THE FEENCH IN FREEMASONRY 389 



facts which caused a renewal of the attacks of the Roman 

 Catholic Church upon Freemasonry. 



Ill 

 America was froutiered and bulwarked with the spirit The order in 

 of Freemasonry. A recent writer says : ' ' Out from its "^"^'^^ 

 living heart sprung those principles and sentiments of 

 true liberty and impartial laws which led to the formula- 

 tion of the Declaration of Independence. Our Revolu- 

 tionary fathers held Freemasonry as their Egeria. Its 

 fires purified their j)atriotic hearts. Franklin shed the 

 luster of his glowing name upon it. It actuated the 

 spirit of Paul Revere on his midnight ride, and its im- 

 passioned voice swelled from Bunker Hill to Mount 

 Vernon in links of fraternal patriotism. Very many of Freemasons 



in 1776 



the generals of the American Revolution were Brothers of 

 the Mystic Tie. Many of those distinguished men who 

 signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitu- 

 tion of the United States were members of the Fraternity. 

 The important part Freemasonry played in the struggle 

 for liberty, and the debt of gratitude our glorious Re- 

 public owes to the Fraternity, are to-day little known out- 

 side the Craft, and but vaguely comprehended by the 

 rank and file within it. Its principles were woven into 

 the warp and woof of our Constitution. The name of 

 Washington stands out in bold relief on the Masonic 

 roster of the United States. He was a type of the order 

 which numbers among its members the best and noblest 

 in the world. ' ' 



One of the fundamental principles of Freemasonry is Freemasonry 

 that of religious liberty. Out of this principle grows the 

 absolute separation of Church and State which is a fun- 

 damental principle of our government. It is this prin- 

 ciple which has called down upon Freemasonry the papal 

 decrees, which forbid any Roman Catholic to join this 

 Fraternity" on penalty of excommunication. The spirit of 

 Freemasonry is exactly that of the French Protestants and 



Tolerant 



