During his seven-year apprenticeship, the new Mason
generally lived with his Master and was really a bondservant with many duties,
few rights, and little freedom. He could not attend meetings of Fellow Crafts,
worked long hard hours as a bearer of burdens. At the end of his apprenticeship
he was examined in Lodge. If his record was good, if he could prove his
proficiency under test, and the members voted in his favor, he was made a full
member of the Craft, with the same duties, rights, and privileges as all others.
He was then called a “Fellow Craft Mason”.
For our ancient operative brethren, membership in the Lodge was far more than
just a requirement of their occupation. It was the center of their social life,
their security in old age, the livelihood, and the source of their education. It
was during their “passing” to the rank and degree of Fellow Craft that their
education began.
In this degree you will hear the Middle Chamber Lecture. It represents the
beginning of a Fellow Craft’s education. We owe the form of this lecture to a
man named William Preston, who lived in England during the early days of
Speculative Masonry. Preston did not like that the lectures followed no
ritualistic pattern, but could assume whatever form the Master desired. He set
about to write a formal lecture for each degree. After working on these lectures
for many years, he succeeded in having them adopted by the Grand Lodge of
England.
Preston believed one of Masonry’s principal duties was to actually bring light
to a candidate by educating him. He believed knowledge was the universal solvent
for the problems of the world. In his time there were few opportunities for the
average man to acquire formal education. And so, according to some Masonic
authorities, Preston conceived the idea of condensing in the Fellow Craft
Lecture as many of the elements of a formal education as possible. Thus, the new
Fellow Craft received his first exposure to architecture, astronomy, and the
seven liberal arts and sciences. The original lecture delved into these areas in
great detail. In so doing, the lecture gave the average Masonic candidate of
Preston’s era an insight into certain knowledge he might never have received
otherwise.
As you progress through the three degrees, remember they are emblematic of the
stages of ones life. The Entered Apprentice Degree represents youth, and the
attainment of knowledge. The Fellow Craft Degree represents manhood, and the
application of what has been learned in youth. A firm foundation on the
principles taught in this degree will qualify you to advance to the last and
highest grade of ancient craft Masonry- the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason.