A Lexicon of Freemasonry - The Masonic Trowel
A Lexicon of Freemasonry - The Masonic Trowel
A Lexicon of Freemasonry - The Masonic Trowel
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A<br />
LEXICON<br />
Or<br />
FREEMASONRY :<br />
CONTAINING<br />
A DEFINITION OF ALL ITS COMMUNICABLE TERMS,<br />
NOTICES OF ITS HISTORY, TRADITIONS,<br />
AND ANTIQUITIES,<br />
AND AN ACCOUNT OF ALL THE RITES AND MYSTERIES OF THE<br />
ANCIENT WORLD .<br />
BY<br />
ALBERT G. MACKEY, M.D .<br />
AUTHOR OP THE " d1YSTIC TIE,"<br />
Grand Secretary and Grand Lecturer <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> South Carolina ; Secretary General<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Supreme Council, Thirty-third Degree, for the Southern Jurisdiction <strong>of</strong> the<br />
United States ; G: .H. •.P.• . <strong>of</strong> the Grand Chapter <strong>of</strong> South Carolina, etc .<br />
$9syfoAat ois 9lµts Lorl, 9vpas J' i rWcOet I9sBfhAots.-OPO .<br />
"I will reveal to those to whom it is lawful,<br />
But close the door against the uninitiated ."<br />
ORPBxo HMO.<br />
THIRTEENTH EDITION, ]ENLARGED AND IMPROVED BY THE AUTHOR .<br />
PHILADELPHIA<br />
MOSS & CO ., 418 MARKET STREET .<br />
1869 .
TO<br />
rut zr Z ~xf z ~,<br />
OF ARKANSAS,<br />
GRAND HIGH PRIEST, S .- .P .-.R . • . S .- . ETC •<br />
AIg Dear 5Ir an? Vrztzr :<br />
<strong>The</strong> second edition <strong>of</strong> this work was dedicated to a learr_ed and<br />
vererable brother, the Hon . Thomas Douglas, <strong>of</strong> Florida, as a slight<br />
tribute to his many virtues . In <strong>of</strong>fering a third edition to the<br />
public, I gladly avail myself <strong>of</strong> the opportunity to inscribe your<br />
name upon its pages, as a memorial <strong>of</strong> our friendship and a token<br />
<strong>of</strong> my high appreciation <strong>of</strong> your character as a learned and in-<br />
cl9fatigable student <strong>of</strong> masonic literature .<br />
I am, as ever, yours fraternally,<br />
ALBERT G. MACKEY M n
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION .<br />
THE title-page <strong>of</strong> this work will sufficiently explain the<br />
nature <strong>of</strong> its contents. It is intended to furnish the inquirer,<br />
by an easy mode <strong>of</strong> reference, with a definition <strong>of</strong><br />
all the terms peculiar to our order-an explanation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
symbols with which it abounds-a record <strong>of</strong> its numerous<br />
histories and traditions-and an illustration <strong>of</strong> the various<br />
points <strong>of</strong> difficulty which are continually embarrassing the<br />
progress <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Masonic</strong> student .<br />
<strong>The</strong> time has passed when a Mason could expect to obtain<br />
4he reputation <strong>of</strong> a skilful workman by a mere hackneyed<br />
knowledge <strong>of</strong> the ritual <strong>of</strong> our order. Something more<br />
than this, the Master who desires to perform his duties<br />
faithfully and well, must bring to the pedestal . <strong>The</strong> intelligent<br />
brother will expect from him who sits in the place <strong>of</strong><br />
wisdom, not only an ability to explain the ceremonies which<br />
distinguish our institution, but a capacity to trace them to<br />
their primitive source, and a knowledge <strong>of</strong> the history and<br />
antiquities <strong>of</strong> the order .<br />
<strong>The</strong> numerous instructive works, that have lately issued<br />
from the press on the science <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, render it now<br />
inexcusable that the Mason should be without some portion<br />
<strong>of</strong> that knowledge which is hereafter to be demanded as<br />
the test <strong>of</strong> a skilful workman . To give to every brother<br />
a.n opportunity <strong>of</strong> obtaining the necessary information, by<br />
1* v
~1 PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION .<br />
placing before him, in a compendious form, the matter<br />
Scattered through many volumes, some <strong>of</strong> which are, in this<br />
country, rare and generally inaccessible, is the object <strong>of</strong><br />
the <strong>Lexicon</strong> now presented to the public .<br />
A work <strong>of</strong> this kind has, hitherto, I believe, been unknown<br />
in our language . Glossaries <strong>of</strong> all the arts and sciences<br />
abound, but <strong>Freemasonry</strong> is without its appropriate Dictionary<br />
. How I have supplied this defect is not for me,<br />
but for my readers, to judge .<br />
<strong>The</strong> difficulties, however, <strong>of</strong> arranging the materials <strong>of</strong><br />
an extensive subject in alphabetical order, for the first time,<br />
and without any preceding guide, are such, that it has<br />
been found impossible to avoid the omission, in their proper<br />
places, <strong>of</strong> a few articles . <strong>The</strong>se have been added in a Supplement,<br />
to which the inspector is referred for any word<br />
which he shall fail to find in the body <strong>of</strong> the work .<br />
This work, though the labour <strong>of</strong> years, is still, I know,<br />
imperfect . Yet, ~~ with all its imperfections on its head,"<br />
I present it to my brethren, because I know that I am not<br />
asking more than I shall receive, when I crave-for its<br />
excellencies, their candid consideration-for its errors, their<br />
fraternal indulgence .<br />
CHARLESTON, S . C ., March 12, 1845 .<br />
A. G. MACKEY.
ADVERTISEMENT TO THE SECOND EDITION .<br />
SINCE the publication <strong>of</strong> the first edition <strong>of</strong> this work,<br />
my studies have continued to be directed to the History,<br />
Science and Antiquities <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> . Some <strong>of</strong> the results<br />
<strong>of</strong> a more extended reading, and more enlarged experience<br />
in this interesting field <strong>of</strong> literature, are now presented<br />
in the addition <strong>of</strong> more than an hundred new articles to<br />
this edition, and the enlargement <strong>of</strong> many <strong>of</strong> those which<br />
were contained in the first .<br />
In many instances I have not, from the nature <strong>of</strong> the<br />
subjects, permitted myself to be as explicit as some <strong>of</strong> my<br />
readers might desire ; for, in the spirit <strong>of</strong> the motto placed<br />
upon the title page, while I sought to explain without reserve<br />
all that is exoteric in our system, I have not removed<br />
the veil from that which in forbidden'to be made public .<br />
Yet I trust that scattered hints in these instances, unintelligible<br />
to the pr<strong>of</strong>ane, will be sufficient to lead the attentive<br />
Mason into that train <strong>of</strong> thought and speculation into<br />
which it was my object to direct him .<br />
I again <strong>of</strong>fer this work to my brethren, with the same confiding<br />
trust in their indulgence which inspired . me on its<br />
first publication ; to which is now added the obligation <strong>of</strong><br />
gratitude for the kindness with which this contribution to<br />
the literature <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> has been received .<br />
ALBERT G. MACKEY .<br />
CHARLESTON, S . C . Sept. 10, 1851 .
ADVERTISEMENT TO THE THIRD EDITION .<br />
TEE publishers <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Lexicon</strong> intending to issue a third<br />
edition, I have carefully revised the work, and added nearly<br />
a hundred new articles, so as to make it still more worthy<br />
<strong>of</strong> the patronage that has been already so liberally extended<br />
to it . Notwithstanding the fact, that it has been prepared<br />
for the press in a city distant from the author's residence<br />
-in consequence <strong>of</strong> which he has been unable to read the<br />
pro<strong>of</strong>s with that diligence he would have desired-it is believed<br />
that the inspector will rarely have occasion to find<br />
fault with the typographical execution . <strong>The</strong> <strong>Lexicon</strong> has<br />
long since passed successfully through the ordeal <strong>of</strong> criticism<br />
; and the author now again submits it, with increased<br />
confidence, but with unabated gratitude, to the masonic<br />
public .<br />
A. G. MAcKzY, M. D .<br />
CHARLESTON, S. C ., Jan . I, 1855.
LEXICON OF FREEMASONRY .<br />
A.<br />
ABBREVIATIONS . Abbreviations are much more in use<br />
among French than among English or American Masons . An<br />
alphabetical list, however, <strong>of</strong> those principally employed, is appended<br />
for the benefit <strong>of</strong> such as may be engaged in the examination<br />
<strong>of</strong> masonic writings . It must be observed, that a masonic<br />
abbreviation is generally distinguished by three points in a<br />
triangular form (thus, . • . ) following the letter : various attempts<br />
have been made to explain the origin <strong>of</strong> these dots, but if they<br />
have any allusion at all, we presume it to be to the three lesser<br />
lights placed in a triangular form around the altar, or, as they<br />
were first introduced by our French brethren, they may refer to<br />
the situation <strong>of</strong> the three principal <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> the lodge in the<br />
French rite, where the Master sits in the east and the two<br />
Wardens in the west. Ragon says that the three points were<br />
first used on the 12th <strong>of</strong> August, 1774, by the Grand Orient <strong>of</strong><br />
France in an address to its subordinates .<br />
A .-. Dep . • . Anno Depositionis . In the year <strong>of</strong> the deposit .<br />
<strong>The</strong> date used by Royal and Select Masters .<br />
A .- . Inv. • . Anno Inventionis . In the year <strong>of</strong> the discovery .<br />
<strong>The</strong> date used in Royal Arch Masonry .<br />
A .-. L .- . Anno Lucis . In the year <strong>of</strong> light . <strong>The</strong> date used in<br />
Ancient Craft Masonry.<br />
A .- . L .- . G- .- D.-. G.-. A .-. D .- . L .-. U.- . A la Gloire du<br />
Grand Architecte de t' Univers . To the glory <strong>of</strong> the Grand<br />
Architect <strong>of</strong> the Universe. <strong>The</strong> caption <strong>of</strong> all French <strong>Masonic</strong><br />
writings .<br />
1 1
12 ABB<br />
A . • . L'O . • . A 1'Orient, or at the East . <strong>The</strong> seat <strong>of</strong> the lodge .<br />
(French.)<br />
A . • . M . • . Anno Mundi, or in the year <strong>of</strong> the world . <strong>The</strong> date<br />
used in the Ancient and Accepted or Scotch rite .<br />
A.- .O.•. Anno Ordinis, or in the year <strong>of</strong> the Order . <strong>The</strong><br />
date used by Knights Templars .<br />
B . • . A . • . Buisson Ardente, or Burning Bush . (French .)<br />
B .- . B .- . Burning Bush. <strong>The</strong>se two abbreviations are found<br />
in the caption <strong>of</strong> documents <strong>of</strong> the Ancient and Accepted rite .<br />
C . • . C . • . Celestial Canopy . Another abbreviation found in the<br />
same documents .<br />
E . • . A .- . Entered Apprentice .<br />
F . • . Frere, or Brother . (French .)<br />
F .- . C .- . Fellow Craft .<br />
FF . • . Freres, or Brethren . (French.)<br />
G . . Grand .<br />
.G .,.<br />
L . , . Grand Lodge .<br />
G . • . M . • . Grand Master .<br />
I . . T . . N . . 0 . . T . . G. . A . . 0 . . T. . U. . In the name <strong>of</strong><br />
the Grand Architect <strong>of</strong> the Universe . Sometimes found at the<br />
head <strong>of</strong> English diplomas .<br />
J . • . W . • . Junior Warden .<br />
M . • . I VI .- . Mois Maconnique, or masonic month . (French.)<br />
March is the first masonic month among French Masons .<br />
M .- . M .- . Master Mason .<br />
M .- . W .-. Most Worshipful .<br />
R . • . A . • . Royal Arch .<br />
R. • . -i- . • . Rose Croix. <strong>The</strong> mark attached to their signature,<br />
by'those who are in possession <strong>of</strong> the degree <strong>of</strong> Prince <strong>of</strong> Rose<br />
Croix .<br />
R . • . a Respectable loge, or Worshipful lodge . (French .)<br />
R .-. W.- . Right Worshipful .<br />
S .- . P .- . R .- . S .-. Sublime Prince <strong>of</strong> the Royal Secret .<br />
S.- .S,- .S.•. Trois fois salut, or thrice greeting . <strong>The</strong> caption<br />
<strong>of</strong> French masoni : writings .
ABI-ABR<br />
S. • . W. • . Senior Warden .<br />
T. • . G . • . A. • . 0 . •. T. • . U. - . <strong>The</strong> Grand Architect <strong>of</strong> the TTni-<br />
verse .<br />
V.-. Ven6rable, or Worshipful . (French .)<br />
V .- . L.- . Vraie lumiere, or true light . (French.)<br />
V.- . W .- . Very Worshipful .<br />
Worshipful Master .<br />
L. An oblong square is the sign adopted for the word<br />
"lodge."<br />
Cm . Two squares indicate the plural, or "lodges ."<br />
ABIF. A Hebrew word j ln~X, signifying "his father ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> word ab, or father, was a title <strong>of</strong> honour " <strong>of</strong>ten used," says<br />
Adam Clarke, "in Hebrew, to signify a master, inventor, or<br />
chief operator." In this sense it is used in II Chronicles, ch .<br />
iv . v . 16, where it is said, " the pots also, and the shovels, and<br />
the flesh hooks, and all their instruments, did Huram his father,<br />
(Huram abif,) make to King Solomon ." <strong>The</strong> Greek, Latin,<br />
French, and English versions, translate the Hebrew words<br />
literally as " Hiram his father," but Luther in his German version<br />
has preserved the spirit <strong>of</strong> the original by writing " mochte<br />
Huram Abif," looking upon this latter word as a title <strong>of</strong> honour<br />
bestowed by Solomon on his chief builder . See Hiram the<br />
Builder .<br />
ABLUTION. A purification by water, whereby, in some <strong>of</strong><br />
the higher degrees <strong>of</strong> masonry, the candidate is supposed, as in<br />
the religious systems <strong>of</strong> antiquity, to be cleansed from the taint<br />
<strong>of</strong> an inferior and less pure condition, so as to be prepared for<br />
initiation into a higher and purer degree . See Lustration<br />
ABRAXAS. In-the MS. found by Mr . Locke in the Bodleian<br />
library, the original <strong>of</strong> which is said to have been in the handwriting<br />
<strong>of</strong> King Henry VI ., it is asserted that Masons conceal.<br />
among other secret arts in their possession, "the facultye <strong>of</strong><br />
2<br />
13
14 ABR<br />
Abrac ." This is an evident allusion to the word Abraxas, which<br />
was the name applied by the arch-heretic Basilides to the Supreme<br />
Deity, from whom all other deities were emanations, being<br />
seven in number, with 365 virtues, which were typified by the<br />
numerical value in Greek <strong>of</strong> the word, as is shown below . It,<br />
like the incommunicable name <strong>of</strong> God among the Jews, was<br />
supposed to be possessed <strong>of</strong> magical virtues . Abraxas was also<br />
the name <strong>of</strong> small statues, on which were inscribed figures <strong>of</strong><br />
the Egyptian gods, combined with Hebrew and Zoroasteric<br />
symbols, and characters in a variety <strong>of</strong> languages . According to<br />
Beausobre and Lardner, these stones were mostly <strong>of</strong> Egyptian<br />
origin . <strong>The</strong> deity Abraxas is said to be identical with Mithras<br />
or the sun . <strong>The</strong> letters <strong>of</strong> both names, taken according to their<br />
numerical value in the Greek language, amount exactly to 365,<br />
thus<br />
a = 1 ,a 40<br />
9 = 2 E = 5<br />
p = 100 e = 10 -<br />
a - 1 e = 9<br />
- 60 p = 100<br />
a = 1 a = 1<br />
s = 200-365 c = 200-365<br />
<strong>The</strong> word Abraxas is <strong>of</strong> uncertain origin . Saumaise says that it<br />
is purely Egyptian, and should properly be pronounced Abrasax .<br />
Beausobre, in his History <strong>of</strong> Manicheism, enters into a long<br />
etymological disquisition to prove that it is derived from two<br />
Greek words Aj9poc raw, and signifies "the magnificent Saviour,<br />
he who heals and preserves ." A(9poc is also an epithet <strong>of</strong> the<br />
sun, and hence we again come to the conclusion that Mithras and<br />
Abraxas are identical .<br />
It was therefore typical <strong>of</strong> the annual course <strong>of</strong> the earth<br />
around the sun, constituting the solar year, and was a part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Bun worship <strong>of</strong> the first seceders from pure <strong>Freemasonry</strong> .<br />
It is a singular coincidence, that Belenus, the deity <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Gauls, and who is supposed from his form and ornaments to be
Q<br />
2,<br />
ABS-ACA 15<br />
identical with Mithras, was also equivalent, in the numerical<br />
value <strong>of</strong> the letters <strong>of</strong> his name in Greek, to 1565, thus :-<br />
17<br />
A e v o S<br />
8, 30, 5, 50, 70, 200-365 .<br />
ABSENCE . It is contrary to the principles <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>,<br />
to inflict pecuniary fines for non-attendance . <strong>The</strong> obligations<br />
and duties inculcated by the order are <strong>of</strong> such a nature, as to<br />
compel the attendance <strong>of</strong> its members who are without reasonable<br />
excuse . It would, therefore, be a descent in the grade <strong>of</strong> punishment,<br />
and manifestly tend to weaken the solemn nature <strong>of</strong> those<br />
obligations which every member and <strong>of</strong>ficer contracts, were the<br />
lodge to attempt the imposition <strong>of</strong> any trifling pecuniary penalty<br />
for inexcusable absence . <strong>The</strong> regular attendance <strong>of</strong> each brother,<br />
at his lodge, is strictly insisted on in the ancient charges, which<br />
prescribed as a rule, 11 that no Master or Fellow could be absent<br />
from the lodge, especially when warned to appear at it, without<br />
incurring a severe censure, until it appeared to the Master and<br />
Wardens that pure necessity hindered him ." This regulation<br />
has been perpetuated by the modern constitutions .<br />
ACACIA . <strong>The</strong> ancient name <strong>of</strong> a plant, most <strong>of</strong> whose<br />
species are evergreen, and six <strong>of</strong> which, at least, are natives <strong>of</strong><br />
the East . <strong>The</strong> acacia <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> is the Mimosa Nilotica<br />
<strong>of</strong> Linnaeus, a shrub which grew in great abundance in the<br />
neighbourhood <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem . According to the Jewish law, no<br />
interments were permitted within the walls <strong>of</strong> the city, and as<br />
it was unlawful for the cohens or priests to pass over a grave, it<br />
became necessary to place marks wherever a dead body had been<br />
interred, to enable them to avoid it . For this purpose, the<br />
acacia was used . Much <strong>of</strong> the masonic history <strong>of</strong> the acacia is<br />
incommunicable, but it may be permitted to say,* that its evergreen<br />
nature, united to other circumstances, is intended to remind<br />
us <strong>of</strong> the immortality <strong>of</strong> the soul . <strong>The</strong> Greek work axaxca<br />
signifies " innocence or freedom from sin ;" and Hutchinson, who
16 ACA--ACC<br />
fancifully supposes the Master's to be a Christian degree, ex<br />
eniplifying the rise <strong>of</strong> the Christian dispensation after the destruction<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Mosaic, alluding to this Greek meaning <strong>of</strong> acacia,<br />
says that it implies "that the sins and corruptions <strong>of</strong> the old<br />
law, and devotees <strong>of</strong> the Jewish altar, had hid religion from<br />
those who sought her, and she was only to be found where innoeence<br />
survived, and under the banner <strong>of</strong> the divine lamb ." (Spirit<br />
<strong>of</strong> Masonry, p. 99 .) Without adopting this heresy, we shall<br />
find abundant reason for admiring the propriety <strong>of</strong> the Greek<br />
meaning, as applied to him whose history is, in our order, most<br />
closely connected with the acacia . Coincident with the acacia,<br />
were the palm <strong>of</strong> the Egyptian mysteries, the myrtle <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Grecian, and the mistletoe <strong>of</strong> the Druids .<br />
ACACIALN . A term derived from axazea, "innocence," and<br />
signifying a Mason, who, by living in 'strict obedience to the<br />
obligations and precepts <strong>of</strong> the fraternity, is free from sin . First<br />
used, I believe, by Hutchinson .<br />
ACCEPTED. A title which, as applied to Freemasons, is<br />
equivalent to the term "initiated ." It alludes to the acceptance<br />
into their society, by operative Masons, <strong>of</strong> those who were not<br />
operatives . An Accepted Mason is one who has been adopted<br />
into the order, and received the freedom <strong>of</strong> the society, as is the<br />
case with other companies in Europe . This is evident from the<br />
regulations made on St . John's day, 1663, under the Grand<br />
Mastership <strong>of</strong> the Earl <strong>of</strong> St . Albans, where the word is repeatedly<br />
used in this sense . . Thus : "No person hereafter, who<br />
shall be accepted a Freemason, shall be admitted into any lodge<br />
or assembly, until he has brought a certificate <strong>of</strong> the time and<br />
place <strong>of</strong> his acceptation, from the lodge that accepted him, unto<br />
the Master <strong>of</strong> that limit or division where such lodge is kept ."<br />
And again : 'e No person shall he made or accepted a Freemason,<br />
unless," etc .
ACC--ADM 17<br />
ACCLAMATION . A certain form <strong>of</strong> words used in connexion<br />
with the battery . In the Scotch rite it is huzza ; in<br />
French, vivat ; and, in the rite <strong>of</strong> Misraim, hallelt jah In the<br />
York, it is so mote it be .<br />
ACHAD. Hebrew -1n 1N, One <strong>of</strong> the masonic names <strong>of</strong> God,<br />
signifying the one . It is derived from the passage in Deuteronomy<br />
vi . 4 : " Hear, b Israel : the Lord our God is (achad) one ."<br />
ACHISHAR. He is mentioned in 1 Kings iv . 6, under the<br />
name <strong>of</strong> Ahishar, as being "over the household ." He was the<br />
steward, or, as Adttim Clarke says, the chamberlain <strong>of</strong> Solomon .<br />
<strong>The</strong> masonic spelling <strong>of</strong> the name, Achishar,, is more consonant<br />
with the Hebrew than that adopted by the English translators <strong>of</strong><br />
the Bible . He is one <strong>of</strong> the persons referred to in the degree<br />
<strong>of</strong> Select Master .<br />
ACKNOWLEDGED . Candidates who are invested with the<br />
Most Excellent Master's degree, are said to be "received and<br />
acknowledged" as such ; because, as the possession <strong>of</strong> that degree<br />
supposes a more intimate knowledge <strong>of</strong> the science <strong>of</strong> masonry,<br />
the word acknowledged is used to intimate that such a<br />
character is conceded to its possessors . <strong>The</strong> word received<br />
conveys an allusion to the original reception <strong>of</strong> the first M . E .<br />
Masters by King Solomon .<br />
ACTING GRAND MASTER . By the constitutions <strong>of</strong> Ena<br />
land, whenever a prince <strong>of</strong> the blood royal accepts the <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong><br />
Grand Master, he is empowered to appoint a peer <strong>of</strong> the realm as<br />
Acting Grand Master .<br />
ADMISSION . <strong>The</strong> requisites for admission into our order<br />
are somewhat peculiar . <strong>The</strong> candidate must be free born, under<br />
no bondage, <strong>of</strong> at least twenty-one years <strong>of</strong> age, in the possession<br />
<strong>of</strong> sound senses, free from any physical defect or dismember-<br />
2
18 ADO<br />
ment, and <strong>of</strong> irreproachable manners, or, as it is technically<br />
termed, 11 under the tongue <strong>of</strong> good report ." No atheist, eunuch,<br />
or woman can be admitted . <strong>The</strong> requisites as to age, sex, and<br />
soundness <strong>of</strong> body, have reference to the operative character<br />
<strong>of</strong> the institution . We can only expect able workmen in ablebodied<br />
men . <strong>The</strong> mental and religious qualifications refer to the<br />
duties and obligations which a Freemason contracts . An idiot<br />
could not understand them, and an atheist would not respect them .<br />
Even those who possess all these necessary qualifications can be<br />
admitted only under certain regulations . Not more than five<br />
candidates can be received at one time except in urgent cases,<br />
when a dispensation may be granted by the Grand Master, and<br />
no applicant can receive more than two degrees on the same day .<br />
To the last rule there can be no exception .<br />
ADONIRAM . <strong>The</strong> principal receiver <strong>of</strong> King Solomon's tribute,<br />
and the chief overseer <strong>of</strong> the 30,000 brethren who were<br />
sent to cut the timber for the temple in the forests <strong>of</strong> Lebanon .<br />
He is introduced in the degrees <strong>of</strong> Secret and Perfect Master,<br />
and Intendant <strong>of</strong> the Building, in the Scotch rite, and in the<br />
degree <strong>of</strong> Royal Master . He is said to have married a sister <strong>of</strong><br />
Hiram the Builder.<br />
ADONIRAMITE MASONRY . Xaconnerie Adonhiramite .<br />
This rite was established in France at the close <strong>of</strong> the eighteenth<br />
century. It consists <strong>of</strong> twelve degrees, namely : 1, Entered<br />
Apprentice ; 2, Fellow Craft ; 3, Master Mason ; 4, Perfect Master<br />
; 5, Elect <strong>of</strong> Nine ; 6, Elect <strong>of</strong> Perignan ; 7, Minor Architect,<br />
or Scotch Apprentice ; 8, Grand Architect, or Scotch Fellow<br />
Craft ; 9, Scotch Master ; 10, Knight <strong>of</strong> the East ; 11, Knight<br />
<strong>of</strong> Rose Croix ; 12, 'Prussian Knight .<br />
Of these degrees, the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th are peculiar to<br />
Adoniramite Masonry ; the others do not much differ from the<br />
corresponding degrees in the ancient Scotch rite . <strong>The</strong> title <strong>of</strong><br />
the order is derived from Adoniram . who took charge <strong>of</strong> the
ADO 19<br />
forks after the loss <strong>of</strong> the principal conductor, and to the time<br />
<strong>of</strong> whose superintendence the legends <strong>of</strong> the most important degrees<br />
refer.<br />
ADONIS, MYSTERIES OF . <strong>The</strong> mysteries which, in<br />
E_ t, the cradle <strong>of</strong> all the Pagan rites, had been consecrated to<br />
Osiris, in passing over into Phenicia were dedicated to Adonis .*<br />
According to the legend, Venus, having beheld Adonis when a<br />
child, became so enamoured <strong>of</strong> him, that she seized him, and<br />
concealing him from sight, exhibited him to Proserpine alone .<br />
But she, becoming equally enamoured <strong>of</strong> his beauty, sought to<br />
obtain possession <strong>of</strong> him . <strong>The</strong> dispute between the goddesses<br />
was reconciled by Jupiter, who decided that Adonis should<br />
dwell six months <strong>of</strong> the year with Venus, and the remaining six<br />
months with Proserpine . This decree was executed ; but Adonis,<br />
who was a great hunter, was afterward killed on Mount Libanus<br />
by a wild boar, who thrust his tusk into his groin . Venus,<br />
inconsolablee for his death, inundated his body with her tears,<br />
until Proserpine, in pity, restored him to life . Macrobius explains<br />
the allegory thus : "Philosophers have given the name <strong>of</strong><br />
Venus to the superior hemisphere <strong>of</strong> which we occupy a part,<br />
and that <strong>of</strong> Proserpine to the inferior.t Hence Venus, among<br />
the Assyrians and Phenicians, is in tears, when the Sun, in his<br />
annual course through the twelve signs <strong>of</strong> the Zodiac, passes over<br />
to our antipodes . For <strong>of</strong> these twelve signs, six are said to be<br />
superior, and six inferior . When the Sun is in the inferior signs,<br />
and the days are consequently short, the goddess is supposed to<br />
weep the temporary death 'and privation <strong>of</strong> the Sun, detained by<br />
Proserpine, whom we regard as the divinity <strong>of</strong> the southern <strong>of</strong><br />
s Adonia, in the Phenician language, like Adon in the cognate Hebrew,<br />
signifies lord or master. <strong>The</strong> idol Tammuz, mentioned in the 8th chapter <strong>of</strong><br />
Ezekiel, was considered by Jerome, and after him by Parkhurst, as identical<br />
with Adonis.<br />
t By superior hemisphere, he means the Northern, and by inferior the<br />
Southern.
20 ADO<br />
antipodal regions . And Adonis is said to be restored to Venus,<br />
when the Sun, having traversed the six inferior signs, enters those<br />
<strong>of</strong> our hemisphere, bringing with it an increase <strong>of</strong> light and<br />
lengthened days . <strong>The</strong> boar which is supposed to have killed<br />
Adonis is an emblem <strong>of</strong> winter ; for this animal, covered with<br />
rough bristles, delights in cold, wet, and miry situations, and his<br />
favourite food is the acorn, a fruit peculiar to winter . <strong>The</strong> Sun is<br />
said, too, to be wounded by the winter, since, at that season, we<br />
lose its light and heat ; effects which death produces upon animated<br />
beings . Venus is represented on Mount Libanus in an<br />
attitude <strong>of</strong> grief ; her head, bent and covered witL a veil, is<br />
sustained by her left hand near her breast, and her countenance<br />
is bathed with tears . This figure represents the earth in winter,<br />
when, veiled in clouds and deprived <strong>of</strong> the Sun, its powers have<br />
become torpid . <strong>The</strong> fountains, like the eyes <strong>of</strong> Venus, are overflowing,<br />
and the fields, deprived <strong>of</strong> their floral ornaments, present<br />
a joyless appearance . But when the Sun, emerging from the<br />
southern regions <strong>of</strong> the earth, passes the vernal equinox, Venus<br />
is once more rejoiced, the fields are again embellished with<br />
flowers, the grass springs up in the meadows, and the trees recover<br />
their foliage ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> cultivation <strong>of</strong> the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Adonis was propagated<br />
from Phenicia into Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Sicily .<br />
<strong>The</strong> celebration began in Phenicia at the period when the waters<br />
<strong>of</strong> the river Adonis, which descend from Mount Libanus, are<br />
tinged with a reddish hue derived from the colour <strong>of</strong> the soil peculiar<br />
to the mountain . <strong>The</strong> Phenician women believed that the<br />
wound <strong>of</strong> Adonis was annually renewed, and that it was his<br />
blood which coloured the stream . <strong>The</strong> phenomenon was the signal<br />
for the commencement <strong>of</strong> the rites . Every one assumed the<br />
appearance <strong>of</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>ound grief. At Alexandria, the queen bore<br />
the statue <strong>of</strong> Adonis, accompanied by the noblest females <strong>of</strong> the<br />
city, carrying baskets <strong>of</strong> cakes, bottles <strong>of</strong> perfumes, flowers,<br />
branches <strong>of</strong> trees, and pomegranates . <strong>The</strong> procession was closed<br />
by women bearing two beds splendidly embroidered in gold and
ADO . 21<br />
silver, one for Venus and the other for Adonis . At Athens they<br />
placed in various parts <strong>of</strong> the city the figure :)f a dead youth.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se figures were afterward taken away by women clad in the<br />
habiliments <strong>of</strong> mourning, who celebrated their funeral rites .<br />
On the second day <strong>of</strong> the mysteries, sorrow was converted into<br />
joy, and they commemorated the resurrection <strong>of</strong> Adonis . <strong>The</strong><br />
mysteries <strong>of</strong> Adonis were, at one time, introduced into Judea,<br />
where the Hebrew women were accustomed to hold an annual<br />
lamentation for him, under the name <strong>of</strong> Tammuz, <strong>of</strong> which Ezekiel<br />
speaks, viii . 14 : "Behold there sat women weeping for<br />
Tammuz ." According to Calmet and Faber, Adonis was also<br />
identical with Baal-peor, the idol <strong>of</strong> the Moabites, mentioned in<br />
the twenty-fifth chapter <strong>of</strong> Numbers .<br />
Our knowledge <strong>of</strong> the ceremonies which accompanied the<br />
Adonisian initiation is but scanty . "<strong>The</strong> objects represented,"<br />
says Duncan, "were the grief <strong>of</strong> Venus and the death and resurrection<br />
<strong>of</strong> Adonis . An entire week was consumed in these<br />
ceremonies : all the houses were covered with crape or black<br />
linen : funeral processions traversed the streets, while the devotees<br />
scourged themselves, uttering frantic cries . <strong>The</strong> orgies were then<br />
commenced, in which the mystery <strong>of</strong> the death <strong>of</strong> Adonis was<br />
depicted . During the next twenty-four hours, all the people<br />
fasted, at the expiration <strong>of</strong> which time the priests announced the<br />
resurrection <strong>of</strong> the god. Joy now prevailed, and music and<br />
dancing concluded the festivals."<br />
Julius Fermicius, a Christian writer <strong>of</strong> the fourth century,<br />
thus describes a portion <strong>of</strong> the Adonisian ceremonies :t<br />
"On a certain night an image is laid out upon a bed, and<br />
bewailed in mournful strains . At length, when they are satiated<br />
* Religions <strong>of</strong> Pr<strong>of</strong>ano Antiquity ; their Mythology, Fables, Hieroglyphics,<br />
and Doctrines. Founded on Astronomical Principles . By Jonathan Dnncan,<br />
B . A . p. 350.<br />
t In an oration inscribed to the Emperors Constans and Constantins. <strong>The</strong><br />
classical reader may compare the original language <strong>of</strong> Fermicius, which I here<br />
Insert : NI ate quadam simulacrum in leotica supinum ponitur, et per nwueraw
22 ADO<br />
with their fictitious lamentation, light is introduced, and the<br />
priest, having first anointed the mouths <strong>of</strong> all those who had been<br />
weeping, whispers with a gentle murmur : Trust ye, initiates, for<br />
the god being saved, out <strong>of</strong> pains salvation shall arise to us ."<br />
Hence the ceremonies were a representation <strong>of</strong> the death and<br />
resurrection <strong>of</strong> Adonis in the person <strong>of</strong> the aspirant .<br />
ADOPTIVE MASONRY . By the immutable laws <strong>of</strong> our<br />
institution, no woman can be made a Freemason . It follows,<br />
therefore, as a matter <strong>of</strong> course, that lodges which admit females<br />
to membership, can never legally exist in the order . Our French<br />
brethren, however, with that gallantry for which the nation is<br />
proverbial, have sought, by the establishment <strong>of</strong> societies, which<br />
have, indeed, but a faint resemblance to the peculiar organization<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, to enable females to unite themselves in<br />
some sort with the masonic institution, and thus to enlist the<br />
sympathies and friendship <strong>of</strong> the gentler sex in behalf <strong>of</strong> the<br />
fraternity .<br />
To the organizations thus established for the initiation <strong>of</strong> females,<br />
the French have given the name <strong>of</strong> "Adoptive Masonry,"<br />
mafonnerie d'adoption, and thelodges are called loges d'adoption,<br />
or "adoptive lodges," because, as will hereafter be seen, every<br />
lodge <strong>of</strong> females was finally obliged to be adopted by, and under<br />
the guardianship <strong>of</strong> some regular masonic lodge .<br />
In the beginning <strong>of</strong> the eighteenth century, several secret<br />
associations sprang up in France, which, in their external characters<br />
and mysterious rites, attempted an imitation <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>,<br />
differing, however, from that institution, <strong>of</strong> which they<br />
were, perhaps, the rivals fur public favour, by their admission <strong>of</strong><br />
female members . <strong>The</strong> ladies very naturally extolled the gallantry<br />
digestis fletibus plangitur . Deinde cum se Beta lamentations satiaverint,<br />
lumen infertar . Tune a sacerdote omnium qui flebant, fauces unguntur quibus<br />
perunctis, sacerdos lento murmurs susurrat<br />
eappetre µyorac ray Bsoy owwyemov<br />
FQrat yap Vir a yovw ooirgpia .
ADO 23<br />
<strong>of</strong> these mushroom institutions, and inveighed with increased<br />
hostility against the exclusiveness <strong>of</strong> masonry . <strong>The</strong> Royal Art<br />
was becoming unpopular, and the fraternity believed themselves<br />
compelled to use strategy, and to wield in their own defence the<br />
weapons <strong>of</strong> their opponents .<br />
At length, the Grand Orient <strong>of</strong> France, finding that these<br />
mystic societies were becoming so popular and so numerous as to<br />
endanger the permanency <strong>of</strong> the masonic institution, a new rite<br />
was established in 1774, called the "Rite <strong>of</strong> Adoption," which<br />
was placed under the control <strong>of</strong> the Grand Orient . Rules and<br />
regulations were thenceforth provided for the government <strong>of</strong> these<br />
lodges <strong>of</strong> adoption, one <strong>of</strong> which was that no men should be permitted<br />
to attend them except regular Freemasons, and that each<br />
lodge should be placed under the charge, and held under the<br />
sanction and warrant <strong>of</strong> some regularly constituted masonic lodge,<br />
whose Master, or, in his absence, his deputy, should be the presiding<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficer, assisted by a female President or Mistress . Under<br />
these regulations a Lodge <strong>of</strong> Adoption was opened in Paris in<br />
1775, under the patronage <strong>of</strong> the lodge <strong>of</strong> St . Anthony, and in<br />
which the Duchess <strong>of</strong> Bourbon presided, and was installed as<br />
Grand Mistress <strong>of</strong> the Adoptive rite .<br />
<strong>The</strong> rite <strong>of</strong> Adoption consists <strong>of</strong> four degrees, as follow<br />
1. Apprentice.<br />
2 . Companion .<br />
3. Mistress .<br />
4. Perfect Mistress .<br />
<strong>The</strong> first, or Apprentices' degree, is simply introductory in its<br />
character, and is intended to prepare the candidate by its initiatory<br />
ceremony for the emblematic lessons which are contained in<br />
the remaining degrees .<br />
In the second degree, or Companion, the scene <strong>of</strong> the temptation<br />
in Eden is emblematically represented, by the ceremonial<br />
<strong>of</strong> initiation, and -the candidate is reminded in the course <strong>of</strong> the<br />
lecture, (for there is a lecture or catechism to each degree,) <strong>of</strong> all
the unhappy results <strong>of</strong> the first sin <strong>of</strong> woman, until they termi .<br />
nated in the universal deluge .<br />
<strong>The</strong> building <strong>of</strong> the Tower <strong>of</strong> Babel, and the consequent dis .<br />
persion <strong>of</strong> the human race, constitute the legend <strong>of</strong> the third<br />
degree, or that <strong>of</strong> Mistress . Jacob's ladder is also introduced<br />
into the ceremonies <strong>of</strong> this degree, and the candidate is informed<br />
that it symbolically denotes the various virtues which a Mason<br />
should possess, while the Tower <strong>of</strong> Babel is an emblem <strong>of</strong> a badly<br />
regulated lodge, in which disorder and confusion are substituted<br />
for the concord and obedience which should always exist in such<br />
a place .<br />
In the fourth degree, or that <strong>of</strong> Perfect Mistress, the <strong>of</strong>ficers<br />
represent Moses, Aaron, their wives, and the sons <strong>of</strong> Aaron, and<br />
the ceremonies and instructions refer to the passage <strong>of</strong> the Israelites<br />
through the wilderness, as a symbol <strong>of</strong> the passage <strong>of</strong> man<br />
and woman through this, to another and a better world .<br />
It will be seen, from this brief sketch, that the rite <strong>of</strong> Adoption<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>esses, in some measure, to imitate the symbolic character<br />
and design <strong>of</strong> true <strong>Freemasonry</strong> . It cannot be denied that the<br />
idea has been very ingeniously and successfully carried out .<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> a lodge <strong>of</strong> Adoption consist <strong>of</strong> a Grand Master<br />
and Grand Mistress, an Orator, an Inspector and an Inspectress,<br />
a Depositor and a Depositrix, a Conductor and a Conductress .*<br />
<strong>The</strong>y wear a blue sash or collar, with a gold trowel suspended<br />
thereto . <strong>The</strong> Grand Master uses a mallet, with which he governs<br />
the lodge, and the same implement is placed in the hands <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Grand Mistress, the Inspector and Inspectress, and Depositor<br />
and Depositrix. Every member wears a plain white apron and<br />
white gloves .<br />
<strong>The</strong> brethren, in addition to the insignia <strong>of</strong> their rank, wear<br />
swords and a gold ladder with five rounds, which is the proper<br />
jewel <strong>of</strong> Adoptive masonry .<br />
* <strong>The</strong> Inspectress, assisted by the Inspector, acts as Senior Warden, and the<br />
Depositrix, assisted by the Depositor, as Junior Warden . <strong>The</strong> Conductress and<br />
he Conductor are the Deacons .
ADO 25<br />
<strong>The</strong> business <strong>of</strong> the lodge is conducted by the sisterhood, the<br />
brethren only acting as their assistants .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Grand Mistress, however, has very little to say or do, she<br />
being only an honorary companion to the Grand Master, which<br />
mark <strong>of</strong> distinction is conferred on her as a token <strong>of</strong> respect for<br />
her character and virtues .<br />
<strong>The</strong> lodge-room is elegantly and tastefully decorated with<br />
emblems, which, <strong>of</strong> course, vary in each degree . In the degree<br />
<strong>of</strong> Apprentice, for instance, the room is separated by curtains<br />
into four apartments or divisions, representing the four quarters<br />
<strong>of</strong> the world, Europe, Asia, Africa, and America . <strong>The</strong> division<br />
at the entrance <strong>of</strong> the lodge represents Europe, in the middle on<br />
the right is Africa, on the left America, and at the extreme east<br />
is Asia, where are erected two splendid thrones, decorated with<br />
gold fringe, for the Grand Master and Grand Mistress . Before<br />
them is placed an altar, and on both sides, to the right and left,<br />
are eight statues, representing Wisdom, Prudence, Strength,<br />
Temperance, Honour, Charity, Justice, and Truth . <strong>The</strong> members<br />
sit on each side in straight lines, the sisters in front, and the<br />
brothers behind them, the latter having swords in their hands .<br />
<strong>The</strong>re cannot, in fact, be a more beautiful and attractive sight,<br />
than a lodge <strong>of</strong> Adoptive Masons properly organized and well<br />
attended.<br />
Looking to the mixed sexual character <strong>of</strong> these lodges, it is<br />
not surprising that every thing is followed by a banquet, and on<br />
many occasions by a ball . <strong>The</strong>se, says Clavel, are inseparable<br />
from a lodge <strong>of</strong> Adoption, and are, in fact, the real design <strong>of</strong> its<br />
organization, the initiatory ceremonies being but a pretext .<br />
In the banquets <strong>of</strong> the regular lodges <strong>of</strong> the French rite, the<br />
members always use a symbolic language, by which they designate<br />
the various implements and articles <strong>of</strong> food and drink upon<br />
the table . In imitation <strong>of</strong> this custom, ~ the ladies, in the banquets<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Adoptive lodges, have also established a symbolic<br />
language, to be used only at the table . Thus the lodge-room is<br />
called "Eden ;" the doors "barriers ;" the minutes "a ladder ;"<br />
a
26 ADV-A FF<br />
a glass is called "a lamp ;" water is styled "white oil," and wins<br />
Fred oil ." To fill your glass is "trim your lamp," with many<br />
other equally eccentric expressions .<br />
Such is the organization <strong>of</strong> French Female Masonry, as it was<br />
established and recognized by the masonic authorities <strong>of</strong> that<br />
kingdom . It is still practised as a peculiar rite, although its resemblance<br />
to true <strong>Freemasonry</strong> is only in name . Under these<br />
regulations, the lodge "La Candeur" was opened in Paris on the<br />
11th <strong>of</strong> March, 1785, a Marquis being in the chair, and a<br />
Duchess acting as Deputy or Grand Mistress . In the same year<br />
the Duchess <strong>of</strong> Bourbon was installed with great pomp as Grand<br />
Mistress . <strong>The</strong> revolution checked their progress, but they were<br />
revived in 1805, when the Empress Josephine presided over the<br />
"Lodge Imperiale d'Adoption des Francs Chevaliers," at Strasbur;.<br />
<strong>The</strong> adoptive lodges were at first rapidly diffused throughout<br />
all the countries <strong>of</strong> Europe, except the British Empire,<br />
where they were rejected with contempt, but they soon declined,<br />
and are at present confined to the place <strong>of</strong> their origin .<br />
ADVANCED. When a candidate is invested with the Mark<br />
Master's degree, he is said to be "advanced ." <strong>The</strong> term is very<br />
appropriately used to designate that the Master Mason is now<br />
promoted one step beyond the degrees <strong>of</strong> Ancient Craft Masonry<br />
on the way to the Royal Arch .<br />
AFFILIATED . A mason who is a member <strong>of</strong> a lodge is<br />
said to be "an affiliated mason," in contra-distinction to a demitted<br />
or non-affiliated one, who is not a member <strong>of</strong> any lodge .<br />
AFFILIATION. <strong>The</strong> act by which a lodge . receives a Mason<br />
among its members . A pr<strong>of</strong>ane is initiated, but a Mason is<br />
afliated . <strong>The</strong> general rule is, that a candidate mast be initiated<br />
in the lodge nearest to his residence, but after a Mason has been<br />
made, he may' unite himself with any lodge that he . chooses, and<br />
which is willing to receive him
AFR-AGE 27<br />
AFRICAN ARCHITECTS . In the year 1767, one Baucherren<br />
instituted in Prussia, with the concurrence <strong>of</strong> Frederick<br />
II., a society which he called " the Order <strong>of</strong> African Architects ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> object <strong>of</strong> the institution was historical research, but it contained<br />
a ritual which partook <strong>of</strong> Masonry, Christianity, Alchemy,<br />
and Chivalry . It was divided into two temples, and was composed<br />
<strong>of</strong> eleven degrees . In the first temple were the degrees <strong>of</strong>-<br />
1, Apprentice ; 2, Fellow Craft ; and 3, Master . In the second<br />
temple were the degrees <strong>of</strong>-4, Apprentice <strong>of</strong> Egyptian Secrets ;<br />
5, Initiate in the Egyptian Secrets ; 6, Cosmopolitan brother ;<br />
7, Christian philosopher ; 8, Master <strong>of</strong> Egyptian Secrets ; 9, Esquire ;<br />
10, Soldier ; and 11, Knight. <strong>The</strong> society constructed a vast<br />
building intended as a Grand Chapter <strong>of</strong> the order, and which<br />
contained an excellent library, a museum <strong>of</strong> natural history, and<br />
a chemical laboratory . For a long time the African Architects<br />
decreed annually a gold medal worth fifty ducats to the author <strong>of</strong><br />
the best memoir on the history <strong>of</strong> masonry .<br />
Ragon, who seldom speaks well <strong>of</strong> any other rite than his own,<br />
has, however, in his "Orthodoxie Maconnique," paid the follow .<br />
ing tribute to the African Architects :-<br />
" <strong>The</strong>ir intercourse was modest and dignified. <strong>The</strong>y did not<br />
esteem decorations, aprons, collars, jewels, &c ., but were rather<br />
fond <strong>of</strong> luxury, and delighted in sententious apothegms whose<br />
meaning was sublime but concealed. In their assemblies they<br />
read essays and communicated the results <strong>of</strong> their researches .<br />
At their simple and decorous banquets instructive and scientific<br />
discourses were delivered . While their initiations were gratui-<br />
tous, they gave liberal assistance -<br />
to such zealous brethren as<br />
were in needy circumstances. <strong>The</strong>y published in Germany many<br />
important documents on the subject <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> ."<br />
AGE . In the French, Scotch, and some other rites, each de .<br />
gree has an emblematic age ; that <strong>of</strong> the E .-. A.- . is three years,<br />
because, in the system <strong>of</strong> mystical numbers, three is the number<br />
<strong>of</strong> generation, which comprises three terms, the agent, the re .
28 AIII-ALL<br />
cipient, and the product . Five is the age <strong>of</strong> the F . . C .- ., five<br />
being emblematic <strong>of</strong> active life, characterized by the five senses .<br />
And seven is the age <strong>of</strong> the M .-. M .- ., it being the perfect number,<br />
in allusion to the seven primitive planets which completed<br />
the astronomic system .<br />
AHIMAN REZON . This is the name <strong>of</strong> the Book <strong>of</strong> Coneticutions,<br />
which was used by the Ancient Division <strong>of</strong> Freemasons,<br />
which separated in 1739 from the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England<br />
. <strong>The</strong> "True Ahiman Rezon" was compiled in 1772 for<br />
the government <strong>of</strong> the Ancient Masons, by Laurence Dermott,<br />
at that time Deputy Grand Master-<strong>of</strong> that body . <strong>The</strong> title is<br />
derived from three Hebrew words, ahim, brothers, manah, to<br />
choose or appoint,* and ratzon, the will or law, so that it literally<br />
signifies 11 the law <strong>of</strong> chosen brothers ." <strong>The</strong> Book <strong>of</strong> Constitutions<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> South Carolina, and that <strong>of</strong><br />
Pennsylvania, is also called the Ahiman Rezon . See Book <strong>of</strong><br />
Constitutions .<br />
AHOLIAB . A skilful architect, appointed with Bezaleel to<br />
construct the tabernacle . Moses, Aholiab, and Bezaleel, the<br />
builders <strong>of</strong> the tabernacle, are in the Royal Arch degree appropriately<br />
placed in juxtaposition with Shem, Ham, and Japheth,<br />
who constructed the ark <strong>of</strong> safety, and with Joshua, Zerubbabel,<br />
and Haggai, who built the second temple .<br />
ALARM . <strong>The</strong> signal <strong>of</strong> the approach <strong>of</strong> a person demanding<br />
admission to the lodge is thus called in masonic language .<br />
ALL-SEEING EYE . An emblem <strong>of</strong> the Master's degree .<br />
It reminds us <strong>of</strong> that superintending Providence who knows the<br />
* Ma»al means to choose, appoint, or distribute into a peculiar class out <strong>of</strong><br />
a generality, and is hence really equivalent to 1' accept"- Daloho's signification,<br />
to prepare, is incorrect.
ALP-ALT Zi<br />
most secret thoughts <strong>of</strong> our hearts, and rewards us according to<br />
our merits .*<br />
This emblem was also found in the ancient mysteries,t and<br />
was there, as in masonry, preserved as a testimony <strong>of</strong> the unity<br />
<strong>of</strong> that omniscient and omnipresent Deity, the teaching <strong>of</strong> whose<br />
existence, in contradistinction to the popular mythology, was the<br />
aim and object <strong>of</strong> all these institutions .<br />
ALPHA AND OMEGA . <strong>The</strong> first and last letters <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Greek alphabet, equivalent therefore to the beginning and ending<br />
<strong>of</strong> any thin ;, or to the whole <strong>of</strong> it in its completeness . <strong>The</strong><br />
Jews used the first and last letters <strong>of</strong> their alphabet, Aleph and<br />
Tan, to express proverbially the whole compass <strong>of</strong> things ; as when<br />
they said that "Adam transgressed the whole law, from Aleph to<br />
Tau." I St. John substituted the Greek for the Hebrew letters, as<br />
being more familiar to his readers .<br />
ALPHABET OF ANGELS . <strong>The</strong> Jews speak <strong>of</strong> a celestial<br />
and mystical alphabet, which they say was communicated by the<br />
angels to the patriarchs . Kircher gives a copy <strong>of</strong> it in his Edipus<br />
Egyptiacus, tom . ii . p . 105 . This alphabet is several times<br />
alluded to in the ritual <strong>of</strong> the Scotch rite .<br />
ALTAR. <strong>The</strong> place where the sacred <strong>of</strong>ferings were presented<br />
to God . After the erection <strong>of</strong> the Tabernacle, altars were <strong>of</strong><br />
two kinds, altars <strong>of</strong> sacrifice and altars <strong>of</strong> incense . <strong>The</strong> altar <strong>of</strong><br />
masonry may be considered as the representative <strong>of</strong> both these<br />
forms . From thence the grateful incense <strong>of</strong> Brotherly Love,<br />
Relief, and Truth, is ever rising to the Great I AM ; while on it,<br />
* Deua tvtua vieua,-God is all eyes, says Pliny.<br />
t Among the Egyptians the Eye was the symbol <strong>of</strong> Osiris, and signified<br />
Providence . Hence they consecrated, in their temples, eyes made <strong>of</strong> precicur<br />
materials.<br />
Adam Clarke, Commentary on Rev. i.8 .<br />
3.
30 AME<br />
the unruly passi4 ns and . the worldly appetites <strong>of</strong> the brethren<br />
are laid, as a fitting sacrifice to the genius <strong>of</strong> our order .<br />
<strong>The</strong> proper form <strong>of</strong> a masonic altar is that <strong>of</strong> a cube, about<br />
three feet high, with four horns, one at each corner, and having<br />
spread open upon it the Hoiy Bible, square, and compasses, while<br />
around it are placed in a triangular form and proper position the<br />
three lesser lights .<br />
EAST .<br />
WEST.<br />
This diagram will exhibit<br />
the correct position<br />
in which the lights should<br />
be placed around the altar,<br />
the stars designating<br />
the places <strong>of</strong> the lights in<br />
the East, West, and South,<br />
and the black dot the vacancy<br />
in the North where<br />
there is no light .<br />
Placing the lights all in the east at the head <strong>of</strong> the altar is a<br />
eummon error, but a great one, as it does not meet the requirements<br />
<strong>of</strong> the ritual, which not only places them in a different<br />
position, but says that they surround the altar .<br />
AMERICAN MYSTERIES . Among the many evidences <strong>of</strong><br />
a former state <strong>of</strong> civilization among the aborigines <strong>of</strong> this country<br />
which seem to prove their origin from the races that inhabit the<br />
Eastern hemisphere, not the least remarkable is the existence <strong>of</strong><br />
fraternities bound by mystic ties, and claiming, like the Freemasons,<br />
to possess an esoteric knowledge which they carefully<br />
conceal from all but the initiated . De Witt Clinton, once the<br />
General Grand High Priest <strong>of</strong> the United States, relates, on the<br />
authority <strong>of</strong> a respectable native minister, who had received the<br />
signs, the existence <strong>of</strong> such a society among the Iroquois . <strong>The</strong><br />
number <strong>of</strong> the members was limited to fifteen, <strong>of</strong> whom six were
AME ' 31<br />
to be <strong>of</strong> the Seneca tribe, five <strong>of</strong> the Oneidas, two <strong>of</strong> the Cay agas,<br />
and two <strong>of</strong> the St . Regis . <strong>The</strong>y claim that their institution has<br />
existed from the era <strong>of</strong> the creation . <strong>The</strong> times <strong>of</strong> their meeting<br />
they keep secret, and throw much mystery over all their proceed<br />
<strong>The</strong> mysteries <strong>of</strong> the Mexican tribes were characterized by<br />
cruelty and bloodshed . In the celebration <strong>of</strong> these shocking<br />
rites, the aspirant was previously subjected to long and painful<br />
Fastings, and compelled to undergo, in even a heightened form,<br />
ill the terrors and sufferings which distinguished the mysteries<br />
)f the Eastern continent . He was scourged with cords, wounded<br />
with knives, and cauterized with red-hot cinders . So cruel<br />
were these probations, that many perished under their infliction ;<br />
and yet he who recoiled from the trial, or suffered an involuntary<br />
groan to escape his lips, was dismissed with contempt, and considered<br />
thenceforth as unworthy to mingle in the society <strong>of</strong> his<br />
equals . It was in the temple <strong>of</strong> Vitzliputzli that the Mexican<br />
mysteries were celebrated on the grandest scale . <strong>The</strong> candidate,<br />
being first anointed with a narcotic unguent, descended into the<br />
gloomy caverns <strong>of</strong> initiation, which were excavated beneath the<br />
temple . <strong>The</strong> ceremonies were intended to represent the wanderings<br />
<strong>of</strong> the god, and the caverns through which the aspirant was<br />
to pass were called the path <strong>of</strong> the dead .<br />
He is conducted through these caverns amid shrieks <strong>of</strong> anguish<br />
and groans <strong>of</strong> despair, which seem to rise from every side, phantoms<br />
<strong>of</strong> death flit past his eyes, and while trembling for his safety,<br />
he reaches the body <strong>of</strong> a slain victim whose heart has been<br />
ripped frDm his breast, and whose limbs are still quivering with<br />
departing life ; suddenly he finds himself in a spacious vault,<br />
through which an artificial sun is darting his rays, and in the<br />
ro<strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong> which is an orifice through which the body <strong>of</strong> the sacrificed<br />
victim had been precipitated . He is now immediately under<br />
the high altar. Finally, after encountering many other horrors,<br />
he reaches a narrow fissure which terminates the suit <strong>of</strong> subterranean<br />
apartments, and being protruded through it by his guide ;
32 AMP-ANC<br />
he finds himself in open air, and in the midst <strong>of</strong> a vast multi .<br />
tude, who receive him with shouts as a person regenerated or<br />
born again .*<br />
This was the first degree <strong>of</strong> the Mexican mysteries . <strong>The</strong>re<br />
was a higher grade attainable only by the priests, in which the<br />
instruction was <strong>of</strong> a symbolic character, and referred to the deluge<br />
and the subsequent settlement <strong>of</strong> their ancestors on the lake <strong>of</strong><br />
Mexico . <strong>The</strong> details <strong>of</strong> this legend bear a remarkable similarity<br />
to the scriptural account <strong>of</strong> the wanderings and final settlement<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Israelites . <strong>The</strong> tribe was led by the god Vitzliputzli, who<br />
was seated in a square ark, and held in his hand a rod formed<br />
lilce a serpent. <strong>The</strong> ark was called the , throne <strong>of</strong> God, and its<br />
four corners were surmounted by serpents' heads . During their<br />
marches and encampments, Vitzliputzli revealed to them a mode<br />
<strong>of</strong> worship and a code <strong>of</strong> laws to govern them after they had taken<br />
possession <strong>of</strong> the promised land . In the midst <strong>of</strong> their encampment,<br />
they erected a tabernacle with an altar, on which was<br />
placed the sacred ark . After a tedious expedition, they finally<br />
arrived at an island in the middle <strong>of</strong> a lake, where they built the<br />
city <strong>of</strong> Mexico, and furnished it with a pyramidal temple .<br />
<strong>The</strong> mysteries <strong>of</strong> the Peruvians were more simple and humane,<br />
and consisted principally <strong>of</strong> a lustration, performed annually on<br />
the first day <strong>of</strong> the September moon .<br />
AMPLE FORM . When the Grand Lodge is opened by the<br />
Grand Master in person, it is said to be opened in "ample form ;"<br />
when by the Deputy Grand Master, it is in "due form ;" and<br />
when by any other <strong>of</strong>ficer, it is said to be simply "in form ."<br />
ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED RITE . See Scotch Rite .<br />
ANCIENT CRAFT MASONRY . <strong>The</strong> degrees <strong>of</strong> Entered<br />
Apprentice, Fellow-Craft, and Master Mason, are thus called,<br />
* It may as well be remarked in this place, that this regeneration, or raising<br />
from death to a second life, constituted the great end <strong>of</strong> all the pagan rites .
ANC-AlNN 33<br />
oecause they were the only degrees which were anciently practised<br />
by the craft .<br />
ANCIENT MASONS . See Modern Masons .<br />
ANCIENT REFORMED RITE . A rite differing very<br />
slightly from the French rite . It is practised in Belgium and<br />
Holland .<br />
ANDERSON . James Anderson, D . D., the compiler <strong>of</strong> the<br />
English Book <strong>of</strong> Constitutions, was a native <strong>of</strong> Scotland, but, for<br />
many years <strong>of</strong> his life, a resident <strong>of</strong> England and the minister<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Scotch Presbyterian church in Swallow street, Picadilly,<br />
London . Besides the Book <strong>of</strong> Constitutions, to which he is<br />
principally indebted for his reputation, he was also the author <strong>of</strong><br />
an extensive and singular work entitled "Royal Genealogies ."<br />
Chambers, in his "Scottish Biography," describes him as "a<br />
learned but imprudent man, who lost a considerable part <strong>of</strong> his<br />
property in deep dabbling in the South Sea Schefue ." <strong>The</strong> precise<br />
dates <strong>of</strong> his birth and death are not known .<br />
ANDROGYNOUS MASONRY . Degrees imitative <strong>of</strong> masonry,<br />
which have been instituted for the initiation <strong>of</strong> males and<br />
females, so called from two Greek words signifying man and woman<br />
. <strong>The</strong>y were first established in France in the year 1730,<br />
under the name <strong>of</strong> "lodges <strong>of</strong> adoption ." In America there are<br />
several androgynous degrees, such as the Good Samaritan, the<br />
Heroine <strong>of</strong> Jericho, and the Mason's Daughter . See Adoptive<br />
Masonry.<br />
ANGLE . See Right Angle .<br />
ANNIVERSARY . <strong>The</strong> two anniversaries <strong>of</strong> Symbolic Masonry<br />
are, the festivals <strong>of</strong> St . John the Baptist, and St . John the<br />
Evangelist, 24th <strong>of</strong> June and 27th <strong>of</strong> December . See in this<br />
work the title Dedication . <strong>The</strong> anniversary <strong>of</strong> the Princes <strong>of</strong><br />
Rose Croix is Si-rove Tuesday .
34 ANN-ANTI<br />
ANNO LUCIS . In the Year <strong>of</strong> Light . Used in mason ;^<br />
dates, and usually abbreviated A .% L . • . See fear <strong>of</strong> Life .<br />
ANTIQUITY OF MASONRY . <strong>Freemasonry</strong> is in its prin .<br />
ciples undoubtedly coeval with the creation, but in its organization<br />
as a peculiar institution, such as it now exists, we dare not<br />
trace it further back than to the building <strong>of</strong> King Solomon's<br />
temple . It was, however, in its origin closely connected with<br />
the Ancient Mysteries, and the curious inquirer will find some<br />
gratification in tracing this connection .<br />
When man was first created, he had, <strong>of</strong> course, a perfect knowledge<br />
<strong>of</strong> the true name and nature <strong>of</strong> the Being who created<br />
him. But when, by his own folly, he fell "from his high estate,"<br />
he lost, with his purity, that knowledge <strong>of</strong> God which in his<br />
primeval condition formed the noblest endowment <strong>of</strong> his mind .<br />
And at length the whole human race having increased in wickedness<br />
until every thought and act was evil, God determined, by a<br />
flood, to purge - the earth <strong>of</strong> this excess <strong>of</strong> sin . To Noah, however,<br />
he was merciful, and to this patriarch and his posterity was<br />
to be intrusted the knowledge <strong>of</strong> the true God . But on the<br />
plains <strong>of</strong> Shinar man again rebelled, and as a punishment <strong>of</strong> his<br />
rebellion, at the l<strong>of</strong>ty tower <strong>of</strong> Babel, language was confounded,<br />
and masonry lost, for masonry then, as now, consisted in a knowledge<br />
<strong>of</strong> these great truths, that there is one God, and that the<br />
soul is immortal . <strong>The</strong> . patriarchs, however, were saved from<br />
the general moral desolation, and still preserved true masonry,<br />
or the knowledge <strong>of</strong> these dogmas, in the patriarchal line . <strong>The</strong><br />
Gentile nations, on the contrary, fell rapidly from one error into<br />
another, and, losing sight <strong>of</strong> the one great I AM, substituted<br />
in his place the names <strong>of</strong> heroes and distinguished men, whom,<br />
by a ready apotheosis, they converted into the thousand deities<br />
who occupied the calendar <strong>of</strong> their religious worship .<br />
<strong>The</strong> philosophers and sages, however, still retained, or discovered<br />
by the dim light <strong>of</strong> nature, some traces <strong>of</strong> these great<br />
doctrines <strong>of</strong> masonry, the unity <strong>of</strong> God, and the immortality <strong>of</strong>
ANT .35<br />
the soul . But these doctrines they dared not teach in public,<br />
for history records what would have been the fate <strong>of</strong> such temerity,<br />
when it informs us that Socrates paid th • ; forfeit <strong>of</strong> his<br />
life for his boldness in proclaiming these truths to the Athenian<br />
youth .<br />
<strong>The</strong>y therefore taught in secret what they were afraid to inculcate<br />
in public, and established for this purpose the Ancient<br />
Mysteries, those truly masonic institutions, which, by a series <strong>of</strong><br />
solemn and imposing ceremonies, prepared the mind <strong>of</strong> the initiate<br />
for the reception <strong>of</strong> those unpopular dogmas, while, by the<br />
caution exercised in the selection <strong>of</strong> candidates, and the obligations<br />
<strong>of</strong> secrecy imposed upon them, the teachers were secured<br />
from all danger <strong>of</strong> popular bigotry and fanaticism . A full description<br />
<strong>of</strong> these Mysteries will be found in this work under the<br />
appropriate title . <strong>The</strong>ir members went through a secret ceremony<br />
<strong>of</strong> initiation, by which they became entitled to a full<br />
participation in the esoteric knowledge <strong>of</strong> the order, and were in<br />
possession <strong>of</strong> certain modes <strong>of</strong> recognition nition known only to themselves<br />
. In all <strong>of</strong> them, there was, in addition to the instructions<br />
in relation to the existence <strong>of</strong> a Supreme Deity, a legend in<br />
which, by the dramatic representation <strong>of</strong> the violent death and<br />
subsequent restoration to life <strong>of</strong> some distinguished personage,<br />
the doctrines <strong>of</strong> the resurrection and the soul's immortality were<br />
emblematically illustrated .<br />
Among these religious institutions was that <strong>of</strong> the Dionysian<br />
Mysteries, which were celebrated throughout Greece and Asia<br />
Minor, and in which the peculiar legend was the murder <strong>of</strong><br />
Bacchus, or, as the Greeks called him, Dionysus, by the Titans,<br />
and his subsequent restoration to life . <strong>The</strong> priests <strong>of</strong> Dionysus,<br />
having devoted themselves to architectural pursuits, established,<br />
about one thousand years before the Christian era, a society <strong>of</strong><br />
builders in Asia Minor, who are styled by the ancient writers<br />
" <strong>The</strong> Fraternity <strong>of</strong> Dionysian Architects," and to this society<br />
was exclusively confined the privilege <strong>of</strong> erecting temples and<br />
other public buildings .
36 ANT<br />
<strong>The</strong> fraternity <strong>of</strong> Dionysian Architects were linked together<br />
by the secret ties <strong>of</strong> the Dionysian Mysteries, into which they<br />
had all been initiated . Thus constituted, the fraternity was distinguished<br />
by many peculiarities that strikingly assimilate it to<br />
our order . In the exercise <strong>of</strong> charity, the "more opulent were<br />
sacredly bound to provide for the exigencies <strong>of</strong> the poorer brethren<br />
." For the facilities <strong>of</strong> labour and government, they were<br />
divided into lodges, each <strong>of</strong> which was governed by a Master and<br />
Wardens . <strong>The</strong>y employed in their ceremonial observances many<br />
<strong>of</strong> the implements which are still to be found among Freemasons,<br />
and used like them, a universal language, by which one brother<br />
could distinguish another in the dark as well as in the light, and<br />
which served to unite the members scattered over India, Persia,<br />
and` Syria, into one common brotherhood . <strong>The</strong> existence <strong>of</strong> this<br />
order in Tyre, at the time <strong>of</strong> the building <strong>of</strong> the Temple, is universally<br />
admitted ; and Hiram, the widow's son, to whom Solomon<br />
intrusted the superiutendence <strong>of</strong> the workmen, as an inhabitant<br />
<strong>of</strong> Tyre, and as a skilful architect and cunning and<br />
curious workman, was doubtless one <strong>of</strong> its members . Hence we<br />
are scarcely claiming too much for our order, when we suppose<br />
that the Dionysians were sent by Hiram, King <strong>of</strong> Tyre, to assist<br />
King Solomon in the construction <strong>of</strong> the house he was about to<br />
dedicate to Jehovah, and that they communicated to their Jewish<br />
fellow-labourers a knowledge, <strong>of</strong> the advantages <strong>of</strong> their fraternity,<br />
and invited them to a participation in its mysteries and privileges .<br />
In this union, however, the apocryphal legend <strong>of</strong> the Dionysians<br />
gave way to the true legend <strong>of</strong> the Masons, which was unhappily<br />
furnishea by a melancholy incident that occurred at the time .<br />
Upon the completion <strong>of</strong> the Temple, the workmen who had<br />
been engaged in its construction necessarily dispersed, to extend<br />
<strong>The</strong>ir knowledge and to renew their labours in other lands . But<br />
we do not lose sight <strong>of</strong> the order . We find it still existing i n<br />
Judea, under the name <strong>of</strong> the ESSENIAN FRATERNITY. This<br />
was rather a society <strong>of</strong> philosophers than <strong>of</strong> architects, and in<br />
this respect it approached still nearer to the character <strong>of</strong> modern
ANT 37<br />
speculative masonry . <strong>The</strong> Essenians were, however, undoubtedly<br />
connected with the Temple, as their origin is derived by the<br />
learned Scaliger, with every appearance <strong>of</strong> truth, from the KAssI-<br />
DEANS, a fraternity <strong>of</strong> Jewish devotees, who, in the language <strong>of</strong><br />
Lawrie, had associated together as "Knights <strong>of</strong> the Temple <strong>of</strong><br />
Jerusalem, to adorn the porches <strong>of</strong> that magnificent structure,<br />
and to preserve it from injury and decay ." <strong>The</strong> Essenians were<br />
peculiarly strict in scrutinizing the characters <strong>of</strong> all those who<br />
applied for admission into their fraternity . <strong>The</strong> successful candidate,<br />
at the termination <strong>of</strong> his probationary novitiate, was presented<br />
by the Elders <strong>of</strong> the society with a white garment, as an<br />
emblem <strong>of</strong> the purity <strong>of</strong> life to which he was to aspire, and which,<br />
like the unsullied apron, the first gift that we bestow upon an<br />
Entered Apprentice, was esteemed more honourable than aught<br />
that any earthly prince could give . An oath was administered<br />
to him, by which he bound himself not to divulge the secrets<br />
with which he should be intrusted, and not to make any innovations<br />
upon the settled usages <strong>of</strong> the society . He was then made<br />
acquainted with certain modes <strong>of</strong> recognition, and was instructed<br />
in the traditionary knowledge <strong>of</strong> the order. <strong>The</strong>y admitted no<br />
women into their fraternity ; abolished all distinctions <strong>of</strong> rank ;<br />
and devoted themselves to the acquisition <strong>of</strong> knowledge and the<br />
dispensation <strong>of</strong> charity .<br />
From the Essenians, Pythagoras derived much if not all <strong>of</strong> the<br />
knowledge and the ceremonies with which he clothed the esoteric<br />
school <strong>of</strong> his philosophy ; and while this identity <strong>of</strong> doctrines and<br />
ceremonies is universally admitted by pr<strong>of</strong>ane historians, many<br />
<strong>of</strong> the most competent <strong>of</strong> ' our own writers have attributed the<br />
propagation <strong>of</strong> masonry into Europe to the efforts <strong>of</strong> the GrEcian<br />
sage . It is certain that such an opinion was prevalent not less<br />
than four centuries ago ; for in the ancient manuscript, now well<br />
known to Masons, which was discovered by the celebrated Locke<br />
among the papers <strong>of</strong> the Bodleian'Library, and which is said to<br />
be a copy <strong>of</strong> an original in the handwriting <strong>of</strong> King Henry the<br />
Sixth, himself a Mason, it is expressly said that Pythagoras<br />
4
38 ANT<br />
brought masonry from Egypt and Syria into Greece, from whence,<br />
in process <strong>of</strong> time, it passed into England .<br />
I shall not vouch for the truth <strong>of</strong> this assumption ; for notwithstanding<br />
the celebrity <strong>of</strong> Pythagoras even at this day among our<br />
fraternity, and the adoption into our lodges <strong>of</strong> his well-known<br />
problem, I am rather inclined to attribute the extension <strong>of</strong> masonry<br />
into Europe to the frequent and continued communications<br />
with Palestine, in the earlier ages <strong>of</strong> the Christian dispensation .<br />
About this period we shall find that associations <strong>of</strong> travelling<br />
architects existed in all the countries <strong>of</strong> the continent ; that they<br />
journeyed from city to city, and were actively engaged in the<br />
construction <strong>of</strong> religious edifices and regal palaces .* <strong>The</strong> government<br />
<strong>of</strong> these fraternities <strong>of</strong> Freemasons-for they had already<br />
begun to assume that distinctive appellation-was even then<br />
extremely regular . <strong>The</strong>y lived in huts or lodges, (a name which<br />
our places <strong>of</strong> meeting still retain,) temporarily erected for their<br />
accommodation, near the building on which they were employed .<br />
Every tenth man received the title <strong>of</strong> Warden, and was occupied<br />
iu superintending the labours <strong>of</strong> those placed under him, while<br />
the direction and supervision <strong>of</strong> the whole was intrusted to a<br />
Master chosen by the fraternity.<br />
Freemasons continued for a long time to receive the protection<br />
and enjoy the patronage <strong>of</strong> the church and the nobility, until the<br />
former, becoming alarmed at the increase <strong>of</strong> their numbers and<br />
the extension <strong>of</strong> their privileges, began to persecute them with<br />
an unrelenting rigour, which eventually led to their suspension on<br />
the continent . Many lodges, however, had already been established<br />
in Great Britain, and these, shielded by the comparative<br />
mildness and justice <strong>of</strong> the British laws, continued to propagate<br />
the doctrines <strong>of</strong> the order throughout 'England and Scotland, and<br />
to preserve unimpaired its ancient landmarks . From the royal<br />
city <strong>of</strong> York in England, and the village and abbey <strong>of</strong> Kil winning,<br />
the cradle <strong>of</strong> masonry in Scotland, our order continued to be<br />
• See the article Travelling Freemaaona, in this work.
APH-'APP . 39<br />
disseminated and to flourish, throughout the two kingdoms, with<br />
undiminished lustre, long after the lodges <strong>of</strong> their less fortunate<br />
brethren had been dissolved by the persecutions on the continent .<br />
From this period, the institutions <strong>of</strong> masonry began to be extend . .<br />
ed with rapidity, and to be established with permanency . <strong>The</strong><br />
dignity <strong>of</strong> the order was elevated, as the beauty <strong>of</strong> its principles<br />
became known . Nobles sought with avidity the honour <strong>of</strong> initiation<br />
into our sacred rites, and the gavel <strong>of</strong> the Grand. Waster has<br />
been more than once wielded by the hand <strong>of</strong> a king .<br />
APHANISM . It is stated in the preceding article that in<br />
the Ancient Mysteries there always was a legend <strong>of</strong> the death<br />
and subsequent resurrection, or finding, <strong>of</strong> the body <strong>of</strong> some distinguished<br />
personage . That part <strong>of</strong> the ceremonies which represented<br />
the concealing a0 <strong>of</strong> the body was called the phanism,<br />
from the Greek work a ; ay. w, to conceal .<br />
APPEAL . <strong>The</strong> Master is supreme in his lodge, so far as<br />
the lodge is concerned . He is amenable for his conduct in the<br />
government <strong>of</strong> the lodge, not to its members, but to the Grand<br />
Lodge alone . In deciding points <strong>of</strong> order, as well as graver<br />
matters, no appeal can be taken from that decision to the lodge .<br />
If an appeal were proposed, it would be his duty, for the preservation<br />
<strong>of</strong> discipline, to refuse to put the question . If a member<br />
is aggrieved with the conduct or the decision <strong>of</strong> the Master,<br />
he has his redress by an appeal to the Grand Lodge, which will,<br />
<strong>of</strong> course, see that the Master does not rule his lodge " in an unjust<br />
or arbitrary manner ." But such a thing as an appeal from<br />
the Master to the lodge, is unknown in masonry . See Master <strong>of</strong><br />
a Lodge.<br />
<strong>The</strong> General Grand Chapter <strong>of</strong> the United States has detertuined<br />
that there can be no appeal from the decision <strong>of</strong> a High<br />
Priest to his Chapter .<br />
A similar decision has been made by the Hon. W . B. Hubbard,<br />
the General Grand Master <strong>of</strong> the Knights Templar, in relation to
40 APP-APR<br />
appeals from Grand Commanders to their Encampments, and his<br />
decision appears to have been sustained by the General Grand<br />
Encampment .<br />
APPRENTICE . <strong>The</strong> Entered Apprentice is the first degree<br />
in masonry, and though it supplies no historical knowledge, it is<br />
replete with information on the internal structure <strong>of</strong> the order .<br />
It is remarkable, too, for the beauty <strong>of</strong> the morality which it<br />
inculcates . As an Entered Apprentice, a lesson <strong>of</strong> humility, and<br />
contempt <strong>of</strong> worldly riches and earthly grandeur, is impressed<br />
upon the mind by symbolic ceremonies, too important in their<br />
character ever to be forgotten . <strong>The</strong> beauty and holiness <strong>of</strong><br />
charity are depicted in emblematic modes, stronger and more<br />
lasting than mere language can express ; and the neophyte is<br />
direct"d to lay a corner-stone <strong>of</strong> virtue and purity, upon which<br />
he is charged to erect a superstructure, alike honourable to himself,<br />
and to the fraternity <strong>of</strong> which he is hereafter to compose a<br />
part .<br />
This degree is considered as "the weakest part <strong>of</strong> masonry,"<br />
and hence, although an Entered Apprentice is allowed to sit in a<br />
lodge <strong>of</strong> his degree, he is not permitted to speak or vote on the<br />
proceedings .<br />
When a candidate is initiated into this degree, he is techically<br />
said to be "entered," that is, he has been permitted to enter<br />
the ground-floor <strong>of</strong> the temple, for a reason well known to<br />
Masons .<br />
APRON. <strong>The</strong> lambskin or white leather apron, is the badge<br />
<strong>of</strong> a Mason, and the first gift bestowed by the Master upon the<br />
newly initiated Apprentice . <strong>The</strong> apron is worn by operative<br />
Masons, to preserve their garments from spot or stain . But we,<br />
as speculative Masons, use it for a more noble purpose . By the<br />
whiteness <strong>of</strong> its colour, and the innocence <strong>of</strong> the animal from<br />
which it is obtained, we are admonished to preserve that blameless<br />
purity <strong>of</strong> life and conduct, which will alone enable us here-
APR 41<br />
after to present ourselves before the Grand Master <strong>of</strong> the Uni<br />
verse, unstained with sin and unsullied with vice .<br />
Investiture constituted an important part <strong>of</strong> the Ancient Mysteries<br />
; and as the white apron is the investiture <strong>of</strong> masonry, we<br />
find something resembling it in all the pagan rites <strong>The</strong> Essenians<br />
clothed their candidate with a white robe, reaching to the<br />
ground, and bordered with a fringe <strong>of</strong> blue riband, as an emblem<br />
<strong>of</strong> holiness . In the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Greece the garment <strong>of</strong> initiation<br />
was also white ; because, says Cicero, white is a colour most<br />
acceptable to the gods . This robe was considered sacred, and<br />
never taken <strong>of</strong>f by the possessor, until worn to rags . In Persia,<br />
in the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Mithras, the robes <strong>of</strong> investiture were the<br />
Girdle, on which were depicted the signs <strong>of</strong> the Zodiac ; the<br />
Tiara ; <strong>The</strong> White Apron ; and the Purple Tunic . In the mysteries<br />
<strong>of</strong> Hindostan, the aspirant was presented with a consecrated<br />
Sash, consisting <strong>of</strong> a cord <strong>of</strong> nine threads, which was worn from<br />
the left shoulder to the right side . An apron, composed <strong>of</strong> the<br />
three masonic colours, blue, purple, and scarlet, was worn by the<br />
Jewish priesthood ; and the prophets, on all occasions when about<br />
to perform any solemn duty, invested themselves with a girdle or<br />
apron . Lastly, all the ancient statues <strong>of</strong> the heathen gods, which<br />
have been discovered in Greece, Asia, or America, are decorated<br />
with superb aprons . We hence deduce the antiquity and honour<br />
<strong>of</strong> this important part <strong>of</strong> a Freemason's vestments, and substantiate<br />
the correctness <strong>of</strong> our claim, that it is " more ancient than<br />
the Golden Fleece or Roman Eagle, and more honourable than<br />
the Star and Garter ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> masonic apron is a pure white lambskin, from fourteen to<br />
sixteen inches wide, and from twelve to fourteen deep, with a<br />
fall about three to four inches deep ; square at the bottom, without<br />
ornament, and bound in the symbolic degrees with blue,<br />
and in the Royal Arch with scarlet. In this country the construction<br />
<strong>of</strong> the apron is the same in each <strong>of</strong> the symbolic degrees,<br />
which are only distinguished by the mode in which the<br />
44
42 ARC<br />
apron is worn . But in England the apron varies in each <strong>of</strong> the<br />
degrees .*<br />
<strong>The</strong> E . -. A.- . has a plain apron without ornament .<br />
<strong>The</strong> F.- . L .- . has an addition <strong>of</strong> two sky skyblue<br />
rosettes at the<br />
bottom .<br />
<strong>The</strong> M . • . M . - . has an additional rosette on the fall, and bas sky.<br />
blue lining and edging, and silver tassels .<br />
W .- . Masters and Past Masters, in lieu <strong>of</strong> rosettes, wear perpendicular<br />
lines on horizontal ones, like a y reversed, forming<br />
three sets <strong>of</strong> two right angles .<br />
<strong>The</strong> silk or satin apron is a French innovation, wholly unmasonic,<br />
incompatible with the emblematic instruction <strong>of</strong> the<br />
investiture, and should never be tolerated in a lodge <strong>of</strong> York<br />
Masons.<br />
ARCH, ANCIENT . <strong>The</strong> "Ancient Arch" is the 13th degree<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Ancient Scotch rite . It is more commonly called<br />
"Kniyhts <strong>of</strong> the Ninth Arch," to which title the reader is referred<br />
.<br />
ARCH, ANTIQUITY OF THE. Writers on architecture<br />
have, until within a few years, been accustomed to suppose that<br />
the invention <strong>of</strong> the Arch and Keystone was not anterior to<br />
the era <strong>of</strong> Augustus . But the researches <strong>of</strong> modern antiquaries<br />
have traced the existence <strong>of</strong> the Arch as far back as 460 years<br />
before the building <strong>of</strong> King Solomon's temple, and thus completely<br />
reconciled <strong>Masonic</strong> tradition with the truth <strong>of</strong> history .<br />
See Keystone.<br />
ARCH OF HEAVEN . Job xxvi . 11, compares heaven to<br />
an arch supported by pillars . "<strong>The</strong> pillars <strong>of</strong> heaven tremble<br />
and are astonished at his repro<strong>of</strong> ." Dr . Cutbush, on this passage,<br />
remarks-" <strong>The</strong> arch in this instance is allegorical, not only<br />
• * A similar system is adopted in Germany.
ARC - '42<br />
<strong>of</strong> the arch <strong>of</strong> heaven, but <strong>of</strong> the higher degree <strong>of</strong> masonry,<br />
commonly called the Holy Royal Arch . <strong>The</strong> pillars which support<br />
the arch are emblematical <strong>of</strong> Wisdom and Strength ; the<br />
former denoting the wisdom <strong>of</strong> the Supreme Architect, and the<br />
latter the stability <strong>of</strong> the Universe ."-Am. Ed . Brewster's<br />
Enncyc .<br />
ARCH OF STEEL . <strong>The</strong> Grand honours are conferred, in<br />
the Frencii rite, by two ranks <strong>of</strong> brethren elevating and crossing<br />
their drawn swords . <strong>The</strong>y call it voute d'acier .<br />
ARCH, ROYAL . See Royal Arch .<br />
ARCHITECTURE . <strong>The</strong> art <strong>of</strong> constructing dwellings, as a<br />
shelter from the heat <strong>of</strong> summer and the cold <strong>of</strong> winter, must<br />
have been resorted to from the very first moment in which man<br />
became subjected to the power <strong>of</strong> the elements . Architecture<br />
is, therefore, not only one <strong>of</strong> the most important, but one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
most ancient <strong>of</strong> sciences . Rude and imperfect must, however,<br />
have been the first efforts <strong>of</strong> the human race, resulting in the<br />
erection <strong>of</strong> huts clumsy in their appearance, and ages must have<br />
elapsed ere wisdom <strong>of</strong> design combined strength <strong>of</strong> material with<br />
beauty <strong>of</strong> execution .<br />
As Geometry is the science on which masonry is founded,<br />
Architecture is the art from which it borrows the language <strong>of</strong> its<br />
symbolic instruction . In the earlier ages <strong>of</strong> the order, every<br />
Mason was either an operative mechanic or a superintending<br />
architect . And something more than a superficial knowledge <strong>of</strong><br />
the principles <strong>of</strong> architecture is absolutely essential to the Mason,<br />
who would either understand the former history <strong>of</strong> the institution<br />
or appreciate its present objects .<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are five orders <strong>of</strong> Architecture, the Doric, the Ionic,<br />
the Corinthian, the Tuscan, and the Composite . <strong>The</strong> first three<br />
are the original orders, and were invented in Greece ; the last<br />
two are <strong>of</strong> later formation, and owe their existence to Italy
44 ARI-ARK<br />
Each <strong>of</strong> these orders, as well as the other terms <strong>of</strong> Archilccture,<br />
so far as they are connected with <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, will be foun i<br />
under their appropriate heads throughout this work .<br />
ARITHMETIC . That science which is engaged in considering<br />
the properties and powers <strong>of</strong> numbers, and which, from its<br />
manifest necessity in all the operations <strong>of</strong> weighing, numbering,<br />
and measuring, must have had its origin in the remotest ages <strong>of</strong><br />
the world .<br />
In the lecture <strong>of</strong> the degree <strong>of</strong> "Grand Master Architect,"<br />
the application <strong>of</strong> this science to <strong>Freemasonry</strong> is made to consist<br />
in its reminding the Mason that he is continually to add to his<br />
knowledge, never to substract any thing from the character <strong>of</strong> his<br />
neighbour, to multiply his benevolence to his fellow-creatures,<br />
and to divide his means with a suffering brother .<br />
ARK . <strong>The</strong> Ark <strong>of</strong> the Covenant or <strong>of</strong> the Testimony was a<br />
chest originally constructed by Moses at God's command, (Exod .<br />
xxv . 16,) in which were kept the two tables <strong>of</strong> stone, on which<br />
were engraved the ten commandments . It contained, likewise,<br />
a golden pot filled with manna, Aaron's rod, and the tables <strong>of</strong> the<br />
covenant. It was at first deposited in the most sacred place <strong>of</strong><br />
the tabernacle, and afterward placed by Solomon in the Sanctum<br />
Sanctorum <strong>of</strong> the Temple, and was lost upon the destruction <strong>of</strong><br />
that building by the Chaldeans . <strong>The</strong> masonic traditions on the<br />
subject <strong>of</strong> its future history are exceedingly interesting to Royal<br />
Arch Masons .<br />
<strong>The</strong> ark was made <strong>of</strong> shittim wood, overlaid, within and without,<br />
with pure gold . It was about three feet nine inches long,<br />
two feet three inches wide, and <strong>of</strong> the same extent in depth . It<br />
had on the side two rings <strong>of</strong> gold, through which were placed<br />
staves <strong>of</strong> shittim . wood, by which, when necessary, it was borne<br />
by the Levites . Its covering was <strong>of</strong> pure gold, over which were<br />
placed two figures called Cherubim, with expanded wings . <strong>The</strong><br />
covering <strong>of</strong> the ark was called kaphiret, from kaphar, to forgive
ARK ' 49<br />
sin. and hence its English name <strong>of</strong> "mercy-seat," as bei ig the<br />
place where the intercession for sin was made .<br />
ARK AND ANCHOR . Emblems <strong>of</strong> a well-grounded hope<br />
and a well-spent life, used in the Master's degree . <strong>The</strong>y are<br />
emblematical <strong>of</strong> that divine ark which safely wafts us over this<br />
tewpestuous sea <strong>of</strong> troubles, and that anchor which shall securely<br />
moor us in a peaceful harbour, where the wicked cease from<br />
troubling and the weary shall find rest .<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is no symbol more common than the ark to the spurious<br />
masonry <strong>of</strong> the Ancient Mysteries, and the true or speculative<br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong> . In the due celebration <strong>of</strong> their kindred mysteries,<br />
says Faber, a certain holy ark was equally used by the Greeks,<br />
the Italians, the Celts, the Goths, the Phenicians, the Egyptians,<br />
the Babylonians, the Hindoos, the Mexicans, the Northern Americans,<br />
and the Islanders <strong>of</strong> the Pacific Ocean .* Historically this<br />
ark referred to the ark <strong>of</strong> Noak, but symbolically it was used as<br />
a c<strong>of</strong>fin to receive the body <strong>of</strong> the candidate, and was an emblem<br />
<strong>of</strong> regeneration or resurrection . With this view the explanation<br />
we have given above from the masonic ritual accurately accords,<br />
and hence the ark and anchor have been appropriately adopted<br />
as symbols <strong>of</strong> the third degree, or that in which the doctrine <strong>of</strong><br />
the resurrection is emphatically taught .<br />
ARK AND DOVE . An illustrative degree, preparatory to<br />
the Royal Arch, and usually conferred, when conferred at all,<br />
immediately before the solemn ceremony <strong>of</strong> exaltation . <strong>The</strong><br />
name <strong>of</strong> Noachite, sometimes given to it, is incorrect, as this belongs<br />
to a degree in the ancient Scotch rite . It is very probable<br />
that the degree, which now, however, has lost much <strong>of</strong> its significance,<br />
was derived from a much older one called the Royal Ark<br />
.lfariners, to which the reader is referred . <strong>The</strong> previous article<br />
shows that the ark and dove formed an important part 3f the<br />
spurious <strong>Freemasonry</strong> <strong>of</strong> the ancients .<br />
* Origin <strong>of</strong> Pagan Idolatry, vol. iiiL p.121.
46 ARM-ART<br />
ARMS OF FREEMASONRY . "<strong>The</strong> Masons," says Bailey,<br />
"were incorporated about the years 1419, having been called the<br />
Freemasons . <strong>The</strong>ir armorial ensigns are, azure on a cheveron<br />
between three castles argent ; a pair <strong>of</strong> compasses somewhat extended,<br />
<strong>of</strong> the first . Crest a castle <strong>of</strong> the second ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> arms <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge, according to Dermot, are the<br />
same as those now adopted by Royal Arch Masonry in this<br />
country, which may be blazoned as follows<br />
Party per cross vert voided or ; in the first quarter, azure, a<br />
lion rampant, or, for the tribe <strong>of</strong> Judah ; in the second, or, an<br />
ox passant, sable for Ephraim ; in the third, or, a man erect,<br />
proper, for Reuben ; in the fourth, azure, a spread eagle, or, for<br />
Dan . Crest an ark <strong>of</strong> the covenant ; and supporters, two cherubim,<br />
all proper. Motto, "Holiness to the Lord ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> impossibility <strong>of</strong> blazoning a coat, except in the terms <strong>of</strong><br />
heraldry, will, I trust, be my excuse for the technical nature <strong>of</strong><br />
this description, which, I know, must be unintelligible to all who<br />
are unacquainted with the principles <strong>of</strong> heraldry . <strong>The</strong> plate <strong>of</strong><br />
this coat <strong>of</strong> arms may, however, be seen in Cross's Chart .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se arms are derived from the " tetrarchical" (as Sir Thos .<br />
Browne calls them) or general banners <strong>of</strong> the four principal<br />
tribes : for it is said that the twelve tribes, during their passage<br />
through the wilderness, were encamped in a hollow square, three<br />
on each side, as follows : Judah, Zebulon, and Issachar, in the<br />
east, under the general banner <strong>of</strong> Judah ; Dan, Asher, and Naphtali,<br />
in the north, under the banner <strong>of</strong> Dan ; Ephraim, Manasseh,<br />
and Benjamin, in the west, under the banner <strong>of</strong> Ephraim ; and<br />
Reuben, Simeon, and Gad, in the south, under Reuben . See<br />
Banners .<br />
ARTS, LIBERAL . <strong>The</strong> seven liberal arts and sciences are<br />
illustrated in the Fellow Craft's degree . <strong>The</strong>y are Grammar,<br />
Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy .<br />
Grammar is the science which teaches us to express our ideas in<br />
appropriate words, which we may afterward beautify and adorn
ART 47<br />
by means <strong>of</strong> Rhetoric, while Logic instructs us how to think<br />
and reason with propriety, and to make language subordinate to<br />
thought . Arithmetic, which is the science <strong>of</strong> computing by<br />
numbers, is absolutely essential, not only to a thorough knowledge<br />
<strong>of</strong> all mathematical science, but also to a proper pursuit<br />
<strong>of</strong> our daily avocations . Geometry, or the application <strong>of</strong> Arithmetic<br />
to sensible quantities, is <strong>of</strong> all sciences the most important,<br />
since by it we are enabled to measure and survey the globe that<br />
we inhabit . Its principles extend to other spheres ; and, occupied<br />
in the contemplation and measurement <strong>of</strong> the sun, moon,<br />
and heavenly bodies, constitute the science <strong>of</strong> Astronomy ; and<br />
lastly, when our minds are filled, and our thoughts enlarged, by<br />
the contemplation <strong>of</strong> all the wonders which these sciences open<br />
to our view, Music comes forward, to s<strong>of</strong>ten our hearts and cultivate<br />
our affections by its soothing influences .<br />
<strong>The</strong> preservation <strong>of</strong> these arts as a part <strong>of</strong> the ritual <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Fellow Craft's degree, is another evidence <strong>of</strong> the antiquity <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong>. <strong>The</strong>se "seven liberal arts," as they were then for<br />
the first time called, constituted in the eighth century the whole<br />
circle <strong>of</strong> the sciences . <strong>The</strong> first three were distinguished by the<br />
title <strong>of</strong> trivium, and the last four by that <strong>of</strong> quadrivium, and<br />
to their acquisition the labours and studies <strong>of</strong> scholars were directed,<br />
While beyond them they never attempted to soar.<br />
Mosheim, speaking <strong>of</strong> the state <strong>of</strong> literature in the eleventh<br />
century, uses the following language <strong>The</strong> seven liberal arts,<br />
as they were now styled, were taught in the greatest part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
schools, that were erected in this century for the education <strong>of</strong><br />
youth . <strong>The</strong> first stage <strong>of</strong> these sciences was grammar, which<br />
was followed successively by rhetoric and logic . When the disciple,<br />
having learned these branches, which were generally known<br />
by the name <strong>of</strong> trivium, extended his ambition further, and was<br />
desirous <strong>of</strong> new improvement in the sciences, he was conducted<br />
slowly through the quadrivium (arithmetic, music, geometry,<br />
and astronomy), to the very summit <strong>of</strong> literary fame ."*<br />
Hist . Ecclesiast ., Cent . xi ., p. ii ., c. 1, 5
4 ASII-ASS<br />
ASHLAR . "Free stone as it comes out <strong>of</strong> the quarry ."-<br />
Bailey . In speculative masonry we adopt the Ashlar in two dif .<br />
ferent states, as symbols in the Apprentice's degree . <strong>The</strong> Rough<br />
Ashlar, or stone in its rude and unpolished condition, is emblematic<br />
<strong>of</strong> man in his natural state-ignorant, uncultivated, and<br />
vicious . But when education has exerted its wholesome influence<br />
in, expanding his intellect, restraining his passions, and purifying<br />
his life, he then is represented by the Perfect Ashlar, which, under<br />
the skilful hands <strong>of</strong> the workmen, has been smoothed, and<br />
squared, and fitted for its place in the building .<br />
Oliver says that the Perfect Ashlar should be "a stone <strong>of</strong> a<br />
true die square, which can only be tried by the square and compasses."*<br />
But he admits that some brethren do not consider this<br />
form as essential . In American lodges it certainly is not .<br />
ASSEMBLY . <strong>The</strong> annual meetings <strong>of</strong> the craft, previous to<br />
the organization <strong>of</strong> Grand Lodges in their present form, were<br />
called " General Assemblies ." Thus, under the Grand Mastership<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Earl <strong>of</strong> St-Albans, we read <strong>of</strong> the "Regulations made<br />
in<br />
General Assembly, Dec . 27,1663 ."<br />
Anderson says, t that it is written in the Old Constitutions, that<br />
~~ Prince Edwin purchased a free charter <strong>of</strong> King Atheistane, his<br />
brother, for the Freemasons to have among themselves a correction,<br />
or a power and freedom to regulate themselves, to amend<br />
what might happen to be amiss, and to hold a yearly communication<br />
in a General Assembly ." This charter was granted A . D .<br />
926, and in that year the first General Assembly in England was<br />
held at the city <strong>of</strong> York, where due regulations for the government<br />
<strong>of</strong> the craft were adopted . <strong>The</strong>se regulations <strong>of</strong> the Assembly<br />
at York have ever since remained unaltered, and it is from<br />
our submitting to their authority that we derive the name we bear<br />
<strong>of</strong> "Ancient York Masons ."<br />
s Landmarks, vol. L, p. 146 . t Constitutions, p. 84.
AST-ATH 49<br />
ASTRONOMY . <strong>The</strong> science which instructs us in the laws<br />
that govern the heavenly bodies . Its origin is lost in the abyss<br />
<strong>of</strong> antiquity ; for the earliest inhabitants <strong>of</strong> the earth must have<br />
been attracted by the splendour <strong>of</strong> the glorious firmament above<br />
them, and would have sought in the motions <strong>of</strong> its luminaries for<br />
the readiest and most certain method <strong>of</strong> measuring time . With<br />
2 .stronomy the system <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> is intimately connected .<br />
From that science many <strong>of</strong> our most significant emblems are<br />
borrowed . <strong>The</strong> lodge itself is a representation <strong>of</strong> the world ; it<br />
is adorned with the images <strong>of</strong> the sun and moon, whose regularity<br />
and precision furnish a lesson <strong>of</strong> wisdom and prudence ; its<br />
pilars <strong>of</strong> strength and establishment have been compared to the.<br />
two columns which the ancients placed at the equinoctial points<br />
as supporters <strong>of</strong> the arch <strong>of</strong> heaven ; the blazing star which was<br />
among the Egyptians a symbol <strong>of</strong> Anubis or the dog-star, whose<br />
rising foretold the overflowing <strong>of</strong> the Nile, shines in the east ;<br />
while the clouded canopy is decorated with the beautiful Pleiades<br />
<strong>The</strong> connection between our order and astronomy is still more<br />
manifest in the spurious <strong>Freemasonry</strong> <strong>of</strong> antiquity, where, the<br />
pure principles <strong>of</strong> our . system being lost, the symbolic instruction<br />
<strong>of</strong> the heavenly bodies gave place to the corrupt Sabean worship<br />
<strong>of</strong> the sun, and moon, and stars-a worship whose influences are<br />
seen in all the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Paganism .<br />
ASYLUM. During the session <strong>of</strong> an Encampment <strong>of</strong> Knights<br />
Templars, a part <strong>of</strong> the room is called the asylum ; the word has<br />
hence been adopted, by the figure synecdoche, to signify the place<br />
<strong>of</strong> meeting <strong>of</strong> an Encampment .<br />
ATELIER. (French.) A lodge .<br />
ATHEIST. One who does not believe in the existence <strong>of</strong><br />
God . Such a creed can only arise from the ignorance <strong>of</strong> stupidity<br />
or a corruption <strong>of</strong> principle, since the whole universe is filled<br />
with the moral and physical pro<strong>of</strong>s <strong>of</strong> a Creator . He who does<br />
ti
50 ATH-AYE<br />
not look to a superior and superintending power as his maker<br />
and his judge, is without that coercive principle <strong>of</strong> salutary fear<br />
which should prompt him to do good and to eschew evil, and his<br />
oath can, <strong>of</strong> necessity, be no stronger than his word . Masons,<br />
looking to the dangerous tendency <strong>of</strong> such a tenet, have wisely<br />
discouraged it, by declaring that no atheist can be admitted to participate<br />
in their fraternity ; and the better to carry this law into<br />
effect, every candidate, before passing through any <strong>of</strong> the ceremonies<br />
<strong>of</strong> initiation, is required, publicly and solemnly, to declare<br />
his trust in God .<br />
ATHOL MASONS . <strong>The</strong> Masons who, in 1739, seceded from<br />
the authority <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, and established<br />
themselves as an irregular body under the name <strong>of</strong> "Ancient Masons,"<br />
having succeeded in obtaining the countenance <strong>of</strong> the Duke<br />
<strong>of</strong> Athol, elected that nobleman, in 1776, their Grand Master,<br />
an <strong>of</strong>fice which he uninterruptedly held until 1813, when the<br />
union <strong>of</strong> the two Grand Lodges took place . In consequence <strong>of</strong><br />
this long administration <strong>of</strong> thirty-seven years, the "Ancient Masons"<br />
are sometimes called "Athol Masons ."<br />
ATTOUCHEMENT . (French .) A grip .<br />
AUGUST . A title bestowed upon the Royal Arch degree, in<br />
consequence <strong>of</strong> the imposing nature <strong>of</strong> its ceremonies, and the<br />
important mysteries it contains .<br />
AUM, AUN, oR ON . <strong>The</strong> Hindoo and Egyptian chief deity .<br />
See more on this subject in Jehovah.<br />
AXE. See Knight <strong>of</strong> the Royal Axe .
BAB 51<br />
B .<br />
BABEL . This word, which in Hebrew means confusion, was<br />
the name <strong>of</strong> that celebrated tower attempted to be built on<br />
the plains <strong>of</strong> Shinar, A . M . 1775, about one hundred and<br />
forty years after the deluge, and which, Holy Writ informs<br />
us, was destroyed by a special interposition <strong>of</strong> the Almighty .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Noachite Masons date the commencement <strong>of</strong> their order<br />
from this destruction, (see "" .Yoachites,") and much traditionary<br />
information on this subject is preserved in the ineffable<br />
degree <strong>of</strong> "Patriarch Noachite," to which title the reader is<br />
referred .<br />
At Babel, what has been called Spurious <strong>Freemasonry</strong> took<br />
its origin . That is to say, the people there abandoned the<br />
worship <strong>of</strong> the true God, and by their dispersion lost all knowledge<br />
<strong>of</strong> his existence, and <strong>of</strong> the principles <strong>of</strong> truth upon<br />
which masonry is founded . Hence it is that our traditionary<br />
ceremonies speak <strong>of</strong> the l<strong>of</strong>ty tower <strong>of</strong> Babel as the place where<br />
language was confounded and masonry lost .*<br />
BABYLON . <strong>The</strong> ancient capital <strong>of</strong> Chaldea, situated on<br />
both sides <strong>of</strong> the Euphrates, and once the most magnificent<br />
city <strong>of</strong> the ancient world . It was here, that upon the destruction<br />
<strong>of</strong> Solomon's Temple by Nebuchadnezzar in the year<br />
<strong>of</strong> the world 3394, the Jews <strong>of</strong> .the tribes <strong>of</strong> Judah and Benjamin,<br />
who were the inhabitants <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem, were conveyed<br />
and detained in captivity for seventy-two years, until Cyrus,<br />
King <strong>of</strong> Persia, issued a decree for restoring them, and permitted<br />
them to rebuild their temple under the superintendence<br />
<strong>of</strong> Zerubbabel, the Governor <strong>of</strong> Judea, and with the assistance <strong>of</strong><br />
Joshua the High Priest, and Haggai the Scribe .<br />
. •M<br />
* For more on this subject, see Ornan .
52 BAD-BAL<br />
BADGE OF A MASON . This is the lambskin or white<br />
leather apron, which must be worn in all lodges during the<br />
hours <strong>of</strong> labour . See Apron .<br />
BAHRDT'S RITE . This was a rite founded by a masonic<br />
charlatan <strong>of</strong> the name <strong>of</strong> Bahrdt, about the close <strong>of</strong> the eighteenth<br />
century . He opened a lodge at Halle, in Germany,<br />
under the name <strong>of</strong> the "German Union," and succeeded in<br />
securing the protection <strong>of</strong> the Prince <strong>of</strong> Anhaldt-Bernburg,<br />
and the co-operation <strong>of</strong> twenty-one persons <strong>of</strong> rank and character.<br />
This rite had six degrees, viz : 1, <strong>The</strong> Youth ; 2, <strong>The</strong><br />
.Man ;<br />
3, <strong>The</strong> Old Man ; 4, <strong>The</strong> Mesopolyte ; 5, <strong>The</strong> Diocesan<br />
; 6, <strong>The</strong> Superior . <strong>The</strong> Grand Lodge, however, dissolved<br />
the fraternity on the ;round <strong>of</strong> their working without a charter,<br />
and Bahrdt himself was shortly after imprisoned for writing a<br />
corrupt work .<br />
BALLOT . In the election <strong>of</strong> candidates, lodges have recourse<br />
to a ballot <strong>of</strong> white and black balls . Unanimity <strong>of</strong><br />
choice, in this case, is always desired and demanded ; one<br />
black ball only, if it be accompanied with good reasons, <strong>of</strong><br />
the sufficiency <strong>of</strong> which the lodge shall judge, being generally<br />
required to reject a candidate, and two having this effect<br />
without the assignment <strong>of</strong> any reasons whatever . This is an<br />
inherent privilege not subject to dispensation or interference <strong>of</strong><br />
the Grand Lodge, because, as , the ancient constitutions say,<br />
"the members <strong>of</strong> a particular lodge are the best judges <strong>of</strong> it ;<br />
and because, if a turbulent member should be imposed upon<br />
them, it might spoil their harmony or hinder the freedom <strong>of</strong><br />
their communications, or even break and disperse the lodge, which<br />
ought to be avoided by all true and faithful ." Many Grand<br />
Lodges in this country insist on unanimity .*<br />
In balloting for a candidate for initiation, every member is<br />
expected to vote No one can be excused from sharing the<br />
* See the word Dieauimity.
BAL 5 3<br />
responsibility <strong>of</strong> admission or rejection, except by the unanimous<br />
consent <strong>of</strong> the lodge . Where a member has himself no personal<br />
or acquired knowledge <strong>of</strong> the qualifications <strong>of</strong> the candidate, he<br />
is bound to give implicit faith to the recommendation <strong>of</strong> his brethren<br />
<strong>of</strong> the reporting committee, who, he has no right to suppose,<br />
would make a favourable report on the petition <strong>of</strong> an unworthy<br />
applicant .<br />
With these prefatory remarks, I proceed to a description <strong>of</strong> the<br />
general, and what is believed, to be the most correct usage, in balloting<br />
for candidates .<br />
<strong>The</strong> committee <strong>of</strong> investigation having reported favourably, the<br />
Master <strong>of</strong> the lodge directs the Senior Deacon to prepare the bal .<br />
lot-box.* <strong>The</strong> mode in which this is accomplished is as follows<br />
<strong>The</strong> Senior Deacon takes the ballot-box ., and opening it, places<br />
all the white and black balls indiscriminately in one compartment,<br />
leaving the other entirely empty . He then proceeds with the box<br />
to the Junior and Senior Wardens, who satisfy themselves by an<br />
inspection that no ball has been left in the compartment in which<br />
the votes are to be deposited . <strong>The</strong> box in this and the other<br />
instance to be referred to hereafter, is presented to the inferior<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficer first, and then to his superior, that the examination and<br />
decision <strong>of</strong> the former may be substantiated and confirmed by the<br />
higher authority <strong>of</strong> the latter . Let it, indeed, be remembered,<br />
that in all such cases the usage <strong>of</strong> masonic circumambulation is<br />
to be observed, and that, therefore, we must first pass the Junior's<br />
station before we can get to that <strong>of</strong> the Senior Warden .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se <strong>of</strong>ficers having thus satisfied themselves that the box is<br />
in a proper condition for the reception <strong>of</strong> the ballots, it is then<br />
placed upon the altar by the Senior Deacon, who retires to his<br />
seat . <strong>The</strong> Master then directs the Secretary to call the roll,<br />
*<strong>The</strong>re is no necessity for the Master to inquire if it is the pleasure <strong>of</strong> the<br />
lodge to proceed to the election . <strong>The</strong> by-laws <strong>of</strong> all lodges requiring that an<br />
election should follow the favourable report <strong>of</strong> the committee, the ballot-box is<br />
ordered to be prepared as a matter <strong>of</strong> course, and in accordance with the constitutional<br />
rule .
