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          Printed in the August Issue 1994
          
                    Freemasonry, what for?
                              by
                       Michael L. Segall
                               
                                We are often asked what Masonry is good for and what we do that
          is useful, interesting or both, because, if it were neither useful nor
          interesting, it might be better to look for something else. Why be a
          Mason rather than a member of another perfectly respectable
          organization such as the Red Cross, the Lions' Club, the Rotary,
          a political party or, finally, the most widespread type of organization
          in the world, with branch offices at practically every street corner,
          sounding board of public opinion, the neighborhood bar? 
          To answer we must have a clear and accurate idea of what
          Freemasonry really is. It's not too simple because our Craft,
          widespread throughout the world, has taken many different guises.
          Masonry should not be thought monolithic, a gigantic crowd
          marching in step. We are very far from that, and it's a very good
          thing. Each country has its Masonry, more or less multiform, and
          even in France it is made of half a dozen independent bodies, with
          their own concerns, methods, ideas and, often, their own
          ideologies. This is why a simple definition of Freemasonry is not
          easy and why we shall mostly deal, for simplification, with the
          Grand Lodge of France. 
          It's a good choice, because even if the Grand Lodge celebrates in
          1994 its centennial in its present form, it should be remembered
          that it existed in its previous forms since 1732. With its 262 years
          of existence it's the oldest national Grand Lodge in the world, older
          than the United Grand Lodge of England and the largest regular
          Masonic body in continental Europe. It thus happens to be
          extremely well suited to serve as the subject of this lecture.
          Whatever I say will however remain applicable, at least in part, to
          other Grand Lodges than ours.
          Let us start with a brief description of what modern Masonry was
          at its beginning, that we will set in the 20-odd years preceding and
          following 1717. Everyone knows that, in spite of this arbitrary date,
          its ancient roots thrust deeply into the history of the Operative
          guilds and possibly go back as far as the first century BC. But the
          Operative guilds knew a strong decline with the decline of Gothic
          art. The new architectural fashion coming from Italy did no longer
          require the high, arched, airy, light and luminous structures that
          only skilled craftsmen, in command of all the secrets of their art,
          knew how to build. It was easier to build the long, low, massive and
          straight stone palaces, or rather barracks, of the Renaissance,
          pierced by rectangular windows, having no great problems of
          balance, and then hide their repetitious monotony by covering them
          with sculptures and statues. Renaissance architecture is made for
          the sun, the play of light and shadow, and the blue skies of Italy. It
          is not made, like our Gothic cathedrals, for rain and drizzle, for the
          low and gray skies of our more septentrional countries. There were
          of course strokes of genius, and a few rare exceptions were built,
          like the Dome of Florence or St.Peter's of Rome. All the other
          buildings, notably the ugliest, were clothed in beautiful gardens to
          hide what could be. Anyway, medieval architecture was over.
          The last Gothic buildings were erected in England at the beginning
          of the 17th century and Operative Masons, thinking their species
          endangered, worried about the conservation of their old and
          priceless secrets. Apprentices becoming rare and Lodges
          disappearing one after another, they began to accept people who,
          while no craftsmen, had the intellectual abilities and the social
          weight capable of compensating this serious lack. The English
          were the first and came to it quite readily. We know they have
          always loved old things, traditions and closed clubs. Effectively, the
          Operatives disappeared altogether in England at the beginning of
          the 18th century. Fortunately they survived in France, to regain
          strength and vigor two centuries later and erect again prestigious
          buildings, among them the Eiffel tower, but the English and many
          French did not know it, and that's another story, to be told another
          day. 
          Masonic Lodges adopted the rituals and customs of the ancient
          builders, but in a certain way that project for saving the Operatives
          failed, because soon there was not a single Operative craftsman
          in the English Masonic Lodges. Their tradition was finally saved
          and propagated through the French Operatives, and Masonry
          became a separate entity, gradually more and more different from
          its ancestors. 
          To give themselves some administrative structures, Masonic
          Lodges began to federate into Grand Lodges and Grand Orients.
          The first federation of this kind was constituted in 1717, in the back
          room of an inn called the Goose and the Grill, near St.Paul's
          Cathedral in London, the first post-Gothic cathedral in England, a
          sign of the times. Four lodges got together that day to create the
          Grand Lodge of London, which was going to become, nearly a
          century later, the United Grand Lodge of England. 
          The Grand Lodge of France also is a federation of Lodges. You
          might wish to know that the essential difference between a Grand
          Lodge and a Grand Orient is that a Grand Loge works, in principle,
          a single rite, the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite in our case,
          while a Grand Orient is not only a federation of Lodges but also a
          federation of rites, and works as many as half a dozen. The Grand
          Lodge of France currently counts in its ranks some 24,000 active
          Brethren in about 600 Lodges. As was the case for the British
          Empire, the sun never sets over it, since there are Lodges
          belonging to the Grand Lodge of France not only everywhere in this
          country but also on most continents. I would like to add that 24,000
          represents the actual headcount of active members. Many
          jurisdictions in the world, both large and small, add up the
          memberships of their Lodges, so that if a Brother is a member of
          five Lodges, he is counted five times. Also, members who never
          show up again after joining are counted too. This way, such
          jurisdictions can pretend being much larger than they really are.
