AUG?RESP?LOJ?SIMB?SIMÓN BOLÍVAR N° 2291, Fundada em 11 de setembro de 1983

Federada aoGRANDE ORIENTE DO BRASIL Jurisdicionada ao GRANDE ORIENTE DO BRASIL

MINAS GERAIS Rua Rio de Janeiro, 985, 11° Andar, Centro Cep 30.160-041, Belo Horizonte ? M. G. Reuniões 5ª Feira, 20:00 hs - Templo Liberdade - REAA 1G

Em sessão ordinária realizada no dia 24 de Julho de 2008 a Loja aprovou o manifesto a seguir que deverá ser divulgado para os maçons e para o público em geral.

Manifesto da Maçonaria

As declarações e ações da Presidência da Republica, Polícia Federal, e Supremo Tribunal Federal nos casos de operações de investigação recentes como a Satiagraha nos deixam perplexos e apreensivos quanto à qualidade da gestão dos recursos da Nação e da administração da justiça.

Na última semana assistimos a ações lamentáveis do STF pressionando um juiz federal de primeira instância para que interrompa um processo judicial porque, supostamente, estaria sujeitando os investigados a constrangimentos. As ações desenvolvidas sugerem que a cúpula gestora da nação está comprometida pela convivência diária com a dilapidação dos bens públicos, tratados como propriedade privada dos gestores, que freqüentemente tomam decisões catastróficas para os interesses dos legítimos donos, no caso a sociedade, sem por isso serem responsabilizados e severamente punidos.

A esperança de justiça da sociedade, fundamentada na atuação de um grupo de jovens policiais, promotores e juízes, foi brutalmente abalada pelo presidente do Supremo Tribunal Federal, secundado pela Presidência da Republica e sob a plácida aceitação do Congresso Nacional, ao interromperem a Operação Satiagraha, por ter incomodado um banqueiro parceiro de negócios particulares de várias figuras públicas da cúpula governamental. Estas não podem ser as condições para vivermos em estado de direito, como foi argumentado. Se o estado de direito existe, aparentemente, ele é reservado aos criminosos, enquanto os contribuintes desprotegidos ficam com a obrigação de pagar e manter uma estrutura que repetidamente lhes demonstra o seu desprezo.

O produto do trabalho do povo é sugado pela Receita Federal, que bate recordes de arrecadação mês após mês, e consumido por um Governo, que não demonstra comprometimento quanto à sua correta aplicação. O imenso volume de recursos é tratado mais como um espólio a partilhar com banqueiros e asseclas, do que como a seiva vital da economia da sociedade.

Raramente vemos o retorno desses recursos aplicados na Saúde, Educação e Segurança. Em vez disso, vão parar nas mãos de empresários hipócritas, prefeitos pérfidos, ministros omissos e irresponsáveis, Deputados e Senadores mal-intencionados, que renunciam para não terem seus direitos políticos cassados e poderem voltar, "limpos", a concorrer nos próximos pleitos.

Os setores da Saúde, Educação e Segurança são aqueles onde a administração pública demonstra plenamente o seu desprezo pelo contribuinte, com a desorganização e o desperdício, além dos gordos salários e benefícios numa ciranda, que leva o Governo a gastar cada vez mais a ponto de ressuscitar a velha e temida inflação. Verificamos uma temerária inversão de valores na prática da administração pública.

Os encarregados de fazer cumprir as leis, em determinadas situações, são os mesmos que ajudam a burlá-las, o caso dos Conselheiros do Tribunal de Contas que falsificaram certidões para poderem dilapidar os recursos destinados a assistência social. Poucos dias atrás, assistimos na televisão sua excelência, o presidente do STF, concordando, placidamente, que os ricos têm uma justiça privilegiada porque podem pagar melhores advogados.

Enquanto isso, o responsável nacional pela Defensoria Pública se lamentava pelas dificuldades encontradas para fazer funcionar a sua desmantelada organização. É inadmissível constatar que um profissional da Defensoria Pública Federal ganha menos da metade que os profissionais do mesmo nível no Ministério Público Federal que ganham cerca de 20 mil reais enquanto os marajás do STF auferem valores maiores.

É espantoso se levarmos em consideração que todos eles são pagos pelos mesmos contribuintes que vêm escorrer pelos dedos mais de 40% do que produzem, em impostos, que deveriam ser aplicados para prover saúde, educação e segurança para a Sociedade.