54 BAL<br />
which is done by commencing with the Worshipful Master, aid<br />
proceeding through all the <strong>of</strong>ficers down to the youngest member<br />
. As a matter <strong>of</strong> convenience, the Secretary generally votes<br />
the last <strong>of</strong> those in the room, and then, if the Tiler is a member<br />
<strong>of</strong> the lodge, he is called in, while the Junior Deaconn<br />
tiles for him, and the name <strong>of</strong> the applicant having been told<br />
him, he is directed to deposit his ballot, which he does and<br />
then retires .<br />
As the name <strong>of</strong> each <strong>of</strong>ficer and member is called, he approaches<br />
the altar, and having made the proper masonic salutation<br />
to the Chair, he deposits his ballot and retires to his<br />
seat . <strong>The</strong> roll should be called slowly, so that at no time<br />
should there be more than one person present at the box, for<br />
the great object <strong>of</strong> the ballot being secrecy, no brother should<br />
be permitted so near the member voting as to distinguish the<br />
colour <strong>of</strong> the ball he deposits .<br />
<strong>The</strong> box is placed on the altar, and the ballot is deposited<br />
with the solemnity <strong>of</strong> a masonic salutation, that the voters may<br />
be duly impressed with the sacred and responsible nature <strong>of</strong><br />
the duty they are called on to discharge . <strong>The</strong> system <strong>of</strong> voting<br />
thus described, is, therefore, far better on this account<br />
than that sometimes adopted in lodges, <strong>of</strong> handing round the<br />
box for the members to deposit their ballots from their seats .<br />
<strong>The</strong> master having inquired <strong>of</strong> the Wardens if all have voted,<br />
then orders the Senior Deacon to "take charge <strong>of</strong> the ballot-box ."<br />
That <strong>of</strong>ficer accordingly repairs to the altar, and taking possession<br />
<strong>of</strong> the box, carries it, as before, to the Junior Warden, who examines<br />
the ballot, and reports, if all the balls are white, that "the<br />
box is clear in the South," or, if there is one or more black balls,<br />
that "the box is foul in the South ." <strong>The</strong> Deacon then carries<br />
it to the Senior Warden, and afterward to the Master, who, <strong>of</strong><br />
course, make the same report, according to the circumstance, with<br />
the necessary verbal variations <strong>of</strong> "West" and "East ."<br />
If the box is clear-that is, if all the ballots are white-the<br />
blaster then announces that the applicant has been duly elected,
BAL-BAN 55<br />
and the Secretary makes a record <strong>of</strong> the fact . But if the box is<br />
foul, the subsequent proceedings will depend upon the number <strong>of</strong><br />
balls, and upon the peculiar by-laws <strong>of</strong> the lodge in which the<br />
ballot has been taken .<br />
<strong>The</strong> box having been declared to be foul, the Master inspects<br />
the number <strong>of</strong> black balls ; if he finds only one, he so states the<br />
fact to the lodge, and orders the Senior Deacon again to prepare<br />
the ballot-box . Here the same ceremonies are passed through<br />
that have already been described . <strong>The</strong> balls are removed into one<br />
compartment, the box is submitted to the inspection <strong>of</strong> the Wardens,<br />
it is placed upon the altar, the roll is called, the members<br />
advance and deposit their votes, the box is scrutinized, and the<br />
result declared by the Wardens and Master. If again but one<br />
black ball be found, the fact is announced by the Master, who<br />
orders the election to lie over until the next regular meeting,*<br />
and requests the brother who deposited the black ball to call upon<br />
him and state his reasons . If, however, on this ballot two black<br />
balls are found, or if there were two or more on the first ballot,<br />
the Master announces that the petition <strong>of</strong> the applicant has been<br />
rejected, and directs the usual record to be made by the Secretary<br />
and the notification to be given to the Grand Lodge .<br />
BALUSTRE . All documents issued by the Sovereign Inspectors<br />
or Supreme Councils <strong>of</strong> the 33d degree, Ancient Scotch<br />
rite, are called "Balustres ."<br />
BANNERS . In symbolic masonry, six banners are generally<br />
borne in processions, the material <strong>of</strong> which is white satin or silk,<br />
bordered with a blue fringe, and on each <strong>of</strong> which is inscribed one<br />
<strong>of</strong> the following words : Faith, Hope, Charity, Wisdom, Strength,<br />
Beauty .<br />
In the Royal Arch Chapter, there are four <strong>of</strong>ficers who carry<br />
banners . <strong>The</strong> Royal Arch Captain carries a white banner, as ar<br />
* Unlesi the by-laws require unanimity .
56 BAN<br />
emblem <strong>of</strong> that purity <strong>of</strong> heart and rectitude <strong>of</strong> conduct which<br />
ought to actuate all those who pass the white veil <strong>of</strong> the sanctuary .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Master <strong>of</strong> the Third Veil carries a scarlet banner, emblematical<br />
<strong>of</strong> that fervency and zeal which should characterize the possessors<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch degree <strong>of</strong> which it is the appropriate colour .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Master <strong>of</strong> the Second Veil carries a purple banner, which is<br />
emblematic <strong>of</strong> union, because it is produced by a due mixture <strong>of</strong><br />
scarlet and blue, the former the colour <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch and the latter<br />
<strong>of</strong> symbolic masonry, and inculcates harmony betwen these<br />
divisions <strong>of</strong> the craft . <strong>The</strong> Master <strong>of</strong> the First Veil carries a blue<br />
banner, which is emblematic <strong>of</strong> universal friendship and benevolence,<br />
and is the appropriate colour <strong>of</strong> the first three degrees .<br />
On the tracing board <strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch degree, as practised in<br />
the Chapters <strong>of</strong> England, are found the banners <strong>of</strong> the twelve tribes<br />
<strong>of</strong> Israel, which were as follow<br />
Judah, scarlet, a lion couchant .<br />
Issachar, blue, an ass crouching beneath its burden .<br />
Zebulon, purple, a ship .<br />
Reuben, red, a man .<br />
Simeon, yellow, a sword .<br />
Gad, white, a troop <strong>of</strong> horsemen .<br />
Ephraim, green, an ox .<br />
Manasseh, flesh-coloured, a vine by the side <strong>of</strong> a wall .<br />
Benjamin, green, a wolf .<br />
Dan, green, an eagle .<br />
Asher, purple, a cup .<br />
Naphtali, _blue, a hind .<br />
We come now to what may be called the General Standard <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong> . This is a banner belonging peculiarly to the order,<br />
as the beauseant did to the Templars, and which may be borne in<br />
all processions <strong>of</strong> the craft, to distinguish them from any other<br />
association <strong>of</strong> men . Its device is nothing but the coat <strong>of</strong> arms<br />
<strong>of</strong> the order <strong>of</strong> speculative Freemasons as it was long since adopted,<br />
and as it is described by Dermott, in his Ahiman Rezon . In<br />
this country this banner has, by some, been improperly supposed
BAN 57<br />
to belong exclusively to the Royal Arch, in consequence <strong>of</strong> Cross<br />
having placed the representation <strong>of</strong> its device in his chart, among<br />
the plates which are illustrative <strong>of</strong> that degree . But it is, in fact,<br />
the common property <strong>of</strong> the order, and may be carried in the processions<br />
<strong>of</strong> a Master's lodge, as well as in those <strong>of</strong> a Chapter . I<br />
refer, for an exemplification <strong>of</strong> it, to the fortieth in the series <strong>of</strong><br />
plates given in the Chart <strong>of</strong> Jeremy Cross . <strong>The</strong> escutcheon, or<br />
shield on the banner, is divided into four compartments or quarters<br />
by a green cross, over which a narrower one <strong>of</strong> the same length<br />
<strong>of</strong> limb, and <strong>of</strong> a yellow colour, is placed, forming what the heralds<br />
call "a cross vert, voided or ;" each <strong>of</strong> the compartments formed<br />
by the limbs <strong>of</strong> the cross, is occupied by a different device . In<br />
the first quarter is placed a golden lion on a field <strong>of</strong> blue, to represent<br />
the standard <strong>of</strong> the tribe <strong>of</strong> Judah ; in the second, a black<br />
ox on a field <strong>of</strong> gold, to represent Ephraim ; in the third, a man<br />
on a field <strong>of</strong> ;old to represent Reuben ; and, in the fourth, a golden<br />
eagle on a blue ground, to represent Dan . Over all is placed, as<br />
the crest, an ark <strong>of</strong> the convenant, and the motto is, "Holiness to<br />
the Lord ."<br />
<strong>The</strong>se were the banners <strong>of</strong> the four principal tribes, for "when<br />
the Israelites marched through the wilderness," says Dr . Ashe,<br />
"we find that the twelve tribes had between them four principal<br />
banners or standards, every one <strong>of</strong> which had its particular motto ;<br />
and each standard also had a distinct sign described upon it .<br />
<strong>The</strong>y encamped roi nd about the tabernacle, and on the east side<br />
were three tribes under the standard <strong>of</strong> Judah ; on the west, were<br />
three tribes under the standard <strong>of</strong> Ephraim ; on the south, were<br />
three tribes under the standard <strong>of</strong> Reuben ; and, on the north,<br />
were three tribes under the standard <strong>of</strong> Dan ; and the standard<br />
<strong>of</strong> Judah was a lion, that <strong>of</strong> Ephraim an ox, that <strong>of</strong> Reuben, a<br />
man, and that <strong>of</strong> Dan, an eagle-whence were framed the hieroglyphics<br />
<strong>of</strong> cherubim and seraphim to represent the people <strong>of</strong><br />
Israel ."<br />
As the standard or banner <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> in thus made up <strong>of</strong><br />
and derived from these banners <strong>of</strong> the four leading tribes <strong>of</strong> Israel,
58 BAN-BEA<br />
it may be interesting to learn what was the symbolic meaning<br />
given by the Hebrews to these ensigns . Vatablus quotes a Jewish<br />
writer, as saying that the man in the banner <strong>of</strong> Reuben, signified<br />
religion and reason ; the lion, in that <strong>of</strong> - Judah, denoted power ;<br />
the ox, in that <strong>of</strong> Ephraim, represented patience and toilsome labour<br />
; and the eagle, in that <strong>of</strong> Dan, betokened wisdom, agility,<br />
and sublimity . But although such may have been the emblematic<br />
meaning <strong>of</strong> these devices among the Israelites, the combination <strong>of</strong><br />
them in the masonic banner is only intended to indicate the Jewish<br />
origin <strong>of</strong> our institution from Solomon, who was the last king <strong>of</strong><br />
Israel under whom the twelve tribes were united .<br />
BANQUET . <strong>The</strong> Banquets in English and American masonry<br />
do not differ from the convivial meetings <strong>of</strong> other societies, with the<br />
exception, perhaps, that the rule prohibiting the introduction <strong>of</strong><br />
debates on religious and political subjects, is more rigidly enforced .<br />
But in the French lodges, the Banquets are regulated by a particular<br />
system <strong>of</strong> rules, and the introduction <strong>of</strong> ceremonies which<br />
distinguish them from all other social assemblies . <strong>The</strong> room is<br />
closely tiled, and no attendants, except those who are <strong>of</strong> the fraternity,<br />
are permitted to be present .<br />
BAREFOOT . See Discalceation.<br />
BEADLE . An <strong>of</strong>ficer in a council <strong>of</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong> the Holy<br />
Sepulchre, corresponding to the Junior Deacon <strong>of</strong> a symbolic<br />
lodge .<br />
BEAUSEANT . <strong>The</strong> banner composed <strong>of</strong> a black and a white<br />
horizontal stripe, which was peculiar to the ancient Templars .<br />
BEAUTY. One <strong>of</strong> the three principal supports <strong>of</strong> masonry,<br />
the other two being WISDOM and STRENGTH . It is represented<br />
by the Corinthian column and the J . • . W. • . , because the Corinthian<br />
is the most beautiful and highly finished <strong>of</strong> the orders, and
BEE-BEN 59<br />
because the situation <strong>of</strong> the J . • . W . • . in the S . • . enables him the<br />
better to observe that bright luminary which, at its meridian<br />
height, is the beauty and glory <strong>of</strong> the day . H. - . A . • . is also considered<br />
as the representative <strong>of</strong> the column <strong>of</strong> Beauty which supported<br />
the Temple .<br />
BEEHIVE . An emblem <strong>of</strong> industry appropriated to the third<br />
degree . This is a virtue ever held in high esteem among the<br />
craft, for our old charges tell us that "all Masons shall work<br />
honestly on working days, that they may live creditably on holidays."<br />
<strong>The</strong>re seems, however, to be a more recondite meaning<br />
connected with this symbol . <strong>The</strong> ark has already been shown to<br />
have been an emblem common to <strong>Freemasonry</strong> and the ancient<br />
mysteries, as a symbol <strong>of</strong> regeneration-<strong>of</strong> the second birth from<br />
death to life . Now in the mysteries a hive was a type <strong>of</strong> the ark .<br />
" Hence," says Faber, " both the diluvian priestesses and the regenerated<br />
souls were called bees ; hence bees were feigned to be<br />
produced from the carcase <strong>of</strong> a cow, which also symbolized the<br />
ark ; and hence, as the great father was esteemed an infernal<br />
god, honey was much used both in funeral rites and in the mysteries."<br />
BEL. Bel, Baal, or Bul, is the name <strong>of</strong> God as worshipped<br />
among the Chaldeans and Phenicians . See Jehovah .<br />
BENAC . A corrupted form <strong>of</strong> a Hebrew word signifying "the<br />
builder."<br />
BENEFIT FUND . In 1798, a society was established in<br />
London, under the patronage <strong>of</strong> the Prince <strong>of</strong> Wales, the Earl<br />
<strong>of</strong> Moira, and all the other acting <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge,<br />
whose object was "the relief <strong>of</strong> sick, aged, and imprisoned brethren,<br />
and the protection <strong>of</strong> their widows, children, and orpbans ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> payment <strong>of</strong> one guinea per annum entitled every member,<br />
Orig. <strong>of</strong> Pag. Idol ., vol ii. 133.
60" BIB-BLA<br />
when sick or destitute, or his widow and orphans in case <strong>of</strong> his<br />
death, to a fixed contribution .<br />
Benefit funds <strong>of</strong> this kind have, until very lately, been unknown<br />
to the Masons <strong>of</strong> America, but within a few years several lodges<br />
have established a fund for the purpose . <strong>The</strong> lodge <strong>of</strong> Strict<br />
Observance in the city <strong>of</strong> New York, and others in Troy, Ball .<br />
ston, Schenectady, etc ., have adopted Benefit Funds . In 1844,<br />
several members <strong>of</strong> the lodges in Louisville, Kentucky, organized<br />
a society under the title <strong>of</strong> the "Friendly Sons <strong>of</strong> St . John ."<br />
It is constructed after the model <strong>of</strong> the English society already<br />
mentioned . No member is received after 45 years <strong>of</strong> age, or who<br />
is not a contributing member <strong>of</strong> a lodge ; the per diem allowance<br />
to sick members is seventy-five cents ; fifty dollars is appropriated<br />
to pay the funeral expenses <strong>of</strong> a deceased member, and twentyfive<br />
for those <strong>of</strong> a member's wife ; on the death <strong>of</strong> a member a<br />
gratuity is given to his family ; ten per cent . <strong>of</strong> all fees and dues<br />
is appropriated to an orphan fund ; and it is contemplated, if the<br />
funds will justify, to pension the widows <strong>of</strong> deceased members,<br />
if their circumstances require it .<br />
Further reflection and a more careful investigation <strong>of</strong> the principles<br />
<strong>of</strong> our order, since the first edition <strong>of</strong> this work, have convinced<br />
me that the establishment in lodges <strong>of</strong> such benefit funds<br />
as are described in the last paragraph, are in opposition to the<br />
pure system <strong>of</strong> masonic charity . <strong>The</strong>y have, therefore, been very<br />
properly discouraged by several Grand Lodges .<br />
BIBLE . . Emphatically is the Bible called a greater light <strong>of</strong><br />
masonry, for from the centre <strong>of</strong> the lodge, it pours forth upon the<br />
East, the West, and the South, its refulgent rays <strong>of</strong> Divine truth .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Bible is used among Masons as the symbol <strong>of</strong> the will<br />
<strong>of</strong> God, however it may be expressed . See Furniture .<br />
BLACK. Thi.3 colour is a symbol <strong>of</strong> grief and mourning . In<br />
the degree <strong>of</strong> Knight Templar it refers to the execution <strong>of</strong> James<br />
de Molay ; in the elu degrees <strong>of</strong> the Scotch and other rites to the
BLA-BON '6l<br />
death <strong>of</strong> tl .e chief builder at the temple ; and in the Rose Croix<br />
to the crucifixion .<br />
BLAZING STAR . <strong>The</strong> blazing star constitutes one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
ornaments <strong>of</strong> the lodge . Formerly it was said to be " commemorative<br />
<strong>of</strong> the star which appeared to guide the wise men <strong>of</strong> the<br />
East to the place <strong>of</strong> our Saviour's nativity ." But as this allusion,<br />
however beautiful, interferes with the universal character <strong>of</strong> masonry,<br />
it is now generally omitted, and the blazing star is said to<br />
be as emblem <strong>of</strong> Divine Providence . In the English ritual it is<br />
emblematic <strong>of</strong> Prudence . Dr. Hemming, quoted by Oliver, says<br />
that it refers to the sun "which enlightens the earth with its refulgent<br />
rays, dispensing its blessings to mankind at large, and<br />
giving light and life to all things here below ."<br />
BLUE . <strong>The</strong> appropriate colour <strong>of</strong> the first three degrees or<br />
ancient craft masonry, and has been explained as emblematic <strong>of</strong><br />
universal friendship and benevolence, instructing us, that in the<br />
mind <strong>of</strong> a Mason those virtues should be as extensive as the blue<br />
arch <strong>of</strong> heaven itself.<br />
BLUE MASONRY . <strong>The</strong> degrees <strong>of</strong> Entered Apprentice,<br />
Fellow Craft, and Master Mason, are called Blue Masonry, and<br />
lodges in which they are conferred are called Blue Lodges, because<br />
the decorations <strong>of</strong> these degrees are <strong>of</strong> this colour .<br />
BOAZ . <strong>The</strong> name <strong>of</strong> the left hand pillar that stood at the<br />
porch <strong>of</strong> King Solomon's temple . It is derived from the Hebrew<br />
1, b "in '" and t p, oaz, "strength," and signifies " in -<br />
strength." See Pillars.<br />
BONE. This word which is now corruptly pronounced in one<br />
syllable is the Hebrew word 6oneh, ;'1111, "builder," from the<br />
verb banah, ;Z1 :1, "to build ." It was peculiarly applied, as an<br />
6
62 BOO<br />
epithet, to Hiram Abif, who superintended the construction <strong>of</strong> the<br />
temple as its chief builder .<br />
BOOK OF CONSTITUTIONS . <strong>The</strong> Book <strong>of</strong> Constitutions<br />
is that work in which is contained the rules and regulations <strong>of</strong><br />
the order, an exposition <strong>of</strong> the duties <strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers, the rights <strong>of</strong><br />
members, the detail <strong>of</strong> ceremonies to be used on various occasions,<br />
such as consecrations, installations, funerals, etc . ; and, in fine, a<br />
summary <strong>of</strong> all the fundamental principles <strong>of</strong> masonry . To this<br />
book, reference is to be made in all cases, where the bye-laws <strong>of</strong><br />
the Grand Lodge are silent or not sufficiently explicit .<br />
<strong>The</strong> earliest notice that we have <strong>of</strong> any such Constitutions is<br />
in a record, written in the reign <strong>of</strong> Edward IV ., which states<br />
that Prince Edwin, having assembled the Masons at York, in 926,<br />
then framed the English constitutions <strong>of</strong> masonry from the writings<br />
brought there in various languages . <strong>The</strong>se Constitutions<br />
continued for a long time to govern the English craft under the<br />
name <strong>of</strong> the "Gothic Constitutions ;" but as they were found,at<br />
the revival <strong>of</strong> masonry in the beginning <strong>of</strong> the eighteenth century,<br />
to be very erroneous and defective-probably from carelessness<br />
or ignorance in their frequent transcription-in September,<br />
1721, the Duke <strong>of</strong> Montagu, who was then Grand Master,<br />
ordered Brother James Anderson to digest them "in a new and<br />
better method ."<br />
Anderson having accordingly accomplished the important task<br />
that had been assigned him, in December <strong>of</strong> the same year, a<br />
committee consisting <strong>of</strong> fourteen learned brethren, was appointed<br />
to examine the book, and they, in the March communication <strong>of</strong><br />
the subsequent year, having reported their approbation <strong>of</strong> it, it<br />
was, after some amendments, adopted by the Grand Lodge, and<br />
published in 1723, under the title <strong>of</strong> "the Book <strong>of</strong> Constitutions<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Freemasons, containing the History, Charges, Regnla .<br />
tions, etc ., <strong>of</strong> the Most Ancient and Right Worshipful Fraternity .<br />
For the use <strong>of</strong> the lodges ."<br />
In 1735, a Second edition was published, under the superin .
BOO Q;<br />
tendence <strong>of</strong> a committee <strong>of</strong> Grand <strong>of</strong>ficers . This was the las.<br />
edition issued during the life-time <strong>of</strong> Dr . Anderson ; but, in the<br />
year 1754, it was resolved "that the Book <strong>of</strong> Constitutions should<br />
be revised, and the necessary alterations and additions made, con .<br />
sistent with the laws and rules <strong>of</strong> masonry ." Again, in 1766, a<br />
similar revision took place, under the care <strong>of</strong> the Grand <strong>of</strong>ficers<br />
and twenty-one Masters <strong>of</strong> lodges ; and the amendments having<br />
been unanimously approved by the Grand Lodge, in January,<br />
1767, the fourth edition was published .<br />
This book is carried in all processions before the Grand Master,<br />
on a velvet cushion, and the right <strong>of</strong> so carrying it is vested in<br />
the Master <strong>of</strong> the oldest lodge-a privilege which arose from the<br />
following circumstances . During the reign <strong>of</strong> Queen Anne, <strong>Freemasonry</strong><br />
was in a languishing condition, in consequence <strong>of</strong> the<br />
age and infirmities <strong>of</strong> the Grand Master, Sir Christopher Wren .<br />
On his death, and the accession <strong>of</strong> George the First to the throne,<br />
the four old lodges then existing in London, determined to revive<br />
the Grand Lodge, which had for some years been dormant,<br />
and to renew the quarterly communications and the annual feast .<br />
This measure they accomplished, and resolved, among other<br />
things, that no lodge thereafter should be permitted to act, (the<br />
four old lodges excepted,) unless by authority <strong>of</strong> a charter granted<br />
by the Grand Master, with the approbation and consent <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Grand Lodge . In consequence <strong>of</strong> this, the old Masons in the<br />
metropolis vested all their inherent privileges as individuals in<br />
the four old lodges, in trust, that they would never suffer the<br />
ancient landmarks to be infringed ; while, on their part, these<br />
bodies consented to extend their patronage to every lodge which<br />
should thereafter be regularly constituted, and to admit their<br />
Masters and Wardens to share with them all the privileges <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Grand Lodge, that <strong>of</strong> precedence only excepted . <strong>The</strong> extension<br />
<strong>of</strong> the order, however, beginning to give to the new lodges a<br />
numerical superiority in the Grand Lodge, it was feared they<br />
would at length be able, by a majority, to subvert the privileges<br />
<strong>of</strong> the original Masons <strong>of</strong> England, which had been centred in the
64 BOO-BRE<br />
four old lodges . On this account, a code <strong>of</strong> articles was drawn<br />
up with the consent <strong>of</strong> all the brethren, for the future government<br />
<strong>of</strong> the society . To this was annexed a regulation, binding<br />
the Grand Master and his successors, and the Master <strong>of</strong> every<br />
newly constituted lodge, to preserve these regulations inviolable ;<br />
and declaring that no new regulation could be proposed, except<br />
at the third quarterly communication, and requiring it to be<br />
publicly read at the annual feast to every brother, even to tl : e<br />
youngest Apprentice, when the approbation <strong>of</strong> at least two-thirds<br />
<strong>of</strong> those present should be requisite to render it obligatory . To<br />
commemorate this circumstance, it has been customary for the<br />
Master <strong>of</strong> the oldest lodge to attend every grand installation, and<br />
taking precedence <strong>of</strong> all present, the Grand Master excepted, to<br />
deliver the Book <strong>of</strong> Constitutions to the newly installed Grand<br />
Master, on his promising obedience to the ancient charges and<br />
general regulations .<br />
This book, guarded by the Tyler's sword, constitutes an emblem<br />
in the Master's degree, intended to admonish the Mason<br />
that he should be guarded in all his words and actions, preserving<br />
unsullied the masonic virtues <strong>of</strong> silence and circumspection which<br />
are inculcated in that book .<br />
BOOK OF THE LAW . <strong>The</strong> Holy Bible, which is always<br />
open in a lodge, as a symbol that its light should be diffused<br />
among the brethren . <strong>The</strong> passages on which it is opened differ<br />
in the different degrees . In this country these passages are as<br />
follows : in the first degree, at Psalm cxxxiii ; in the second, at<br />
A mos vii . 7, 8 ; in the third, at Ecclesiastes xii . 1-7 .<br />
BREAST PLATE . A piece <strong>of</strong> embroidery about ten inches<br />
square, worn by the Jewish High Priest on his breast, and attached<br />
by its upper corners to the shoulders, and by its lower to<br />
the girdle <strong>of</strong> the Ephod . It was made <strong>of</strong> the same rich embroidered<br />
stuff <strong>of</strong> which the Ephod was . <strong>The</strong> front <strong>of</strong> it was set<br />
with twelve precious stones, on each <strong>of</strong> which was engraved the
BRE 65<br />
name <strong>of</strong> one <strong>of</strong> the twelve tribes . <strong>The</strong>se stones were divided<br />
from each other by golden partitions, and set in four rows according<br />
to the following order . It must be remembered that they<br />
are to be read according to the Jewish system <strong>of</strong> writing, from<br />
right to left, commencing with the Sardius in the right hand<br />
upper corner<br />
CARBUNCLE,<br />
LEVI .<br />
DIAMOND,<br />
*<br />
ZEBULUN.<br />
AMETHYST,<br />
*<br />
GAD .<br />
JASPER,<br />
*<br />
BENJAMIN .<br />
TOPAZ,<br />
SIME0N .<br />
SAPPHIRE,<br />
*<br />
ISSACHAR .<br />
AGATE,<br />
*<br />
LTAPHTALI .<br />
ONYX,<br />
*<br />
JOSEPH .<br />
SARDIUS,<br />
REUBEN.<br />
EMERALD,<br />
*<br />
JUDAH.<br />
LIGURE,<br />
*<br />
DAN .<br />
BERYL,<br />
*<br />
ASHER .<br />
<strong>The</strong> colours <strong>of</strong> these stones have been described by Biblical<br />
naturalists as follows<br />
1. <strong>The</strong> Sardius, or ruby, was <strong>of</strong> a red colour, with an admixture<br />
<strong>of</strong> purple . 2. <strong>The</strong> Topaz, or modern chrysolite, was pale<br />
green, with an admixture <strong>of</strong> yellow. 3. <strong>The</strong> Carbuncle was a<br />
fiery red . 4 . <strong>The</strong> Emerald was <strong>of</strong> a beautiful and pure green,<br />
5. <strong>The</strong> Sapphire, or modern lapis lazuli, was a deep blue, veined<br />
with white and spotted with small golden stars. 6 . <strong>The</strong> Diamond<br />
is perfectly white . 7 . <strong>The</strong> Ligure, or -hyacinth, was <strong>of</strong><br />
dull red, much mixed with yellow . 8 . <strong>The</strong> Agate was <strong>of</strong> a grey<br />
horny ground, spotted with different colours, chiefly <strong>of</strong> a ausky<br />
hue. 9. <strong>The</strong> Amethyst was <strong>of</strong> a purple colour, composed <strong>of</strong> strong<br />
blue and deep red. 10. <strong>The</strong> Beryl, or modern aqua marina, was<br />
a pellucid gem <strong>of</strong> a bluish green . 11. <strong>The</strong> Onyx was <strong>of</strong> a bluish<br />
white colour, resembling the tint <strong>of</strong> the human nail . 12. <strong>The</strong><br />
.Tasper was <strong>of</strong> a beautiful green, sometimes clouded with white,<br />
red, or yellow .<br />
8'
66 BRI<br />
<strong>The</strong> following are the Hebraic characters in which the nam-a<br />
<strong>of</strong> the twelve tribes were engraved on these stones, in the same<br />
order in which they are' arranged in the preceding diagram .<br />
t j ~<br />
i 1yCV trawl<br />
V~I nr "I:'''V' - 1617 1 oil<br />
01; t~nin 1-7<br />
<strong>The</strong> breast-plate was never to be separated from the priestly<br />
garments, and was called the "memorial," because it was designed<br />
to remind the High Priest bow dear the tribes whose<br />
names it bore should be to his heart . This ornament forms a<br />
a part <strong>of</strong> the vestments <strong>of</strong> the High Priest in a Royal Arch<br />
Chapter .*<br />
BRIGHT.- A mason is said to be "bright" who is well acquainted<br />
with the ritual, the forms <strong>of</strong> opening and closing, and<br />
the ceremonies <strong>of</strong> initiation . This expression does not, however,<br />
in its technical sense, appear to include the superior knowledge<br />
<strong>of</strong> the history and science <strong>of</strong> the institution, and many bright<br />
masons are therefore not necessarily learned masons, and on the<br />
contrary some learned masons are not well versed in the exact<br />
phraseology <strong>of</strong> the ritual . <strong>The</strong> one knowledge depends on a retentive<br />
memory, the other is derived from deep research .<br />
a <strong>The</strong> judges in ancient Egypt wore breast-plates. For more on this sub .<br />
jeet, see (Trim and Thummim.
BRO-BUR 67<br />
BROKEN COLUMN . Among the Hebrews, columns were<br />
used metaphorically, to signify princes or nobles, as if they were the<br />
pillars <strong>of</strong> a state . Thus, in Psalms xi . 3, the passage, reading in<br />
our translation, " if the foundations be destroyed, what can the<br />
righteous do ?" is in the original, " when the columns are overthrown,"<br />
i . e. when the firm supporters <strong>of</strong> what is right and good<br />
have perished . So the passage in Isaiah xix. 10, should read,<br />
"her (Egypt's) columns are broken down," that is, the nobles<br />
<strong>of</strong> her state . In <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, the broken column is, as Master<br />
Masons well know, the emblem <strong>of</strong> the fall <strong>of</strong> one <strong>of</strong> the chief<br />
supporters <strong>of</strong> the craft .<br />
BROTHER. <strong>The</strong> term which Freemasons apply to each<br />
other . Freemasons are brethren, not only by common participation<br />
<strong>of</strong> the human nature, but as pr<strong>of</strong>essing the same faith, as<br />
being jointly engaged in the same labours, and as being united<br />
by a mutual covenant or tie, whence they are also emphatically<br />
called "Brethren <strong>of</strong> the Mystic Tie ."<br />
BROTHERLY LOVE, RELIEF AND TRUTH . <strong>The</strong>se<br />
words constitute the motto <strong>of</strong> our order, and the characteristics<br />
<strong>of</strong> our pr<strong>of</strong>ession . <strong>The</strong>y need no explanation, but they prove<br />
that a society which could adopt them, can be founded only on<br />
the principles <strong>of</strong> virtue . One <strong>of</strong> the ancient charges calls brotherly<br />
love "the foundation and cape stone, the cement and glory<br />
<strong>of</strong> this ancient fraternity ."<br />
BURNING BUSH . <strong>The</strong> burning bush, out <strong>of</strong> the midst <strong>of</strong><br />
which the angel <strong>of</strong> the Lord appeared unto Moses at Mount<br />
IHoreb, is referred to in the ceremonies <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch Masonry,<br />
because it was there that the Tetragrammaton was delivered to<br />
the Jewish lawgiver . This was, therefore, the great source <strong>of</strong><br />
true masonic'light, and hence Supreme Councils <strong>of</strong> the 33d de .<br />
grec date their protocols "near the B . - . B . • . " or "Burning Bush,"
68 BYL-CAB<br />
to intimate that they are in their own rite the exclusive source<br />
<strong>of</strong> all masonic instruction .<br />
BY-LAWS . Every subordinate lodge is permitted to make<br />
its own by-laws, provided they do not conflict with the regulations<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge, nor with the ancient usages <strong>of</strong> the fraternity<br />
But <strong>of</strong> this, the Grand Lodge is the only judge, and<br />
therefore the original by-laws <strong>of</strong> every lodge, as well as all subsequent<br />
alterations <strong>of</strong> them, must be submitted to the Grand Lodge<br />
for approval and confirmation before they can become valid .<br />
-CABBALA . <strong>The</strong> Cabbala is that peculiar science or philosophy<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Jews which is occupied in the mystical interpretation<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Scriptures, and in metaphysical speculations concerning<br />
the Deity and the spiritual world . As much use is made <strong>of</strong> these<br />
cabbalistic speculations in the higher philosophical degrees <strong>of</strong><br />
masonry, a brief description <strong>of</strong> the system will not perhaps be<br />
considered irrelevant to the objects <strong>of</strong> this work .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Cabbala is <strong>of</strong> two kinds : theoretical and practical. With<br />
the practical Cabbala, which is engaged in the construction <strong>of</strong><br />
talismans and amulets, we have nothing to do. <strong>The</strong> theoretical<br />
is divided into the literal and dogmatic . <strong>The</strong> dogmatic Cabbala<br />
is nothing more than the summary <strong>of</strong> the metaphysical doctrines<br />
taught by the Cabbalistic doctors . It is, in other words, the<br />
system <strong>of</strong> Jewish philosophy . <strong>The</strong> literal is a mystical mode <strong>of</strong><br />
explaining sacred things by a peculiar use <strong>of</strong> the letters <strong>of</strong> words,<br />
and is the one which is connected with philosophical and ineffable<br />
masonry .<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are three principal branches <strong>of</strong> the literal Cabbala, which<br />
are denominated Gematria, Notaricon, and Temura .
1 . Gematria is a mode <strong>of</strong> contemplating words according to the<br />
value <strong>of</strong> the letters <strong>of</strong> which they are composed . <strong>The</strong> Hebrews,<br />
Like other ancient nations, having no figures in their language,<br />
wade use <strong>of</strong> the letters <strong>of</strong> their alphabet instead <strong>of</strong> numbers, each<br />
letter having a particular numerical value according to the following<br />
table<br />
Aleph<br />
Beth<br />
Gimel<br />
Daloth<br />
He<br />
Vau<br />
Zain<br />
Cheth<br />
Teth<br />
• 1<br />
• 2<br />
a 3<br />
• 4<br />
• 5<br />
6<br />
1<br />
t 7<br />
8<br />
• 9<br />
Yod<br />
Caph<br />
Lamed<br />
Mem<br />
Nun<br />
Samech<br />
Ain<br />
Pe<br />
Tsaddi<br />
CAB 69<br />
Koph 7 100<br />
Resh -~ 200<br />
Shin ~' 300<br />
Tau j~ 400<br />
Final Caph `j 500<br />
Final Mem 600<br />
Final Nun 700<br />
Final Pe 800<br />
Final Tsaddi ~' 900<br />
Any two words, the letters <strong>of</strong> which have the same numerical<br />
value, are mutually convertible, and each is supposed to contain<br />
the latent signification <strong>of</strong> the other . Thus the words in Genesis<br />
zliz. 10, "Shiloh shall come," are supposed to contain a prophecy<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Messiah, because the letters <strong>of</strong> "Shiloh shall come,"<br />
;-I) tW jStZ I and <strong>of</strong> < < Messiah," R' Wo, both have the numerical<br />
value <strong>of</strong> 358, according to the above table . It was by Gematria, applied<br />
to the Greek language, that we found in the article Abraxas<br />
in this work, the .identity <strong>of</strong> Abraxas and Mithras .<br />
far the most common mode <strong>of</strong> applying the Cabbala .<br />
This is by<br />
2. Notaricon is a mode <strong>of</strong> constructing one word out <strong>of</strong> the<br />
initials or finals <strong>of</strong> many, or a sentence out <strong>of</strong> the letters <strong>of</strong> a<br />
word, each letter being used as the initial <strong>of</strong> another word . Thus<br />
<strong>of</strong> the sentence in Deuteronomy xxx . 12, "Who shall go up for<br />
us to heaven?" in Hebrew , `?otoVi`T 1~~ ii~v > > l~ the initial<br />
:etters <strong>of</strong> each word are taken to form the word ;j~+C, "circumcision,"<br />
and the finals to form ri' ' " Jehovah ;" hence it is<br />
concluded that Jehovah hath shown circumcision to be the way<br />
to heaven . Again : the six letters <strong>of</strong> the first word in Genesis
70 CAB<br />
j1+ V IN-1Z "in the beginning," are made use <strong>of</strong> to foam the initials<br />
<strong>of</strong> six words which constitute a sentence signifying that<br />
"In tbe .beginning God saw that Israel would accept the law,"<br />
`1'11 `1 ~w1'r ' 1~zp'w =,-6,x i i i r1 ,vi<br />
3 . Temura is Cabbala by permutation <strong>of</strong> letters . Sometimes<br />
the letters <strong>of</strong> a word are transposed to form another word, making<br />
what is familiarly, known as an anagram, or the letters <strong>of</strong> a word<br />
are changed for others according to certain fixed rules <strong>of</strong> alphabetical<br />
permutation, the 1st letter being placed for the 22d, the<br />
2d for the 21st, the 3d for the 20th, and so on . It is in this<br />
way that Babel, ~ZZ is made out <strong>of</strong> Sheshach JJV, and hence<br />
the Cabbalists say that when Jeremiah used the word Sheshach<br />
(xxv. 26) he referred to Babel .<br />
A very interesting account <strong>of</strong> the Cabbala will be found in<br />
Allen's " Modern Judaism," from which work, indeed, I have<br />
principally condensed the, present synopsis .<br />
CABIRI, MYSTERIES OF THE . <strong>The</strong> Cabiri were originally<br />
Syrian or Phenician gods, and all that we know about them<br />
is to be found in a fragment <strong>of</strong> Sanconiathon, quoted by Eusebius,<br />
which tells us that they were the children <strong>of</strong> Sydyk, (whom<br />
Faber* and some other authors suppose to be Noah,) and that<br />
they were the inventors <strong>of</strong> ship-building . In the time <strong>of</strong> Chronos<br />
(or Saturn) their descendants, while navigating the sea, ran<br />
aground on Mount Casius and there erected a temple .<br />
<strong>The</strong> worship <strong>of</strong> the Cabiri was first established in the island <strong>of</strong><br />
Samothrace, where it may be supposed that these navigators first<br />
landed on passing from the continent . Here they founded the<br />
mysteries <strong>of</strong> the Cabiri, which were subsequently celebrated at<br />
<strong>The</strong>bes and Lemnos, but more especially at Samothrace, whence<br />
they were sometimes called the Samothracian rites . <strong>The</strong> name<br />
* Dissert. on the Mysteries <strong>of</strong> the Cabiri . Bishop Cumberland thinks Sydyk<br />
Identical with Shem, a just man, in Hebrew, Sadek.
CAB 71<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Cabiri was derived originally from Phenicia, and the word<br />
signifies in that language powerful.* <strong>The</strong>re were four <strong>of</strong> these<br />
gods, Axieros, Axiokersos, Axiokersa, and Cadmillus .t <strong>The</strong><br />
last had been slain by the three others, and his murder was commemorated<br />
in the secret rites . <strong>The</strong> aspirant presented himself<br />
crowned with an olive branch, and girded about the loins with a<br />
purple ribaud or apron . He was placed upon a throne, around<br />
which the priests and initiated performed sacred dances . Funeral<br />
rites were then enacted, in which the candidate represented Cad- .<br />
millus . <strong>The</strong> hierophants declared that the object <strong>of</strong> the mysteries<br />
was, to make men just and virtuous . Candidates who had<br />
been guilty <strong>of</strong> any crime, were compelled to confess to a priest,<br />
who purified them .<br />
Many persons annually resorted to Samothrace to be initiated<br />
into the celebrated mysteries, among whom are mentioned Cadmus,<br />
Orpheus, Hercules, and Ulysses . Jamblichus says, in his<br />
life <strong>of</strong> Pythagoras, that from those <strong>of</strong> Lemnos that sage derived<br />
much <strong>of</strong> his wisdom . <strong>The</strong> mysteries <strong>of</strong> the Cabiri were much<br />
respected among the common people, and great care was taken in<br />
their concealment. <strong>The</strong> priests were called Corybantes, and<br />
made use <strong>of</strong> a language peculiar to the rites .<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is much perplexity connected with this subject, but it is<br />
generally supposed that the mysteries were instituted in honour<br />
<strong>of</strong> Atys, the son <strong>of</strong> Cybele . According to Macrobius, Atys was<br />
one <strong>of</strong> the names <strong>of</strong> the sun ; in confirmation <strong>of</strong> this, we know<br />
that the mysteries were celebrated at the vernal equinox . <strong>The</strong>y<br />
Compare the cognate Hebrew, kabir, a to be greater ."<br />
t Some authors suppose that these four gods refer to Noah and his three<br />
sons, saved in the ark, and thus they connect the Samothracian rites with the<br />
Arkite worship . See Drummond's Origines, vol . ii. p. 130 . <strong>The</strong> Seboliast on<br />
Apoll . Rhod. says their names were Ceres, Proserpine, and Bacchus .<br />
$ Larcher says that those who bad been admitted to these mysteries, were<br />
highly esteemed, as they were supposed to have nothing to apprehend from<br />
tempests ; and Plutarch tells us, that they who learned the names <strong>of</strong> the Cabiri,<br />
pronounced them slowly, as an amul )t to avert calamity .
72 CAB-CAG<br />
lasted three days, during which they represented' in the person<br />
<strong>of</strong> Atys, the enigmatical death <strong>of</strong> the sun in winter, and his regeneration<br />
in the spring . In all probability, in the initiation,<br />
the candidate passed through a drama, the subject <strong>of</strong> which was<br />
the violent death <strong>of</strong> Atys . Candidates on their admission, underwent<br />
an examination respecting their previous life, and after<br />
being purified and initiated were presented with a purple girdle,<br />
which was worn like an apron around their bodies, as an amulet<br />
to preserve them against all dangers .<br />
<strong>The</strong> mysteries were in existence at Samothrace as late as the<br />
eighteenth year <strong>of</strong> the Christian era, at which time the Emperor<br />
Germanicus embarked for that island, to be initiated, but wa-3<br />
prevented from accomplishing his purpose by adverse winds .<br />
CABLE TOW. A properly constructed tracing board <strong>of</strong> tae<br />
Entered Apprentice is always enclosed within a cord or cable tow,<br />
having four tassels placed at the four angles, referring to the four<br />
cardinal virtues and their illustrated points, while the cable tow<br />
is emblematic <strong>of</strong> the cord or band <strong>of</strong> affection which should unite<br />
:he whole fraternity, as in Hosea xi . 4, "I drew them with cords<br />
<strong>of</strong> a man, with bands <strong>of</strong> love ." But there is another and not<br />
figurative use <strong>of</strong> this implement, with which Masons are well acquainted<br />
.<br />
CAGLIOSTRO . Joseph Balsamo, Marquis <strong>of</strong> Pelligrini, more<br />
commonly known by the title which he assumed at Paris, <strong>of</strong><br />
Count Cagliostro, was one <strong>of</strong> the most ingenious imposters that<br />
ever lived. He was the author <strong>of</strong> a work entitled "Maconnerie<br />
Egyptienne," and the founder <strong>of</strong> a pseudo-masonic system, which<br />
he called the rite <strong>of</strong> Egyptian masonry . He established this rite,<br />
(the idea <strong>of</strong> which he had obtained from some manuscripts accidentally<br />
purchased at London,) at first, in Courland, in the year<br />
1779, whence he afterward introduced it into Germany, France,<br />
and England . For the purpose more speedily <strong>of</strong> captivating the<br />
,,redulous and the imaginative, he united with this form <strong>of</strong> ma-
iionry, the visionary schemes <strong>of</strong> Alchemy, declaring that one <strong>of</strong><br />
the objects <strong>of</strong> initiation was the possession <strong>of</strong> the philosopher's<br />
stone and the elixir <strong>of</strong> immortality .<br />
Both men and women were admitted into the lodges <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Egyptian rite, though the ceremonies for each sex were slightly<br />
,lfferent, and the lodges for their reception were entirely distinct .<br />
<strong>The</strong> system was called a hierarchy, and was divided into three<br />
degrees, Egyptian Apprentice, Egyptian Fellow-craft, and Egyptian<br />
Master .<br />
Cagliostro, after having been banished from France by the go .<br />
vernment, and compelled to fly from England by his creditors,<br />
was finally arrested at Rome by the Inquisition, in 1789, on a<br />
charge <strong>of</strong> practising the rites <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, and condemned to<br />
perpetual imprisonment . He was never afterwards heard <strong>of</strong>, and<br />
is supposed to have died, or to have been put to death, during his<br />
incarceration .<br />
CALENDAR, MASONIC . Freemasons, in affixing dates to<br />
their <strong>of</strong>ficial documents, never make use <strong>of</strong> the common calendar<br />
or vulgar era, but have one peculiar to themselves, which, however,<br />
varies in the different rites .<br />
Masons <strong>of</strong> the York and French rites, that is to say, the<br />
Masons <strong>of</strong> England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany, and<br />
America, date from the creation <strong>of</strong> the world, calling it «Anno<br />
Lucia," which they abbreviate A.-. L .- ., signifying in the year<br />
<strong>of</strong> light . Thus with them the year 1850 is A . • . L . • . 5850 .<br />
This they do, not because they believe <strong>Freemasonry</strong> to be coeval<br />
with the creation, but with a symbolic reference to the light <strong>of</strong><br />
masonry .<br />
In the Scotch rite, the era also begins from the date <strong>of</strong> the<br />
creation, but Masons <strong>of</strong> that rite, using the Jewish chronology,<br />
would call the year 1850 A .-. M .- . or Anno Mundi (in the year<br />
<strong>of</strong> the world) 5610 . <strong>The</strong>y sometimes use the initials A . • . H . • . ,<br />
signifying Anno Hebraico, or, in the Hebrew year . <strong>The</strong>y have<br />
also adopted the Hebrew months, and the year therefore ends<br />
7
74 CAL<br />
with them on the 16th <strong>of</strong> September, the new year beginning on<br />
the 17th <strong>of</strong> the same mouth, which is the first <strong>of</strong> Tisri .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Masons <strong>of</strong> the rite <strong>of</strong> Mizraim, which is practised in<br />
France, adopt the chronology <strong>of</strong> Archbishop Usher, and adding<br />
four years to the usual computation <strong>of</strong> the age <strong>of</strong> the world, would<br />
make the year 1850 A . • . L . • . 5854 .<br />
Masons <strong>of</strong> the York rite begin the year on the first <strong>of</strong> January,<br />
but in the French rite it commences on the first <strong>of</strong> March, and<br />
instead <strong>of</strong> the months receiving their usual names, they are designated<br />
numerically, as first, second, third, &c . Thus the 1st January,<br />
1850, would be styled in a French masonic document, the<br />
" 1st day <strong>of</strong> the 11th masonic month, Anno Lucis, 5850 ." <strong>The</strong><br />
French sometimes, instead <strong>of</strong> the initials A . • . L . • . , use L'ann<br />
de la Y. • . L .--, or, Yraie Lu9niere, that is, "Year <strong>of</strong> True<br />
Light ."<br />
Royal Arch Masons commence their era with the year in which<br />
Zerubbabel began to build the second temple, which was 530<br />
years before Christ . <strong>The</strong>ir style for the year 1850 is ; therefore,<br />
A .- . Inv.- ., that is, Anno Inventionis, or, in the Year <strong>of</strong> the Discovery,<br />
2380 .<br />
Royal and Select Masters very <strong>of</strong>ten make use <strong>of</strong> the common<br />
masonic date, Anno Lucis, but properly they should date from<br />
the year in which Solomon's Temple was completed, and their<br />
style would then be, Anno Depositionis, or in the Year <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Deposite, and they would date the year 1850 as 2850 .<br />
Knights Templars use the era <strong>of</strong> the organization <strong>of</strong> their<br />
order in 1118 . <strong>The</strong>ir style for the year 1850 is A . • . 0 . • . , Anno<br />
Ordinis, or, in the Year <strong>of</strong> the Order, 732 .<br />
I subjoin, for the convenience <strong>of</strong> reference, the rules for dis .<br />
covering these different dates .<br />
1 . To find the Ancient Craft date . Add 4000 to the vulgar<br />
era. Thus 1850 and 4000 are 5850 .<br />
2 . To find the date <strong>of</strong> the Scotch rite . Add 3760 to the vul .<br />
gar era. Thus 1850 and 3760'are 5610. After September add<br />
one year more .
CAN-CAP 5<br />
3 . To find the date <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch Masonry . Add 530 to the<br />
vulgar era. Thus 530 and 1850 are 2380 .<br />
4 . To find the Royal and Select Masters' date . Add 1000 to<br />
the vulgar era . Thus 1000 and 1850 are 2850 .<br />
5 . .7' fnd the Knights Templar's date . Subtract 1118 from<br />
the vulgar era . Thus 1118 from 1850 is 732 .<br />
<strong>The</strong> following will show, in one view, the date <strong>of</strong> the year 1850<br />
in all the branches <strong>of</strong> the order<br />
Year <strong>of</strong> the Lord, A . D. 1850-Vulgar era .<br />
Year <strong>of</strong> the Light, A . • . L .- . 5850-Ancient Craft Masonry .<br />
Year <strong>of</strong> the World, A .- . M .- . 5610-Scotch rite .<br />
Year <strong>of</strong> the Discovery, A . • . I.- . 2380-Royal Arch Masonry .<br />
Year <strong>of</strong> the Deposite, A .- . Dep .-. 2850-Royal and Select<br />
-Masters .<br />
Year <strong>of</strong> the Order, A.% 0 .- . 732-Knights Templars .<br />
CANDIDATE . In ancient Rome, he who sought <strong>of</strong>fice from<br />
the people wore a white shining robe <strong>of</strong> a peculiar construction .<br />
flowing open in front, so as to exhibit the wounds he had received<br />
in his breast . From the colour <strong>of</strong> his robe or toga candida,<br />
he was called candidates, whence our English word candidate.<br />
<strong>The</strong> derivation will serve to remind our brethren <strong>of</strong> the<br />
purity <strong>of</strong> conduct and character which should distinguish all<br />
those who are candidates for admission into our order . For the<br />
constitutional qualification <strong>of</strong> masonic candidates, see Admission .<br />
CAPE STONE . Properly Cope Stone, which see .<br />
CAPTAIN GENERAL. <strong>The</strong> third <strong>of</strong>ficer in an Encampment<br />
<strong>of</strong> Knights Templars . He presides over the Encampment<br />
in the absence <strong>of</strong> his superiors, and is one <strong>of</strong> its representatives<br />
in the Grand Encampment . His duties are to see that the council<br />
chamber and asylum are duly prepared for the business <strong>of</strong> the<br />
meetings, and to communicate all orders issued by the Grand<br />
Council His station is on the left <strong>of</strong> the Grand Commander .
70 CAP-CAR<br />
and his jewel is a level surmounted by a cock, the ;nblem <strong>of</strong><br />
courage .<br />
CAPTIVITY . Solomon having erected and dedicated a tem .<br />
ple to Jehovah, died in the year <strong>of</strong> the world 3029 . His dome,<br />
nions did not long retain their integrity, for during the reign <strong>of</strong><br />
his son and successor, Rehoboam, ten <strong>of</strong> the tribes revolted<br />
against his authority ; and thus the separate kingdoms <strong>of</strong> Judah<br />
and Israel were established, the temple remaining in the possession<br />
<strong>of</strong> the former . After a series <strong>of</strong> events unnecessary to be<br />
narrated here, the city <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem was attacked by Nebuchadnezzar,<br />
and after a year's siege, was surrendered at midnight, in<br />
the eleventh year <strong>of</strong> the reign <strong>of</strong> Zedekiah, to Nebuzaradan, the<br />
captain <strong>of</strong> Nebuchadnezzar's guards . Nebuzaradan, having rifled<br />
the temple <strong>of</strong> its sacred vessels and its two pillars at the entrance<br />
<strong>of</strong> the porch, set it and the city on fire, on the tenth day <strong>of</strong> the<br />
fifth month, corresponding to the latter part <strong>of</strong> July ; and conveyed<br />
those <strong>of</strong> the people who had escaped the sword, as captives<br />
to Babylon . Here they remained in servitude, until they were<br />
released by Cyrus, king <strong>of</strong> Persia, who, in the first year <strong>of</strong> his<br />
reign, published that famous decree which liberated the Hebrew<br />
captives, and permitted them to rebuild ' 1 the city and house <strong>of</strong><br />
the Lord ."* Many interesting circumstances in relation to this<br />
captivity, and its termination, are interspersed through some <strong>of</strong><br />
the higher degrees, such as the Royal Arch, the Red Cross<br />
Knight, Knight <strong>of</strong> the East, and to parts <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem .<br />
CARDINAL VIRTUES . <strong>The</strong>se are Prudence, Fortitude,<br />
Temperance, and Justice . <strong>The</strong>y are dilated on in the first degree<br />
; and the practice <strong>of</strong> them urged upon the candidate, by<br />
certain striking s .7usions Prince <strong>of</strong> the ceremonies <strong>of</strong> initiation .<br />
* Lightfoot says that the seventy years <strong>of</strong> the captivity began in the third<br />
year <strong>of</strong> Jehoiakim and terminated in the first year <strong>of</strong> Cyrus, which he dates<br />
Aano Mandi 3470 . Harmony <strong>of</strong> the Four Evang. Proleg. ~ vii .
CAR-CEN 77<br />
CARPET . A painting or diagram, containing the emblems<br />
<strong>of</strong> a particular degree . <strong>The</strong> same as flooring or tracing board .<br />
It is called a carpet, because the larger ones used in a lodge are<br />
generally laid upon the ground for the purposes <strong>of</strong> instruction .<br />
CASSIA . Sometimes improperly used for Acacia .<br />
CATENARIAN ARCH. If a rope be suspended loosely by<br />
its two ends, the curve into which it falls is called a catenarian<br />
curve, and this inverted forms the catenarian arch, which is said<br />
to be strongest <strong>of</strong> all arches . As the form <strong>of</strong> a symbolic lodge<br />
is an oblong square, that <strong>of</strong> a Royal Arch Chapter, according to<br />
the English ritual is a catenarian arch .<br />
CAUTION. It was formerly the custom to bestow upon an<br />
Entered Apprentice, on his initiation, a new name which was<br />
" caution ." <strong>The</strong> custom is now very generally discontinued,<br />
although the principle which it inculcated should never be forgotten<br />
.<br />
CENTRE, OPENING ON THE . In the ritual <strong>of</strong> the English<br />
lodges, it is usual for the W .-. M .-. when he has opened a<br />
lodge in the third degree, to declare it duly " opened on the centre."<br />
This practice is thus explained : "None but Masters'<br />
Lodges are so opened . Apprentice and Craft Lodges are mixed<br />
lodges,-the first including brethren <strong>of</strong> the three degrees-some<br />
higher and some lower in masonry than others, consequently<br />
.here is not a masonic equality among them . <strong>The</strong> Master Mason<br />
is under a stronger obligation to his brother <strong>of</strong> an equal degree,<br />
than to one <strong>of</strong> an inferior degree. On the contrary, in a lodge<br />
<strong>of</strong> Masters, all are equal, all stand upon the same level, all are<br />
equally near and equally distant to each other-as the central<br />
point <strong>of</strong> the circle is equally near and equally distant to its circumference<br />
. Hence, we say a Master's lodge is opened on the<br />
centre "-Moore's Nag . v. iii . p 356. An attempt has been<br />
7s
78 CEP-CER<br />
made in the "Trestle Board," published under the sanction <strong>of</strong><br />
the late Baltimore <strong>Masonic</strong> Convention, to introduce the custom<br />
into the American lodges . It has, however, been rejected iu<br />
South Carolina .<br />
CEPl AS . A Syriac word signifying a rock or stone . In<br />
the degree <strong>of</strong> Royal Master, it is used in reference to the cubical<br />
stone <strong>of</strong> masonry .<br />
CERTIFICATE . A diploma issued by a Grand Lodge, or by<br />
a subordinate lodge under its authority, testifying that the holder<br />
there<strong>of</strong> is a true and trusty brother, and recommending him to<br />
the hospitality <strong>of</strong> the fraternity abroad . <strong>The</strong> character <strong>of</strong> this<br />
instrument has sometimes been much misunderstoood . It is by<br />
no means intended to act as a voucher for the bearer, nor can it<br />
be allowed to supersede the necessity <strong>of</strong> a strict examination .<br />
A stranger, however, having been tried and proved by a more<br />
unerring standard, his certificate then properly comes in as an<br />
auxiliary testimonial, and will be permitted to afford good evidence<br />
<strong>of</strong> his correct standing in his lodge at home ; for no body<br />
<strong>of</strong> Masons, true to the principles <strong>of</strong> their order, would grant<br />
such an instrument to an unworthy brother, or to one who, they<br />
feared, might make an improper use <strong>of</strong> it. But though the<br />
presence <strong>of</strong> a Grand Lodge's certificate be in general required as<br />
collateral evidence <strong>of</strong> worthiness to visit, or receive aid, its accidental<br />
absence, which may arise in various ways, as from fire,<br />
captivity, or shipwreck, should not debar a strange brother from<br />
the rights guaranteed to him by our institution, provided he can<br />
<strong>of</strong>fer other evidence <strong>of</strong> his good character . <strong>The</strong> Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong><br />
New York has, upon this subject, taken the proper stand in the<br />
following regulation :--" That no Mason be admitted to any<br />
subordinate lodge, under the jurisdiction <strong>of</strong> this Grand Lodge .<br />
or receive the charities <strong>of</strong> any lodge, unless he shall, on such<br />
application, exhibit a Grand Lodge Certificate, duly attested by
CHA 79<br />
the proper authorities, except he is known to the lo Ige to be a<br />
worthy brother ."*<br />
Since the publication <strong>of</strong> the first edition <strong>of</strong> this work, the Certificate<br />
system has been warmly discussed by the Grand Lodges<br />
<strong>of</strong> the United States, and considerable opposition to it has been<br />
made by some <strong>of</strong> them on the ground that it is an innovation .<br />
If -it is an innovation, it certainly is not one <strong>of</strong> the present day,<br />
as we may learn from the Regulations made in General Assembly<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Masons <strong>of</strong> England, on St . John the Evangelist's day,<br />
1663, during the Grand Mastership <strong>of</strong> the Earl <strong>of</strong> St . Albans,<br />
one <strong>of</strong> which reads as follows<br />
" That no person hereafter who shall be accepted a Free-mason<br />
shall be admitted into any lodge or assembly, until he has brought<br />
a certificate <strong>of</strong> the time and place <strong>of</strong> his acceptation from the<br />
lodge that accepted him, unto the Master <strong>of</strong> that limit or division<br />
where such lodge is kept ."<br />
CHAIN, MYSTIC . To form the mystic chain is for the<br />
brethren to make a circle, holding each other by the hands, as in<br />
surrounding a grave, &c . Each brother crosses his arms in front<br />
<strong>of</strong> his body, so as to give his right hand to his left hand neighbour,<br />
and his left hand to his right hand neighbour . <strong>The</strong> French<br />
call it chaine d'union .<br />
CHALK, CHARCOAL AND CLAY . By these three substances,<br />
are beautifully symbolized the three qualifications for the<br />
servitude <strong>of</strong> an Entered Apprentice .<br />
CHAMBER OF REFLECTION . In the French and Scotch<br />
rites, a small room adjoining the lodge, in which, preparatory to<br />
initiation, the candidate is enclosed for the purpose <strong>of</strong> indulging<br />
in those serious meditations which its sombre appearance, and the<br />
gloomy emblems with which it is furnished, are calculated to pro-<br />
* Order <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> New York, June 8, 1843 .
80 CHA<br />
duce . It is also used in the degree <strong>of</strong> Knight Templar for a<br />
similar purpose .<br />
CHANCELLOR . An <strong>of</strong>ficer in a Council <strong>of</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Red Cross, corresponding in some respects to the Senior Warden<br />
<strong>of</strong> a symbolic lodge .<br />
CHAPITER . An ornamental finish to the top <strong>of</strong> a pillar.<br />
CHAPLAIN . <strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong> chaplain <strong>of</strong> a lodge is one which<br />
is not recognized in the ritual <strong>of</strong> this country, although <strong>of</strong>ten<br />
conferred by courtesy .<br />
CHAPTER . A convocation <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch Masons is called<br />
a Chapter. In Britain, Royal Arch Masonry is connected with<br />
and under the government <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge ; but in America,<br />
the jurisdictions are separate .* Here, a Chapter <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch<br />
Masons is empowered to give the preparatory degrees <strong>of</strong> Mark,<br />
Past, and Most Excellent Master ; although, <strong>of</strong> course, the Chapter,<br />
when meeting in either <strong>of</strong> these degrees, is called a lodge .<br />
In some Chapters, the degrees <strong>of</strong> Royal and Select Master are<br />
also given as preparatory degrees ; but in most <strong>of</strong> the States, the<br />
control <strong>of</strong> these is conferred upon separate bodies, called "Councils<br />
<strong>of</strong> Royal and Select Masters ." <strong>The</strong> presiding <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> a<br />
Chapter are the High Priest, King, and Scribe, who are, respectively,<br />
representatives <strong>of</strong> Joshua, Zerubbabel, and Haggai . In<br />
the English Chapters, these <strong>of</strong>ficers are generally styled either by<br />
the founders' names as above, or as 1st, 2d, and 3d Principals .<br />
Chapters <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch Masons in this country, are primarily<br />
under the jurisdiction <strong>of</strong> State Grand Chapters as lodges are<br />
under Grand Lodges ; and secondly, under the General Grand<br />
Chapter <strong>of</strong> the United States, whose meetings are held triennially,<br />
• Formerly in this country, Chapters were chartered by and under the con<br />
trol <strong>of</strong> Grand Lodges .
CHA 61<br />
and which exercises a general supervision over this branch <strong>of</strong> the<br />
the order, throughout the Union . <strong>The</strong> convocations <strong>of</strong> several <strong>of</strong><br />
the ineffable degrees are also called Chapters . See Royal Arch .<br />
CHAPTER, GRAND . A Grand Chapter consists <strong>of</strong> the<br />
High Priests, Kings, and Scribes, for the time being, <strong>of</strong> the several<br />
Chapters under its jurisdiction, and <strong>of</strong> the Past Grand and<br />
Deputy Grand High Priests, Kings, and Scribes <strong>of</strong> the said<br />
Grand Chapter . Its organization differs from that <strong>of</strong> a Grand<br />
Lodge : Past High Priests not being eligible to a seat, after the<br />
expiration <strong>of</strong> their time <strong>of</strong> service, as Past Masters are in the<br />
Grand Lodge ; unless they shall have served as Grand and<br />
Deputy Grand High Priests, Kings or Scribes . Grand Chapters<br />
have the sole government and superintendence, (under the General<br />
Grand Chapter,) <strong>of</strong> the several Royal Arch Chapters, and<br />
Lodges <strong>of</strong> Most Excellent, Past and Mark Masters, within their<br />
several jurisdictions .<br />
Until the year 1797, there was no organization <strong>of</strong> Grand<br />
Chapters in the United States . Chapters were held under the<br />
authority <strong>of</strong> a Master's warrent, although the consent <strong>of</strong>.a neighbouring<br />
Chapter was generally deemed expedient . But in 1797,<br />
delegates from several <strong>of</strong> the Chapters in the Northern States<br />
assembled at Boston, for the purpose <strong>of</strong> deliberating on the expediency<br />
<strong>of</strong> organizing a Grand Chapter, for the government and<br />
regulation <strong>of</strong> the several Chapters within the said States . This<br />
Convention prepared an address to the Chapters in New York<br />
and New England, disclaiming the power <strong>of</strong> any Grand Lodge to<br />
exercise authority over Royal Arch Masons, and declaring it expedient<br />
to establish a Grand Chapter . In consequence <strong>of</strong> this<br />
address, delegates from most <strong>of</strong> the States above mentioned, met<br />
at Hartford, in January, 1798, and organized a Grand Chapter,<br />
formed and adopted a constitution, and elected and installed their<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficers . This example was quickly followed by other parts <strong>of</strong><br />
the Union ; and Grand Chapters now exist in nearly all the<br />
States .
82 CHA<br />
CHAPTER, GENERAL GRAND . <strong>The</strong> General Grand<br />
Chapter <strong>of</strong> the United States was organized in 1806, and meets triennially<br />
; it consists <strong>of</strong> the Grand and Deputy Grand High Priests,<br />
Kings, and Scribes, for the time being, <strong>of</strong> the several State Grand<br />
Chapters, and <strong>of</strong> the Past General Grand High Priests, Deputy<br />
General Grand High Priests, Kings, and Scribes <strong>of</strong> the said<br />
General Grand Chapter .* It exercises a general supervisory<br />
authority over the State Grand Chapters, and immediate jurisdiction<br />
in all States or Territories where a State Grand Chapter<br />
has not been established .<br />
CHARGES . <strong>The</strong> fraternity had long been in possession <strong>of</strong><br />
many records, containing the ancient regulations <strong>of</strong> the order ;<br />
when, in 1722, the Duke <strong>of</strong> Montague being Grand Master <strong>of</strong><br />
England, the Grand Lodge finding fault with their antiquated<br />
arrangement, it was directed that they should be collected, and<br />
after being properly digested, be annexed to the Book <strong>of</strong> Constitutions,<br />
then in course <strong>of</strong> publication under the superintendence<br />
<strong>of</strong> Brother James Anderson . This was accordingly done, and<br />
the document now to be found in all the Ahiman Rezons, under<br />
the title <strong>of</strong> "<strong>The</strong> old Charges <strong>of</strong> the Free and Accepted Masons,"<br />
constitutes, by universal consent, a part <strong>of</strong> the fundamental law<br />
<strong>of</strong> our order . <strong>The</strong> charges are divided into six general heads <strong>of</strong><br />
duty, as follows : 1 . Concerning God and religion . 2. Of the<br />
civil magistrate, supreme and subordinate . 3 . Of lodges. 4 . Of<br />
Masters, Wardens, Fellows, and Apprentices . 5. Of the management<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Craft in working . 6. Of behaviour under different<br />
circumstances, and in various conditions . <strong>The</strong>se charges<br />
contain succinct directions for the proper discharge <strong>of</strong> a Mason's<br />
duties, in whatever position he may be placed ; and from them<br />
have been abridged, or by them suggested, all those well known<br />
directions found in our Monitors, which Masters are accustomed<br />
* By do amendment to the Constitution adopted in 1853, Past General<br />
Grand Officers are no longer ex <strong>of</strong>ficio members .
CHA ' 8s<br />
to read to candidates, on their reception into the different degrees,<br />
and which have, therefore, also been denominated charges .<br />
<strong>The</strong> word, however, in strictness and to avoid confusion, ought<br />
to have been confined to the Old Charges above alluded to .*<br />
CHARITY . "Though I speak with the tongues <strong>of</strong> men and<br />
<strong>of</strong> angels, and have not charity, I become as sounding brass, or<br />
a tinkling cymbal . And though I have the gift <strong>of</strong> prophecy and<br />
understand all mysteries and knowledge, and have all faith so<br />
that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing."<br />
(1 Corinth . xiii . 1, 2 .) Such was the language <strong>of</strong> an<br />
eminent apostle <strong>of</strong> the Christian church, and such is the sentiment<br />
that constitutes the cementing bond <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> .<br />
Charity is the chief corner-stone <strong>of</strong> our temple, and upon it is to<br />
be erected a superstructure <strong>of</strong> all the other virtues, which make<br />
the good man and the good Mason . <strong>The</strong> charity, however, <strong>of</strong><br />
which our order boasts, is not alone that sentiment <strong>of</strong> commiseration,<br />
which leads us to assist the poor with pecuniary donations .<br />
Like the virtue described by the apostle, already quoted, its application<br />
is more noble and more extensive . "It suffereth long<br />
and is kind ." <strong>The</strong> true Mason will be slow to anger and easy to<br />
forgive . He will stay his falling brother by gentle admonition,<br />
and warn him with kindness, <strong>of</strong> approaching danger . He will<br />
not open his ear to his slanderers, and will close his lips against<br />
all reproach . His faults and his follies will be locked in his<br />
breast, and the prayer for mercy will ascend to Jehovah for his<br />
brother's sins . Nor will these sentiments <strong>of</strong> benevolence be confined<br />
to those who are bound to him, by ties <strong>of</strong> kindred or worldly<br />
friendship alone ; but extending them throughout the globe, he<br />
will love and cherish all who sit beneath the broad canopy <strong>of</strong> our<br />
universal lodge . For it is the boast <strong>of</strong> our institution, that a<br />
* I have emitted the republication <strong>of</strong> these charges in the present edition,<br />
since they have now become accessible to every Mason, by their insorti in in<br />
several modem works on <strong>Freemasonry</strong> .
84 CHA-CHE<br />
Mason, destitute and worthy, may find in every clime brothel,<br />
and in every land a home .<br />
CHARLES XII., ORDER OF . An order <strong>of</strong> knighthood<br />
instituted in 1811 by Charles XII ., King <strong>of</strong> Sweden, and which<br />
was to be conferred only on the principal dignitaries <strong>of</strong> the masonic<br />
institution in his dominions . In the manifesto establishing<br />
the order, the king says :-" To give to this society, (the masonic)<br />
t pro<strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong> our gracious sentiments toward it, we will and ordain<br />
that its first dignitaries to the number which we may determine,<br />
shall in future be decorated with the most intimate pro<strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong> our<br />
confidence, and which shall be for them a distinctive mark <strong>of</strong> the<br />
highest dignity ." <strong>The</strong> number <strong>of</strong> knights are 27, all masons,<br />
and the King <strong>of</strong> Sweden is the perpetual Grand Plaster .<br />
CHERUBIM . <strong>The</strong> second order <strong>of</strong> the angelic hierarchy,<br />
the first being the seraphim . <strong>The</strong> two cherubim that overtopped<br />
the mercy-seat or covering <strong>of</strong> the ark, in the holy <strong>of</strong> holies, were<br />
placed there by Moses, in obedience to the orders <strong>of</strong> God : "And<br />
thou shalt make two cherubim <strong>of</strong> gold, <strong>of</strong> beaten work shalt thou<br />
make them, in the two ends <strong>of</strong> the mercy-seat . And the cherubim<br />
shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercyseat<br />
with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another ;<br />
toward the mercy-seat shall the faces <strong>of</strong> the cherubim be ."<br />
(Exod. xxv ., 17, 19 .) It was between these cherubim, that the<br />
shekinah or divine presence rested, and from which issued the<br />
Bathkol or voice <strong>of</strong> God . Of the form <strong>of</strong> these cherubim, we are<br />
ignorant ; Josephus says, that they resembled no known creature,<br />
but that Moses made them in the form in which he saw them<br />
about the throne <strong>of</strong> God ; others, deriving their ideas from what<br />
is said <strong>of</strong> them by Ezekiel, Isaiah, and St : John, describe theiu<br />
as having the face and breast <strong>of</strong>. a man, the wings <strong>of</strong> an eagle,<br />
the belly <strong>of</strong> a lion, and the legs and feet <strong>of</strong> an ox, which three<br />
animals, with man, are the symbols <strong>of</strong> strength and wisdom .
CHI * 85<br />
CHIEF OF THE TABERNACLE . <strong>The</strong> twenty-third de.<br />
gree in the Ancient Scotch Rite . It comn_Rmorates the institution<br />
<strong>of</strong> the order <strong>of</strong> the priesthood in Aaron and his sons Eleazar<br />
and Ithamar . Its <strong>of</strong>ficers are three, a Sovereign Sacrificer and<br />
two High Priests, and the members <strong>of</strong> the "Hierarchy," as the<br />
lodge is styled, are called Levites . <strong>The</strong> apron is white, lined<br />
with deep scarlet and bordered with red, blue and purple riband .<br />
A gold chandelier <strong>of</strong> seven branches is painted on the centre, and<br />
a violet-coloured myrtle on the flap . <strong>The</strong> jewel, which is a thurible,<br />
is worn from a broad yellow, purple, blue and scarlet sash,<br />
from the left shoulder to the right hip .<br />
CHISEL . One <strong>of</strong> the working tools <strong>of</strong> a Mark Master, and<br />
emblematic <strong>of</strong> the effects <strong>of</strong> education on the human mind . For,<br />
as the artist, by the aid <strong>of</strong> this instrument, gives form and regularity<br />
to the shapeless mass <strong>of</strong> stone, so education, by cultivating<br />
the ideas and by polishing the rude thoughts, transforms the<br />
ignorant savage into the civilized being . <strong>The</strong> chisel is speculatively<br />
to the Mark Master what the Ashlar is to the Entered<br />
Apprentice .<br />
In the English ritual, the chisel is one <strong>of</strong> the working tools <strong>of</strong><br />
the Entered Apprentice, with the same emblematic signification<br />
as we give to it in the Mark Master's degree .<br />
CHIVALRY . Although <strong>Freemasonry</strong> and the institution <strong>of</strong><br />
Chivalry are not identical, yet we are permitted, from a variety<br />
<strong>of</strong> considerations, to infer that the latter was a branch <strong>of</strong> the:<br />
former . And even if we should not come to this conclusion, the<br />
close connection which, at the present day, exists between some<br />
<strong>of</strong> the orders <strong>of</strong> chivalry and the order <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, will authorize<br />
us in devoting a few words to a brief examination <strong>of</strong> this<br />
venerable institution.<br />
<strong>The</strong> origin <strong>of</strong> chivalry is involved in very great obscurity .<br />
Almost every author who has written on this subject, has adopted<br />
an hypothesis <strong>of</strong> his own . Some derive the instn tution from the<br />
8
86 CHI<br />
equestrian order <strong>of</strong> ancient Rome, while others trace it to the<br />
tribes who, under the name <strong>of</strong> Northmen, about the nin : h century,<br />
invaded the southern parts <strong>of</strong> Europe . Warburton ascribes<br />
the origin <strong>of</strong> chivalry to the Arabians ; Pinkerton, Mallet and<br />
Percy, to the Scandinavians . Clavel derives it from the secret<br />
societies <strong>of</strong> the Persians, which were the remains <strong>of</strong> the mysteries<br />
<strong>of</strong> Mithras .<br />
Chivalry, like <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, was a ceremonial institution, and<br />
its ceremonies were highly symbolical in their character . It was<br />
divided into three degrees : that <strong>of</strong> Page, which might answer to<br />
our Apprentice ; <strong>of</strong> Esquire, similar to our Fellow Craft ; and <strong>of</strong><br />
Knight, which was equivalent to our Master . <strong>The</strong> education <strong>of</strong><br />
the page was conducted with the greatest care . He was confided<br />
to the charge <strong>of</strong> some noble dame, who inculcated an unlimited<br />
deference to the female sex, and taught him to appreciate the<br />
duties and honours <strong>of</strong> the pr<strong>of</strong>ession in which he was about to<br />
embark . When arrived at a proper age, which was generally<br />
that <strong>of</strong> fourteen, he was presented at the altar, where the priest,<br />
having consecrated a sword, suspended it from his shoulder, by<br />
which simple ceremony, he was advanced to the second degree<br />
<strong>of</strong> chivalry, and became an Esquire . From this time, he was<br />
attached to the person <strong>of</strong> a knight, and becoming the sharer <strong>of</strong><br />
his toils and dangers, was still further instructed in his duties .<br />
Having served a probationary term in these subordinate degrees,<br />
he was, at length, if found worthy, promoted to the honour <strong>of</strong><br />
knighthood, which was the third degree, and the one in which<br />
the knowledge <strong>of</strong> the mysteries was conferred . <strong>The</strong> day before<br />
the ceremony <strong>of</strong> installation, was passed by the novice in fasting,<br />
and the night in a church, prostrated at the foot <strong>of</strong> the altar, and<br />
in the midst <strong>of</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>ound darkness . <strong>The</strong> next day he knelt before<br />
the knight, who was to receive him, and took, between his<br />
hands, the solemn obligation, always to fly to the assistance <strong>of</strong><br />
the oppressed, and to sacrifice himself for the honour and defence<br />
<strong>of</strong> the mysteries <strong>of</strong> chivalry . <strong>The</strong> knight then girded the can'ii .<br />
date with a sword, struck him on the neck with his own, which
CHI 87<br />
act was called the accolade, kissed his cheeks and iorehead, and<br />
gave him, with the open palm <strong>of</strong> his hand, a gentle slap, the last<br />
he was ever to receive without resentment . He then arose, and<br />
was clothed with the various pieces <strong>of</strong> his armour, the emblematic<br />
sense <strong>of</strong> which was explained to him .<br />
<strong>The</strong> formulary <strong>of</strong> this part <strong>of</strong> the reception has been preserved,*<br />
and furnishes abundant evidence <strong>of</strong> the symbolic character<br />
<strong>of</strong> the institution . <strong>The</strong> sword which he received was<br />
called 11 the arms <strong>of</strong> mercy," and he was told to conquer his enemies<br />
by mercy rather than by force <strong>of</strong> arms . Its blade was twoedged,<br />
to remind him that he must maintain chivalry and justice,<br />
and contend only for the support <strong>of</strong> these two chief pillars <strong>of</strong> the<br />
temple <strong>of</strong> honour . <strong>The</strong> lance represented Truth, because truth,<br />
like the lance, is straight . <strong>The</strong> coat <strong>of</strong> mail was the symbol <strong>of</strong><br />
a fortress erected against vice, for, as castles are surrounded by<br />
walls and ditches, the coat <strong>of</strong> mail is closed in all its parts, and<br />
defends the knight against treason, disloyalty, pride, and every<br />
other evil passion . <strong>The</strong> rowels <strong>of</strong> the spur were given to urge<br />
the possessor on to deeds <strong>of</strong> honour and virtue . <strong>The</strong> shield,<br />
which he places betwixt himself and his enemy, was to remind<br />
him that the knight is as a shield interposed between the prince<br />
and the people, to preserve peace and tranquility .<br />
After the reception, the knight was exhibited with great pomp<br />
before the people . A banquet, followed by the bestowal <strong>of</strong><br />
largesses and alms, concluded the ceremonies. <strong>The</strong> knights were<br />
in possession <strong>of</strong> signs <strong>of</strong> recognition known only to themselves,t<br />
and were also united by a system <strong>of</strong> mysteries, allusions to whii ;h<br />
will <strong>of</strong>ten be found in the allegories that we meet with in the<br />
romances <strong>of</strong> chivalry . <strong>The</strong> greater part <strong>of</strong> the stories <strong>of</strong> Turpin<br />
and the other old romancers is filled with astronomical allusions<br />
applied to Charlemagne, and indeed this prince and his twel v e<br />
paladins ought, says Clavel, to be considered in these legends, as<br />
* La Roque, Trait : de la Noblesse .<br />
t Clavel Kist. Pitt. de la Franc-Ma ; on, p . 354.
88 CHR-CIR<br />
the sun and the twelve genii or signs <strong>of</strong> the twelve palaces <strong>of</strong> the<br />
zodiac .<br />
CHRIST, ORDER OF . When the Knights Templars were<br />
overthrown throughout Europe, they were protected in Portugal,<br />
and converted by the sovereign into a new order, called the Order<br />
<strong>of</strong> Christ, and the secret part <strong>of</strong> the ritual was abolished . A<br />
masonic order <strong>of</strong> the same name was at one time established in<br />
Paris by a Portuguese .<br />
CIRCLE . See Point within a Circle .<br />
CIRCUMAMBULATION . Circumambulation, or a procession<br />
around the altar, always formed a part <strong>of</strong> the ancient religious<br />
ceremonies . In Greece, the priests and the people walked<br />
thrice round the altar during the sacrifice, and sung a sacred<br />
hymn . On these occasions, the procession moved according to<br />
the course <strong>of</strong> the sun, and a hymn is still preserved in the writing<br />
<strong>of</strong> Callimachus, which was chanted by the priests <strong>of</strong> Apollo,<br />
at Delos, and the substance <strong>of</strong> which was, "we imitate the example<br />
<strong>of</strong> the sun and follow his benevolent course ." <strong>The</strong> Druids<br />
used the same ceremonies, and always made three turns round<br />
the altar, accompanied by all the worshippers . In some parts<br />
<strong>of</strong> Britain, this practice continued to be observed for ages after<br />
the destruction <strong>of</strong> the Druidical religion, and Martin, in his Description<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Western Islands, written not a century ago, tells<br />
us that " in the Scottish isles the people never come to the ancient<br />
sacrificing and fire-hallowing cairns, but they walk three<br />
times round them, from east to west, according to the course <strong>of</strong><br />
the sun . This sanctified tour, or round by the south, is called<br />
Deiseal, from Deas or Deis, the right hand, and Soil or Sul, the<br />
sun ; the right hand being ever next the heap or cairn ."<br />
Oliver says that in levelling the foot-stone <strong>of</strong> the temple, King<br />
Solomon and the twelve tribes circumambulated Mount Moriah<br />
three times in jubilee procession .
CIR-CLE 2S9<br />
CIRCUMSPECTION. A necessary watchfulness :s recomwended<br />
to every man, but in a Mason it becomes a positive duty,<br />
and the neglect <strong>of</strong> it constitutes a heinous crime . On this sub<br />
ject, the Old Charges are explicit . "You shall be cautious in<br />
your words and carriage, that the most penetrating stranger shall<br />
not be able to discover or find out what is not proper to be imitated<br />
; and sometimes you shall divert a discourse and manage it<br />
prudently for the honour <strong>of</strong> the Worshipful Fraternity ."- Old<br />
C7iarges, VI 4 .<br />
CLANDESTINE . Not legal . A body <strong>of</strong> Masons uniting in<br />
a lodge without the consent <strong>of</strong> a Grand Lodge, or although originally<br />
legally constituted, continuing to work after its charter has<br />
been revoked, is styled a " Clandestine Lodge," and its members<br />
are called " Clandestine Masons ." With clandestine lodges or<br />
Masons, regular Masons are forbidden to associate, or converse on<br />
masonic subjects .<br />
CLAY GROUND . In the clay ground between Succoth and<br />
Zeredatha, Hiram Abif cast all the sacred vessels <strong>of</strong> the temple, as<br />
well as the pillars <strong>of</strong> the porch . This spot was about 35 miles<br />
in a north-east direction from Jerusalem, and it is supposed that<br />
Hiram selected it for his foundry, because the clay which abounded<br />
there was, by its great tenacity, peculiarly fitted for making<br />
moulds . <strong>The</strong> masonic tradition on this subject is sustained by<br />
the authority <strong>of</strong> Scripture . See 1 . Kings vii. 42, and 2 Chron .<br />
iv . 17 .<br />
CLEFTS OF THE ROCKS . <strong>The</strong> whole <strong>of</strong> Palestine is<br />
very mountainous, and these mountains abound in deep clefts or<br />
caves, which were anciently places <strong>of</strong> refuge to the inhabitants in<br />
time <strong>of</strong> war, and were <strong>of</strong>ten used as lurking places for robbers .<br />
It is, therefore, strictly in accordance with geographical truth<br />
that the statement, in relation to the concealment <strong>of</strong> certain per .<br />
sons in the clefts <strong>of</strong> the rocks, is made in the third degree .<br />
8*
9U CLO--COC<br />
CLOSIN(J- . <strong>The</strong> duty <strong>of</strong> closing the lodge is as imperative<br />
and the ceremony as solemn as that <strong>of</strong> opening, nor should it<br />
ever be omitted through negligence, nor hurried over with haste,<br />
but every thing should be performed with order and precision, so<br />
that no brother shall go away dissatisfied . From the very nature<br />
<strong>of</strong> our constitution, a lodge cannot properly be adjourned . It<br />
must either be closed in due form, or the brethren called <strong>of</strong>f to<br />
refreshment . But an adjournment on motion, as in other societies,<br />
is unknown to our order . <strong>The</strong> Master can, alone, dismiss<br />
the brethren, and that dismission must take place after a settled<br />
usage . In Grand Lodges, which meet for several days successively,<br />
the session is generally continued from day to day, by<br />
calling to refreshment at the termination <strong>of</strong> each day's sitting .<br />
CLOTHED. A Mason is said to be properly clothed when<br />
he wears white leather gloves, a white apron, and the jewel <strong>of</strong><br />
his masonic rank . <strong>The</strong> gloves are now <strong>of</strong>ten, but improperly dispensed<br />
with, except nn public occasions. This costume is <strong>of</strong><br />
ancient date, for, in an indenture <strong>of</strong> covenants made in the reign<br />
<strong>of</strong> Henry the Sixth, <strong>of</strong> England, " between the church wardens<br />
<strong>of</strong> a parish in Suffolk and a company <strong>of</strong> Freemasons, the-latter<br />
stipulate that each man should be provided with a pair <strong>of</strong> white<br />
gloves and a white apron, and that a lodge, properly tyled,<br />
should be erected at the expense <strong>of</strong> the parish, in which they<br />
were to carry on their works ." See Quarterly Review, . Vol<br />
XXI Y. p . 146 .<br />
CLOUDED CANOPY . See Covering .<br />
COCK. <strong>The</strong> ancients made the cock a symbol <strong>of</strong> courage,<br />
and consecrated him to Mars, Pallas and Bellona, deities <strong>of</strong> war .<br />
As an emblem <strong>of</strong> this quality, he is used in the jewel <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Captain General <strong>of</strong> an Encampment <strong>of</strong> Knights Templars .<br />
Rhigelline, however, gives a different explanation <strong>of</strong> this symbol.<br />
He says that the cock was the emblem <strong>of</strong> the sun and <strong>of</strong> life,
COE-COF 91<br />
and that as the ancient Christians allegorically deplored the death<br />
<strong>of</strong> the solar orb in Christ, the cock recalled its life and resurrection .*<br />
<strong>The</strong> cock, we know, was a symbol among the early Christians, and<br />
is repeatedly to be found on the tombs in the catacombs <strong>of</strong> Rome .<br />
Hence, I am, on further reflection, induced to believe that we should<br />
give a Christian interpretation to the jewel <strong>of</strong> a Knight Templar<br />
as symbolic <strong>of</strong> the resurrection .<br />
COERCION . Among the imperative requisites <strong>of</strong> a candidate<br />
for <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, is one that he should come <strong>of</strong> his free will and<br />
accord . Masons cannot, therefore, be too cautious how they act<br />
or speak before uninitiated persons who have expressed any desire<br />
<strong>of</strong> entering the order, lest this perfect freedom <strong>of</strong> their will<br />
be infringed . Coercion is entirely out <strong>of</strong> the question . Mercenary<br />
or interested motives should be strenuously discouraged, and<br />
no other inducement used than that silent persuasion which arises<br />
from a candid exposition <strong>of</strong> the beauties and moral excellences <strong>of</strong><br />
our institution .<br />
COFFIN . In the ancient mysteries, the aspirant could not<br />
claim a participation in the highest secrets until he had been<br />
placed in the Pastos, Bed or C<strong>of</strong>fin . <strong>The</strong> placing him in the<br />
c<strong>of</strong>fin was called the symbolical death <strong>of</strong> the mysteries, and his<br />
deliverance was termed a raising from the dead . Hence arose a<br />
peculiarity in the Greek verb teleutao, which, in the active voice,<br />
signified "I die," and in the middle voice, "I am initiated ."<br />
"<strong>The</strong> mind," says an ancient writer, quoted by Stobaeus, "is<br />
affected in death just as it is in the initiation into the mysteries<br />
And word answers to word, as well as thing to thing ; for reAsuraiv<br />
is to die, and rs1sc68ac to be initiated ." <strong>The</strong> c<strong>of</strong>fin in masonry is<br />
an emblem <strong>of</strong> the Master's degree, but : is explication is here in.<br />
communicable .<br />
* Magonnerie consideree commo le resultat des religions Egyptienne, Juive<br />
et Chretienrn , tom . ii . p . 67.
92 COL-COM<br />
COLLAR . An ornament worn around the neck by the <strong>of</strong>ficers<br />
<strong>of</strong> lodges, tc which is suspended a jewel indicative <strong>of</strong> the wearer's<br />
rank . <strong>The</strong> colour <strong>of</strong> the collar varies in the different grades <strong>of</strong><br />
masonry . That <strong>of</strong> a symbolic lodge is blue ; <strong>of</strong> a Past Master,<br />
purple ; <strong>of</strong> a Royal Arch Mason, scarlet ; <strong>of</strong> a Secret Master,<br />
white bordered with black ; <strong>of</strong> a Perfect Master, green, &c .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se colours are not arbitrary, but are each accompanied with an<br />
emblematic meaning .<br />
COLOURS . Each grade <strong>of</strong> masonry is furnished with its<br />
emblematic colour . Colours have always been invested with<br />
mystic meanings . Thus, they are used as the distinguishing<br />
mark <strong>of</strong> different nations, as well as <strong>of</strong> different pr<strong>of</strong>essions .<br />
White has been considered as emblematic <strong>of</strong> joy, and is hence<br />
selected as the appropriate dress for bridal occasions . On the<br />
contrary, the sombre appearance <strong>of</strong> black has confined its use to<br />
seasons <strong>of</strong> grief and mourning . <strong>The</strong> heralds have adopted colours<br />
as a part <strong>of</strong> their highly symbolic science, and among them,<br />
every colour is the symbol <strong>of</strong> a particular virtue and quality <strong>of</strong><br />
the mind . <strong>The</strong> three symbolic colours <strong>of</strong> the ancient Druids,<br />
appropriated to their three degrees, were Green, emblematic <strong>of</strong><br />
Hope ; Blue, <strong>of</strong> Truth ; and White, <strong>of</strong> Light . <strong>The</strong> colours <strong>of</strong><br />
Ancient York Masonry are blue, purple and scarlet . Besides<br />
these, the different degrees <strong>of</strong> chivalry, and <strong>of</strong> Scotch masonry,<br />
have their appropriate colours . <strong>The</strong> reader is referred to these<br />
colours under their appropriate names .<br />
COLUMN . A round pillar made to support as well as to<br />
adorn a building, whose construction varies in the different orders<br />
<strong>of</strong> architecture . See Broken Column .<br />
COMMANDER, GRAND . <strong>The</strong> Grand Commander is the<br />
presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer in an encampment <strong>of</strong> Knights Templars . His<br />
style is Most Eminent, and the jewel <strong>of</strong> his <strong>of</strong>fice is a cross, from<br />
which issue rays <strong>of</strong> light .
COM 93<br />
COMMITTEE . <strong>The</strong> well-known regulation which fo rbida<br />
private committees in the lodge, that is, select conversations between<br />
two or more members, in which the other members are not<br />
permitted to join, is derived from the Old Charges : "You are<br />
not permitted to hold private committees or separate conversation,<br />
without leave from the Master, nor to talk <strong>of</strong> any thing impertinent<br />
or unseemly, nor to interrupt the Master or Wardens,<br />
or any brother speaking to the Master ."--Old Charges, § VI . 1 .<br />
COMMON GAVEL. See Gavel.<br />
COMMUNICATE. When the peculiar mysteries <strong>of</strong> a degree<br />
are bestowed upon a candidate by mere verbal description<br />
<strong>of</strong> the bestower, without his being made to pass through the constituted<br />
ceremonies, the degree is technically said to be commu.<br />
nicated. This mode is, however, entirely confined to the Scotch<br />
rite . In York Masonry it is never permitted .<br />
COMMUNICATIONS. <strong>The</strong> meetings <strong>of</strong> Lodges are called<br />
Communications, and <strong>of</strong> Grand Lodges, Grand Communications<br />
.<br />
COMPANION . A title bestowed by Royal Arch Masons<br />
upon each other, and equivalent to the word brother in symbolic<br />
lodges. It refers, most probably, to the companionship in exile<br />
and captivity <strong>of</strong> the ancient Jews, from the destruction <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Temple by Nebuchadnezzar, to its restoration by Zerubabbel,<br />
under the auspices <strong>of</strong> Cyrus .<br />
COMPASSES . As in operative masonry, the compasses are<br />
used for the admeasurement <strong>of</strong> the architect's plans, and to enable<br />
him to give those just proportions which will insure beauty<br />
as well as stability to his work ; so, in speculative masonry, ie<br />
this important implement symbolic <strong>of</strong> that even tenor <strong>of</strong> deport-
94 COM-CON<br />
ment, that true standard <strong>of</strong> rectitude which aloi .e can bestow<br />
happiness here and felicity hereafter . Hence are the compasses<br />
the most prominent emblem <strong>of</strong> virtue,* the true and only measure<br />
<strong>of</strong> a Mason's life and conduct . As the Bible gives us lig ht on<br />
our duties to God, and the square illustrates our duties to our<br />
neighbour and brother, so the compasses give that additional light<br />
which is to instruct us in the duty we owe to ourselves-the<br />
great imperative duty <strong>of</strong> circumscribing our passions, and keeping<br />
our desires within due bounds . "It is ordained," says the philo.<br />
sophic Burke, "in the eternal constitution <strong>of</strong> things, that men<br />
<strong>of</strong> intemperate passions cannot be free ; their passions forge their<br />
fetters ."<br />
COMPOSITE . One <strong>of</strong> the five orders <strong>of</strong> architecture introduced<br />
by the Romans, and compounded <strong>of</strong> the other four, whence<br />
it derives its name . Although it combines strength with beauty,<br />
yet, as it is a comparatively modern invention, it is held in little<br />
esteem among Freemasons .<br />
CONSECRATION . When a new lodge is formed, it is necessary<br />
that it should be hallowed or consecrated to the purposes<br />
<strong>of</strong> masonry. <strong>The</strong> ceremonies on this occasion vary in Iiflereut<br />
countries . <strong>The</strong>y are detailed in all the Monitors .<br />
CONSECRATION, ELEMENTS OF . <strong>The</strong> masonic elements<br />
<strong>of</strong> consecration are corn, wine, and oil, which are called the corn<br />
<strong>of</strong> nourishment, the wine <strong>of</strong> refreshment, and the oil <strong>of</strong> joy . <strong>The</strong>y<br />
are emblematic <strong>of</strong> health, plenty, and peace . See Corn .<br />
CONSISTORY . <strong>The</strong> meetings <strong>of</strong> members <strong>of</strong> the 32d do-<br />
* Those brethren who delight to trace our emblems to an astronomical<br />
origin, find, in the compasses, a symbol <strong>of</strong> the Sun, the circular pivot ri pr*oenting<br />
the body <strong>of</strong> the luminary, and the diverging legs his rays .
CON-COP 95<br />
gree, or Sublime Princes <strong>of</strong> the Royal Secret, are called Cousistories<br />
. Its <strong>of</strong>ficers are, a Thrice Illustrious Grand Commander,<br />
two Thrice Illustrious Lieutenant Grand Commanders, Grand<br />
Orator, Grand Chancellor, Grand Treasurer, Grand Secretary,<br />
Grand Master Architect, Physician General, Keeper <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Seals, Grand Master <strong>of</strong> Ceremonies, Captain <strong>of</strong> the Guards, and<br />
Tyler.<br />
CONSTITUTION OF A LODGE . Any number <strong>of</strong> Master<br />
Masons, not less than seven, being desirous <strong>of</strong> forming a new lodge,<br />
must apply by petition, to the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> the State in which<br />
they reside, praying for a Charter or Warrant <strong>of</strong> Constitut"ton to<br />
enable them to assemble as a regular lodge . <strong>The</strong>ir petition being<br />
favourably received, a warrant is immediately granted, aDd the<br />
Grand Master appoints a day for its consecration and for the installation<br />
<strong>of</strong> its <strong>of</strong>ficers . In this consecration and installation<br />
consists the constitution <strong>of</strong> a lodge, and when thus conse'-rated,<br />
and its <strong>of</strong>ficers installed by the authority <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lo-Age, it<br />
is said to be legally constituted.<br />
CONSTITUTIONS . See Book <strong>of</strong> Constitutions.<br />
CONVOCATION . <strong>The</strong> meetings <strong>of</strong> Chapters <strong>of</strong> Roya' Arch<br />
Masons are styled Convocations ; those <strong>of</strong> Grand Chapee are<br />
Grand Convocations .<br />
COPESTONE .* <strong>The</strong> topmost stone in a building ; the (ast<br />
laid, as the foundation stone is the first . "To celebrate the -oy-astone,"<br />
is to celebrate the completion <strong>of</strong> the edifice, a custom 9tT<br />
observed by operative Masons .<br />
CORINTHIAN ORDER . This is the lightest aid most<br />
In masonic language this word is usually but incorrectly pronounced<br />
eapestone . Its derivation is from the Saxon cop, the head.
96 COR<br />
drnamental <strong>of</strong> the pure orders, and possesses the highest degree<br />
<strong>of</strong> richness and detail that architecture attained under the Greeks .<br />
Its capital is its great distinction, and is richly adorned with<br />
leaves <strong>of</strong> acanthus, olive, &c ., and other ornaments . <strong>The</strong> column<br />
<strong>of</strong> Beauty which supports the lodge, is <strong>of</strong> the Corinthian order,<br />
and its appropriate situat;on and symbolic <strong>of</strong>ficer arc in the S .- .<br />
CORN . Corn, wine, and oil are the masonic elements <strong>of</strong> con-<br />
5ecration . <strong>The</strong> adoption <strong>of</strong> these symbols is supported by the<br />
highest antiquity . Corn, wine, and oil were the most important<br />
productions <strong>of</strong> Eastern countries ; they constituted the wealth <strong>of</strong><br />
the people, and were esteemed as the supports <strong>of</strong> life and the<br />
means <strong>of</strong> refreshment . David enumerates them among the<br />
greatest blessings that we enjoy, and speaks <strong>of</strong> them as "wine<br />
that maketh glad the heart <strong>of</strong> man, and oil to make his face<br />
shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart ." Ps . civ . 14. .<br />
In devoting any thing to religious purposes, the anointing with<br />
oil was considered as . a necessary part <strong>of</strong> the ceremony, a rite<br />
wb ich has descended to Christian nations . <strong>The</strong> tabernacle in<br />
the wilderness, and all its holy vessels, were, by God's express<br />
command, anointed with oil ; Aaron and his two sons were set<br />
apart for the priesthood with the same ceremony ; and the prophets<br />
and kings <strong>of</strong> Israel were consecrated to their <strong>of</strong>fices by the<br />
same rite . Hence, Freemasons' lodges, which are but temples to<br />
the Most High, are consecrated to the sacred purposes for which<br />
they were built, by strewing corn, wine, and oil upon the "lodge,"<br />
the emblem <strong>of</strong> the Holy Ark . Thus does this mystic ceremony<br />
instruct us to be nourished with the hidden manna <strong>of</strong> righteous<br />
ness, to be refreshed with the Word <strong>of</strong> the Lord, and to rejoica<br />
with joy unspeakable in the riches <strong>of</strong> divine grace . " Wherefore,<br />
my brethren," says the venerable Harris, " wherefore do<br />
you carry corn, wine, and oil, in your processions, but to remind<br />
you, that in the pilgrimage <strong>of</strong> human life, you are to impart a<br />
portion <strong>of</strong> your bread to feed the hungry, to send a cup <strong>of</strong> your
COR<br />
trine to cheer the sorrowful, and to pour the bearing oil <strong>of</strong> your<br />
consolation into the wounds which sickness hath made in the<br />
bodies, or affliction rent in the hearts <strong>of</strong> your fellow-travellers ?"<br />
-Discourses, IV. 81 .<br />
In processions, the corn alone is carried in a golden pitcher,<br />
the wine and oil are placed in silver vessels, and this is to remind<br />
us that the first, as a necessity and the "staff <strong>of</strong> life," is <strong>of</strong> more<br />
importance and more worthy <strong>of</strong> honour than the others, which<br />
are but comforts .<br />
CORNER-STONE. <strong>The</strong> first stone, in the foundation <strong>of</strong><br />
every magnificent building, is called the corner-stone, and is laid<br />
in the north-east, generally with solemn and appropriate ceremonies<br />
. To this stone, formerly, some secret influence was attributed .<br />
In Alet's Ritual, it is directed to be "solid, angular, <strong>of</strong> about a<br />
foot square, and laid in the north-east ." Its position, as Oliver<br />
justly remarks, " accounts in a rational manner, for the general<br />
disposition <strong>of</strong> a newly initiated candidate, when enlightened but<br />
uninstructed, he is accounted to be in the most superficial part<br />
<strong>of</strong> masonry."--Signs and Symbols, p . 225 .<br />
CORNUCOPIA. <strong>The</strong> horn <strong>of</strong> plenty . It is a symbol <strong>of</strong><br />
abundance, and as such has been adopted as the jewel <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Stewards <strong>of</strong> a lodge, to remind them that it is their duty to see<br />
that the tables are properly furnished at refreshment, and that<br />
every brother is suitably provided for .<br />
CORYBANTES, MYSTERIES OF THE . Rites instituted<br />
in Phrygia, in honour <strong>of</strong> Atys, the lover <strong>of</strong> Cybele . <strong>The</strong> goddess<br />
was supposed first to bewail the death <strong>of</strong> her lover, and<br />
afterwards to rejoice for his restoration to life. <strong>The</strong> ceremonics<br />
were a scenical representation <strong>of</strong> this alternate lamentation and<br />
rejoi3ing, and <strong>of</strong> the sufferings <strong>of</strong> Atys, who was placed in an<br />
ark or c<strong>of</strong>fin during the mournful part <strong>of</strong> the orgies .<br />
9<br />
_ 97
98 COT-COV<br />
COTYTTO, MYSTERIES OF . <strong>The</strong>se mysteries were insti .<br />
tuted in Thrace, and passed over into Greece and Rome, where<br />
they were known as the rites <strong>of</strong> the Bona Dea . <strong>The</strong>y were celebrated<br />
by females alone, and were conducted with so much<br />
secrecy that their ceremonies are entirely unknown .<br />
COUNCIL . In several <strong>of</strong> the higher degrees <strong>of</strong> masonry, the<br />
meetings are styled councils-as a council <strong>of</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Red Cross, and <strong>of</strong> Princes <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem . A portion <strong>of</strong> the room<br />
in which a chapter <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch Masons or Knights <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Red Cross meets, is emphatically designated as the Grand<br />
Council .<br />
COUNCIL OF ROYAL AND SELECT MASTERS . Bodies<br />
in which the degrees <strong>of</strong> Royal and Select Masters are given .<br />
<strong>The</strong> names and number <strong>of</strong> the <strong>of</strong>ficers vary slightly in different<br />
councils . <strong>The</strong>y are perhaps most properly, a Thrice Illustrious<br />
Grand Master, Illustrious Hiram <strong>of</strong> Tyre, Principal Conductor <strong>of</strong><br />
the Works, Recorder, Master <strong>of</strong> the Exchequer, Captain <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Guards and Steward . Some <strong>of</strong> the monitors add a Conductor<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Council, but I am not aware that such an <strong>of</strong>ficer is necessary<br />
according to the true ritual .<br />
COUNCIL OF THE TRINITY . An independent masonic<br />
jurisdiction, in which are conferred the degrees <strong>of</strong> Knight <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Christian Mark, and Guard <strong>of</strong> the Conclave, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Holy<br />
Sepulchre, and the Holy and Thrice Illustrious Order <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Cross . <strong>The</strong>y are conferred after the Encampment degrees . <strong>The</strong>y<br />
are Christian degrees, ind refer to the crucifixion .<br />
COVERING OF THE LODGE . Our ancient brethren me,<br />
beneath no other covering than the cloudy canopy <strong>of</strong> heaven .<br />
<strong>The</strong> innumerable stars that decked its concave surface, were as<br />
living witnesses . <strong>of</strong> the power and wisdom <strong>of</strong> Him, at whose
COW-CRA 09<br />
sacred name they were taught to bow ; and were nightly winning<br />
from the virtuous Mason, by their bright effulgence, the prayer<br />
<strong>of</strong> hope, and the hymn <strong>of</strong> praise . Our lodges still claim this<br />
noble ro<strong>of</strong>, emblematically, as their only covering, which admonishes<br />
them with a ' 1 sic itur ad astra," to aspire from earth to<br />
heaven, and to seek there the rest from labour, and the reward<br />
<strong>of</strong> toil .<br />
COWAN . One <strong>of</strong> the pr<strong>of</strong>ane . This purely masonic term is<br />
derived from the Greek kuon, a dog . In the early ages <strong>of</strong> the<br />
church, when the mysteries <strong>of</strong> religion were communicated only<br />
to initiates under the veil <strong>of</strong> secrecy, the infidels and unbaptized<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>ane were called "dogs," a term probably suggested by such<br />
passages <strong>of</strong> Scripture as Matt . vii . 6, "Give not that which is<br />
holy to dogs," and Philip . iii . 2, " Beware <strong>of</strong> dogs, beware <strong>of</strong><br />
evil workers, beware <strong>of</strong> the concision ." Hence, as kuon, or dog,<br />
meant among the early fathers one who had not been initiated into<br />
the Christian mysteries, the term was borrowed by the Freemasons,<br />
and in time corrupted into cowan. <strong>The</strong> attempt made by<br />
some anti-masonic writers to derive the word from the chouans<br />
<strong>of</strong> the French Revolution is absurd . <strong>The</strong> word was in use long<br />
before the French Revolution was even meditated . I have in<br />
my possession a copy <strong>of</strong> the edition <strong>of</strong> Anderson's Constitutions,<br />
printed in 1769, which contains at p . 97, this word : "Working<br />
Masons ever will have their own wages * * * let cowans do as<br />
they please ."<br />
CRAFT . <strong>The</strong> ordinary acceptation is a trade or mechanical<br />
art, and collectively, the persons practising it . Hence, " the<br />
Craft," in speculative masonry, signifies the whole body <strong>of</strong> Freemasons,<br />
wherever dispersed .<br />
CRAFTED . A word sometimes colloquially used, . instead <strong>of</strong><br />
the lodge term " passed," to designate the adv2 ncement <strong>of</strong> a candidate<br />
to the second degree .
