En: MACKEY - Masonry Defined: Unterschied zwischen den Versionen
K (Abschnitt "H" abgeschossen - wird mit "I" fortgesetzt) |
K (Abschnitte I - J - K - L abgeschlossen - wird mit M fortgesetzt) |
||
| Zeile 1.079: | Zeile 1.079: | ||
=== I === | === I === | ||
| − | + | 470 - What do the initials I. A. M. signify? | |
| − | ''' | + | *I. A. M. According to the cabalistical theologians, Moses, asking the Lord if he would tell him the name of his Divine Essence, received for answer, "say I AM THAT I AM, sent me to you," (the children of Israel), equivalent to saying: What use is it to ask what is inexplicable? "I AM THAT I AM," as the ancient sages say, meant, that as He was with them in that captivity, so would he be in others; and there fore He then revealed to Moses the Tetragrammaton; and this He repeated, as He would manifest Himself by its representation of the ten sovereign lights: and by that means would become known, although veiled in them; because His existence will be ever hidden from all, and cannot be explained by any character. |
| − | + | 471 - What method of teaching morality was in vogue in the early period of the World? | |
| + | *Ideas. The Jewish system was made up chiefly of ceremonies, types, and figures, denoting intellectual things and moral duties. This mode of teaching morality was at that early period of the world necessary. And why? Because then not one person in ten thousand beside the priesthood could read. The people were not then able to exhibit thoughts to the eye by means of writing, hence the necessity arose of teaching by signs and symbols, that when these struck the eye they should raise corresponding ideas in the mind, and thus convey moral truths and duties by the sight and by the operation of tools and mechanical instruments. This is the fulcrum on which rests and turns the first and most fascinating part of Masonic instruction. | ||
| + | It may be said in reply, that in the early days of Freemasonry, the arts of reading and writing were not generally disseminated among the masses of the people, and that in all probability the great majority of the Craft were not in possession of those literary qualifications. But this latter statement is a gratuitous assumption, of the correctness of which we have no proof. On the contrary, we find throughout all our ancient Regulations, that a distinction was made by our rulers between Freemasons and those who were not free, indicating that the former were of a superior class; and may we not suppose that a rudimentary education formed a part at least of that claim to superiority? Thus, in the conclusion of the fifth chapter of the Charges, approved in 1722, it is said: "No laborer shall be employed in the common work of Masonry, nor shall Freemasons work with those who are not free, without urgent necessity." But, exclusive of the written law upon the subject, which perhaps was silent, because it deemed so evident and uniformly observed a regulation unnecessary to be written, we are abundantly taught by the nature of the institution, as exemplified in its ritual, that persons who cannot read and write are ineligible for initiation. In the first degree, a test is administered, the offering of which would be manifestly absurd, if the person to whom it was offered could neither read nor write; and in the presentation of the letter G, and all the instructions on that important symbol, it must be taken for granted that the candidate who is invested with them must be acquainted with the nature and power of letters. | ||
| + | 472 - In what sense is the word "idiot" used among Masons? | ||
| + | *Idiot. This word did not always have the meaning which is now attached to it. It is derived from the Greek, idiotes, which signified a private citizen. In Sparta it denoted one who felt no interest, and took no part, in public affairs, and hence came to mean an ignorant person. It was used in this sense in the middle ages, and this is its Masonic meaning. The modern meaning - fool - would be out of place; for it would be as absurd to establish a rule that no fool should be made a Mason as it would be to enact a law that no horse, or infant, or dead man, should be admitted to the mysteries of Freemasonry. The word means, masonically, not a fool, but a listless, indifferent, ignorant fellow, who could only be a disgrace to the Craft. | ||
| + | 473 - What is the fate of the ignorant Mason? | ||
| + | *Ignorance. The ignorant Freemason is a drone and an ineumbrance in the Order. He who does not study the nature, the design, the history, and character of the Institution, but from the hour of his initiation neither gives nor receives any ideas that could not be shared by a profane, is of no more advantage to Masonry than Masonry is to him. The true Mason seeks light that darkness may be dispelled, and knowledge that ignorance may be removed. The ignorant aspirant, no matter how loudly he may have asked for light, is still a blind groper in the dark. | ||
| + | 474 - How can a suspended Mason or Lodge be reinstated? | ||
| + | *Illegal Suspensions. If the Grand Master should be satisfied that any brother has been illegally or without sufficient cause, suspended, removed, or excluded from any of his masonic functions or privileges, by any private lodge or any subordinate authority, he may order him to be reinstated or restored, and may also suspend, until the next ensuing quarterly communication, any lodge or brother who shall refuse to comply with such order. | ||
| + | 475 - Are illiterate persons eligible for Masonry? | ||
| + | *Illiteracy. Any individual who cannot write, is ineligible to be admitted into the Order. This rule is observed, yet I have known a few instances in which men incapable of writing have been initiated. And it was in reference to a fact of this kind that the Grand Lodge of South Carolina, in 1848, declared that though "there is no injunction in the ancient Constitutions prohibiting the initiation of persons who are unable to read or write; yet, as speculative Masonry is a scientific institution, the Grand Lodge would discourage the initiation of such candidates as highly inexpedient." | ||
| + | 476 - What is the teaching of the sublime degree? | ||
| + | *Immortality of the Soul. The third or Master's degree leads to that great truth which the sublimest part of the heathen mysteries was intended to teach; and the faithful believer was assured of a future life and immortality beyond the grave. | ||
| + | 477 - What are the immovable jewels? | ||
| + | *Immovable. The immovable jewels are the tracing board, for the Worshipful Master to draw his designs on; the rough ashlar, for the Entered Apprentice to mark and indent on; and the perfect ashlar, for the experienced Fellowcraft to try and adjust his jewels on. They are termed immovable, because they are distributed in places assigned them in the lodge, for the brethren to moralize upon. They were formerly called the trasel board, the rough ashlar, and the broached thurnel. | ||
| + | 478 - Can a Lodge remove its Master? | ||
| + | *Impeachment. In 1842 a singular case occurred at New York, in which the rights and privileges of a Master of a lodge were placed in jeopardy, by the action of his lodge. After the lodge was opened, the Master had occasion to be absent for a short time, leaving the Senior Warden in the chair. On his return, he found that charges had been preferred against him, and a committee appointed to try him; and the Senior Warden refused to return into his hands the warrant and mallet of the lodge. Complaint being made to the Grand Master by the Master, he directed the Grand Secretary to inform the Senior Warden that it was his direction that he should forthwith return the warrant to the hands of the Master, and that the action of the lodge on that case must be suspended, and the members hold themselves in readiness to maintain their charges before the Grand Lodge, which was all promptly complied with by the parties. The ground of his decision was, that the Master of a lodge is only subject to impeachment and trial before his peers, who are acquainted with his duties, which the members of a lodge cannot know until they are themselves seated in the oriental chair. | ||
| + | 479 - Are there any imperfections in the Masonic System? | ||
| + | *Imperfections. The system as taught in the regular lodges, may have some redundancies or imperfections, occasioned by the indolence or ignorance of the old members. And, indeed, considering through what obscurity and darkness the mystery has been delivered down; the many centuries, and languages, and sects, and parties, it has run through, we are rather to wonder it ever arrived to the present age without more imperfections. | ||
| + | 480 - What are the symbolic teachings of the implements of Craft Masonry? | ||
| + | *Implements. A general collection of masonic implements may remind the Master of his power and jurisdiction, while they warn him to avoid the abuse of that power, limiting his jurisdiction and prescribing his conduct. They likewise afford him copious topics of advice to such as assist him in the government of the Fraternity, as well as to all the brethren over whom he is called to preside. He may descant on the excellence of the holy writings as a rule of life; for those writings teach us that, being born upon a level we should act upon the square, circumscribing our desires within the compass of Nature's gifts, poured from the horn of plenty. Here, also, he may exhort them to walk uprightly, suffering neither the pressure of poverty, nor the avarice of riches to tempt the heart for a moment to swerve from the line of rectitude which is suspended before them from the centre of heaven. The division of time into equal and regular portions, he may also urge as the surest method of securing the greatest good from the opportunities that are afforded us. The subjection of our passions and desires is here likewise taught by the gavel, which is used by the operative builder to re move the excrescences and to smooth the surfaces of the rough materials for a building, while the by laws of the lodge regulate the deportment of the craftsmen, while assembled for the purposes of social improvement and mental recreation, and while separated from the rest of mankind, and placed among none but brethren. | ||
| + | 481 - How may a Lodge guard itself against impostors? | ||
| + | *Impostors. Impostors in Masonry may be either profanes who, never having been initiated, yet endeavor to pass themselves for regular Freemasons, or Masons who, having been expelled or suspended from the Order, seek to conceal the fact and still claim the privileges of members in good standing. The false pretensions of the former class are easily detected, because their real ignorance must after a proper trial become apparent. The latter class, having once been invested with the proper instructions, can stand the test of an examination; and their true position must be discovered only by information derived from the Lodges which have suspended or expelled them. The Tiler's oath is intended to meet each of these cases, because it requires every strange visitor to declare that he has been lawfully initiated, and that he is in good standing. But perjury added to imposture will gasily escape this test. Hence the necessity for the utmost caution, and therefore the Charges of 1722 say, "You are cautiously to examine a strange brother in such a method as prudence shall direct you, that you may not be imposed on by an ignorant, false pretender, whom you are to reject with contempt and derision, and beware of giving him any hints of knowledge." The Masonic rule is, that it is better that ninety and nine true brethren be rejected than that one impostor be admitted. | ||
| + | 482 - What race performed the more humble labors in the erection of the Temple? | ||
| + | *Imposts. According to Masonic tradition the members of the secret society of Tyrian artists, who were hired by King Solomon to erect that sacred structure, in order to distinguish them from the Jews, who performed the more humble labors, were honored with the epithet of Free annexed to the name of builder or mason; and being talented foreigners, were freed from the usual imposts paid to the state by the subjects of Solomon. | ||
| + | 483 - Can Masonry be held accountable for the conduct of all its members? | ||
| + | *Imputations. Individual errors or crimes ought only to reflect discredit on the offending parties, for a gigantic society like ours, whose members are spread over the face of the earth, and are found in every civilized country on the globe, cannot be responsible for the mis conduct of every single member of its body. It is very common to hear those who are not Masons urge this argument with all the force and confidence of conviction. A Mason has misconducted himself most grossly, they will say, and therefore Masonry must be a bad institution. But this way of reasoning is absurd. Take the argument in another point of view, and what does it end in? Why, a general condemnation of all institutions, human and divine. How would it shock our ears were it applied to Christianity. A Christian has been guilty of acts of violence; he has robbed one neighbor, slandered another, and murdered a third; and therefore - mark the consequence - Christianity must be a bad institution. Is not this preposterous? Does it follow because a wicked Christian commits murder, that the Christian religion must necessarily recommend the commission of murder? So Masonry. If some brethren so far forget their solemn obligations as to overstep the boundaries of decency; if they set the censure of the world at defiance, and disgrace themselves in the eyes of God and man, it cannot be urged that the institution recommends this conduct. | ||
| + | 484 - What steps must a Lodge take after it has received its warrant, to become lawfully constituted? | ||
| + | *Inchoate Lodge. The Lodge to which a warrant has been granted is still, however, only an inchoate Lodge. To perfect its character and to entitle it to all the prerogatives of a warranted Lodge, certain forms and ceremonies have to be observed. These ceremonies are, acò cording to the ritual, as follows, and in the following order: | ||
| + | :1. Consecration. | ||
| + | :2. Dedication. | ||
| + | :3. Constitution. | ||
| + | :4. Installation. | ||
| + | They should all be performed by the Grand Master in person, or, if he is unable to attend, by some Past Master, who acts for him by a special warrant of proxy. | ||
| + | 485 - Under what circumstances is membership in the Masonic Fraternity said to be inchoate? | ||
| + | *Inchoate Membership. Membership in the Masonic Fraternity is inchoate until perfected by the initiate by affixing his signature to the by laws. He does not by his mere reception into the third degree, become a member of the Lodge. He may not choose to perfect that inchoation; he may desire to affiliate with some other Lodge; and in such a case, by declining to affix his signature to the by laws, he remains in the. condition of unaffiliation. By having been raised to the third degree, he acquires a claim to membership, but no actual membership. It is left to his own option whether he will assert or forfeit that claim. If he declines to sign the by laws, he forfeits his claim; if he signs them, he asserts it, and becomes ipso facto a member. | ||
| + | 486 - Can Masonic Lodges be incorporated? | ||
| + | *Incorporation. By an act of incorporation, the supreme legislature of a country creates a corporation or body politic, which is defined by Mr. Kyd to be "a collection of many individuals united in one body, under a special denomination, having perpetual succession under an artificial form, and vested by the policy of the law with a capacity of acting in several respects as an individual, particularly of taking and granting property, connecting obligations, and of suing and being sued; of enjoying privileges and immunities in common, and of exercising a variety of political rights." Some Grand Lodges in this country are incorporated by act of the General Assembly of their respective States; others are not, and these generally hold their property through Trustees. In 1768, an effort was made in the Grand Lodge of England to petition Parliament for incorporation, and after many discussions the question was submitted to the lodges; a large majority of whom having agreed to the measure, a bill was introduced in Parliament by the Deputy Grand Master, but, after having been approved on its second reading, at the request of several of the Fraternity, who had petitioned the House against it, it was withdrawn by the mover, and thus the design of an incorporation, fell to the ground. Perhaps the best system of Masonic incorporation in existence is that of the Grand Lodge of Scuth Carolina. There the act by which the Grand Lodge was incorporated, in 1817, delegates to that body the power of incorporating its subordinates; so that a lodge, whenever it receives from the Grand Lodge a Warrant of constitution, acquires thereby at once all the rights of a corporate body, which it ceases to exercise whenever the said Warrant is revoked by the Grand Lodge. | ||
| + | Objections have been made to the incorporation of lodges in consequence of some of the legal results which would follow. An incorporated lodge becomes subject to the surveillance of the courts of law, from which an unincorporated lodge is exempt. Thus, a Mason expelled by an unincorporated lodge must look for his redress to the Grand Lodge alone. But if the lodge be incorporated, he may apply to the courts for a restoration of his franchise as a member. Masonic discipline would thus be seriously affected. The objection to incorporation is, I think, founded on good reasons. | ||
| + | 487 - What is the Masonic definition of the phrase "indefinite suspension"? | ||
| + | *Indefinite Suspension. Indefinite suspension, as the qualifying word imports, is a suspension for a period not determined and fixed by the sentence, but to continue during the pleasure of the Lodge. In this respect only does it differ from definite suspension. The position of a Mason, under definite or indefinite suspension, is precisely the same as to exercise of all his rights and privileges, which in both cases remain in abeyance, and restoration in each brings with it a resumption of all the rights and functions, the exercise of which had been interrupted by the sentence of suspension. | ||
| + | There is, however, a shade of difference between the two punishments - indefinite suspension being inflicted for offences of a more aggravated nature than those for which the penalty of definite suspension is prescribed. It must, of course, be the result of conviction, after due charges and trial, and can only be inflicted by a vote of two thirds of the members present. | ||
| + | 488 - To whom is a Mason answerable for his motives when casting a ballot? | ||
| + | *Independence in Balloting. Independence of all responsibility is an essential ingredient in the exercise of the ballot. A Mason is responsible to no human power for the vote that he casts on the petition of a candidate. To his own conscience alone is he to answer for the motives that have led to the act, and for the act itself. It is, of course, wrong, in the exercise of this invaluable right, to be influenced by pique or prejudice, or by an adverse vote, to indulge an ungenerous feeling. But whether a member is or is not influenced by such motives, or is indulging such feelings, no one has a right to inquire. No Mason can be called to an account for the vote that he has deposited. A Lodge is not entitled indeed to know how any one of its members has voted. No inquiry on this subject can be entertained; no information can be received. | ||
| + | 489 - What does the rite of induction signify? | ||
| + | *Induction, Rite of. Those acts and ceremonies by which the novice is first introduced into the Lodge are called by this name. They are highly instructive when properly explained, and have an important symbolical meaning. | ||
| + | The Rite of Induction signifies the end of a profane and vicious life - the palingenesia (new birth) of corrupted human nature - the death of vice and all bad passions, and the introduction to a new life of purity and virtue. It also prepares the candidate, by prayer and meditation, for that mystic pilgrimage, where he must wander through night and darkness, before he can behold the golden splendors of the Orient, and stand in unfettered freedom among the Sons of Light. The rite further represents man in his primitive condition of helplessness, ignorance, and moral blindness, seeking after that mental and moral enlightenment which alone can deliver his mind from all thralldoms, and make him master of the material world. The Neophyte, in darkness and with tremblings, knocks at the portals of the Lodge, and demands admission, instruction, and light. So man, born ignorant, and helpless, and blind, yet feeling stirring within him unappeasable longings for knowledge, knocks at the doors of the temple of science. He interrogates Nature, demands her secrets, and at length becomes the proud possessor of her mysteries. | ||
| + | 490 - Of what is the beehive emblematic? | ||
| + | *Industry. A virtue inculcated amongst Masons, because by it they are enabled not only to support themselves and families, but to contribute to the relief of all worthy distressed brethren. "All Masons," say the Charges of 1722, "shall work honestly on working days that they may lived creditably on holy days." The Masonic symbol of industry is the beehive, which is used in the third degree. | ||
| + | Masonry is a progressive science, and not to be attained in any degree of perfection but by time, patience, and a considerable degree of application and industry; for no one is admitted to the profoundest secrets, or the highest honours of this Fraternity, till by time we are assured he has learned secrecy and morality. | ||
| + | 491 - How can the influence of Masonry be supported? | ||
| + | *Influence. The influence of Freemasonry can only be supported by an unanimous determination amongst the brethren to preserve in their private lodges the utmost regularity and decorum, a uniformity of rites and ceremonies, and, above all, a resolution to practice, in their several stations, those moral duties which are so strongly recommended, and so beautifully displayed in the private lectures of the lodge. | ||
| + | 492 - Under what circumstances can one Mason vouch for another? | ||
| + | *Information, Lawful. One of the modes of recognizing a stranger as a true brother, is by the "lawful information" of a third party. No Mason can lawfully give information of another's qualifications unless he has actually tested him by the strictest trial and examination, or knows that it has been done by another. But it is not every Mason who is competent to give "lawful information." Ignorant and unskillful brethren cannot do so, because they are incapable of discovering truth or of detecting error. A "rusty Mason" should never attempt to examine a stranger and certainly, if he does, his opinion as to the result is worth nothing. If the information given is on the ground that the party who is vouched for has been seen sitting in a Lodge, care must be taken to inquire if it was a "just and legally constituted Lodge of Master Masons." A person may forget from the lapse of time, and vouch for a stranger as a Master Mason, when the Lodge in which he saw him was only opened in the first or second degree. Information given by letter, or through a third party, is irregular. The person giving the information, the one receiving it, and the one of whom it is given, should all be present at the same time, for otherwise there would be no certainty of identity. The information must be positive, not founded on belief or opinion, but derived from a legitimate source. And lastly, it must not have been received casually, but for the very purpose of being used for Masonic purposes. For one to say to another in the course of a desultory conversation, "A. B. is a Mason," is not sufficient. He may not be speaking with due caution, under the expectation that his words will be considered of weight. He must say some thing to this effect: "I know this man to be a Master Mason, for such or such reasons, and you may safely recognize him as such." This alone will ensure the necessary care and proper observance of prudence. | ||
| + | 493 - Are the Masonic ceremonies the true secrets of the order? | ||
| + | *Initiated. The initiated, while in the lodge, labor to perfect their own mental faculties, as well as those of the whole human race. Here let us seek the secrets of Masonry, in themselves unpronounceable, neither are they to be communicated by the laying on of hands, in a few fleeting hours. Thoughts, the indulgence in which a few short years ago would have been punished by the sword, the stake, or banishment, are, in our days, loved as philanthropic; and princes now do things for which but a few years back misunderstood philosophers were condemned as mad impostors. But there are thoughts, even in the present day, which the great mass of mankind may mock or curse, but which will in some future period be usefully and beneficially introduced into private life. This has been nearly all, and yet continues to be the chief employment of a genuine Freemason; although in the lodge those subjects are very seldom openly introduced; it is for this reason that the great mass consider the ceremonies to be the true secret, whereas they are in. reality but the shell in which they are enclosed. | ||
| + | 494 - Is the Masonic system subject to change? | ||
| + | *Innovations. These can never be permitted in Freemasonry. As it was in the beginning, so it is now, and so it must forever remain. This is particularly true of symbolic Masonry. It has resisted all attempts of reformers, as these innovators style themselves, to add to, or take from, or introduce changes. The high degrees are developments of the first three, and complete the fabric in all its beauty. Among the innovators who, in the last age, attempted to change the character of the Masonic rites, Cagliostro and the Chevalier Ramsay were the chief. But their efforts were unavailing, and their inventions soon forgotten. | ||
| + | 495 - Is a person formerly insane, but restored to health, admissible as a candidate? | ||
| + | *Insanity. Idiots and madmen, although again the written law is silent upon the subject, are excluded by the ritual law from initiation, and this from the evident reason that the powers of understanding are in 'the one instance absent, and in the other perverted, so that they are both incapable of comprehending the principles of the institution, and are without any moral responsibility for a violation or neglect of its duties. | ||
| + | It has sometimes been mooted as a question, whether a person, having once been insane, and then restored to health, is admissible as. a candidate. The reply to the question depends on the fact whether the patient has been fully restored or not. If he has, he is no longer insane, and does not come within the provisions of the law, which looks only to the present condition, mental, physical or moral, of the candidate. If he has not, and if his apparent recovery is only what medical men call a lucid interval, then the disease of insanity, although not actually evident, is still there, but dormant, and the individual cannot be initiated. This is a matter the determination of which is so simple, that I should not have even alluded to it, were it not that it was once proposed to me as a question of Masonic law, which the Lodge proposing it had not been able satisfactorily to solve. | ||
| + | 496 - Of what are the Masonic insignias emblematic? | ||
| + | *Insignia. The presiding officers of a lodge are distinguished by certain geometrical figures, being combinations of those which are called perfect, viz., the square, the equilateral triangle, and the circle; the latter being a general characteristic of grand officers. The compasses are parts of the triangle; the square, either triangle or square; the level and the plumb are both parts of a square. Now the square, level and plumb have their separate and specific uses, and are assigned to the three chief officers, as emblems of their respective duties. But the Past Master having already executed them all, and being no longer an operative, is relieved from the burden of bearing a working tool, and invested with a problem of the greatest utility in geometrical demonstrations, he having attained the rank of a ruler in Israel; and therefore the Master's square is relieved by a square silver plate, on which is delineated the forty seventh problem of Euclid. The compasses are instruments of design, and are thus appointed to the Grand Master. He designs; the Past Master demonstrates; the Worshipful Master governs his particular lodge; the Senior Warden preserves equality and harmony amongst the brethren; and the Junior Warden takes care that the proper hours of labor are maintained. Thus a system of arrangement is preserved, which produces order and regularity, and constitutes the Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty of Freemasonry. | ||
| + | 497 - Has a visitor a right to inspect the warrant of a Lodge? | ||
| + | *Inspection of Warrant. As the warrant is the evidence of the legality of a Lodge, every Mason who desires to visit a Lodge for the first time is entitled to an inspection of this instrument, nor should any Mason ever consent to visit a strange Lodge until he has had an opportunity of examining it. The refusal to submit it to his inspection is in itself a suspicious circumstance, which should place him on his guard, and render him at once averse to holding communion of a Masonic nature with persons who are thus unwilling, and, it may be, unable to produce the evidence of their legal standing. | ||
| + | 498 - What is the origin of the ceremony of installation? | ||
| + | *Installation. A Lodge having been consecrated to the uses of Masonry, and dedicated to the patrons of the Order, and its members constituted into a legal Masonic organization, it becomes necessary that the officers chosen should be duly invested with the power to exercise the functions which have been confided to them. The ceremony by which this investiture is made is called the installation. | ||
| + | The custom of inducting an officer into the station to which he has been elected by some ceremony, however simple, has been observed in every association. The introduction of the presiding officer of a profane society into the chair which he is to occupy, by one or more of the members, is, in every essential point, an installation. In the church, the ceremony (differing, as it must, in every denomination), by which a clergyman is inducted into his pastoral office, or a bishop placed in his see, is in like manner a species of installation, all of which forms find their type in the inauguration of the Augurs in ancient Rome into their sacred office. A similar usage prevails in Masonry, where it has always been held that an officer cannot legally perform the duties of his office until he has been installed into office. As in the Roman inauguration the rite could only be performed by an Augur, (whence the derivation of the word), so in Masonry the ceremony of installation can only be performed by a Past Master, and in the installation of the officers of a new Lodge, by the Grand Master or some Past Master, who has been especially deputed by him for that purpose. | ||
| + | Preston says that the Deputy Grand Master usually invests the Master, the Grand Wardens invest the Wardens, the Grand Treasurer and Grand Secretary the Treasurer and Secretary, and the Grand Stewards the Stewards. But this usage is not observed in America, where all the officers are installed and invested by the same installing officer, whether he be the Grand Master or a Past Master. | ||
| + | 499 - What were the ancient installation charges? | ||
| + | *Installation, Ancient Charges. These Charges appear from their style to be very old, although their date is uncertain. They were contained in a MS. written in the reign of James II., which extended from 1685 to 1688, which MS., according to Preston, was in possession of the Lodge of Antiquity in London. They are said to have been used at the installation of the Master of a Lodge. Probably they are older than the year 1686; but that date is often used as a means of reference, The Charges are as follows: | ||
| + | :1. That ye shall be true men to God and the holy church, and to use no error or heresy by your understanding, and by wise men's teaching. | ||
| + | :2. That we shall be true liegemen to the King of England, without treason or any falsehood, and that ye know no treason but ye shall give knowledge thereof to the king, or to his counsel; also, ye shall be true one to another, that is to say, every Mason of the craft that is Mason allowed, ye shall do to him as ye would be done unto yourself. | ||
| + | :3. And ye shall keep truly all the counsel that ought to be kept in the way of Masonhood, and all the counsel of the Lodge or of the chamber. Also, that ye shall be no thief nor thieves to your knowledge free; that ye shall be true to the king, lord or master that ye serve, and truly to see and work for his advantage. | ||
| + | :4. Ye shall call all Masons your Fellows, or your brethren, and no other names. | ||
| + | :5. Ye shall not take your Fellow's wife in villainy, nor deflower his daughter or servant, nor put him to disworship. | ||
| + | :6. Ye shall truly pay for your meat or drink, wheresoever ye go to table or board. Also, ye shall do no villainy there, whereby the craft or science may be slandered. | ||
| + | 500 - Is it lawful to install the officers of a Lodge by proxy? | ||
| + | *Installation by Proxy. It is usual in the case of the absence of any one of the officers who is to be installed, for some other brother to assume his place, and, acting as his proxy, to make the usual promises for him, and in his behalf to receive the charge and investiture. Long and uninterrupted usage would seem alone sufficient to sanction this practice, (however objectionable it may, in some respects, be deemed), but it has also the authority of ancient law; for the thirty sixth of the Regulations of 1721 prescribes that when the Grand Master elect is absent from the grand feast, that is to say, on the day of installation, the old Grand Master may act as his proxy, perform his duties, and in his name receive the usual homage. | ||
| + | 501 - Has a Lodge under dispensation the right to install its officers? | ||
| + | *Installation in Lodge Under Dispensation. It follows, from the nature of the organization of a Lodge under dispensation, that it cannot install its officers. This is indeed a ritualistic law, for the installation of officers is an inherent and indivisible part of the ceremony of constitution, and it is self evident that a Lodge under dispensation cannot, while in this inchoate condition, be constituted; for a constituted Lodge under dispensation would be a contradiction in terms; besides, no officer can be installed unless he has been elected or appointed for a definite period. But the Master and Wardens of a Lodge under dispensation are appointed for an indefinite period, that is, during the pleasure of the Grand Master, and are not, therefore, qualified for installation. | ||
| + | 502 - What regulations govern the installation of officers of a Lodge? | ||
| + | *Installation of Officers. A Lodge has the right to install its officers after being elected. This is a right incidental to the grant of perpetual succession, which is contained in the warrant; for, as by ancient Masonic law and universal usage, no officer can legally discharge the functions of the office to which he has been elected, until he has been regularly inducted into it by the ceremony of installation, it follows that when a grant of perpetual succession of officers is made, the grant carries with it the power of investing all succeeding officers with the powers and functions of their predecessors, which investiture is accomplished in Masonry by the ceremony of installation. But this power of installation, like all the other powers of subordinate Lodges, is controlled and directed by certain Grand Lodge regulations, which it is not in the power of the Lodge to set aside. | ||
| + | The installation, for instance, must take place at the communication, immediately before or on the festival of St. John the Evangelist. This is considered as the commencement of the Masonic year, and on that day the old officers vacate their seats, which are assumed by the new ones. But if by any circumstance the installation has been omitted until after this festival, the law having been violated, and there being no other law which provides for an installation after that day, the installation can then only take place by the authority and under the dispensation of the Grand Master. | ||
| + | In a new Lodge installation can only be conducted by the Grand Master, or some Past Master, acting for and representing him. This is because on that occasion the installation makes a part of the ceremony of constitution, which, by the Old Regulations, can only be per formed by the Grand Master. But all subsequent installations may be conducted by any Past Master of the Lodge, or other Past Master representing him; because the warrant grants the Master of the Lodge and his successors the perpetual power of installing their successors. It is only when the exercise of this right has been temporarily forfeited by an omission to install at the regular time, that it becomes necessary to go outside of the warrant, and apply to the Grand Master for his dispensing power to legalize the installation at an irregular period. | ||
| + | 503 - Who is eligible to install the officers of a warranted Lodge? | ||
| + | *Installation of Officers of a Warranted Lodge. A Lodge when consecrated, dedicated and constituted, with its officers installed, assumes at once the rank and prerogatives of a warranted Lodge. The consecration, dedication and constitution are never repeated, but at every, subsequent annual election, the installation of officers is renewed. But on these occasions it is no longer necessary that the Grand Master or his proxy should act as the installing officer. This duty is to be per formed by the last Master, or by any other Past Master acting in his behalf; for, by the warrant of constitution, the power of installing their successors is given to the officers therein named, and to their successors, so that the prerogative of installation is perpetually vested in the last officers. | ||
| + | 504 - Who is responsible for the proper instruction of candidates? | ||
| + | *Instructed. The candidate is instructed by the Worshipful Master in his duties as a Mason; the first and most impressive part of which, is to study the Holy Bible, and to practice the three great moral duties to God, your neighbour, and yourself. To God, by holding his name in awe and veneration; viewing him as the chief good, imploring his aid in laudable pursuits, and supplicating his protection on well meant endeavors. To your neighbor, by always acting upon the square, and considering him equally entitled with yourself to share the blessings of providence, rendering unto him those favors and friendly offices, which, in a similar situation, you would expect from him. And to yourself, by not abusing the bounties of providence, impairing your faculties by irregularity, or debasing your profession by intemperance. | ||
| + | 505 - What is instrumental Masonry? | ||
| + | *Instrumental Masonry. The instrumental consists in the use and application of various tools and implements, such as the common gauge, the square, the plumb line, the level, and others that may be called mathematical, invented to find the size or magnitude of the several parts or materials whereof our buildings are composed, to prove when they are wrought into due form and proportion, and when so wrought, to fix them in their proper places and positions, and likewise to take the dimensions of all bodies, whether plain or solid, and to adjust and settle the proportions of space and extent. To this part also belongs the use of various other instruments or machines, such as the lever, the wheel and axle, the wedge, the screw, the pulley, etc., which may be called mechanic, being used to forward and expedite our business, to alleviate our toils, and enable us to perform with a single hand what could not be done without many, and in some cases not at all; and those more properly belonging to our brethren of the second degree, styled Fellowcrafts. | ||
| + | 506 - What affirmation of intention accompanies the Mason's oath? | ||
| + | *Intention. The obligations of Masonry are required to be taken with an honest determination to observe them; and hence the Mason solemnly affirms that in assuming those responsibilities he does so with out equivocation, secret evasion, or mental reservation. | ||
| + | 507 - How is the internal preparation of a candidate made known? | ||
| + | *Internal Qualifications. Those qualifications of a candidate which refer to a condition known only to himself, and which are not patent to the world, are called internal qualifications. They are: | ||
| + | :1st. That he comes forward of his own free will and accord, and unbiased by the solicitations of others. | ||
| + | :2nd. That he is not influenced by mercenary motives; and, | ||
| + | :3rd. That he has a disposition to conform to the usages of the Order. The knowledge of these can only be obtained from his own statements, and hence they are included in the preliminary questions which are proposed before initiation. | ||
| + | The internal preparation of a candidate for Masonry is exemplified by the declaration he is called on to make with respect to the motives which have induced him to seek its privileges. | ||
| + | 508 - Why should Masons take care not to interrupt a brother who is speak ing in a Lodge? | ||
| + | *Interruption. There cannot be a greater rudeness than to interrupt another in the current of his discourse; for if it be not impertinence and folly to answer a man before we know what he has to say, yet it is a plain declaration that we are weary of his discourse, that we disregard what he says as unfit to entertain the society with, and is, in fact, little less than a downright desiring that ourselves may have audience, who have something to produce better worth the attention of the company. As this is no ordinary degree of disrespect, it cannot but always give a very great offense. | ||
| + | 509 - What is the arch enemy of Freemasonry? | ||
| + | *Intolerance. The arch enemy of Freemasonry. Toleration is one of the chief foundation stones of the Fraternity, and Universality and Brotherly Love are ever taught. Notwithstanding, intolerance has, and ever has had, its grip upon the brotherhood, and insidiously does its silent and undermining work. Human powers are limited or circumscribed. Man by nature is weak, and is largely the creature of early education; yet no institution has such resisting power and is of such avail as Freemasonry against that great enemy of man, which has destroyed more of the human race than any other evil power. | ||
| + | 510 - To whom should the investigation of a petition for Masonry be entrusted? | ||
| + | *Investigation. A petition must be referred to a committee, for an investigation into the character and the qualifications of the candidate. The law, derived from the ancient Regulations of 1721, is explicit, that there shall be an inquiry into the character of the candidate; but it is silent as to the mode in which that inquiry shall be made. It might, it is true, be made by the whole Lodge, every member considering him self as a member of the committee of investigation; but as this would be a. cumbersome method, and one which would hardly be successful, from the very number of the inquisitors, and the probability that each member would depend upon his associates for the performance of an unpleasant duty, it has been invariably the custom to refer the subject to a special committee, consisting generally of three, who are always chosen by a skillful Master from among those members who, from peculiar circumstances, are most likely to make the inquiry with promptness, certainty and impartiality. | ||
| + | 511 - What form of invocation is customary in American Lodges? | ||
| + | *Invocation. An invocation sometimes used in the United States at the dedication of Masonic lodges, is as follows: "Supreme Architect of all worlds ! vouchsafe to accept the solemn dedication of this hall to the glory of thy holy name ! Make its walls salvation, and its arch praise. May the brethren who shall here assemble, meet in unity, work in love, and part in harmony. May Fidelity keep the door, Faith prompt the duties, Hope animate the labors, and Charity diffuse the blessings of the lodge ! May wisdom and virtue distinguish the fraternity, and Masonry become glorious in all the earth ! So mote it be! Amen." | ||
| + | 512 - What does the absence of iron tools at the building of King Solomon's Temple symbolize? | ||
| + | *Iron Tools. The lectures teach us that at the building of King Solomon's Temple there was not heard the sound of axe, hammer, or other metallic tool. But all the stones were hewn, squared, and numbered in the quarries; and the timbers felled and prepared in the forest of Lebanon, whence they were brought on floats by sea to Joppa, and thence carried by land to Jerusalem, where, on being put up, each part was found to fit with such exact nicety that the whole, when completed, seemed rather the handiwork of the Grand Architect of the Universe than of mere human hands. This can hardly be called a legend, because the same facts are substantiated in the first Book of Kings; but the circumstance has been appropriated in Masonry to symbolize the entire peace and harmony which should prevail among Masons when laboring on that spiritual temple of which the Solomonic Temple was the archetype. | ||
=== J === | === J === | ||
| + | 513 - What is the name of the right hand pillar facing east on the porch of King Solomon's Temple? | ||
| + | *Jachin. Hence called by Dudley and some other writers, who reject the points, ichin. It is the name of the right hand pillar that stood at the porch of King Solomon's Temple. It is derived from two Hebrew words, jah, "God," and iachin, "will establish." It signifies "he that strengthens," or "will establish." The other pillar was called Boaz, "in strength" - the two words signifying "in strength shall this my house be established." | ||
| + | 514 - What is the Masonic symbolism of Jacob's Ladder? | ||
| + | *Jacob's Ladder. The introduction of Jacob's ladder into the symbolism of Speculative Masonry is to be traced to the vision of Jacob, which is thus substantially recorded in the twenty eighth chapter of the Book of Genesis: When Jacob, by the command of his father Isaac, was journeying toward Padan aram, while sleeping one night with bare earth for his couch and a stone for his pillow, he beheld the vision of a ladder, whose foot rested on the earth and whose top reached to heaven. | ||
| + | Angels were continually ascending and descending upon it, and promised him the blessing of a numerous and happy posterity. When Jacob awoke, he was filled with pious gratitude, and consecrated the spot as the house of God. | ||
| + | This ladder, so remarkable in the history of the Jewish people, finds its analogue in all the ancient initiations. Whether this is to be attributed simply to a coincidence - a theory which but few scholars would be willing to accept - or to the fact that these analogues were all derived from a common fountain of symbolism, or whether, as suggested by Oliver, the origin of the symbol was lost among the practices of the Pagan rites, while the symbol itself was retained, it is, perhaps, impossible authoritatively to determine. It is, however, certain that the ladder as a symbol of moral and intellectual progress existed almost universally in antiquity, presenting itself either as a succession of steps, of gates, of degrees, or in some modified form. The number of steps varied; al though the favorite one appears to have been seven, in reference, apparently, to the mystical character almost everywhere given to that number. | ||
| + | Thus, in the Persian mysteries of Mithras, there was a ladder of seven rounds, the passage through them being symbolical of the soul's approach to perfection. These rounds were called gates, and, in allusion to them, the candidate was made to pass through seven dark and winding caverns, which process was called the ascent of the ladder of perfection. Each of these caverns was the representative of a world, or state of existence through which the soul was supposed to pass in its progress from the first world to the last, or the world of truth. Each round of the ladder was said to be of metal of increasing purity, and was dignified also with the name of its protecting planet. Some idea of the construction of this symbolic ladder may be obtained from the following table: | ||
| + | :7 - Gold - Sun - Truth. | ||
| + | :6 - Silver - Moon - Mansion of the Blessed. | ||
| + | 5 - Iron - Mars - World of Births. | ||
| + | :4 - Tin – Jupiter - Middle World. | ||
| + | :3 - Copper - Venus - Heaven. | ||
| + | :2 - Quicksilver – Mercury - World of Pre existence. | ||
| + | :1 - Lead - Saturn - First World. | ||
| + | In the mysteries of Brahma we find the same reference to the ladder of seven steps. The names of these were not different, and there was the same allusion to the symbol of the universe. The seven steps were emblematical of the seven worlds which constituted the Indian universe. The lowest was the Earth; the second, the World of Pre existence; the third, Heaven; the fourth, the middle World, or intermediate region between the lower and upper worlds; the fifth, the World of Births, in which souls are again born; the sixth, the Mansion of the Blessed; and the seventh, or topmost round, the Sphere of Truth, and the abode of Brahma. Dr. Oliver thinks that in the Scandinavian mysteries the tree Yggdrasil was the representative of the mystical ladder. But although the ascent of the tree, like the ascent of the ladder was a change from a lower to a higher sphere - from time to eternity, and from death to life - yet the unimaginative genius of the North seems to have shorn the symbolism of many of its more salient features. | ||
| + | Among the Kabbalists, the ladder was represented by the ten Sephiroths, which, commencing from the bottom, were the Kingdom, Foundation, Splendor, Firmness, Beauty, Justice, Mercy, Intelligence, Wisdom, and the Crown, by which we arrive at the En Soph, or the Infinite. | ||
| + | In the higher Masonry we find the ladder of Kadosh, which consists of seven steps, thus commencing from the bottom: Justice, Equity, Kindness, Good Faith, Labor, Patience, and Intelligence. The arrangements of these steps, for which we are indebted to modern ritualism, does not seem to be perfect; but yet the idea of intellectual progress to perfection is carried out by making the topmost round represent Wisdom or Understanding. | ||
| + | The Masonic ladder which is presented in the symbolism of the first degree ought really to consist of seven steps, which thus ascend: Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, Justice, Faith, Hope, and Charity; but the earliest examples of it present it only with three, referring to the three theological virtues, whence it is called the theological ladder. It seems, therefore, to have been settled by general usage that the Masonic ladder has but three steps. | ||
| + | As a symbol of progress, Jacob's ladder was early recognized. Picus of Mirandola, who wrote in the sixteenth century, in his oration, "De Hominis Dignitate," says that Jacob's ladder is a symbol of the progressive scale of intellectual communication betwixt earth and heaven; and upon the ladder, as it were, step by step, man is permitted with the angels to ascend and descend until the mind finds blissful and complete repose in the bosom of divinity. The highest step he defines to be theology, or the study and contemplation of the Deity in his own abstract and exalted nature. | ||
| + | In the Ancient Craft degrees of the York Rite, Jacob's ladder was not an original symbol. It is said to have been introduced by Dunckerley when he reformed the lectures. This is confirmed by the fact that it is not mentioned in any of the early rituals of the last century, nor even by Hutchinson, who had an excellent opportunity of doing so in his lecture on the Nature of the Lodge, where he speaks of the covering of the lodge, but says nothing of the means of reaching it, which he would have done, had he been acquainted with the ladder as a symbol. Its first appearance is in a Tracing Board on which the date of | ||
| + | 1776 is inscribed, which very well agrees with the date of Dunckerley's improvements. In this Tracing Board, the ladder has but three rounds; a change from the old seven stepped ladder of the mysteries; which, however, Preston corrected when he described it as having many rounds, but three principal ones. Dunekerley, I think, was indebted for this symbol to Ramsay, from whom he liberally borrowed on several other occasions, taking from him his Royal Arch, and learning from him to eliminate the Master's Word from the third degree, where it had been placed by his predecessors. | ||
| + | As to the modern Masonic symbolism of the ladder, it is, as I have already said, a symbol of progress, such as it is in all the old initiations. Its three principal rounds, representing Faith, Hope, and Charity, present us with the means of advancing from earth to heaven, from death to life - from the mortal to immortality. Hence its foot is placed on the ground floor of the Lodge, which is typical of the world, and its top rests on the covering of the Lodge, which is symbolic of heaven. | ||
| + | In the Prestonian lecture, which was elaborated out of Dunckerley's system, the ladder is said to rest on the Holy Bible, and to reach to the heavens. This symbolism is thus explained. | ||
| + | "By the doctrines contained in the Holy Bible we are taught to believe in the divine dispensation of Providence, which belief strength ens our Faith, and enables us to ascend the first step. | ||
| + | "That Faith naturally creates in us a Hope of becoming partakers of some of the blessed promises therein recorded, which Hope enables us to ascend the second step. | ||
| + | "But the third and last being Charity comprehends the whole, and he who is possessed of this virtue in its ample sense, is said to have arrived to the summit of his profession, or more metaphorically, into an ethereal mansion veiled from the mortal eye by the starry firmament." In the modern lectures, the language is materially changed, but the idea and the symbolism are retained unaltered. | ||
| + | The delineation of the ladder with three steps only on the Tracing Board of | ||
| + | 1776, which is a small one, may be attributed to notions of convenience. But the fact that Dunckerley derived his symbol from Ramsay; that Ramsay's ladder had seven steps, being the same as the Kadosh symbol; that in all the old initiations the number seven was preserved; and lastly, that Preston describes it as having "many rounds or staves, which .point out as many moral virtues, but three principal ones, namely, Faith, Hope, and Charity," irresistibly lead us to the conclusion that the Masonic ladder should properly have seven steps which represent the four cardinal and the three theological virtues. | ||
| + | 515 - In the earliest lectures where was the Lodge supposed to stand? | ||
| + | *Jehoshaphat. Our ancient brethren who reduced the scattered elements of Freemasonry into order at the beginning of the last century, considered the lodge to be situated in the valley of Jehoshaphat; and that in whatever part of the world it might be opened, it was still esteemed, in a figure, to occupy that celebrated locality. Thus it was pronounced, in the earliest known lectures, that the lodge stands upon holy ground, or the highest hill or lowest dale, or in the Vale of Jehoshaphat. This celebrated valley derives its name from Jehovah and Shaphat, which means Christ, and to judge; and as the prophet Joel had predicted that the Lord would gather together all nations, and bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, it was believed by the Jews, (and the Christians subsequently adopted the same opinion), that in this place the transactions of the great day of judgment would be enacted. | ||
