THE ARCANE SCHOOLS - Fort Myers Beach Masonic Lodge No. 362

at this time, or any time hereafter, shalbee made known unto mee
soe helpe mee God, and the holy contents of this booke."_
--HARLEIAN MS, 1600-1650
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CHAPTER II
_Fellowcrafts_
I
Having followed the Free-masons over a long period of history, it is
now in order to give some account of the ethics, organization, laws,
emblems, and workings of their lodges. Such a study is at once easy
and difficult by turns, owing to the mass of material, and to the
further fact that in the nature of things much of the work of a secret
order is not, and has never been, matter for record. By this
necessity, not a little must remain obscure, but it is hoped that even
those not of the order may derive a definite notion of the principles
and practices of the old Craft-masonry, from which the Masonry of
today is descended. At least, such a sketch will show that, from times
of old, the order of Masons has been a teacher of morality, charity,
and truth, unique in its genius, noble in its spirit, and benign in
its influence.
Taking its ethical teaching first, we have only to turn to the _Old
Charges_ or _Constitutions_ of the order, with their quaint blending
of high truth and homely craft-law, to find the moral basis of
universal Masonry. These old documents were a part of the earliest
ritual of the order, and were recited or read to every young man at
the time of his initiation as an Entered Apprentice. As such, they
rehearsed the legends, laws, and ethics of the craft for his
information, and, as we have seen, they insisted upon the antiquity of
the order, as well as its service to mankind--a fact peculiar to
Masonry, _for no other order has ever claimed such a legendary or
traditional history_. Having studied that legendary record and its
value as history, it remains to examine the moral code laid before the
candidate who, having taken a solemn oath of loyalty and secrecy, was
instructed in his duties as an Apprentice and his conduct as a man.
What that old code lacked in subtlety is more than made up in
simplicity, and it might all be stated in the words of the Prophet:
"To do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before God,"--the old
eternal moral law, founded in faith, tried by time, and approved as
valid for men of every clime, creed, and condition.
Turning to the _Regius MS_, we find fifteen "points" or rules set
forth for the guidance of Fellowcrafts, and as many for the rule of
Master Masons.[83] Later the number was reduced to nine, but so far
from being an abridgment, it was in fact an elaboration of the
original code; and by the time we reach the _Roberts_ and _Watson_ MSS
a similar set of requirements for Apprentices had been adopted--or
rather recorded, for they had been in use long before. It will make