100 CRA-CRO<br />
CRAFTSMAN . A Fellow Craft.<br />
CREATED . Knights <strong>of</strong> the Red Cross, Knights ,-f Malta,<br />
and Knights Templars, when advanced to those degrees, are said<br />
to be ' 1 dubbed and created ."<br />
CREED OF A MASON . <strong>The</strong> creed <strong>of</strong> a Mason is brief, unentangled<br />
with scholastic subtleties, or with theological difficulties<br />
. It is a creed which demands and receives the universal<br />
consent <strong>of</strong> all men, which admits <strong>of</strong> no doubt, and defies schism .<br />
It is the belief in GOD, the supreme architect <strong>of</strong> heaven and<br />
earth ; the dispenser <strong>of</strong> all good gifts, and the judge <strong>of</strong> the quick<br />
and the dead .<br />
CROSS . <strong>The</strong> cross was an important emblem in the Pagan<br />
mysteries, and was used as an hieroglyphic <strong>of</strong> life . It is retained<br />
in one <strong>of</strong> its modifications, the triple tau, as an emblem <strong>of</strong> the<br />
R .-. A .- . degree, according to the English ritual, and is to be<br />
found plentifully dispersed through the symbols <strong>of</strong> the ineffable<br />
and philosophical degrees . As an emblem in the degrees <strong>of</strong><br />
chivalry, it bears a strictly Christian allusion . But I do not recognize<br />
it as appertaining to symbolic masonry . See Triple Tau .<br />
CROSS-LEGGED . It was an invariable custom in the Middle<br />
Ages, in laying out the body <strong>of</strong> a Knight Templar after death,<br />
to cross one leg over the other ; and in all the monuments <strong>of</strong><br />
these knights now remaining in the various churches <strong>of</strong> Europe,<br />
there will always be found an image <strong>of</strong> the person buried, sculptured<br />
on the stone, lying on a bier in this cross-legged position .<br />
Templars <strong>of</strong> the present day will readily connect this posture<br />
with an appropriate portion <strong>of</strong> the degree as now conferred .<br />
When, in the 16th century, a portion <strong>of</strong> the Knights Templars<br />
<strong>of</strong> Scotland united themselves with a masonic lodge at Sterling,<br />
they were commonly known by the name <strong>of</strong> the "cross-legged<br />
Masons ." Oliver relates the fact, but assigns no plausible reason
CR0-CUB 101<br />
for the appellation . It was, I presume, given in allusion L this<br />
funeral posture <strong>of</strong> the Templars, and a ' 1 cross-legged Mason"<br />
would, therefore, be synonymous with a masonic Knight Templar .<br />
CROW. An iron implement to raise weights . It is one <strong>of</strong><br />
the working tools <strong>of</strong> a Royal Arch Mason . For its symbolic<br />
meaning, see Pickaxe .<br />
CROWN, PRINCESSES OF THE . Princesses de la couronne<br />
. A species <strong>of</strong> androgynous masonry . established at Sax<br />
ony, in 1770 .-Clavel, 1Yist- de la Franc-Mason .<br />
CRUSADES . A few masonic writers have endeavoured to<br />
trace the introduction <strong>of</strong> masonry into Europe, to these wars .<br />
Those who entertain this opinion, suppose that the order was<br />
unknown in Christendom until it was brought there by the<br />
knights who had visited the Holy Land, and who, they contend,<br />
were instructed in its mysteries by the Jews <strong>of</strong> Palestine . But<br />
this theory is wholly untenable ; for the first crusade commenced<br />
in 1065 ; and we have the best evidence that a convention <strong>of</strong><br />
Masons assembled at York, on the summons <strong>of</strong> Prince Edwin, as<br />
early as 926, or 139 years before a single knight had entered<br />
Asia .<br />
CRUX ANSATA . <strong>The</strong> crux ansata or cross, surmounted by a<br />
circle, thus, was, in the Egyptian mysteries, a symbol <strong>of</strong><br />
eternal life.<br />
CUBE . <strong>The</strong> cube is defined to be a regular solid body, con .<br />
sisting <strong>of</strong> six square and equal faces or sides, and the angles all<br />
right angles . In the double cube, four <strong>of</strong> the faces are oblong<br />
squares . <strong>The</strong> cube, from its perfect form, constitutes an important<br />
geometrical figure among Masons . <strong>The</strong> perfect Ashlar, it is<br />
supposed by some, should be <strong>of</strong> this figure, and the form <strong>of</strong> t4e<br />
9*
102 CUB<br />
lodge, taken in its height and depth, as well as its length and<br />
breadth, is a double cube, though in its superfices it constitutes<br />
only an oblong square .<br />
CUBICAL STONE . <strong>The</strong> cubical stone forms on impc.rtant<br />
part <strong>of</strong> the ritual <strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch and Rose Croix, as well as<br />
some other <strong>of</strong> the high degrees . We have a masonic legend respecting<br />
a cubical stone, on which the sacred name was inscribed<br />
in a mystical diagram . On this stone, Adam made his <strong>of</strong>ferings<br />
to God . This stone is called ' 1 the masonic stone <strong>of</strong> foundation,"<br />
and our traditions very minutely trace its history . -When Jacob<br />
fled from Esau to his uncle Laban, in Mesopotamia, he carried<br />
this stone with him, and used it as his pillow on the occasion <strong>of</strong><br />
his memorable dream, the foot <strong>of</strong> the ladder appearing to rest on<br />
the stone . It was subsequently taken by him into Egypt, and<br />
when the Israelites departed from that country, Moses conveyed<br />
away with his followers the stone <strong>of</strong> foundation, as a talisman,<br />
by which they were to be conducted into the promised land . In<br />
the battle with the Amalekites, he seated himself on this stone .<br />
Afterward this stone was deposited in a secret crypt <strong>of</strong> the temple,<br />
in a manner well known to Select Masters, and there remained<br />
hidden until, at the rebuilding <strong>of</strong> the temple by Zerubbabel,<br />
it was discovered by three zealous sojourners, and made<br />
the corner-stone <strong>of</strong> the second temple .*<br />
CUBIT. A measure <strong>of</strong> length, originally denoting the distance<br />
from the elbow to the extremity <strong>of</strong> the middle finger, or<br />
the fourth part <strong>of</strong> a well proportioned man's stature . <strong>The</strong> Hebrew<br />
cubit, according to Bishop Cumberland, was twenty-one<br />
inches ; but only eighteen according to other authorities. <strong>The</strong>ro<br />
's <strong>The</strong> stone pillar, anointed with oil, was a common patriarchal hieroglyphic,<br />
connected with the worship <strong>of</strong> the Supreme Being ; and, as Faber remarks, a<br />
rude stone, anointed in the same way, was among the heathens one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
most ancient symbols <strong>of</strong> the Great F .itber. <strong>The</strong> cubical stone is, indeed, an<br />
important link, connecting the spu .ious and the true <strong>Freemasonry</strong> .
C YR--DAR 103<br />
were two kinds <strong>of</strong> cubits, the sacred and prc .fane-the former<br />
equal to thirty-six, and the latter to eighteen inches . It is by<br />
the common cubit that the dimensions <strong>of</strong> the various parts <strong>of</strong> the<br />
temple are to be computed .<br />
CYRUS . Cyrus king <strong>of</strong> Persia, was a great conqueror, and<br />
after having reduced nearly all Asia, he crossed the Euphrates,<br />
and laid siege to Babylon, which he took by diverting the course<br />
<strong>of</strong> the river which ran through - it . <strong>The</strong> Jews, who had been<br />
carried away by Nebuchadnezzar, on the destruction <strong>of</strong> the temple s<br />
were then remaining as captives in Babylon . <strong>The</strong>se Cyrus released<br />
A . M . 3466, or, B . C. 538, and sent them back to Jerusalem<br />
to rebuild the house <strong>of</strong> God, under the care <strong>of</strong> Joshua,<br />
Zerubbabel and Haggai .<br />
D .<br />
DARKNESS . Darkness among Freemasons is emblematical<br />
otignorance ; for, as our science has technically been called "Lux,"<br />
or light, the absence <strong>of</strong> light must be the absence <strong>of</strong> knowledge .<br />
Hence the rule, that the eye should not see, until the heart has<br />
conceived the true nature <strong>of</strong> those beauties which constitute the<br />
mysteries <strong>of</strong> our order . In the spurious <strong>Freemasonry</strong> <strong>of</strong> the<br />
ancient mysteries, the aspirant was always shrouded in darkness,<br />
as a preparatory step to the reception <strong>of</strong> the full light <strong>of</strong> knowledge<br />
. <strong>The</strong> time <strong>of</strong> this confinement in darkness and solitude,<br />
varied in the different mysteries . Among the Druids <strong>of</strong> Britain,<br />
the period was nine days and nights ; in the Grecian mysteries,<br />
it was three times nine days ; while among the Persians, according<br />
to Porphyry, it was extended to the almost incredible period <strong>of</strong><br />
fifty days <strong>of</strong> darkness, solitude and fasting .<br />
In the beginning, LIGHT was esteemed above darkness, and
104 DAT-DEA<br />
the primitive Egyptians worshipped On, as their chief deity,<br />
under the character <strong>of</strong> eternal Light . But, as the learned Oliver<br />
observes, "this worship was soon debased by superstitious prac .<br />
tices ." Darkness was then adored as the first born, as the progenitor<br />
<strong>of</strong> day, and the state <strong>of</strong> existence before creation . <strong>The</strong><br />
apostrophe <strong>of</strong> Young to Night, embodies the feelings which gave<br />
o.igin to this debasing worship <strong>of</strong> darkness<br />
"0 majestic night!<br />
Nature's great ancestor! day's elder born !<br />
And fated to survive the transient sun!<br />
By mortals and immortals seen with awe!"<br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong> has restored Darkness to its proper place, as a<br />
state <strong>of</strong> preparation ; the symbol <strong>of</strong> that antemundane chaos from<br />
whence light issued at the divine command ; <strong>of</strong> the state <strong>of</strong> nonentity<br />
before birth, and <strong>of</strong> ignorance before the reception <strong>of</strong> knowledge<br />
. Hence, in the ancient mysteries, the release <strong>of</strong> the aspirant<br />
from solitude and darkness was called the act <strong>of</strong> regeneration, and<br />
he was said to be born again, or -to be raised from the dead . And<br />
in masonry, the darkness which envelopes the mind <strong>of</strong> the uninitiated,<br />
being removed by the bright effulgence <strong>of</strong> masonic light .<br />
Masons are appropriately called "the sons <strong>of</strong> light ."<br />
DATES . See Calendar, <strong>Masonic</strong> .<br />
DEACON . In every well regulated symbolic lodge, the two<br />
lowest <strong>of</strong> the internal <strong>of</strong>ficers are the Senior and Junior Deacons .<br />
<strong>The</strong> former is appointed by the Master, and the latter by the<br />
Senior Warden . It is to the Deacons that the introduction <strong>of</strong><br />
visitors should be properly entrusted . <strong>The</strong>ir duties comprehend<br />
also, a general surveillance over the security <strong>of</strong> the lodge, and<br />
they are the proxies <strong>of</strong> the <strong>of</strong>ficers by whom they are appointed .<br />
Hence their jewel, in allusion to the necessity <strong>of</strong> circumspection<br />
and justice, is a square and compasses . In the centre, the Senior
DEC-DED 105<br />
Deacon wears a sun, and the Junior Deacon a moon, which serve<br />
to distinguish their respective ranks . In the rite <strong>of</strong> Misraim, the<br />
deacons are called acolytes .<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong> Deacons in Masonry appear to have been derived<br />
from the usages <strong>of</strong> the primitive church . In the Greek church,<br />
the deacons were always the rv2wpoc, pylori or doorkeepers, and<br />
in the Apostolical Constitutions the deacon was ordered to stand<br />
at the men's door, and the sub-deacon at the women's, to see that<br />
none came in or went out during the oblation .*<br />
DECLARATION OF CANDIDATES . See Questions to<br />
Candidates .<br />
DEDICATION . When a masonic hall has been erected, it is<br />
dedicated, with certain well known and impressive ceremonies, to<br />
Xason7J, Virtue, and Universal Benevolence .<br />
Lodges, however, are differently dedicated . Anciently, they<br />
were dedicated to Kin- Solomon, as the founder <strong>of</strong> ancient craft<br />
masonry, and the first Most Excellent Grand Master . Christian<br />
lodges are generally dedicated to St . John the Baptist, and St .<br />
John the Evangelist ; and in every well regulated lodge, there is<br />
exhibited a certain point within a circle, embordered by two perpendicular<br />
lines, called the " lines parallel," which represent<br />
these two saints . In those English lodges which have adopted<br />
the union system <strong>of</strong> work, the dedication is to " God and his<br />
service," and the lines parallel represent Moses and Solomon<br />
This change was adopted by the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, in<br />
1813, to obviate the charge <strong>of</strong> sectarianism . I have, however, in<br />
another work, endeavoured to prove that to this charge we by no<br />
means render ourselves 'amenable by this dedication to the above<br />
saints, since it is made to them, not as Christians, but as eminent<br />
Masons ; not as saints, but as pious and good men ; not as teach-<br />
• Const. Apost., lib. viii., Cap. ii.
1)6 DED<br />
ers <strong>of</strong> a religious sect, but as bright exen plars <strong>of</strong> all those virtues<br />
which Masons are taught to reverence and practice .*<br />
With respect to the original cause <strong>of</strong> this dedication, the<br />
English lodges have preserved a tradition, which, as a matter <strong>of</strong><br />
curiosity, may find a place in this work . I am indebted for it<br />
to Brother Moore's excellent Magazine, vol . ii ., p . 263 .<br />
" From the building <strong>of</strong> the first temple at Jerusalem, to the<br />
Babylonish captivity, Freemasons' lodges were dedicated to King<br />
Solomon ; from thence to the coming <strong>of</strong> the Messiah, they were<br />
dedicated to Zerubbabel, the builder <strong>of</strong> the second temple ; and<br />
from that time to the final destruction <strong>of</strong> the temple by Titus, in<br />
the reign <strong>of</strong> Vespasian, they were dedicated to St . John the<br />
Baptist ; but owing to the many massacres and disorders which<br />
attended that memorable event, <strong>Freemasonry</strong> sunk very much<br />
into decay ; many lodges were entirely broken up, and but few<br />
could meet in sufficient numbers to constitute their legality, and<br />
at a general meeting <strong>of</strong> the craft, held in the city <strong>of</strong> Benjamin,<br />
it was observed that the principal reason for the decline <strong>of</strong> masonry<br />
was the want <strong>of</strong> a Grand Master to patronize it ; they,<br />
therefore, deputed seven <strong>of</strong> their most eminent members to wait<br />
upon St . John the Evangelist, who was at that time Bishop <strong>of</strong><br />
Ephesus, requesting him to take the <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong> Grand Master. He<br />
returned for answer, that though well stricken in years, (being<br />
upwards <strong>of</strong> ninety,) yet having been in the early part <strong>of</strong> his life<br />
initiated into masonry, he would take upon himself that <strong>of</strong>fice ;<br />
he thereby completed by his learning, what the other St . John<br />
bad completed by his zeal, and thus drew what Freemasons term<br />
a line parallel ; ever since which Freemasons' lodges in all Christian<br />
countries have been dedicated both to St . Johnthe Baptist, and<br />
St. John the Evangelist."<br />
But the task is not difficult to trace more philosophically, and,<br />
I believe, more correctly, the real origin <strong>of</strong> this custom . In the<br />
* See an article by the author on this subject, in Moore's Freemasons' Mag .,<br />
r. iii. P . 6 .
DED - 107<br />
spurious masonry, so well known as the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Pagan<br />
nations, we may find the most plausible reasons for the celebration<br />
<strong>of</strong> our festivals in June and December, and for the dedication <strong>of</strong><br />
our lodges to St . John the Baptist, and St . John the Evangelist .<br />
<strong>The</strong> post-diluvians, according to the testimony <strong>of</strong> the Jewish<br />
writer, Maimoindes, the Magians <strong>of</strong> Persia, until their ritual was<br />
improved and purified by Zoroaster, and most probably the ancient<br />
Druids, introduced into their rites a great respect for, and even<br />
an adoration <strong>of</strong> the Sun, as the source <strong>of</strong> light and life, and fruition,<br />
and the visible representative <strong>of</strong> the invisible creative and preservative<br />
principle <strong>of</strong> nature . To such sects, the period when<br />
the sun reached his greatest northern and southern declination,<br />
by entering the zodiacal signs, Cancer and Capricorn, marked, as<br />
it would be, by the most evident effects on the seasons, and on<br />
the length <strong>of</strong> the days and nights, could not have passed unobserved<br />
; but, on the contrary, must have occupied a distinguished<br />
place in their ritual . Now these important days fall respectively<br />
on the 21st <strong>of</strong> June and the 22d <strong>of</strong> December .<br />
In the spurious masonry <strong>of</strong> the ancients these days were,<br />
doubtless, celebrated as returning eras in the existence <strong>of</strong> the<br />
great source <strong>of</strong> light, and object <strong>of</strong> their worship . Our ancient<br />
brethren adopted the custom, abandoning, however, in deference<br />
to their own purer doctrines, the idolatrous principles which were<br />
connected with these dates, and confining their celebration exclu<br />
sively to their astronomical importance . But time passed on .<br />
Christianity came to mingle its rays with the light <strong>of</strong> masonry,<br />
and our Christian ancestors, finding that the church bad appropriated<br />
two days near these solstitial periods to the memory <strong>of</strong><br />
two eminent saints, it was easy to incorporate these festivals, by<br />
the lapse <strong>of</strong> a few days, into the masonic calendar, and to adopt<br />
these worthies as patrons <strong>of</strong> our order . To this change, the<br />
earlier Christian Masons were doubtless the more persuaded by the<br />
peculiar character-<strong>of</strong> these saints . St. John the Baptist, by announcing<br />
the approach <strong>of</strong> Christ, and by the mystic ablution to<br />
which he subjected his proselytes, and which was afterward
108 DED-DEG<br />
adopted in the ceremony <strong>of</strong> initiation into Christianity, might well<br />
be considered as the Grand Hierophant <strong>of</strong> the church, while the<br />
mysterious and emblematic nature <strong>of</strong> the Apocalypse assimilated<br />
the mode <strong>of</strong> teaching adopted by St . John the Evangelist to that<br />
practised by the fraternity .<br />
It is thus that I trace the present system <strong>of</strong> dedication, through .<br />
these saints, to the heliacal worship <strong>of</strong> the ancients . .<br />
Royal Arch Chapters are dedicated to Zerubbabel, Prince or<br />
Governor <strong>of</strong> Judah, and Encampments <strong>of</strong> Knights Tempisrs to<br />
St. John the Almoner . Mark lodges should be dedicated to<br />
Hiram the Builder ; Past Masters' to the Sts . John, and Most<br />
Excellent Masters' to King Solomon .<br />
DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE . <strong>The</strong> temple having<br />
been completed, Solomon dedicated it to Jehovah in the month<br />
Tizri, 2999 years after the creation, and 1005 before the advent<br />
<strong>of</strong> Christ. <strong>Masonic</strong> tradition tells us that he assembled the nine<br />
Deputy Grand Masters in the holy place from which all natural<br />
light had been carefully excluded, and which only received the<br />
artificial light which emanated from the east, west, and south,<br />
and there made the necessary arrangements,* after which he<br />
stood before the altar <strong>of</strong> the Lord, and <strong>of</strong>fered up that beautiful<br />
invocation and prayer which is to be found in the 8th chapter <strong>of</strong><br />
the 1st Book <strong>of</strong> Kings .<br />
DEGREES . Ancient Craft Masonry, or as it is called by the<br />
Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Scotland, "St . John's Masonry," consists <strong>of</strong> but<br />
three degrees, Entered Apprentice, Fellow - Craft, and Master<br />
Mason . <strong>The</strong> degrees in all the rites vary in number and character,<br />
inasmuch as they are comparatively modern ; but they all<br />
commence with the three degrees <strong>of</strong> Ancient Craft Masonry .<br />
In all the Pagan mysteries, there were progressive degrees <strong>of</strong><br />
initiation. In the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Hindostan, there were four de,<br />
* Oliver, Landmarks, i . 581 .
DEM-DER 109<br />
green ; three in those <strong>of</strong> Greece ; the same number among the<br />
Druids ; and two among the Mexicans. <strong>The</strong> object <strong>of</strong> these<br />
steps <strong>of</strong> probation was to test the character <strong>of</strong> the aspirant, and<br />
at the same time to prepare him by gradual revelations, for the<br />
important knowledge he was to receive at the final moment <strong>of</strong> his<br />
adoption .<br />
DELTA . A triangle . <strong>The</strong> name <strong>of</strong> a piece <strong>of</strong> furniture in<br />
an Encampment <strong>of</strong> Knights Templars, which, being <strong>of</strong> a triangular<br />
form, derives its name from the Greek letter A, delta . It<br />
is also the title given,in the French and Scotch rites,to the luminous<br />
triangle which encloses the ineffable name .<br />
DEMIT . A Mason is said to demit from the order when he<br />
withdraws from all connection with it . It relieves the individual<br />
from all pecuniary contributions, and debars him from pecuniary<br />
relief, but it does not cancel his masonic obligations, nor exempt<br />
him from that wholesome control which the order exercises over<br />
the moral conduct <strong>of</strong> its members . In this respect the maxim is,<br />
once a Mason and always a Mason .<br />
DEPUTY GRAND MASTER . <strong>The</strong> assistant, and in his<br />
absence, the representative <strong>of</strong> the Grand Master . He was formerly<br />
appointed by his superior, but is now elected by the craft .<br />
While the Grand Master is present, the D . • . G .-. M .- . has neither<br />
duties nor powers ; these are exercised only in the absence <strong>of</strong> the<br />
presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer .<br />
DERMOTT, LAURFNCE. He was at first the Grand Secreu<br />
ry and afterwards the Deputy Grand Master <strong>of</strong> that body <strong>of</strong><br />
masons, who, in 1739, seceded from the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England<br />
and called themselves "Ancient York Masons," stigmatizing the<br />
regalar masons as " moderns." In 1764, Dermott published the<br />
Book <strong>of</strong> Constitutions <strong>of</strong> his Grand Lodge under the title <strong>of</strong><br />
Ahiman Rezon ; or a help to all that are or would be Free and<br />
10
110 DES-DIO<br />
Accepted Masous, containing the quintessence <strong>of</strong> all that has been<br />
published on the subject <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>." This work passed<br />
through several editions, the last <strong>of</strong> which was edited, in 1813,<br />
by Thomas Harper the Deputy Grand Master <strong>of</strong> the Ancient<br />
Masons, under the title <strong>of</strong> "<strong>The</strong> Constitutions <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>,<br />
or Ahiman Rezon ." It is not, however, considered as any authority<br />
for masonic law .<br />
DESAGULTERS . John <strong>The</strong>ophilus Desaguliers, LL .D .,<br />
F.R .S ., and a distinguished writer and lecturer on experimental<br />
philosophy, was the second Grand Master after the reorganization<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> in 1717 . In 1720, he compiled, with Dr . Anderson,<br />
the earliest form <strong>of</strong> masonic lectures that are now extant,<br />
although the use <strong>of</strong> them has long since been abandoned for<br />
more modern and complete ones . He was born at Rochelle, in<br />
France, on the 12th March, 1683, and died at London in 1749 .<br />
DEUS MEUMQUE JUS . God and my right. <strong>The</strong> motto<br />
<strong>of</strong> the 33d degree, Ancient and Accepted rite .<br />
DIONYSIAN ARCHITECTS . <strong>The</strong> priests <strong>of</strong> Bacchus, or,<br />
as the Greeks called him, Dionysus, having devoted themselves<br />
to architectural pursuits, established about 1000 years before the<br />
Christian era, a society or fraternity <strong>of</strong> builders in Asia Minor,<br />
which is styled by the ancient writers the Fraternity <strong>of</strong> Dionysian<br />
Architects . An account <strong>of</strong> this institution is given under the<br />
head <strong>of</strong> "Antiyuities <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> ."<br />
DIONYSIA2,ir MYSTERIES . <strong>The</strong>se mysteries were celebrated<br />
throughout Greece and Asia Minor,' but principally at<br />
Athens, where the years were numbered by them . <strong>The</strong>y were<br />
instituted in honour <strong>of</strong> Bacchus, and were introduced into Greece<br />
from Egypt, which, as we shall have abundant occasion to see in<br />
the course <strong>of</strong> this work, was the parent <strong>of</strong> all the ancient rites.<br />
to theze mysteries, the murder <strong>of</strong> Bacchus by the Titans wam
commemorated, in which legend he is evidently identified with<br />
the Egyptian Osiris, who was slain by his brother, Typhon . <strong>The</strong><br />
aspirant in the ceremonies through which he passed, represented<br />
the murder <strong>of</strong> the god, and his restoration to life .<br />
<strong>The</strong> commencement <strong>of</strong> the mysteries, or what we might ma .<br />
sonically call the opening <strong>of</strong> the lodge, was signalized by the consecration<br />
<strong>of</strong> an egg, in allusion to the mundane egg from which<br />
all things were supposed to have sprung . <strong>The</strong> candidate having<br />
been first purified by water, and crowned with a myrtle branch,<br />
was introduced into the vestibule, and there clothed in the sacred<br />
habilaments . He was then delivered to the conductor, who, after<br />
the mystic warning, Exa(;, exac, eare gs ;°r).ue, "Depart hence, all<br />
ye pr<strong>of</strong>ane 1" exhorted the candidate to exert all his fortitude and<br />
courage in the dangers and trials through which he was about to<br />
pass . He was then led through a series <strong>of</strong> dark caverns, a part<br />
<strong>of</strong> the ceremonies which Stobeaus calls "a rude and fearful march<br />
through night and darkness ." During this passage he is terrified<br />
by the howling <strong>of</strong> wild beasts, and other fearful noises ; artificial<br />
thunder reverberates through the subterranean apartments, and<br />
transient flashes <strong>of</strong> lightning reveal monstrous apparitions to his<br />
sight. In this state <strong>of</strong> darkness and terror he is kept for three<br />
days and nights, after which he commences the aphanism or mystical<br />
death <strong>of</strong> Bacchus . He is now placed on the pastos or couch,<br />
that is, he is confined in a solitary cell, where he is at liberty to<br />
reflect seriously on the nature <strong>of</strong> the undertaking in which he is<br />
engaged . During this time, he is alarmed with the sudden crash<br />
<strong>of</strong> waters, which is intended to represent the deluge . Typhon,<br />
searching for Osiris, or Bacchus, for they are here identical, discovers<br />
the ark in which he had been secreted, and tearing it<br />
violently asunder, scatters the limbs <strong>of</strong> his victim upon the<br />
waters . <strong>The</strong> aspirant now hears the lamentations which are in .<br />
stituted for the death <strong>of</strong> the god . <strong>The</strong>n commences the search<br />
<strong>of</strong> -Rhea for the remains <strong>of</strong> Bacchus . <strong>The</strong> apartments are filled<br />
with shrieks and groans ; the initiated mingle with their howling`<br />
<strong>of</strong> despair, the frantic dances <strong>of</strong> the Corybantes ; every thing it
112 DIS<br />
a scene <strong>of</strong> distraction and lewdness ; until, at a signal from the<br />
hierophant, the whole drama changes ; the mourning is turned<br />
to joy ; the mangled body is found ; and the aspirant is released<br />
from his confinement, amid the shouts <strong>of</strong> Eup~xa,uci, Eu;gacpuµei,<br />
"we have found it, let us rejoice together." <strong>The</strong> candidate is<br />
now made to descend into the infernal regions, where he sees the<br />
torments <strong>of</strong> the wicked, and the rewards <strong>of</strong> the virtuous. It<br />
was now that he received the lecture explanatory <strong>of</strong> the rites,<br />
and was invested with the tokens which served the initiated as a<br />
means <strong>of</strong> recognition . He then underwent a lustration, after<br />
which he was introduced into the holy place, where he received<br />
the name <strong>of</strong> Epopt, and was fully instructed in the doctrine <strong>of</strong><br />
the mysteries, which consisted in a belief in the existence <strong>of</strong> one<br />
God, and a future state <strong>of</strong> rewards and punishments . <strong>The</strong>se<br />
doctrines were inculcated by a variety <strong>of</strong> significant symbols .<br />
After the performance <strong>of</strong> these ceremonies, the aspirant was dismissed,<br />
and the rites concluded with the pronunciation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
mystic words Konx Ompax, an attempted explanation <strong>of</strong> which<br />
will be found under the head <strong>of</strong> Eleusinian mysteries .<br />
DISCALCEATION. <strong>The</strong> ceremony <strong>of</strong> taking <strong>of</strong>f the shoes,<br />
as a token <strong>of</strong> respect, whenever we are on or about to approach<br />
holy ground . It is referred to in Exodus, (iii . 5) where the<br />
angel <strong>of</strong> the Lord, at the burning bush, exclaims to Moses :<br />
"Draw not nigh hither ; put <strong>of</strong>f thy shoes from <strong>of</strong>f thy feet, for<br />
the place whereon thou standest is holy ground ." It is again<br />
mentioned in Joshua, (v . 15) in the following words : "And the<br />
captain <strong>of</strong> the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe<br />
from <strong>of</strong>f thy foot ; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ."<br />
And lastly, it is alluded to in the injunction given in Ecclesiastes,<br />
(v . 1) "Seep thy foot when thou goest to the house <strong>of</strong> God ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> rite, in fact, always was, and still is, used among the Jews<br />
anu other Oriental nations, when entering their temples and<br />
other sacred edifices . It does not seem to have been derived<br />
from the command given to Moses ; but rather to have existed as
DIS 113<br />
a religious custom from time immemorial, and to have been borrowed,<br />
as Mede supposes, by the Gentiles, through tradition,<br />
from the patriarchs.<br />
<strong>The</strong> direction <strong>of</strong> Pythagoras to his disciples, was in these<br />
words : A.uroS-qroc Bus xal rpoixuvsc-that is, " Offer sacrifice and<br />
worship with thy shoes <strong>of</strong>f."<br />
Justin Martyr says that those who came to worship in the<br />
sanctuaries and temples <strong>of</strong> the Gentiles, were commanded by<br />
their priests to put <strong>of</strong>f their shoes .<br />
Drusius, in his Notes on the Book <strong>of</strong> Joshua, says that among<br />
most <strong>of</strong> the Eastern nations it was a pious duty to tread the<br />
pavement <strong>of</strong> the temple with unshod feet .*<br />
Maimonides, the great expounder <strong>of</strong> the Jewish law, asserts<br />
that "it was not lawful for a man to come into the mountain <strong>of</strong><br />
God's house with his shoes on his feet, or with his staff, or in his<br />
working garments, or with dust on his feet ." t<br />
Rabbi Solomon, commenting on the command in Leviticus<br />
six. 30, "Ye shall reverence my sanctuary," makes the same remark<br />
in relation to this custom . On this subject Dr. Oliver ob .<br />
serves : " Now the act <strong>of</strong> going with naked feet was always con<br />
sidered a token <strong>of</strong> humility and reverence ; and the priests, in<br />
temple worship, always <strong>of</strong>ficiated with feet uncovered, although<br />
it was frequently injurious to their health ."$<br />
Mede quotes Zago Zaba, an Ethiopean Bishop, who was ambassador<br />
from David, King <strong>of</strong> Abyssinia, to John III ., <strong>of</strong> Portugal,<br />
as saying : " We are not permitted to enter the church, except<br />
barefooted ."§<br />
<strong>The</strong> Mahommedans, when about to perform their devotions,<br />
always leave their slippers at the door <strong>of</strong> the mosque . <strong>The</strong><br />
Druids practised the same custom whenever they celebrated their<br />
• Quod etiam nune spud plerasque orientis nationes piaculum sit, calceato<br />
Fete temrlorum pavimenta calcasse .<br />
t Beth Habbechirah, c. 7.<br />
$ Historical Landmarks, volL ii . p . 481 .<br />
Non datur nobis potestas adeundi templum nisi nudibus pedibus .<br />
10 •
sacred rites ; and the ancient Peruvians are said always to have<br />
left their shoes at the porch, when they entered the magnificent<br />
temple consecrated to the worship <strong>of</strong> the Sun .<br />
Adam Clarke thinks that the custom <strong>of</strong> worshipping the Deity<br />
barefooted, was so general among all nations <strong>of</strong> antiquity, that<br />
be assigns it as one <strong>of</strong> his thirteen pro<strong>of</strong>s that the whole human<br />
race have been derived from one family .<br />
Finally, Bishop Patrick, speaking <strong>of</strong> the origin <strong>of</strong> this rite,<br />
says in his commentaries : "Moses did not give the first beginning<br />
to this rite, but it was derived from the patriarchs before<br />
him, and transmitted to future times from that ancient, general<br />
tradition ; for we find no command in the law <strong>of</strong> Moses for the<br />
priests performing the service <strong>of</strong> the temple without shoes, but<br />
it is certain they did so from immemorial custom ; and so do the<br />
Mohammedans and other nations at this day ."<br />
DISCOVERY . "Anno inventionis," or "in the year <strong>of</strong> the<br />
discovery," is the style assumed by Royal Arch Masons, in commemoration<br />
<strong>of</strong> an event which took place soon after the commencement<br />
<strong>of</strong> the rebuilding <strong>of</strong> the Temple by Zerubbabel .<br />
See Calendar, <strong>Masonic</strong> .<br />
DISPENSATION . A permission to do that which, without<br />
such permission, is forbidden by the constitutions and usages <strong>of</strong><br />
the order . <strong>The</strong> power <strong>of</strong> granting Dispensations is confided to<br />
the Grand Master, or his representative, but should not be exercised<br />
except on extraordinary occasions, or for excellent reasons .<br />
<strong>The</strong> dispensing power is confined 'to only four circumstances .<br />
1 . A lodge cannot be opened and held, unless a Warrant <strong>of</strong> Constitution<br />
be first granted by the Grand Lodge ; but the Grand<br />
Master may issue his Dispensation, empowering a constitutional<br />
number <strong>of</strong> brethren to open and hold a lodge until the next communication<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge . At this communication, the<br />
Dispensation <strong>of</strong> the Grand Master is either revoked or confirmed .<br />
.% lodge under Dispensation, is not permitted to be represented,
DIS-DOR 115<br />
nor to vote in the Grand Lodge . 2 . Not more than five candidates<br />
can be made at the same communication <strong>of</strong> a lodge ; but the<br />
Grand Master, on the showing <strong>of</strong> sufficient cause, may extend to<br />
a lodge the privilege <strong>of</strong> making as many more as he may think<br />
proper . 3 . No brother can at the same time belong to two<br />
lodges, within three miles <strong>of</strong> each other . But the Grana Master<br />
may dispense with this regulation also . 4. Every lodge must<br />
elect and install its <strong>of</strong>ficers on the constitutional night, which, in<br />
most masonic jurisdictions, precedes the anniversary <strong>of</strong> St . John<br />
the Evangelist . Should it, however, neglect this duty, or should<br />
any <strong>of</strong>ficer die, or be expelled, or remove permanently, no subsequent<br />
election or installation can take place, except under dispensation<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Grand Master .<br />
DISTRICT DEPUTY GRAND MASTER . An <strong>of</strong>ficer appointed<br />
to inspect old lodges, consecrate new ones, install their<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficers, and exercise a general supervision over the fraternity in<br />
districts where, from the extent <strong>of</strong> the jurisdiction, the Grand<br />
Master or his Deputy cannot conveniently attend in person . He<br />
is considered as a Grand Officer,, and as the representative <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Grand Lodge in the district in which he resides . In the English<br />
Grand Lodge, <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> this description are called Provincial<br />
Grand Masters .<br />
DORIC ORDER. <strong>The</strong> oldest and most original <strong>of</strong> the three<br />
Grecian orders . It is remarkable for robust solidity in the column,<br />
for massive grandeur in the entablature, and for harmonious simplicity<br />
in its construction . <strong>The</strong> distinguishing characteristic <strong>of</strong><br />
this order, is the want <strong>of</strong> a base . <strong>The</strong> flutings are few, large,<br />
and very little concave . <strong>The</strong> capital has no astragal, but only<br />
one or more fillets, which separate the flutings from the torus .*<br />
<strong>The</strong> column <strong>of</strong> strength which supports the lodge, is <strong>of</strong> the Doric<br />
order, and its appropriate situation and symbolic <strong>of</strong>ficer are in<br />
the W . .<br />
* Stuart, Dict. <strong>of</strong> Architecture .
116 DOV-DRU<br />
DOVE, KNIGHTS AND LADIES OF THE . Chevaliers<br />
et Chevalieres de la Colombe . A secret society framed on the<br />
model <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, to which women were admitted ; it was<br />
instituted at Versailles, in 1784, but it is now extinct .<br />
DRESS OF A MASON. Oliver says* that "the ancient<br />
symbolical dress <strong>of</strong> a Master Mason was a yellow jacket and blue<br />
breeches, alluding to the brass compasses with steel points, which<br />
were assigned to the Master, or Grand Master, as governor <strong>of</strong> the<br />
craft . But the real dress was a plain black coat and breeches,<br />
with white waistcoat, stockings, aprons and gloves ." In this<br />
country the masonic costume is a full suit <strong>of</strong> black, with white<br />
stockings where shoes are worn, and white leather aprons and<br />
gloves . Knights Templars have their gloves and aprons also<br />
black .<br />
DRUIDS . <strong>The</strong> Druidical rites were practised in Britain and<br />
Gaul, though they were brought to a much greater state <strong>of</strong> perfection<br />
in the former country, where the isle <strong>of</strong> Anglesea was considered<br />
as their chief seat . <strong>The</strong>, word Druid has been supposed<br />
to be derived from the Greek d pu,, or rather the Celtic Derw, an<br />
oak, which tree was peculiarly sacred among them ; but I am<br />
inclined to seek its etymology in the Gaelic word Druidh, which<br />
signifies a wise man or a magician . <strong>The</strong> druidical ceremonies <strong>of</strong><br />
initiation, according to Oliver, "bore an undoubted reference to<br />
the salvation <strong>of</strong> Noah and his seven companions in the ark ."<br />
Indeed, all the ancient mysteries appear to have been arkite in<br />
their general character . <strong>The</strong>ir places <strong>of</strong> initiation were <strong>of</strong><br />
various forms ; circular, because a circle was an emblem <strong>of</strong> the<br />
universe ; or oval, in allusion to the mundane egg, from which,<br />
according to the Egyptians, our first parents issued ; or serpentine,<br />
because a serpent was the symbol <strong>of</strong> Hu, the druidical Noah ;<br />
or winged, to represent the motion <strong>of</strong> the Divine Spirit ; or era-<br />
* Landmarks, voL i. p. 169 .
DRU 117<br />
;iform, because a cross was the emblem <strong>of</strong> regeneration .* <strong>The</strong>ir<br />
only covering was the clouded canopy, because they deemed it<br />
absurd to confine the Omnipotent beneath a ro<strong>of</strong>,t and they were<br />
constructed <strong>of</strong> embankments <strong>of</strong> earth, and <strong>of</strong> unhewn stones,<br />
unpolluted with a metal tool . No one was permitted to enter<br />
their sacred retreats, unless he bore a chain . <strong>The</strong> chief priest or<br />
hierophant, was called the Archdruid . <strong>The</strong>ir grand periods c f<br />
initiation were quarterly, taking place on the days when the sun<br />
reached his equinoctial and solstitial points, which at that remote<br />
period were the 13th <strong>of</strong> February, the 1st <strong>of</strong> May, the 19th <strong>of</strong><br />
August, and the 1st <strong>of</strong> November . <strong>The</strong> principal <strong>of</strong> these was<br />
the 1st <strong>of</strong> May, (which, according to Mr . I3iggins,$ was the festival<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Sun entering into Taurus,) and the May-day celebration<br />
which still exists among us, is a remnant <strong>of</strong> the druidical<br />
rites . It was not lawful to commit their ceremonies or doctrines<br />
to writing, as we learn from Caesar ;§ and hence the ancient<br />
Greek and Roman writers have been enabled to give us but little<br />
information on this subject .<br />
<strong>The</strong> institution was divided into three degrees or classes, the<br />
lowest being the Bards ; the second the Faids, or Yates, and<br />
the highest the Druids .1J Much mental preparation and physical<br />
purification were used previously to admission into the first degree<br />
. <strong>The</strong> aspirant was clothed with the three sacred colours,<br />
* <strong>The</strong> cross, as an emblem <strong>of</strong> regeneration, was first adopted by the Egyptians,<br />
who expressed the several increases <strong>of</strong> the Nile, (by whose fertilizing inundations<br />
their soil was regenerated,) by a column marked with several crosses .<br />
<strong>The</strong>y hung it as a talisman around the necks <strong>of</strong> their children and sick peopeople<br />
. It was sometimes represented in an abridged form, by the letter T.-<br />
Pluche, Historie du Ciel.<br />
t It was an article in the druidical creed, that it was unlawful to build tem .<br />
ples to the gods ; or to worship them within walls or under ro<strong>of</strong>s ."-Dr. See .<br />
ry'e Hint. Eng.<br />
$ Higgins' Celtic Druids, p . 149. <strong>The</strong> astronomic relations <strong>of</strong> this day<br />
havebeen altered by the procession <strong>of</strong> the equinox .<br />
0<br />
' 1 Neque fan ease existimant, ea literis mandare ."-Bell . Gall. vi . 13 .<br />
See Strabo, lib. iv, and Ammian. MarceUinus, lib. xv.
white, blue, and green ; white as the symbol <strong>of</strong> Light, blue <strong>of</strong><br />
Truth, and green <strong>of</strong> Hope . When the rites <strong>of</strong> initiation were<br />
passed, the tri-coloured robe was changed for one <strong>of</strong> green ; in<br />
the second degree, the candidate was clothed in blue, and having<br />
surmounted all the dangers <strong>of</strong> the third, and arrived at the summit<br />
<strong>of</strong> perfection, he received the red tiara and flowing mantle<br />
<strong>of</strong> purest white . <strong>The</strong> ceremonies were numerous, the physical<br />
pro<strong>of</strong>s painful, and the mental trials appalling . <strong>The</strong>y commenced<br />
in the first degree, with placing the aspirant in the pastos, bed,<br />
or c<strong>of</strong>fin, where his symbolical death was represented, and they<br />
terminated in the third, by his regeneration or restoration to life<br />
from the womb <strong>of</strong> the giantess Ceridwin, and the committal <strong>of</strong> the<br />
body <strong>of</strong> the newly born to the waves in a small boat, symbolical<br />
<strong>of</strong> the ark . <strong>The</strong> result was, generally, that he succeeded in<br />
reaching the safe landing-place that represented Mount Ararat,<br />
but if his arm was weak, or his heart failed, death was the almost<br />
inevitable consequence . If he refused the trial, through timidity,<br />
he was contemptuously rejected, and declared forever ineligible to<br />
participate in the sacred rites . But if he undertook it and succeeded,<br />
he was joyously invested with all the privileges <strong>of</strong> druidism .<br />
<strong>The</strong> doctrines <strong>of</strong> the Druids were the same as those entertained<br />
by Pythagoras. <strong>The</strong>y taught the existence <strong>of</strong> one Supreme Being ;<br />
a future state <strong>of</strong> rewards and punishments ; the immortality <strong>of</strong> the<br />
soul, and a metempsychosis ;* and the object <strong>of</strong> their mystic rites<br />
was to communicate these doctrines in symbolic language .<br />
With respect to the origin <strong>of</strong> the Druids, the most plausible<br />
theory seems to be that <strong>of</strong> Mr . Higgins, that the Celts, who practised<br />
the rites <strong>of</strong> Druidism, "first came from the east <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Caspian sea, bringing with them their seventeen letters, their<br />
festivals, and their gods ." Without such a theory as this, we<br />
shall be unable to account for the analogy which existed between<br />
the rites <strong>of</strong> druidism and those <strong>of</strong> the other pagan mysteries, the<br />
* Casar says <strong>of</strong> them : "In primis hoe volunt persuaders, non interire animos,<br />
sed ab aliis post mortem ad alios transire putant."--Bell. Gall., 1. vi .
DUE-EAR 119<br />
latter <strong>of</strong> whom undoubtedly derived their origin from the mysteries<br />
<strong>of</strong> ancient India through those <strong>of</strong> Egypt .<br />
DUE FORM . See Ample Form .<br />
DUE GUARD . We are by this ceremony strongly reminded<br />
<strong>of</strong> the time and manner <strong>of</strong> taking our solemn vows <strong>of</strong> duty, and<br />
hence are duly guarded against any violation <strong>of</strong> our sacred<br />
promises as initiated members <strong>of</strong> a great moral and social institution<br />
.<br />
E .<br />
EAGLE, DOUBLE HEADED . <strong>The</strong> double beaded eagle<br />
is the ensign <strong>of</strong> the kingdom <strong>of</strong> Prussia, and as Frederick II .<br />
was the founder and chief <strong>of</strong> the 33d or ultimate decree <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Scotch or Ancient and Accepted rite, as it is now called, the<br />
double headed eagle has been adopted as the emblem or jewel <strong>of</strong><br />
that degree, to denote its Prussian origin .<br />
EAR OF CORN . This was, among all the ancients, an em<br />
blem <strong>of</strong> plenty . Ceres, who was universally worshipped as the<br />
goddess <strong>of</strong> abundance, and even called by the Greeks, Demeter,<br />
a,, manifest corruption <strong>of</strong> Gemeter, or mother earth, was symbolically<br />
represented with a garland on her head composed <strong>of</strong> ears <strong>of</strong><br />
corn, a lighted torch in one hand, and a cluster <strong>of</strong> poppies and<br />
ears <strong>of</strong> corn in the other . And in the Hebrew, the most significant<br />
<strong>of</strong> all languages, the two words which signify an ear <strong>of</strong> corn,<br />
are both derived from . roots which give the idea <strong>of</strong> abundance:<br />
For shibboleth, which is applicable both to an ear <strong>of</strong><br />
corn and a flood <strong>of</strong> water, has its root in shabal, to increase or<br />
to flow abundantly. ; and the other name <strong>of</strong> corn, dagan, is de-
120 EAS<br />
rived from the verb, dagah, signifying to multiply or to be increased<br />
.<br />
EAST . <strong>The</strong> East has always been considered peculiarly sacred .<br />
This was, without exception, the case in all the ancient mysteries .<br />
In the Egyptian rites, especially, and those <strong>of</strong> Adonis, which were<br />
uumong the earliest, and from which the others derived their existence,<br />
the Sun was the object <strong>of</strong> adoration, and his revolutions<br />
through the various seasons were fictitiously represented . <strong>The</strong><br />
spot, therefore, where this luminary made his appearance at the<br />
commencement <strong>of</strong> day, and where his worshippers were wont,<br />
anxiously, to look for the first darting <strong>of</strong> his prolific rays, was<br />
esteemed as the figurative birthplace <strong>of</strong> their god, and honoured<br />
with an appropriate degree <strong>of</strong> reverence . And even among those<br />
nations where Sun-worship gave place to more enlightened doctrines,<br />
the respect for the place <strong>of</strong> Sun-rising continued to exist .<br />
Our Jewish brethren retained it, and handed it down to their<br />
Christian successors . <strong>The</strong> camp <strong>of</strong> Judah was placed by Moses<br />
in the East as a mark <strong>of</strong> distinction ; the tabernacle in the wilderness<br />
was placed due East and West ; and the practice was continued<br />
in the erection <strong>of</strong> Christian churches . Hence, too, the<br />
primitive Christians always turned towards the East in their<br />
public prayers, which custom St . Augustine accounts for, "because<br />
the East is the most honourable part <strong>of</strong> the world, being<br />
the region <strong>of</strong> light whence the glorious sun arises ."* And hence<br />
all masonic lodges, like their great prototype, the Temple <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem,<br />
are built, or supposed to be built, due East and West,<br />
and as the North is esteemed a place <strong>of</strong> darkness, the East, on<br />
the contrary, is considered a place <strong>of</strong> light . t<br />
• St. August . de Serm. Dow . in Monte, c. 5 .<br />
t In the primitive Christian Church, according to St . Ambrose, in the ceremonies<br />
accompanying the baptism <strong>of</strong> a catechumen, "he turned towards the<br />
West, the image <strong>of</strong> darkness, to abjure the world, and towards the East, the<br />
emblem <strong>of</strong> light, to denote his alliance with Jesus Christ." See Chateau .<br />
briand, $eautisa <strong>of</strong> Christianity, Book r, ch . 6.
EAV-ECO 121<br />
EAVESDROPPER . A listener . <strong>The</strong> name is derived from<br />
the punishment which according to Oliver, was directed, in the<br />
lectures, at the revival <strong>of</strong> masonry in 1717, to be inflicted on a<br />
detected cowan, and which was-" To be placed under the eaves<br />
<strong>of</strong> the house in rainy weather, till the water runs in at his shouldcrs<br />
and out at his heels ."<br />
ECLECTIC MASONRY . This was an order or rite established<br />
at Frankfort, in Germany, in the year 1783, by Baron de Knigge,<br />
for the purpose, if possible, <strong>of</strong> abolishing the "hautes grades,"<br />
or philosophical degrees which had, at that period, increased to<br />
an excessive number . This " Eclectic masonry" acknowledged<br />
the three symbolic degrees only, as the true ritual, but permitted<br />
each lodge to select at its option any <strong>of</strong> the higher degrees, provided<br />
they did not interfere with the uniformity <strong>of</strong> the first three .<br />
<strong>The</strong> founder <strong>of</strong> the rite hoped by this system <strong>of</strong> diffusion to<br />
weaken the importance and at length totally to destroy the existence<br />
<strong>of</strong> these high degrees . But he failed in this expectation,<br />
and while these high degrees are still flourishing, there are not a<br />
dozen lodges <strong>of</strong> the Eclectic rite now in operation in Europe .<br />
Into this country it has never penetrated .<br />
ECOSSAIS . <strong>The</strong> fifth degree in the French rite . It is occupied<br />
in the detail <strong>of</strong> those precautions made use <strong>of</strong> just before<br />
the completion <strong>of</strong> the Temple, for the preservation <strong>of</strong> important<br />
secrets, and is very similar in the character <strong>of</strong> its legend to the<br />
American degree <strong>of</strong> Select Master . See Scotch Mason .<br />
ECOSSAISM . By this word I mean those numerous Scotch<br />
degrees which find their prototypes in the degree established by<br />
the Chevalier Ramsay, and which he called Ecossais, or Scotch<br />
Mason, because he asserted that the system came originally from<br />
Scotland . From the one primitive degree <strong>of</strong> Ramsay an hundred<br />
others have sprung up, sometimes under the name <strong>of</strong> Ecossais,<br />
and sometimes under other titles, but still retaining one uniform<br />
11
122 EGY<br />
character,-that <strong>of</strong> detailing the mode in which the great secret<br />
was preserved . This system <strong>of</strong> Ecossaism is to be found in all<br />
the rites . In the French it bears the name <strong>of</strong> Ecossais, and is<br />
described in the preceding article . In the ancient Scotch rite a<br />
is divided into three degrees, and consists <strong>of</strong> the Grand Master<br />
Architect, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Ninth Arch Elect, Perfect and Sublime<br />
Mason . Even in the appendages to the York rite we find an<br />
Ecossais under the name <strong>of</strong> the Select Master .<br />
Some idea <strong>of</strong> the extent to which these degrees have been<br />
multiplied, may be formed from the fact that Oliver has a list <strong>of</strong><br />
eighty <strong>of</strong> them . Baron de Tschoudy enumerates twenty-seven<br />
<strong>of</strong> them, which he does not consider legitimate, leaving a far<br />
greater number to whose purity he does not object .<br />
EGYPTIAN MYSTERIES. Egypt was the cradle <strong>of</strong> all the<br />
mysteries <strong>of</strong> paganism . At one time in . possession <strong>of</strong> all the<br />
learning and religion that was to be found in the world, it extended<br />
into other nations the influence <strong>of</strong> its sacred rites and its<br />
secret doctrines . <strong>The</strong> importance, therefore, <strong>of</strong> the Egyptian<br />
mysteries, will entitle them to a more diffusive explanation than<br />
has been awarded to the examination <strong>of</strong> the other rites <strong>of</strong> spurious<br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong> .<br />
<strong>The</strong> priesthood <strong>of</strong> Egypt constituted a sacred caste, in whom<br />
the sacerdotal functions were hereditary . <strong>The</strong>y exercised also an<br />
important part in the government <strong>of</strong> the state, and the kings <strong>of</strong><br />
Egypt were but the first subjects <strong>of</strong> its priests .* <strong>The</strong>y had<br />
originally organized, and continued to control the ceremonies <strong>of</strong><br />
initiation . <strong>The</strong>ir doctrines were <strong>of</strong> two kinds, exoteric or public,<br />
which were communicated to the multitude, and esoteric or<br />
secret, which were revealed only to a chosen few ; and to obtain<br />
them, it was necessary to pass through an initiation, which, as<br />
we shall see, was characterized by the severest trials <strong>of</strong> courage<br />
and fortitude .<br />
In the Royal Arch degree, the King is an <strong>of</strong>ficer inferior o the High<br />
Priest.
EGY 123<br />
<strong>The</strong> principal seat <strong>of</strong> the mysteries was at Memphis, in the<br />
neighbourhood <strong>of</strong> the great Pyramid . <strong>The</strong>y were <strong>of</strong> two kinds,<br />
the greater and the less ; the former being the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Osiris<br />
and Serapis ; the latter those <strong>of</strong> Isis . <strong>The</strong> mysteries <strong>of</strong> Osiris<br />
were celebrated at the autumnal equinox : those <strong>of</strong> Serapis, at the<br />
summer solstice ; and those <strong>of</strong> Isis at the vernal equinox .<br />
<strong>The</strong> candidate was required to exhibit pro<strong>of</strong>s <strong>of</strong> a blameletis<br />
life . For some days previous to the commencement <strong>of</strong> the ceremonies<br />
<strong>of</strong> initiation, he abstained from all unchaste acts, confined<br />
himself to an exceedingly light diet, from which animal food was<br />
rigorously excluded, and purified himself by repeated ablutions .<br />
Being thus prepared, the candidate, conducted by a guide, proceeded<br />
in the middle <strong>of</strong> the night, to the mouth <strong>of</strong> a low gallery,<br />
situated in one <strong>of</strong> the sides <strong>of</strong> the pyramid . Having crawled, for<br />
some distance, on his hands and knees, he at length came to the<br />
orifice <strong>of</strong> a wide and apparently unfathomable well, which the<br />
guide directed him to descend . Perhaps he hesitates and refuses<br />
to encounter the seeming danger ; if so, he, <strong>of</strong> course, renounces<br />
the enterprise, and is reconducted to the world, never again to<br />
become a candidate for initiation ; but if he is animated by courage,<br />
he determines to descend ; whereupon the conductor points _him<br />
to an iron ladder, which makes the descent perfectly safe . At<br />
the sixtieth step, the candidate reached the entrance to a winding<br />
gallery through a brazen door, which opened noiselessly and almost<br />
spontaneously, but which shut behind him with a heavy clang,<br />
that reverberated through the hollow passages . In front <strong>of</strong> this<br />
door was an iron grate, through the bars <strong>of</strong> which the aspirant<br />
beheld an extensive gallery, whose ro<strong>of</strong> was supported on each<br />
side, by a long row <strong>of</strong> majestic columns, and enlightened by a<br />
multitude <strong>of</strong> brilliant lamps . <strong>The</strong> voices <strong>of</strong> the priests and<br />
priestesses <strong>of</strong> Isis, chanting funeral hymns, were mingled with<br />
the sound <strong>of</strong> melodious instruments, whose melancholy tones<br />
could not fail to affect the aspirant with the most solemn feelings .<br />
His guide now demanded <strong>of</strong> him, if he was still firm in his purpose<br />
<strong>of</strong> passing through the trials and dangers that awaited him,
124 EGY<br />
or whether, overcome by what Le had already experienced, he<br />
was desirous <strong>of</strong> returning to the surface and abandoning the enterprise<br />
. If he still persisted, they both entered a narrow gallery,<br />
on the walls <strong>of</strong> which were inscribed the following significant<br />
words : "<strong>The</strong> mortal who shall travel over this road, without<br />
hesitating or looking behind, shall be purified by fire, by water<br />
and by air, and if he can surmount the fear <strong>of</strong> death, he shall<br />
emerge from the bosom <strong>of</strong> the earth ; he shall revisit the light,<br />
and claim the right <strong>of</strong> preparing his soul for the reception <strong>of</strong> the<br />
mysteries <strong>of</strong> the great goddess Isis ." <strong>The</strong> conductor now abandoned<br />
the aspirant to himself, warning him <strong>of</strong> the dangers that<br />
surrounded and awaited him, and exhorting him to continue, (if<br />
he expected success,) unshaken in his firmness .<br />
<strong>The</strong> solitary candidate now continues to traverse the gallery<br />
for some distance farther . On each side are placed in niches,<br />
colossal statues, in the attitude <strong>of</strong> mummies, awaiting the hour<br />
<strong>of</strong> resurrection . <strong>The</strong> lamp with which, at the commencement <strong>of</strong>'<br />
the ceremonies, he had been furnished, casts but a glimmering<br />
light around, scarcely sufficient to make "darkness visible ."<br />
Spectres seem to menace him at every step, but on his nearer<br />
approach they vanish into airy nothingness. At length he<br />
reaches an iron door guarded by three men armed with swords,<br />
and disguised in masks resembling the heads <strong>of</strong> jackals . One<br />
<strong>of</strong> them addresses him as follows . : " We are not here to impede<br />
your passage . Continue your journey, if the gods have given<br />
you the power and strength to do so . But remember, if you once<br />
pass the threshold <strong>of</strong> that door, you must not dare to pause, or<br />
attempt to retrace your steps ; if you do, you will find us here<br />
prepared to oppose your retreat, and to prevent your return ."<br />
Having passed through the door, the candidate has scarcely proceeded<br />
fifty steps before he is dazzled by a brilliant light, whose<br />
intensity augments as he advances. He now finds himself in<br />
a spacious hall, filled with inflammable substances, in a state <strong>of</strong><br />
combustion, wbose flames pervade the whole apartment, and<br />
form a bower <strong>of</strong> fire on the ro<strong>of</strong> above . Through this it is ne•
EG Y L5<br />
eessary that he should pass with the geatest speed, to avoid the<br />
effects <strong>of</strong> the flames . To this peril succeeds another. On the<br />
other side <strong>of</strong> this fiery furnace, the floor <strong>of</strong> the hall is garnished<br />
with a huge net-work <strong>of</strong> red hot iron bars, the narrow interstices<br />
<strong>of</strong> which afford the aspirant the only chances <strong>of</strong> a secure footing .<br />
[laving surmounted this difficulty by the greatest address, another<br />
and unexpected obstacle opposes his farther progress . A wide<br />
and rapid canal, fed from the waters <strong>of</strong> the vile, crosses the passage<br />
he is treading . Over this stream he has to swim . .. Divesting<br />
himself, therefore, <strong>of</strong> his garments, he fastens them in a<br />
bundle upon the top <strong>of</strong> his head, and holding his lamp, which<br />
now affords him all the light that he possesses, high above the<br />
water, he plunges in and boldly swims across .<br />
On arriving at the opposite side, he finds a narrow landing<br />
place, bounded by two high walls <strong>of</strong> brass, into each <strong>of</strong> which is<br />
inserted an immense wheel <strong>of</strong> the same metal, and terminated by<br />
an ivory door . This, <strong>of</strong> course, the aspirant attempts to openbut<br />
his efforts are in vain . <strong>The</strong> door is unyielding . At length<br />
he espies two large rings, <strong>of</strong> which he immediately takes hold, in<br />
the expectation that they will afford him the means <strong>of</strong> effecting<br />
an entrance . But what are his surprise and terror, when he bc .<br />
holds the brazen wheels revolve upon their axles with a formidable<br />
rapidity and stunning noise ; the platform sinks from under<br />
him, and he remains suspended by the rings, over a fathomless<br />
abyss, from which issues a chilling blast <strong>of</strong> wind ; his lamp is<br />
extinguished, and he is left in pr<strong>of</strong>ound darkness . For more<br />
than a minute he remains in this unenviable position, deafened<br />
by the noise <strong>of</strong> the revolving wheels, chilled by the cold current<br />
<strong>of</strong> air, and dreading least his strength shall fail him, when he<br />
must inevitably be precipitated into the yawning gulf below .<br />
But by degrees the noise ceases, the platform resumes its former<br />
position, and the aspirant is restQred to safety . <strong>The</strong> ivory door<br />
now-spontaneously opens, and he finds himself in a brilliantly<br />
illuminated apartment, in the midst <strong>of</strong> the priests <strong>of</strong> Isis, clothed<br />
in the mystic insignia <strong>of</strong> their <strong>of</strong>fices, who welcome him, and cont1.
Ls EGY<br />
gratulate him on his escape ft um the dangers which have menaced<br />
him . In this apartment he beholds the various symbols <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Egyptian mysteries, the occult signification <strong>of</strong> which is by degrees<br />
explained to him .<br />
But the ceremonies <strong>of</strong> initiation do not cease here . <strong>The</strong> candidate<br />
is subjected to a series <strong>of</strong> fastings, which gradually increase<br />
in severity for nine times nine days . During this period a rigorous<br />
silence is imposed upon him, which, if he preserve it inviolable,<br />
is at length rewarded by his receiving a full revelation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
esoteric knowledge <strong>of</strong> the rites . This instruction took place during<br />
what was called the twelve days <strong>of</strong> manifestation . He was<br />
conducted before the triple statue <strong>of</strong> Osiris, Isis, and Horus, where,<br />
bending the knee, he was clothed with the sacred garments, and<br />
crowned with a wreath <strong>of</strong> palm ; a torch was placed in his hand<br />
and he was made to pronounce the following solemn obligation<br />
swear never to reveal, to any <strong>of</strong> the uninitiated, the things<br />
that I shall see in this sanctuary, nor any <strong>of</strong> the knowledge that<br />
shall be communicated to me . I call as witnesses to my promise,<br />
the gods <strong>of</strong> heaven, <strong>of</strong> earth and hell, and I invoke their vengeance<br />
on my head, if I should ever wilfully violate my oath ."<br />
Having undergone this formality, the neophyte was introduced<br />
into the most secret part <strong>of</strong> the sacred edifice, where a priest instructed<br />
him in the application <strong>of</strong> their symbols to the doctrines<br />
<strong>of</strong> the mysteries . He was then publicly announced, amid the<br />
rejoicings <strong>of</strong> the multitude, as an initiated, and thus terminated<br />
the ceremonies <strong>of</strong> initiation into the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Isis, which were<br />
the first degree <strong>of</strong> the Egyptian rites .<br />
<strong>The</strong> mysteries <strong>of</strong> Serapis constituted the second degree . Of<br />
these rites we know but little . Apuleius* alone, in his "Metamorphoses,"<br />
has written <strong>of</strong> them, and what be has said is unimportant<br />
. He only tells us that they were celebrated at the summer<br />
* It is indeed singular, that Herodotus, who- treats circumstantially <strong>of</strong> the<br />
gods <strong>of</strong> the Egyptians and their religion, should make no mention <strong>of</strong> Seraph<br />
or his rites .
EGY . 127<br />
solstice, and at night ; that the candidate was prepared by the<br />
usual fastings and purifications ; and that no one was permitted<br />
to partake <strong>of</strong> them, unless he had previously been initiated into<br />
the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Isis .<br />
<strong>The</strong> ?nysteries <strong>of</strong> Osiris formed the third degree or summit <strong>of</strong><br />
the Egyptian initiation . In these, the legend <strong>of</strong> the murder <strong>of</strong><br />
Osiris, by his brother Typhon, was represented, and the god was<br />
personated by the candidate . Osiris, according to the tradition,<br />
was a wise king <strong>of</strong> Egypt, who having achieved the reform <strong>of</strong> his<br />
subjects at home, resolved to spread the blessings <strong>of</strong> civilization<br />
in the other parts <strong>of</strong> the earth . This he accomplished, but on<br />
his return be found his kingdoiu, which he hail left in the care<br />
<strong>of</strong> his wife Isis, distracted by the seditious <strong>of</strong> his brother Typhon .<br />
Osiris attempted, by mild remonstrances, to convince his brother<br />
<strong>of</strong> the impropriety <strong>of</strong> his conduct, but he fell a sacrifice in the<br />
attempt . For Typhon murdered him in a secret apartment, and<br />
cutting up the body, enclosed the pieces in a chest, which he<br />
committed to the waters <strong>of</strong> the Nile . Isis, searching for the<br />
body, found it, and entrusted it to the care <strong>of</strong> the priests, establishing<br />
at the same time the mysteries in commemoration <strong>of</strong> the<br />
foul deed . One piece <strong>of</strong> the body, however, she could not find,<br />
the membrum virile . For this she substituted a factitious representation,<br />
which she consecrated, and which, under the name <strong>of</strong><br />
phallus, is to be found as the emblem <strong>of</strong> fecundity in all the ancient<br />
mysteries .<br />
This legend was purely astronomical . Osiris was the sun, Isis<br />
the moon . Typhon was the symbol <strong>of</strong> winter, which destroys<br />
the fecundating and fertilizing powers <strong>of</strong> the sun, thus, as it<br />
were, depriving him <strong>of</strong> life . This was the catastrophe celebrated<br />
in the mysteries, and the aspirant was made to pass fictitiously<br />
through the sufferings and the death <strong>of</strong> Osiris .<br />
<strong>The</strong> secret doctrines <strong>of</strong> the Egyptian rites related to the gods,<br />
the creation and government <strong>of</strong> the world, and the niture and<br />
3ondition <strong>of</strong> the human soul . In their initiations, says Oliver,<br />
they informed the candidate that the mysteries were received
128 . ELE<br />
from Adam, Seth, and Enoch, and they called the perfectly ini •<br />
tiated candidate Al-om jah, from the name <strong>of</strong> the Deity . Secrecy<br />
was principally inculcated, and all their lessons were taught by<br />
symbols . Many <strong>of</strong> these have been preserved . With them, a<br />
point within a circle, was the symbol <strong>of</strong> the Deity surrounded<br />
by eternity ; the globe was a symbol <strong>of</strong> the supreme and eternal<br />
God ; a serpent with the tail in his mouth, was emblamatic <strong>of</strong><br />
eternity ; a child sitting on the lotos was a symbol <strong>of</strong> the sun ; a<br />
palm tree, <strong>of</strong> victory ; a staff, <strong>of</strong> authority ; an ant, <strong>of</strong> knowledge ;<br />
a boat, <strong>of</strong> fecundity ; a wolf, <strong>of</strong> aversion ; the right hand with the<br />
fingers open, <strong>of</strong> plenty ; and the left hand closed, <strong>of</strong> protection .*<br />
ELECT, PERFECT AND SUBLIME MASON . One who<br />
is in possession <strong>of</strong> the 14th degree <strong>of</strong> the ancient Scotch rite .<br />
See Perfection .<br />
ELECT OF PERIGNAN . A French degree illustrative <strong>of</strong><br />
the punishment inflicted upon certain criminals whose exploits<br />
constitute a portion <strong>of</strong> the legend <strong>of</strong> symbolic masonry. <strong>The</strong><br />
counterpart <strong>of</strong> this degree is to be found in the Elected Knights<br />
<strong>of</strong> nine, and Illustrious Elected <strong>of</strong> Fifteen in the ancient Scotch<br />
rite .<br />
ELECTED KNIGHTS OF FIFTEEN . See Illustrious<br />
Elected <strong>of</strong> Fifteen .<br />
ELECTED KNIGHTS OF NINE . Maitre elu des neufs.<br />
<strong>The</strong> ninth degree in the ancient Scotch rite . <strong>The</strong>re arc but two<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficers : the Most Powerful, who represents Solomon, and . one<br />
Warden in the West, representing Stokin . <strong>The</strong> meetings are<br />
called Chapters . In this degree is detailed the mode in which<br />
certain ****** ******, who just before the completion <strong>of</strong> the<br />
• See, for the facts recorded in this article, Apuleius, Metamorph . ; Clavel,<br />
Histoire de la Franc-Magonrie ; Oliver, Signs and Symbols ; Pluche, Histoire<br />
do Ciel, etc.
'ELE 12<br />
Temple, had been engaged in an exe ..rable deed <strong>of</strong> villany, received<br />
their punishment . It exemplifies the truth <strong>of</strong> the maxim,<br />
that the punishment <strong>of</strong> crime, though sometimes slow, is ever<br />
sure ; and it admonishes us, by the historical circumstances on<br />
which it is founded, <strong>of</strong> the binding nature <strong>of</strong> our masonic obli .<br />
gations . <strong>The</strong> symbolic colours are red, white, and black . <strong>The</strong><br />
white is emblematic <strong>of</strong> the purity <strong>of</strong> the knights ; the red,<br />
<strong>of</strong> the crime which was committed ; and the black, <strong>of</strong> grief.<br />
This degree, under the title <strong>of</strong> "ELU," constitutes the 4th degree<br />
in the French rite .<br />
ELECTION . It is an ancient regulation that no candidate<br />
can be elected a member <strong>of</strong> our order, until strict enquiry shall<br />
have been made into his moral character . For this purpose, all<br />
letters <strong>of</strong> application, except those <strong>of</strong> transient persons, must lie<br />
over at least one month, during which time they are entrusted to<br />
a committee <strong>of</strong> investigation, whose unfavourable report is equivalent<br />
to a rejection by the lodge, and precludes the necessity <strong>of</strong><br />
a ballot . If it be favourable, the ballot is then entered into .<br />
<strong>The</strong> reason why an unfavourable report <strong>of</strong> the committee is equivalent<br />
to a rejection, is, that as it takes two at least <strong>of</strong> the committee<br />
to make the report unfavourable, it is to be supposed that<br />
these two would <strong>of</strong> course black-ball the candidate . And as two<br />
black balls constitute a peremptory rejection, they may be considered<br />
as already given by the report . For the further regulation<br />
<strong>of</strong> the election, see the word Ballot.<br />
<strong>The</strong> election <strong>of</strong> the <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> a lodge, must always take plane<br />
before St. John the Evangelist's day, which is with us the commencement<br />
<strong>of</strong> the masonic year . Should it from any circumstances<br />
be postponed, it cannot afterward be entered into, except<br />
by dispensation from the Grand Master . Nominations <strong>of</strong> candi<br />
dates are not permitted by the usages <strong>of</strong> masonry, but a short<br />
time previous to the election, the brethren should be called <strong>of</strong>f to<br />
refreshment, for the purpose <strong>of</strong> interchanging their opinions .<br />
<strong>The</strong>y are then called on, and each brother deposits in the ballot-
130 ELE<br />
box the name <strong>of</strong> him whom he deems best qualified or most<br />
worthy ; and the votes being counted, the one who has received<br />
the greatest number is declared elected .<br />
ELEPHANTA . <strong>The</strong> cavern <strong>of</strong> Elephanta in Hindostan is<br />
the most ancient temple in the world. It was the principal place<br />
for the celebration <strong>of</strong> the mysteries <strong>of</strong> India .<br />
ELETJSINIAN MYSTERIES . <strong>The</strong>se were among the most<br />
important <strong>of</strong> the ancient rites, and were hence <strong>of</strong>ten called emphatically<br />
"the mysteries." Cicero speaks <strong>of</strong> them as "the sacred<br />
and august rites <strong>of</strong> Eleusis, where men come from the remotest<br />
regions to be initiated."* <strong>The</strong>y were originally celebrated only at<br />
Eleusis, a town <strong>of</strong> Attica in Greece, but they were extended to<br />
Italy, and even to Britain . In these mysteries was commemorated<br />
the search <strong>of</strong> Ceres after her daughter Proserpine, who had<br />
been ravished by Plato, and carried to the infernal regions . <strong>The</strong><br />
chief dispenser <strong>of</strong> the mysteries was called the Hierophant, or<br />
revealer <strong>of</strong> sacred things ; to him were joined three assistants,<br />
the Daduchus or torch-bearer, the Ceryx or herald, and' the Ho<br />
epi bomo or altar-server. <strong>The</strong> mysteries were <strong>of</strong> two kinds, the<br />
greater and lesser . <strong>The</strong> latter were merely preparatory, and consisted<br />
<strong>of</strong> a nine days lustration and purification succeeded by<br />
sacrifices . A year after,those persons, who had passed through<br />
the lesser were admitted into the greater, where a full revelation<br />
was made <strong>of</strong> the secret doctrine . This, according to the opinion<br />
<strong>of</strong> the learned Warburton, principally consisted in a declaration<br />
<strong>of</strong> the unity <strong>of</strong> God, an opinion not with safety to be publicly<br />
pro=mulgated, amid the errors and superstitions <strong>of</strong>ancientpolytheism .~-<br />
a Eleusina sancta illa et augusta ; ubi initiantur gentos orarum ultimse .-<br />
Nat. Deor. jib. i.<br />
t <strong>The</strong> learned Faber believes there was an intimate connexion existing be .<br />
tween the drkite worship and the orgies <strong>of</strong> Eleusis, a connexion which he<br />
traces through all the ancient mysteries.-Faber' . Cab ri and Origin <strong>of</strong> Pagan<br />
Idolatry .
ELE 131<br />
For, as Plato observes, in his Timaeus, "it is difficult to discover<br />
the author and father <strong>of</strong> the Universe, aid when discovered, impossible<br />
to reveal him to all mankind ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> herald opened the ceremonies <strong>of</strong> initiation into the greater<br />
mysteries by the proclamation, exac, exas, care /3epVoe, 1 ' Retire,<br />
0 ! ye pr<strong>of</strong>ane ." Thus were the sacred precincts tiled . <strong>The</strong><br />
aspirant was presented naked . He was clothed with the skin <strong>of</strong><br />
a calf. An oath <strong>of</strong> secrecy was administered, and he was then<br />
asked, "Have you eaten bread ?" <strong>The</strong> reply to which was," No,<br />
I have drunk the sacred mixture, I have been fed from the basket<br />
<strong>of</strong> Ceres ; I have laboured, I have been placed in the calathius,<br />
and in the cystus ." <strong>The</strong>se replies proved that the candidate was<br />
duly and truly prepared, and that he had made suitable pr<strong>of</strong>iciency<br />
by a previous initiation in the lesser mysteries . <strong>The</strong> calfskin<br />
was then taken from him, and he was invested with the<br />
sacred tunic, which he was to wear until it fell to pieces . He<br />
was now left in utter darkness, to await in the vestibule the time<br />
when the doors <strong>of</strong> the sanctuary should be opened to him . Terrific<br />
noises, resembling the roar <strong>of</strong> thunder, and the bellowing <strong>of</strong><br />
mighty winds were heard ; mimic lightning flashed, and spectres<br />
<strong>of</strong> horrible forms appeared . During this period, which, if the<br />
conjecture is correct, must have been the ficn.ereal* part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
rites, it is supposed that the tragic end <strong>of</strong> Bacchus, the son <strong>of</strong><br />
Semele, who was murdered by the Titans, was celebrated . <strong>The</strong><br />
doors <strong>of</strong> the inner temple were at length thrown open, and the<br />
candidate beheld the statue <strong>of</strong> the goddess Ceres, surrounded by<br />
a dazzling light . <strong>The</strong> candidate, who had heret<strong>of</strong>ore been called<br />
a mystes or novice, was now termed epoptes, an inspector or eyewitness,<br />
and the secret doctrine was revealed . <strong>The</strong> assembly was<br />
then closed with the Sanscrit words, "Iconx om pax," another<br />
pro<strong>of</strong>, if another were wanting, <strong>of</strong> the Eastern origin <strong>of</strong> the Grecian<br />
mysteries .t<br />
* "<strong>The</strong> mysteries <strong>of</strong> antiquity were all funereal"-Oliver, Hist. <strong>of</strong> f" iation,<br />
p. 314.<br />
t <strong>The</strong> words Candeeha Om Pachea, <strong>of</strong> which konx om pax are a Grecian
132 ELE<br />
<strong>The</strong> qualifications for initiation were maturity <strong>of</strong> age, and<br />
purity <strong>of</strong> conduct . A character, free from suspicion <strong>of</strong> immorality,<br />
was absolutely required in the aspirant . Nero, on this ac . .<br />
count, slid not dare, when in Greece, to <strong>of</strong>fer himself as a candi .<br />
date for initiation . <strong>The</strong> privilege was at first confined to natives<br />
<strong>of</strong> Greece, but it was afterwards extended to foreigners . Significant<br />
symbols were used as means <strong>of</strong> instruction, and words <strong>of</strong><br />
recognition were communicated to the initiated . In these regulations,<br />
as well as in the gradual advancement <strong>of</strong> the candidate<br />
from one degree to another, that resemblance to our own institution<br />
is readily perceived, which has given to these, as well as to<br />
the other ancient mysteries, the appropriate name <strong>of</strong> Spurious<br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong> . <strong>The</strong> following passage <strong>of</strong> an ancient author, preserved<br />
by Stobaeus, and quoted by Warburton in the 2d Book <strong>of</strong><br />
his Divine Legation, is too interesting to Freemasons to be<br />
omitted<br />
11 <strong>The</strong> mind is affected and agitated in death just as it is in<br />
initiation into the grand mysteries ; and word answers to word,<br />
as well as thing to thing ; for re2eura;, is to die ; and reAeTaoac,<br />
to be initiated . <strong>The</strong> first stage is nothing, but errors and uncertainties<br />
; laborious wanderings ; a rude and fearful march through<br />
night and darkness . And now arrived on the verge <strong>of</strong> death<br />
and initiation, every thing wears a dreadful aspect ; it is all horror,<br />
trembling, sweating, and affrightment . But this scene once<br />
over, a miraculous and divine light displays itself, and shining<br />
plains, and flowery meadows, open on all hands before them .<br />
Here they are entertained with hymns and dances ; with the sublime<br />
doctrines <strong>of</strong> faithful knowledge, and with reverend and holy<br />
corruption, are still used, according to Capt. Wilford, at the religious meetings<br />
and ceremenies <strong>of</strong> the Brahmins . He gives the definition <strong>of</strong> the expression as<br />
follows : `1 Candecha signifies the object <strong>of</strong> our most ardent wishes . OM is the<br />
famous monosyllable used both at the beginning and conclusion <strong>of</strong> a prayer or<br />
religious rite like, An:en . Paceha exactly answers to the obsolete Latin word<br />
nix ; it signifies change, course, stead, plaev, turn <strong>of</strong> wcrk, duty, fortune, die."<br />
tsiatic Researches, vol . v. p. 300.
ELU-EMB 135<br />
visions . And now become perfect and initiated, they are FREE,<br />
and no longer under restraint ; but crowned and triumphant,<br />
they walk up and down the regions <strong>of</strong> the blessed ; converse<br />
witL pure and holy men, and celebrate the sacred mysteries at<br />
pleasure ."<br />
ELU. This, which may be translated "Elected Mason," is<br />
the fourth degree <strong>of</strong> the French rite . It is occupied in the details<br />
<strong>of</strong> the detection and punishment <strong>of</strong> certain traitors who,<br />
just before the completion <strong>of</strong> the Temple, were guilty <strong>of</strong> a henious<br />
crime .<br />
ELUS . All the degrees, whose object is that detailed in the<br />
preceding article, are called " Elus," or " the degrees <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Elected ." <strong>The</strong>y are so numerous as to form, like Ecossaism, a<br />
particular system, which is to be found pervading every rite . In<br />
the York rite, the Elu is incorporated in the Mister's degree ; in<br />
the French, it occupies a distinct degree ; in the ancient Scotch<br />
rite, it consists <strong>of</strong> three degrees, Elected Knights <strong>of</strong> Nine, Illustrious<br />
Elect <strong>of</strong> Fifteen, and Sublime Knights Elected . Ragon<br />
reckons the five preceding degrees among the Elus, but without<br />
reason, as they belong rather to the order <strong>of</strong> Masters, and are so<br />
Classed by the chiefs <strong>of</strong> the Scotch rite .<br />
Those higher Elus, in which the object <strong>of</strong> the election is<br />
:hanged and connected with Templar Masonry, are more properly<br />
called "Kadoshes ."<br />
EMBLEM . An occult representation <strong>of</strong> something unknown<br />
or concealed, by a sign that is known . In all the ancient<br />
mysteries, and in the philosophic school <strong>of</strong> Pythagoras, the mode<br />
<strong>of</strong> instruction adopted wag by emblems . <strong>The</strong> same system is<br />
pursued in <strong>Freemasonry</strong>. <strong>The</strong> explanation <strong>of</strong> such <strong>of</strong> these<br />
enklems as it is lawful to divulge, will be found under the proper<br />
heads in this work. See, also, Symbol.<br />
12
134 EMP--ENC<br />
EMPERORS OF THE EAST AND WEST . In 1758 there<br />
was established in Paris a body called the " Council <strong>of</strong> Emperors<br />
<strong>of</strong> the East and West ." <strong>The</strong> members assumed the titles <strong>of</strong><br />
"Sovereign Prince Masons, Substitutes General <strong>of</strong> the Royal Art,<br />
Grand Superintendants and <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> the Grand and Sovereign<br />
Lodge <strong>of</strong> St John <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem ." <strong>The</strong>ir ritual consisted <strong>of</strong><br />
twenty-five degrees, as follows : 1 to 19, the same as the Scotch<br />
Rite (which see .) 20, Grand Patriarch Noachite . 21, Key <strong>of</strong><br />
Masonry . 22, Prince <strong>of</strong> Lebanon . 23, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Sun .<br />
24, Kadosh . 25, Prince <strong>of</strong> the Royal Secret . In the same<br />
year the degrees were established in the city <strong>of</strong> Berlin, and<br />
adopted by the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> the Three Globes . Frederick II.<br />
King <strong>of</strong> Prussia, is said to have subsequently merged this body<br />
in the Ancient and Accepted Rite <strong>of</strong> which he was the head,<br />
adding eight degrees to the twenty-five they already possessed, so<br />
as to make the whole number thirty-three .<br />
It is however a mistake to suppose, as has been asserted by<br />
Thory* and Ragon f that the Council <strong>of</strong> Emperors <strong>of</strong> the East<br />
and West was the origin <strong>of</strong> the Ancient and Accepted Rite . <strong>The</strong><br />
former had originally adopted twenty-five <strong>of</strong> the degrees <strong>of</strong> the<br />
latter rite, but were subsequently reformed and reorganized by<br />
Frederick . Such at least is the theory now entertained by the .<br />
possessors <strong>of</strong> the Ancient and Accepted Rite .<br />
ENCAMPMENT . All regular assemblies <strong>of</strong> Knights Tens .<br />
plars and Knights <strong>of</strong> Malta, are called Encampments . <strong>The</strong>y<br />
should assemble at least quarterly, and must consist <strong>of</strong> the following<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficers : Grand Commander, Generalissimo, Captain General,<br />
Prelate, Senior Warden, Junior Warden, Treasurer, Recorder,<br />
Warder, Standard Bearer, Sword Bearer, and Sentinel . <strong>The</strong>se<br />
Encampments derive their Warrants <strong>of</strong> Constitution from a<br />
Grand Encampment, or if there is no such body in the State in<br />
• Acta Latomorum .<br />
f Orthodoxie Maconnique .
ENC - 135<br />
which they are organized, from the General Grand Encampment<br />
<strong>of</strong> the United States . . <strong>The</strong>y confer the degrees <strong>of</strong> Knight <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Red Cross, Knight Templar, and Knight <strong>of</strong> Malta .<br />
In an Encampment <strong>of</strong> Knights Templars, the throne is situated<br />
in the East . Above it are suspended three banners : the centre<br />
one bearing a cross, surmounted by a glory ; the left one having<br />
inscribed on it the emblems <strong>of</strong> the order, and the right one, a<br />
paschal lamb . <strong>The</strong> Grand Commander is seated on the throne ;<br />
the Generalissimo, Prelate, and Past Grand Commanders on his<br />
right ; the Captain General on his left ; the Treasurer and<br />
Recorder, as in a symbolic lodge ; the Senior Warden at the<br />
south-west angle <strong>of</strong> the triangle, and upon the right <strong>of</strong> the first<br />
division ; the Junior Warden at the north-west angle <strong>of</strong> the triangle,<br />
and on the left <strong>of</strong> the third division ; the Standard Bearer<br />
in the . West, between the Sword Bearer on his right, and the<br />
Warder on his left ; and in front <strong>of</strong> him is a stall for the initiate .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Knights are arranged in equal numbers on each side, and in<br />
front <strong>of</strong> the throne .*<br />
ENCAMPMENT, GRAND . When three or more Encampments<br />
are instituted in a State, they may unite and form a Grand<br />
Encampment, having first obtained the consent <strong>of</strong> the General<br />
Grand Master, the Deputy General Grand Master, or the General<br />
Grand Encampment. <strong>The</strong>y have the superintendence <strong>of</strong> all<br />
Councils <strong>of</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong> the Red Cross, and Encampments <strong>of</strong><br />
Knights Templars, and Knights <strong>of</strong> Malta, that are holden in<br />
their respective jurisdictions .<br />
A Grand Encampment meets, at least, annually, and consists<br />
<strong>of</strong> a Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master, Grand Generalissimo,<br />
Grand Captain General, Grand Prelate, Grand Senior and Junior<br />
Warden, Grand Treasurer, Grand Recorder, Grand Standard<br />
Bearer, and Grand Sword Bearer ; all Past Grand Masters,<br />
Deputy Grand Masters, Grand Generalissimo, and Grand Captain<br />
Cross, Templars' Chart, p . 41 .
13G ENC-ENO<br />
General, <strong>of</strong> any State Encampment wheresoever they may reside ;<br />
the Grand Commander, Generalissimo, and Captain General for<br />
the time being, <strong>of</strong> the Encampments over which they shall<br />
respectively preside ; and all Past Grand Commanders <strong>of</strong> such<br />
Encampments .*<br />
ENCAMPMENT, GENERAL GRAND . <strong>The</strong> General Grand<br />
Encampment <strong>of</strong> the United States, was instituted on the 22d day<br />
<strong>of</strong> June, 1816 . It consists <strong>of</strong> a General Grand Master, Deputy<br />
General Grand Master, and other General <strong>of</strong>ficers, similar to those<br />
<strong>of</strong> a Grand Encampment, with all Past General Grand Masters,<br />
Deputy General Grand Masters, General Grand Generalissimos,<br />
and General Grand Captain Generals, and the Grand Masters,<br />
Deputy Grand Masters, Grand Generalissimos, and Grand Captain<br />
Generals <strong>of</strong> all Grand Encampments held under its jurisdiction .<br />
<strong>The</strong> General Grand Encampment meets triennially .<br />
ENOCH . Of Enoch, the father <strong>of</strong> Methuselah, the following<br />
tradition is interesting. When the increasing wickedness <strong>of</strong><br />
mankind had caused God to threaten the world with universal<br />
destruction, Enoch became afraid that the knowledge <strong>of</strong> the arts<br />
and sciences would perish with the human race . To avoid this<br />
catastrophe, and to preserve the principles <strong>of</strong> the sciences for the<br />
posterity <strong>of</strong> those whom God should be pleased to spare, he erected<br />
two great pillars on the top <strong>of</strong> the highest mountain, the one <strong>of</strong><br />
brass to withstand water, and the other <strong>of</strong> marble to withstand<br />
fire, for he was ignorant whether the destruction would be by a<br />
general deluge or a conflagration . On the marble pillar he engraved<br />
an historical direction in respect to a subterranean temple<br />
which be had built by the inspiration <strong>of</strong> the Most High, and on<br />
the pillar <strong>of</strong> brass he inscribed the principles <strong>of</strong> the liberal arts,<br />
and especially <strong>of</strong> masonry . In the flood which subsequently took<br />
place, the marble pillar was, <strong>of</strong> course, swept away, but by divine<br />
s Constitution <strong>of</strong> the Gen . Grand Encamp. U. 2.
ENT-EPO 13 7<br />
permission, the pillar <strong>of</strong> brass withstood the water, by which<br />
means the ancient state <strong>of</strong> the arts, and particularly <strong>of</strong> masonry,<br />
has been banded down to us. This tradition has been adopted<br />
into the Lodge <strong>of</strong> Perfection, (Scottish rite,) and forms a part <strong>of</strong><br />
the degree <strong>of</strong> the Ancient Arch <strong>of</strong> Solomon, or Knights <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Ninth Arch .<br />
According to the Greeks, Enoch was the same as Hermes<br />
Trismegistus . He taught, say they, the art <strong>of</strong> building cities,<br />
discovered the knowledge <strong>of</strong> the Zodiac, and the course <strong>of</strong> the<br />
planets . made excellent laws, and appointed festivals for sacrificing<br />
to the Sun, and instructed them in the worship <strong>of</strong> the true God .<br />
He, too, was the inventor <strong>of</strong> books, and the art <strong>of</strong> writing .<br />
"According to our traditions, Enoch was a very eminent Freemason,<br />
and the conservator <strong>of</strong> the true name <strong>of</strong> God, which was<br />
subsequently lost even among his favorite people the Jews ."<br />
ENTERED . We say <strong>of</strong> a candidate, who has received the<br />
first degree <strong>of</strong> masonry, that he has entered our society ; whence<br />
the degree is called that <strong>of</strong> " Entered Apprentice ."<br />
ENTERED APPRENTICE . Apprenti . See Apprentice.<br />
EPHOD . A garment worn by the high priest over the tunic<br />
and outer garment . It was without sleeves, and divided below<br />
the arm pits into two parts or halves, one falling before and the<br />
other behind, and both reaching to the middle <strong>of</strong> the thighs .<br />
<strong>The</strong>y were joined above on the shoulders by buckles and two<br />
large precious stones, on which were inscribed the names <strong>of</strong> the<br />
twelve tribes, six on each . <strong>The</strong> Ephod was a distinctive mark<br />
<strong>of</strong> the priesthood . It was <strong>of</strong> two kinds, one <strong>of</strong> plain linen for<br />
the priests, and another, richer, and embroidered for the High<br />
Priest, which was composed <strong>of</strong> blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen .<br />
FPOPT . This was the name given to one who bad passed<br />
through the great mysteries, and been permitted . to behold what<br />
12*
138 ESO<br />
was concealed from the mystes, who had only peen initiated into<br />
the lesser. It signifies an eye-witness, and is derived from the<br />
Greek error-cream, to look into, to behuld . <strong>The</strong>, epopts repeated<br />
the oath <strong>of</strong> secrecy which had been administered to them on their<br />
initiation into the lesser mysteries, and were then conducted intc<br />
the lighted interior <strong>of</strong> the sanctuary and permitted to behold<br />
what the Greeks emphatically termed "the sight," auruclia. <strong>The</strong><br />
epopts alone were admitted to the sanctuary, for the myst a were<br />
confined to the vestibule <strong>of</strong> the temple . <strong>The</strong> epopts were, in<br />
fact, the Master Masons <strong>of</strong> the Mysteries, while the mystee were<br />
the Apprentices and Fellow Crafts .<br />
ESOTERIC AND EXOTERIC MASONRY .* From two<br />
Greek words signifying interior and exterior . <strong>The</strong> ancient philosophers,<br />
in the establishment <strong>of</strong> their respective sects, divided<br />
their schools into two kinds, exoteric and esoteric . In the exoteric<br />
school, instruction was given in public places ; the elements <strong>of</strong><br />
science, physical and moral, were unfolded, and those principles<br />
which ordinary intelligence could grasp, and against which the<br />
prejudices <strong>of</strong> ordinary minds would not revolt, were inculcated<br />
in places accessible to all whom curiosity or a love <strong>of</strong> wisdom<br />
congregated . But the more abstruse tenets <strong>of</strong> their philosophy<br />
were reserved for a chosen few, who, united in an esoteric school,<br />
received, in the secret recesses <strong>of</strong> the master's dwelling, lessons<br />
too strange to be acknowledged, too pure to be appreciated, by<br />
the vulgar crowd, who, in the morning, had assembled at the<br />
public lecture .<br />
Thus, in some measure, is it with masonry . Its system, taken<br />
as a whole, is, it is true, strictly esoteric in its construction . Its<br />
disciples are taught a knowledge which is forbidden to the pr<strong>of</strong>ane,<br />
and it is only in the adytum <strong>of</strong> the lodge that these lessons<br />
are bestowed ; and yet, viewed in itself and unconnected with the<br />
* See a Funeral Address delivered by the author in the year 1 $ 43, an3<br />
published in Moore's Freemason's Mag. Vol . iii. No . 7 .
E SO 139<br />
world without, masonry contains within its bosom . a ex(teric and<br />
esoteric school, as palpably divided as were those <strong>of</strong> tl .e ancient<br />
'ects, with this simple difference, that the admission or the exclusion<br />
was in the latter case involuntary, and dependent solely on the<br />
will <strong>of</strong> the instructor, while in the former it is voluntary, and<br />
dependent only on the will and the wishes <strong>of</strong> the disciple . In<br />
the sense in which I wish to convey the terms, every Mason, on<br />
his initiation, is exoteric-he beholds before him a beautiful<br />
fabric, the exterior <strong>of</strong> which, alone, he has examined, and with<br />
this exauiination he may, possibly, remain satisfied-many, alas l<br />
too many, are . If so, he will remain an Exoteric Mason . But<br />
there are others, whose curiosity is not so easily gratified-they<br />
desire a further and more intimate knowledge <strong>of</strong> the structure<br />
than has been presented to their view-they enter and examine<br />
its internal form-they traverse its intricate passages, they explore<br />
its hidden recesses, and admire and contemplate its magnificent<br />
apartments-their knowledge <strong>of</strong> the edifice is thus enlarged,<br />
and with more extensive, they have purer views <strong>of</strong> the<br />
principles <strong>of</strong> its construction, than have fallen to the lot <strong>of</strong> their<br />
less enquiring brethren . <strong>The</strong>se men become Esoteric Masons .<br />
<strong>The</strong> bidden things <strong>of</strong> the order are, to them, familiar as housebold<br />
words,-they constitute the Masters in Israel, who are to<br />
guide and instruct the less informed-and to diffuse light over<br />
paths which, to all others, are obscure and dark .<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is between these studious Masons, and their slothful,<br />
unenquiring brethren, the same difference in the views they take<br />
<strong>of</strong> masonry, as there is between an artist and a peasant in their<br />
respective estimation <strong>of</strong> an old painting-it may be- <strong>of</strong> a Raphael<br />
or a R_eubens . <strong>The</strong> peasant gazes with stupid wonder or with<br />
cold indifference, on the canvass redolent with life, without the<br />
excitation <strong>of</strong> a single emotion in his barren soul . Its colours<br />
mellowed to a rich s<strong>of</strong>tness, by the hand <strong>of</strong> time, are to him less<br />
pleasing than the gaudy tints which glare upon -the sign <strong>of</strong> his<br />
village inn ; and its subject, borrowed from the deep lore <strong>of</strong> history,<br />
or the bold imaginings <strong>of</strong> poesy, are less intelligible to him,
140 ESO<br />
than the daubed print which hangs conspicuously at his cottage<br />
fireside . And he is amazed to see this paltry piece <strong>of</strong> canvass<br />
bought with the treasures <strong>of</strong> wealth, and guarded with a care<br />
that the brightest jewel would demand in vain .<br />
But to the eye <strong>of</strong> the artist, how different the impression conveyed<br />
! To him, every thing beams with light, and life, and<br />
beauty . To him, it is the voice <strong>of</strong> nature, speaking in the language<br />
<strong>of</strong> art . Prometheus-like, he sees the warm blood gushing<br />
through the blue veins, and the eye beaming with a fancied animation-the<br />
correctness <strong>of</strong> its outlines-the boldness <strong>of</strong> its foreshortenings,<br />
where the limbs appear ready to burst from the canvass,-the<br />
delicacy <strong>of</strong> its shadows, and the fine arrangement <strong>of</strong><br />
its lights, are all before him, subjects <strong>of</strong> admiration, on which he<br />
could forever gaze, and examples <strong>of</strong> instruction which he would<br />
fain imitate .<br />
And whence arises this difference <strong>of</strong> impression, produced by<br />
the same object on two different individuals ? It is not from<br />
genius alone, for that, unaided, brings no light to the mind,<br />
though it prepares it for its reception . It is cultivation which<br />
enlarges the intellect, and fits it as a matrix for the birth <strong>of</strong> those<br />
truths which find in the bosom <strong>of</strong> ignorance no abiding place .<br />
And thus it is with masonry . As we cultivate it as a science<br />
its objects become extended-as our knowledge <strong>of</strong> it increases,<br />
new lights burst forth from its inmost recess, which to the inquisitive<br />
Mason, burn with bright effulgence ; but to the inattentive<br />
and unsearching, are but as dim and fitful glimmerings, only<br />
rendering "darkness visible ."<br />
Let every Mason ask himself, if he be <strong>of</strong> the esoteric or the<br />
exoteric school <strong>of</strong> masonry . Has he studied its hidden beauties<br />
and excellencies ? Has he explored its history, and traced out<br />
the origin and the erudite meaning <strong>of</strong> its symbols ? Or has he<br />
supinely rested content with the knowledge he received at the<br />
pedestal, nor sought to pass beyond the porch <strong>of</strong> the Temple ?<br />
If so, he is not prepared to find in our royal art those lessons<br />
vhich adorn the path <strong>of</strong> life, and cheer the bed <strong>of</strong> death ; and,
ESQ-ESS 141<br />
for all purposes, except those <strong>of</strong> social meeting, and friendly re<br />
cognition, masonry is to him a sealed book .<br />
But, if he has ever felt a desire to seek and cultivate the internal<br />
philosophy <strong>of</strong> masonry, let him advance in those rarely<br />
trodden paths ; the labour <strong>of</strong> such a pursuit is itself refreshment,<br />
and the reward great . Fresh flowers bloom at every step ;<br />
and the prospect on every side is so filled with beauty and enchantment,<br />
that, ravished at the sight, he will rush on with enthusiasm<br />
from fact to fact, and from truth to truth, until the<br />
whole science <strong>of</strong> masonry lies before him invested with a new<br />
form and sublimity .<br />
ESQUIRE . A grade or rank in the degree <strong>of</strong> Knights Templars,<br />
according to the English organization . See Knight Templar.<br />
ESSENES . A sect among the Jews, supposed by masonic<br />
writers to have been the descendants <strong>of</strong> the Freemasons <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Temple, and through whom the order was propagated to modern<br />
times . See the article "Antiquity <strong>of</strong> Masonry," in this work .<br />
<strong>The</strong> real origin <strong>of</strong> the Essenes has been a subject <strong>of</strong> much dispute<br />
among pr<strong>of</strong>ane writers ; but there is certainly a remarkable<br />
Coincidence in many <strong>of</strong> their doctrines and ceremonies with those<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>essed by the Freemasons . <strong>The</strong>y were divided into two classes,<br />
speculatives and operatives ; the former devoting themselves to a<br />
life <strong>of</strong> contemplation, and the latter daily engaging in the practice<br />
<strong>of</strong> some handicraft. <strong>The</strong> proceeds <strong>of</strong> their labour were,<br />
however, deposited in one general stock ; for they religiously observed<br />
a community <strong>of</strong> goods . <strong>The</strong>y secluded themselves from<br />
the rest <strong>of</strong> the world, and were completely esoteric in their doctrines,<br />
which were also <strong>of</strong> a symbolic character . <strong>The</strong>y admitted<br />
no women into their order ; abolished all distinctions <strong>of</strong> rank,<br />
meeting on the level," and giving the precedence only to<br />
virtue . Charity was bestowed on their indigent brethren, and,<br />
as a means <strong>of</strong> recognition, they adopted signs and other modes
142 ESS<br />
similar to those <strong>of</strong> the Freemasons . - <strong>The</strong>ir order was divided<br />
into three degrees . When a candidate applied for admission, his<br />
character was scrutinized with the greatest severity . He was<br />
"then presented with a girdle, a hatchet, and a white garment .<br />
Being thus admitted to the first degree, he remained in a state<br />
<strong>of</strong> probation for one year ; during which time, although he lived<br />
according their customs, he was not admitted to their meetings .<br />
At the termination <strong>of</strong> this period, if found worthy, he was advanced<br />
to the second degree, and was made a partaker <strong>of</strong> the<br />
waters <strong>of</strong> purification . But he was not yet permitted to live<br />
among them, but after enduring another probation <strong>of</strong> two years<br />
duration, he was at length admitted to the third degree, and<br />
united in full fellowship with them . On this occasion, he took a<br />
solemn oath, the principal heads <strong>of</strong> which, according to Josephus,*<br />
were as follows•: To exercise piety toward God, and justice toward<br />
men ; to hate the wicked and assist the good ; to show fidelity to<br />
all men,' obedience to those in authority, and kindness to those<br />
below him ; to be a lover <strong>of</strong> truth, and a reprover <strong>of</strong> falsehood ;<br />
to keep his hands clear from theft, and his soul from unlawful<br />
gains ; to conceal nothing from his own sect, nor to discover any<br />
<strong>of</strong> their doctrines to others ; to communicate their doctrines, in<br />
no otherwise than he had received them, himself ; and lastly to<br />
preserve the books belonging to the sect, and the names <strong>of</strong> the<br />
angels in which he shall be instructed . Philo, <strong>of</strong> Alexandria,wbo,<br />
in two books written expressly on the subject <strong>of</strong> the Essenses,<br />
has given a copious account <strong>of</strong> their doctrines and manners, says,<br />
that when they were listening to the secret instructions <strong>of</strong> their<br />
chiefs, they stood with "the right hand on the breast a little below<br />
the chin, and the left hand placed along the side ." A similar<br />
position is attributed by Macrobius to Venus, when deploring<br />
the death <strong>of</strong> Adonis, in those rites which were celebrated at Tyre,<br />
the birth-place <strong>of</strong> Hiram the Builder .<br />
* Joseph . Bell . Jud. II. viii.
EUN-EXA 143<br />
EUNUCH. No eunuch can be initia ed as a Mason <strong>The</strong><br />
,contempt in which these unfortunate beings are held by the rest<br />
<strong>of</strong> their fellow-creatures, unfits them for the close union <strong>of</strong> brotherly<br />
love which masonry inculcates ; and the vicious and malignant<br />
disposition, which all experience teaches us is the characteristic<br />
<strong>of</strong> this isolated race, derived doubtless from their feelin<br />
; <strong>of</strong> isolation, debars them from entrance into a society whose<br />
foundation is laid in religion and morality . <strong>The</strong> prohibition derives<br />
support, also, from the authority <strong>of</strong> Scripture . By the<br />
Jewish law, (Dent . xxiii . 1,) eunuchs are forbidden "to enter<br />
into the congregation <strong>of</strong> the Lord ."<br />
EXALTED . A candidate is said to be exalted, when he receives<br />
the degree <strong>of</strong> Holy Royal Arch, the seventh in York masonry<br />
. Exalted means elevated or lifted up, and is applicable<br />
both to a peculiar ceremony <strong>of</strong> the degree, and to the fact that<br />
this degree, in the rite in which it is practised, constitutes the<br />
summit <strong>of</strong> ancient masonry .<br />
EXAMINATION . <strong>The</strong> due examination <strong>of</strong> strangers who<br />
claim the right <strong>of</strong> visit, should be entrusted only to the most<br />
skilful and prudent brethren <strong>of</strong> the lodge . And the examining<br />
committee should never forget, that no man applying for admis- .<br />
sion is to be considered as a Mason, however strong may be his<br />
recommendations, until by undeniable evidence he has proved<br />
himself to* be such .<br />
All the necessary forms and antecedent cautions should be<br />
observed . Enquiries should be made as to the time and place<br />
<strong>of</strong> initiation, as a preliminary step, the Tiler's 0 B, <strong>of</strong> course,<br />
never being omitted . <strong>The</strong>n remember the good old rule <strong>of</strong><br />
"commencing at the beginning ." Let every thing proceed in<br />
regular course, not varying in the slightest degree from the order<br />
in which it is to be supposed that the information sought was<br />
originally received . Whatever be the suspicions <strong>of</strong> imposture,<br />
let no expression <strong>of</strong> those suspicions be made until the final de-
144 EXC-EXP<br />
tree for rejection is uttered . And let that decree be uttered in<br />
general terms, such as, "I am not satisfied," or "I do not recognize<br />
you," and not in more specific language, such as " You<br />
did not answer this enquiry," or "You are ignorant on that<br />
point ." <strong>The</strong> candidate for examination is only entitled to know<br />
that he has not complied generally with the requisitions <strong>of</strong> his<br />
examiner . To descend to particulars is always improper and<br />
and <strong>of</strong>ten dangerous . Above all, never ask what the lawyers<br />
call "leading questions," which include in themselves the answers,<br />
nor in any manner aid the memory or prompt the forget- .<br />
fulness <strong>of</strong> the party examined, by the slightest hints . If he has<br />
it in him it will come out without assistance, and if he has it not,<br />
he is clearly entitled to no aid . <strong>The</strong> Mason who is so unmindful<br />
<strong>of</strong> his obligations as to have forgotten the instructions he has received,<br />
must pay the penalty <strong>of</strong> his carelessness, and be deprived<br />
<strong>of</strong> his contemplated visit to that society, whose secret modes <strong>of</strong><br />
recognition he has so little valued as not to have treasured them<br />
in his memory .<br />
Lastly, never should an unjustifiable delicacy weaken the rigor<br />
<strong>of</strong> these rules . Remember, that for the wisest and most evident<br />
reasons, the merciful maxim <strong>of</strong> the law, which says that it is<br />
better that ninety-nine guilty men should escape, than that one<br />
innocent man should be punished, is with us reversed, and that<br />
in masonry it is better that ninety and nine true men should be<br />
turned away from the door <strong>of</strong> a lodge, than that one cowan should<br />
be admitted .<br />
EXCLUSION . See Pisit, Right <strong>of</strong>.<br />
EXOTERIC . See Esoteric .<br />
EXPULSION. Expulsion is the highest masonic penalty<br />
.hat can be imposed by a lodge, upon any <strong>of</strong> its delinquent members<br />
We shall, therefore, give it more than a passing notice,
EXP 145<br />
and treat, 1st, <strong>of</strong> its effects ; 2d, <strong>of</strong> the proper tribunal to impose<br />
it ; 3d, <strong>of</strong> the persons who may be subject to it ; and 4th,<br />
<strong>of</strong> the <strong>of</strong>fences for which it may be inflicted .<br />
1 . Expulsion from a lodge deprives the party expelled <strong>of</strong> all<br />
the rights and privileges that he ever enjoyed, not only as a member<br />
<strong>of</strong> the particular lodge from which he has been ejected, but<br />
also <strong>of</strong> those which were inherent in him as a member <strong>of</strong> the<br />
fraternity at large . He is at once as completely divested <strong>of</strong> his<br />
masonic character, as though he had never been admitted, so far<br />
as regards his rights, while his duties and obligations remain as<br />
firm as ever, it being impossible for any human power to cancel<br />
them . He can no longer demand the aid <strong>of</strong> his brethren, nor<br />
require from them the performance <strong>of</strong> any <strong>of</strong> the duties to which<br />
he was formerly entitled, nor visit any lodge, nor unite in any <strong>of</strong><br />
the public or private ceremonies <strong>of</strong> the order . He .is considered<br />
as being without the pale, and it would be criminal in any brother,<br />
aware <strong>of</strong> his expulsion, even to hold communication with him on<br />
masonic subjects .<br />
<strong>The</strong> only proper tribunal to impose this heavy punishment,<br />
is a Grand Lodge . A subordinate lodge tries its delinquent<br />
member, and if guilty declares him expelled . But the sentence<br />
is <strong>of</strong> no force until the Grand Lodge, under whose jurisdiction it<br />
is working, has confirmed it . And it is optional with the Grand<br />
Lodge to do so, or, as is frequently done, to reverse the decision<br />
and reinstate the brother . Some <strong>of</strong> the lodges in this country<br />
claim the right to expel independently <strong>of</strong> the action <strong>of</strong> the Grand<br />
Lodge, but the claim is not valid . <strong>The</strong> very fact that an expulsion<br />
is a penalty, affecting the general relations <strong>of</strong> the punished<br />
party with the whole fraternity, proves that its exercise never<br />
could with propriety be entrusted to a body so circumscribed in<br />
its authority as a subordinate lodge . Besides, the general practice<br />
<strong>of</strong> the fraternity is against it . <strong>The</strong> English Constitutions vest<br />
the power to expel exclusively in the Grand Lodge . -"<strong>The</strong> subordinate<br />
lodge may suspend and report the case to the Grand<br />
13
Lodge . If the <strong>of</strong>fence and evidence be sufficient, expulsion in<br />
decreed ."*<br />
3. All Masons, whether members <strong>of</strong> lodges or not, are subject<br />
to the infliction <strong>of</strong> this punishment, when found to merit it . We<br />
have already said, under the article "Demit," that resignation or<br />
withdrawal from the order, does not cancel a Mason's obligations,<br />
nor exempt him from that wholesome control which the order<br />
exercises over the moral conduct <strong>of</strong> its members . <strong>The</strong> fact that<br />
a Mason, not a member <strong>of</strong> any particular lodge, but who has been<br />
guilty <strong>of</strong> immoral or unmasonic conduct, can be tried and punished<br />
by any lodge, within whose jurisdiction he may be residing, is<br />
without doubt . <strong>The</strong> remarks <strong>of</strong> Brother lIooret on this subject,<br />
are too valuable to be omitted . "Every member <strong>of</strong> the fraternity<br />
is accountable for his conduct as a Mason, to any regularly<br />
constituted lodge ; but if he be a member <strong>of</strong> a particular lodge,<br />
he is more immediately accountable to that lodge . A Mason<br />
acquires some special privileges by becoming a member <strong>of</strong> a lodge,<br />
and he has to perform special services which he might not otherwise<br />
be subjected to . But he enters into no new obligations to<br />
the fraternity generally, and his accountability is not increased<br />
any further than regards the faithful performance <strong>of</strong> those special<br />
duties . Hence, the difference between those brethren who are<br />
members <strong>of</strong> a lodge, and those who are not, is, that the members<br />
are bound to obey the By-Laws <strong>of</strong> their own particular lodges, in<br />
addition to the general duty <strong>of</strong> the fraternity . Again, every<br />
Mason is bound to obey the summons <strong>of</strong> a lodge <strong>of</strong> Master Masons,<br />
whether he be a member or otherwise . This obligation on the<br />
part <strong>of</strong> an individual, clearly implies a power in the lodge to investigate<br />
and control his conduct, in all things which concern the<br />
interest <strong>of</strong> the institution. This power cannot be confined to<br />
those brethren who are members <strong>of</strong> lodges, for the obligation is<br />
general ."<br />
* Moore's Magazine, vol . 1, p. 358 .<br />
t Moore's Magazine, vol . 1, p . 36 .
