SECRECY IN
FREEMASONRY

by CabcU F. Cobbs, MPS

"I can't tell you. It's a secret"

"Women can't be Masons. They
can't keep a secret"


  " Having thought it needful to
warn you of the
  Mischiefs and Evils practiced in
the sight of
  God by those called Freed Masons,
I say take care
  lest their Ceremonies and secret
Swearings take hold of
  you. . . For this devilish sect of
men are meeters in
  Secret which swear against all
without their Following
 
. . .For how should Men meet in
secret places and with
  secret Signs taking care that none
observe them
  to do the Work of God, are these
not the ways of
  Evildoers?

The above comments, ranging across 
three centuries, indicate the ignorance 
of both profane and Freemason regard-
ing our Craft, the importance ap-
parently attached to considerations of 
secrecy in Freemasonry, and its use 
both as an anti-Masonic weapon and, 
perhaps, as a shield for a Freemason's 
own lack of knowledge.
 
Who has not, on expressing an inter-
est in joining the Craft, sought to obtain 
information from an older member and 
had him seriously reply that he could 
not give him any information. It is all 
secret! Who has not heard the ancient 
sexist joke related above, as a totally 
false explanation for our membership 
being limited to men? Who has not 
even more recently heard vicious con-
demnations of our Fraternity by Dr. 
James Holly, before the Southern Bap-
tist Convention, in part because of its 
reliance on secrecy?
 
At the outset, let us immediately re-
fute the concept that the Craft today is 
so secret that no member can discuss 
any part of Freemasonry with a non-
Mason. As the Grand Master of the 
United Grand Lodge of England, the 
Duke of Kent, recently remarked, there 
is in fact very little secret about it.
 
Indeed, with the publication of the 
commonly used Emulation Ritual in the 
clear, English Freemasonry holds confi-
dential little more than the modes of 
recognition between brethren.

If our membership would only learn 
this simple fact---that except for ritual-
istic matters, including modes of recog-
nition, there are few " secrets of 
Freemasonry", then perhaps they 
would no longer have to cloak their ig-
norance of their own Fraternity with 
pretensions of secrecy, when questioned 
by an interested person. At the least, 
they should be taught to say, "I don't 
know the answer to your question, but 
will refer you to one who does. "

As for limitation of our membership to 
males, such has nothing to do with 
secrecy, but is based on our origins in 
the operative Craft and a thousand
years of tradition.

Attacks by religious bigots on Freema-
sonry, as well as established religious 
bodies have, as evidenced by the above 
quotation, gone on for three hundred 
years or more, and, have, at one time or 
another, involved almost every denomi-
nation. These critics look, among many 
other things, to our secrecy and say 
that, were we honest men, we would 
open our deliberations and activities to 
daylight i. e., to our critics. To the public, 
who have come in late years to equate 
secrey with conspiracy and dark be-
havior, I fear its is a potent weapon.

If this secrecy is apparently so damag-
ing to us, why do we continue to burden 
ourselves with it? To understand, we 
must travel back in our history.
 
Freemasonry's written and traditional 
history begins with the Old Charges, or 
medieval documents, which set forth 
the origins of the Craft. The oldest of 
these is the Regius Manuscript, written 
about 1390, which traces its founda-
tions as an operative Craft to Euclid 
and Egypt. As to the Craft in England, 
it declares that rules and regulations 
were laid down at a General Assembly 
of Masons in York, held in 926 A. D. by 
decree of King Athelstan. There, cer-
tain Articles and Points were adopted, 
and later approved by the King, for the 
Government of the Craft. Among these 
was the following:
 
The third point must be several
Among the apprentices it should 
be known well
That his master's counsel he 
keeps close,
And his fellow's with his good 
purpose;
The privatenesses of the chamber 
he shall tell no man,
Nor whatever they do in the lodge;
Whatsoever thou here or see them 
do
Tell it to no man, wherever thou
go;
The counsel of the hall and also of
the bower,
Keep it well to [your] great honor,
Lest it should bring you to blame,
And bring the craft into great
shame.
 


Thus, came secrecy into the Craft. 
Why? Probably to protect the mathe-
matical and engineering formulae by 
which a particular lodge was enabled to 
construct the magnificent cathedrals, 
abbeys, and castles, whose present day 
survival testifies to their great skill as 
builders in stone and to be enabled, 
through modes of recognition, to iden-
tify a legitimate craftsman during the 
hiring process. One may also suggest 
that deliberations over an individual's 
skill and faults in lodge were likewise 
held confidential, as are modern lodge 
deliberations on petitions, ritual and re-
lated matters.
 
Secrecy was not altogether a benefit 
during the early days of the Craft. 
Henry VI ordered an investigation of 
Freemasonry as a secret society and 
finding that it was of an innocent na-
ture, confirmed its charges by decree of 
King and Council. Similarly, it is re-
corded by Preston that Queen Elizabeth 
sent Sir Thomas Sackville to York to dis-
perse the Masons there, but he was in-
itiated and became their Master. Even 
as late as 1799, an Act of Parliament 
requiring registration of all secret socie-
ties and aimed at bodies which intended 
to disrupt government caused problems 
to the Craft until exemption was ob-
tained.
 
After the formation of the Premier 
Grand Lodge in 1717, its Constitutions, 
taken from the Old Charges, provided 
as well for secrecy, deeming it a virtue 
among all people. That it was not al-
ways present or respected is shown by 
the numerous exposures of ritual that 
began around 1730 and, in 1738, led to 
modification of the Constitutions of 
1723 and changes in the modes of rec-
ognition to prevent further impositions 
by pretenders.
 
