A Test Book of Masonic Jurisprudence; Illustrating the Written and Unwritten Laws of Freemasonary (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: The position of a candidate is a transition state from the profane world to the Masonic institution. It is the first step taken which is to place the recipient within the jurisdiction of Masonic Law. It is proper, therefore, to commence a treatise on that subject, with a consideration of all that relates to this peculiar condition, such as the qualifications of candidates, and their method of application and admission, or rejection. These topics will therefore be considered in the present Book. chapter{Section 4CHAPTER I. (rui.iiitirrttionii ot ttnnbiSatts, The qualifications which arc essential in those who apply for initiation into the mysteries of Freemasonry, are of two kinds, infernal and external. The internal qualifications of a candidate are those which lie within his own bosom, and are not patent to the world. They refer to his peculiar dispositions towards the institution ? his motives and design in seeking an entrance into it. Hence they are known to himself alone; and a knowledge of them can only be acquired from his own solemn declarations. The external qualificatiatx are those which refer to his outward fitness for initiation, and arc based on his moral and religious character, the frame of his body, the constitution of his mind, and hissocial position. A knowledge of these is to be acquired from a careful examination by a committee appointed for that purpose. It is true that the ritual of the first decree says, that " it is the internal and not the external qualifications whieu recommend a man to be made a Mason," but the context of the sentence shows that the external qualifications there referred to are " worldly wealth and honors." The ritual, therefore, has of course no allusion t8 the sort of external qualifications which are here tr be disc...