From the East – December 2016
My Dear Brother,
Som
ething I have heard even before I was a mason was a saying — “On the level” . Hearing this growing up you might not think of this as a Masonic saying, but that is exactly what it is.
The Level, so the newly made Mason is taught, that it is for the purpose of proving horizontals. An English writer finds a lesson in the structure of the Level, in the fact that we know that the surface is level when the fluid is poised and at rest. From this use of the Level he bids us seek to attain a peaceful and balanced poise of mind, undisturbed by the passions which upset and sway us one way or the other. It is a council of perfection, he admits, but he insists that one of the best services of Masonry is to keep before us high ideals and, what is more, a constantly receding ideal, otherwise we should tire of it.
Of course, the great meaning of the Level is that teaches equality, and that is a truth that needs to be carefully understood. There is no little confusion of mind about it. Our Declaration of American Independence tells us that all men are “created equal” but not many have tried to think out what the words really mean. With most of us it is a vague sentiment, a glittering generality born of the fact that all are made of the same dust, and sharers of the common human lot, moved by the same great faith and fears, hopes and loves – walking on the Level of Time until Death, by its grim democracy, erases all distinctions and reduces all to the same level. Anyone who faces the facts knows well enough that all men are not equal, either by nature or by grace. Our humanity resembles the surface of the natural world in its hills and valleys. Men are very unequal in physical power, in mental abilities, in moral quality. No two men are equal; no two are alike. One man towers above his fellows, as a mountain above the hills. Some men can do what others can never do. Some have five talents, some two, and some but one. A genius can do with effortless ease what is futile for others to attempt, and a poet may be unequal to a hood-carrier in strength and sagacity. When there is inequality of gift it is idle to talk of equality of opportunity, no matter how fine the phrase may sound. It does not exist.
It has been a great year and I have high hopes for all future Worshipful Masters of Medford Lodge. I am excited to continue to see our lodge grow.
I remain your everlasting friend and brother,
Jeremiah Phillips