| + | 516 - Why is Jehovah said to be the ineffable name in Masonry? | ||
| + | *Jehovah. JEHOVAH is of all the significant words of Masonry, by far the most important. Regellini very properly calls it "the basis of our dogma and of our mysteries." In Hebrew it consists of four letters, and hence is called the Tetragrammaton, or four lettered name; and because it was forbidden to a Jew, as it is to a Mason, to pronounce it, it is also called the Ineffable or Unpronounceable name. For its history we must refer to the sixth chapter of Exodus, (verses 2, 3). When Moses returned discouraged from his first visit to Pharaoh, and complained to the Lord that the only result of his mission had been to incense the Egyptian king, and to excite him to the exaction of greater burdens from the oppressed Israelites, God encourages the Patriarch by the promise of the great wonders which he would perform in behalf of his people, and confirmed the promise by imparting to him that sublime name by which he had not hitherto been known: "And God," says the sacred writer, "spoke unto Moses, and said unto him, I am Jehovah: and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob as El Shad dal, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known unto them." This Ineffable name is derived from the substantive verb, hayah, to be; and combining, as it does, in its formation the present, past, and future siagnifications of the verb, it is considered as designating God in his immutable and external existence. This idea is carried by the Rab, bins to such an extent, that Menasseh Ben Israel says that its four letters may be so arranged by permutations as to form twelve words, every one of which is a modification of the verb to be, and hence it is called the nomen substantioe vel essentioe, the name of his substance or existence. | ||
| + | The first thing that attracts our attention in the investigation of this name is the ancient regulation, still existing, by which it was made unlawful to pronounce it. This, perhaps, originally arose from a wish to conceal it from the surrounding heathen nations, so that they might not desecrate it by applying it to their idols. Whatever may have been the reason, the rule was imperative among the Jews. The Talmud in one of its treatises, the "Sanhedrin," which treats of the question, Who of the Israelites shall have future life and who shall not ? says: "Even he who thinks the name of God with its true letters forfeits his future life." Abraham Ben David Halevi, when discussing the names of God, says: "But the name we are not allowed to pronounce. In its original meaning it is conferred upon no other being, therefore we abstain from giving any explanation of it." We learn from Jerome, Origen, and Eusebius that in their time the Jews wrote the name in their copies of the Bible in Samaritan instead of Hebrew letters, in order to veil it from the inspection of the profane. Capellus says that the rule that the holy name was not to be pronounced was derived from a tradition, based on a passage in Leviticus, (xxiv. 16), which says that he who blasphemeth the name of Jehovah shall be put to death; and he translates this pas sage, "whosoever shall pronounce the name Jehovah shall suffer death," because the word nokeb, here translated "to blaspheme," means also "to pronounce distinctly, to call by name." Maimonides tells us that the knowledge of this word was confined to the hachamin or wise men, who communicated its true pronunciation and the mysteries connected with it only on the Sabbath day, to such of their disciples as were found worthy; but how it was to be sounded, or with what vocal sounds its four letters were to be uttered, was utterly unknown to the people. Once a year, namely, on the day of atonement, the holy name was pronounced with the sound of its letters and with the utmost veneration by the high priest in the Sanctuary. The last priest who pronounced it, says Rabbi Bechai, was Simeon the Just, and his successors used in blessing only the twelve lettered name. After the destruction of the city and Temple by Vespasian, the pronunciation of it ceased, for it was not lawful to pronounce it anywhere except in the Temple at Jerusalem, and thus the true and genuine pronunciation of the name was entirely lost to the Jewish people. Nor is it now known how it was originally pronounced. The Greeks called it JAO; the Romans, JovA; the Samaritans always pronounced it JAMIE. | ||
| + | The Jews believed that this holy name, which they held in the highest veneration, was possessed of unbounded powers. "He who pronounces it," said they, "shakes heaven and earth, and inspires the very angels with astonishment and terror. There is a sovereign authority in this name: it governs the world by its power. The other names and surnames of the Deity are ranged about it like officers and soldiers about their sovereigns and generals: from this king name they receive their orders, and obey." It was called the Shemhamphorash, the explanatory or declaratory name, because it alone, of all the divine names, distinctly explains or declares what is the true essence of the Deity. | ||
| + | Among the Essenes, this sacred name, which was never uttered aloud, but always in a whisper, was one of the mysteries of their initiation, which candidates were bound by a solemn oath never to divulge. | ||
| + | It is reported to have been, under a modified form, a password in the Egyptian mysteries, and none, says Schiller, dare enter the temple of Serapis who did not bear on his breast or forehead the name of Jao or Je ha ho; a name almost equivalent in sound to that of Jehovah, and probably of identical import; and no name was uttered in Egypt with more reverence. | ||
| + | The Rabbins asserted that it was engraved on the rod of Moses, and enabled him to perform all his miracles. Indeed, the Talmud says that it was by the utterance of this awful name, and not by a club, that he slew the Egyptian; although it fails to tell us how he got at that time his knowledge of it. | ||
| + | That scurrilous book of the Jews of the Middle Ages, called the Toldoth Jeshu, attributes all the wonderful works of Jesus Christ to the potency of this incommunicable name, which he is said to have abstracted from the Temple, and worn about him. But it would be tedious and unprofitable to relate all the superstitious myths that have been invented about this name. | ||
| + | In Freemasonry, the equilateral triangle, called the delta, with or without a Yod in the center, the Yod alone, and the letter G, are recognized as symbols of the sacred and Ineffable name. | ||
| + | The history of the introduction of this word into the ritualism of Freemasonry would be highly interesting, were it not so obscure. Being in almost all respects an esoteric symbol, nearly all that we know of its Masonic relations is derived from tradition; and as to written records on the subject, we are compelled, in general, to depend on mere intimations or allusions, which are not always distinct in their meaning. In Masonry, as in the Hebrew mysteries, it was under the different appellations of the Word, the True Word, or the Lost Word, the symbol of the knowledge of Divine Truth, or the true nature of God. | ||
| + | That this name, in its mystical use, was not unknown to the Medieval Freemasons there can be no doubt. Many of their architectural emblems show that they possessed this knowledge. Nor can there be any more doubt that through them it came to their successors, the Free masons of the beginning of the eighteenth century. No one can read Dr. Anderson's Defense of Masonry, written in 1730, without being convinced that this prominent actor in the revival was well acquainted with this name; although he is, of course, careful to make no very distinct reference to it, except in one instance. "The occasion," he says, "of the brethren searching so diligently for their Master was, it seems, to receive from him the secret Word of Masonry, which should be delivered down to their posterity in after ages." It is now conceded, from indisputable evidence, that the holy name was, in the earlier years, and, indeed, up to the middle of the last century, attached to the third degree, and then called the Master's Word. I have now lying before me two tracing boards of that degree, one an Irish one of the date of 1769, the other a continental one of 1778; but both, apparently, copies of some earlier one. Among the emblems displayed is a coffin, on which is inscribed, in capital letters, the word JEHOVAH. Hutchinson, who wrote in 1774, makes no reference what ever to the Royal Arch, although that system had, by that time, been partially established in England; but in his lectures to Master Masons and on the third degree refers to "the mystic word, the Tetragrammaton." Oliver tells us distinctly that it was the Master's Word until Dunckerley took it out of the degree and transferred it to the Royal Arch. That it was so on the Continent, we have the unmistakable testimony of Guillemain de St. Victor, who says, in his Adonhiramite Masonry, that Solomon placed a medal on the tomb of Hiram, "on which was engraved Jehova, the old Master's Word, and which signifies the Supreme Being." So far, then, these facts appear to be established: that this Ineffable name was known to the Operative Freemasons of the Middle Ages; that it was derived from them by the Speculative Masons, who, in 1717, revived the Order in England; that they knew it as Master Masons; and that it continued to be the Master's Word until late in that century, when it was removed by Dunckerley into the Royal Arch. | ||
| + | Although there is, perhaps, no point in the esoteric system of Masonry more clearly established than that the Tetragrammaton is the true omnific word, yet innovations have been admitted, by which, in some jurisdictions in this country, that word has been changed into three others, which simply signify Divine names in other languages, but have none of the sublime symbolism that belongs to the true name of God. It is true that the General Grand Chapter of the United States adopted a regulation disapproving of the innovation of these explanatory words, and restoring the Tetragrammaton; but this declaration of what might almost be considered a truism in Masonry has been met with open opposition or reluctant obedience in some places. | ||
| + | The Grand Chapter of England has fallen into the same error, and abandoned the teachings of Dunckerley, the founder of the Royal Arch in that country, as some of the Grand Chapters in America did those of Webb, who was the founder of the system here. It is well, therefore, to inquire what was the omnific word when the Royal Arch system was first invented. | ||
| + | We have the authority of Oliver, who had the best opportunity of any man in England of knowing the facts, for saying that Dunckerley established the Royal Arch for the modern Grand Lodge; that he wisely borrowed many things from Ramsay and Dermott; and that he boldly transplanted the word Jehovah from the Master's degree and placed it in his new system. | ||
| + | Now, what was "THE WORD" of the Royal Arch, as understood by Dunckerley? We have no difficulty here, for he himself answers the question. To the first edition of the Laws and Regulations of the Royal Arch, published in 1782, there is prefixed an essay on Freemasonry, which is attributed to Dunckerley. In this he makes the following remarks: "It must be observed that the expression THE WORD is not to be understood as a watchword only, after the manner of those annexed to the several degrees of the Craft; but also theologically, as a term, thereby to convey to the mind some idea of that Grand Being who is the sole author of our existence; and to carry along with it the most solemn veneration for his sacred Name and Word, as well as the most clear and perfect elucidation of his power and attributes that the human mind is capable of receiving. And this is the light in which the Name and Word hath always been considered, from the remotest ages, amongst us Christians and the Jews." And then, after giving the well known history from Josephus of the word, which, to remove all doubt of what it is, he says is the "Shem Ilamphorash, or the Unutterable Name," he adds: "Philo, the learned Jew, tells us not only that the word was lost, but also the time when, and the reason why. But, to make an end of these unprofitable disputes among the learned, be it remembered that they all concur with the Royal Arch Masons in others much more essential: first, that the Name or Word is expressive of SELF EXISTENCE and ETERNITY, and secondly, that it can be applicable only to that GREAT BEING who was and is and will be." Notwithstanding this explicit and unmistakable declaration of the founder of the English Royal Arch, that the Tetragrammaton is the omnific word, the present system in England has rejected it, and substituted in its place three other words, the second of which is wholly unmeaning. | ||
| + | In the American system, as revised by Thomas Smith Webb, there can be no doubt that the Tetragammaton was recognized as the omnific word. In the Freemason's Monitor, prepared by him for monitorial instruction, he has inserted, among the passages of Scripture to be read during an exaltation, the following from Exodus, which is the last in order, and which any one at all acquainted with the ritual will at once see is appropriated to the time of the euresis or discovery of the Word. | ||
| + | "And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord, and I appeared unto Abraham, and unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them." From this it will be evident that Webb recognized the word Jehovah, and not the three other words that have since been substituted for them by some Grand Chapters in this country, and which it is probable were originally used by Webb as merely explanatory or declaratory of the Divine nature of the other and principal word. And this is in accordance with one of the traditions of the degree, that they were placed on the substitute ark around the real word, as a key to explain its signification. | ||
| + | To call anything else but this four lettered name an omnific word - an all creating and all performing word - either in Masonry or in Hebrew symbolism, whence Masonry derived it, is to oppose all the doctrines of the Talmudists, the Kabbalists, and the Gnostics, and to repudiate the teachings of every Hebrew scholar from Buxtorf to Gesenius. To fight the battle against such odds is to secure defeat. It shows more of boldness than of discretion. And hence the General Grand Chapter of the United States has very wisely restored the word Jehovah to its proper place. It is only in the York and in the American rites that this error has ever existed. In every other Rite the Tetragrammaton is recognized as the true word. | ||
| + | 517 - What is the Masonic tradition with respect to Jeptha? | ||
| + | *Jeptha. There is an old Masonic tradition respecting Jeptha to the following effect. When the Ephraimites had assembled together to molest Jeptha, their leader encamped round a certain pillar, which being placed in an elevated situation, commanded a view of the ancient country, where Jeptha was prepared to receive him. After the battle, when the Ephraimites were retreating, Jeptha called a council of war to decide upon the necessary means of intercepting them, where it was agreed that they should be made to pronounce a password on the shores of Gilgal, by which they might be distinguished in the dark as in the light. And as they were unable to pronounce this word, they were immediately slain, this test word having been used to distinguish friend from foe. | ||
| + | 518 - Why was Jerusalem chosen as the site of King Solomon's Temple? | ||
| + | *Jerusalem. The most famous and important city of Palestine. The old traditions and natural prepossessions both of Jews and Christians connect it with that Salem of which Melchizedek was king. It is situated on elevated ground south of the center of the country, about 37 miles from the Mediterranean, and about 24 from the Jordan. About a century after its foundation, it was captured by the Jebusites, who extended the walls, and constructed a castle, or citadel, on Mount Zion. By them it was called Jebus. In the conquest of Canaan, Joshua put to death its king, Adonizedek, and obtained possession of the town, which was jointly inhabited by Jews and Jebusites until the reign of David, who expelled the latter, and made it the capital of his kingdom, under the name of Jebus Salem, or Jerusalem. Its highest historical importance dates from the time of David, who transported to it the ark of the covenant, and built in it an altar to the Lord. The building of the temple by King Solomon was the consummation of the dignity and holiness of Jerusalem, which was further enlarged, strengthened and beautified by this king and by his successors. After the death of Solomon (B.C. 975), it suffered a diminution of political importance through the revolt and secession of the ten tribes. It was pillaged (B.C. 972), by Shishak, king of Egypt, and by Athaliah (B.C. 884), and finally (B.C. 588), it was taken, after a siege of three years, by Nebuchadnezzar, who razed its walls, and destroyed the temple and palaces, and carried all the holy vessels of the temple, together with thousands of captives, to Babylon. Having been rebuilt after the Captivity (B.C. 536), it was again taken and pillaged under Ptolemy Lagos (B.C. 320), and under Antiochus Epiphanes (B.C. 161), Pompey took the city (B.C. 63), put 12,000 of the inhabitants to the sword, and razed the walls to the ground, sparing, at the same time, the treasures of the sanctuary. A few years later (B.C. 51) it was pillaged by Crassus; and from these beginnings date the continued series of Roman aggressions, which terminated in the complete destruction of the city and dispersion of the Jewish race, under Vespasian and Titus, A.D. 70. | ||
| + | 519 - What is the place of the Heavenly Jerusalem in Masonry? | ||
| + | *Jerusalem, Heavenly. The City of God. In several of the higher degrees the Heavenly Jerusalem is frequently alluded to, and occupies a prominent place. In the fifth section of the 2d degree of the Rite of Herodim the Thersata says: "Brothers may we all, whether present or absent, so labor that we shall come at last to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God; the Heavenly Jerusalem * * * *, where the sun shall set no more, nor the moon deprive us of her light, and where the days of our affliction, and the fatigues of our pilgrimage shall find an end." | ||
| + | 520 - What branch of the Roman Catholic Church has sought to pervert Masonry to political intrigue and religious bigotry? | ||
| + | *Jesuits. In the last century the Jesuits were charged with having an intimate connection with Freemasonry, and the invention of the degree of Kadosh was even attributed to those members of the Society who constituted the College of Clermont. This theory of a Jesuitical Masonry seems to have originated with the Illuminati who were probably governed in its promulgation by a desire to depreciate the character of all other Masonic systems in comparison with their own, where no such priestly interference was permitted. Barrel scoffs at the idea of such a connection, and calls it "lo fable de la Franc Maconneries Jesuiteque." For once he is right. Like oil and water, the tolerance of Freemasonry and the intolerance of the "Society of Jesus" cannot commingle. | ||
| + | Yet it cannot be denied that while the Jesuits have had no part in the construction of pure Freemasonry, there are reasons for believing that they took an interest in the invention of some degrees and systems which were intended to advance their own interests. But wherever they touched the Institution they left the trail of the serpent. They sought to convert its pure philanthropy and toleration into political intrigue and religious bigotry. Hence it is believed that they had something to do with the invention of those degrees, which were intended to aid the exiled house of Stuart in its efforts to regain the English throne, because they believed that would secure the restoration in England of the Roman Catholic religion. Almost a library of books has been written on both sides of this subject in Germany and France. | ||
| + | 521 - What are the ornaments of a Freemason? | ||
| + | *Jewels. The Freemasons' ornaments are three jewels, the square, the level, and the plumb rule. Those who are intrusted with them must possess great talents, and whether they can be cautious and worthy guardians of them must be ascertained from their previous conduct. | ||
| + | 522 - Did the Jewish law prohibit the use of symbols? | ||
| + | *Jewish Symbols. The Jews had many symbols represented on the Tabernacle and the Temple. Moses placed in the former two cherubims, or sphinxes, as well as ornaments and decorations of flower work; and figures of cherubims were embroidered on the veil of the Holy of Holies, on the hangings of the sanctuary, and probably on the curtain also. It is evident, therefore, that Moses never intended to prohibit the use of symbols; nor was such a thing understood by the Jews in any age. Solomon did not so understand him, for in his temple the cherubims were represented in the Sanctum Sanctorum, and he decorated the walls with palm trees, cherubims, flowers, and other figures. The brazen sea rested upon twelve oxen. In Ezekiel's description of the temple are many figures, which, like the Egyptian deities, had heads of animals. The pillars, Jachin and Boaz, were decorated with lily work, net work, and pomegranates, as symbols of the peace, unity, and plenty which distinguished the building. Even after the Babylonish captivity the same symbolical system was used. The golLlen lamp in the second temple, of which a representation is still extant on the triumphal arch of Vespasian at Rome, was placed on sphinxes. In the roof, and at the gate of Zerubabbel's temple, there were golden vines, thickly charged with rich clusters of grapes. | ||
| + | 523 - To whom were Lodges formerly dedicated? | ||
| + | *Johannite Masonry. The lodges of symbolical Masonry which were formerly dedicated to King Solomon are now dedicated to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist. Hence the first three degrees are called Johannite Masonry. | ||
| + | 524 - By what name was the Masonic society formerly known? | ||
| + | *John's Brothers. Before the year 1440 the Masonic society was known by the name of John Brothers, but they then began to be called Free and Accepted Masons. | ||
| + | 525 - Is a member excluded from one Lodge eligible to join another? | ||
| + | *Joining. If any member shall be excluded from his lodge, or shall withdraw himself from it, without having complied with its by laws, or with the general regulations of the Craft, he shall not be eligible to any other lodge, until that lodge has been made acquainted with his former neglect, so that the brethren may be enabled to exercise their discretion as to his admission. Whenever a member of any lodge shall resign, or shall be excluded, or whenever at a future time he may require it, he shall be furnished with a certificate stating the circumstances under which he left the lodge; and such certificate is to be produced to any other lodge of which he is proposed to be admitted a member, previous to the ballot being taken. | ||
| + | 526 - Why was the timber for the Temple delivered at the Port of Joppa? | ||
| + | *Joppa. One of the most ancient seaports in the world, on the Mediterranean Sea, about 35 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Here the materials for building the first and second temples, sent from Lebanon, Tyre and other places, were landed, and conveyed to Jerusalem. Its harbor is shoal and unprotected from the winds; but on account of its convenience to Jerusalem, it became the principal port of Judea, and is still the great landing place of pilgrims and travelers to the Holy Land. The place is now called Jaffa. The peculiarly hilly and even precipitous character of Joppa is preserved in the traditions of the degree of Mark Master and a benevolent moral deduced, in accordance with the entire instructions of the grade. | ||
| + | 527 - What aid does a Mason receive on the journey of life? | ||
| + | *Journey. Every Freemason, when he is initiated into the Craft, is taught to consider human life as a journey. Ile would faint with fatigue, lose himself in unknown roads, or fall over high precipices if he was not supported, faithfully conducted, and fraternally warned. By these means he arrives in safety at the end of his journey, and is permitted to receive light himself, that he may be able to support, lead, and warn others when traveling the same road. | ||
| + | 528 - What is the difference between a journeyman and a Fellowcraft? | ||
| + | *Journeyman. When the Lodges were altogether operative in their character, a Mason, having served his apprenticeship, began to work for himself, and he was then called a journeyman; but he was required, within a reasonable period (in Scotland it was two years), to obtain admission into a Lodge, when he was said to have passed a Fellow Craft. Hence the distinction between Fellow Crafts and jour, neymen was that the former were and the latter were not members of Lodges. Thus, in the minutes of St. Mary's Chapel Lodge of Edinburgh, on the 27th of December, 1689, it was declared that "No Master shall employ a person who has not been passed a Fellow Craft in two years after the expiring of his apprenticeship;" and the names of several journeymen are given who had not complied with the law. A similar regulation was repeated by the same Lodge in 1705, complaint having been made "that there are several Masteris of this house that tolerate jurnimen to work up and down this citie contrary to their oath of admission;" and such journeymen were forbidden to seek employment. The patronage of the Craft of Freemasons was bestowed only on those who had become "free of the gild." | ||
| + | 529 - What Masonic symbol is derived from the banner of the tribe of Judah? | ||
| + | *Judah. The fourth son of the patriarch Jacob, whose descendants became the most distinguished of the twelve tribes. On account of this the whole of Palestine is sometimes called Judea, or the land of Judah. The device on the banner of this tribe was a lion. It appears in the symbolism of Freemasonry. | ||
| + | 530 - By what process does a Grand Lodge exercise its judicial functions? | ||
| + | *Judicial Powers of Grand Lodge. In the exercise of its judicial functions, a Grand Lodge becomes the interpretor and administrator of the laws which it had enacted in its legislative capacity. The judicial powers of a Grand Lodge, according to the Old Constitutions, are both original and appellate, although it more frequently exercises the prerogative and duties of an appellate than of an original jurisdiction. | ||
| + | In the exercise of its judicial functions, a Grand Lodge may proceed either in its General Assembly or by committee, whose report will be acted on by the Grand Lodge. | ||
| + | The Grand Lodge may, in the case of an appeal, amend the sentence of its subordinate, by either a diminution or increase of the punishment, or it may wholly reverse it, or it may send the case back for trial. And in any one of these events, its decision is final; for there is no higher body in Masonry who can entertain an appeal from the decision of a Grand Lodge. | ||
| + | 531 - What are the duties of the Junior Deacon? | ||
| + | *Junior Deacon. This officer is the especial attendant of the Senior Warden; and being seated at his right hand, is prepared to carry mes sages from him to the Junior Warden, and elsewhere about the Lodge. | ||
| + | He takes very little part in the ceremonies of conferring the de grees, but as he is placed near the outer door, he attends to all alarms of the Tiler, reports them to the Master, and at his command, inquires into the cause. The outer door being thus under his charge, he should never permit it to be opened by the Tiler, except in the usual form, and when preceded by the usual notice. He should allow no one to enter or depart without having first obtained the consent of the presiding officer. | ||
| + | An important duty of the Junior Deacon is to see that the Lodge is duly tiled. Upon this security and secrecy of the institution depends; and therefore the Junior Deacon has been delegated as an especial officer to place the Tiler at his post, and to give him the necessary instructions. | ||
| + | In the inspection of the brethren, which takes place at the opening of the Lodge, the south side of the room is entrusted to the care of the Junior Deacon. | ||
| + | In the absence of the Senior Deacon, the Junior does not succeed to his place; but a temporary appointment of a Senior Deacon is made by the Master. | ||
| + | If the Junior Deacon is absent, it is the usage for the Master, and not the Senior Warden, to make a temporary appointment. The right of nominating the Junior Deacon is vested in the Senior Warden only on the night of his installation. After that, on the occurrence of a temporary vacancy, this right is lost, and the Master makes the appointment by the constitutional right of appointment which vests in him. | ||
| + | 532 - What is the duty of a Junior Warden in the absence of the Master and Senior Warden? | ||
| + | *Junior Warden, Duties of. All the duties that devolve upon the Senior Warden, in the absence of the Master, devolve in like manner, and precisely to the same extent, upon the Junior Warden, in the absence of both the Master and the Senior. | ||
| + | But if the Master be present, and the Senior Warden absent, the Junior Warden does not assume the functions of the latter officer, but retains his own station, and a Senior Warden pro tempore must be appointed by the Master. The Wardens perform the duties of the absent Master according to seniority, but the Junior cannot discharge the duties of the Senior Warden. It must be remembered that a Warden acting as Master is still a Warden, and is so acting simply in the discharge of one of the duties of his office. The Senior Warden is bound to the performance of his duties, which are, in the presence of the Master, to superintend the west, and in his absence to preside. The Junior Warden, in like manner, is bound to the performance of his duties, which are, in the presence of the Master, to superintend the south, and in the absence of both Master and Senior Warden, to pre side. The absence of the Senior Warden has, therefore, no effect upon the duties of the Junior Warden, unless the Master is also absent, when he takes the east. He is to supply the place, not of the absent Senior Warden, but of the absent Master. | ||
| + | 533 - What is the jurisdiction of a Masonic Lodge? | ||
| + | *Jurisdiction of a Lodge. The jurisdiction of a Lodge is geographical or personal. The geographical jurisdiction of a Lodge is that which it exercises over the territory within which it is situated, and extends to all the Masons, affiliated and unaffiliated, who live within that territory. This jurisdiction extends to a point equally distant from the adjacent Lodge. Thus, if two Lodges are situated within twenty miles of each other, the geographical jurisdiction of each will extend ten miles from its seat in the direction of the other Lodge. But in this case both Lodges must be situated in the same State, and hold their Warrants from the same Grand Lodge; for it is a settled point of Masonic law that no Lodge can extend its geographical jurisdiction beyond the territorial limits of its own Grand Lodge. | ||
| + | The personal jurisdiction of a Lodge is that penal jurisdiction which it exercises over its own members wherever they may be situated. No matter how far a Mason may remove from the Lodge of which he is a member, his allegiance to that Lodge is indefeasible so long as he continues a member, and it may exercise penal jurisdiction over him. | ||
| + | 534 - What is the extent of the jurisdiction of a Grand Lodge? | ||
| + | *Jurisdiction of Grand Lodge. A Grand Lodge when formed, by the union of not less than three Lodges in convention, at once assumes all the prerogatives of a Grand Lodge, and acquires exclusive Masonic jurisdiction over the territory within whose geographical limits it has been constituted. No Lodge can continue to exist, or be subsequently established in the territory, except under its authority; and all other Grand Lodges are precluded from exercising any Masonic authority within the said territory. | ||
| + | These principles of Masonic law seem to be admitted by universal consent, and sanctioned by constant usage in such organizations. | ||
| + | 535 - What is required to make a Lodge just and perfect? | ||
| + | *Just and Perfect. This appellation, which is given to St. John's lodges in general, is of a more important nature than is generally under stood by it, for it is not sufficient for a lodge only to be so far just and perfect as to belong to a certain Grand Lodge, to work according to an acknowledged ritual, and to have all its officers and members in their proper places, but it must be just unto all the brethren, and perfect in the exercise of every Masonic duty. It is not just when the brethren are deprived of their rights, even of superintending the economy of the lodge, for such a lodge has no independence, and he who is not independent cannot exercise his Masonic duties as a perfect Master. | ||
| + | 536 - Why should justice be the study of every Mason? | ||
| + | *Justice. Justice, the boundary of right, constitutes the cement of civil society. This virtue in a great measure constitutes real goodness, and is therefore represented as the perpetual study of the accomplished Mason. Without the exercise of justice, universal confusion would ensue, lawless force might overcome the principles of equity, and social intercourse no longer exist. | ||
| + | 537 - On what grounds do Masons justify their moral system? | ||
| + | *Justification. We do not hesitate to appeal to the world in justification of the purity of our moral system. Our Constitutions are all well known; we have submitted them freely to general investigation. We solemnly avouch them as the principles by which we are governed, the foundation on which we build, and the rules by which we work. We challenge the most severe critic, the most practised moralist, the most perfect Christian, to point out anything in them inconsistent with good manners, fair morals, or pure religion. | ||
| + | === K === | ||
| + | 538 - Of what is the key emblematic? | ||
| + | *Key. This symbol may be improved to impress upon the mind of every brother the importance of those secrets which have been transmitted through thirty centuries, amidst bitter persecutions, for the benefit of the sons of light. As we have thus received them, untarnished by the touch of profane curiosity, and unimpaired by the revolution of time and empires, let us deliver them, in all their purity and perfection, to succeeding brethren, confident that they will never be divulged to such as are unworthy. | ||
| + | 539 - What two distinct kinds of Lodges are recognized in Freemasonry? | ||
| + | *Kinds of Lodges. There are in the Masonic system two kinds of Lodges, each organized in a different way, and each possessing different rights and prerogatives, namely, the Lodge working under a dispensation, and the Lodge working under a warrant of constitution. | ||
| + | 540 - What is the symbolism of bending the knee? | ||
| + | *Knee to Knee. When, in his devotions to the G. A. O. T. IL, he seeks forgiveness for the past and strength for the future, the Mason is taught that he should, in these offices of devotion, join his brother's name with his own. The prerogative that Job, in his blindness, thought was denied to him, when he exclaimed, "Oh that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbor!" is here not only taught as a right, but inculcated as a duty; and the knee is directed to be bent in intercession, not for ourselves alone, but for the whole household of our brethren. | ||
| + | 541 - What posture do Masons assume in many of the degrees? | ||
| + | *Kneeling. Bending the knees has, in all ages of the world, been considered as an act of reverence and humility, and hence Pliny, the Roman naturalist, observes, that "a certain degree of religious reverence is attributed to the knees of man." Solomon placed himself in this position when he prayed at the consecration of the Temple; and Masons use the same posture in some portions of their ceremonies, as a token of solemn reverence. In the act of prayer, Masons in the lower degrees adopt the standing posture, which was the usage of the primitive Church, where it was symbolic of the resurrection; but Masons in the higher degrees generally kneel on one knee. | ||
| + | 542 - What is the symbolism of the alarm at the inner door? | ||
| + | *Knock. A candidate for Masonry is said to have complied with the terms of a certain text of Scripture, by having first sought in his mind whether he were really desirous of investigating the mysteries of Masonry; then asked counsel of his friend, and lastly having knocked, the door of Masonry became open to him; and it will be remembered that the door of a Freemasons' lodge does not stand open for every one to enter, neither do we call laborers to the work, but those who wish to work with us must voluntarily offer their services. If he desires to be admitted, he must knock earnestly and manfully. "Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you." He who cannot knock in the full confidence of an honorable feeling, and is not convinced in his own mind that he deserves to be admitted, ought not to have the door of the lodge opened to him. | ||
| + | === L === | ||
| + | 543 - What is regarded as the most important word in Freemasonry? | ||
| + | *Labor. An important word in Freemasonry - we may say the most important. It is for this sole reason alone, that a person must be made a Freemason; all other reasons are incidental and unimportant, or unconnected with it. Labor is commonly the reason why meetings of the lodge are held, but do we every time receive a proof of activity and industry? The work of an operative mason is visible, if even it be very often badly executed; and he receives his reward if his building is thrown down by a storm in the next moment. He is convinced that he has been active; so must also the brother Freemason labor. His labor must be visible to himself and unto his brethren, or, at the very least, it must be conducive to his own inward satisfaction. | ||
| + | 544 - What does the lamb symbolize? | ||
| + | *Lamb. In ancient Craft Masonry the lamb is the symbol of innocence; thus in the ritual of the first degree: "In all ages the lamb has been deemed an emblem of innocence." Hence it is required that a Mason's apron should be made of lambskin. In the high degrees, and in the degrees of chivalry, as in Christian iconography, the lamb it is a symbol of Jesus Christ. The introduction of this Christian symbol ism of the lamb comes from the expression of St. John the Baptist, who exclaimed, on seeing Jesus, "Behold the Lamb of God;" which was undoubtedly derived from the prophetic writers, who compare the Messiah suffering on the cross to a lamb under the knife of a butcher. In the vision of St. John, in the Apocalypse, Christ is seen, under the form of a lamb wounded in the throat, and opening the book with the seven seals. Hence, in one of the degrees of the Scottish Rite, the seventeenth, or Knight of the East and West, the lamb lying on the book with the seven seals is a part of the jewel. | ||
| + | 545 - What are the ancient landmarks of Masonry? | ||
| + | *Landmarks. In ancient times, it was the custom to mark the boundaries of lands by means of stone pillars, the removal of which, by malicious persons, would be the occasion of much confusion, men having no other guide than these pillars by which to distinguish the limits of their property. To remove them, therefore, was considered a heinous crime. "Thou shalt not," says the Jewish law, "remove thy neighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance." Hence those peculiar marks of distinction by which we are separated from the profane world, and by which we are enabled to designate our inheritance as the "sons of light," are called the land marks of the Order. The universal language and the universal laws of Masonry are landmarks, but not so are the local ceremonies, laws, and usages, which vary in different countries. To attempt to alter or remove these sacred landmarks, by which we examine and prove a brother's claims to share in our privileges, is one of the most heinous offenses that a Mason can commit. | ||
| + | In the decision of the question what are and what are not the land marks of Masonry, there has been much diversity of opinion among writers. Dr. Oliver says that "some restrict them to the 0. B. signs, tokens and words. Others include the ceremonies of initiation, passing, and raising; and the form, dimensions and support; the ground, situation, and covering; the ornaments, furniture and jewels of a Lodge, or their characteristic symbols. Some think that the Order has no landmarks beyond its peculiar secrets." But all of these are loose and unsatisfactory definitions, excluding things that are essential, and admitting others that are unessential. | ||
| + | Perhaps the safest method is to restrict them to those ancient, and therefore universal, customs of the Order, which either gradually grew into operation as rules of action, or, if once enacted by any competent authority, were enacted at a period so remote, that no account of their origin is to be found in the records of history. Both the enactors and the time of the enactment have passed away from the record, and the landmarks are therefore, "of higher antiquity than memory or history can reach." The first requisite, therefore, of a custom or rule of action to constitute it a landmark is, that it must have existed from "time, whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary." Its antiquity is its essential element. Were it possible for all the Masonic authorities at the present day to unite in a universal congress, and with the most perfect unanimity to adopt any new regulation, although such regulation would, so long as it remained unrepealed, be obligatory on the whole Craft, yet it would not be a landmark. It would have the character of universality, it is true, but it would be wanting in that of antiquity. | ||
| + | Another peculiarity of these landmarks of Masonry is, that they are unrepealable. As the congress to which I have just alluded would not have the power to enact a landmark, so neither would it have the prerogative of abolishing one. The landmarks of the Order, like the laws of the Medes and the Persians, can suffer no change. What they were centuries ago, they still remain, and must so continue in force until Masonry itself shall cease to exist. | ||
| + | Until the year 1858, no attempt had been made by any Masonic writer to distinctly enumerate the landmarks of Freemasonry, and to give to them a comprehensible form. In October of that year, the author of this work published in the American Quarterly Review of Free masonry, an article on The Foundations of Masonic Laws, which contained a distinct enumeration of the landmarks, which was the first time that such a list had been presented to the Fraternity. It has since been very generally adopted by the Fraternity, and republished by many writers on Masonic law, sometimes without any acknowledgment of the source whence they derived their information. According to this recapitulation, the result of much labor and research, the land marks are twenty five in number, and are as follows: | ||
| + | :1. The modes of recognition are, of all the landmarks, the most legitimate and unquestioned. They admit of no variation; and if ever they have suffered alteration or addition, the evil of such a violation of the ancient law has always made itself subsequently manifest. | ||
| + | :2. The division of symbolic Masonry into three degrees is a land mark that has been better preserved .than almost any other; although even here the mischievous spirit of innovation has left its traces, and, by the disruption of its concluding portion from the third degree, a want of uniformity has been created in respect to the final teaching of the Master's Order; and the Royal Arch of England, Scotland, Ireland, and America, and the "high degrees" of France and Germany, are all made to differ in the mode in which they lead the neophyte to the great consummation of all symbolic Masonry. In 1813, the Grand Lodge of England vindicated the ancient landmark, by solemnly enacting that ancient Craft Masonry consisted of the three degrees of Entered | ||
| + | Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason, including the Holy Royal Arch. But the disruption has never been healed, and the landmark, although acknowledged in its integrity by all, still continues to be violated. | ||
| − | + | :3. The legend of the third degree is an important landmark, the integrity of which has been well preserved. There is no rite of Masonry, practiced in any country or language, in which the essential elements of this legend are not taught. The lectures may vary, and indeed are constantly changing, but the legend has ever remained substantially the same. And it is necessary that it should be so, for the legend of the Temple Builder constitutes the very essence and identity of Masonry. Any rite which should exclude it, or materially alter it, would at once, by that exclusion or alteration, cease to be a Masonic rite. | |
| + | :4. The government of the Fraternity by a presiding officer called a Grand Master, who is elected from the body of the Craft, is a fourth landmark of the Order. Many persons suppose that the election of the Grand Master is held in consequence of a law or regulation of the Grand Lodge. Such, however, is not the case. The office is indebted for its existence to a landmark of the Order. Grand Masters, or persons performing the functions under a different but equivalent title, are to be found in the records of the Institution long before Grand Lodges were established; and if the present system of legislative government by Grand Lodges were to be abolished, a Grand Master would still be necessary. | ||
| + | :5. The prerogative of the Grand Master to preside over every assembly of the Craft, wheresoever and whensoever held, is a fifth land mark. It is in consequence of this law, derived from ancient usage, and not from any special enactment, that the Grand Master assumes the chair, or as it is called in England, "the throne," at every communication of the Grand Lodge; and that he is also entitled to preside at the communication of every subordinate Lodge, where he may hap pen to be present. | ||
| + | :6. The prerogative of the Grand Master to give dispensation for conferring degrees at irregular times, is another and a very important landmark. The statutory law of Masonry requires a month, or other determinate period, to elapse between the presentation of a petition and the election of a candidate. But the Grand Master has the power to set aside or dispense with this probation, and to allow a candidate to be initiated at once. This prerogative he possessed before the enactment of the law requiring a probation, and as no statute can impair his prerogative, he still retains the power. | ||
| + | :7. The prerogative of the Grand Master to give dispensation for the opening and holding of Lodges is another landmark. He may grant, in virtue of this, to a sufficient number of Masons, the privilege of meeting together and conferring degrees. The lodges thus established are called "lodges under dispensation." | ||
| + | :8. The prerogative of the Grand Master to make Masons at sight is a landmark which is closely connected with the preceding one. There has been much misapprehension in relation to this landmark, which misapprehension has sometimes led to a denial of its existence in jurisdictions where the Grand Master was, perhaps, at the very time substantially exercising the prerogative without the slightest remark or opposition. | ||
| + | :9. The necessity for Masons to congregate in lodges is another land mark. It is not to be understood by this that any ancient landmark has directed that permanent organization of subordinate lodges which constitutes one of the features of the Masonic system as it now prevails. But the landmarks of the Order always prescribed that Masons should, from time to time, congregate together for the purpose of either Operative or Speculative labor, and that these congregations should be called lodges. Formerly, these were extemporary meetings called together for special purposes, and then dissolved, the brethren departing to meet again at other times and other places, according to the necessity of circumstances. But Warrants of constitution, by laws, permanent officers, and annual arrears are modern innovations wholly outside the landmarks, and dependent entirely on the special enactments of a comparatively recent period. | ||
| + | :10. The government of the Craft, when so congregated in a lodge, by a Master and two Wardens, is also a landmark. A congregation of Masons meeting together under any other government as that, for in stance, of a president and vice president, or a chairman. and sub chairman, would not be recognized as a lodge. The presence of a Master and two Wardens is an essential to the valid organization of a lodge as a Warrant of constitution is at the present day. The names, of course, vary in different languages; but the officers, their number, prerogatives, and duties are everywhere identical. | ||
| + | :11. The necessity that every lodge, when congregated, should be duly tiled, is an important landmark of the Institution which is never neglected. The necessity of this law arises from the esoteric character of Masonry. The duty of guarding the door and keeping off cowans and eavesdroppers, is an ancient one, which therefore constitutes a landmark. | ||
| + | :12. The right of every Mason to be represented in all general meetings of the Craft, and to instruct his representatives, is a twelfth land mark. Formerly, these general meetings, which were usually held once a year, were called "General Assemblies," and all the Fraternity, even to the youngest Entered Apprentice, were permitted to be present. Now they are called "Grand Lodges," and only the Master and Wardens of the subordinate lodges are summoned. But this is simply as the representatives of their members. Originally, each Mason represented himself; now he is represented by his officers. | ||
| + | :13. The right of every Mason to appeal from the decision of his brethren, in lodge convened, to the Grand Lodge or General Assembly of Masons, is a landmark highly essential to the preservation of justice, and the prevention of oppression. A few modern Grand Lodges, in adopting a regulation that the decision of subordinate lodges, in cases of expulsion, cannot be wholly set aside upon an appeal, have violated this unquestioned landmark, as well as the principles of just government. | ||
| + | :14. The right of every Mason to visit and sit in every regular lodge is an unquestionable landmark of the Order. This is called "the right of visitation." This right of visitation has always been recognized as an inherent right which inures to every Mason as he travels through the world. And this is because lodges are justly considered as only divisions for convenience of the universal Masonic family. This right may, of course, be impaired or forfeited on special occasions by various circumstances; but when admission is refused to a Mason in good standing, who knocks at the door of a lodge as a visitor, it is to be expected that some good and sufficient reason shall be furnished for this violation of what is, in general Masonic right, founded on the landmarks of the Order. | ||
| + | :15. It is a landmark of the Order, that no visitor unknown to the brethren present, or to some one of them as a Mason, can enter a Lodge without first passing an examination according to ancient usage. Of course, if the visitor is known to any brother present to be a Mason in good standing, and if that brother will vouch for his qualifications, the examination may be dispensed with, as the landmark refers only to the cases of strangers, who are not to be recognized unless after strict trial, due examination, or lawful information. | ||
| + | :16. No lodge can interfere in the business of another lodge, nor give degrees to brethren who are members of other lodges. This is undoubtedly an ancient landmark, founded on the great principles of courtesy and fraternal kindness, which are at the very foundation of our Institution. It has been repeatedly recognized by subsequent statutory enactments of all Grand Lodges. | ||
| + | :17. It is a landmark that every Freemason is amenable to the laws and regulations of the Masonic jurisdiction in which he resides, and this although he may not be a member of any lodge. Non affiliation, which is, in fact, in itself a Masonic offense, does not exempt a Mason from Masonic jurisdiction. | ||
| + | :18. Certain qualifications of candidates for initiation are derived from a landmark of the Order. These qualifications are that he shall be a man - unmutilated, free born, and of mature age. That is to say, a woman, a cripple, or a slave, or one born in slavery, is disqualified for initiation into the rites of Masonry. Statutes, it is true, have time to time been enacted, enforcing or explaining these principles; but the qualifications really arise from the very nature of the Masonic institution, and from its symbolic teachings, and have always existed as landmarks. | ||
| + | :19. A belief in the existence of God as the Grand Architect of the Universe, is one of the most important landmarks of the Order. It has been always admitted that denial of the existence of a Supreme and Superintending Power is an absolute disqualification for initiation. The annals of the Order never yet have furnished or could furnish an in stance in which an avowed Atheist was ever made a Mason. The very initiatory ceremonies of the first degree forbid and prevent the possibility of such an occurrence. | ||
| + | :20. Subsidiary to this belief in God, as a landmark of the Order, is the belief in a resurrection to a future life. This landmark is not so positively impressed on the candidate by exact words as the preceding; but the doctrine is taught by very plain implication, and runs through the whole symbolism of the Order. To believe in Masonry, and not to believe in resurrection, would be an absurd anomaly, which could only be excused by the reflection, that he who thus confounded his belief and his skepticism was so ignorant of the meaning of both theories as to have no rational foundation for his knowledge of either. | ||
| + | :21. It is a landmark that a "Book of the Law" shall constitute an indispensable part of the furniture of every lodge. I say, advisedly, Book of the Law, because it is not absolutely required that everywhere the Old and New Testaments shall be used. The "Book of Law" is that volume which, by the religion of the country, is believed to contain the revealed will of the Grand Architect of the Universe. Hence, in all lodges in Christian countries, the "Book of Law" is composed of the Old and New Testaments; in a country where Judaism was the prevailing faith, the Old Testament would be sufficient; and in Mohammedan countries, and among Mohammedan Masons, the Koran might be substituted. Masonry does not attempt to interfere with the peculiar religious faith of its disciples, except so far as relates to the belief in the existence of God, and what necessarily results from that belief. The "Book of Law" is to the Speculative Mason his spiritual trestle board; without this he cannot labor; whatever he believes to be the revealed will of the Grand Architect constitutes for him his spiritual trestle board, and must ever be before him in his hours of speculative labor, to be the rule and guide of his conduct. The landmark, therefore, requires that a "Book of the Law," a religious code of some kind, purporting to be an exemplar of the revealed will of God, shall form an essential part of the furniture of every lodge. | ||