Lamentavelmente isso não acontece, porque organizações criminosas, organizadas em rede de empresas ou ONGs preocupadas com os direitos dos criminosos, amparadas por um conjunto de leis casuísticas, pela ineficiência da Justiça preocupada em não incomodar seus parceiros e com a conivência do Governo, se incumbem a dar rumos nefastos ao dinheiro público.

Estamos evoluindo e não concordamos que um ministro, ex-presidente do STF, declare, publicamente, que "bem ou mal o ministro resolveu soltar o Sr. Dantas e ninguém tem competência para se opor a tal decisão".

Cometemos erros e temos obrigação de corrigi-los, decisões divinas são inaceitáveis.

O ministro presidente do STF deve todos os esclarecimentos á Sociedade a quem serve. Não pode permitir que os mal-intencionados ou os corruptos desbaratem os recursos conquistados pelos trabalhadores e ficar calado. Os advogados devem envergonhar-se de participarem nas quadrilhas que assaltam o povo interpretando a lei para instruir e salvaguardar da ação da justiça os seus clientes, dificultando a apuração da verdade. Esqueceram os juramentos feitos perante a Sociedade e perante a Ordem dos Advogados que parece adormecida, alheia aos deslizes dos seus membros que muito prejudicam a sociedade, que supostamente orientam e protegem.

Não podemos concordar com um Congresso Nacional que assiste apático a estas catástrofes nacionais, sem ao menos se pronunciar em defesa das instituições impedidas de desenvolver as suas atividades constitucionais. É obrigação de Deputados e Senadores julgar as ações do presidente do STF e impedir que a Presidência da República desmantele a Polícia Federal quando ela começava a fazer um pouco do seu trabalho.

Até quando continuaremos pagando principescamente profissionais incompetentes e mal-intencionados, que não protegem a sociedade do assalto aos recursos públicos por organizações ou indivíduos, impedindo que esses mesmos recursos oriundos dos impostos, sejam aplicados em benefício da sociedade?

Nós Maçons não podemos continuar assistindo passivamente a dilapidação dos recursos da sociedade pelos seus representantes. É necessário fazer as correções adequadas rapidamente, restabelecendo o prestígio da Polícia Federal, do Ministério Público e da Justiça Federal e caçar os responsáveis sem tréguas.

Vamos fazer com que a Ética seja, de fato, o ponto mais importante na escolha dos nossos representantes e exigir deles que a pratiquem explicitamente durante os seus mandatos. Atualmente, temos as ferramentas necessárias para fazê-lo. É nossa responsabilidade fiscalizar a atuação dos nossos representantes seja legisladores, jurídicos ou executivos, exigir que informem os resultados das suas ações e impedir que prejudiquem a sociedade com associações mal-intencionadas.

Manifestamos o nosso repúdio pela situação criada e pedimos respeitosamente esclarecimentos públicos e objetivos ao Exmo. Sr. Presidente da República, Supremo Tribunal Federal, Congresso Nacional, Ministro da Justiça e Polícia Federal, a quem pagamos muito bem para nos representarem, protegerem e esclarecerem e não para cuidarem dos incômodos causados aos legalmente investigados.

Convidamos a cerrarem fileiras conosco todos os nossos irmãos Maçons e todos os cidadãos de bons costumes, espalhados por este imenso e portentoso país que vislumbra a oportunidade de ser grande, mas continua tolhido e enfraquecido pelos seus parasitas.

Oriente de Belo Horizonte, 24 de Julho de 2008.

LOJA MAÇÔNICA SIMÓN BOLÍVAR N° 2291

En la siguiente entrevista, el historiador Fermín Chávez habla de algunas de las contradicciones todavía no resueltas por la historia oficial, como por ejemplo su vinculación con la masonería, su relación con el catolicismo, su violenta enemistad con Bernardino Rivadavia y las razones que lo llevaron a exiliarse en Europa.

- ¿Qué opinión tiene acerca de la relación entre San Martín y la masonería?

La masonería en un sentido general es una cosa, pero en el sentido riguroso es otra muy distinta. Quienes participaban realmente en la masonería eran aquellos que estaban al servicio de la Gran Logia de Londres. San Martín, curiosamente, no aparece en ninguna documentación inglesa. La Sociedad de Caballeros Racionales de Cádiz, en la que participan San Martín, se crea para impulsar el regreso de todos los americanos que vivían en Europa, y especialmente en España, para que participen en el proceso emancipador que se había iniciado en América a partir de 1809.