The concept came with Masonry to 
America, where publishers copied 
Anderson's Constitutions verbatim and 
aided the spread of English-style 
Freemasonry throughout the Colonies. 
Thus, as late as 1791, we see the Grand 
Lodge of Virginia officially adopt the 
concept of secrecy:
 
"The last quality and virtue which I 
shall mention, as absolutely requisite in 
all those who would be Masons is that 
of secrecy, which indeed, from its im-
portance, ought to have held the first 
place in this chapter, if it had not been 
intended to treat of it more fully, as a 
conclusion of the whole. "
 
The discussion in this early Masonic 
law book, The Ahiman Rezon, goes on 
to explain the philosophic aspects of
secrecy, particularly as an exercise of 
self-control. It considers maintenance of 
secrecy not only as a protection for the 
Craft but also as a teaching method for 
individual advancement.
 
Secrecy over the centuries has gained 
the status of a landmark in the eyes of 
the Craft--something that is essential 
as a foundation stone of Freemasonry, 
and without which the true nature of our 
Institution cannot survive. Indeed, our 
Mother Grand Lodge, as a condition of 
recgnition, requires all Grand Lodges 
strictly to observe "the Ancient Land-
marks, customs and usages of the 
Craft. " Not surprisingly, the Landmark 
of Secrecy has been adopted, or is fol-
lowed by every American Grand Lodge.

From this beginning, it can be seen 
that Freemasonry was a secret society, 
from its inception. In defense of this, 
many, notably leaders of our appendant 
bodies, attempt to say that we are only 
a "society with secrets" and not a 
secret society; these argue our members 
proudly wear the Square and Compass, 
our lodge locations are known, and 
most of our Craft deliberations are pub-
lished in annual proceedings. But this is 
little more than verbal legerdemain, as 
the leading definition of a secret society 
includes "an organization, such as a 
lodge, that requires its members to con-
ceal certain activities, such as its rites of 
initiation, from outsiders. "
 
In the modern world, what can we 
derive from the continued insistence on 
secrecy in our lodges--when all the 
world can see our temples and, particu-
larly in small communities, identify 
those who enter their portals. And with 
regard to our ceremonies, anyone is 
able to find them quite well exposed in 
volumes stocked by large bookstores, 
complete with the modes of recognition. 
In these circumstances, is secrecy so im-
portant?
 
First, as from the beginning, the con-
fidentiality of our means of identifying 
impostors is essential, even if it can be 
presently discovered through available
esposes. Lodges still are bound to render 
assistance to Masons visiting or passing 
through their communities, and there 
are still those who seek to impose upon 
our generosity. There is little advantage 
in making it easier for fraud to be per-
petrated.
 
Secondly, the entire fabric of Freema-
sonry rests upon the need to create a 
strong bond between the new Mason 
and his brethren. The foundation on 
which this threefold tie of brotherhood 
is built rests largely upon the ceremo-
nies of initiation, passing and raising, 
which have existed for centuries, largely 
unchanged, and which are of such a na-
ture as to create an unforgettable con-
nection between those who have under-
gone the rites. Much of the aura of 
these ceremonies depends upon their 
confidential nature, which tends to cre-
ate in the mind of the candidate, a sense 
of value not to be found in procedures 
generally known to the public. In short, 
secrecy itself tends to reinforce the 
moral imperatives we share.
 
Thirdly, and perhaps most impor-
tantly, our brethren must not only bond 
with each other, but they must recog-
nize the need to keep private exchanges 
confidential. Frequently, and in accord-
ance with their obligations one to 
another, a Mason is called to counsel a 
brother or to share his burden of care 
regarding his daily life. It is essential 
that he know, perhaps above all other 
things, to regard a brother's com-
munications as inviolable and, in giving 
him assistance, to do so in perfect confi-
dence. He learns this by the constant 
injunction to keep silent about Masonic 
matters.
 
And, finally, why must we always give 
way to our critics? Several years ago, 
the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania led a 
rush to eliminate the traditional penal-
ties from our several obligations, be-
cause of criticism emanating from the 
National Council of Catholic Bishops. 
A number of Grand Lodges have elimi-
nated Masonic catechisms, because a 
few postulants complained that memory 
work was too time consuming. More re-
cently, the suggestion has been made to 
eliminate our use of titles such as "Wor-
shipful", etc., and the terms"altar",and
"temple" because they offend or mis-
lead religious critics.
 
These changes are largely motivated 
by the desire of certain leaders seeking 
to attract more petitioners. In fact they 
have no such effect and merely en-
courage our enemies to redouble their 
efforts to destroy the Craft. The elimi-
nation of our limited secrecy and adop-
tion of public exposure of our rites is in 
itself destructive and is certainly un-
likely to attract petitioners. There is 
little profit to giving aid and comfort to 
those who know not whereof they speak 
and whose real objection to Freema-
sonry is grounded in religious bigotry.
 
In sum, then, there is no real reason to 
eliminate the confidential nature of our 
meetings and ritual. To do so will 
merely harm the Craft in order to 
gratify the curious and cede another 
point to those who have opposed us for 
centuries. Lifting the curtain on all we 
do will, in my view, do us irreparable 
damage. It will lessen the strength of the 
bonding process in our rites; it will less-
en the confidentiality which now exists, 
or should exist, between brethren; and 
it will discourage honest expression in 
Lodge of one's views considering the fit-
ness of a particular candidate, his back-
ground and character. The fact of the 
matter is that our business should re-
main our business. In the words of the 
old ballad:

"The world is in pain
Our secrets to gain,
And still let them wonder and
gaze on;
They ne'r can divine
The Word or the Sign
 
Of a Free and Accepted Mason.
'Tis this and 'tis that,
They cannot tell what,
Nor why the great men of the
Nation,
Should aprons put on,
And make themselves one
 
With a Free and Accepted Mason.
So mote it be.