EXP . 147<br />
4. Immoral conduct, such as would subject a candidate for<br />
admission to rejection, should be the only <strong>of</strong>fence visited with<br />
expulsion . As the punishment is general, affecting the relation<br />
<strong>of</strong> the one expelled with the whole fraternity, it should not be<br />
lightly imposed, for the violation <strong>of</strong> any masonic act not general<br />
in its character. <strong>The</strong> commission <strong>of</strong> a grossly immoral act is a<br />
violation <strong>of</strong> the contract entered into between each Mason and<br />
his order . If sanctioned by silence or impunity, it would bring<br />
discredit on the institution, and tend to impair its usefulness .<br />
A Mason who is a bad man, is to the fraternity what a mortified<br />
limb is to the body, and should be treated with the same mode<br />
<strong>of</strong> cure-he should be cut <strong>of</strong>f, lest his example spread, and disease<br />
be propagated through the constitution . But it is too much the<br />
custom <strong>of</strong> lodges in this country, to extend this remedy to cases<br />
neither deserving nor requiring its application . I allude here,<br />
particularly, to expulsion for non-payment <strong>of</strong> lodge dues . Upon<br />
the principle just laid down, this is neither kind nor consistent .<br />
<strong>The</strong> payment <strong>of</strong> arrears is a contract, in which the only parties<br />
are a particular lodge and its members, <strong>of</strong> which contract the<br />
body at large know nothing . It is not a general masonic duty,<br />
and is not called for by any masonic regulation . <strong>The</strong> system <strong>of</strong><br />
arrears was unknown in former years, and has only been established<br />
<strong>of</strong> late for the sake <strong>of</strong> convenience . Even now there are some<br />
lodges where it does not prevail ;* and no Grand Lodge has ever<br />
yet attempted to control or regulate it, thus tacitly admitting that<br />
it forms no part <strong>of</strong> the general regulations <strong>of</strong> the order . Hence<br />
the non-payment <strong>of</strong> arrears is a violation <strong>of</strong> a special and voluntary<br />
obligation to a particular lodge, and not <strong>of</strong> any general duty to<br />
the fraternity at large . <strong>The</strong> punishment therefore inflicted should<br />
be one affecting the relations <strong>of</strong> the delinquent with the particular<br />
• I would cite, as an instance coming under my immediate and personal<br />
knowledge, the case <strong>of</strong> Union Kilwinning Lodge in Charleston, S. C ., where<br />
every member pays a certain sum on his admission, and is forever afterwards<br />
exempt from contributions <strong>of</strong> any kind .
148 EXP<br />
lodge, whose by-laws he has infringed, and not a general one affecting<br />
his relations with the whole order. But expulsion has<br />
this latter effect, and is therefore inconsistent and unjust . And<br />
as it is a punishment too <strong>of</strong>ten inflicted upon poverty, it is unkind .<br />
A lodge might in this case forfeit or suspend the membership <strong>of</strong><br />
the defaulter in his own lodge, but such suspension should not<br />
affect the right <strong>of</strong> visiting other lodges, nor any <strong>of</strong> the other<br />
privileges inherent in him as a Mason . This is the practice, we<br />
are glad to say, pursued by the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Massachusetts,<br />
one <strong>of</strong> the most enlightened masonic bodies in the Union . ft is<br />
also the regulation <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, from which<br />
most <strong>of</strong> our Grand Lodges derive, directly or indirectly, their exiAence<br />
. It is consonant with the ancient usages <strong>of</strong> the fraternity .<br />
And finally, it would produce all the good effects required by<br />
punishment, namely, reform and the prevention <strong>of</strong> crime, and<br />
ought to be adopted by every Grand Lodge, as a part <strong>of</strong> its<br />
constitution .<br />
One other question arises . Does expulsion from one <strong>of</strong> what<br />
is called the higher degrees <strong>of</strong> masonry, such as a Chapter or an<br />
Encampment, affect the relations <strong>of</strong> the expelled party to Blue<br />
Masonry . We answer unhesitatingly, it does not . In this<br />
opinion, we are supported by the best authority, though the action<br />
<strong>of</strong> some Grand Lodges, as that <strong>of</strong> New York, is adverse to it .<br />
But the principle upon which our doctrine is founded, is plain .<br />
A Chapter <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch Masons, for instance, is not, and cannot<br />
be recognized as a masonic body, by a lodge <strong>of</strong> Master Masons .<br />
"<strong>The</strong>y hear them so to be, but they do not know them so to be,"<br />
by any <strong>of</strong> the modes <strong>of</strong> recognition known to masonry . <strong>The</strong><br />
acts, therefore, <strong>of</strong> a Chapter, cannot be recognized by a Master<br />
Mason's lodge, any more than the acts <strong>of</strong> a literary or charitable<br />
society wholly unconnected with the order . Again. By the<br />
present organization <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, Grand Lodges are the<br />
supreme masonic tribunals . If, therefore, expulsion from a<br />
Chapter <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch Masons involved expulsion from a Blue<br />
lodge, the right <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge to hear and determine causes,
EMT-FAI 149<br />
and to regulate the internal concerns <strong>of</strong> the Institution, would be<br />
interfered with by another body beyond its control . But the converse<br />
<strong>of</strong> this proposition does not hold good . Expulsion from a<br />
Blue lodge involves expulsion from all the higher degrees .<br />
Because, as they are composed <strong>of</strong> Blue Masons, the members<br />
could not <strong>of</strong> right sit and hold communications on masonic subjects<br />
with one who was an expelled Mason .<br />
EXTENT OF THE LODGE . Boundless is the extent <strong>of</strong> a<br />
Mason's lodge-in height to the topmost heaven ; in depth to the<br />
central abyss ; in length from east to west ; in breadth from<br />
north to south . Thus extensive is the limit <strong>of</strong> masonry, and<br />
thus extensive should be a Mason's charity . See more on this<br />
Subject in the article Form <strong>of</strong> the Lode .<br />
F .<br />
FAITH . <strong>The</strong> lowest round in the theological ladder, and<br />
hence symbolically instructing us that the first step in masonry,<br />
the first, the essential qualification <strong>of</strong> a candidate, is faith in God.<br />
In the lecture <strong>of</strong> the E . • . A.- . it is said that "Faith may be<br />
lost in sight ; Hope ends in fruition ; but Charity extends beyond<br />
the grave, through the boundless realms <strong>of</strong> eternity." And this<br />
is said, because as faith is " the evidence <strong>of</strong> things not seen,"<br />
when we see we no longer believe by faith but through demonstration,<br />
and as hope lives only in the expectation <strong>of</strong> possession, it<br />
ceases to exist when the object once hoped for is at length enjoye 1,<br />
but charity, exercised on earth in acts <strong>of</strong> mutual kindness and<br />
forbearance, is still found in the world to come, in the sublimer<br />
farm <strong>of</strong> mircy from God to his erring creatures .<br />
13*
150 FEA-FEL<br />
FEAST, ANNUAL . <strong>The</strong> ccovocation <strong>of</strong> the craft togethei<br />
at an annual feast, for the laudable purpose <strong>of</strong> promoting social<br />
feelings, and cementing the bonds <strong>of</strong> brotherly love by the interchange<br />
<strong>of</strong> courtesies, is a time-honored custom, which is still,<br />
and we trust, will ever be observed . At this meeting, no business<br />
<strong>of</strong> any kind, except the installation <strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers, should be transacted,<br />
and the day must be passed in innocent festivity . <strong>The</strong> election<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers always takes place at a previous meeting, in obedience<br />
to a regulation adopted by the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, in 1720,<br />
as follows : "It was agreed, in order to avoid disputes on the<br />
annual feast day, that the new Grand Master for the future shall<br />
be named and proposed to the Grand Lodge, some time before the<br />
feast ." See Anderson, Const . p. 200 .<br />
FEELING . One <strong>of</strong> the five human senses, and, for well-known<br />
reasons, in great estimation among Masons .<br />
FELLOW-CRAFT . Conzpggnon . <strong>The</strong> second degree <strong>of</strong> ancient<br />
craft masonry. It is particularly devoted to science . As<br />
in the first degree, those lessons are impressed, <strong>of</strong> morality and<br />
brotherly love, which should eminently distinguish the youthful<br />
apprentice ; so in the second, is added that extension <strong>of</strong> knowledge,<br />
which enabled the original craftsmen to labor with ability and<br />
success, at the construction <strong>of</strong> the Temple . In the degree <strong>of</strong><br />
Entered Apprentice, every emblematical ceremony is directed to<br />
the lustration <strong>of</strong> the heart ; in that <strong>of</strong> Fellow-Craft, to the enlargement<br />
<strong>of</strong> the mind . Already clothed in the white garment<br />
<strong>of</strong> innocence, the advancing candidate is now invested with the<br />
deep and unalterable truths <strong>of</strong> science . At length be passes the<br />
porch <strong>of</strong> the Temple, and in his progress to the middle chamber<br />
is taught the ancient and unerring method <strong>of</strong> distinguishing a<br />
friend from a foe . His attention is directed to the wonders <strong>of</strong><br />
nature and art, and the differences between operative and speculative<br />
masonry are unfolded, until by instruction and contemplation<br />
he is led to view with re verence and admiration the glorious works
. FES-FID 151<br />
<strong>of</strong> the creation, and is inspired with the most exalted ideas <strong>of</strong> the<br />
perfections <strong>of</strong> his Divine Creator .<br />
FESSLER'S RITE. A rite formerly practised by the Grand<br />
Lodge ' 1 Royal York 11'Amitie" at Berlin . It consisted <strong>of</strong> nine<br />
degrees, viz : 1, Apprentice ; 2, Fellow-Craft ; 3, Master ; 4,<br />
H1 oly <strong>of</strong> Holies ; 5, Justification ; 6, Celebration ; 7, True light ;<br />
,Q, Fatherland ; 9, Perfection. <strong>The</strong>y were drawn up, says Clavel,<br />
from the rituals <strong>of</strong> the Golden Rose Croix, <strong>of</strong> the rite <strong>of</strong> Strict<br />
Observance, <strong>of</strong> the Illuminated Chapter <strong>of</strong> Sweden, and the Ancient<br />
Chapter <strong>of</strong> Clermont at Paris . <strong>The</strong>y are now practised by<br />
but few lodges, having been abandoned by the Grand Lodge<br />
which established them, for the purpose <strong>of</strong> adopting the ancient<br />
York rite under the Constitutions <strong>of</strong> England .*<br />
FESTIVALS . <strong>The</strong> masonic festivals most generally celebrated,<br />
are those <strong>of</strong> St . John the Baptist, June 24, and St . John<br />
the Evangelist, December 27 . <strong>The</strong>se are the days kept in this<br />
country . Such, too, was formerly the case in England, but the<br />
annual festival <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England now falls on the<br />
Wednesday following St . George's day, April 23, that Saint<br />
being the patron <strong>of</strong> England . For a similar reason, St . Andrew's<br />
day, November 30, is kept by the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Scotland .<br />
FIDES . Fidelity ; to which virtue, the ancients paid divine<br />
honours, under the name <strong>of</strong> the goddess <strong>of</strong> faith, oaths, and<br />
honesty. <strong>The</strong> oaths taken in the name <strong>of</strong> this goddess were held<br />
to be more inviolable than any others . Numa was the first who<br />
built temples, and erected altars to the goddess Fides or Fidelity .<br />
No animals were killed, and no blood shed in her sacrifices . <strong>The</strong><br />
priests who celebrated them were clothed in white, and were conducted<br />
with much pomp to the place <strong>of</strong> sacrifice, in chariots,<br />
having their whole bodies and hands enveloped in their capacious<br />
s Fessler's rite is perhaps th ) most abstrusely learned and philosophical <strong>of</strong><br />
all the rites.
152 FIN-FIV<br />
mantles . Fidelity was generally represented among the ancients<br />
by two right hands joined, or by two human figures holding each<br />
other by the right hand . Horace calls incorruptible Fidelity the<br />
sister <strong>of</strong> Justice, and Cicero makes them identical ; those principles<br />
<strong>of</strong> Justice, says he, which, when exercised toward God, are termed<br />
Religion, and toward our parents, Piety, in matters <strong>of</strong> trust are<br />
called Fidelity.*<br />
FINANCES . <strong>The</strong> finances <strong>of</strong> the lodges are placed under<br />
the charge <strong>of</strong> the Treasurer, who only pays them out on the order<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Master, and with the consent <strong>of</strong> the brethren, previously<br />
expressed in open lodge . By an unwritten law, the finances<br />
should be first received by the Secretary, who then pays them<br />
over to the Treasurer, taking his receipt for the same . A mutual<br />
check is thus kept on each other by these <strong>of</strong>ficers .<br />
FINES . Fines for non-attendance or neglect <strong>of</strong> duty, are not<br />
usually imposed in masonic bodies, because each member is bound<br />
to the discharge <strong>of</strong> these duties by a motive more powerful than<br />
any that could be furnished by a pecuniary penalty. <strong>The</strong> imposition<br />
<strong>of</strong> such a penalty would be a tacit acknowledgment <strong>of</strong><br />
the inadequacy <strong>of</strong> that motive, and would hence detract from its<br />
solemnity and its binding nature .<br />
FIVE . One <strong>of</strong> the sacred numbers <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> . Its<br />
symbolic properties are many and curious . It is formed by a<br />
combination <strong>of</strong> the Duad with the Triad, <strong>of</strong> the first even number<br />
with (excluding unity) the first odd one, 2 + 3 . In the school<br />
<strong>of</strong> Pythagoras, it represented Light, and among his disciples a<br />
triple triangle, forming the outline <strong>of</strong> a five pointed star, was an<br />
emblem <strong>of</strong> health, because being alternately conjoined within<br />
itself, it constitutes a figure <strong>of</strong> five lines . Among the Cabbalists,<br />
* Justitia erga Deos religio, erga parentes pietas creditis in rebus fides<br />
nominator.-Orat . 18 .
FIY 153<br />
the same figure, with the name <strong>of</strong> God written on each <strong>of</strong> its<br />
points, and in the centre, was considered talismanic . <strong>The</strong> number<br />
five was among the Hebrews a sacred round number, and is repeatedly<br />
used as such in the Old Testament, as, for example, in<br />
Genesis xliii . 34, xlv . 22, xlvii . 2, Isaiah xvii . 6, mix . 18, xxx .<br />
17 . "This usage," says Gesenius, "perhaps passed over to the<br />
Hebrews from the religious rites <strong>of</strong> Egypt, India, and othei<br />
oriental nations ; among whom f ve minor planets and five elements,<br />
and elementary powers, were accounted sacred ." Among Freemasons,<br />
five is more particularly symbolical <strong>of</strong> the five orders <strong>of</strong><br />
architecture, and the five human senses, but still more especially<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Five Points <strong>of</strong> Fellowship .<br />
FIVE POINTS OF FELLOWSHIP . "Masons owe certain<br />
duties <strong>of</strong> brotherly love and fellowship to each other, the practice<br />
<strong>of</strong> which, as the distinguishing principles <strong>of</strong> our order, are inculcated<br />
by the Master in the most impreszive manner .<br />
First . Indolence should not cause our footsteps to halt, or wrath<br />
turn them aside, but with eager alacrity and swiftness <strong>of</strong> foot, we<br />
should press forward in the exercise <strong>of</strong> charity and kindness to a<br />
distressed fellow-creature .<br />
Secondly . In our devotions to Almighty God, we should remember<br />
a brother's welfare as our own, for the prayers <strong>of</strong> a fervent<br />
and sincere heart will find no less favour in the sight <strong>of</strong> heaven,<br />
because the petition for self is mingled with aspirations <strong>of</strong><br />
benevolence for a friend .<br />
Thirdly. When a brother intrusts to our keeping the secret<br />
thoughts <strong>of</strong> his bosom, prudence and fidelity should place a<br />
sacred .seal upon our lips, lest, in an unguarded moment, we betray<br />
the solemn trust confided to our honour .<br />
Fourthly. When adversity has visited our brother, and his<br />
calamities call for our aid, we should cheerfully and liberally<br />
stretch forth the hand <strong>of</strong> kindness, to save him from sinking,<br />
and to relieve his necessities .<br />
Fifthly . While with candour and kindness we should admonish
154 FIV-FOR<br />
a brother <strong>of</strong> his faults, we should never revile his character be<br />
hind his back, but rather, when attacked by others, support ana<br />
defend it.<br />
FIVE SENSES . <strong>The</strong> five human senses, which are, Hearing,<br />
Seeing, Feeling, Smelling . and Tasting, are dilated on in the lecture<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Fellow Crafts' degree . See each word in its appropriate<br />
place in this <strong>Lexicon</strong> .<br />
FLOATS . Pieces <strong>of</strong> timber, made fast together with rafters,<br />
for conveying burdens down a river with the stream .-Baidey<br />
<strong>The</strong> use <strong>of</strong> these floats in the building <strong>of</strong> the temple is thus de .<br />
scribed in the letter <strong>of</strong> King Hiram to Solomon : "And we will<br />
cut wood out <strong>of</strong> Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need ; and we<br />
will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa ; and thou shalt<br />
carry it up to Jerusalem."-2 Uhron . ii. 16 .<br />
FLOORING . A frame-work <strong>of</strong> board or canvas, on which<br />
the emblems <strong>of</strong> any particular degree are inscribed, for the assistance<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Master in giving a lecture . It is so called, because<br />
formerly it was the custom to inscribe these designs on the floor<br />
<strong>of</strong> the lodge room in chalk, which was wiped out when the lodge<br />
was closed . It is the same as the "Carpet," or "Tracing Board ."<br />
FORM OF . THE LODGE . <strong>The</strong> form <strong>of</strong> the lodge is said to •<br />
be an oblong square, having its greatest length from east to west,<br />
and its greatest breadth from north to south . According to<br />
Oliver, the form <strong>of</strong> the lodge ought to be a double cube, as an<br />
expressive emblem <strong>of</strong> the united powers <strong>of</strong> darkness and light in<br />
the creation, and because the ark <strong>of</strong> the covenant and the altar<br />
<strong>of</strong> incense were both <strong>of</strong> that figure . But these two theories <strong>of</strong><br />
its form are not inconsistent with each other, for, taken in its<br />
slid dimensions, the lodge is a double cube, while its surface is<br />
a parallelogram or oblong square .<br />
This oblong form <strong>of</strong> the lodge has, I think, a symbolic allu .
FOR 155<br />
lion, which has not been heret<strong>of</strong>ore adverted to, so far as I am<br />
aware, by any masonic writer .<br />
If, on a map <strong>of</strong> the world, we draw lines which shall circumscribe<br />
just that portion which was known and inhabited at<br />
the time <strong>of</strong> the building <strong>of</strong> Solomon's temple, these lines, running<br />
a short distance north and south <strong>of</strong> the Mediterranean Sea,<br />
and extending from Spain to Asia Minor, will form an oblong<br />
square, whose greatest length will be from east to west, and whose<br />
greatest breadth will be from north to south, as is shown in the<br />
annexed diagram .<br />
WEST.<br />
NORTH .<br />
INHABITED PARTS OF EUROPE.<br />
H<br />
V 04<br />
z 0z<br />
y<br />
4 MEDITERRANEAN SEA .<br />
O<br />
z<br />
INHABITED PARTS OF AFRICA .<br />
SOUTH .<br />
EAST .<br />
<strong>The</strong> oblong square which thus enclosed the whole habitable<br />
part <strong>of</strong> the globe, would represent the form <strong>of</strong> the lodge to denote<br />
the universality <strong>of</strong> masonry, since the world constitutes the lodge ;<br />
a doctrine that has since been taught in that expressive sentence<br />
In every clime the Mason may find a home, and in every land a<br />
brother .<br />
FORTITUDE . One <strong>of</strong> the four cardinal virtues, whose excellencies<br />
are dilated on in the first degree . It not only instructs<br />
the worthy Mason to bear the ills <strong>of</strong> life with becoming resignslion,<br />
"taking up arms against a sea <strong>of</strong> trouble," but, by its intimate<br />
connection with a portion <strong>of</strong> our ceremonies, it teaches him
156 FOR<br />
to . let no dangers shake, no pains dit solve the inviolable fidelity<br />
he owes to the trusts reposed in him .<br />
FORTY-SEVENTH PROBLEM. <strong>The</strong> forty-seventh problem<br />
<strong>of</strong> Euclid's first book, which has been adopted as an emblem in<br />
the Master's degree, is thus enunciated . "In any right angled<br />
triangle, the square which is described upon the side subtending<br />
the right angle, is equal to the squares described upon the sides<br />
which contain the right angle." This interesting prcbletu, on<br />
account <strong>of</strong> its great utility in making calculations, and drawing<br />
plans for buildings, is sometimes called the "carpenter's theorem ."<br />
For the demonstration <strong>of</strong> this problem, the world is indebted<br />
to Pythagoras, who, it is said, was so , elated after making the<br />
discovery, that he made an <strong>of</strong>fering <strong>of</strong> a hecatomb, or a sacrifice<br />
<strong>of</strong> a hundred oxen to the gods .* <strong>The</strong> devotion to learning<br />
which this religious act indicated, in the mind <strong>of</strong> the ancient<br />
philosopher, has induced Masons to adopt the problem as a meuiento,<br />
instructing them to be lovers <strong>of</strong> the arts and sciences .<br />
<strong>The</strong> triangle, whose base is 4 parts, whose perpendicular is<br />
3, and whose hypothenuse is 5, and which would exactly serve<br />
for a demonstration <strong>of</strong> this problem,t was, according to Plutarch,<br />
a symbol frequently employed by the Egyptian priests, and hence<br />
it is called by M . Jomard,X the Egyptian triangle . It was, with<br />
the Egyptians, the symbol <strong>of</strong> universal nature, the base representing<br />
Osiris, or the male principle, the perpendicular, Isis, or<br />
the female principle, and the hypothenuse, Horus, their son, or<br />
<strong>The</strong> well-known aversion <strong>of</strong> Fythngoras to the shedding <strong>of</strong> blood has led<br />
to the supposition that the sacrifice consisted <strong>of</strong> small oxen, made <strong>of</strong> wax, and<br />
not <strong>of</strong> living animals .<br />
t For the square <strong>of</strong> the base is 4 X 4, or 16, the square <strong>of</strong> the perpendicular<br />
is 3 X 3, or 9, and the square <strong>of</strong> the hypothenuse is 5 X 5, or 25 ; but 25 is<br />
the sum <strong>of</strong> 9 and 16, and therefore the square <strong>of</strong> the longest side is equal to<br />
the sum <strong>of</strong> the squares <strong>of</strong> the other two, which is the forty-seventh problem <strong>of</strong><br />
Euclid .<br />
t In his 11 Expa ,ition du Systeme M€trique des Anciens Egyptians .
FOR 15T<br />
the produce <strong>of</strong> the two principles . <strong>The</strong>y added that 3 was the<br />
first perfect odd number, .that 4 was the square <strong>of</strong> 2, the first<br />
even number, and that 5 was the result <strong>of</strong> 3 and 2 .<br />
But the Egyptians made a still more important use <strong>of</strong> this<br />
triangle . It was the standard <strong>of</strong> all their measures <strong>of</strong> extent,<br />
and was applied by them to the building <strong>of</strong> the pyramids . <strong>The</strong><br />
researches <strong>of</strong> M . Jomard, on the Egyptiau system <strong>of</strong> measures,<br />
published in the magnificent work <strong>of</strong> the French savans on<br />
Egypt, has placed us completely in possession <strong>of</strong> the uses made by<br />
the Egyptians <strong>of</strong> this forty-seventh problem <strong>of</strong> Euclid, and <strong>of</strong> the<br />
triangle which formed the diagram by which it was demonstrated .<br />
If we inscribe within a circle a triangle, whose perpendicular<br />
shall be 300 parts, whose base 'shall* be 400 parts,** and whose<br />
hypothenuse shall be 500 parts, which <strong>of</strong> course bear the same<br />
proportion to each other as 3, 4 and 5 ; then, if we let a perpendicular<br />
fall from the angle <strong>of</strong> the perpendicular and base to the<br />
hypothenuse, and extend it through the hypothenuse to the<br />
circumference <strong>of</strong> the circle, this chord or line will be equal to<br />
480 parts, and the two segments <strong>of</strong> the hypothenuse, on each<br />
side <strong>of</strong> it, will be found equal, respectively, to 180 and 320 .<br />
From the point where this chord intersects the hypothenuse, let<br />
another line fall perpendicularly to the shortest side <strong>of</strong> the triangle,<br />
and this line will be equal to 144 parts, while the shorter<br />
segment, formed by its junction with the perpendicular side <strong>of</strong> the<br />
triangle, will be equal to 108 parts . Hence, we may derive the<br />
following measures from the diagram : 500, 480, 400, 320, 180,<br />
144, and 108, and all these without the slightest fraction . Supposing,<br />
then, the 500 to be' cubits, we have the measure <strong>of</strong> the<br />
base <strong>of</strong> the great pyramid <strong>of</strong> Memphis . In the 400 cubits <strong>of</strong><br />
the base <strong>of</strong> the triangle, we have the exact length <strong>of</strong> the Egyptian<br />
stadium . <strong>The</strong> 320 give us the exact number <strong>of</strong> Egyptian<br />
cubits contained in the Hebrew and Babylonian stadium . <strong>The</strong><br />
stadium <strong>of</strong> Ptolemy is represented by the 480 cubits, or length<br />
<strong>of</strong> the line falling from the right angle to the circumference <strong>of</strong><br />
the circlo, through the hypothenuse . <strong>The</strong> number 180, which<br />
14
158 FRE<br />
expresses the smaller segment <strong>of</strong> the hypothenuse, being doubled,<br />
will give 360 cubits, which will be the stadium <strong>of</strong> Cleomedes .<br />
By doubling the 144, the result will be 288 cubits, or the length<br />
<strong>of</strong> the stadium <strong>of</strong> Archimedes, and by doubling the 108, we produce<br />
216 cubits, or the precise value <strong>of</strong> the lesser Egyptian stadium .<br />
In this manner, we obtain from this triangle all the measures <strong>of</strong><br />
length that were in use among the Egyptians ; and since this triangle,<br />
whose sides are equal to 3, 4, and 5, was the very one that<br />
most naturally would be used in demonstrating the forty-seventh<br />
problem <strong>of</strong> Euclid ; and since by these three sides the Egyptians<br />
symbolized Osiris, Isis, and Horus, or the two producers and theproduct,<br />
the very principle, expressed in symbolic language, which constitutes<br />
the terms <strong>of</strong> the problem as enunciated by Pythagoras, that<br />
the sum <strong>of</strong> the squares <strong>of</strong> the two sides will produce the square<br />
<strong>of</strong> the third, we have no reason to doubt that the forty-seventh<br />
problem was perfectly known to the Egyptian priests, and by<br />
them communicated to Pythagoras .<br />
FREE BORN . <strong>The</strong> constitutions <strong>of</strong> our order require that<br />
every candidate shall be free born . And this is necessary, for,<br />
as admission into the fraternity involves a solemn contract, no<br />
one can bind himself to its performance who is not the master<br />
<strong>of</strong> his own actions ; nor can the man <strong>of</strong> servile condition or<br />
slavish mind be expected to perform his masonic duties with that<br />
"freedom, fervency, and zeal," which the laws <strong>of</strong> our institution<br />
require . Neither, according to the authority <strong>of</strong> Dr . Oliver,*<br />
" can any one, although he have been initiated, continue to act<br />
as a Mason, or practise the rites <strong>of</strong> the order, if he be temporarily<br />
deprived <strong>of</strong> his liberty or freedom '<strong>of</strong> will ." On this subject,<br />
the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, on the occasion <strong>of</strong> certain Masons<br />
having been made in the King's Bench prison, passed a special<br />
resolution in November, 1783, declaring " That it is inconsistent<br />
with the principles <strong>of</strong> masonry for any Freemason's lodge to be<br />
• Historical Landmarks, 1.110
FRE 15V<br />
held, for the purpose <strong>of</strong> making, passing, or raising Masons, in<br />
any prison or place <strong>of</strong> confinement ."*<br />
<strong>The</strong> same usage existed in the spurious <strong>Freemasonry</strong> <strong>of</strong> the<br />
ancient mysteries, where slaves could not be initiated, the requisites<br />
for initiation being that a man must be a free-born denizen<br />
<strong>of</strong> the country, as well as <strong>of</strong> irreproachable morals .<br />
FREEMASON . <strong>The</strong> word ' 1 free," in connection with .31a- "<br />
Bon," originally signified that the person so called was free <strong>of</strong><br />
the company or guild <strong>of</strong> incorporated Masons . For those operative<br />
Masons who were not thus made free <strong>of</strong> the guild, were not<br />
permitted to work with those who were . A similar regulation<br />
still exists in many parts <strong>of</strong> Europe, although it is not known to<br />
this country . <strong>The</strong> term appears to have been first thus used in<br />
the tenth century, when the travelling Freemasons were incorporated<br />
by the Roman Pontiff . See Travelling Freemasons .<br />
FREEMASONRY . "A beautiful system <strong>of</strong> morality, veiled<br />
in allegory, and illustrated by symbols ." To this sublime definition<br />
<strong>of</strong> our order, borrowed from the lectures <strong>of</strong> our English<br />
brethren, and prefixed by Dr . Oliver, as a motto to one <strong>of</strong> his<br />
most interesting works, I shall take the liberty <strong>of</strong> adding an exposition<br />
<strong>of</strong> its principles from the pen <strong>of</strong> De Witt Clinton, as<br />
pure a patriot as ever served his country, and as bright a Mason<br />
as ever honoured the fraternity .<br />
"Although," says he, "the origin <strong>of</strong> our fraternity is covered<br />
with darkness, and its history is, to a great extent, obscure, yet<br />
we can confidently say, that it is the most ancient society in the<br />
world-and we are equally certain that its principles are based<br />
on pure morality-that its ethics are the ethics <strong>of</strong> Christianityits<br />
doctrines, the doctrines <strong>of</strong> patriotism and brotherly love-and<br />
its sentiments, the sentiments <strong>of</strong> exalted benevolence . Upon<br />
these points, there can be no doubt . All that is good, and kind<br />
0 Minutes <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge, quoted by Oliver, ut supra .
160 FRE-FU N<br />
and charitable, it encourages ; all that is vicious, and cruel, and<br />
oppressive, it reprobates ."*<br />
FRENCH RITE . Rite Franfaz's ou moderne . <strong>The</strong> French<br />
or Modern rite is one <strong>of</strong> the three principal rites <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> .<br />
It consists <strong>of</strong> seven degrees, three symbolic and four higher, viz .<br />
1 . Apprentice ; 2 . Fellow Craft ; 3. Master ; 4 . Elect ; 5 .<br />
Scotch Master ; 6 . Knight <strong>of</strong> the East ; 7 . Rose Croix . This<br />
rite is practised in France, in Brazil, and in Louisiana . It was<br />
founded in 1786, by the Grand Orient <strong>of</strong> France, who, unwilling<br />
to destroy entirely the high degrees which were then practised<br />
by the different rites, and yet anxious to reduce them to a smaller<br />
number, and to greater simplicity, extracted these degrees out<br />
<strong>of</strong> the rite <strong>of</strong> Perfection, making some few slight modifications .<br />
Most <strong>of</strong> the authors who have treated <strong>of</strong> this rite have given to<br />
its symbolism an entirely astronomical meaning, Among these<br />
writers, we may refer to Ragon, in his " Cours Philosophique,"<br />
as probably the most scientific .<br />
FUNERAL RITES . None but Master Masons can be interred<br />
with the funeral honours <strong>of</strong> masonry, and even then the<br />
performance <strong>of</strong> the service is subjected to certain unalterable restrictions<br />
. No Mason can be buried with the formalities <strong>of</strong> the<br />
order, except by his own request, preferred, while living, to the<br />
Master <strong>of</strong> the lodge <strong>of</strong> which he was a member, strangers and<br />
the higher <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> the order excepted . No public procession<br />
can take place, nor can two or more lodges assemble for this purpose,<br />
until a dispensation has been granted by the Grand Master.<br />
<strong>The</strong> ceremonies practised on the interment <strong>of</strong> a brother are to be<br />
found in all the Monitors . It is unnecessary, therefore, to specify<br />
them here .<br />
• Address at the installation <strong>of</strong> Grand Master Van Renssellaer, Now York,<br />
1852 .
FUR-GAV 161<br />
FURNITURE OF A LODGE . Every well-regulated lodge<br />
must contain a Bible, square, and compasses, which are technically<br />
said to constitute its furniture, and which are respectively dedicated<br />
to God, the Master <strong>of</strong> the lodge, and the Craft . Our English<br />
brethren differ from us in their explanation <strong>of</strong> the furniture .<br />
Oliver gives their illustration, from the English lectures, as follows<br />
"<strong>The</strong> Bible is said to derive from God to man iu general,<br />
because the Almighty has been pleased to reveal more <strong>of</strong> his<br />
divine will by that holy book, than by any other means . <strong>The</strong><br />
compasses being the chief implement used in the construction <strong>of</strong><br />
all architectural plans and designs, are assigned to the Grand<br />
Master in particular, as emblems <strong>of</strong> his dignity, he being the<br />
chief head and ruler <strong>of</strong> the craft . <strong>The</strong> square is given to the<br />
whole masonic body, because we are all obligated within it, and<br />
are consequently bound to act thereon ."<br />
G .<br />
GAVEL . <strong>The</strong> common gavel is one <strong>of</strong> the working tools <strong>of</strong><br />
an Entered Apprentice . It is made use <strong>of</strong> by the operative<br />
Mason to break <strong>of</strong>f the corners <strong>of</strong> the rough ashlar, and thus fit<br />
it the better for the builder's use, and is therefore adopted as a<br />
symbol in speculative masonry, to admonish us <strong>of</strong> the duty <strong>of</strong><br />
divesting our minds and consciences <strong>of</strong> all the vices and impurities<br />
<strong>of</strong> life, thereby fitting our bodies as living stones for that spiritual<br />
building not made with hands, eternal in the heavens .<br />
Hence, too, we see the propriety <strong>of</strong> adopting the gavel as the<br />
instrument for maintaining order in the lodge . For, as the lodge<br />
ii an imitation <strong>of</strong> the temple, and each member represents a stone<br />
there<strong>of</strong>, so, by the influence <strong>of</strong> the gavel, all the ebullitions <strong>of</strong><br />
} 14*
162 GAV<br />
temper, and the indecorum <strong>of</strong> frivolity are restrained, as the<br />
material sto .zes <strong>of</strong> that building were, by the same instrument,<br />
divested <strong>of</strong> their asperities and imperfections .<br />
In the first edition <strong>of</strong> this work, I confessed myself at a loss<br />
for the derivation <strong>of</strong> the word «gavel ." I have, however, no<br />
longer any doubt that it borrows its name from its shape, being<br />
that <strong>of</strong> the gable or gavel end <strong>of</strong> a house, and this word again<br />
comes from the German gipfel, a summit, top, or peak,-the idea<br />
<strong>of</strong> a pointed extremity being common to all .<br />
In the name, as well as the application <strong>of</strong> this implement,<br />
error has crept into the customs <strong>of</strong> the lodges . <strong>The</strong> implement<br />
employed by many Masters is not a gavel, but a mallet, (the<br />
French Masons, in fact, make use <strong>of</strong> the word ~~ maillet,") and is<br />
properly not one <strong>of</strong> the working tools <strong>of</strong> an E . • . A . • . , but a representation<br />
<strong>of</strong> the setting-maul, one <strong>of</strong> the emblems <strong>of</strong> the third<br />
degree . <strong>The</strong> two implements and the two names are entirely<br />
distinct, and should never be confounded ; and I am surprised to<br />
see so learned a Mason as Brother Oliver, falling into this too<br />
usual error, and speaking <strong>of</strong> " the common gavel or setting-maul,"<br />
as synonymous terms .*<br />
<strong>The</strong> true form <strong>of</strong> the gavel is that <strong>of</strong> the stone-mason's hammer .<br />
It is to be made with a cutting edge, as in the annexed engraving,<br />
that it may be used ' 1 to break <strong>of</strong>f the corners <strong>of</strong> rough stones,"<br />
an operation which could never be effected by the common<br />
hammer or mallet . <strong>The</strong> gavel, thus<br />
shaped, will give, when looked at in<br />
front, the exact representation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
gavel or gable end <strong>of</strong> a house, whence,<br />
as I have already said, the name is<br />
derived .<br />
* In my labours, as Grand Lecturer <strong>of</strong> South-Carolina, I bare succeeded, in<br />
many instances, in correcting this error, and placing the common gavel in the<br />
Ends <strong>of</strong> the Master and Wardens, for the government <strong>of</strong> the lodge, while the<br />
mullet or setting-maul remains in the archives <strong>of</strong> the lodge, to be used rnly as<br />
an emblem <strong>of</strong> the third degree.
GEN--GEO 163<br />
<strong>The</strong> gavel <strong>of</strong> the Master is also called a " Hiram," for a reason<br />
which will be explained under that word .<br />
GENERALISSIMO . <strong>The</strong> second <strong>of</strong>ficer in an Encampment<br />
<strong>of</strong> Knights Templars, and one <strong>of</strong> its representatives in the Grand<br />
Encampment . His duty is to receive and communicate all orders,<br />
signs, and petitions ; to assist the Grand Commander, and, in his<br />
absence, to preside over the Encampment . His station is on the<br />
right <strong>of</strong> the Grand Commander, and his jewel is a square, surmounted<br />
by a paschal lamb .<br />
GENUFLEXION . Bending the knees has, in all ages <strong>of</strong><br />
the world, been considered as an act <strong>of</strong> reverence and humility,<br />
and hence Pliny, the Roman naturalist, observes, that " a certain<br />
degree <strong>of</strong> religious reverence is attributed to the knees <strong>of</strong> man ."<br />
Solomon placed himself in this position when he prayed at the<br />
consecration <strong>of</strong> the temple, and Masons use the same posture in<br />
some portions <strong>of</strong> their ceremonies, as a token <strong>of</strong> solemn reverence .<br />
GEWMIETRY . Geometry is defined to be that science which<br />
teaches the nature A d relations <strong>of</strong> whatever is capable <strong>of</strong> measurement<br />
. It is one <strong>of</strong> the oldest and most necessary <strong>of</strong> sciences ; is<br />
that upon which the whole doctrine <strong>of</strong> mathematics is founded,<br />
and is so closely connected with the practice <strong>of</strong> operative masonry,<br />
that our ancient brethren were as <strong>of</strong>ten _called geometricians as<br />
Masons . It was, indeed, in such great repute among the wise<br />
men <strong>of</strong> antiquity, that Plato placed over the portals <strong>of</strong> the academy<br />
this significant inscription : Oe Se(c dheswp ;<br />
rprlroc slalrw, "Let<br />
scone enter who is ignorant <strong>of</strong> geometry ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> first inhabitants <strong>of</strong> the earth must have practised the<br />
simplest principles <strong>of</strong> geometry in the construction <strong>of</strong> even the<br />
rude huts which were intended to shelter them from the inclemencies<br />
<strong>of</strong> the weather ; and afterward, when they began to<br />
unite in communities, and to exercise the right <strong>of</strong> property in<br />
lands, this science must have been still further developed, as a
L64 GEO<br />
necessary means <strong>of</strong> measuring and distinguishing each person's<br />
particular domain . Land-surveying, indeed ; seems to have been<br />
the most important purpose to which geometry was originally<br />
applied : a fact warranted also by the derivation <strong>of</strong> the word, whose<br />
roots, in the Greek language, signify " a measure <strong>of</strong> the earth ."<br />
But as operative masonry and architecture improved, and, in the<br />
construction <strong>of</strong> edifices, elegance was added to strength, and ornament<br />
to utility, geometry began, too, to be extended in its<br />
principles, and perfected in its system . <strong>The</strong> Egyptians were<br />
undoubtedly one <strong>of</strong> the first nations who cultivated geometry as<br />
a science . "It'was not less useful and necessary to them," as<br />
Goguet observes,* "in the affairs <strong>of</strong> life, than agreeable to their<br />
speculatively philosophical genius ." From Egypt, which was the<br />
parent both <strong>of</strong> the sciences and the mysteries <strong>of</strong> the Pagan world,<br />
it passed over into other countries, and geometry and operative<br />
masonry have ever been found together, the latter carrying into<br />
execution those designs which were first traced according to the<br />
principles <strong>of</strong> the former .<br />
Speculative masonry is, in like manner, intimately connected<br />
with geometry . In deference to our operative ancestors, and, in<br />
fact, as a necessary result <strong>of</strong> our close connection with them,<br />
speculative <strong>Freemasonry</strong> derives its most important emblems from<br />
this parent science. As the earthly temple was constructed under<br />
the correcting application <strong>of</strong> the plumb, the level, and the<br />
square, by which its lines and angles were properly admeasured,<br />
so we are accustomed, in the construction <strong>of</strong> the great moral edifice<br />
<strong>of</strong> our minds, symbolically to apply the same instruments, in<br />
order to exhibit our work on the great day <strong>of</strong> inspection as "true<br />
and trusty."<br />
<strong>The</strong> explanation <strong>of</strong> the principal geometrical figures given by<br />
Pythagoras, may be interesting to the masonic student . According<br />
to the Grecian sage, the point is represented by unity, the<br />
'Line by the duad, the surface by the ternary, and the solid by<br />
* L'Orig . des Lois, t . i ., liv . UL
GIB-GLO 165<br />
the quarternary . <strong>The</strong> circle, he says, is the most perfect i f curvilinear<br />
figures, containh .g the triangle in a concealed manner .<br />
<strong>The</strong> triangle is the principle <strong>of</strong> the generation and formation <strong>of</strong><br />
bodies, because all bodies are reducible to this figure, and the elf,<br />
ments are triangular . <strong>The</strong> square is the symbol <strong>of</strong> the divine<br />
essence .<br />
GIBALIM OR GIBLIM . <strong>The</strong>se were the inhabitants <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Phenician city <strong>of</strong> Gebal, called by the Greeks Byblos . <strong>The</strong> Phe-<br />
nician word,'], "gebal," (<strong>of</strong> which "gibalim," or "giblim,"<br />
is the plural,) signifies a Mason, or stone-squarer . Gesenius*<br />
says, that the inhabitants <strong>of</strong> Gebal were seamen and builders ; and<br />
Sir William Drummond asserts that " the Gibalim were Master<br />
Masons, who put the finishing hand to Solomon's temple ."t<br />
GLOBE . In the Egyptian mysteries, the globe was a symbol<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Supreme and Eternal God . Among the Mexicans, it represented<br />
universal power . Among Freemasons, the globes,<br />
celestial and terrestrial, are emblems <strong>of</strong> the universal extension<br />
<strong>of</strong> the institution, and remind us also <strong>of</strong> the extensive claims <strong>of</strong><br />
that charity we are called on to practise .<br />
GLOVES . White gloves form a part <strong>of</strong> a Freemason's costume,<br />
and should always be worn in the lodge .* An instance <strong>of</strong><br />
the antiquity <strong>of</strong> this dress is given in this work, under the article<br />
"Clothed." In an institution so symbolical as ours, it is not<br />
unreasonable to suppose that the white gloves are to remind us,<br />
that "without a pure heart and clean hands," no one can "stand<br />
in the holy place ." And this is the emblematic use <strong>of</strong> the gloves<br />
in the French rite, where every Apprentice, on his initiation, is<br />
* Heb . Lex. in voc.<br />
t Origines, vol. iii., b . v., ch. iv., p . 192 .<br />
$ I regret t : nay, that this rule is too much neglected in our Americas<br />
lodges .
166 GOD-GOT<br />
presenter with two pair, one for himself, and one for his wife or<br />
mistress .<br />
GOD . Freemasons have always been worshippers <strong>of</strong> the one<br />
true God . "This," says Hutchinson,* "was the first and cornerstone<br />
on which our originals thought it expedient to place the<br />
foundation <strong>of</strong> masonry ." While the world around them was<br />
polluted with sun-worship, and brute-worship, and all the absurdities<br />
<strong>of</strong> polytheism, masonry, even in its spurious forms, as the<br />
ancient mysteries have appropriately been styled, was alone occupied<br />
in raising altars to the one I AM, and declaring and teaching<br />
the unity <strong>of</strong> the Godhead . Josephus, in his defence <strong>of</strong> the Jews<br />
against Apion, sums up in a few words this doctrine <strong>of</strong> the mysteries,<br />
and its conformity with the Jewish belief, which was, <strong>of</strong> course,<br />
identical with that <strong>of</strong> the Freemasons . "God, perfect and blessed,<br />
contains all things, is self-existent and the cause <strong>of</strong> existence to<br />
all, the beginning, the middle, and the end <strong>of</strong> all things ." j'<br />
GOLGOTHA. A Hebrew word, signifying "a skull ." It was<br />
the name given by the Jews to Mount Calvary, where Christ was<br />
crucified, and where his sepulchre was situated .<br />
GOTHIC CONSTITUTIONS . Those regulations <strong>of</strong> the<br />
craft, which were adopted in 926, at the General Assembly in<br />
the city <strong>of</strong> York, under Prince Edwin, and to which additions<br />
were made from time to time, at other annual assemblies <strong>of</strong> the<br />
fraternity, are called the Gothic Constitutions, from the fact that<br />
they were written in the old Gothic character. Several copies <strong>of</strong><br />
them were in existence at the revival <strong>of</strong> masonry in 1717 . In<br />
1.721, they were digested by Dr. Anderson, in a new and better<br />
method, and form the foundation <strong>of</strong> the Book <strong>of</strong> Constitutions,<br />
the first edition <strong>of</strong> which was published in 1722 .<br />
* Spirit <strong>of</strong> Masonry, p 6 .<br />
t Joseph . contra Ap ., 1 b . ii., cap . 2.
GOOD SAMARITAN . See Samaritan .<br />
GOO-GRA 16T<br />
GRAMMAR . One <strong>of</strong> the seven liberal arts and sciences,<br />
which forms, with Logic and Rhetoric, a triad, dedicated to the<br />
cultivation <strong>of</strong> language . ~~ God," says Sanctius, "created man<br />
the participant <strong>of</strong> reason ; and as he willed him to be a social<br />
being, he bestowed upon him the gift <strong>of</strong> language, in the perfecting<br />
<strong>of</strong> which there are three aids . <strong>The</strong> first is Grammar, which<br />
rejects from language all solecisms and barbarous expressions ;<br />
the second is Logic, which is occupied with the truthfulness <strong>of</strong><br />
language ; and the third is Rhetoric, which seeks only the adornment<br />
<strong>of</strong> language ."*<br />
GRAND HONOURS . See Honours.<br />
GRAND INQUISITOR . Grand inspecteur-inquisiteur-commandeur<br />
. <strong>The</strong> 31st degree <strong>of</strong> the Ancient Scotch rite . It is<br />
not a historical degree, but simply administrative in its character,-the<br />
duties <strong>of</strong> the members being to examine and regulate<br />
the proceedings <strong>of</strong> the inferior lodges and chapters . Its place<br />
<strong>of</strong> meeting is called a tribunal, its decorations are white, and its<br />
presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer is called a President, who is elected for life .<br />
GRAND LODGES, HISTORY OF . <strong>The</strong> present organization<br />
<strong>of</strong> Grand Lodges is by no means coeval with the origin <strong>of</strong><br />
our institution . Every lodge was originally independent ; and a<br />
sufficient number <strong>of</strong> brethren meeting together, were empowered<br />
to practise all the rights <strong>of</strong> masonry without a warrant <strong>of</strong> constitution<br />
. This privilege, as Preston remarks, was inherent in<br />
them as individuals . <strong>The</strong> brethren were in the custom <strong>of</strong> meeting<br />
annually, at least as many as conveniently could, for the purpose<br />
<strong>of</strong> conference on the general concerns <strong>of</strong> the order, and on<br />
this occasion a Grand Master, or superintendent <strong>of</strong> the whole<br />
* Sanct. Minut., lib. i., cap . 2 , spud Harris, Hermes . I. o . i .
168 GRA<br />
fraternity, was usually chosen . <strong>The</strong>se me_tings were not, however,<br />
called Grand Lodges, but "Assemblies ." This name and<br />
organization are as old as the fourth century <strong>of</strong> the Christian<br />
era ; for, in a MS .* once in the possession <strong>of</strong> Nicholas Stone, a<br />
sculptor under the celebrated Inigo Jones, it is stated that 1 1St<br />
Albans (who was martyred in 306) loved Masons well, and<br />
cherished them much **** . And he got them a charter from the<br />
king and his counsell, for to holde a generall counsel and gave itt<br />
to name Assemblie ." <strong>The</strong> privilege <strong>of</strong> attending these annual<br />
assemblies was not restricted, as it now is, to the Grand Officers,<br />
and Masters, and Wardens <strong>of</strong> subordinate lodges, but constituted<br />
one <strong>of</strong> the obligatory duties <strong>of</strong> every Mason . Thus, among the<br />
ancient masonic charges, in possession <strong>of</strong> the Lodge <strong>of</strong> Antiquity,<br />
at London, is one which declares that "every Master and Fellow<br />
shall come to the asserublie, if itt be within fifty miles <strong>of</strong> him, and<br />
if he have any warning. And if he have trespassed the craft,<br />
to abide the award <strong>of</strong> Masters and Fellows ."<br />
England. <strong>The</strong> nextt charter granted in England to the Masons,<br />
as a body, was bestowed by King Athelstane, in 926, upon the<br />
application <strong>of</strong> his brother, Prince Edwin . "Accordingly, Prince<br />
Edwin summoned all , the Masons in the realm to meet him in a<br />
congregation at York, who came and composed a General Lodge,<br />
<strong>of</strong> which he was Grand Master ; and having brought with them<br />
all the writings and records extant, some in Greek, some in Latin,<br />
some in French, and other languages, from the contents there<strong>of</strong><br />
that assembly did frame the constitution and charges <strong>of</strong> an English<br />
lodge ."T<br />
From this assembly at York, the true rise <strong>of</strong> masonry in England<br />
is generally dated ; from the statutes there enacted, are<br />
derived the English <strong>Masonic</strong> Constitutions ; and from the place<br />
* Quoted by Preston .<br />
t And if the anecdote <strong>of</strong> St . Albans be not authentic, the Sat.<br />
t Elias Ashmole's MS .
GRA 16S<br />
<strong>of</strong> meeting, the ritual <strong>of</strong> the English lodges is designated as the<br />
"~kneient York Rite ."<br />
For a long time, the York assembly exercised the masonio<br />
jurisdiction over all England ; but, in 1567, the Masons <strong>of</strong> the<br />
southern part <strong>of</strong> the island elected Sir Thomas Gresham, the<br />
Celebrated merchant, their Grand Master . He was succeeded<br />
by the illustrious architect, Inigo Jones . <strong>The</strong>re were now two<br />
Grand Masters in England who assumed distinctive titles ; the<br />
Grand Master <strong>of</strong> the north being called Grand Master <strong>of</strong> all<br />
England, while he who presided in the south was ' called Grand<br />
Master <strong>of</strong> England .<br />
In the beginning <strong>of</strong> the 18th century, masonry in the south<br />
<strong>of</strong> England had fallen into decay . <strong>The</strong> disturbances <strong>of</strong> the revolution,<br />
which placed William III . on the throne, and the subsequent<br />
warmth <strong>of</strong> political feelings which agitated the two parties<br />
<strong>of</strong> the state, had given this peaceful society a wound fatal to its<br />
success . Sir Christopher Wren, the Grand Master in the reign<br />
<strong>of</strong> Queen Anne, had become aged, infirm, and inactive, and<br />
hence the general assemblies <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge had ceased to<br />
take place . <strong>The</strong>re were, in the year 1715, but four lodges in<br />
the south <strong>of</strong> England, all working in the city <strong>of</strong> London .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se four lodges, desirous <strong>of</strong> reviving the prosperity <strong>of</strong> the<br />
order, determined to unite themselves under a Grand Master,<br />
Sir Christopher Wren being now dead, and none having, as yet,<br />
been appointed in his place . <strong>The</strong>y, therefore, ' 1 met at the<br />
Apple tree tavern ; and having put into the chair the oldest Master<br />
Mason, (being the Master <strong>of</strong> a lodge,) they constituted themselves<br />
a Grand Lodge, pro tentpore, in due form, and forthwith<br />
revived the quarterly communication <strong>of</strong> the <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> lodges,<br />
(called the Grand Lodge,) resolved to hold the annual assembly<br />
and feast, and then to choose a Grand Master from among them .<br />
selves, till they should have the honour <strong>of</strong> a noble brother at<br />
their head ."*<br />
Anderson's Constitutions, p . 197 .<br />
15
170 GRA<br />
Accordingly, on St . John the Baptist's day, 1717, the annual<br />
assembly and feast were held, and Mr . Anthony Sayer duly<br />
proposed and elected Grand Master . <strong>The</strong> Grand Lodge adopted .<br />
among its regulations, the following That the privilege <strong>of</strong><br />
assembling as Masons, which had hitherto been unlimited, should<br />
be vested in certain lo .lges or assemblies <strong>of</strong> Masons, convened in<br />
certain places ; and that every lodge to be hereafter convened,<br />
except the four old lodges at this time existing, should be legally<br />
authorized to act by a warrant fl •om the Grand Master, for the<br />
time being, granted to certain individuals by petition, with the<br />
consent and approbation <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge in communication,<br />
and that, without such warrant, no lodge should be hereafter<br />
deemed regular or constitutional ."<br />
In compliment, however, to the four old lodges, the privileges<br />
which they had always possessed under the old organization were<br />
particularly reserved to them ; and it was enacted that " no law,<br />
rule, or regulation, to be hereafter made or passed in Grand<br />
Lodge, should ever deprive them <strong>of</strong> such privilege,* or encroach<br />
on any landmark which was at that time established as the standard<br />
<strong>of</strong> masonic government ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> Grand Lodges <strong>of</strong> York and <strong>of</strong> London kept up a friendly<br />
intercourse, and mutual interchange <strong>of</strong> recognition, until the<br />
latter body, in 1725, granted a warrant <strong>of</strong> constitution to some<br />
Masons who had seceded from the former . This unmasonic act<br />
was severely reprobated by the York Grand Lodge, and produced<br />
the first interruption to the harmony that had long subsisted between<br />
them . It was, however, followed some years after by<br />
another unjustifiable act <strong>of</strong> interference . In 1725,. the Earl <strong>of</strong><br />
Crawford, Grand Master <strong>of</strong> England, constituted two lodges<br />
within the jurisdiction <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> York, and granted,<br />
without its consent, deputations for Lancashire, Durham, and<br />
*Among these privileges, were these <strong>of</strong> assembling without a warrant <strong>of</strong><br />
constitution, and raising Masons to the Master's degree, a power for a long<br />
dune exercised only by the Grand Lolge .
GRA . 171<br />
Northumberland . " This circumstance," says Preston, " the<br />
Grand Lodge at York highly resented, and ever afterward<br />
viewed the proceedings <strong>of</strong> the brethren in the south with a jealous<br />
eye . All friendly intercourse ceased, and the York Masons,<br />
from that moment, considered their interests distinct from the<br />
Masons under the Grand Lodge in London .*<br />
Three years after, in 1738, several brethren, dissatisfied with<br />
the conduct <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, 'seceded from it,<br />
and held unauthorized meetings for the purpose <strong>of</strong> initiation .<br />
Taking advantage <strong>of</strong> the breach between the Grand Lodges <strong>of</strong><br />
York and London, they assumed the character <strong>of</strong> York Masons .<br />
On the Grand Lodge's determination t9 put strictly in execution<br />
the laws against such seceders, they still further separated from<br />
its jurisdiction, and assumed the appellation <strong>of</strong> "Ancient York<br />
Masons ." <strong>The</strong>y announced that the ancient landmarks were<br />
alone preserved by them ; and, declaring that the regular lodges<br />
had adopted new plans, and sanctioned innovations, they branded<br />
them with the name <strong>of</strong> "Modern Masons ." In 1739, they<br />
established a new Grand Lodge in London, under the name <strong>of</strong><br />
the " Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Ancient York Masons," and, persevering<br />
in the measures they had adopted, held communications and<br />
appointed annual feasts . <strong>The</strong>y were soon afterward recognized<br />
by the Masons <strong>of</strong> Scotland and Ireland, and were encouraged<br />
and fostered by many <strong>of</strong> the nobility . <strong>The</strong> two Grand Lodges<br />
continued to exist, and to act in opposition to each other, extending<br />
their schisms into other countries,t until the year 1813,<br />
when, under the Grand Mastership <strong>of</strong> the Duke <strong>of</strong> Sussex, they<br />
were happily united, and discord, we trust, forever banished from<br />
English Masonry .T<br />
* Preston's Illustrations, p . 184.<br />
t For instance, there were, originally, in Massachusetts and South Carolina,<br />
two Grand Lodges, claiming their authority from these discordant bodies . In<br />
the former State, however, they were united in 1792, and in the latter in 1817.<br />
I We may as well mention here, that the rites and ceremonies <strong>of</strong> these bodies<br />
were essentially the same, and that the landmarks were equally pr,aervedby them .
172 GRA.<br />
Scotland. <strong>Freemasonry</strong> was introduced into Scotland by the<br />
architects who built the Abbey <strong>of</strong> Kilwinning ; and the village<br />
<strong>of</strong> that name bears the same relation to Scottish masonry, that<br />
the city <strong>of</strong> York does to English . Assemblies, for the general<br />
government <strong>of</strong> the craft, were frequently held at Kilwinning .<br />
In the reign <strong>of</strong> James If ., the <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong> Grand Master <strong>of</strong> Scot-<br />
land was granted to William St . Clair, Earl <strong>of</strong> Orkney and<br />
Caithness, and Baron <strong>of</strong> Roslin, "his heirs and successors," by<br />
the king's charter .* But, in 1736, the St . Clair who then exer-<br />
cised the Grand Mastership, " taking into consideration that his<br />
holding or claiming" any such jurisdiction, right, or privilege,<br />
might be prejudicial to the craft and vocation <strong>of</strong> maso :ry,"t re-<br />
nounced his claims, and empowered the Freemasons to choose<br />
their Grand Master. <strong>The</strong> consequence <strong>of</strong> this act <strong>of</strong> resignation<br />
was the immediate organization <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Scotland,<br />
over whom, for obvious reasons, the late hereditary Grand Master<br />
was unanimously called to preside .<br />
Ireland. In 1729, 'the Freemasons <strong>of</strong> Dublin held an assem-<br />
bly, and organized the "Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Ireland ." <strong>The</strong> Earl<br />
<strong>of</strong> Kingston was elected the first Grand Master .<br />
France . In the beginning <strong>of</strong> the 18th century, <strong>Freemasonry</strong><br />
in France was in a state <strong>of</strong> great disorder. Every lodge acted<br />
independently <strong>of</strong> all others ; the Masters were elected for life,<br />
and exercised the privileges and powers which are now confined<br />
to Grand Lodges ; there was no masonic centre, and consequently<br />
no masonic union .<br />
In 1735, there were six lodges in Paris, and several others in<br />
the different provincial towns . <strong>The</strong> Earl <strong>of</strong> Derwentwater, the<br />
celebrated Jacobite, who afterward was beheaded at London, for<br />
his adherence to the house <strong>of</strong> Stuart, exercised the functions <strong>of</strong><br />
Grand Master by a tacit consent, although not 1 y a formal elec .<br />
tion . In the following year, Lord Harnouster was elected by<br />
* See the MS. =n the Edinburgh Advocates' Library, quoted by Lavrio .<br />
t See the deed f resignation in Lawrie's Hist . Masonry.
GRA 173<br />
the Parisian lodges Grand Master ; and in 1738, he was succeeded<br />
by the Due d'Antin . On his death, in 1743, the Count<br />
de Clermont was elected to supply his place .<br />
Organized <strong>Freemasonry</strong> in France dates its existence from this<br />
latter year. In 1735, the lodges <strong>of</strong> Paris had petitioned the Grand<br />
Lodge <strong>of</strong> England for the establishment <strong>of</strong> a Provincial Graid<br />
Lodge, which, on political grounds, had been refused . In 1743,<br />
however, it was granted, and the Provincial Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong><br />
France was constituted under the name <strong>of</strong> the "Grand Loge<br />
Anglaise de France ." <strong>The</strong> Grand Master, Clermont, was, however,<br />
an inefficient <strong>of</strong>ficer ; anarchy and confusion once more invaded<br />
the fraternity ; the authority <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge was prostrated<br />
; and the establishment <strong>of</strong> mother lodges in the provinces,<br />
with the original intention <strong>of</strong> superintending the proceedings <strong>of</strong><br />
the distant provincial lodges, instead <strong>of</strong> restoring harmony, as<br />
was vainly expected, widened still more the breach . For, assuming<br />
the rank, and exercising the functions, <strong>of</strong> Grand Lodges,<br />
they ceased all correspondence with the metropolitan body, and<br />
became in fact its rivals .<br />
Under these circumstances, the Grand Lodge declared itself<br />
independent <strong>of</strong> England in 1756, and assumed the title <strong>of</strong> the<br />
~~ Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> France ." It recognized only the three degrees<br />
<strong>of</strong> Apprentice, Fellow-Craft, and Master Mason, and was<br />
composed <strong>of</strong> the grand <strong>of</strong>ficers to be elected out <strong>of</strong> the body <strong>of</strong><br />
the fraternity, and <strong>of</strong> the Masters for life <strong>of</strong> the Parisian lodges ;<br />
thus formally excluding the provincial lodges from any participation<br />
in the government <strong>of</strong> the craft .<br />
But the proceedings <strong>of</strong> this body were not less stormy than<br />
those <strong>of</strong> its predecessor. We have stated that the Count de<br />
Clermont proved an inefficient Grand Master . He had appointed,<br />
in succession, two deputies, both <strong>of</strong> whom had been displeasing<br />
to the fraternity . <strong>The</strong> last, Lacorne, was a man <strong>of</strong> such low<br />
origin and rude manners, that the Grand Lodge refused to meet<br />
him as their presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer . Irritated at this pointed disrespect,<br />
he sought in the taverns <strong>of</strong> Paris those Masters who bad<br />
is*
174 GRA<br />
made a traffic <strong>of</strong> initiations, but who, heret<strong>of</strong>ore, had submitted<br />
to the control, and been checked by the authority, <strong>of</strong> the Grand<br />
Lodge . From among them he selected <strong>of</strong>ficers devoted to his<br />
service, and undertook a complete reorganization <strong>of</strong> the Grand<br />
Lodge .<br />
<strong>The</strong> retired members, however, protested against these illegal<br />
proceedings ; and in the subsequent year, the Grand Master consented<br />
to revoke the authority he had bestowed upon Lacorne,<br />
and appointed as his deputy, M . Chaillon de Jonville. <strong>The</strong><br />
respectable members now returned to their seats in the Grand<br />
Lodge ; and in the triennial election which took place in June,<br />
1765, the <strong>of</strong>ficers who had been elected during the Deputy Grand<br />
Mastership <strong>of</strong> Lacorne were all removed . <strong>The</strong> displaced <strong>of</strong>ficers<br />
protested, and published a defamatory memoir on the subject,<br />
and were in consequence expelled from masonry by the Grand<br />
Lodge . Ill feeling on both sides was thus engendered, and carried<br />
to such a height, that, at one <strong>of</strong> the communications <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Grand Lodge, the expelled brethren, attempting to force their<br />
way in, were resisted with violence . <strong>The</strong> next day the lieutenant<br />
<strong>of</strong> police issued an edict, forbidding the future meetings <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Grand Lodge .<br />
<strong>The</strong> expelled party, however, still continued their meetings .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Count de Clermont died in 1771 : and the excluded brethren<br />
having invited the Duke <strong>of</strong> Chartres, (afterwards Duke <strong>of</strong> Orleans,)<br />
to the Grand Mastership, he accepted the appointment . <strong>The</strong>y<br />
now <strong>of</strong>fered to unite with the Grand Lodge, on condition that<br />
the latter would revoke the decree <strong>of</strong> expulsion . <strong>The</strong> proposal<br />
was accepted, and the Grand Lodge went once more into<br />
operation .<br />
Another union took place, which has since considerably influenced<br />
the character <strong>of</strong> French masonry . During the troubles <strong>of</strong><br />
the preceding years, masonic bodies were instituted in various<br />
parts <strong>of</strong> the kingdom, which pr<strong>of</strong>essed to confer degrees, <strong>of</strong> a<br />
higher nature, than those belonging to craft masonry, and which<br />
have since been known by the name <strong>of</strong> the Ineffable degrees .
,IRA 175<br />
<strong>The</strong>se chapters assumed a right to organize and control symbolic<br />
or blue lodges, and this assumption had been a fertile source <strong>of</strong><br />
controversy between them and the Grand Lodge . By the latter<br />
body they had never been recognized, but the lodges under<br />
their direction had <strong>of</strong>ten been declared irregular, and their<br />
members expelled . <strong>The</strong>y now, however, demanded a recognition,<br />
and proposed, if their request was complied with, to bestow the<br />
government <strong>of</strong> the ' 1 hauts grades" upon the same person who<br />
was at the head <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge . <strong>The</strong> compromise was made,<br />
the recognition was decreed, and the Duke <strong>of</strong> Chartres was<br />
elected Grand Master <strong>of</strong> all the councils, chapters, and Scotch<br />
odges <strong>of</strong> France .<br />
But peace was not yet restored ., <strong>The</strong> party who had been expelled,<br />
moved by a spirit <strong>of</strong> revenge for the disgrace formerly<br />
inflicted on them, succeeded in obtaining the appointment <strong>of</strong> a<br />
committee which was empowered to prepare a new constitution .<br />
All the lodges <strong>of</strong> Paris and the provinces were requested to<br />
appoint deputies, who were to form a convention to take the new<br />
constitution into consideration . This convention, or, as they<br />
called it, national assembly, met at Paris, in December, 1771 .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Duke <strong>of</strong> Luxemburg presided, and on the 24th <strong>of</strong> that month,<br />
the ancient Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> France was declared extinct, and in<br />
its place another substituted, with the title <strong>of</strong> Grand Orient de<br />
France.<br />
Notwithstanding the declaration <strong>of</strong> extinction by the national<br />
assembly, the Grand Lodge continued to meet and to exercise it .<br />
functions . Thus the fraternity <strong>of</strong> France continued to be hai<br />
rassed, by the bitter contentions <strong>of</strong> these rival bodies, until the<br />
commencement <strong>of</strong> the revolution compelled both the Grand<br />
Orient and the Grand Lodge to suspend their labours .<br />
On the restoration <strong>of</strong> civil order, both bodies resumed theioperations,<br />
but the Grand Lodge had been weakened by the deatl<br />
<strong>of</strong> many <strong>of</strong> the perpetual Masters, who had originally been' attached<br />
to it ; and a better spirit arising, the Grand Lodge . was,
176 GRA.<br />
by a solemn and mutual declaration, united to the Grand Orient<br />
on the 28th <strong>of</strong> June, 1799 .<br />
Dissensions, however, continued to arise between the Grand<br />
Orient and the different chapters <strong>of</strong> the higher degrees . Several<br />
<strong>of</strong> those bodies had at various periods given in their adhesion to<br />
the Grand Orient, and again violated the compact <strong>of</strong> peace .<br />
Finally, the Grand Orient perceiving that the pretensions <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Scotch rite Masons would be a perpetual source <strong>of</strong> disorder, decreed<br />
on the 16th <strong>of</strong> September, 1805, that the Supreme Council <strong>of</strong><br />
the 33d degree should thenceforth become an independent body,<br />
with the power to confer warrants <strong>of</strong> constitution for all the<br />
degrees superior to the 18th, or Rose Croix ; while the chapters<br />
<strong>of</strong> that and the inferior degrees were placed under the exclusive<br />
control <strong>of</strong> the Grand Orient .<br />
But a further detail <strong>of</strong> the dissensions which obscured masonry<br />
in France, would be painful as well as tedious . <strong>The</strong>y were renewed<br />
in 1821, by the reorganization <strong>of</strong> the Supreme Council,<br />
which had been dormant since 1815 . But in 1842 an advance<br />
towards a reconciliation was made by the Supreme Council, which<br />
has at length been met by the Grand Orient. <strong>The</strong> friendship<br />
was consummated in 1842, and peace now reigns, at last, among<br />
the Masons <strong>of</strong> France .<br />
Germany . <strong>The</strong> first German lodge was established at Cologne,<br />
in 1716, but it died almost as soon as -it was born . Seventeen<br />
years afterward, (in 17 33,) according to Preston,* a<br />
charter was granted by the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, to eleven<br />
German Masons in Hamburg. In 1738, another lodge was established<br />
in Brunswick, under the authority <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong><br />
Scotland . This lodge, which was called "<strong>The</strong> Three Gloves,"<br />
united with the lodges <strong>of</strong> "<strong>The</strong> Three White Eagles," and "<strong>The</strong><br />
Three Swans," to organize, in 1741, a Grand Lodge, the first<br />
established in Germany. This Grand Lodge still exists, and has<br />
under its jurisdiction eighty-eight subordinate lodges . <strong>The</strong>re is<br />
Illustrations, p . 183, ed . 1804.
GRA 177<br />
ajother Grand Lodge at Brunswick, which was established in<br />
1768, by the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, and which is considered<br />
as the metropolitan Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Germany . It has under its<br />
jurisdiction fifty-three subordinate lodges .<br />
Prussia . <strong>The</strong> Royal York Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Prussia is situated<br />
at Berlin . It was established as a subordinate lodge, in 1752 .<br />
In 1765 it initiated the Duke <strong>of</strong> York, and then assumed the<br />
name <strong>of</strong> " Royal York in Friendship ." It had under its jurisdiction,<br />
in 1840, twenty-seven lodges . <strong>The</strong> " Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong><br />
the Three Globes" was founded in 1740, and has under its jurisdiction<br />
one hundred and seventy-seven lodges . <strong>The</strong>re are now<br />
three Grand Lodges in Prussia, the "Three Globes," the "Royal<br />
York," and the ~~ National," which was founded, in 1770, by a<br />
warrant from the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England ; every lodge in<br />
Prussia derives its warrant from one <strong>of</strong> these Grand Lodges .<br />
Saxony . <strong>The</strong> first lodge in Saxony was the Three White<br />
Eagles, which was formed in 1738 at Dresden . In 1741 another<br />
was formed at Leipsig, and a third in the following year at Altenburg<br />
. <strong>The</strong> Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Saxony was establised in 1812 .<br />
It has adopted the system <strong>of</strong> Ancient Craft, or St. John's masonry,<br />
for its rite, and under this all its subordinates, except two, pr<strong>of</strong>ess<br />
to work .<br />
Belgium. In 1721, the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England constituted<br />
the lodge <strong>of</strong> " Perfect Union," at Mons, and in 1730, another at<br />
Ghent . <strong>The</strong> former was afterward erected into a Grand Lodge .<br />
<strong>The</strong> present Grand Orient <strong>of</strong> Belgium has its seat at Brussels .<br />
Holland. <strong>The</strong> first lodge established in Holland, was at the<br />
Hague in 1731, under the warrant <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England .<br />
1t was, however, only a lodge <strong>of</strong> emergency, having been called<br />
to initiate the Duke <strong>of</strong> Tuscany, afterward Francis the First,<br />
Emperor <strong>of</strong> Germany . After the ceremony had been performed<br />
by the Earl <strong>of</strong> Chesterfield, the lodge was closed . <strong>The</strong> first regular<br />
lodge was established at the same place in 1734, which five<br />
years after took the name <strong>of</strong> " Mother Lodge ." In 1735, a lodge<br />
was opened at Amsterdam . <strong>The</strong> National Grand Lodge was esta.
178 GRA<br />
blished on the 18th December, 1757, and now has about seventy<br />
lodges under its register . .<br />
Denmark . <strong>The</strong> Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Denmark was instituted in<br />
1743 . It derived its existence from the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Scotland .<br />
It is situated at Copenhagen . Masonry in this country is in a<br />
flourishing condition ; it is recognized by the state, and the reigning<br />
king is Grand Master .<br />
Sweden . In no country has the progress <strong>of</strong> masonry been<br />
more prosperous than in Sweden . It arose there in 1754, under<br />
the charter <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Scotland . <strong>The</strong> seat <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Grand Lodge is at Stockholm, and the king is at the head <strong>of</strong><br />
the craft .<br />
Russia . An English lodge was constituted at St . Petersburg,<br />
in 1740, under a warrant from the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, and<br />
masonry soon afterwards began to increase with great rapidity<br />
throughout the empire . In 177-9j, the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England<br />
established a Provincial Grand Mastership, and lodges were constituted<br />
successively at Moscow, Riga., Jassy, and in various parts<br />
<strong>of</strong> Courtland . <strong>The</strong> order was patronized by the throne, and, <strong>of</strong><br />
course, by the nobility . But, unfortunately, politics began to<br />
poison, with its pollutions, the pure atmosphere <strong>of</strong> masonry, and<br />
the order rapidly declined . Lodges are, however, still privately<br />
held in various parts <strong>of</strong> the empire .<br />
Poland. In 1739, <strong>Freemasonry</strong> was suppressed in this kingdom<br />
by an edict <strong>of</strong> King Augustus II . In 17 7181 however, it<br />
was revived under the auspices <strong>of</strong> the Grand Orient <strong>of</strong> Franc ; ;<br />
who, upon the application <strong>of</strong> three lodges at Warsaw, established<br />
lodges at Wilna, Dubno, Posen, Grodno, and Warsaw . <strong>The</strong>se<br />
united in 1784, to form a Grand Orient, whose seat is at the last<br />
named city . Masonry in Poland is now in a flourishing condition .<br />
Bohemia . <strong>Freemasonry</strong> was instituted in Bohemia, in 1749,<br />
by the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Scotland . In 1776 it was highly pros .<br />
perous, and continued so until the commencement <strong>of</strong> the French .<br />
revolution, when it was suppressed by the Austrian government .<br />
Its present condition I have no means <strong>of</strong> ascertaining .
GRA 17 .0<br />
Switzerland . In 1737, the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England granted<br />
a patent to Sir George Hamilton, by authority <strong>of</strong> which he iilstituted<br />
a Provincial Grand Lodge at Geneva . Two years afterwards<br />
the same body bestowed a warrant <strong>of</strong> constitution ou a<br />
lodge situated at Lausanne . Masonry continued to flourish in<br />
Switzerland until 1745, when it was prohibited by an edict <strong>of</strong><br />
the Council <strong>of</strong> Berne . From this attack, however, it rel-overed<br />
in 1764. <strong>The</strong> lodges resumed their labours, and a Grand Lodge<br />
was organized at Geneva . But Switzerland, like France, has<br />
been sorely visited with masonic dissensions . At one time there<br />
existed not less than three conflicting masonic authorities in the<br />
republic . Peace has, however, been restored, and the National<br />
Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Switzerland, seated at Berne, now exercises sole<br />
masonic jurisdiction, under the name <strong>of</strong> Alpina . <strong>The</strong> Book <strong>of</strong><br />
Constitutions is similar to that <strong>of</strong> England . <strong>The</strong> Grand Lodge<br />
Alpina recognizes only the three degrees <strong>of</strong> Ancient Craft Masonry<br />
.<br />
Italy. <strong>The</strong> enmity <strong>of</strong> the Roman church towards <strong>Freemasonry</strong>,<br />
has ever kept the latter institution in a depressed state in Italy .<br />
A lodge existed at Florence, as early as 17303, established by<br />
Lord Charles Sackville, the son <strong>of</strong> the Duke <strong>of</strong> Dorset, and lodges<br />
still are to be found at Leghorn, Turin, Genoa, and the other<br />
principal cities, but their meetings are held with great secrecy .<br />
Spain . <strong>The</strong> first lodge established in Spain was in 1726, at<br />
Gilbraltar . Another was constituted the year following, at Madrid<br />
. A third was formed at Andalusia, in 1731 . <strong>The</strong> persecutions<br />
<strong>of</strong> the priests and government were always obstacles to<br />
the successful propagation <strong>of</strong> masonry in this kingdom . Lodges,<br />
however, still exist and work in various parts <strong>of</strong> Spain, but their<br />
meetings are in private .<br />
Portugal . What has been said <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> in Italy and<br />
Spain, is equally applicable to Portugal . Though lodges were<br />
established as early as 1727, they always were, and continue to<br />
be, holden with great secrecy . One, howevc r, <strong>of</strong> the influences<br />
<strong>of</strong> the French invasion, was the dissemination <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>
J80 GRA<br />
among We Portuguese, and there are now, or were within a<br />
few years, not less than four Grand Lodges existing in that<br />
kingdom .<br />
Turkey Of the state <strong>of</strong> masonry in the Ottoman Empire, we<br />
know but little . Clavel says, that lodges were established at<br />
Constanti iople, Smyrna and Aleppo, in 1738, but <strong>of</strong> their present<br />
existence we have no information .<br />
Asia . <strong>Freemasonry</strong> was introduced into India, in 1728, by<br />
Sir George Pomfret, who established a lodge at Calcutta. Another<br />
was formed in 1740, and in 1 7179, there was scarcely a town<br />
in Hindostan in which there was not a lodge . In that year,<br />
Omdit ul Omrah Bahauder, the eldest son <strong>of</strong> the nabob <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Carnatic, was initiated at Trinchinopoly . Masonry still exists in<br />
a prosperous condition, in Asia Minor and all the English settleiuents<br />
. <strong>The</strong> lodges are under the jurisdiction generally <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England .<br />
Africa . <strong>Freemasonry</strong> was introduced into Africa, in 1736,<br />
by the establishment <strong>of</strong> lodges at Cape Coast on the Gambia River<br />
. Lodges have since been constituted at the Cape <strong>of</strong> Good<br />
Hope ; in the islands <strong>of</strong> Mauritius, Madagascar, and St . Helena ;<br />
and at Algiers, Tunis, Morocco, Cairo, and Alexandria .<br />
Oceanica . Into these remote regions has the institution <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong> extended . Lodges have existed since 1828, at<br />
Sidney, Paramatta, Melbourne, and in many other <strong>of</strong> the English<br />
colonies . -<br />
America . <strong>The</strong> first lodge established in Canada, was at Cape<br />
Breton, in the year 1745 . Lodges existed from as early a period<br />
in the West India Islands . On the establishment <strong>of</strong> the Brazilian<br />
Empire, a Grand Lodge was instituted, and, in 1825, Don Pedro<br />
the First was elected its Grand Master . In 1825, the Grand<br />
Lodge <strong>of</strong> Mexico was organized ; and in 1837, that <strong>of</strong> Texas was<br />
instituted . Long before these periods, however, lodges had been<br />
constituted in both these countries, under charters from different<br />
'Trand Lodges in the United States .<br />
United States <strong>The</strong> first notice that we have <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>
GRA 181<br />
in the United States, is in 1729, in which year, during the Grand<br />
Mastership <strong>of</strong> the Duke <strong>of</strong> Norfolk, Mr . Daniel Cox was appointed<br />
Provincial Grand Master for New Jersey . I have not,<br />
however, been able to obtain any evidence that he exercised his<br />
prerogative by the establishment <strong>of</strong> lodges in that province,<br />
although it is probable that he did . In the year 1730' the 11 St .<br />
John's Grand Lodge" was opened in Boston in consequence <strong>of</strong> a<br />
charter granted, on the application <strong>of</strong> several brethren residing in<br />
that city, by Lord Viscount Montacute,* Grand Master <strong>of</strong> England .<br />
This charter is dated on the 30th <strong>of</strong> April, in the same year,<br />
and appointed the R. W. Henry Price, Grand Master in North<br />
America, with power to appoint his Deputy, and the other <strong>of</strong>ficers<br />
necessary for forming a Grand Lodge, and also to constitute lodges<br />
<strong>of</strong> Free and Accepted Masons as <strong>of</strong>ten as occasion should require.<br />
<strong>The</strong> first charter granted by this body was to "St. John's Lodge"<br />
in Boston, which lodge is still in existence . In the succeeding<br />
year, it granted a charter for the constitution <strong>of</strong> a lodge in Philadelphia,<br />
<strong>of</strong> which the venerable Benjamin Franklin was the first<br />
Master . This Grand Lodge, however, descending from the Grand<br />
Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, was, <strong>of</strong> course, composed <strong>of</strong> Modern Masons .'<br />
A number <strong>of</strong> brethren, there, residing in Boston, who were Ancient<br />
Masons, applied to and received a dispensation from<br />
Lord Aberdour, Grand Master <strong>of</strong> Scotland, constituting them a<br />
regular lodge, under the designation <strong>of</strong> St . Andrew's Lodge,<br />
No. 82, and the- Massachusetts Grand Lodge, descending from<br />
the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Scotland, was established on the 27th December,<br />
1769 . On the 19th June, 1792, the two Grand Lodges<br />
were united, and all the distinctions <strong>of</strong> Ancient and Modern Masons<br />
abolished .<br />
* I am indebted to my esteemed friend and learned brother A . 0. Sullivan,<br />
Grand Secretary <strong>of</strong> Missouri, for calling my attention to the inadvertence I have<br />
committed in previous editions <strong>of</strong> spelling this name Montague instead <strong>of</strong><br />
Montacute. But I may console myself with the rather selfish reflection that<br />
nearly all <strong>of</strong> my contemporaries have fallen into the same error.<br />
t See the article Modern Masons . 16
182 GRA<br />
In 1735, <strong>Freemasonry</strong> was introduced into South-Carolina by<br />
the constitution <strong>of</strong> " Solomon's Lodge, No . 1," under a Warrant<br />
from Lord Montague, Grand Master <strong>of</strong> Free and Accepted Masons<br />
<strong>of</strong> England . This was, therefore, the fourth lodge organized<br />
in the United States .* Three other lodges were soon afterwards<br />
constituted . In 1754, on the 30th <strong>of</strong> March, the Marquis <strong>of</strong><br />
Carnarvon, Grand Master <strong>of</strong> England, issued his Warrant, constituting<br />
a Provincial Grand Lodge in the province, and appointing<br />
Chief Justice Leigh, Provincial Grand Master . On the 24th<br />
<strong>of</strong> December, in the same year, the Grand Lodge was solemnly<br />
constituted at Charleston . In 1787 a Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Ancient<br />
York Masons was also established at Charleston, and in the course<br />
<strong>of</strong> the succeeding years, many disagreeable dissensions occurred<br />
between this and the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Free and Accepted Masons<br />
which had been organized in 1754 . <strong>The</strong>se, however, at length,<br />
happily terminated, and an indissoluble union took place between<br />
the two bodies in December, 1817, which resulted in the formation<br />
<strong>of</strong> the present "Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Ancient Freemasons ."<br />
In 1764, the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Pennsylvania was established by<br />
a Warrant issued from the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England . Subsequently,<br />
the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> North Carolina was constituted<br />
in 1771 ; that <strong>of</strong> Virginia in 1778 ; and that <strong>of</strong> New York<br />
in 1781 .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se Grand Lodges were, until the close <strong>of</strong> the Revolutionary<br />
War, held under the authority <strong>of</strong> Charters granted either by the<br />
Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, or that <strong>of</strong> Scotland . But, on the confirmation<br />
<strong>of</strong> our political independence, . the brethren, desirous <strong>of</strong><br />
a like relief from the thraldom <strong>of</strong> a foreign power, began to organize<br />
Grand Lodges in their respective limits, and there new<br />
exist such bodies in every State and Territory in the Union, the<br />
last formed being that <strong>of</strong> Minnesota in 1853 .<br />
* It ranked as No . 45, on the Register <strong>of</strong> England, while Solomon's lodge in<br />
Savannah, which preceded it in time <strong>of</strong> constitution, held the number 46 . Sea<br />
Hutchinson's List .
GRA 183<br />
GRAND LODGES, JURISDICTION OF . A Grand Lodge<br />
is invested with power and authority over all the craft within itp<br />
jurisdiction . It is the Supreme Court <strong>of</strong> Appeal in all masonic<br />
cases, and to its decrees unlimited obedience must be paid,' by<br />
every lodge and every Mason situated within its control . <strong>The</strong><br />
government <strong>of</strong> Grand Lodges is, therefore, completely despotic .<br />
While a Grand Lodge exists, its edicts must be respected and<br />
obeyed without examination by its subordinate lodges . Yet should<br />
a Grand Lodge decree wrongfully or contrary to the ancient constitutions,<br />
though there be no redress for its subordinates, the<br />
Grand Lodges in other States may declare its proceedings irregular,<br />
and even put it out <strong>of</strong> the pale <strong>of</strong> masonry, by refusing to<br />
hold communion with it . But in this case, the Grand Lodge<br />
does not suffer more than the craft in general working under it<br />
for every Mason who should then acknowledge its authority, would<br />
be placed under the same ban <strong>of</strong> masonic outlawry . Grand Lodges<br />
are, however, exceedingly scrupulous in exercising this interference<br />
with the masonic authorities <strong>of</strong> other jurisdictions, reserving the<br />
exertion <strong>of</strong> this power only for cases in which there has been a<br />
manifest violation <strong>of</strong> the ancient landmarks . An instance <strong>of</strong> this<br />
kind has lately occurred in this country . In 1828, the labours<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Michigan, in consequence <strong>of</strong> the anti-masonic<br />
excitement then at its height, were suspended, and tho<br />
lodges under its jurisdiction dissolved . In 1841, masonry having<br />
revived in that State, the Masons <strong>of</strong> Michigan met in convention,<br />
and without the existence <strong>of</strong> a single subordinate lodge, proceeded<br />
to institute a Grand Lodge . This was in palpable derogation <strong>of</strong><br />
the fundamental laws <strong>of</strong> the order . Consequently, the other supreme<br />
masonic bodies in the Union refused to acknowledge the<br />
Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Michigan . Afterwards (in 1844) this body,<br />
submitting very properly to the general opinion <strong>of</strong> the fraternity,<br />
proceeded to organize according to the legitimate mode, by the<br />
convention <strong>of</strong> tt .e constitutional number <strong>of</strong> lodges, and it is now<br />
recognized as a •egularly constituted Grand Lodge .<br />
This supreme power that is vested in Grand Lodges, by which
184 G 11A<br />
they are constituted as the sole judges and exponents, for their<br />
respective jurisdictions, <strong>of</strong> the ancient landmarks and usages <strong>of</strong><br />
the fraternity, is derived from the fundamental laws <strong>of</strong> masonry .<br />
It is based, too, upon sound sense and expediency . For without<br />
a governing power, so large a body as the craft would soon run<br />
into anarchy . But this power could not be placed in the hands<br />
<strong>of</strong> subordinate lodges, or individual brethren, for that would create<br />
endless confusion . Grand Lodges are, therefore, its proper depositories,<br />
since they contain within themselves the united wisdom<br />
and prudence <strong>of</strong> many subordinate lodges . And so careful has<br />
our institution been <strong>of</strong> the preservation <strong>of</strong> this power to Grand<br />
Lodges, that according to the Ancient Charges, the master <strong>of</strong><br />
every lodge is called upon, previous to his installation, to give<br />
his assent to the following propositions<br />
" You agree to hold in veneration, the original rulers and patrons<br />
<strong>of</strong> the order <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, and their regular successors,<br />
supreme and subordinate, according to their stations ; and to<br />
submit to the awards and resolutions <strong>of</strong> your brethren in Grand<br />
Lodge convened, in every case, consistent with the constitutions<br />
<strong>of</strong> the order.<br />
"You promise to pay homage to the Grand Master for the time<br />
being, and to his <strong>of</strong>ficers when duly installed, and strictly to conform<br />
to every edict <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge ."<br />
GRAND LODGES, ORGANIZATION OF . Grand Lodges<br />
are organized in the following manner. Three or more legally<br />
constituted lodges working in any state, kingdom, or other independent<br />
political division, where no Grand Lodge already exists,<br />
may meet in convention, adopt by-laws, elect <strong>of</strong>ficers, and<br />
organize a Grand Lodge . <strong>The</strong> lodges within its jurisdiction then<br />
surrender their Warrants <strong>of</strong> Constitution to the Grand Lodges<br />
from which they respectively had received them, and accept others<br />
from the newly organized Grand Lodge, which thenceforward exercises<br />
all masonic jurisdiction over the state in which it has been<br />
organized .
GRA 18 .5<br />
A Grand Lodge thus organized, consists <strong>of</strong> the Masters and<br />
Wardens <strong>of</strong> all the lodges under its jurisdiction, and such Past<br />
Masters as may enrol themselves or be elected as members . Past<br />
Masters are not, however, members <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge by inherent<br />
right, but only by courtesy, and no Past Master can remain<br />
a member <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge unless he is attached to some subordinate<br />
lodge in its jurisdiction .<br />
All Grand Lodges are governed by the following <strong>of</strong>ficers : Grand<br />
Master, Deputy Grand Master, Senior and Junior Grand Wardens,<br />
Grand Treasurer, and Grand Secretary . <strong>The</strong>se are usually termed<br />
the Grand <strong>of</strong>ficers ; in addition to them there are subordinate<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficers appointed by the Grand Master and . the Grand Wardens,<br />
such as Grand Deacons, Grand Stewards, Grand Marshal, Grand<br />
Pursuivant, Grand Sword Bearer, and Grand Tyler ; but their<br />
number and titles vary in different Grand Lodges .<br />
GRAND MASTER . <strong>The</strong> presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer <strong>of</strong> the masonic<br />
fraternity, to whom is entrusted the execution <strong>of</strong> important duties,<br />
and who is consequently invested with extensive powers, should<br />
always be selected for his respectability, virtue, and learning . For<br />
the first, that the dignity <strong>of</strong> the fraternity may not suffer under his<br />
administration ; for the second, that he may afford an example worthy<br />
<strong>of</strong> imitation to his brethren ; for the last, that he may be enabled<br />
to guide and control the craft with proper skill and accuracy .<br />
<strong>The</strong> powers <strong>of</strong> the Grand Master during the recess <strong>of</strong> the Grand<br />
Lodge are very extensive . He has full authority and right not<br />
only to be present, but also to preside in every lodge, with the<br />
Master <strong>of</strong> the lodge on his left hand, and to order his Grand<br />
Wardens to attend him, and act as Wardens in that particular<br />
lodge .* He has the right <strong>of</strong> visiting the lodges and inspecting<br />
their books and mode <strong>of</strong> work as <strong>of</strong>ten as he pleases, or if unable<br />
to do so, he may depute his grand <strong>of</strong>ficers to act for him . He<br />
has the power <strong>of</strong> granting dispensations for the formation <strong>of</strong> new<br />
* (lei 3ral Regulations, 1757, Art . 5, in Anderson Const. 337 .<br />
16*
186 GRA<br />
lodges, which dispensations are <strong>of</strong> force until revoked by himself<br />
or the Grand Lodge . He may also -rant dispensations for several<br />
other purposes, for which see the article "Dispensation ."<br />
Formerly, the Grand Master appointed his Grand <strong>of</strong>ficers, but<br />
this regulation has been repealed, and the Grand <strong>of</strong>ficers are now<br />
all elected by the Grand Lodge .<br />
When the Grand Blaster visits a lodge, he must be received<br />
with the greatest respect, and the Master <strong>of</strong> the lodge should<br />
always <strong>of</strong>fer him the chair, which the Grand Master may or may<br />
not accept at his pleasure .<br />
Should the Grand Blaster die, or be absent from the jurisdiction<br />
during his term <strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>fice, the Deputy Grand Master assumes his<br />
powers, or if there be no Deputy, then the Grand Wardens according<br />
to seniority .<br />
GRAND MASTER ARCHITECT . Grand Master Architect .<br />
<strong>The</strong> 12th degree in the Ancient Scotch rite . This is strictly a<br />
scientific degree, resembling in that respect the degree <strong>of</strong> Fellow<br />
Craft. In it the principles <strong>of</strong> architecture and the connection <strong>of</strong><br />
the liberal arts with masonry, ari unfolded . Its <strong>of</strong>ficers are three,<br />
a Most Powerful and two Wardens . <strong>The</strong> chapter is decorated<br />
with white and red hangings, and furnished with the five orders<br />
<strong>of</strong> architecture and a case <strong>of</strong> mathematical instruments . <strong>The</strong><br />
jewel is a gold medal ; on both sides <strong>of</strong> which are engraved the<br />
orders <strong>of</strong> architecture . It is suspended by a stone colored<br />
ribbon .<br />
GRAND MASTER OF ALL SYMBOLIC LODGES .<br />
Yen&able maitre de toutes lcs loges . <strong>The</strong> 20th degree in the<br />
Ancient Scotch rite. <strong>The</strong> presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer is styled Venerable<br />
Grand Master, and . represents Cyrus Artaxerxes . He is seated<br />
in the east on a throne elevated upon nine steps, and is assisted<br />
by two Wardens in the west . <strong>The</strong> decorations <strong>of</strong> the lodge are<br />
blue and yellow . <strong>The</strong> lecture <strong>of</strong> the degree contains some interest .<br />
ing instructions respecting the first and second temple .
GRA-GRO 187<br />
Among the traditions preserved by the possessors <strong>of</strong> this degree,<br />
is one which states that after the third temple was destroyed by<br />
Titus, the son <strong>of</strong> Vespasian, the Christian Freemasons who were<br />
then in the Holy Land, being filled with sorrow, departed from<br />
home with the determination <strong>of</strong> building a fourth,* and that, dividing<br />
themselves into several bodies, they dispersed over the<br />
various parts <strong>of</strong> Europe . <strong>The</strong> greater number went to Scotland,<br />
and repaired to the town <strong>of</strong> Kilwinning, where they established a<br />
lodge and built an abbey, and where the records <strong>of</strong> the order<br />
were deposited .<br />
GR,AaND OFFERINGS . See Ground Floor <strong>of</strong> the Lodge .<br />
GRAND PONTIFF . Grand Pontife ou Sublime Ecossais .<br />
<strong>The</strong> 19th degree <strong>of</strong> the Ancient Scotch rite . <strong>The</strong> degree is occupied<br />
in an examination <strong>of</strong> the Apocalyptic mysteries <strong>of</strong> the New<br />
Jerusalem . Its <strong>of</strong>ficers are a Thrice Puissant and one Warden .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Thrice Puissant is seated in the east on a throne canopied<br />
with blue, and wears a white satin robe . <strong>The</strong> Warden is in the<br />
west, and holds a staff <strong>of</strong> gold . <strong>The</strong> members are clothed in<br />
white, with blue fillets embroidered with twelve stars <strong>of</strong> gold, and<br />
are called True and Faithful Brothers . <strong>The</strong> decorations <strong>of</strong> the<br />
lodge are blue sprinkled with gold stars<br />
GREEN. <strong>The</strong> emblematic color <strong>of</strong> a Knight <strong>of</strong> the Red Cross,<br />
and <strong>of</strong> a Perfect Master .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Red Cross Knight is reminded by this color that Truth is<br />
a divine attribute, and that like the green Bay tree it will flourish<br />
in perpetual verdure .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Perfect Master is admonished by it, that being dead in sin,<br />
he must hope to revive in virtue .<br />
GROUND FLOOD. OF THE LODGE. Mount Moriah, un<br />
which the Temple <strong>of</strong> Solomon was built, is symbolically called<br />
* This was to be a spiritual one .
188 GUA-GUT<br />
the ground floor <strong>of</strong> the lodge, and hence it is said that "the lodge<br />
rests on holy ground ." This ground floor <strong>of</strong> the lodge is remarkable<br />
for three great events recorded in Scripture, and which are<br />
called "the three grand <strong>of</strong>ferings <strong>of</strong> masonry ." It was here that<br />
Abraham prepared, as a token <strong>of</strong> his faith, to <strong>of</strong>fer up his beloved<br />
son Isaac-this was the first grand <strong>of</strong>fering ; it was here that<br />
David, when his people were afflicted with a pestilence, built an<br />
altar, and <strong>of</strong>fered thereon peace <strong>of</strong>ferings and burnt <strong>of</strong>ferings to<br />
appease the wrath <strong>of</strong> God-this was the second grand <strong>of</strong>fering ;<br />
and lastly, it was here, that when the Temple was completed,<br />
King Solomon dedicated that magnificent structure to the service<br />
<strong>of</strong> Jehovah, with the <strong>of</strong>fering <strong>of</strong> pious prayers and many costly<br />
presents-and this was the third grand <strong>of</strong>fering .<br />
This sacred spot was once the threshing floor <strong>of</strong> Ornan the<br />
Jebusite, and from him David purchased it for fifty shekels <strong>of</strong><br />
silver.* <strong>The</strong> Cabbalists delight to invest it with still more solemn<br />
associations, and declare that it was the spot on which Adam was<br />
born and Abel slain . To the Mason it is sufficiently endeared by<br />
the collection that it was here that after a long night <strong>of</strong> darkness,<br />
language was restored and masonry found .<br />
GUAGE . See Twentyfour inch Gauge .<br />
GUARDS OF THE CONCLAVE . See Knights <strong>of</strong> the Christian<br />
Mark .<br />
GUTTURAL . Belonging to the throat ; from the Latin guttur,<br />
the throat . <strong>The</strong> throat is that avenue <strong>of</strong> the body which is most<br />
employed in the sins <strong>of</strong> intemperance, and hence it suggests to<br />
the Mason certain symbolic instructions in relation to the virtue<br />
<strong>of</strong> temperance .<br />
• 1 Chronicles zai. 25 .
HAG-HAI 189<br />
H .<br />
HAGGAI . Haggai was the first <strong>of</strong> the three prophets who<br />
flourished after the captivity . He was most probably born at<br />
Babylon, whence he accompanied Zerubbabel to Jerusalem to<br />
rebuild the second temple . In the Royal Arch he is represented<br />
by the Scribe, because he expounded the law to Zerubbabel and<br />
Joshua, which was the proper duty <strong>of</strong> a Scribe . (See -Scribe .) He<br />
reproved the people for their neglect in rebuilding the temple,<br />
and incited them to the work, by the promise <strong>of</strong> God's assistance .<br />
His intimate connection with the King and High Priest, and<br />
the masonic authority for placing him in the council with Zerubbabel<br />
and Johsua, are confirmed by the first verse <strong>of</strong> the Book <strong>of</strong><br />
Haggai : " In the second year <strong>of</strong> Darius the king, in the sixth<br />
month, in the first day <strong>of</strong> the month, came the word <strong>of</strong> the Lord<br />
by Ruggai the Prophet unto Zerubbabel, the son <strong>of</strong> Shealtiel,<br />
governor <strong>of</strong> Judah, and to Johsua the son <strong>of</strong> Josedech the High<br />
Priest, saying," etc .<br />
HAH . <strong>The</strong> Hebrew definite article, 'I, signifying "the ."<br />
HAIL, OR HALE . This word is used among Masons with<br />
two very different significations . 1. When addressed as an inquiry<br />
to a visiting brother, it has the same import as that in which<br />
it is used under like circumstances by mariners . Thus : "Whence<br />
do you hail?" that is, " <strong>of</strong> what lodge are you a member?" Used<br />
in this sense, it comes from the Saxon term <strong>of</strong> salutation " HAL,"<br />
and should . be spelt "hail." 2 . Its second use is confined to<br />
what Masons understand by the " tie," and in this sense it signifies<br />
to conceal, being derived from the Saxon word " HELAN,"*<br />
to hide . By the rules <strong>of</strong> etymology, it should be spelt " hale ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> preservation <strong>of</strong> this Saxon word in the masonic dialect, while<br />
e~ E, in Anglo-Saxon, is to be pronounced as a in the word fate.
190 HA~N--HAR<br />
it has ceased to exist in the vernacular, is a striking pro<strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong> the<br />
antiquity <strong>of</strong> the order and its ceremonies, in England .*<br />
HAND . See Right Hand .<br />
HARMONY. Harmony is the chief support <strong>of</strong> every well<br />
regulated institution . Without it, the most extensive empires<br />
must decay ; with it, the weakest nations may become powerful .<br />
<strong>The</strong> ancient philosophers and poets believed, that the prototype<br />
<strong>of</strong> harmony was to be found in the sublime music <strong>of</strong> the spheres,<br />
and that man, copying nature, has attempted to introduce this<br />
divine melody into human life .t And thus it proves its celestial<br />
origin, by the heavenly influence it exerts on earth . Sallust represents<br />
the good king Micipsa as saying, that "by concord small<br />
things increase ; by discord the greatest fall gradually into ruin ." I<br />
Let every Mason, anxious for the prosperity <strong>of</strong> his order, feel the<br />
truth <strong>of</strong> the maxim, and remember that for harmony should<br />
his lodge be opened-in harmony should it work-and with harmony<br />
be closed .<br />
HARODIM . A Hebrew word, signifying princes or rulers .<br />
In 1 Kings v. 16, it is said that Solomon had 3300 chief <strong>of</strong>ficers<br />
who ruled over the people, and in 2 Chronicles ii . 18, we read<br />
as follows : " and he set three score and ten thousand <strong>of</strong> them to<br />
be bearers <strong>of</strong> burdens, and four score thousand to be hewers in<br />
the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to<br />
set the people at work ." <strong>The</strong> difference between the 3600 overseers<br />
mentioned in this place, and the- 3300 recorded in the book<br />
<strong>of</strong> Kings, arises from the fact that in the former place 300 chief<br />
*" In the western parts <strong>of</strong> England," says Lord King, "at this very day to<br />
hele over any thing signifies amorg the common people to cover it ; and he that<br />
eovereth an house with title or slate is called a helliar."-Critical Hist. <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Apostle's Creed, p. 173 .<br />
t See Cicero, Somnium Scipionis .<br />
t Concordia parvae res cri,aunt, discordia maxume dilabuntur. BelL<br />
Jugurth. 118 .
HAR-HEA 101<br />
overseers are included that are not allud*. I to iu the latter . <strong>The</strong>se<br />
1.300 overseers were the Harodim, or Provosts, or Princes .*<br />
HARODIII, GRAND CHAPTER OF . An institution<br />
opened in London, in 1787, whose nature is thus defined by<br />
Preston, who is said to have been its founder : "<strong>The</strong> mysteries<br />
<strong>of</strong> this order are peculiar to the institution itself, while the lectures<br />
<strong>of</strong> the chapter include every branch <strong>of</strong> the masonic system, and<br />
represent the art <strong>of</strong> masonry in a finished and complete form ." t<br />
In other words, it was a school <strong>of</strong> instruction organized upon a<br />
peculiar plan . Different classes were established, and particular<br />
lectures restricted to each class . <strong>The</strong> lectures were divided into<br />
sections, and the sections into clauses . <strong>The</strong> presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer was<br />
called the Chief Harod . He annually distributed the various<br />
sections to skilful members, who were called Sectionists, and these<br />
divided the different clauses among others who were denominated<br />
Clauseholders . When a member became possessed <strong>of</strong> all the<br />
sections, he was denominated a Lecturer . <strong>The</strong> whole system was<br />
admirably adapted to the purposes <strong>of</strong> masonic instruction . This<br />
body, I believe, (though I cannot speak with certainty,) no longer<br />
exists . Dr. Oliver, however, writes <strong>of</strong> it in 1846 as if it were<br />
still in operation .<br />
HEAL . A Mason who has received the degrees in a clan .<br />
destine lodge, or in an irregular manner, is not permitted to enjoy<br />
the privileges <strong>of</strong> masonry, until he has passed through the ceremonies<br />
in a legally constituted lodge, or if it be the higher degrees,<br />
in a chapter or encampment. After passing through this process,<br />
for which the expense is generally reduced, the brother is said to<br />
he healed .<br />
*<strong>The</strong>se passages are thus ably explained by Brother Bleinschmidt in his<br />
" Constitutionensbuch der Freimaurer ." v . 1, p . 17 . Frankfort, 1784.<br />
t Must . <strong>of</strong> Mason-v, p. 254 .