          Should the Grand Lodge of France use this kind of devices, we
          could boast of 40,000 members. 
          What does one do in Lodge? We get together in Temples. We
          open our meetings with an ancient, immutable, deeply symbolic
          Ritual. The ancient and wise words of this Ritual allow us to forget,
          for a few hours, the commotion and unrest of the outside world.
          For these few hours we create a different time and space, sacred
          I would say, in the Latin meaning of the word that is pure, separate;
          a space-time where the worries of daily life are temporarily set
          aside. There we listen to one of us speak, for half an hour or so, on
          a philosophical, ritual, moral, spiritual, historical, sometimes
          scientific subject. Then we discuss it, in a disciplined and
          passionless manner, commenting on what was said as well as
          adding new ideas, viewpoints and details. Once the subject
          usefully understood and the discussion finished, we close the
          Lodge, ritually too, we leave the Temple and get together to share
          a pleasant meal, as Brethren and friends should. 
          Various reasons bring candidates to our door. The need for
          togetherness and friendship is doubtlessly the main motivation,
          notably for the many who are, or at least feel, alone. Intellectual
          curiosity is the moving force behind other candidates. There are
          other motives too. Many younger men notice they never got, with
          their diplomas, much general intellectual background and that,
          outside their trade or profession they know nothing. Others, less
          young, notice after years of labor that they have existed but not
          lived. They feel the need for a new adventure, that of the intellect
          and the spirit. Some apply, thinking that they will be ennobled,
          become Knights of this and that, Malta, Saint Andrew, what do I
          know. Yes, they might even become Knights some day, but not in
          the way they imagine. Some apply, with little conviction, pushed by
          a relative or a friend. Others apply by mistake, thinking they join a
          very exclusive club or even a religious organization, hoping to find
          what they hadn't sufficiently looked for in the faith of their
          childhood. There are, finally, those who think that Freemasonry is
          rich and powerful, that being a Mason is good for business, for
          making money, maybe to promote contacts useful for one's career
          and advancement.
          None of these motivations is wholly bad. No one joins Freemasonry
          with a clear knowledge of what he's going to find. What matters is
          to have the courage to apply. Thereafter, Freemasonry will be a
          very efficient crusher of childish illusions and delusions, a sorter
          and a builder of men, a tracer of plans. She will know, in most
          cases, to deftly replace false or poor motives with valid ones. And
          if she succeeds not, it's far easier to leave than to get in. 
          It's not easy to be accepted in a Masonic Lodge, because there is
          a selection of candidates that is tough but, we believe, just. Do we
          never err in our meticulous selection work? Of course we do, and
          the big problem is not so much bringing in someone who doesn't
          deserve it, but rejecting someone who could have become a good
          Mason. Those who are accepted and do not find their place leave
          usually by themselves. Yes, we sometimes err. Because of an
          excess of tolerance or charity, I hope. You know maybe that we
          sometimes call a man who is very close to our Masonic ideals, but
          who isn't a member of the Craft, a "Mason without an Apron". I
          sometimes call, mentally only and with a bit of sorrow, a man who
          was admitted through excessive kindness and who would be far
          better off elsewhere, an "Apron without a Mason"
          With all these selections and all these criteria, does Freemasonry
          constitute an elite? Yes, and not only because of the selection,
          which sometimes one manages to dodge. It is an elite inasmuch as
          from the first instant one must have the courage to launch oneself
          into the absolute unknown. This is not within everyone's reach.
          What does one really know about Freemasonry, before? Nothing.
          If one really knew something, this great variety of reasons and
          motivations would have no reason to exist. One may read dozens
          of books, question dozens of Masons, and still know nothing really.
          There is a selection from the very beginning between those who
          dare take this first step into the unknown and those who do not,
          and only take it timidly, backwards, back into the safety of what
          they know and understand. Other tests follow, but this one, to
          which every one of us has silently submitted himself is the first,
          maybe the most difficult, because it happens when we don't yet
          have the warm and friendly support of our Brethren. Only two in a
          thousand of the population of France have had this courage. Not
          all have been admitted.
          Let's now change to another subject. Human beings have evolved
          so as to preferentially see a narrow band of electromagnetic
          energy, going from red to violet. This renders the air we breathe
          transparent to our sight. We call this narrow band of energy which
          lets us see, "light".  Since the beginning, since well before we
          came into being, since when there was yet no animal life but only
          plants, light and life have been closely associated, because it is
          light that supplies the energy for life. When animals came to be,
          light allowed them to find their food, to find their prey, to find each
          other and thus perpetuate their countless species. Time went by.
