History of the Masons – Operative Masonry Vs Speculative Masonry

“The work of the just tends to life:
the fruit of the wicked to sin.”

province 10:16

Certain writers on the history of the Freemasons state emphatically that the Masons were originally builders, or men who were skilled at hewing stone for the builder’s use. To them, the phrase operative Masonry refers to men of a certain period of history who, presumably knowing nothing about the spiritual meaning of our Masonic symbols, worked with squares, compasses, mallets, and levels to erect buildings. Rather, 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 workman 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 Masonry. We are told that our ancient brothers worked on the construction of King Solomon’s Temple and other majestic buildings, but today we are only speculative Masons.

The history of the English guilds also provides a further basis for concluding that the operative masons were originally skilled builders who saw no spiritual significance in the tools with which they worked. To them, the secrets of masonry pertained exclusively to the various skills associated with masonry. However, regardless of whether Freemasonry grew out of those guilds, or is actually the heir to the ancient mysteries found in initiation rites, if the Mason of today 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 Masonry and speculative Masonry on a spiritual level.

On one level, all Masons, 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 operative side of man puts those lessons into action. Since Masonry has adopted the hermetic habit of synthesizing opposing or competing concepts, it is essential that the Mason 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 -the balance is achieved after the assimilation of different concepts- is the great lesson that 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 according to the state of enlightenment of each man. Therefore, Freemasonry is just as operative today as it was when our ancient brethren toiled in the construction of majestic buildings.

Pike, like other Masonic writers, encouraged Masons to develop both their operational sense and their speculative curiosity. For Masonry to impart anything of lasting value to humanity, Masons must think and then act. One cannot exist without the other, if man expects to contribute something to his brothers. In doing so, these writers have variously invited us each to synthesize three antitheses or antinomies: (1) idealism-realism; (2) realism – nominalism; and (3) faith – empirical science.

The idealist regards everything as so many forms of thought, while the realist asserts that the objects of knowledge have an existence independent of thought. For example, the realist answers “yes” to the question of whether or not a fallen tree in an isolated forest makes a noise; the idealist is not so sure. When all is said and the dispute over which is correct has settled down, Masons 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, failure to act on either notion 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 analyzed explicitly 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 gain great significance from the discussion about which is more important, the individual or society. For Freemasons, the problem is solved again with reference to the Supreme Architect of the Universe: Freemasons confess their superiority in all matters and trust that thought together with action will bring about the enormous love of God for all mankind.

It is written in the Gospels that if one has faith like a mustard seed, he 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. Humanity has not yet learned 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 both 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 an earlier age had not thought and acted. Thinking without doing would not have produced anything. And so it is also when one acts without thinking first. In Masonic History, 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 the soul of that man work together. But sitting idly by and wishing for something to happen without acting together with God leads 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 prayer for hunger relief is to give of what you have so that the hungry may eat. While praying for poverty to disappear 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 told 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, the widowed and the orphaned would not have a place to call home. And, the speech disabled would not have clinics to go to and cure their ailment.

When the reflective and speculative Mason puts his thinking into operational 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. You are a Mason and you must act as such.