El fin de esta logia ?que tenía todas las formas de rito y el secreto masónico- era muy concreto y determinado: apoyar a los movimientos emancipadores. En 1811, Carlos María de Alvear, que sí era masón, les propone a los miembros de la Sociedad de Caballeros Racionales que ingresen en la Gran Logia y por mayoría deciden rechazar ese ofrecimiento. El fin de la Logia Lautaro -en la que participaba San Martín- es muy claro: ordenar bien el Gobierno y orientarlo para continuar con la emancipación de la corona.

El lema de la Logia Lautaro , escrito de puño y letra por San Martín, es: ?Nunca reconocerás como gobierno legítimo de la patria sino a aquel que haya sido elegido por la viva y espontánea voluntad del pueblo?. Esta Logia Lautaro, de la que yo tengo los apuntes originales en los que se transcribe la forma por la cual prestaban juramento sus miembros, seguía todo el ritual secreto típico de la masonería. En 1813, en tiempos del Directorio, el sistema político está en crisis. Se estaba pensando en un príncipe europeo. Después Alvear empieza a pensar en el protectorado inglés. En medio de esa crisis, se crea la Asamblea del año XIII para declarar la independencia, pero la independencia no se declara.

Es decir que Alvear y algunos integrantes de la Logia Lautaro como Alvear querían emanciparse para que entrara la influencia del imperio británico en el Río de la Plata.Muchos masones estaban ligados a un proyecto británico. Pero San Martín en su actividad dentro de la Logia Lautaro no participó de esa idea, él sólo se limitó a luchar por la liberación. Existía una tradición de logias masónicas en el Virreinato. La primera que se instaló en el Río de la Plata fue la Estrella del Sur, que llegó desde Inglaterra en la época de las Invasiones. No hay que olvidarse que Buenos Aires estaba ligada a la intermediació n y al comercio del puerto. Es probable que la logia de Londres haya tratado de captar a San Martín, pero no hay pruebas fehacientes. La Logia Lautaro por las formas era masónica, pero por el objetivo, no. Porque los objetivos de la masonería consistían en facilitar la influencia británica y San Martín nunca trabajó en forma directa para los ingleses, aunque es obvio que sus planes de emancipación coincidían con los intereses comerciales británicos. Al leer la correspondencia del almirante inglés Bowles y del cónsul Stapples se percibe que existía una relación de gran desconfianza hacia San Martín. La intención evidente era usarlo pero nunca terminaron de confiar en él. No lo consideraban un hombre de ellos. Ese es el motivo por el cual lord Cochrane fue nombrado almirante de la flota libertadora en la campaña contra el Perú. Cochrane debía seguir e informar los movimientos de San Martín. Y con el tiempo se convirtió en uno de sus más duros críticos. En esa época el almirantazgo británico tenía más poder que el propio gobierno inglés.

Durante su exilio, San Martín recibió una condecoración en Bruselas con símbolos masones, es evidente que sus servicios fueron muy bien apreciados.Eso es cierto, pero en ese tiempo andaban por Europa muchos amigos de San Martín que sí eran masones declarados.

- ¿Qué sucedió en Guayaquil, en el encuentro con Simón Bolívar que dio lugar a tantas leyendas?

- No hay misterios. Bolívar no le podía dar los nueve mil hombres que le pedía San Martín. Allí Bolívar le asegura que mientras San Martín esté en el Perú, el ejército de la Gran Colombia no iba a entrar en ese territorio. Pero Bolívar realmente no podía apoyarlo. San Martín, sin la ayuda de Buenos Aires y ante la imposibilidad de la colaboración de Bolívar, se quedó solo. Entonces decidió irse a Cuyo y atender su chacra en Mendoza. Mientras tanto, Bolívar envía el ejército de Sucre que derrota definitivamente a los españoles y más tarde crea la República de Bolivia, y queda así cercenada una parte importante de lo que había sido el Virreinato del Río de la Plata. En una carta al mariscal Castilla enviado cuando ya vivía en Europa, San Martín le cuenta lo que pasó y dice: ?Yo debía haber fusilado a unos cuantos de los míos, pero me habían acompañado tanto?. Lo de Sucre es una idea propia, Bolívar no era partidario de la división de Bolivia. Hay correspondencia sobre ese tema entre Sucre y Bolívar. A Sucre lo ayudó mucho la posición de Rivadavia. Y no sólo por no haber prestado la ayuda inicial, sino porque la orden que tenía el general Alvarado, hombre enviado por Rivadavia a la frontera, era entregar el territorio al norte del río Desaguadero. Rivadavia tenía una concepción muy ilustrada del territorio, sólo le importaba la ciudad de Buenos Aires. Él quería un país chico, pero culto e ilustrado.

