BRONZE ICON

LESTER DENT, MASTER MASON

What is Masonry? A brief definition is an organization of men believing in the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man, using the builder's tools as symbols to teach basic moral truths, thereby impressing upon the minds of its members the cardinal virtues of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth which they should apply to everyday activities. * Many persons have heard of Masons or Freemasons but to some it is a mysterious secret organization. It is true that there are Masonic rituals accessible only to members of the fraternity but it is not a secret organization. Masonic lodges are founded on the cornerstone of charity and sponsor many benevolent organizations including orphanages and hospitals. The fraternity descends from the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem (Knights of Malta) who helped and aided pilgrims on the road to Jerusalem during the Crusades. Many famous men have been masons such as President George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Confederate General Lewis A. Armistead, Union Captain Henry H. Bingham, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Harry S. Truman, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, and U.S. Luna Astronaut Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin. What does all this have to do with Lester Dent and Doc Savage? Lester Dent was a Freemason and was a member of La Plata Lodge #237, F&AM of LaPlata, Missouri. Dent petitioned for Membership on May 11, 1939. He received the Entered Apprentice Degree on June 8, 1939. On September 28, 1939, he received the Fellowcraft Degree. Finally on April 25, 1940 Dent completed his quest for enlightenment with the Master Mason Degree. Aside from being a Mason, Dent was foremost a writer. He was contracted by Street & Smith Publications to be the chief writer for a new character they were coming out with Doc Savage. It would be an adventure magazine documenting the exploits of Clark Savage, Jr. or Doc Savage, as his fans came to know him. Throughout 181 adventures Doc Savage saved nations, foiled diabolical plots, and established himself as a shining example of the best of what mankind had to offer. The Masonic influence in the Doc Savage novels is characterized in several ways. The enormous amount of charitable deeds Doc performed or sponsored is one example. Throughout his exploits Doc would often stop to help someone a small child who needed an eye operation, an old woman in need of assistance. Usually the individuals to whom Doc Savage stretched forth the hand of charity were women and children. This is another Masonic trait as Masonry promotes a strong belief in aiding widows and orphans. There are many other clues to Doc Savage's Masonic heritage. In The Land of Terror Doc Savage accepts a reward for thwarting a bank robbery. The money goes to soup kitchens throughout the city to feed the hungry. In Pirate of the Pacific Doc refuses a large reward, instead the money is used to build a large hospital and also to provide a trust fund for its operation. Patients will only be charged what they can afford. All throughout his career of righting wrongs and protecting the weak, Doc never accepts payment for personal gain. Instead, any rewards were used for the benefit of mankind. Doc frequently uses the term "brothers" when referring to his friends. This is a common form of address within a Masonic hall used by one member to another. Doc Savage has an enormous reluctance to take human life. Regularly he puts himself at risk due to this reluctance when it would have been relatively easy for him to kill the person attempting to cause him harm. One story in particular, Resurrection Day, has some peculiar traits. In the story it is revealed that Doc Savage has refined just enough of a rare drug to bring one person back to life. Committees are formed to pick a worthy candidate. First we are led to believe the candidate for resurrection is Thomas Jefferson. The next name mentioned is George Washington. Finally, Thomas A. Edison is mentioned. It is notable that each of these three men was a mason. Finally Doc announces the committee's decision: Solomon is the man to be resurrected. Solomon -- King Solomon from the bible is the choice for resurrection. King Solomon is a central figure in Masonic lore, and freemasons, unlike most people of the time, would naturally think this a logical choice. Early on in the story, two of Doc's aides are arguing: Doc glanced at Monk, and the homely chemist at once declared, "Ham's a liar, as usual! My conscience is as pure and white as as ". The statement remains unfinished but as pure and white as what one wonders. Perhaps a Lambskin or White Leather apron? In fact, there is a written Masonic lecture about the white apron of which a portion is shown here - The Lambskin or White Leather apron is itself an emblem of innocence and the Badge of a Mason,.... Let its pure and spotless surface be to you an ever-present reminder of "purity of life and rectitude of conduct, a never-ending argument for nobler deeds, for higher thoughts, for greater achievements. This would seem to fit well with the statement Monk is making. One of the dignitaries involved with the selection process is a United States Senator by the name of Gustall Moab Funston. The middle name is what got my attention since Moab was the son of Lot and his eldest daughter an imperfect union to say the least. Perhaps by using this name Dent is telling us here that what is happening in the story is not quiet legitimate from a moral point of view. Resurrection Day is very interesting from a Masonic perspective as King Solomon is a central figure in Masonic lore. Likewise resurrection is another Masonic theme. It is celebrated in the story of the resurrection of Osiris who was the personification of Order, Truth, and Justice -good triumphing over evil. In the Osiris legend, Typhon is the brother of Osiris who is the King. Typhon kills Osiris and assumes the throne. The magic of Isis, who is Osiris' wife, brings about the resurrection of Osiris who became the lord of the dead. Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris, avenges the death of his father and casts Typhon into the desert where he surely perishes. A curious parallel to the Osiris legend can be made in Resurrection Day. King Solomon plays the part of Osiris who is now dead. Doc Savage plays the part of Isis who is attempting to resurrect the deceased king. Pey-deh-eh-ghan plays the part of Typhon. Doc Savage (Isis) attempts to resurrect King Solomon (Osiris). The mummy of Pey-dey-eh-ghan (Typhon) is surreptitiously substituted for Solomon and revived by mistake thus depriving Solomon (Osiris) of his second life. Pey-dey-eh-ghan had been a pharaoh in ancient Egypt and had died in battle. His tomb filled with the treasures acquired in a lifetime of plundering had never been discovered. In the course of the story, the Pirate Pharaoh, Pey-dey-eh-ghan, sets a trap for Doc Savage and his men at the site of his long lost tomb. Believing them all dead he heads for civilization. He appears to have escaped punishment but the story is not over: He had been walking along the street, when he had heard a radio loud-speaker which stood in front of a music store. Instantly, he had dashed into the street, as if fleeing from the loud-speaker, and a car had run over him and killed him. The speaker on the radio at the time had been the well-known American, Doc Savage, announcing the discovery of a treasure tomb in the Nubian Desert. Like Typhon before him, Pey-dey-eh-ghan meets his end after apparently vanquishing all his foes. In the end, for each character, their apparent victories are proven false and justice reigns supreme. It is remarkable to note that this story and the other examples cited were written before Dent joined the Masonic Lodge in LaPlata. The most likely scenario I can imagine is that the young Dent had access to a Masonic book. It is reported that he was a voracious reader. Indeed, all of the Masonic characteristics depicted in the stories are of the sort that are known outside of the lodge hall and are often documented in Masonic handbooks. What is most noteworthy is the fact that Lester Dent did become a Master Mason. Doc Savage resembles nothing so much as a Grand Master of the Knights Templars. Historically members of this order took vows of personal poverty and chastity and swore to hold all their property in common. Doc Savage certainly seems to fit this description. He never marries, and although he possesses the wealth of Midas, we never read of it being used for his own personal pleasure. Indeed, to all appearances, Doc seems to lead a rather austere life, foregoing many of its everyday delights. The fortune he controls is used for the exclusive benefit of the human family. His five aides are knights devoted to his service. -------------------------------------------------------------- The Builders by Joseph Fort Newton When is a man a Mason? When he can look out over the rivers, the hills, and the far horizon with a profound sense of his own littleness in the vast scheme of things, and yet have faith, hope and courage--which is the root of every virtue. When he knows that down in his heart every man is as noble, as vile, as divine, as diabolic, and as lonely as himself, and seeks to know, to forgive, and to love his fellowman. When he knows how to sympathize with men in their sorrows, yea, even in their sins--knowing that each man fights a hard fight against many odds. When he has learned how to make friends and to keep them, and above all how to keep friends with himself. When he loves flowers, can hunt the birds without a gun, and feels the thrill of an old forgotten joy when he hears the laugh of a little child. When he can be happy and high minded amid the meaner drudgeries of life. When star-crowned trees, and the glint of sunlight on flowing waters, subdue him like the thought of one much loved and long dead. When no voice of distress reaches his ears in vain, and no hand seeks his aid without response. When he finds good in every faith that helps any man to lay hold of Divine things and sees majestic meanings in life, whatever the name of that faith may be. When he can look into a wayside puddle and see something beyond mud, and into the face of the most forlorn fellow mortal and see something beyond sin. When he knows how to pray, how to love, how to hope. When he has kept faith with himself, with his fellowman, with his God; in his hand a sword for evil, in his heart a bit of a song--glad to live, but not afraid to die! Such a man has found the only real secret of Masonry, and the one which it is trying to give to all the world. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *(From the Short talk Bulletin Vol. XLIII August 1965, published by the Masonic Service Association of the United States, Washington. D.C.) Special thanks to Brother Zel Eaton, Editor of The Missouri Freemason, and the Grand Lodge Staff for their assistance with Brother Dent's Masonic history.