| + | :22. The equality of all Masons is another landmark of the Order. This equality has no reference to any subversion of those gradations of rank which have been instituted by the usages of society. The monarch, the nobleman, or the gentleman is entitled to all the influence and receives all the respect, which rightly belong to his position. But the doctrine of Masonic equality implies that, as children of one great Father, we meet in the lodge upon the level - that on that level we are all traveling to one predestined goal - that in the lodge genuine merit shall receive more respect than boundless wealth, and that virtue and knowledge alone should be the basis of all Masonic honors, and be rewarded with preferment. When the labors of the lodge are over, and the brethren have retired from their peaceful retreat, to mingle once more with the world, each will then again resume that social position, and exercise the privilege of that rank, to which the customs of society entitle him. | ||
| + | :23. The secrecy of the Institution is another and most important landmark. The form of secrecy is a form inherent in it, existing with it from its very foundation, and secured to it by its ancient landmarks. If divested of its secret character, it would lose its identity, and would cease to be Freemasonry. Whatever objections may, therefore, be made to the Institution on account of its secrecy, and however much some unskillful brethren have been unwilling in times of trial, for the sake of expediency, to divest it of its secret character, it will be ever impossible to do so, even were the landmark not standing before us as an insurmountable obstacle; because such change of its character would be social suicide, and the death of the Order would follow its legalized exposure. Freemasonry, as a secret association, has lived unchanged for centuries; as an open society, it would not last for as many years. | ||
| + | :24. The foundation of a speculative science upon an operative art, and the symbolic use and explanation of the terms of that art, for the purpose of religious or moral teaching, constitute another landmark of the Order. The Temple of Solomon was the symbolic cradle of the Institution, and therefore, the reference to the Operative Masonry which constructed that magnificent edifice, to the materials and implements which were employed in its construction, and to the artists who were engaged in the building, are all competent and essential parts of the body of Freemasonry, which could not be subtracted from it without an entire destruction of the whole identity of the Order. Hence, all the comparatively modern rites of Masonry, however they may differ in other respects, religiously preserve this Temple history and these operative elements, as the substratum of all their modifications of the Masonic system. | ||
| + | :25. The last and crowning landmark of all is, that these landmarks can never be changed. Nothing can be subtracted from them - nothing can be added to them - not the slightest modification can be made in them. As they were received from our predecessors, we are bound by the most solemn obligations of duty to transmit them to our successors. | ||
| + | 546 - Why should a Masonic Lodge be closed at a reasonable hour? | ||
| + | :Late Hours. It is a fact, confirmed by experience, that an indulgence in late hours cannot fail to injure the credit and respectability of a lodge, because it introduces other habits which are not consistent with the gravity and decorum which ought always to characterize the proceedings of Masonry. And hence it is an important part of the Worshipful Master's duty, to discountenance such baleful practice. If the brethren meet for the purpose of business, or to cultivate a knowledge of the science by joining in the lectures, let them pursue their labors with assiduity and zeal during the period prescribed in the by laws; and should it be necessary for the Junior Warden to perform his office, let the brethren enjoy themselves with decent moderation; but by all means let the Senior Warden discharge his duty honestly and conscientiously, and let the lodge be closed and the brethren depart to their own homes at such an hour as shall excite no unpleasant feelings, nor call forth reproachful observations from the females of their families, whom it is their duty and interest, as well in the character of husbands and fathers, as of Masons, to love, to cherish, and to oblige. | ||
| + | 547 - Of what is the brazen laver emblematic? | ||
| + | :Laver, Brazen. Moses was directed to make, among other articles of furniture for the services of the tabernacle, a laver of brass. It was held as a vessel of great sacredness, in which water was kept for the ablutions of the priests before entering upon the actual discharge of their sacred duties of offering sacrifices before the Lord. In the ancient mysteries the laver with its pure water was used to cleanse the neophyte of the impurities of the outer world, and to free him from the imperfections of his past or sinful life. It is a necessary article in many of the higher degrees, for the ablution of the candidate in his progress to a higher and purer system of knowledge. | ||
| + | 548 - Why should a Mason respect the law? | ||
| + | :Laws of the Land. The Freemason has the greatest respect for the laws of the land in which he lives, and he obeys them with the zeal of a faithful subject. If he is intrusted with the putting of those laws in force, his Masonic duties remind him to be faithful and diligent in applying them. Should the state command the lodge to be closed of which he is a member, he immediately obeys, and visits no assembly which is not allowed, or at least tolerated by the state. In the event of a brother wilfully violating the laws of his country, the Order itself directs the attention of the magistrates unto him, and he who is punished as a criminal by the laws, is excluded from the Order without exception. | ||
| + | 549 - Why should Masons avoid law suits with one another? | ||
| + | :Law Suits. If any brother do you an injury, you must apply to your own or his lodge, and from thence you may appeal to the Grand Lodge at the quarterly communication, as has been the ancient laudable conduct of our forefathers in every nation; never take a legal course but when the case cannot be otherwise decided, and patiently listen to the honest and friendly advice of Master and fellows, when they would prevent your going to law with strangers, or would excite you to put a speedy period to all law suits, that so you may find the affair of Masonry with the more alacrity and success. With respect to brothers or fellows at law, the Master and brethren should kindly offer their mediation, which ought to be thankfully submitted to by the contending brethren; and if that submission is impracticable, they must however carry on their process or law suit without wrath or rancor, (not in the common way) saying or doing nothing which may hinder brotherly love and good offices to be renewed and continued, that all may see the benign influence of Masonry, as all true Masons have done from the beginning of the world, and will do to the end of time. | ||
| + | 550 - What is the unwritten law of Freemasonry? | ||
| + | :Law, Unwritten. The Constitutions, Charges and Regulations which were adopted at various periods, from 926 to 1722, constitute the Written Law of Masonry, and they were at one time co extensive in authority with the Landmarks of the Order. From these, however, they differ in this respect, that the Landmarks being unrepealable, must aver continue in force; but the Written Law, having been adopted by the supreme legislative authority of the Order at the time, may be altered, amended, or altogether repealed by the same supreme authority - a doctrine which is explicitly set forth in the Thirty ninth General Regulation. Accordingly, portions of this Written Law have, from time to time, been materially modified by different Grand Lodges, as will be evident upon inspection of these laws with the modern Constitutions of any jurisdiction. | ||
| + | It may, however, be considered as an axiom of Masonic law, that in every Masonic jurisdiction, where any one of these Regulations has not been formally or implicitly repealed by a subsequent enactment of a new law, the old Regulation will continue in force, and the Craft must be governed by its provisions. | ||
| + | So in all doubtful questions of Masonic law, recourse must be had, in forming an opinion, first to the Landmarks, and then to this code of Written Laws; and out of these two authorities, the legal dictum is to be established, because all the principles of law are embraced in these two authorities, the Ancient Landmarks and the Ancient Written Law; and hence they have been necessarily incorporated into this volume, as a fitting introduction, under the appropriate title of the Foundations of Masonic Law. | ||
| + | 551 - Why did King Solomon seek the aid of Hiram, King of Tyre? | ||
| + | *Lebanon. The forests of the Lebanon mountains only could supply the timber for the Temple. Such of these forests as lay nearest the sea were in the possession of the Phoenicians, among whom timber was in such constant demand, that they had acquired great and acknowledged skill in the felling and transportation thereof. Hence it was that Hiram consented to employ large bodies of men in Lebanon to hew timber, as well as others to perform the service of bringing it down to the sea side, whence it was to be taken along the coasts in floats to the port of Joppa, from which place it could be easily taken across the country to Jerusalem. | ||
| + | 552 - What is a Masonic lecture? | ||
| + | :Lecture. Literally, a formal or methodical discourse intended for instruction. Lectures have been adopted from the earliest ages as a convenient mode of teaching the elements of every branch of human knowledge. The course of instruction in Freemasonry is divided in parts or sections, which are called lectures. Each degree is so arranged that the candidate will enjoy the advantage of the theory, the practice and then the explanation or lecture. Those who are desirous of learn, ing the lectures, with the greatest advantage, must regularly attend the lodges, and be diligently attentive to the instruction they receive there. | ||
| + | 553 - What are the duties of a Masonic lecturer? | ||
| + | :Lecturer. In the symbolical lodges of the Continent and else, where, a lecturer is annually appointed and after the Worshipful Master and Past Master, the lecturer has the most important office in the lodge. He, as well as the two first officers, must be perfectly acquainted with Freemasonry, and not only a man who has received a liberal education, but who also possesses the true spirit of oratory. His orations or lectures must produce an impression on the minds of his hearers. At the election of a lecturer the electors should bear this in mind, and reflect that he has something more to do than merely read the ritual. If the lecturer has sufficient knowledge to be enabled to teach the brethren Freemasonry, or the bearing of moral truths upon the science in an agreeable and instructive manner, and not in mere mystical forms, he will be willingly listened to by the brethren. Some discourses are appropriated to certain seasons, but even these the lecturer must be able to make interesting, in order that they may not appear as mere repetitions. He who confines himself to these discourses, and the mere reading of the ritual, does not fulfill the duties of his office as he ought. | ||
| + | 554 - Of what is the left hand a symbol? | ||
| + | :Left Hand. Among the ancients the left hand was a symbol of equity and justice. Thus, Apuleius, when describing the procession in honor of Isis, says one of the ministers of the sacred rites "bore the symbol of equity in a left hand, fashioned with the palm extended;" which seems to be more adapted to administering equity than the right from its natural inertness, and its being endowed with no craft and no subtlety. | ||
| + | 555 - What is the symbolism of the left side? | ||
| + | *Left Side. In the symbolism of Masonry, the first degree is represented by the left side, which is to indicate that as the left is the weaker part of the body, so is the Entered Apprentice's degree the weakest part of Masonry. This doctrine, that the left is the weaker side of the body, is very ancient. | ||
| + | 556 - What part do legends play in the Masonic system? | ||
| + | *Legend. Strictly speaking, a legend, from the Latin, legendus, "to be read," should be restricted to a story that has been committed to writing; but by good usage the word has been applied more extensively, and now properly means a narrative, whether true or false, that has been traditionally preserved from the time of its first oral communication. Such is the definition of a Masonic legend. | ||
| + | 557 - What do the lesser lights symbolize? | ||
| + | *Lesser Lights. In the lecture of the first degree we are told that a lodge has three symbolic lesser lights; one of these is in the East, one in the West, and one in the South. There is no light in the North, because King Solomon's Temple, of which every lodge is a representation, was placed so far north of the ecliptic that the sun and moon, at their meridian height, could dart no rays into the northern part thereof. The north we therefore Masonically call a place of darkness. | ||
| + | This symbolic use of the three lesser lights is very old, being found in the earliest lectures of the last century. | ||
| + | The three lights, like the three principal officers and the three principal supports, refer, undoubtedly, to the three stations of the sun - its rising in the east, its meridian in the south, and its setting in the west; and thus the symbolism of the lodge, as typical of the world, continues to be preserved. | ||
| + | The use of lights in all religious ceremonies is an ancient custom. There was a seven branched candle stick in the tabernacle, and in the Temple "were the golden candle sticks, five on the right hand and five on the left." They were always typical of moral, spiritual, or intellectual light. | ||
| + | 558 - What is the symbolism of the Level? | ||
| + | *Level. In Freemasonry, the level is a symbol of equality; not of that social equality which would destroy all distinctions of ranks and position, and beget confusion, insubordination, and anarchy; but of that fraternal equality which, recognizing the fatherhood of God, admits as a necessary corollary the brotherhood of man. It, therefore, teaches us that, in the sight of the Grand Architect of the Universe, his creatures, who are at an immeasurable distance from him, move upon the same plane; as the far moving stars, which though millions of miles apart, yet seem to shine upon the same canopy of the sky. In this view, the level teaches us that all men are equal, subject to the same infirmities, hastening to the same goal, and preparing to be judged by the same immutable law. | ||
| + | The level is deemed, like the square and the plumb, of so much importance as a symbol, that it is repeated in many different relations. First, it is one of the jewels of the lodge; in the English system a movable, in the American an immovable one. This leads to its being adopted as the proper official ensign of the Senior Warden, because the Craft when at labor, at which time he presides over them, are on a common level of subordination. And then it is one of the working tools of a Felloweraft, still retaining its symbolism of equality. | ||
| + | 559 - What are the privileges of a lewis or louveteau? | ||
| + | *Lewis, or Louveteau. The words lewis and louveteau, which, in their original meanings, import two very different things, have in Masonry an equivalent signification - the former being used in English, and the latter in French, to designate the son of a Mason. The English word lewis is a term belonging to operative Masonry, and signifies an iron cramp, which is inserted in a cavity prepared for the purpose in any large stone, so as to give attachment to a pulley and hook, whereby the stone may be conveniently raised to any height, and deposited in its proper position. In this country the lewis has not been adopted as a symbol of Freemasonry, but in the English ritual it is found among the emblems placed upon the tracing board of the Entered Apprentice, and is used in that degree as a symbol of strength, because by its assistance the operative Mason is enabled to lift the heaviest stones with a comparatively trifling exertion of physical power. Extending the symbolic allusion still further, the son of a Mason is in England called a lewis, because it is his duty to support the sinking powers and aid the failing strength of his father, or, as Oliver has expressed it, "to bear the burden and heat of the day, that his parents may rest in their old age, thus rendering the evening of their lives peaceful and happy." By the constitutions of England, a lewis may be initiated at the age of eighteen, while it is required of all other candidates that they shall have arrived at the maturer age of twenty one. The Book of Constitutions had prescribed that no lodge make "any man under the age of twenty one years, unless by a dispensation from the Grand Master or his Deputy." The Grand Lodge of England, in its modern regulations, has availed itself of the license allowed by this dispensing power, to confer the right of an earlier initiation on the sons of Masons. The word louveteau signifies in French a young wolf. The application of the term to the son of a Mason is derived from a peculiarity in some of the initiations into the ancient mysteries. In the mysteries of Isis, which were practiced in Egypt, the candidate was made to wear the mask of a wolf's head. Hence, a wolf and a candidate in these mysteries were often used as synonymous terms. Macrobius, in his Saturnalia, says, in reference to this custom, that the ancients perceived a relationship between the sun, the great symbol in these mysteries, and a wolf, which the candidate represented at his initiation. For, he remarks, as the flocks of sheep and cattle fly and disperse at the sight of the wolf, so the flocks of stars disappear at the approach of the sun's light. The learned reader will also recollect that in the Greek language lukos signifies both the sun and a wolf. Hence, as the candidate in the Isiac mysteries was called a wolf, the son of a Free mason in the French lodges is called a young wolf or a louveteau. The louveteau in France, like the lewis in England, is invested with peculiar privileges. He also is permitted to unite himself with the order at the early age of eighteen years. The baptism of a louveteau is sometimes performed with impressive ceremonies by the lodge of which his father is a member. The infant, soon after birth, is taken to the lodge room, where he receives a Masonic name, differing from that which he bears in the world; he is formally adopted by the lodge as one of its children, and should he become an orphan, requiring assistance, he is supported and educated by the Fraternity, and finally established in life. In this country, these rights of a lewis or a louveteau are not recognized, and the very names were, until lately, scarcely known, except to a few Masonic scholars. | ||
| + | 560 - What does the word "libertine" signify in Masonry? | ||
| + | *Libertine. The Charges of 1722 commence by saying that "a Mason is obliged by his tenure to obey the moral law; and if he rightly understands the art, he will never be a stupid Atheist, nor an irreligious libertine." The word "libertine" there used conveyed a meaning different from that which it now bears. In the present usage of language it signifies a profligate and licentious person, but originally it meant a freethinker, or Deist. Derived from the Latin "libertinus," a man that was once a bondsman but who has been made free, it was metaphorically used to designate one who had been released, or who had released himself from the bonds of religious belief, and become in matters of faith, a doubter or denier. Hence "a stupid Atheist" denoted, to use the language of the Psalmist, "the fool who has said in his heart there is no God," while an "irreligious libertine" designated the man who, with a degree less of unbelief, denies the distinctive doctrines of revealed religion. And this meaning of the expression connects itself very appropriately with the succeeding paragraph of the Charge. "But though in ancient times, Masons were charged in every country to be of the religion of that country or nation, whatever it was, yet it is now thought more expedient only to oblige them to that religion in which all men agree, leaving their particular opinions to themselves." The expression "irreligious libertine," alluding, as it does, to a scoffer at religious truths, is eminently suggestive of the religious character of our Institution, which, founded as it is on the great doctrines of religion, cannot be properly appreciated by any one who doubts or denies their truth. | ||
| + | 561 - Why cannot a libertine become a Mason? | ||
| + | *Libertinism. The word "libertine," which is used in the old Charges, conveyed, at the time when those Charges were composed, a meaning somewhat different from that which is now given to it. Bailey defines libertinism to be "a false liberty of belief and manners, which will have no other dependence but on particular fancy and passion; a living at large, or according to a person's inclination, without regard to the divine laws." A "religious libertine" is, therefore, a rejector of all moral responsibility to a superior power, and may be well supposed to be a denier of the existence of a Supreme Being and of a future life. Such a skeptic is, therefore, by the innate constitution of speculative Masonry, unfit for initiation, because the object of all Masonic initiation is to teach these two great truths. | ||
| + | 562 - What is the symbolism of light? | ||
| + | *Light. Light is a symbol of knowledge. May every Mason strive incessantly for light, and especially for the light eternal ! When a society is assembled anywhere to do good, they require an influential person to communicate the light of experience, instruct them, and point out the way they should go, or bring light to them. This may be done symbolically, by suddenly lighting up a dark room with torches. He who thus introduces the light into the lodge, must be a worthy man, and experienced in the Craft. | ||
| + | 563 - Of what is the lily emblematic? | ||
| + | *Lily. The plant so frequently mentioned in the Old Testament under the name of lily, as an emblem of purity and peace, was the lotus lily of Egypt and India. It occupied a conspicuous place among the ornaments of the Temple furniture. The brim of the molten sea was wrought with flowers of the lotus; the chapiters on the tops of the pillars at the porch, and the tops of the pillars themselves, were adorned with the same plant. Sir Robert Ker Porter, describing a piece of sculpture which he found at Persepolis, says, "Almost every one in this pro cession holds in his hand a figure like the lotus. This flower was full of meaning among the ancients, and occurs all over the East. Egypt. Persia, Palestine, and India present it everywhere over their architecture, in the hands and on the heads of their sculptured figures, whether in statue or in bas relief. We also find it in the sacred vestments and architecture of the tabernacle and Temple of the Israelites. | ||
| + | 564 - What limit is placed upon the obligation of a Mason to extend relief to a distressed worthy brother? | ||
| + | *Limitation of Masonic Relief. The giver is not expected to exceed his ability in the amount of relief that he grants - that is to say, a Brother is expected to grant only such relief as will not materially injure himself or family. This is the unwritten law, and conformable to it is the written one, which says, "You are not charged to do beyond your ability." This provision is not inconsistent with the true principles of charity, which do not require that we should sacrifice our own welfare, or that of our family to the support of the poor; but that with prudent liberality, and a due regard to the comforts of those who are more nearly dependent on us, we should make some sacrifice of luxury out of our abundance, if we have been blessed with it, for the relief of our distressed brethren. | ||
| + | 565 - What is the definition of a Lodge? | ||
| + | *Lodge. As men call the house of God a church, and when religious services are performed in it, say it is church hours, so also we call the locality in which a lodge assembles, a lodge, and when the brethren are assembled in it, it is lodge hours. The form of a lodge is an oblong square. Three well informed brethren form a legal lodge, five improve it, and seven make it perfect. We may also call a room in which a lodge is held, a hall. | ||
| + | The earliest description of a lodge that I have met with, explains it as being "just and perfect by the numbers three, five and seven." This was subsequently exemplified in the following prescribed form: "A lodge of Masons is an assemblage of brothers and fellows met together for the purpose of expatiating on the mysteries of the Craft, with the Bible, square and compasses, the Book of Constitutions, and the warrant empowering them to act." In the formula used at the present day, a further amplification has been adopted. It is here de nominated an assembly of Masons, just, perfect, and regular, who are met together to expatiate on the mysteries of the Order; just, because it contains the volume of the Sacred Law unfolded; perfect, from its numbers, every order of Masonry being virtually present by its representatives, to ratify and confirm its proceedings; and regular, from its warrant of constitution, which implies the sanction of the Grand Master, for the country where the lodge is held. | ||
| + | 566 - Why are Masons said to come from the Lodge of the Holy Saints John of Jerusalem? | ||
| + | *Lodge of St. John. The Masonic tradition is that the primitive or mother lodge was held at Jerusalem, and dedicated to St. John, first the Baptist, then the Evangelist, and finally to both. Hence this lodge was called "The Lodge of the Holy St. John of Jerusalem." From this lodge all other lodges are supposed figuratively to descend, and they therefore receive the same general name, accompanied by another local and distinctive one. In all Masonic documents the words ran formerly as follows: "From the lodge of the holy St. John of Jerusalem, under the distinctive appellation of Solomon's Lodge, No. 1," or what ever might be the local name. In this style foreign documents still run; and it is but a few years since it has been at all disused in this country. Hence we say that every Mason hails from such a lodge, that is to say, from a just and legally constituted lodge. In the earliest catechisms of the eighteenth century we find this formula. "Q. What lodge are you of ? A. The Lodge of St. John." And another question is, "How many angles in St. John's Lodge?" In one of the high degrees it is stated that lodges receive this title "because, in the time of the Crusades, the Perfect Masons communicated a knowledge of their Mysteries to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem," and as both were thus under the same law, the lodges were called St. John's lodges. But this was only one of the attempts to connect Freemasonry with the Templar system. | ||
| + | 567 - How many Lodges were in the quarries of Tyre? | ||
| + | *Lodges of Tyre. In the quarries of Tyre, according to Masonic tradition, were two lodges of Super excellent Masters, as supervisors of the work, over which Tito Zadok, the high priest, presided: these were the Harodim. There were also six lodges of Excellent Masters, eight Grand Architects, and sixteen Architects - men of superior talent, who had been selected for their proficiency in the sciences, and placed as superintendents over the workmen. This was a necessary provision; for thus they were enabled to regulate the proceedings of, and to pre serve order and arrangement in the several departments which were assigned to them. There were three classes of Masters in thirty six lodges, called Menatzchim, and seven hundred lodges of Ghiblim, or operative Fellowcrafts, under Hiram Abif, their Grand Master. | ||
| + | 568 - What is the symbolism of the lost word? | ||
| + | *Lost Word. The mythical history of Freemasonry informs us that there once existed a WORD of surpassing value, and claiming a pro found veneration; that this Word was known to but few; that it was at length lost; and that a temporary substitute for it was adopted. But as the very philosophy of Masonry teaches us that there can be no death without a resurrection - no decay without a subsequent restoration - on the same principle it follows that the loss of the Word must suppose its eventual recovery. | ||
| + | Now, this it is, precisely, that constitutes the myth of the Lost Word and the search for it. No matter what was the word, no matter how it was lost, nor why a substitute was provided, nor when nor where it was recovered - these are all points of subsidiary importance, necessary, it is true, for knowing the legendary history, but not necessary for understanding the symbolism. The only term of the myth that is to be regarded in the study of its interpretation is the abstract idea of a word lost and afterwards recovered. | ||
| + | The WORD, therefore, I conceive to be the symbol of Divine Truth; and all its modifications - the loss, the substitution, and the recovery - are but component parts of the mythical symbol which represents a search after truth. In a general sense, the Word itself being then the symbol of Divine Truth, the narrative of its loss and the search for its recovery becomes a mythical symbol of the decay and loss of the true religion among the ancient nations, at and after the dispersion on the plains of Shinar, and of the attempts of the wise men, the philosophers, and the priests, to find and retain it in their secret mysteries and initiations, which have hence been designated as the Spurious Freemasonry of Antiquity. | ||
| + | But there is a special or individual, as well as a general interpretation, and in this special or individual interpretation the Word, with its accompanying myth of a loss, a substitute, and a recovery, becomes a symbol of the personal progress of a candidate from his first initiation to the completion of his course, when he receives a full development of the mysteries. | ||
| + | 569 - What is the measure of Masonic charity? | ||
| + | *Love. The universal charity of a Mason is like the charity of the Mason's God, and his God is the God of love. Consider the extent of the love of God, and that only, according to his degree, is the extent of Masonic charity. In the broad circle of his affections, he encloses all mankind; he, like the God of love, looks through station, clime, and color, and with one wish of universal good will, he wishes well to all mankind. With the compass of his mind, he measures and draws the square of his conduct, and within that square, having honestly provided for his own household, he forms his little angles of benevolence and charity, to the distressed of all communities. | ||
| + | 570 - What is midnight called among Masons? | ||
| + | *Low Twelve. In Masonic language midnight is so called. The reference is to the sun, which is then below the earth. Low twelve in Masonic symbolism is an unpropitious hour. | ||
| + | 571 - What must the attitude of a Mason be toward his country? | ||
| + | *Loyalty. Notwithstanding the calumnies of Barruel, Robison, and a host of other anti Masonic writers who assert that Masonry is ever engaged in efforts to uproot the governments within which it may exist, there is nothing more evident than that Freemasonry is a loyal institution, and that it inculcates, in all its public instructions, obedience to government. Thus, in the Prestonian charge given in the last century to the Entered Apprentice, and continued to this day in the same words in English Lodges, we find the following words: "In the State, you are to be a quiet and peaceable subject, true to your sovereign, and just to your country; you are not to countenance disloyalty or rebellion, but patiently submit to legal authority, and conform with cheerfulness to the government under which you live, yielding obedience to the laws which afford you protection, but never forgetting the attachment you owe to the place of your nativity or the allegiance due to the sovereign or protectors of that spot." The charge given in American Lodges is of the same import, and varies but slightly in its language. | ||
| + | "In the State, you are to be a quiet and peaceful subject, true to your government, and just to your country; you are not to countenance disloyalty or rebellion, but patiently submit to legal authority and conform with cheerfulness to the government of the country in which you live." The charge given in French Lodges, though somewhat differing in form from both of these, is couched in the same spirit and teaches the same lesson. It is to this effect: "Obedience to the laws and submission to the authorities are among the most imperious duties of the Mason, and he is forbidden at all times from engaging in plots and conspiracies." Hence it is evident that the true Mason must be a true patriot. | ||
| − | |||
| − | + | '''TO BE CONTINUED''' | |
=== N === | === N === | ||
Version vom 27. April 2016, 09:00 Uhr
Inhaltsverzeichnis
MACKEY - Masonry Defined
Source / Credit: Scanned at Phoenixmasonry by Ralph W. Omholt, PM in May 2007.
MASONRY DEFINED, A Liberal Masonic Education
INFORMATION EVERY MASON SHOULD HAVE
Compiled from the Writings of, DR. Albert G. Mackey 33° and Many Other Eminent Authorities
Questions Every Mason Should Be Able to Answer
A
- ABIF
1. Why was Hiram, our ancient Grand Master, called "ABIF?"
- ABLUTION
2. How is moral purification symbolized?
- ABSENCE
3. What is the ancient rule regarding attendance at Lodge?
- ACACIA
4. What is the symbolism of the sprig of Acacia?
- ACCEPTED
5. Why are Masons said to be "Free and Accepted?"
- ACCORD
6. What is the meaning of "Free Will and Accord?"
- ACCUSATION
7. What is the preliminary step in every Masonic trial?
- ACCUSER
8. Who is the prosecuting officer of a Lodge?
- ACQUITTAL
9. Does acquittal of a Mason by a jury prevent his being tried again by a Lodge on the same charge?
- ACTION ON PETITION
10. What action should a Lodge take on receipt of a favorable report on a petition?
- ACTIVE
11. When is a Lodge or Brother said to be "active?"
- ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP, Prerogative of
12. What are the prerogatives of the active members of a Lodge?
- ADAMS, John Quincy,
13. What President of the United States was a bitter opponent of Freemasonry?
- ADDRESS
14. What are the qualifications of Lodge officers?
- ADDRESSING A LODGE
15. What rules govern a Brother while speaking in a Lodge?
- ADHERING MASON
16. To whom does the term "adhering Mason" apply?
- ADMISSION
17. How many candidates can be made Masons on the same day?
- ADMISSION OF MEMBERS
18. Has the Master the right to deny a member admission to his own Lodge?
- ADMISSION OF NEW MEMBERS
19. What right has a new Lodge with respect to the admission of members?
- ADMISSION OF VISITORS
20. Has the Master of a Lodge the right to decline to admit, as a visitor, a Master Mason in good standing? ADMITTANCE TO THE LODGE 21. What is the duty of the Tiler with reference to the admission of persons to a Lodge room?
- ADMONITION
22. How should a Brother be admonished?
- ADONIRAM
23. Who was Adoniram?
- ADOPTIVE MASONRY
24. What is the relation of women to Masonry in France and in America?
- ADVANCED
25. How is the word "advanced" technically used in Masonry?
- ADVANCEMENT, denial of
26. What is the status of an Entered Apprentice if the Lodge denies him advancement?
- ADVANCEMENT, right of
27. Does an Entered Apprentice have the right of advancement?
- ADYTUM
28. What are the supports of the Adytum or Lodge?
- AFFABILITY
29. Of what were the ancient Lodges schools?
- AFFILIATED
30. What is the distinction between an affiliated and a non affiliated Mason?
- AFFILIATION
31. What is the Masonic meaning of the term "affiliation?"
- AFFILIATION OF NON RESIDENTS
32. Are there any geographical restrictions on the right of affiliation?
- AFFILIATION, petition for
33. To what Lodge or Lodges may a Mason apply for affiliation?
- AGAPE, Love Feast
34. What is the relation of the ancient Love Feast to Masonry?
- AGATE
35. Of what was the stone of foundation formed?
- AGE, LAWFUL,
36. Is the age of twenty one the lawful age of admission in all Masonic jurisdictions?
- AGE, MASONIC
37. Certain numbers are assigned as the symbolic ages of Masons of various degrees. What are they, and why?
- AGENDA
38. How is the word "agenda" used in Masonry?
- AHIMAN REZON
39. What was the book of the Constitutions of the Ancient Masons called?
- AID AND ASSISTANCE
40. To what extent should a Mason extend aid to a worthy distressed brother? AIR 41. By what three elements is a Mason proved?
- ALARM
42. In what sense is the word "alarm" used in Masonry?
- ALOORAN
43. What is the sacred book of the Mohammedans called?
- ALDWORTH, the Hon. Mrs.
44. Has a woman ever been made a Mason?
- ALLAH
45. What is the name of God in the Mohammedan religion?
- ALLEGIANCE
46. What effect does non affiliation have upon the allegiance of a Mason to the fraternity?
- ALL SEEING EYE
47. What is the symbolism of the All Seeing Eye?
- ALLUREMENTS
48. What allurements does Masonry hold out?
- ALMOND TREE
49. What is the symbolism of the Almond tree?
- ALTAR
50. What is the symbolism of the Masonic altar?
- AMALTHEA
51. What is the Steward's Jewel, and why?
- AMEN
52. Why do Masons say "amen" at the close of prayer?
- AMULET
53. What is an Amulet?
- ANCHOR
54. What is the symbolism of the Anchor?
- ANCHOR AND ARK
55. Of what are the Anchor and Ark the emblems?
- ANCIENT CRAFT MASONRY
56. What is included in Ancient Craft Masonry?
- ANCIENT CRAFT MASONRY, degrees of
57. How many degrees were there in Ancient Craft Masonry?
- ANCIENT MASONS
58. Who and what were the Ancient Masons?
- ANDERSON, JAMES, D.D.
59. Who was the author of the "Constitutions of the Freemasons?"
- ANDREW, ST.
60. Who is the patron saint of Scottish Masons? ANNIVERSARIES, Masonic 61. What are the two principal anniversaries of symbolic Masonry?
- ANNUAL MEETINGS OF GRAND LODGE
62. What is the precedent for annual meetings of Grand Lodges?
- ANOMOLY
63. Why is Masonry mysterious?
- ANNUITIES
64. What is the most useful form of Masonic charity?
- ANTI MASONIC PARTY
65. Did the anti Masonic party ever nominate a candidate for President?
- ANTI MASONRY
66. Who was alleged to have been murdered by Masons?
- ANTIQUITY OF FREEMASONRY
67. In what year did Masonry become entirely speculative?
- APORRHETA
68. What is permitted to be printed about Masonry and what is not?
- APPEAL FROM BALLOT
69. Has a Grand Lodge the right to entertain an appeal to reverse a ballot?
- APPEAL FROM GRAND MASTER'S DECISION
70. Does an appeal lie from a decision of the Grand Master to the Grand Lodge?
- APPEAL OF ENTERED APPRENTICES OR FELLOWCRAFTS
71. Does an Entered Apprentice or Fellowcraft enjoy the right of Masonic relief?
- APPEAL, right of
72. What rights does a Mason have to appeal from a decision against him?
- APPEAL TO GRAND LODGE
73. How should an appeal to Grand Lodge be made?
- APPELLANT, status of
74. What is the Masonic status of an Appellant during the pendency of an appeal?
- APPOINTMENTS, Grand Master's prerogative of
75. What is the Grand Master's prerogative with respect to appointments?
- APPOINTMENT OF JUNIOR OFFICERS
76. Who has the prerogative of appointing the junior officers of a Lodge?
- APPOINTMENT OF SUBSTITUTE OFFICERS
77. Who has the right to appoint substitute officers in the absence of appointive officers of a Lodge?
- APRON
78. What is the symbolism of the Masonic Apron?
- ARCHITECTURE
79. What is the relation of Architecture to Masonry?
- ARCHIVES
80. For what were the pillars "B" and "J" used? ARK OF THE COVENANT 81. What was the Ark of the Covenant and for what was it used?
- ARMS OF FREEMASONRY
82. What armorial bearings have been borne by Freemasons?
- ARRANGEMENT
83. How were the 18th Century Lodges arranged?
- ARREST OF WARRANT
84. What is the status of a Lodge whose warrant has been arrested?
- ARTS, liberal
85. In what degree are the seven liberal arts and sciences explained?
- ASCENT
86. How does a Fellowcraft ascend to receive his wages?
- ASHLAR
87. Of what is the Ashlar emblematic?
- ASPIRANT
88. What name is applied to a seeker of Masonic light?
- ASS
89. Of what is the Ass an emblem?
- ATHEIST
90. Why cannot an atheist become a Freemason?
- MASONRY DEFINED
- ATTENDANCE
91. What is the duty of a Mason in respect to attendance at his Lodge?
- ATTESTED COPY OF CHARGES
92. Under what circumstances is it necessary for a Lodge to submit an attested copy of charges against a member?
- AUGUSTAN STYLE
93. In what city are some of the best examples of Operative Masonry to be found?
- AVOUCHMENT
94. What regulations govern Masonic avouchments?
- AVOUCHMENT AT second hand
95. May a Master Mason lawfully vouch for a visitor on the authority of another?
- AXE
96. Why was King Solomon's temple built without the use of iron tools?
- AZURE
97. What is the color appropriate to symbolic Masonry?
B
- BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY
98. What punishment was meted out to the Jews who failed to keep the ordinances of Jehovah?
- BACH
99. What is the symbolism of the fourth point of fellowship?
- BADGE
100. What is the badge of a Master Mason and Why?
- BALDACHIN
101. What is the symbolism of the canopy over the Master's chair?
- BALLOT, method of
102. What is the proper method of conducting the ballot?
- BALLOT, reconsideration of
103. Has a Grand Master power to order reconsideration of a ballot?
- BALLOT, secrecy of the
104. Has a Mason the right to announce how he has cast his ballot for a candidate?
- BALLOT UNDER DISPENSATION
105. Do the members of a Lodge under dispensation have the right of ballot on candidates?
- BAND
106. How should lodge officers wear their jewels?
- BANQUET
107. Should the Worshipful Master be present at Masonic banquets?
- BARE FEET
108. What is the symbolism of pulling off the shoes?
- BASILICA
109. What is a Basilica?
- BATON
110. What is the badge of the Marshal of a Lodge?
- BEAUTY
111. Why do Masons cultivate order, harmony and beauty?
- BEEHIVE
112. Of what is the beehive emblematic?
- BEHAVIOR
113. What is the ethical code of Freemasonry?
- BELIEF
114. Upon what scriptural basis are the lectures of Freemasonry largely founded?
- BENAI
115. How were the Fellowcrafts employed in the building of King Solomon's temple?
- BENEFITS
116. Of what do the charities of the Masonic order (in part) consist?
- BETRAYING
117. Do we betray Masonic secrets?
- BIBLE
118. What is the relation of the Bible to Freemasonry?
- BIBLE, requirement of
119. Is a candidate for Masonry required to believe in the divine authenticity of the Scriptures?
- BLACK
120. What do the colors, black and white, symbolize?
- BLACK BALLS
121. Is the rule that one black ball rejects of universal application?
- BLAZING STAR
122. What is the symbolism of the blazing star?
- BLUE MASONRY
123. What is the symbolism of the color blue?
- BOAZ
124. What was the name of the left hand pillar on the porch of King Solomon's temple?
- BOOK OF CONSTITUTIONS
125. What is the Book of Constitutions?
- BOOK OF THE LAW
126. What is the symbolism of the Book of the Law?
- BORDER
127. What are the ornaments of a Lodge?
- BRAZEN PILLARS
128. What do the two pillars on the tracing board represent?
- BREAST
129. What is the duty of a Mason with respect to a Brother's secrets?
- BRIGHT
130. What is a Mason called who has mastered the ritual?
- BROACHED THURNAL
131. What was the Broached Thurnal?
- BROKEN COLUMN
132. Of what is the broken column emblematic?
- BROTHERHOOD
133. In what sense is Freemasonry called a brotherhood?
- BROTHERLY KISS
134. How does the Master of a European Lodge greet a newly made Mason?
- BROTHERLY LOVE
135. What Masonic duties are implied by the tenets of brotherly love?
- BULL, PAPAL
136. What were the bulls issued by the Popes against the Masonic order?
- BURIAL
137. What right of burial has a Master Mason?
- BURIAL, Masonic
138. May an Entered Apprentice or Fellowcraft take part in a Masonic funeral procession?
- BURIAL OF ENTERED APPRENTICES
139. Does an Entered Apprentice have the right of Masonic Burial?
- BURIAL PLACE
140. Where is the burial place of a Master Mason?
- BURIED TREASURES
141. Where were treasures commonly concealed in ancient times?
- BUSINESS
142. On what degree should the business of a Lodge be transacted, and why?
- BY LAWS
143. What are the rules called that govern a Lodge?
- BY LAWS, powers of Grand Lodge over
144. What are the powers of a Grand Lodge with respect to the by laws of a subordinate Lodge?
- BY LAWS, right of making
145. Has a Lodge the right to prescribe its own by laws?
- BY LAWS, uniform code of
146. Has a Grand Lodge the right to prescribe the by laws of constituent Lodges?
C
- CABLE TOW'S LENGTH
147. What is the length of a Mason's cable tow?
- CABUL
148. What country did King Solomon cede to Hiram, King of Tyre?
- CALENDAR
149. What calendars have been adopted by the various branches of Freemasonry?
- CALLING OFF
150. What term is applied to the temporary postponement of the labors of a Lodge?
- CANDIDATE
151. What are the qualifications for admission to Freemasonry?
- CARDINAL POINTS
152. What is the Masonic significance of the cardinal points?
- CARDINAL VIRTUES
153. What are the four cardinal virtues?
- CARPET
154. What is the Masonic carpet?
- CATECHISM
155. What part of the Masonic ritual is in the form of a catechism?
- CATHERINE
156. What great woman ruler prohibited Masonry in her country, and afterwards fostered, encouraged and protected it?
- CAUTION
157. What new name is given to the Entered Apprentice, and why?
- CAUTIOUS SECRECY
158. Why was secrecy observed by our ancient operative brethren?
- CAVE
159. Where did King Solomon have a cave dug and for what purpose?
- CEDAR
160. What are the characteristics of the cedars of Lebanon?
- CEMENT
161. What is the cement of the Lodge?
- CENSURE, nature and effect of
162. What is the nature and effect of Masonic censure?
- CENTER OF UNITY
163. What is the Masonic center of unity?
- CENTER, opening on
164. What symbolic degree is said to be opened on the center?
- CENTRE
165. How far must the labors of a Freemason penetrate?
- CEREMONIES
166. What should be the mental attitude of one taking the degrees of Masonry?
- CERTIFICATE
167. What is the force and value of a Masonic certificate?
- CHAIN
168. What do all Masons upon earth form?
- CHALK
169. Of what are charcoal and clay emblematic?
- CHANGE FROM OPERATIVE TO SPECULATIVE FREEMASONRY
170. What was the effect of the change from operative to speculative Freemasonry on the status of an Entered Apprentice?
- CHAPLAIN
171. What is the status of the Chaplain in ancient craft Masonry?
- CHAPLAIN, Grand
172. What are the duties of a Grand Chaplain of a Grand Lodge?
- CHAPTER PAST MASTERS
173. Has a virtual or chapter Past Master the status of a Past Master of a Lodge?
- CHARACTER
174. What moral qualifications are demanded of an applicant for the degrees of Masonry?
- CHARGE
175. What solemn admonitions are given at the close of each degree of Masonry?
- CHARGES
176. What is the proper form and effect of Masonic charges?
- CHARGES, Ancient
177. What are the so called Ancient charges?
- CHARGES OF 1722
178. What charges were adopted in 1722, and by whom were they presented?
- CHARITY
179. What is the brightest ornament of our Masonic profession?
- CHARTER
180. What document is required to make the meetings of a Lodge regular?
- CHASTITY
181. What is the ancient admonition of the craft with respect to chastity?
- CHIEF POINT
182. What is the chief point in Masonry?
- CHILDREN OF LIGHT
183. As true Masons, from what do we stand redeemed?
- CHOICE OF OFFICERS
184. What qualifications should be required of officers of a Lodge?
- CIRCLE
185. Of what is the circle emblematic?
- CIRCLE AND PARALLEL LINES
186. Of what is the point within a circle emblematic?
- CIRCUMSPECTION
187. What is a Mason's duty as to his words and carriage?
- CLASSES
188. How did King Solomon classify the workmen on the temple?
- CLAY GROUND
189. Where were the pillars of the Temple cast?
- CLEAN HANDS
190. What is the symbolism of clean hands?
- CLEMENT XII
191. Who was the Pope who issued a bull against Freemasonry?
- CLOSING
192. Can a Masonic Lodge be adjourned?
- CLOTHED
193. When is a Mason properly clothed?
- CLOTHING, partial
194. Of what, in Masonry, is partial clothing a symbol?
- COERCION
195. Should anyone be urged to become a Mason against his will?
- COFFIN
196. Of what is the Coffin emblematic?
- COLLECTION OF LODGE DUES
197. What are the duties of the Secretary with reference to the collection of Lodge dues?
- COLORS
198. What are the Masonic colors and what do they represent?
- COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS
199. What is the prerogative of the Master with reference to lodge committees?
- COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
200. Is it lawful for a Masonic Lodge to sit as a committee of the whole?
- COMMITTEES, regulations governing
201. What are the regulations which govern committees of the Lodge?
- COMMUNICATION
202. What term signifies a regular meeting of a Lodge?
- COMMUNICATION OF CHARGES
203. How may charges of un-masonic conduct be communicated to a non resident brother?
- COMO
204. What city was headquarters of the operative Masons during the dark ages?
- COMPASSES
205. Of what is a line drawn by the compasses emblematic?
- COMPLAINT
206. How should complaints against a brother be handled?
- COMPOSITION OF GRAND LODGE
207. What is the definition of a Grand Lodge and of whom is it composed?
- CONCORD
208. Upon what should the Master of a Lodge found his government?
- CONDUCTING CANDIDATES
209. Who performs the duty of conducting a candidate during Masonic work?
- CONFERRING DEGREES IN GRAND LODGE
210. Has the Grand Lodge the power to confer the degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry?
- CONFIDENCE
211. What is the real meaning of the so called "Oath"?
- CONGRESS, MASONIC
212. What efforts have been made to establish a General Grand Lodge for the United States?
- CONSECRATION, elements of
213. What materials are used by Masons for consecration purposes?
- CONSECRATION OF LODGES
214. What custom should be observed on the day of consecration?
- CONSENT, unanimous
215. What is the origin of the rule requiring unanimous consent to the admission of a candidate?
- CONSTITUTE, legally
216. When is a Lodge legally constituted?
- CONSTITUTION, just and legal
217. When is a Lodge said to be justly and legally constituted?
- CONSTITUTION OF A LODGE
218. What is the effect of the ceremony of constitution?
- CONTROVERSY
219. What subjects of discussion are barred from the Lodge room?
- CONVENING A LODGE
220. Can a Lodge be congregated without the consent of the Master?
- CORINTHIAN
221. What was the origin of the Corinthian columns?
- CORN
222. What is the symbolism of Corn?
- CORNER STONE, symbolism of the
223. What is the symbolism of the Corner stone?
- CORNUCOPIA, or the horn of plenty
224. Of what is the Cornucopia emblematic?
- CORRESPONDENCE OF THE LODGE
225. What is the duty of the Secretary with reference to the correspondence of the Lodge?
- COUNSEL AT MASONIC TRIAL
226. Has a Master Mason on trial the right to employ counsel?
- COVENANT OF MASONRY
227. What are the obligations of the Masonic covenant?
- COWAN
228. Why are Cowans excluded from a Lodge?
- CRAFT
229. Define the word "Craft."
- CRAFTSMAN
230. As a Craftsman, what are you to encourage?
- CREED, a Mason's
231. What is the creed of a Freemason?
- CRIMES, Masonic
232. What constitutes a crime in Freemasonry?
- CRIMES, Masonic punishment of
233. What is the definition of a Masonic crime?
- CROSS LEGGED
234. Who were called "cross legged" Masons?
- CROWN OF THORNS
235. Of what was the "crown of thorns" on the Savior's brow composed?
- CUBICAL STONE
236. What is the legend of the cubical stone?
- CUBIT
237. What is the length of a cubit?
- CURIOSITY
238. What is one of the prevailing passions of the human heart?
- CUSTODY OF THE BALLOT BOX
239. To whom is entrusted the custody of the ballot box?
- CUSTODY OF WARRANT
240. Who has the custody of the warrant of constitution?
D
- DARKNESS
241. Of what is darkness a symbol?
- DAUGHTER OF A MASON
242. What are the privileges of a Mason's daughter?
- DAY'S WORK
243. Why is the Senior Warden's station in the west?
- DEACONS
244. What part have the Deacons in the work of the Craft?
- DEATH
245. What is the symbolic meaning of Death?
- DEBATE
246. What are the Masonic rules of debate?
- DEBATES, prohibited
247. What subjects of debate are prohibited in a Lodge?
- DECISION OF MASTER
248. Has a Master of a Lodge the right to permit an appeal by courtesy from a decision?
- DECISIONS OF THE MASTER, appeals from
249. What rules govern appeals from a decision of a master of a Lodge?
- DECLARATION OF CANDIDATES
250. What declaration is required from candidates for initiation into Masonry?
- DECLARING OFF
251. What is meant by "declaring off?"
- DEDICATION
252. To whom were Lodges formerly dedicated?
- DEDICATION, ceremony of
253. What is the origin of the ceremony of dedication?
- DEFAMATION
254. What is a Mason's duty as to the good name of his brethren?
- DEFINITE SUSPENSION
255. What is the meaning and effect of the Masonic penalty of definite suspension?
- DEFINITION OF FREEMASONRY
256. What is the definition of Freemasonry?
- DEGREE
257. What does the word "degree" signify?
- DEGREES
258. Why are there degrees in Masonry?
- DEGREES, ancient
259. What was the custom of ancient craft Masonry in conferring the three degrees?
- DEMISSION
260. Under what circumstances can a Mason exercise the right of demission?
- DEMIT
261. What is a Masonic demit, and how does it affect his standing in the Craft?
- DEPRIVATION OF RIGHT TO VOTE
262. Can a Mason be lawfully deprived of the right of participation in a ballot?
- DEPUTY GRAND MASTER
263. What are the office and function of a Deputy Grand Master?
- DEPUTY GRAND MASTER, prerogatives of
264. Has the Deputy Grand Master the prerogative of establishing Lodges and granting dispensations?
- DESAGULIERS, JOHN THEOPHILUS
265. Who is called the father of modern speculative Freemasonry?
- DESIGN
266. What is the design of Freemasonry?
- DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE
267. What Masonic degree is based on the destruction of the Temple?
- DEVELOPMENT
268. How may a brother make progress in Masonry?
- DIDACTICAL
269. What is the fourth section of the first lecture called?
- DIFFUSION
270. How did King Solomon diffuse Masonry throughout the world?
- DIPLOMA
271. Why should a Mason carry a traveling certificate or diploma?
- DISCIPLINE
272. What system of discipline should be enforced in Masonic Lodges?
- DISCOVERY
273. What discovery was made at the building of the second Temple?
- DISCUSSION OF BALLOT
274. Has a Mason the right to declare how he voted on a ballot?
- DISPENSATION
275. What is a dispensation and by whom can it be granted?
- DISPENSATION, by laws of Lodges under
276. Has a Lodge under dispensation power to enact its own by laws?
- DISPENSATION, candidates of a Lodge under
277. By what procedure are candidates of a Lodge under dispensation elected?
- DISPENSATION, length of
278. How long does a Lodge usually run under dispensation?
- DISPENSATION, Lodge under
279. What is the status of a Mason made in a Lodge under dispensation?
- DISPENSATION OF UNANIMOUS CONSENT
280. Has a Grand Lodge the right to issue a dispensation to admit a Mason without unanimous consent?
- DISPENSATION TO FILL VACANCY IN THE OFFICE OF MASTER
281. Has the Grand Master the right to grant a dispensation for the election of a Master in the event of the Master's death or disability?