A tal punto llegaba el enfrentamiento que cuando San Martín volvió del Perú y se instaló en Mendoza, Rivadavia intentó arrestarlo e inclusive atentar contra su vida.Es cierto. Primero le pusieron un espía y cuando se enteraron que tenía intenciones de viajar a Buenos Aires para ver a su mujer que estaba muy enferma le pusieron partidas en el camino para liquidarlo. Ahí fue cuando Estanislao López, el caudillo de Santa Fe, le dijo que si quería él lo iba a proteger. En ese momento San Martín decidió dejar el país. Los doctores de Buenos Aries lo acusaban de tener aspiraciones políticas y creían que representaba un verdadero peligro para su futuro.

- ¿Qué hay de cierto con respecto a la historia que asegura que cuando fueron repatriados los restos de San Martín la jerarquía de la Iglesia Católica se oponía a que la tumba fuera instalada en la Catedral, debido a su condición de masón?

Eso es cierto. La Iglesia argentina ?debido a estas imprecisiones que existían en torno de San Martín respecto de su participación en las logias masónicas- creía que San Martín era verdaderamente masón. Entonces decidieron hacer el templete fuera del recinto sagrado de la Catedral, por las dudas. Ahí es donde puede verse hoy. En ese momento la fobia a la masonería era muy fuerte por parte de la Iglesia, hacía poco tiempo que el Pontífice había condenado la masonería.

- ¿Cómo se llegó a esta concepción tipo Billiken que hoy se tiene de la figura de San Martín?

- Ha habido una necesidad política de construir un mito por el cual se supone que desde 1810 todo salio bien. La historia argentina es la suma de islotes gloriosos y luminosos, salpicados por islotes negros. Los héroes son aquellos que en alguna medida apoyaron el proyecto, los que no querían el proyecto quedaron de lado. Esta es la historia que cuenta Bartolomé Mitre. Una historia que pretendía negar el San Martín humano. Como no podía evitarlo, era preferible construirlo liviano, rosadito. Es por eso que estas historias son prácticamente desconocidas para el común de la gente. Era mejor hablar de El Gran Capitán de los Andes y nada más. Porque si se empezaba a escarbar y se les decía a los chicos que San Martín era enemigo de Rivadavia; que además se escribía con Rosas o que le donó el sable corvo de Los Andes por su lucha contra el bloqueo anglosajón, o que conspiró para derrocar el gobierno del Primer Triunvirato porque no había consultado la voluntad del pueblo, la cosa cambiaba. Ya no podría ser El Santo de la Espada y se tornaría en una figura contradictoria e inmanejable porque estaría vinculada con la política. Sería otro San Martín, estaría demasiado vivo y se tornaría peligroso.

Fuente: Expresión en libertad: Diversidad y Democracia - Revista La Maga, miércoles 16 de agosto de 1995, por Sergio Ranieri / Eduardo Blanco.

La tradición Egipcia pasó al pueblo judío con Moisés, quien fue iniciado en los Altos Misterios por los sacerdotes egipcios, quien después transmitió estas enseñanzas a la clase sacerdotal de los Israelitas. En el Antiguo Testamento (Samuel XIX-20 y Reyes II-2,5) se menciona que al parecer existían escuelas iniciáticas en Naioth bajo la dirección del Profeta Samuel y otras en Bethel y Jericó. Los misterios egipcios fueron transmitidos de generación en generación hasta el momento en que el Rey Salomón subió al trono de su padre David.

El Rey Salomón, quien gobernó entre 976 y 926 a.C., se dedicó a la unificación de su pueblo y con tal fin erigió el Templo de Jerusalén para que fuera centro de veneración religiosa y símbolo de la unidad nacional. El Templo era un edificio completamente simbólico, su plano, sus construcciones y ornamento representaban la síntesis de todas las ciencias, era el Universo, era la filosofía, era el cielo, representaba el Macrocosmo y los hombres al Microcosmos. Salomón lo había concebido e Hiran Abiff Arquitecto y decorador de la ciudad de Tiro lo había construido con elevada inteligencia. Para el mejor desarrollo de la obra dividió a los trabajadores, de acuerdo a la labor que realizaban, en Maestros, Compañeros y Aprendices, estructura que los masones han tomado como forma de organización.