102 HEA--HER<br />
HEARING . One <strong>of</strong> the five human senses, and highly important<br />
to Masons as one, ;f the modes through which the universal<br />
language <strong>of</strong> masonry may be communicated . But the conten_<br />
plation <strong>of</strong> this subiect also conveys to us two invaluable lessons<br />
First, that we should always listen with humility to the lessons <strong>of</strong><br />
instruction that come from the lips <strong>of</strong> those wiser than ourselves ;<br />
and secondly, that our ears should ever, be open to the calls for<br />
assistance, which the worthy and destitute may make upon our<br />
charity.<br />
HEREDOM, RITE OF . See Perfection, rite <strong>of</strong>.<br />
HERMAPHRODITE . Strictly, this word should have no<br />
place in a <strong>Masonic</strong> <strong>Lexicon</strong> ; but as I have heard many unskilful<br />
brethren make use <strong>of</strong> it, and refer to it, with much gravity in<br />
certain parts <strong>of</strong> the ceremony <strong>of</strong> initiation, I will avail myself <strong>of</strong><br />
this opportunity, to announce a fact to them, which has long since<br />
been received as indisputable, by the whole medical world . <strong>The</strong><br />
hermaphrodite is a monster, the belief in which has long been<br />
exploded ; no such being ever existed, and every instance <strong>of</strong> the<br />
pretended conformation <strong>of</strong> both sexes in one animal, has upon<br />
inspection proved to be nothing more than a variety in the structure<br />
<strong>of</strong> the female organs .<br />
HERMETIC RITE . This is the name <strong>of</strong> a spurious system<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, established by one Pernetti, in 1770, at Avignon<br />
in France . Its object was to teach symbolically the pretended<br />
arts <strong>of</strong> the alchemists, the transmutation <strong>of</strong> metals, and the composition<br />
<strong>of</strong> the universal panacea, and <strong>of</strong> the elixir <strong>of</strong> life . It is<br />
now extinct, or exists only in its modification, the "Philosophic<br />
Scoth rite," (which see .)<br />
HERODEM, ROYAL ORDER OF . This is an order which<br />
is said to have been founded in the year 1314, by King Robert<br />
Bruce . It is almost confined t : Scotland, out <strong>of</strong> which country
HER 193<br />
it is hardly known . <strong>The</strong> best account <strong>of</strong> it that I can find, is the<br />
following, given by Dr . Oliver in his " Historical Landmark,"<br />
vol . ii. p . 12 .<br />
" Its history, in brief, relates to the dissolution <strong>of</strong> the Order<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Temple. Some <strong>of</strong> these persecuted individuals took refuge<br />
in Scotland, and placed themselves under the protection <strong>of</strong> Robert<br />
Bruce, and assisted him at the battle <strong>of</strong> Bannockburn, which was<br />
fought on St . John's day, 1314. After this battle, the Royal<br />
Order was founded ; and, from the fact <strong>of</strong> the Templars having<br />
contributed to the victory, and the subsequent grants to their<br />
order by King Robert, for which they were formally excommunicated<br />
by the Church, it has by some persons been identified<br />
with that ancient military order . But there are sound reasons<br />
for believing that the two systems were unconnected with each<br />
other .<br />
"<strong>The</strong> Royal Order <strong>of</strong> H . R. D. M .* had formerly its chief seat<br />
at Kilwinning, and there is reason to think that it and St . John's<br />
masonry were then governed by the same Grand Lodge . But<br />
during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, masonry was at<br />
a very low ebb in Scotland, and it was with the greatest difficulty<br />
that St. John's masonry was preserved . <strong>The</strong> Grand Chapter <strong>of</strong><br />
H. R . D . M. resumed its functions about the middle <strong>of</strong> the last<br />
century at Edinburg ; and, in order to preserve a marked distinction<br />
between the Royal Order and Craft Masonry, which had<br />
formed a Grand Lodge there in 1736, the former confined itself<br />
solely to the two degrees <strong>of</strong> H . R. D. M . and R . S . Y. C . S .t<br />
" <strong>The</strong> first <strong>of</strong> these degrees may not have been originally masonic<br />
. It appears rather to have been connected with the ceremonies<br />
<strong>of</strong> the early Christians . <strong>The</strong> second degree, which was<br />
termed the Grade de la Tour, is honorary ; the tradition being<br />
that it was an order <strong>of</strong> knighthood, conferred on the field <strong>of</strong> Bann<br />
-ckburn, and subsequently in Grand Lodge, opened in the Abbey<br />
* That is, Herodem.<br />
t That is, Herodem and Rosy Cross<br />
17
134 HER<br />
<strong>of</strong> Kilwinning . It is purely Scotch, and given to Scotch Masons<br />
only ; or to these who become sp by affiliation, on being registered<br />
in the books <strong>of</strong> the Grand Chapter . But no one is regarded as a<br />
lawful Brother <strong>of</strong> H . R . D. M. or Knight <strong>of</strong> R . S . Y.C . S ., until<br />
he be acknowledged by the Grand Chapter <strong>of</strong> Scotland ."<br />
In a note to his assertion that the Degree <strong>of</strong> H . R . D . M. "was<br />
connected with the ceremonies <strong>of</strong> the early Christians," Dr . Oliver<br />
says that " these ceremonies are believed to have been introduced by<br />
the Culdees, in the second or third centuries <strong>of</strong> the Christian era ."<br />
Some light may be thrown upon this supposition, by the following<br />
extract from a MS . in my possession relating to this degree .<br />
" Q. In what place was this order first established ?<br />
"A . First at I-colmb-kill, or I-columb-kill, and afterwards at<br />
Kilwinning, where the Kings <strong>of</strong> Scotland presided in person as<br />
Grand Master."<br />
I-colm-kill, it will be recollected, was one <strong>of</strong> the principal seats<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Culdees .<br />
HERODEN . " Heroden," says a MS . <strong>of</strong> the ancient Scotch<br />
rite in my possession, " is a mountain situated in the N. W . <strong>of</strong><br />
Scotland, where the first or metropolitan lodge <strong>of</strong> Europe was held .<br />
Hence the term Sovereign Prince <strong>of</strong> Rose Croix de Heroden ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> French Masons spell it "Heredom," which, I imagine, is<br />
simply a Gallic mode <strong>of</strong> expressing the Scottish title Herode,i .*<br />
I refer for further explanation to the preceding article .<br />
• Since the 2d edition <strong>of</strong> this work was issued, Ragon has published a new<br />
and elaborate treatise entitled "Orthodoxie Maconnique," in which he asserts<br />
that the word "Iieredom," was invented between 1740 and 1745, by the adherents<br />
<strong>of</strong> Charle3 Stuart the Pretender at the Court <strong>of</strong> St . Germain, the residence, during<br />
that period, <strong>of</strong> that unfortunate prince, and that it is only a corruption <strong>of</strong> the<br />
medieval Latin word, "hoeredum," signifying "an heritage, "and alluded to the<br />
castle <strong>of</strong> St. Germain. But as Ragon's favorite notion is that the Scotch rite,<br />
for which he has but little friendship, was instituted for the purpose <strong>of</strong> aiding<br />
the Stuarts in a restoration b • the throne <strong>of</strong> their ancestors, his theories and derivations<br />
must be taken with aome grains <strong>of</strong> allowance . <strong>The</strong> suggestion is, how .<br />
ever, an ingenious one.
HER--1IIG 195<br />
HEROINE OF J +'RICHO . A side degree, instituted in<br />
this country, and, like the French masonry <strong>of</strong> adoption, common<br />
to both men and women . None but Royal Arch Masons, their<br />
wives and widows, are qualified to receive it . It is by no means<br />
extensively known, though there are some females in the Northern<br />
and Western States upon whom it has been conferred .<br />
HESED . A Hebrew word,'7pr7, pronounced hes-ed, signify .<br />
i ng "mercy .<br />
HIGH PLACES . <strong>The</strong> Hebrews, as well as other ancient<br />
nations, were accustomed to worship on the tops <strong>of</strong> -' the highest<br />
hills," and sacrifices <strong>of</strong>fered from these elevated positions were<br />
superstitiously supposed to be most acceptable to the Deity . So<br />
tenacious were the Jews <strong>of</strong> the observance <strong>of</strong> this custom, that<br />
even after the completion <strong>of</strong> the temple, they continued, notwithstanding<br />
the prohibition in Deuteronomy, to erect chapels on the<br />
mountains around Jerusalem, and to <strong>of</strong>fer sacrifices in them .<br />
Even Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice, and the reason assigned<br />
is, because " it was the great high place."*<br />
" <strong>The</strong> highest hills and the lowest valley :," says Hutchinson,<br />
" were from the earliest times esteemed sacred, and it was supposed<br />
that the spirit <strong>of</strong> God was peculiarly' diffusive in those<br />
places ." Bryant says that high places were always dedicated to<br />
Sun worship, which was the spurious <strong>Freemasonry</strong> .<br />
Oliver t mentions a tradition among the Masons <strong>of</strong> Scotland,<br />
that the brethren <strong>of</strong> the ancient lodges <strong>of</strong> Kilwinning, Stirling,<br />
Aberdeen, &c ., used formerly to assemble in the monasteries in<br />
foul weather ; but in fair weather, especially on the day <strong>of</strong> St .<br />
John the Evangelist, they met on the tops <strong>of</strong> the neighbouring<br />
hills .<br />
HIGH PRIEST. <strong>The</strong> presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer <strong>of</strong> a Chapter <strong>of</strong> Royal<br />
1 1 Kings iii 4 . t Landmarks I, 352 .
196 HIG<br />
Arch Masons He is the representative <strong>of</strong> Joshua, the High<br />
Priest, who, with Zerubbabel, Prince <strong>of</strong> Judah, and Haggai the<br />
the Scribe, laid the foundations <strong>of</strong> the second temple, and resumed<br />
the worship <strong>of</strong> the Lord .<br />
HIGH PRIEST OF THE JEWS . <strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong> High<br />
Priest among the Jews, was, on its first institution, confined to<br />
the house <strong>of</strong> Aaron in the line <strong>of</strong> his eldest son, though it was<br />
afterwards transferred to the family <strong>of</strong> Judas Maccabeus . <strong>The</strong><br />
High Priest was at the head <strong>of</strong> religious affairs, and was the ordinary<br />
judge, not only <strong>of</strong> ecclesiastical matters, but even <strong>of</strong> the<br />
general justice <strong>of</strong> the Jewish nation . He was consecrated to his<br />
sacred <strong>of</strong>fice with the most imposing ceremonies, such as investiture,<br />
anointing, and sacrifices . <strong>The</strong> first <strong>of</strong> these, as it is imitated<br />
in the vestments <strong>of</strong> the High Priest <strong>of</strong> a Royal Arch Chapter,<br />
requires some notice here .<br />
<strong>The</strong> garments worn by the High Priest were as follows : he<br />
was first clothed in a pair <strong>of</strong> linen drawers . Over this was a coat<br />
or shirt <strong>of</strong> fine linen reaching to his feet, and with sleeves extending<br />
to his wrists . Over this again was a robe <strong>of</strong> blue, called the<br />
coat <strong>of</strong> ephod . It was without sleeves, but consisted <strong>of</strong> two pieces,<br />
one before and another behind, having a large opening in the top<br />
for the passage <strong>of</strong> the head, and another on each side to admit<br />
the arms . It extended only to the middle <strong>of</strong> the legs, and its<br />
skirt was adorned with little golden bells and pomegranates . Above<br />
all these vestments was placed the ephod, which has already been<br />
described as a short garment coming down only to the breast before,<br />
but somewhat longer behind, without sleeves, and artificially<br />
wrought with gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, in embroidery<br />
<strong>of</strong> various figures . It was looped on the shoulders with<br />
two onyx stones, on each <strong>of</strong> which was inscribed the names <strong>of</strong> six<br />
<strong>of</strong> the tribes . On the front <strong>of</strong> the ephod he wore the breast<br />
plate, which has already been described .* <strong>The</strong> High Priest also<br />
* See article Breast Plate.
HIG 197<br />
wore, at his solemn ministration, a mitre <strong>of</strong> fine linen <strong>of</strong> a blue<br />
colour . This was wrapt in several folds, and worn about his head<br />
in the manner <strong>of</strong> a Turkish turban, except that it was without a<br />
crown, being open on top, and sitting on his head like a garland .<br />
In front <strong>of</strong> it there hung down upon his forehead a square plate<br />
<strong>of</strong> gold, called the plate <strong>of</strong> the golden crown, upon which were<br />
inscribed the words HOLINESS TO THE LORD .*<br />
<strong>The</strong>se vestments, as we have before observed, are worn by the<br />
High Priest <strong>of</strong> a Chapter <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch Masons, and each <strong>of</strong><br />
them conveys to the possessor a portion <strong>of</strong> symbolical instruction .<br />
<strong>The</strong> various colours <strong>of</strong> the robes are emblematic <strong>of</strong> the graces and<br />
virtues which should adorn the human mind ; the white, <strong>of</strong> innocence<br />
and purity ; the scarlet, <strong>of</strong> fervency and zeal ; the purple,<br />
<strong>of</strong> union ; and the blue, <strong>of</strong> friendship . <strong>The</strong> mitre is to remind<br />
him <strong>of</strong> the dignity <strong>of</strong> his <strong>of</strong>fice, and the inscription on its plate to<br />
admonish him <strong>of</strong> his dependence on God . Lastly, the breast plate,<br />
upon which is engraved the names <strong>of</strong> the twelve tribes, is to teach<br />
him that he is always to bear in mind his responsibility to the<br />
laws and ordinances <strong>of</strong> the institution, and that the honour and<br />
interests <strong>of</strong> the chapter and its members should always be near<br />
his heart .t<br />
HIGH PRIESTHOOD, ORDER OF . This is an honorary<br />
degree, conferred only on the High Priest <strong>of</strong> a Royal Arch<br />
* See Home's Scripture History <strong>of</strong> the Jews . B . 1 . Ch . 3 . Sect. 4 .<br />
t According to Josephus, the ancient Jews gave a different symbolic interoL<br />
.itation to these vestments . <strong>The</strong> breast plate in the middle <strong>of</strong> the ephod was<br />
emblematic <strong>of</strong> the earth placed in the centre, while the surrounding ocean was<br />
represented by the zone or girdle <strong>of</strong> the High Priest . <strong>The</strong> two onyx stones<br />
were symbols <strong>of</strong> the sun and moon, and the twelve stones in the breast plate<br />
<strong>of</strong> the twelve zodiacal signs . <strong>The</strong> blue mitre with its sacred inscription was em.<br />
blematic <strong>of</strong> heaven and the Deity who resided there .--Antiq . Judaic. lib . iii. c. 7 .<br />
"Ye may observe further <strong>of</strong> the mitre, that in the form <strong>of</strong> the Persian tiara or<br />
Phrygian bonnet, it was worn by the priests <strong>of</strong> Egypt, from whom the Jews,<br />
doubtless, borrowed it, and by those <strong>of</strong> the god Mithras . Its pyramidal shape<br />
made it symbolical <strong>of</strong> the beams <strong>of</strong> the sun . Maurice, in his a Indian Anti<br />
iLuities," suggests that the word mitre may be derived from Dfithra.<br />
17•
198 IHR<br />
Chapter. It may be conferred by three High Priests, but when<br />
the ceremonies are performed in ample form, the presence <strong>of</strong> at<br />
least nine High Priests is required . This degree is to the <strong>of</strong>fice<br />
<strong>of</strong> High Priest what that <strong>of</strong> Past Master is to the <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong> Worshipful<br />
Master <strong>of</strong> a symbolic lodge . In it is commemorated an<br />
ancient circumstance which occurred to a priest <strong>of</strong> God . <strong>The</strong><br />
ceremonies, when duly performed, are exceedingly impressive .<br />
HIRAM . A name given to the gavel <strong>of</strong> the Worshipful<br />
Master, because, as Solomon controlled and directed the workmen<br />
in the temple by the assistance <strong>of</strong> Hiram the Builder, so does the<br />
Master preserve order in the lodge by the aid <strong>of</strong> the gavel .<br />
HIRAM, KING OF TYRE . He was the contemporary <strong>of</strong><br />
Solomon, and assisted him in the construction <strong>of</strong> the Temple<br />
furnishing him with timber, stone, and artificers, and loaning him<br />
one hundred and twenty talents <strong>of</strong> gold, equal in Federal currency,<br />
to about two and a half millions <strong>of</strong> dollars . Upon Solomon's accession<br />
to the throne <strong>of</strong> Israel, Hiraur sent ambassadors to congratulate<br />
him on this event. Solomon, in reply, made known to<br />
Hiram his intention <strong>of</strong> carrying into effect the long contemplated<br />
object <strong>of</strong> his father David, by the erection <strong>of</strong> a Temple to Jehovah,<br />
and he requested the assistance <strong>of</strong> the King <strong>of</strong> Tyre . Hiram, in<br />
his answer, expressed his willingness to grant the required assistance,<br />
and said, "I will do all thy desire concerning timber <strong>of</strong><br />
cedar, and timber <strong>of</strong> fir . My servants shall bring them down from<br />
Lebanon unto the sea ; and I will convey them by sea in floats,<br />
unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them<br />
to he discharged there, and thou shalt receive them ; and thou<br />
shalt accomplish my desire in giving food for my brotherhord ."*<br />
<strong>The</strong> timber which was cut in Lebanon, was accordingly sent in<br />
floats to Joppa, the seaport <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem, whence it was con .<br />
veyed by land to that city . Solomon, in return for this kindness .<br />
*See 1 lKings v . 8 . 9 .
HIR 199<br />
gave King Hiram yearly 1 wenty thousand measures* <strong>of</strong> wheat,<br />
and twenty thousand measures <strong>of</strong> pure oil, besides liberally supporting<br />
the artificers and laborers with whom the King <strong>of</strong> Tyre<br />
had supplied him . Solomon also presented him with twenty cities<br />
in Galilee, with which, however, he was not satisfied, and a masonic<br />
tradition informs us, that he visited the King <strong>of</strong> Israel, to<br />
expostulate with him on his injustice . Dius and ltenander, two<br />
heathen historians inform us that Hiram and Solomon corresponded<br />
frequently, and attempted to puzzle each other by sul tile<br />
questions .<br />
HIRAhM THE BUILDER . Among the workmen sent by<br />
Hiram, King <strong>of</strong> Tyre, to Solomon, was one whom he styles " a<br />
cunning man, endued with understanding," t and he is in another<br />
place described as " a widow's son <strong>of</strong> the tribe <strong>of</strong> Naphthali, and<br />
his father was a man <strong>of</strong> Tyre, a worker in brass ; and he was<br />
filled with wisdom and understanding, and cunning to work in<br />
all works in brass ."$ This is the workman to whom Solomon<br />
was indebted for the construction <strong>of</strong> all the ornaments <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Temple . Hiram calls him Huram abi, that is, "Hiram my<br />
father ; which is an evidence <strong>of</strong> his high standing at the Tyrian<br />
Court ; for the title ab, or father, was among the Hebrews <strong>of</strong>ten<br />
bestowed as a title <strong>of</strong> honour and dignity, on the chief advisers and<br />
intimate friends <strong>of</strong> the king . Thus Joseph, according to some<br />
commentators, is called, Abrech, or the " father <strong>of</strong> the king,"<br />
and this very Hiram is spoken <strong>of</strong> in Chronicles§ in the following<br />
words : gnasah Huram Ab'f l'melech Shlomo, that -is, "did<br />
Huram his father, make to King Solomon ." <strong>The</strong> name given to<br />
this architect in the lodges, is derived from this passage, Huram<br />
abif, meaning in Hebrew, Hiram his father .<br />
This Hiram, from his pr<strong>of</strong>ession as an architect, and his birth<br />
* <strong>The</strong> word which in our Bibles is translated "measure," is, in the original,<br />
corim . <strong>The</strong> cor was a measure containing ten ephahs or baths, and equal to a<br />
little more than seventy-five wine gallons .<br />
t 2 Chronicles ii . 13 . $ I Kings viii . 14. 2 Chronicles iv . 16 .
200 HIR--HON<br />
as a Tyrian, was, in all probability, acquainted with the Dionysian<br />
fraternity, which society had extended itself to Tyre, and if so,<br />
the union in his person <strong>of</strong> the Tyrian and Israelitish races, must<br />
have afforded him a favourable opportunity, as we have already<br />
suggested, <strong>of</strong> communicating the mysteries <strong>of</strong> that fraternity to<br />
the Jewish builders <strong>of</strong> the Temple .*<br />
HIRAMITES . A name bestowed upon Freemasons, to indicate<br />
their descent from Hiram, the chief builder at King Solomon's<br />
Temple . More particularly is the term used in the degree <strong>of</strong><br />
Patriarch Noachite, (the twenty-first degree <strong>of</strong> the Scotch rite,)<br />
to distinguish Master Masons from the brethren <strong>of</strong> that degree,<br />
who pr<strong>of</strong>ess to descend immediately, and without connection with<br />
Temple masonry, from the sons <strong>of</strong> Noah . Some learned writers,<br />
however, embrace all Masons under the general term <strong>of</strong><br />
Noachites .<br />
HISTORY . <strong>The</strong> history <strong>of</strong> the order, since it has assumed its<br />
present organization, will be found in the article Grand Lodges ;<br />
its antecedent history must be sought for under the head <strong>of</strong> Antiquity<br />
<strong>of</strong> Masonry .<br />
HOLINESS TO THE LORD . Kodesh ladonai. This was<br />
the inscription worn by the High Priest on his forehead, in obedience<br />
to the command <strong>of</strong> God, expressed in Exodus . " And<br />
they made the plate <strong>of</strong> the holy crown <strong>of</strong> pure gold, and wrote<br />
upon it a writing, like to the engraving <strong>of</strong> a signet, HOLINESS TO<br />
THE LORD ." xxxix. 30 .<br />
HOLY OF HOLIES . See Temple .<br />
HONOURABLE . This was the title formerly given to the<br />
degree <strong>of</strong> Fellow Craft .<br />
* <strong>The</strong>re is a masonic tradition that he married the sister <strong>of</strong> Adoniram, and<br />
that his widow survived him many years .
HON 201<br />
HONORARY DEGREE . <strong>The</strong> degrees <strong>of</strong> Past Master and<br />
High Priesthood, are styled honorary, because each is conferred<br />
as an « honorarium," or reward attendant upon certain <strong>of</strong>fices ,<br />
that <strong>of</strong> Past Master upon the elected Master <strong>of</strong> a symbolic lodge,<br />
a,nd that <strong>of</strong> the High Priesthood upon the presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer <strong>of</strong> a<br />
Chapter <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch Masons . <strong>The</strong> degree <strong>of</strong> Mark Master, it<br />
appears to me, is called an honorary degree, because it was intended<br />
originally to be conferred only on worthy Fellow Crafts .<br />
It certainly should, consistently with its own tradition, precede<br />
the degree <strong>of</strong> Master Mason . <strong>The</strong> side degrees are also sometimes<br />
called honorary degrees .<br />
HONOURS, GRAND . <strong>The</strong> Grand Honours <strong>of</strong> masonry are<br />
those peculiar acts and gestures, by which the craft have always<br />
been accustomed to express their homage, their joy, or their grief<br />
on memorable occasions . <strong>The</strong>y are <strong>of</strong> two kinds, the private and<br />
public, and each <strong>of</strong> them are used on different occasions and for<br />
different purposes .<br />
<strong>The</strong> private Grand Honours <strong>of</strong> masonry are performed in a manner<br />
known only to Master Masons, since they can only be used in<br />
a Master's lodge . <strong>The</strong>y are practised by the craft only on four<br />
occasions : when a masonic hall is to be consecrated, a new lodge<br />
to be constituted, a Master elect to be installed, or a Grand Master<br />
or his Deputy to be received on an <strong>of</strong>ficial visitation to a lodge .<br />
<strong>The</strong>y are used at all these ceremonies as tokens <strong>of</strong> congratulation<br />
and homage . And as they can only be given by Master Masons,<br />
it is evident that every consecration <strong>of</strong> a hall, or constitution <strong>of</strong><br />
a new lodge, every installation <strong>of</strong> a Worshipful Master, and every<br />
reception <strong>of</strong> a Grand Master, must be done in the third degree .<br />
It is also evident from what has been said, that the mode and<br />
manner <strong>of</strong> giving the private Grand Honours can only be personally<br />
communicated to Master Masons . <strong>The</strong>y are among the uporreta<br />
-the things forbidden to be divulged .<br />
<strong>The</strong> public Grand Honours, as their name imports, do not partake<br />
<strong>of</strong> this secret character . <strong>The</strong>y are given on all public
202 HON<br />
occasions, in the presence <strong>of</strong> the pr<strong>of</strong>ane as well as the initiated<br />
<strong>The</strong>y are used at the laying <strong>of</strong> corner-stones <strong>of</strong> public buildings,<br />
or in other services in which the ministrations <strong>of</strong> the fraternity<br />
are required, and especially in funerals . <strong>The</strong>y are given in the<br />
following manner : Both arms are crossed on the breast, the left<br />
uppermost, and the open palms <strong>of</strong> the hands sharply striking the<br />
shoulders, they are then raised above the head, the palms striking<br />
each other, and then made to fall smartly upon the thighs . This<br />
is repeated three times, and as there are three blows given each<br />
time, namely on the breast, on the palms <strong>of</strong> the hands, and on the<br />
thighs, making nine concussions in all, the Grand Honours are<br />
technically said to be given "by three times three ." On the<br />
occasion <strong>of</strong> funerals, each one <strong>of</strong> these honours is accompained by<br />
the words "the will <strong>of</strong> God is accomplished ; so mote it be,"<br />
audibly pronounced by the brethren .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se Grand Honours <strong>of</strong> masonry have undoubtedly a classical<br />
origin, and are but an imitation <strong>of</strong> the plaudits and acclamations<br />
practised by the ancient Greeks and Romans, in their theatres,<br />
their senates, and their public games . <strong>The</strong>re is abundant evidence<br />
in the writings <strong>of</strong> the ancients, that in the days <strong>of</strong> the empire,<br />
the Romans had circumscribed the mode <strong>of</strong> doing homage to their<br />
emperors and great men when they made their appearance in public,<br />
and <strong>of</strong> expressing their approbation <strong>of</strong> actors at the theatre,<br />
within as explicit rules and regulations as those that govern the<br />
system <strong>of</strong> giving the Grand Honours in <strong>Freemasonry</strong> . This was<br />
not the case in the earlier ages <strong>of</strong> Rome, for Ovid, speaking <strong>of</strong><br />
the Sabines, says that when they applauded, they did so without<br />
any rules <strong>of</strong> art<br />
"In medlo plausu, plausus tune arte earebat ."<br />
And Propertius speaks, at a later day, <strong>of</strong> the ignorance ;f the<br />
country people, who, at the theatres, destroyed - the general harmony,<br />
by their awkward attempts to join in the modulated ap .<br />
plauses <strong>of</strong> the more skilful citizens . .<br />
<strong>The</strong> ancient Romans had carried their science on this suibjuct
HON 203<br />
to such an extent, as to have divided these honours into three<br />
kinds, differing from each other in the mode in which the hands<br />
were struck against each other, and in the sound that thence re .<br />
sulted . Suetonius, in his life <strong>of</strong> Nero, (cap . xx .,) gives the names<br />
<strong>of</strong> these various kinds <strong>of</strong> applause, which he gays were called<br />
bombe, imbrices and testm ; and Seneca, in his "vaturales Quaestiones,"<br />
gives a description <strong>of</strong> the manner in which they were<br />
executed . <strong>The</strong> 11 bombi," or . hums, were produced by striking the<br />
palms <strong>of</strong> the hands together, while they were in a hollow or concave<br />
position, and doing this at frequent intervals, but with little<br />
force, so as to imitate the humming sound <strong>of</strong> a swarm <strong>of</strong> bees .<br />
<strong>The</strong> ""imbrices," or tiles, were made, by briskly striking the flattened<br />
and extended palms <strong>of</strong> the hands against each other, so as<br />
to resemble the sound <strong>of</strong> hail pattering upon the tiles <strong>of</strong> a ro<strong>of</strong> .<br />
<strong>The</strong> " testae," or earthen vases, were executed by striking the<br />
palm <strong>of</strong> the left hand, with the fingers <strong>of</strong> the right collected into<br />
one point. By this blow a sound was elicited, which imitated<br />
that given out by an earthen vase, when struck by a stick .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Romans, and other ancient nations, having invested this<br />
system <strong>of</strong> applauding with all the accuracy <strong>of</strong> a science, used it<br />
in its various forms, not only for the purpose <strong>of</strong> testifying their<br />
approbation <strong>of</strong> actors in the theatre, but also bestowed it, as a<br />
mark <strong>of</strong> respect, or a token <strong>of</strong> adulation, on their emperors, and<br />
other great men, on the occasion <strong>of</strong> their making their appearance<br />
in public. Huzzas and cheers have, in this latter case, been generally<br />
adopted by the moderns, while the manual applause is<br />
only appropriated to successful public speakers and declaimers .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Freemasons, however, have altogether preserved the ancient<br />
custom <strong>of</strong> applause, guarding and regulating its use by as strict,<br />
though different rules, as did the Romans ; and thus showing, as<br />
another evidence <strong>of</strong> the antiquity <strong>of</strong> their institution, that the<br />
it . Grand Honours" <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> are legitimately derived from<br />
the " plausus," or applaudings, practised by the ancients on pub,<br />
lie occasions .
204 HOP-HOU<br />
HOPE . <strong>The</strong> second round in the theological and masonic<br />
ladder, and appropriately placed there . For having attained the<br />
first, or faith in God, we are led by a belief in his wisdom and<br />
goodness, to the hope <strong>of</strong> immortality . This is but a reasonable<br />
expectation ; without it, virtue would lose its necessary stimulus,<br />
and vice its salutary fear ; life would be devoid <strong>of</strong> joy, and the<br />
grave but a scene <strong>of</strong> desolation .<br />
HOST, CAPTAIN OF THE . An <strong>of</strong>ficer in a Chapter <strong>of</strong><br />
Royal Arch Masons, whose duties are <strong>of</strong> a peculiar nature, resembling<br />
in some degree those <strong>of</strong> a Master <strong>of</strong> Ceremonies . <strong>The</strong><br />
person, who in Scripture is called Captain <strong>of</strong> the Host, occupied a<br />
station somewhat similar to that <strong>of</strong> a modern general, having the<br />
whole army under his command .<br />
HOUR GLASS . An emblem in the third degree, reminding<br />
us, by the quick passage <strong>of</strong> its sands, <strong>of</strong> the transitory nature <strong>of</strong><br />
human life .<br />
HOURS OF WORK . Lodge hours, or hours <strong>of</strong> work, before<br />
or after which time no business should be transacted in the lodge,<br />
are prescribed in the Book <strong>of</strong> Constitutions . <strong>The</strong>y are, from<br />
the vernal to the autumnal equinox, between the hours <strong>of</strong> seven<br />
and ten, and from the autumnal to the vernal, between six and nine.<br />
In this selection <strong>of</strong> the hours <strong>of</strong> night and darkness for initiation,<br />
the usual coincidence will be found between the ceremonie?<br />
<strong>of</strong> FreemasoLry and those <strong>of</strong> the Ancient Mysteries, showing their<br />
evident derivation from a common origin .<br />
In the " Bacchae" <strong>of</strong> Euripides, that author introduces the<br />
god Bacchus, the supposed inventor <strong>of</strong> the Dionysian Mysteries, as<br />
replying to the question <strong>of</strong> King Pentheus, in the following words<br />
~f Pentheui.-By night or day, these sacred rites perform'st tho .1 ?<br />
Bacchus.-Mostly by night, for venerable is darkness ;"*<br />
'~ IIEN. T6 Napa .kxrwp,<br />
AIO. Nixr wp ra,roAAa'ot v6rnr' L ti exoros .<br />
[Euiip . Batch. Act . ii. 1. 485 .
HOU 20 5<br />
and in all the other mysteries the same reason was assigned for<br />
nocturnal celebrations, since night and darkness have something<br />
solemn and august in them which is disposed to fill the mind with<br />
sacred awe . And hence, black, as an emblem <strong>of</strong> darkness and<br />
night, was considered as the colour appropriate to the mysteries .<br />
In the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Hindostan, the candidate for initiation,<br />
having been duly prepared by previous purifications, was led at<br />
the dead <strong>of</strong> night to the gloomy cavern, in which the mystic rites<br />
were performed .<br />
<strong>The</strong> same period <strong>of</strong> darkness was adopted for the celebration<br />
<strong>of</strong> the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Mithras, in Persia . Among the Druids <strong>of</strong><br />
Britain and Gaul, the principal annual initiation commenced at<br />
' 1 low twelve," or midnight <strong>of</strong> the eve <strong>of</strong> May-day . In short it<br />
is indisputable, that the initiations in all the ancient mysteries were<br />
nocturnal in their character .<br />
<strong>The</strong> reason given by the ancients for this selection <strong>of</strong> night as<br />
the time for initiation, is equally applicable to the system <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong> . "Darkness," says Oliver, "was an emblem <strong>of</strong><br />
death, and death was a prelude to resurrection . It will be at<br />
once seen, therefore, in what manner the doctrine <strong>of</strong> the resurrection<br />
was inculcated and exemplified in these remarkable<br />
institutions ."<br />
Death and the resurrection were the doctrines taught in the<br />
ancient mysteries ; and night and darkness were necessary to add<br />
to the sacred awe and reverence which these doctrines ought<br />
always to inspire in the rational and contemplative mind . <strong>The</strong><br />
same doctrines form the very ground-work <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, and<br />
as the Master Mason, to use the language <strong>of</strong> Hutchinson, " represents<br />
a man saved from the grave <strong>of</strong> iniquity and raised to<br />
the faith <strong>of</strong> salvation," darkness and night are the appropriate<br />
accompaniments to the solemn ceremonies which demonstrate this<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>ession .<br />
18
206 IDI-ILL<br />
I .<br />
IDIOT . Idiocy is one <strong>of</strong> the mental disqualifications for initiation<br />
. This does not, however, include a mere dullness <strong>of</strong> intellect<br />
and indocility <strong>of</strong> apprehension . <strong>The</strong>se amount only to<br />
stupidity, and "the judgment <strong>of</strong> the heavy or stupid man," as<br />
Dr. Good has correctly remarked, ' 1 is <strong>of</strong>ten as sound in itself as<br />
that <strong>of</strong> a man <strong>of</strong> more capacious comprehension ." <strong>The</strong> idiot is<br />
characterized by "a general obliteration <strong>of</strong> the mental powers and<br />
affections, a paucity or destitution <strong>of</strong> ideas, an obtuse sensibility,<br />
a vacant, countenance, an imperfect or broken articulation, with<br />
occasionally transient and unmeaning gusts <strong>of</strong> passion ."* A<br />
being thus mentally afflicted, is incompetent to perform the duties,<br />
to observe the obligations, or to appreciate the instructions <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong>, and to such a being the ancient constitutions <strong>of</strong><br />
our order have wisely forbidden access to our portals .<br />
ILLUMINATI . llluminees (Signifying in Latin enlightened .)<br />
This was a secret society instituted in Bavaria, in 1776, by Adam<br />
Weishaupt, Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> Canon Law in the University <strong>of</strong> Ingoldstat<br />
. Weishaupt was a radical in politics, and an infidel in religion<br />
; and he organized this association, not more for the purpose<br />
<strong>of</strong> aggrandizing himself, than <strong>of</strong> overturning Christianity<br />
and the institutions <strong>of</strong> society . . With the view <strong>of</strong> carrying his<br />
objects more completely into effect, he united himself with a<br />
lodge <strong>of</strong> Freemasons in Munich, and attempted to graft his system<br />
<strong>of</strong> Illuminism upon the stock <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>. Many Freemasons,<br />
misled by the construction <strong>of</strong> his first degrees, were enticed<br />
into the order, but the developments made in the higher degrees,<br />
so averse from all the virtuous and loyal principles <strong>of</strong> Masonry,<br />
soon taught them the error they bad committed, and caused them<br />
to abandon Illuminism with greater rapidity than that with which<br />
0 1 quote the specific definitie i <strong>of</strong> the enlightened writer already cited .
ILL 207<br />
they had embraced it . Among those who had abandoned the<br />
order, some went so far as to betray its secret principles . <strong>The</strong><br />
Elector <strong>of</strong> Bavaria becoming alarmed at the political tenets which<br />
were said to be taught in their assemblies, instituted a judicial<br />
examination into the merits <strong>of</strong> the charges made against them,<br />
and the consequence was, that the Illuminati were completely<br />
extinguished in his territories .* <strong>The</strong> serpent had, however, only<br />
been scotched, not killed ; and the order afterwards made rapid<br />
progress in other parts <strong>of</strong> Germany, and especially in France,<br />
where it had been introduced in 1787, two years before the execution<br />
<strong>of</strong> Louis XVI. It was an institution created at the period,<br />
when the locust plague <strong>of</strong> infidelity and atheism was blighting,<br />
with its destructive influences, the peace and order <strong>of</strong> Europe ; and<br />
with the return <strong>of</strong> sense and virtue, it ceased to exist . Illuminism<br />
belongs only to the history <strong>of</strong> the past .<br />
Illuminism was by its founder arranged systematically into<br />
classes, each <strong>of</strong> which was again subdivided into degrees, in the<br />
following manner<br />
NURSERY,<br />
MASONRY,<br />
MYSTERIES<br />
Preparation,<br />
Novice,<br />
Minerval .<br />
Illuminatus Minor .<br />
Entered Apprentice,<br />
Symbolic Fellow Craft,<br />
Master Mason .<br />
Scotch Illuminatus Major or Scotch Novice,<br />
l Illuminatus Dirigens or Scotch Knight .<br />
Presbyter,<br />
Lesser<br />
Greater<br />
Priest,<br />
Prince,<br />
Regent,<br />
Magus,<br />
Rex .<br />
* See Robison's i0 Pro<strong>of</strong>s <strong>of</strong> a Conspiracy," which, although the work <strong>of</strong> an<br />
enemy to our order, contains a very excellent exposition <strong>of</strong> the nature <strong>of</strong> this<br />
pseudo-masonic institution .
208 ILL-IMM<br />
ILLUMINATED THEOSOPHISTS . A modification <strong>of</strong> the<br />
above society, instituted at Paris by one Chastanier, who succeeded<br />
in introducing his system in London .<br />
ILLUMINATI OF AVIGNON . A species <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong><br />
instituted in 1760, by Pernetti, a Benedictine monk, and Gabrianca,<br />
a Polish nobleman, in which the reveries <strong>of</strong> Swedenborg<br />
were mingled with the principles <strong>of</strong> masonry .<br />
ILLUSTRIOUS ELECTED OF FIFTEEN. Mares Elus des<br />
guinze . <strong>The</strong> tenth degree in the ancient Scotch rite . <strong>The</strong> place<br />
<strong>of</strong> meeting is called a chapter ; the emblematic colour is black,<br />
strewed with tears ; and the principal <strong>of</strong>ficers are a Most Illustrious,<br />
a Grand Inspector and a Junior Warden . <strong>The</strong> history <strong>of</strong> this<br />
degree developes the continuation and conclusion <strong>of</strong> the punishment<br />
inflicted on three traitors, who, just before the conclusion<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Temple, had committed a crime <strong>of</strong> the most atrocious<br />
character .<br />
IMMANUEL . A Hebrew word signifying "God with us,"<br />
from 1=7, immanu " with us," and ~K, el "God ." A name<br />
applied to Christ .<br />
IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL . A belief in this doctrine<br />
is inculcated in masonry by several expressive emblems,<br />
but more especially by the second round <strong>of</strong> Jacob's ladder, and<br />
by the ;prig <strong>of</strong> acacia . Its inculcation is also the principal symbolic<br />
object <strong>of</strong> the third or Master Mason's degree .<br />
<strong>The</strong> teaching <strong>of</strong> this doctrine was one <strong>of</strong> the most important<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Ancient Mysteries . <strong>The</strong>y symbolized the resurrection and<br />
new birth <strong>of</strong> the spirit by that final part <strong>of</strong> the ceremonies <strong>of</strong><br />
-their legend which celebrated the restoration <strong>of</strong> their hero to life,<br />
as in the case <strong>of</strong> Bacchus among the Dionysians, or the finding <strong>of</strong><br />
the mutilated body, as in that <strong>of</strong> Osiris among the Egyptians .<br />
Such was the groping in darkness after truth among the disciples
IMM--IMP 209<br />
<strong>of</strong> the spurious <strong>Freemasonry</strong> ; and we now teach the same truth<br />
in the Master's degree, but aided by a better light .<br />
On this subject a learned brother* thus describes the differences<br />
between the spurious and true <strong>Freemasonry</strong><br />
~~ Whereas the heathens had taught this doctrine only by the<br />
application <strong>of</strong> a fable to their purpose ; the wisdom <strong>of</strong> the pious<br />
Grand Master <strong>of</strong> the Israelitish Masons took advantage <strong>of</strong><br />
a real circumstance which would more forcibly impress the sublime<br />
truths he intended to inculcate upon the minds <strong>of</strong> all<br />
brethren ."<br />
IMMOVABLE JEWELS . According to the old system<br />
used in England, the immovable jewels <strong>of</strong> the lodge are the<br />
Rough Ashlar, Perfect Ashlar, and Trestle Board ; but in this<br />
country, by the decision <strong>of</strong> the Baltimore <strong>Masonic</strong> Convention in<br />
1843, they are made to consist <strong>of</strong> the Square, Level, and Plumb .<br />
See Jewels <strong>of</strong> the Lodge .<br />
IMPLEMENTS . <strong>The</strong> implements made use <strong>of</strong> in operative<br />
masonry are all adopted by speculative masonry, for the purpose<br />
<strong>of</strong> symbolical instruction . Each will be discussed in its proper<br />
place, throughout this work . But I may here be permitted to<br />
recount the mode in which they are distributed among the different<br />
degrees, and the reasons for this distribution . <strong>The</strong> twentyfour<br />
inch gauge and gavel are bestowed upon the Entered Apprentice,<br />
because these are the implements used in the quarries<br />
in hewing the stones and fitting them for the builder's use, an<br />
occupation which, for its simplicity, is properly suited to the<br />
unskilled apprentice . <strong>The</strong> square, level, and plumb are employed<br />
in the still further preparation <strong>of</strong> these stones and in adjusting<br />
them to their appropriate positions . This is the labour <strong>of</strong> the<br />
craftsmen, and hence to the Fellow Craft are they presented .<br />
But the work is not completed, until the stones thus adjusted<br />
Archdeacon Dtant, quoted by Dr . Oliver, Landmarks, II. 2.<br />
1s*
210 IND<br />
have been accurately examined by the master workma1 and<br />
permanently secured in their places by cement . This is accomplished<br />
by the trowel, and hence this implement is entrusted to<br />
the Vaster Mason . Thus the tools attached to each degree ad ..<br />
monish the Mason, as an Apprentice, to prepare his mind for the<br />
reception <strong>of</strong> the great truths which are hereafter to be unfolded<br />
to him ; as a Fellow Craft to mark their importance and adapt<br />
them to their proper uses ; and as a Master to adorn their beauty<br />
by the practice <strong>of</strong> brotherly love and kindness, the cement that<br />
binds all Masons in one common fraternity .<br />
INDENTED TESSEL . <strong>The</strong> ornamented border which surrounds<br />
the Mosaic pavement . See Tessellated Border.<br />
INDUCTION. Candidates who have been initiated into a<br />
council <strong>of</strong> the "Holy and Thrice Illustrious Order <strong>of</strong> the Cross"<br />
are said to be inducted . Past Masters are said to be inducted<br />
into the Oriental Chair <strong>of</strong> King Solomon .<br />
INDIA, MYSTERIES OF . Thoagh the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Greece<br />
and Rome were modelled after those <strong>of</strong> Egypt, these last undoubtedly<br />
derived their existence from the East, where the priests<br />
first began to conceal their doctrines under the form <strong>of</strong> mysterious<br />
rites, and to reveal them only to those who underwent a process<br />
<strong>of</strong> initiation . <strong>The</strong> western philosophers derived much, if not all<br />
<strong>of</strong> their learning from the gymnosophists or sages <strong>of</strong> India, who<br />
were not more celebrated for the extent <strong>of</strong> their knowledge, than<br />
for the simplicity <strong>of</strong> their lives . <strong>The</strong>y inculcated a belief in the<br />
triad <strong>of</strong> gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, the first being the supreme,<br />
eternal, untreated god . It was from the gymnosophists<br />
that the philosophers <strong>of</strong> other nations acquired their idea <strong>of</strong> the<br />
existence <strong>of</strong> a Supreme Being, and <strong>of</strong> the immortality <strong>of</strong> the soul .<br />
<strong>The</strong> instructions <strong>of</strong> the gymnosophists were oral, and secret . <strong>The</strong>y<br />
were communicated only after a process <strong>of</strong> initiation, which i i said<br />
to have been extremely severe in its trials .
<strong>The</strong> ceremonies <strong>of</strong> initiation into the mysteries <strong>of</strong> ancient<br />
India, have been collected from various sources with great industry<br />
and research by Dr . Oliver. "<strong>The</strong>y formed," says he,<br />
4 . one <strong>of</strong> the earliest corruptions <strong>of</strong> the pure science ; which is<br />
now denominated <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, and bore a direct reference to the<br />
happiness <strong>of</strong> man in paradise, the subsequent deviations from righteousness,<br />
and the destruction accomplished by the general<br />
deluge ."* <strong>The</strong> scenes <strong>of</strong> initiation were in spacious caverns, the<br />
principal <strong>of</strong> which were Elephanta and Salsette, both situated<br />
near Bombay. <strong>The</strong> mysteries were divided into four degrees,<br />
and the candidate was permitted to perform the probation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
first at the early age <strong>of</strong> eight years . It consisted simply in the<br />
investiture with the linen garment, and Zennar or sacred cord,<br />
composed <strong>of</strong> nine threads, and suspended from the left shoulder<br />
across the breast to the right side ; <strong>of</strong> sacrifices accompanied by<br />
aqueous ablutions ; and <strong>of</strong> an explanatory lecture delivered to the<br />
juvenile aspirant by the priest . He was now delivered into the<br />
care <strong>of</strong> a Brahmin, who thenceforth became his spiritual guide,<br />
and prepared him by repeated instructions and a life <strong>of</strong> austerity<br />
for admission into the second degree . To this, if found qualified,<br />
he was admitted at the requisite age . <strong>The</strong> probationary<br />
ceremonies <strong>of</strong> this degree consisted in an incessant occupation<br />
in prayers, fastings, ablutions, and the study <strong>of</strong> astronomy .<br />
Having undergone these austerities for a sufficient period, after<br />
having been placed in the Pastos, he was led at night to the<br />
gloomy caverns <strong>of</strong> initiation, which had been duly prepared for<br />
his reception .<br />
<strong>The</strong> interior <strong>of</strong> this cavern was brilliantly illuminated, and<br />
there sat the three chief hierophants, in the east, west, and south,<br />
representing the gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, surrounded by<br />
the attendant mystagogues, dressed in appropriate vestments .<br />
After an invocation to the Sun, the aspirant was called upon to<br />
promise that he would be obedient to his superiors, keep his body<br />
* Hist. Initiat. lect . ii p. 41.
212 IND<br />
pure, and preserve inviolable secrecy on the subject <strong>of</strong> the mysteries<br />
. He was then sprinkled with water, an invocation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
deity was whispered in his ear, he was divested <strong>of</strong> his shoos, and<br />
made to circumambulate the cavern three times, in imitation <strong>of</strong><br />
the course <strong>of</strong> the Sun, whose rising was personated by the hierophant<br />
representing Brahma, stationed in the east, whose meridian<br />
height by the representative <strong>of</strong> Siva in the south, and whose<br />
setting by the representative <strong>of</strong> Vishnu in the west . Ile was then<br />
conducted through seven ranges <strong>of</strong> dark and gloomy caverns, during<br />
which period the wailings <strong>of</strong> 3Iahadeva, for the loss <strong>of</strong> Siva<br />
was represented by dismal howlings . <strong>The</strong> usual paraphernalia<br />
<strong>of</strong> flashes <strong>of</strong> light, <strong>of</strong> dismal sounds and horrid phantoms, was<br />
practised to intimidate or confuse the aspirant . After the<br />
performance <strong>of</strong> a variety <strong>of</strong> other ceremonies, many <strong>of</strong> which<br />
we can only conjecture, the candidate reached the extremity<br />
<strong>of</strong> the seven caverns ; he was now prepared for enli~ , ,&±nment<br />
by requisite instruction and the administration <strong>of</strong> a solemn oath .<br />
This part <strong>of</strong> the ceremonies being concluded, the sacred conch<br />
was blown, the folding doors were suddenly thrown open, and the<br />
aspirant was admitted into a spacious apartment filled with dazzling<br />
light, ornamented with statues and emblematical figures, richly<br />
decorated with gems, and scented with the most fragrant perfumes.<br />
This was a representation <strong>of</strong> Paradise .<br />
<strong>The</strong> candidate was now supposed to be regenerated, and he<br />
was invested by the chief Brahmin with the white robe and<br />
tiara ; a cross was marked upon his forehead, and a tau upon his<br />
breast, and "he was invested with the signs, tokens, and lectures<br />
<strong>of</strong> the order. He was presented with the sacred belt, the magical<br />
black stone, the talismanic jewel to be worn upon his breast, and<br />
the serpent stone, which, as its name imported, was an antidote<br />
against the bite <strong>of</strong> serpents . And lastly, he was entrusted with<br />
the sacred name, known only to the initiated . This ineffable name<br />
was AUDI, which, in its trilitera_ form, was significant <strong>of</strong> the<br />
creative, preservative, and destroying power, that is, <strong>of</strong> Brahma,<br />
Vishnu, and Siva . It could not be pronounced, but was to be the
INE-INF 213<br />
subject <strong>of</strong> incessant silent contemplation . <strong>The</strong> emblen .s around<br />
and the aporreta or secret things <strong>of</strong> tho mysteries were now explained<br />
.<br />
Here ended the second degree . <strong>The</strong> third took place when<br />
the candidate had grown old and his children had all been provided<br />
for . This consisted in a total exclusion in the forest, where<br />
as an anchorite he . occupied himself in ablutions, prayers, and<br />
sacrifices .<br />
In the fourth degree, he underwent still greater austerities,<br />
the object <strong>of</strong> which was to impart to the happy sage who observed<br />
them, a portion <strong>of</strong> the divine nature, and to secure him a<br />
residence among the immortal gods .<br />
<strong>The</strong> object <strong>of</strong> the Indian mysteries appears to have been to<br />
teach the unity <strong>of</strong> God, and the necessity <strong>of</strong> virtue . <strong>The</strong> happiness<br />
<strong>of</strong> our first parents, the subsequent depravity <strong>of</strong> the human<br />
race . and the universal deluge were described in a manner which<br />
shusve i that their knowled_re must have been derived from an<br />
authentic source .<br />
INEFFABLE . From the Latin word 11 ineffabilis," not to<br />
be spoken or expressed . <strong>The</strong> degrees above the Master Mason<br />
in the French and Scotch rites, are thus called, in allusion<br />
to the sanctity and sublimity <strong>of</strong> the secrets they contain . But<br />
in this sense <strong>of</strong> the word, all masonry is equally ineffable,<br />
though the term is technically confined to these higher degrees .<br />
INFORMATION, LAWFUL . One <strong>of</strong> the modes <strong>of</strong> recog.<br />
nising a stranger as a true brother, is from the " lawful infor.<br />
mation" <strong>of</strong> a third party . No Mason can lawfully give infor .<br />
mation <strong>of</strong> another's qualifications unless he has actually tested<br />
him by the strictest trial and examination, or knows that it has been<br />
done by another . But it is not every Mason who is competent<br />
to give « lawful information ." Ignorant and unskilful brethren<br />
'minot do so, because they are incapable <strong>of</strong> discovering truth or<br />
<strong>of</strong> detecting error . A "rusty Mason" should never attempt to
214 INi -INN<br />
examine a stranger, and certainly if he does his opinion as to the<br />
result is worth nothing . If ' the information given is on the<br />
ground that the party who is vouched for, has been seen sitting<br />
in a lodge, care must be taken to inquire if it was a "just and<br />
legally constituted lodge <strong>of</strong> Master Masons ." A person may<br />
forget from the lapse <strong>of</strong> time, and vouch for a stranger as a Master<br />
Mason, when the lodge in which he saw him was only opened<br />
in the first or second degree . Information given by letter, or<br />
through a third party, is irregular . <strong>The</strong> person giving the information,<br />
the one receiving it, and the one <strong>of</strong> whom it is given,<br />
should all be present at the same time, for otherwise there would<br />
be no certainty <strong>of</strong> identity . <strong>The</strong> information must be positive,<br />
not founded on belief or opinion, but derived from a legitimate<br />
source. 'And, lastly, it must not have been received casually, but<br />
for the every purpose <strong>of</strong> being used for masonic purposes . For<br />
one to say to another, in the course <strong>of</strong> a desultory conversation,<br />
" A. B . is a Mason," is not sufficient . He may not be speaking<br />
with due caution, under the expectation that his words will be considered<br />
<strong>of</strong> weight . He must say something to this effect, " I<br />
know this man to be a Master Mason, for such or such reasons,<br />
and you may safely recognise him as such ." This alone will<br />
ensure the necessary care and proper observance <strong>of</strong> prudence .<br />
INITIATION . <strong>The</strong> reception into the first degree <strong>of</strong> ma .<br />
sonry is thus called . It is derived from the Latin word initia,<br />
which signifies the first principles <strong>of</strong> a science . <strong>The</strong> same<br />
term was used by the ancients to designate admission into the<br />
mysteries <strong>of</strong> their Pagan rites . Thus Justin, speaking <strong>of</strong><br />
Mida, King <strong>of</strong> Phrygia, says he was initiated into the mysteries<br />
by Orpheus . "Ab Orpheo sacrorum solennibus initiatus ."<br />
Lib . xi . c . 7 .<br />
INNOVATIONS . Nothing is more <strong>of</strong>fensive to the true Mason<br />
than any innovations on the ancient usages and customs <strong>of</strong><br />
th ; order. It is in consequence <strong>of</strong> this conservative principle
INN 215<br />
that masonry, notwithstanding many attempts have been made tc<br />
alter, or as it was supposed, to amend it, still remains unchanged<br />
-now, as it has always been .<br />
<strong>The</strong> middle <strong>of</strong> the eighteenth century was the most prominent<br />
era <strong>of</strong> those attempted innovations .<br />
After the downfall <strong>of</strong> the house <strong>of</strong> Stuart, and the defeat <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Pretender's hopes in 1715, his adherents vainly endeavoured to<br />
enlist <strong>Freemasonry</strong> as a powerful adjunct to his cause . For this<br />
purpose it was declared by those who had enlisted in this design,<br />
that the great legend <strong>of</strong> masonry alluded to the violent death <strong>of</strong><br />
Charles I., and Cromwell and his companions in rebellion were<br />
execrated as the arch traitors whom the lodges were to condemn .<br />
To carry out these views, new degrees were now for the first time<br />
manufactured, under the titles <strong>of</strong> Irish Master, Perfect Irish Master,<br />
Puissant Irish Master, and others <strong>of</strong> similar appellations .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Chevalier Ramsay, so well known in masonic history, soon<br />
after made his appearance in the political world, and having<br />
attached himself to the house <strong>of</strong> Stuart, he endeavoured more<br />
effectually to carry out these views by reducing the whole system<br />
to perfect order, and giving to it the appearance <strong>of</strong> plausibility .<br />
For this purpose he invented a new theory on the subject <strong>of</strong> the<br />
origin <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> .<br />
He declared that it was instituted in the Holy Land at the time<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Crusades, where the Knights Templars had associated themselves<br />
together for the purpose <strong>of</strong> rebuilding those churches and<br />
other sacred edifices which had been destroyed by the Saracens .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se latter, however, having discovered this holy design, and<br />
being determined to thwart it, had employed emissaries who, secretly<br />
mingling with the Christian workmen, materially impeded<br />
and <strong>of</strong>ten entirely paralyzed their labours . <strong>The</strong> Christians, as a<br />
security against this species <strong>of</strong> treason, then found it necessary to<br />
invent signs and other modes <strong>of</strong> recognition by which intruders<br />
might be detected .<br />
When compelled by the failure <strong>of</strong> the Crusaders to leave the<br />
Holy Land, these pious as well as warlike knights were invited
216 INP<br />
by a king <strong>of</strong> England to retire to . his dominions, where they devoted<br />
themselves to the cultivation <strong>of</strong> architecture and the fine arts .<br />
Ramsay pretended that the degrees originally established by<br />
the Templars were those <strong>of</strong> Scotch Master, Novice, and Knight<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Temple, and he even had the audacity to propose, in<br />
1728, to the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England to substitute them for<br />
the three primitive degrees <strong>of</strong> symbolical masonry, a proposition<br />
which met with no more success than it deserved .<br />
In Paris, however, he was more fortunate, for there his degrees<br />
were adopted, not, indeed, as a substitute for, but as an addition to<br />
Ancient Craft Masonry .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se degrees became popular on the Continent, and in a short<br />
time gave birth to innumerable others, which attempted to compensate<br />
for their want <strong>of</strong> consistency with the history, the traditions,<br />
and the principles <strong>of</strong> the ancient institution, by splendour<br />
<strong>of</strong> external decorations and gorgeousness <strong>of</strong> ceremonies . Happily,<br />
however, the existence <strong>of</strong> these innovations has been but ephemeral<br />
. <strong>The</strong>y are no longer worked as degrees, but remain only in<br />
the library <strong>of</strong> the masonic student as subjects <strong>of</strong> curious inquiry .<br />
<strong>The</strong> "" hautes grades" <strong>of</strong> the French, and the Philosophic degrees<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Ancient and Accepted Scotch rite, are not innovations on,<br />
but illustrations <strong>of</strong>, pure symbolic masonry, and as such will be<br />
found to be the depositories <strong>of</strong> many interesting traditions and<br />
instructive speculations, which are eminently useful in shedding<br />
light upon the character and objects <strong>of</strong> the institution .<br />
I. N. R . I. <strong>The</strong> initials <strong>of</strong> the Latin sentence which was placed<br />
upon the Cross : Jesus Nazarenus Rex Jud1orum . <strong>The</strong> Rosicrucians<br />
used them as the initials <strong>of</strong> one <strong>of</strong> their hermetic secrets<br />
Ign.e Natura Renovatur Integra-" By fire nature is perfectly<br />
renewed ."* <strong>The</strong>y also adopted them to express the names <strong>of</strong><br />
their three elementary principles, salt, sulphur, and mercury, by<br />
making them the initials <strong>of</strong> the sentence, Igne Nitrum Roris<br />
• Cours Philosophique et Interpretatif des Initiations, p . 323 .
INS-ENT 217<br />
Invenitur . Ragon finds in the equivalent Hebrew letters '1)+<br />
the initials <strong>of</strong> the Hebrew names <strong>of</strong> the ancient elements ; Iaminim,<br />
water, Nour, fire, Ruach, air, and Iebschah, earth .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se speculations may afford some interest to the Rose Croix<br />
llason and the Knight Templar .<br />
INSPECTOR . See Sovereign Grand Inspector General.<br />
INSTALLATION . <strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> a lodge, before they can<br />
proceed to discharge their functions, must be installed . <strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers<br />
<strong>of</strong> a new lodge are installed by the Grand Master, or by<br />
some Past Master deputed by him to perform the ceremony . Formerly<br />
the Master was installed by the Grand Master, the Wardens<br />
by the Grand Wardens, and the Secretary and Treasurer by the<br />
Grand Secretary and Treasurer, but now this custom is not continued<br />
. At the election <strong>of</strong> the <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> an old lodge, the Master<br />
is installed by his predecessor or some Past Master present,<br />
and the Master elect them instals his subordinate <strong>of</strong>ficers . No<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficer after his installation can resign . At his installation the<br />
Master receives the degree <strong>of</strong> Past Master . It is a law <strong>of</strong> masonry<br />
that all <strong>of</strong>ficers hold on to their respective <strong>of</strong>fices until their<br />
successors are installed .<br />
INSTRUCTION, LODGE OF . <strong>The</strong>se are assemblies <strong>of</strong><br />
brethren congregated without a warrant <strong>of</strong> constitution, under the<br />
direction <strong>of</strong> a Lecturer or skilful brother for the purpose <strong>of</strong> improvement<br />
in masonry, which is accomplished by the frequent<br />
rehearsal <strong>of</strong> the work and lectures <strong>of</strong> each degree . <strong>The</strong>se bodies<br />
should consist exclusively <strong>of</strong> Master Masons, and though they possess<br />
no masonic power, it is evident to every Mason that they are<br />
extremely useful, as schools <strong>of</strong> preparation for the duties that are<br />
afterwards to be performed in the regular lodge .<br />
INTENDANT OF THE BUILDINGS . Intendant des Batiments<br />
. This degree is sometimes called "Master in Israel ."<br />
19
218 I` T-IRI<br />
It is the eighth in the Ancient Scotch rite . Its emblematic colour<br />
is red, and its principal <strong>of</strong>ficers are a Thrice Puissant representing<br />
Solomon, a Senior Warden representing the illustrious Tito, one<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Harodim, and a Junior Warden representing Adoniram<br />
the son <strong>of</strong> Abda. In the history <strong>of</strong> the degree, we are told that<br />
it was instituted to supply a great loss well known to Master<br />
Masons<br />
INTIMATE SECRETARY . Secretaire intime . <strong>The</strong> sixth<br />
degree in the ancient Scotch rite . Its emblematic colour is black,<br />
strewed with tears, and its collar and the lining <strong>of</strong> the apron are<br />
red . Its <strong>of</strong>ficers are only three : Solomon, King <strong>of</strong> Israel ; Hiram,<br />
King <strong>of</strong> Tyre ; and a Captain <strong>of</strong> the Guards . Its history<br />
records an instance <strong>of</strong> unlawful curiosity, the punishment <strong>of</strong> which<br />
was only averted by the previous fidelity <strong>of</strong> the <strong>of</strong>fender .<br />
INVESTITURE . See Apron .<br />
IONIC ORDER . Next to the Doric the oldest order among<br />
the Greeks . It is more delicate and graceful than the Doric, and<br />
more majestic than the Corinthian . Its column is fluted with<br />
twenty-four channels, the abacus is scooped on the side, and the<br />
principal ornaments <strong>of</strong> its capital are its two spiral volutes . <strong>The</strong> architectural<br />
judgment and skill displayed in its composition as an<br />
intermediate order, between the rude massiveness <strong>of</strong> the Doric<br />
and the extraneous beauty <strong>of</strong> the Corinthian, has occasioned it to<br />
he adopted as the column <strong>of</strong> Wisdom that supports the lodge . Its<br />
appropriate situation and symbolic <strong>of</strong>ficer are in the E .- .<br />
IRISH DEGREES . <strong>The</strong> establishment <strong>of</strong> certain degrees,<br />
called by this title, such as the Irish Master, Perfect Irish Master,<br />
Puissant Irish Master, and many others <strong>of</strong> a similiar nature, was<br />
an attempt on the part <strong>of</strong> the adherents <strong>of</strong> the exiled house <strong>of</strong><br />
Stuart, to give to <strong>Freemasonry</strong> a political bias, and to enlist the
ISH-IZA 21U<br />
members <strong>of</strong> the fraternity on the side <strong>of</strong> King James, and his son<br />
the pretender .<br />
ISH CHOTZEB . <strong>The</strong> hewers who were engaged in felling<br />
timber on Mt . Lebanon for the building <strong>of</strong> Solomon's temple .<br />
<strong>The</strong>y amounted to 80,000 . See 1 Kings v. 15, and 2 . Chron .<br />
ii . 18. Webb calls them Fellow Crafts, but Webb's arrangement<br />
<strong>of</strong> the workmen at the temple is not a correct one .<br />
ISH SAB AL . <strong>The</strong> bearers <strong>of</strong> burdens at the building <strong>of</strong> the<br />
temple . <strong>The</strong>y amounted to 70,000 . See 1 Kings v. 15, and 2 .<br />
Chron . ii . 18 . <strong>The</strong>y are the Entered Apprentices <strong>of</strong> Webb, but<br />
the old writers say that they were not masons, but the descendants<br />
<strong>of</strong> the ancient Canaanites .<br />
ISH SOUDY . It is a corrupted form <strong>of</strong> the Hebrew v 1~4<br />
I11ro, ish sodi, "a man who is my confidant or familiar friend ;"<br />
and hence it is masonically interpreted to signify " a man <strong>of</strong> my<br />
choice" or "a select mason ." A similar expression is to be found<br />
in Job . xix. 19, mati sodi, that is," the men <strong>of</strong> my intimacy, "or<br />
as it has been translated in the common version " my inward<br />
friends ."<br />
IZABUD . Properly Zabud . He is mentioned in 1 Kin,"g ,<br />
iv . 5, as " the principal <strong>of</strong>ficer and the king's friend ." Kitto,<br />
speaking <strong>of</strong> the position held by Izabud or Zabud in the household<br />
<strong>of</strong> Solomon, says that the term '1 king's friend" implies the<br />
possession <strong>of</strong> the . utmost confidence <strong>of</strong>, and familiar intercourse<br />
with, the monarch, to whose person ' 1 the friend" at all times has<br />
access, and whose influence is therefore <strong>of</strong>ten greater, even in matters<br />
<strong>of</strong> state, than that <strong>of</strong> the recognised ministers <strong>of</strong> government ."*<br />
Zabud, undor the corrupted name <strong>of</strong> Izabud, is an important per .<br />
* Cyclcped . Bib . Literat. in voc. Zabud . See also Jahn, Bib . Archaaic' .<br />
238 . IV .
2 20 J AC<br />
sonage in the degree <strong>of</strong> Select Master, where his peculiar position<br />
in the household <strong>of</strong> King Solomon is correctly defined according to<br />
the definition <strong>of</strong> Kitto .<br />
JACHIN . <strong>The</strong> name <strong>of</strong> the right hand pillar that stood at the<br />
porch <strong>of</strong> King Solomon's temple . It is derived from two Hebrew<br />
words, #"7' jah, " God" and 'j],` T' iachin, "will establish ." It<br />
signifies, therefore, " God will establish ."<br />
JACOB'S LADDER . When Jacob, by the command <strong>of</strong> his<br />
father Isaac, was journeying towards Padan-aram, while sleeping<br />
one night with the bare earth for his couch and a stone for his<br />
pillow, he beheld the vision <strong>of</strong> a ladder whose foot rested on the<br />
earth and its top reached to heaven . Angels were continually<br />
ascending and descending upon it, and promised him the blessing<br />
<strong>of</strong> a numerous and happy posterity . When Jacob awoke, he was<br />
filled with pious gratitude, and consecrated the spot as the house<br />
<strong>of</strong> God ."*<br />
This ladder, so remarkable in the history <strong>of</strong> the Jewish people,<br />
has also occupied a conspicuous place among the symbols <strong>of</strong> masonry<br />
. Its true origin was lost among the worshippers <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Pagan rites, but the symbol itself, in various modified forms, was<br />
retained . Among them it was always made to consist <strong>of</strong> seven<br />
rounds, which might, as Oliver suggests, have been in allusion<br />
either to the seven stories <strong>of</strong> the Tower <strong>of</strong> Babel, or to the Sabbatical<br />
period . In the Persian mysteries <strong>of</strong> Mithras, the ladder<br />
<strong>of</strong> seven rounds was symbolical <strong>of</strong> the soul's approach to perfec .<br />
tion . <strong>The</strong>se rounds were called gates, and in allusion to them<br />
* Genesis, ch . xxv.ii .
J AC 221<br />
the candidate was made t ; pass through seven dark and winding<br />
caverns, which process was called the ascent <strong>of</strong> the ladder <strong>of</strong> per .<br />
fection . Each <strong>of</strong> these caverns was the representative <strong>of</strong> a world,<br />
or state <strong>of</strong> existence through which the soul was supposed to pass<br />
in its progress from the first world to the last, or the world <strong>of</strong><br />
truth. Each round <strong>of</strong> the ladder was said to be <strong>of</strong> metal <strong>of</strong> inereasing<br />
purity, and was dignified also with the name '<strong>of</strong> its protecting<br />
planet . Some idea <strong>of</strong> the construction <strong>of</strong> this symbolic<br />
ladder may be c ta.tned from the following table<br />
7 Gold, Skin, Truth.<br />
6 Silver, Moon, Mansion <strong>of</strong> the Blessed .<br />
5 Iron, Mars, World <strong>of</strong> Births .<br />
4 Tin, Jupiter, Middle World .<br />
3 Copper, Venus, Heaven .<br />
2 QuickaiJ-r,r, Mercury, World <strong>of</strong> Pre-existence .<br />
1 Lead, Saturn, First World .<br />
Thus, toe, in all the mysteries - <strong>of</strong> the ancients, we find some<br />
af :usion to this sacred ladder, requiring, it is true, in some instances,<br />
considerable ingenuity to trace the identity . Even in the<br />
Edda <strong>of</strong> the Scandinavians we find the great tree Ydrasil, which<br />
Dr . Oliver concludes, for the most sufficient reasons, to be ana .<br />
logous with the ladder <strong>of</strong> Jacob .<br />
Among the Hebrews the staves <strong>of</strong> the ladder were originally<br />
supposed to be infinite . <strong>The</strong> Essenians first reduced them to<br />
seven, which were called the Sephiroth, whose names were<br />
Strength, Mercy, Beauty, Eternity, Glory, the Foundation, and<br />
the Kingdom .<br />
Among Freemasons the principal rounds only are named, and<br />
they are Faith, Hope, and Charity, because masonry is founded<br />
upon Faith in God, Hope <strong>of</strong> Immortality, and Charity to all<br />
mankind . But <strong>of</strong> these, Charity is the greatest ; for Faith ends<br />
in sight, Hope terminates in fruition, but Charity extends beyond<br />
the grave . It is by the practice <strong>of</strong> these virtues that the Mason<br />
expects to find access to Him who is the subject <strong>of</strong> Faith, the<br />
object <strong>of</strong> Hope, and the eternal fountain <strong>of</strong> Charity . Hence it is<br />
19*
222 JAC-JEH<br />
symbolically sail, that Masons hope to reach the clouded canopy<br />
<strong>of</strong> their lodge by the assistance <strong>of</strong> Jacob's <strong>The</strong>ological Ladder .<br />
JACQUES DE MOLAY . <strong>The</strong> celebrated Grand Master <strong>of</strong><br />
the Knights Templar at the time <strong>of</strong> their suppression by Philip<br />
the Fair and Pope Clement V . De Molay was elected Grand<br />
Master in 1297, and suffered martyrdom by being burnt to death<br />
on the 18th <strong>of</strong> March, 1314. See Knights Templar.<br />
JAH . <strong>The</strong> Syriac name <strong>of</strong> God . It was also used by the<br />
Hebrews as an abbreviation <strong>of</strong> Jehovah, and seems to have been<br />
well known to the Gentile nations as the triliteral name <strong>of</strong> God ;<br />
for, although biliteral among the Hebrews, it assumed among the<br />
Greeks the triliteral form, as IAi2 . Macrobius, in his Saturnalia,<br />
says that this was the sacred name <strong>of</strong> the Supreme Deity, and the<br />
Clarian Oracle being asked which <strong>of</strong> the gods was Jao, replied,<br />
~~ <strong>The</strong> initiated are bound to conceal the mysterious secrets . Learn<br />
thou that IAt2 is the Great God Supreme who ruleth over all ."<br />
See the word Jehovah .<br />
JEHOSAPHAT. <strong>The</strong> Valley <strong>of</strong> Jehosaphat is situated east<br />
<strong>of</strong> Jerusalem, between Mount Zion and the Mount <strong>of</strong> Olives . In<br />
the ancient rituals <strong>of</strong> our order the Valley <strong>of</strong> Jehosaphat played<br />
an important part, but it is now very much neglected in the modern<br />
working <strong>of</strong> the lodges . It has been supposed, in consequence <strong>of</strong><br />
the prophecy <strong>of</strong> Joel (iii . 13,) that this valley is to be the scene<br />
<strong>of</strong> the final judgment. <strong>The</strong> word itself denotes " the Lord judgeth,"<br />
and hence Hutchinsou says that the spiritual lodge is<br />
placed in the Valley <strong>of</strong> Jehosaphat to imply that the principles<br />
<strong>of</strong> masonry are derived from the knowledge <strong>of</strong> God, and are<br />
established in the judgments <strong>of</strong> the Lord .<br />
JEHOVAH . <strong>The</strong> ineffable name <strong>of</strong> God . In Hebrew, it<br />
cousists <strong>of</strong> four letters rI1rT' and is hence called the nomen tetrayrammato""<br />
or quadriliteral name. It is derived from the
JEll 223<br />
substantive verb ;11,`1 liavuh, TO BE ; and, as it combines in itself<br />
the present, past, and future forms <strong>of</strong> the s erb, it is to be considered<br />
as designating God as immutable, eternal, the only being<br />
who can say forever, " I AM THAT I A .M ." This name was first announced<br />
to Moses by God, when he appeared to him in the burning<br />
bush ; on which occasion he said, "this is my name forever,<br />
and this is my memorial unto all generations ." (Ex . iii . 15 . )<br />
It was considered unlawful to pronounce this name <strong>of</strong> God, except<br />
on one sacred occasion, (the day <strong>of</strong> the atonement,) when it was<br />
only uttered by the High Priest in the holy <strong>of</strong> holies, amid the<br />
sound <strong>of</strong> trumpets and cymbals, which prevented the people from<br />
hearing it . This custom no doubt originally arose from a wish to<br />
prevent its becoming known to the surrounding nations, and being<br />
by them blasphemously applied to their idols . Some <strong>of</strong> the Jews<br />
afterward attempted, by an ingenious corruption <strong>of</strong> the text <strong>of</strong><br />
Exodus above quoted, to defend the custom by the authority <strong>of</strong><br />
Scripture . By the change <strong>of</strong> a single letter, they made the word<br />
l'olam, which signifies " forever," read l'alum, that is, " to be<br />
concealed," and hence the passage was translated, " this is my<br />
name to be concealed," instead <strong>of</strong> " this is my name forever ."<br />
And thus Josephus, in writing upon this subject, uses the following<br />
expressions : " Whereupon God declared to Moses his holy<br />
name which had never been discovered to men before ; concerning<br />
which it is not lawful for me to say any more ."* In obedience<br />
to this law, whenever the word Jehovah occurs to a Jew in reading,<br />
he abstains from pronouncing it, and substitutes in its place<br />
the word Alonai or Lord. In consequence <strong>of</strong> the people thus<br />
abstaining from its utterance, the true pronunciation <strong>of</strong> the name<br />
was at length lost . Nor is the question yet definitely settled, some<br />
Orientalists contending, on orthographical grounds, that JEHOVAH<br />
is the true pronunciation, while others, on the authority <strong>of</strong> certain<br />
ancient writers, assert that it was pronounced JAO .t<br />
* Antiquities <strong>of</strong> the Jews. Whiston's trans . ; B. II. c . 12 .<br />
t <strong>The</strong> task is difficult to make one, unacquainted with the structure <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Hebrew language, comprehend how the pronunciation <strong>of</strong> a word, whose letters
Some learned Jews even doubt whether Jehovah be the true<br />
name <strong>of</strong> God, which they consider to have been irrecoverably lost,<br />
and they say that this is one <strong>of</strong> the mysteries that will be revealed<br />
only at the coming <strong>of</strong> the Messiah . <strong>The</strong>y attribute this loss<br />
to the sinful habit <strong>of</strong> applying the masoretic points to so sacred a<br />
name, in consequence <strong>of</strong> which the true vowels were lost . <strong>The</strong>y<br />
even relate the legend <strong>of</strong> a celebrated Hebrew scholar whom God<br />
permitted to be burnt by a Roman emperor, because be had been<br />
heard to pronounce the holy name with these points .*<br />
This dispute is not likely to be terminated by a reference to<br />
ancient authorities, among whom there is too great a discrepancy in<br />
relation to the name to be easily reconciled . Irenxus calls it<br />
Jaoth, Isidore says it is Jocjod, Diodorus Siculus, Jao, Clemens<br />
<strong>of</strong> Alexandria, Jau, and <strong>The</strong>odoret says that the Hebrews pronounced<br />
it Ja, and the Samaritans Javah .<br />
are preserved, can be wholly lost . It may be attempted, however, in the following<br />
manner. <strong>The</strong> Hebrew alphabet consists entirely <strong>of</strong> consonants . <strong>The</strong><br />
vowel sounds were originally supplied by the reader while reading, he being<br />
previously made acquainted with the correct pronunciation <strong>of</strong> each word, and<br />
if be did not possess this knowledge the letters beforehim could not supply it, and<br />
he was, <strong>of</strong> course, unable to pronounce the word . Every Hebrew, however, knew<br />
from practice, the vocal sounds with which the consonants were pronounced<br />
in the different words, in the same manner as every English reader knows<br />
the different sounds <strong>of</strong> a in hat, hate, all, zoas, and that knt is pronounced knight.<br />
<strong>The</strong> words " God save the republic," written in the Hebrew method, would appear<br />
thus : " Gd sv th rpblc ." Now this incommunicable name <strong>of</strong> God consists,<br />
as we have already observed, <strong>of</strong> four letters, Yod, He, Vav, and He, equivalent,<br />
in English, to the combination JHVH. It is now, we presume, evident,<br />
that these four letters cannot, in our own language, be pronounced, unless at<br />
least two vowels be supplied . Neither can they in Hebrew . In other words<br />
the vowels were known to the Jew, because he heard the words continually<br />
pronounced, just as we know that Mr . stand for Mister, because we continually<br />
bear this combination so pronounced . But the name <strong>of</strong> God, <strong>of</strong> which these<br />
four letters are symbols, was never pronounced, but another word, adonai, substituted<br />
for it ; and hence, as the letters themselves have no vocal power. the<br />
Jew, not knowing the implied vowels, was unable to supply them, and thus the<br />
pronunciation <strong>of</strong> the word was, in time, entirely lost .<br />
* Oliver, Insignia <strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch, p . 15 .
JEH 225<br />
<strong>The</strong> Grand, Elect, Perfect and Sublime Masons tell us that the<br />
pronunciation varied among the patriarchs in different ages .<br />
Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah pronounced it Juha ;* Shem,<br />
Arphaxad, Selah, Heber and Peleg pronounced it Jeva ; Reu,<br />
Serug, Nahor, Terah, Abraham, Isaac and Judah called it Java ;<br />
by Hezrom and Ram it was pronounced Jevo ; by Aminadab and<br />
Nasshon, J vah ; by Salmon, Boaz, and Obed, ,Tope ; by Jesse<br />
and David, Jehovah . And they imply that none <strong>of</strong> these was<br />
the right pronunciation, which was only in the possession <strong>of</strong><br />
Enoch, Jacob, and Moses, whose names are, therefore, not mentioned<br />
in this list.<br />
Lancit says that the word should be read from left to right,<br />
and pronounced HO-HI, that is to say, t' He-She ;" ho being<br />
in Hebrew the masculine pronoun, and hi the feminine . Ho-Hi,<br />
(hi pronounced he,) therefore, denotes the male and female principle,<br />
the vis genitrix, the phallus and lingam, the point within<br />
the circle, the notion <strong>of</strong> which, in some one form or another <strong>of</strong><br />
this double gender, pervades all the ancient systems as the representative<br />
<strong>of</strong> the creative power .<br />
Thus one <strong>of</strong> the names given by the mythological writers to<br />
the Supreme Jupiter, was ciS&!,oO~lus, the man-woman . In one<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Orphic hymns we find the following line<br />
Ztvs apagv ytvtro, Ztus a Bporos i1r)tro vv 4q .<br />
Jove is a male, Jove ie an immortal virgin.<br />
And Plutarch, in his Isis and Osiris, says tt God, who is a male<br />
and female intelligence, being both life and light, brought forth<br />
another intelligence, the Creator <strong>of</strong> the world ." All the Pagan<br />
* In all these names the J is to be pronounced as Y, the A as a in father,<br />
the E as a in mate ; thus Jehova must be pronounced as if written Ya-ho-vah .<br />
t This speculation <strong>of</strong> Michael Angelo Lanci, one <strong>of</strong> the greatest Orientalists<br />
<strong>of</strong> the present day, I have at second-hand . His great work-intended to be,<br />
indeed, an opus magnum-has not been published, and I am indebted for this,<br />
as well as many other <strong>of</strong> his investigations, to my learned friend, George R.<br />
Gliddon, Esq., who was a pupil <strong>of</strong> this illustrious scholar .
226 JEH<br />
gods and goddesses, however various their appellation, were but<br />
different expressions for the male and female principle . " In<br />
fact," says Russel,* " they may all be included in the one great<br />
Hermaphrodite, the «,,SpZvoo JAus ; who combines in his nature all<br />
the elements <strong>of</strong> production, and who continues to support the vast<br />
creation which originally proceeded from his will ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> Jews believed that this holy name, which they held in<br />
the highest veneration, was possessed <strong>of</strong> unbounded powers. "He<br />
who pronounces it," say they, "shakes heaven and earth, and<br />
inspires the very angels with astonishment and terror . <strong>The</strong>re is<br />
a sovereign authority in this name ; it governs the world by its<br />
power . <strong>The</strong> other names and surnames <strong>of</strong> the Deity are ranged<br />
about it like <strong>of</strong>ficers and soldiers about their sovereigns and generals<br />
; from this king-name, they receive their orders and obey ." t<br />
<strong>The</strong> Rabbins call it shem hamyhorash, the unutterable name,<br />
and say that David found it engraved on a stone while he was<br />
digging the foundations <strong>of</strong> the earth .<br />
Manasseh Ben Israel states it as the opinion <strong>of</strong> the Cabbalists,<br />
that Jehovah is not only the name <strong>of</strong> the divine essence, but that<br />
it also denotes the Aziluthic world, or world <strong>of</strong> emanations, which<br />
contains the ten Sephiroth, or emanations from the Deity which<br />
compose the universe, according the Rabbinical philosophy .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Hebrew substantive verb I A`I, which is is said<br />
by the Talmudists to be equivalent to ,`Tli?', and the four letters <strong>of</strong><br />
which it is formed possess peculiar properties . js~ is in Hebrew<br />
numerically equivalent to 1, and .+ to 10, which is equal to 11, a<br />
result also obtained by taking the second and third letters <strong>of</strong> the<br />
holy name, or ,"1 and 1, which are 5 and fj, amounting to 11. But<br />
the 5 and 6 invariably produce the same number in their multiplication,<br />
for 5 times 5 are 25, and 6 times 6 are 36, and this<br />
invariable product <strong>of</strong> ;'f and I was said to denote the unchangeableness<br />
<strong>of</strong> the First Cause. Again lam ,'7+,"7~4 commences with<br />
* Connec'ion <strong>of</strong> Sacred and Pr<strong>of</strong>ane History, vol . 1 . p . 402.<br />
t Calniet, Diet. Bib. L 751.
JEll 227<br />
N or 1, the begini .ing <strong>of</strong> numbers, and Jehovah, ; T) ; T' with ' or<br />
10, the end <strong>of</strong> numbers, which signified that God was the beginning<br />
and end <strong>of</strong> all things .* <strong>The</strong>re are many other Talmudical<br />
Pxercitations on the ineffable name which it is unnecessary to<br />
dwell upon . To the Hebrew student most <strong>of</strong> them are familiar ;<br />
to any other they would be uninteresting or inexplicable .<br />
<strong>The</strong> pronunciation <strong>of</strong> the name was preserved and transmitted<br />
by the Essenes, who always communicated it to each other in a<br />
whisper, and in a such a form, that while its component parts<br />
were known, its connected whole still remained a mystery .<br />
It is said, too, to have been the pass-word in the Egyptian<br />
Mysteries, by which the candidate was admitted to the chambers<br />
<strong>of</strong> initiation . <strong>The</strong> modern Jews say it was engraved on the rod<br />
<strong>of</strong> Moses, and enabled him to perform his miracles, and they<br />
attribute all the wonderful works <strong>of</strong> Jesus Christ to the potency<br />
<strong>of</strong> this incommunicable name, which they say he stole out <strong>of</strong> the<br />
temple and wore about him .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Jews had four symbols by which they expressed this ineffable<br />
name <strong>of</strong> God ; the first and most common was two Jods with<br />
a Sheva, and the point Kametz underneath, thus ' ' ; the second<br />
was three points in a radiated form like a diadem, thus ; ;<br />
to represent, in all probability, the sovereignty <strong>of</strong> God ; the third<br />
was a Jod within an equilateral triangle thus, /\ which the Cabbalists<br />
explained as a ray <strong>of</strong> light whose lustre was too transcendent<br />
to be contemplated by human eyes ; and the fourth was the<br />
letter t', which is the initial letter <strong>of</strong> Shadai, " the Almighty,"<br />
and was the symbol usually placed upon their phylacteries . Buxtorf<br />
mentions a fifth method, which was by three Jods with a<br />
Kametz underneath inclosed in a circle .<br />
Of the varieties <strong>of</strong> this sacred name in use among the different<br />
nations <strong>of</strong> the earth, three particularly merit the attention <strong>of</strong> Royal<br />
Arch Masons .<br />
* For these Talmadical remarks, I am indebted to my learned friend, W . S.<br />
Rockwell, Esq ., <strong>of</strong> Milledgerille, Ga .
228 JER<br />
1 . J.R. This name <strong>of</strong> God is found in the 68th Psalm, c .<br />
4 : "Extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAR ."<br />
It is the Syriac name <strong>of</strong> God, and is still retained in some <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Syriac forms <strong>of</strong> doxology, according to Gesenius .<br />
2. BEL, or BAAL . This word signifies a lord, master, or posscssor•<br />
; and hence it was applied by many <strong>of</strong> the nations <strong>of</strong> the<br />
East, to denote the Lord <strong>of</strong> all things, and the Master <strong>of</strong> the<br />
world . Baal was worshipped by the Chaldeans, the Moabites,<br />
the Phenicians, the Assyrians, and sometimes even by the Hebrews<br />
. It has been supposed that the first Baal was the Chaldean<br />
Nimrod . This word is repeatedly met with in the Scriptures,<br />
both in allusion to the idolatrous worship <strong>of</strong> this god, and hi connection<br />
with other words, to denote the names <strong>of</strong> places .<br />
3 . ON . This was the name by which Jehovah was worshipped<br />
among the Egyptians . It is this God <strong>of</strong> whom Plato speaks in<br />
his Timasus, when he says, "tell me <strong>of</strong> the God ON ; which is and<br />
never knew beginning ." <strong>The</strong> Egyptians gave to this God the<br />
same attributes that the Hebrews bestowed upon Jehovah, and<br />
though we are unable to say what was the signification <strong>of</strong> On<br />
in the ancient Egyptian, we know that this word in Greek, S2N,<br />
has the same signification <strong>of</strong> being or existence as 11,7+ has in<br />
Hebrew. <strong>The</strong> Hindoos used the word AuM or AuN .<br />
I have made these remarks on the three names <strong>of</strong> God in<br />
Syriac, Chaldaic, and Egyptian, JAR, BEL, and ON, in the<br />
expectation that my Royal Arch companions will readily recognise<br />
them in a corrupted form, and thus be enabled to understand<br />
a mystery which, I confess, was to me, aVrst, unintelligible .<br />
JERUSALEM . <strong>The</strong> capital <strong>of</strong> Judea and the sity <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Holy Temple-memorable as the scene <strong>of</strong> many events that are<br />
dear to the Mason's memory . At the time that the Israelites<br />
entered the Promised Land, the city was in possession <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Jebusites, from whom, after the death <strong>of</strong> Joshua, it was conquered,<br />
and afterwards inhabited by the tribes <strong>of</strong> Judah and Benjamin,<br />
although Mount Zion for a long period subsequent continued to
C c<br />
u<br />
cc<br />
cc<br />
cc<br />
cc<br />
JEW 229<br />
be occupied by the descendants <strong>of</strong> Jebus, and in the reign <strong>of</strong><br />
David that monarch is said to have purchased Mount Moriah<br />
from Ornan the Jebusite, who had used it as a threshing floor .<br />
Here, afterwards, Solomon was permitted to build a temple to<br />
the Lord .<br />
JEWELS . Every lodge is furnished with six jewels, three<br />
<strong>of</strong> which are movable and three immovable . <strong>The</strong> movable<br />
jewels, so called because they are not confined to any particular<br />
part <strong>of</strong> the lodge, are the rough ashlar, the perfect ashlar, and<br />
the trestle board . <strong>The</strong> immovable jewels are the square, the level,<br />
and the plumb . <strong>The</strong>y are termed immovable, because they are<br />
appropriated to particular parts <strong>of</strong> the lodge, where alone they<br />
should be found, namely, the square to the east, the level to the<br />
west, and the plumb to the south .<br />
Jewels are also the names applied to the emblems worn by the<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> <strong>Masonic</strong> bodies as distinctive badges <strong>of</strong> their <strong>of</strong>fices .<br />
For the purpose <strong>of</strong> reference the jewels worn in symbolic lodges,<br />
in chapters, councils, and encampments, are here appended .<br />
W .- . Master wears<br />
Senior Warden<br />
Junior Warden<br />
Treasurer<br />
Secretary<br />
Senior Deacon<br />
Junior Deacon*<br />
Steward<br />
Tyler `c<br />
1 . In Symbolic Lodges .<br />
CC<br />
a square .<br />
a level .<br />
a plumb .<br />
cross keys .<br />
cross pens .<br />
square and compass,<br />
sun in the centre .<br />
square and compass<br />
moon in the centre.<br />
a cornucopia.<br />
cross swords .<br />
<strong>The</strong> jewels are <strong>of</strong> silver in a subordinate lodge, and <strong>of</strong> gold in<br />
a Grand Lodge .<br />
In English lodges the jewel <strong>of</strong> the Deacons is a dove .<br />
20
230 JEW<br />
2. In Royal Arch Chapters .<br />
High Priest wears a mitre .<br />
King « a level surmounted by a<br />
crown .<br />
Scribe " a plumb-rule surmounted<br />
by a turban .<br />
Captain <strong>of</strong> the Host 't a triangular plate inscribed<br />
with a soldier .<br />
Principal Sojo-uner " a triangular plate inscribed<br />
with a pilgrim .<br />
Royal Arch Captain it a sword .<br />
Grand Master <strong>of</strong> the Veils " a sword .<br />
<strong>The</strong> other <strong>of</strong>ficers as in a symbolic lodge . All the jewels are <strong>of</strong><br />
gold, and suspended within an equilateral triangle .<br />
3. In Royal and Select Councils .<br />
T . I. Grand Master wears a trowel and square .<br />
I. Hiram <strong>of</strong> Tyre " a trowel and level .<br />
Principal Conductor <strong>of</strong><br />
the works .<br />
" a trowel and plumb .<br />
Treasurer ~' a trowel and cross keys .<br />
Recorder « a trowel and cross pens .<br />
Captain <strong>of</strong> the Guards " a trowel and sword .<br />
Steward ~' a trowel and cross swords .<br />
Marshal "<br />
a trowel and baton .<br />
If a conductor <strong>of</strong> the Council is used, he wears a trowel and<br />
baton and then a scroll is added to the Marshal's baton to distinguish<br />
the two <strong>of</strong>ficers .<br />
All the jewels are <strong>of</strong> silver and are enclosed within an equi.<br />
lateral triangle.<br />
4. In Fracampments <strong>of</strong> Knights Templars .<br />
Grand Commander wears a cross surmounted by<br />
rays <strong>of</strong> light .<br />
Generalissimo " a square surmounted by<br />
a paschal lamb .<br />
Captain General '~ a level surmounted by a<br />
cock .
JEW- 10A 231<br />
Prelate wears a triple triangle .<br />
Senior Warden cc a hollow square and<br />
sword <strong>of</strong> justice .<br />
Junior Warden it eagle and flaming sword.<br />
Treasurer it cross keys .<br />
Recorder cc cross pens .<br />
Standard Bearer cc a plumb surmounted by<br />
a banner .<br />
Warder it a square plate inscribed<br />
with a trumpet and<br />
cross swords .<br />
Three Guards cc a square plate inscribed<br />
with a battle-axe .<br />
<strong>The</strong> jewels are <strong>of</strong> silver .<br />
JEWEL OF AN ANCIENT GRAND MASTER . A masonic<br />
tradition informs us that the Jewel <strong>of</strong> an ancient Grand Master<br />
at the Temple was the square and compass with the letter G<br />
between . This was the jewel worn by Hiram Abif on the day<br />
which deprived the craft <strong>of</strong> his invaluable services, and which<br />
was subsequently found upon him .<br />
JOABERT. This was the name <strong>of</strong> the chief favourite <strong>of</strong><br />
Solomon, who, according to the traditions <strong>of</strong> masonry, incurred the<br />
displeasure <strong>of</strong> Hiram <strong>of</strong> Tyre on a certain occasion, but was subsequently<br />
pardoned ; and, on account <strong>of</strong> the great attachment he had<br />
shown to the person <strong>of</strong> his master, was appointed the Secretary <strong>of</strong><br />
Solomon and Hiram in their most intimate relations . He was<br />
afterward still further promoted by Solomon, and appointed with<br />
Tito and Adoniram a Provost and Judge . He distinct ished himself<br />
in his successful efforts to bring certain traitors to condign<br />
punishment, and although by his rashness he at first excited the<br />
anger <strong>of</strong> the king, he was subsequently forgiven, and eventually<br />
received the highest reward that Solomon could bestow, by being<br />
made an Elect, Perfect, and Sublime Mason .
232 JOH-JOP<br />
JOHANNITE MASONRY . That system <strong>of</strong> masonry which<br />
contends for the dedication <strong>of</strong> all symbolic lodges to St . John the<br />
Baptist and St . John the Evangelist . This is the system now<br />
practised in the United States, and formerly in England . Since<br />
the union in 1813, a change has been effected in the latter country,<br />
in whose lodges the « lines parallel" are said to represent<br />
Moses and King Solomon . But this is admitted to be an innovation,<br />
and the most celebrated masonic writer <strong>of</strong> England,<br />
Dr. Oliver, has written a series <strong>of</strong> ' 1 Letters on Johannite Masonry,"<br />
in which he strongly argues for the restoration <strong>of</strong> the<br />
ancient parallelism .<br />
JOHN'S BROTHERS . In a curious masonic document,<br />
entitled the Charter <strong>of</strong> Cologne, it is said that before the year<br />
1440, the Society <strong>of</strong> Freemasons were known by no other name<br />
than that <strong>of</strong> « John's Brothers ;" that they then began to be<br />
called at Valenciennes, Free and Accepted Masons ; and that at<br />
that time, in some parts <strong>of</strong> Flanders, by the assistance-and riches<br />
<strong>of</strong> the brotherhood, the first hospitals were erected for the relief<br />
<strong>of</strong> such as were afflicted with St . Anthony's fire .<br />
JOPPA . A town <strong>of</strong> Palestine and the seaport <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem,<br />
from which it is distant about forty miles in a westerly direction .<br />
It was here that the King <strong>of</strong> Tyre sent ships laden with timber<br />
and marble to be forwarded overland to Solomon for the construction<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Temple . Its shore is exceedingly rough and much<br />
dreaded by navigators, who, on account <strong>of</strong> its exposure and the<br />
perpendicularity <strong>of</strong> its banks, are compelled to be perpetually on<br />
their guard . <strong>The</strong> following extract from the narrative <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Baron Geramb, a Trappist, who visited the Holy Land in 1842,<br />
will be interesting to Mark Masters . "Yesterday morning at<br />
daybreak, boats 'put <strong>of</strong>f and surrounded the vessel 'to take us to<br />
the town (<strong>of</strong> Joppa,) the access to which is d ifcult on account <strong>of</strong><br />
the numerous rocks that present to view their bare flanks . <strong>The</strong><br />
walls were covered with spectators, attracted by curiosity . <strong>The</strong>
JOS-Jun 233<br />
boats being much lower than the bridge, upon which one is c .bli]ed<br />
tc climb, and having no ladder, the landing is not effected without<br />
danger . More than once it has happened, that passengers in<br />
springing out have broken their limbs, and we might have met<br />
with the like accident, if several persons had not hastened to our<br />
assistance ."* <strong>The</strong> place is now called Jaffa .<br />
JOSHUA, ox JESHUA . <strong>The</strong> High Priest who with Zerubbabel<br />
the Prince <strong>of</strong> Judah, superintended the re-building <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Temple, after the Babylonian captivity . He was the High Priest<br />
by lineal descent from the Pontifical family ; for he was the son<br />
<strong>of</strong> Josadek, who was the son <strong>of</strong> Seraiah, who was the High Priest<br />
when the Temple was destroyed by the Chaldeans .<br />
JUDAH . <strong>The</strong> whole <strong>of</strong> Palestine was sometimes called the<br />
Land <strong>of</strong> Judah, because Judah was a distinguished tribe in obtaining<br />
possession <strong>of</strong> the country . <strong>The</strong> tribe <strong>of</strong> Judah bore a<br />
Lion in their standard, and hence the masonic allusion to the<br />
Lion <strong>of</strong> the tribe <strong>of</strong> Judah . See also Genesis xlix . 9 . " Judah is<br />
a lion's whelp ."<br />
JUDAH AND BENJAMIN . Of the twelve tribes <strong>of</strong> Israel<br />
who were, at various times carried into captivity, only two, those<br />
<strong>of</strong> Judah and Benjamin, returned under Zerubbabel to rebuild the<br />
second temple .<br />
JUNIOR WARDEN . See Wardens .<br />
JURISDICTION . <strong>The</strong> jurisdiction <strong>of</strong> a Grand Lodge extends<br />
over every lodge working within its territorial limits, and over all'<br />
places not already occupied by a Grand Lodge . <strong>The</strong> territorial<br />
limits <strong>of</strong> a Grand Lodge are determined in general by the political<br />
boundaries <strong>of</strong> the country in which it is placed . Thus the territorial<br />
limits <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> South Carolina are circum-<br />
'~ Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Mount Sinai. VoL iL p . 27.<br />
20*
234 JUS-KAD<br />
scribed within the settled boundaries <strong>of</strong> that State . Nor can its<br />
jurisdiction extend beyond these limits into the neighbouring<br />
States <strong>of</strong> North Carolina or Georgia . <strong>The</strong> Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong><br />
South Carolina could not, therefore, without an infringement <strong>of</strong><br />
masonic usage, grant a warrant <strong>of</strong> constitution to any lodge<br />
located in either <strong>of</strong> these latter States . It might, however,<br />
charter a lodge in Oregon Territory, because there is not in existence<br />
a Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> that Territory . Thus the lodges <strong>of</strong><br />
France held <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, until the formation<br />
<strong>of</strong> a Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> France, and the Grand Lodges <strong>of</strong> both<br />
England, Scotland, and France, granted warrants to various<br />
lodges in America, until after the Revolution, when the States<br />
began to organize Grand Lodges for themselves . For the purpose<br />
<strong>of</strong> avoiding collision and unfriendly feeling, it has become<br />
the settled usage, that when a Grand Lodge has been legally<br />
organized in a State, all the lodges within its limits must surreuder<br />
the charters which they have received from foreign bodies,<br />
and accept new ones from the recently established Grand Lodge .<br />
JUSTICE . One <strong>of</strong> the four cardinal virtues, the practice <strong>of</strong><br />
which is inculcated in the first degree . <strong>The</strong> Mason who remembers<br />
how emphatically he has been charged to preserve an<br />
upright position in all his dealings with mankind, should never<br />
fail to act justly to himself, to his brethren, and to the world .<br />
This is the corner-stone on which alone he can expect 11 to erect<br />
a superstructure alike honourable to himself and to the fratdrnity ."<br />
K .<br />
KADOSH . This is the name <strong>of</strong> a very important degree in<br />
many <strong>of</strong> the rites <strong>of</strong> masonry . <strong>The</strong> word is Hebrew, and signifies<br />
holy, consecrated, separated, and is intended to denote the
KAS 2So<br />
elevated character <strong>of</strong> the degree and the sublimity <strong>of</strong> the truths<br />
which distinguish it and its possessors from the other degrees .<br />
Pluche says that in the East, a person preferred to honours bore<br />
a sceptre, and sometimes a plate <strong>of</strong> gold on the forehead, called<br />
a Kadosh,* to apprise the people that the bearer <strong>of</strong> this mark or<br />
rod was a public person who possessed the privilege <strong>of</strong> entering<br />
into hostile camps without the fear <strong>of</strong> losing his personal liberty .<br />
<strong>The</strong> degree <strong>of</strong> Kadosh, though found in many <strong>of</strong> the rites and<br />
in various countries, seems, in all <strong>of</strong> them, to have been more or<br />
less connected with the Knights Templars . In some <strong>of</strong> the rites<br />
it was placed at the head <strong>of</strong> the list, and was then dignified as<br />
the « ne plus ultra" <strong>of</strong> masonry .<br />
It was sometimes given as a separate order or rite within<br />
itself, and then it was divided into the three degrees <strong>of</strong> Illustrious<br />
Knight <strong>of</strong> the Temple, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Black Eagle, and<br />
Grand Elect .<br />
Oliver enumerates six degrees <strong>of</strong> Kadosh : the Knight<br />
Kadosh ; Kadosh <strong>of</strong> the Chapter <strong>of</strong> Clermont ; Philosophical<br />
Kadosh ; Kadosh Prince <strong>of</strong> Death ; and Kadosh <strong>of</strong> the Ancient<br />
and Accepted Scotch rite .<br />
Ragon speaks <strong>of</strong> a Kadosh which is said to have been established<br />
at Jerusalem in 1118, but I imagine that this can be no<br />
other than the order <strong>of</strong> Knights Templars .<br />
Of these degrees, we need pay little attention to any except that<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Ancient and Accepted Scotch rite, the most important<br />
<strong>of</strong> the few that continue to be worked . See Knight <strong>of</strong> Kadosh .<br />
KASSIDEANS . (Heb . chasidim, pious .) <strong>The</strong> Kassideans<br />
or Assideans, (though the etymology <strong>of</strong> the word indicates that<br />
the former is the better spelling,) are described in the 1st Book<br />
<strong>of</strong> Maccabees ii . 42, as "mighty men <strong>of</strong> Israel, such as were<br />
voluntarily devoted unto the law," <strong>The</strong>y were a fraternity eminently<br />
pious and charitable, who devoted themselves particularly<br />
to repairing the Temple and keeping it in order . _ <strong>The</strong>y were,<br />
* Whence probably is derived the Caduceus <strong>of</strong> Mercury.
236 KEY<br />
therefore, not only content to pay the usual tribute, but charged<br />
themselves with greater expense on that account . <strong>The</strong>ir usual<br />
oath was " by the temple ." This sect arose either during the<br />
captivity, or soon after the restoration . Scaliger contends that<br />
they were the source whence, in after times, sprung the Essenes,<br />
that body whose close connection with the Freemasons has been<br />
so much insisted on by certain writers . Hence Lawrie infers<br />
their relationship to the architects who built the house <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Lord for Solomon, and calls them " Knights <strong>of</strong> the Temple <strong>of</strong><br />
Jerusalem ." <strong>The</strong>y were, in fact, the conservators <strong>of</strong> masonry<br />
among the Jews, and deposited it with their successors, the<br />
Essenians, who brought it down beyond the times <strong>of</strong> Christ .<br />
KEY . <strong>The</strong> key was anciently an emblem <strong>of</strong> power, and as<br />
such has been adopted as the jewel <strong>of</strong> the Treasurer in a Blue<br />
lodge, because he has the purse under his command . <strong>The</strong> key<br />
is also a symbol <strong>of</strong> silence and circumspection, and as such has<br />
been adopted as one <strong>of</strong> the emblems <strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch Tracing<br />
Board . " <strong>The</strong> key," says Dr . Oliver, " is one <strong>of</strong> the most important<br />
symbols <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> . It bears the appearance <strong>of</strong> a<br />
common metal instrument, confined to the performance <strong>of</strong> one<br />
simple act . But the well instructed brother beholds in it the<br />
symbol which teaches him to keep a tongue <strong>of</strong> good report, and<br />
to abstain from the debasing vices <strong>of</strong> slander and defamation ."*<br />
KEY OF MASONRY . See Knight <strong>of</strong> the Sun .<br />
KEY-STONE . That stone placed in the centre <strong>of</strong> an arch<br />
which preserves the others in their places, and secures firmness<br />
and stability to the arch . . As it was formerly the custom <strong>of</strong><br />
operative masons to place a peculiar mark on each stone <strong>of</strong> a<br />
building to designate the workman by whom it had been adjusted,<br />
so the Key-Stone was most likely to receive the most<br />
prominent mark, that <strong>of</strong> the superintendent <strong>of</strong> the structure.<br />
* Historical Landmarks, L 180 .