- DISPENSATIONS FOR LODGES
282. What is the status of a Lodge under dispensation?
- DISPUTES
283. How should disputes between Masons be disposed of?
- DISSOLUTION OF A LODGE
284. On what grounds may a Masonic Lodge be lawfully dissolved?
- DISTRESS
285. Is Freemasonry a charitable institution?
- DISTRICT DEPUTY GRAND MASTER
286. What official in British Freemasonry corresponds to the District Deputy Grand Master?
- DIVISION OF MASONIC OFFENSES
287. Into what three classes are Masonic offenses divided?
- DOCTRINES
288. What do the three degrees blend?
- DORIC
289. What is the second order of architecture?
- DOTAGE
290. What is the meaning of the word "dotage" as used in Free masonry?
- DOUBLE PUNISHMENT
291. May charges be lawfully brought by a Masonic Lodge for an offense for which the brother has already been punished by the civil authorities?
- DOUBTS
292. What is a good rule in all doubtful matters?
- DOVE
293. Of what is the dove emblematic?
- DUE FORM
294. What distinguishes "due form" from "ample form"?
- DUE GUARD
295. What does the due guard teach?
- DUE GUARD, meaning of
296. What is the due guard?
- DUES
297. What are the rights of a Lodge with respect to establishing dues and assessments?
- DUES, payment of
298. What is the origin of the custom requiring the payment of dues?
- DUES UNDER SUSPENSION
299. Ts a Mason required to pay dues while under suspension?
- DUMBNESS
300. Can a dumb person become a Mason?
- DUTIES OF LODGE
301. What are the duties of a Lodge with reference to the reputation of ancient craft Masonry?
- DUTIES OF MASTER MASONS
302. What duties do Masons owe to God, their neighbors and them selves?
- DUTY
303. What are the duties of a Mason?
E
- EAST
304. Why does the Worshipful Master sit in the east?
- EAVESDROPPER
305. What was the Masonic punishment for eavesdropping?
- ECCLESIASTICAL OR POLITICAL OFFENSES
306. Can Masonic charges be based upon ecclesiastical or political offenses?
- EDICT OF CYRUS
307. What degrees of Masonry are based on the rebuilding of the Temple?
- EGYPTIAN MYSTERIES
308. What were the Egyptian mysteries?
- ELECTING OFFICERS
309. What qualifications should be sought in the choice of the officers of a Lodge?
- ELECTION OF GRAND WARDENS
310. What was formerly the custom of the Craft with regard to the choice of Grand Wardens?
- ELECTION OF OFFICERS
311. How often and at what time should the officers of a Lodge be elected?
- ELECTION OF OFFICERS OF LODGE UNDER DISPENSATION
312. Has a Lodge under dispensation the right to elect its own officers?
- ELECTIONS, regulations governing
313. What rules govern the election of a Masonic official?
- ELECTION TO FILL VACANCY
314. What steps must be taken to fill a vacancy in an office in a Masonic Lodge?
- ELIGIBILITY AS GRAND WARDEN
315. What is required for eligibility to the office of Grand Warden?
- ELIGIBILITY AS MASTER OF A LODGE
316. What other office must a Master Mason have held to become eligible to be Master of a Lodge?
- ELIGIBILITY AS TILER
317. Who are eligible for election as Tiler in a Masonic Lodge?
- ELIGIBILITY OF PAST MASTERS
318. What are the prerogatives of a Past Master with respect to office in the Grand Lodge?
- ELIGIBILITY OF WARDENS
319. What prerogatives do Wardens enjoy with reference to eligibility for election to office?
- ELIGIBILITY TO ELECTION AS OFFICERS
320. What regulations govern eligibility to office in a Lodge?
- EMBLEM
321. What is the difference between an Emblem and a Symbol?
- EMERGENCY
322. What constitutes a case of emergency in Masonry and who is the Judge?
- ENTERED APPRENTICE
323. As an Entered Apprentice, what was the Mason taught?
- ENTERED APPRENTICES, relief of
324. Are Entered Apprentices entitled to Masonic relief?
- ENTERED APPRENTICE, right of visitation
325. Does an Entered Apprentice have the right of visitation?
- ENTERED APPRENTICE, rights of
326. What rights does a candidate obtain after receiving the Entered Apprentice degree?
- ENTERED APPRENTICE, status of
327. What was the original status of the Entered Apprentice degree?
- ENTRANCE
328. What penitential hymn of King Solomon is read on the entrance of the candidate in the third degree?
- ENVY
329. What should be the attitude of a Mason toward a brother?
- EQUALITY
330. What is a Masonic equality?
- EQUIVOCATION
331. Why must the Masonic oath be taken without equivocation?
- ERASURE FROM THE ROLL
332. What is the status of a Mason whose name has been stricken from the roll for non payment of dues?
- ESOTERIC MASONRY
333. What distinguishes exoteric from esoteric Freemasonry?
- ESSENTIAL SECRETS
334. What are the essential secrets of Masonry?
- ESTABLISHED RELIGION
335. What should be the attitude of Masons toward the Church?
- EUNUCH
336. Why cannot a Eunuch become a Mason?
- EUNUCHS, status of
337. Were Eunuchs ever eligible for initiation into Masonry?
- EVERGREEN
338. Why do Masons wear evergreens at funerals?
- EVIDENCE
339. Is it lawful to admit on appeal new evidence not presented at the original trial?
- EXAMINATION
340. How should we treat a stranger who claims to be a Mason?
- EXAMINATION OF OFFICERS OF A NEW LODGE
341. By whom should the officers of a newly organized Lodge be examined?
- EXAMINATION OF VISITORS
342. Under what circumstances may a visitor be admitted to a Lodge without examination?
- EXCLUSION
343. Has a Lodge a right to exclude a member on cause shown temporarily or permanently, from a Lodge?
- EXCLUSION, meaning of
344. What is the Masonic definition of the word "exclusion"?
- EXECUTIVE POWERS OF GRAND LODGE
345. How are the executive powers of a Grand Lodge exercised?
- EXEMPTION
346. What privileges were given the Masons selected to build the Temple?
- EXEMPTION OF MASTER FROM TRIAL BY LODGE
347. Has a Masonic Lodge the right to try its Master on charges?
- EX POST FACTO LAWS
348. Has the Grand Lodge the right to pass Ex Post Facto laws?
- EXPULSION
349. What is the effect of the expulsion of a Mason from his Lodge?
- EXPULSION BY GRAND LODGE
350. Is it lawful for a Grand Lodge to expel a member of a subordinate Lodge?
- EXPULSION, prerogative of
351. In what body is the prerogative of expulsion from Freemasonry vested?
- EXTENT
352. What is the extent of a Masonic Lodge?
- EXTERNAL
353. Where does the external preparation of a candidate take place?
- EYE
354. Of what is the Eye of God symbolic?
- EYESIGHT
355. Why does the candidate wear a hoodwink?
- Eyesight. He who has been temporarily deprived of his sight is reduced to the condition of a new born babe, or of one of those unfortunate individuals whose natural infirmity renders the presence of a conductor indispensably necessary; but when there are no outward objects to distract his attention, it is then that with the eye of reflection he probes into the deepest and darkest recesses of his own heart, and discovers his natural imperfections and impurities much more readily than he could possibly have done had he not been deprived of his sight. This short deprivation of sight has kindled in his heart a spark of the brightest and the purest flame. "The people which sat in darkness saw a great light." (Mat. iv. 16). We must further admit that those who have been deprived of their sight, and who have hopes of being restored to it, strive most industriously and diligently to obtain it; that they have no greater desire, and that they will most readily pledge themselves to do all that can be required of them, in order to obtain that inestimable blessing.
F
356 - Upon what is the Masonic system founded?
- Fabric. The Masonic system exhibits a stupendous and beautiful fabric founded on universal piety. To rule and direct our passions, to have faith and hope in God, and charity towards man, I consider as the objects of what is termed speculative Masonry.
357 - Why should Masons avoid fanaticism?
- Fanaticism. Fanaticism, or a fanatic, dare not be permitted among Freemasons. We should unanimously strive to obtain that object for which the rules of the Order so powerfully work, and thus there can be no disputes or persecutions among us for diversity of opinion. Every Freemason prays to God in the way his religion teaches him, and he is encouraged so to do in the lodge. If we did not allow the wild dreams of imagination, or the still wilder ones of superstition, to have any effect upon our ideas of God and of godly things, all persecution for difference of religious opinions would fall of themselves. Of fanaticism of whole lodges against each other for a difference in their rituals and systems, there were formerly too many traces; but they have happily for many years entirely ceased. Religious fanaticism cannot have any place in a Freemason's lodge, for the members of every sect of the Christian Church have an equal right in the Order. If a Roman Catholic is at the head of the lodge today, and a Lutheran or a member of the Reformed Church tomorrow, it is scarcely remarked by the brethren.
158 - By which of the five senses does a Mason distinguish a friendly or brotherly grip?
- Feeling. Feeling is that sense by which we are enabled to distinguish the different qualities of bodies, such as hardness and softness, heat and cold, roughness and smoothness, figure, solidity, motion, and extension, all of which, by means of corresponding sensations of touch, are presented to the mind as real external qualities, and the conception or belief of them invariably connected with these corresponding sensations by an original principle of nature, which far transcends our inquiry.
359 - What are the present rights of Fellowcrafts?
- Fellowcraft, Right of. At the present day, Fellowcrafts possess no more rights and prerogatives than do Entered Apprentices. Preston, indeed, in his charge to a candidate who has been passed to that degree, says that he is entitled in the meetings to express his "sentiments and opinions on such subjects as are regularly introduced in the lecture, under the superintendence of an experienced Master, who will guard the landmark against encroachment." If this only means that in the course of instruction he may respectfully make suggestions for the purpose of eliciting further information, no one will, I presume, be willing to deny such a privilege. But the traditional theory that Apprentices were not permitted to speak or vote, but that Fellowcrafts might exercise the former right, but not the latter, has no foundation in any positive law that I have been enabled to discover. I have never seen this prerogative of speaking assumed by a Fellowcraft in this country, and doubt whether it would be permitted in any well regulated Lodge.
It was certainly the usage to permit both Apprentices and Fellow crafts to vote, as well as to speak, but there never was such a distinction as that alluded to in the text. The Old Regulations of the Grand Lodge of England provided that "the Grand Master shall allow any Brother, a Fellowcraft, or Entered Prentice, to speak, directing his discourse to his worship in the chair; or to make any motion for the good of the fraternity, which shall be either immediately considered, or else referred to the consideration of the Grand Lodge, at their next communication, stated or occasional." But this regulation has long since been abrogated. Fellowcrafts formerly possessed the right of being elected Wardens of their Lodge, and even of being promoted to the elevated post of Grand Master, although, of course - and the language of the Regulation implies the fact - a Fellowcraft who had been elected Grand Master, must, after his election, be invested with the Master's degree. At the present day, Fellowcrafts possess no other rights than those of sitting in a Lodge of their degree, of applying for advancement, and of being tried by their peers for Masonic offences, with the necessary privilege of an appeal to the Grand Lodge. 360 - Why cannot a woman be present in an open Lodge of Freemasons?
- Females. The only reason why women cannot be present in an open lodge of Freemasons is that their mysteries, being symbolical of labor as performed by man, could not be shared by women; no honest hearted man could for a moment believe that in mind woman is inferior; if a man existed who thought so, let him ask from whom he first imbibed lessons of piety, virtue and honor. But if women cannot share our labor of work, there is no reason why they should not enjoy our labor of love.
361 - Under what name did our ancient brethren worship Deity?
- Fides. In the lecture of the first degree, it is said that "our ancient brethren worshipped deity under the names of Fides or Fidelity, which was sometimes represented by two right hands joined, and some times by two human figures holding each other by the right hands." The deity here referred to was the goddess Fides, to whom Numa first erected temples, and whose priests were covered by a white veil as a symbol of the purity which should characterize Fidelity. No victims were slain on her altars, and no offerings made to her except flowers, wine, and incense. Her statues were represented clothed in a white mantle, with a key in her hand and a dog at her feet. The virtue of Fidelity is, however, frequently symbolized in ancient medals by a heart in the open hand, but more usually by two right hands clasped. Ilorace calls her "incorrupta fides," and makes her the sister of Justice; while Cicero says that that which is religion towards God and Piety towards our parents is fidelity towards our fellow men. There was among the Romans another deity called Fidius, who presided over oaths and contracts, a very usual form of imprecation being "Me Dills Fidius adjuvet," that is, so help me the god Fidius. Noel says that there was an ancient marble at Rome consecrated to the god Fidius, on which was depicted two figures clasping each other's hands as the representatives of Honor and Truth, without which there can be no fidelity nor truth among men. Masonry, borrowing its ideas from the ancient poets, also makes the right hand the symbol of Fidelity.
362 - Who is responsible for the finances of a Masonic Lodge?
- Finance. The funds of a Lodge are deposited with the Treasurer, who pays them out on the order of the Master, and with the consent of the brethren. According to an ancient practice the funds are first received by the Secretary, who transfers them to the Treasurer, taking his receipt for the same. His yearly accounts are examined by an auditing committee.
363 - What are the moral teachings of the first degree?
- First Degree. In this lecture virtue is painted in the most beautiful colors, and the beauties of morality are strictly enforced. Here we are taught such wise and useful lessons as prepare the mind for a regular advancement in the principles of knowledge and philosophy; and these are imprinted on the memory by lively and sensible images, well calculated to influence our conduct in the proper discharge of the duties of life. The whole is a regular system of morality, conceived in a strain of interesting allegory, which readily unfolds its beauties to the candid and industrious inquirer.
364 - What are the teachings of the five points of fellowship?
- Five Points of Fellowship. The five points of fellowship were thus illustrated in the lectures used by the Athol Masons of the last century:
- 1. "When the necessities of a brother call for my support, I will be ever ready to lend him a helping hand to save him from sinking if I find him worthy thereof.
- 2. Indolence shall not cause my footsteps to halt, nor wrath to turn them aside, but forgetting every selfish consideration, I will be ever swift of foot to save, help, and execute benevolence to a fellow creature in distress, but more particularly to a brother Mason.
- 3. When I offer up my ejaculations to Almighty God, I will remember my brother's welfare, even as my own; for as the voice of babes and sucklings ascend to the throne of grace, so most assuredly will the breathings of a fervent heart ascend to the mansions of bliss.
- 4. A brother's secret, delivered to me as such, I will keep as I would my own, because, if I betray the trust which has been reposed in me, I might do him an irreparable injury; it would be like the villainy of an assassin, who lurks in the darkness to stab his adversary when unarmed and least prepared to meet an enemy.
- 5. A brother's character I will support in his absence, as I would in his presence. I will not revile him myself, nor suffer it to be done by others, if it is in my power to prevent it. Thus by the five points of fellowship, we are linked together in one indivisible chain of sincere affection, brotherly love, relief, and truth."
365 - In what degree are the lessons of the five senses explained?
- Five Senses. The brain is wonderfully adapted by its perfect system of nervous sympathy to give the intellectual powers their force, and enable the mind to receive perceptions of every object in the wide creation, that comes within the sphere of hearing, feeling, smelling, tasting, and seeing; these being the five human senses explained in the lecture of the Fellow Craft's degree.
366 - What are the fixed lights of a Lodge?
- Fixed Lights. The fixed lights of a lodge were formerly represented by "three windows, supposed to be in every room where a lodge is held; referring to the cardinal points of the compass, according to the antique rules of Masonry." There was one in the east, another in the west, and another in the south, to light the men to, at, and from labor; but there was none in the north, because the sun darts no rays from thence. These constitute the symbolical situations of the three chief' officers.
367 - Of what is the Mosaic pavement emblematic?
- Floor. In a symbolical lodge, the first object which deserves attention is the mosaic floor on which we tread; it is intended to convey to our minds the vicissitudes of human affairs, chequered with a strange contrariety of events. Today elated with the smiles of prosperity, tomorrow depressed by the frowns of misfortune. The precariousness of our situation in this world should teach us punctuality, to walk uprightly and firmly upon the broad basis of virtue and religion, and to give assistance to our unfortunate fellow creatures who are in distress; let, on some capricious turn of fortune's wheel, we may become dependent on those who before looked up to us as their benefactors.
368 - What is the symbolism of the foot in Masonry?
- Foot to Foot. The old lectures of the last century descanted on the symbolism of foot to foot as teaching us "that indolence should not permit the foot to halt or wrath to turn our steps out of the way; but forgetting injuries and selfish feelings, and remembering that man was born for the aid of his fellow creatures, not for his own enjoyments only, but to do that which is good, we should be swift to extend our mercy and benevolence to all, but more particularly to a brother Mason." The present lecture on the same subject gives the same lesson, more briefly and more emphatically, when it says, "we should never halt nor grow weary in the service of a brother Mason."
369 - What is the function of the Grand Lodge Committee on Foreign Correspondence?
- Foreign Correspondence. Committees of Foreign Correspondence are bodies known only to American Masonry; and until within a few years, as far as the efficient discharge of any duty was concerned, they appear to have been of but little value. But at the present time they occupy an important position in the working of every Grand Lodge.
The Committees on Correspondence are the links which bind the Grand Lodges into one united whole in the pursuit of knowledge; they are the guardians appointed by their respective bodies to inform their constituents what has been the progress of the institution for the past year - to warn them of the errors in discipline or in Masonic science which they may suppose to have been committed - and to suggest the best method by which these errors may be avoided or amended. 370 - What do Masons mean by traveling in a foreign country?
- Foreign Country. The lecture of the third degree begins by declaring that the recipient was induced to seek that sublime degree "that he might perfect himself in Masonry, so as to travel into foreign countries, and work and receive wages as a Master Mason." Thousands have often heard this ritualistic expression at the opening and closing of a Master's Lodge, without dreaming for a moment of its hidden and spiritual meaning, or, if they think of any meaning at all, they content themselves by interpreting it as referring to the actual travels of the Masons, after the completion of the Temple, into the surrounding countries in search of employment, whose wages were to be the gold and silver which they could earn by the exercise of their skill in the operative art.
But the true symbolic meaning of the foreign country into which the Master Mason travels in search of wages is far different. The symbolism of this life terminates with the Master's degree. The completion of that degree is the lesson of death and the resurrection to a future life, where the true word, or Divine Truth, not given in this, is to be received as the reward of a life worthily spent in its search. Heaven, the future life, the higher state of existence after death, is the foreign country in which the Master Mason is to enter, and there he is to receive his wages in the reception of that truth which can be imparted only in that better land. 371 - What is the form of a Masonic Lodge?
- Form of the Lodge. The form of a Masonic lodge is said to be a parallelogram or oblong square - its greatest length being from East to West - its breadth from North to South. A square, a circle, a triangle, or any other form but that of an oblong square would be eminently incorrect and unmasonic, because such a figure would not be an expression of the symbolic idea which is intended to be conveyed. At the Solomonic era - the era of the building of the Temple at Jerusalem - the world, it must be remembered, was supposed to have that very oblong form, which has been here symbolized. If, for instance, on a map of the world, we should inscribe an oblong figure whose boundary lines would circumscribe and include just that portion which was known and inhabited in the days of Solomon, these lines running a short distance North and South of the Mediterranean sea, and ex tending from Spain in the West to Asia Minor in the East, would form an oblong square, including the southern shore of Europe, the northern shore of Africa, and the western district of Asia, the length of the parallelogram being about sixty degrees from East to West, and its breadth being about twenty degrees from North to South. This oblong square, thus inclosing the whole of what was then supposed to be the habitable globe, would precisely represent what is symbolically said to be the form of the lodge, while the Pillars of Hercules in the West, on each side of the straits of Gades or Gibraltar, might appropriately be referred to the two pillars that stood at the porch of the Temple.
A Masonic Lodge is, therefore, a symbol of the world. This symbol is sometimes, by a very usual figure of speech, extended, in its application, and the world and the universe are made synonymous, when the lodge becomes, of course, a symbol of the universe. But in this case the definition of the symbol is extended, and to the ideas of length and breadth are added those of height and depth, and the lodge is said to assume the form of a double cube. The solid contents of the earth below and the expanse of the heavens above will then give the outlines of the cube, and the whole created universe be included within the symbolic limits of a Mason's Lodge. The form of a Lodge should always be an oblong square, in length, between the East and West; in breadth, between the North and the South; in height, from earth to heaven; and in depth, from the surface to the center. This disposition serves to indicate the prevalence of Freemasonry over the whole face of the globe, guarded by its laws, and ornamented by its beautiful tenets. Every civilized region is illuminated by its presence. Its charity relieves the wretched; its brotherly love unites the Fraternity in a chain of indissoluble affection, and extends its example beyond the limits of the Lodge room, to embrace, in its ample scope, the whole human race, infolding them in its arms of universal love. The square form was esteemed by our ancient operative brethren as one of the Greater Lights, and a component part of the furniture of the Lodge. The double cube is an expressive emblem of the united powers of darkness and light in the creation. 372 - What is the Masonic virtue of fortitude?
- Fortitude. By fortitude we are taught to resist temptation, and encounter danger with spirit and resolution. This virtue is equally distant from rashness and cowardice; and he who possesses it is seldom shaken, and never overthrown, by the storms that surround him.
373 - When is the ballot box said to be foul?
- Foul. The ballot box is said to be "foul" when, in the ballot for initiation or advancement of a candidate, one or more black balls are found.
374 - On what days should corner stones be laid?
- Foundation. The Masonic days proper for laying the foundation stone of a Masons' lodge are from the 15th of April to the 15th of May; and the 18th of April has been pronounced peculiarly auspicious, because nothing can be more consonant with reason and propriety, than to commence a building in the early spring, that the workmen may have the whole summer before them to complete the undertaking advantageously, in order that they may celebrate the cap stone with confidence and joy.
375 - How many degrees had Ancient Freemasonry?
- Four Degrees. Ancient Masonry consists of four degrees; the first of which are the Apprentice, the Fellowcraft, and the sublime degree of Master; and the fourth, the Holy Royal Arch.
376 - In what sense is the word "free" applied to Masons?
- Free. The word "free," in connection with "Mason," originally signified that the persons so called were free of the company of gild or incorporated Masons. For those operative Masons who were not thus made free of the gild, were not permitted to work with those who were. A similar regulation still exists in many parts of Europe al though it is not known to this country.
In reference to the other sense of free as meaning not bound, not in captivity, it is a rule of Masonry that no one can be initiated who is at the time restrained of his liberty. The old lectures formerly used in England give the following ac count of the origin of the term: "The Masons who were selected to build the Temple of Solomon were declared Free, and were exempted, together with their descend, ants, from imposts, duties and taxes. They had also the privilege to bear arms. At the destruction of the Temple by Nebuchadnezzar, the posterity of these Masons were carried into captivity with the ancient Jews. But the good will of Cyrus gave them permission to erect a second Temple, having set them at liberty for that purpose. It is from this epoch that we bear the name of Free and Accepted Masons." 377 - How did the title, "Free and Accepted Masons," originate?
- Free and Accepted. The title of "Free and Accepted Masons" was first used by Dr. Anderson in the second edition of the Book of Constitutions, published in 1738, the title of which is "The History and Constitutions of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons." In the first edition of 1723, the title was "The Constitutions of the Freemasons." The newer title continued to be used by the Grand Lodge of England, in which it was followed by those of Scotland and Ireland; and a majority of the Grand Lodges in this country have adopted the same style, and call themselves Grand Lodges of Free and Accepted Masons.
378 - What must be the status of a candidate for Masonry?
- Freeborn. No candidate can be admitted into Freemasonry, or share in its occult mysteries, unless he be a free man, of mature age, sound judgment, and strict morality. Nor can any one, although he have been initiated, continue to act as a Mason, or practise the rites of the Order, if he be temporarily deprived of his liberty, or freedom of will, so essential is it to Freemasonry, that its members should be perfectly free in all their actions, thoughts and designs.
379 - What is the distinction between Masonry and Freemasonry?
- Freemasonry. Masonry, according to the general acceptation of the term, is an art founded on the principles of geometry, and directed to the service and convenience of mankind. But Freemasonry, embracing a wider range and having a nobler object in view, namely, the cultivation and improvement of the human mind, may with propriety be called a science, inasmuch as availing itself of the terms of the former, it inculcates the principles of the purest morality, though its lessons are for the most part veiled in allegory, and illustrated by symbols.
380 - What are the best known definitions of Freemasonry?
- Freemasonry, Definitions of. The definitions of Freemasonry have been numerous, and they all unite in declaring it to be a system of morality, by the practice of which its members may advance their spiritual interest, and mount by the theological ladder, from the lodge on earth to the Lodge in heaven. Subjoined are a few of the most important definitions:
- "Freemasonry is a beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory, and illustrated by symbols. " - Hemming.
- "The grand object of Masonry is to promote the happiness of the human race. " - Washington.
- "Masonry is an art, useful and extensive, which comprehends within its circle every branch of useful knowledge and learning, and stamps an indelible mark of pre eminence on its genuine professors, which neither chance, power, nor fortune can bestow." - Preston.
- "Freemasonry is an establishment founded on the benevolent intention of extending and conferring mutual happiness upon the best and truest principles of moral life and social virtue. " - Calcott.
- "Freemasonry is an institution calculated to benefit mankind." - Andrew Jackson.
- "Freemasonry is a moral order, instituted by virtuous men, with the praiseworthy design of recalling to our remembrance the most sublime truths, in the midst of the most innocent and social pleasures, founded on liberality, brotherly love and charity." - Arnold.
- "I have ever felt it my duty to support and encourage the principles of Freemasonry, because it powerfully develops all social and benevolent affections. " - Lord Durham.
- "From its origin to the present hour, in all its vicissitudes, Masonry has been the steady, unvarying friend of man." - Rev. Erastus Burr.
- "Masonry is one of the most sublime and perfect institutions that ever was formed for the advancement of happiness, and the general good of mankind, creating, in all its varieties, universal benevolence and brotherly love." - Duke of Sussex.
- "For centuries had Freemasonry existed ere modern political controversies were ever heard of, and when the topics which now agitate society were not known, but all were united in brotherhood and affection. I know the institution to be founded on the great principles of charity, philanthropy, and brotherly love. " - Bulwer.
- "Everything which tends to combine men by stronger ties is useful to humanity; in this point of view, Masonry is entitled to respect" - La Lande.
- "I think we are warranted in contending that a society thus constituted, and which may be rendered so admirable an engine of improvement, far from meriting reproach, deserves highly of the community. " - Rev. Dr. Milne.
- "Charity, or brotherly kindness, is as much a Masonic as it is a Christian virtue." - Rev. Dr. Slade.
- "A Mason's Lodge is a school of piety. The principal emblems are the teachers." - Rev. Dr. Norval.
- "The aims of Freemasonry are not limited to one form of operation, or one mode of benevolence. Its object is at once moral and social. It proposes both to cultivate the mind and enlarge and purify the heart." - Rev. J. O. Skinner.
- "The Masonic system exhibits a stupendous and beautiful fabric founded on universal piety: To rule and direct our passions; to have faith and love in God, and charity toward man." - Stephen Jones.
- "There are Great Truths at the foundation of Freemasonry - truths which it is its mission to teach, and which constitute the very essence of that sublime system which gives to the venerable institution its peculiar identity as a science of morality, and it behooves every disciple diligently to ponder and inwardly digest." - Albert . Pike.
- "Its laws are reason and equity, its principles benevolence and love; and its religion purity and truth; its intention is peace on earth; and its disposition good will toward man." - Rev. T. M. Harris.
381 - Why are Masons forbidden to solicit members?
- Free Will and Accord. There is one peculiar feature in the Masonic Institution that must command it to the respect of every generous mind. In other associations it is considered meritorious in a member to exert his influence in obtaining applications for admission; but it is wholly uncongenial with the spirit of our Order to persuade any one to become a Mason. Whosoever seeks a knowledge of our mystic rites must first be prepared for the ordeal in his heart; he must not only be endowed with the necessary moral qualifications which would fit him for admission into our ranks, but he must come, too, uninfluenced by friends and unbiased by unworthy motives. This is a settled landmark of the Order; and, therefore, nothing can be more painful to a true Mason than to see this landmark violated by young and heedless brethren..
382 - On what is the universality of Masonry based?
- Friendship. Friendship is traced through the circle of private connections to the grand system of universal benevolence, which no limits can circumscribe, as its influence extends to every branch of the human race. On this general plan the universality of the system of Masonry is established. Were friendship confined to the spot of our nativity, its operation would be partial, and imply a kind of enmity to other nations. Where the interests of one country interfere with those of another, nature dictates an adherence to the welfare of our own immediate connections; but such interference apart, the true Mason is a citizen of the world, and his philanthropy extends to all the human race. Uninfluenced by local prejudices, he knows no preference in virtue but according to its degree, from whatever country or clime it may spring.
383 - Has the Lodge the right to conduct a funeral procession without a dispensation from the Grand Lodge?
- Funeral Processions. As to the dispensation spoken of in the Regulations of
1754, as being required from the Grand Master or his Deputy, for a funeral procession, as that regulation was adopted at so late a period, it cannot be considered as universal Masonic law. To make it obligatory in any jurisdiction, it is necessary that it should be adopted as a local law by specific enactment of the Grand Lodge of that jurisdiction. And although it may be admitted that, for large cities especially, it is a very wholesome regulation, many Grand Lodges have neglected or declined to adopt it. In the United States, dispensations for this purpose have very seldom, if at all, been required. In deed, Preston, in explaining the object of the regulation, says: "It was planned to put a stop to mixed and irregular conventions of Masons, and to prevent them from exposing to derision the insignia of the Order, by parading through the streets on unimportant occasions; it was not, however, intended to restrict the privileges of any regular Lodge, or to encroach on the legal prerogative of any installed Master." Accordingly, in America, Masons have generally been permitted to bury their dead without the necessity of a dispensation, and the Master of the Lodge engaged in this melancholy task, while supposed to be possessed of competent discretion to regulate the ceremony, is of course held amenable to the Grand Lodge for any impropriety that may occur. 384 - Under what conditions can Masonic burial be granted?
- Funeral Services. No Mason can be interred with the ceremonies of the Order, unless it be by his own request, made while living, to the Master of the Lodge of which he died a member; nor unless he has been raised to the third degree of Masonry; sojourners and officers high in the Order excepted. A dispensation has first to be obtained from the Grand Master before any public procession can be allowed to
385 - What is the furniture of the Lodge?
- Furniture of the Lodge. Every well regulated Lodge is furnished with the Holy Bible, the Square, and the Compasses. These constitute the furniture of the Lodge, being the three Great Lights of Masonry. The first is designed to be the guide of our faith; the second to regulate our actions; and the third to keep us within proper bounds with all mankind.
G
386 - What is the symbolism of the letter "G"?
- G. This letter is deservedly regarded as one of the most sacred of the Masonic emblems. Where it is used, however, as a symbol of Deity, it must be remembered that it is the Saxon representative of the Hebrew Yod and the Greek Tau - the initial letters of the name of the Eternal in those languages. This symbol proves that Freemasonry always prosecuted its labors with reference to the grand ideas of Infinity and Eternity. By the letter G - which conveyed to the minds of the brethren, at the same time, the idea of God and that of Geometry - it bound heaven to earth, the divine to the human, and the infinite to the finite. Masons are taught to regard the Universe as the grandest of all symbols, revealing to men, in all ages, the ideas which are eternally revolving in the mind of the Deity, and which it is their duty to reproduce in their own lives and in the world of art and industry. Thus God and Geometry, the material worlds and the spiritual spheres, were constantly united in the speculations of the ancient Masons. They, consequently, labored earnestly and unweariedly, not only to construct cities, and embellish them with magnificent edifices, but also to build up a temple of great and divine thoughts and of ever growing virtues for the soul to dwell in. The symbolical letter G * * * "That hieroglyphic bright, Which none but craftsmen ever saw," and before which every true Mason reverently uncovers, and bows his head - is a perpetual condemnation of profanity, impiety and vice. No brother who has bowed before that emblem can be profane. He will never speak the name of the Grand Master of the Universe but with reverence, respect and love. He will learn, by studying the mystic meaning of the letter G, to model his life after the divine plan; and, thus instructed, he will strive to be like God in the activity and earnestness of his benevolence, and the broadness and efficiency of his charity. "The letter G occupies a prominent position in several of the degrees in the American system; is found in many of the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish rite; in Adonhiramite Masonry; and, in fact, in every one of the many systems in which the people of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were so prolific in manufacturing. Wherever we find this recondite symbol in any of the Masonic rites, it has the same significance - a substitute for the Hebraic jod, the initial letter of the Divine name, and a monogram that ex pressed the Unereated Being, principle of all things; and, inclosed in a triangle, the unity of God. We recognize the same letter G in the Syriac Gad, the Swedish Gud, the German Gott, and the English God - all names of the Deity and all derived from the Persian Goda, itself derived from the absolute pronoun signifying himself. The young Fellowcraft is the representative of a student of the sciences, and to him the letter G represents the science of Geometry."
387 - Is the Temple merely a symbol in Masonry, or an historical building?
- Gates of the Temple. In the system of Freemasonry, the Temple of Solomon is represented as having a gate on the east, west, and south sides but none on the north. In reference to the historical Temple of Jerusalem, such a representation is wholly incorrect. In the walls of the building itself there were no places of entrance except the door of the porch, which gave admission to the house. But in the surrounding courts there were gates at every point of the compass. The Masonic idea of the Temple is, however, entirely symbolic. The Temple is to the Speculative Mason only a symbol, not an historical building, and the gates are imaginary and symbolic also. They are, in the first place, symbols of the progress of the sun in his daily course, rising in the east, culminating to the meridian in the south, and setting in the west. They are also, in the allegory of life, which it is the object of the third degree to illustrate, symbols of the three stages of youth, manhood, and old age, or, more properly of birth, life, and death.
388 - What is the symbolism of the gavel?
- Gavel. An emblem in the degree of Entered Apprentice. It is a hammer with an edge such as is used by stone masons to break off the corners of stones, in preparing them for the builder's use. In the Masonic system it is employed as a symbol by which the Mason is constantly admonished to divest his mind and conscience of all the vices and errors of life, thereby fitting his body as a living stone for that building "that house not made with hands - eternal in the heavens." It is also an emblem of authority, and is used by the Master in governing the Lodge. It is sometimes erroneously confounded with the setting maul, which is quite a different instrument. It borrows its name from its shape, being that of the gable or gavel end of a house; and this word again comes from the German gip f el, a summit, top or peak - the idea of a pointed extremity being common to all. The form of the gavel used by the presiding officer of a Masonic Lodge varies in different sections of the country. Among our French and Spanish brethren, it is familiarly known as the president's hammer. The stone mason's hammer is the appropriate emblem of authority in the hand of the Master of the Lodge. The gavel is also called a Hiram.
389 - What is the origin of the General Regulations of Ancient Craft Masonry?
- General Regulations. The General Regulations are those that have been enacted by such bodies as had at the time universal jurisdiction over the craft. By the concurring consent of all Masonic jurists, it is agreed that the regulations adopted previous to the year 1721 shall be considered as general in their nature; because all the Masonic authorities established since that period have derived their existence, either directly or indirectly, from the Grand Lodge of England, which was organized in 1717, and hence the regulations adopted by that body, at the period of its organization, and immediately afterwards, or by its predecessors, the annual General Assemblies of the craft, were of universal authority at the time of their adoption. But soon after 1721, other Grand Lodges were established with equal powers to make regulations for their own jurisdictions, and hence the subsequent enactments of the Grand Lodge of England ceased to be of force in those new and independent jurisdictions, and they therefore lost their character of universality.
390 - How was the term "Gentleman Mason" employed?
- Gentleman Mason. In some of the old lectures of the last century this title is used as equivalent to Speculative Freemason. Thus they had the following catechism:
- Q. What do you learn by being a Gentleman Mason?
- A. Secrecy, Morality, and Good Fellowship.
- Q. What do you learn by being an Operative Mason?
- A. Hew, Square, Mould stone, lay a Level, and raise a Perpendicular." Hence we see that Gentleman Mason was in contrast with Operative Mason.
391 - Of what is the act of kneeling a token?
- Genuflexion. A bending of the knee, or kneeling. The act of kneeling has, among all people, and in all ages, been a token of reverence, a sign of dependence, supplication, and humility.
392 - What is the geographical jurisdiction of a Lodge?
- Geographical Jurisdiction. The geographical jurisdiction of a Lodge is that penal jurisdiction which it exercises over the territory within which it is situated, and extends to all the Masons, affiliated and unaffiliated, who live within that territory.
As to the local extent of this jurisdiction, it is universally supposed to extend to a point equally distant from the adjacent Lodge. Thus, if two Lodges are situated within twenty miles of each other, the geographical jurisdiction of each will extend ten miles from its seat in the direction of the other Lodge. But in this case both Lodges must be situated in the same State, and hold their warrants from the same Grand Lodge; for it is a settled point of Masonic law that no Lodge can extend its geographical jurisdiction beyond the territorial limits of its own Grand Lodge. Thus, if of two Lodges, twenty miles distant from each other, one is situated in Georgia, five miles from the boundary line between that State and Alabama, and the other in Alabama, fifteen miles from the line, then the jurisdiction of the Georgia Lodge will not cross over the boundary, but will be restricted to the five miles which are between it and the line, while the fifteen miles which are between that line and the Alabama Lodge will be within the penal jurisdiction of the latter body. 393 - What is the relation of Geometry to Freemasonry?
- Geometry. Among the mathematical sciences, geometry is the one which has the most especial reference to architecture, and we can, there fore, under the name of geometry, understand the whole art of Free masonry. In Anderson's Book of Constitutions, Freemasonry is frequently called geometry, and of the latter he said that the whole being of the Order is comprehended in it. Freemasons therefore ought to make themselves intimately acquainted with . geometry. It is not absolutely necessary to be able to delineate geometrical figures, but it is necessary to be able to deduce all our actions, works, or resolutions from geometrical principles.
394 - Who were the Ghiblimites?
- Ghiblim. The Ghiblimites were expert operative Masons, who understood the science of geometrical proportion in its practical applications and were cemented in their lodges by the morality of its detached and component parts.
395 - How did the expression "riding the goat" originate?
- Goat, Riding the. The vulgar idea that "riding the goat" constitutes a part of the ceremonies of initiation in a Masonic lodge has its real origin in the superstition of antiquity. The old Greeks and Romans portrayed their mystical god Pan in horns and hoofs and shaggy hide, and called him "goat footed." When the demonology of the classics was adopted and modified by the early Christians, Pan gave way to Satan, who naturally inherited his attributes; so that to the common mind the Devil was represented by a he goat and his best known marks were the horns, the beard, and the cloven hoofs. Then came the witch stories of the Middle Ages, and the belief in the witch orgies, where, it was said, the Devil appeared riding on a goat. These orgies of the witches, where amid fearfully blasphemous ceremonies, they practiced initiation into their Satanic rites, became, to the vulgar and illiterate, the type of the Masonic mysteries: for, as Dr. Oliver says, it was in England a common belief that the Freemasons were accustomed in their lodges "to raise the Devil." So the "riding of the Goat" which was believed to be practiced by the witches, was transferred to the Free masons; and the saying remains to this day, although the belief hap very long since died out.
396 - Why cannot an atheist become a Mason?
- God. A belief in the existence of God is an essential point of Speculative Masonry - so essential, indeed, that it is a landmark of the. Order that no Atheist can be made a Mason. Nor is this left to an inference; for a specific declaration to that effect is demanded as an indispensable preparation for initiation. And hence Hutchinson says that the worship of God "was the first and corner stone on which our originals thought it expedient to place the foundation of Masonry." The religion of Masonry is cosmopolitan, universal; but the required belief in God is not incompatible with this universality; for it is the belief of all peoples. "Be assured," says Godfrey Higgins, "that God is equally present with the pious Hindoo in the temple, the Jew in the synagogue, the Mohammedan in the mosque, and the Christian in the church." There never has been a time since the revival of Freemasonry, when this belief in God as superintending power did not form a part of the system. The very earliest rituals that are extant, going back almost to the beginning of the eighteenth century, contain precisely the same question as to the trust in God which is found in those of the present day; and the oldest manuscript, Constitutions, dating as far back as the fifteenth century at least, all commence with, or contain, an invocation to the "Mighty Father of Heaven." There never was a time when the dogma did not form an essential part of the Masonic system.
God is the highest and most perfect intelligence: in Him all things exist, and from Him all things depend. The belief in God is not the result of teaching, not the result of the exercise of reason, not a deduction from the order and regularity of the universe; for faith in a Supreme Being was universal among men in the infancy of the race, and before the human mind was capable of that power of analysis, or had attained to that degree of science which this study of the universe and of the laws of nature supposes. As the notion of an Infinite Being transcends the circle of sensible and material objects, and is clearly beyond the power of a finite being to create, therefore that notion must have been communicated directly to man by God himself. Man believes in a God, therefore God exists; because, were there no God the notion of such a being could not exist. The crowning attribute of man, and what distinguishes him from the brute, is not the faculty of reason; for that, the brute has in common with man; but the power of seeing and aspiring to the ideal. Thus man had no sooner looked upon the grandeur, and glory, and beauty of the world, than he saw enthroned far above the world that which was vaster, more beautiful, more glorious than the world, the Ideal, that is to say, God. Therefore, Freemasonry accepts the idea of God, as a supreme fact, and bars its gates with inflexible sternness against those who deny his existence. No atheist can become a Mason. 397 - What is the member who introduces a candidate in France called?
- Godfather. In French Lodges the member who introduces a candidate for initiation is called his "parrain," or "godfather."
398 - What three pillars of Masonry are named by the letters "G. O. D.?"
- G. O. D. The initials of Gomer, Oz, Dabar. It is a singular coincidence, and worthy of thought, that the letters composing the English name of Deity should be the initials of the Hebrew words wisdom, strength, and beauty; the three great pillars, or metaphorical supports, of Masonry. They seem to present almost the only reason that can reconcile a Mason to the use of the initial "G" in its conspicuous suspension in the East of the Lodge in place of the Delta. The incident seems to be more than an accident.
- Dabar, Wisdom, D.
- Oz, Strength, O.
- Gomer, Beauty, G.
399 - Why is the Masonic apron compared with the Golden Fleece?
- Golden Fleece. In the lecture of the first degree, it is said of the Mason's apron, that it is "more ancient than the Golden Fleece or Roman Eagle, more honorable than the Star and Garter." The reference is here evidently not to the Argonautic expedition in search of the golden fleece, nor to the deluge, of which that event is supposed to have been a figure, as Dr. Oliver incorrectly supposes, but to certain decorations of honor with which the apron is compared. The eagle was to the Romans the ensign of imperial power; the Order of the Golden Fleece was of high repute as an Order of Knighthood. It was established in Flanders, in 129, by the Duke of Burgundy, who selected the fleece for its badge because wool was the staple production of the country. It has ever been considered, says Clark, one of the most illustrious Orders in Europe. The Order of the Garter was, and is still, considered the highest decoration that can be bestowed upon a subject by a sovereign of Great Britain. Thus, the apron is proudly compared with the noblest decorations of ancient Rome and of modern Europe. But the Masons may have been also influenced in their selection, of a reference to the Golden Fleece, by the fact that in the Middle Ages it was one of the most important symbols of the Hermetic philosophers.
400 - Why do Masons observe the Golden Rule?
- Golden Rule. Freemasonry recommends the practice of the Golden rule, do unto others as you would have them do to you, not so much to preserve the peace and order of civil society (which notwithstanding it cannot fail to do) as to inspire in our own bosoms, a love of virtue and good will to man.
401 - Who was called the Good Shepherd?
