                    MASONIC SPRING WORKSHOP 1980
                         BEYOND THE RITUAL
                          THEME SPEECH #2

                          Bro. J. A. Lore


There are four Cardinal Virtues in Masonry, Temperance, Fortitude,
Prudence and Justice.  Cardinal is defined as "of first
importance".  These four virtues are necessary to enable a Mason to
"practice every moral and social virtue".  Temperance is defined as
moderation in action, speech and habits.  It is necessary to
command respect.  Emotional outbursts and over indulgence in food
and drink, indicate a lack of self control.  Intemperate behaviour
lacks resolute action.  A charitable acceptance of an intemperate
act is often mistaken for approval of those acts in our society. 
Masons do not take advantage of this charity and tolerance.  The
admonition to hate the sin but love the sinner seems to be
interpreted by society as approval, or at least acceptance of sin.

A Mason should practice temperance, but he should be charitable to
the faults of others.  But he does have a duty to instruct and help
his brethren.  Excess drinking is often accepted, even encouraged
by society, and sometimes Masons.  When a man's brain is already
fogged with too much alcohol, it isn't very useful to encourage him
to drink even more.  It also isn't the time to give a lecture on
abstinence, but it can be very useful to see that he is fed and
gets safely to his bed or home.

Not very long ago pre-marital conception brought disgrace on the
family as well as the individual.  It often meant a life time
stigma on the mother as well as the child.  This was often a
serious injustice to innocent people and society has become more
tolerant.  This is interpreted in some quarters as approval for
birth without marriage.

Drunkenness and other excesses at one time brought disgrace to a
family.  This was a harsh judgement by society on intemperate
behaviour, but it was unjust to many innocents.  It was right to be
more tolerant of the sin, but it should not be interpreted as
approval.

The second charge instructs us, "in the decision of every trespass
against our rules, judge with candour, admonish with firmness and
reprehend with mercy."

The Mason demonstrates Masonic views by practising temperance
himself, while accepting intemperate acts by others in a charitable
way.

Fortitude is defined as courage in facing pain, danger, or trouble,
or as firmness of Spirit.  It takes "guts" to be true to one's
self.  That is, to do what you believe is right, even if it is
against the stream.  Even when your peers are doing otherwise.  The
Volume of the Sacred law says "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to
do evil..."  In the third charge, we are "authorized to correct the
errors and irregularities of our younger brethren and guard them
against a breach of fidelity."  This takes fortitude and also much
tact.  But it takes more fortitude "to improve the morals and
correct the manners of men in society..."  Even more to do the same
for ourselves.

A "con" man who had decided to go straight was asked what was the
best protection against con men.  His reply was direct and rapid. 
"Honesty".  The "con" man appeals to our greed.  Those unfortunate
people whose priorities of material gain are higher than integrity
are the con man's prey.  The quick deal, making a fast buck by
having an unfair advantage over someone else.  "He that makes haste
to be rich" is the con man's prey.  One who has the fortitude to
put honesty and integrity above material gain cannot be the prey of
the con man.  This hardly a new concept.  The Volume of the Sacred
Law is many hundreds of years old.  Ben Johnson, in his play "The
Alchemist" illustrated in an entertaining way the problems that our
greed and lust brings upon us.  How vulnerable we are to the
preditation of unethical people if we do not have fortitude. 
Shakespeare shows how MacBeth was so power hungry he would stoop to
any act, including murder.

But what happens when you are the recipient of the trespass, and
are powerless to reprehend.  In other words, we realize we have
been had, or taken in.  This is doubly wounding when it may have
been someone we trusted.  What do we do?  In the first Charge we
are to consider the V.S.L. as "the unerring standard of truth and
justice".  Prudence, the third Cardinal Virtue, is defined as the
exercising of careful thought before taking action.  The Volume of
the Sacred Law tells us, "Forgive our trespasses as we forgive
those who trespass against us."  This does not mean that we should
be a patsy.

There was a laundry man in the early days, who trusted everyone. 
His philosophy was "you fool me once, shame on you!  You fool me
twice, shame on me!"  This philosophy shows prudence.

My wife, returning from Toronto, brought a lady home from the
airport who had lost her luggage.  She was distraught because the
luggage contained legal documents.  She was on her way to a divorce
hearing in which she was suing her husband.  Her husband had
married her, spent her savings, and then moved in with another
woman.  She was incensed, felt double crossed.  She was bitter and
determined to have vengeance.  Her father had said to her, "It is
only money, don't destroy yourself over it."  He gave her good
advice but she was not prudent enough to accept it.

The fourth Cardinal Virtue is Justice.  It is defined as just
conduct, fair dealing, fairness, rightfulness, lawfulness.

Where I was raised, a "square dealer" was one who fit the
definition above.  If one was described as "square" it meant he was
just, that he possessed the fourth Cardinal Virtue.  Later, a
"square" in a more modern vernacular, was one who was naive.  One
who was not informed, who was unsophisticated.

These changing meanings of "square" say much about society's
values.  At one time justice or fair dealing was admired, and later
was the mark of the naive and unsophisticated.

The V.S.L. tells us, "Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if
he thirst, give him drink, for in so doing, thou shalt heap coals
of fire on his head." and also, "Judge not, that ye be not judged. 
For what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged."

Who is naive and unsophisticated?  If one has faith, and the proper
priorities, then one is certainly not naive and unsophisticated. 
A square dealer sleeps well at night.  He is happy and can
communicate that happiness to others.

During a discussion on taxes, one participant observed that to
cheat on income tax was to steal from the poor.  The second
snorted, "How can you be so naive?  Politicians are all crooks and
those on welfare are lazy bums!  It is no sin to cheat on taxes,
because it is legalized robbery!"  Well, is it?  We are admonished
to obey the laws of our country in the first Charge.  That includes
the laws governing income tax.  Integrity is honesty and
uprightness. It means just that.  This doesn't mean we shouldn't
use legal political means to change society but it means that a law
is a law in spirit and in word.  Cheating on taxes that is claiming
invalid expenses, not declaring income that can't be traced, are
all practices that are illegal.  No Mason can countenance them and
still be just even though our society tends to accept this kind of
thing.

Socrates said, "The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavour
to be what you desire to appear."

Bob Edwards said, "What a man is when alone, is what he is."

I am sometimes surprised at the business ethics of some people. 
People who will break a commitment when to their advantage.  I have
been surprised at the kind of Christmas party that some businesses
throw for their customers.  Some of these bashes include lots of
booze, girls and the whole bit.  These kinds of practices are not
necessary for success in business.  Lots of people succeed without
resorting to shoddy practice.  When someone tells me that no one
can be trusted anymore, I usually feel that the speaker probably
can't be trusted.

I have worked in an area where a written contract is often a
rarity.  There are hundreds of thousands of dollars of agricultural
produce trade daily on verbal contracts.  This isn't to say
everyone in the business is ethical, but it does say that to stay
in business verbal commitments must be honoured.

There is nothing wrong with a written contract.  A written contract
serves some very useful purposes.  It forces everyone to understand
the commitments being made.  It is a record to refresh memories or
in case of a third party becoming involved, such as occurs if one
party dies.  It does not and cannot enforce ethics and honesty. 
These are part of character that are enhanced by Masonry and there
is no substitute.

Oscar Wilde observed that "One has a right to judge a man by the
effect he has over his friends."

The four Cardinal Virtues are contagious, and Masons can spread
them.  Masonry is a stabilizing factor in our society.

What greater honour than to be known as a "Square" dealer, and to
live Masonry BEYOND THE RITUAL.
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