Mackey A G - Encylopedia of Freemasonry - The Grand Masonic ...

FREE-WILL
FRENCH 285
the spirit of our Order to persuade anyone
to become a Mason . Whosoever seeks a
knowledge of our mystic rites, must first be
prepared for the ordeal in his heart ; he must
not only be endowed with the necessary moral
qualifications which would fit him for admission
into our ranks, but he must come too,
uninfluenced by friends and unbiased by
unworthy motives . This is a settled landmark
of the Order ; and, therefore, nothing
can be more painful to a true Mason than
to see this landmark violated by young and
heedless brethren . For it cannot be denied
that it is sometimes violated ; and this habit
of violation is one of those unhappy influences
sometimes almost insensibly exerted upon
Masonry by the existence of the many secret
societies to which the present age has given
birth, and which resemble Masonry in nothing
except in having some sort of a secret ceremony
of initiation . These societies are
introducing into some parts of America
such phraseology as a "card" for a "demit,"
or "worthy" for "worshipful," or "brothers"
for "brethren." And there are some men
who, coming among us imbued with the
principles and accustomed to the usages of
these modern societies, in which the persevering
solicitation of candidates is considered
as a legitimate and even laudable practise,
bring with them these preconceived notions,
and consider it their duty to exert all their
influence in persuading their friends to become
members of the Craft . Men who thus misunderstand
the true policy of our Institution
should be instructed by their older and more
experienced brethren that it is wholly in
opposition to all our laws and principles to
ask any man to become a Mason, or to exercise
any kind of influence upon the minds of others,
except that of a truly Masonic life and a
practical exemplification of its tenets, by
which they may be induced to ask admission
into our Lodges . We must not seek-we
are to be sought .
And if this were not an ancient law, embedded
in the very cement that upholds our
system, policy alone would dictate an adherence
to the voluntary usage . We need
not now fear that our Institution will suffer
from a deficiency of members . Our greater
dread should be that, in its rapid extension,
less care may be given to the selection of
candidates than the interests and welfare
of the Order demand . There can, therefore,
be no excuse for the practise of persuading
candidates, and every hope of safety in
avoiding such a practise . It should always be
borne in mind that the candidate who comes
to us not of his own "free-will and accord,"
but induced by the persuasions of his friends
-no matter how worthy he otherwise may be
-violates, by so coming, the requirements
of our Institution on the very threshold of
its temple, and, in ninety-nine cases out of a
hundred, fails to become imbued with that
zealous attachment to the Order which is
absolutely essential to the formation of
true Masonic character .
a
Freimaurer. German for Freemason.
Mauer means "a wall," and mauern, "to
build a wall ." Hence, literally, freimaurer
is a "builder of walls" who is free of his
gild, from the fact that the building of walls
was the first occupation of masons .
Frelmaurerel. German for Freemasonry .
French, Benjamin Brown . A distinguished
Mason of the United States, who
was born at Chester, in New Hampshire,
September 4, 1800, and died at the city of
Washington, where he had long resided, on
August 12, 1870. He was initiated into
Masonry in 1825, and during his whole life
took an active interest in the affairs of the
Fraternity . . He served for many years as
General Grand Secretary of the General
Grand Chapter, and Grand Recorder of the
Grand Encampment of the United States .
In 1846, soon after his arrival in Washington
he was elected Grand Master of the Grand
Lodge of the District, a position which he
repeatedly occupied. In 1859, be was elected
Grand Master of the Templars of the United
States, a distinguished position which he held
for six years, having been reelected in 1862 .
His administration, during a period of much
excitement in the country, was marked by
great firmness, mingled with a spirit of conciliation.
He was also a prominent member
of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite,
and at the time of his death was the Lieutenant
Grand Commander of the Supreme
Council for the . Southern Jurisdiction of
the United States .
Bro . French was possessed of much intellectual
ability, and contributed no small
share of his studies to the literature of Masonry
. His writings, which have not yet been
collected, were numerous, and consisted of
Masonic odes, many of them marked with
the true poetic spirit, eloquent addressee on
various public occasions, learned dissertations
on Masonic law, and didactic essays, which
were published at the time in various periodicals
. His decisions on Templar law have always
been esteemed of great value .
French Rite. (Rite Francais ou Modern.)
The French or Modern Rite is one of the
three principal Rites of Freemasonry. It
consists of seven degrees, three symbolic
and four higher, viz . : 1 . Apprentice ; 2 .
Fellow-Craft ; 3 . Master ; 4. Elect ; 5 . Scotch
Master ; 6. Knight of the East ; 7 . Rose Croix .
This Rite is practised in France, in Brazil,
and in Louisiana. It was founded, in 1786,
by the Grand Orient of France, who, unwilling
to destroy entirely the high degrees
which were then practised by the different
Rites, and yet anxious to reduce them to a
smaller number and to greater simplicity,
extracted these degrees out of the Rite of
Perfection, making some few slight modifications
. Most of the authors who have
treated of this Rite have given to its symbolism
an entirely astronomical meaning .
Among these writers, we may refer to Ragon,
in his Cours Philosophique, as probably the
most scientific .