- Good Shepherd. Our Saviour called himself the Good Shepherd. Thus, in St. John's Gospel (x. 14, 15, 16), he says: "I am the Good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also must I bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd." Hence, in Masonic as well as in Christian symbolism, Christ is naturally called the Good Shepherd.
402 - Where did the Grand Lodge of England hold its first meeting?
- Goose and Gridiron. An alehouse with this sign, in London House Yard at the north end of St. Paul's. In 1717 the Lodge of Antiquity met at the Goose and Gridiron, and it was there that the first quarterly communication of the Grand Lodge of England, after the revival of 1717, was held on the 24th of June, 1717.
403 - How are the grades of Masonic rank defined?
- Grades of Rank. Many persons have endeavored to substantiate their objections to the institution of Freemasonry from the admitted dogma that its members meet on a level; whence they conclude that the system abolishes all human distinctions and promises to disorganize society, and reduce it to its primitive elements. But it does no such thing. There is, in fact, no other institution where the grades of rank are better defined and preserved. The Worshipful Master sits in the east. For what purpose is he placed there? Why, to rule and govern his lodge. And he is invested with power even to despotism, should he consider it safe to use it, and the Wardens are his assistants, not his equals. Each has a particular duty assigned to him, and beyond that, he has no right to interfere. The next grade are the Deacons. And what is their duty? Not, surely, to rank in equality with the Master and Wardens, but to perform the part of inferiors in office, to carry messages and commands. It is their province to attend on the Master, and to assist the Wardens in the active duties of the lodge, such as the reception of candidates into the different degrees of Masonry, and the immediate practice of our rites. This is the business of the Deacons; and by its punctual discharge, the office becomes a stepping stone to further preferment, for as it is incumbent on a brother to serve the office of a Warden, before he is eligible for the chair of a lodge, so it would be well if the office of a Deacon were preparatory to that of a Warden. The Treasurer, the Secretary, the Stewards, and the Tiler all have their respective duties to perform, and rank to support; while the brethren are bound to obey the will and pleasure of the Master.
404 - What is the usual Masonic name for the Deity?
- Grand Architect. This Most High Being ought to be duly revered by every brother as the Great Architect of heaven and earth, and his name ought never to be spoken but with the greatest humility and reverence. It is not improper, when we are always speaking of Masonry, to call God the Great Architect of heaven and earth, as we also call him the Lord of lords and King of kings. Every one, even those who are not Freemasons, call him the Creator of heaven and of earth. He has created everything that we can see; and it is certain that he has created many things which we have not power to see; and when the brethren strive to adorn his greatest work - when they assist in carrying on the spiritual temple in the manner he has ordained - they most assuredly fulfill his holy law.
405 - What is the office and function of Grand Chaplain?
- Grand Chaplain. This is an office of very modern date. No allusion to such an officer is to be found in any of the old Constitutions, and Preston informs us that it was instituted on the 1st of May, 1775, on the occasion of the laying of the corner stone of the Freemasons' Hall in London. A sense of propriety has, however, notwithstanding its want of antiquity, since caused this office to be universally recognized by the Grand Lodges of this country, some of whom have in creased the number of Grand Chaplains from one to several.
The duties of the Grand Chaplain are confined to offering up prayer at the communications of the Grand Lodge, and conducting its devotional exercises on public occasions. He is, by virtue of his office, a member of the Grand Lodge, and entitled to a seat and a vote. The only qualifications generally required appear to be that he should be a Master Mason, in good standing in his Lodge, and a recognized clergyman of some religious denomination. 406 - What is the history and function of the office of Grand Deacon?
- Grand Deacon. The office of Grand Deacon is of more modern origin than that of any other officer in the Grand Lodge. I can find no reference to it in any of the old Regulations, in Anderson, or any subsequent edition of the Book of Constitutions, in Preston's Illustrations, or in Lawrie's History. By the Regulations of 1721, the duties of the Grand Deacons seem to have been divided between the Grand Wardens and the Stewards; nor is a place appropriated in any of the processions described in the various works already cited. They are first found in a procession which took place in 1831, recorded by Oliver, in his Continuation of Preston's History. But they have since been placed among the officers of the Grand Lodge in the Constitutions of England, Scotland and Ireland.
In America, the office has an older date; for Grand Deacons are recorded as being present in a procession of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, in 1783, the account of which is to be found in Smith's "Ahiman Rezon." They are also mentioned among the officers of the Grand Lodge in the Constitution adopted in 1797 by the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. I know not whence the anomaly arose of these officers existing in Grand Lodges of America in the eighteenth century, while they are not to be found in those of Great Britain until late in the nineteenth. They could scarcely have been derived from the Athol Grand Lodge, since the York Masons of South Carolina had no such officers in 1807, when Dalcho published the first edition of his "Ahiman Rezon." Be this as it may, the office is now recognized in all the Grand Lodges of this country. The Grand Deacons are generally two in number, a Senior, who is usually appointed by the Grand Master, and a Junior, who receives his appointment from the Senior Grand Warden. It is their province to attend upon the Grand Master and Wardens, and to act as their proxies in the active duties of the Grand Lodge. Their duties differ but little from those of the corresponding officers in a subordinate Lodge. 407 - Why is the seat of a Grand Lodge known as the Grand East?
- Grand East. The city in which the Grand Lodge, or other governing Masonic body is situated, and whence its official documents emanate, is called the Grand East. Thus a document issued by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts would be dated from the "Grand East of Boston," or if from the Grand Lodge of Louisiana, it would be the "Grand East of New Orleans." The place where a Grand Lodge meets is therefore called a Grand East. The word is in constant use on the continent of Europe and in America, but seldom employed in England, Scotland, or Ireland.
The East with Masons has a peculiar meaning. It is well known that the sciences first rose in the East, and that the resplendent orb of light from that quarter proclaims the glory of the day. "And behold the Glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the East, and his voice was like the noise of many waters; the earth shined with his glory. The East Gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened; and no,man shall enter by it, because the Glory of the God of Israel hath entered by it. It is for the Prince." If 408 - What is the office and function of Grand Lecturer?
- Grand Lecturer. The office of Grand Lecturer is one of great importance; perhaps there is none so important in the whole series of offices which constitute the controlling element of a Grand Lodge. He is the recognized teacher of the Masonic system, and it is by his faithful instructions alone that unity can be maintained in the methods of communicating our ritual.
"This unity," says a distinguished Mason, Bro. Sandford, of Iowa, "makes the world a Mason's home, and raising him high above geographical divisions and the obstacles of language and religion, secures him protection and repose wherever fate or fortune may direct his steps. Without it, our grand fabric of universal benevolence, which has withstood the storms of numerous centuries, would be shattered to atoms in a single age." I presume that it will be admitted by every intelligent Mason, that Bro. Sandford has not placed too high an estimate on the importance of a uniformity of work. If Masonry contain within itself anything worthy of the study of intellectual men - if our theories of its antiquity be not fallacious - if our legends and ceremonies and symbols are not, as one class of our opponents have declared them to be, the puerile amusements of a past age of dreamers - then surely it is the bounden duty of the supreme head of the Order, in every jurisdiction, to preserve those legends and ceremonies and symbols as pure and unsullied by error and innovation as they were when received. It is a part of the covenant into which we have all entered, and to which we are all bound by the most solemn obligations, to preserve the ancient Landmarks which have been intrusted to our care, and never to suffer them to be infringed, or to countenance a deviation from the established usages and customs of the fraternity. This, it appears to me, is the most prominent and especial duty of a Grand Lodge. It is the conservator of the Order in its own jurisdiction, and is expected by all the sanctions of justice and reason to hand down to its successors the rites and ceremonies of the institution, as it received them from its predecessors. Unless it does this, it is recreant to its trust. It may dispense charity - it may endow colleges - it may decide disputes - it may invent financial systems, or legislate for general purposes - but unless it shall take constant and careful precautions for preserving the ancient Landmarks, and disseminating among the craft a uniformity of work and lectures, according to the true system, it will be neglecting the principal design of its organization, and will become a "cruel" instead of a "gentle mother" to its children. Under an administration which shall totally abandon all supervision of the ritual, and devise no means of teaching it, the very identity of Masonry would soon altogether be extinguished, and Lodges would speedily de generate into social clubs. 409 - What qualifications are necessary for a candidate for the office of Grand Lecturer?
- Grand Lecturer, Qualifications of. Not only should the authority of the Grand Lecturer as a Masonic teacher be sovereign and undivided in his jurisdiction, and the tenure of his office permanent, so that the craft may not be annually subjected to changes in the form and sub stance of the instruction that they receive, but, above all, he should be fully competent, by previous study, to discharge the duties of his high calling.
No man can be qualified as a Grand Lecturer unless he has devoted his time, his talent, and his labor to the arduous, though pleasant, task of Masonic study. The old Romans had a proverb that a Mercury could not be made out of any kind of wood, and neither can a Grand Lecturer be manufactured out of any kind of Mason. A Masonic teacher requires qualifications of the highest character. A profound knowledge of the ritual is, of course, essential; and this alone is to be acquired only after the most laborious study, aided by the adventitious assistance of an excellent and retentive memory. But to this must be added, if we would give dignity to the office, or confer a benefit on the pupils whom he is to teach, an education above the common standard, a cultivated intellect, an acquaintance with that ancient language from whose records our system is derived, a familiarity with history and antiquities, and an extent of reading and power of mind which will enable him to trace the symbolism of our Order through all its progress, from the ancient priesthood of Egypt, the mysteries of Greece and Asia and the kabbala of Palestine. It may be said that the standard is here placed too high, and that few will be found to reach it. Better, then, would it be to do without a Lecturer than to have an incompetent one; and I know of no less amount of learning that would make a Masonic teacher, such as a Masonic teacher should be. But moreover, by placing the standard of qualifications high, intellectual men would be found to work up to it; while, by placing it lower, ignorant men would readily avail themselves of the privileges that so low a standard would present. The "consummation devoutly to be wished" in Masonry is, that none but learned men should become Masonic teachers. The old Constitutions do not recognize the office of Grand Lecturer òunder that name; but it has always existed, and its duties were per formed in the eighteenth century by some of the most learned men of the order. Anderson, Desaguliers, Martin Clare, Hutchinson and Preston were all, in the strict sense of the word, Grand Lecturers, and discharged the duties of the office with great benefit to the craft. 410 - What are the powers of a Grand Lodge?
- Grand Lodge. This governing body consists of a Grand Master with a full staff of officers, and the Masters and Wardens, of every warranted lodge. In the Grand Lodge, besides the power of enacting laws and regulations for the government of the Craft, and of altering, repealing, and abrogating them (provided that they continue to pre serve the ancient landmarks of the Order) the Grand Lodge has also the inherent power of investigating, regulating, and deciding all matters relative to the Craft or to particular lodges, or to individual brothers, which it may exercise either by itself or by such delegated authority as, in its wisdom and discretion, it may appoint; but in the Grand Lodge alone resides the power of erasing lodges, and passing upon appeals from decisions of Masters and constituent lodges.
411 - May an Entered Apprentice attend Grand Lodge?
- Grand Lodge Attendance. Entered Apprentices formerly had the right of being present at the communications of the Grand Lodge, or General Assembly, and taking part in its deliberations. In fact, it is expressly prescribed, in the last of the Regulations of 1721, that none of these important laws can be altered, or any new General Regulations made, until the alteration or the new regulation is submitted to all the Brethren, "even the youngest Entered Apprentice." But this rule is now obsolete, because, being founded on the fact that Apprentices were then the body of the craft, and they being no longer so, the reason of the law having ceased, the law also ceases.
412 - Is the possession of a Grand Lodge Certificate conclusive evidence of the good standing of its possessor?
- Grand Lodge Certificates. Intimately connected with the subject of the right of visit is that of Grand Lodge certificates. The propriety of any Regulation requiring such a document as a necessary preliminary to a visit, has, within the last few years, been warmly agitated by several of the Grand Lodges of this country; and some of them, denying its antiquity, have abolished the Regulation in their own jurisdictions. It is, however, surprising that any writer professing to be acquainted with the history of the institution, should for a moment deny the great antiquity and universality of the law which has required every strange Brother to furnish the Lodge which he intends to visit with a certificate of his good standing in the Lodge and the jurisdiction from which he hails.
The Regulation was certainly in force two centuries ago; for we have he evidence of that fact in the Regulation adopted in the General Assembly in 1663, under the Grand Mastership of the Earl of St. Albans, in the following explicit language: "No person hereafter, who shall be accepted a Freemason, shall be admitted into any Lodge or assembly, until he has brought a certificate of the time and place of his acceptation from the Lodge that accepted him, unto the Master of that limit or division where such a Lodge is kept." From that time, at least, the Regulation has been strictly observed in the Grand Lodges of England, Ireland, and Scotland, and many of the older Grand Lodges of this country. Several other Grand Lodges, however, whose Constitutions are of a later date, have, as I have al ready observed, abolished it, and decline to furnish their members with such certificates. There may be a doubt whether a Masonic certificate, not renewable, but given to its possessor for his life, is of any real value in establishing his Masonic standing, except at the time that he received it; but there can be no doubt that the Regulation requiring one to be given is one of the most ancient written laws of the Order. Under any circumstances, it must, however, be recollected that a Grand Lodge certificate is to be considered only as a collateral evidence of the good standing of its possessor, preparatory to an examination in the legal way; and hence the Regulation adopted by the Grand Lodge of South Carolina in 1848 seems to be a reasonable one, namely, that where the visitor, being without a certificate, can furnish other sufficient evidence of his Masonic standing, and assign a satisfactory reason for his being without a certificate, the Lodge which he proposes to visit may proceed to his examination. 413 - What is the jurisdiction of a Grand Lodge?
- Grand Lodges, Jurisdiction of. At first there were no clear nor well defined notions in regard to the territorial jurisdiction of Grand Lodges. Until within a few years each Grand Lodge claimed the right to constitute lodges in any part of the world. At the time of the breaking out of our Revolutionary War the Grand Lodges of England, Ire land, and Scotland had lodges in Massachusetts and other colonies. The principle, however, is now well settled that the Grand Lodge of a Province or State has exclusive jurisdiction within such territory, and that no other Grand Lodge can legally charter lodges therein. A Grand Lodge is supreme over its own affairs. There is no Masonic authority or power above it: it is subject only to the unchangeable laws of the Order, the acknowledged constitutions, and the Ancient Landmarks.
414 - How is a Grand Lodge organized?
- Grand Lodges, Organization of. A Grand Lodge consists of the Master and Wardens of all the lodges under its jurisdiction and such Past Masters as may be elected members. The officers are a Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master, Senior Grand Warden, Junior Grand Warden, Grand Treasurer, Grand Secretary, Grand Chaplain, Senior Grand Deacon, Junior Grand Deacon, Grand Stewards, Grand Marshal, Grand Standard Bearer, Grand Pursuivant, Grand Sword Bearer and Grand Tiler. In a country or state where there is no Grand Lodge three or more legal lodges may meet in convention and organize a Grand Lodge. Then these lodges surrender their charters to the Grand Lodges from which they received them, and take others from the new Grand Lodge.
415 - What is the usual procedure of a Grand Lodge in conducting a Masonic trial?
- Grand Lodge Trials. Trials in a Grand Lodge are to be con ducted on the same general principles as in private Lodges; but here, in consequence of the largeness of the body, and the inconvenience which would result from holding the examinations in open Lodge, and in the presence of all the members, it is more usual to appoint a committee, be fore whom the case is tried, and upon whose full report of the testimony the Grand Lodge bases its action. And the forms of trial in such committees must conform, in all respects, to the general usage already de tailed.
416 - What is the office and function of Grand Marshal?
- Grand Marshal. The first allusion that I find to this office is in the second edition of the Book of Constitutions, where, under the date of 1730, a procession is described, which was closed by "Marshal Pyne, with his truncheon blew, tipt with gold." But as throughout the remainder of the book, and all the subsequent editions, the allusion is not repeated, I am led to suppose that this was simply a temporary appointment of an officer to keep order, without any reference to Masonic rank. There is no such officer in the present Grand Lodge of England, and the office is unknown in several of the American jurisdictions.
The duty of the Grand Marshal in those Grand Lodges which recognize the office is simply to arrange the processions of the Grand Lodge, and to preserve order, according to the forms prescribed. 417 - What are the powers and privileges of a Grand Master?
- Grand Master. The presiding officer of the symbolic degrees in a jurisdiction. He presides, of course, over the Grand Lodge, and has the right not only to be present, but also to preside in every Lodge, with the Master of the Lodge on his left hand, and to order his Grand War dens to attend him, and act as Wardens in that particular Lodge. He has the right of visiting the lodges and inspecting their books and mode of work as often as he pleases, or, if unable to do so, he may depute his Grand officers to act for him. He has the power of granting dispensation for the formation of new lodges; which dispensations are of force until revoked by himself or the Grand Lodge. He may also grant dispensations for several other purposes. Formerly, the Grand Master appointed his Grand officers, but this regulation has been repealed, and the Grand officers are now all elected by the Grand Lodges.
When the Grand Master visits a lodge, he must be received with the greatest respect, and the Master of the Lodge should always offer him the chair, which the Grand Master may or may not accept at his pleasure. Should the Grand Master die, or be absent from the jurisdiction during his term of office, the Deputy Grand Master assumes his powers, or, if there be no Deputy, then the Grand Wardens according to seniority. 418 - What is the origin and history of the office of Grand Master?
- Grand Master, Office of. The office of Grand Master is one of such antiquity as to be coeval with the very origin of the institution, whether we look at that origin in a traditional or in an historical point of view. There never has been a time in which the Order has not been governed by a chief presiding officer under this name.
From this fact we derive the important principle that the office of Grand Master is independent of the Grand Lodge, and that all his prerogatives and duties, so far as they are connected generally with the craft, are inherent in the office, and not derived from, nor amenable to, any modern Constitutions. The whole records of our written and traditional history show that Grand Masters have repeatedly existed without a Grand Lodge, but never a Grand Lodge without a Grand Master. And this is because the connection of the Grand Master is essentially with the craft at large, and only incidentally with the Grand Lodge. He is neither elected, in stalled, nor saluted as the "Grand Master of the Grand Lodge," but as the "Grand Master of Masons"; and if the institution, so far as relates to its present organization, was again to be resolved into the condition which it occupied previous to the year 1717, and the Grand Lodge were to be abolished, in consequence of the resumption by the subordinate Lodges of their original prerogatives, the office of Grand Master would be unaffected by such revolution, and that officer would still remain in possession of all his powers, because his office is inseparable from the existence of the fraternity, and he would be annually elected as formerly, by the craft in their "General Assembly." In accordance with these views, we find Anderson recording that in the year 926, at the city of York, Prince Edwin, as Grand Master, summoned the craft, who then "composed a Grand Lodge, of which he was the Grand Master." The Grand Lodge did not constitute him as their Grand Master, for the appointment of Grand Master, according to the record, preceded the organization of the Grand Lodge. Again: both Anderson and Preston show us a long list of Grand Masters who were not even elected by the Grand Lodge, but held their appointment from the King. In 1663, a Regulation was adopted, declaring "that, for the future, the fraternity of Freemasons shall be regulated and governed by one Grand Master, and as many Wardens as the said society shall think fit to appoint at every annual General Assembly," which Assembly, it must be recollected, was not, as now, a Grand Lodge, consisting of the representatives of Lodges, but a mass meeting of all the members of the craft. Again: an attentive perusal of the history of the present organization of Grand Lodges on St. John the Baptist's day, 1717, will show that the craft first, in General Assembly, elected their Grand Master, who then appointed his Wardens, and established a Grand Lodge, by summoning the Masters and Wardens of the Lodges to meet him in quarterly communication. In short, everything of an authentic nature in the history of Masonry shows that the Grand Master is the officer and the organ of the craft in general, and not of the Grand Lodge, and that although for purposes of convenience, the fraternity have, for the last one hundred and thirty five years, conceded to their Masters and Wardens in Grand Lodge convened the privilege of electing him for them, such concession does not impair his, rights, nor destroy the intimate and immediate connection which exists between him and the craft at large, to whom alone he can be said to have any rightful responsibility. 419 - What is the prerogative of the Grand Master with respect to assem bling Masons into Lodges?
- Grand Master's Power of Congregating Masons. Analogous to the dispensing power is the prerogative which the Grand Master possesses of authorizing Masons to congregate together and form a Lodge. According to the Regulations of 1721, and the modern Constitutions of England, the Grand Master has the power to grant warrants for the permanent establishment of Lodges, by warrant of constitution. But in this country this prerogative has not, for many years, been exercised by Grand Masters, who only grant their authority for the holding of Lodges temporarily, until the next communication of the Grand Lodge. Hence, as no Lodge can be legally held, except under a warrant of constitution, granted by a Grand Lodge, when the Grand Master permits such an assemblage, he suspends for a time the operation of the law; and for this reason the document issued by him for this purpose is very appropriately called a dispensation, for it is simply a permission or license granted to certain brethren to dispense with the law requiring a warrant, and to meet and work masonically without such an instrument.
420 - What is the prerogative of the Grand Master with respect to his power of convening Grand Lodge?
- Grand Master's Power of Convening Grand Lodge. The Grand Master has the right to convene the Grand Lodge on any special occasion, at such time and place as he may deem expedient. The Constitution of the Grand Lodge necessarily must designate a time and place for the annual communication, which it is not in the power of the Grand Master to change. But on the occurrence of any emergency, which may, in his opinion, render a special communication necessary, the Grand Master possesses the prerogative of convoking Grand Lodge, and may select such time and place for the convocation as he deems most convenient or appropriate. This prerogative has been so repeatedly exercised by Grand Masters, from the earliest times to the present day, that it seems to be unnecessary to furnish any specific precedents out of the multitude that the most cursory reading of the old records would supply.
421 - What is the Grand Master's prerogative with regards to the arrest of the charter of a Lodge?
- Grand Master's Prerogative of Arrest of Charter. An important prerogative of the Grand Master is that of arresting the charter of a subordinate Lodge. To arrest the charter, is a technical phrase, by which is meant to suspend the work of a Lodge - to prevent it from holding its usual communications, and to forbid it to transact any business, of to do any work. A Grand Master cannot revoke the warrant of a Lodge; for this, as I have already shown, is the peculiar prerogative of the Grand Lodge. But if, in his opinion the good of Masonry, or any other sufficient cause requires it, he may suspend the operation of the warrant until the next communication of the Grand Lodge, which body is alone competent to revise or approve of his action. But this prerogative of the Grand Master, as it deprives a Lodge of its activity and usefulness for a period of some duration, and inflicts some portion of disgrace upon the body which has subjected itself to such discipline, should be exercised with the utmost caution and reluctance.
422 - What is the prerogative of the Grand Master with respect to dispensations?
- Grand Master's Prerogative of Dispensation. One of the most important prerogatives of a Grand Master is that of granting dispensations. A dispensation may be defined to be "the granting of a license, or the license itself, to do what is forbidden by laws or regulation, or to omit something which is commanded; that is, the dispensing with a law or regulation, or the exemption of a particular person from the obligation to comply with its injunctions." This power to dispense with the provisions of law in particular cases appears to be inherent in the Grand Master, because, although frequently referred to in the Old Regulations, it always is as if it were a power already in existence, and never by way of a new grant. There is no record of any Masonic statute or constitutional provision conferring this prerogative in distinct words. The instances, however, in which this prerogative may be exercised are clearly enumerated in various places of the Old Constitutions, so that there can be no difficulty in understanding to what extent the prerogative extends.
Thus, one of the Regulations of 1721 prescribes that "no Lodge shall make more than five new brethren at one time"; but the Grand Master may grant his dispensation to authorize any Lodge on a particular occasion to go beyond this number. Again, in another Regulation it is enacted that "no man can be made or admitted a member of a particular Lodge without previous notice one month before"; but here the Grand Master may interfere with his dispensing power, and permit a candidate to be made without such previous notice. Another Regulation prescribes that "no set or number of brethren shall withdraw or separate themselves from the Lodge in which they were made brethren, or were afterwards admitted members, unless the Lodge becomes too numerous, nor even then, without a dispensation." But this Regulation has long since become obsolete, and Masons now demit from their Lodges without the necessity of asking a dispensation. In fact, as the law is no longer in force, no authority is needed to dispense with its injunctions. The Twelfth Regulation of 1721 prescribes that none but members of the Grand Lodge shall be permitted to be present at its quarterly communications, except by dispensation. The Grand Master is thus authorized to set aside the provisions of the law for the benefit of a particular individual, and this right of the Grand Master to admit strangers as visitors in the Grand Lodge is still recognized as one of his prerogatives. Besides these particular instances of the exercise of the dispensing power which are referred to in the Old Regulations, there are many others which arise from the nature of the prerogative, and which have been sanctioned by immemorial usage. Thus, when a Lodge has neglected to elect its officers at the constitutional time of election, or having elected them, has failed to proceed to installation, the Grand Master may, on application, issue his dispensation, authorizing the election or installation to take place at some time subsequent to the constitutional period. And without such dispensation, no election or installation could take place; but the old officers would have to continue in office until the next regular time of election, for no Lodge can perform any act at any other time, or in any other mode, except that which is provided by its by laws, or the Regulations of the Grand Lodge, unless in a particular case a dispensation is granted to set aside for the time the provisions of the law. Again: although no one can serve as Master of a Lodge, unless he has previously acted as a Warden, yet in particular cases, as in the organization of a new Lodge, or when, in an old Lodge, no one who has been a Warden is willing to serve as Master, the Grand Master may grant his dispensation, empowering the members to elect a Master from the floor. But as it is a principle of the law that the benignity of the Grand Master must not affect the rights of third parties, no dispensation can issue for the election from the floor, if there be a Warden or Past War den who is willing to serve; for eligibility to the chair is one of the prerogatives which arises from having served in the office of Warden, and a dispensation cannot set aside a prerogative. By the operation of the same equitable principle, the Grand Master is prohibited from issuing a dispensation to authorize the initiation of a person who has been rejected by a Lodge; for it is the inherent right of a Lodge to judge of the fitness of its own members, and the Grand Master cannot, by the exercise of his dispensing power, interfere with this inherent right. 423 - What is the prerogative of the Grand Master with respect to presiding over the Craft?
- Grand Master's Prerogative of Presiding. The Grand Master has the right to preside over every assembly of the craft, wheresoever and whensoever held. This is a Landmark of the Order, and consequently the right of the Grand Master to preside at all meetings of the Grand Lodge, which is derived from it, is an inherent right, of which no constitutional provision can deprive him. From this prerogative is also derived the principle that the Grand Master may assume the chair of any private Lodge in which he may be present, and govern the Lodge as its Master. He is also, by virtue of the same prerogative, the chair man of every committee of the Grand Lodge which he may choose to attend. He is, in brief, the head of the craft in his own jurisdiction, and cannot, at any meeting of the fraternity for Masonic purposes, be placed, without his consent, in a subordinate position.
424 - What is the Grand Master's prerogative with respect to voting in Grand Lodge?
- Grand Master's Prerogative of Voting. The Twelfth Regulation of 1721 gave the Grand Master the prerogative of casting two votes in all questions before the Grand Lodge. The words of the Regulation are, it is true, very explicit, and would seem to leave no doubt upon its face; and yet I am scarcely inclined to believe that under all circumstances that officer was permitted to vote twice, while every other member voted but once. Contemporaneous exposition, however, supplies no aid in the interpretation of the law; for I have looked in vain through the earlier editions of the Book of Constitutions for any further reference to the subject. The modern Grand Lodge of England retains the very words of the Old Regulations; but in this country, where it has principally been preserved by usage, it is so interpreted as that the Grand Master gives his second vote only in the case of a tie, and this, I suspect, was the object of the original law.
425 - What three important events in Scripture are designated as the three grand offerings of Masonry?
- Grand Offerings. According to the English system of lectures, three important events recorded in Scripture are designated as the three grand offerings of Masonry, because they are said to have occurred on Mount Moriah, which symbolically represents the ground floor of the Lodge. These three grand offerings are as follows: The first grand offering was when Abraham prepared to offer up his son Isaac; the second was when David built an altar to stay the pestilence with which his people were afflicted; and the third was when Solomon dedicated to Jehovah the Temple which he had completed.
426 - How may Grand Officers be removed from office?
- Grand Officers. None of the grand officers can be removed, unless for reasons which appear sufficient to the Grand Lodge; but, should the Grand Master be dissatisfied with the conduct of any of his grand officers he may submit the case to the Grand Lodge; and should it appear to the majority of the brethren present that the complaint be well founded, he may displace such grand officer, and nominate another.
427 - What are the office and function of Grand Pursuivant?
- Grand Pursuivant. In the science of heraldry, a Pursuivant is the lowest order of officers at arms, and is, as the title implies, an attendant on the heralds. The office is unknown to the English Constitutions of Masonry, either ancient or modern, and appears to be peculiar to this country, where it is to be found in a large number of Grand Lodges, whose Regulations are, however, generally silent as to the nature of the functions to be discharged.
The "Ahiman Rezon" of South Carolina says that his station is near the door, whence he receives all reports from the Grand Tiler, and announces the name and Masonic rank of all who desire admission, seeing that none enter without their appropriate decorations. He combines therefcre, in part, the duties of the Junior Deacon with those of a gentleman usher. I have already said that the office is modern, as no allusion to it is to be found in any of the old Regulations. The appointment is generally vested in the Grand Master. 428 - What is the nature and function of the office of Grand Secretary?
- Grand Secretary. The Regulations of 1721 had described the duties to be performed by the Grand Secretary; but from the organization of the Grand Lodge in 1717, to the year 1723, no such officer had been appointed. In the last mentioned year, however, Bro. William Cowper was chosen by the Grand Lodge. The office was therefore first an elective one, but Anderson, in his edition of 1738, says that "ever since, the new Grand Master, upon his commencement, appoints the Secretary, or continues him by returning him the books." This usage is still pursued by the modern Grand Lodge of England, but in every jurisdiction of this country, the office of Grand Secretary is an elective one.
The functions, the discharge of which is intrusted to the Grand Secretary, are of the most important nature, and require no ordinary amount of talent. It is his duty to record all the proceedings of the Grand Lodge with the utmost fidelity and exactness. He is also the official organ of the Grand Lodge, and in that capacity conducts its correspondence. He is, besides, the recipient of the returns and dues of Lodges, which amounts he pays over to the Grand Treasurer, so that each of these officers acts as a check upon the other. The Grand Secretary is also in this country the keeper of the seal of the Grand Lodge, which he affixes to all documents that require it. His signature is considered as essential to the validity of any document which emanates from the Grand Lodge. Like the Grand Treasurer, he was permitted by the old Regulations to appoint an assistant, who did not, however, by such appointment, be come a member of the Grand Lodge. The Regulation is still in force in several of the American jurisdictions. 429 - What are the history and functions of the office of Grand Steward?
- Grand Stewards. The duty of the Grand Stewards is to attend upon the tables during the hours of refreshment, and to assist the Junior Grand Warden in managing the Grand Feast, in jurisdictions where this ancient usage is observed.
430 - What is the history and function of the office of Grand Sword Bearer?
- Grand Sword Bearer. In 1731, the Duke of Norfolk, being then Grand Master, presented to the Grand Lodge of England "the old trusty sword of Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, that was worn next by his successor in war, the brave Bernard, Duke of Saxe Weimar. with both their names on the blade, which the Grand Master had ordered Brother George Moody (the King's sword cutler) to adorn richly with the arms of Norfolk in silver on the scabbard, in order to be the Grand Master's sword of state in future." At the following feast, Bro. Moody was appointed Sword Bearer, and the office has ever since existed, and is to be found in almost all the Grand Lodges of this country.
The Grand Sword Bearer should be appointed by the Grand Master, and it is his duty to carry the sword of state immediately in front of that officer in all processions of the Grand Lodge. 431 - What are the office and functions of the Grand Tiler?
- Grand Tiler. This is an office which derives its existence from the Landmarks of the Order, and must therefore have existed from the earliest times, as it is impossible that any Grand Lodge or Assembly of Masons could ever have met for purposes of Masonic business unless the room in which they were assembled had been duly tiled.
The duties of the office are so evident to every Mason as to need no explanation. The Grand Tiler cannot, during his term of office be a member of the Grand Lodge, for his official position places it out of his power to assist in its deliberations. He is generally appointed by the Grand Master and no other qualification is required for the office than that of being a worthy Master Mason. 432 - What are the functions of a Grand Treasurer?
- Grand Treasurer. The functions of the Grand Treasurer do not differ from those of the corresponding officer in a subordinate Lodge. It is his duty to act as the depositary of all the funds and property of the Grand Lodge, to keep a fair account of the same, and render a statement of the condition of all the property in his possession, when ever called upon by either the Grand Master or the Grand Lodge. He also pays all bills and orders which have been approved by the Grand Lodge. He is, in one word, under such regulations as that body shall prescribe, the banker of that body.
The old Regulations permitted him to appoint an assistant, whose only qualification was, that he must be a Master Mason. But such assistant did not, by his appointment, become a member of the Grand Lodge, although permitted to be present at its communications. The usage has been continued in many of the Grand Lodges of this country. 433 - What are the office and functions of Grand Wardens?
- Grand Wardens. Next in dignity to the Deputy Grand Master come the Senior and Junior Grand Wardens. These two officers are, however, although subordinate in rank, of much more importance than the Deputy, in the working of the Order, and are possessed of some prerogatives which do not belong to him. Their duties do not very materially differ from those of the corresponding officers in a subordinate Lodge, although, of course, from their more exalted position, their powers are more extensive.
In this country, by universal consent, the Wardens succeed to the government of the craft in order of rank, upon the death or absence from the jurisdicton of the Grand and Deputy Grand Masters. 434 - Of what is the grave emblematic?
- Grave. The grave is, in the Master's degree, the analogue of the pastos, couch or coffin, in the Ancient Mysteries, and is intended scenically to serve the same purpose. The grave is, therefore, in that degree, intended, in connection with the sprig of acacia, to teach symbolically the great Masonic doctrine of a future life.
435 - Should members be permitted to leave the Lodge during initiation ceremonies?
- Gravity. In a good lodge silence and gravity are recommendations during the hours appropriated to labor. The ordinary business is of too serious a nature to admit of any disturbances; and hence the ancient charges direct that no brother shall behave himself ludicrously or jestingly while the lodge is engaged in what is serious and solemn; nor use any unbecoming language upon any pretence whatever; but pay due reverence to the Masters, Wardens, and Fellows, and put them to worship. Even the noise of moving the seats or the feet is to be avoided as much as possible; nor are the brethren permitted to leave the lodge during the solemn ceremonies, lest the noise thus made should disturb the proceedings. The effect of an initiation would be entirely destroyed by any interruption of this kind, and it is easy to understand that the same kind of disturbance would be calculated to distract the attention of the brethren during the delivery of lectures.
436 - What is the symbolism of the Great Lights?
- Great Lights. The Freemasons are enlightened by great and small lights. The Bible, the square, and the compasses, belong to the first; and the sun, the moon, and the Master to the second. The great lights are immortal, and neither limited by time nor space; the small ones are limited by both. The Bible rules and governs our faith; the square our actions; and the compasses keep us in a bond of union with all man kind, especially with a brother Mason. Or with other words, the Bible directs us to elevate our spirits to a reasonable and rational faith; the square teaches so to discipline our minds as to make them correspond with a pure and prompt obedience to the laws of our native land; and the compasses teach us so to cultivate our understandings as to enable us to live in the bonds of social and fraternal union with all man kind, whatever may be their peculiar views on religious or political subjects.
437 - Why were grips and signs used by operative Masons?
- Grip and Sign. In rude times, when men, ignorant of chirography, impressed a seal on parchment in lieu of a signature, it was usual for Master Masons to give their apprentice a grip or sign, by which to make himself known; another when he had completed his apprenticeship, and passed on to the rank of a journeyman, or Fellow craft; and a third when,, by assiduity and skill, he had become himself a master of the work, took buildings to rear, hired Fellowcrafts or journeymen, and received apprentices. The word, the sign, and the grip, in those days, were the certificate of the Craft to its regularly taught members.
438 - Why is the ground floor of a Lodge known as Mount Moriah?
- Ground Floor of the Lodge. Mount Moriah, on which the Temple of Solomon was built, is symbolically called the ground floor of the lodge, and hence it is said that "the lodge rests on holy ground." This ground floor of the lodge is remarkable for three great events recorded in Scripture, and which are called "the three grand offerings of Masonry." It was here that Abraham prepared, as a token of his faith, to offer up his beloved son Isaac - this was the first grand offering; it was held that David, when his people were afflicted with a pestilence, built an altar, and offered thereon peace offerings and burnt offerings to appease the wrath of God - this was the second grand offering; and lastly, it was here, that when the Temple was completed, King Solomon dedicated that magnificent structure to the service of Jehovah, with the offering of pious prayers and many costly presents - and this was the third grand offering.
This sacred spot was once the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, and from him David purchased it for fifty shekels of silver. The Kabbalists delight to invest it with still more solemn associations, and declare that it was the spot on which Adam was born and Abel slain. 439 - On what grounds may a Mason lawfully avouch ,for a visitor?
- Grounds for Avouchment. Under ordinary circumstances, it would undoubtedly be the safest plan to require that avouchment should be founded on the fact of the voucher's having sat in a Lodge with the visitor. But it cannot be denied that there are occasions in which an intelligent and experienced Mason will be as competent, from his own private examination, to decide the Masonic qualifications of a candidate for admission, as if he had sat with him in the communication of a Lodge. This subject of vouching does not, indeed, appear to have been always understood. Many Masons suppose that the prerogative of vouching is inherent in every Brother, and that if A shall say that he vouches for B, and that he has sat in a Lodge with him, the assertion should be received with all respect, and B admitted. But in how many cases may not A, from ignorance or inexperience, be liable to be deceived? How are we to know that A himself was not in a clandestine Lodge, which had been imposed upon his ignorance, when he sat with B? How are we to be sure that his memory has not been treacherous, and that the Lodge in which he saw B was not a Fellowcrafts' or Entered Apprentices', instead of being a Masters' l Why, only by knowing that the Masonic skill and experience, and the general good sense and judgment of A are such as not render him liable to the commission of such errors. And if we are confident of his Masonic knowledge and honesty, we are ready, or ought to be, to take his vouching, without further inquiry as to its foundation; but if we are not, then it is safer to depend on an examination by a committee than on the avouchment of one in whose ability we have no confidence. A Masonic avouchment is, in fact, in the nature of a mercantile or legal security. Its whole value depends on the character and attainments of the one who offers it; and it would be better, I imagine, if a positive rule is to be laid down, to say that no visitor shall be admitted into a Lodge except with the avouchment of a well known and skillful Mason, or upon examination by a committee.
Still, it must be confessed, however humiliating the confession may be, that a very large number of Masons are too little skilled in the mysteries which have been communicated to them, to be enabled to pass a stranger through that ordeal of strict examination, which alone can prove a friend, or detect a foe, and an ingenious imposter would often find it a task of but little difficulty to deceive such an unskillful examiner. Thus imposed upon himself, the deceived brother unwittingly might extend his error, by vouching for one who has no claims upon the fraternity. The vouching of such brethren, derived from their private examination, should, of course, be considered as of no value. But, on the other hand, there are many Masons so well skilled in the principles of the craft, that no danger of imposition need be feared when we depend on the information which they have derived from an examination, conducted as they would of course do it, with all the necessary forms, and guarded by all the usual precautions. The avouchments of such brethren should be considered as perfectly satisfactory. I am inclined, therefore, to believe that the spirit of the law simply requires that a Master shall permit no visitor to be admitted without previous examination, unless he can be vouched for by a Brother who has sat with him in open Lodge, or, if the avouchment be made in con sequence of a private examination, unless the Brother so vouching be known to the presiding officer as a skillful and experienced Mason. But, if we admit this to be the true interpretation of the law of avouchment, then it becomes necessary that we should inquire more closely into what are to be the governing principles of that private examination from which the authority of the avouchment is to be de rived, and into the nature of the competency of the Brother who ventures to give it. In the first place, the avouchment thus given is, it is understood, to be founded on some previous private examination. Therefore it follows, that the Brother who undertakes to vouch for a visitor on these grounds, must have been thoroughly competent to conduct such an examination. There must be no danger of his having been imposed upon by an ignorant pretender. And consequently the Master of a Lodge would be culpable in receiving the avouchment of a young and inexperienced, or of an old and ignorant Mason. 440 - What are regarded as sufficient grounds for expulsion of a Mason?
- Grounds for Expulsion. As this penalty is of so severe a nature. rupturing all the ties which bind a Mason to the fraternity, it is evident that it should only be inflicted for the most heinous offences - offences which, in their nature, affect the character, the well being and the safety of the whole society, and hence the Grand Lodge of New York has very wisely ordered that it shall only follow "a gross violation of the moral law, or the fundamental principles of Masonry, or attempts against any part of the frame work of its government." The penalty is not inflicted so much as a punishment of the guilty person, as it is as a safe guard or security of the Order. The object is not to reform an evil, but to prevent its influence on the fraternity. A Mason who habitually transgresses the moral code, or lives in constant violation of the fundamental teachings of the Order, is to the society, what a gangrenous limb is to the body. The incurable wound, says the Roman poet, must be cut off with the knife, lest the healthy part of the body be involved in the disease. And so the unworthy Mason is to be expelled from the Order, lest his example spread, and disease be propagated through the whole constitution of Masonry. But, in accordance with this principle, expulsion should be inflicted only for offences which affect the security and honor of the whole Order. The remedy should never be applied to transgressions of a subordinate nature which neither deserve nor require its application.
441 - Under what promise do we begin our Masonic career?
- Guide. At our introduction into Masonry, we seek for an able guide to conduct us from this dark state of human life into light, and when arrived at that desired point, we are struck with the symbolic representations before us; and under promise of fidelity we begin our career in this secret society of Free and Accepted Masons. We emerge gradually from the lowest vale, and by study arrive at the highest degree of the occult science, or to the greatest mental perfection.
H
442 - What is the symbol of the powers of the Master?
- Hammer. With this small working tool the Master of a lodge governs the most numerous meetings. The blow of the Master's hammer commands industry, silence, or the close of labor, and every brother respects and honors its sound. Insofar the hammer is a symbol of the power of the Master. The hammer must never be lost sight of at the meeting of the lodge; and should the Master be unavoidably compelled to leave the lodge room, he must deliver it to a Past Master, or some other skillful brother. The Wardens do not govern the lodge with their hammers, they only direct attention by them to the commands of the Worshipful Master.
443 - What is the symbolism of the hand in Masonry?
- Hand. In Freemasonry, the hand as a symbol holds a high place, because it is the principal seat of the sense of feeling so necessary to and so highly revered by Masons. The same symbol is found in the most ancient religions, and some of their analogies to Masonic symbolism are peculiar. Thus, Horapollo says that among the Egyptians the hand was the symbol of a builder, or one fond of building, because all labor proceeds from the hand. In many of the Ancient Mysteries the hand, especially the left, was deemed the symbol of equity. In Christian art a hand is the indication of a holy person or thing. In early Medieval art, the Supreme Being was always represented by a hand extended from a cloud, and generally in the act of benediction. The form of this act of benediction, as adopted by the Roman Church, which seems to have been borrowed from the symbols of Phrygian and Eleusinian priests or hierophants, who used it in their mystical processions, presents a singular analogy, which will be interesting to Mark Master Masons, who will recognize in it a symbol of their own ritual. In the benediction referred to, as given in the Latin church, the thumb, index, and middle fingers are extended, and the two others bent against the palm. The church explains this position of the extended thumb and two fingers as representing the Trinity; but the older symbol of the Pagan priests, which was precisely of the same form, must have had a different meaning. A writer in the British Magazine thinks that the hand, which was used in the Mithraic mysteries in this position, was symbolic of the Light emanating not from the sun, but from the Creator, directly as a special manifestation; and he remarks that chiromancy, or the divination by the hand, is an art founded upon the notion that the human hand has some reference to the decrees of the supreme power peculiar to it above all other parts of the microcosmus - man. Certainly, to the Mason, the hand is most important as the symbol of that mystical intelligence by which one Mason knows another "in the dark as well as in the light."
444 - Why is a candidate required to make out his petition in his own handwriting?
- Handwriting. The petition must be signed in the handwriting of the petitioner. This appears to be the general usage, and has the sanction of all ritual writers. The Grand Lodge of England expressly requires it to be done, and assigns, in its Constitutions, as a necessary deduction from the requisition, that those who cannot write are ineligible for initiation. Much carelessness, however, exists in relation to this usage, and it is by no means an uncommon practice for a member to sign a petition on behalf and at the request of the petitioner. This practice is, nevertheless, to be condemned. The signature should always be made by the applicant himself. In this way, if there were no other good reason, we should at least avoid the intrusion of wholly uneducated persons into the fraternity.
445 - At the building of King Solomon's Temple what were the overseers called?
- Harodim. In 2d Chronicles, ii. 18, it is recorded that Solomon "set three score and ten thousand people to be bearers of burdens, and four score thousand to be hewers in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred overseers to set the people at work." The overseers were called Harodim, or Princes.
446 - Why does the presiding officer of a Lodge wear a hat?
- Hat. To uncover the head in the presence of superiors has been, among all Christian nations, held as a mark of respect and reverence. The Eastern nations uncover the feet when they enter a place of worship; the Western uncover the head. The converse of this is also true; and to keep the head covered while all around are uncovered is a token of superiority of rank or office. The king remains covered, the courtiers standing around him take off their hats.
Among the Romans the hat was a sign of freedom. Formerly all Masons wore hats in the Lodge, as a symbol of freedom and brotherly equality. But in English and American Lodges this custom is now exclusively confined to the Master. 447 - How can a clandestine Mason be made a lawful Mason?
