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

proposal of such favoritism. Any man should blush, if he has entertained the
thought of allowing himself to be placed in such a selfish position. But it is
asserted, no doubt with truth, that oftentimes the lives of brother Masons have
been spared, simply because of this relation. But shall a man save his life by
wrongdoing? He had better remember, that if he attempts this, he ruins his own
soul. He that would thus "save his life, shall lose it." A man can gain nothing in
the end by wrong-doing; let him do right, and if, by so doing, he loses his life, he
will be sure to save it. With my present knowledge of Freemasonry I would not
become a Freemason to save my life a thousand times.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE CLAIM OF FREEMASONRY
TO GREAT ANTIQUITY IS FALSE.
We have seen that Freemasonry has been truly revealed. We have examined its
oaths, principles, claims, and teaching, so far as to prepare the way for an
examination of its moral character and tendencies, and also its relations to both
Church and State. This I now proceed to do. And
1. Its claims to great antiquity are false. Every one at all acquainted with the
claims of Freemasonry knows that it professes to have existed in the days of
Solomon; and it is claimed that Solomon himself was a Freemason, and that John
the Baptist and John the Evangelist were Freemasons. Indeed, the writers
frequently trace it back as coeval with the creation itself. Masons have claimed for
their institution an antiquity antecedent to human government; and from this they
have argued that they have a right to execute the penalties of their oaths, because
Masonry is older than government. Now an examination will show that this claim
is utterly false. Their own highest authorities now pronounce it to be false; and
still these claims are kept up, and their oaths and ceremonies, and the whole
structure of the institution profess the greatest antiquity.
Solomon, for instance, figures as a Freemason everywhere in their ceremonies.
Their lodges are dedicated to St. John; and in the third degree there is a scene
professed to have been enacted in the temple and at the building of the Temple of
Solomon.
Now, all this is utterly fallacious, a false pretense, and a swindle; because it is the
obtaining of money from those who join them under false pretenses.
Steinbrenner, a great Masonic historian, after much research, with manifest
candor, says that Speculative Freemasonry--which is the only form of
Freemasonry now existing--dates no further back than 1717. The article on
Freemasonry in the new "American Encyclopedia" agrees with this statement of
Steinbrenner. Indeed, all modern research on this subject has resulted in dating the
commencement of Freemasonry, as it now exists, not far from the middle of the