Page 13 - June July MFM 2024

The Cost of

Masonic Morality Scott Sterland, Helena No. 3

Morality – a very boring subject, right? Not if you’re a We even find evidence the golden rule in teachings of
Mason. As Masons, we take obligations of secrecy and Humanism, Utilitarianism principles, Agnosticism, and
obligations to help our fellow Masons and the rest of Wicca. So, the issue is not solely within the purview of
society. We also take obligations wherein we promise not religious institutions (Golden Rule Project, 2023). They all
to do very specific things. taught the same basic truth that we can equate to the
moral teachings in Freemasonry:
Being a Freemason is an all-or-nothing proposition. You
don’t get the liberty to choose to follow certain parts of • walk the middle path (on the level),
your obligation and ignore others. • live a moral life (by the plumb), and
• do unto others as you would have them do unto you
If you look at the definitions of morality, ethics, character, (on the square).
virtues, and principles, you will find that they share many
similarities. These common attributes are no mistake. The Four Noble Virtues
These topics have been discussed for millennia the world
over. So, what does all of this have to do with Freemasonry?
Well, Freemasonry has what we call the Four Noble
Morality Discussions in Human History Virtues of Masonry. Those are Fortitude, Prudence,
Temperance, and Justice. A virtue is defined as a behavior
The ancient Egyptians believed you would be judged after showing high moral standards.
death and your good and bad deeds would be measured
to determine if you would be allowed to enter the
afterlife. The ancient philosophers of Greece – Socrates,
Plato, Aristotle, and others – made a study of the issue
of ethics (ethos) and wrote prolifically about it. Ancient
Emperors, such as Julius Agustus Caesar wrote about it
frequently. Medieval kings and clergy also wrote about it.

But the age of enlightenment brought about further study
of ethics, which was generally free of religious dogma, but
still tied to religious ideals. The birth of our nation was
in large part due to this age in history. Additionally, the
structure of United States Government is often thought
to mirror that of Freemasonic principles and structure.
This is well outlined in the Albany Plan of Union written Dr. Taylor Marshall (2024)
by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 (Mendis, n.d.).
I wish to discuss each of these but will not discuss them
But these virtues are hardly unique; they first appeared in that order. The reason for which should become
in writing almost 2,000 years ago in what historians apparent.
call the Axial Age (800 BCE to 200 BCE). During this
time, simultaneously and independently, the spiritual First, let’s discuss Prudence. Another way
foundations of humanity were laid by teachers such as of thinking of this virtue is cautiousness.
Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) in India, Confucius in Being cautious or careful in how we
China, and Socrates in Greece. approach a situation, considering how it
will impact others and how it will impact
In fact, the age-old teaching we recognize as “The us are all issues of caution. Do we need
Golden Rule” (treating others as you would have them to involve ourselves in a particular action?
treat yourself) has been taught in many different forms Are we doing it for the right reasons? Is it
over the years. It appears in Buddhism, Christianity, for the furthering of Freemasonry, or to
Confucianism, Greek Philosophy, Hinduism, Islam, assist a brother to become better, or bring
Judaism, Native American spiritual teaching, Persian them out of distress? Or are we trying to
Proverbs, Roman teachings, Shintoism, Sikhism, Taoism, further an agenda of our own? Beginning
and Zoroastrianism. a course of action always requires that we
consider the why of what we are doing.

Montana Freemason Page 13 June/July 2024 Volume 100 No.3