Ahora Salomón quien había sido iniciado en los Misterios de Eleusis, deseaba darle forma Judía a los misterios, que desde Moisés eran aun Egipcios. Para ello junto con el Rey Hiran de Tiro, convocó a una Asamblea del consejo de Jerusalén y se dedicaron de inmediato a la adaptación de los rituales. De esta manera se unen cuatro corrientes, la egipcia aportada por los Sacerdotes , la Griega aportada por Salomón, la Caldea basada en las enseñanzas de Zoroastro que mantuvo el Rey Hiran, la cual aportó entre otras: los nombres del alfabeto judío y de los ángeles, y una cuarta corriente extraña a las otras basada en el rito de Tammuz que aportó Hiran Abiff quien era Fenicio. La iniciación de Salomón tenía un triple fin: la tolerancia, la filantropía y la civilización de los Israelitas. La Mística Judía induce en primer lugar a una comunión directa con la divinidad trascendente, de igual modo la cosmología simbólica vinculada al templo entra en el campo del esoterismo.

El simbolismo del Templo corresponde al cosmos y está dividido en tres partes que corresponden al cielo, al mar y a la tierra. Telas y ornamentos interiores evocan los cuatro elementos, las siete ramas del candelabro remiten a los siete planetas, las doce columnas interiores a los doce signos de zodiaco. La orden inciática y esotérica de la Francmasonerí a se inspirará en este simbolismo cósmico para la disposición y el orden, para la orientación y forma de la logia.

Los Francmasones quieren reedificar el Templo de Salomón sobre las bases de la jerarquía inteligente y de la iniciación progresiva.

La experiencia mística judía de los primeros siglos de nuestra era aporto a la génesis del esoterismo occidental su propia contribución, se mezcló con las corrientes griegas y latinas, y así llegó a crear nuevas orientaciones. La originalidad de la mística hebraica reside en la asombrosa asociación de los elementos que la componen: práctica religiosa, metafísica, ética, teosofía, alegorías, preceptos proféticos y leyes. Se estima que la Torah o Libro de la Ley está prácticamente terminado en el s. V a.C, y está formada por los cinco libros del Pentateuco, pero a esta ley escrita dictada por Dios a Moisés se agrega una ley oral igualmente dictada por Dios y transcrita hacia el año 218 d.C, especialmente por Rabí Yehuda Hakadoch, y se le llama Mishna, al cuerpo de comentarios de la Mishna se le llama Ghemara, estos dos libros se reunieron en uno solo llamado Talmud (en hebreo Doctrina). En opinión de autorizados ritualistas, el tercer grado de Maestro está clasificado como bíblico, también varias tradiciones y leyendas de los grados superiores de la Masonería, se encuentran en el Talmud. Se puede ver que forma Judaica de los Misterios es la que mayor influencia ha tenido en la moderna masonería aportando entre otras: los tres grados, las palabras sagradas de los mismos, la estructura jerárquica, el calendario, el simbolismo de los rituales.

Fuente:

http://www.gluv. org/Historia% 20de%20la% 20Masoneria% 20Universal. htm

A MASONIC COMPOSERS

There are buildings because there are those who build them. There is music because there are those that write it, composers. There is also Masonic music. This kind of music comes in two forms. The first form of Masonic music is that music which is performed on or during Masonic occasions, but not only. There are occasions that are corollaries to formal Masonic occasions that have their own special music. These are occasions like Ladies? Nights and Festive Boards, especially those Festive Boards that take place after the conferment of degrees and installations. Then, there is a second genre of Masonic music which is not so common any longer. This is music which has a Masonic subject, is mostly performed during Masonic occasions, but does not form part of the ritual. Further discussion of this topic requires a presentation in its own right.

If we have all these kinds of Masonic music, there must perforce be those who compose them. But which composers can be termed as Masonic Composers and which not. Why is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart considered as a Masonic composer and Ludwig van Beethoven is not? Both of them have composed music for Masonic occasions and with Masonic connotations. If one were to examine the case of these two music giants, one would easily come to the proper definition of Masonic Composer. Although Beethoven wrote Masonic music and there exist indications that he might have been a Freemason, there has not been found, till now at least, documented proof that he was such, though as is said in archaeology, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. The same cannot be said of Mozart. He is known as Brother Mozart, like Bro. Sibelius and others. These are known as Masonic composers because they both wrote Masonic Music and they were also Brethren. That makes a Masonic composer. He must both write Masonic music and be a Mason himself.

A little parenthesis has to be made. Most of those composers, who wrote music for Masonic occasions, later published this music with a religious text under the genre of Sacred Music. One such famous example is Bro. Mozart?s own Ave Verum which was originally a Masonic Ode. The topic of Masonic Music too is worthy of a full-scale presentation in its own right. Consequently it is right and proper that Brother Mozart be brought in the limelight.