- Heal. An act of a legally constituted body of Masons by which a person who has been irregularly admitted to the mysteries of Free masonry is made a lawful Mason. When the person to be "healed" has been initiated into a self constituted or false lodge he can be healed only by reinitiation. Members, however, of schismatic Lodges may be recognized as legitimate by the action of a Grand Lodge. There is a difference between a clandestine (or sham) Lodge and one that is simply schismatic. The founders and members of the first are imposters; the latter are regular Lodges, which from some cause or other, are not recognized by legitimate Masonic authorities.
448 - Why cannot a deaf mute be made a Mason?
- Hearing. Hearing is that sense by which we are enabled to distinguish sounds, and are made capable of all the perceptions of harmony and melody, with all the agreeable charms of music; by it we are enabled to enjoy the pleasures of society; and reciprocally to communicate to each other our thoughts and intentions, our purposes and desires, and by means of this sense our reason is capable of exerting its utmost power and energy.
449 - By which of the five senses do we receive the Master's word?
- Hearing. One of the five senses, and an important symbol in Masonry, because it is through it that we receive instruction when ignorant, admonition when in danger, reproof when in error, and the claim of a brother who is in distress. Without this sense, the Mason would be crippled in the performance of all his duties; and hence deafness is deemed a disqualification for initiation.
450 - Why must an applicant for Masonry be first prepared in his heart?
- Heart. The heart is the seat of the affections, passions and de sires; and by the precept given by Solomon, to keep our hearts, is meant, that we should diligently preserve our good dispositions, and correct our bad ones. All the actions of a man's life issue and proceed from the heart; which is the fountain not only of our natural life, but of our mortal too; so that as a man's heart is, so will his life be; if his heart be kept clean and pure, his life cannot be wicked and vicious; but if his heart be wicked and vicious, his life cannot be kept clean and pure.
451 - What is a hecatomb?
- Hecatomb. Hecatomb means literally a hundred oxen. Strictly the offering of a hundred bullocks in sacrifice to the Gods. Sometimes the whole hecatomb, but more often the thighs, legs and hides were burned as a part of the ceremony, the flesh of the beasts being eaten by the worshipers.
452 - What does the candidate's condition when first admitted signify?
- Helplessness. As a Mason, your first admission in a state of helplessness was an emblematic representation of the entrance of all men into this their state of mortal existence; it inculcated the cherishing lessons of natural equality, of mutual dependence. It instructed you in the active principles of universal benevolence and charity, to make them the solace of your own distresses, and to extend relief and consolation to your fellow creatures in the hour of their affliction. It required you to free the soul from the dominion of pride and prejudice, to look beyond the limits of particular institutions, and to view in every son of Adam a brother of the dust. Above all it taught you to bend with reverence and resignation to the will of the Grand Architect of the Universe, and to dedicate your heart thus purified from every malignant passion, and prepared for the reception of truth and justice.
453 - What ancient Spanish society was based on Masonic principles?
- Hermandad Brotherhood. This Spanish society was founded A.D. 1295, in the cities of Castile and Leon. It was based on the Masonic principle of secrecy, having ceremonies of admission, secret signs of recognition, and secret places of meeting, where causes were tried and offenders against justice were judged and punished. It invested itself in a garment of mystery, and the blow of justice fell from its hand surely and swiftly, like the bolt of lightning. It sought not only to punish crime, but to prevent it. It warned every nobleman who showed a disposition to wrong a citizen of the certain destruction that awaited him if he persisted. Should he rob or injure a member of the Order, or a citizen, and refuse to make restitution, or give security for better conduct in future, his cattle, his vineyards and gardens were destroyed. The mysterious power of this terrible but righteous brother hood penetrated every place - through barred and bolted gates and armed sentinels - and often dealt its retributions in the royal presence itself. Of the utility of this Spanish Fraternity there cannot be a doubt, and its beneficial effects in those stormy times were immeasurable. Its ideas were justice, absolute justice, in the administration of the laws and equality in society and before God.
454 - Why did the ancient Lodges meet on high hills and in low valleys?
- Highest of Hills. In the Old York Lectures was the following passage:
- "Before we had the convenience of such well formed Lodges, the Brethren used to meet on the highest of hills and in the lowest of valleys. And if they were asked why they met so high, so low, and so very secret, they replied - the better to see and observe all that might ascend or descend; and in case a cowan should appear, the Tiler might give timely notice to the Worshipful Master, by which means the Lodge might be closed, the jewels put by, thereby preventing any unlawful intrusion."
Commenting on this, Dr. Oliver says: "Among other observances we find the practice of performing commemorative rites on the highest of hills and in the lowest of valleys. This practice was in high esteem amongst all the inhabitants of the ancient world, from a fixed persuasion that the summit of mountains made a nearer approach to the celestial deities, and the valleys or holy caverns to the infernal and submarine gods than the level country; and that, therefore, the prayers of mortals were more likely to be heard in such situations." Hutchinson also says: "The highest hills and the lowest valleys were from the earliest times esteemed sacred, and it was supposed that the Spirit of God was peculiarly diffusive in those places." The sentiment was expressed in the language of the earliest lectures of the eighteenth century, and is still retained, without change of words, in the lectures of the present day. But introduced, at first, undoubtedly with special reference to the ancient worship on "high places," and the celebration of the mysteries in the caverns of initiation, it is now retained for the purpose of giving warning and instruction as to the necessity of security and secrecy in the performance of our mystical rites, and this is the reason assigned in the modern lectures. And, indeed, the notion of thus expressing the necessity of secrecy seems to have been early adopted, while that of the sacredness of these places was beginning to be lost sight of; for in a lecture of the middle of the last century, or perhaps earlier, it was said that "the lodge stands upon holy ground, or the highest hill or lowest vale, or in the Vale of Jehosophat, or any other secret place." The sacredness of the spot is, it is true, here adverted to, but there is an emphasis given to its secrecy. 455 - What is the hour of noon called among Masons?
- High Twelve. The hour of noon or twelve o'clock in the day, when the sun is high in the heavens, in contradistinction to low twelve, or midnight, when the sun is low down beneath the earth. The expression is always used, in Masonic language, to indicate the hour of noon, at which time, as the tradition tells us, the Craft in the Temple were called from labor to refreshment. The phrase was used in the earliest rituals of the last century. The answer in the old catechisms to the question, "What's a clock?" was always "High Twelve."
456 - In English Lodges what is the gavel called?
- Hiram. The gavel of the Worshipful Master is so called in England, and on the continent of Europe, in allusion to the perfect order observed by the craftsmen at the building of Solomon's Temple, through the admirable skill and supervision of the operative Grand Master Hiram Abif.
457 - What is known of the life of our Ancient Operative Grand Master?
- Hiram Abif. There is no character in the annals of Freemasonry whose life is so dependent on tradition as the celebrated architect of King Solomon's Temple. Profane history is entirely silent in respect to his career, and the sacred records supply us with only very unimportant items. To fill up the space between his life and his death, we are necessarily compelled to resort to those oral legends which have been handed down from the ancient Masons to their successors. Yet, looking to their character, I should be unwilling to vouch for the authenticity of all; most of them were probably at first symbolical in their character; the symbol in the lapse of time having been converted into a myth, and the myth, by constant repetition, having assumed the formal appearance of a truthful narrative. Such has been the case in the history of all nations. But whatever may have been their true character, to the Masons, at least, they are interesting, and cannot be altogether void of instruction.
When King Solomon was about to build a temple of Jehovah, the difficulty of obtaining skilful workmen to superintend and to execute the architectural part of the undertaking was such, that he found it necessary to request of his friend and ally, Hiram, King of Tyre, the use of some of his most able builders; for the Tyrians and Sidonians were celebrated artists, and at that time were admitted to be the best mechanics in the world. Hiram willingly complied with his request, and despatched to his assistance an abundance of men and materials, to be employed in the construction of the Temple, and among the former, a distinguished artist, to whom was given the superintendence of all the workmen, both Jews and Tyrians, and who was in possession of all the skill and learning that were required to carry out, in the most efficient manner, all the plans of the king of Israel. Of this artist, whom Freemasons recognize sometimes as Hiram the Builder, sometimes as the Widow's Son, but more commonly as Hiram Abif, the earliest account is found in the first Book of Kings (vii. 13, 14), where the passage reads as follows: "And King Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass, and he was filled with wisdom and under standing, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to King Solomon and wrought all his work." He is next mentioned in the second Book of Chronicles, (ch. ii. 13, 14), in the following letter from Hiram of Tyre to King Solomon: "And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father's. The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone and in timber, in purple, in blue and in fine linen and crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David, thy father." In reading these two descriptions, everyone will be at once struck with an apparent contradiction in them in relation to the parentage of their subject. There is no doubt - for in this both passages agree - that his father was a man of Tyre; but the discrepancy is in reference to the birthplace of his mother, who in one passage is said to have been "of the tribe of Naphtali," and in the other, "of the daughters of Dan." Commentators have, however, met with no difficulty in reconciling the contradiction, and the suggestion of Bishop Patrick is now generally adopted on this subject. He supposes that she herself was of the tribe of Dan, but that her first husband was of the tribe of Naphtali, by whom she had his son; and that when she was a widow, she married a man of Tyre, who is called Hiram's father because he bred him up and was the husband of his mother. Hiram Abif undoubtedly derived much of his knowledge in mechanical arts from that man of Tyre who had married his mother, and we may justly conclude that he increased that knowledge by assiduous study and constant intercourse with the artisans of Tyre, who were greatly distinguished for their attainments in architecture. Tyre was one of the principal seats of the Dionysiac fraternity of artificers, a society engaged exclusively in the construction of edifices, and living under a secret organization. Of this association it is not unreasonable to suppose that Hiram Abif was a member, and that on arriving at Jerusalem he introduced among the Jewish workmen the same exact system of discipline which he had found of so much advantage in the Dionysiac associations at home, and thus gave, under the sanction of King Solomon, a peculiar organization to the Masons who were engaged in building the Temple. Upon the arrival of this celebrated artist at Jerusalem, which was in the year B.C. 1012, he was at once received into the intimate confidence of Solomon, and intrusted with the superintendence of all the workmen, both Tyrians and Jews, who were engaged in the construction of the building. IIe received the title of "Principal Conductor of the Works," an office which, previous to his arrival, had been filled by Adoniram, and, according to Masonic tradition, formed with Solomon and King Hiram of Tyre, his ancient patron, the Supreme Council of Grand Masters, in which every thing was determined in relation to the construction of the edifice and the government of the workmen. The Book of Constitutions, as it was edited by Entick, speaks of him in the following language: "This inspired master was, without question, the most cunning, skilful, and curious workman that ever lived; whose abilities were not confined to building only, but extended to all kinds of work, whether in gold, silver, brass or iron; whether in linen, tapestry or embroidery; whether considered as architect, statuary, founder or designer, separately or together, he equally ex celled. From his designs and under his direction, all the rich and splendid furniture of the Temple and its several appendages were begun, carried on, and finished. Solomon appointed him, in his absence, to fill the Chair as Deputy Grand Master, and in his presence, Senior Grand Warden, Master of Work, and general overseer of all artists, as well those whom David had formerly procured from Tyre and Sidon, as those Hiram should now send." This statement requires some correction. According to the most consistent systems and the general course of the traditions, there were three Grand Masters at the building of the Temple, of whom Hiram Abif was one, and hence in our Lodges he always receives the title of a Grand Master. We may, however, reconcile the assertion of Anderson, that he was sometimes a Deputy Grand Master, and some times a Senior Grand Warden, by supposing that the three Grand Masters were among the Craft, possessed of equal authority, and held in equal reverence, while among themselves there was an acknowledged subordination of station and power. But in no way can the assertion be explained that he was at any time a Senior Grand Warden, which would be wholly irreconcilable with the symbolism of the Temple. In the mythical Master's lodge, supposed to have been held in the Temple, and the only one ever held before its completion, at which the three Grand Masters alone were present, the office of Junior Warden is assigned to Hiram Abif. According to Masonic tradition, which is in part supported by scriptural authority, Hiram was charged with all the architectural decorations and interior embellishments of the building. He cast the various vessels and implements that were to be used in the religious service of the Temple, as well as the pillars that adorned the porch, selecting as the most convenient and appropriate place for the scene of his operations, the clay grounds which extend between Succoth and Zaredatha; and the old lectures state that the whole interior of the house, its posts and doors, its very floors and ceilings, which were made of the most expensive timber, and overlaid with plates of burnished gold, were, by his exquisite taste, enchased with magnificent designs and adorned with the most precious gems. Even the abundance of these precious jewels, in the decorations of the Temple, is attributed to the foresight and prudence of Hiram Abif; since a Masonic tradition, quoted by Dr. Oliver, informs us, that about four years before the Temple was begun he, as the agent of the Tyrian king, purchased some curious stones from an Arabian merchant, who told him, upon inquiry, that they had been found by accident on an island in the Red Sea. By the permission of King Hiram, he investigated the truth of this report, and had the good fortune to discover many precious gems, and among the rest an abundance of the topaz. They were subsequently imported by the ships of Tyre for the service of King Solomon. In allusion to these labors of taste and skill displayed by the widow's son, our lectures say, that while the wisdom of Solomon contrived the fabric, and the strength of King Hiram's wealth and power supported the undertaking, it was adorned by the beauty of Hiram Abif's curious and cunning workmanship. In the character of the chief architect of the Temple, one of the peculiarities which most strongly attract attention, was the systematic manner in which he conducted all the extensive operations which were placed under his charge. In the classification of the workmen, such arrangements were made, by his advice, as to avoid any discord or confusion; and although about two hundred thousand craftsmen and laborers were employed, so complete were his arrangements, that the general harmony was never once disturbed. In the payment of wages, such means were, at his suggestion, adopted, that every one's labor was readily distinguished, and his defects ascertained, every attempt at imposition detected, and the particular amount of money due to each workman accurately determined and easily paid, so that, as Webb remarks, "the disorder and confusion that might otherwise have at tended so immense an undertaking was completely prevented." It was his custom never to put off until tomorrow the work that might have been accomplished to day, for he was as remarkable for his punctuality in the discharge of the most trifling duties, as he was for his skill in performing the most important. It was his constant habit to furnish the craftsmen every morning with a copy of the plans which he had, on the previous afternoon, designed for their labor in the course of the ensuing day. As new designs were thus furnished by him from day to day, any neglect to provide the workmen with them on each successive morning would necessarily have stopped the labors of the whole body of the workmen for that day; a circumstance that in so large a number must have produced the greatest disorder and confusion. Hence the practice of punctuality was in him a duty of the highest obligation, and one which could never for a moment have been neglected without leading to immediate observation. Such is the character of this distinguished personage, whether mythical or not, that has been transmitted by the uninterrupted stream of Masonic tradition. The trestle board used by him in drawing his designs is said to have been made, as the ancient tablets were, of wood, and covered with a coating of wax. On this coating he inscribed his plans with a pen or stylus of steel, which an old tradition, preserved by Oliver, says was found upon him when he was raised, and ordered by King Solomon to be deposited in the centre of his monument. The same tradition informs us that the first time he used this stylus for any of the purposes of the Temple was on the morning that the foundation stone of the building was laid, when he drew the celebrated diagram known as the forty seventh problem of Euclid, and which gained a prize that Solomon had offered on that occasion. But this is so evidently a mere myth, in vented by some myth maker of the last century, without even the excuse of a symbolic meaning, that it has been rejected, or at least, forgotten by the Craft. Another and more interesting legend has been preserved by Oliver, which may be received as a mythical symbol of the faithful performance of duty. It runs thus: "It was the duty of Hiram Abif to superintend the workmen, and the reports of his officers were always examined with the most scrupulous exactness. At the opening of the day, when the sun was rising in the east, it was his constant custom, before the commencement of labor, to go into the Temple, and offer up his prayers to Jehovah for a blessing on the work; and in like manner when the sun was setting in the west, and after the labors of the day were closed, and the workmen had left the Temple, he returned his thanks to the Great Architect of the Universe for the harmonious protection of the day. Not content with this devout expression of his feelings, he always went into the Temple at the hour of high twelve, when the men were called off from labor to refreshment, to inspect the work, to draw fresh designs upon the trestle board, if such were necessary, and to perform other scientific labors - never forgetting to consecrate the duties by solemn prayer. These religious customs were faithfully performed for the first six years in the secret recesses of his lodge, and for the last year in the precincts of the most holy place." While assiduously engaged in the discharge of these arduous duties, seven years passed rapidly away, and the magnificent Temple at Jerusalem was nearly completed. The Fraternity were about to celebrate the copestone with the greatest demonstrations of joy; but, in the language of the venerable Book of Constitutions, "their joy was soon interrupted by the sudden death of their dear and worthy master, Hiram Abif." On the very day appointed for celebrating the copestone of the building, says one tradition, he repaired to his usual place of retirement at the meridian hour, and did not return alive. On this subject we can say no more. This is neither the time nor the place to detail the particulars of his death. It is enough to say that the circumstance filled the Craft with the most profound grief, which was deeply shared by his friend and patron, King Solomon, who, according to the Book of Constitutions, "after some time allowed to the craft to vent their sorrow, ordered his obsequies to be performed with great solemnity and decency, and buried him in the lodge near the Temple - according to the ancient usages among Masons - and long mourned his loss." 458 - What co operation did Hiram, King of Tyre, give King Solomon?
- Hiram, King of Tyre. When Solomon had determined to build a temple at Jerusalem, he sent an embassy to Tyre, requesting Hiram, the king of the Tyrians, would furnish him with workmen to cut down timber at Lebanon; and quarry stone in the quarries of Tyre, for the construction of that holy edifice. He returned an answer to Solomon's communication, which contained the language of amity and esteem. He agreed to furnish cedars and other timber from the forest of Lebanon for the erection of a temple to the living God, and to provide the most expert architects in his dominions for its construction, on the simple condition of receiving certain supplies of provisions in exchange; and he performed his contract with princely munificence and candor. But even this would have been insufficient without the presence of a master mind to animate and direct the proceedings; and the king of Tyre furnished this Master in the person of his chief architect, Hiram Abif, by whom the re union of speculative and operative masons was to be consummated.
459 - How was the first Lodge consecrated?
- Holy Ground. The lodge is situated on holy ground. The first lodge was consecrated on account of three grand offerings thereon made, which met divine approbation. First, the ready compliance of Abraham to the will of God, in not refusing to offer up his son Isaac as a burnt offering, when it pleased the Almighty to substitute another victim, in his stead; second, the many pious prayers and ejaculations of King its David, which appeased the wrath of God, and stayed a pestilence which then raged among the people, owing to his having had them numbered; and thirdly, the many thanksgivings, oblations, burnt sacrifices and costly offerings which Solomon, King of Israel, made at the completion, dedication, and consecration of the Temple of Jerusalem, to God's service. These three did then, have since, and I trust ever will, render the ground work of a Masons' lodge holy.
460 - What was the most sacred part of the Temple?
- Holy of Holies. The innermost and most sacred part of the temple was called the Holy of Holies, and sometimes the Most Holy Place, and was ordained and made on purpose for the reception of the Ark of the Covenant. The whole end and reason of that most sacred place was to be a receptacle for it. This place or room was of an exact cubic form, as being thirty feet square and thirty feet high. In the centre the ark was placed, upon a stone rising there three fingers breadth above the floor, as a pedestal for it. On the two sides of it stood two cherubims fifteen feet high, at equal distances from the centre of the ark and each side wall; where, having their wings expanded, with two of them they touched the side walls, and with the other two they did meet, and touch each other exactly over the middle of the ark; so that the ark stood exactly in the middle between these two cherubims.
461 - Why do Masons revere the Holy Name?
- Holy Name. Freemasonry teaches, in all its symbols and rituals, a reverence for the name of God, which is emphatically called the "Holy Name." In the prayer "Ahabath Olam," first introduced by Dermott, it is said, "because we trusted in thy holy, great, mighty, and terrible Name;" and in the introductory prayer of the Royal Arch, according to the American system, similar phraseology is employed: "Teach us, we pray thee, the true reverence of thy great, mighty, and terrible Name." The expression, if not the sentiment, borrowed from the Hebrew mysteries.
462 - To whom should a Masonic Lodge be dedicated?
- Holy Saints John. Tradition informs us that Masonic Lodges were originally dedicated to King Solomon, because he was our first Most Excellent Grand Master. In the sixteenth century, if we may judge from expressions used in the celebrated Charter of Cologne, St. John the Baptist seems to have been considered as the peculiar patron of Freemasonry; but subsequently this honor was divided between the two Saints John, the Baptist and the Evangelist, and modern Lodges, in this country at least, are universally erected or consecrated to God, and dedicated to the Holy Saints John. I am therefore surprised to find the formula in Webb, which dedicates the Lodge "to the memory of the Holy Saint John." I cannot but deem it an inadvertence on the part of this Masonic lecturer, since in all his oral teachings he adhered to the more general system, and described a Masonic Lodge in his esoteric work as being "dedicated to the Holy Saints John." This, at all events, is now the universal practice, and the language used by Webb becomes contradictory and absurd when compared with the fact that the festivals of both saints are equally celebrated by the Order, and that the 27th of December is not less a day of observance in the Order than the 24th of June.
The ceremony of dedication is merely the enunciation of a form of words, and this having been done, the Lodge is thus, by the consecration and dedication, set apart as something sacred to the cultivation of the principles of Masonry, under that peculiar system which acknowledges the two Saints John as its patrons. 463 - What are the regulations governing honorary membership in a Lodge?
- Honorary Membership. Honorary membership is quite a recent invention, and is now conferred only as a mark of distinction on Brethren of great talents or merits, who have been of service, by their labors or their writings, to the fraternity. It confers no powers on the recipient like those which are the results of active or full membership, and amounts to no more than a testimonial of the esteem and respect entertained by the Lodge which confers it for the individual upon whom it is conferred.
464 - What are Grand Honors? Why and how are they given?
- Honors, Grand. A peculiar ceremony among Masons by which they applaud, or express their agreement, satisfaction or sorrow. They are divided into private and public. The first can only be given in a Master's Lodge, and cannot be described here. The public grand honors, as their name imports, do not partake of this secret character. They consist of clapping the hands three times three in rapid succession, and are given on all public occasions in which the ministrations of the Fraternity are required, in the presence of the profane as well as the initiated. The funeral grand honors are given in the following manner: Both arms are crossed on the breast, the left uppermost, and the open palms of the hands touching the shoulders; the hands are then raised above the head, the palms striking each other, and then made to fall sharply on the thighs, with the head bowed. This is repeated three times. While the honors are being given the third time, the brethren audibly pronounce the following words - when the arms are crossed on the breast: - "We cherish his memory here;" when the hands are ex tended above the head - "We commend his spirit to God who gave it;" and when the hands are extended toward the ground - "And consign his body to the earth."
465 - Of what is the hoodwink a symbol?
- Hoodwink. A symbol of the secrecy, silence and darkness in which the mysteries of our art should be preserved from the unhallowed gaze of the profane. It has been supposed to have a symbolic reference to the passage in St. John's Gospel, "and the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." But it is more certain that there is in the hoodwink a representation of the mystical darkness which always preceded the rights of the ancient initiations.
466 - Of what is hope emblematic?
- Hope. The second round in the theological and Masonic ladder, and symbolic of a hope in immortality. It is appropriately placed there, for, having attained the first, or faith in God, we are led by a belief in his wisdom and goodness to the hope of immortality. This is but a reason able expectation; without it, virtue would lose its necessary stimulus and vice its salutary fear; life would be devoid of joy, and the grave but a scene of desolation. The ancients represented Hope by a nymph holding in her hand a bouquet of opening flowers, indicative of the coming fruit, but in modern and Masonic iconology it is represented by a virgin leaning on an anchor, the anchor itself being a symbol of hope.
Hope is an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast: then let a firm reliance of the Almighty's goodness animate our endeavours, and enable us to fix our hope within the limits of his most gracious promises, so shall success attend us; if we believe a thing impossible our despondency may render it so, but if we persevere to the end, we shall finally overcome all difficulties. 467 - Of what is the hour glass emblematic?
- Hour Glass. An emblem used in the third degree, according to the Webb lectures, to remind us by the quick passage of its sands of the transitory nature of human life. As a Masonic symbol it is of comparatively modern date, but the use of the hour glass as an emblem of the passage of time is older than our oldest rituals. Thus, in a speed before Parliament, in 1627, it is said: "We may handle and play with the hour glass: that is in our power, but the hour will not stay for us; and an opportunity once lost cannot be regained." We are told that in the early part of the last century it was a custom to inter an hour glass with the dead, as an emblem of the sand of life being run out.
468 - What were the hours of labor of our operative brethren?
- Hours, Masonic. The language of Masonry, in reference to the hours of labor and refreshment, is altogether symbolical. The old lectures contained a tradition that our ancient brethren wrought six days in the week and twelve hours in the day, being called off regularly at the hour of high twelve from labor to refreshment. In the French and German systems, the Craft were said to be called from labor at low twelve, or midnight, which is therefore the supposed or fictitious time at which a French or German Lodge is closed. But in the English and American systems the Craft are supposed to be called off at high twelve, and when called on again the time for recommencing labor is said to be "one hour past high twelve;" all this refers to Ancient Craft Masonry. In some of the high degrees the hours designated for labor or rest are different. So, too, in the different Rites; thus, in the system of Zinnendorf, it is said that there are in a Mason's Lodge five hours, namely, twelve struck, noon, high noon, midnight, and high midnight; which are thus explained. Twelve struck, is before the Lodge is opened and after it is closed; noon is when the Master is about to open the Lodge; high noon, when it is duly open; midnight, when the Master is about to close it; and high midnight, when it is closed and the uninitiated are permitted to draw near.
469 - Why should officers of Lodges be punctual in their attendance?
- Hours of Work. The masters and officers should always be punctual in their attendance, and observe the hour of meeting with scrupulous exactness; for correct conduct in officers will invariably produce a corresponding accuracy in the brethren. I know nothing which tends more to disgust and sour the mind than the unprofitable employment of waiting impatiently for the attendance of the superior officers, with a probable expectation of being disappointed at last.
I
470 - What do the initials I. A. M. signify?
- I. A. M. According to the cabalistical theologians, Moses, asking the Lord if he would tell him the name of his Divine Essence, received for answer, "say I AM THAT I AM, sent me to you," (the children of Israel), equivalent to saying: What use is it to ask what is inexplicable? "I AM THAT I AM," as the ancient sages say, meant, that as He was with them in that captivity, so would he be in others; and there fore He then revealed to Moses the Tetragrammaton; and this He repeated, as He would manifest Himself by its representation of the ten sovereign lights: and by that means would become known, although veiled in them; because His existence will be ever hidden from all, and cannot be explained by any character.
471 - What method of teaching morality was in vogue in the early period of the World?
- Ideas. The Jewish system was made up chiefly of ceremonies, types, and figures, denoting intellectual things and moral duties. This mode of teaching morality was at that early period of the world necessary. And why? Because then not one person in ten thousand beside the priesthood could read. The people were not then able to exhibit thoughts to the eye by means of writing, hence the necessity arose of teaching by signs and symbols, that when these struck the eye they should raise corresponding ideas in the mind, and thus convey moral truths and duties by the sight and by the operation of tools and mechanical instruments. This is the fulcrum on which rests and turns the first and most fascinating part of Masonic instruction.
It may be said in reply, that in the early days of Freemasonry, the arts of reading and writing were not generally disseminated among the masses of the people, and that in all probability the great majority of the Craft were not in possession of those literary qualifications. But this latter statement is a gratuitous assumption, of the correctness of which we have no proof. On the contrary, we find throughout all our ancient Regulations, that a distinction was made by our rulers between Freemasons and those who were not free, indicating that the former were of a superior class; and may we not suppose that a rudimentary education formed a part at least of that claim to superiority? Thus, in the conclusion of the fifth chapter of the Charges, approved in 1722, it is said: "No laborer shall be employed in the common work of Masonry, nor shall Freemasons work with those who are not free, without urgent necessity." But, exclusive of the written law upon the subject, which perhaps was silent, because it deemed so evident and uniformly observed a regulation unnecessary to be written, we are abundantly taught by the nature of the institution, as exemplified in its ritual, that persons who cannot read and write are ineligible for initiation. In the first degree, a test is administered, the offering of which would be manifestly absurd, if the person to whom it was offered could neither read nor write; and in the presentation of the letter G, and all the instructions on that important symbol, it must be taken for granted that the candidate who is invested with them must be acquainted with the nature and power of letters. 472 - In what sense is the word "idiot" used among Masons?
- Idiot. This word did not always have the meaning which is now attached to it. It is derived from the Greek, idiotes, which signified a private citizen. In Sparta it denoted one who felt no interest, and took no part, in public affairs, and hence came to mean an ignorant person. It was used in this sense in the middle ages, and this is its Masonic meaning. The modern meaning - fool - would be out of place; for it would be as absurd to establish a rule that no fool should be made a Mason as it would be to enact a law that no horse, or infant, or dead man, should be admitted to the mysteries of Freemasonry. The word means, masonically, not a fool, but a listless, indifferent, ignorant fellow, who could only be a disgrace to the Craft.
473 - What is the fate of the ignorant Mason?
- Ignorance. The ignorant Freemason is a drone and an ineumbrance in the Order. He who does not study the nature, the design, the history, and character of the Institution, but from the hour of his initiation neither gives nor receives any ideas that could not be shared by a profane, is of no more advantage to Masonry than Masonry is to him. The true Mason seeks light that darkness may be dispelled, and knowledge that ignorance may be removed. The ignorant aspirant, no matter how loudly he may have asked for light, is still a blind groper in the dark.
474 - How can a suspended Mason or Lodge be reinstated?
- Illegal Suspensions. If the Grand Master should be satisfied that any brother has been illegally or without sufficient cause, suspended, removed, or excluded from any of his masonic functions or privileges, by any private lodge or any subordinate authority, he may order him to be reinstated or restored, and may also suspend, until the next ensuing quarterly communication, any lodge or brother who shall refuse to comply with such order.
475 - Are illiterate persons eligible for Masonry?
- Illiteracy. Any individual who cannot write, is ineligible to be admitted into the Order. This rule is observed, yet I have known a few instances in which men incapable of writing have been initiated. And it was in reference to a fact of this kind that the Grand Lodge of South Carolina, in 1848, declared that though "there is no injunction in the ancient Constitutions prohibiting the initiation of persons who are unable to read or write; yet, as speculative Masonry is a scientific institution, the Grand Lodge would discourage the initiation of such candidates as highly inexpedient."
476 - What is the teaching of the sublime degree?
- Immortality of the Soul. The third or Master's degree leads to that great truth which the sublimest part of the heathen mysteries was intended to teach; and the faithful believer was assured of a future life and immortality beyond the grave.
477 - What are the immovable jewels?
- Immovable. The immovable jewels are the tracing board, for the Worshipful Master to draw his designs on; the rough ashlar, for the Entered Apprentice to mark and indent on; and the perfect ashlar, for the experienced Fellowcraft to try and adjust his jewels on. They are termed immovable, because they are distributed in places assigned them in the lodge, for the brethren to moralize upon. They were formerly called the trasel board, the rough ashlar, and the broached thurnel.
478 - Can a Lodge remove its Master?
- Impeachment. In 1842 a singular case occurred at New York, in which the rights and privileges of a Master of a lodge were placed in jeopardy, by the action of his lodge. After the lodge was opened, the Master had occasion to be absent for a short time, leaving the Senior Warden in the chair. On his return, he found that charges had been preferred against him, and a committee appointed to try him; and the Senior Warden refused to return into his hands the warrant and mallet of the lodge. Complaint being made to the Grand Master by the Master, he directed the Grand Secretary to inform the Senior Warden that it was his direction that he should forthwith return the warrant to the hands of the Master, and that the action of the lodge on that case must be suspended, and the members hold themselves in readiness to maintain their charges before the Grand Lodge, which was all promptly complied with by the parties. The ground of his decision was, that the Master of a lodge is only subject to impeachment and trial before his peers, who are acquainted with his duties, which the members of a lodge cannot know until they are themselves seated in the oriental chair.
479 - Are there any imperfections in the Masonic System?
- Imperfections. The system as taught in the regular lodges, may have some redundancies or imperfections, occasioned by the indolence or ignorance of the old members. And, indeed, considering through what obscurity and darkness the mystery has been delivered down; the many centuries, and languages, and sects, and parties, it has run through, we are rather to wonder it ever arrived to the present age without more imperfections.
480 - What are the symbolic teachings of the implements of Craft Masonry?
- Implements. A general collection of masonic implements may remind the Master of his power and jurisdiction, while they warn him to avoid the abuse of that power, limiting his jurisdiction and prescribing his conduct. They likewise afford him copious topics of advice to such as assist him in the government of the Fraternity, as well as to all the brethren over whom he is called to preside. He may descant on the excellence of the holy writings as a rule of life; for those writings teach us that, being born upon a level we should act upon the square, circumscribing our desires within the compass of Nature's gifts, poured from the horn of plenty. Here, also, he may exhort them to walk uprightly, suffering neither the pressure of poverty, nor the avarice of riches to tempt the heart for a moment to swerve from the line of rectitude which is suspended before them from the centre of heaven. The division of time into equal and regular portions, he may also urge as the surest method of securing the greatest good from the opportunities that are afforded us. The subjection of our passions and desires is here likewise taught by the gavel, which is used by the operative builder to re move the excrescences and to smooth the surfaces of the rough materials for a building, while the by laws of the lodge regulate the deportment of the craftsmen, while assembled for the purposes of social improvement and mental recreation, and while separated from the rest of mankind, and placed among none but brethren.
481 - How may a Lodge guard itself against impostors?
- Impostors. Impostors in Masonry may be either profanes who, never having been initiated, yet endeavor to pass themselves for regular Freemasons, or Masons who, having been expelled or suspended from the Order, seek to conceal the fact and still claim the privileges of members in good standing. The false pretensions of the former class are easily detected, because their real ignorance must after a proper trial become apparent. The latter class, having once been invested with the proper instructions, can stand the test of an examination; and their true position must be discovered only by information derived from the Lodges which have suspended or expelled them. The Tiler's oath is intended to meet each of these cases, because it requires every strange visitor to declare that he has been lawfully initiated, and that he is in good standing. But perjury added to imposture will gasily escape this test. Hence the necessity for the utmost caution, and therefore the Charges of 1722 say, "You are cautiously to examine a strange brother in such a method as prudence shall direct you, that you may not be imposed on by an ignorant, false pretender, whom you are to reject with contempt and derision, and beware of giving him any hints of knowledge." The Masonic rule is, that it is better that ninety and nine true brethren be rejected than that one impostor be admitted.
482 - What race performed the more humble labors in the erection of the Temple?
- Imposts. According to Masonic tradition the members of the secret society of Tyrian artists, who were hired by King Solomon to erect that sacred structure, in order to distinguish them from the Jews, who performed the more humble labors, were honored with the epithet of Free annexed to the name of builder or mason; and being talented foreigners, were freed from the usual imposts paid to the state by the subjects of Solomon.
483 - Can Masonry be held accountable for the conduct of all its members?
- Imputations. Individual errors or crimes ought only to reflect discredit on the offending parties, for a gigantic society like ours, whose members are spread over the face of the earth, and are found in every civilized country on the globe, cannot be responsible for the mis conduct of every single member of its body. It is very common to hear those who are not Masons urge this argument with all the force and confidence of conviction. A Mason has misconducted himself most grossly, they will say, and therefore Masonry must be a bad institution. But this way of reasoning is absurd. Take the argument in another point of view, and what does it end in? Why, a general condemnation of all institutions, human and divine. How would it shock our ears were it applied to Christianity. A Christian has been guilty of acts of violence; he has robbed one neighbor, slandered another, and murdered a third; and therefore - mark the consequence - Christianity must be a bad institution. Is not this preposterous? Does it follow because a wicked Christian commits murder, that the Christian religion must necessarily recommend the commission of murder? So Masonry. If some brethren so far forget their solemn obligations as to overstep the boundaries of decency; if they set the censure of the world at defiance, and disgrace themselves in the eyes of God and man, it cannot be urged that the institution recommends this conduct.
484 - What steps must a Lodge take after it has received its warrant, to become lawfully constituted?
- Inchoate Lodge. The Lodge to which a warrant has been granted is still, however, only an inchoate Lodge. To perfect its character and to entitle it to all the prerogatives of a warranted Lodge, certain forms and ceremonies have to be observed. These ceremonies are, acò cording to the ritual, as follows, and in the following order:
- 1. Consecration.
- 2. Dedication.
- 3. Constitution.
- 4. Installation.
They should all be performed by the Grand Master in person, or, if he is unable to attend, by some Past Master, who acts for him by a special warrant of proxy. 485 - Under what circumstances is membership in the Masonic Fraternity said to be inchoate?
- Inchoate Membership. Membership in the Masonic Fraternity is inchoate until perfected by the initiate by affixing his signature to the by laws. He does not by his mere reception into the third degree, become a member of the Lodge. He may not choose to perfect that inchoation; he may desire to affiliate with some other Lodge; and in such a case, by declining to affix his signature to the by laws, he remains in the. condition of unaffiliation. By having been raised to the third degree, he acquires a claim to membership, but no actual membership. It is left to his own option whether he will assert or forfeit that claim. If he declines to sign the by laws, he forfeits his claim; if he signs them, he asserts it, and becomes ipso facto a member.
486 - Can Masonic Lodges be incorporated?
- Incorporation. By an act of incorporation, the supreme legislature of a country creates a corporation or body politic, which is defined by Mr. Kyd to be "a collection of many individuals united in one body, under a special denomination, having perpetual succession under an artificial form, and vested by the policy of the law with a capacity of acting in several respects as an individual, particularly of taking and granting property, connecting obligations, and of suing and being sued; of enjoying privileges and immunities in common, and of exercising a variety of political rights." Some Grand Lodges in this country are incorporated by act of the General Assembly of their respective States; others are not, and these generally hold their property through Trustees. In 1768, an effort was made in the Grand Lodge of England to petition Parliament for incorporation, and after many discussions the question was submitted to the lodges; a large majority of whom having agreed to the measure, a bill was introduced in Parliament by the Deputy Grand Master, but, after having been approved on its second reading, at the request of several of the Fraternity, who had petitioned the House against it, it was withdrawn by the mover, and thus the design of an incorporation, fell to the ground. Perhaps the best system of Masonic incorporation in existence is that of the Grand Lodge of Scuth Carolina. There the act by which the Grand Lodge was incorporated, in 1817, delegates to that body the power of incorporating its subordinates; so that a lodge, whenever it receives from the Grand Lodge a Warrant of constitution, acquires thereby at once all the rights of a corporate body, which it ceases to exercise whenever the said Warrant is revoked by the Grand Lodge.
Objections have been made to the incorporation of lodges in consequence of some of the legal results which would follow. An incorporated lodge becomes subject to the surveillance of the courts of law, from which an unincorporated lodge is exempt. Thus, a Mason expelled by an unincorporated lodge must look for his redress to the Grand Lodge alone. But if the lodge be incorporated, he may apply to the courts for a restoration of his franchise as a member. Masonic discipline would thus be seriously affected. The objection to incorporation is, I think, founded on good reasons. 487 - What is the Masonic definition of the phrase "indefinite suspension"?
- Indefinite Suspension. Indefinite suspension, as the qualifying word imports, is a suspension for a period not determined and fixed by the sentence, but to continue during the pleasure of the Lodge. In this respect only does it differ from definite suspension. The position of a Mason, under definite or indefinite suspension, is precisely the same as to exercise of all his rights and privileges, which in both cases remain in abeyance, and restoration in each brings with it a resumption of all the rights and functions, the exercise of which had been interrupted by the sentence of suspension.
There is, however, a shade of difference between the two punishments - indefinite suspension being inflicted for offences of a more aggravated nature than those for which the penalty of definite suspension is prescribed. It must, of course, be the result of conviction, after due charges and trial, and can only be inflicted by a vote of two thirds of the members present. 488 - To whom is a Mason answerable for his motives when casting a ballot?
- Independence in Balloting. Independence of all responsibility is an essential ingredient in the exercise of the ballot. A Mason is responsible to no human power for the vote that he casts on the petition of a candidate. To his own conscience alone is he to answer for the motives that have led to the act, and for the act itself. It is, of course, wrong, in the exercise of this invaluable right, to be influenced by pique or prejudice, or by an adverse vote, to indulge an ungenerous feeling. But whether a member is or is not influenced by such motives, or is indulging such feelings, no one has a right to inquire. No Mason can be called to an account for the vote that he has deposited. A Lodge is not entitled indeed to know how any one of its members has voted. No inquiry on this subject can be entertained; no information can be received.
489 - What does the rite of induction signify?
- Induction, Rite of. Those acts and ceremonies by which the novice is first introduced into the Lodge are called by this name. They are highly instructive when properly explained, and have an important symbolical meaning.
The Rite of Induction signifies the end of a profane and vicious life - the palingenesia (new birth) of corrupted human nature - the death of vice and all bad passions, and the introduction to a new life of purity and virtue. It also prepares the candidate, by prayer and meditation, for that mystic pilgrimage, where he must wander through night and darkness, before he can behold the golden splendors of the Orient, and stand in unfettered freedom among the Sons of Light. The rite further represents man in his primitive condition of helplessness, ignorance, and moral blindness, seeking after that mental and moral enlightenment which alone can deliver his mind from all thralldoms, and make him master of the material world. The Neophyte, in darkness and with tremblings, knocks at the portals of the Lodge, and demands admission, instruction, and light. So man, born ignorant, and helpless, and blind, yet feeling stirring within him unappeasable longings for knowledge, knocks at the doors of the temple of science. He interrogates Nature, demands her secrets, and at length becomes the proud possessor of her mysteries. 490 - Of what is the beehive emblematic?
- Industry. A virtue inculcated amongst Masons, because by it they are enabled not only to support themselves and families, but to contribute to the relief of all worthy distressed brethren. "All Masons," say the Charges of 1722, "shall work honestly on working days that they may lived creditably on holy days." The Masonic symbol of industry is the beehive, which is used in the third degree.
Masonry is a progressive science, and not to be attained in any degree of perfection but by time, patience, and a considerable degree of application and industry; for no one is admitted to the profoundest secrets, or the highest honours of this Fraternity, till by time we are assured he has learned secrecy and morality. 491 - How can the influence of Masonry be supported?
- Influence. The influence of Freemasonry can only be supported by an unanimous determination amongst the brethren to preserve in their private lodges the utmost regularity and decorum, a uniformity of rites and ceremonies, and, above all, a resolution to practice, in their several stations, those moral duties which are so strongly recommended, and so beautifully displayed in the private lectures of the lodge.
492 - Under what circumstances can one Mason vouch for another?
- Information, Lawful. One of the modes of recognizing a stranger as a true brother, is by the "lawful information" of a third party. No Mason can lawfully give information of another's qualifications unless he has actually tested him by the strictest trial and examination, or knows that it has been done by another. But it is not every Mason who is competent to give "lawful information." Ignorant and unskillful brethren cannot do so, because they are incapable of discovering truth or of detecting error. A "rusty Mason" should never attempt to examine a stranger and certainly, if he does, his opinion as to the result is worth nothing. If the information given is on the ground that the party who is vouched for has been seen sitting in a Lodge, care must be taken to inquire if it was a "just and legally constituted Lodge of Master Masons." A person may forget from the lapse of time, and vouch for a stranger as a Master Mason, when the Lodge in which he saw him was only opened in the first or second degree. Information given by letter, or through a third party, is irregular. The person giving the information, the one receiving it, and the one of whom it is given, should all be present at the same time, for otherwise there would be no certainty of identity. The information must be positive, not founded on belief or opinion, but derived from a legitimate source. And lastly, it must not have been received casually, but for the very purpose of being used for Masonic purposes. For one to say to another in the course of a desultory conversation, "A. B. is a Mason," is not sufficient. He may not be speaking with due caution, under the expectation that his words will be considered of weight. He must say some thing to this effect: "I know this man to be a Master Mason, for such or such reasons, and you may safely recognize him as such." This alone will ensure the necessary care and proper observance of prudence.
493 - Are the Masonic ceremonies the true secrets of the order?
- Initiated. The initiated, while in the lodge, labor to perfect their own mental faculties, as well as those of the whole human race. Here let us seek the secrets of Masonry, in themselves unpronounceable, neither are they to be communicated by the laying on of hands, in a few fleeting hours. Thoughts, the indulgence in which a few short years ago would have been punished by the sword, the stake, or banishment, are, in our days, loved as philanthropic; and princes now do things for which but a few years back misunderstood philosophers were condemned as mad impostors. But there are thoughts, even in the present day, which the great mass of mankind may mock or curse, but which will in some future period be usefully and beneficially introduced into private life. This has been nearly all, and yet continues to be the chief employment of a genuine Freemason; although in the lodge those subjects are very seldom openly introduced; it is for this reason that the great mass consider the ceremonies to be the true secret, whereas they are in. reality but the shell in which they are enclosed.
494 - Is the Masonic system subject to change?
- Innovations. These can never be permitted in Freemasonry. As it was in the beginning, so it is now, and so it must forever remain. This is particularly true of symbolic Masonry. It has resisted all attempts of reformers, as these innovators style themselves, to add to, or take from, or introduce changes. The high degrees are developments of the first three, and complete the fabric in all its beauty. Among the innovators who, in the last age, attempted to change the character of the Masonic rites, Cagliostro and the Chevalier Ramsay were the chief. But their efforts were unavailing, and their inventions soon forgotten.
495 - Is a person formerly insane, but restored to health, admissible as a candidate?
- Insanity. Idiots and madmen, although again the written law is silent upon the subject, are excluded by the ritual law from initiation, and this from the evident reason that the powers of understanding are in 'the one instance absent, and in the other perverted, so that they are both incapable of comprehending the principles of the institution, and are without any moral responsibility for a violation or neglect of its duties.
