Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Dont's for Worshipful Masters - Canadian Craftsman, March 1891

  • Don't be a parrot.
  • Don't be a part of a man, but a whole one.
  • Don't be a fool and get the "big head."
  • Don't be slovenly in dress, speech or manners.
  • Don't be lazy and always behind time.
  • Don't go to sleep if you expect your lodge to be wide awake.
  • Don't sacrifice the interest of your lodge to create a boom for yourself.
  • Don't let your life give the lie to the principles you are expected to teach.
  • Don't permit your subordinate officers to be careless and indifferent.
  • Don't work on bad material. Better to surrender your charter.
  • Don't do your work in a half-hearted manner, but get its truths into your soul.
  • Don't imagine the office to be one of honor only. It is one of trust as well.
  • Don't imagine yourself the king bee, when you are the servant.
  • Don't think yourself a lord, there may be some members of your lodge just as smart as you think that you are.
  • Don't forget that the standing of the lodge in your community is measured by your own standing.
  • Don't forget that the eye of the initiate will make an inventory of you, and judge the order accordingly.
  • Don't forget to consult the dictionary for the pronunciation of words.
  • Don't drag in the dispatch of business or work.
  • Don't pose as an oracle on Masonic law until you have looked, at least once, into the Digest [Constitutions].
  • Don't forget to be courteous, affable and brotherly to visitors and members.
  • Don't permit delinquents to remain on the roll, and thus make a showing of a large membership.
  • Don't lose sight of the fact that quality makes a lodge and not quantity.
  • Don't try to "show off," dignity and good sense are the graces of a Master.
  • Don't belittle or impugn your predecessors in order to make yourself the shining light in the history of your lodge.
  • Don't forget to be always "on guard" for any duty that is to the interest of your lodge.
  • Don't forget that the lodge expects once and awhile, a few symptoms that there are some brains under the hat.
  • Don't forget to study every condition and aid to make your work efficacious.
  • Don't stand on one leg, neither saw the air, neither chew tobacco, neither lean on the altar, not any shiftless or lazy position in giving the lectures, but stand on both feet, erect, dignified, and speak the speech with force.
  • Don't forget to keep awake, wide awake, awake always, awake a real, Argus-eyed Master.

2 comments:

  1. All the lines are meaningful and a must read for all WMs, but the last line is most significant. A blog worth preserving.

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  2. What a terrific advice! This should be given to every WM when he ascends to the Eastern chair!

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