Politics and Masonry in Mozart?s Austria

In 1784 the Grand Lodge of Austria consisted of sixty six lodges. Eight of these were in Vienna. This Grand Lodge had been constituted thanks to the efforts of none other than the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Breslau, Count Schaffgotsh. This was in spite of the fact that the Church of Rome through Pope Clement XII had condemned the order in 1738. The facts as they stood were that the rulers of several Catholic Countries refused to promulgate the edict pronouncing these condemnations. The reasons were various.

Foremost amongst them is the fact that persons who held the highest posts in these lands, like the rulers and crown princes among others, belonged to the Craft. These persons in high places thought it would be better if they themselves joined the Craft and kept it legal. In so doing they would be in a better position to keep tags on the members. It is worth considering that Masonry was an offspring of the Enlightenment and its ideologies, among them Fraternity, Equality and Freedom, and of course in the beginning, constitutional monarchy. Regicide was still very far off. In Austria itself, Empress Maria Theresa, instigated by her confessors, was very hostile to the Craft, but although she was most influential in the political set-up of Austria, she was never influential enough to have either her husband or, later on, her son promulgate the condemnations of the church. The best that she could achieve at the time was to limit the number of lodges in the year 1781. An anecdote quoted by Newcomb Condee 33 deg from the Hiram Oasis Lodge of Minnesota runs so: The Empress Maria Theresa had been one who was opposed to Masonry and, in 1743, had ordered a Viennese Lodge raided, forcing its Master and her husband, Francis I, to make his escape by a secret staircase.

One other factor that has to be considered is the fact that several orders had come into existence during the 18th century as a result of the Enlightenment. Among these one has to list: Freemasonry, Strict Observance Freemasonry, the Illuminati and the Rosicrucians. Other orders were constituted by self-styled reformers, like Cagliostro, who sought to Egyptianise Freemasonry, thus throwing the origins further back in time, like the Rite of Memphis and the Rite of Misraim. Misraim is the Classical Hebrew name for Egypt. These two rites were combined some decades ago under the name of The Rite of Memphis and Misraim, precisely in 1959.

This author would like to observe that if one had to trace the oldest operative origins on which free and accepted or speculative Masonic symbolism can be based, then, one has to visit the six-thousand-year-old temples at Tarxien, Malta. There, the symbolism and the parallelisms are unmistakeable for the initiated. The air itself is heavily loaded with Masonic symbology.[1]

At this point one has to comment further about the situation that Masonry had found itself in, in Mozart?s time, by quoting from the notes posted on a CD insert by the by Telarc International Corporation.

Masonry's insistence on shrouding its inner workings in secrecy worked against it, for the code of silence allowed treasonous sects to flourish within the Craft and at the same time caused government officials to imagine Masonic excesses much greater that those that actually occurred. In the end, the emperor felt he had no choice except to ban Masonry outright.

Probably the most virulently anti-monarchic sect of Masonry was the Illuminati, founded in Bavaria by Adam Weishaupt, a university professor, in 1776. Weishaupt joined the Masons the following year and soon allied the Illuminati with them. The sect's original aim was to fight evil and defend good causes, but this was soon expanded with anti-clerical and anti-royalist sentiments. The Illuminati operated for only a decade and probably never had more than 2000 members, but they panicked the royalty, who became suspicious of all Masonry.

The crowned heads had good reason to connect Masonic Lodges with revolutionary activities. Many of the leaders of the American colonies' revolt against their British king in 1776 were Masons, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. In France Masons were behind the push for republican government that led to the French Revolution (which, incidently, went much further than those high-minded aristocrats had foreseen and claimed most of them among its victims). The Austrian emperor heard first-hand reports of the uproar in Paris from his sister, the French Queen Marie-Antoinette.

Austrian attempts to control the Masons included Joseph II's decree of 1781, forbidding any order to submit to foreign authority. This led to severing Masonic ties with the Grand Lodge of Britain and setting up Austria's own governing body, the Grosse Landesloge von Osterreich. In 1785 another imperial edict centralized the country's lodges and limited their autonomy. The proliferation of local lodges was reduced (only three remained in Vienna), and the members of each were limited to 180. Regular reports of lodge meetings and attendance had to be submitted to the Emperor's police.

In 1790 Joseph II died and was succeeded by his brother, Leopold II. With the French Revolution in full cry, the Austrian government was becoming exceedingly alarmed about treasonous sentiments in the land and especially in the Masonic orders. That same year a lodge of Illuminati was uncovered in Prague, and names of high officials were increasingly mentioned in secret police reports to the emperor. As Landon points out, Austria was fast becoming a police state.

