Ancient Constitutions of
Operative Freeemasons
The
following Fifteen
Articles, allegedly adopted in the year 926 were once believed to
be the original Constitutions,
upon which all the laws for the government of modern Freemasonry are
based. However,
modern history believes this
document was written well after the year 926. and likely sometime in
the 1700s.
Taken
from “The Freemason’s Handbook, As practices in
lodges
of the United States, William H. Drew, Fifth Edition, 1867
I. The Master
must be in all respects reliable, steadfast,
true and trusty, that the brethren may not be disappointed in him. He must pay the workmen
their wages,
according to the price of provisions, which he is expected to be
informed
of. He is enjoined,
upon his honor, to
render them fairly, according to their earnings, and to take no more
from his
employer than the price for which they engaged to work; and to be sure,
neither
for fear nor favor, to take a bribe of either party, lord or laborer,
but stand
upright, and deal honorably by both.
Acting thus, he is assured that his honor and reward shall
be of the
highest.
II. Every
Master must attend at the Grand Lodge, provided he
has seasonable notice of the place of meeting, unless excused; or he
will be
counted false and unfaithful. Ill
health, however, will be considered a reasonable apology for absence.
III. The Master shall not take any person as an Apprentice,
unless he is willing to serve seven years with him at this profitable
calling. Common
sense instructs us that
he could not acquire it within a shorter period, either to his
lord’s profit,
or his own.
IV. The Master shall be cautious not
to take a bondsman for
an Apprentice, nor any person for mere covetousness’ sake;
for the owner of the
bondsman might seize him any where, even from the lodge, which would
cause
great dissatisfaction and give general offense; for all Masons thus met
do
stand by each other as one man. If
such
an one were initiated, many difficulties would result.
Therefore, for greater satisfaction and
fairness, take Apprentices of a higher cast.
In old times, as you will see it recorded, the Apprentice
was required
to be a gentleman, and thus it was that the greatest noblemen sometimes
became
masons.
V. After observing that the applicant be of lawful
parentage, the Master will on no account receive him as an Apprentice
if he is
a mutilated person; that is to say, his limbs must be quite entire and
shapely. It would
be a stigma upon the
fraternity to initiate a halt of lame man; for a mutilate person, even
though a
gentleman, would benefit the society but little.
Every inquirer may be informed that Masonry
needs strong men. A
maimed man has no strength
and declines before his task is done.
VI. The Master must not cheat, wrong
or defraud his
employer, by taking Fellow’s wages for the work of an
Apprentice; for the
former is experienced and skillful, which the latter surely is not;
and, by
parity of reasoning, an Apprentice must serve for smaller wages than a
Fellow,
who is experienced in all departments of Masonry.
The Mater may inform him, however, that his
wages shall be increased in a due ration, so that by the end of his
term he
shall be amply compensated for his labor.
VII. The Master is strictly forbidden, either for fear or
favor, to feed or clothe a thief.
Neither shall he harbor a robber, a murderer, nor a man
under evil
report, lest it scandalize the Craft.
VIII. If the
Master discover that he has a Craftsman who is
not so perfect as he should be, let him be at once discharged, and his
place
filled with a better person; for such a man, through his ignorance,
would
discredit the Craft.
IX. The Master must be wise and sensible, and not undertake
any work but that which he can finish to the profit of his employer and
the
Craft; and that he may critically select his building-spot, that it
afford him
a solid foundation for his work.
X. No Master shall supplant another one, but the relations
existing between them, in all matters that relate to masonry, shall be
of the
most fraternal character.
Should
he be
guilty of supplanting, he shall be mulcted in a penalty of ten pounds.
If, indeed, the original
contractor is found
incapable and unworthy, then a Mason may propose to finish it for the
benefit
of the employer.
But
except such be
clearly the case, he shall not be interfered with; for surely he that
commenced
the undertaking, if he have proper Masonic skill, is best able to
complete it
according to the original plan.
XI. No Master shall require work by bodily strength at undue
hours.
He may,
however exact
improvements in knowledge and the study of Masonry.
XII. The
fairest dealings are required of every Master, if
he would save his own character; he shall not depreciate his fellows
work, but
rather commend it, and with all the talent and experience God has given
him,
advise him how to improve it.
XIII. The
Master must thoroughly instruct his Apprentice in
the various points of the Masonic science, that he may do honor to the
fraternity when he shall afterwards travel.
XIV. The
Master shall take no Apprentice, unless he have
plenty of work under contract, that so, within the period of his
apprenticeship, he may acquire all the mysteries of the art.
XV. The Master
shall not, for any personal favor, take upon
himself a false maintenance, or keep his fellows in sin for any profit
he might
acquire, or suffer them, on dread of their souls’ salvation,
to utter false
oaths; and this lest it should bring shame upon Masonry and disgrace
himself.