KIL 257<br />
Such is related to have occurred to that Key-S ton€ which plays<br />
so important a part in the legend <strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch degree .<br />
<strong>The</strong> objection has sometimes been made, that the arch was<br />
unknown to the times <strong>of</strong> Solomon . But this objection has been<br />
completely laid at rest by the researches <strong>of</strong> antiquaries and<br />
travellers within a few years past . Wilkinson discovered arches<br />
with regular key-stones in the doorways <strong>of</strong> the tombs <strong>of</strong> <strong>The</strong>bes,<br />
the construction <strong>of</strong> which he traced to the year 1540, B . C ., or<br />
460 years before the building <strong>of</strong> the Temple <strong>of</strong> Solomon. And<br />
Dr. Clark asserts that the Cycoplean gallery <strong>of</strong> Tyrius exhibits<br />
lancet-shaped arches almost as old as the times <strong>of</strong> Abraham . In<br />
fact, at the era <strong>of</strong> the building <strong>of</strong> the Temple, the construction<br />
<strong>of</strong> the arch was a secret, which was, however, known to the<br />
Dionysian Artificers, many <strong>of</strong> whom were present and engaged<br />
in the works <strong>of</strong> the Temple, and <strong>of</strong> which society we have elsewhere<br />
said that there was every reason to believe that Hiram<br />
Abif was a member .<br />
KILWLNNLNG . As the city <strong>of</strong> York claims to be the<br />
birthplace <strong>of</strong> masonry in England, the obscure little village <strong>of</strong><br />
Kilwinning is entitled to the same honour with respect to the<br />
origin <strong>of</strong> the order in tho sister kinbdom <strong>of</strong> Scotland . A place,<br />
in itself small and wholly undistina ishable in the political, the<br />
literary, or the commercial annals <strong>of</strong> its country, has become <strong>of</strong><br />
great importance in the estimation <strong>of</strong> the masonic antiquary from<br />
its intimate connection with the history <strong>of</strong> the institution .<br />
<strong>The</strong> abbey <strong>of</strong> Kilwinning is situated in the bailiwick <strong>of</strong> Cunningham,<br />
about three miles north <strong>of</strong> the royal burgh <strong>of</strong> Irving,<br />
near the Irish Sea . <strong>The</strong> abbey was founded in the year 1140,<br />
by Hugh Morville, Constable <strong>of</strong> Scotland, and dedicated to St .<br />
Winning, being intended for a company <strong>of</strong> monks <strong>of</strong> the Tyro .<br />
nesian order, who had been brought from Kelso . <strong>The</strong> edifice<br />
must have been constructed at great expense, and with much<br />
magnificence, since it is said to have occupied several acres <strong>of</strong><br />
ground in its whole extent .
238 KI L<br />
Laurie says, that, by authentic documents as well as by other<br />
collateral arguments which amount almost to a demonstration,<br />
the existence <strong>of</strong> the Kilwinning lodge has been traced back as<br />
far as the end <strong>of</strong> the fifteenth century, But we know that the<br />
body <strong>of</strong> architects who perambulated the continent <strong>of</strong> Europe,<br />
under the name <strong>of</strong> "Travelling Freemasons," flourished at a<br />
much earlier period ; and we learn, also, from Laurie himself,<br />
that several <strong>of</strong> these Masons travelled into Scotland, about the<br />
beginning <strong>of</strong> the twelfth century .* Hence, we have every<br />
reason to suppose that these men were the architects who constructed<br />
the abbey at Kilwinning, and who first established the<br />
institution <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> in Scotland . If such be the fact, we<br />
must place the origin <strong>of</strong> the first lodge in that kingdom at an<br />
earlier date, by three centuries, than that claimed for it by<br />
Laurie, which would bring it much nearer, in point <strong>of</strong> time, to<br />
the great <strong>Masonic</strong> Assembly, convened in the year 926, by<br />
Prince Edwin, at York, in England .<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is some collatem.l evidence to sustain the probability <strong>of</strong><br />
this early commencement <strong>of</strong> masonry in Scotland . It is very<br />
generally admitted that the Royal Order <strong>of</strong> Herodem was<br />
founded by King Robert Bruce, at Kilwinning . Thory, in the<br />
"Acta Latamorum," gives the following chronicle : "Robert<br />
Bruce, King <strong>of</strong> Scotland, under the title <strong>of</strong> Robert I ., created<br />
the order <strong>of</strong> St . Andrew <strong>of</strong> Chardon, after the battle <strong>of</strong> Bannockburn,<br />
which was fought on the 24th <strong>of</strong> June, 1314 . To<br />
this order was afterward united that <strong>of</strong> Herodem, for the sake<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Scotch Masons, who formed a part <strong>of</strong> the thirty thousand<br />
troops with whom he had fought an army <strong>of</strong> one hundred thousand<br />
Englishmen . King Robert reserved the title <strong>of</strong> Grand<br />
Master to himself and his successors forever, and founded the<br />
Royal Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Herodem at Kilwinning .<br />
Dr. Oliver says that "the Royal Order <strong>of</strong> Herodem bad<br />
formerly its chief seat at Kilwinning ; and there is every reason<br />
* History <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, p. 89.
KIL 23 .9<br />
to think that it and St . John's masonry were then governed by<br />
the same Grand Lodge ."<br />
In 1820, there was published, at Paris, a record which states<br />
that in 1286, James, Lord Stewart, received the Earls <strong>of</strong> Gloucester<br />
and Ulster into his lodge at Kilwinning, which goes to<br />
prove that a lodge was then existing and in active operation at<br />
that place .<br />
I confess that I am disposed to give some credit to the authority<br />
<strong>of</strong> these documents . <strong>The</strong>y, at least, fhrnish the evidence<br />
that there has been a general belief among the fraternity <strong>of</strong> the<br />
antiquity <strong>of</strong> the Kilwinning Lodge . Those, however, whose faith<br />
is <strong>of</strong> a more hesitating character, will find the most satisfactory<br />
testimonies <strong>of</strong> the existence <strong>of</strong> that lodge in the beginning <strong>of</strong> the<br />
fifteenth century . At that period, when James II . was on the<br />
throne, the Barons <strong>of</strong> Roslin, as hereditary Grand Masters <strong>of</strong><br />
Scotland, held their annual meetings at Kilwinning, and the<br />
lodge at that place granted warrants <strong>of</strong> constitution for the formation<br />
<strong>of</strong> subordinate lodges in other parts <strong>of</strong> the kingdom .<br />
<strong>The</strong> lodges thus formed, in token <strong>of</strong> their respect for, and submission<br />
to, the mother lodge, whence they derived their existence,<br />
affixed the word Kilwinning to their own distinctive name, many<br />
instances <strong>of</strong> which are still to be found on the register <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Scotland-such as Cannongate Kilwinning,<br />
Greenock Kilwinning, Cumberland Kilwinning, &c .<br />
But, in process <strong>of</strong> time, this Grand Lodge at Kilwinning<br />
ceased to retain its supremacy, and finally its very existence .<br />
As in the case <strong>of</strong> the sister kingdom, where the Grand Lodge<br />
was removed from York, the birthplace <strong>of</strong> English masonry, to<br />
London, so in Scotland, the supreme seat <strong>of</strong> the order was at<br />
length transferred from Kilwinning to the metropolis ; and<br />
hence, in the document entitled the " Charter <strong>of</strong> Cologne,"<br />
which purports to have been written in 1535, we find, in a list<br />
<strong>of</strong> nineteen' Grand Lodges in Europe, that that <strong>of</strong> Scotland is<br />
mentioned as sitting at Edinburg, under the Grand Mastership <strong>of</strong><br />
John Bruce . In 1743, the Lodge <strong>of</strong> Kilwinning, although uni
240 KIN<br />
vernally admitted to have been the cradle <strong>of</strong> Scottish masonry,<br />
was compelled to content itself with the second number on the<br />
register <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge, in consequence <strong>of</strong> its records<br />
having been destroyed by fire, while the lodge <strong>of</strong> St . Mary's<br />
Chapel, having been more fortunate in preserving its archives as<br />
far back as the year 1598, received the first number and the precedence<br />
among the lodges <strong>of</strong> Scotland .<br />
Here terminates the connection <strong>of</strong> Kilwinning as a place <strong>of</strong><br />
any importance with Scottish masonry . A lodge long continued<br />
to exist there, and may probably still remain ; but its honours<br />
and dignities consist only in the recollections <strong>of</strong> its venerable<br />
origin, and in the union <strong>of</strong> its name with many <strong>of</strong> the most opulent<br />
and respectable lodges <strong>of</strong> Scotland . As for the abbey, the<br />
stupendous fabric which was executed by the Freemasons who<br />
first migrated into Scotland, its history, like that <strong>of</strong> the lodge<br />
which they founded, is one <strong>of</strong> decline and decay . In 1560 it<br />
was in a great measure demolished by Alexander, Earl <strong>of</strong> Glencairne,<br />
in obedience to an order from the States <strong>of</strong> Scotland, in<br />
the exercise <strong>of</strong> their usurped authority during the imprisonment<br />
<strong>of</strong> Mary Stuart . A few years afterward, a part <strong>of</strong> the abbey<br />
chapel was repaired and converted into the parish church, and<br />
was used as such until about the year 17 75, when, in consequence<br />
<strong>of</strong> its ruinous and dangerous state, it was pulled down<br />
and an elegant church erected, in the modern style . In 1789,<br />
so much <strong>of</strong> the ancient abbey remained as to enable Grose, the<br />
antiquary, to take a sketch <strong>of</strong> the ruins ; but now, not a vestige<br />
<strong>of</strong> the building is to be found, nor can its exact site be ascertained<br />
with any precision .<br />
KING. <strong>The</strong> second <strong>of</strong>ficer in a Royal Arch Chapter . He is<br />
the representative <strong>of</strong> Zerubbabel, prince or governor <strong>of</strong> Judah .<br />
When the chapter meets as a lodge <strong>of</strong> Mark, Past, or Most Excellent<br />
Masters, the King acts as Senior Warden . See, Zerubbabel.<br />
After the rebuilding <strong>of</strong> the second temple, the government <strong>of</strong><br />
the Jews was administered by the High Priests as the vice-
KNE-KNI 24!<br />
gerents <strong>of</strong> the Kings <strong>of</strong> Persia, to whom they paid tribute .<br />
This is the reason that the High Priest is the presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer in<br />
a chapter, and the King only a subordinate .<br />
KlNEELING . See Genuflection.<br />
K.L IGHTHOOD, ORDERS OF . In the article on the<br />
Crusades, I have stated the impossibility <strong>of</strong> admitting that we<br />
are indebted to them for the introduction <strong>of</strong> masonry into Europe,<br />
and the reason assigned was its inconsistency with historical<br />
facts . <strong>The</strong> objection, however, does not exist against the opinion<br />
that the orders <strong>of</strong> knighthood assumed the masonic character<br />
from the influence <strong>of</strong> these wars . On the contrary, we have<br />
every reason for believing that the knights who visited Palestine<br />
organized their chivalric system upon the model <strong>of</strong> the masonic<br />
institutions which existed there, and into which, we may also<br />
presume, that most <strong>of</strong> them were admitted . Upon this subject<br />
we have something more than mere conjecture to direct us, for<br />
we are informed by Adler, who wrote an account <strong>of</strong> the Association<br />
<strong>of</strong> Druses on Mount Libanus, that the Knights Templars<br />
were actually members <strong>of</strong> the Syriac fraternities .*<br />
<strong>The</strong> oldest order <strong>of</strong> masonic knighthood is said by a writer in<br />
the Freemason's Quarterly Review, to be the Rosy Cross <strong>of</strong> Scotland,t<br />
and the fact that it unites the <strong>Trowel</strong> with the Sword, an<br />
union which the more modern orders have sought to avoid, is adduced<br />
as evidence <strong>of</strong> this antiquity . <strong>The</strong> same union <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Sword and <strong>Trowel</strong> is likewise adopted by the Knights <strong>of</strong> the<br />
East, who also claim to be the most ancient order <strong>of</strong> masonic<br />
knighthood .<br />
KNIGHT OF THE BRAZEN SERPENT . Chevalier du<br />
Serpent d'airain . <strong>The</strong> 25th degree in the Ancient Scotch rite .<br />
• Adler, de Drusis Mont. Liban.<br />
f This is not the same degree as the Rose Croix <strong>of</strong> the Ancient and<br />
Accepted rite . For some account <strong>of</strong> it, see the word Seredom in -his <strong>Lexicon</strong> .<br />
21
242 KNI<br />
<strong>The</strong> history <strong>of</strong> this degree is founded upon the circumstances related<br />
in numbers, ch . ssi . ver . 6-J : "And the Lord sent fiery<br />
serpents among the people, and they bit the people ; and much<br />
people <strong>of</strong> Israel died . <strong>The</strong>refore the people came to Moses, and<br />
said, We have sinned ; for we have spoken against the Lord, and<br />
against thee : pray unto thetord that he take away the serpents<br />
from us . And Moses prayed for the people . And the Lurd<br />
said unto Moses, make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a<br />
pole : and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten,<br />
when he looketh upon it shall live . And Moses made a serpent<br />
<strong>of</strong> brass, and put it upon a pole ; and it came to pass, that if a<br />
serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent <strong>of</strong> brass,<br />
he lived ." <strong>The</strong> hangings <strong>of</strong> the lodge are red and blue. A<br />
transparency, representing the Burning Bush with the Incommunicable<br />
name in the centre, is placed over the throne . A conical<br />
mount, elevated on five steps, is 'placed in the centre <strong>of</strong> the room .<br />
<strong>The</strong> lodge has but one light . It is named the Court <strong>of</strong> Sinai .<br />
<strong>The</strong> presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer is styled " Most Powerful Grand Master,"<br />
and represents Moses ; the Wardens are called "Ministers," and<br />
represent Aaron and Joshua ; the Orator is styled "Pontiff,"<br />
and the Secretary " Grand Graver ." <strong>The</strong> candidate is called<br />
" A Traveller ." <strong>The</strong> jewel is a serpent entwined around a tau<br />
cross, standing upon a triangle, with the inscription ,`71,`T 1 . It<br />
is suspended from a white ribbon .<br />
<strong>The</strong> knights say that this degree was founded in the time <strong>of</strong><br />
the Crusades, by John Ralph, who established the order in the<br />
Holy Land as a military and monastic society, and gave it the<br />
name <strong>of</strong> the Brazen Serpent, because it was a part <strong>of</strong> their oblii.<br />
gation to receive and gratuitously nurse sick travellers, to protect<br />
them against the attacks <strong>of</strong> the Saracens, and escort them safely<br />
to Palestine ; thus alluding to the healing and saving virtues <strong>of</strong><br />
the Brazen Serpent among the Israelites in the wilderness .<br />
KNIGHT OF THE AMERICAN EAGLE. A side degree,
KNI 243<br />
<strong>of</strong> a military character, which was invented, I think, in Texas<br />
or some <strong>of</strong> the Western States .<br />
KNIGHT OF THE CHRISTIAN MIARK, AND GUARD<br />
OF THE CONCLAVE . <strong>The</strong> fiat degree in a Council <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Trinity . This order is said to have been organized by Pope<br />
Alexander for the defence <strong>of</strong> his person, and to have been originally<br />
selected from the most worthy Knights <strong>of</strong> St . John <strong>of</strong><br />
Jerusalem . <strong>The</strong>ir ceremonies are founded on certain passages in<br />
the Books <strong>of</strong> Ezekiel and Jeremiah . <strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers are an Invincible<br />
Knight, Senior and Junior Knight, six Grand Ministers,<br />
Recorder, Treasurer, Conductor, and Guard . <strong>The</strong> jewel is a<br />
triangular plate <strong>of</strong> gold, with the letter G within a five-pointed<br />
star engraved on one side, and seven eyes on the other . <strong>The</strong><br />
motto <strong>of</strong> the order is, " Christus regnat, vincit, triumphat . Rex<br />
regnantium, Dominus dominantium ." Christ reigns, conquers<br />
and triumphs. King <strong>of</strong> Kings and Lord <strong>of</strong> Lords .<br />
<strong>The</strong> degree is given in New-York Encampments <strong>of</strong> Knights<br />
Templar, after the Knight <strong>of</strong> Malta.<br />
KNIGHT OF CONSTAN TINOPLE . A side degree, instituted,<br />
doubtless, by some Lecturer, teaching, however, an excellent<br />
moral lesson <strong>of</strong> humility. Its history has no connection<br />
whatever with masonry . <strong>The</strong> degree is not very extensively<br />
diffused, but several Masons, especially in the Western States,<br />
are in possession <strong>of</strong> it . It may be conferred by any Master<br />
i {ason on another, although the proper performance <strong>of</strong> the ceremonies<br />
requires the assistance <strong>of</strong> several . When the degree is<br />
formally conferred, the body is called a Council, and consists <strong>of</strong><br />
the following <strong>of</strong>ficers : Illustrious Sovereign, Chief <strong>of</strong> t`ie Artizans,<br />
Seneschal, Conductor, Prefect <strong>of</strong> the Palace, and Captain<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Guards .<br />
KNIGHT OF THE EAGLE. See Rose Croix .
244 KNI<br />
KNIGHT OF THE EAST . Chevalier d' Orient . <strong>The</strong> 15th<br />
degree is the Ancient Scotch rite . This is a very interesting<br />
degree . It is founded upon the circumstance <strong>of</strong> the assistance<br />
rendered by Darius to the Jews, who had been liberated from<br />
their captivity at Babylon, and who had been prevented after the<br />
death <strong>of</strong> Cyrus, by their enemies, from completing their purpose<br />
<strong>of</strong> rebuilding the temple . <strong>The</strong> meetings are called "Councils ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> hangings <strong>of</strong> the council chamber are water-coloured, interspersed<br />
with red, in allusion to certain events that occurred at<br />
the river Euphrates, on the return <strong>of</strong> the Israelites from captivity<br />
. It is illuminated by seventy-two lights, in memory <strong>of</strong><br />
the seventy-two years <strong>of</strong> captivity, and also for another reason .<br />
All the Knights are decorated with a green watered ribbon<br />
from the right shoulder to the left hip, a wooden bridge being<br />
painted on the front <strong>of</strong> it, with the letters Y and H upon it. It<br />
is also painted over with the heads and limbs <strong>of</strong> bodies newly<br />
slain . <strong>The</strong> apron is lined with red, and bordered with green,<br />
having three heaps <strong>of</strong> triangular chains painted on it, and on the<br />
flap a bloody head between two swords in saltire . <strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers<br />
are : 1, Cyrus or Sovereign ; 2, Nehemias or Grand Keeper <strong>of</strong><br />
the Seals ; 3, Sathrabuzanes or Grand General ; 4, Nithridates<br />
or Grand Treasurer ; 5, Sidrus or Minister <strong>of</strong> State. <strong>The</strong><br />
Knights <strong>of</strong> the East afterwards, in Palestine, assumed the name<br />
<strong>of</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong> the Red Cross, under which name a degree is now<br />
given, as preparatory to that <strong>of</strong> Knight Templar .<br />
Scripture and the traditions <strong>of</strong> the order furnish us with many<br />
interesting facts in relation to this degree. <strong>The</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong> the<br />
East are said to derive their origin from the captivity <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Israelites in Babylon . After seventy-two years <strong>of</strong> servitude,<br />
they were restored to liberty by Cyrus, king <strong>of</strong> Persia, through<br />
the intercession <strong>of</strong> Zerubbabel, a prince <strong>of</strong> the trite <strong>of</strong> Judah,<br />
and Nehemias, a holy man <strong>of</strong> a distinguished family .<br />
Cyrus then permitted the Jews to return to Jerusalem, for the<br />
purpose <strong>of</strong> rebuilding the temple, and he caused all the holy ves .
KNI 245<br />
eels and ornaments which had been carried away at its destruction<br />
by Nebuzaradan, to be restored to them .<br />
He entrusted the command <strong>of</strong> the returning captives to Ze .<br />
rubbabel, and issued an edict for their free passage from Syria to<br />
Jerusalem . Zerubbabel then assembled the Israelites, to the<br />
number <strong>of</strong> 42,360, exclusive <strong>of</strong> slaves and servants, and having<br />
armed those Masons who had escaped the fury <strong>of</strong> the enemy at<br />
the destruction <strong>of</strong> the old temple, amounting to 7000, he placed<br />
them at the head <strong>of</strong> the people to fight such as should oppose<br />
their return to Judea . <strong>The</strong> march was prosperous as far as the<br />
banks <strong>of</strong> the Euphrates, where Zerubbabel first found armed<br />
troops to oppose their passage . A battle now ensued, and all the<br />
enemy, to a man, were either drowned in the river or cut to<br />
pieces at the passage <strong>of</strong> the bridge .<br />
After a march <strong>of</strong> four months, the Israelites arrived at Jerusalem<br />
on the 22d <strong>of</strong> June . Seven days after they began to lay<br />
out the work <strong>of</strong> the new temple . <strong>The</strong> workmen were divided,<br />
as at the building <strong>of</strong> the old temple, into classes, over which a<br />
chief with two assistants presided ; every degree <strong>of</strong> each class<br />
was paid according to its rank, and each class had its distinctive<br />
modes <strong>of</strong> recognition .<br />
<strong>The</strong> works had scarcely been begun, before the workmen were<br />
disturbed by the persecutions <strong>of</strong> the neighbouring Samaritans,<br />
who, influenced by envy, were determined to oppose the reconstruction<br />
<strong>of</strong> the edifice . But Zerubbabel ordered, as a measure<br />
<strong>of</strong> precaution, that the Masons should work with a sword in one<br />
hand and a trowel in the other, that they might be able at any<br />
moment to defend themselves from the attacks <strong>of</strong> their enemies .<br />
This second temple occupied forty-six years in its construction,<br />
having been begun in the reign <strong>of</strong> Cyrus and completed in that<br />
<strong>of</strong> Artaxerxes . It was consecrated in the same manner as Solo .<br />
mon had consecrated the first . From the Masons who constructed<br />
it, and who were created Knights <strong>of</strong> the East by Cyrus, the<br />
present order <strong>of</strong> knights claim their descent .<br />
<strong>The</strong> degree <strong>of</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong> the East constitutes the 6th degree<br />
21*
246 KN I<br />
<strong>of</strong> the French rite . It does not differ in essentials front the<br />
same degree <strong>of</strong> the Ancient and Accepted Scotch rite.<br />
KNIGHT OF THE EAST AND WEST . Chevalier d' Ori •<br />
ent et d' Occident . <strong>The</strong> 17th degree in the Ancient Scotch rite,<br />
called a Council . This is a degree <strong>of</strong> chivalry, unconnected by<br />
its history with <strong>Freemasonry</strong> . <strong>The</strong> knights assert, that upon<br />
their return from the Holy Land, in the age <strong>of</strong> the Crusaders,<br />
their ancestors organized this order ; and that, in the year 1118,<br />
the first knights, to the number <strong>of</strong> eleveu, took their vows <strong>of</strong><br />
secrecy, friendship and discretion, between the hands <strong>of</strong> Garinus,<br />
patriarch and prince <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem . <strong>The</strong> presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer is called<br />
Most Powerful ; the Wardens and twenty-one knights, Worshipful<br />
Ancients ; and the rest <strong>of</strong> the brethren, WQrshipful Knights .<br />
<strong>The</strong> jewel is a heptagon <strong>of</strong> silver, at each angle a star <strong>of</strong> gold,<br />
and one <strong>of</strong> these letters B . D. W . P. H . C . S . ; in the centre is<br />
inscribed a lamb on a book with seven seals . On the reverse <strong>of</strong><br />
the jewel are the same letters, but the device is a two-edged<br />
sword between the scales <strong>of</strong> a balance .<br />
<strong>The</strong> apron is white, lined with red, and inscribed with a twoedged<br />
sword .<br />
KNIGHT OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE . This order<br />
was instituted by St . Helena, the mother. <strong>of</strong> Constantine the<br />
Great, in 302, after she had visited Jerusalem, and, according to<br />
the traditions <strong>of</strong> the Roman Church, discovered the true cross .<br />
In 304, the order was confirmed by Pope Marcellinus . During<br />
the times <strong>of</strong> the Christian Kings <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem, the Knights <strong>of</strong><br />
the Holy Sepulchre were eminent for their courage and fidelity .<br />
Upon the loss <strong>of</strong> the Holy Land, they took refuge in Perugia,<br />
and were afterwards incorporated with the Knights <strong>of</strong> Rhodes .<br />
Curzon, in his " Visits to PTonasteries in the Levant," states<br />
that the order is still conferred in Jerusalem, but only on Roman<br />
Catholics <strong>of</strong> noble birth, by the Reverendissimo or Supericr <strong>of</strong><br />
the Franciscans, and that the accolade, or blow <strong>of</strong> knighthood,
KNI 247<br />
is bestowed with the sword <strong>of</strong> Godfrey de Bouil .on, which is preserved,<br />
with his spurs, in the sacristy <strong>of</strong> the Church <strong>of</strong> the Holy<br />
Sepulchre . <strong>The</strong> degree is now given in Councils <strong>of</strong> the Trinity,<br />
next after the Knight <strong>of</strong> the Christian Mark ; and also in the<br />
New-York Encampments <strong>of</strong> Knights Templar . <strong>The</strong> presiding<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficer is called " Right Reverend Prelate ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> council chamber is decorated with black ornaments ; the<br />
altar is covered with black, and has three lights, a crucifix, and skull<br />
and cross bones .<br />
KNIGHT OF K H . Grand Elected Knight <strong>of</strong> Kadosh .<br />
Grand elu Chevalier Kadosch. <strong>The</strong> 29th degree in the Ancient<br />
Scotch rite . This degree is intimately connected with the ancient<br />
order <strong>of</strong> the Knights Templar, a history <strong>of</strong> whose destruction, by<br />
the united efforts <strong>of</strong> Philip, King <strong>of</strong> France, and Pope Clement V .<br />
forms a part <strong>of</strong> the instructions given to the candidate . <strong>The</strong><br />
dress <strong>of</strong> the knights is black, as an emblem <strong>of</strong> mourning for the<br />
extinction <strong>of</strong> the Knights Templar, and the death <strong>of</strong> Jacques de<br />
Molay, their last Grand Master . <strong>The</strong>y wear a red cross suspended<br />
by a black ribbon from the left shoulder to the right side . <strong>The</strong><br />
presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer is styled Most Illustrious Grand Commander .<br />
KNIGHT OF THE LILIES OF THE VALLEY . This<br />
was a degree conferred by the Grand Orient <strong>of</strong> France as an appendage<br />
to Templarism. <strong>The</strong> Knights Templar who received it<br />
were constituted Knights Commanders .<br />
KNIGHT OF MALTA . <strong>The</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong> St. John <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem,<br />
or Hospitallers <strong>of</strong> St . John, afterwards called Knights<br />
<strong>of</strong> Rhodes, and finally Knights <strong>of</strong> Malta, were founded about the<br />
ccmmencement <strong>of</strong> the Crusades, as a military and religious order .<br />
In 1048, some pious merchants from Amalfi, in the kingdom <strong>of</strong><br />
Naples, built a church and monastery at Jerusalem, which they<br />
dedicated to St. John the Almoner . <strong>The</strong> monks were hence<br />
called Brothers <strong>of</strong> St . John, or Hospitallers, and it was their duty
248 K I<br />
to assist those sick and needy pilgrims whom a spirit <strong>of</strong> piety had<br />
led to the Holy Land. <strong>The</strong>y assumed the black habit <strong>of</strong> the<br />
hermits <strong>of</strong> St . Augustine, distinguished only by a white cross <strong>of</strong><br />
eight points on the left breast . <strong>The</strong>y rapidly increased in numbers<br />
and in wealth, and at the beginning <strong>of</strong> the twelfth century,<br />
were organized as a military order by Raymond du Puy, who<br />
added to their original vows <strong>of</strong> chastity, obedience, and poverty, the<br />
obligation <strong>of</strong> defending the church against infidels . Raymond<br />
then devided them into three classes : Knights, who alone bore<br />
arms ; Chaplains, who were regular ecclesiastics ; and Servitors,<br />
who attended to the sick . After long and bloody contests with<br />
the Turks and Saracens, they were finally driven from Palestine<br />
in the year 1191 . Upon this, they attacked and conquered Cyprus,<br />
which, however, they lost after eighteen years occupation ;<br />
they then established themselves at the Island <strong>of</strong> Rhodes, under<br />
the Grand 3Tastership <strong>of</strong> Fulk de Villaret, and assumed the title<br />
<strong>of</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong> Rhodes . On the 15th <strong>of</strong> December, 1442, after a<br />
tranquil occupation <strong>of</strong> this island for more than two hundred<br />
years, they were finally ejected from all their possessions by the<br />
sultan, Soliman the Second . After this disaster, they successively<br />
retired to Castro, Messina, and Rome, until the Emperor Charles<br />
V., in 1530, bestowed upon them the Island <strong>of</strong> Malta, upon the<br />
condition <strong>of</strong> their defending it from the depredations <strong>of</strong> the Turks,<br />
and the corsairs <strong>of</strong> Barbary, and <strong>of</strong> restoring it to Naples, should,<br />
they ever succeed in recovering Rhodes . <strong>The</strong>y now took the name<br />
<strong>of</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong> Malta, by which title they have ever since been<br />
designated . Here the organization <strong>of</strong> the order was as follows<br />
<strong>The</strong> chief <strong>of</strong> the order was called " Grand Master <strong>of</strong> the Holy<br />
Hospital <strong>of</strong> St . John <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem, and Guardian <strong>of</strong> the army <strong>of</strong><br />
Jesus Christ ." He was elected for life, and resided at the city<br />
<strong>of</strong> Valette . He was addressed by foreign powers with the title<br />
<strong>of</strong> "" 1ltezza eminentissima," and enjoyed an annual revenue <strong>of</strong><br />
about one million <strong>of</strong> guilders .* <strong>The</strong> knights were divided into<br />
* <strong>The</strong> Grand Master's election was regulated in the following manner, when<br />
Clark wrote his "History <strong>of</strong>tnighthood ." <strong>The</strong> several seminaries named two
KNI 249<br />
eight languages, according to their respective nations . <strong>The</strong> languages<br />
were those <strong>of</strong> Provence, Auvergne, France, Italy, Arragon,<br />
Germany, Castile, and England . Upon the extinction <strong>of</strong> the language<br />
<strong>of</strong> England, that <strong>of</strong> Anglo-Bavaria was substituted . <strong>The</strong><br />
Grand Officers were also eight in number, and consisted <strong>of</strong> the<br />
chiefs <strong>of</strong> the different languages, as follows<br />
1 . <strong>The</strong> chief <strong>of</strong> the language <strong>of</strong> Provence was Grand Commander .<br />
2 . " " Auvergne " Marshal .<br />
France " Hospitaller.<br />
4. " " Italy " Grand Admiral .<br />
5 " " Arragon " Grand Conservator.<br />
6. " " Germany " Grand Bailiff.<br />
7 . " " Castile " Grand Chancellor.<br />
8 . " " England " Turcopolier or Captain<br />
[General <strong>of</strong> the Cavalry .<br />
<strong>The</strong> knights, in time <strong>of</strong> war, wore over their usual garments a<br />
scarlet surcoat, embellished before and behind with a broad white<br />
cross <strong>of</strong> eight points . In times <strong>of</strong> peace, the dress <strong>of</strong> ceremony<br />
was a long black mantle, upon which the same cross <strong>of</strong> white linen<br />
was sowed .<br />
In 1565, the Island <strong>of</strong> Malta was beleag*ured by Soliman the<br />
Second, on which occasion the knights suffered immense loss, from<br />
which they never entirely recovered . Of the eight languages, the<br />
English became extinct in the sixteenth century, those <strong>of</strong> France,<br />
Auvergne, and Provence, perished in the anarchy <strong>of</strong> the French<br />
revolution, Castile and Arragon were separated at the peace <strong>of</strong><br />
Amiens, and the remaining two have been since abolished . <strong>The</strong><br />
order, therefore, as respects its ancient constitution, has now ceased<br />
to exist .<br />
In 1798, the knights chose Paul I ., Emperor <strong>of</strong> Russia, as<br />
their Grand Master, who took them under his protection . Upon<br />
his death they elected Prince Carracciolo . Upon the reduction<br />
knights each, allowing also two for the English ; those sixteen, from among<br />
themselves chose eight : those eight chose a knight, a priest, and a serving<br />
brother ; and they three, out <strong>of</strong> the sixteen great crosses, elected the Grand<br />
Master.
350 KNI<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Island <strong>of</strong> Malta by the English in 1800, the chef scat<br />
<strong>of</strong> the order was transferred to Catanea in Sicily, whence in 1826<br />
it was removed by the authority <strong>of</strong> the Pope to Ferrara . <strong>The</strong><br />
last public reception <strong>of</strong> the order took place at Sonneburg in 1800,<br />
when Leopold, the present King <strong>of</strong> Belgium, and Prince Ernest<br />
<strong>of</strong> Hesse Philippsthal Barchfeld, with several other knights, were<br />
created .<br />
In 1841, Ferdinand I ., Emperor <strong>of</strong> Austria, issued a decree<br />
restoring the order in Italy, and endowing it with a moderate re-<br />
venue .* But the wealth, the power, and the magnificence <strong>of</strong> the<br />
order have passed away with the age and the spirit <strong>of</strong> chivalry<br />
which gave it birth .<br />
Ancient Ceremonies <strong>of</strong> Reception .--<strong>The</strong>y were simple and im-<br />
pressive . "<strong>The</strong> novice was made to understand that he was<br />
' about to put <strong>of</strong>f the old man, and to be regenerated<br />
;' and having<br />
received absolution, was required to present himself in a secular<br />
habit, without a girdle, in order to appear perfectly free on enter-<br />
ing into so sacred an engagement, and with a burning taper in his<br />
hand, representing charity . He then received the holy commu-<br />
nion, and afterwards presented himself 'most respectfully before<br />
the person who was to perform the ceremony, and requested to be<br />
received into the company <strong>of</strong> brothers and into the holy order <strong>of</strong><br />
the Hospital <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem .' <strong>The</strong> rules <strong>of</strong> the-order, the obligations<br />
he was about to take upon himself, and the duties that would be<br />
required <strong>of</strong> him, being explained, an open Missal was then pre-<br />
sented to him, on which he placed both <strong>of</strong> his hands, and made him<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>ession in the following terms<br />
"' I, N ., do vow and promise to Almighty God, to the eternal<br />
Virgin Mary, mother <strong>of</strong> God, and to St . John the Baptist, to ren .<br />
der henceforward, by the grace <strong>of</strong> God, perfect obedience to the<br />
superior placed over me by the choice <strong>of</strong> the order, to live without<br />
personal property, and to preserve my chastity .'<br />
"Having taken his hands from the book, the brother who re-<br />
0 See Moore's Magazine for a copy <strong>of</strong> this decree .
KNI 251<br />
ceived him said as follows : (We ackn~ wledge you the servant <strong>of</strong><br />
the poor and sick, and as having consecrated yourself to the service<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Church .' To which he answered : ' I acknowledge<br />
myself as such .' He then kissed the Missal and returned it to<br />
the brother who received him, in token <strong>of</strong> perfect obedience . He<br />
was then invested with the mantle <strong>of</strong> the order, in such a manner<br />
as that the cross fell on his left breast . A variety <strong>of</strong> other minor<br />
ceremonies followed, and the whole was concluded with a series<br />
<strong>of</strong> appropriate and solemn prayers ."*<br />
As a masonic grade, the degree <strong>of</strong> Knight <strong>of</strong> Malta is in this<br />
country communicated in an Encampment <strong>of</strong> Knights Templar,<br />
as an appendant order thereto .<br />
KNIGHT OF THE MEDITERRANE A_N PASS . This<br />
is an honorary degree, conferred only on Knights Templar as<br />
Knights <strong>of</strong> Malta . It is conferred by Inspectors <strong>of</strong> the 33d degree<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Ancient and Accepted rite, though, I suppose, it may also<br />
be conferred by Encampments <strong>of</strong> Knights Templar that are in<br />
possession <strong>of</strong> it, upon their members .<br />
<strong>The</strong> degree is said to have been founded by the Knights <strong>of</strong><br />
Malta, about the year 1367 . In an excursion <strong>of</strong> a party <strong>of</strong> Maltese<br />
knights, they were attacked while crossing the river Offanto,t<br />
in Italy, by a very superior force . Notwithstanding the disparity<br />
<strong>of</strong> numbers, the knights succeeded in obtaining a signal victory,<br />
and routed the Turks, with an immense loss, the river being<br />
literally stained with their blood .<br />
As a reward <strong>of</strong> their valour, the knights who had thus distinguished<br />
themselves were affranchised on all the Mediterranean<br />
shores; that is to say, they received permission to pass and repass,<br />
wherever and whenever it seemed to them good, and this was the<br />
* Moore's Magazine, vol . ii, p . 133-4 .<br />
t This is the ancient Aufidius, memorable for the battle <strong>of</strong> Cannse f )ught on<br />
its banks, between Hannibal and the Romans, in which the latter were ibfeated<br />
with the loss <strong>of</strong> 45,000 men .
252 KNI<br />
origin <strong>of</strong> the decree which was instituted in commemoration <strong>of</strong><br />
these circumstances. Such is the legend <strong>of</strong> the knights <strong>of</strong> this<br />
degree . It is by no means to be confounded with the side degree<br />
<strong>of</strong> the "Mediterranean Pass," conferred on Royal Arch Masons,<br />
which resembles it only in the name .<br />
KNIGHT OF THE NINTH ARCH . Royal Arche. <strong>The</strong><br />
13th degree in the Ancient Scotch rite, sometimes called the<br />
" Ancient Royal Arch <strong>of</strong> Solomon ." This is, without question,<br />
the most interesting and impressive <strong>of</strong> what are called the ineffable<br />
degrees . <strong>The</strong> historical portiins <strong>of</strong> this degree are copious,<br />
and afford us much information in relation to- Enoch, and the<br />
mode in which, notwithstanding the destructive influence <strong>of</strong> the<br />
deluge and the lapse <strong>of</strong> ages, he was enabled to preserve important<br />
secrets eventually to be communicated to the first possessors <strong>of</strong><br />
.his degree . Its <strong>of</strong>ficers are a Most Potent Grand Master, representing<br />
Solomon K . <strong>of</strong> I ., a Grand Warden, representing<br />
Hiram K . <strong>of</strong> T ., a Grand Inspector, Grand Treasurer, and Grand<br />
Secretary .<br />
<strong>The</strong> apron <strong>of</strong> this degree is lined with yellow, and has on it a<br />
triangle .<br />
<strong>The</strong> jewel is a medal <strong>of</strong> gold . On one side is a representation<br />
<strong>of</strong> two people letting down a third through a square hole into<br />
arches, and round the edge these letters : " R . S . S . G . I . E . S .<br />
T. P. A . T . S. R. E, A. M. 2995 ." <strong>The</strong>y are the initials <strong>of</strong> the<br />
following sentence : 11 Regnante Sapientissimo Salamone, G<br />
I et S Invenerunt Pretiosissimum Artificum <strong>The</strong>saurum,<br />
Subter Ruinas Enoch, Anno Mundi 2995 ."<br />
KNIGHT OF THE PELICAN . One <strong>of</strong> the titles by which<br />
the Princes <strong>of</strong> Rose Croix are designated .<br />
KNIGHT OF THE RED CROSS . This is strictly a masonic<br />
order <strong>of</strong> knighthood, and its history is intimately connected with<br />
the circumstances related in the Royal Arch degree . It has no
KNI 2 53<br />
analogy to the degrees <strong>of</strong> chivalry, dating its existence long be .<br />
fore the Crusades, or even the Christian era, as far back, indeed,<br />
as the reign <strong>of</strong> Darius, by whom it is said to have been founded .<br />
It is, however, always conferred in an Encampment <strong>of</strong> Knights<br />
Templar, and is given preparatory to communicating that degree,<br />
though there is no connection whatsoever between the two . After<br />
the death <strong>of</strong> Cyrus, the Jews, who had been released by him from<br />
their captivity, and permitted to return to Jerusalem, for the purpose<br />
<strong>of</strong> re-building the temple, found themselves obstructed in<br />
the undertaking by the neighbouring nations, and especially by the<br />
Samaritans . Hereupon, they sent an embassy, at the head <strong>of</strong><br />
which was their prince Zerubbabel, to Darius the successor <strong>of</strong><br />
Cyrus, to crave his interposition and protection . Zerubbabel,<br />
awaiting a favourable opportunity, succeeded not only in obtaining<br />
his request, but also in renewing the friendship which formerly<br />
existed between the king and himself. In commemoration <strong>of</strong><br />
these events, Darius is said to have instituted a new order, and<br />
called it the Knights <strong>of</strong> the East . <strong>The</strong>y afterwards assumed their<br />
present name from the red cross borne in their banners . <strong>The</strong><br />
historical circumstances connected with this degree will be found<br />
in Josephus, and in the 3d and 4th chapters <strong>of</strong> the 1st book <strong>of</strong> Esdras<br />
. It is asserted that this order has been long known in<br />
Europe, under different names, though its introduction into this<br />
country is <strong>of</strong> comparatively recent date . A council <strong>of</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong><br />
the Red Cross is composed <strong>of</strong> the following <strong>of</strong>ficers : a Sovereign<br />
Master, Chancellor, Master <strong>of</strong> the Palace, Prelate, Master <strong>of</strong> Des .<br />
patches, Master <strong>of</strong> Calvary, Master <strong>of</strong> Infantry, Standard-Bearer,<br />
Sword-Bearer, Warder, and Sentinel .<br />
KNIGHT OF THE ROYAL AXE, OR PRINCE OF<br />
LIBANUS . Royal-.ache, ou Pr7:nce du Liban . <strong>The</strong> 22d degree<br />
in the Ancient Scotch rite . It was instituted to record<br />
three memorable services rendered to masonry by the « mighty<br />
cedars <strong>of</strong> Lebanon," and its history furnishes some interesting<br />
information on the subject <strong>of</strong> the Sidonian architects .<br />
22
2 5 4 KNI<br />
We learn from this degree that the Sidonians were employed<br />
in cutting cedars, on Mount Libanus or Lebanon, for the construction<br />
<strong>of</strong> Noah's ark . <strong>The</strong>ir descendants subsequently cut<br />
cedars from the same place for the ark <strong>of</strong> the covenant ; and the<br />
descendants <strong>of</strong> these were again employed in the same <strong>of</strong>fices, and<br />
in the same place, in obtaining materials for building Solomon's<br />
temple . Lastly, Zerubbabel employed them in cutting the cedars<br />
<strong>of</strong> Lebanon for the use <strong>of</strong> the second temple . This celebrated<br />
nation formed colleges on Mount Libanus, and in their labours always<br />
adored the Great Architect <strong>of</strong> the Universe . I have no<br />
doubt that this last sentence refers to the Druses, that secret sect<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>The</strong>ists, who still reside upon Mount Libanus, and in the adjacent<br />
parts <strong>of</strong> Syria and Palestine, and whose mysterious ceremonies<br />
have attracted so much <strong>of</strong> the curiosity <strong>of</strong> Eastern travellers .<br />
Thory* says that Pierre Riel, Marquis <strong>of</strong> Beurnonville, who<br />
died in Paris in 1821, having gone to the island <strong>of</strong> Bourbon, was<br />
there elected Grand Master <strong>of</strong> all the lodges <strong>of</strong> India, in 1778,<br />
and then instituted this degree .<br />
<strong>The</strong> apron <strong>of</strong> the Knights <strong>of</strong> the Royal Axe is white, lined<br />
and bordered with purple . On it is painted a round table, on<br />
which are laid several architectural plans . On the flap is a<br />
three-headed serpent . <strong>The</strong> jewel is a golden axe, having on the<br />
handle and blade the initials <strong>of</strong> several personages illustrious in<br />
the history <strong>of</strong> masonry<br />
KNIGHT OF THE ROSY CROSS . See Heredom, RoyaJ<br />
Order <strong>of</strong>.<br />
KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM . According<br />
to a tradition <strong>of</strong> the Rose Croix, 27,000 <strong>of</strong> the descendants<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Masons who, at the destruction <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem by Titus,<br />
had fled to Scotland, being desirous <strong>of</strong> uniting in the war <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Crusades, obtained permission <strong>of</strong> the Scotch monarch, and, oa<br />
their arrival in Palestine, performed so many deeds <strong>of</strong> valour as<br />
* Chronologie, tome i ., p . 311 .
KNI 25.5<br />
to attract the admiration <strong>of</strong> the Knights <strong>of</strong> St. John <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem,<br />
who, as a token <strong>of</strong> their esteem, requested to be initiated<br />
into the masonic order, whence arose the connection <strong>of</strong> that body<br />
with the Freemasons .<br />
KNIGHT OF THE SUN . Chevalier du Soliel. <strong>The</strong> 28th<br />
degree <strong>of</strong> the Ancient Scotch rite, sometimes called by other<br />
names, as Prince <strong>of</strong> the Sun, Prince Adept, and Key <strong>of</strong> Masonry,<br />
or Chaos Disentangled . This is a philosophical degree .<br />
Its ceremonies and lecture are employed in giving a history <strong>of</strong><br />
all the preceding degrees, and in explaining the emblems <strong>of</strong> masonry<br />
. Its great object is the inculcation <strong>of</strong> TRUTH . <strong>The</strong> principal<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficers are styled Thrice Perfect Father Adam and Brother<br />
Truth ; the other <strong>of</strong>ficers are named after the seven chief angels,<br />
and the brethren are called Sylphs . <strong>The</strong> jewel is a gold medal,<br />
with a sun on one side surrounded by rays, and on the reverse a<br />
globe . <strong>The</strong>re is but one light in the lodge, which shines from<br />
behind a globe <strong>of</strong> water.<br />
Radon,* speaking <strong>of</strong> this degree, says that it is not, like many<br />
<strong>of</strong> the high degrees, a modern invention, but is <strong>of</strong> the highest<br />
antiquity, and was, in fact, the last degree <strong>of</strong> initiation, teaching,<br />
as it did, the doctrines <strong>of</strong> natural religion, which formed an essential<br />
part <strong>of</strong> the ancient mysteries .<br />
KNIGHT OF THE THREE KINGS . A side degree<br />
sometimes given by Lecturers . Its history connects it with the<br />
dedication <strong>of</strong> the first temple, the conferrer <strong>of</strong> the degree represdnting<br />
King Solomon . Its moral tendency appears to be the<br />
inculcation <strong>of</strong> reconciliation <strong>of</strong> grievances among Masons by<br />
friendly conference . It may be conferred by any Master Mason<br />
on another .<br />
KNIGHT TEMPLAR . In the early ages <strong>of</strong> the Christian<br />
church, a holy veneration for the scenes which had been conse-<br />
• Cuurs Philosophique, p. 361 .
256 KNI<br />
crated by the sufferings and death <strong>of</strong> the founder <strong>of</strong> our religion,<br />
led thousands <strong>of</strong> pious pilgrims to visit Jerusalem, for the purpose<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>fering up their devotions at the sepulchre <strong>of</strong> the Lord .<br />
To such a height did this religious enthusiasm arrive, that, in<br />
1064, not less than seven thousand pilgrims assembled from all<br />
parts <strong>of</strong> Europe around the tomb <strong>of</strong> Christ . At a time when<br />
the facilities <strong>of</strong> intercourse which now exist were unknown, the<br />
journey must have always been attended with difficulties and<br />
dangers, to which the youthful, the aged, and the infirm, must<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten have been sacrificed . But when Palestine was conquered<br />
by the Arabs, and the land <strong>of</strong> pilgrimage became infested by<br />
hordes <strong>of</strong> barbarous fanatics, inspired with the most intense hatred<br />
towards Christianity, these difficulties and dangers were<br />
eminently increased . <strong>The</strong> tale <strong>of</strong> the sufferings inflicted on the<br />
pilgrims by the Mussulman possessors <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem excited in<br />
Europe an enthusiastic indignation, which led to the institution<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Crusades, wars undertaken solely for the purpose <strong>of</strong> recovering<br />
the Holy Land from the followers <strong>of</strong> Alahomet . In 1099,<br />
the city <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem was captured by the Crusaders, the consequence<br />
<strong>of</strong> which was an increase in the zeal <strong>of</strong> pilgrimage, which<br />
had been gathering intensity during its long suppression by the<br />
barbarities <strong>of</strong> the Turcomans . But, although the infidels had<br />
been driven out <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem, they had not been expelled from<br />
Palestine, but they still continued to infest the l<strong>of</strong>ty mountains<br />
bordering on the sea-coast, from whose inaccessible strongholds<br />
they were wont to make incursions into the roads surrounding<br />
the Holy City, and pillage every unguarded traveller.<br />
To protect the pious pilgrims thus exposed to plunder and death,<br />
nine noble knights, who bad previously distinguished themselves<br />
at the siege <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem, united in a brotherhood, and bound<br />
themselves by a solemn compact to aid one another in clearing the<br />
highways <strong>of</strong> infidels and robbers, and in protecting the pilgrim<br />
through the passes and defiles <strong>of</strong> the mountains to the Holy City .*<br />
• <strong>The</strong> Knight Templars, by C . G . Addison, Esq ., <strong>of</strong> the Inner Temple P .<br />
0, London, 1842.
KIN 257<br />
<strong>The</strong>se knights called themselves the Poor Fellow Soldiers <strong>of</strong><br />
Jesus Christ . Baldwin, King <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem, gave them, in 1118,<br />
for a dwelling, a part <strong>of</strong> the church which had been built by the<br />
Emperor Justinian within the site on which the temple <strong>of</strong> Solomon<br />
had been erected on Mount Moriah, and adjoining to the<br />
temple which had been built by the Caliph Omar . <strong>The</strong>nceforth<br />
they assumed the title <strong>of</strong> "Poor Fellow Soldiers <strong>of</strong> Christ and<br />
<strong>of</strong> the temple <strong>of</strong> Solomon ."* <strong>The</strong> views <strong>of</strong> the order now became<br />
more extensive, and they added to their pr<strong>of</strong>usion <strong>of</strong> protecting<br />
poor pilgrims, that <strong>of</strong> defending the kingdom <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem,<br />
and the whole Eastern church, from the attacks <strong>of</strong> infidels .<br />
Hugh de Payens was chosen by the knights their leader, under<br />
the title <strong>of</strong> the " Master <strong>of</strong> the Temple ." <strong>The</strong>ir name and reputation<br />
spread rapidly through Europe, and many <strong>of</strong> the nobles<br />
<strong>of</strong> the West, who had visited Palestine as pilgrims, aspired to<br />
become members <strong>of</strong> the order . In 1128, they received a rule or<br />
system <strong>of</strong> regulations from the pope, which had been drawn expressly<br />
for them by St . Bernard . In the same year Hugh de<br />
Payens visited various parts <strong>of</strong> Europe, and received from different<br />
princes and nobles many liberal donations <strong>of</strong> land and<br />
money . In England, especially, where the amount granted was<br />
large, he established a branch <strong>of</strong> the order, placing a Knight<br />
Templar at its head, as his procurator and vicegerent, with the<br />
title <strong>of</strong> Prior <strong>of</strong> the Temple . As the English domains became<br />
enlarged, this title was successively changed to that <strong>of</strong> Grand<br />
Prior, and then to that <strong>of</strong> Master <strong>of</strong> the Temple in England .<br />
At this time, the rule <strong>of</strong> St . Bernard, which had been adopted<br />
for their government, prescribed to them a dress, consisting <strong>of</strong> a<br />
white mantle, " that those," as the rule expressed it, " who<br />
have cast behind them a dark life, may know that they are to<br />
commend themselves to their creator by a pure and white life ."t<br />
To this, Pope Eugenius some years afterwards added a red cross,<br />
as a symbol <strong>of</strong> martyrdom . <strong>The</strong>ir banner was half black, half<br />
* Pauperes Commilitiones Christi et Templi Salomonis .<br />
t Regula. cap az .<br />
22
258 KNI<br />
white, called Beauseant, ' 1 that is to say, in the Gall c tongue ;<br />
Lien-leant, (well-becoming,) because they are fair and favourable<br />
to the friends <strong>of</strong> Christ, but black and terrible to his enemies ."*<br />
<strong>The</strong> knights, engaged in continual wars with the infidels, continued<br />
to increase their reputation, and enlarge their possessions,<br />
which are esteemed by Dugdale to have produced, in 1185, the,<br />
enormous annual sum <strong>of</strong> six millions sterling . But in the beginning<br />
<strong>of</strong> the 14th century, the avarice <strong>of</strong> Philip le Bel, and<br />
the weakness and perfidy <strong>of</strong> Clement V., conspired to give a<br />
blow to their order, from which it never recovered . Before adverting<br />
to that catastrophe, I shall occupy a few moments in examining<br />
the organization <strong>of</strong> the order during the most .prosperous<br />
period <strong>of</strong> its existence .<br />
<strong>The</strong> order <strong>of</strong> the Temple, in the 12th century, was divided<br />
into three classes : knights, priests, and serving brethren . Every<br />
candidate for admission into the first class must have received<br />
the honour <strong>of</strong> knighthood in due form, and according to the laws<br />
<strong>of</strong> chivalry, and consequently the Knights Templar were all men<br />
<strong>of</strong> noble birth . <strong>The</strong> second class, or the priests, were not originally<br />
a part <strong>of</strong> the order, but by the bull <strong>of</strong> Pope Alexander,<br />
known as the bull omne datum optimum, it was ordained that<br />
they might be admitted, to enable the knights more commodiously<br />
to hear divine service, and to receive the sacramants .<br />
Serving brothers, like the priests, were not a part <strong>of</strong> the primitive<br />
institution . <strong>The</strong>y owed their existence to the increasing<br />
prosperity and luxury <strong>of</strong> the order .<br />
Over this society, thus constituted, was placed a presiding<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficer, with the title <strong>of</strong> Grand Master . His power, though<br />
great, was limited . He was, in war, the commander-in-chief <strong>of</strong><br />
all the forces <strong>of</strong> the Temple . In his hands was placed the<br />
whole patronage <strong>of</strong> the order, and as the vicegerent <strong>of</strong> the pope,<br />
lie was the spiritual head and bishop <strong>of</strong> all the clergy belonging<br />
to the society . He was, however, much controlled and guided<br />
*,James de Vitry . Hist. HierosoL
KNI 25v<br />
by the chapter, without whose consent he was never permitted to<br />
draw out or expend the money <strong>of</strong> the order .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Grand Master resided originally at Jerusalem ; afterwards,<br />
when that city was lost, at Acre, and finally at Cyprus . His<br />
duty always required him to be in the Holy Land ; he consequently<br />
never resided in Europe . He was elected for life from<br />
among the knights in the following manner . On the death <strong>of</strong><br />
the Grand Master, a Grand Prior was chosen to administer the<br />
affairs <strong>of</strong> the order until a successor could be elected . When<br />
the day which had been appointed for the election arrived, the<br />
chapter usually assembled at the chief seat <strong>of</strong> the order ; three<br />
or more <strong>of</strong> the most esteemed knights were then proposed, the<br />
Grand Prior collected the votes, and he who had received the<br />
greatest number was nominated to be the electing Prior . An<br />
Assistant was then associated with him in the person <strong>of</strong> another<br />
knight. <strong>The</strong>se two remained all night in the chapel engaged in<br />
prayer. In the morning, they chose two others, and these four,<br />
two more, and so on until the number <strong>of</strong> twelve (that <strong>of</strong> the<br />
apostles) had been selected . <strong>The</strong> twelve then selected a chaplain<br />
. <strong>The</strong> thirteen then proceeded to vote for a Grand Master,<br />
who was elected by a majority <strong>of</strong> the votes. When the election<br />
was completed, it was announced to the assembled brethren, and<br />
when all had promised obedience, the Prior, if the person was<br />
present, said to him, ~ 1 In the name <strong>of</strong> God the Father, the Son,<br />
and the Holy Ghost, we have chosen, and do choose thee, brother<br />
N ., to be our Master ." <strong>The</strong>n, turning to the brethren, he<br />
said, "Beloved sirs and brethren, give thanks unto God, behold<br />
here our Master."*<br />
<strong>The</strong> remaining <strong>of</strong>ficers were a Marshal, who was charged with<br />
the execution <strong>of</strong> the military arrangements on the field <strong>of</strong> battle .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Prior <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem, called the Grand Preceptor <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Temple, was the Treasurer <strong>of</strong> the order, and had charge <strong>of</strong> all<br />
the receipts and expenditures . <strong>The</strong> Draper had the care <strong>of</strong> the<br />
clothing department, and distributed the garments to all the<br />
* See N. Americ. Quart . Mag. vol . vii. p. 32 3.
260 KNI<br />
brethren . <strong>The</strong> Standard-Bearer bore the glorious Beauseant to<br />
the field . <strong>The</strong> Turcopilar was the commander <strong>of</strong> a body <strong>of</strong> lighhorse<br />
called Turcopoles,'who were employed as skirmishers and<br />
light cavalry . And lastly, to the Guardian <strong>of</strong> the Chapel was<br />
entrusted the care <strong>of</strong> the portable chapel, * which was always carried<br />
by the Templars into the field .*<br />
Each province <strong>of</strong> the order had a Grand Prior, who was in it<br />
the representative <strong>of</strong> the Grand Master ; and each house was<br />
governed by a Prior or Preceptor, who commanded its knights in<br />
time <strong>of</strong> war, and presided over its chapter in peace .<br />
<strong>The</strong> mode <strong>of</strong> reception into the order is described to have been<br />
exceedingly solemn . A novitiate was enjoined by the canons ;<br />
though practically, it was in general dispensed with . <strong>The</strong> candidate<br />
was received in a chapter assembled in the chapel <strong>of</strong> the<br />
order, all strangers being rigorously excluded . <strong>The</strong> Preceptor<br />
opened the business with an address to those present, demanding<br />
if they knew <strong>of</strong> any just cause or impediment why the candidate<br />
should not be admitted . If no objection was made, the<br />
candidate was conducted into an adjacent chamber, where two or<br />
three <strong>of</strong> the knights, placing before his view the rigour and austerities<br />
<strong>of</strong> the order, demanded if he still persisted in entering<br />
it . If he persisted, he was asked if he was married or betrothed,<br />
had made a vow in any other order, if he owed more than he<br />
could pay, if he was <strong>of</strong> sound body', without any secret infirmity,<br />
and free ? If his answers proved satisfactory, they left him and<br />
returned to the chapter, and the Preceptor again asked, if any<br />
one had any thing to say against his being received . If all were<br />
silent, he asked if they were willing to receive him . On their<br />
assenting, the candidate was led in by the knights who had<br />
questioned him, and who now instructed him in the mode <strong>of</strong><br />
asking admission . He advanced, and kneeling before the Preceptor<br />
with folded bands, said, 11 Sir, I am come before God,<br />
and before you and the brethren ; and I pray and beseech you,<br />
*This list is given on the authority <strong>of</strong> Addison . Other writers varj<br />
slightly in the names and number <strong>of</strong> these <strong>of</strong>ficers .
for the sake <strong>of</strong> God, and our sweet lady, to receive me into your<br />
society and the good works <strong>of</strong> the order, as one who, all his life<br />
long, will be the servant and slave <strong>of</strong> the order ." <strong>The</strong> Preceptor<br />
then inquired <strong>of</strong> him if he had well considered all the<br />
trials and difficulties which awaited him in the order, adjured<br />
him on the Holy Evangelists to speak the truth, and then put to<br />
him the questions which had already been asked <strong>of</strong> him in the<br />
preparation room, further inquiring if he was a knight, and the<br />
son <strong>of</strong> a knight and gentlewoman, and if he was a priest. He<br />
then asked him the following questions : "Do you promise to<br />
God and Mary, and our dear lady, obedience, as long as you live,<br />
to the Master <strong>of</strong> the Temple, and the Prior who shall be set over<br />
you ; do you promise chastity <strong>of</strong> the body ; do you further promise<br />
a strict compliance with the laudable customs and usages <strong>of</strong><br />
the order now in force, and such as the Master and knights may<br />
hereafter add ; will you fight for and defend, with all your<br />
might, the holy land <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem, and never quit the order but<br />
with the consent <strong>of</strong> the Master and Chapter ; and lastly, do you<br />
agree that you never will see a Christian unjustly deprived <strong>of</strong> his<br />
inheritance, nor be aiding in such a deed?" <strong>The</strong> answers to all<br />
these questions being in the affirmative, the Preceptor then said<br />
" In the name <strong>of</strong> God, and <strong>of</strong> Mary, our dear lady, and in the<br />
name <strong>of</strong> St. Peter <strong>of</strong> Rome, and <strong>of</strong> our Father the Pope, and in<br />
the name <strong>of</strong> all the brethren <strong>of</strong> the Temple, we receive you to<br />
all the good works <strong>of</strong> the order, which have been performed from<br />
the beginning, and will be performed to the end, you, your<br />
father, your mother, and all those <strong>of</strong> your family whom you let<br />
participate therein . So you, in like manner, receive us to all the<br />
good works which you have performed and will perform. We<br />
assure you <strong>of</strong> bread . and water, the poor clothing <strong>of</strong> "the order,<br />
and labor and toil enow ." <strong>The</strong> Preceptor then took the white<br />
mantle, with its ruddy cross, placed it about his neck and bound<br />
it fast. <strong>The</strong> Chaplain repeated the 133d Psalm : Behold how<br />
good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in<br />
unity ;" and the prayer <strong>of</strong> the Holy Spirit, 11 Deus qui corda
262 KNI<br />
icdedium ; each brother said a Pater, and the Preceptor ants<br />
Chaplain kissed the candidate . He then placed himself at the<br />
feet <strong>of</strong> the Preceptor, who exhorted him to peace and charity, to<br />
chastity, obedience, humility, and piety, and so the ceremony<br />
was ended .*<br />
But to resume the history <strong>of</strong> the order . From the time <strong>of</strong><br />
Hugh de Payens, to that <strong>of</strong> Jacques de Molay, the Templars<br />
continued to be governed by a succession <strong>of</strong> the noblest and<br />
bravest knights <strong>of</strong> which the chivalry <strong>of</strong> Christendom could<br />
boast . <strong>The</strong>y continued to increase in power, in fame and in<br />
wealth, and, what is unfortunately too <strong>of</strong>ten the concomitants <strong>of</strong><br />
these qualities, in luxury and pride. In the beginning <strong>of</strong> the<br />
14th century, the throne <strong>of</strong> France was filled by Philip the Fair,<br />
an ambitious, a vindictive, and an avaricious prince . In his<br />
celebrated controversy with Pope Boniface, the Templars had, as<br />
was usual with them, sided with the Pontiff and opposed the<br />
King; this act excited his hatred : the order was enormously<br />
wealthy ; this aroused his avarice : their power interfered with<br />
his designs <strong>of</strong> political aggrandizement ; and this alarmed his<br />
ambition. He, therefore, secretly concerted with Pope Clement<br />
V. a plan for their destruction, and the appropriation <strong>of</strong> their<br />
revenues. Clement, by his direction, wrote in June, 1306, to<br />
De Nolay, the Grand blaster, who was then at Cyprus, inviting<br />
him to come and consult with him on some matters <strong>of</strong> great im-<br />
portance to the order. De Molay obeyed the summons, and ar-<br />
rived in the beginning <strong>of</strong> 1307 at Paris, with sixty knights and<br />
a large amount <strong>of</strong> treasure . He was immediately imprisoned,<br />
and, on the 13th <strong>of</strong> October following, every knight in France<br />
was, in consequence <strong>of</strong> the secret orders <strong>of</strong> the King, arrested<br />
on the pretended charge <strong>of</strong> idolatry, and other enormous crimes,<br />
<strong>of</strong> which a renegade and expelled Prior <strong>of</strong> the order was said to<br />
have confessed that the knights were guilty in their secret chap-<br />
ters . On the 12th <strong>of</strong> blay, 1310, fifty-four <strong>of</strong> the knights were,<br />
after a mock trial, publicly burnt, and on the 18th <strong>of</strong> March,<br />
* 17. Am. Quart. Mag. ut supra.
KNI 263<br />
1314, De Molay, the Grand Master, and the three principal dignitaries<br />
<strong>of</strong> the order, suffered the same fate . <strong>The</strong>y died faithfully<br />
asserting their innocence <strong>of</strong> all the crimes imputed to them .<br />
<strong>The</strong> order was now, by the energy <strong>of</strong> the King <strong>of</strong> France, assi4ted<br />
by the spiritual authority <strong>of</strong> the Pope, suppressed<br />
throughout Europe . But it was not annihilated . De Molay, in<br />
anticipation <strong>of</strong> his fate, had appointed John Mark Larmienus as<br />
his successor in <strong>of</strong>fice, and from that time to the present there<br />
has been a regular and uninterrupted succession <strong>of</strong> Grand<br />
Masters. Of the names <strong>of</strong> these Grand Masters, and the date<br />
<strong>of</strong> their election, I annex a list for the gratification <strong>of</strong> the<br />
curious .*<br />
1 . Hugh de Payens, 1118 .<br />
2. Robert <strong>of</strong> Burgundy, 1139 .<br />
3. Everard de Barri, 1147 .<br />
4. Bernard de Trenellape, 1151 .<br />
5. Bertrand de Blanchefort, 1154 .<br />
6. Andrew de Montbar 1165 .<br />
7. Philip <strong>of</strong> Naplus, 1169 .<br />
8 . Odo de St . Amand, 1171 .<br />
9. Arnold de Troye, 1180 .<br />
10. John Terricus, 1185 .<br />
11. Gerard Ridefort, 1187 .<br />
12. Robert Sablaeus, 1191 .<br />
13. Gilbert Gralius, 1196 .<br />
14 . Philip de Plessis, 1201 .<br />
15. William de Carnota, 1217 .<br />
16. Peter de Montagu, 1218 .<br />
17. Armaud de Petragrossa, 1229 .<br />
18. Herman de Petragrorius, 1237 .<br />
19. William de Rupefort, 1244 .<br />
* It may be as well to observe that this is the list given by the order <strong>of</strong> tha<br />
Temple at Paris, who claim to be the lineal descendants <strong>of</strong> the ancient order .<br />
Other Templars, who do not admit the legality <strong>of</strong> the Grand Mastership <strong>of</strong><br />
Larmenius,. give different catalogues <strong>of</strong> Grand Masters .
264 KNI<br />
20. William de Sonnac, 1247 .<br />
21 . Reginald Vichierius, 1250 .<br />
22 . Thomas Beraud, 1257 .<br />
23 . William de Beaujeau, 1274 .<br />
24 . <strong>The</strong>obald Gaudinius, 1291 .<br />
25. Jacques de Molay, 1298 .<br />
26. John Mark Larmienus . 1314 .<br />
27. Thomas <strong>The</strong>obald Alexandrinus, 1324 .<br />
28. Arnold de Braque, 1340 .<br />
29. John de Claremont, 1349 .<br />
30. Bertrand du Guesclin, 1357 .<br />
31 . John Arminiacus, 1381 .<br />
32 . Bernard Arminiacus, 1392 .<br />
33 . John Arminiacus, 1419 .<br />
34. John de Croy, ' 1451 .<br />
35 . Bernard Imbault, 1472 .<br />
36 . Robert Senoncourt, 1478 .<br />
37. Galeatius de Salazar, 1497 .<br />
38 . Philip Chabot, 1516 .<br />
39. Gaspard de Jaltiaco Tavanensis, 1544 .<br />
40. Henry de Montmorency, 1574 .<br />
41 . Charles de Valois, 1615 .<br />
42. James Ruxellius de Granceio, 1651 .<br />
43. Due de Duras, 1681 .<br />
44. Philip Duke <strong>of</strong> Orleans, 1705 .<br />
45. Due de Maine, 1724 .<br />
46 Louis Henry Bourbon, 1737 .<br />
47. Louis Francis Bourbon, 1741 .<br />
48 . Due de Cosse Brissac, 1776 .<br />
49 . Claude M . R . Chevillon, , 1792 .<br />
50 Bernard R . F . Palaprat, 1804 . .<br />
51. Sir Sidney Smith, 1838 .<br />
Notwithstanding, therefore, the efforts <strong>of</strong> the King and the Pope,<br />
the order <strong>of</strong> Templars was not entirely extinguished . In France<br />
it still exists, and ranks among its members some <strong>of</strong> the most
KNI 265<br />
influential noblemen <strong>of</strong> the kingdom . In Portugal, the name<br />
<strong>of</strong> the order has been changed to that <strong>of</strong> the "Knights <strong>of</strong> Christ,"<br />
and its Cross is frequently conferred by the government as the<br />
reward <strong>of</strong> distinguished merit . In England, the Encampment <strong>of</strong><br />
Baldwin, which was established at Bristol by the Templars who<br />
returned with Richard I . from Palestine, still continues to hold<br />
its regular meetings, and is believed to have preserved the ancient<br />
costume and ceremonies <strong>of</strong> the order . This encampment, with<br />
another at Bath, and a third at York, constituted the. three original<br />
encampments <strong>of</strong> England . From these have emanated the<br />
existing encampments in the British Islands and in the United<br />
States, so that the order, as it now exists in Britain and America,<br />
is a lineal descendant <strong>of</strong> the ancient order .<br />
<strong>The</strong> connection between the Knights Templar and the Freemasons<br />
has been repeatedly asserted by the enemies <strong>of</strong> both institutions,<br />
and as <strong>of</strong>ten admitted by their friends . Lawrie, on this<br />
subject, holds the following language We know that the Knight<br />
Templars not only possessed the mysteries, but performed the<br />
ceremonies, and inculcated the duties <strong>of</strong> Freemasons ;" and he<br />
attributes the dissolution <strong>of</strong> the order to the discovery <strong>of</strong> their<br />
being Freemasons, and their assembling in secret to practise the<br />
rites <strong>of</strong> the order . He further endeavours to explain the manner<br />
in which they became the depository <strong>of</strong> the masonic mysteries<br />
by tracing their initiation to the Druses, a Syriac fraternity, which,<br />
at the time <strong>of</strong> the Crusades, and long after, existed on Mount<br />
Libanus .t<br />
Costume -At the conclusion <strong>of</strong> this article, a few remarks on<br />
the costume <strong>of</strong> the order may be acceptable . <strong>The</strong> present black<br />
dress <strong>of</strong> the Templars is derived from the Knights <strong>of</strong> Malta, to<br />
whom, with the Teutonic Knights, their estates were assigned by<br />
Pope Clement on the dissolution <strong>of</strong> the order, and with whom<br />
many <strong>of</strong> the knights united themselves . But originally, as we<br />
* Hist. <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, p. 58.<br />
t Hist. <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, p . 88 .<br />
23
266 KNI<br />
have already observed, their costume was white . In the Statutes<br />
<strong>of</strong> the order, as established in Scotland, which were revised in<br />
1843, the ancient costume was exactly adopted . According to<br />
these regulations the dress <strong>of</strong> the Knights Templar is as follows<br />
A white woollen mantle to reach the knee in front, and taper<br />
away to the ankle behind, fastened with white cord and tassel,<br />
and with a red cross patie on the left shoulder ; white woollen<br />
tunic, reaching to about three or four inches above the knee, with<br />
the cross upon the left breast ; white stock with falling white<br />
shirt collar ; tight white pantaloons ; buff boots, with buff tops<br />
turned over five inches broad, no tassels ; spurs gilt, with red<br />
leathers ; sash <strong>of</strong> white silk, half a yard in breadth, tied in a<br />
knot in front ; the ends edged with a white silk fringe hanging<br />
down, and a small red cross near the extremities ; white woollen<br />
cap with red leather band, or, if he has obtained a diploma<br />
from the Grand Master, a red velvet cap ; no feather ; cross-hilted<br />
sword with brass guard, and white ivory hilt ; scabbard <strong>of</strong> red<br />
morocco ; belt <strong>of</strong> red leather, with gilt buckle ; buff gauntlets,<br />
with a red cross on the wrist ; badge, and enamelled black cross,<br />
with white orle, and a small red cross enamelled thereon, suspended<br />
from the neck by a red ribbon with white edges, about two<br />
inches broad, passing through the ring <strong>of</strong> the badge .<br />
In America the dress is very different from that <strong>of</strong> the ancient<br />
knights . <strong>The</strong> suit is black, with black gloves . A black velvet<br />
sash, trimmed with silver lace, crosses the body from the left<br />
shoulder to the right hip, having at its end a cross-hilted dagger,<br />
a black rose on the left shoulder, and a Maltese cross at the end .<br />
Where the sash crosses the left breast, is a nine-pointed star in silver,<br />
with a cross and serpent <strong>of</strong> gold in the centre, within a circle,<br />
around which are the words, " in hoc sig o vinces ." <strong>The</strong> apron<br />
is <strong>of</strong> black velvet, in triangular form, to represent the delta, and<br />
edged with silver lace . On its flap is placed a triangle <strong>of</strong> silver,<br />
perforated with twelve holes, with a cross and serpent in the centre<br />
; on the centre <strong>of</strong> the apron are a skull and cross-bones, between<br />
three stars <strong>of</strong> seven points, having a red cross in the centre
LAB-LAN 267<br />
<strong>of</strong> each . <strong>The</strong> belt is black, to which is attached a cioss-hilted<br />
sword . <strong>The</strong> caps vary in form and decoration in different encampments<br />
. <strong>The</strong> standard is black, bearing a nine-pointed cross <strong>of</strong><br />
silver, having in its centre a circle <strong>of</strong> green, with the cross and<br />
serpent in gold, and the motto around "in hoc signo vinces ."<br />
L .<br />
LABOUR . From the time <strong>of</strong> opening to that <strong>of</strong> closing, a lodge<br />
is said to be at labour. This is but one <strong>of</strong> the numerous instances<br />
in which the terms <strong>of</strong> operative masonry are symbolically applied<br />
to speculative ; for, as our operative ancestors, when congregated<br />
in lodge, were engaged in the building <strong>of</strong> material edifices, so Free<br />
and Accepted Masons are supposed to be employed in the erection<br />
<strong>of</strong> a superstructure <strong>of</strong> virtue and morality, upon the foundation<br />
<strong>of</strong> the masonic principles which they were taught at their admission<br />
into the order. Extending the allusion, the lodge is said " tc<br />
be called from labour to refreshment," whenever, in the course <strong>of</strong><br />
the meeting, it adjourns for a definite period, or takes a recess <strong>of</strong><br />
a few minutes. During this time, the Junior Warden presides<br />
over the craft .<br />
LADDDER. See Jacob's Ladder .<br />
LANDMARKS . In ancient times, it was the custom to mark<br />
the boundaries <strong>of</strong> lands by means <strong>of</strong> stone pillars, the removal <strong>of</strong><br />
which, by malicious persons, would be the occasion <strong>of</strong> much confusion,<br />
men having no other guide than these pillars by which to<br />
distinguish the limits <strong>of</strong> their property. To remove them, therefore,<br />
was considered a heinous crime . "Thou shalt not," says the<br />
Jewish law, "remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they <strong>of</strong>
268 LAN-LAP<br />
old time have set in thine inheritance .''* Htnce those peculiar<br />
marks <strong>of</strong> distinction by which we are separated from the pr<strong>of</strong>ane<br />
world, and by which we are enabled to designate our inheritance<br />
as the "sons <strong>of</strong> light," are called the landmarks <strong>of</strong> the order .<br />
<strong>The</strong> universal language and the universal lawst <strong>of</strong> masonry are<br />
landmarks, but not so are the local ceremonies, laws, and usages,<br />
which vary in different countries . To attempt to alter or remove<br />
these sacred landmarks, by which we examine and prove a brother's<br />
claims to share in our privileges, is one <strong>of</strong> the most heinous<br />
<strong>of</strong>fences that a Mason can commit .<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are, however, certain forms and regulations, which, although<br />
not constituting landmarks, are nevertheless so protected<br />
by the venerable claim <strong>of</strong> antiquity, that they should be guarded<br />
by every good Mason with religious care from alteration . It<br />
is not in the power <strong>of</strong> any body <strong>of</strong> men to make innovations in<br />
masonry .<br />
LANGUAGE, UNIVERSAL . Freemasons boast, with truth,<br />
that they possess an universal language, which men <strong>of</strong> all languages<br />
can understand . "An universal language," says Mr .<br />
Locke,X " has been much desired by the learned <strong>of</strong> many ages .<br />
It is a thing rather to be wished than hoped for . But it seems<br />
the Masons pretend to have such a thing among them." We<br />
who possess that language, can estimate its value, for we know<br />
that its eloquent tones have <strong>of</strong>ten won sympathy from the most<br />
unfeeling, and converted the indifferent stranger into the faithful<br />
brother .<br />
I1APICIDA. A Freemason . See Latomus.<br />
* Deuteronomy xis . 14.<br />
t It has been supposed, by some authorities, that all laws which were in existence<br />
in 1717, at the re-organization <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge in the south <strong>of</strong> England,<br />
are to be considered as landmarks .<br />
t That is, if Leland's Manuscript be authentic .
LAT-LEB 269<br />
LATIN LODGE . In the year 1784, Brown, the celebrated<br />
)hysician, organized the Roman Eagle lodge at Edinburgh, the<br />
whole work <strong>of</strong> which was conducted in the Latin language .<br />
LATOMUS . A Latin term derived from the Greek Aaro vs<br />
z stony-cutter. It is used in the sense <strong>of</strong> a Freemasons in Molart's<br />
Latin Register, quoted in the notes to Preston, note 17 . A purer<br />
Latin word is lapicida, which Ainsworth defines " a stone-cutter,<br />
a Freemason ."* Architecto is used by some writers .<br />
LAWS OF MASONRY . <strong>The</strong> laws <strong>of</strong> masonry are <strong>of</strong> two<br />
kinds, local and universal . <strong>The</strong> local laws are those enacted by<br />
Grand and subordinate lodges for the government <strong>of</strong> their members<br />
. <strong>The</strong>se, <strong>of</strong> course, may be altered or annulled at the pleasure<br />
<strong>of</strong> the bodies who originally framed them . <strong>The</strong> universal laws are<br />
those handed down by universal consent from times immemorial,<br />
and which govern the fraternity throughout the world . <strong>The</strong>se are<br />
irrevocable, for they constitute a part <strong>of</strong> the ancient landmarks .<br />
We will give an example <strong>of</strong> each kind . <strong>The</strong> rule regulating the<br />
amount <strong>of</strong> the fee to be paid on the admission <strong>of</strong> candidates is a<br />
local law, and varies in every country. But the law which declares<br />
that no woman can be admitted, is universal, and controls<br />
every lodge on the face <strong>of</strong> the globe .<br />
LEBANON oR LIBANUS. A mountain, or rather a range<br />
<strong>of</strong> mountains in Syria, extending from beyond Sidon to Tyre, and<br />
forming the northern boundary <strong>of</strong> Palestine . Lebanon is cele .<br />
brated for the cedars which it produces, many <strong>of</strong> which are from 50<br />
to 80 feet in height, and cover with their branches a space <strong>of</strong><br />
ground, the diameter <strong>of</strong> which is still greater. Hiram, King <strong>of</strong><br />
• <strong>The</strong> "Acts Latomorum," a modern French work, states that the word In,<br />
timus was first applied by the Jesuits to designate a Freemason . <strong>The</strong> use <strong>of</strong><br />
It in 1429, by Molart, proves that this is not so . Ragon has very truly said<br />
that the statements <strong>of</strong> the "Acts Latomorum" require verification before thex<br />
:an be received as authentic .<br />
23's
270 LEC<br />
Tyre, in whose dominions Mount Lebanon was situated, furnished<br />
these trees for the building <strong>of</strong> the temple <strong>of</strong> Solomon .<br />
LECTURE . Each degree <strong>of</strong> masonry contains a course <strong>of</strong><br />
instruction, in which the ceremonies, traditions, and moral instruction<br />
appertaining to the degree, are set forth . This arrangement<br />
is called a lecture . Each lecture, for the sake <strong>of</strong> convenience,<br />
and for the purpose <strong>of</strong> conforming to certain divisions<br />
in the ceremonies, is divided into sections, the number <strong>of</strong> which<br />
have varied at different periods, although the substance remains<br />
the same . According to Preston, the lecture <strong>of</strong> the first degree<br />
contains six sections ; that <strong>of</strong> the second, four ; and that <strong>of</strong> the<br />
third, twelve . But according to the arrangment adopted in this<br />
country, there are three sections in the first degree, two in the<br />
second, and three in the third .<br />
In the Entered Apprentice's degree, the first section describes<br />
the proper mode <strong>of</strong> initiation, and supplies the means <strong>of</strong> qualifying<br />
us for our privileges, and <strong>of</strong> testing the claims <strong>of</strong> others . <strong>The</strong><br />
second section rationally accounts for all the ceremonies peculiar<br />
to this degree . <strong>The</strong> third section explains the nature and principles<br />
<strong>of</strong> our institution, and instructs us in the form and construction<br />
<strong>of</strong> the lodge, furnishing, in conclusion, some important<br />
lessons on the various virtues which should distinguish a Freemason<br />
.<br />
In the Fellow Craft's degree, the first section recapitulates the<br />
ceremonies <strong>of</strong> passing a candidate . <strong>The</strong> second section gives an<br />
account <strong>of</strong> the ancient division <strong>of</strong> our institution into operative<br />
and speculative Masons, and, by striking emblems, directs the<br />
candidate to an attentive study <strong>of</strong> the liberal arts and sciences .<br />
In the Master's degree, the first section illustrates the ancient<br />
and proper mode <strong>of</strong> raising a candidate to this sublime degree .<br />
In the second section, the historical traditions <strong>of</strong> the order are<br />
introduced, and an important instance <strong>of</strong> masonic virtue is exemplified<br />
In the third section, our emblems are explained, and<br />
the construction <strong>of</strong> Solomon's Temple described .
LEC<br />
<strong>The</strong>re does not seem to have been any established system <strong>of</strong><br />
lectures, such as now exist, previous to the revival <strong>of</strong> masonry in<br />
the beginning <strong>of</strong> the eighteenth century . In 11-20, Desa uliers<br />
and Anderson, the compilers <strong>of</strong> the Book <strong>of</strong> Constitutions, arranged<br />
the lectures for' the first time in a catechetical form, from<br />
the old Charges and other masonic documents that were then<br />
extant . Of this system, Dr . Oliver informs us that « the first<br />
lecture extended to the greatest length, but the replies were circumscribed<br />
within a very narrow compass . <strong>The</strong> second was<br />
shorter, and the third, called I the Master's Part,' contained only<br />
seven questions, besides the explanationb wad examinations ."*<br />
<strong>The</strong> imperfection <strong>of</strong> these lectures loudly called for a revision <strong>of</strong><br />
them, which was accordingly accomplished in 1732 by brother<br />
Martin Clare, a man <strong>of</strong> talent, and afterwards a Deputy Grand<br />
Vaster . Clare's amendments, however, amounted to little more<br />
than the addition <strong>of</strong> a few moral and scriptural admonitions, and<br />
the insertion <strong>of</strong> a simple allusion to the human senses, and to<br />
the theological ladder .<br />
Subsequently, Thomas Dunckerley, who was considered as the<br />
most intelligent Mason <strong>of</strong> the day, extended and improved the<br />
lectures, and among other things first gave to the theological<br />
ladder its three most important rounds .<br />
<strong>The</strong> lectures thus continued until 1763, when Hutchinson<br />
gave them an improved form, which was still further extended<br />
in 1772, by Preston, who remained for a long time the standard .<br />
But at the union <strong>of</strong> the two Grand Lodges <strong>of</strong> England, in 1813,<br />
Dr. Hemming established that system which is now generally<br />
practised in the English lodges .<br />
<strong>The</strong> lectures <strong>of</strong> Preston were early introduced into this country,<br />
having been, however, much modified by T . S . Webb, whose<br />
system has been the basis <strong>of</strong> all those taught since his day in the<br />
lodges <strong>of</strong> the United States . No changes <strong>of</strong> any importance<br />
have been made in the lectures, in t\is country, since their first<br />
introduction .<br />
* Symbol <strong>of</strong> Glory, Lect. L, p. 17.<br />
271
272 LEC-LEG<br />
<strong>The</strong>se constitute the simple text <strong>of</strong> masonry, while the ex<br />
tended illustrations which are given to them by an intelligent<br />
blaster or Lecturer, and which he can only derive from a careful<br />
study <strong>of</strong> scripture, <strong>of</strong> history, <strong>of</strong> the manuscript lectures <strong>of</strong> the<br />
philosophical degrees, and lastly, <strong>of</strong> the published works <strong>of</strong><br />
learned masonic writers, constitute the commentary, without<br />
which the simple text would be comparatively barren and uninstructive<br />
. <strong>The</strong>se commentaries are the philosophy <strong>of</strong> masonry,<br />
and without an adequate knowledge <strong>of</strong> them no brother can be<br />
entitled to claim our technical title <strong>of</strong> "a bright Mason ." In<br />
relation to this subject, the following extract from the Freemason's<br />
Quarterly Review, published at London, deserves preservation<br />
.*<br />
"Our masonic society has to this day retained many interesting<br />
symbols in its instructions, when properly explained by a<br />
scientific Lecturer, and not garbled by ignorant pretenders, who,<br />
by dint merely <strong>of</strong> a good memory and some assurance, intrude<br />
themselves on a well-informed assembly <strong>of</strong> brethren, by giving a<br />
lecture not composed by themselves, but taught them verbatim ."<br />
LECTURER . A brother <strong>of</strong> skill and intelligence, entrusted<br />
with the task- <strong>of</strong> instructing the lodges in the proper mode <strong>of</strong><br />
work, in the ceremonies, usages, legends, history, and science <strong>of</strong><br />
the order. When the appointment emanates, ac it always should,<br />
from a Grand Lodge, he is called a Grand Lecturer .<br />
LEGEND . A legend may properly be defined a t raditioc.al<br />
tale .t All countries and all religions have their legends . In<br />
the ancient mysteries there was always a legend on which much<br />
symbolical instruction was based . <strong>The</strong>se legends <strong>of</strong> the mysteries,<br />
although they varied as to t}-e subject <strong>of</strong> the history in<br />
* Vol. ii. p . 274.<br />
f <strong>The</strong> word is derived from the Latin legenda, " things to be read," because<br />
it was formerly the custom to read portions <strong>of</strong> some <strong>of</strong> the religious legends,<br />
which abound in the Roman Church to people at morning prayer .
LEV 273<br />
each, yet all agree in this, that they were funereal in their character-that<br />
they commemorated the death by violence, and the<br />
subsequent resurrection, <strong>of</strong> some favourite hero or hero-god--and<br />
that beginning with lamentation they ended in joy .<br />
~~ In like manner <strong>Freemasonry</strong> has its legends and allegorical<br />
references, many <strong>of</strong> them founded in fact, and capable <strong>of</strong> unquestionable<br />
pro<strong>of</strong>, while others are based on Jewish traditions,<br />
and only invested with probability, while they equally inculcate<br />
and enforce the most solemn and important truths ."* Of these<br />
legends, the one which may, by way <strong>of</strong> excellence, be called<br />
' 1 <strong>The</strong> Legend," and which more particularly is connected with<br />
the Master's degree, it may be supposed was substituted by our<br />
ancient brethren, when they united themselves at the Temple<br />
with the Dionysians, for the pagan and apocryphal legend cf<br />
Bacchus, celebrated by that society .t<br />
LEVEL. An emblem <strong>of</strong> equality . In the sight <strong>of</strong> God,<br />
who alone is great, all men are equal, subject to the same infirmities,<br />
hastening to the same goal, and preparing to be judged by<br />
the same immutable law . In this sense only do Masons speak<br />
<strong>of</strong> the equality which should reign in the lodge ; but as " peaceable<br />
subjects to the civil powers," they deny the existence <strong>of</strong><br />
that revolutionary equality, which, levelling all distinctions <strong>of</strong><br />
ranks, would tend to beget confusion, insubordination, and anarchy<br />
in the state .<br />
<strong>The</strong> level is one <strong>of</strong> the working tools <strong>of</strong> a Fellow Craft, admonishing<br />
him, by its peculiar uses, <strong>of</strong> that vast level <strong>of</strong> time<br />
on which all men are travelling, to its limit in eternity .<br />
<strong>The</strong> level is also the jewel worn by the Senior Warden, as the<br />
distinctive badge <strong>of</strong> his <strong>of</strong>fice, reminding him that while he presides<br />
over the labours <strong>of</strong> the lodge, as the Junior Warden does<br />
over its refreshments, it is his duty to see that every brother<br />
a Oliver's Landmarks, vol . p . 399 .<br />
t See the account <strong>of</strong> the union <strong>of</strong> the Dionysians with the Masons at the<br />
pemple, in the article "Antiquity <strong>of</strong> Masonry," in this work .
274 LEW<br />
meets upon the level, and that the principle <strong>of</strong> equality is preserved<br />
during the work, without which, harmony, the chief support<br />
<strong>of</strong> our institution, could not be preserved .<br />
LEWIS, OR LOUVETEAU . <strong>The</strong> words lewis and louveteau,<br />
which, in their original meanings, import two very different<br />
things, have in masonry an equivalent signification-the former<br />
being used in England, and the latter in France, to designate<br />
the son <strong>of</strong> a mason .<br />
<strong>The</strong> English word lewis is a term belonging to operative masonry,<br />
and signifies an iron cramp, which is inserted in a cavity<br />
prepared for the purpose in any large stone, so as to give attachment<br />
to a pulley and hook, whereby the stone may be conveniently<br />
raised to any height, and deposited in its proper position .<br />
In this country, the lewis has not been adopted as a symbol <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong>, but in the English ritual it is found among the<br />
emblems placed upon the Tracing Board <strong>of</strong> the Entered Apprentice,<br />
and is used in that degree as a symbol <strong>of</strong> strength, because<br />
by its assistance the operative mason is enabled to lift the heaviest<br />
stones with a comparatively trifling exertion <strong>of</strong> physical power .<br />
Extending the symbolic allusion still further, the son <strong>of</strong> a Mason<br />
is in England called a lewis, because it is his duty to support the<br />
sinking powers and aid the failing strength <strong>of</strong> his father, or, as<br />
Oliver has expressed it, " to bear the burden and heat <strong>of</strong> the<br />
day, that his parents may rest in their old age ; thus rendering<br />
the evening <strong>of</strong> their lives peaceful and happy ."<br />
By the constitutions <strong>of</strong> England, a lewis, or son <strong>of</strong> a Mason,<br />
may be initiated at the age <strong>of</strong> eighteen,- while it is required <strong>of</strong><br />
all other candidates that they shall have arrived at the maturer<br />
age <strong>of</strong> twenty-one . <strong>The</strong> Book <strong>of</strong> Constitutions had prescribed<br />
that no lodge should make "any man under the age <strong>of</strong> twenty<br />
one years, unless by a dispensation from the Grand Master or<br />
his deputy ." <strong>The</strong> Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, in its modern regulations,<br />
has availed itself <strong>of</strong> the license allowed by this dis-
LIB 275<br />
pensing power, to confer the right <strong>of</strong> an earlier initiation on the<br />
sons <strong>of</strong> Masons .<br />
<strong>The</strong> word louveteau, signifies, in French, a young wolf. <strong>The</strong><br />
application <strong>of</strong> the term to the son <strong>of</strong> a Mason, is derived from a<br />
peculiarity in some <strong>of</strong> the initiations into the ancient mysteries .<br />
In the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Isis, which were practised in Egypt, the<br />
candidate was made to wear the mask <strong>of</strong> a wolf's head . Hence,<br />
a wolf and a candidate in these mysteries were <strong>of</strong>ten used as synonymous<br />
terms . Macrobius, in his Saturnalia, says, in reference<br />
to this custom, that the ancients perceived a relationship<br />
between the sun, the great symbol in these mysteries, and a<br />
wolf, which the candidate represented at his initiation . For, he<br />
remarks, as the flocks <strong>of</strong> sheep and cattle fly and disperse at the<br />
sight <strong>of</strong> the wolf, so the flocks <strong>of</strong> stars disappear at the approach<br />
<strong>of</strong> the sun's light . <strong>The</strong> learned reader will also recollect that in<br />
the Greek language lukos signifies both the sun and a wolf .<br />
Hence, as the candidate in the Isaic mysteries was called a<br />
wolf, the son <strong>of</strong> a Freemason in the French lodges is called a<br />
young wolf or a louveteau .<br />
<strong>The</strong> louveteau in France, like the lewis in England, is invested<br />
with peculiar privileges . He also is permitted to unite himself<br />
with the order at the early age <strong>of</strong> eighteen years . <strong>The</strong> baptism<br />
<strong>of</strong> a louveteau is sometimes performed by the lodge, <strong>of</strong> which his<br />
father is a member, with impressive ceremonies . <strong>The</strong> infant,<br />
soon after birth, is taken to the lodge room, where he receives a<br />
masonic name, differing from that which he bears in the world ;<br />
he is formally adopted by the lodge as one <strong>of</strong> its children, and<br />
should he become an orphan, requiring assistance, he is supported<br />
and educated by the fraternity, and finally established in life .<br />
In this country these rights <strong>of</strong> a lewis or a louveteau are not<br />
recognised, and the very names were, until lately, scarcely known,<br />
except to a few masonic scholars .<br />
LTBANUS . <strong>The</strong> Latin name <strong>of</strong> Lebanon, which see .
276 LIB-LIG<br />
LIBATION . <strong>The</strong> libation was a very ancient ceremony, and<br />
among the Greeks and Romans constituted an essential part <strong>of</strong><br />
every sacrifice . <strong>The</strong> material <strong>of</strong> the libation differed according<br />
to the different deities in honour <strong>of</strong> whom they were made, but<br />
wine was the most usual . Libations are still used in some <strong>of</strong> the<br />
higher degrees <strong>of</strong> masonry .<br />
LIBERTINE . <strong>The</strong> man who lives without the restraint <strong>of</strong><br />
conscience, licentiously violating the moral law, and paying no<br />
regard to the precepts <strong>of</strong> religion, is unworthy to become a member<br />
<strong>of</strong> that institution which boasts that its principles are intended<br />
to make all its members good men and true ; and hence<br />
our Old Charges lay down a rule that " a Mason is obliged, by<br />
hii tenure, to obey the moral law ; and if he rightly understands<br />
the,art, he will never be a stupid atheist nor an irreligious liber<br />
tine ." <strong>The</strong> word "libertine" in this passage is used in its primitive<br />
signification <strong>of</strong> a freethinker or disbeliever in the truths <strong>of</strong> religion .<br />
LIGHT . Light was the object, and its attainment the end,<br />
<strong>of</strong> all the ancient mysteries . In the Grecian system <strong>of</strong> initiation,<br />
the hierophant declared that all mankind, except the initiated,<br />
were in darkness . In the Persian rites, the Divine Lights were<br />
displayed before the aspirant at the moment <strong>of</strong> illumination, and<br />
he was instructed by the Archimagus, that, at the end <strong>of</strong> the<br />
world, the bad should be plunged with Ahriman into a state <strong>of</strong><br />
perpetual darkness, while the good should ascend with Yazdan,<br />
upon a ladder, to a state <strong>of</strong> eternal light .* <strong>The</strong> Persians consecrated<br />
fire, as containing the principle <strong>of</strong> light, and the Druids<br />
worshipped the Sun as its eternal source .<br />
Freemasons, too, travel in search <strong>of</strong> spiritual light, which can<br />
be found only in the East, from whence it springs, and having<br />
attained its possession, they are thenceforth called "the sons <strong>of</strong><br />
light ." But the light <strong>of</strong> masonry is pure, as emanating from<br />
* Oliver, Signs and Symbols, p . 107 .
LIL .77<br />
the source <strong>of</strong> all purity and perfection ; and Masons, remembering<br />
that they are brought out <strong>of</strong> darkness into light, are admonished<br />
to let the light which is in them so shine before all men,<br />
that their good works may be seen, and the great fountain <strong>of</strong><br />
that light be glorified . See Darkness .<br />
LILY. <strong>The</strong> white lily is one <strong>of</strong> the field-flowers <strong>of</strong> Judea,<br />
and is repeatedly alluded to in the Scriptures, as an emblem <strong>of</strong><br />
purity . It occupied a conspicuous place among the ornaments<br />
<strong>of</strong> the temple furniture . <strong>The</strong> brim <strong>of</strong> the molten sea was<br />
wrought with flowers <strong>of</strong> lilies, the chapiters on the tops <strong>of</strong> the<br />
pillars at the porch, and the tops <strong>of</strong> the pillars themselves, were<br />
adorned with the same plant . Sir Robert Ker Porter, describing<br />
a piece <strong>of</strong> sculpture which he found at Persepolis, says, "Almost<br />
every one in this procession holds in his hand a figure like the<br />
lotos . This flower was full <strong>of</strong> meaning among the ancients, and<br />
occurs all over the East . Egypt, Persia, Palestine, and India,<br />
present r, every where over their architecture, in the hands and<br />
on the heads <strong>of</strong> their sculptured figures, whether in statue or in<br />
bas relief. We also find it in the sacred vestments and architecture<br />
<strong>of</strong> the tabernacle and temple <strong>of</strong> the Israelites, and see it<br />
mentioned by our Saviour, as an image <strong>of</strong> peculiar beauty and<br />
glory, when comparing the works <strong>of</strong> nature with the decorations<br />
<strong>of</strong> art. It is also represented in all pictures <strong>of</strong> the salutation <strong>of</strong><br />
Gabriel to the Virgin Mary ; and, in fact, has been held in mysterious<br />
veneration by people <strong>of</strong> all nations and times . ' It is the<br />
symbol <strong>of</strong> divinity, <strong>of</strong> purity, and abundance, and <strong>of</strong> a love most<br />
complete in perfection, charity, and benediction ; as in Holy<br />
Scripture, that mirror <strong>of</strong> purity, Susanna is defined Susa, which<br />
signified the lily flower, the chief city <strong>of</strong> the Persians, bearing<br />
that name for excellency . Hence, the lily's three leaves in the<br />
arms <strong>of</strong> France, meaneth Piety, Justice, and Charity .' So far,<br />
the general impression <strong>of</strong> a peculiar regard to t its beautiful and<br />
fragrant flog er ; but the early Persians attached to it a peculiar<br />
sanctity ."<br />
24 '
278 LINLOD<br />
LINE . <strong>The</strong> line is a cord, to the end <strong>of</strong> which a piece <strong>of</strong> lead<br />
is attached, so that it may hang perpendicularly . <strong>The</strong> line is<br />
one <strong>of</strong> the working tools <strong>of</strong> a Past Master . Operative masons<br />
make use <strong>of</strong> the line to prove that their work is duly perpendicular,<br />
but by it the Past Master is taught the criterion <strong>of</strong><br />
moral rectitude, to avoid dissimulation in conversation and actinn,<br />
and to direct his steps to the path which leads to a glorious<br />
mmortality .<br />
LINES PARALLEL . See Parallel lines .<br />
LINGAM . See Phallus .<br />
LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH . See Judah .<br />
LODGE . <strong>The</strong> room in which a regularly constituted body<br />
<strong>of</strong> Freemasons assemble, for the purposes connected with the<br />
institution, is called a lodge .* <strong>The</strong> term is also used to designate<br />
the collection <strong>of</strong> Masons thus assembled ; just as we use<br />
the word " church" to signify the building in which a congregation<br />
<strong>of</strong> worshippers assembles, as well as the congregation<br />
itself .<br />
Our English brethren, in their lectures, define a lodge to be<br />
"an assembly <strong>of</strong> Masons, just, perfect, and regular, who are met<br />
together to expatiate on the mysteries <strong>of</strong> the order ; just, because<br />
it contains the volume <strong>of</strong> the sacred law, unfolded ; per,fect, from<br />
its numbeirs, every order <strong>of</strong> masonry being virtually present by<br />
its representatives, to ratify and confirm its proceedings ; and<br />
regular, from its Warrant <strong>of</strong> Constitution, which implies the<br />
sanction <strong>of</strong> the Grand Master for the country where the lodge<br />
is held ."<br />
A lodge <strong>of</strong> Freemasons must be legally constituted ; that is, it<br />
* Rngon (Coors Philosophique) says that the word lodge is derivod from<br />
the Sanscrit Toga, which signifies the world. This is illustrated by our artiole<br />
en the Form <strong>of</strong> the Lodge,,
LOD 279<br />
must be in possession <strong>of</strong> a Charter or Warrant <strong>of</strong> CoLstitution,<br />
emanating from the Grand Lodge in whose jurisdiction it is<br />
situated . This warrant must also be in full force, for if it has<br />
been revoked or recalled by the Grand Lodge from which it<br />
emanated, the lodge ceases to be legally constituted, and all its<br />
proceedings are void . A body <strong>of</strong> Masons assembled to transact<br />
masonic business, without the authority <strong>of</strong> a warrant <strong>of</strong> constitution,<br />
or under a warrant whose authority has been revoked, ig<br />
styled a " Clandestine Lodge," and its members are called<br />
" Clandestine Masons ." In thus meeting, they are guilty <strong>of</strong> a<br />
high masonic misdemeanor, and become, by the very act itself,<br />
expelled from the order .<br />
This restriction in respect to the constitution <strong>of</strong> a lodge did<br />
not always exist . Formerly any number <strong>of</strong> brethren* might<br />
assemble at any place for the performance <strong>of</strong> work, and when<br />
so assembled, were authorized to receive into the order, brothers<br />
and fellows, and to practice the rites <strong>of</strong> masonry . <strong>The</strong> ancient<br />
charges were the only standard for the regulation <strong>of</strong> their conduct.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Master <strong>of</strong> the lodge was elected pro tempore, and his<br />
authority terminated with the dissolution <strong>of</strong> the meeting over<br />
which he had presided, unless the lodge was permanently established<br />
at any particular place . To the general assembly <strong>of</strong> the<br />
craft, held once or twice a year, all the brethren indiscriminately<br />
were amenable, and to that power alone . But on the formation<br />
<strong>of</strong> Grand Lodges, this inherent right <strong>of</strong> assembling was voluntarily<br />
surrendered by the brethren and the lodges, and vested in<br />
the Grand Lodge . And from this time warrants <strong>of</strong> constitution<br />
date their existence .t<br />
In addition to this charter or warrant <strong>of</strong> constitution, every<br />
well regulated lodge is also furnished with a Bible, square, and<br />
compasses, which by their symbolic signification enlighten the<br />
eF Our unwritten laws say that three must rule a lodge, five may hold a lodge,<br />
out only seven can make a lodge perfect .<br />
t <strong>The</strong> first warrant granted by the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, after iti<br />
organization in 1717, is dated 1718 . M .
280 LOD<br />
mind <strong>of</strong> the Mason and guide him in the path <strong>of</strong> his duty . A<br />
lodge has also a peculiar form, support, and covering, and is supplied<br />
with furniture, ornaments, lights and jewels, all <strong>of</strong> which<br />
afford means <strong>of</strong> symbolic instruction, and are explained in the third<br />
section <strong>of</strong> the first lecture .<br />
Officers .--A lodge <strong>of</strong> Ancient York Masons is composed <strong>of</strong><br />
the following <strong>of</strong>ficers . A Worshipful Master, a Senior and a<br />
Junior Warden, Treasurer, Secretary, Senior and Junior Deacon,<br />
and a Tiler . <strong>The</strong> latter is not necessarily a member <strong>of</strong> the lodge .<br />
To these, some lodges add two Stewards, and sometimes a Chaplain<br />
. <strong>The</strong> Senior Deacon is always appointed by the Master, and<br />
the Junior by the Senior Warden . <strong>The</strong> Stewards are generally<br />
appointed by the Junior Warden . <strong>The</strong> Tiler is sometimes elected<br />
by the lodge, and sometimes appointed by the Master . <strong>The</strong> rest<br />
<strong>of</strong> the <strong>of</strong>ficers are always elected annually .<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers in a lodge <strong>of</strong> the French rite are more numerous, some<br />
corresponding, and others bearing no analogy to those in a York<br />
lodge . <strong>The</strong>y are as follows : Le Venerable or Worshipful Master,<br />
Premier and Second Surveillants or Senior and Junior Wardens,<br />
Orator, Treasurer, Secretary, Hospitaler or collector <strong>of</strong> alms, the<br />
Expert, combining the duties <strong>of</strong> the Senior Deacon and an<br />
examining committee, Master <strong>of</strong> Ceremonies, Architecte, who<br />
attends to the decoration <strong>of</strong> the lodge, and superintends the financial<br />
department, Archiviste or Librarian, Keeper <strong>of</strong> the Seal,<br />
Master <strong>of</strong> the Banquets or Steward, and Guardian <strong>of</strong> the Temple<br />
or Tiler .<br />
In lodgeA <strong>of</strong> the Scotch rite, there are, in addition to these,two<br />
Deacons, a Standard Bearer, and a Sword Bearer. _<br />
In the rite <strong>of</strong> Misraim, the Wardens are called Assessors, and<br />
the Deacons, Acolytes .<br />
Symbolic Signification <strong>of</strong> the Lodge .-Symbolically a Mason's<br />
lodge is a representation <strong>of</strong> the world . Its clouded canopy is an<br />
emblem <strong>of</strong> those mansions <strong>of</strong> unutterable bliss, where the Grand<br />
Master <strong>of</strong> the Universe forever reigns, whose all-seeing eye beholds,<br />
with unceasing complacency, the efforts <strong>of</strong> his creatures to
LOL 281<br />
do his will . To that abode <strong>of</strong> the blessed the Mason it taught to<br />
aspire, while the path is indicated by the theological ladder, whose<br />
principal rounds are faith, hope, and charity. <strong>The</strong> Sun, the eternal<br />
fountain <strong>of</strong> light, the unwearied ruler <strong>of</strong> the day, shines in<br />
the lodge, a bright exponent <strong>of</strong> his Creator's power, while the<br />
Moon, the glorious orb <strong>of</strong> night, repeats the lesson <strong>of</strong> divine munificence<br />
. Here, too, are_ we taught, that the vast universe over<br />
which this Omnipotence presides, was no work <strong>of</strong> chance, but<br />
that its foundations are laid in wisdom, supported by strength, and<br />
adorned with beauty . And as the presence <strong>of</strong> the Almighty<br />
illuminates with refulgent splendour the most distant recesses <strong>of</strong><br />
the universe, so is the lodge enlightened by the presence <strong>of</strong> his<br />
revealed will . And hence the Bible, as it is <strong>of</strong> all lights the most<br />
pure, is to the Mason the most indispensable . And, finally, as<br />
this world, vast in its extent and complicated in its motions, is<br />
governed and regulated with unceasing concord and harmony, so<br />
is the lodge controlled and directed by the same spirits <strong>of</strong> peace,<br />
which, emanating in brotherly love, relief, and truth, find their full<br />
fruition in universal charity .<br />
<strong>The</strong> lodge, technically speaking, is a piece <strong>of</strong> furniture made<br />
in imitation <strong>of</strong> the Ark <strong>of</strong> the Covenant, which was constructed<br />
by Bazaleel, according to the form prescribed by God himself,<br />
and which, after the erection <strong>of</strong> the Temple, was kept in the<br />
Holy <strong>of</strong> Holies . As it contained the table <strong>of</strong> the laws, the lodge<br />
contains the Book <strong>of</strong> Constitutions and the warrant <strong>of</strong> constitution<br />
granted by the Grand Lodge .<br />
LODGE ROOM . <strong>The</strong> Masons on the continent <strong>of</strong> Europe<br />
have a prescribed form or ritual <strong>of</strong> building, according to whose<br />
directions it is absolutely necessary that every hall for masonic<br />
purposes shall be erected. No such regulation exists among the<br />
fraternity <strong>of</strong> this country or Great Britain . Still the usages <strong>of</strong><br />
the craft, and the objects <strong>of</strong> convenience in the administration <strong>of</strong><br />
our rites, require that certain general rules should be followed in<br />
24*
282 LOD<br />
the construction <strong>of</strong> a lodge room . <strong>The</strong>se rules relate to its posi .<br />
tion, its form, and its decorations .<br />
A lodge room should always, if possible, be situated due east<br />
and west . This position is not absolutely necessary, and yet it<br />
is so far so as to demand that some sacrifices should be made, if<br />
possible, to obtain so desirable a position . It should also be isolated,<br />
where it is practicable, from all surrounding buildings, and<br />
should always be placed in an upper story . No lodge should<br />
ever be held on the ground floor .<br />
<strong>The</strong> form <strong>of</strong> a lodge room should be that <strong>of</strong> a parallelogram<br />
or oblong square, at least one-third larger from east to west than<br />
it is from north to south . <strong>The</strong> ceiling should be l<strong>of</strong>ty, to give<br />
dignity to the appearance <strong>of</strong> the hall, as well as for the purposes<br />
<strong>of</strong> health, by compensating, in some degree, for the inconvenience<br />
<strong>of</strong> closed windows, which necessarily will deteriorate the<br />
quality <strong>of</strong> the air in a very short time in a low room . <strong>The</strong> approaches<br />
to the lodge room, from without should be angular, for,<br />
as Oliver says, " A straight entrance is unmasonic, and cannot<br />
be tolerated ."* <strong>The</strong>re should be two entrances to the room,<br />
which should be situated in the west, and on each side <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Senior Warden's station . <strong>The</strong> one on his right hand is for the<br />
introduction <strong>of</strong> visitors and members, and leading from the<br />
Tiler's room, is called the Tiler's, or the outer door ; the other,<br />
on his left, leading from the preparation room, is known as the<br />
"inner door," and sometimes called the "northwest door ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> situation <strong>of</strong> these two doors, as well as the rooms with<br />
which they are connected, and which are essentially necessary in<br />
a well-constructed lodge room, may be seen from the diagram<br />
in the following page, which also exhibits the seats <strong>of</strong> the <strong>of</strong>ficers<br />
and the arrangement <strong>of</strong> the altar and lights .<br />
<strong>The</strong> whole <strong>of</strong> the east end <strong>of</strong> the 'Lodge should be elevated<br />
from the floor by a platform running across the room, and ascended<br />
by three steps . <strong>The</strong> windows should be either in the<br />
ro<strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong> the building, or at least very high from the floor . <strong>The</strong><br />
.4 Book <strong>of</strong> the Lodge, p . 47.
