We can be forgiven, I think, for assuming that we live in a world where what passes for normal behaviour encourages lying, cheating, and deceiving as a matter of course. Why, even our leaders seem to indulge in it from time to time as though it comes with the job. It might: part of some unspoken job-description passed from office-holder to office-holder like a chromosome abnormality; but common practice does not make it right.
     I find myself reminded of the Louisiana politician who had been elected on extravagant promises of building more bridges allowing easier access for farmers to their lands. Of course, none of them were built. When the frustration of farmers spilled over and they marched on his house in a demonstration of anger at the non-appearance of the bridges that they had expected, he hid in his study, refusing to meet them. Aworried aide pleaded with him to do something. “Tell them I lied,” the veteran politician answered without any sense of shame or failure.
     Greed and deceit in their numerous incarnations lie at the heart of many of the world’s ills. And this is because both trample mercilessly over the respect which we, as humans, owe one another. The negative effect of this has been known for millennia.
     The ancient Egyptians knew it well: for them, a perfect society was one which was in a state of harmony which they called Ma’at - personified and presided over by a goddess of the same name, distinctive by the ostrich feather in her hair. Originally, they believed, universal harmony reigned but this has been constantly disrupted by the inharmonious actions of humans; actions such as greed and deception.
     Indeed, the primary task of the Pharaoh was to maintain Ma’at, and should it slip, to employ all means at his disposal to renew it.
     This recognition of the corrosive effects of deceit emerges clearly in ancient texts giving instructions for coming generations who, like younger generations all through history, need some help from those older and wiser. A good example is found in the Instructions of the scribe Ani, a member of the palace household of Queen Nefertari, wife of the eighteenth dynasty Pharaoh, Ahmose:
     ‘Guard against the crime of fraud,’ he wrote to his son, ‘against words that are not true; conquer malice in your self…keep away from a hostile man, do not let him be your comrade; befriend one who is straight and true...’
     Other Instructions have survived from the nineteenth dynasty,
     ‘Do not speak falsely to a man…Do not bear witness with false words.’
     We can assume that the Third Degree Exhortation is one which the ancient Egyptians would recognise, particularly when it speaks of ‘the stain of falsehood and dishonour.’ For it is a true stain on the character of any man.
     Wisdom gained needs to be passed on. What is needed is a system whereby old and tested paths to harmony can be maintained, nurtured, and carried to later generations; all the while avoiding the sectarian arguments to which our religions seem to be prone as if the leaders have forgotten that the Divine source of all life expresses itself in an infinite number of ways.
     At the Installation of a new Master, an Address is given to all members of the Lodge:
     ‘...this association has been formed and perfected with so much unanimity and concord, long may it continue.’
     This is important but there is more: without the noble qualities of mutual respect, honesty and fairness we find ourselves entangled in corruption. And if there is anything which is destroying our world, this is it. It is the cultural cancer of every society ancient and modern; some have the strength to combat it, others do not.
     Freemasonry, with its gift of an historical momentum carrying respect, brotherhood and integrity can add positively to any society which carries the running sore of corruption. Freemasonry can help: the Second Degree Working Tools teach morality, equality and ‘justness and uprightness of life and actions’.
     So when we affirm our adherence to these principles we are not just polishing a smooth ashlar to support our lodge, or even English Freemasonry; we are contributing our strength and harmony to a world-wide movement, compatible with different religions and political persuasions, which aims to maintain and encourage age-old principles of honesty and integrity to help balance modern society from those forces seeking to corrupt it.
     The Long Explanation of the Working Tools of the Second Degree gives a summary of how the rough and tumble of life can be sailed through in order to face the challenge of contributing rather than the easy option of simply taking:
     ‘...neither bending towards avarice, injustice, malice, revenge, nor the envy and contempt of mankind, but giving up every selfish propensity which might injure others. To steer the bark of this life over the seas of passion without quitting the helm of rectitude is the highest perfection to which human nature can attain...’

Michael Baigent, MA