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ROYAL ART.info |
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Copyright © 2006-2008 © -ROYAL ART.info - All rights reserved To contact Webmaster please write to: pastmaster@royalart.info |
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Welcome to the ROYAL ART. Info, website made and maintained by Freemasons for all Freemasons, regardless of their Obedience, their understanding of the Craft, or their gender. We welcome all non-masons interested in the subject. We welcome all genuine seekers after wisdom and universal truth. We welcome all those who have sincere interest in the advancement of humanity and human conditions. We also welcome those opposed to Freemasonry, and invite them to express their opinions on our OPEN PAGE, as well as on our BLOG-site www.royalart.info/wordpress.
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Thought of the Month: “Humility is the most difficult of all virtues to achieve; nothing dies harder than the desire to think well of oneself.” T. S. Elliot |
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HERE YOU WILL: · FIND THE LATEST NEWS FROM MASONIC JURISDICTIONS WORLDWIDE · LEARN ABOUT NEWLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ON FREEMASONRY AND READ REVIEWS · ADMIRE MASONIC ART, WATCH VIDEOS ON FREEMASONRY, AND LISTEN MASONIC MUSIC · READ PAPERS & ARTICLES AND SUBMIT YOUR OWN FOR PUBLICATION ON OUR OPEN PAGE · BLOG WITH OTHERS OR DISCUSS IN FORUM · FIND LINKS TO THE BEST MASONIC & RELATED WEBSITES AND SHOP IN OUR E-STORE
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NEW PAPERS ON OUR OPEN PAGE:
●El Convento de Teruel, el Castillo de Mora, y la Extrańa Conexiöön Franciscana ● Era dell’ Acquario e Via Iniziatica ● The Human Being as a Microcosm ● The Healing Power of Sounds ●Social Activism and Freemasonry ●Masonic Dogmatism ●The Peace of the Rose ●The Keeper of the Fire ●Masonic Calendar ●Hypatia ●The Lodge that never was
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MASONIC MUSIC |
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WHAT IS FREEMASONRY? INDEPENDENT ▼
M. WINTER (in Holbourn in 1698) ▼
Having thought it needful to warn you of the Mischiefs and Evils practiced in the Sight of God by those called Freed Masons, I say take Care lest their Ceremonies and secret Swearings take hold of you; and be wary that none cause you to err from Godliness. For this devilish Sect of Men are Meeters in secret which swear against all without their Following. They are the Anti Christ which was to come leading men from Fear of God. For how should Men meet in secret Places and with secret Signs taking care that none observe them to do the work of God; are not these the Ways of Evil-doers?
REGULAR GRAND LODGE DEFINITION ▼
“Freemasonry is the oldest and largest world wide fraternity dedicated to the Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of a Supreme Being. Although of a religious nature, Freemasonry is not a religion. It urges its members, however, to be faithful and devoted to their own religious beliefs.”
ALBERT PIKE’S UNDERSTANDING ▼
"Every Masonic Lodge is a temple of religion, and its teachings are instructions in ... the universal, eternal, immutable religion...." Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, by Albert Pike, Washington D.C., 1958, pp. 213, 219.
"[Masonry is] ... the custodian and depository (since Enoch) of the great philosophical and religious truths, unknown to the world at large...." Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, by Albert Pike, Washington D.C., 1958, p. 210.
"Masonry, like all the religions, all the Mysteries, Hermeticism and Alchemy, conceals its secrets from all except the Adepts and Sages, or the Elect, and uses false explanations and misinterpretations of its symbols to mislead those who deserve only to be misled; to conceal the Truth, which it calls light, from them.... Truth is not for those that are unworthy...." Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, by Albert Pike, Washington D.C., 1958, p 104-105.
ALBERT MACKEY’s COMMENT ▼
"Freemasonry is not Christianity ... it admits men of every creed within its hospitable bosom...."An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, by Albert G. Mackey, 1921, pp. 618-619.
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA ▼ “The modern signification of Freemasonry in which, since about 1750, the word has been universally and exclusively understood, dates only from the constitution of the Grand Lodge of England, 1717. In this acceptation Freemasonry, according to the official English, Scottish, American, etc., craft rituals, is most generally defined: "A peculiar [some say "particular" or "beautiful"] system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols." Mackey [10] declares the best definition of Freemasonry to be: "A science which is engaged in the search after the divine truth." The German encyclopedia of Freemasonry, "Handbuch" [11] defines Freemasonry as "the activity of closely united men who, employing symbolical forms borrowed principally from the mason's trade and from architecture, work for the welfare of mankind, striving morally to ennoble themselves and others and thereby to bring about a universal league of mankind [Menschheitsbund], which they aspire to exhibit even now on a small scale".