0<br />
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• Steward.<br />
• Junior Warden.<br />
a Steward. s<br />
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CD
284 LOG-LOW<br />
Helvetian ritual prescribes that the lower part <strong>of</strong> the window<br />
should be seven and a half feet from the surface <strong>of</strong> the floor .<br />
By these means our mysteries are adequately secured from the<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>anation <strong>of</strong> "prying eyes ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> decorations <strong>of</strong> a lodge should be altogether masonic . <strong>The</strong><br />
following directions on this subject are given in the Helvetian<br />
ritual <strong>of</strong> building<br />
" A good lodge may be known by its ornaments . In most<br />
lodges, all sorts <strong>of</strong> decorations are heaped together, without the<br />
slightest attention to propriety . <strong>The</strong>re should be no picture,<br />
statue or emblem <strong>of</strong> heathen deities, nor any bust or picture <strong>of</strong><br />
heathen philosophers . <strong>The</strong> proper images or emblems are to be<br />
taken from the Bible, which alone contains the authentic records<br />
<strong>of</strong> ancient masonry . <strong>The</strong> decorations should be masonic emblems,<br />
intersecting triangles, the triple tau, square and compasses,<br />
death's head, &c . ; these, if properly managed, can be made<br />
highly ornamental ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> floor <strong>of</strong> the lodge should be covered with a carpet or oil<br />
cloth, made <strong>of</strong> a Mosaic pattern ; and the ceiling, if painted,<br />
should represent the "clouded canopy ." <strong>The</strong> curtains, cushions,<br />
&c., <strong>of</strong> a symbolic lodge, should be <strong>of</strong> light or sky blue, and<br />
those <strong>of</strong> a chapter room scarlet .<br />
LOGIC . <strong>The</strong> art <strong>of</strong> reasoning, and one <strong>of</strong> the seven liberal<br />
arts and sciences, whose uses are inculcated in the second degree .<br />
<strong>The</strong> power . . <strong>of</strong> right reasoning, which distinguishes the man <strong>of</strong><br />
sane mind-from the madman and the idiot, is deemed essential to<br />
the Mason, that he may comprehend both his rights and his duties<br />
. And hence the unfortunate beings just named, who are<br />
without this necessary mental quality, are denied admission into<br />
the order .<br />
LOUVETEAU . See Lewis.<br />
LOWEN. Am plc word, signifying, most probably, a disre-
LUS-LUX 285<br />
putable person . Webster defines lown, which seEms to be the .<br />
same word, without the old Saxon termination en, " a low fellow,"<br />
<strong>The</strong> word is found in the " Ancient Charges at the constituting<br />
<strong>of</strong> a Lodge," belonging to the Lodge <strong>of</strong> Antiquity, London .<br />
" Twelvethly, That a Master or Fellow make not a mould stone,<br />
square, nor rule, to no lowen, nor let no lowen worke within<br />
their lodge, nor without to mould stone ."<br />
LUSTRATION . A purification by water. This was an indispensable<br />
pre-requisite to initiation into all the ancient mysteries<br />
. <strong>The</strong> lustration in <strong>Freemasonry</strong> is mental . No aspirant<br />
can be admitted to participate in our sacred rites until he is thoroughly<br />
cleansed from all pollution <strong>of</strong> guilt . In some <strong>of</strong> the<br />
higher degrees <strong>of</strong> the Ancient and Accepted rite a lustration or<br />
ablution is practised .<br />
LUX . Light. <strong>Freemasonry</strong> anciently received, among other<br />
names, that <strong>of</strong> " Lug," because it is to be regarded as the doctrine<br />
<strong>of</strong> Truth, and in this sense may be said to be coeval with<br />
creation, as an emanation from the Divine Intelligence . Among<br />
the Rosicrucians, light was the knowledge <strong>of</strong> the philosopher's<br />
stone, and Mosheim says that in chemical language the cross +<br />
was an emblem <strong>of</strong> light, because it contains within' its figure the<br />
forms <strong>of</strong> the three letters, <strong>of</strong> which LVX or light is composed<br />
LUX E TENEBRIS . Light out <strong>of</strong> darkness. A masonic<br />
motto, expressive <strong>of</strong> the object <strong>of</strong> masonry, and <strong>of</strong> what the<br />
true Mason supposes himself to have attained .
288 MAAMAK<br />
M .<br />
MIAACHA . In the 10th degree <strong>of</strong> the Scotch Rite we are<br />
informed that certain traitors fled to " Maacha king <strong>of</strong> Cheth,"<br />
by whom they were delivered up to King Solomon on his sending<br />
for them . - In 1 Kings ii . 39, we find it recorded that two <strong>of</strong> the<br />
servants <strong>of</strong> Shimei fled from Jerusalem to "Achish, son <strong>of</strong><br />
Maacha king <strong>of</strong> Gath ." I am inclined to believe from this passage,<br />
that the carelessness <strong>of</strong> the early copyists <strong>of</strong> the ritual led<br />
to the double error <strong>of</strong> putting Cheth for Gath and <strong>of</strong> supposing<br />
that Maacha was its king instead <strong>of</strong> its king's father . <strong>The</strong><br />
manuscripts <strong>of</strong> the Scotch or Ancient and Accepted rite, too<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten copied by unlearned persons, show many such corruptions<br />
<strong>of</strong> Hebrew names, which modern researches must eventually<br />
correct .<br />
MAC . A Hebrew word which is said to signify "is smitten,"<br />
from the verb ;'T:)~ nacha to smite . This is not however a pure<br />
derivation . It may be the word 7C mak, "rottenness," and in<br />
its appropriate place would then signify "there is rotteness," or<br />
"he is rotten ."<br />
MAH. <strong>The</strong> Hebrew interrogative pronoun -7n signifying<br />
41what Q"<br />
MAHER--SHALAL-HASHBAZ . Four Hebrew words<br />
which the prophet Isaiah was ordered to write upon a tablet,<br />
and which were afterwards to be the name <strong>of</strong> his son . <strong>The</strong>y<br />
signify, "make haste to the prey, fall upon the spoil," and were<br />
prognostic <strong>of</strong> the sudden attack <strong>of</strong> the Assyrians . <strong>The</strong>y may<br />
be said, in their masonic use, to be symbolic <strong>of</strong> the readiness for<br />
action which should distinguish a warrior .<br />
MART . "To make Masons" is a very ancient term, used
MAL-MAR 287<br />
to the oldest charges extant, as synonymous with the verb<br />
" initiate ."<br />
MALLET . One <strong>of</strong> the working tools <strong>of</strong> a Mark Master,<br />
having the same emblematic meaning as the common gavel in<br />
the Entered Apprentice's degree . It teaches us to correct the<br />
irregularities <strong>of</strong> temper, and, like enlightened reason, to curb<br />
the aspirations <strong>of</strong> unbridled ambition, to depress the malignity<br />
<strong>of</strong> envy, and to moderate the ebullition <strong>of</strong> anger . It relieves<br />
the mind from all the excrescences <strong>of</strong> vice, and fits it, as a well<br />
wrought stone, for that exalted station in the great temple <strong>of</strong><br />
nature, to which, as an emanation <strong>of</strong> the Deity, it is entitled .<br />
<strong>The</strong> mallet or setting maul is also an emblem <strong>of</strong> the third<br />
degree, and is said to have been the implement by which the<br />
stones were set up at the temple . It is <strong>of</strong>ten improperly confounded<br />
with the common gavel .<br />
MANUAL . Belonging to the hand, from the Latin manes,<br />
a hand . .Masons are, in a peculiar manner, reminded by the<br />
hand, <strong>of</strong> the necessity <strong>of</strong> a prudent and careful observance <strong>of</strong><br />
all their pledges and duties, and hence this organ suggests<br />
certain symbolic instructions in relation to the virtue <strong>of</strong> prudence<br />
.<br />
MARK . It is a plate <strong>of</strong> gold or silver, worn by Mark<br />
Masters . <strong>The</strong> form is generally that <strong>of</strong> a Mark Master's keystone,<br />
within the circular inscription there being engraved a<br />
device, selected by the owner. This mark, on being adopted by<br />
a Mark Master, is recorded in the Book <strong>of</strong> Marks, and it is not<br />
lawful for him ever afterwards to exchange it for any other .<br />
It is a peculiar pledge <strong>of</strong> friendship, and its presentation by a<br />
destitute brother to another Mark Master, claims from the latter<br />
certain <strong>of</strong>fices <strong>of</strong> friendship and hospitality, which are <strong>of</strong> solemn<br />
obligation among the brethren <strong>of</strong> this degree .<br />
Marks or pledges <strong>of</strong> this kind were <strong>of</strong> frequent use among
288 MAR<br />
the ancients, under the name <strong>of</strong> tessera hospitalis and "arrhabo<br />
." <strong>The</strong> nature <strong>of</strong> the tessera hosp'italis, or, as the Greeks<br />
called it, auajoAoY, cannot be better described than in the words<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Scholiast on the Media <strong>of</strong> Euripides, v . 613, where Jason<br />
promises Medea, on her parting from him, to send her the symbols<br />
<strong>of</strong> hospitality which should procure her a kind reception in<br />
foreign countries . It was the custom,says the Scholiast, when a<br />
guest had been entertained, to break a die in two parts, one <strong>of</strong><br />
which parts was retained by the guest, so that if, at any future<br />
period he required assistance, on exhibiting the broken pieces <strong>of</strong><br />
the die to each other, the friendship was renewed . Plautus, in<br />
one <strong>of</strong> his comedies, gives us an exemplification <strong>of</strong> the manner<br />
in which these tesserm or pledges <strong>of</strong> friendship were used at<br />
Rome, whence it appears that the privileges <strong>of</strong> this friendship<br />
were extended to the descendants <strong>of</strong> the contracting parties .<br />
Poenulus is introduced, inquiring for Agorastocles, with whose<br />
family he had formerly exchanged the tessera .<br />
"Ag . Antidimarchus' adopted son,<br />
If you do seek, I am the very man .<br />
Bom. How ! do I hear aright?<br />
Ag . I am the son<br />
Of old Antidamus .<br />
Pcen . If so, I pray you<br />
Compare with me the hospitable die .<br />
I've brought this with me .<br />
Ag . Prithee, let me see it.<br />
It is, indeed, the very counterpart<br />
Of mine at home .<br />
Pcen . All hail, my welcome guest,<br />
Your father was my guest, Antidamus .<br />
Your father was my honoured guest, and then<br />
This hospitable die with me he parted ."*<br />
* Ag . Siquidem Antidimarchi queens adoptatitium .<br />
Ego sum ipsus quem to queeris .<br />
Pcan. Hem ! quid ego audio?
MAR 289<br />
<strong>The</strong>se tesserae, thus used, like the Mark Master's mark, for<br />
the purposes <strong>of</strong> perpetuating friendship and rendering its union<br />
more sacred, were constructed in the following manner : they took<br />
a small piece <strong>of</strong> bone, ivory or stone, generally <strong>of</strong> a square or<br />
cubical form, and dividing it into equal parts, each wrote his own<br />
name, or some other inscription, upon one <strong>of</strong> the pieces ; they<br />
then made a mutual exchange, and, lest falling into other hands<br />
it should give occasion to imposture, the pledge was preserved<br />
with the greatest secrecy, and no one knew the name inscribed<br />
upon it except the possessor .<br />
<strong>The</strong> primitive Christians seem to have adopted a similar practice,<br />
and the tessera was carried by them in their travels, as a<br />
means <strong>of</strong> introduction to their fellow Christians . A favourite inscription<br />
with them were the letters ff. T A . II., being the initials<br />
<strong>of</strong> flaTnp, rcoc, Arcoi ILEVlia, or Father, Son, and Holy Ghost .<br />
<strong>The</strong> use <strong>of</strong> these tesserae, in the place <strong>of</strong> written certificates, continued,<br />
says Dr . Harris, until the 11th century, at which time<br />
they are mentioned by Burchardus, Archbishop <strong>of</strong> Worms, in a<br />
visitation charge .*<br />
<strong>The</strong> arrhabo was a similar keepsake, formed by breaking a<br />
piece <strong>of</strong> money in two . <strong>The</strong> etymology <strong>of</strong> this word shows distinctly<br />
that the Romans borrowed the custom <strong>of</strong> these pledges<br />
from the ancient Israelites . For it is derived from the Hebrew<br />
arabon, a pledge .<br />
With this detail <strong>of</strong> the customs <strong>of</strong> the ancients before us, we<br />
can easily explain the well-known passage in Revelation, ii . 17 .<br />
c~ To him that overcometh will I give a white stone, and in it a<br />
Ag. Antidamae me gnatum esse .<br />
Pan . Si ita est, tesseram<br />
Conferre si vis hospitalem, eccam, attuli .<br />
Ag. Agedum hue ostende ; est per probe ; nam habeo domum .<br />
Pan. 0 mi hospes, salve multum ; nam mihi tuus pater,<br />
Pater tuus ergo hospes, Antidamas fuit<br />
Hac miL hospitalis tessera cum illo fuit .<br />
PanelL act. v., s. c. 2, ver. 85.<br />
v Harris, Diss. on the Tess . Hospit ., i3 vi.<br />
25
290 MAR<br />
new name written, which no man knoweth saving, lie that re .<br />
ceiveth it ." That is, to borrow the interpretation <strong>of</strong> Harris,<br />
~~ To him that overcometh will I give a pledge <strong>of</strong> my affection,<br />
which shall constitute him my friend, and entitle him to privi .<br />
leges and honours, <strong>of</strong> which none else can know the value or the<br />
extent .*<br />
MARK MAY According to masonic tradition, the Mark<br />
Men were the Wardens, as the Mark Masters were the Masters<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Fellow Craft lodges,t at the building <strong>of</strong> the Temple .<br />
<strong>The</strong>y distributed the marks to the workmen, and made the first<br />
inspection <strong>of</strong> the work, which was afterwards to be approved<br />
by the overseers . As a degree, the Mark Man is not recognised<br />
in America, and I am not aware that it is worked as such in<br />
England, although Carlyle gives us its ritual . Oliver, at least,<br />
mentions it only incidentally in his chronological catalogue .<br />
MARK MASTER . <strong>The</strong> 4th degree in the York rite . We<br />
are told in Holy Writ, that Solomon employed not less than<br />
113,600 craftsmen in the construction <strong>of</strong> the Temple . To control<br />
this vast multitude <strong>of</strong> workmen, to inspect their work with<br />
accuracy, and to pay their wages with punctuality and correctness,<br />
so that harmony might continue to exist among all, must<br />
have required a judicious system <strong>of</strong> government, in which every<br />
avenue to imposition was guarded with unceasing vigilance, and<br />
the very best means adopted <strong>of</strong> rewarding the industrious, and<br />
<strong>of</strong> discovQring and punishing the idle . With such a system<br />
alone was it possible to construct an -edifice <strong>of</strong> the size <strong>of</strong> Solomon's<br />
Temple in but little more than seven years, while the<br />
Temple <strong>of</strong> Diana, at Ephesus, in every respect inferior to it, oc-<br />
w Harris, Diss . on the Tess. Hospit ., J vii<br />
t Only those working in the quarries were, r suppose, thus governed. <strong>The</strong><br />
Fellow Crafts on Mount Lebanon were differently arranged . This is, however,<br />
all supposition, though a different theory would be incongruous with the history<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Mark degree .
MAR 291<br />
cupied the amazing period <strong>of</strong> two hundred and twenty years in<br />
building . This system <strong>of</strong> government, Mark Masters assert, is<br />
preserved in their degree . and its historical ceremonies consist<br />
principally in a recapitulation <strong>of</strong> the manner in which this work<br />
was conducted, exemplifying, by the relation <strong>of</strong> an event which<br />
is said to have occurred, the necessity <strong>of</strong> circumspection on the<br />
one part, and <strong>of</strong> honest industry on the other . <strong>The</strong> degree also<br />
incul .l,ates the virtue <strong>of</strong> charity, and draws still closer the bonds<br />
<strong>of</strong> mutual friendship, which unite us into one common brotherhood<br />
<strong>of</strong> love .<br />
In this country, the Mark Master's is the first degree given in<br />
a Royal Arch Chapter . Its <strong>of</strong>ficers are a Right Worshipful<br />
Master, Senior and Junior Wardens, Secretary, Treasurer,<br />
Senior and Junior Deacons, Master, Senior and Junior Overseers.<br />
<strong>The</strong> degree cannot be conferred when less than six are<br />
present, who, in that case, must be the first and last three <strong>of</strong>ficers<br />
above named . <strong>The</strong> working tools are the Mallet and indenting<br />
Chisel, (which see .)<br />
Until lately the degree was not given in England, and Royal<br />
Arch Masons, arriving from that country, were obliged to be<br />
marked, before they could be permitted to enter the American<br />
chapters . Uniformity is, however, now beginning to prevail, as<br />
Mark Masonry is practised in many <strong>of</strong> the English lodges or<br />
chapters, although it is rather by the tolerance than the sanction<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge . Mark Masters' lodges were formerly sometimes<br />
organized independently <strong>of</strong> chapters, deriving their warrants<br />
directly from a Grand Chapter . But such lodges have<br />
lately been forbidden by the revised constitution <strong>of</strong> the General<br />
Grand Chapter <strong>of</strong> the United States, and no longer exist in the<br />
States which acknowledge the supremacy <strong>of</strong> that body .<br />
MARK OF THE CRAFT . <strong>Masonic</strong> tradition informs us<br />
that, at the building <strong>of</strong> King Solomon's temple, every Mason<br />
was provided with a peculiar mark, which he placed upon his<br />
work, to distinguish it from that <strong>of</strong> his fellows . By the aid <strong>of</strong>
292 MAR<br />
these marks the overseers were enabled, without difficulty, to<br />
trace any piece <strong>of</strong> defective work to the faulty workman, and<br />
every chance <strong>of</strong> imposition, among so large an assemblage <strong>of</strong><br />
craftsmen as were engaged at the Temple, was thus effectually<br />
prevented .<br />
History confirms the truth <strong>of</strong> this tradition, because it clearly<br />
shows that. a similar usage has always existed among operative<br />
Masons . <strong>The</strong>se marks have been found at Spire, Worms, Strasbur,,<br />
Rheims, Basle, and other places ; and M . Didron, who reported<br />
a series <strong>of</strong> observations,* on the subject <strong>of</strong> these Masons'<br />
marks, to the Comite Historique des Arts et Monumens, <strong>of</strong> Paris,<br />
believes that he can discover in them references to distinct<br />
schools or lodges <strong>of</strong> Masons . He divides them into two classes<br />
those <strong>of</strong> the overseers and those <strong>of</strong> the men who worked the<br />
stones . <strong>The</strong> marks <strong>of</strong> the first class consist <strong>of</strong> monogrammatic<br />
characters ; those <strong>of</strong> the second, are <strong>of</strong> the nature <strong>of</strong> symbols,<br />
such as shoes, trowels, mallets, &c .<br />
A correspondent <strong>of</strong> the Freemason's Quarterly Review states<br />
that similar marks are to be found on the stones which compose<br />
the walls <strong>of</strong> the fortress <strong>of</strong> Allahabad, which was erected in<br />
1542, in the East Indies . " <strong>The</strong> walls," says this writer, " are<br />
composed <strong>of</strong> large oblong blocks <strong>of</strong> red granite, and are almost<br />
every where covered by masonic emblems, which evince something<br />
more than mere ornament . <strong>The</strong>y are not confined to one<br />
particular spot, but are scattered over the walls <strong>of</strong> the fortress,<br />
in many places as high as thirty or forty feet from the ground .<br />
It is quite .certain that thousands <strong>of</strong> stones on the walls, bearing<br />
these masonic symbols ; were carved, marked, and numbered in<br />
the quarry, previous to the erection <strong>of</strong> the building ."<br />
In the ancient buildings <strong>of</strong> England and France, these marks<br />
are to be found in great abundance . In a communication, on<br />
this subject, to the London Society <strong>of</strong> Antiquaries, Mr . Godwiu<br />
states, "that, in his opinion, these marks, if collected and coin-<br />
* Quoted by Godwin, in the Arcb cologicul Transactions, and by Oliver, to<br />
his Historical Landmarks .
MAR 293<br />
pared, might assist in connecting the various bands <strong>of</strong> operatives,<br />
who, under the protection <strong>of</strong> the church-mystically unitedspread<br />
themselves over Europe during the Middle Ages, and are<br />
known as Freemasons ."* Mr. Godwin describes these marks,<br />
as varying in length from two to seven inches, and as formed by<br />
a single line, slightly indented, consisting chiefly <strong>of</strong> crosses,<br />
known masonic symbols, Emblems <strong>of</strong> the Trinity and <strong>of</strong> eternity,<br />
the double triangle, trowel, square, &c .<br />
<strong>The</strong> same writer observes that, in a conversation, in September,<br />
1844, with a Mason at work on the Canterbury Cathedral, he<br />
« found that many Masons (all who were Freemasons) had their<br />
mystic marks handed down from generation to generation ; this<br />
man had his mark from his father, and he received it from his<br />
graudfather ."t<br />
MARSHAL. An <strong>of</strong>ficer common to several masonic bodies,<br />
whose duty is to regulate processions and other public solemnities<br />
MARTINISM . A rite or modification <strong>of</strong> masonry, instituted<br />
at Lyons, in France, towards the end <strong>of</strong> the last century, by the<br />
Marquis de St. Martin . St . Martin was a disciple <strong>of</strong> Paschalis,<br />
the rite established by whom, in 1754, he attempted to reform .X<br />
<strong>The</strong> degrees in Martin's rite were ten, divided into two classes or<br />
temples . <strong>The</strong> first temple comprised the degrees <strong>of</strong> Apprentice,<br />
Fellow Craft, Master, Ancient Master, Elect, Grand Architect,<br />
+s <strong>The</strong> Travelling Freemasons, who are described in this work under that<br />
title.<br />
. t I refer the masonic student, who desires still further to investigate this<br />
interesting subject, to the 15th Lecture <strong>of</strong> Bro . Oliver's Historical Landmarks ;<br />
a work to which I have been deeply indebted in the course <strong>of</strong> my masonio<br />
studies . Godwin has also written learnedly on this topic, in various articles<br />
In the Archaeological Transactions, the Builder, and other periodicals . One<br />
<strong>of</strong> his articles I have caused to be re-published in the Southern and Western<br />
<strong>Masonic</strong> Miscellany, vol . ii. No . 12 .<br />
$ See the word Paachalia.<br />
25*
294 MAS<br />
and Master <strong>of</strong> the Secret . <strong>The</strong> degrees <strong>of</strong> the second temple<br />
were Prince <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem, Knight <strong>of</strong> Palestine, and Knight<br />
Kadosh . Martinism extended from Lyons into the principal<br />
cities <strong>of</strong> France, Germany, and even Russia .*<br />
MASON, DERIVATION OF . <strong>The</strong> etymology <strong>of</strong> the words<br />
mason and . masonry have afforded masonic writers an ample opportunity<br />
<strong>of</strong> exhibiting their research and ingenuity . Some have<br />
derived them from the Persian Magi, or disciples <strong>of</strong> Zoroaster ;<br />
while Hutchinson <strong>of</strong>fers the conjecture, that they are corrupted<br />
from the Greek Aluaipcov, a mystery, and 31ua7 s, one initiated<br />
into the ancient mysteries . He seems, too, to think that Mason<br />
may probably come from Raw Zoov, I seek what is safe, and masonry<br />
from Meouupavew, I am. in the midst <strong>of</strong> heaven, or from the<br />
Hebrew Greek Ma;oupao9, one <strong>of</strong> the constellations <strong>of</strong> the zodiac .<br />
A writer in the European Magazine, for February, 1792, who<br />
signs himself George Drake, attributing to masonry a Druidical<br />
origin, derives Mason from what he calls mat's on, or the men<br />
<strong>of</strong> May, on being men as in the French on dit, and may's on are,<br />
therefore, the Druids, whose principal celebrations were in the<br />
month <strong>of</strong> May . Lastly, we may add, as a curious coincidence,<br />
at least, that the Hebrew yC)t, massang or masan, signifies a stone<br />
quarry. All these suggestions, however, seem to me to be more fanciful<br />
than true ; it is more probable that the word must be taken<br />
in its ordinary signification <strong>of</strong> a worker in stone, and thus it in .<br />
dicates the origin <strong>of</strong> the order from a society <strong>of</strong> practical artificers .<br />
MASONRY . Masonry is <strong>of</strong> two kinds, operative and . speculative<br />
. Operative masonry is engaged in the construction <strong>of</strong><br />
material edifices, by means <strong>of</strong> stone and marble ; speculative masonry<br />
is occupied in the erection <strong>of</strong> a spiritual temple, by means<br />
<strong>of</strong> symbolic instruction . <strong>The</strong> latter, which is also called Free.<br />
masonry, adopts and symbolizes, for its sacred purpose, the im-<br />
* Clavel, Hist. Pitt., p. 170 .
MAS hJ5<br />
plements and materials which are used in the former . Hence<br />
operative masonry is an art, and speculative, a science ; and while<br />
the objects <strong>of</strong> the one are pr<strong>of</strong>ane and temporal, those <strong>of</strong> the other<br />
are sacred and eternal .<br />
MASON'S DAUGHTER . This is an androgynous degree,<br />
invented in the Western . States, and given to Master Masons,<br />
their wives, and unmarried sisters and daughters . It refers to<br />
circumstances recorded in the xi . and xii . chapters <strong>of</strong> the Gospel<br />
<strong>of</strong> St. John .<br />
MASTER AD VITAM . Another name for the degree <strong>of</strong><br />
Grand Master <strong>of</strong> all symbolic lodges, which see .<br />
MASTER, GRAND . See Grand Master.<br />
MASTER IN ISRAEL. See Intendant <strong>of</strong> the Building .<br />
MASTER MASON . <strong>The</strong> third degree in all the different<br />
rites . In this, which is the perfection <strong>of</strong> symbolic or ancient<br />
craft masonry, the purest <strong>of</strong> truths are unveiled amid the most<br />
awful ceremonies . None but he who has visited the holy <strong>of</strong><br />
holies, and travelled the road <strong>of</strong> peril, can have any conception<br />
<strong>of</strong> the mysteries unfolded in this degree . Its solemn observances<br />
diffuse a sacred awe, and inculcate a lesson <strong>of</strong> religious truthand<br />
it is not until the neophyte has reached this summit <strong>of</strong> our<br />
ritual,* that he can exclaipa with joyful accents, in the language<br />
<strong>of</strong> the sage <strong>of</strong> old, 14 Eureka, Eureka," I have found at last the<br />
long-sought treasure . In the language <strong>of</strong> the learned and zealous<br />
H utchinson, somewhat enlarged in its allusion, II the Master Mason<br />
represents a man under the doctrine <strong>of</strong> love, saved from the grave<br />
<strong>of</strong> iniquity, and raised to the faith <strong>of</strong> salvation . It testifies our<br />
faith in the resurrection <strong>of</strong> the body, and, while it inculcates a<br />
practical lesson <strong>of</strong> prudence and unshrinking fidelity, it inspires
206 MAS<br />
the most cheering hope <strong>of</strong> that final reward which belongs alone<br />
to the "just made perfect ."<br />
This was the last and highest <strong>of</strong> the three degrees in existence<br />
at the construction <strong>of</strong> the first temple, and it is, therefore, called<br />
" the perfection <strong>of</strong> ancient craft masonry ." From the sublimity<br />
<strong>of</strong> the truths developed in it, and from the solemn nature <strong>of</strong> the<br />
ceremonies, it has received the appellation <strong>of</strong> the "sublime de . .<br />
gree." From this degree alone can the <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> a lodge be<br />
chosen ; and, though Fellow Crafts are permitted to speak, the<br />
privilege <strong>of</strong> voting is confined to Master Masons .<br />
MASTER OF A LODGE . <strong>The</strong> presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer, in a blue<br />
or symbolic' lodge, is called " the Worshipful Master ." In the<br />
French lodges, he is styled "Le Venerable," when the lodge is<br />
opened in the first or second degree, and " Le tres Venerable,"<br />
when in the third . <strong>The</strong> power <strong>of</strong> a Master in his lodge is absolute .<br />
He is the supreme arbiter <strong>of</strong> all questions <strong>of</strong> order, so far as the<br />
meeting is concerned, nor can any appeal be made from his decision<br />
to that <strong>of</strong> the lodge . He is amenable for his conduct to<br />
the Grand Lodge alone, and to that body must every complaint<br />
against him be made . For no misdemeanor, however great, can<br />
he be tried by his lodge, for, as no one has a right to preside there<br />
in his presence except himself, it would be absurd to suppose that<br />
he could sit as the judge in his own case . This is the decision<br />
that has been made on the subject by every Grand Lodge in the<br />
United States which has entertained the question, and it may be<br />
now considered as a settled law <strong>of</strong> masonry . He is elected annually,<br />
but must have previously presided as a Warden,, except<br />
in the case <strong>of</strong> a newly constituted lodge, or where every Past Master<br />
and Warden, as well as the present Master, have refused to<br />
serve, or have died, resigned, or been expelled . He is, with his<br />
Wardens, the representative <strong>of</strong> his lodge in the Grand Lodge,<br />
and is there bound to speak, act, or vote, as the lodge shall, by<br />
resolution, direct him . <strong>The</strong> right <strong>of</strong> instruction forms a part <strong>of</strong><br />
our ancient regulations . He is to be treated with the utmost re .
MAS 297<br />
cerence and respect while in the chair, and his command ; must<br />
be implicitly obeyed . <strong>The</strong> ancient charges on this subject are explicit.<br />
"You are not to hold private committees, or separate conversation,<br />
without leave from the Master, nor to talk <strong>of</strong> any thing<br />
impertinent or unseemly, nor interrupt the Master ; * * * * * but<br />
to pay due reverence to your Master, Wardens and Fellows, and<br />
put them to worship."-Ancient Charges, § vi . 1 .<br />
<strong>The</strong> jewels and furniture <strong>of</strong> the lodge are placed under the<br />
care <strong>of</strong> the Master, he being responsible to the lodge for their<br />
safe custody . It is his duty to see that the landmarks <strong>of</strong> the<br />
order be not infringed, that the regulations <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge<br />
and the by-laws <strong>of</strong> his own lodge be strictly enforced, that all his<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficers faithfully perform their duties, and that no ineligible candidate<br />
be admitted . He has the right <strong>of</strong> congregating his lodge<br />
whenever he thinks proper, and <strong>of</strong> closing it at any time that in<br />
his judgment may seem best .<br />
With respect to the removal <strong>of</strong> the lodge, the "Master possesses<br />
peculiar privileges according to the regulations <strong>of</strong> the Grand<br />
Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, adopted in 1735 . By these no motion for<br />
removal <strong>of</strong> the lodge can be made during the absence <strong>of</strong> the plaster<br />
. But this is a merely local regulation, and does not appear,<br />
generally, to have been adopted by the fraternity in America .<br />
Lastly, the Master has particularly the charge <strong>of</strong> the warrant<br />
<strong>of</strong> constitution, and is empowered to select his Senior Deacon from<br />
among the Master Masons <strong>of</strong> the lodge .<br />
<strong>The</strong> jewel <strong>of</strong> the Master is a square ; because, as the square is<br />
employed by operative Masons to fit and adjust the stones <strong>of</strong> a<br />
building, so that all the parts shall properly agree, so the Master<br />
<strong>of</strong> the lodge is admonished, by the symbolic meaning <strong>of</strong> the<br />
square upon his breast, to preserve that moral deportment among<br />
the members, which should ever characterize good Masons, so<br />
that $o ill-feeling or angry discussions may arise to impair the<br />
harmony <strong>of</strong> the meeting .<br />
I cannot better close this article than with the following extract<br />
from the writings <strong>of</strong> Dr. Oliver, in relation to the qualifi.
298 MAS<br />
cations <strong>of</strong> a Master <strong>of</strong> a lodge . "I am decidedly <strong>of</strong> opinion that<br />
much general knowledge is necessary to expand the mind, and<br />
familiarize it with masouic discussions and illustrations, before a<br />
brother can be pronounced competent to undertake the arduous<br />
duty <strong>of</strong> governing a lodge . A Master <strong>of</strong> the work ought to<br />
have nothing to learn . He should be fully qualified, not only to<br />
instruct the younger brethren, but to resolve the doubts <strong>of</strong> those<br />
who are more advanced in masonic knowledge ; to reconcile apparent<br />
contradictions ; to settle chronologies, and to elucidate<br />
obscure facts or mystic legends, as well as to answer the objections<br />
and to render pointless the ridicule <strong>of</strong> our uninitiated adversaries<br />
."*<br />
MASTER OF CAVALRY . An <strong>of</strong>ficer in a Council <strong>of</strong><br />
Knights <strong>of</strong> the Red Cross, whose duties are, in some respects,<br />
similar to those <strong>of</strong> a Junior Deacon in a symbolic lodge .<br />
MASTER OF CEREMONIES . An <strong>of</strong>ficer found in many<br />
<strong>of</strong> the lodges <strong>of</strong> England, and in all <strong>of</strong> those <strong>of</strong> the Continent .<br />
His duties are principally those <strong>of</strong> a conductor <strong>of</strong> the candidate .<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>fice is not recognised in the York ritual as practised in<br />
this country, though I think it is to be found in some <strong>of</strong> the<br />
lodges <strong>of</strong> New York, and perhaps occasionally elsewhere .<br />
MASTER OF DISPATCHES . <strong>The</strong> Secretary <strong>of</strong> a Council<br />
<strong>of</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong> the Red Cross .<br />
MASTER OF FINANCES . <strong>The</strong> Treasurer <strong>of</strong> a Council <strong>of</strong><br />
Knights <strong>of</strong> the Red Cross .<br />
MASTER -OF INFANTRY . An <strong>of</strong>ficer in a Council <strong>of</strong><br />
Knights <strong>of</strong> the Red Cross, whose duties are, in some respects,<br />
similar to those <strong>of</strong> a Senior Deacon in a symbolic lodge .<br />
* Hi .t. <strong>of</strong> Initiation, Pref., p . X.
MAS-MEN 299<br />
MASTER OF THE PALACE . An <strong>of</strong>ficer in a Council<br />
)f Knights <strong>of</strong> the Red Cross, whose duties are peculiar to the<br />
legree .<br />
MEDITERRANEAN PASS . A side degree, sometimes<br />
conferred in this country on Royal Arch Masons . It has no<br />
lecture or legend<br />
MEETINGS OF A LODGE . <strong>The</strong> meetings <strong>of</strong> lodges are<br />
regular, and extra or emergent . Regular meetings are held<br />
under the provision <strong>of</strong> the by-laws, but extra meetings are called<br />
by the order <strong>of</strong> the Worshipful Master . It is one <strong>of</strong> the ancient<br />
laws, that no extra meeting can alter, amend, or expunge the<br />
proceedings <strong>of</strong> a regular meeting . <strong>The</strong> meetings <strong>of</strong> lodges are<br />
termed " communications," and this word should always be used<br />
in the minutes, summonses, and other masonic documents .<br />
MELCHISEDEK . King <strong>of</strong> Salem, and a Priest <strong>of</strong> the Most<br />
High God, <strong>of</strong> whom all that we know is to be found in the passages<br />
<strong>of</strong> Scripture read at the conferring <strong>of</strong> the degree <strong>of</strong> High<br />
Priesthood. Some theologians have supposed him to have been<br />
Shem, the son <strong>of</strong> Noah .<br />
MELITA . <strong>The</strong> ancient name <strong>of</strong> the island <strong>of</strong> Malta .<br />
MEMPHIS, RITE OF . A <strong>Masonic</strong> rite, established at<br />
Paris, in 1839, by J . A . .Marconis and E . N. Mouttet . It afterwards<br />
extended to Brussels and Marseilles . It was composed <strong>of</strong><br />
ninety-one degrees, and is said to have been a modification <strong>of</strong> the<br />
rite <strong>of</strong> Misriam . Its existence has been ephemeral, for it is now<br />
extinct .<br />
MENATZCHIM . <strong>The</strong> overseers at the building <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Temple, amounting to 3300 . See 1 Kings v. 15, and 2 Chron<br />
ill 8
W, MID. -MIS<br />
MIDDLE CHAMBER . <strong>The</strong> middle chamber is thus described<br />
in the 1st book <strong>of</strong> Kings . "And against the wall <strong>of</strong> the<br />
house he built chambers round about, against the walls <strong>of</strong> the<br />
house round about, both <strong>of</strong> the temple and <strong>of</strong> the oracle : and<br />
he made chambers round about : the nethermost chamber was<br />
five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the<br />
third was -seven cubits broad : for without in the wall <strong>of</strong> the<br />
house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams<br />
should not be fastened in the walls <strong>of</strong> the house . <strong>The</strong> door for<br />
the middle chamber was in the right side <strong>of</strong> the house : and<br />
they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and<br />
out <strong>of</strong> the middle into the third ."-1 Kings, vi . 5, 6, 8 .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se chambers, after the temple was completed, served for<br />
the accommodation <strong>of</strong> the priests when upon duty ; in them they<br />
deposited their vestments and the sacred vessels . But the<br />
knowledge <strong>of</strong> the purpose to which the middle chamber was<br />
appropriated, while the temple was in the course <strong>of</strong> construction,<br />
is only preserved in masonic tradition .<br />
MINUTES . <strong>The</strong> minutes <strong>of</strong> the proceedings <strong>of</strong> the lodge<br />
should always be read just before closing, that any alterations<br />
or amendments may be proposed by the brethren ; and again<br />
immediately after opening at the next communication, that they<br />
may be confirmed . But the minutes <strong>of</strong> a regular communication<br />
are not to be read at a succeeding extra one, because, as the<br />
proceedings. <strong>of</strong> a regular communication cannot be discussed at<br />
an extra, i1 would be unnecessary to read them ; for, if incorrect,<br />
they could not be amended until the next regular communication<br />
.<br />
MISRAIM, RITE OF . - This rite was composed, in 1?05,w<br />
* Oliver says it was founded in 1782, but I think be confounds the Egyptian<br />
masonry, <strong>of</strong> Cagliostro, with the rite <strong>of</strong> Misriam . Clavel is my authority<br />
for thA (IFP
MIS 301<br />
ny' several Masons who had been refused admission into the<br />
Supreme Council <strong>of</strong> the Scotch rite, which had been organized<br />
during that year, at Milan . In 1814, it was established in<br />
France, and, in the following year, the lodge <strong>of</strong> "Arc-en-ciel'<br />
was constituted at Paris . Unsuccessful attempts were made to<br />
extend this rite, during the succeeding years, to Belgium, Sweden,<br />
and Switzerland ; and, in 1820, it was carried over to Ireland,<br />
where it is said still to exist, but in a languishing condition.<br />
At present but three lodges at Paris acknowledge this<br />
rite, whose "Puissance Supreeeme," or centre <strong>of</strong> government,is<br />
placed in that city . <strong>The</strong> Grand Orient <strong>of</strong> France has never<br />
recognised this rite as a part <strong>of</strong> masonry . <strong>The</strong> rite <strong>of</strong> Misriam,<br />
or, as it is sometimes called, the rite <strong>of</strong> Egypt, consists <strong>of</strong> 90<br />
degrees, divided into 4 series and 17 classes . Some <strong>of</strong> these<br />
degrees are entirely original, but many <strong>of</strong> them are borrowed<br />
from the Scotch rite .<br />
For the gratification <strong>of</strong> the curious inspector, the following list<br />
<strong>of</strong> these degrees is subjoined . <strong>The</strong> titles are translated as literally<br />
as possible from the French .<br />
I. SERIES--SYMBOLIC .<br />
1st Class<br />
: 1, Apprentice ; 2, Fellow Craft ; 3, Master. 2d<br />
Class : 4, Secret Master ; 5, Perfect Master ; 6, Master through<br />
Curiosity ; 7, Master in Israel ; 8, English Master . 3d Class<br />
9, Elect <strong>of</strong> Nine ; 10, Elect <strong>of</strong> the Unknown ; 11, Elect <strong>of</strong><br />
Fifteen ; 12, Perfect Elect ; 13, Illustrious Elect . 4th Class<br />
14, Scotch Trinitarian ; .15, Scotch Fellow Craft ; 16, Scotch<br />
Master ; 17, Scotch panisiere ; 18, Master <strong>of</strong> the Scottish rite ;<br />
19, Elect <strong>of</strong> three ; Scotch Master <strong>of</strong> the sacred vault <strong>of</strong> James<br />
VI.; 21, Scotch Master <strong>of</strong> St . Andrew . 5th Class : 22, Ari.hitect<br />
; 23, Grand Architect ; 24, Architecture ; 25, Apprentice<br />
Perfect Architect ; 26, Fellow Craft F arfect Architect ; 27,<br />
Master Perfect Architect ; 28, Perfect Architect ; 29, Sublime<br />
Scotch Master ; 30, Sublime Scotch Master <strong>of</strong> Heroden . 6th<br />
26
302 MIS<br />
Class : 31, Royal Arch ; 32, Grand Axe ; 33, Sublime Knight<br />
<strong>of</strong> Election, Chief <strong>of</strong> the 1st Series .<br />
II. SERIES--PHILOSOPHIC .<br />
7th Class : 34, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Sublime Election ; 35, Prussian<br />
Knight ; 30, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Temple ; 37, Knight <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Eagle ; 38, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Black Eagle ; 39, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Red<br />
Eagle ; 40; White Knight <strong>of</strong> the East ; 41, Knight <strong>of</strong> the East .<br />
8th Class : 42, Commander <strong>of</strong> the East ; 43, Grand Commander<br />
<strong>of</strong> the East ; 44, Architect <strong>of</strong> the Sovereign Commanders <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Temple ; 45, Prince <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem . 9th Class : 46, Sovereign<br />
Prince Rose Croix <strong>of</strong> Kilwinning and Heroden ; 47, Knight <strong>of</strong><br />
the West ; 48, Sublime Philosophy ; 49, Chaos the first, discreet<br />
; 50, Chaos the second, wise ; 51, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Sun . 10th<br />
Class : 52, Supreme Commander <strong>of</strong> the Stars ; 53, Sublime<br />
Philosopher ; 54, First degree <strong>of</strong> the Key <strong>of</strong> Masonry, Minor ;<br />
55, Second degree, Washer ; 56, Third degree, Bellows-blower ;<br />
57, Fourth degree, Caster ; 58, Freemason Adept ; 59, Sovereign<br />
Elect ; 60, Sovereign <strong>of</strong> Sovereigns ; 61, Master <strong>of</strong> Lodges ; 62,<br />
Most High and Most Powerful ; 63, Knight <strong>of</strong> Palestine ; 64,<br />
Knight <strong>of</strong> the White Eagle ; 65, Grand Elect Knight K H ;<br />
66, Grand Inquiring Commander, Chief <strong>of</strong> the 2d Series .<br />
III. SERIES-MYSTICAL .<br />
11th Class : 67, Benevolent Knight ; 68, Knight <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Rainbow ; 69, Knight <strong>of</strong> B . or Hhanuka, called Hynaroth ; 70,<br />
Most wise Israelitish prince ; 12th Class : 71, Sovereign Prince<br />
Talmudim ; 72, Sovereign Prince Zadkim ; 73, Grand Haram .<br />
13th Class : 74, Sovereign Grand Prince Haram ; 75, Sovereign<br />
Prince Hassidim . 14th Class : . 76, Sovereign Grand<br />
Prince Hasidim ; 77, Grand Inspector Intendant, Regulator-General<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Order, Chief <strong>of</strong> the 3d Series .<br />
15th and 16th<br />
IV. SERIES-CABALISTIC .<br />
Classes : 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86,<br />
degrees whose names are concealed from all but the possessors .<br />
17th Class : 87, Sovereign Grand Princes, constituted Grand
MIT 303<br />
Masters, and legitimate representatives <strong>of</strong> the order for the First<br />
Series ; 88, Ditto for the Second Series ; 89, Ditto for the Third<br />
Series ; 90, Absolute Sovereign Grand Master, Supreme Power<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Order, and Chief <strong>of</strong> the 4th Series .<br />
<strong>The</strong> chiefs <strong>of</strong> this rite claim the privilege, which, <strong>of</strong> course,<br />
has never been conceded to them, <strong>of</strong> directing and controlling all<br />
the other rites <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, as their common source. From<br />
an examination <strong>of</strong> a part <strong>of</strong> its ritual, and the perusal <strong>of</strong> some<br />
<strong>of</strong> its <strong>of</strong>ficial publications, I am inclined to believe the assertion<br />
<strong>of</strong> its friends, who claim for it an eminently philosophical character<br />
. <strong>The</strong> organization <strong>of</strong> the rite is, however, too complicated<br />
and diffuse to have ever been practically convenient . Many <strong>of</strong><br />
its degrees were founded upon, or borrowed from, the Egyptian<br />
rites, and its ritual is said to be a very close imitation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
ancient system <strong>of</strong> initiation .<br />
<strong>The</strong> legend <strong>of</strong> the third degree in this rite is abolished .<br />
HAB is said to have returned to his family, after the completion<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Temple, and to have passed the remainder <strong>of</strong> his days in<br />
peace and opulence . <strong>The</strong> legend, substituted by the rite <strong>of</strong><br />
Misraim for that admitted by all the other rites, is carried back<br />
to the days <strong>of</strong> Lamech, whose son Jubal, under the name <strong>of</strong><br />
Hario-Jubal-Abi, is reported to have been slain by three traitors,<br />
Hagava, Hakina, and Haremda .*<br />
MITHRAS, MYSTERIES OF. <strong>The</strong> mysteries <strong>of</strong> Mithras<br />
were celebrated in Persia . <strong>The</strong>y were instituted by Zeradusht,<br />
or Zoroaster, an Eastern jage, concerning whose era the learned<br />
are unable to agree, some placing it in the reign <strong>of</strong> Darius Hys .<br />
taspes, and others contending that he_ lived centuries before the<br />
reign <strong>of</strong> that monarch . Zoroaster reformed the doctrines <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Magi, and established a theology which was adopted as the religion<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Persians, Chaldeans, Parthians, Medes, and other<br />
• See a singular work, published in 1835, at Paris, by Marc Bedarride, one<br />
<strong>of</strong> the chiefs <strong>of</strong> the rite, under the title <strong>of</strong> "De i'Ordre Jlaconitique de Jhe.<br />
raim," pp . 25 and 118 .
304 MIT<br />
neighbouring nations . According to the Zend Avesta, the sacred<br />
book in which these doctrines are contained, the Supreme<br />
Being, whose name signifies "Time without bounds," created<br />
Light in the beginning ; out <strong>of</strong> this light proceeded Ormuzd, or<br />
the principle <strong>of</strong> light, who, by his omnific word, created the<br />
world . He produced also the superior genii, Amshaspands, who<br />
surround his throne, as the messengers <strong>of</strong> his will, and the inferior<br />
genii, Izeds, who are the guardian angels <strong>of</strong> the world, and<br />
whose chief is Mithras . <strong>The</strong> Supreme Being also created Ahriman,<br />
the principle <strong>of</strong> darkness, and the Dives, or evil genii<br />
under him . <strong>The</strong>se are incessantly at war with Ormuzd, endeavouring<br />
to corrupt the virtue and destroy the happiness <strong>of</strong> the<br />
human race . But their efforts, the Zend Avesta declares, are<br />
vain ; for, assisted by the Izeds, the triumph <strong>of</strong> the good principle<br />
has been resolved in the secret decrees <strong>of</strong> the Supreme<br />
Being .<br />
Mithras resided in the sun, and hence that luminary was wor .<br />
shipped as the abode <strong>of</strong> the God <strong>of</strong> Light . He was represented<br />
as a young man covered with a Phrygian turban, and clothed in<br />
a mantle and tunic . He presses with his knee upon a bull, one<br />
<strong>of</strong> whose horns he holds in his right hand, while with the right<br />
he plunges a dagger into his neck . This was an evident allusion<br />
to the power <strong>of</strong> the sun when he is in the zodiacal sign <strong>of</strong> Taurus .<br />
In Persia, the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Mithras were celebrated at the winter<br />
solstice ; in Rome, where they were introduced in the time <strong>of</strong><br />
Pompey, at the vernal equinox .<br />
<strong>The</strong>y were divided into seven degrees, and the initiation consisted<br />
<strong>of</strong> the most rigorous trials, sometimes even terminating in<br />
the death <strong>of</strong> the aspirant . No one, says Gregory Nazianzen,<br />
could be initiated into the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Nithras, unless he had<br />
passed through all the trials, and proved himself passionless and<br />
pure .* <strong>The</strong> aspirant at first underwent the purifications by<br />
* Orat. Cont . Julian. Appropriately does he call these trials xoyaceic, or<br />
pun4hmen •e.
MIT 305<br />
water, by fire, and by fasting ; after which he was introduced into<br />
-a cavern representing the world, on whose walls and ro<strong>of</strong> were<br />
inscribed the celestial signs .- Here he submitted to a species<br />
<strong>of</strong> baptism, and received a mark on his forehead . He was pre .<br />
sented with a crown on the point <strong>of</strong> a sword, which he was to<br />
refuse, declaring at the same time, "" Mithras alone is my<br />
crown ." He was prepared, by anointing him with oil, crowning<br />
him with olive, and clothing him in enchanted armour, for the<br />
seven stages <strong>of</strong> initiation through which he was about to pass .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se commenced in the following manner : In the first cavern<br />
he heard the howling <strong>of</strong> wild beasts, and was enveloped in total<br />
darkness, except when the cave was illuminated by the fitful<br />
glare <strong>of</strong> terrific flashes <strong>of</strong> lightning . He was hurried to the<br />
spot whence the sounds proceeded, and was suddenly thrust by<br />
his silent guide through a door into a den <strong>of</strong> wild beasts, where<br />
he was attacked by the initiated in the disguise <strong>of</strong> lions, tigers,<br />
hyenas, and other ravenous beasts . Hurried through this apartment,<br />
in the second cavern he was again shrouded in darkness,<br />
and for a time in fearful silence, until it was broken by awful<br />
peals <strong>of</strong> thunder, whose repeated reverberations shook the very<br />
walls <strong>of</strong> the cavern, and could not fail to inspire the aspirant<br />
with terror . He was conducted through four other caverns, in<br />
which the methods <strong>of</strong> exciting astonishment and fear were ingeniously<br />
varied . He was made to swim over a raging flood ; was<br />
subjected to a rigorous fast ; exposed to all the horrors <strong>of</strong> a<br />
dreary desert ; and finally, if we may trust the authority <strong>of</strong> Nicsetas,<br />
after being severely beaten with rods, was buried for many<br />
days up to the neck in - snow . In the seventh cavern or Sacellum,<br />
the darkness was changed to light, and the candidate was introduced<br />
into the presence <strong>of</strong> the Archimagus, or chief priest,<br />
seated on a splendid throne, and surrounded by the assistant dispensers<br />
<strong>of</strong> the mysteries . Here the obligation <strong>of</strong> secrecy was<br />
j According to Tertullian, his entrance was opposed by a drawn sword,<br />
from which, in the obstinacy <strong>of</strong> his perseverance, he <strong>of</strong>ten received more than<br />
one wound .<br />
26*
306 MIT-MOD<br />
administered, and he was made acquainted witl the sacred<br />
words, among which the Tetractys or ineffable name <strong>of</strong> God was<br />
the principal . He received also the appropriate inve_titure,* and<br />
was instructed in the secret doctrines <strong>of</strong> the rites <strong>of</strong> Mithras, <strong>of</strong><br />
which the history <strong>of</strong> the creation, already recited, formed a part .<br />
<strong>The</strong> mysteries <strong>of</strong> IIithras passed from Persia into Europe, and<br />
were introduced into Rome in the time <strong>of</strong> Pompey . Here they<br />
flourished with various success, until the year 378, when they<br />
were prescribed by a decree <strong>of</strong> the Senate, and the sacred cave,<br />
in which they had been celebrated, was destroyed by the Pretorian<br />
prefect .<br />
MITRE . One <strong>of</strong> the vestments <strong>of</strong> the High Priest <strong>of</strong> a<br />
Royal Arch Chapter. See $ijh Priest <strong>of</strong> the Jews .<br />
MODERN MASONS. <strong>The</strong> terms, Ancient and Modern Masons,<br />
are no longer known to the craft as distinctive appellations<br />
<strong>of</strong> any classes <strong>of</strong> the fraternity ; but the time has not long past<br />
when the masonic world was convulsed by the controversies <strong>of</strong><br />
the two bodies who assumed these titles . As an important part<br />
<strong>of</strong> the history <strong>of</strong> our order, it is therefore necessary that I should<br />
briefly relate the origin <strong>of</strong> the words, Modern and Ancient Arasons.t<br />
In the commencement <strong>of</strong> the eighteenth century, the universal<br />
name by which the whole mystic family was known, was that <strong>of</strong><br />
This investiture consisted <strong>of</strong> the gars or conical cap, and candys or loose<br />
tunic <strong>of</strong> Mithras, on which was depicted the celestial constellations, the zone,<br />
or belt, containing a representation <strong>of</strong> the figures <strong>of</strong> the zodiac, the pastoral<br />
staff or crozier, alluding to the influence <strong>of</strong> the sun in the labours <strong>of</strong> agriculture,<br />
and the golden serpent, which was placed in his bosom as an emblem <strong>of</strong><br />
his having been regenerated and made a disciple <strong>of</strong> Mithras, because the ser .<br />
pent, by casting its skin annually, was considered in these mysteries as t<br />
symbol <strong>of</strong> regeneration .-See Jfaurice's Indian Antiquities, vol . v ., ch . 4.<br />
t <strong>The</strong> subject has already been alluded to in the article on Grand Lodge,<br />
and it is, therefore, unavoidable, that I should here be guilty <strong>of</strong> repetition fot<br />
the purposes <strong>of</strong> facility <strong>of</strong> reference, and to preserve the continuity <strong>of</strong> tht<br />
narrative .<br />
.01
MOD 307<br />
"Free and Accepted Masons ." At that period there were in<br />
England two Grand Lodges, the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, seated<br />
at London, and governing the southern part <strong>of</strong> the kingdom, and<br />
the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> all England, placed at York, and extending<br />
its jurisdiction over the northern counties . <strong>The</strong>se bodies at first<br />
maintained a friendly intercourse, which was, however, at length<br />
interrupted by the <strong>of</strong>ficious interference <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge at<br />
London, in granting warrants to lodges under the jurisdiction <strong>of</strong><br />
the Grand Lodge at York . At this time, in 1738, under the<br />
Grand Mastership <strong>of</strong> the Marquis <strong>of</strong> Carnarvon, some <strong>of</strong> the<br />
brethren, becoming dissatisfied with certain proceedings <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, seceded from that body, and assumed,<br />
without authority, the title <strong>of</strong> York Masons . In the next year,<br />
Lord Raymond being Grand Master, the secessions continuing,<br />
the Grand, Lodge <strong>of</strong> England attempted to check the evil by<br />
passing votes <strong>of</strong> censure on the most refractory, and by enacting<br />
laws to discourage these irregular associations . In consequence<br />
<strong>of</strong> these measures, the seceders immediately declared themselves<br />
independent, and assumed the appellation <strong>of</strong> Ancient Masons .<br />
<strong>The</strong>y propagated an opinion, that the ancient tenets and usages<br />
<strong>of</strong> masonry were preserved by them, and that the regular lodges,<br />
being composed <strong>of</strong> Modern Masons, had adopted new plans, and<br />
were not to be considered as acting under the old establishment.*<br />
<strong>The</strong>y, therefore, organized a Grand Lodge, the authority for<br />
which they pr<strong>of</strong>essed to derive from the ancient body at York ;<br />
called themselves "Ancient York Masons ;" and constituted<br />
several subordinate lodges: <strong>The</strong> brethren who still adhered to<br />
the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, continued to style themselves<br />
"Free and accepted Masons," but were stigmatized by their<br />
opponents with the name <strong>of</strong> Moderns, the most opprobrious<br />
epithet that can be applied to a masonic body . <strong>The</strong> dissensions<br />
between these bodies were disseminated into foreign countries,<br />
where each body constituted lodges, and were continued in<br />
* Preston, Illust . <strong>of</strong> Masonry, p . 189 .
308 MOST<br />
England until the year 1813, when they were happi.y united<br />
during the Grand Mastership <strong>of</strong> the Duke <strong>of</strong> Sussex . Before<br />
that period, in some countries, and shortly after it in others, the<br />
union had elsewhere taken place,* and the two terms <strong>of</strong> Ancient<br />
and Modern Masons now exist only in the records <strong>of</strong> the past .<br />
With respect to the real differences between these two bodies,<br />
they appear to have existed rather in name, than in fact . Dermott,<br />
an Ancient Mason, with an illiberal desire <strong>of</strong> injuring the<br />
reputation <strong>of</strong> his opponents, asserts that "a very material difference<br />
exists between the Ancient and Modern Masons ;" but<br />
Dalcho, who was also an Ancient York, but acquainted with<br />
both systems, declares that "the difference in point <strong>of</strong> importance,<br />
was no greater than it would be to dispute, whether the<br />
glove should be placed first upon the right hand, or on the left ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> question, however, is definitely settled by the report <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Committees <strong>of</strong> Conference <strong>of</strong> the two Grand Lodges <strong>of</strong> Ancient<br />
York, and Free and Accepted Masons, <strong>of</strong> South Carolina, who<br />
met for the purpose <strong>of</strong> mutually examining the work, preparatory<br />
to the confirmation <strong>of</strong> the articles <strong>of</strong> the Union, which took<br />
place between these bodies in 1817 . On that occasion the joint<br />
committees reported, « That from the reciprocal examinations by<br />
the several committees already had in Grand Lodge, it doth appear<br />
that there exists no difference in the mode <strong>of</strong> entering, pass .<br />
ing and raising, instructing, obligating, and clothing brothers, in<br />
the respective Grand Lodges ."<br />
MONITOR . Those manuals, published for the convenience<br />
<strong>of</strong> lodges, and containing the charges, general regulations, emblems,<br />
and account <strong>of</strong> the public ceremonies <strong>of</strong> the order, are<br />
called Monitors . <strong>The</strong> instruction in these works is said to be<br />
Mon.itorial, to distinguish it from esoteric instruction, which is<br />
not permitted- to be written, and can be obtained only in the precincts<br />
<strong>of</strong> the lodge .<br />
* <strong>The</strong>y were united in Massachusetts as early as 1792, and in South Carolina<br />
in 1 x17 . .
MON-MOP 309<br />
MONITOR, SECRET . See Secret Monitor .<br />
MOON . If the moon is found in our lodges bestowing her'<br />
light upon the brethren, and instructing the Master to imitate,<br />
in his government, the precision and regularity with which she<br />
presides over the night, we shall find her also holding a conspicuous<br />
place in the worship <strong>of</strong> the first seceders from the true spirit<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> . In Egypt, Osiris was the sun, and Isis the<br />
moon ; in Syria, Adonis was the sun, and Ashtoroth the moon ;<br />
the Greeks adored her as Diana, and Hecate ; in the mysteries<br />
<strong>of</strong> Ceres, while the hierophant or chief priest represented the<br />
Creator, and the torch bearer the sun, the ho epi bomos, or <strong>of</strong>ficer<br />
nearest the altar, represented the moon . In short, moon-worship<br />
was as widely disseminated as sun-worship . Masons retain her<br />
image in their rites, because the lodge is a representation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
universe, where as the sun rules over the day, the moon presides<br />
over the night ; as the one regulates the year, so does the other<br />
the months, and as the former is the king <strong>of</strong> the starry hosts <strong>of</strong><br />
heaven, so is the latter their queen ; but both deriving their<br />
heat, and light, and power from him, who, as a third and the<br />
greatest light, the master <strong>of</strong> heaven and earth, controls them<br />
both .<br />
MOPSES . In 1738 Pope Clement XII . had issued a Bull,<br />
condemning and forbidding the practice <strong>of</strong> the rites <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong><br />
. Several brethren in the Catholic States <strong>of</strong> Germany,<br />
unwilling to renounce the' .order, and yet fearful <strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>fending the<br />
ecclesiastical authority, formed in 1740, under the name <strong>of</strong><br />
Mopses, what was pretended to be a new association, devoted to<br />
the papal hierarchy, but which was in truth nothing else than<br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong> under a less <strong>of</strong>fensive appellation . It was patronized<br />
by the most illustrious persons <strong>of</strong> Germany, and many<br />
Princes <strong>of</strong> the Empire were its Grand Masters . <strong>The</strong> title is<br />
derived from the German word mops, signifying a young mastiff,<br />
and was indicative <strong>of</strong> the mutua fidelity and attachment <strong>of</strong>
310 MOR<br />
the brethren, these virtues being characteristic <strong>of</strong> that noble<br />
animal .<br />
In 1776, the Mopses became an androgynous order, and ad.<br />
mitted females to all the <strong>of</strong>fices, except that <strong>of</strong> Grand Master,<br />
which was held for life . <strong>The</strong>re was, however, a Grand Mistress,<br />
and the male and female heads <strong>of</strong> the order alternately assumed,<br />
for six months each, the supreme authority .<br />
MORALITY OF FREEMASONRY . No one who reads<br />
our ancient charges can fail to see that <strong>Freemasonry</strong> is a strictly<br />
moral institution, and that the principles which it inculcates inevitably<br />
tend to make the brother, who obeys their dictates, a<br />
more virtuous man . What this morality is, has been so well defined<br />
in a late address before one <strong>of</strong> our Grand Lodges, that<br />
nothing I could say would add strength to the sentiment, or<br />
beauty to the language .<br />
"<strong>The</strong> morality <strong>of</strong> masonry requires us to deal justly with<br />
others ; not to defraud, , ;heat, or wrong them <strong>of</strong> their just dues<br />
and rights . But it goes farther ; regarding all as the children<br />
<strong>of</strong> one great father, it regards man as bound by piety, masonic<br />
morality, and fraternal bonds, to minister to the wants <strong>of</strong> the<br />
destitute and afflicted ; and that we may be enabled to fulfil this<br />
high behest <strong>of</strong> humanity, it strictly enjoins industry and frugality,<br />
that so our hands may ever be filled with the means <strong>of</strong><br />
exercising that charity to which our hearts should ever dispose<br />
us."<br />
MORIAH, MOUNT . A hill on the north-east side <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem,<br />
once separated from the hill <strong>of</strong> Acra, by a valley, which<br />
was filled up by the Asmoneans, and the two hills converted into<br />
one. In the time <strong>of</strong> David, it stood apart from the city and was<br />
under cultivation, for here was the threshing floor <strong>of</strong> Ornan the<br />
• Address bef,re the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Kentucky, by Rev . M . 31. Henkle,<br />
G . 0 . 1844.
MOS 311<br />
Jebusite, which David bought for the purpose <strong>of</strong> erecting on it<br />
an altar to God . Here also Abraham is supposed to have been<br />
directed to <strong>of</strong>fer up his son Isaac . On Mount Moriah,Solomon<br />
afterwards erected the Temple, when it was included within the<br />
walls <strong>of</strong> the city . Mount Gihon, the Hill <strong>of</strong> Gareb, and espe .<br />
cially Mount Calvary, are to the westward <strong>of</strong> Mount .3foriuh .<br />
Mount Moriah is represented by the ground floor <strong>of</strong> the lodge,<br />
and on. i t the three grand <strong>of</strong>ferings <strong>of</strong> masonry were made . See<br />
Ground Floor <strong>of</strong> the Lodye.<br />
MOSAIC PAVEMENT . Mosaic work consists <strong>of</strong> innumerable<br />
little stones, <strong>of</strong> different colours, closely united together, so<br />
as to imitate a painting . <strong>The</strong> floor <strong>of</strong> the tabernacle, and the<br />
pavement <strong>of</strong> Solomon's temple, are said to have been thus constructed<br />
.* <strong>The</strong> Mosaic pavement, in imitation <strong>of</strong> this pavement<br />
<strong>of</strong> the temple, is an ornament <strong>of</strong> the lodge, and is illustrated<br />
in the Entered Apprentice's degree . It is surrounded by<br />
a richly inlaid or tessellated border, commonly called the indented<br />
tessel, and has in its centre a blazing star . <strong>The</strong> variety<br />
<strong>of</strong> colours in the pavement, is a fit emblem <strong>of</strong> human life, a<br />
mingled scene <strong>of</strong> virtue and vice, <strong>of</strong> happiness and misery ; today<br />
"our feet tread in prosperity, to-morrow we totter on the<br />
uneven paths <strong>of</strong> weakness, temptation, and adversity ;" the<br />
tessellated border, rich in the adornments <strong>of</strong> figure and colour,<br />
represents the many blessings which surround us, and <strong>of</strong> which<br />
not even the most lowly are entirely destitute ; while the blazing<br />
star, like that bright meteor which <strong>of</strong> old directed the steps <strong>of</strong><br />
the wise men <strong>of</strong> the East; still points to that eternal source from<br />
which each blessing flows .<br />
MOST EXCELLENT . <strong>The</strong> style given to a Royal Arch<br />
Chapter, and to its presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer, the High Priest .<br />
* <strong>The</strong> term 3foeaic is supposed to have been derived from the fact that Moses<br />
thus constructed the floor <strong>of</strong> the tabernacle . Mosaic or tesselated pavements<br />
were very common among the ancients .
312 MOS-MYS<br />
MOST EXCELLENT MASTER . <strong>The</strong> 6th degree in the<br />
York rite . Its history refers to the dedication <strong>of</strong> the Temple<br />
by King Solomon, who is represented by its presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer,<br />
under the title <strong>of</strong> Most Excellent . Its <strong>of</strong>ficers are the same as<br />
those in a symbolic lodge .<br />
MOST WORSHIPFUL . <strong>The</strong> style given to a Grand Lodge,<br />
and to its presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer, the Grand Master .<br />
MUSIC . One <strong>of</strong> the seven liberal arts and sciences, whose<br />
beauties are inculcated in the Fellow Craft's degree . Music is<br />
recommended to the attention <strong>of</strong> Masons, because as the " concord<br />
<strong>of</strong> sweet sounds" elevates the generous sentiments <strong>of</strong> the<br />
soul, so should the concord <strong>of</strong> good feeling reign among the<br />
brethren, that by the union <strong>of</strong> friendship and brotherly love, the<br />
boisterous passions may be lulled, and harmony exist throughout<br />
the craft .<br />
MUSTARD SEED, ORDER OF . Ordre de la graine de<br />
Senive . This association, whose members also called themselves<br />
" <strong>The</strong> fraternity <strong>of</strong> Moravian Brothers <strong>of</strong> the order <strong>of</strong> Religious<br />
Freemasons," was one <strong>of</strong> the first innovations introduced into<br />
German <strong>Freemasonry</strong> . It was instituted in the year 1739 . Its<br />
mysteries were founded on that passage in the 4th chapter <strong>of</strong> St .<br />
Mark's gospel, in which Christ compares the kingdom <strong>of</strong> heaven<br />
to a mustard seed . <strong>The</strong> brethren wore a ring, on which was inscribed,<br />
"No one <strong>of</strong> us lives for himself ." <strong>The</strong> jewel <strong>of</strong> the<br />
order was a cross <strong>of</strong> gold, surmounted by a Mustard plant, with<br />
the words, " What was it before? Nothing ." This was suspended<br />
from a green ribbon .<br />
MYSTAGOOUE . <strong>The</strong> one who presided at the Ancient<br />
Mysteries, and explained the sacred things to the candidate . He<br />
was also called the hierophant .
MYS 313<br />
MYSTERIES . This is the name given to those religious<br />
assemblies <strong>of</strong> the ancients, whose ceremonies were conducted in<br />
secret, whose doctrines were known only to those who had obtained<br />
the right <strong>of</strong> knowledge by a previous initiation, and whose<br />
members were in possession <strong>of</strong> signs and tokens by which they<br />
were enabled to recognise each otter.* For the origin <strong>of</strong> these<br />
mysteries we must look to the Gymnosophists <strong>of</strong> India, from<br />
whom they passed through Egypt into Greece and Rome, and<br />
from whom likewise they were extended, in a more immediate<br />
line, to the northern part <strong>of</strong> Europe and to Britain . <strong>The</strong> most<br />
important <strong>of</strong> these mysteries were those <strong>of</strong> Mithras, celebrated<br />
in Persia ; <strong>of</strong> Osiris and Isis, celebrated in Egypt ; <strong>of</strong> Eleusis,<br />
instituted in Greece ; and the Scandinavian and Druidical rites,<br />
which were confined to the Gothic and Celtic tribes . In all these<br />
various mysteries, we find a singular unity <strong>of</strong> design clearly indicating<br />
a common origin, and a purity <strong>of</strong> doctrine as evidently<br />
proving that this common origin was not to be sought for in the<br />
popular theology <strong>of</strong> the Pagan world . <strong>The</strong> ceremonies <strong>of</strong> initiation<br />
were all funereal in their character . <strong>The</strong>y celebrated the<br />
death and the resurrection <strong>of</strong> some cherished being, either the<br />
object <strong>of</strong> esteem as a hero, or <strong>of</strong> devotion as a god . Subordination<br />
<strong>of</strong> degrees was instituted, and the candidate was subjected<br />
to probations varying in Aheir character and severity ; the rites<br />
were practised in the darkness <strong>of</strong> night, and <strong>of</strong>ten amid the<br />
gloom <strong>of</strong> impenetrable forests or subterranean caverns ; and the<br />
full fruition <strong>of</strong> knowledge, for which so much labour was endured,<br />
and so much danger incurred, was not attained until the aspirant,<br />
well tried and thoroughly purified, had reached the place <strong>of</strong> wisdom<br />
and <strong>of</strong> light .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se mysteries undoubtedly owed their origin to the desire<br />
• Warburton's definition <strong>of</strong> the Mysteries is as follows : "Each <strong>of</strong> the pagan<br />
gods bad (besides the public and open) a secret worship paid unto him ; to<br />
which none were admitted but those who had been selected by preparatory ceremonies,<br />
called INITIATION . This secret worship was `armed the MYSTE-<br />
RIES."_Divine Legation, Vol. 1, B. ii. 14, p . 189 .<br />
27
314 MYS<br />
on the part <strong>of</strong> the priests <strong>of</strong> establishing an esoteric philosophy,<br />
in which should be taught the sublime truths which they had<br />
derived, (though they themselves at length forgot the source,)<br />
from the instruction <strong>of</strong> God himself through the ancient patriarchs<br />
. By this confinement <strong>of</strong> these doctrines to a system <strong>of</strong><br />
secret knowledge, guarded by. the most rigid rites, could they<br />
only expect to preserve them from the superstitions, innovations,<br />
and corruptions <strong>of</strong> the world as it then existed . "<strong>The</strong> distinguished<br />
few," says Oliver, " who retained their fidelity, uncontaminated<br />
by the contagion <strong>of</strong> evil example, would soon be able<br />
to estimate the superior benefits <strong>of</strong> an isolated institution, which<br />
afforded the advantage <strong>of</strong> a select society, and kept at an unapproachable<br />
distance the pr<strong>of</strong>ane sc<strong>of</strong>fer, whose presence might<br />
pollute their pure devotions and social converse, by contumelious<br />
language or unholy mirth ."* And doubtless the prevention <strong>of</strong><br />
this intrusion, and the preservation <strong>of</strong> these sublime truths, was<br />
the original object <strong>of</strong> the institution <strong>of</strong> the ceremonies <strong>of</strong> initiation,<br />
and the adoption <strong>of</strong> other means by which the initiated<br />
could be recognised, and the uninitiated excluded . Such was<br />
the opinion <strong>of</strong> Warburton, who says that " the mysteries were at<br />
first the retreats <strong>of</strong> sense and virtue, till time corrupted them in<br />
most <strong>of</strong> the gods ."t<br />
<strong>The</strong> Abbe Robin, in a learned work) on this subject, places<br />
the origin <strong>of</strong> the initiations at that remote period when crimes first<br />
began to appear upon earth . <strong>The</strong> vicious, he remarks, were urged<br />
by the terror <strong>of</strong> guilt to seek among the virtuous for intercessors<br />
with the deity. <strong>The</strong> latter, retiring into solitude to avoid the<br />
contagion <strong>of</strong> growing corruption, devoted themselves to a life<br />
<strong>of</strong> contemplation and the cultivation <strong>of</strong> several <strong>of</strong> the useful<br />
sciences . <strong>The</strong> periodical return <strong>of</strong> the seasons, the revolution <strong>of</strong><br />
the stars, the productions <strong>of</strong> the earth, and the various phenomena<br />
<strong>of</strong> nature, studied with attention, rendered them useful guides to<br />
'e History <strong>of</strong> Initiation, p . 2 . t Spence's Anecdotes, p. 309.<br />
Recherchee sur lea Initiations Anciennes et Modernes . Paris. 1780.
MYS 315<br />
men, both in their pursuits <strong>of</strong> industry and in their social duties .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se recluse students invented certain signs to recall to the remembrance<br />
<strong>of</strong> the people the times <strong>of</strong> their festivals and <strong>of</strong> their<br />
rural labours, and hence the origin <strong>of</strong> the symbols and hieroglyphics<br />
that were in use among the priests <strong>of</strong> all nations . Having<br />
now become guides and leaders <strong>of</strong> the people, these sages, in order<br />
to select as associates <strong>of</strong> their learned labours and sacred functions<br />
only such as had sufficient merit and capacity, appointed strict<br />
courses <strong>of</strong> trial and examination, and this, our author thinks, must<br />
have been the source <strong>of</strong> the initiations <strong>of</strong> antiquity . <strong>The</strong> _Magi,<br />
Brahmins, Gymnosophists, Druids, and priests <strong>of</strong> Egypt, lived<br />
thus in sequestered habitations and subterranean caves, and obtained<br />
great reputation by their discoveries in astronomy, chemistry and<br />
mechanics, by their purity <strong>of</strong> morals, and by their knowledge <strong>of</strong><br />
the science <strong>of</strong> legislation . It was in these schools, says M . Robin,<br />
that the first sages and . legislators <strong>of</strong> antiquity were formed, and<br />
in them he supposes the doctrines taught to have been the unity <strong>of</strong><br />
God and the immortality <strong>of</strong> the soul ; and it was from these mysteries,<br />
and their symbols and hieroglyphics, that the exuberant<br />
fancy <strong>of</strong> the Greeks drew much <strong>of</strong> their mythology .*<br />
<strong>The</strong> candidates for initiation were not only expected to be <strong>of</strong> a<br />
clear and unblemished character, and free from crime, but their<br />
future conduct was required to be characterized by the same<br />
purity and innocence . <strong>The</strong>y were, therefore, obliged, by solemn<br />
engagements, to commence a new life <strong>of</strong> piety and virtue, upon<br />
which they entered by a severe course <strong>of</strong> penance . j<br />
<strong>The</strong> mysteries were held in the highest respect, by both the<br />
government and the people . It was believed that he who was<br />
initiated would not only enjoy an increased share cf virtue and<br />
happiness in this world, but would be entitled to celestial honours<br />
in the next . 11 Thrice happy they," says Sophocles, " who de.<br />
's I give these ingenious speculations <strong>of</strong> the Abbe Robin, although 1 dissent<br />
from much <strong>of</strong> his doctrine, because they add another item to the history <strong>of</strong> the<br />
theories on this interesting subject .<br />
j- W arburton, Divine Legation, B . U ., Sect . 4.
316 MYS<br />
cended to the shades below after having beheld then( rites. ; fot<br />
they alone have life in Hades, while all others suffer there every<br />
kind <strong>of</strong> evil ." And Isocrates declares that "those who have been<br />
initiated in the mysteries, entertain better hopes, both as to the<br />
end <strong>of</strong> life and the whole <strong>of</strong> futurity ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> ancient historians relate many circumstances in illustration<br />
<strong>of</strong> the sanctity in which the mysteries were held . Livy tell us<br />
the following story : Two Acarnanian youths who had not been<br />
initiated, accidentally entered the temple <strong>of</strong> Ceres, during the days<br />
<strong>of</strong> the mysteries . <strong>The</strong>y were soon detected by their absurd questions,<br />
and being carried to the managers <strong>of</strong> the temple, though it<br />
was evident that they had come there by mistake, they were put<br />
to death for so horrible a crime .*<br />
Plutarch records the fact that Alcibiades was indicted for sacrilege,<br />
because he imitiated the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Eleusis and exhibited<br />
them to his companions in the same dress in which the hierophant<br />
showed the sacred things, and called himself the hierophant, one<br />
<strong>of</strong> his companions the torch bearer, and the other the herald .t<br />
Lobeck, one <strong>of</strong> the most learned writers on this subject, has collected<br />
several examples <strong>of</strong> the reluctance with which the ancients<br />
approached a mystical subject, and the manner in which they<br />
shrunk from divulging any explanation or fable which had been<br />
related to them at the mysteries .<br />
To divulge them was considered a sacrilegious crime, the prescribed<br />
punishment for which was immediate death . I would not,<br />
says Horace, dwell beneath the same ro<strong>of</strong>, nor trust myself in the<br />
same frail -bark, with-the man who has betrayed the secrets <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Eleusinian rites .§<br />
# Liv. Hist. xxi . 14 . f Plnt . Alcibiad . 22 .<br />
$ Lobeck's Aglaophamns, voL i. app . 131, 151 ; voL ii, p. 1287 .<br />
Vetabo, qni Cereris sacrum<br />
Vulg$rit arcanse, sub iisdem<br />
Sit trabibus, fragilemque mecum<br />
Solvat phaselum .<br />
[Caret . iii . 3, 26.
MYS 317<br />
On the subject <strong>of</strong> their relation to the rites <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, to<br />
which they bear in many respects so remarkable a resemblance,<br />
that some connection seems necessarily implied, there are two<br />
principal theories . <strong>The</strong> one, is that embraced and taught by Dr .<br />
Oliver, namely, that they are but deviations from that common<br />
source, both <strong>of</strong> them and <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, the patriarchal mode<br />
<strong>of</strong> worship established by . God himself. With this pure system<br />
<strong>of</strong> truth, he supposes the science <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> to have been<br />
coeval and identified . But the truths thus revealed by divinity,<br />
came at length to be doubted or rejected through the imperfection<br />
<strong>of</strong> human reason, and though the visible symbols were retained<br />
in the mysteries <strong>of</strong> the Pagan world, their true interpretation<br />
was lost .*<br />
That the instruction communicated in the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Paganism<br />
were an impure derivation from the sublime truths <strong>of</strong> the patriarchal<br />
theology, I have no hesitation in believing . But that<br />
they were an emanation from <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, as we now understand<br />
the terms, I am not yet prepared to admit, notwithstanding the<br />
deep veneration in which I hold the learning <strong>of</strong> Dr . Oliver . I<br />
prefer, therefore, the second theory, which, leaving the origin <strong>of</strong><br />
the mysteries to be sought in the patriarchal doctrines, where<br />
Oliver has placed it, finds the connection between them and <strong>Freemasonry</strong><br />
commencing at the building <strong>of</strong> King Solomon's Temple .<br />
Over the construction <strong>of</strong> this building, Hiram, the Architect <strong>of</strong><br />
Tyre, presided . At Tyre the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Bacchus had been introduced<br />
by the Dionysian Artificers, and into their fraternity Hiram,<br />
in all probability, had, as Iliave already suggested, been admitted .t<br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong>, whose tenets had always existed in purity among<br />
the immediate descendants <strong>of</strong> the patriarchs, added now to its doctrines<br />
the guard <strong>of</strong> secrecy, which, as Dr. Oliver himself remarks,<br />
was necessary to preserve them from perversion or pollution .t<br />
This, then, it seems to me, is the true connection between the<br />
* Signs and Symbols, p . 217 .<br />
t See Antiquity <strong>of</strong> Masonry, and Hiram the Builder, in this work.<br />
$ Hist. <strong>of</strong> Initiation, p . 2 .<br />
27*
318 MYS<br />
mysteries and speculative <strong>Freemasonry</strong> . <strong>The</strong>y both emanated<br />
from one common source, but the former soon losing much <strong>of</strong><br />
their original purity, were compelled, in order to preserve the little<br />
that was left, to have recourse to the invention <strong>of</strong> ceremonies and<br />
modes <strong>of</strong> recognition, and a secret doctrine, by means <strong>of</strong> which<br />
all but a select and worthy few were excluded . <strong>The</strong>se ceremonies,<br />
and especially this symbolic or secret mode <strong>of</strong> communicating in<br />
struction, so admirable in themselves, were afterwards adopted by<br />
the Freemasons, who had retained the ancient tenets in their<br />
original purity, but they divested them <strong>of</strong> their heathen allusions,<br />
and adapted them to the divine system which they had preserved<br />
unimpaired .<br />
A third theory has been advanced by the Abbe Robin, in<br />
which he connects <strong>Freemasonry</strong> indirectly with the mysteries,<br />
through the intervention <strong>of</strong> the Crusaders . In the work already<br />
cited, he attempts to deduce from the ancient initiations, the orders<br />
<strong>of</strong> Chivalry, whose branches, he says, produced the institution<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>. But this theory is utterly untenable and<br />
inconsistent with the facts <strong>of</strong> history, since <strong>Freemasonry</strong> preceded,<br />
instead <strong>of</strong> following, the institution <strong>of</strong> Chivalry, as I have<br />
elsewhere shown, and could not, therefore, have been indebted to<br />
this system for its primal organization .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se mysteries, so important from their connection with<br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong>, deserve a still further examination <strong>of</strong> their origin<br />
and design .<br />
Faber, who sought an Arkite origin for every thing, says that<br />
~~ the initiations into the mysteries scientifically represented the<br />
mythic descent into Hades and the return from thence to the<br />
light <strong>of</strong> day, by which was meant the entrance into the ark and<br />
the subsequent liberation from its dark enclosure . <strong>The</strong>y all<br />
equally related to the allegorical disappearance, or death, or descent<br />
<strong>of</strong> the great father, at their commencement ; and to his invention,<br />
or revival, or return from Hades, at their conclusion ."<br />
0 Origin <strong>of</strong> Pagan Idolatry, vol . ii ., b. iv ., ch. Y ., p 384.
MYS 31?<br />
11 <strong>The</strong>y were," says Warburton, « a school <strong>of</strong> morality and religion,<br />
in which the vanity <strong>of</strong> polytheism and the unity <strong>of</strong> the<br />
First Cause were revealed to the initiated ."t This opinion <strong>of</strong><br />
the learned Bishop <strong>of</strong> Gloucester is not gratuitous ; it is supported<br />
by the concurrent testimony <strong>of</strong> the ancient writers . ' 1 All<br />
the mysteries," says Plutarch, " refer to a future life and to the<br />
state <strong>of</strong> the soul after death ."I In another place, addressing<br />
his wife, he says, ' 1 we have been instructed in the religious rites<br />
<strong>of</strong> Dionysus, that the soul is immortal, and that there is a future<br />
state <strong>of</strong> existence ."§ Cicero tells us, that in the mysteries <strong>of</strong><br />
Ceres at Eleusis, the initiated were taught to live happily and to<br />
die in the hope <strong>of</strong> a blessed futurity .11 And, finally, Plato informs<br />
us, that the hymns <strong>of</strong> Musaeus, which were sung in the<br />
mysteries, celebrated the rewards and pleasures <strong>of</strong> the virtuous<br />
in another life, and the punishments which awaited the wicked .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se sentiments, so different from the debased polytheism<br />
which prevailed among the unitiated, are the most certain evidence<br />
that the mysteries arose from a purer source than that<br />
which gave birth to the religion <strong>of</strong> the vulgar . That purer<br />
source was the common original <strong>of</strong> them and <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> .<br />
I conclude with a notice <strong>of</strong> their ultimate fate . <strong>The</strong>y continued<br />
to flourish until long after the Christian era . But they, at<br />
length, degenerated . In the fourth century, Christianity had<br />
begun to triumph . <strong>The</strong> Pagans, desirous <strong>of</strong> making converts,<br />
threw open the hitherto inaccessible portals <strong>of</strong> their mysterious<br />
rites . <strong>The</strong> strict scrutiny <strong>of</strong> the candidate's past life, and the<br />
demand for pro<strong>of</strong>s <strong>of</strong> irreproachable conduct, were no longer<br />
deemed indispensable . <strong>The</strong> vile and the vicious were indiscriminately,<br />
and even with avidity, admitted to participate in privileges<br />
which were once granted only to the noble and the virtuous .<br />
<strong>The</strong> sun <strong>of</strong> Paganism was setting, and its rites had become con<br />
t Divine Legislation . $ Plut. de Oraculis .<br />
Plut. Consol. ad uxorem . q Cie . de Legibus .<br />
V Plato in Phs3done .
320 MYS<br />
temptible and corrupt . <strong>The</strong>ir character was entirely changes,<br />
and the initiations were indiscriminately sold by peddling priests,<br />
who wandered through the country, to every applicant who was<br />
willing to pay a trifling fee for that which had once been refused<br />
to the entreaties <strong>of</strong> a monarch . At length these abominations<br />
attracted the attention <strong>of</strong> the emperors, and Constantine and<br />
Gratian forbade their celebration at night, excepting, however,<br />
from these edicts, the initiations at Eleusis . But finally <strong>The</strong>odosius,<br />
by a general edict <strong>of</strong> proscription, ordered the whole <strong>of</strong><br />
the Pagan mysteries to be abolished, in the four hundred and<br />
thirty-eighth year <strong>of</strong> the Christian era, and eighteen hundred<br />
years after their first establishment in Greece .*<br />
MYSTES . <strong>The</strong> Mystes was one who had been initiated only<br />
into the lesser mysteries, and who was therefore permitted to proceed<br />
no farther than the vestibule or porch <strong>of</strong> the Temple .<br />
When admitted into the greater mysteries, and allowed to enter<br />
the adytum, or sanctuary, he was called an epopt . A female ini.<br />
tiate was called a mystis .<br />
MYSTIC TIE . That sacred and inviolable bond which<br />
unites men <strong>of</strong> the most discordant opinions into one band <strong>of</strong><br />
brothers, which gives but one language to men <strong>of</strong> all nations,<br />
and one altar to men <strong>of</strong> all religions, is properly, from the mysterious<br />
influence it exerts, denominated the mystic tie, and Free .<br />
masons, because they alone are under its influence, or enjoy its<br />
benefits, are called "Brethren <strong>of</strong> the mystic tie ."_<br />
*It was not, however, says Clavel, until the era <strong>of</strong> the restoration, that the<br />
mysteries entirely ceased . During the Middle Ages, the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Diana,<br />
under the name <strong>of</strong> the Courses <strong>of</strong> Diana, and those <strong>of</strong> Pan, un ter the nnmc<br />
<strong>of</strong> Sabbata, were practised in the country .
NAB-NAM 321<br />
N .<br />
NABIIII-I, SCHOOLS OF THE . We repeatedly meet in<br />
the Old Testament with references to the Beni Banabiirn, or<br />
sons <strong>of</strong> the prophets .* <strong>The</strong>se were the disciples <strong>of</strong> the prophets,<br />
or wise men <strong>of</strong> Israel, who underwent a course <strong>of</strong> esoteric instruction<br />
in the secret institutions <strong>of</strong> the Nabiim or prophets,<br />
just as the disciples <strong>of</strong> the Magi did in Persia, or <strong>of</strong> Pythagoras<br />
in Greece . Of these institutions, Oliver says, that 4 ' though<br />
little is known <strong>of</strong> their internal economy, their rites and ceremonies<br />
being strictly concealed, there can be no doubt that they<br />
were in many respects similar to our masonic lodges, and in some<br />
<strong>of</strong> their features they bore a resemblance to the collegiate institutions<br />
<strong>of</strong> our own country ." t<br />
NAHARDA, FRATERNITY OF . <strong>The</strong> Jewish Rabbins<br />
tell us, that the tribes which were carried into captivity on the<br />
destruction <strong>of</strong> the first temple, founded a fraternity at Naharda,<br />
an the river Euphrates, for the preservation <strong>of</strong> traditional knowledge,<br />
and which they transmitted to a few initiates, and that on<br />
the restoration <strong>of</strong> the Jews by Cyrus, Zerubbabel, with Joshua<br />
and Esdras, carried all this secret instruction to Jerusalem, and<br />
established a similar fraternity in that city . Oliver says that<br />
during the captivity, the Jews practised <strong>Freemasonry</strong> in regular<br />
lodges, until the time <strong>of</strong> their deliverance, and they had for this<br />
purpose three Colleges or Grand Lodges, which were situated at<br />
Sora, Pompeditha, and Naharda .<br />
NAME OF GOD . In addition to what has been said upon<br />
this subject in the article Jehovah, we may observe, that an allu.<br />
* I refer the reader for this expression to the Second B ok <strong>of</strong> Kings, chap .<br />
IL, verses 3, 5, 7, 12, 15 .<br />
t Historical Landmarks, ii ., p . 374 . Note.
322 NAM<br />
sion to the unutterable name <strong>of</strong> God, is to bE found in the doe .<br />
trines and ceremonies <strong>of</strong> other nations, as well as the Jews . It<br />
is said to have been used as the pass-word in the Egyptian mysteries<br />
. In the rites <strong>of</strong> Hiudostan, it was bestowed upon the aspirant,<br />
under the triliteral form AUM,* at the completion <strong>of</strong> his<br />
initiation, and then only by whispering it in his ear . <strong>The</strong> Cabalists<br />
reckoned seventy-two names <strong>of</strong> God, the knowledge <strong>of</strong><br />
which imparted to the possessor magical powers . <strong>The</strong> Druids<br />
invoked the omnipotent and all-preserving power, under the<br />
symbol I . 0. W . <strong>The</strong> Mohammedans have a science called Ism<br />
Allah, or the science <strong>of</strong> the name <strong>of</strong> God . ' 1 <strong>The</strong>y pretend,"<br />
says Niebuhr, "that God is the lock <strong>of</strong> this science, and Mohammed<br />
the key ; that consequently none but Mohammedans<br />
can attain it ; that it discovers what passes in different countries ;<br />
that it familiarizes the possessors with the genii who are at the<br />
command <strong>of</strong> the initiated, and who instruct them ; that it places<br />
the winds and the seasons at their disposal, and heals the bites<br />
<strong>of</strong> serpents, the lame, the maimed, and the blind ."<br />
Besides the Tetragrammaton, or incommunicable name, there<br />
are other expressive but less holy names <strong>of</strong> Deity . Maimonides,<br />
for instance, mentions a twelve lettered and a forty-two lettered<br />
name .'<br />
Rosenberg gives the following twelve Cabalistic names : Ehie,<br />
* Sir William Jones, speaking <strong>of</strong> this Hindoo name <strong>of</strong> God, says : " It<br />
forms a mystical word which never escapes the lips <strong>of</strong> the pious Hindoo . <strong>The</strong>y<br />
meditate on. i t in silence ."-Disaertationa relative to Asia, vol. i ., p . 33 . <strong>The</strong><br />
Brahmins make a great secret <strong>of</strong> it, and the " Institutes <strong>of</strong> Menu" are continually<br />
referring to its peculiar efficacy as an omnific word. "All rites ordained<br />
in the Veda," says this book, "oblations to fire and solemn sacrifices pass<br />
away, but that which passes not away is the syllable Aux, thence called<br />
ai8hara, since it is a symbol <strong>of</strong> God, the Lord <strong>of</strong> created beings ."-Inatit. <strong>of</strong><br />
Jfe,,u, p . 28 .<br />
t Urquhart (Pillars <strong>of</strong> Hercules, vol . ii., p . 67) mentions one name <strong>of</strong> God<br />
among the Hebrews, which I have met with nowhere else. via., EL aissL,<br />
the master builder.
NAM 323<br />
Jehovah, Elohim, El, Gibbor, Eloah, Sabaoth, Tsebaoth, Shaddai,<br />
Adonai, D'lakom, Agla .<br />
Lanci, whose researches on this subject have been surpassed by<br />
no other scholar, and equalled by few, extends his list <strong>of</strong> divine<br />
names to twenty-six, which, with their signification, are as follows<br />
:*<br />
1. At . <strong>The</strong> Aleph and Tau, that is, Alpha and Omega . A<br />
name figurative <strong>of</strong> the Tetragrammaton .<br />
2. Ihoh. <strong>The</strong> eternal, absolute principle <strong>of</strong> creation and<br />
3 . Hohi . destruction, the male and female principle, the<br />
author and regulator <strong>of</strong> time and motion .<br />
4. Jah . <strong>The</strong> Lord and Remunerator .<br />
5. Oh. <strong>The</strong> severe and punisher.<br />
6. Jao . <strong>The</strong> author <strong>of</strong> life .<br />
7 . Azazel. <strong>The</strong> author <strong>of</strong> death .<br />
8 . Jao-Sabaoth . God <strong>of</strong> the co-ordinations <strong>of</strong> loves and hatreds<br />
. Lord <strong>of</strong> the solstices and the equinoxes .<br />
9 . Ehie . <strong>The</strong> Being ; the Ens .<br />
10 . El. <strong>The</strong> first cause . <strong>The</strong> principle or beginning <strong>of</strong> all<br />
things .<br />
11 . Elo-hi. <strong>The</strong> good principle .<br />
12. Do-ho . <strong>The</strong> evil principle .<br />
13. El-raccum . <strong>The</strong> succouring principle .<br />
14. El-cannum . <strong>The</strong> abhorring principle .<br />
15 . Ell. <strong>The</strong> most luminous .<br />
16 . Il . <strong>The</strong> omnipotent .<br />
17. Eloohim. <strong>The</strong> omnipotent and beneficent .<br />
18 . Elohim . <strong>The</strong> most beneficent .<br />
19. Elo . <strong>The</strong> Sovereign, the Excelsus .<br />
20. Adon . <strong>The</strong> Lord, the dominator .<br />
21 . Eloi . <strong>The</strong> illuminator, the most effulgent .<br />
22 . Adonai. <strong>The</strong> most firm, the strongest .<br />
23 . - Elion . <strong>The</strong> most high .<br />
* I am indebted to my friend, Mr . Gliddon, for this interesting list .
324 NEB-NEO<br />
24. Shaddui. <strong>The</strong> most victorious .<br />
25. Yeshurun . <strong>The</strong> most generous .<br />
26 . Noil. <strong>The</strong> most sublime .<br />
<strong>The</strong> ineffable degrees <strong>of</strong> masonry record a great variety <strong>of</strong> the<br />
names <strong>of</strong> God ; making the whole system, like the Mohammedan<br />
Ism Allah, a science <strong>of</strong> the name <strong>of</strong> God . In fact, the name <strong>of</strong><br />
God must -be taken in <strong>Freemasonry</strong> as symbolical <strong>of</strong> truth, and<br />
then the search for it will be nothing else but the search after<br />
truth, the true end and aim <strong>of</strong> the masonic science . <strong>The</strong> subordinate<br />
names are the subordinate modifications <strong>of</strong> truth ; but the<br />
ineffable tetragrammaton will be the sublimity and perfection <strong>of</strong> Divine<br />
Truth, to which all good Masons and all good men are seeking<br />
to approach, whether it be by the aid <strong>of</strong> the theological ladder,<br />
or passing through the pillars <strong>of</strong> Strength and Establishment,<br />
or wandering in the mazes <strong>of</strong> darkness, beset on all sides by dangers,<br />
or travelling weary and worn over rough and rugged roads,<br />
whatever be the direction <strong>of</strong> our journey or how accomplished,<br />
light and truth, the Urim and Thummin, are the ultimate objects<br />
<strong>of</strong> our search as Freemasons .<br />
NEBUCHADNEZZAR . A king <strong>of</strong> Babylon, who in the eleventh<br />
year <strong>of</strong> the reign <strong>of</strong> Zedekiah, King <strong>of</strong> Judah, having, after<br />
a siege <strong>of</strong> about twelve months, taken Jerusalem, commanded<br />
Nebuzaradan, one <strong>of</strong> his generals, to set fire to and utterly consume<br />
the temple, to reduce the city to desolation, and to carry<br />
the citizens captive to Babylon . See the entire history under<br />
the title <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch .<br />
NEBUZARADAN. One <strong>of</strong> the generals <strong>of</strong> the King <strong>of</strong><br />
Babylon, who by his order entered Jurusalem with a Cbaldean<br />
army, and after having taken away every thing that was valuable,<br />
burned the city and temple, and carried all the inhabitants, except<br />
a few husbandmen, as captives to Babylon .<br />
NEOPHYTE . (From the Greek veov bu rov, a new plant.) .
NEV-NIN 325<br />
In the primitive church it signified one who had recently abandoned<br />
Judaism or Paganism, and embraced Christianity ; whence<br />
it was afterwards applied to the young disciple <strong>of</strong> any art or<br />
science . Freemasons thus sometimes designate the uninstructed<br />
candidate .<br />
NE VARIETUR . ".Lest it should be changed." <strong>The</strong>se<br />
words refer to the masonic usage <strong>of</strong> requiring a brother, when he<br />
receives a certificate from a lodge, to affix his name, in his own<br />
hand-writing, in the margin, as a precautionary measure, in<br />
enabling distant brethren to recognise the true and original owner<br />
<strong>of</strong> the certificate, and to detect any impostor who may surreptitiously<br />
have obtained one .<br />
NINE. If the number three is sacred among Masons, the number<br />
nine, or three times three, is scarcely less so . <strong>The</strong> Pythagoreans,<br />
remarking that this number has the power <strong>of</strong> always reproducing<br />
itself by multiplication,* considered it as an emblem<br />
<strong>of</strong> matter which, though continually changing its form, is never<br />
annihilated . It was also consecrated to the spheres, because the<br />
circumference <strong>of</strong> a sphere is 360 degrees, and 3 and 6 and 0 are<br />
equal to 9 .<br />
In <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, 9 derives its value from its being the product<br />
<strong>of</strong> 3 multiplied into itself, and consequently in masonic language<br />
the number 9 is always denoted by the expression 3 times 3 . For<br />
a similar reason, 27, which is 3 times 9, and 81, which is 9<br />
times 9, are esteemed as sacred numbers in the higher degrees.<br />
Thus 2 9-18, and 1 and 8-9 .<br />
3 9-27, and 2 and 7-9.<br />
4 9-36, and 3 and 6-9 .<br />
5 9-45, and 4 and 5-9.<br />
6 9-54, and 5 and 4-9.<br />
7 9-63, and 6 and 3-9 .<br />
8 9-72, and 7 and 2-9 .<br />
9 9-81, and 8 and 1-9 .<br />
28
326 NOA<br />
NOACHID., op. NOACHITES . <strong>The</strong> descendants <strong>of</strong> Noah<br />
A term applied to Freemasons . Noah having alone preservea<br />
the true name and worship <strong>of</strong> God, amid a race <strong>of</strong> impious idolaters,<br />
Freemasons claim to be his descendants, because they still<br />
preserve that pure religion which distinguished this second father<br />
<strong>of</strong> the human race from the rest <strong>of</strong> the world . And even when<br />
his descendants began again, in the plains <strong>of</strong> Shinar, to forget<br />
the Almighty, and to wander from the path <strong>of</strong> purity, the principles<br />
<strong>of</strong> Noah were still perpetuated by that portion <strong>of</strong> his race<br />
whom the Freemasons <strong>of</strong> the present day regard as their early<br />
predecessors. Hence, Freemasons call themselves Noachidse, or<br />
the sons <strong>of</strong> Noah .<br />
This respect for Noah, as the father and founder <strong>of</strong> the masonic<br />
system <strong>of</strong> theology, was not confined to the pure Freemasons, but<br />
extended, even unconsciously, to the seceders from its spirit,<br />
those whom Oliver calls the spurious Freemasons <strong>of</strong> antiquity .<br />
In all their mysteries, they commemorated, even after they had<br />
lost the true history, the descent <strong>of</strong> Noah into the ark, and his<br />
subsequent exodus . <strong>The</strong> entrance into initiation was symbolic <strong>of</strong><br />
his entrance into the vessel <strong>of</strong> his salvation ; his detention in the<br />
ark was represented by the darkness and the pastos, c<strong>of</strong>fin, or<br />
couch in which the aspirant was placed, and the exit <strong>of</strong> Noah, after<br />
the forty days <strong>of</strong> deluge, was seen in the manifestation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
candidate, when, being fully tried and proved, he was admitted<br />
to full light, amid the rejoicings <strong>of</strong> the surrounding initiates, who<br />
received him in the sacellum or holy place .<br />
NOACHITE, OR. PRUSSIAN KNIGHT . Noachite ou<br />
Chevalier Prussien . <strong>The</strong> 21st degree <strong>of</strong> the Ancient Scotch rite,<br />
called by its possessors not a degree, but "the very Ancient Order<br />
<strong>of</strong> Noachites ." In this degree the Knights celebrate the destruction<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Tower <strong>of</strong> Babel, and for this purpose they meet on the<br />
night <strong>of</strong> the full moon <strong>of</strong> each month . No other light is permitted<br />
in the lodge than what proceeds from that satellite . <strong>The</strong><br />
records <strong>of</strong> the order furnish us with the following' histc y <strong>The</strong>
NOA-NOR 327<br />
Noachites, at this day called Prussian Knights, are the descendants<br />
<strong>of</strong> Peleg, Chief Architect <strong>of</strong> the Tower <strong>of</strong> Babel . Thus<br />
they trace the origin <strong>of</strong> their order to a more ancient date than<br />
the descendants <strong>of</strong> Hiram, for the Tower <strong>of</strong> Babel was built many<br />
ages before the Temple <strong>of</strong> Solomon . And formerly it was not<br />
necessary that candidates for this degree should be Hiramites or<br />
Blue Masons . But a different regulation was afterwards adopted,<br />
and to receive the degree <strong>of</strong> Noachite, it is now necessary that the<br />
candidate shall have performed the duties <strong>of</strong> a worthy <strong>of</strong>fice in a<br />
regularly constituted lodge <strong>of</strong> Blue Masons . <strong>The</strong> order <strong>of</strong> Noachites<br />
was established in Prussia in 1755, and inducted into France<br />
by the Count St . Gelaire in 1T57 .<br />
NOAH, PRECEPTS OF . <strong>The</strong> precepts <strong>of</strong> the patriarch<br />
Noah, which were preserved as the constitutions <strong>of</strong> our ancient<br />
brethren, are seven in number, and are as follows<br />
1. Renounce all idols .<br />
2. Worship the only true God.<br />
3 . Commit no murder .<br />
4 . Be not defiled by incest .<br />
5 . Do not steal .<br />
6. Be just.<br />
7. Eat no flesh with blood in it .<br />
<strong>The</strong> "proselytes <strong>of</strong> the gate," as the Jews termed those who<br />
lived among them without undergoing circumcision, or observing<br />
the ceremonial law, were bound to obey the seven precepts <strong>of</strong><br />
Noah.<br />
NOMINATION. <strong>The</strong> nomination <strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers, previous to an<br />
election, is contrary to true masonic usage . Officers should be<br />
elected in the manner prescribed under the article Election.<br />
NORTH . <strong>The</strong> north is masonically called a place <strong>of</strong> dark<br />
ness . I doubt whether I am at liberty to explain the reason<br />
But I may make this general explanation . <strong>The</strong> sun in his pro
328 NUM<br />
press through the ecliptic, never reaches farther than 23° 2&'<br />
north <strong>of</strong> the equator . A wall being erected on any part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
earth farther north than that, will, therefore, receive the rays <strong>of</strong><br />
the sun only on its south side, while the north will be entirely in<br />
shadow at the hour <strong>of</strong> meridian .<br />
NUMBERS . <strong>The</strong> mystical meaning and divine virtue <strong>of</strong><br />
numbers formed an important part <strong>of</strong> the philosophy <strong>of</strong> Pythagoras,<br />
and from him have been transmitted to the masonic system<br />
<strong>of</strong> symbolism . Pythagoras doubtless brought his doctrines on<br />
this subject from Egypt, in which country he long resided, and<br />
with whose wisdom he was richly embued . In numbers Pythagoras<br />
saw the principle <strong>of</strong> all things ; he believed that the creation<br />
<strong>of</strong> the world was produced by their harmonious combination,<br />
and that they existed before the world .<br />
According to the doctrine <strong>of</strong> this sage, numbers are <strong>of</strong> two<br />
kinds, intellectual and scientific .<br />
Intellectual number has always existed in the divine mind ;<br />
it is the basis <strong>of</strong> universal order, and the link which binds all<br />
things .<br />
Scientific number is the generative cause <strong>of</strong> multiplicity,<br />
which proceeds from and is the result <strong>of</strong> unity . Scientific numbers<br />
are equal or odd .<br />
Equal numbers are said to be female, and odd ones, male ; because<br />
even numbers admit <strong>of</strong> division or generation, which odd<br />
ones do not . Odd numbers, however, are the most perfect .<br />
To each-number Pythagoras ascribed a peculiar character and<br />
quality .<br />
ONE,---the Monad,-represented the central fire, or God,<br />
without beginning and without end, the point within the circle.<br />
It also denoted love, concord, piety, and friendship, because it is<br />
indivisible . It was the symbol <strong>of</strong> identity, equality, existence,<br />
and universal preservation and harmony.<br />
Two was unlucky, and as one denoted light and the good<br />
rrincifle or God, two denoted darkness and the evil principle .
