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

Chapter 10 - Conclusion 855
historical occurrences," and Oliver had even talked of "obsolete
landmarks." 2102
The philosophical theory, at last, applies the word "landmark" to several
tenets of the Craft, like the fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man, the moral
law, or the "Golden Rule," however, until today there have not been proposed
any fixed regulations:
[...] in a laudable desire to save a useful word, a philosophical theory
has been urged which applies the term to a few fundamental ethical or
philosophical or religious tenets which may be put at the basis of the
Masonic institution. [...] The Masonic lawyer, however, must call for
some legal propositions. Either we have a fundamental law or we have
not. If we have, whether it be called the landmarks or something else is
no great matter. 2103
Thus, it is evident that while American Masons are still engaged in
discussions whether there are "landmarks" and if so, how many of them (for
Roscoe Pound personally, there exist seven: 1. belief in God, 2. belief in the
persistence of personality, 3. a "book of the law", 4. the legend of the Third
Degree, 5. secrecy, 6. symbolism of operative masonry, 7. that a Mason must be
a man, free born, and of age 2104 ), other nations like Germany consider
"landmarks" a hollow word. A French dictionary of Hebrew and other
vocabulary found in Masonry talks about the negative aspects of the landmarks:
Des landmarks divers onto été proposés, par listes innombrables. Ceci
fut le plus souvent fait par des obédiences voulant ainsi présenter leurs
propres coutumes et habitudes comme les seules Bonnes, les seules
Vraies, les seules Justes, en dehors desquelles il n'y aurait point de salut.
Il ne faudrait surtout jamais oublier que les mêmes obédiences, la Grand
Loge Unie d'Angleterre comprise, ne se sont jamais privées de changer
les dits Landmarks, de nombreuses fois, selon la convenance du
moment. 2105
We think that this attack is justified. There is no international law of
Masonry, and as long as some countries try to fix their own rules, rising from
their predilections and customs and imposing them on other countries, there will
be no Masonic equality and justice. This is exactly the same problem as
encountered before with the self-defined, proud "mainstream Masonry." And
what about the rest of Masonry?
2102 Ibid, p. 303; bold print added.
2103 Ibid, p. 304; bold print added.
2104 Cf. Macoy Publishing & Supply Co., Inc., Little Masonic Library, vol. I, p. 307.
2105 Saint-Gall, p. 73.