Mozart and Freemasons

Coming finally to Bro. Mozart, well, he lived in this milieu of events. This author considers that it is futile to provide here the biography of Bro Mozart as there does exist a whole multitude of such works. Some aspects of his life though have to be highlighted. These are in regard to Bro Mozart?s life as a Freemason. He was involved with masonry since his earliest years. Suffice it to say that his second opera, Bastien und Bastienne which is based on Rousseau?s work Le Devin du Village of 1752, was commissioned by and performed in the gardens of the Viennese villa of Dr Anton Mesmer the inventor of mesmerism or hypnotism in 1768. Dr Mesmer was a prominent Freemason.

B. Mozart was involved with prominent masons since earlier in life, but his real involvement with the craft started when he was sixteen when he composed two Masonic works: The first, a Masonic song called ?O Holy Band?, the second two choruses for a play called ?Thamos? by Tobias Philip Gebler, another prominent Brother. He had many sponsors and friends who were masons, but the culmination of these relations arrived when he was initiated in the ?Beneficence? Lodge in Vienna on the 14th December 1784. He was 28 years old. Less than a month later, on the 7th January 1785, he was passed to the Fellow-Craft degree in another lodge: the ?True Concord Lodge? and a fortnight later he was raised as a Master in this same lodge.

After this, besides composing other Masonic works, he also instigated friends, musician friends to join the craft. This also shows that he was very active as a mason. One of these was his own father, who was initiated in the Beneficence Lodge in April and Franz Joseph Hayden in the True Concord Lodge earlier, in February. A full chronology of B. Mozart?s Masonic activities and compositions was compiled by Philippe A. Autexier and may be found in the book ?A Mozart Compendium? edited by H. C. Robbins Landon.

B. Mozart also tried to be an innovator and this in a time of nearing crisis for Masonry. He had started to advocate the admission of women in Masonry and this is reflected in his opera the Magic Flute in which both the hero and the heroine are initiated together, even though B. Mozart was only responsible for the music and not for the libretto.

Myths and Legends

Mention has to be now made of the death of Brother Mozart for two reasons. The cause of his death will be discussed first, and the implications of freemasons with his demise. John Stone writing in ?The Mozart Compendium? lists eleven serious illnesses which wracked our brother?s short life. The first, in 1762, was scarlet fever. Bro Mozart was only four. The following year he suffered two infantile bouts of rheumatic fever. He had whooping cough, when he nearly suffocated, typhoid, smallpox, hepatitis, and several bouts of rheumatic fever, among other illnesses. It would seem that the illness which brought his life to an end, started towards the end of August 1791. It was probably enhanced by nervous exhaustion. He confessed to his wife that he feared that he had been poisoned. He suffered from pain in his loins and felt languor spreading gradually all over him. This pain and languor had been affecting him since May or June. On the 20th November, he got bed-ridden. His fatal illness was diagnosed, and so certified on his death certificate, as miliary fever. This disease, also known as the sweating sickness, is characterised by profuse swelling from renal failure and by a high mortality rate. He suffered from severe swelling and his sister in law Sophie Haibel made him a nightshirt which could be put on from the front because he could not turn over. This Sophie Haibel plays an important part in Mozart?s demise as will be seen, and not only because he expired in her arms at one o?clock in the morning while she dampened his forehead with water and vinegar. Other possible diseases have been diagnosed from the recorded symptoms, like the Henoch-Schoenlein syndrome and rheumatic fever. What is also a fact is that at the time there was an epidemic of cholera in Vienna.

When one considers the number of illnesses that could fit the symptoms B. Mozart had, one has no other option but to sideline and dismiss as a myth the rumour that Bro. Mozart had been poisoned, either by Salieri or by Freemasons. It is only natural for one who suffers from pain in one?s bowels to compare the situation to poisoning. It is natural for Mozart to think that he had been poisoned and express what he was thinking. This expression of thought gave rise to the myth that B. Mozart was poisoned, first by Salieri, and then, in another version, by Masons. The earliest source of this latter fiction dates from 1928. It originated in Munich and was republished with greater vehemence in 1936. It was an article written by Matilde Ludendorff under the title Mozarts Leben und gewaltsamer Tod. The work asserts that Mozart, like Luther, Lessing, Schiller and many others, had been assassinated for having invaded den Tempel Salomos, das heisst die Judenherrschaft. The implication of Jews in Freemasonry and the assassination of such an assortment of German Giants make one wonder as to the credibility of such a thesis at such a time in Nazi Germany! However it was revived in 1959 by Kuess-Scheichelbaur.

