Noe person (of what degree soever) shalbee accepted a Free Mason,
unless hee shall have a lodge of five Free Masons at least;
whereof one to be a master, or warden, of that limitt, or
division, wherein such Lodge shalbee kept, and another of the
trade of Free Masonry.

That noe person shalbee accepted a Free Mason, but such as are of
able body, honest parentage, good reputation, and observers of the
laws of the land.

That noe person shalbee accepted a Free Mason, or know the secrets
of said Society, until hee hath first taken the oath of secrecy
hereafter following: "I, A. B., doe in the presence of Almighty
God, and my fellows, and brethren here present, promise and
declare, that I will not at any time hereafter, by any act or
circumstance whatsoever, directly or indirectly, publish,
discover, reveal, or make known any of the secrets, privileges, or
counsels, of the fraternity or fellowship of Free Masonry, which
at this time, or any time hereafter, shalbee made known unto mee
soe helpe mee God, and the holy contents of this booke."_

--HARLEIAN MS, 1600-1650
#/

CHAPTER II

_Fellowcrafts_

I

Having followed the Free-masons over a long period of history, it is
now in order to give some account of the ethics, organization, laws,
emblems, and workings of their lodges. Such a study is at once easy
and difficult by turns, owing to the mass of material, and to the
further fact that in the nature of things much of the work of a secret
order is not, and has never been, matter for record. By this
necessity, not a little must remain obscure, but it is hoped that even
those not of the order may derive a definite notion of the principles
and practices of the old Craft-masonry, from which the Masonry of
today is descended. At least, such a sketch will show that, from times
of old, the order of Masons has been a teacher of morality, charity,
and truth, unique in its genius, noble in its spirit, and benign in
its influence.

Taking its ethical teaching first, we have only to turn to the _Old
Charges_ or _Constitutions_ of the order, with their quaint blending
of high truth and homely craft-law, to find the moral basis of
universal Masonry. These old documents were a part of the earliest
ritual of the order, and were recited or read to every young man at
the time of his initiation as an Entered Apprentice. As such, they
rehearsed the legends, laws, and ethics of the craft for