          One day, beings who were not yet men stood up, and thus were
          able to lift their heads and watch the stars. They began to think,
          and later wrote the word Light with a capital L. And Light was still
          Life.
          In our Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, the Lodges are called
          Lodges of Saint John. The work in Lodge always starts with
          reading the first verses of the Gospel of St. John, which go thus,
          in a grandiose paraphrase of Genesis:
          "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
          the Word was God.
          "The same was in the beginning with God.
          "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing
          made that was made.
          "In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
          "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness
          comprehended it not".
          You will notice that it's still all about Light and Life, the search for
          Light in Life, the search for Life in Light. 
          One of the main purpose of Masonry is to give men a framework,
          a structure within which they could, each one of them, look for and
          find their own Light. But what is this Light that we are looking for?
          You can buy halogen light fixtures which give a lot of light, too
          much even, to the point that one begins to see the cracks in the
          ceiling and the dust accumulated since the last coat of paint. The
          Light we are looking for is different, while having nevertheless
          some points in common with the lighting fixtures I mentioned. 
          Seeing and looking, just like hearing and listening, are among the
          main things we learn in Freemasonry. Another main purpose of
          Freemasonry, and one of the main differences between it and
          various other organizations is this knowledge, this understanding
          of others and of ourselves that it gives us a chance to acquire. We
          think that the main obstacle to the fulfilment of our real capabilities,
          to inner and outwards peace, between us and harmony with our
          fellow men, is the deep ignorance we have of our real selves. The
          idea is not new. The phrase "gnothi seauthon", "know thyself", was
          already cut into the pediment of Apollo's temple at Delphos. 
          This understanding of ourselves lets us see the cracks in our
          personalities and those of the world, the dust which has settled on
          the dreams, the imagination, the enthusiasm of our childhood and
          youth. It allows us, if we want and if we are able, to dust ourselves
          off and wake up. It gives us the light needed to do the job and be
          alive again. It does not do it for us. That remains our own
          responsibility, just as that halogen light will not fix the cracks and
          paint the ceiling, but will let us discover the problem and help us
          see, find and apply the solution. 
          How does one attain self-knowledge and self-understanding? By
          learning to be silent and take the time to better know our real
          objectives in life. By learning to speak, to make ourselves better
          understood by our fellow men. By learning to listen, to better know
          and understand others, because our fellow men are as many
          mirrors showing us our true image; by learning to hear and trying
          to understand opinions radically different from ours, by questioning
          ourselves, by questioning our Brethren in this wonderful equality
          and freedom of speech the Masonic Fraternity gives us. 
          Freemasonry is a school too, without really being one. It is certainly
          not a school with classes, school yards, teachers, a program, a
          timetable. It teaches in a way much closer to the one used by our
          Operative Brethren, that is through personal example. With us this
          also happens in our workshops, which are our Masonic Temples,
          but just as much during our Fraternal dinners, fortuitous
          encounters or the friendly visits our Brethren pay each other. Thus,
          by watching our Brethren, by questioning them, by listening to
          them, by assimilating what we find good in their example and
          rejecting what we may not like, by meditating what we have seen,
          heard and understood and, finally, by acting intelligently and
          deliberately, without passion, we may get to understand much,
          learn much, and become better men. 
          And what shape would take this betterment, this improvement of
          ourselves? Is everyone able to improve himself? I was mentioning
          a little while ago young men, fresh out of their university, armed
          with their brand new sheepskins who, if they managed to find a job
          and think of something else, discover that they have acquired
          nothing in the way of a general culture and that, outside their
          specialties, they now nothing or very little. This is an area where
          self improvement is easiest, because our Masonic Lodges bring
          together people who often have deep knowledge in countless, very
          different areas. The wine grower encounters the computer
          programmer, the theologian sits besides the insurance salesman,
          the physician meets the philosopher and the banker, the taxi driver
          finds himself in the same Lodge as the member of Government,
          and the cabalist sits with the storekeeper. Those who want, and
          those who can, have many occasions to learn a lot about many
          topics the very existence of which they may have ignored, before
          becoming Masons. 
          There are subtler improvements. Listening to the philosophers
          among us we should be able to progress towards a better
          understanding of the mechanisms which govern men, society and
          the world. It isn't necessary to adopt these philosopher's ideas. It
          is enough to listen carefully to what they have to say and then to
          make up one's own mind. Listening to the physicists and
          astronomers among us one can get rid of the fashionable
          superstitions running around the media and which, under the guise
          of astrology, clairvoyance, little green men and other nonsense
          have, since the end of the 19th century, replaced faith for many
          people. With the help of the same physicists and astronomers one
          may approach a better understanding of the structures and
          mechanisms of the Universe around us, and thus of the intrinsic
          beauty of Creation. By adding the frequentation of theologians one
          may better understand one's own path in the complex world of
          spirituality and faith. By listening to lecturers on very diverse
          subjects, Brethren who never had the courage to speak in public,
          who thought themselves handicapped by an accent, by an
          insufficient mastery of the language, or simply by natural timidity
          get to speak before hundreds of people with no difficulty nor stage-
          fright. 
          Other Brethren, who had never written because they thought they
          had nothing to say, because of self-consciousness or because
          they dreaded the unspeakable anguish of the blank page find out
          after a few years that they are good writers. Examples abound. 
          Is anyone and everyone capable of improving himself? With sorrow
          I must answer no, at least as far as Freemasonry is concerned.
          "Blessed are the poor in spirit", said someone. I agree, for
          everything that concerns the Kingdom of Heaven. But to improve
          oneself in the various areas mentioned, certain things are needed.
          The most important requirement is the will to succeed. Not to wait
          for success, to desire it, to vaguely hope for it. Many are those who
          do not know how to will intensely, those who yield, who bow, who
          bend to fate and to the sad events of their life. Those who can not
          have the sustained will to succeed, main and essential element for
          self-improvement, will never make it. There are things one must
          deserve. 
          A capacity for self-improvement is also needed, which cannot be
          acquired. Call it as you will, talent, intelligence, no matter; but you
          will agree that it exists, that it's required, and that it would be cruel
          to let someone attempt something distinctly above his capabilities.
          We do not want to allow, willingly, people who have done us no
          harm live through foreseeable failures. We want our Brethren to
          succeed in the work they are undertaking. We won't be like those
          excessive mothers, one of which we all have met one time or
          another, who force-feed for years piano, or dancing, or violin, or
          flute lessons to their adorable, but totally and perfectly untalented
          children.
          When speaking of halogen light fixtures, I mentioned the dust
          which the years have allowed to settle on the dreams, the
          imagination, the enthusiasm of our childhood and youth. This is a
          third major condition for anyone aspiring to become a Freemason
          and improve himself. It is, no matter his age, for him to have
          preserved this radiant and youthful quality of imagination, of
          enthusiasm, the ability to dream. Though we are definitely not
          dreamers, those who have set, the way concrete sets once and
          forever, into an unchanging shape, immutable ideas and
          convictions, are not interesting for Freemasonry, because one
          cannot improve, modify, perfect or enrich concrete, nor the people
          who resemble it. 
          This is why just anyone cannot be, and is not, received in
          Freemasonry. We look for, and visibly we find, because we have
          doubled in numbers over the last ten years, men with the courage
          to dare the step into the unknown, the required imagination to look
          for, and find, something else than what they already know, the will
          and intelligence to assimilate it, to integrate it and finally transmit
          it. 
          Transmit... Let us not forget this matter of transmission. Of
          tradition. The word Tradition comes from a Latin word that means
          "to transmit" or "to deliver". Certain elements of this tradition are
          evident. We have received, and we transmit further to our
          successors, the signs, the gestures and the symbols received from
          our Operative forebears, our rites and rituals, our secrets and our
          customs. Tradition also does something else, something even
          more important. Each one of us builds a Temple, a Palace, he
          builds himself. He does it with the contributions, the ideas, the skill,
          the knowledge he has gleaned among his Brethren, as he would
          with scattered stones coming from other, abandoned buildings. He
          also does it by avoiding certain stones, which he considers poorly
          cut, inadequate, improperly used by others.
          Each one of us knows that the palace he is building is, for him at
          least, the most beautiful in the world. Each one of us also knows
          that it will never be completed, because while a building or a Mason
          can always be improved, a life must end sooner or later. Why work
          on something that we will never see finished? Because we are not
          alone, because we have Brethren. We all know that the stones of
          our individual buildings will serve to erect other buildings, rendering
          the task of our successors a little easier. These stones will serve
          as they are, or cut and reset anew, or crushed into rubble, milled
          into lime, to be burned and slacked and spread, as Rudyard Kipling
          said in his "Palace". But this raw material, this premier matter, this
          "materia prima", will be transmitted from decade to decade, from
          century to century, to help other Brethren operate other changes on
          themselves, other transmutations of lead, iron or copper into gold.
          What for, Freemasonry? I think that now we know.
          
          
          EDITORS NOTE:
          
          W. Bro. Segall is Master of Lodge of Research John Scot Erigenes
          #1000, Grand Lodge of France, Paris. We thank him for this
          translation of his speech which was given at a conference
          November 20 1994, in the Grand Temple of the Grand Lodge of
          France and was attended by 500 potential candidates. Such
          conferences are given monthly. 
          
          
          
          
          