The North Carolina Mason

2023 marks the tercentenary of the publication of the first Constitutions of the Freemasons. But what is less well understood is that one section – the key section of that document, Desaguliers' Charges of a Free-Mason – underpins what we regard today as Modern Freemasonry. This is true not only for England, but for all those grand lodges around the world that followed England's lead. The Charges set down moral and intellectual foundations for Freemasonry. They are a product of an Enlightenment philosophy and their adoption a function of intellectual, political and religious imperatives that included "the Glorious Revolution" of 1688, which with the Bill of Rights ushered in a constitutional monarchy in Britain. Other influences encompassed the threat to the newly installed Hanoverian king, George I, and his Whig ministry from "the king over the water" James Stuart; and the legacy of almost 200 years of religious conflict in Europe, not least the state-sanctioned persecution of Protestants in France. The Charges require Freemasons to adopt several fundamental principles, among them: • Religious tolerance – "that Religion in which all Men agree, leaving their particular Opinions to themselves;" • Respect for civil law and constitutional government – a "supreme legislature" rather than a divinely anointed absolute monarch; and • Meritocracy – "preferment among Masons is grounded upon real Worth and personal Merit." The Charges also advocate a teleological ("be all that you can be") approach to personal development, and an enjoinment to be improve oneself and society through education. Alongside the Charges sits George Payne's General Regulations, which govern the operation of Lodges The Tercentenary of the 1723 Constitutions By Dr. Ric Berman If anyone doubts that Freemasonry as it is practised today was derived from the Grand Lodge of England, let him compare the new Charges with those of an older date. He will find that the severance from any and all pre-existing connections was as fundamental and complete as was the severance of the American colonies from England after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. … The history of Freemasonry begins with a declaration of principles. These are set forth in the New Constitutions promulgated by the Grand Lodge of England and form the basic law of the Fraternity throughout the world. Indeed, the story of Freemasonry is merely the working out of those principles. - Ossian H. Lang, History of Freemasonry in the State of New York (1922) 20 | T H E M A S O N M AGA Z I N E

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