“The work of the just tends to life:
the fruit of the wicked to sin.”
prov. 10:16
Certain writers on the history of the Freemasons emphatically state that the Masons were originally builders, or men who were skilled in hewing stone for the builder’s use. To them, the phrase operative Freemasonry refers to men of a certain period in history who, presumably knowing nothing about the spiritual meaning of our Masonic symbols, worked with squares, compasses, mallets, and levels to erect buildings. On the contrary, speculative masons are described by those same writers as modern-day Masons, men who have suddenly discovered the spiritual significance of tools of which our laborer ancestors evidently knew nothing. Some of the support for that claim is believed to derive from the Masonic ritual itself, which supposedly offers the candidate a distinction to consider between operative and speculative Freemasonry. We are informed that our ancient brothers worked on the construction of King Solomon’s Temple and other majestic buildings, but that today we are only speculative Masons.
The history of the English guilds also provides additional basis for concluding that Operative Masons were originally skilled builders who saw no spiritual significance in the tools with which they worked. For them, the secrets of masonry belonged exclusively to the various skills associated with masonry. However, regardless of whether Freemasonry arose from those guilds, or is actually the heir to the ancient mysteries found in initiation rites, if today’s Freemason is simply told that his Masonic ancestors were originally builders, you are deprived of the most important lessons. in the esoteric symbolism offered by comparing and contrasting operative Freemasonry and speculative Freemasonry on a spiritual level.
On one level, all Freemasons, past and present, are both operative and speculative. The speculative side of man learns the philosophical, theological and spiritual lessons that Freemasonry teaches, while the operational side of man puts those lessons into action. Since Freemasonry has adopted the hermetic habit of synthesizing conflicting or competing concepts, it is essential that the Freemason understand how he is to bring the lessons he has learned to the world in which he lives.
Albert Pike wrote that the message found in the Emerald Tablet attributed to the Great Egyptian Hierophant, Hermes Trismegistus – balance is achieved after the assimilation of different concepts – is the great lesson Freemasonry imparts to humanity. For example, Pike observed that wisdom, as described in the Kabbalistic Books, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, is nothing less than God’s Creative Agent. As a Creative Agent, wisdom is active, not passive: it is in the present, not the past. Creation is a continuous phenomenon in which all humanity participates to a greater or lesser degree depending on the state of illumination of each man. Therefore Freemasonry is as operative today as it was when our ancient brethren labored in the construction of majestic buildings.
Pike, like other Masonic writers, encouraged Masons to develop both their operational sense and their speculative curiosity. In order for Freemasonry to impart anything of lasting value to humanity, Freemasons must think and then act. One cannot exist without the other, if the man hopes to contribute something to his brothers. In doing so, these writers have invited us in various ways to each synthesize three antitheses or antinomies: (1) idealism – realism; (2) realism – nominalism; and (3) faith – empirical science.
The idealist views everything as so many forms of thought, while the realist claims that objects of knowledge have an existence independent of thought. For example, the realist answers “yes” to the question whether or not a fallen tree in an isolated forest makes noise; the idealist is not so sure. When all is said and the dispute over which is correct has settled, the Freemasons are left with the unshakable knowledge that they both have a common source in the Great Architect. Actions built on both considerations are therefore considered valid by God. However, not acting on any of the notions gives the world nothing.
Realism is related to the Western school of thought that attributes objective reality to general notions that are generally designated as “abstract.” Medieval philosophy designated it as “universalia”: all things belong to the universal. Nominalism, on the other hand, admits that only “particulars” are real. The problem was explicitly discussed by Plato, who first observed on behalf of the realists: “I see a horse, but I do not see cavalry.” According to Plato, “horsemanship” exists merely as an idea and is only real as a thought form. Horses aside, the philosophical struggle becomes important when we ask ourselves: “Which came first, genesis or creation?” The different concepts also acquire great significance from the discussion about which is more important, the individual or society. For Freemasons, the problem is again resolved with reference to the Supreme Architect of the Universe: Freemasons confess their superiority in all matters and are confident that thought together with action will make God’s enormous love for all mankind come true.
It is written in the Gospels that if one has faith like a mustard seed, one can move mountains. Empirical science takes a grain of hydrogen and releases its energy, thus reducing a mountain to dust. The first is speculative, the second is operational. Mankind has not yet learned how to use the immense powers of the mind to move mountains in general. However, science has unleashed the power of the atom for man to build or destroy. However, that science did not act alone as if by magic. Learned men applied their knowledge to the task and discovered a secret of Nature that is potentially good and bad. Nothing of the atom, of hydrogen, or even of the spherical shape of the world would be known in this age if the men of a previous age had not thought and acted. Thinking without doing would have produced nothing. And so it is also when one acts without thinking first. In the History of the Freemasons, the speculative side of man serves the operative side, and vice versa.
Freemasonry teaches that nothing is impossible. If a man dreams a condition for his future, he will achieve it when God and that man’s soul work together. But sitting idly by and wishing for something to happen without acting together with God gets you nowhere. The surest way to make the prayer for world peace come true is for every man to avoid war and embrace peace. The best way to ensure an answer to a hunger-relief prayer is to give of what you have so that the hungry can eat. While praying for poverty to go away is laudable, the most efficient way to remove its glare is to donate to causes that support the poor.
In the book of James, man is informed that faith without works is dead. But, it is not faith itself that is dead. If one fails to put his faith to work, the beneficial effects of that faith will never be known to anyone. It will be nothing more than an illusion. Masons do not embrace such fantasies. If they did, the world would not have hospitals operated and funded by Shriners. The elderly, widowed and orphaned would have no place to call home. And, the speech disabled would not have clinics to go to and cure their ailment.
When the thoughtful and speculative Mason puts his thinking into operative action, the world becomes a better place. When it fails, darkness prevails to the detriment of all humanity. He considers his actions and resolves never to hide his lamp under a bushel basket. You are a Freemason and you must act as such.