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

Chapter 10 - Conclusion 861
Christianity or Judaism are not the purpose of this society of tolerance. As Grand
Orator Major Augustus E. Barnett said in a speech before the Grand Lodge of
Florida in 1927, Masonry borrows from many religious and philosophical
concepts:
It takes the best from Greece: Be moderate, know thyself; from Rome:
Be strong, order thyself; from Confucius: Be superior, correct thyself;
from Buddha: Be disillusioned, forget thyself; from Islam: Be
submissive, bend thyself; from Judaism: Be holy, conform thyself; from
Materialism: Be efficient, cultivate thyself; from Dilettantism: Be broad,
enjoy thyself; from Christianity: Be God-like, give thyself. 2116
The language of Freemasonry is a ritualistic language. You can speak it, and
you can live it. This explains its being so popular and much wider spread than an
invented language like Esperanto. Freemasonry offers more to its adherents. In
any case more than grammar and spelling. It offers social, economic, and
sometimes even political advantages, a huge circle of friendship, and the joy of
participating in exclusive and thrilling ceremonies. It is ego-boosting. Which
language can boast that of itself? While planned languages like Esperanto remain
the hobby-horse of a few intellectuals, Freemasonry is also open to less well-off
and less educated people. Esperanto is the same in every country. It opposes the
native language. Freemasonry, in spite of its universality, does not overrun
cultures. The Masonic language is spoken in the native languages of the
individual countries. It leaves to each country a big enough portion of selfdefinition.
And for those Masons living as foreigners in a certain country but still
wanting to speak their own language, there exist the so-called "Language
Lodges": "This name is applied to lodges which do not differ from other lodges,
except that they work in the mother tongue of their members rather than in that
of the country in which the lodge is located or of the Grand Lodge to which it
owes allegiance." 2117 Examples for such "Language Lodges" are Schiller Lodge
No. 66 at Newark, which worked in German, but whose German language
privilege and charter were revoked by the Grand Lodge of New Jersey during
World War I; or Pilgrim Lodge No. 238 at London, warranted by the Grand
Lodge of England, which still works in German; or the Roman Eagle Lodge No.
1600 at Edinburgh, warranted by the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1785, which
even worked in Latin. 2118
The introductory Chapter 2. on the historical background of Freemasonry in
different geographical areas has already anticipated the most striking divergences
of the kinds of Masonry. To summarize the particular paths Freemasonry has
taken in the various nations, we would like to include here an analysis of the
development in England, France, and Germany. Thus, Kischke says,
2116 Quoted in Myler, p. 478.
2117 CME, p. 370.
2118 Cf. ibid.