MANLY P. HALL’S VIEW ▼
FREEMASONRY is a fraternity within a fraternity — an outer organization concealing an inner brotherhood of the elect. Before it is possible to intelligently discuss the origin of the Craft, it is necessary, therefore, to establish the existence of these two separate yet interdependent orders, the one visible and the other invisible. The visible society is a splendid camaraderie of 'free and accepted' men enjoined to devote themselves to ethical, educational, fraternal, patriotic, and humanitarian concerns. The invisible society is a secret and most august fraternity whose members are dedicated to the service of a mysterious arcanum arcanorum. Those Brethren who have essayed to write the history of their Craft have not included in their disquisitions the story of that truly secret inner society which is to the body Freemasonic what the heart is to the body human.” Manly P. Hall 33°, Lectures on Ancient Philosophy and Introduction to the Study and Application of Rational Procedure, p. 397 [Chapter 19 - Rosicrucian and Masonic Origins]
CONSTITUTION OF THE GRAND ORIENT OF FRANCE ▼
“Freemasonry, which is essentially a philanthropic, philosophical and progressive institution, aims to search for the truth, study ethics and practice mutual support. It works for the material and moral improvement of humanity, towards intellectual and social perfection.” First Article of the Constitution of the Grand Orient of France
ROYAL ART ▼
What is Freemasonry? After sixty thousand books written on the subject, we are still asking the very same question…. “….. After centuries of Masonic scholarship, the feeling that the last Chapter is yet to be written is as present as ever. We are still “in search of that which is lost”. In the old Greek story, Aesop told his sons, before his death, that he had buried a great treasure in his vineyard. They didn’t find gold, but because they dug and stirred the ground around the roots of their vines, they had a rich vintage the following year. The story of Freemasonry is somewhat parallel to Aesop’s Fable. Thousands of books are written and numerous Lectures are given, all in hope of finding that which has been lost. It is yet to be found, but because of the search for it, much knowledge in all branches of learning has been uncovered and accumulated. Some Freemasons believe that our Royal Art appeared with the birth of the first man and that it will be around till the end of human kind. To be born a human being means having unalienable right to be “Human”- to act and to be treated as such. To practice Masonry means to constantly strive towards the highest ideals of humanity. Freemasons often disagree among themselves what the end result of their quest “for that which is lost” represents. For some it is return from the fall to the original Divine state of the First Man. For others, it is the achievement of the inner perfection and happiness and improvement on all fields of human existence. Whatever it is, the quest is still one and the same: to enlighten our hearts and minds, search for absolute truth, believe in the inherited goodness of man, and maintain human dignity, practice virtues, and always, always endeavor to be in harmony with the whole of Creation. It is not an easy task. It requires wisdom and strength of the Master Builders of ancient pyramids and Gothic cathedrals. It requires love for harmony and beauty. It requires measuring and weighing our thoughts and actions and being on the square with others and ourselves. It requires use of the best stone. The hardest stone to cut and carve is one within us. It is heavy with passions and prejudice, it is rough with bad habits, and it is brittle with fears and confusions and often is invisible. Most of the people go through life without ever realizing their ability and right to create and improve. But those who dare to take the mallet and the chisel and strike that stone are rewarded with nourishment of learning, refreshment of achieving and joy of discovery. To make a perfect stone is the ultimate ideal of all the Master Builders. The responsibility is serious and consequences far-reaching. Stones cut centuries ago by Great Initiates like Socrates, Plato, Moses, Pythagoras, Jesus, Confucius, and Mohamed are still standing as the foundation stones of edifices they started. But each individual’s life starts with a new rough stone waiting to be discovered by a willing Apprentice. Every Apprentice has a chance to be better than his Master and every Master is obligated to contribute his part to that edifice called Humanity. The sounds of each Builder’s working tools are like Symphony of Creation that brings us closer to the Great Architect of the Universe. This Divinely inspired music lifts our bodies, expands our souls, touches our spirits, and…” (From the book “Royal Art” by Stevan V. Nikolic)
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