It has sometimes been mooted as a question, whether a person, having once been insane, and then restored to health, is admissible as. a candidate. The reply to the question depends on the fact whether the patient has been fully restored or not. If he has, he is no longer insane, and does not come within the provisions of the law, which looks only to the present condition, mental, physical or moral, of the candidate. If he has not, and if his apparent recovery is only what medical men call a lucid interval, then the disease of insanity, although not actually evident, is still there, but dormant, and the individual cannot be initiated. This is a matter the determination of which is so simple, that I should not have even alluded to it, were it not that it was once proposed to me as a question of Masonic law, which the Lodge proposing it had not been able satisfactorily to solve. 496 - Of what are the Masonic insignias emblematic?
- Insignia. The presiding officers of a lodge are distinguished by certain geometrical figures, being combinations of those which are called perfect, viz., the square, the equilateral triangle, and the circle; the latter being a general characteristic of grand officers. The compasses are parts of the triangle; the square, either triangle or square; the level and the plumb are both parts of a square. Now the square, level and plumb have their separate and specific uses, and are assigned to the three chief officers, as emblems of their respective duties. But the Past Master having already executed them all, and being no longer an operative, is relieved from the burden of bearing a working tool, and invested with a problem of the greatest utility in geometrical demonstrations, he having attained the rank of a ruler in Israel; and therefore the Master's square is relieved by a square silver plate, on which is delineated the forty seventh problem of Euclid. The compasses are instruments of design, and are thus appointed to the Grand Master. He designs; the Past Master demonstrates; the Worshipful Master governs his particular lodge; the Senior Warden preserves equality and harmony amongst the brethren; and the Junior Warden takes care that the proper hours of labor are maintained. Thus a system of arrangement is preserved, which produces order and regularity, and constitutes the Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty of Freemasonry.
497 - Has a visitor a right to inspect the warrant of a Lodge?
- Inspection of Warrant. As the warrant is the evidence of the legality of a Lodge, every Mason who desires to visit a Lodge for the first time is entitled to an inspection of this instrument, nor should any Mason ever consent to visit a strange Lodge until he has had an opportunity of examining it. The refusal to submit it to his inspection is in itself a suspicious circumstance, which should place him on his guard, and render him at once averse to holding communion of a Masonic nature with persons who are thus unwilling, and, it may be, unable to produce the evidence of their legal standing.
498 - What is the origin of the ceremony of installation?
- Installation. A Lodge having been consecrated to the uses of Masonry, and dedicated to the patrons of the Order, and its members constituted into a legal Masonic organization, it becomes necessary that the officers chosen should be duly invested with the power to exercise the functions which have been confided to them. The ceremony by which this investiture is made is called the installation.
The custom of inducting an officer into the station to which he has been elected by some ceremony, however simple, has been observed in every association. The introduction of the presiding officer of a profane society into the chair which he is to occupy, by one or more of the members, is, in every essential point, an installation. In the church, the ceremony (differing, as it must, in every denomination), by which a clergyman is inducted into his pastoral office, or a bishop placed in his see, is in like manner a species of installation, all of which forms find their type in the inauguration of the Augurs in ancient Rome into their sacred office. A similar usage prevails in Masonry, where it has always been held that an officer cannot legally perform the duties of his office until he has been installed into office. As in the Roman inauguration the rite could only be performed by an Augur, (whence the derivation of the word), so in Masonry the ceremony of installation can only be performed by a Past Master, and in the installation of the officers of a new Lodge, by the Grand Master or some Past Master, who has been especially deputed by him for that purpose. Preston says that the Deputy Grand Master usually invests the Master, the Grand Wardens invest the Wardens, the Grand Treasurer and Grand Secretary the Treasurer and Secretary, and the Grand Stewards the Stewards. But this usage is not observed in America, where all the officers are installed and invested by the same installing officer, whether he be the Grand Master or a Past Master. 499 - What were the ancient installation charges?
- Installation, Ancient Charges. These Charges appear from their style to be very old, although their date is uncertain. They were contained in a MS. written in the reign of James II., which extended from 1685 to 1688, which MS., according to Preston, was in possession of the Lodge of Antiquity in London. They are said to have been used at the installation of the Master of a Lodge. Probably they are older than the year 1686; but that date is often used as a means of reference, The Charges are as follows:
- 1. That ye shall be true men to God and the holy church, and to use no error or heresy by your understanding, and by wise men's teaching.
- 2. That we shall be true liegemen to the King of England, without treason or any falsehood, and that ye know no treason but ye shall give knowledge thereof to the king, or to his counsel; also, ye shall be true one to another, that is to say, every Mason of the craft that is Mason allowed, ye shall do to him as ye would be done unto yourself.
- 3. And ye shall keep truly all the counsel that ought to be kept in the way of Masonhood, and all the counsel of the Lodge or of the chamber. Also, that ye shall be no thief nor thieves to your knowledge free; that ye shall be true to the king, lord or master that ye serve, and truly to see and work for his advantage.
- 4. Ye shall call all Masons your Fellows, or your brethren, and no other names.
- 5. Ye shall not take your Fellow's wife in villainy, nor deflower his daughter or servant, nor put him to disworship.
- 6. Ye shall truly pay for your meat or drink, wheresoever ye go to table or board. Also, ye shall do no villainy there, whereby the craft or science may be slandered.
500 - Is it lawful to install the officers of a Lodge by proxy?
- Installation by Proxy. It is usual in the case of the absence of any one of the officers who is to be installed, for some other brother to assume his place, and, acting as his proxy, to make the usual promises for him, and in his behalf to receive the charge and investiture. Long and uninterrupted usage would seem alone sufficient to sanction this practice, (however objectionable it may, in some respects, be deemed), but it has also the authority of ancient law; for the thirty sixth of the Regulations of 1721 prescribes that when the Grand Master elect is absent from the grand feast, that is to say, on the day of installation, the old Grand Master may act as his proxy, perform his duties, and in his name receive the usual homage.
501 - Has a Lodge under dispensation the right to install its officers?
- Installation in Lodge Under Dispensation. It follows, from the nature of the organization of a Lodge under dispensation, that it cannot install its officers. This is indeed a ritualistic law, for the installation of officers is an inherent and indivisible part of the ceremony of constitution, and it is self evident that a Lodge under dispensation cannot, while in this inchoate condition, be constituted; for a constituted Lodge under dispensation would be a contradiction in terms; besides, no officer can be installed unless he has been elected or appointed for a definite period. But the Master and Wardens of a Lodge under dispensation are appointed for an indefinite period, that is, during the pleasure of the Grand Master, and are not, therefore, qualified for installation.
502 - What regulations govern the installation of officers of a Lodge?
- Installation of Officers. A Lodge has the right to install its officers after being elected. This is a right incidental to the grant of perpetual succession, which is contained in the warrant; for, as by ancient Masonic law and universal usage, no officer can legally discharge the functions of the office to which he has been elected, until he has been regularly inducted into it by the ceremony of installation, it follows that when a grant of perpetual succession of officers is made, the grant carries with it the power of investing all succeeding officers with the powers and functions of their predecessors, which investiture is accomplished in Masonry by the ceremony of installation. But this power of installation, like all the other powers of subordinate Lodges, is controlled and directed by certain Grand Lodge regulations, which it is not in the power of the Lodge to set aside.
The installation, for instance, must take place at the communication, immediately before or on the festival of St. John the Evangelist. This is considered as the commencement of the Masonic year, and on that day the old officers vacate their seats, which are assumed by the new ones. But if by any circumstance the installation has been omitted until after this festival, the law having been violated, and there being no other law which provides for an installation after that day, the installation can then only take place by the authority and under the dispensation of the Grand Master. In a new Lodge installation can only be conducted by the Grand Master, or some Past Master, acting for and representing him. This is because on that occasion the installation makes a part of the ceremony of constitution, which, by the Old Regulations, can only be per formed by the Grand Master. But all subsequent installations may be conducted by any Past Master of the Lodge, or other Past Master representing him; because the warrant grants the Master of the Lodge and his successors the perpetual power of installing their successors. It is only when the exercise of this right has been temporarily forfeited by an omission to install at the regular time, that it becomes necessary to go outside of the warrant, and apply to the Grand Master for his dispensing power to legalize the installation at an irregular period. 503 - Who is eligible to install the officers of a warranted Lodge?
- Installation of Officers of a Warranted Lodge. A Lodge when consecrated, dedicated and constituted, with its officers installed, assumes at once the rank and prerogatives of a warranted Lodge. The consecration, dedication and constitution are never repeated, but at every, subsequent annual election, the installation of officers is renewed. But on these occasions it is no longer necessary that the Grand Master or his proxy should act as the installing officer. This duty is to be per formed by the last Master, or by any other Past Master acting in his behalf; for, by the warrant of constitution, the power of installing their successors is given to the officers therein named, and to their successors, so that the prerogative of installation is perpetually vested in the last officers.
504 - Who is responsible for the proper instruction of candidates?
- Instructed. The candidate is instructed by the Worshipful Master in his duties as a Mason; the first and most impressive part of which, is to study the Holy Bible, and to practice the three great moral duties to God, your neighbour, and yourself. To God, by holding his name in awe and veneration; viewing him as the chief good, imploring his aid in laudable pursuits, and supplicating his protection on well meant endeavors. To your neighbor, by always acting upon the square, and considering him equally entitled with yourself to share the blessings of providence, rendering unto him those favors and friendly offices, which, in a similar situation, you would expect from him. And to yourself, by not abusing the bounties of providence, impairing your faculties by irregularity, or debasing your profession by intemperance.
505 - What is instrumental Masonry?
- Instrumental Masonry. The instrumental consists in the use and application of various tools and implements, such as the common gauge, the square, the plumb line, the level, and others that may be called mathematical, invented to find the size or magnitude of the several parts or materials whereof our buildings are composed, to prove when they are wrought into due form and proportion, and when so wrought, to fix them in their proper places and positions, and likewise to take the dimensions of all bodies, whether plain or solid, and to adjust and settle the proportions of space and extent. To this part also belongs the use of various other instruments or machines, such as the lever, the wheel and axle, the wedge, the screw, the pulley, etc., which may be called mechanic, being used to forward and expedite our business, to alleviate our toils, and enable us to perform with a single hand what could not be done without many, and in some cases not at all; and those more properly belonging to our brethren of the second degree, styled Fellowcrafts.
506 - What affirmation of intention accompanies the Mason's oath?
- Intention. The obligations of Masonry are required to be taken with an honest determination to observe them; and hence the Mason solemnly affirms that in assuming those responsibilities he does so with out equivocation, secret evasion, or mental reservation.
507 - How is the internal preparation of a candidate made known?
- Internal Qualifications. Those qualifications of a candidate which refer to a condition known only to himself, and which are not patent to the world, are called internal qualifications. They are:
- 1st. That he comes forward of his own free will and accord, and unbiased by the solicitations of others.
- 2nd. That he is not influenced by mercenary motives; and,
- 3rd. That he has a disposition to conform to the usages of the Order. The knowledge of these can only be obtained from his own statements, and hence they are included in the preliminary questions which are proposed before initiation.
The internal preparation of a candidate for Masonry is exemplified by the declaration he is called on to make with respect to the motives which have induced him to seek its privileges. 508 - Why should Masons take care not to interrupt a brother who is speak ing in a Lodge?
- Interruption. There cannot be a greater rudeness than to interrupt another in the current of his discourse; for if it be not impertinence and folly to answer a man before we know what he has to say, yet it is a plain declaration that we are weary of his discourse, that we disregard what he says as unfit to entertain the society with, and is, in fact, little less than a downright desiring that ourselves may have audience, who have something to produce better worth the attention of the company. As this is no ordinary degree of disrespect, it cannot but always give a very great offense.
509 - What is the arch enemy of Freemasonry?
- Intolerance. The arch enemy of Freemasonry. Toleration is one of the chief foundation stones of the Fraternity, and Universality and Brotherly Love are ever taught. Notwithstanding, intolerance has, and ever has had, its grip upon the brotherhood, and insidiously does its silent and undermining work. Human powers are limited or circumscribed. Man by nature is weak, and is largely the creature of early education; yet no institution has such resisting power and is of such avail as Freemasonry against that great enemy of man, which has destroyed more of the human race than any other evil power.
510 - To whom should the investigation of a petition for Masonry be entrusted?
- Investigation. A petition must be referred to a committee, for an investigation into the character and the qualifications of the candidate. The law, derived from the ancient Regulations of 1721, is explicit, that there shall be an inquiry into the character of the candidate; but it is silent as to the mode in which that inquiry shall be made. It might, it is true, be made by the whole Lodge, every member considering him self as a member of the committee of investigation; but as this would be a. cumbersome method, and one which would hardly be successful, from the very number of the inquisitors, and the probability that each member would depend upon his associates for the performance of an unpleasant duty, it has been invariably the custom to refer the subject to a special committee, consisting generally of three, who are always chosen by a skillful Master from among those members who, from peculiar circumstances, are most likely to make the inquiry with promptness, certainty and impartiality.
511 - What form of invocation is customary in American Lodges?
- Invocation. An invocation sometimes used in the United States at the dedication of Masonic lodges, is as follows: "Supreme Architect of all worlds ! vouchsafe to accept the solemn dedication of this hall to the glory of thy holy name ! Make its walls salvation, and its arch praise. May the brethren who shall here assemble, meet in unity, work in love, and part in harmony. May Fidelity keep the door, Faith prompt the duties, Hope animate the labors, and Charity diffuse the blessings of the lodge ! May wisdom and virtue distinguish the fraternity, and Masonry become glorious in all the earth ! So mote it be! Amen."
512 - What does the absence of iron tools at the building of King Solomon's Temple symbolize?
- Iron Tools. The lectures teach us that at the building of King Solomon's Temple there was not heard the sound of axe, hammer, or other metallic tool. But all the stones were hewn, squared, and numbered in the quarries; and the timbers felled and prepared in the forest of Lebanon, whence they were brought on floats by sea to Joppa, and thence carried by land to Jerusalem, where, on being put up, each part was found to fit with such exact nicety that the whole, when completed, seemed rather the handiwork of the Grand Architect of the Universe than of mere human hands. This can hardly be called a legend, because the same facts are substantiated in the first Book of Kings; but the circumstance has been appropriated in Masonry to symbolize the entire peace and harmony which should prevail among Masons when laboring on that spiritual temple of which the Solomonic Temple was the archetype.
J
513 - What is the name of the right hand pillar facing east on the porch of King Solomon's Temple?
- Jachin. Hence called by Dudley and some other writers, who reject the points, ichin. It is the name of the right hand pillar that stood at the porch of King Solomon's Temple. It is derived from two Hebrew words, jah, "God," and iachin, "will establish." It signifies "he that strengthens," or "will establish." The other pillar was called Boaz, "in strength" - the two words signifying "in strength shall this my house be established."
514 - What is the Masonic symbolism of Jacob's Ladder?
- Jacob's Ladder. The introduction of Jacob's ladder into the symbolism of Speculative Masonry is to be traced to the vision of Jacob, which is thus substantially recorded in the twenty eighth chapter of the Book of Genesis: When Jacob, by the command of his father Isaac, was journeying toward Padan aram, while sleeping one night with bare earth for his couch and a stone for his pillow, he beheld the vision of a ladder, whose foot rested on the earth and whose top reached to heaven.
Angels were continually ascending and descending upon it, and promised him the blessing of a numerous and happy posterity. When Jacob awoke, he was filled with pious gratitude, and consecrated the spot as the house of God. This ladder, so remarkable in the history of the Jewish people, finds its analogue in all the ancient initiations. Whether this is to be attributed simply to a coincidence - a theory which but few scholars would be willing to accept - or to the fact that these analogues were all derived from a common fountain of symbolism, or whether, as suggested by Oliver, the origin of the symbol was lost among the practices of the Pagan rites, while the symbol itself was retained, it is, perhaps, impossible authoritatively to determine. It is, however, certain that the ladder as a symbol of moral and intellectual progress existed almost universally in antiquity, presenting itself either as a succession of steps, of gates, of degrees, or in some modified form. The number of steps varied; al though the favorite one appears to have been seven, in reference, apparently, to the mystical character almost everywhere given to that number. Thus, in the Persian mysteries of Mithras, there was a ladder of seven rounds, the passage through them being symbolical of the soul's approach to perfection. These rounds were called gates, and, in allusion to them, the candidate was made to pass through seven dark and winding caverns, which process was called the ascent of the ladder of perfection. Each of these caverns was the representative of a world, or state of existence through which the soul was supposed to pass in its progress from the first world to the last, or the world of truth. Each round of the ladder was said to be of metal of increasing purity, and was dignified also with the name of its protecting planet. Some idea of the construction of this symbolic ladder may be obtained from the following table:
- 7 - Gold - Sun - Truth.
- 6 - Silver - Moon - Mansion of the Blessed.
5 - Iron - Mars - World of Births.
- 4 - Tin – Jupiter - Middle World.
- 3 - Copper - Venus - Heaven.
- 2 - Quicksilver – Mercury - World of Pre existence.
- 1 - Lead - Saturn - First World.
In the mysteries of Brahma we find the same reference to the ladder of seven steps. The names of these were not different, and there was the same allusion to the symbol of the universe. The seven steps were emblematical of the seven worlds which constituted the Indian universe. The lowest was the Earth; the second, the World of Pre existence; the third, Heaven; the fourth, the middle World, or intermediate region between the lower and upper worlds; the fifth, the World of Births, in which souls are again born; the sixth, the Mansion of the Blessed; and the seventh, or topmost round, the Sphere of Truth, and the abode of Brahma. Dr. Oliver thinks that in the Scandinavian mysteries the tree Yggdrasil was the representative of the mystical ladder. But although the ascent of the tree, like the ascent of the ladder was a change from a lower to a higher sphere - from time to eternity, and from death to life - yet the unimaginative genius of the North seems to have shorn the symbolism of many of its more salient features. Among the Kabbalists, the ladder was represented by the ten Sephiroths, which, commencing from the bottom, were the Kingdom, Foundation, Splendor, Firmness, Beauty, Justice, Mercy, Intelligence, Wisdom, and the Crown, by which we arrive at the En Soph, or the Infinite. In the higher Masonry we find the ladder of Kadosh, which consists of seven steps, thus commencing from the bottom: Justice, Equity, Kindness, Good Faith, Labor, Patience, and Intelligence. The arrangements of these steps, for which we are indebted to modern ritualism, does not seem to be perfect; but yet the idea of intellectual progress to perfection is carried out by making the topmost round represent Wisdom or Understanding. The Masonic ladder which is presented in the symbolism of the first degree ought really to consist of seven steps, which thus ascend: Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, Justice, Faith, Hope, and Charity; but the earliest examples of it present it only with three, referring to the three theological virtues, whence it is called the theological ladder. It seems, therefore, to have been settled by general usage that the Masonic ladder has but three steps. As a symbol of progress, Jacob's ladder was early recognized. Picus of Mirandola, who wrote in the sixteenth century, in his oration, "De Hominis Dignitate," says that Jacob's ladder is a symbol of the progressive scale of intellectual communication betwixt earth and heaven; and upon the ladder, as it were, step by step, man is permitted with the angels to ascend and descend until the mind finds blissful and complete repose in the bosom of divinity. The highest step he defines to be theology, or the study and contemplation of the Deity in his own abstract and exalted nature. In the Ancient Craft degrees of the York Rite, Jacob's ladder was not an original symbol. It is said to have been introduced by Dunckerley when he reformed the lectures. This is confirmed by the fact that it is not mentioned in any of the early rituals of the last century, nor even by Hutchinson, who had an excellent opportunity of doing so in his lecture on the Nature of the Lodge, where he speaks of the covering of the lodge, but says nothing of the means of reaching it, which he would have done, had he been acquainted with the ladder as a symbol. Its first appearance is in a Tracing Board on which the date of 1776 is inscribed, which very well agrees with the date of Dunckerley's improvements. In this Tracing Board, the ladder has but three rounds; a change from the old seven stepped ladder of the mysteries; which, however, Preston corrected when he described it as having many rounds, but three principal ones. Dunekerley, I think, was indebted for this symbol to Ramsay, from whom he liberally borrowed on several other occasions, taking from him his Royal Arch, and learning from him to eliminate the Master's Word from the third degree, where it had been placed by his predecessors. As to the modern Masonic symbolism of the ladder, it is, as I have already said, a symbol of progress, such as it is in all the old initiations. Its three principal rounds, representing Faith, Hope, and Charity, present us with the means of advancing from earth to heaven, from death to life - from the mortal to immortality. Hence its foot is placed on the ground floor of the Lodge, which is typical of the world, and its top rests on the covering of the Lodge, which is symbolic of heaven. In the Prestonian lecture, which was elaborated out of Dunckerley's system, the ladder is said to rest on the Holy Bible, and to reach to the heavens. This symbolism is thus explained. "By the doctrines contained in the Holy Bible we are taught to believe in the divine dispensation of Providence, which belief strength ens our Faith, and enables us to ascend the first step. "That Faith naturally creates in us a Hope of becoming partakers of some of the blessed promises therein recorded, which Hope enables us to ascend the second step. "But the third and last being Charity comprehends the whole, and he who is possessed of this virtue in its ample sense, is said to have arrived to the summit of his profession, or more metaphorically, into an ethereal mansion veiled from the mortal eye by the starry firmament." In the modern lectures, the language is materially changed, but the idea and the symbolism are retained unaltered. The delineation of the ladder with three steps only on the Tracing Board of 1776, which is a small one, may be attributed to notions of convenience. But the fact that Dunckerley derived his symbol from Ramsay; that Ramsay's ladder had seven steps, being the same as the Kadosh symbol; that in all the old initiations the number seven was preserved; and lastly, that Preston describes it as having "many rounds or staves, which .point out as many moral virtues, but three principal ones, namely, Faith, Hope, and Charity," irresistibly lead us to the conclusion that the Masonic ladder should properly have seven steps which represent the four cardinal and the three theological virtues. 515 - In the earliest lectures where was the Lodge supposed to stand?
- Jehoshaphat. Our ancient brethren who reduced the scattered elements of Freemasonry into order at the beginning of the last century, considered the lodge to be situated in the valley of Jehoshaphat; and that in whatever part of the world it might be opened, it was still esteemed, in a figure, to occupy that celebrated locality. Thus it was pronounced, in the earliest known lectures, that the lodge stands upon holy ground, or the highest hill or lowest dale, or in the Vale of Jehoshaphat. This celebrated valley derives its name from Jehovah and Shaphat, which means Christ, and to judge; and as the prophet Joel had predicted that the Lord would gather together all nations, and bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, it was believed by the Jews, (and the Christians subsequently adopted the same opinion), that in this place the transactions of the great day of judgment would be enacted.
516 - Why is Jehovah said to be the ineffable name in Masonry?
- Jehovah. JEHOVAH is of all the significant words of Masonry, by far the most important. Regellini very properly calls it "the basis of our dogma and of our mysteries." In Hebrew it consists of four letters, and hence is called the Tetragrammaton, or four lettered name; and because it was forbidden to a Jew, as it is to a Mason, to pronounce it, it is also called the Ineffable or Unpronounceable name. For its history we must refer to the sixth chapter of Exodus, (verses 2, 3). When Moses returned discouraged from his first visit to Pharaoh, and complained to the Lord that the only result of his mission had been to incense the Egyptian king, and to excite him to the exaction of greater burdens from the oppressed Israelites, God encourages the Patriarch by the promise of the great wonders which he would perform in behalf of his people, and confirmed the promise by imparting to him that sublime name by which he had not hitherto been known: "And God," says the sacred writer, "spoke unto Moses, and said unto him, I am Jehovah: and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob as El Shad dal, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known unto them." This Ineffable name is derived from the substantive verb, hayah, to be; and combining, as it does, in its formation the present, past, and future siagnifications of the verb, it is considered as designating God in his immutable and external existence. This idea is carried by the Rab, bins to such an extent, that Menasseh Ben Israel says that its four letters may be so arranged by permutations as to form twelve words, every one of which is a modification of the verb to be, and hence it is called the nomen substantioe vel essentioe, the name of his substance or existence.
The first thing that attracts our attention in the investigation of this name is the ancient regulation, still existing, by which it was made unlawful to pronounce it. This, perhaps, originally arose from a wish to conceal it from the surrounding heathen nations, so that they might not desecrate it by applying it to their idols. Whatever may have been the reason, the rule was imperative among the Jews. The Talmud in one of its treatises, the "Sanhedrin," which treats of the question, Who of the Israelites shall have future life and who shall not ? says: "Even he who thinks the name of God with its true letters forfeits his future life." Abraham Ben David Halevi, when discussing the names of God, says: "But the name we are not allowed to pronounce. In its original meaning it is conferred upon no other being, therefore we abstain from giving any explanation of it." We learn from Jerome, Origen, and Eusebius that in their time the Jews wrote the name in their copies of the Bible in Samaritan instead of Hebrew letters, in order to veil it from the inspection of the profane. Capellus says that the rule that the holy name was not to be pronounced was derived from a tradition, based on a passage in Leviticus, (xxiv. 16), which says that he who blasphemeth the name of Jehovah shall be put to death; and he translates this pas sage, "whosoever shall pronounce the name Jehovah shall suffer death," because the word nokeb, here translated "to blaspheme," means also "to pronounce distinctly, to call by name." Maimonides tells us that the knowledge of this word was confined to the hachamin or wise men, who communicated its true pronunciation and the mysteries connected with it only on the Sabbath day, to such of their disciples as were found worthy; but how it was to be sounded, or with what vocal sounds its four letters were to be uttered, was utterly unknown to the people. Once a year, namely, on the day of atonement, the holy name was pronounced with the sound of its letters and with the utmost veneration by the high priest in the Sanctuary. The last priest who pronounced it, says Rabbi Bechai, was Simeon the Just, and his successors used in blessing only the twelve lettered name. After the destruction of the city and Temple by Vespasian, the pronunciation of it ceased, for it was not lawful to pronounce it anywhere except in the Temple at Jerusalem, and thus the true and genuine pronunciation of the name was entirely lost to the Jewish people. Nor is it now known how it was originally pronounced. The Greeks called it JAO; the Romans, JovA; the Samaritans always pronounced it JAMIE. The Jews believed that this holy name, which they held in the highest veneration, was possessed of unbounded powers. "He who pronounces it," said they, "shakes heaven and earth, and inspires the very angels with astonishment and terror. There is a sovereign authority in this name: it governs the world by its power. The other names and surnames of the Deity are ranged about it like officers and soldiers about their sovereigns and generals: from this king name they receive their orders, and obey." It was called the Shemhamphorash, the explanatory or declaratory name, because it alone, of all the divine names, distinctly explains or declares what is the true essence of the Deity. Among the Essenes, this sacred name, which was never uttered aloud, but always in a whisper, was one of the mysteries of their initiation, which candidates were bound by a solemn oath never to divulge. It is reported to have been, under a modified form, a password in the Egyptian mysteries, and none, says Schiller, dare enter the temple of Serapis who did not bear on his breast or forehead the name of Jao or Je ha ho; a name almost equivalent in sound to that of Jehovah, and probably of identical import; and no name was uttered in Egypt with more reverence. The Rabbins asserted that it was engraved on the rod of Moses, and enabled him to perform all his miracles. Indeed, the Talmud says that it was by the utterance of this awful name, and not by a club, that he slew the Egyptian; although it fails to tell us how he got at that time his knowledge of it. That scurrilous book of the Jews of the Middle Ages, called the Toldoth Jeshu, attributes all the wonderful works of Jesus Christ to the potency of this incommunicable name, which he is said to have abstracted from the Temple, and worn about him. But it would be tedious and unprofitable to relate all the superstitious myths that have been invented about this name. In Freemasonry, the equilateral triangle, called the delta, with or without a Yod in the center, the Yod alone, and the letter G, are recognized as symbols of the sacred and Ineffable name. The history of the introduction of this word into the ritualism of Freemasonry would be highly interesting, were it not so obscure. Being in almost all respects an esoteric symbol, nearly all that we know of its Masonic relations is derived from tradition; and as to written records on the subject, we are compelled, in general, to depend on mere intimations or allusions, which are not always distinct in their meaning. In Masonry, as in the Hebrew mysteries, it was under the different appellations of the Word, the True Word, or the Lost Word, the symbol of the knowledge of Divine Truth, or the true nature of God. That this name, in its mystical use, was not unknown to the Medieval Freemasons there can be no doubt. Many of their architectural emblems show that they possessed this knowledge. Nor can there be any more doubt that through them it came to their successors, the Free masons of the beginning of the eighteenth century. No one can read Dr. Anderson's Defense of Masonry, written in 1730, without being convinced that this prominent actor in the revival was well acquainted with this name; although he is, of course, careful to make no very distinct reference to it, except in one instance. "The occasion," he says, "of the brethren searching so diligently for their Master was, it seems, to receive from him the secret Word of Masonry, which should be delivered down to their posterity in after ages." It is now conceded, from indisputable evidence, that the holy name was, in the earlier years, and, indeed, up to the middle of the last century, attached to the third degree, and then called the Master's Word. I have now lying before me two tracing boards of that degree, one an Irish one of the date of 1769, the other a continental one of 1778; but both, apparently, copies of some earlier one. Among the emblems displayed is a coffin, on which is inscribed, in capital letters, the word JEHOVAH. Hutchinson, who wrote in 1774, makes no reference what ever to the Royal Arch, although that system had, by that time, been partially established in England; but in his lectures to Master Masons and on the third degree refers to "the mystic word, the Tetragrammaton." Oliver tells us distinctly that it was the Master's Word until Dunckerley took it out of the degree and transferred it to the Royal Arch. That it was so on the Continent, we have the unmistakable testimony of Guillemain de St. Victor, who says, in his Adonhiramite Masonry, that Solomon placed a medal on the tomb of Hiram, "on which was engraved Jehova, the old Master's Word, and which signifies the Supreme Being." So far, then, these facts appear to be established: that this Ineffable name was known to the Operative Freemasons of the Middle Ages; that it was derived from them by the Speculative Masons, who, in 1717, revived the Order in England; that they knew it as Master Masons; and that it continued to be the Master's Word until late in that century, when it was removed by Dunckerley into the Royal Arch. Although there is, perhaps, no point in the esoteric system of Masonry more clearly established than that the Tetragrammaton is the true omnific word, yet innovations have been admitted, by which, in some jurisdictions in this country, that word has been changed into three others, which simply signify Divine names in other languages, but have none of the sublime symbolism that belongs to the true name of God. It is true that the General Grand Chapter of the United States adopted a regulation disapproving of the innovation of these explanatory words, and restoring the Tetragrammaton; but this declaration of what might almost be considered a truism in Masonry has been met with open opposition or reluctant obedience in some places. The Grand Chapter of England has fallen into the same error, and abandoned the teachings of Dunckerley, the founder of the Royal Arch in that country, as some of the Grand Chapters in America did those of Webb, who was the founder of the system here. It is well, therefore, to inquire what was the omnific word when the Royal Arch system was first invented. We have the authority of Oliver, who had the best opportunity of any man in England of knowing the facts, for saying that Dunckerley established the Royal Arch for the modern Grand Lodge; that he wisely borrowed many things from Ramsay and Dermott; and that he boldly transplanted the word Jehovah from the Master's degree and placed it in his new system. Now, what was "THE WORD" of the Royal Arch, as understood by Dunckerley? We have no difficulty here, for he himself answers the question. To the first edition of the Laws and Regulations of the Royal Arch, published in 1782, there is prefixed an essay on Freemasonry, which is attributed to Dunckerley. In this he makes the following remarks: "It must be observed that the expression THE WORD is not to be understood as a watchword only, after the manner of those annexed to the several degrees of the Craft; but also theologically, as a term, thereby to convey to the mind some idea of that Grand Being who is the sole author of our existence; and to carry along with it the most solemn veneration for his sacred Name and Word, as well as the most clear and perfect elucidation of his power and attributes that the human mind is capable of receiving. And this is the light in which the Name and Word hath always been considered, from the remotest ages, amongst us Christians and the Jews." And then, after giving the well known history from Josephus of the word, which, to remove all doubt of what it is, he says is the "Shem Ilamphorash, or the Unutterable Name," he adds: "Philo, the learned Jew, tells us not only that the word was lost, but also the time when, and the reason why. But, to make an end of these unprofitable disputes among the learned, be it remembered that they all concur with the Royal Arch Masons in others much more essential: first, that the Name or Word is expressive of SELF EXISTENCE and ETERNITY, and secondly, that it can be applicable only to that GREAT BEING who was and is and will be." Notwithstanding this explicit and unmistakable declaration of the founder of the English Royal Arch, that the Tetragrammaton is the omnific word, the present system in England has rejected it, and substituted in its place three other words, the second of which is wholly unmeaning. In the American system, as revised by Thomas Smith Webb, there can be no doubt that the Tetragammaton was recognized as the omnific word. In the Freemason's Monitor, prepared by him for monitorial instruction, he has inserted, among the passages of Scripture to be read during an exaltation, the following from Exodus, which is the last in order, and which any one at all acquainted with the ritual will at once see is appropriated to the time of the euresis or discovery of the Word. "And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord, and I appeared unto Abraham, and unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them." From this it will be evident that Webb recognized the word Jehovah, and not the three other words that have since been substituted for them by some Grand Chapters in this country, and which it is probable were originally used by Webb as merely explanatory or declaratory of the Divine nature of the other and principal word. And this is in accordance with one of the traditions of the degree, that they were placed on the substitute ark around the real word, as a key to explain its signification. To call anything else but this four lettered name an omnific word - an all creating and all performing word - either in Masonry or in Hebrew symbolism, whence Masonry derived it, is to oppose all the doctrines of the Talmudists, the Kabbalists, and the Gnostics, and to repudiate the teachings of every Hebrew scholar from Buxtorf to Gesenius. To fight the battle against such odds is to secure defeat. It shows more of boldness than of discretion. And hence the General Grand Chapter of the United States has very wisely restored the word Jehovah to its proper place. It is only in the York and in the American rites that this error has ever existed. In every other Rite the Tetragrammaton is recognized as the true word. 517 - What is the Masonic tradition with respect to Jeptha?
- Jeptha. There is an old Masonic tradition respecting Jeptha to the following effect. When the Ephraimites had assembled together to molest Jeptha, their leader encamped round a certain pillar, which being placed in an elevated situation, commanded a view of the ancient country, where Jeptha was prepared to receive him. After the battle, when the Ephraimites were retreating, Jeptha called a council of war to decide upon the necessary means of intercepting them, where it was agreed that they should be made to pronounce a password on the shores of Gilgal, by which they might be distinguished in the dark as in the light. And as they were unable to pronounce this word, they were immediately slain, this test word having been used to distinguish friend from foe.
518 - Why was Jerusalem chosen as the site of King Solomon's Temple?
- Jerusalem. The most famous and important city of Palestine. The old traditions and natural prepossessions both of Jews and Christians connect it with that Salem of which Melchizedek was king. It is situated on elevated ground south of the center of the country, about 37 miles from the Mediterranean, and about 24 from the Jordan. About a century after its foundation, it was captured by the Jebusites, who extended the walls, and constructed a castle, or citadel, on Mount Zion. By them it was called Jebus. In the conquest of Canaan, Joshua put to death its king, Adonizedek, and obtained possession of the town, which was jointly inhabited by Jews and Jebusites until the reign of David, who expelled the latter, and made it the capital of his kingdom, under the name of Jebus Salem, or Jerusalem. Its highest historical importance dates from the time of David, who transported to it the ark of the covenant, and built in it an altar to the Lord. The building of the temple by King Solomon was the consummation of the dignity and holiness of Jerusalem, which was further enlarged, strengthened and beautified by this king and by his successors. After the death of Solomon (B.C. 975), it suffered a diminution of political importance through the revolt and secession of the ten tribes. It was pillaged (B.C. 972), by Shishak, king of Egypt, and by Athaliah (B.C. 884), and finally (B.C. 588), it was taken, after a siege of three years, by Nebuchadnezzar, who razed its walls, and destroyed the temple and palaces, and carried all the holy vessels of the temple, together with thousands of captives, to Babylon. Having been rebuilt after the Captivity (B.C. 536), it was again taken and pillaged under Ptolemy Lagos (B.C. 320), and under Antiochus Epiphanes (B.C. 161), Pompey took the city (B.C. 63), put 12,000 of the inhabitants to the sword, and razed the walls to the ground, sparing, at the same time, the treasures of the sanctuary. A few years later (B.C. 51) it was pillaged by Crassus; and from these beginnings date the continued series of Roman aggressions, which terminated in the complete destruction of the city and dispersion of the Jewish race, under Vespasian and Titus, A.D. 70.
519 - What is the place of the Heavenly Jerusalem in Masonry?
- Jerusalem, Heavenly. The City of God. In several of the higher degrees the Heavenly Jerusalem is frequently alluded to, and occupies a prominent place. In the fifth section of the 2d degree of the Rite of Herodim the Thersata says: "Brothers may we all, whether present or absent, so labor that we shall come at last to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God; the Heavenly Jerusalem * * * *, where the sun shall set no more, nor the moon deprive us of her light, and where the days of our affliction, and the fatigues of our pilgrimage shall find an end."
520 - What branch of the Roman Catholic Church has sought to pervert Masonry to political intrigue and religious bigotry?
- Jesuits. In the last century the Jesuits were charged with having an intimate connection with Freemasonry, and the invention of the degree of Kadosh was even attributed to those members of the Society who constituted the College of Clermont. This theory of a Jesuitical Masonry seems to have originated with the Illuminati who were probably governed in its promulgation by a desire to depreciate the character of all other Masonic systems in comparison with their own, where no such priestly interference was permitted. Barrel scoffs at the idea of such a connection, and calls it "lo fable de la Franc Maconneries Jesuiteque." For once he is right. Like oil and water, the tolerance of Freemasonry and the intolerance of the "Society of Jesus" cannot commingle.
Yet it cannot be denied that while the Jesuits have had no part in the construction of pure Freemasonry, there are reasons for believing that they took an interest in the invention of some degrees and systems which were intended to advance their own interests. But wherever they touched the Institution they left the trail of the serpent. They sought to convert its pure philanthropy and toleration into political intrigue and religious bigotry. Hence it is believed that they had something to do with the invention of those degrees, which were intended to aid the exiled house of Stuart in its efforts to regain the English throne, because they believed that would secure the restoration in England of the Roman Catholic religion. Almost a library of books has been written on both sides of this subject in Germany and France. 521 - What are the ornaments of a Freemason?
- Jewels. The Freemasons' ornaments are three jewels, the square, the level, and the plumb rule. Those who are intrusted with them must possess great talents, and whether they can be cautious and worthy guardians of them must be ascertained from their previous conduct.
522 - Did the Jewish law prohibit the use of symbols?
- Jewish Symbols. The Jews had many symbols represented on the Tabernacle and the Temple. Moses placed in the former two cherubims, or sphinxes, as well as ornaments and decorations of flower work; and figures of cherubims were embroidered on the veil of the Holy of Holies, on the hangings of the sanctuary, and probably on the curtain also. It is evident, therefore, that Moses never intended to prohibit the use of symbols; nor was such a thing understood by the Jews in any age. Solomon did not so understand him, for in his temple the cherubims were represented in the Sanctum Sanctorum, and he decorated the walls with palm trees, cherubims, flowers, and other figures. The brazen sea rested upon twelve oxen. In Ezekiel's description of the temple are many figures, which, like the Egyptian deities, had heads of animals. The pillars, Jachin and Boaz, were decorated with lily work, net work, and pomegranates, as symbols of the peace, unity, and plenty which distinguished the building. Even after the Babylonish captivity the same symbolical system was used. The golLlen lamp in the second temple, of which a representation is still extant on the triumphal arch of Vespasian at Rome, was placed on sphinxes. In the roof, and at the gate of Zerubabbel's temple, there were golden vines, thickly charged with rich clusters of grapes.
523 - To whom were Lodges formerly dedicated?
- Johannite Masonry. The lodges of symbolical Masonry which were formerly dedicated to King Solomon are now dedicated to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist. Hence the first three degrees are called Johannite Masonry.
524 - By what name was the Masonic society formerly known?
- John's Brothers. Before the year 1440 the Masonic society was known by the name of John Brothers, but they then began to be called Free and Accepted Masons.
525 - Is a member excluded from one Lodge eligible to join another?
- Joining. If any member shall be excluded from his lodge, or shall withdraw himself from it, without having complied with its by laws, or with the general regulations of the Craft, he shall not be eligible to any other lodge, until that lodge has been made acquainted with his former neglect, so that the brethren may be enabled to exercise their discretion as to his admission. Whenever a member of any lodge shall resign, or shall be excluded, or whenever at a future time he may require it, he shall be furnished with a certificate stating the circumstances under which he left the lodge; and such certificate is to be produced to any other lodge of which he is proposed to be admitted a member, previous to the ballot being taken.
526 - Why was the timber for the Temple delivered at the Port of Joppa?
- Joppa. One of the most ancient seaports in the world, on the Mediterranean Sea, about 35 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Here the materials for building the first and second temples, sent from Lebanon, Tyre and other places, were landed, and conveyed to Jerusalem. Its harbor is shoal and unprotected from the winds; but on account of its convenience to Jerusalem, it became the principal port of Judea, and is still the great landing place of pilgrims and travelers to the Holy Land. The place is now called Jaffa. The peculiarly hilly and even precipitous character of Joppa is preserved in the traditions of the degree of Mark Master and a benevolent moral deduced, in accordance with the entire instructions of the grade.
527 - What aid does a Mason receive on the journey of life?
- Journey. Every Freemason, when he is initiated into the Craft, is taught to consider human life as a journey. Ile would faint with fatigue, lose himself in unknown roads, or fall over high precipices if he was not supported, faithfully conducted, and fraternally warned. By these means he arrives in safety at the end of his journey, and is permitted to receive light himself, that he may be able to support, lead, and warn others when traveling the same road.
528 - What is the difference between a journeyman and a Fellowcraft?
- Journeyman. When the Lodges were altogether operative in their character, a Mason, having served his apprenticeship, began to work for himself, and he was then called a journeyman; but he was required, within a reasonable period (in Scotland it was two years), to obtain admission into a Lodge, when he was said to have passed a Fellow Craft. Hence the distinction between Fellow Crafts and jour, neymen was that the former were and the latter were not members of Lodges. Thus, in the minutes of St. Mary's Chapel Lodge of Edinburgh, on the 27th of December, 1689, it was declared that "No Master shall employ a person who has not been passed a Fellow Craft in two years after the expiring of his apprenticeship;" and the names of several journeymen are given who had not complied with the law. A similar regulation was repeated by the same Lodge in 1705, complaint having been made "that there are several Masteris of this house that tolerate jurnimen to work up and down this citie contrary to their oath of admission;" and such journeymen were forbidden to seek employment. The patronage of the Craft of Freemasons was bestowed only on those who had become "free of the gild."
529 - What Masonic symbol is derived from the banner of the tribe of Judah?
- Judah. The fourth son of the patriarch Jacob, whose descendants became the most distinguished of the twelve tribes. On account of this the whole of Palestine is sometimes called Judea, or the land of Judah. The device on the banner of this tribe was a lion. It appears in the symbolism of Freemasonry.
530 - By what process does a Grand Lodge exercise its judicial functions?
- Judicial Powers of Grand Lodge. In the exercise of its judicial functions, a Grand Lodge becomes the interpretor and administrator of the laws which it had enacted in its legislative capacity. The judicial powers of a Grand Lodge, according to the Old Constitutions, are both original and appellate, although it more frequently exercises the prerogative and duties of an appellate than of an original jurisdiction.
In the exercise of its judicial functions, a Grand Lodge may proceed either in its General Assembly or by committee, whose report will be acted on by the Grand Lodge. The Grand Lodge may, in the case of an appeal, amend the sentence of its subordinate, by either a diminution or increase of the punishment, or it may wholly reverse it, or it may send the case back for trial. And in any one of these events, its decision is final; for there is no higher body in Masonry who can entertain an appeal from the decision of a Grand Lodge. 531 - What are the duties of the Junior Deacon?
- Junior Deacon. This officer is the especial attendant of the Senior Warden; and being seated at his right hand, is prepared to carry mes sages from him to the Junior Warden, and elsewhere about the Lodge.
He takes very little part in the ceremonies of conferring the de grees, but as he is placed near the outer door, he attends to all alarms of the Tiler, reports them to the Master, and at his command, inquires into the cause. The outer door being thus under his charge, he should never permit it to be opened by the Tiler, except in the usual form, and when preceded by the usual notice. He should allow no one to enter or depart without having first obtained the consent of the presiding officer. An important duty of the Junior Deacon is to see that the Lodge is duly tiled. Upon this security and secrecy of the institution depends; and therefore the Junior Deacon has been delegated as an especial officer to place the Tiler at his post, and to give him the necessary instructions. In the inspection of the brethren, which takes place at the opening of the Lodge, the south side of the room is entrusted to the care of the Junior Deacon. In the absence of the Senior Deacon, the Junior does not succeed to his place; but a temporary appointment of a Senior Deacon is made by the Master. If the Junior Deacon is absent, it is the usage for the Master, and not the Senior Warden, to make a temporary appointment. The right of nominating the Junior Deacon is vested in the Senior Warden only on the night of his installation. After that, on the occurrence of a temporary vacancy, this right is lost, and the Master makes the appointment by the constitutional right of appointment which vests in him. 532 - What is the duty of a Junior Warden in the absence of the Master and Senior Warden?
- Junior Warden, Duties of. All the duties that devolve upon the Senior Warden, in the absence of the Master, devolve in like manner, and precisely to the same extent, upon the Junior Warden, in the absence of both the Master and the Senior.
