & INFLUENCE UP TO 1846" he
put the record straight with the following statement;

"It may be that Masons saved the life of Santa Anna, but if so,
they did not act because he made claim to their mercy as Masons. 
All of the Masons to whom he appealed knew that Santa Anna had
disowned Masonry: further, his many offenses against Texas and
Mexican Masons had placed him outside the protection of any
Masonic obligation. Santa Anna was saved because of the Texas
leaders considered him worth more to Texas alive than dead."



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