I quote ?For two centuries there have been rumours and speculation that Mozart was murdered by the Masons for revealing their secrets, but this seems unlikely for several reasons. His collaborator and fellow Freemason, Schikaneder (who actually wrote the libretto and thus was the one responsible for any revelation of Masonic secrets if there was any), outlived B. Mozart by two decades. Mozart's close personal identification with Masonic tenets and his frequent contact with high-ranking leaders of the society are well-documented in his letters, and it is improbable that he would have defied the society's strictures, or that he would have been unaware of what he could use in a public work and what could not be revealed?, and I unquote. Actually, it was not Bro. Mozart who wrote the script for the opera ?The Magic Flute? but Schikaneder. He had been expelled from the craft because of the kind of life he led, bringing the Craft into disrepute. Why was this man not murdered by Masons? Why was it Mozart who got the dirty end of the stick?

For the initiated, it will become obvious that very few so called secrets, if any, have been revealed in the opera?s script. These are the recurrence of the number three (knocks, lights, etc.) and the imposed reticence and secrecy by means of the padlock on Papageno?s lips. In fact secrecy or the guarding of Masonic secrets is not only well-known to cowans to masonry and non-masons, but also it is the basic reason of attacks against masonry. Others also consider the main character Tamino?s fainting as reminiscent of the raising ceremony. Actually, the libretto culls heavily on the literary work ?Sethos? by Abbe Ferrasson which was much in vogue among even masons as it purported to be a historic treatise on the rites of Isis and Osiris, translated from an ancient Egyptian papyrus. It was proved to be a fake during the nineteenth century.

Coming back to Sophie Haibel?s part during B. Mozart?s last days, it has been recorded by Chailley that she had been chasing a number of Catholic parish priests to assist Mozart on his death-bed. The fact that she chased a number of them implies that many at least had refused. Otherwise why chase a number? We are never sure whether one of them recanted. What is sure is that B. Mozart?s ?earthly remains were given the last rites in front of the Crucifix Chapel inside St Stephen?s Cathedral in Vienna at three o?clock in the afternoon, and were subsequently buried in an unmarked grave in a churchyard in a suburb of Vienna, St Marx Cemetery. And there was no stormy weather the night he died, either. Weather bulletins of the day recorded fine weather in Vienna (Chailley: 1971)! Propagated myth and produced legend were used to demonise Brother Mozart, implying that he passed away amidst thunder and lighting which were caused by the devils that had come to drag his soul to hell. It all fits.

But why was he buried so far from central Vienna? What comes to mind is the fact that in Catholic counties like Malta and Austria, Catholics who are excommunicated from the Roman Church cannot be buried in consecrated ground. In Malta?s main cemetery, The Maria Addolorata Cemetery, there exists a non-consecrated area were such persons and non-recanting persons used to be buried. This area was much in use during politico-religious war of the nineteen-sixties between Dom Mintoff?s Malta Labour Party and the Roman Catholic Church. (Incidentally, Mintoff himself was reputed to been initiated as a Mason within the Scottish Constitution while he was a Rhodes Scholar in the U.K. but this has not yet ever been confirmed!) Returning to the non-consecrated ground, it was the area where non-repenting (publicly to the satisfaction of the Church) supporters and members of the Malta Labour Party were buried in the sixties. In Maltese this area is known as ?Il-Mizbla?, the rubbish dump. This implies that if one is cut off from her through excommunication or Interdict, the Church (which preaches charity, forgiveness and blah-blah-blah for the weak and sub-ordinate to observe) considers the dead bodies of these non-repentant as filth only fit for the rubbish dump. How this affects the dead person one cannot know, but it is a grave social blemish and dishonour to those that survive him, who, for all intents and purposes could well be good and practising Catholics themselves. As the Cardinal Archbishop of the Philippines observed, the Church must observe extreme care when dealing with such cases lest ?innocent? practising believers be hurt. One has also to mention that the Father of the Maltese Language, Mikiel Anton Vassalli, was buried at Ta? Braxia Cemetery, an English Protestant cemetery outside Valletta, both because he had translated the Protestant Bible into the Maltese Language, and , unofficially, because he was reputed to be a mason. For there has not yet been found documented evidence. In regards to Bro Mozart?s burial in an unmarked (could it be unconsecrated?) grave away from prying eyes after having been blessed in a Catholic church, could have been a negotiated solution reached as a face-saver to all concerned.

His Brethren held a Lodge of Sorrows in his memory and the Oration was published.

by W.Bro. Frank Galea

Lodge of St. John and St. Paul No 349 (EC), Malta

Count Roger of Normandy Lodge, Sovereign Grand Lodge of Malta.