But if the Master be present, and the Senior Warden absent, the Junior Warden does not assume the functions of the latter officer, but retains his own station, and a Senior Warden pro tempore must be appointed by the Master. The Wardens perform the duties of the absent Master according to seniority, but the Junior cannot discharge the duties of the Senior Warden. It must be remembered that a Warden acting as Master is still a Warden, and is so acting simply in the discharge of one of the duties of his office. The Senior Warden is bound to the performance of his duties, which are, in the presence of the Master, to superintend the west, and in his absence to preside. The Junior Warden, in like manner, is bound to the performance of his duties, which are, in the presence of the Master, to superintend the south, and in the absence of both Master and Senior Warden, to pre side. The absence of the Senior Warden has, therefore, no effect upon the duties of the Junior Warden, unless the Master is also absent, when he takes the east. He is to supply the place, not of the absent Senior Warden, but of the absent Master. 533 - What is the jurisdiction of a Masonic Lodge?
- Jurisdiction of a Lodge. The jurisdiction of a Lodge is geographical or personal. The geographical jurisdiction of a Lodge is that which it exercises over the territory within which it is situated, and extends to all the Masons, affiliated and unaffiliated, who live within that territory. This jurisdiction extends to a point equally distant from the adjacent Lodge. Thus, if two Lodges are situated within twenty miles of each other, the geographical jurisdiction of each will extend ten miles from its seat in the direction of the other Lodge. But in this case both Lodges must be situated in the same State, and hold their Warrants from the same Grand Lodge; for it is a settled point of Masonic law that no Lodge can extend its geographical jurisdiction beyond the territorial limits of its own Grand Lodge.
The personal jurisdiction of a Lodge is that penal jurisdiction which it exercises over its own members wherever they may be situated. No matter how far a Mason may remove from the Lodge of which he is a member, his allegiance to that Lodge is indefeasible so long as he continues a member, and it may exercise penal jurisdiction over him. 534 - What is the extent of the jurisdiction of a Grand Lodge?
- Jurisdiction of Grand Lodge. A Grand Lodge when formed, by the union of not less than three Lodges in convention, at once assumes all the prerogatives of a Grand Lodge, and acquires exclusive Masonic jurisdiction over the territory within whose geographical limits it has been constituted. No Lodge can continue to exist, or be subsequently established in the territory, except under its authority; and all other Grand Lodges are precluded from exercising any Masonic authority within the said territory.
These principles of Masonic law seem to be admitted by universal consent, and sanctioned by constant usage in such organizations. 535 - What is required to make a Lodge just and perfect?
- Just and Perfect. This appellation, which is given to St. John's lodges in general, is of a more important nature than is generally under stood by it, for it is not sufficient for a lodge only to be so far just and perfect as to belong to a certain Grand Lodge, to work according to an acknowledged ritual, and to have all its officers and members in their proper places, but it must be just unto all the brethren, and perfect in the exercise of every Masonic duty. It is not just when the brethren are deprived of their rights, even of superintending the economy of the lodge, for such a lodge has no independence, and he who is not independent cannot exercise his Masonic duties as a perfect Master.
536 - Why should justice be the study of every Mason?
- Justice. Justice, the boundary of right, constitutes the cement of civil society. This virtue in a great measure constitutes real goodness, and is therefore represented as the perpetual study of the accomplished Mason. Without the exercise of justice, universal confusion would ensue, lawless force might overcome the principles of equity, and social intercourse no longer exist.
537 - On what grounds do Masons justify their moral system?
- Justification. We do not hesitate to appeal to the world in justification of the purity of our moral system. Our Constitutions are all well known; we have submitted them freely to general investigation. We solemnly avouch them as the principles by which we are governed, the foundation on which we build, and the rules by which we work. We challenge the most severe critic, the most practised moralist, the most perfect Christian, to point out anything in them inconsistent with good manners, fair morals, or pure religion.
K
538 - Of what is the key emblematic?
- Key. This symbol may be improved to impress upon the mind of every brother the importance of those secrets which have been transmitted through thirty centuries, amidst bitter persecutions, for the benefit of the sons of light. As we have thus received them, untarnished by the touch of profane curiosity, and unimpaired by the revolution of time and empires, let us deliver them, in all their purity and perfection, to succeeding brethren, confident that they will never be divulged to such as are unworthy.
539 - What two distinct kinds of Lodges are recognized in Freemasonry?
- Kinds of Lodges. There are in the Masonic system two kinds of Lodges, each organized in a different way, and each possessing different rights and prerogatives, namely, the Lodge working under a dispensation, and the Lodge working under a warrant of constitution.
540 - What is the symbolism of bending the knee?
- Knee to Knee. When, in his devotions to the G. A. O. T. IL, he seeks forgiveness for the past and strength for the future, the Mason is taught that he should, in these offices of devotion, join his brother's name with his own. The prerogative that Job, in his blindness, thought was denied to him, when he exclaimed, "Oh that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbor!" is here not only taught as a right, but inculcated as a duty; and the knee is directed to be bent in intercession, not for ourselves alone, but for the whole household of our brethren.
541 - What posture do Masons assume in many of the degrees?
- Kneeling. Bending the knees has, in all ages of the world, been considered as an act of reverence and humility, and hence Pliny, the Roman naturalist, observes, that "a certain degree of religious reverence is attributed to the knees of man." Solomon placed himself in this position when he prayed at the consecration of the Temple; and Masons use the same posture in some portions of their ceremonies, as a token of solemn reverence. In the act of prayer, Masons in the lower degrees adopt the standing posture, which was the usage of the primitive Church, where it was symbolic of the resurrection; but Masons in the higher degrees generally kneel on one knee.
542 - What is the symbolism of the alarm at the inner door?
- Knock. A candidate for Masonry is said to have complied with the terms of a certain text of Scripture, by having first sought in his mind whether he were really desirous of investigating the mysteries of Masonry; then asked counsel of his friend, and lastly having knocked, the door of Masonry became open to him; and it will be remembered that the door of a Freemasons' lodge does not stand open for every one to enter, neither do we call laborers to the work, but those who wish to work with us must voluntarily offer their services. If he desires to be admitted, he must knock earnestly and manfully. "Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you." He who cannot knock in the full confidence of an honorable feeling, and is not convinced in his own mind that he deserves to be admitted, ought not to have the door of the lodge opened to him.
L
543 - What is regarded as the most important word in Freemasonry?
- Labor. An important word in Freemasonry - we may say the most important. It is for this sole reason alone, that a person must be made a Freemason; all other reasons are incidental and unimportant, or unconnected with it. Labor is commonly the reason why meetings of the lodge are held, but do we every time receive a proof of activity and industry? The work of an operative mason is visible, if even it be very often badly executed; and he receives his reward if his building is thrown down by a storm in the next moment. He is convinced that he has been active; so must also the brother Freemason labor. His labor must be visible to himself and unto his brethren, or, at the very least, it must be conducive to his own inward satisfaction.
544 - What does the lamb symbolize?
- Lamb. In ancient Craft Masonry the lamb is the symbol of innocence; thus in the ritual of the first degree: "In all ages the lamb has been deemed an emblem of innocence." Hence it is required that a Mason's apron should be made of lambskin. In the high degrees, and in the degrees of chivalry, as in Christian iconography, the lamb it is a symbol of Jesus Christ. The introduction of this Christian symbol ism of the lamb comes from the expression of St. John the Baptist, who exclaimed, on seeing Jesus, "Behold the Lamb of God;" which was undoubtedly derived from the prophetic writers, who compare the Messiah suffering on the cross to a lamb under the knife of a butcher. In the vision of St. John, in the Apocalypse, Christ is seen, under the form of a lamb wounded in the throat, and opening the book with the seven seals. Hence, in one of the degrees of the Scottish Rite, the seventeenth, or Knight of the East and West, the lamb lying on the book with the seven seals is a part of the jewel.
545 - What are the ancient landmarks of Masonry?
- Landmarks. In ancient times, it was the custom to mark the boundaries of lands by means of stone pillars, the removal of which, by malicious persons, would be the occasion of much confusion, men having no other guide than these pillars by which to distinguish the limits of their property. To remove them, therefore, was considered a heinous crime. "Thou shalt not," says the Jewish law, "remove thy neighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance." Hence those peculiar marks of distinction by which we are separated from the profane world, and by which we are enabled to designate our inheritance as the "sons of light," are called the land marks of the Order. The universal language and the universal laws of Masonry are landmarks, but not so are the local ceremonies, laws, and usages, which vary in different countries. To attempt to alter or remove these sacred landmarks, by which we examine and prove a brother's claims to share in our privileges, is one of the most heinous offenses that a Mason can commit.
In the decision of the question what are and what are not the land marks of Masonry, there has been much diversity of opinion among writers. Dr. Oliver says that "some restrict them to the 0. B. signs, tokens and words. Others include the ceremonies of initiation, passing, and raising; and the form, dimensions and support; the ground, situation, and covering; the ornaments, furniture and jewels of a Lodge, or their characteristic symbols. Some think that the Order has no landmarks beyond its peculiar secrets." But all of these are loose and unsatisfactory definitions, excluding things that are essential, and admitting others that are unessential. Perhaps the safest method is to restrict them to those ancient, and therefore universal, customs of the Order, which either gradually grew into operation as rules of action, or, if once enacted by any competent authority, were enacted at a period so remote, that no account of their origin is to be found in the records of history. Both the enactors and the time of the enactment have passed away from the record, and the landmarks are therefore, "of higher antiquity than memory or history can reach." The first requisite, therefore, of a custom or rule of action to constitute it a landmark is, that it must have existed from "time, whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary." Its antiquity is its essential element. Were it possible for all the Masonic authorities at the present day to unite in a universal congress, and with the most perfect unanimity to adopt any new regulation, although such regulation would, so long as it remained unrepealed, be obligatory on the whole Craft, yet it would not be a landmark. It would have the character of universality, it is true, but it would be wanting in that of antiquity. Another peculiarity of these landmarks of Masonry is, that they are unrepealable. As the congress to which I have just alluded would not have the power to enact a landmark, so neither would it have the prerogative of abolishing one. The landmarks of the Order, like the laws of the Medes and the Persians, can suffer no change. What they were centuries ago, they still remain, and must so continue in force until Masonry itself shall cease to exist. Until the year 1858, no attempt had been made by any Masonic writer to distinctly enumerate the landmarks of Freemasonry, and to give to them a comprehensible form. In October of that year, the author of this work published in the American Quarterly Review of Free masonry, an article on The Foundations of Masonic Laws, which contained a distinct enumeration of the landmarks, which was the first time that such a list had been presented to the Fraternity. It has since been very generally adopted by the Fraternity, and republished by many writers on Masonic law, sometimes without any acknowledgment of the source whence they derived their information. According to this recapitulation, the result of much labor and research, the land marks are twenty five in number, and are as follows:
- 1. The modes of recognition are, of all the landmarks, the most legitimate and unquestioned. They admit of no variation; and if ever they have suffered alteration or addition, the evil of such a violation of the ancient law has always made itself subsequently manifest.
- 2. The division of symbolic Masonry into three degrees is a land mark that has been better preserved .than almost any other; although even here the mischievous spirit of innovation has left its traces, and, by the disruption of its concluding portion from the third degree, a want of uniformity has been created in respect to the final teaching of the Master's Order; and the Royal Arch of England, Scotland, Ireland, and America, and the "high degrees" of France and Germany, are all made to differ in the mode in which they lead the neophyte to the great consummation of all symbolic Masonry. In 1813, the Grand Lodge of England vindicated the ancient landmark, by solemnly enacting that ancient Craft Masonry consisted of the three degrees of Entered
Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason, including the Holy Royal Arch. But the disruption has never been healed, and the landmark, although acknowledged in its integrity by all, still continues to be violated.
- 3. The legend of the third degree is an important landmark, the integrity of which has been well preserved. There is no rite of Masonry, practiced in any country or language, in which the essential elements of this legend are not taught. The lectures may vary, and indeed are constantly changing, but the legend has ever remained substantially the same. And it is necessary that it should be so, for the legend of the Temple Builder constitutes the very essence and identity of Masonry. Any rite which should exclude it, or materially alter it, would at once, by that exclusion or alteration, cease to be a Masonic rite.
- 4. The government of the Fraternity by a presiding officer called a Grand Master, who is elected from the body of the Craft, is a fourth landmark of the Order. Many persons suppose that the election of the Grand Master is held in consequence of a law or regulation of the Grand Lodge. Such, however, is not the case. The office is indebted for its existence to a landmark of the Order. Grand Masters, or persons performing the functions under a different but equivalent title, are to be found in the records of the Institution long before Grand Lodges were established; and if the present system of legislative government by Grand Lodges were to be abolished, a Grand Master would still be necessary.
- 5. The prerogative of the Grand Master to preside over every assembly of the Craft, wheresoever and whensoever held, is a fifth land mark. It is in consequence of this law, derived from ancient usage, and not from any special enactment, that the Grand Master assumes the chair, or as it is called in England, "the throne," at every communication of the Grand Lodge; and that he is also entitled to preside at the communication of every subordinate Lodge, where he may hap pen to be present.
- 6. The prerogative of the Grand Master to give dispensation for conferring degrees at irregular times, is another and a very important landmark. The statutory law of Masonry requires a month, or other determinate period, to elapse between the presentation of a petition and the election of a candidate. But the Grand Master has the power to set aside or dispense with this probation, and to allow a candidate to be initiated at once. This prerogative he possessed before the enactment of the law requiring a probation, and as no statute can impair his prerogative, he still retains the power.
- 7. The prerogative of the Grand Master to give dispensation for the opening and holding of Lodges is another landmark. He may grant, in virtue of this, to a sufficient number of Masons, the privilege of meeting together and conferring degrees. The lodges thus established are called "lodges under dispensation."
- 8. The prerogative of the Grand Master to make Masons at sight is a landmark which is closely connected with the preceding one. There has been much misapprehension in relation to this landmark, which misapprehension has sometimes led to a denial of its existence in jurisdictions where the Grand Master was, perhaps, at the very time substantially exercising the prerogative without the slightest remark or opposition.
- 9. The necessity for Masons to congregate in lodges is another land mark. It is not to be understood by this that any ancient landmark has directed that permanent organization of subordinate lodges which constitutes one of the features of the Masonic system as it now prevails. But the landmarks of the Order always prescribed that Masons should, from time to time, congregate together for the purpose of either Operative or Speculative labor, and that these congregations should be called lodges. Formerly, these were extemporary meetings called together for special purposes, and then dissolved, the brethren departing to meet again at other times and other places, according to the necessity of circumstances. But Warrants of constitution, by laws, permanent officers, and annual arrears are modern innovations wholly outside the landmarks, and dependent entirely on the special enactments of a comparatively recent period.
- 10. The government of the Craft, when so congregated in a lodge, by a Master and two Wardens, is also a landmark. A congregation of Masons meeting together under any other government as that, for in stance, of a president and vice president, or a chairman. and sub chairman, would not be recognized as a lodge. The presence of a Master and two Wardens is an essential to the valid organization of a lodge as a Warrant of constitution is at the present day. The names, of course, vary in different languages; but the officers, their number, prerogatives, and duties are everywhere identical.
- 11. The necessity that every lodge, when congregated, should be duly tiled, is an important landmark of the Institution which is never neglected. The necessity of this law arises from the esoteric character of Masonry. The duty of guarding the door and keeping off cowans and eavesdroppers, is an ancient one, which therefore constitutes a landmark.
- 12. The right of every Mason to be represented in all general meetings of the Craft, and to instruct his representatives, is a twelfth land mark. Formerly, these general meetings, which were usually held once a year, were called "General Assemblies," and all the Fraternity, even to the youngest Entered Apprentice, were permitted to be present. Now they are called "Grand Lodges," and only the Master and Wardens of the subordinate lodges are summoned. But this is simply as the representatives of their members. Originally, each Mason represented himself; now he is represented by his officers.
- 13. The right of every Mason to appeal from the decision of his brethren, in lodge convened, to the Grand Lodge or General Assembly of Masons, is a landmark highly essential to the preservation of justice, and the prevention of oppression. A few modern Grand Lodges, in adopting a regulation that the decision of subordinate lodges, in cases of expulsion, cannot be wholly set aside upon an appeal, have violated this unquestioned landmark, as well as the principles of just government.
- 14. The right of every Mason to visit and sit in every regular lodge is an unquestionable landmark of the Order. This is called "the right of visitation." This right of visitation has always been recognized as an inherent right which inures to every Mason as he travels through the world. And this is because lodges are justly considered as only divisions for convenience of the universal Masonic family. This right may, of course, be impaired or forfeited on special occasions by various circumstances; but when admission is refused to a Mason in good standing, who knocks at the door of a lodge as a visitor, it is to be expected that some good and sufficient reason shall be furnished for this violation of what is, in general Masonic right, founded on the landmarks of the Order.
- 15. It is a landmark of the Order, that no visitor unknown to the brethren present, or to some one of them as a Mason, can enter a Lodge without first passing an examination according to ancient usage. Of course, if the visitor is known to any brother present to be a Mason in good standing, and if that brother will vouch for his qualifications, the examination may be dispensed with, as the landmark refers only to the cases of strangers, who are not to be recognized unless after strict trial, due examination, or lawful information.
- 16. No lodge can interfere in the business of another lodge, nor give degrees to brethren who are members of other lodges. This is undoubtedly an ancient landmark, founded on the great principles of courtesy and fraternal kindness, which are at the very foundation of our Institution. It has been repeatedly recognized by subsequent statutory enactments of all Grand Lodges.
- 17. It is a landmark that every Freemason is amenable to the laws and regulations of the Masonic jurisdiction in which he resides, and this although he may not be a member of any lodge. Non affiliation, which is, in fact, in itself a Masonic offense, does not exempt a Mason from Masonic jurisdiction.
- 18. Certain qualifications of candidates for initiation are derived from a landmark of the Order. These qualifications are that he shall be a man - unmutilated, free born, and of mature age. That is to say, a woman, a cripple, or a slave, or one born in slavery, is disqualified for initiation into the rites of Masonry. Statutes, it is true, have time to time been enacted, enforcing or explaining these principles; but the qualifications really arise from the very nature of the Masonic institution, and from its symbolic teachings, and have always existed as landmarks.
- 19. A belief in the existence of God as the Grand Architect of the Universe, is one of the most important landmarks of the Order. It has been always admitted that denial of the existence of a Supreme and Superintending Power is an absolute disqualification for initiation. The annals of the Order never yet have furnished or could furnish an in stance in which an avowed Atheist was ever made a Mason. The very initiatory ceremonies of the first degree forbid and prevent the possibility of such an occurrence.
- 20. Subsidiary to this belief in God, as a landmark of the Order, is the belief in a resurrection to a future life. This landmark is not so positively impressed on the candidate by exact words as the preceding; but the doctrine is taught by very plain implication, and runs through the whole symbolism of the Order. To believe in Masonry, and not to believe in resurrection, would be an absurd anomaly, which could only be excused by the reflection, that he who thus confounded his belief and his skepticism was so ignorant of the meaning of both theories as to have no rational foundation for his knowledge of either.
- 21. It is a landmark that a "Book of the Law" shall constitute an indispensable part of the furniture of every lodge. I say, advisedly, Book of the Law, because it is not absolutely required that everywhere the Old and New Testaments shall be used. The "Book of Law" is that volume which, by the religion of the country, is believed to contain the revealed will of the Grand Architect of the Universe. Hence, in all lodges in Christian countries, the "Book of Law" is composed of the Old and New Testaments; in a country where Judaism was the prevailing faith, the Old Testament would be sufficient; and in Mohammedan countries, and among Mohammedan Masons, the Koran might be substituted. Masonry does not attempt to interfere with the peculiar religious faith of its disciples, except so far as relates to the belief in the existence of God, and what necessarily results from that belief. The "Book of Law" is to the Speculative Mason his spiritual trestle board; without this he cannot labor; whatever he believes to be the revealed will of the Grand Architect constitutes for him his spiritual trestle board, and must ever be before him in his hours of speculative labor, to be the rule and guide of his conduct. The landmark, therefore, requires that a "Book of the Law," a religious code of some kind, purporting to be an exemplar of the revealed will of God, shall form an essential part of the furniture of every lodge.
- 22. The equality of all Masons is another landmark of the Order. This equality has no reference to any subversion of those gradations of rank which have been instituted by the usages of society. The monarch, the nobleman, or the gentleman is entitled to all the influence and receives all the respect, which rightly belong to his position. But the doctrine of Masonic equality implies that, as children of one great Father, we meet in the lodge upon the level - that on that level we are all traveling to one predestined goal - that in the lodge genuine merit shall receive more respect than boundless wealth, and that virtue and knowledge alone should be the basis of all Masonic honors, and be rewarded with preferment. When the labors of the lodge are over, and the brethren have retired from their peaceful retreat, to mingle once more with the world, each will then again resume that social position, and exercise the privilege of that rank, to which the customs of society entitle him.
- 23. The secrecy of the Institution is another and most important landmark. The form of secrecy is a form inherent in it, existing with it from its very foundation, and secured to it by its ancient landmarks. If divested of its secret character, it would lose its identity, and would cease to be Freemasonry. Whatever objections may, therefore, be made to the Institution on account of its secrecy, and however much some unskillful brethren have been unwilling in times of trial, for the sake of expediency, to divest it of its secret character, it will be ever impossible to do so, even were the landmark not standing before us as an insurmountable obstacle; because such change of its character would be social suicide, and the death of the Order would follow its legalized exposure. Freemasonry, as a secret association, has lived unchanged for centuries; as an open society, it would not last for as many years.
- 24. The foundation of a speculative science upon an operative art, and the symbolic use and explanation of the terms of that art, for the purpose of religious or moral teaching, constitute another landmark of the Order. The Temple of Solomon was the symbolic cradle of the Institution, and therefore, the reference to the Operative Masonry which constructed that magnificent edifice, to the materials and implements which were employed in its construction, and to the artists who were engaged in the building, are all competent and essential parts of the body of Freemasonry, which could not be subtracted from it without an entire destruction of the whole identity of the Order. Hence, all the comparatively modern rites of Masonry, however they may differ in other respects, religiously preserve this Temple history and these operative elements, as the substratum of all their modifications of the Masonic system.
- 25. The last and crowning landmark of all is, that these landmarks can never be changed. Nothing can be subtracted from them - nothing can be added to them - not the slightest modification can be made in them. As they were received from our predecessors, we are bound by the most solemn obligations of duty to transmit them to our successors.
546 - Why should a Masonic Lodge be closed at a reasonable hour?
- Late Hours. It is a fact, confirmed by experience, that an indulgence in late hours cannot fail to injure the credit and respectability of a lodge, because it introduces other habits which are not consistent with the gravity and decorum which ought always to characterize the proceedings of Masonry. And hence it is an important part of the Worshipful Master's duty, to discountenance such baleful practice. If the brethren meet for the purpose of business, or to cultivate a knowledge of the science by joining in the lectures, let them pursue their labors with assiduity and zeal during the period prescribed in the by laws; and should it be necessary for the Junior Warden to perform his office, let the brethren enjoy themselves with decent moderation; but by all means let the Senior Warden discharge his duty honestly and conscientiously, and let the lodge be closed and the brethren depart to their own homes at such an hour as shall excite no unpleasant feelings, nor call forth reproachful observations from the females of their families, whom it is their duty and interest, as well in the character of husbands and fathers, as of Masons, to love, to cherish, and to oblige.
547 - Of what is the brazen laver emblematic?
- Laver, Brazen. Moses was directed to make, among other articles of furniture for the services of the tabernacle, a laver of brass. It was held as a vessel of great sacredness, in which water was kept for the ablutions of the priests before entering upon the actual discharge of their sacred duties of offering sacrifices before the Lord. In the ancient mysteries the laver with its pure water was used to cleanse the neophyte of the impurities of the outer world, and to free him from the imperfections of his past or sinful life. It is a necessary article in many of the higher degrees, for the ablution of the candidate in his progress to a higher and purer system of knowledge.
548 - Why should a Mason respect the law?
- Laws of the Land. The Freemason has the greatest respect for the laws of the land in which he lives, and he obeys them with the zeal of a faithful subject. If he is intrusted with the putting of those laws in force, his Masonic duties remind him to be faithful and diligent in applying them. Should the state command the lodge to be closed of which he is a member, he immediately obeys, and visits no assembly which is not allowed, or at least tolerated by the state. In the event of a brother wilfully violating the laws of his country, the Order itself directs the attention of the magistrates unto him, and he who is punished as a criminal by the laws, is excluded from the Order without exception.
549 - Why should Masons avoid law suits with one another?
- Law Suits. If any brother do you an injury, you must apply to your own or his lodge, and from thence you may appeal to the Grand Lodge at the quarterly communication, as has been the ancient laudable conduct of our forefathers in every nation; never take a legal course but when the case cannot be otherwise decided, and patiently listen to the honest and friendly advice of Master and fellows, when they would prevent your going to law with strangers, or would excite you to put a speedy period to all law suits, that so you may find the affair of Masonry with the more alacrity and success. With respect to brothers or fellows at law, the Master and brethren should kindly offer their mediation, which ought to be thankfully submitted to by the contending brethren; and if that submission is impracticable, they must however carry on their process or law suit without wrath or rancor, (not in the common way) saying or doing nothing which may hinder brotherly love and good offices to be renewed and continued, that all may see the benign influence of Masonry, as all true Masons have done from the beginning of the world, and will do to the end of time.
550 - What is the unwritten law of Freemasonry?
- Law, Unwritten. The Constitutions, Charges and Regulations which were adopted at various periods, from 926 to 1722, constitute the Written Law of Masonry, and they were at one time co extensive in authority with the Landmarks of the Order. From these, however, they differ in this respect, that the Landmarks being unrepealable, must aver continue in force; but the Written Law, having been adopted by the supreme legislative authority of the Order at the time, may be altered, amended, or altogether repealed by the same supreme authority - a doctrine which is explicitly set forth in the Thirty ninth General Regulation. Accordingly, portions of this Written Law have, from time to time, been materially modified by different Grand Lodges, as will be evident upon inspection of these laws with the modern Constitutions of any jurisdiction.
It may, however, be considered as an axiom of Masonic law, that in every Masonic jurisdiction, where any one of these Regulations has not been formally or implicitly repealed by a subsequent enactment of a new law, the old Regulation will continue in force, and the Craft must be governed by its provisions. So in all doubtful questions of Masonic law, recourse must be had, in forming an opinion, first to the Landmarks, and then to this code of Written Laws; and out of these two authorities, the legal dictum is to be established, because all the principles of law are embraced in these two authorities, the Ancient Landmarks and the Ancient Written Law; and hence they have been necessarily incorporated into this volume, as a fitting introduction, under the appropriate title of the Foundations of Masonic Law. 551 - Why did King Solomon seek the aid of Hiram, King of Tyre?
- Lebanon. The forests of the Lebanon mountains only could supply the timber for the Temple. Such of these forests as lay nearest the sea were in the possession of the Phoenicians, among whom timber was in such constant demand, that they had acquired great and acknowledged skill in the felling and transportation thereof. Hence it was that Hiram consented to employ large bodies of men in Lebanon to hew timber, as well as others to perform the service of bringing it down to the sea side, whence it was to be taken along the coasts in floats to the port of Joppa, from which place it could be easily taken across the country to Jerusalem.
552 - What is a Masonic lecture?
- Lecture. Literally, a formal or methodical discourse intended for instruction. Lectures have been adopted from the earliest ages as a convenient mode of teaching the elements of every branch of human knowledge. The course of instruction in Freemasonry is divided in parts or sections, which are called lectures. Each degree is so arranged that the candidate will enjoy the advantage of the theory, the practice and then the explanation or lecture. Those who are desirous of learn, ing the lectures, with the greatest advantage, must regularly attend the lodges, and be diligently attentive to the instruction they receive there.
553 - What are the duties of a Masonic lecturer?
- Lecturer. In the symbolical lodges of the Continent and else, where, a lecturer is annually appointed and after the Worshipful Master and Past Master, the lecturer has the most important office in the lodge. He, as well as the two first officers, must be perfectly acquainted with Freemasonry, and not only a man who has received a liberal education, but who also possesses the true spirit of oratory. His orations or lectures must produce an impression on the minds of his hearers. At the election of a lecturer the electors should bear this in mind, and reflect that he has something more to do than merely read the ritual. If the lecturer has sufficient knowledge to be enabled to teach the brethren Freemasonry, or the bearing of moral truths upon the science in an agreeable and instructive manner, and not in mere mystical forms, he will be willingly listened to by the brethren. Some discourses are appropriated to certain seasons, but even these the lecturer must be able to make interesting, in order that they may not appear as mere repetitions. He who confines himself to these discourses, and the mere reading of the ritual, does not fulfill the duties of his office as he ought.
554 - Of what is the left hand a symbol?
- Left Hand. Among the ancients the left hand was a symbol of equity and justice. Thus, Apuleius, when describing the procession in honor of Isis, says one of the ministers of the sacred rites "bore the symbol of equity in a left hand, fashioned with the palm extended;" which seems to be more adapted to administering equity than the right from its natural inertness, and its being endowed with no craft and no subtlety.
555 - What is the symbolism of the left side?
- Left Side. In the symbolism of Masonry, the first degree is represented by the left side, which is to indicate that as the left is the weaker part of the body, so is the Entered Apprentice's degree the weakest part of Masonry. This doctrine, that the left is the weaker side of the body, is very ancient.
556 - What part do legends play in the Masonic system?
- Legend. Strictly speaking, a legend, from the Latin, legendus, "to be read," should be restricted to a story that has been committed to writing; but by good usage the word has been applied more extensively, and now properly means a narrative, whether true or false, that has been traditionally preserved from the time of its first oral communication. Such is the definition of a Masonic legend.
557 - What do the lesser lights symbolize?
- Lesser Lights. In the lecture of the first degree we are told that a lodge has three symbolic lesser lights; one of these is in the East, one in the West, and one in the South. There is no light in the North, because King Solomon's Temple, of which every lodge is a representation, was placed so far north of the ecliptic that the sun and moon, at their meridian height, could dart no rays into the northern part thereof. The north we therefore Masonically call a place of darkness.
This symbolic use of the three lesser lights is very old, being found in the earliest lectures of the last century. The three lights, like the three principal officers and the three principal supports, refer, undoubtedly, to the three stations of the sun - its rising in the east, its meridian in the south, and its setting in the west; and thus the symbolism of the lodge, as typical of the world, continues to be preserved. The use of lights in all religious ceremonies is an ancient custom. There was a seven branched candle stick in the tabernacle, and in the Temple "were the golden candle sticks, five on the right hand and five on the left." They were always typical of moral, spiritual, or intellectual light. 558 - What is the symbolism of the Level?
- Level. In Freemasonry, the level is a symbol of equality; not of that social equality which would destroy all distinctions of ranks and position, and beget confusion, insubordination, and anarchy; but of that fraternal equality which, recognizing the fatherhood of God, admits as a necessary corollary the brotherhood of man. It, therefore, teaches us that, in the sight of the Grand Architect of the Universe, his creatures, who are at an immeasurable distance from him, move upon the same plane; as the far moving stars, which though millions of miles apart, yet seem to shine upon the same canopy of the sky. In this view, the level teaches us that all men are equal, subject to the same infirmities, hastening to the same goal, and preparing to be judged by the same immutable law.
The level is deemed, like the square and the plumb, of so much importance as a symbol, that it is repeated in many different relations. First, it is one of the jewels of the lodge; in the English system a movable, in the American an immovable one. This leads to its being adopted as the proper official ensign of the Senior Warden, because the Craft when at labor, at which time he presides over them, are on a common level of subordination. And then it is one of the working tools of a Felloweraft, still retaining its symbolism of equality. 559 - What are the privileges of a lewis or louveteau?
- Lewis, or Louveteau. The words lewis and louveteau, which, in their original meanings, import two very different things, have in Masonry an equivalent signification - the former being used in English, and the latter in French, to designate the son of a Mason. The English word lewis is a term belonging to operative Masonry, and signifies an iron cramp, which is inserted in a cavity prepared for the purpose in any large stone, so as to give attachment to a pulley and hook, whereby the stone may be conveniently raised to any height, and deposited in its proper position. In this country the lewis has not been adopted as a symbol of Freemasonry, but in the English ritual it is found among the emblems placed upon the tracing board of the Entered Apprentice, and is used in that degree as a symbol of strength, because by its assistance the operative Mason is enabled to lift the heaviest stones with a comparatively trifling exertion of physical power. Extending the symbolic allusion still further, the son of a Mason is in England called a lewis, because it is his duty to support the sinking powers and aid the failing strength of his father, or, as Oliver has expressed it, "to bear the burden and heat of the day, that his parents may rest in their old age, thus rendering the evening of their lives peaceful and happy." By the constitutions of England, a lewis may be initiated at the age of eighteen, while it is required of all other candidates that they shall have arrived at the maturer age of twenty one. The Book of Constitutions had prescribed that no lodge make "any man under the age of twenty one years, unless by a dispensation from the Grand Master or his Deputy." The Grand Lodge of England, in its modern regulations, has availed itself of the license allowed by this dispensing power, to confer the right of an earlier initiation on the sons of Masons. The word louveteau signifies in French a young wolf. The application of the term to the son of a Mason is derived from a peculiarity in some of the initiations into the ancient mysteries. In the mysteries of Isis, which were practiced in Egypt, the candidate was made to wear the mask of a wolf's head. Hence, a wolf and a candidate in these mysteries were often used as synonymous terms. Macrobius, in his Saturnalia, says, in reference to this custom, that the ancients perceived a relationship between the sun, the great symbol in these mysteries, and a wolf, which the candidate represented at his initiation. For, he remarks, as the flocks of sheep and cattle fly and disperse at the sight of the wolf, so the flocks of stars disappear at the approach of the sun's light. The learned reader will also recollect that in the Greek language lukos signifies both the sun and a wolf. Hence, as the candidate in the Isiac mysteries was called a wolf, the son of a Free mason in the French lodges is called a young wolf or a louveteau. The louveteau in France, like the lewis in England, is invested with peculiar privileges. He also is permitted to unite himself with the order at the early age of eighteen years. The baptism of a louveteau is sometimes performed with impressive ceremonies by the lodge of which his father is a member. The infant, soon after birth, is taken to the lodge room, where he receives a Masonic name, differing from that which he bears in the world; he is formally adopted by the lodge as one of its children, and should he become an orphan, requiring assistance, he is supported and educated by the Fraternity, and finally established in life. In this country, these rights of a lewis or a louveteau are not recognized, and the very names were, until lately, scarcely known, except to a few Masonic scholars.
560 - What does the word "libertine" signify in Masonry?
- Libertine. The Charges of 1722 commence by saying that "a Mason is obliged by his tenure to obey the moral law; and if he rightly understands the art, he will never be a stupid Atheist, nor an irreligious libertine." The word "libertine" there used conveyed a meaning different from that which it now bears. In the present usage of language it signifies a profligate and licentious person, but originally it meant a freethinker, or Deist. Derived from the Latin "libertinus," a man that was once a bondsman but who has been made free, it was metaphorically used to designate one who had been released, or who had released himself from the bonds of religious belief, and become in matters of faith, a doubter or denier. Hence "a stupid Atheist" denoted, to use the language of the Psalmist, "the fool who has said in his heart there is no God," while an "irreligious libertine" designated the man who, with a degree less of unbelief, denies the distinctive doctrines of revealed religion. And this meaning of the expression connects itself very appropriately with the succeeding paragraph of the Charge. "But though in ancient times, Masons were charged in every country to be of the religion of that country or nation, whatever it was, yet it is now thought more expedient only to oblige them to that religion in which all men agree, leaving their particular opinions to themselves." The expression "irreligious libertine," alluding, as it does, to a scoffer at religious truths, is eminently suggestive of the religious character of our Institution, which, founded as it is on the great doctrines of religion, cannot be properly appreciated by any one who doubts or denies their truth.
561 - Why cannot a libertine become a Mason?
- Libertinism. The word "libertine," which is used in the old Charges, conveyed, at the time when those Charges were composed, a meaning somewhat different from that which is now given to it. Bailey defines libertinism to be "a false liberty of belief and manners, which will have no other dependence but on particular fancy and passion; a living at large, or according to a person's inclination, without regard to the divine laws." A "religious libertine" is, therefore, a rejector of all moral responsibility to a superior power, and may be well supposed to be a denier of the existence of a Supreme Being and of a future life. Such a skeptic is, therefore, by the innate constitution of speculative Masonry, unfit for initiation, because the object of all Masonic initiation is to teach these two great truths.
562 - What is the symbolism of light?
- Light. Light is a symbol of knowledge. May every Mason strive incessantly for light, and especially for the light eternal ! When a society is assembled anywhere to do good, they require an influential person to communicate the light of experience, instruct them, and point out the way they should go, or bring light to them. This may be done symbolically, by suddenly lighting up a dark room with torches. He who thus introduces the light into the lodge, must be a worthy man, and experienced in the Craft.
563 - Of what is the lily emblematic?
- Lily. The plant so frequently mentioned in the Old Testament under the name of lily, as an emblem of purity and peace, was the lotus lily of Egypt and India. It occupied a conspicuous place among the ornaments of the Temple furniture. The brim of the molten sea was wrought with flowers of the lotus; the chapiters on the tops of the pillars at the porch, and the tops of the pillars themselves, were adorned with the same plant. Sir Robert Ker Porter, describing a piece of sculpture which he found at Persepolis, says, "Almost every one in this pro cession holds in his hand a figure like the lotus. This flower was full of meaning among the ancients, and occurs all over the East. Egypt. Persia, Palestine, and India present it everywhere over their architecture, in the hands and on the heads of their sculptured figures, whether in statue or in bas relief. We also find it in the sacred vestments and architecture of the tabernacle and Temple of the Israelites.
564 - What limit is placed upon the obligation of a Mason to extend relief to a distressed worthy brother?
- Limitation of Masonic Relief. The giver is not expected to exceed his ability in the amount of relief that he grants - that is to say, a Brother is expected to grant only such relief as will not materially injure himself or family. This is the unwritten law, and conformable to it is the written one, which says, "You are not charged to do beyond your ability." This provision is not inconsistent with the true principles of charity, which do not require that we should sacrifice our own welfare, or that of our family to the support of the poor; but that with prudent liberality, and a due regard to the comforts of those who are more nearly dependent on us, we should make some sacrifice of luxury out of our abundance, if we have been blessed with it, for the relief of our distressed brethren.
565 - What is the definition of a Lodge?
- Lodge. As men call the house of God a church, and when religious services are performed in it, say it is church hours, so also we call the locality in which a lodge assembles, a lodge, and when the brethren are assembled in it, it is lodge hours. The form of a lodge is an oblong square. Three well informed brethren form a legal lodge, five improve it, and seven make it perfect. We may also call a room in which a lodge is held, a hall.
The earliest description of a lodge that I have met with, explains it as being "just and perfect by the numbers three, five and seven." This was subsequently exemplified in the following prescribed form: "A lodge of Masons is an assemblage of brothers and fellows met together for the purpose of expatiating on the mysteries of the Craft, with the Bible, square and compasses, the Book of Constitutions, and the warrant empowering them to act." In the formula used at the present day, a further amplification has been adopted. It is here de nominated an assembly of Masons, just, perfect, and regular, who are met together to expatiate on the mysteries of the Order; just, because it contains the volume of the Sacred Law unfolded; perfect, from its numbers, every order of Masonry being virtually present by its representatives, to ratify and confirm its proceedings; and regular, from its warrant of constitution, which implies the sanction of the Grand Master, for the country where the lodge is held. 566 - Why are Masons said to come from the Lodge of the Holy Saints John of Jerusalem?
- Lodge of St. John. The Masonic tradition is that the primitive or mother lodge was held at Jerusalem, and dedicated to St. John, first the Baptist, then the Evangelist, and finally to both. Hence this lodge was called "The Lodge of the Holy St. John of Jerusalem." From this lodge all other lodges are supposed figuratively to descend, and they therefore receive the same general name, accompanied by another local and distinctive one. In all Masonic documents the words ran formerly as follows: "From the lodge of the holy St. John of Jerusalem, under the distinctive appellation of Solomon's Lodge, No. 1," or what ever might be the local name. In this style foreign documents still run; and it is but a few years since it has been at all disused in this country. Hence we say that every Mason hails from such a lodge, that is to say, from a just and legally constituted lodge. In the earliest catechisms of the eighteenth century we find this formula. "Q. What lodge are you of ? A. The Lodge of St. John." And another question is, "How many angles in St. John's Lodge?" In one of the high degrees it is stated that lodges receive this title "because, in the time of the Crusades, the Perfect Masons communicated a knowledge of their Mysteries to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem," and as both were thus under the same law, the lodges were called St. John's lodges. But this was only one of the attempts to connect Freemasonry with the Templar system.
567 - How many Lodges were in the quarries of Tyre?
- Lodges of Tyre. In the quarries of Tyre, according to Masonic tradition, were two lodges of Super excellent Masters, as supervisors of the work, over which Tito Zadok, the high priest, presided: these were the Harodim. There were also six lodges of Excellent Masters, eight Grand Architects, and sixteen Architects - men of superior talent, who had been selected for their proficiency in the sciences, and placed as superintendents over the workmen. This was a necessary provision; for thus they were enabled to regulate the proceedings of, and to pre serve order and arrangement in the several departments which were assigned to them. There were three classes of Masters in thirty six lodges, called Menatzchim, and seven hundred lodges of Ghiblim, or operative Fellowcrafts, under Hiram Abif, their Grand Master.
568 - What is the symbolism of the lost word?
- Lost Word. The mythical history of Freemasonry informs us that there once existed a WORD of surpassing value, and claiming a pro found veneration; that this Word was known to but few; that it was at length lost; and that a temporary substitute for it was adopted. But as the very philosophy of Masonry teaches us that there can be no death without a resurrection - no decay without a subsequent restoration - on the same principle it follows that the loss of the Word must suppose its eventual recovery.
Now, this it is, precisely, that constitutes the myth of the Lost Word and the search for it. No matter what was the word, no matter how it was lost, nor why a substitute was provided, nor when nor where it was recovered - these are all points of subsidiary importance, necessary, it is true, for knowing the legendary history, but not necessary for understanding the symbolism. The only term of the myth that is to be regarded in the study of its interpretation is the abstract idea of a word lost and afterwards recovered. The WORD, therefore, I conceive to be the symbol of Divine Truth; and all its modifications - the loss, the substitution, and the recovery - are but component parts of the mythical symbol which represents a search after truth. In a general sense, the Word itself being then the symbol of Divine Truth, the narrative of its loss and the search for its recovery becomes a mythical symbol of the decay and loss of the true religion among the ancient nations, at and after the dispersion on the plains of Shinar, and of the attempts of the wise men, the philosophers, and the priests, to find and retain it in their secret mysteries and initiations, which have hence been designated as the Spurious Freemasonry of Antiquity. But there is a special or individual, as well as a general interpretation, and in this special or individual interpretation the Word, with its accompanying myth of a loss, a substitute, and a recovery, becomes a symbol of the personal progress of a candidate from his first initiation to the completion of his course, when he receives a full development of the mysteries. 569 - What is the measure of Masonic charity?
- Love. The universal charity of a Mason is like the charity of the Mason's God, and his God is the God of love. Consider the extent of the love of God, and that only, according to his degree, is the extent of Masonic charity. In the broad circle of his affections, he encloses all mankind; he, like the God of love, looks through station, clime, and color, and with one wish of universal good will, he wishes well to all mankind. With the compass of his mind, he measures and draws the square of his conduct, and within that square, having honestly provided for his own household, he forms his little angles of benevolence and charity, to the distressed of all communities.
570 - What is midnight called among Masons?
- Low Twelve. In Masonic language midnight is so called. The reference is to the sun, which is then below the earth. Low twelve in Masonic symbolism is an unpropitious hour.
571 - What must the attitude of a Mason be toward his country?
- Loyalty. Notwithstanding the calumnies of Barruel, Robison, and a host of other anti Masonic writers who assert that Masonry is ever engaged in efforts to uproot the governments within which it may exist, there is nothing more evident than that Freemasonry is a loyal institution, and that it inculcates, in all its public instructions, obedience to government. Thus, in the Prestonian charge given in the last century to the Entered Apprentice, and continued to this day in the same words in English Lodges, we find the following words: "In the State, you are to be a quiet and peaceable subject, true to your sovereign, and just to your country; you are not to countenance disloyalty or rebellion, but patiently submit to legal authority, and conform with cheerfulness to the government under which you live, yielding obedience to the laws which afford you protection, but never forgetting the attachment you owe to the place of your nativity or the allegiance due to the sovereign or protectors of that spot." The charge given in American Lodges is of the same import, and varies but slightly in its language.
"In the State, you are to be a quiet and peaceful subject, true to your government, and just to your country; you are not to countenance disloyalty or rebellion, but patiently submit to legal authority and conform with cheerfulness to the government of the country in which you live." The charge given in French Lodges, though somewhat differing in form from both of these, is couched in the same spirit and teaches the same lesson. It is to this effect: "Obedience to the laws and submission to the authorities are among the most imperious duties of the Mason, and he is forbidden at all times from engaging in plots and conspiracies." Hence it is evident that the true Mason must be a true patriot.
TO BE CONTINUED
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
See also
- En:Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry
- En:Albert Mackey
- Albert Mackey
- En: MACKEY - A
- En: MACKEY - B
- En: MACKEY - C
- En: MACKEY - E
- En: MACKEY - F
- En: MACKEY - G
- En: MACKEY - H
- En: MACKEY - I
- En: MACKEY - J
- En: MACKEY - K
- En: MACKEY - L
- En: MACKEY - M
- En: MACKEY - N
- En: MACKEY - O
- En: MACKEY - P
- En: MACKEY - Q
- En: MACKEY - R
- En: MACKEY - S
- En: MACKEY - T
- En: MACKEY - U
- En: MACKEY - V
- En: MACKEY - W
- En: MACKEY - X
- En: MACKEY - Y
- En: MACKEY - Z
Links
- Phoenixmasonry http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/masonry_defined.htm
