The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

Chapter 9 - Masonic and Anti-Masonic Literature 753
festive board [...]." 1877 Likewise, Harold N. Painter, Master of the Missouri
Lodge of Research from 1968-1969, expresses his opinion that
Masonic research far too often leaves the impression that the curious
student who enters the quarries will find only questions and answers of
a serious nature. Far from the truth!
There are tears of joy as well as sadness. There are embarrassed,
reluctant smiles; smiles that warm the heart as we share in the good
fortune of others or the stimulating remarks they have brought to our
lodge rooms; quiet chuckles when a Brother in his concern and
nervousness accidentally gets his ritual work upside down or
backwards, or gets his feet all tangled while trying to remember just
exactly where the lecturer told him to place them. 1878
To what extent Masonry is kept secret from the public or ridiculed by it - or
even by its own adherents - depends on the country. If we trust the
Internationales Freimaurerlexikon, we rarely encounter jokes and satires in
connection with Freemasonry in Europe. Of European escapades into the field of
humor and satire, only the French political puns at Masonry seem worthy enough
to be mentioned in the IFL:
In den französischen und italienischen Witzblättern ist der Freimaurer
eine stehende Figur. Auch die politische Satire verarbeitet ihn mit
großer Regelmäßigkeit. Wogegen in der deutschen satirischen Literatur
der Freimaurer nur sehr selten erwähnt wird. Er kommt nur mittelbar zu
Ehren, so etwa, wenn über ihn Ansichten verbreitet werden, die den
Spott herausfordern. (So im 'Simplicissimus' als Satire gegen
Ludendorff.) Bis zu welcher Geschmacklosigkeit die französische
politische Satire zu gehen liebt, beweist ein Bild aus einem Pariser
Blatt: die von den Freimaurern geförderte Laienschule nimmt auf der
einen Seite Schulkinder auf, die sie durch die andere Türe als Schweine
mit Apachenmützen wieder verlassen. Oder: Herriot als Salome bringt
dem Grand Orient das als Schweinskopf garnierte Haupt Poincarés
[...]. 1879
Contrarily, the Americans are accustomed to use trivialization and satire
more freely with regard to Freemasonry. This is paralleled by our observation
that in North America, it is easier for a non-initiate to acquire Masonic rituals,
manuals, and other publications, as well as general information on this topic,
while European countries appear more tight-lipped.
1877
Buchanan, introduction (no page number given).
1878
Pollard, Foreword, p. V.
1879
IFL, p. 368.