Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/483

 FREEMASONRY 471 is said to have been originally organized by the leader of the band, who was a widow's son; and in this way is explained the great prominence which is given to Solomon's temple in the ritual and symbols of the order. But as there is no trace of these legends in authen- tic history, well informed masons content them- selves with supposing that the order originated in the associations which were formed during the middle ages by masons and builders, as well as by workmen belonging to other crafts. In those times, when a church or other great edifice was in process of construction, workmen were collected from all quarters and encamped in huts around it. They established a regular government with a master at their head, and appointed every tenth man a warden to oversee the others. They ranged from country to coun- try, and established themselves wherever they found churches to build. It thus became im- portant for them to be able to make themselves known to each other in strange countries, and hence they devised a system of secret signs and symbols. Whether these associations were also in possession of secret knowledge which was essential in architecture, and was trans- mitted from one generation to another, is a dis- puted point. It is certain that the finest monu- ments of Gothic architecture both in France and England were reared by architects who were not members of the order. The building of churches, however, was the great work of the times, and the' masonic associations were held in high esteem because of the importance of their services in this work. They enjoyed the especial favor and protection of the pope, and bulls were issued by which peculiar privi- leges were granted to them. They were ex- empted from burdens imposed upon other workmen, and hence were styled "free" ma- sons. Men of eminence, both ecclesiastics and laymen, who were not actually employed in building, either as architects or as masons, became members of the order. Henry VI., king of England, joined it, and Henry VII. was grand master. Freemasonry, as organized at the present day, has no connection whatever with the art of practical building. It is called by masonic writers speculative masonry, to distinguish it from practical building, which is called operative masonry. According to these writers, as the number of persons not practical builders who were admitted to the order in- creased, operative masonry was gradually trans- formed into speculative. They refer to the ini- tiation in 1646 of the English antiquary Elias Ashmole, of which a description is found in his diary, as evidence that at that time the opera- tive character of freemasonry was fast giving way to the speculative. On the other hand, writers who do not belong to the order main- tain that modern freemasonry never had any connection whatever with the freemasonry of the middle ages, but was originally founded by Ashmole and some of his friends, as a piece of mystification, its symbols and signs having been borrowed partly from the knights templars and partly from the Rosicrucians. However this may be, it is certain that an order of freema- sons was in existence in London after the great fire of 1666, and that Sir Christopher Wren was appointed grand master of it. The inter- est m it afterward declined, perhaps because it was neglected by Wren as he became old and infirm ; so much so that at the beginning of the 18th century St. Paul's lodge was the only one, or almost the only one, in existence in Eng- land. In 1702 this lodge adopted a regulation by which it was provided that the privileges of masonry should be extended to men of vari- ous professions, provided they were regularly approved and initiated into the order. The four lodges in existence in 1717 assembled at the Apple Tree tavern, in Covent Garden, and constituted themselves the grand lodge of Eng- land. The union was formed on the basis of the regulation of 1702. Since that time free- masonry has been, as it is called, a purely spec- ulative system of symbolism. In 1723 the grand lodge adopted a constitution framed by Anderson, which became the organic law of the order. As thus organized, it was trans- planted from England into France in 1725, into Ireland in 1729, and within the next ten years into Holland, Russia, Spain, Italy, Scot- land, and Germany. An attempt was made in 1730 to introduce the organization into Amer- ica by the appointment of a provincial grand master of New Jersey, but we have no record of the incumbent having established any lodge under the authority of his deputation. In 1733, however, a lodge was opened at Boston, which was speedily followed by the organization of other lodges in the different colonies. After the assumption of independence by the United States, the lodges of America, all of which de- rived their warrants of authority originally from the grand lodge of England or that of Scotland, availed themselves of the privileges possessed by such bodies in all independent countries, and organized grand lodges in their respective states. In no country in the world has free- masonry flourished with more vigor than in the United States ; and notwithstanding a se- vere but ineffectual opposition to it, which commenced in 1829 by the organization of an anti-masonic party (see ANTI-MASONRY), it has increased in numerical extent with such steady progress that at the present day it num- bers, in all parts of the republic, several thou- sand lodges, and more than half a million mem- bers. In the whole world there were in Janu- ary, 1873, upward of 10,000 lodges, and prob- ably a million freemasons, including in that term not merely active members of lodges, but all who have attained the degree of master mason. In spite of many attempts to suppress it by both church and state in various countries of Europe, it is firmly planted in every part of that continent, and many lodges have b established in Africa and Asia. In May, 1873, a lodge was established by Americans m the