NUM<br />
Hence it was that the Romans dedicated the second month <strong>of</strong><br />
the year to Pluto, the god <strong>of</strong> hell, and the second day <strong>of</strong> that<br />
month to the manes <strong>of</strong> the dead .<br />
THREE referred to harmony, friendship, peace, concord, and<br />
temperance, and was so highly esteemed among the Pythagoreaus<br />
that they called this number « perfect harmony .<br />
FouR was a divine number ; it referred to Deity, and among<br />
the ancients many nations gave to God a name <strong>of</strong> four letters, as<br />
the Hebrews the Assyrians AD AD, the Egyptians<br />
AMUII, the Persians SYRE, the Greeks 69E0 .1;d, and the Latins<br />
DEUS . This, which was the Tetragrammaton <strong>of</strong> 'the Hebrews,<br />
the Pythagoreans called Tetractys, and used it as a most solemn<br />
oath .*<br />
FivE denoted light, nature, marriage ; the latter, because it<br />
was made up <strong>of</strong> the female two and the male three, whence it is<br />
sometimes called a hemaphrodite number . <strong>The</strong> triple triangle,<br />
which was a figure <strong>of</strong> five lines uniting into five points, was<br />
among the Pythagoreans an emblem <strong>of</strong> health .<br />
Six was also an emblem <strong>of</strong> health, and it was also the symbol<br />
<strong>of</strong> justice, because it was the first perfect number, that is, one<br />
whose aliquot parts being added together make itself, for the aliquot<br />
parts <strong>of</strong> six, which are three, two and one, are equal to six .<br />
SEVEN was highly esteemed, and called a venerable number,<br />
because it referred to the creation <strong>of</strong> the world .<br />
EIGHT was esteemed as the first cube, (2 X 2 X 2) and signified<br />
friendship, prudence, counsel, and justice . It designated<br />
the primitive law <strong>of</strong> nature, which supposes all men to be equal .<br />
NINE was called reAecoc, 'or perfect, finished, because nine<br />
months is the period required for the perfection <strong>of</strong> a human being<br />
in the womb before birth .<br />
TEN was denominated heaven, because it was the perfection<br />
and consummation <strong>of</strong> all things, and was constituted by the<br />
union <strong>of</strong> ONE, the monad or active principle, Two, the duad or<br />
*See Tetractys.<br />
2s*<br />
30C.
330 Nt NI<br />
passive principle, TEmm, the triad or world proceeding from<br />
their union, and FouR, the sacred tetractys, thus 1 + 2 + 3<br />
4 = 10 . Hence Ten contained all the relations, numerical and<br />
harmonic .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Pythagoreans extended still farther their speculations on<br />
the first three numbers, the monad, the duad, and the triad .<br />
<strong>The</strong> monad was male, because its action produces no change in<br />
itself, but only out <strong>of</strong> itself . It represented the creative principle<br />
.<br />
<strong>The</strong> duad, for a contrary reason, was female, being ever changing<br />
by addition, substraction, or multiplication . It represents<br />
matter capable <strong>of</strong> form .<br />
<strong>The</strong> union <strong>of</strong> the monad and duad produces the triad, which<br />
signifies the world formed by the creative principle out <strong>of</strong> matter .<br />
This world Pythagoras represented by the right angled triangle,<br />
because the square <strong>of</strong> the longest side is equal to the squares <strong>of</strong><br />
the two other sides, and the world as it is formed is equal to the<br />
formative cause and matter clothed with form . Thus<br />
Monad-Creative Principle.<br />
In symbolic masonry, three, five, and seven, are mystic numbers,<br />
as is nine in Royal Arch Masonry . In the ineffable degrees,<br />
nine, with its products, such as twenty-seven and eightyone<br />
are sacred .<br />
For further observations on some <strong>of</strong> these numbers, see in<br />
this work, the words, Five, Nine, Seven, Three and Tetractys.<br />
m<br />
m<br />
I<br />
A
OBE-OB L 331<br />
0 .<br />
OBEDIENCE . Submission to the constituted authorities,<br />
both in the state and in the craft, is a quality inculcated upon<br />
all Masons . With respect to the state, a Mason is charged to<br />
be "a peaceable subject to the civil powers, wherever he resides<br />
or works, and never to be concerned in plots or conspiracies<br />
against the peace and welfare <strong>of</strong> the nation, nor to behave himself<br />
undutifully to inferior magistrates ."* And with respect to<br />
the craft, he is directed " to pay due reverence to his Master,<br />
Wardens, and Fellows, and to put them to worship ."t And<br />
another part <strong>of</strong> the same regulations directs, that the rulers and<br />
governors, supreme and subordinate, <strong>of</strong> the ancient lodge, are to<br />
be obeyed in their respective stations, by all the brethren, with<br />
all humility, reverence, love, and alacrity ."t<br />
Oliver, commenting on the emblematic allusion <strong>of</strong> the Master<br />
to the Sun and Moon, says : "Hence we find that the Master's<br />
authority in the lodge, is despotic as the sun in the firmament,<br />
which was placed there by the Creator, never to deviate from its<br />
accustomed course till the declaration is promulgated that time<br />
shall be no more ."§<br />
This spirit <strong>of</strong> obedience runs through the whole system, and<br />
constitutes one <strong>of</strong> the greatest safeguards <strong>of</strong> our institution .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Mason is obedient to the Master ; the Master and the lodge<br />
to the Grand Lodge ; and, this, in its turn, to the old landmarks<br />
and ancient regulations <strong>of</strong> the order . Thus is a due degree <strong>of</strong><br />
subordination kept up and the institution preserved in its pristine<br />
purity .<br />
OBLONG SQUARE . A parallelogram or four sided figure,<br />
Old Charges, Sect . 1 . t Ibm., Sect. 2 . $ Ibm ., Sect. 4 .<br />
Signs and Symbols, p. 205 .
332 OBS<br />
all <strong>of</strong> whose angles are equal, but two <strong>of</strong> whose sides are longer<br />
than the others .<br />
This is the symbolic form <strong>of</strong> a masonic lodge, and it finds its<br />
prototype in many <strong>of</strong> the structures <strong>of</strong> our ancient brethren .<br />
<strong>The</strong> ark <strong>of</strong> Noah, the camp <strong>of</strong> the Israelites, the ark <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Covenant, the Tabernacle, and lastly, the Temple <strong>of</strong> Solomon,<br />
were all oblong squares . See Ground Floor <strong>of</strong> the Lodge .<br />
OBSERVANCE, RITE OF STRICT . <strong>The</strong> rite <strong>of</strong> Strict<br />
Observance was a modification <strong>of</strong> masonry, based on the order<br />
<strong>of</strong> Knights Templar, and introduced into Germany in 1754 by<br />
its founder, the Baron Hunde . It was divided into the following<br />
seven degrees : 1 . Apprentice ; 2 . Fellow Craft ; 3 . Master ; 4 .<br />
Scotch Master ; 5 . Novice ; 6 . Templar ; 7 . Pr<strong>of</strong>essed Knight .<br />
According to the system <strong>of</strong> the founder <strong>of</strong> this rite, upon the<br />
death <strong>of</strong> Jacques Molay, the Grand Master <strong>of</strong> the Templars,<br />
Pierre d'Aumont, the Provincial Grand Master <strong>of</strong> Auvergne, with<br />
two commanders and five knights, retired for purposes <strong>of</strong> safety<br />
into Scotland, which place they reached disguised as operative<br />
Masons, and there finding the Grand Commander, George Har .<br />
ris, and several Knights, they determined to continue the order<br />
Aumont was nominated Grand Master, at a chapter held on St .<br />
John's day, 1313 . To avoid persecution, the Knights became<br />
Freemasons . In 1361, the Grand Master <strong>of</strong> the Temple removed<br />
his seat to Old Aberdeen, and from that time the order, under<br />
the veil <strong>of</strong> masonry, spread rapidly through France, Germany,<br />
Spain, Portugal, and elsewhere. <strong>The</strong>se events constituted the principal<br />
subject <strong>of</strong> many <strong>of</strong> the degrees <strong>of</strong> the rite <strong>of</strong> Strict Observance .<br />
<strong>The</strong> others were connected with alchemy, magic, and other superstitious<br />
practices . <strong>The</strong> great doctrine contended for, by the followers<br />
<strong>of</strong> the rite, was, "that every true Mason is a Knight Templar ."*<br />
OBSERVANCE, CLERKS OF RELAXED. <strong>The</strong> Clerks<br />
Clavel, p . 184 .
OFF-ON 333<br />
<strong>of</strong> Relaxed Observance were a schism from the order <strong>of</strong> Strict<br />
Observance, described above . <strong>The</strong>y claimed a pre-eminence over<br />
not only the latter rite, but over all masonry . <strong>The</strong> rite was<br />
divided into ten degrees, called Apprentice, Fellow-Craft, Master,<br />
African Brother, Knight <strong>of</strong> St . Andrew, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Eagle,<br />
Scotch Master, Sovereign Magus, Provincial Master <strong>of</strong> the Red<br />
Cross, and Knight <strong>of</strong> Light . This last degree was divided into<br />
five sections, comprehending Knight Novice <strong>of</strong> the third year,<br />
Knight <strong>of</strong> the fifth year, Knight <strong>of</strong> the seventh year, Knight<br />
Levite, and Knight Priest . To be initiated into the mysteries<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Clerks, it was necessary to be a Roman Catholic, and to<br />
have taken all the military degrees <strong>of</strong> the rite <strong>of</strong> Strict Observance.<br />
Alchemy was one <strong>of</strong> the objects <strong>of</strong> their secret instruction<br />
.<br />
OFFERINGS, THE THREE GRAND . See Ground Floor<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Lodge .<br />
OFFICERS . See Installation, Jewels, Lodge.<br />
OIL . <strong>The</strong> Hebrews anointed their kings, prophets, and high<br />
priests, with oil mingled with the richest spices . <strong>The</strong>y also<br />
anointed themselves with oil on all festive occasions, whence the<br />
expression in Psalms xlv . 7, " God hath anointed thee with the<br />
oil <strong>of</strong> gladness." See Corn .<br />
ON . An ancient Egyptian word signifying the Sun, which<br />
was at one time worshipped by the Egyptians as the Supreme<br />
Deity . <strong>The</strong> city <strong>of</strong> On, in Lower Egypt, which contained a<br />
temple dedicated to the worship <strong>of</strong> this divinity is called, in the<br />
septuagint, " Heliopolis," or the city <strong>of</strong> the Sun, and by Jeremiah<br />
(xliii. 13,) "Beth-shemesh," which has the same signification<br />
. In . Genesis (xli . 45-50 .) we are informed that Pharaoh<br />
Clavel, p . 187 .
334 OPE-ORD<br />
gave Joseph for his wife Asenath, " the daughter <strong>of</strong> Potipherah,<br />
priest <strong>of</strong> On ." On may therefore be considered as the equivalent<br />
for Jehovah among the Egyptians, as Jah was among the<br />
Syrians and BeZ among the Chaldees . <strong>The</strong> modern masonic cor<br />
ruption <strong>of</strong> this word into "Lun" is sheer nonsense .<br />
OPENING OF THE LODGE . <strong>The</strong> ceremony <strong>of</strong> opening<br />
the lodge is solemn and impressive . Every brother is reminded<br />
by it <strong>of</strong> his duties and obligations . <strong>The</strong> necessary precautions<br />
are employed to avoid the intrusion <strong>of</strong> the pr<strong>of</strong>ane, and every<br />
member being compelled to assume a share <strong>of</strong> the necessary<br />
forms, is thus admonished, that masonry is a whole,<strong>of</strong> which each<br />
Mason forms a part .<br />
<strong>The</strong> manner <strong>of</strong> opening in each degree slightly varies . In the<br />
English system, which seems, according to the " Trestle Board"<br />
published under the sanction <strong>of</strong> the late Baltimore <strong>Masonic</strong> Convention,<br />
to have been adopted by that body, the lodge is opened<br />
in the first degree " .in the name <strong>of</strong> God and Universal Benevolence<br />
;" in the second, "on the square, in the name <strong>of</strong> the Great<br />
Geometrician <strong>of</strong> the Universe ;" and in the third, " on the centre,<br />
in the name <strong>of</strong> the Most High ."*<br />
OPERATIVE MASONRY. See Masonry.<br />
ORATOR . An <strong>of</strong>ficer in a lodge <strong>of</strong> the French rite, whose<br />
principal duty is to give instruction to the newly initiated . <strong>The</strong><br />
duties <strong>of</strong> the <strong>of</strong>fice are those <strong>of</strong> a Lecturer .<br />
ORDER . An order is defined by Johnson, to be, among<br />
other things, "a regular government, a society <strong>of</strong> dignified persons,<br />
distinguished by marks <strong>of</strong> honour, and a religious fraternity<br />
." In all <strong>of</strong> these senses, masonry may be styled an order .<br />
Its government is <strong>of</strong> the most regular and systematic character ;<br />
• See Moore and Carnegy's Trestle Board, ch . iii .
ORD--ORN 335<br />
men the most eminent for dignity and reputation, have been its<br />
members, and if it does not constitute a religion in itself, it is at<br />
least religion's hand-maid .<br />
<strong>The</strong> word was first used by the ecclesiastical writers <strong>of</strong> the<br />
tenth century to signify a certain form or rule <strong>of</strong> monastic discipline,<br />
and was in that sense applied to the different sects <strong>of</strong><br />
monks .<br />
ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE . A system <strong>of</strong> the several<br />
members, ornaments, and proportions <strong>of</strong> columns and pilasters,<br />
is called an order . <strong>The</strong>re are five orders <strong>of</strong> columns, three <strong>of</strong><br />
which are Greek, the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian ; and two<br />
Italian, the Tuscan and Composite . See these respective titles .<br />
ORDO AB CHAO . Order out <strong>of</strong> Chaos . A motto <strong>of</strong> the<br />
33d degree, and having the same allusion as lux e tenebris,<br />
which see .<br />
ORIENT . <strong>The</strong> East. <strong>The</strong> place where a lodge is situated<br />
is called its Orient . <strong>The</strong> seat <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge is called the<br />
Grand Orient.* But on the continent <strong>of</strong> Europe, some <strong>of</strong> the<br />
supreme masonic bodies are called Grand Orients . In these instances,<br />
Grand Orient is equivalent to Grand Lodge .<br />
ORIENTAL CHAIR OF SOLOMON . <strong>The</strong> seat <strong>of</strong> the<br />
W .-. M .- . in a symbolic lodge, and so called because the Master<br />
is supposed symbolically tQ fill the place over the craft once occupied<br />
by King Solomon .<br />
ORNAMENTS OF A LODGE . <strong>The</strong>se are the Mosaic pave.<br />
ment, the indented tessel, and the blazing star . See Mosaic<br />
Pavement .<br />
* <strong>The</strong> term is thus used, because' in masonry the East is the seat <strong>of</strong> light<br />
and <strong>of</strong> authority . It is the station <strong>of</strong> the Worshipful Master .
336 ORN-ORP<br />
ORNAN THE JEBUSITE . He was an inhabitant <strong>of</strong> Jeru .<br />
Salem, at the time that city was called Jebus, from the son <strong>of</strong><br />
Canaan, whose descendants peopled it . He was the owner <strong>of</strong><br />
the threshing floor, situated on Mount Moriah, in the same spot<br />
on which the temple was afterwards built . This threshing floor<br />
David bought to erect on it an altar to God . (2 Chron . xxi .<br />
18-25 .) On the same spot Solomon afterwards built the temp'.e<br />
ORPHIC MYSTERIES . <strong>The</strong>se Grecian rites were only a<br />
modification <strong>of</strong> the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Bacchus or Dionysus, and were<br />
thus called, because it was said that Orpheus first introduced the<br />
worship <strong>of</strong> Bacchus into Greece from Egypt . <strong>The</strong>y differed,<br />
however, from the other pagan rites, in not being confined to the<br />
priesthood, 'but in being practised by a fraternity who did not<br />
possess the sacerdotal functions . <strong>The</strong> initiated commemorated<br />
in their ceremonies, which were performed at night, the murder<br />
<strong>of</strong> Bacchus by the Titans, and his final restoration to the supreme<br />
government <strong>of</strong> the universe, under the name <strong>of</strong> Phanes .<br />
Demosthenes, while reproaching Eschines for having engaged<br />
with his mother in these mysteries, gives us some notion <strong>of</strong> their<br />
nature .<br />
In the day, the initiates were crowned with fennel and poplar,<br />
and carried serpents in their hands, or twined them around their<br />
heads, crying with a loud voice, enos, sabos, and danced to the<br />
sound <strong>of</strong> the mystic words, Ayes, attes, attes, Ayes . At night the<br />
mystes was bathed in the lustral water, and having been rubbed<br />
over with .elay and bran, he was clothed in the skin <strong>of</strong> a fawn,<br />
and having risen from the bath, he exclaimed, 111 have departed<br />
from evil and have found the good ."*<br />
<strong>The</strong> Orphic initiation, because it was not sacerdotal in its character,<br />
was not so celebrated among the ancients, as the other<br />
mysteries. It, nevertheless, existed until the first ages <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Christian era, and fell, with the remaining rites <strong>of</strong> paganism, a<br />
Demosth . contra Ctesiph. Orat. pp . 568-9 .
OSI-PAS 337<br />
victim to the rapid and triumphant progress <strong>of</strong> the new religion.<br />
OSIRIS . For the legend <strong>of</strong> Osiris, see Egyptian Mysteries.<br />
OVERSEER. <strong>The</strong> title <strong>of</strong> three <strong>of</strong>ficers in a Mark Lodge,<br />
who are distinguished as the Master, Senior and Junior Overseer .<br />
<strong>The</strong> jewel <strong>of</strong> their <strong>of</strong>fice is a square . In Mark lodges attached<br />
to chapters, the duties <strong>of</strong> these <strong>of</strong>ficers are performed by the<br />
three Grand Masters <strong>of</strong> the veils .<br />
P .<br />
PARALLEL LINES . In every well-regulated lodge, there<br />
is found a point within a circle, which circle is embordered by<br />
two perpendicular parallel lines . <strong>The</strong>se lines are representatives<br />
<strong>of</strong> St . John the Baptist, and St . John the Evangelist, the two<br />
great patrons <strong>of</strong> masonry, to whom our lodges are dedicated, and<br />
who are said to have been " perfect parallels in Christianity, as<br />
well as Masonry." In those English lodges which have adopted<br />
the " Union System" established by the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England<br />
in 1815, and where the dedication is " to God and his service,"<br />
the lines parallel represent Moses and Solomon . See<br />
Dedication .<br />
PASCHALIS, MARTINEZ . <strong>The</strong> founder <strong>of</strong> a new rite or<br />
modification <strong>of</strong> masonry, called by him, the rite <strong>of</strong> Elected Cohens<br />
or Priests . It was divided into two classes, in the first <strong>of</strong> which<br />
was represented the fall Qf man from virtue and happiness, and<br />
in the second, his final restoration . It consisted <strong>of</strong> nine degrees,<br />
29
338 PAS<br />
namely : 1, Apprentice ; 2, Fellow-Craft ; 3, - Master ; 4, Grand<br />
Elect ; 5, Apprentice Cohen ; 6, Fellow Craft Cohen ; 7, Master<br />
Cohen ; 8, Grand Architect ; 9, Knight Commander . Paschalis<br />
first introduced this rite into some <strong>of</strong> the lodges <strong>of</strong> Marseilles,<br />
Toulouse, and Bordeaux, and afterwards, in 1767, he extended<br />
it to Paris, where, for a short time, it was rather popular, ranking<br />
some <strong>of</strong> the Parisian literateurs among its disciples . It has<br />
now ceased to exist .<br />
PASSED . A candidate, on receiving the second degree, is<br />
said to be " passed as a Fellow-Craft ." It alludes to his having<br />
passed through the porch to the middle chamber <strong>of</strong> the temple,<br />
the place in which Fellow-Crafts received their wages .<br />
PAST MASTER . An honorary degree conferred on the<br />
' .- . Master, at his installation into <strong>of</strong>fice . In this degree, the<br />
necessary instructions are conferred respecting the various ceremonies<br />
<strong>of</strong> the order, such as installations, processions, the laying<br />
<strong>of</strong> corner stones, etc . <strong>The</strong> ceremonies <strong>of</strong> the degree, when properly<br />
conferred, inculcate a lesson <strong>of</strong> diffidence in assuming the<br />
responsibilities <strong>of</strong> an <strong>of</strong>fice without a due preparation for the per .<br />
formance <strong>of</strong> its duties .<br />
When a brother who has never before presided, has been<br />
elected the Master <strong>of</strong> a lodge, an emergent lodge <strong>of</strong> Past<br />
Masters, consisting <strong>of</strong> not less than three, is convened, and all<br />
but Past Masters retiring, the degree is conferred upon the newly<br />
elected <strong>of</strong>ficer .<br />
But the degree is also conferred in Royal Arch Chapters<br />
where it succeeds the Mark Master's degree . <strong>The</strong> conferring <strong>of</strong><br />
this degree, which has no historical connection with the rest <strong>of</strong><br />
the degrees, in a chapter, arises from the following circumstance .<br />
Originally, when chapters <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch Masonry were under<br />
the government <strong>of</strong> lodges, in which the degree was then always<br />
conferred, it was a part <strong>of</strong> the regulations that no one could receive<br />
the Royal Arch degree, unless he had previously presided
PAS 339<br />
in the lodge as Master . When the chapters became independent,<br />
the regulation could not be abolished, for that would have<br />
been an innovation ; the difficulty has, therefore, been obviated,<br />
by making every candidate for the degree <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch, % Past<br />
Master before his exaltation .<br />
For several years past the question has been agitated in some<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodges <strong>of</strong> the United States, whether this degree<br />
is within the jurisdiction <strong>of</strong> Symbolic or <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch masonry<br />
<strong>The</strong> explanation <strong>of</strong> its introduction into chapters, just given,<br />
manifestly demonstrates that the jurisdiction over it by chapters<br />
is altogether an assumed one . <strong>The</strong> Past Master <strong>of</strong> a chapter is<br />
only a quasi Past Master ; the true and legitimate Past Master<br />
is the one who has presided over a symbolic lodge .<br />
Past Masters are admitted to membership in many Grand<br />
Lodges, and by some the inherent right has been claimed to sit<br />
in those bodies . But the most eminent masonic authorities have<br />
made a contrary decision, and the general, and, indeed, almost<br />
universal opinion now is, that Past Masters obtain their seats in<br />
Grand Lodges by courtesy, and in consequence <strong>of</strong> local regulations,<br />
and not by inherent right .<br />
<strong>The</strong> jewel <strong>of</strong> a Past Master in the United States is a pair <strong>of</strong><br />
compasses extended to sixty degrees on the fourth part <strong>of</strong> a<br />
circle, with a sun in the centre . In England it was formerly<br />
the square on a quadrant, but is at present the square with the<br />
forty-seventh problem <strong>of</strong> Euclid engraved on a silver plate suspended<br />
within it .<br />
PASTOS . (Greek nairoc, a couch .) <strong>The</strong> pastos was a chest<br />
or close cell, in the pagan mysteries, (among the Druids, an excavated<br />
stone,) in which the aspirant was for some time placed .<br />
to commemorate the mystical death <strong>of</strong> the god . This constituted .<br />
the symbolic death, which was common to all the mysteries . In<br />
the Arkite rites, the pastos represented the ark in which Noah<br />
was confined . We may refer it to the c<strong>of</strong>fin among masonic em . .<br />
blems .
340 . PEC-PEL<br />
PECTORAL. Belonging to the breast, from the Latin<br />
pectus, the breast . <strong>The</strong> heart has always been considered the<br />
seat <strong>of</strong> fortitude and courage, and hence by this word is sug.<br />
gested to the Mason certain symbolic instructions in relation to<br />
the virtue <strong>of</strong> fortitude .<br />
PEDAL . Belonging to the feet, from the Latin pes, a foot.<br />
<strong>The</strong> just man is he who, firmly planting his feet on the principles<br />
<strong>of</strong> right, is as immovable as a rock, and can be thrust from<br />
his upright position neither by the allurements <strong>of</strong> flattery, nor<br />
the frowns <strong>of</strong> arbitrary power . And hence by this word is suggested<br />
to the Mason certain symbolic instructions in relation to<br />
the virtue <strong>of</strong> justice .<br />
PEDESTAL . <strong>The</strong> pedestal is the lowest part or base <strong>of</strong> a<br />
column on which the shaft is placed. In a lodge, there are supposed<br />
to be three columns, the column <strong>of</strong> Wisdom in the east,<br />
the column <strong>of</strong> Strength in the west, and the column <strong>of</strong> Beauty<br />
in the south . <strong>The</strong>se columns are not generally erected in the<br />
lodge, but their pedestals always are, and at each pedestal sits<br />
one <strong>of</strong> the three superior <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> the lodge. Hence we <strong>of</strong>ten<br />
hear such expressions as these, advancing to the pedestal, or<br />
standing before the pedestal, to signify advancing to or standing<br />
before the seat <strong>of</strong> the Worshipful Master .*<br />
PELICAN. <strong>The</strong> pelican is one <strong>of</strong> the symbols <strong>of</strong> the Rose<br />
Croix degree, and is intended as an allusion to the Redeemer,<br />
who shed his blood for the good <strong>of</strong> man .<br />
Ragon says that in the hieroglyphic monuments the eagle wa<br />
the symbol <strong>of</strong> a wise man, and the pelican <strong>of</strong> a benevolent on,.,<br />
and therefore he thinks that the eagle and pelican <strong>of</strong> the Rose<br />
* <strong>The</strong> custom in some lodges <strong>of</strong> placing tables or desks before the three<br />
principal <strong>of</strong>ficers, is, <strong>of</strong> course, incorrect . <strong>The</strong>y should, for the reason above<br />
assigned, be representations <strong>of</strong> the pedestals <strong>of</strong> column, and should be painted<br />
to represent warble or stone .
PEN '341<br />
Croix are intended to symbolize perfect wisdom and perfect<br />
charity .*<br />
PENALTY . <strong>The</strong> ceremony <strong>of</strong> entering into a ccvenant<br />
among the ancient Hebrews, is alluded to in Jeremiah xxxiv . 18 .<br />
It was usual for the parties covenanting, to cut a beast in twain,<br />
and pass between the parts there<strong>of</strong>. Jeremiah also relates the<br />
penalties to be inflicted upon the people for a breach <strong>of</strong> their<br />
covenant. An English writer, Brother Goodacre, (quoted by<br />
Dr. Oliver,) thus fully explains the whole ceremony <strong>of</strong> making<br />
the covenant . <strong>The</strong> allusion will not escape the attentive Mason .<br />
" After an animal had been selected, his throat was cut across<br />
with one single blow, so as to divide the windpipe, arteries, and<br />
veins, without touching any bone . <strong>The</strong> next ceremony was to<br />
tear the breast open and pluck out the heart, and if there were<br />
the least imperfection, the body would be considered unclean .<br />
<strong>The</strong> animal was then divided into two parts, and placed north<br />
and south, that the parties to the covenant might pass between<br />
them from east to west ; and the carcass was then left as a prey<br />
to voracious animals ."<br />
PENNY . <strong>The</strong> penny a day referred to in the Mark degree<br />
as the wages <strong>of</strong> a workman, was the Roman denarius, equal to<br />
about seven pence three farthings sterling, or twelve cents and a<br />
half federal currency .<br />
PENTALPHA . A geometrical figure representing an endless<br />
triangle with five points, thus<br />
• Cours des Initiations, p . 320 .<br />
29*
343 PER<br />
It was used by the Pythagoreans as an emblem <strong>of</strong> health .<br />
(See Five .) <strong>The</strong> Pentalpha <strong>of</strong> Pythagoras is also called the<br />
pentangle <strong>of</strong> Solomon, and is said to have constituted the seal or<br />
si;vet <strong>of</strong> our Ancient Grand Master, and to have been inscribed<br />
in the foundation stone <strong>of</strong> Masonry .<br />
PERFECTION . Grand ecossais de la vo2te sacrie du Jacques<br />
VI. <strong>The</strong> 14th degree in the Ancient Scotch rite, the 20th in<br />
the rite <strong>of</strong> Misraim . In the Scotch rite, as practised in this<br />
country, the degree receives the name we have given it, as well<br />
as that <strong>of</strong> " Grand Elect, Perfect and Sublime Mason," but in<br />
France it is called " Grand Scotch Mason <strong>of</strong> the sacred vault <strong>of</strong><br />
James VI." This is one <strong>of</strong> the evidences <strong>of</strong> the influence exerted<br />
by the Pretender and his adherent, Ramsay, over the organization<br />
<strong>of</strong> this rite . This degree is called by its possessors<br />
the ultimate degree <strong>of</strong> ancient masonry, and it is indeed the last<br />
<strong>of</strong> the ineffable degrees that refer to the first temple . Its <strong>of</strong>ficers<br />
are a Most Perfect Master, representing Solomon, two Grand<br />
Wardens, a Grand Treasurer, and Grand Secretary . <strong>The</strong> following<br />
history is connected with this degree .<br />
When the temple was finished, the Masons who had been employed<br />
in constructing it, acquired immortal honour . <strong>The</strong>ir<br />
order became more uniformly established and regulated than it<br />
had been before. <strong>The</strong>ir caution and reserve in admitting new<br />
members, produced respect, and merit alone was required <strong>of</strong> the<br />
candidate. With these principles instilled into their minds,<br />
many <strong>of</strong> the Grand Elect left the Temple after its dedication,<br />
and dispersing themselves among the neighbouring nations, instructed<br />
all who applied ani were found worthy in the sublime<br />
degrees <strong>of</strong> ancient craft masonry .<br />
<strong>The</strong> temple was completed in the year <strong>of</strong> the world, 3000 .<br />
Thus far, the wise King <strong>of</strong> Israel had behaved worthy <strong>of</strong> himself,<br />
and gained universal admiration ; but in process <strong>of</strong> time,<br />
when he had advanced in years, his understanding became impaired<br />
; he grew deaf to the voice <strong>of</strong> the Lord, and was strangely
PER 343<br />
irregular in his conduct . Proud <strong>of</strong> having erected an edifice to<br />
his Maker, and intoxicated with his great power, he plunged into<br />
all manner <strong>of</strong> licentiousness and debauchery, and pr<strong>of</strong>aned the<br />
temple, by <strong>of</strong>fering to the idol Moloch, that incense which should<br />
have been <strong>of</strong>fered only to the living God .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Grand Elect and Perfect Masons saw this, and were sorely<br />
grieved, afraid that his apostacy would end in some dreadful con-<br />
Lequences, and bring upon them those enemies whom Solomon<br />
had vain-gloriously and wantonly defied . <strong>The</strong> people, copying<br />
the vices and follies <strong>of</strong> their king, became proud and idolatrous,<br />
and neglected the worship <strong>of</strong> the true God, for that <strong>of</strong> idols .<br />
As an adequate punishment for this defection, God inspired<br />
the heart <strong>of</strong> Nebuchadnezzar, King <strong>of</strong> Babylon, to take vengeance<br />
on the kingdom <strong>of</strong> Israel . This prince sent an army<br />
with Nebuzaradan, Captain <strong>of</strong> the Guards, who entered Judah<br />
with fire and sword, took and sacked the city <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem,<br />
razed its walls, and destroyed the temple . <strong>The</strong> people were carried<br />
captive to Babylon, and the conquerors took with them all<br />
the vessels <strong>of</strong> silver and gold . This happened four hundred and<br />
seventy years, six months and ten days after its dedication .<br />
When, in after times, the princes <strong>of</strong> Christendom entered into<br />
a league to free the Holy Land from the oppression <strong>of</strong> the infidels,<br />
the good and virtuous Masons, anxious for the success <strong>of</strong> so<br />
pious an undertaking, voluntarily <strong>of</strong>fered their services to the<br />
confederates, on condition that they should be permitted a chief<br />
<strong>of</strong> their own election, which was granted ; they accordingly rallied<br />
under their standard -and departed .<br />
<strong>The</strong> valour and fortitude <strong>of</strong> these elected knights was such,<br />
that they were admired by, and took the lead <strong>of</strong>, all the princes<br />
<strong>of</strong> Jerusalem ; who, believing that their mysteries inspired them<br />
with courage and fidelity in the cause <strong>of</strong> virtue and religion, became<br />
desirous <strong>of</strong> being initiated . Upon being found worthy,<br />
their desires wer : complied with, and thus, the royal art, meeting<br />
the approbati )n <strong>of</strong> great and good men, became popular and<br />
honourable, was diffused through their various dominions, and
344 PER<br />
has continued to spread through a succession <strong>of</strong> ages to the pre .<br />
sent day .<br />
<strong>The</strong> symbolic order <strong>of</strong> this degree is red, emblematic <strong>of</strong> fer .<br />
vour, constancy, and assiduity .<br />
<strong>The</strong> jewel <strong>of</strong> the degree is a pair <strong>of</strong> compasses extended on<br />
an arc <strong>of</strong> 90 degrees, surmounted by a crown, and with a sun in<br />
the centre . .<br />
<strong>The</strong> apron is white with red flames, bordered with blue, and<br />
having the jewel painted on the flap .<br />
PERFECTION, RITE OF . In 1754, the Chevalier de<br />
Bonneville established a chapter <strong>of</strong> the high degrees, which he<br />
called the chapter <strong>of</strong> Clermont, in honour <strong>of</strong> Louis <strong>of</strong> Bourbon,<br />
Prince <strong>of</strong> Clermont, at that time Grand Master <strong>of</strong> the fraternity<br />
in France . <strong>The</strong> system <strong>of</strong> masonry he there practised received<br />
the name <strong>of</strong> the rite <strong>of</strong> Perfection, or rite <strong>of</strong> Heredom . It consists<br />
<strong>of</strong> twenty-five degrees, most <strong>of</strong> which are the same as those<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Ancient Scotch rite . <strong>The</strong> degrees are as fellows :-I,<br />
Apprentice ; 2, Fellow Craft ; 3, Master ; 4, Secret Master ; 5,<br />
Perfect Master ; 6, Intimate Secretary ; 7, Intendant <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Buildings ; 8, Provost and Judge ; 9, Elect <strong>of</strong> nine ; 10, Elect<br />
<strong>of</strong> fifteen ; 11, Illustrious elect, Chief <strong>of</strong> the twelve tribes ; 12,<br />
Grand Master Architect ; 13, Royal Arch ; 14, Grand, Elect,<br />
Azicient, Perfect Master ; 15, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Sword ; 16, Prince<br />
<strong>of</strong> Jerusalem ; 17, Knight <strong>of</strong> the East and West ; 18, Rose<br />
Croix Knight ; 19, Grand Pontiff ; 20, Grand Patriarch ; 21,<br />
Grand-Master <strong>of</strong> the Key <strong>of</strong> Masonry ; 22, Prince <strong>of</strong> Libanus ;<br />
23, Sovereign Prince Adept, Chief <strong>of</strong> the Grand Consistory ; 24,<br />
Illustrious Knight, Commander <strong>of</strong> the Black and White Eagle ;<br />
25, Most Illustrious Sovereign Prince <strong>of</strong> Masonry, Grand Knight,<br />
Sublime Commander <strong>of</strong> the Royal Secret .<br />
<strong>The</strong> distinguishing principle <strong>of</strong> this rite is, that <strong>Freemasonry</strong><br />
was derived from Templarism, and that consequently every Freemason<br />
was a Knight Templar . It is still practised, or was a few<br />
years since, in a single lodge in Paris .
PER 34b<br />
PERFECT MASTER . Maitre Parfait . <strong>The</strong> fifth degree in<br />
the Aicient Scotch rite. <strong>The</strong> ceremonies <strong>of</strong> this degree were<br />
originally established as a grateful tribute <strong>of</strong> respect to a worthy<br />
departed brother . <strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> the lodge are a Right Worshipful<br />
Master, who represents the Noble Adoniram, the inspector<br />
<strong>of</strong> the works at Mount Libanus, and a Warden, who is called<br />
Inspector. <strong>The</strong> conductor represents Zerbal, .the Captain <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Guards. <strong>The</strong> symbolic colour <strong>of</strong> the degree is green, to remind<br />
the Perfect Master that, being dead in vice, he must hope to revive<br />
in virtue . His jewel is a compass extended 60 degrees, to<br />
teach him that he should act within measure, and ever pay due<br />
regard to justice and equity .<br />
<strong>The</strong> apron is white, with a green flap, and in the middle <strong>of</strong> the<br />
apron must be embroidered or painted, within three circles, a<br />
square stone, in the centre <strong>of</strong> which the letter J is inscribed .<br />
PERFECT UNION, LODGE OF . A lodge at Rennes in<br />
France, which, in the last century, created a new modification <strong>of</strong><br />
masonry, under the name <strong>of</strong> the rite <strong>of</strong> the Elect <strong>of</strong> Truth. It<br />
consisted <strong>of</strong> fourteen degrees, divided into three classes, taken<br />
with slight alterations from the rite <strong>of</strong> perfection . <strong>The</strong> degrees<br />
were as follows<br />
I . Class.-1, Entered Apprentice ; 2, Fellow-Craft ; 3,<br />
Master ; 4, Perfect Master .<br />
II. Class.--5, Elect <strong>of</strong> nine ; 6, Elect <strong>of</strong> fifteen ; 7, Master<br />
Elect ; 8, Minor Architect ; 9, Second Architect ; 10, Grand<br />
Architect ; 11, Knight <strong>of</strong>.the East ; 12, Rose Croix .<br />
III. Class.--13, Knight Adept ; 14, Elect <strong>of</strong> Truth .<br />
This rite, at one time, had several lodges in various parts <strong>of</strong><br />
France .<br />
PERPENDICULAR . In a geometrical sense, that which is<br />
upright and erect, leaning neither one way nor another . In a<br />
figurative and symbolic sense, it conveys the signification <strong>of</strong> Justice,<br />
Fortitude, Prudence, and Temperance . Justice, that leans
346 PER<br />
to no side but that <strong>of</strong> Truth ; Fortitude, that yields to no ad.<br />
verse attack Prudence, that ever pursues the straight path <strong>of</strong><br />
integrity ; and Temperance, that swerves not for appetite nor<br />
passion . See Plumb .<br />
PERSECUTIONS . I enter on the history <strong>of</strong> the persecutions<br />
to which our order has been subjected, with a reluctance<br />
that I have not felt in the other portions <strong>of</strong> this work . <strong>The</strong> record<br />
<strong>of</strong> the follies and the crimes <strong>of</strong> his race, furnish no pleasant<br />
theme to the historian . But truth summons me to the task,<br />
odious though it be, <strong>of</strong> showing that masonry, virtuous as are its<br />
principles, charitable as are its objects, and instructive as are its<br />
ceremonies, has, nevertheless, been repeatedly exposed to the<br />
blinded rage <strong>of</strong> political hostility, or <strong>of</strong> religious bigotry .<br />
One <strong>of</strong> the first persecutions to which masonry, in its present<br />
organization, was subjected, occurred in the year 1735, in Holland<br />
. On the 16th <strong>of</strong> October, <strong>of</strong> that year, a crowd <strong>of</strong> ignorant<br />
fanatics whose zeal had been enkindled by the denunciations<br />
<strong>of</strong> some <strong>of</strong> the clergy, broke into a house in Amsterdam, where<br />
a lodge was accustomed to be held, and destroyed all the furniture<br />
and ornaments <strong>of</strong> the lodge . <strong>The</strong> States General, yielding<br />
to the popular excitement, or rather desirous <strong>of</strong> giving no occasion<br />
for its action, prohibited the future meetings <strong>of</strong> the lodges .<br />
One, however, continuing, regardless <strong>of</strong> the edict, to meet at a<br />
private house, the members were arrested and brought before the<br />
Court <strong>of</strong> Justice . Here, in the presence <strong>of</strong> the whole city, the<br />
Masters and Wardens defended themselves with great dexterity ;<br />
and while acknowledging their inability to prove the innocence<br />
<strong>of</strong> their institution by a public exposure <strong>of</strong> their secret doctrines,<br />
they freely <strong>of</strong>fered to receive and initiate any person in the confidence<br />
<strong>of</strong> the magistrates, and who could then give them infor<br />
mation upon which they might depend, relative to the true designs<br />
<strong>of</strong> the institution . <strong>The</strong> proposal was acceded to, and the<br />
town clerk was chosen . He was immediately initiated, and his<br />
report so pleased his superiors, that all the magistrates and prtn-
PER 347<br />
sipal persons <strong>of</strong> the city became members and zealous patrons <strong>of</strong><br />
the order .<br />
In France, the fear <strong>of</strong> the authorities that the Freemasons<br />
concealed, within the recesses <strong>of</strong> their lodges, designs hostile to<br />
the government, gave occasion to an attempt, in 1737, on the<br />
part <strong>of</strong> the police, to prohibit the meeting <strong>of</strong> the lodges . But<br />
this unfavourable disposition did not long continue, and the last<br />
instance <strong>of</strong> the interference <strong>of</strong> the government with the proceedings<br />
<strong>of</strong> the masonic body, was in June 1745, when the members<br />
<strong>of</strong> a lodge, meeting at the Hotel de Soissons, were dispersed,<br />
their furniture and jewels seized, and the landlord amerced in a<br />
penalty <strong>of</strong> three thousand livres .<br />
<strong>The</strong> persecutions in Germany were owing to a singular cause .<br />
<strong>The</strong> malice <strong>of</strong> a few females had been excited by their disappointed<br />
curiosity . A portion <strong>of</strong> this disposition they succeeded<br />
in communicating to the Empress, Maria <strong>The</strong>resa, who issued an<br />
order for apprehending all the Masons in Vienna, when assembled<br />
in their lodges . <strong>The</strong> measure was, however, frustrated by the<br />
good sense <strong>of</strong> the Emperor, Joseph I ., who was himself a Mason,<br />
and exerted his power in protecting his brethren .<br />
<strong>The</strong> persecutions <strong>of</strong> the church in Italy, and other Catholic<br />
countries, have been the most extensive and most permanent .<br />
On the 28th <strong>of</strong> April, 1738, Pope Clement %IIL issued the<br />
famous bull against Freemasons, whose authority is still in existence<br />
. In this bull, the Roman Pontiff says, " We have learned,<br />
and public rumor does not permit us to doubt the truth <strong>of</strong> the<br />
report, that a certain society has been formed, under the name<br />
<strong>of</strong> Freemasons, into which persons <strong>of</strong> all religions and all sects are<br />
indiscriminately admitted, and whose members have established<br />
certain laws which bind themselves to each other, and which, in<br />
particular, compel their members, under the severest penalties,<br />
by virtue <strong>of</strong> an oath taken on the Holy Scriptures, to preserve<br />
an inviolable secrecy in relation to every thing that passes in<br />
their meetings ." <strong>The</strong> bull goes on to declare, that these societies<br />
have become suspected by the faithful, and that they are
318 PER<br />
hurtful to the tranquillity <strong>of</strong> the state and to the safety <strong>of</strong> the<br />
soul ; and after making use <strong>of</strong> the now thread-bare argument,<br />
that if the actions <strong>of</strong> Freemasons were irreproachable, they would<br />
not so carefully conceal them from the light, it proceeds to<br />
eLjoin all bishops, superiors, and ordinaries, to punish the Freemasons<br />
' 1 with the penalties which they deserve, as people greatly<br />
suspected <strong>of</strong> heresy, having recourse, if necessary, to the secular<br />
aru."*<br />
What this delivery to the secular arm means, we are at no loss<br />
to discover, from the interpretation given to the bull by Cardinal<br />
FL •rao, in his edict <strong>of</strong> publication in the beginning <strong>of</strong> the following<br />
year ; namely, " that no person shall dare to assemble at any<br />
lodge <strong>of</strong> the said society, nor be present at any <strong>of</strong> their meetings,<br />
under pain <strong>of</strong> death, and confiscation <strong>of</strong> goods, the said penalty<br />
to be without hope <strong>of</strong> pardon ."t<br />
<strong>The</strong> bull <strong>of</strong> Clement met in France with no congenial spirits<br />
to obey it . . On the contrary, it was the subject <strong>of</strong> universal<br />
condemnation as arbitrary and unjust, and the parliament <strong>of</strong><br />
Paris positively refused to enrol it . But in other Catholic countries<br />
it was better respected . In Tuscany the persecutions were<br />
unremitting . A man named Crudeli, was arrested at Floren^,e,<br />
thrown into the dungeons <strong>of</strong> the inquisition, subjected to torture,<br />
and finally sentenced to a long imprisonment on the charge <strong>of</strong><br />
having furnished an asylum to a masonic lodge. <strong>The</strong> Grand<br />
Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, upon learning the circumstances, obtained<br />
his enlargement and sent him pecuniary assistance . Francis do<br />
* As late as 1802, in Austria, and the Ecclesiastical States, all public futicsionaries<br />
were compelled, before their installation, to declare upon oath that<br />
they were not members <strong>of</strong> the order <strong>of</strong> Freemasons .<br />
t Clavel gives the original <strong>of</strong> this most merciful interpretation . I quote it,<br />
lest the severity <strong>of</strong> the penalty should throw a doubt upon the correctness <strong>of</strong><br />
my translation, which my Italian readers may easily verify . "Che nessuno<br />
ardisca di radunarsi e congregarsi e di aggregarsi, in luogo alcuno, sotto le<br />
audette societa, .ne di trovarsi presence a tali radunanze, sotta pena della morte<br />
e confiscazione de beni, da incorrersi irremisibilmente, senza speranza di grazia .
PER 349<br />
Lorraine, who had been initiated at the Hague, in 1731, soon<br />
after ascended the grand ducal throne, and one <strong>of</strong> the first acts<br />
<strong>of</strong> his reign was to liberate all the Masons who had been incarcerated<br />
by the inquisition, and still further to evince his respect<br />
for the order, he personally assisted in the constitution <strong>of</strong> several<br />
lodges at Florence, and in other cities <strong>of</strong> his dominions .<br />
<strong>The</strong> other sovereigns <strong>of</strong> Italy were, however, more obedient to<br />
the behests <strong>of</strong> the holy father, and persecutions continued to<br />
rage throughout the peninsula. Nevertheless, masonry continued<br />
to flourish, and in 1751, thirteen years after the emission <strong>of</strong> the<br />
bull <strong>of</strong> prohibition, lodges were openly in existence in Tuscany,<br />
at Naples, and even in the " eternal city" itself .<br />
<strong>The</strong> priesthood, whose vigilance had abated under the influence<br />
<strong>of</strong> time, became once more alarmed, and an edict was issued in<br />
1751, by Benedict XIV ., who then occupied the papal chair,<br />
renewing and enforcing the bull which had been fulminated by<br />
Clement .<br />
This, <strong>of</strong> course, renewed the spirit <strong>of</strong> persecution . In Spain,<br />
one Tournon, a Frenchman, was convicted <strong>of</strong> practising the rites<br />
<strong>of</strong> masonry, and after a tedious confinement in the dungeons <strong>of</strong><br />
the inquisition, he was finally banished from the kingdom .<br />
In Portugal, at Lisbon, John Coustos, a native <strong>of</strong> Switzerland,<br />
was still more severely treated . He was subjected to the torture,<br />
and suffered so much that he was unable to move his limbs for<br />
three months . Coustos, with two companions <strong>of</strong> his reputed<br />
crime, was sentenced to the galleys, but was finally released by<br />
the interposition <strong>of</strong> the English ambassador . <strong>The</strong> work <strong>of</strong> Constos,<br />
in which he recounts the circumstances <strong>of</strong> his imprisonment<br />
and trial, is now before me, and the details <strong>of</strong> the tortures to<br />
which he was subjected, in th-, hope <strong>of</strong> extorting the secrets <strong>of</strong><br />
masonry from him, inspire the most tender pity for his sufferings,<br />
and the most unqualified admiration <strong>of</strong> his fortitude and<br />
fidelity .<br />
But the persecutions <strong>of</strong> the order were not confined to Catholic<br />
countries . In 1745, the Council <strong>of</strong> Berne, in Switzerland,<br />
30
350 PER-PET<br />
issued a decree prohibiting under the severest penalties, the as<br />
semblages <strong>of</strong> Freemasons . In 1757, in Scotland, the Synod <strong>of</strong><br />
Sterling adopted a resolution debarring all adhering Freemasons<br />
from the ordinances <strong>of</strong> religion . And, as if to prove that fanaticism<br />
is everywhere the same, in 1748 the Divan at Constantinople<br />
caused a masonic lodge to be demolished, its jewels and<br />
furniture seized, and its members arrested . <strong>The</strong>y were discharged<br />
upon the interposition <strong>of</strong> the English minister, but the<br />
government prohibited the introduction <strong>of</strong> the order into Turkey .<br />
Our own country has not been free from the blighting influence<br />
<strong>of</strong> this demon <strong>of</strong> fanaticism . But the exciting scenes <strong>of</strong><br />
anti-masonry are too recent to be treated by the historian with<br />
coolness or impartiality . <strong>The</strong> political party to which this spirit<br />
<strong>of</strong> persecution gave birth, was the most abject in its principles, and<br />
the most unsuccessful in its efforts, <strong>of</strong> any that our times have<br />
seen. It has passed away ; the clouds <strong>of</strong> anti-masonry have been,<br />
we trust, forever dispersed, and the bright sun <strong>of</strong> masonry, once<br />
more emerging from its temporary eclipse, is beginning to bless<br />
our land with the invigorating heat and light <strong>of</strong> its meridian rays .<br />
PERSIAN PHILOSOPHIC RITE . A rite attempted to be<br />
established in France about the year 1819 . It consisted <strong>of</strong> seven<br />
degrees, as follows :-I, Listening Apprentice ; 2, Fellow-Craft<br />
Adept, Esquire <strong>of</strong> Benevolence ; 3, Master, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Sun ;<br />
4, Architect <strong>of</strong> all rites, Knight <strong>of</strong> the philosophy <strong>of</strong> the heart ;<br />
5, Knight <strong>of</strong> eclecticism and <strong>of</strong> truth ; 6, Master Good Shepherd ;<br />
7, Venerable Grand Elect . This rite never contained many members,<br />
and is now abolished .<br />
PETITION . When a new lodge is about to be formed, ap .<br />
plication to the Grand Lodge, within whose jurisdiction it is<br />
situated, must be made in the form <strong>of</strong> petition. <strong>The</strong> petition must<br />
be signed by at least seven Master Masons, and the masonic and<br />
moral character <strong>of</strong> the petitioners certified by one or more well<br />
known brethren . Petitions to a Grand Chapter for the formation
PHA 351<br />
<strong>of</strong> Chapters <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch Masons, require the signature <strong>of</strong> nine<br />
companions ; and for Encampments <strong>of</strong> Knights Templars and the<br />
appendant orders, the application to the Grand Encampment must<br />
be made by nine knights .<br />
PHALLUS . (Greek rpaAAoc.) <strong>The</strong> phallus was the woodec<br />
image <strong>of</strong> the membrum . virile, which being affixed to a pole,<br />
formed a part <strong>of</strong> most <strong>of</strong> the pagan mysteries, and was worshipped<br />
as the emblem <strong>of</strong> the male generative principle . <strong>The</strong> phallic<br />
worship was first established in Egypt . <strong>The</strong> origin <strong>of</strong> its institution<br />
was this . After the murder <strong>of</strong> Osiris, and the mutilation<br />
<strong>of</strong> the body by Typhon, Isis was enabled to recover all the parts<br />
<strong>of</strong> his body except the privities . To this part, therefore, in commemoration<br />
<strong>of</strong> its loss, she paid particular honour . <strong>The</strong> *phallus,<br />
its representation, was made <strong>of</strong> wood, and carried during the sacred<br />
festivals in the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Osiris, as the emblem <strong>of</strong> fecundity.<br />
It was held by the people in the greatest veneration, and<br />
the sight or mention <strong>of</strong> it produced in the minds <strong>of</strong> the ancients<br />
no impure or lascivious thoughts . From Egypt it was introduced<br />
into Greece, and its exhibition formed a part <strong>of</strong> the Dionysian<br />
mysteries . In the Indian mysteries, it was called the Unyam,<br />
and was always found in the most holy place <strong>of</strong> the temple . It<br />
was adopted by the idolatrous Israelites, who took it from the<br />
Moabites when in the wilderness <strong>of</strong> Sin, under the name <strong>of</strong> Baalpeor<br />
.* In short, the veneration <strong>of</strong> the phallus, under different<br />
names, was common to all the nations <strong>of</strong> antiquity . We shall<br />
again have occasion to refer to it, in the article on the Point<br />
within a Circle, with which masonic emblem the phallus has been<br />
identified by Dr . Oliver in an elaborate chapter in his " Signs and<br />
Symbols ." <strong>The</strong> masonic explanation, however, it will hereafter<br />
be perceived, bears no longer any allusion to the solar orb, or<br />
great principle <strong>of</strong> fecundity, except in its form J, a figure still<br />
* Cumberland says Baal-pebor in the Chaldaic signifies the naked god, and<br />
ii agnivalent to the Rcman deity Priapus.
352 PHI<br />
retained by astronomers as the representation <strong>of</strong> the sun . See<br />
Point within a Circle .<br />
PHILALETHES, RITE OF THE . <strong>The</strong> rite <strong>of</strong> the Philale .<br />
thes or Searchers after Truth, was invented in the lodge <strong>of</strong> Amis<br />
Reunis at Paris, in 1775, by Savalette de Langes, Keeper <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Royal Treasury . It was compounded <strong>of</strong> the masonic reveries <strong>of</strong><br />
Swedenburg and Paschalis, and was distributed into twelve classes<br />
or chambers <strong>of</strong> instruction . <strong>The</strong> names <strong>of</strong> these classes or degrees<br />
were as follows :-1, Apprentice ; 2, Fellow Craft ; 3, Master ; 4,<br />
Elect ; 5, Scotch Master ; 6, Knight <strong>of</strong> the East ; 7, Rose Croix ;<br />
8, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Temple ; 9, Unknown Philosopher ; 10, Sublime<br />
Philosopher ; 11, Initiate ; 12, Philalethes or Searcher after<br />
Truth . <strong>The</strong> first six degrees were called Petty, and the last six<br />
High Masonry . <strong>The</strong> rite existed only during the life <strong>of</strong> de<br />
Langes ; at his death in 1788, it ceased to exist, and the lodge<br />
<strong>of</strong> Amis Reunis was dissolved .<br />
PHILOSOPHICAL DEGREES . All the degrees above the<br />
Rose Croix obtain this appellation . <strong>The</strong>y are so called because<br />
they are particularly directed to the philosophical explanation <strong>of</strong><br />
the system <strong>of</strong> masonry, which, in the inferior degrees, receives a<br />
moral signification . <strong>The</strong>y are not to be confounded with the<br />
philosophical orders which arose on the continent <strong>of</strong> Europe about<br />
the close <strong>of</strong> the eighteenth century, and whose tendency, in many<br />
instances, was towards natural religion or deism . Barruel and<br />
Robinson,.however, have confounded them, and on this error have<br />
based many, if not all, <strong>of</strong> their false charges against <strong>Freemasonry</strong> .<br />
PHILOSOPHIC LODGE . <strong>The</strong> degree <strong>of</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Sun is sometimes thus styled .<br />
PHILOSOPHIC SCOTCH RITE .--Rite Ecossais philoso.<br />
phique . In the year 1770, one Pernetti founded a rite <strong>of</strong> Free.<br />
masonry, which he called the 11 Hermetic rite," but which was
PIC-PIL 353<br />
rather an alchemical than a masonic society, for its object was, by<br />
symbolic lessons, to instruct its disciples in the art <strong>of</strong> transmuting<br />
metals, and preparing the elixir <strong>of</strong> life . One <strong>of</strong> Pernetti's most<br />
ingenious disciples was a physician <strong>of</strong> Paris, named Boileau . He<br />
modified the system <strong>of</strong> the Hermetic rite, gave it a more purely<br />
masonic character and established its practice in one <strong>of</strong> the lodges<br />
<strong>of</strong> Paris, under the name <strong>of</strong> the "Philosophic Scotch Rite ." <strong>The</strong><br />
two rites were subsequently united, and the Grand Lodge was<br />
established in 1776, at Paris . It consists <strong>of</strong> twelve degrees, as<br />
follows : 1, 2, 3, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Black Eagle, or Rose Croix, divided<br />
into three parts ; 4, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Phoenix ; 5, -Knight <strong>of</strong><br />
the Sun ; 6, Knight <strong>of</strong> Iris ; 7, Freemason ; 8, Knight <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Argonauts ; 9, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Golden Fleece ; 10, Grand Inspector,<br />
Perfect Initiate ; 11, Grand Inspector, Grand Scotch Mason ;<br />
12, Sublime Master <strong>of</strong> the Luminous Ring . <strong>The</strong> three degrees<br />
<strong>of</strong> ancient Craft Masonry are necessary pre-requisites, though they<br />
do not form a part <strong>of</strong> the rite . It is still practised in France, but<br />
to a very limited extent .<br />
We may form some notion <strong>of</strong> the masonic doctrine taught in<br />
this rite, from the name <strong>of</strong> the degree which is at its summit .<br />
<strong>The</strong> "Luminous Ring" is a Pythagorean degree . In 1780 an<br />
Academy <strong>of</strong> the Sublime Masters <strong>of</strong> the Luminous Ring was<br />
established in France, in which the doctrine was taught that<br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong> was originally founded by Pythagoras, and in which<br />
the most important portion <strong>of</strong> the lectures consisted <strong>of</strong> an explanation<br />
<strong>of</strong> the peculiar doctrines <strong>of</strong> the sage <strong>of</strong> Samos . We may,<br />
therefore, presume that the same doctrines were taught in the rite<br />
trader examination .<br />
PICKAXE . One <strong>of</strong> the working tools <strong>of</strong> a Royal Arch<br />
Mason . For its emblematic signification see Shovel.<br />
PILGRIM'S SHELL. <strong>The</strong> shell was an Ancient symbol <strong>of</strong><br />
the Syrian Goddess Astarte, who was the same as the Venus<br />
Pelagia, or Venus rising from the sea, <strong>of</strong> the western mythology .<br />
30*
354 PIL<br />
<strong>The</strong> escalop or scollop shell (the Pecten <strong>of</strong> Linneeus) is found in<br />
great abundance on the shores <strong>of</strong> the Mediterranean, and was<br />
worn in the time 'f the Crusades by pilgrims to the Holy Land,<br />
as a Memorial <strong>of</strong> the pious piles image they were then perform<br />
ing or had already accomplished . Thus Shakspeare makes<br />
Ophelia sing :<br />
"And how should I thy true love know,<br />
From any other one ?<br />
0 ! by his scollop shell and staff,<br />
And by his sandal shoon ."<br />
Hence the scollop shell, staff and sandals, form a part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
costume <strong>of</strong> a candidate in the ceremonies <strong>of</strong> the Templar's degree<br />
.<br />
PILLAR . In the earliest times it was customary to perpetuate<br />
remarkable events, or exhibit gratitude for providential fa .<br />
vours, by the erection <strong>of</strong> pillars, which by the idolatrous races<br />
were dedicated to their spurious gods . Thus Sanconiatho tells us<br />
that Hypsourianos and Ousous, who lived before the flood, dedicated<br />
two pillars to the elements, fire and air . Among the<br />
Egyptians the pillars were, in general, in the form <strong>of</strong> obelisks,<br />
from 50 to 100 feet high, and exceedingly slender in proportion .<br />
Upon their four sides, hieroglyphics were <strong>of</strong>ten engraved . According<br />
to Herodotus, they were first raised in honour <strong>of</strong> the<br />
sun, and their pointed form was intended to represent his rays .<br />
Many <strong>of</strong> these monuments still remain .<br />
In the antediluvian ages, the posterity <strong>of</strong> Seth erected pillars ;<br />
"for," says the Jewish historian, "that their inventions might<br />
not be lost before they were sufficiently known, upon Adam's<br />
prediction, that the world was to be destroyed at one time by the<br />
force <strong>of</strong> fire, and at another time by the violence <strong>of</strong> water, they<br />
made two pillars, the one <strong>of</strong> brick, the other <strong>of</strong> stone ; they inscribed<br />
their discoveries on them both, that in case the pillar <strong>of</strong><br />
brick should be destroyed by the flood, the pillar <strong>of</strong> stone might<br />
remain, and exhibit those discoveries to mankind, and also inform
PIL 355<br />
them that there was another pillar <strong>of</strong> brick erected by them."*<br />
Jacob erected a pillar at Bethel, to commemorate his remarkable<br />
vision <strong>of</strong> the ladder, and afterwards another one at Galeed as a<br />
memorial <strong>of</strong> his alliance with Laban . Joshua erected one at<br />
Gilgal to perpetuate the remembrance <strong>of</strong> his miraculous crossing<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Jordan . Samuel set up a pillar between Mizpeh and<br />
Shen, on account <strong>of</strong> a defeat <strong>of</strong> the Philistines, and Absalom .<br />
erected another in honour <strong>of</strong> himself.<br />
PILLARS OF THE PORCH . <strong>The</strong> pillars most remarkable<br />
in Scripture history, were the two erected by Solomon at the<br />
porch <strong>of</strong> the Temple, and which Josephus thus describes<br />
"Moreover, this Hiram made two hollow pillars, whose outsides<br />
were <strong>of</strong> brass, and the thickness <strong>of</strong> the brass was four fingers<br />
breadth, and the height <strong>of</strong> the pillars was eighteen cubits, ('?7<br />
feet,) and the circumference twelve cubits, (18 feet ;) but there<br />
was cast with each <strong>of</strong> their chapiters, lily work, that stood upon<br />
the pillar, and it was elevated five cubits, (7j feet,) round about<br />
which there was net work interwoven with small palms made <strong>of</strong><br />
brass, and covered the lily work . To this also were hung two<br />
hundred pomegranates, in two rows . <strong>The</strong> one <strong>of</strong> these pillars<br />
he set at the entrance <strong>of</strong> the porch on the right hand, (or south,)<br />
and called it Jachin, and the other at the left hand, (or north,)<br />
and called it Boaz ."<br />
It has been supposed that Solomon, in erecting these pillars,<br />
had reference to the pillar <strong>of</strong> cloud and the pillar <strong>of</strong> fire which<br />
went before the Israelites in the wilderness, and that the right<br />
band or south pillar represented the pillar <strong>of</strong> cloud, and the left<br />
hand or north pillar represented that <strong>of</strong> fire . Solomon did not<br />
simply erect them as ornaments to the temple, but as memorials<br />
<strong>of</strong> God's repeated promises <strong>of</strong> support to his people <strong>of</strong> Israel<br />
• Joseph . Antiq . lib . 1 . c. ii. Josephus says this pillar in his time was still<br />
remaining in the land <strong>of</strong> SLriad ; but Whiston supposes the pillar thus referred<br />
to, to have been erected by Sesostris, King <strong>of</strong> Egypt .
.356 PIL<br />
For the pilla . JtZl ( .Tachin,) derived from the words i t (Jah,)<br />
"Jehovah," and l' 7 (achin) " to establish," signifies that<br />
't God will establish his house <strong>of</strong> Israel ;" while the pillar lv:J<br />
(Boaz) compounded <strong>of</strong> Z (b,) "in" and J ;7 (oaz,) "strength,"<br />
signifies, that 1, in strength shall it be established." And thus<br />
were the Jews, in passing through the porch to the temple, daily<br />
reminded <strong>of</strong> the abundant promises <strong>of</strong> God, and inspired with<br />
confidence in his protection and gratitude for his many acts <strong>of</strong><br />
kindness to his chosen people .<br />
<strong>The</strong> construction <strong>of</strong> these pillars.-<strong>The</strong>re is no part <strong>of</strong> the architecture<br />
<strong>of</strong> the ancient temple which is so difficult to be understood<br />
in its details, as the Scriptural account <strong>of</strong> these memorable<br />
pillars . Freemasons, in general, intimately as their symbolical<br />
signification is connected with some <strong>of</strong> the most beautiful portions<br />
<strong>of</strong> their ritual, appear to have but a confused notion <strong>of</strong><br />
their construction and <strong>of</strong> the true disposition <strong>of</strong> the various<br />
parts <strong>of</strong> which they are composed . With a view to relieve this<br />
subject from some <strong>of</strong> the difficulties which surround it, I, some<br />
time since, published an essay on these pillars in Moore's Magazine<br />
; and as that essay contained all the results <strong>of</strong> a rather laborious<br />
investigation, I shall transfer so much <strong>of</strong> it as is appropriate<br />
to the present article .<br />
<strong>The</strong> situation <strong>of</strong> these pillars, according to Lightfoot,* was<br />
within the porch, at its very entrance and on each side <strong>of</strong> the<br />
gate . <strong>The</strong>y were therefore seen, one on the right, and the other<br />
on the left, as soon as the visitor stepped within the porch .-<br />
And this; it will be remembered, in confirmation, is the very<br />
spot in which Ezekiel places the pillars that he saw in his vision<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Temple . "<strong>The</strong> length <strong>of</strong> the porch was twenty cubits,<br />
0 See his treatise entitled 't a Prospect <strong>of</strong> the Temple ."<br />
t If this position be the correct one, and Lightfoot supports the hypothesis<br />
by strong arguments, then Oliver, as well as most <strong>of</strong> our lecturers, is wrong<br />
in the statement that the pillars were placed before the porch <strong>of</strong> the temple,<br />
and must have been gassed before entering it . See Oliver's Landmarks, voL<br />
1., p. 451 .
PIL 357<br />
and the brea Ith eleven cubits ; and he brought me by the steps<br />
whereby they went up to it, and there were pillars by the posts,<br />
one on this side, and another on that side ."*<br />
<strong>The</strong>se pillars, we are told, were <strong>of</strong> brass, as well as the chapit3rs<br />
that surmounted them, and were cast hollow . <strong>The</strong> thickness<br />
<strong>of</strong> the brass <strong>of</strong> each pillar was '" four fingers, or a hand's<br />
breadth," which is equal to three inches . According to the accounts<br />
in 1 Kings viii . 15, and in Jeremiah Iii . 21, the circumference<br />
<strong>of</strong> each pillar was twelve cubits . Now, according to the<br />
Jewish computation, the cubit used in the measurement <strong>of</strong> the<br />
temple buildings was six hands' breadth, or eighteen inches .<br />
According to the tables <strong>of</strong> Bishop Cumberland, the cubit was<br />
rather more, he making it about twenty-two inches ; but I adhere<br />
to the measure laid down by the Jewish writers, as probably<br />
more correct, and certainly more simple for calculation . <strong>The</strong><br />
circumference <strong>of</strong> each pillar, reduced by this scale to English<br />
measure, would be eighteen feet, and its diameter about six .<br />
<strong>The</strong> reader <strong>of</strong> the Scriptural accounts <strong>of</strong> these pillars will be<br />
not a little puzzled with the apparent discrepancies that are found<br />
in the estimates <strong>of</strong> their height as given in the Books <strong>of</strong> Kings<br />
-and Chronicles . In the former book, it is said that their height<br />
was eighteen cubits, and in the latter it was thirty-five .t But<br />
the discrepancy is easily reconciled by supposing, which, indeed,<br />
must have been the case, that in the Book <strong>of</strong> Kings the pillars<br />
are spoken <strong>of</strong> separately, and that, in Chronicles, their aggregate<br />
height is calculated ; and the reason why, in this latter book,<br />
their united height is placed at thirty-five cubits instead <strong>of</strong><br />
thirty-six, which would be the double <strong>of</strong> eighteen, is because<br />
they are there measured as they appeared with the chapitera<br />
upon them . Now half a cubit <strong>of</strong> each pillar was concealed in,<br />
what Lightfoot calls "the hole <strong>of</strong> the chapiter," that is, half a<br />
* Ezekiel, ai. 49 .<br />
t Whiston observes that the latter height would be contrary to all the rules<br />
A architecture .
358 PIL<br />
cubits's depth <strong>of</strong> the lower edge <strong>of</strong> the chapiter covered the top<br />
<strong>of</strong> the pillar, making each pillar, apparently, only seventeen and<br />
a half cubits high, or the two thirty-five cubits, as laid down in<br />
the Book <strong>of</strong> Chronicles .<br />
This is a much better method <strong>of</strong> reconciling the discrepancy<br />
han that adopted by Calcott,* who supposes that the pedestals<br />
<strong>of</strong> the pillars were seventeen cubits high-a violation <strong>of</strong> every<br />
rule <strong>of</strong> architectural proportion with which we would be reluctant<br />
to charge the memory <strong>of</strong> so "cunning a workman" as<br />
Hiram the Builder . <strong>The</strong> account in Jeremiah agrees with that<br />
in the Book <strong>of</strong> Kings . <strong>The</strong> height, therefore, <strong>of</strong> each <strong>of</strong> these<br />
pillars was, in English measure, twenty-seven feet . <strong>The</strong> chapiter<br />
or pomel was five cubits, or seven and a half feet more ; but as<br />
half a cubit, or nine inches, was common to both pillar and<br />
chapiter, the whole height from the ground to the top <strong>of</strong> the<br />
e,hapiter was twenty-two cubits and a half, or thirty-three feet<br />
and nine inches .<br />
Each <strong>of</strong> these pillars was surmounted by a chapiter, which<br />
was five cubits or seven and a half feet in height . <strong>The</strong> shape<br />
and construction <strong>of</strong> this chapiter requires some consideration .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Hebrew word which is used in this place is (koteret<br />
.) Its root is to be found in the word "11I:, (keter,) which<br />
signified " a crown," and is so used in Esther vi . 8 ., to designate<br />
the royal diadem <strong>of</strong> the King <strong>of</strong> Persia. <strong>The</strong> Chaldaic version<br />
expressly calls the chapiter " a crown," but Rabbi Solomon,<br />
in his commentary, uses the word ~+njrt, (pomel) signifying<br />
"a globe or spherical body," and Rabbi Gershom describes it as<br />
"like two crowns joined together ." Lightfoot says, "it was a<br />
huge, great oval, five cubits high, and did not only sit upon tLe<br />
head <strong>of</strong> the pillars, but also flowered or spread them, being<br />
larger about, a great deal, than the pillars themselves ." <strong>The</strong><br />
Jewish commentatoz3 say that the two lower cubits <strong>of</strong> its surface<br />
* calcott's Masonry, p. 151 .
I'lL 359<br />
were entirely plain, but that the three upper were richly ornamented<br />
. To this ornamental part we now arrive .<br />
In the first Book <strong>of</strong> Kings, ch . vii . verses 17, 20, 22, the<br />
ornaments <strong>of</strong> the chapiters are thus described<br />
' 1 And nets <strong>of</strong> checker-work and wreaths <strong>of</strong> chain work, for the<br />
chapiters which were upon the tops <strong>of</strong> the pillars ; seven for the<br />
one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter .<br />
"And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon<br />
the one net-work, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top,<br />
with pomegranates ; and so did he for the other chapiter .<br />
"And the chapiters that were upon the tops <strong>of</strong> the pillars were<br />
<strong>of</strong> lily work in the porch, four cubits .<br />
'I And the chapiters upon the two pillars had pomegranates<br />
also above, over against the belly, which was by the net work ;<br />
and the pomegranates were two hundreds in rows, round about<br />
upon the other chapiter .<br />
"And upon the top <strong>of</strong> the pillars was lily work ; so was the<br />
work <strong>of</strong> the pillars finished ."<br />
Let us endeavour to render this description, which appears<br />
somewhat confused and unintelligible, plainer and more comprehensible<br />
.<br />
<strong>The</strong> 1 ' nets <strong>of</strong> checker-work," is the first ornament mentioned .<br />
<strong>The</strong> words thus translated are in the original<br />
;1:)] •r , which Lightfoot prefers rendering "thickets <strong>of</strong> branch<br />
work ;" and he thinks that the true meaning <strong>of</strong> the passage is,<br />
that ' 1 the chapiters were curiously wrought with branch work,<br />
seven goodly branches standing up from the belly <strong>of</strong> the oval,<br />
and their boughs and leaves curiously and lovelily intermingled<br />
and interwoven one with another ." He derives his reason for<br />
this version, from the fact that the same word, M=V, is translated,<br />
" thicket" in the passage in Genesis (xxii . 13,) where the<br />
ram is described as being ' 1 caught in a thicket by his horns,"<br />
and in various other passages the word is to be similarly translated.<br />
But, on the other hand, we find it used in the Book <strong>of</strong><br />
Job, where it evidently s'gnifies a net made <strong>of</strong> meshes : "Fcr
I60 PIL<br />
he is cast into a net by his own feet and he walketh upon a<br />
snare ." Job xvii . 8 . In 2 Binds i . 2, the same word is used,<br />
where our translators have rendered it a lattice ; "Ahaziah fell<br />
down through a lattice in his upper chamber ." I am, therefore,<br />
not inclined to adopt the emendation <strong>of</strong> Lightfoot, but rather<br />
coincide with the received version as well as the masonic tradition<br />
that this ornament was a simple net-work or fabric consisting<br />
<strong>of</strong> reticulated lines .<br />
<strong>The</strong> "wreaths <strong>of</strong> chain work" that are nest . spoken <strong>of</strong>, are less<br />
difficult to be understood . <strong>The</strong> word here translated " wreath ."<br />
is and is to be found in Deuteronomy xxii . 12, where it<br />
distinctly means fringes : "Thou shalt make thee fringes upon<br />
the four quarters <strong>of</strong> thy vesture ." Fringes, it should also be<br />
translated here . "<strong>The</strong> fringes <strong>of</strong> chain work," I suppose, were,<br />
therefore, attached to, and hung down from, the net-work spoken<br />
<strong>of</strong> above, and were probably in this case, as when used upon the<br />
garments <strong>of</strong> the Jewish high priest, intended as a "memorial <strong>of</strong><br />
the law."<br />
<strong>The</strong> "lily work," is the last ornament that demands our attention<br />
. And here the description <strong>of</strong> Lightfoot is so clear and<br />
evidently correct, that I shall not hesitate to quote it at length .<br />
"At the head <strong>of</strong> the pillar, even at the setting on <strong>of</strong> the chapiter,<br />
there was a curious and a large border or circle <strong>of</strong> lily work,<br />
which stood out four cubits under the chapiter, and then turned<br />
down, every lily or long tongue <strong>of</strong> brass, with a neat bending,<br />
and so seemed as a flowered crown to the head 3f the pillar, and<br />
is a curious garland whereon the chapiter had its seat ."<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is a very common error among Masons, which has been<br />
fostered by the plates in our 1 ' Monitors," that there were on the<br />
pillars, chapiters, and that these chapiters were again surmounted<br />
by globes . <strong>The</strong> truth, however, is that the chapiters themselves<br />
were " the pomels or globes" to which our lecture, in the Fellow<br />
Craft's degree, alludes . This is evident from what has already<br />
been said in the first part <strong>of</strong> the preceding description . <strong>The</strong>
PLA 361<br />
maps <strong>of</strong> the earth and the charts <strong>of</strong> the celestial constellations<br />
which are sometimes said to have been engraved upon these<br />
globes, must be referred to the pillars where, according to Oliver,<br />
a masonic tradition places them-an ancient custom, instances<br />
<strong>of</strong> which we find in pr<strong>of</strong>ane history . This is, however, by ne<br />
means <strong>of</strong> any importance, as the symbolic allusion is perfectly<br />
well preserved in the shapes <strong>of</strong> the chapiters, without the necessity<br />
<strong>of</strong> any such geographical or astronomical engraving upon<br />
them . For being globular, or nearly so, they may be juz,tly said<br />
to have represented the celestial and terrestrial spheres .<br />
<strong>The</strong> true description, then, <strong>of</strong> these memorable pillars, is simply<br />
this . Immediately within the porch <strong>of</strong> the temple, and on<br />
each side <strong>of</strong> the door, were placed two hollow brazen pillars .<br />
<strong>The</strong> height <strong>of</strong> each was twenty-seven feet, the diameter about<br />
six feet, and the thickness <strong>of</strong> the brass three inches . Above the<br />
pillar, and covering its upper part to the depth <strong>of</strong> nine inches,<br />
was an oval body or chapiter,- seven feet and a half in height .<br />
Springing out from the pillar, at the junction <strong>of</strong> the chapiter<br />
with it, wag a row <strong>of</strong> lily petals, which, first spreading around<br />
the chapiter, afterwards gently curved downwards towards the<br />
pillar, something like the Acanthus leaves on the capital <strong>of</strong> a<br />
Corinthian column . About two-fifths <strong>of</strong> the distance from the<br />
bottom <strong>of</strong> the chapiter, or just below its most bulging part, a<br />
tissue <strong>of</strong> net-work was carved, which extended over its whole<br />
upper surface . To the bottom <strong>of</strong> this net-work was suspended a<br />
series <strong>of</strong> fringes, and on these again were carved two rows <strong>of</strong><br />
pomegranates, one hundred being in each row .<br />
This description, it seems to me, is the only one that can be<br />
reconciled with the various passages in the Books <strong>of</strong> Kings,<br />
Chronicles and Jeremiah, which relate to these pillars, and the<br />
only one that can give the masonic student a correct conception<br />
<strong>of</strong> the architecture <strong>of</strong> these important symbols<br />
PLATONIC ACADEMY . A society instituted at Florence,<br />
in 1480 . <strong>The</strong> hall in which its meetings were held still exists,<br />
31
J62 PLE-PLU<br />
and is said to be ornamented with masonic emblems . Clavel<br />
supposes it to have been a society founded by some <strong>of</strong> the h onorary<br />
members and patrons <strong>of</strong> the fraternity <strong>of</strong> Freemasons who<br />
existed in the Middle Ages, and who, having abandoned the material<br />
design <strong>of</strong> the institution, confined themselves to its mystic<br />
character . If his suggestion be correct, this is one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
earliest instances <strong>of</strong> the separation <strong>of</strong> speculative from operative<br />
masonry .<br />
PLENTY . <strong>The</strong> ear <strong>of</strong> corn is the masonic symbol <strong>of</strong> plenty,<br />
and was derived, as nearly all the masonic symbols have been,<br />
from the ancient system <strong>of</strong> symbolism . According to Montfaucon,<br />
ears <strong>of</strong> corn always accompanied the images <strong>of</strong> the goddess<br />
Plenty in the ancient gems and medals, <strong>of</strong> which he gives<br />
several examples . <strong>The</strong> Hebrew word Shibboleth signifies an ear<br />
<strong>of</strong> corn .<br />
PLUMB . An instrument made use <strong>of</strong>, by operative masons,<br />
for the purpose <strong>of</strong> erecting perpendicular lines, and which, in<br />
speculative masonry, constitutes one <strong>of</strong> the working tools <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Fellow-Craft . As the building which is not erected on a perpendicular<br />
line, but leans either one way or the other, becomes insecure,<br />
and must eventually fall, by the force <strong>of</strong> gravity, to the<br />
ground, so he, whose life is not supported by an upright course<br />
<strong>of</strong> conduct, but whose principles are swayed by the uncertain<br />
dictates <strong>of</strong> interest or passion, cannot long sustain a worthy reputation,<br />
and must soon sink beneath the estimation <strong>of</strong> every good<br />
and virtuous citizen . But the just, the upright, the unwavering<br />
man, who bends not beneath the attacks <strong>of</strong> adversity, nor yields<br />
to the temptations <strong>of</strong> prosperity, but still pursues the "even<br />
tenor <strong>of</strong> his way," will stand erect amid the fiercest tempests <strong>of</strong><br />
fortune, and, like a tall column, lift his head above the frowns <strong>of</strong><br />
envy and the slanders <strong>of</strong> malignity . To the man thus just and<br />
upright, the sacred Scriptures attribute as necessary parts <strong>of</strong> his<br />
nharacter, kindness and liberality, temperance and moderation,
POI 363<br />
truth and wisdom ; and the heathen poet, Horace, pays, in one<br />
<strong>of</strong> his most admired odes, an eloquent tribute to his stern immutability<br />
.<br />
<strong>The</strong> man in conscious virtue bold,<br />
Who dares his secret purpose hold,<br />
Unshaken hears the crowd's tumultuous cries<br />
And the impetuous tyrant's angry brow defies .<br />
Let the loud winds that rule the seas,<br />
<strong>The</strong>ir wild tempestuous horrors raise ;<br />
Let Jove's dread arm with thunders rend the spheres,<br />
Beneath the crush <strong>of</strong> worlds undaunted he appears .*<br />
[Francis.<br />
<strong>The</strong> plumb is also the jewel <strong>of</strong> the Junior Warden, and it<br />
seems here symbolically to instruct us, as the authority <strong>of</strong> this<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficer is exercised only in time <strong>of</strong> refreshment, when the brethren<br />
having ceased to labour, are no longer within the sacred precincts<br />
<strong>of</strong> the lodge room, that then more particularly, when the eyes <strong>of</strong><br />
a censorious world are upon him, should the Mason walk uprightly<br />
and eschew evil .t<br />
POINTS OF FELLOWSHIP . <strong>The</strong> pentalpha, or triple tri .<br />
w Justum et tenacem propositi virum<br />
Non civium ardor prava jubentium,<br />
Non vultus instantie tyranni<br />
Mente quatit solido, neque Auster<br />
Dug inquieti turbidus Adrise<br />
Nee fulminantis magna Jovis manus .<br />
Si fractus illabatur orbis<br />
Impavidum ferient ruinse .<br />
[Hor. lib. iii . oct 3 .<br />
j- It is worthy <strong>of</strong> notice that, in most languages, the word which is used in<br />
a direct sense to indicate straightness <strong>of</strong> course or perpendicularity <strong>of</strong> position,<br />
is also employed in a figurative sense to express uprightness <strong>of</strong> conduct .<br />
Such are the Latin "rectum," which signifies at the same time a right line and<br />
honesty or integrity ; the Greek 'op9t+ which means straight, standing upright,<br />
and also equitable, jest, true ; and the Hebrew tsedek, which in a physical<br />
sense denotes rightness, straightness, and in a moral, what is right and just .<br />
Our own word RIGHT, partakes f this peculiarity, right being not wrong, as<br />
well as not crooked .
364 POI<br />
angle, was among the Pythagoreans the emblem <strong>of</strong> health, because<br />
it constituted a figure <strong>of</strong> five lines and five points ; among<br />
Masons, in the form <strong>of</strong> a five-pointed star, it has been adopted as<br />
the symbol <strong>of</strong> the most sacred principles <strong>of</strong> their pr<strong>of</strong>ession .<br />
See Five Points <strong>of</strong> Fellowship, and Star .<br />
POINTS, TWELVE GRAND . See Twelve Grand Points .<br />
POINT WITHIN A CIRCLE . This emblem is to be found<br />
in every well regulated lodge, and is explained as representingthe<br />
point, the individual brother, and the circle, the boundary<br />
line <strong>of</strong> his duty . But that this was not always its symbolic sia<br />
nification, we may collect from the true history <strong>of</strong> its connection<br />
with the phallus <strong>of</strong> the ancient mysteries . <strong>The</strong> phallus, as I<br />
have already shown, under the word, was among the Egyptians<br />
the symbol <strong>of</strong> fecundity, expressed by the male generative principle<br />
. It was communicated from the rites <strong>of</strong> Osiris to the religious<br />
festivals <strong>of</strong> Greece . Among the Asiatics the same emblem,<br />
under the name <strong>of</strong> lingam, was, in connection with the female<br />
principle, worshipped as the symbols <strong>of</strong> the Great Father and<br />
Mother, or producing causes <strong>of</strong> the human race, after their destruction<br />
by the deluge . On this subject, Captain Wilford remarks<br />
11 that it was believed in India, that, at the general deluge,<br />
every thing was involved in the common destruction, except the<br />
male and female principles, or organs <strong>of</strong> generation, which were<br />
destined to produce a new race, and to re-people the earth when<br />
the waters. .had subsided from its surface . <strong>The</strong> female principle,<br />
symbolized by the moon, assumed the form <strong>of</strong> a lunette or crescent<br />
; while the male principle, symbolized by the sun, assuming<br />
the form <strong>of</strong> the lingam, placed himself erect in the centre <strong>of</strong> the<br />
lunette, like the mast <strong>of</strong> a ship . <strong>The</strong> two principles, in this<br />
united form, floated on the surface <strong>of</strong> the waters during the priod<br />
<strong>of</strong> their .prevalence on the earth ; and thus became the progenitors<br />
<strong>of</strong> a new race <strong>of</strong> men ."*, Here, then, was the first<br />
* Asiat. Researches, cit. upud Oliver, Signs and Symbols, 180 .
POI 365<br />
outline <strong>of</strong> the point within a circle, representing the principle <strong>of</strong><br />
fecundity, and doubtless the symbo_, connected with a different<br />
history, that, namely, <strong>of</strong> Osiris, was transmitted by the Indian<br />
philosophers to Egypt, and to the other nations, who derived, as<br />
we have elsewhere shown, all their rites from the East .<br />
As an evidence <strong>of</strong> this, we find the same symbol in the Druidical<br />
and Scandinavian rites . <strong>The</strong> temples <strong>of</strong> the Druids were<br />
circular, with a single stone erected in the centre . A Druidical<br />
monument in Prembrokeshire, called Y Cromlech, is described as<br />
consisting <strong>of</strong> several rude stones pitched on end in a circular<br />
order, and in the midst <strong>of</strong> the circle a vast stone placed on several<br />
pillars . Near Keswick, in Cumberland, says Oliver, is another<br />
specimen <strong>of</strong> this Druidical symbol . On a hill stands a circle <strong>of</strong><br />
forty stones placed perpendicularly, <strong>of</strong> about five feet and a half<br />
in height, and one stone in the centre <strong>of</strong> greater altitude .*<br />
Among the Scandinavians, the hall <strong>of</strong> Odin contained twelve<br />
seats, disposed in the form <strong>of</strong> a circle for the principal gods,<br />
with an elevated seat in the centre for Odin. Scandinavian monuments<br />
<strong>of</strong> this form are still to be found in Scania, Zealand, and<br />
Jutland .t<br />
But it is useless to multiply examples <strong>of</strong> the prevalence <strong>of</strong> this<br />
symbol among the ancients . And now let us apply this knowledge<br />
to the masonic symbol .<br />
We have seen that the phallus, and the point within a circle,<br />
come from the same source, and must have been identical in signification<br />
. But the phallus was the symbol <strong>of</strong> fecundity, or the<br />
male generative principle, :which by the ancients was supposed to<br />
be the sun, (they looking to the creature and not to the Creator,)<br />
because by the sun's heat and light, the earth is made prolific,<br />
and its productions are brought to maturity. <strong>The</strong> point within<br />
the circle was then originally the symbol <strong>of</strong> the sun, and as the<br />
lingam <strong>of</strong> India stood in the centre <strong>of</strong> the lunette, so it stands<br />
within the centre <strong>of</strong> the Universe, typified by the circle impreg-<br />
* Signs and Symbols, 174 .<br />
t Mallet's Northern Antiquities .<br />
31*
366 -. POM<br />
nating and vivifying it with its heat . And thus the astronomers<br />
have been led to adopt the same figure Ej, as their symbol <strong>of</strong> that<br />
luminary .*<br />
<strong>The</strong> present signification <strong>of</strong> the point, within the circle, among<br />
Masons, is doubtless comparatively modern, and has superseded<br />
the original meaning <strong>of</strong> this symbol .<br />
POMEGRANATE . <strong>The</strong> pomegranate, as an emblem, was<br />
known to and highly esteemed by the nations <strong>of</strong> antiquity . In<br />
the description <strong>of</strong> the pillars which stood at the porch <strong>of</strong> the temple,<br />
(see 1 Kings vii . 15,) it is said that the artificer "made two<br />
chapiters <strong>of</strong> molten brass to set upon the tops <strong>of</strong> the pillars ."<br />
Now the Hebrew word caphtorim, which has been translated<br />
" chapiters," and for which in Amos ix . 1, the word " lintel"<br />
has been incorrectly substituted, (though the marginal reading<br />
corrects the error,) signifies an artificial large pomegranate, or<br />
globe.- It was customary to place such ornaments upon the tops<br />
or heads <strong>of</strong> columns, and in other situations . <strong>The</strong> skirt <strong>of</strong> Aaron's<br />
robe was ordered to be decorated with golden bells and pomegranates,<br />
and they were among the ornaments fixed upon the<br />
golden candelabra . <strong>The</strong>re seems, therefore, to have been attached<br />
to this fruit some mystic signification, to which it is indebted for<br />
the veneration thus paid to it . If so, this mystic meaning should<br />
be traced into spurious <strong>Freemasonry</strong> ; for there, after all, if there<br />
be any antiquity in our order, we shall find the parallel <strong>of</strong> all its<br />
rites and ceremonies .<br />
1 . <strong>The</strong> .Syrians at Damascus worshipped an idol which they<br />
* Fellowes, giving an ancient astronomical signification to this symbol, says<br />
that the point was Deity, the circle the path <strong>of</strong> the sun, and the two parallels<br />
the solstices, beyond which the sun cannot pass .<br />
t Vid. Cumberland Origines Gent Antiq . tract . II i3 ii . p . 54. <strong>The</strong> original<br />
meaning is not preserved in the Septuagint, which has oO aipwrgp, nor in the<br />
Vulgate which uses "sphaerula," both meaning simuly "a round ball." But<br />
Josepbus, in his Antiquities, has kept to the literal Hebrew .
POM 36 7,<br />
called Rimmon . This was the same idol that was worshipped by<br />
Naaman before his conversion, as recorded in the second book <strong>of</strong><br />
Kings . <strong>The</strong> learned have not been able to agree as to the nature<br />
<strong>of</strong> this idol, whether he was a representation <strong>of</strong> Helios or the Sun,<br />
the god <strong>of</strong> the Phenicians, or <strong>of</strong> Venus, or according to Grotius,<br />
in his commentary on the passage in Kings, <strong>of</strong> Saturn, or what,<br />
according to Statius, seems more probable, <strong>of</strong> Jupiter Cassius .<br />
But it is sufficient for our present purpose to know that Rimm on<br />
is the Hebrew and Syriac for pomegranate.<br />
2. Cumberland, the learned Bishop <strong>of</strong> Peterborough, quotes<br />
Achilles Statius, a converted pagan and Bishop <strong>of</strong> Alexandria,<br />
as saying that on Mount Cassius, (which Bochart places between<br />
Canaan and Egypt,) there was a temple wherein Jupiter's image<br />
held a pomegranate in his hand, which Statius goes on to say,<br />
~~ had a mystical meaning ."* Sanconiatho thinks this temple<br />
was built by the descendants <strong>of</strong> the Cabiri . Cumberland attempts<br />
to explain this mystery thus : " Agreeably hereunto I guess that<br />
the pomegranate in the hand <strong>of</strong> Jupiter or Juno, (because when<br />
it is opened, it discloses a great number <strong>of</strong> seeds) signified only,<br />
that those deities were, being long-lived, the parents <strong>of</strong> a great<br />
many children, and families that soon grew into nations which<br />
they planted in large possessions, when the world was newly<br />
begun to be peopled, by giving them laws-and other useful inventions<br />
to make their lives comfortable ."<br />
3. Pausanias (Corinthiaca, p . 59) says, he saw not far from<br />
the ruins <strong>of</strong> Mycenae, an image <strong>of</strong> Juno holding in one hand a<br />
sceptre, and in the other a. pomegranate ; but he likewise declines<br />
assigning any explanation <strong>of</strong> the emblem, merely declaring that<br />
it was azopprjrorepoc Aoroc-"" a forbidden mystery ." That is, one<br />
which was forbidden by the Cabiri to be divulged .<br />
4. In the festival <strong>of</strong> the <strong>The</strong>smophoria, observed in honour <strong>of</strong> the<br />
goddess Ceres, it was held unlawful for the celebrants (who were<br />
women to eat the pomegranate . Clemens Alexandrinus assigns<br />
Cumberland Orig . Gent. Ant. p . 60 .
368 POM-POU<br />
as a reason, that it was supposed that this fruit sprang from the<br />
blood <strong>of</strong> Bacchus .<br />
<strong>The</strong> coincidences in the pagan mysteries with respect to this<br />
emblem, might, doubtless, be extended still further, but I have<br />
neither time nor opportunity to pursue the research . I am,<br />
however, content, if by these few illustrations I have added another<br />
to the many already existing pro<strong>of</strong>s <strong>of</strong> the antiquity as well as the<br />
beauty, <strong>of</strong> our beloved order .<br />
POMEL . A round knob ; a term applied to the globes or<br />
balls on the top <strong>of</strong> the pillars which stood at the porch <strong>of</strong> Solo .<br />
mon's Temple .<br />
PONTIFES . <strong>The</strong> Frares Pontifes were a religious and operative<br />
community established at Avignon, in Italy, in 1178 . <strong>The</strong>y<br />
devoted themselves to the construction <strong>of</strong> stone bridges . <strong>The</strong>y<br />
existed in the Duchy <strong>of</strong> Lucca as late as 1590 . <strong>The</strong>ir presiding<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficer was styled Magister or Master . John de Medicis was<br />
Master <strong>of</strong> the order in 1560 :<br />
POT OF INCENSE . <strong>The</strong> "sweet smelling savour" <strong>of</strong> fragrant<br />
herbs, has, among all nations and modes <strong>of</strong> worship, been<br />
considered an acceptable <strong>of</strong>fering, in sacrifice to the Deity, as<br />
an evidence <strong>of</strong> the desire <strong>of</strong> the worshipper to honour and please<br />
the object <strong>of</strong> his adoration. Masonry, however, like Christianity,<br />
instructs us, that the most pleasing incense that can be <strong>of</strong>fered to<br />
the great .I AM, is the incense <strong>of</strong> a grateful and pious heart .<br />
Hence, the pot <strong>of</strong> incense, with a view to remind us <strong>of</strong> this truth,<br />
has been adopted as an emblem in the third degree .<br />
POURSUIVANT . In former times, a messenger who attanded<br />
upon the king in the army ; among Masons, an <strong>of</strong>ficer in<br />
some Grand Lodges, whose principal duty is to announce the<br />
names <strong>of</strong> visitors .
PRA-PRI 369<br />
PRAYER . All the ceremonies <strong>of</strong> our order are prefaced and<br />
terminated with prayer, because masonry is a religious institution,<br />
and because we thereby show our dependence on, and our faith<br />
and trust in God .<br />
PRECEDENCY OF LODGES . <strong>The</strong> precedency <strong>of</strong> lodges is<br />
always derived from the date <strong>of</strong> their Warrants <strong>of</strong> Constitution,<br />
the oldest lodge ranking as No . 1 .<br />
PRELATE . <strong>The</strong> fourth <strong>of</strong>ficer in an encampment <strong>of</strong> Knight<br />
Templars in this country . His duties are important, and well<br />
known to all knights . He is seated on the right <strong>of</strong> the Generalissimo<br />
in the East. His jewel is a triple triangle, as the emblem<br />
<strong>of</strong> Jehovah, and his title is " Most Excellent ."<br />
PRIEST HIGH . See High Priest .<br />
PRIMITIVE RITE OF NARBONNE . A rite established<br />
at Narbonne, in France, in 1780 . Most <strong>of</strong> its degrees were taken<br />
from the other rites . <strong>The</strong> rite was philosophical, and assumed,<br />
.as its object, the reformation <strong>of</strong> intellectual man and his restoration<br />
to his primitive rank and privileges .<br />
PRIMITIVE SCOTCH RITE . Rite kossais primitif. A<br />
rite founded on the rite <strong>of</strong> Perfection, and established at Namur,<br />
in Belgium, by a brother. Marchot, an advocate at Nivelles. It<br />
never extended far beyond the walls <strong>of</strong> the city in which it was<br />
organized It is still practised in Belgium, and its principal seat<br />
is at Namur, in the lodge <strong>of</strong> " Bonne Amitie." It consists <strong>of</strong><br />
thirty-three degrees, as follows : 1, Apprentice ; 2, Fellow-Craft ;<br />
3, Master ; 4, Perfect Master ; 5, Irish Master ; 6, Elect <strong>of</strong> Nine ;<br />
7, Elect <strong>of</strong> *the Unknown ; 8, Elect <strong>of</strong> Fifteen ; 9, Illustrious<br />
Master ; 10, Perfect Elect ; 11, Minor Architect ; 12, Grand<br />
Architect ; 13, Sublime Architect ; 14, Master in Perfect Architecture<br />
; 15, Royal Arch ; 16, Prussian knight ; 17, Knight <strong>of</strong>
370 PRI<br />
the East ; 18, Prince <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem, 19, Master <strong>of</strong> All Lodges ;<br />
20, Knight <strong>of</strong> the West ; 21, Knight <strong>of</strong> Palestine ; 22, Sovereign<br />
Prince <strong>of</strong> Rose Croix ; 23, Sublime Scotch Mason ; 24, Knight<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Sun ; 25, Grand Scotch Mason <strong>of</strong> St . Andrew ; 26, Master<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Secret ; 27, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Black Eagle ; 28, Knight <strong>of</strong><br />
K -H ; 29, Grand Elect <strong>of</strong> Truth ; 30, Novice <strong>of</strong> the Interior<br />
; 31, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Interior ; 32, Prefect <strong>of</strong> the Interior ; 33,<br />
Commander <strong>of</strong> the Interior .<br />
PRINCE OF JERUSALEM . Prince de Jerusalem . <strong>The</strong><br />
16th degree in the Ancient Scotch rite . <strong>The</strong> legend <strong>of</strong> this<br />
degree is founded on certain incidents which took place during<br />
the re-building <strong>of</strong> the second temple, when the Jews were so<br />
much incommoded by the attacks <strong>of</strong> the Samaritans and other<br />
neighbouring nations, that an embassy was sent to King Darius<br />
to implore his favour and protection, which was accordingly<br />
obtained .<br />
<strong>The</strong> meetings <strong>of</strong> this degree are called councils . <strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong><br />
a council <strong>of</strong> Princes <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem are, a Most Equitable, representing<br />
Zerubbabel, a Senior and Junior Most Enlightened, a<br />
Grand Treasurer, and Grand Secretary .<br />
In the Scotch rite, councils <strong>of</strong> this degree are invested with<br />
important privileges . <strong>The</strong>y are styled " Chiefs in <strong>Freemasonry</strong>,"<br />
and have the control <strong>of</strong> all the subordinate degrees as far as<br />
the 15th, or Knights <strong>of</strong> the East, and all charters for the constitution<br />
<strong>of</strong> lodges, chapters, or councils <strong>of</strong> any <strong>of</strong> these degrees,<br />
must emanate from a council <strong>of</strong> these princes . Yellow is the<br />
emblematic colour <strong>of</strong> the degree, and the jewel is a gold medal,<br />
on which are inscribed a balance, a two-edged sword, five stars,<br />
and the letters D and Z . <strong>The</strong> apron is white, lined and bordered<br />
with yellow, with a yellow flap, on which is inscribed a balance<br />
with the same letters that are on the jewel .*<br />
* <strong>The</strong> first Grand Council <strong>of</strong> Princes <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem, in the United States,<br />
was formed at Charleston, S . C ., by three 'Inspectors, on the 20th February<br />
1788 .
PRI 371<br />
PRINCE OF LIBANUS . See Knight <strong>of</strong> the Royal Axe .<br />
PRINCE OF MERCY . Prince du MMerci . <strong>The</strong> 26th degree<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Ancient Scotch rite, sometimes called « Scotch Trinitarian."<br />
This is a philosophical degree, whose ceremonies are<br />
very impressive . Its meeting is styled a chapter ; the chief<br />
prince, whose title is "Most Excellent," represents Moses . TLe<br />
Senior Warden represents Aaron, the Junior, Eleazar, and the<br />
candidate, Joshua . <strong>The</strong> jewel is a gold equilateral triangle,<br />
within which is a heart <strong>of</strong> gold, inscribed with the Hebrew letter<br />
~"J, one <strong>of</strong> the symbols <strong>of</strong> the tetragrammaton . It is suspended<br />
from a tri-coloured ribbon <strong>of</strong> green, white and red . <strong>The</strong> apron<br />
is red, bordered with white fringe, and with a blue flap . On the<br />
flap is painted the jewel .<br />
It is a Christian degree, and speaks, in the course <strong>of</strong> its con .<br />
struction, <strong>of</strong> the triple covenant which the Eternal made first<br />
with Abraham by circumcision ; next, with the Israelites in the<br />
wilderness, by the intermediation <strong>of</strong> Hoses ; and lastly, with all<br />
mankind, by the death and sufferings <strong>of</strong> Jesus Christ . It is in<br />
allusion to these three acts <strong>of</strong> mercy, that the degree derives its<br />
two names <strong>of</strong> Scotch Trinitarian and Prince <strong>of</strong> Mercy, and n ot .<br />
as Ragon supposes, from any reference to the Fathers <strong>of</strong> Mercy,<br />
a religious society formerly engaged in the ransoming <strong>of</strong> Christian<br />
captives at Algiers .<br />
PRINCE OF ROSE CROIX . Souverain Prince Bose<br />
Croix . <strong>The</strong> degree <strong>of</strong> Rose Croix is one <strong>of</strong> the most important<br />
and generally diffused <strong>of</strong> the higher degrees <strong>of</strong> masonry . It is<br />
to be found in several <strong>of</strong> the principal rites, and even in those<br />
in which it does not exist by name, its place is, for the most part,<br />
supplied by some other whose symbolic allusions do not differ<br />
materially from it. Thus, although it is not known in the York<br />
rite, an excellent substitute for it is found in the Royal Arch,<br />
while it constitutes the 18th degree <strong>of</strong> the Ancient and Ace oted,<br />
or Scotch rite, the 7th and last <strong>of</strong> the French rite, and the I7th
<strong>of</strong> the rite <strong>of</strong> Misraim . Among Eurc pean Masons, where all<br />
thesee rites are practised, the degree <strong>of</strong> Rose Croix is consequently<br />
well known ; and even in this country, although its possession<br />
is circumscribed to those brethren who have made some advancement<br />
in the Scotch rite, it is so <strong>of</strong>ten spoken <strong>of</strong>, that its name,<br />
at least, is familiar to almost every Mason <strong>of</strong> any intelligence,<br />
and much -curiosity is <strong>of</strong>ten expressed in relation to its history<br />
and character .<br />
<strong>The</strong> degree is known by various names ; sometimes its possessors<br />
are called "Sovereign Princes <strong>of</strong> Rose Croix ;" sometimes<br />
Princes <strong>of</strong> Rose Croix de Heroden ;" and sometimes "Knights<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Eagle and Pelican ." In relation to its origin, masonic<br />
writers have nriade many conflicting statements ; some giving it<br />
a much higher antiquity than others, but all agreeing in supposing<br />
it to be one <strong>of</strong> the earliest, if not the very earliest, <strong>of</strong> the<br />
higher degrees . <strong>The</strong> name has, undoubtedly, been the cause <strong>of</strong><br />
much <strong>of</strong> this confusion in relation to its history, and the masonic<br />
degree <strong>of</strong> " Rose Croix" has, perhaps, <strong>of</strong>ten been confounded<br />
with the cabalistical and alchemical sect <strong>of</strong> "Rosicrucians,"<br />
or "Brothers <strong>of</strong> the Rosy Cross," among whose adepts<br />
the names <strong>of</strong> such men as Roger Bacon, Paracelsus, and Elias<br />
Ashmole, the celebrated antiquary, are to be found. Notwithstanding<br />
the invidious attempts <strong>of</strong> Baruell, and other foes <strong>of</strong> masonry,<br />
to confound the two orders, there is a great distinction<br />
between them . Even their names, although somewhat similar in<br />
sound, are . _totally different in signification . <strong>The</strong> Rosicrucians,<br />
who were -alchemists, did not derive their name, like the Rose<br />
Croix Masons, from the emblems <strong>of</strong> the rose and cross, for they<br />
had nothing to do with the rose, but from the Latin ros, signifying<br />
dew, which was supposed to be <strong>of</strong> all natural bodies the most<br />
powerful solvent <strong>of</strong> gold, and crux, the cross, a chemical hieru .<br />
glyphic <strong>of</strong> light .<br />
Baron Westerode, who wrote in 1784, in the "Acta Latomorum;"<br />
gives the earliest origin <strong>of</strong> any masonic writer to the degree <strong>of</strong><br />
Rose Croix . He supposes that it was instituted among the
PRI 373<br />
Knights Templar in Palestine, in the year 1188, and he adds<br />
that Prince Edward, the son <strong>of</strong> Henry' III ., <strong>of</strong> England, was<br />
admitted into the order by Raymond Lulle, in 1196 . Westerode<br />
names Ormesius, an Egyptian priest, who had been converted to<br />
Christianity, as its founder .<br />
Others have attributed the origin <strong>of</strong> this degree to a learned<br />
and pious monk, John Valentine Andreae, Abbot <strong>of</strong> Adelbei g,<br />
who died in 1564, and among whose writings are to be found<br />
several treatises which relate to this subject .* Ragon . says <strong>of</strong><br />
Andreae, that, pr<strong>of</strong>oundly grieved at seeing the principles <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Christian religion forgotten in vain disputes, and science made<br />
subservient to the pride <strong>of</strong> man, instead <strong>of</strong> contributing to his<br />
happiness, he passed his days in devising what he supposed to be<br />
the most appropriate means <strong>of</strong> restoring each to its legitimate<br />
moral and benevolent tendency . It may be that with this view<br />
the eminently Christian degree <strong>of</strong> Rose Croiz was invented by<br />
him . *But notwithstanding the authority <strong>of</strong> Rayon, sustained as<br />
it is by that <strong>of</strong> Nicolai in his work on the " Crimes imputed to<br />
the Templars," we are inclined to suspect that the labours and<br />
the writings <strong>of</strong> the Abbot <strong>of</strong> Adelberg referred rather to the Rosicrucian<br />
alchemists, than to the Rose Croix ]Masons .<br />
Other authors have supposed that they could find the origin <strong>of</strong><br />
the Rose Croix, or at least <strong>of</strong> its emblems, in a book published<br />
in 1601, by Jacobus Typotus, the historiographer to Rhodolph<br />
the Second . <strong>The</strong> book <strong>of</strong> Typotus, on which rests any claims<br />
which may be made to his paternity <strong>of</strong> the Rose Croix degree, is<br />
entitled " Symbola divine et humans pontffacum,imperatorum,<br />
reg"im," and it is in that part <strong>of</strong> it which is devoted to the<br />
" symbol <strong>of</strong> the holy cross," that the allusions are found which<br />
seem to indicate the author's knowledge <strong>of</strong> this degree . Ragon ;<br />
however, who appears to have seen the work, utterly refutes the<br />
idea <strong>of</strong> any connection between the emblems <strong>of</strong> Typotus and<br />
those <strong>of</strong> the Rose Croix .<br />
* Two especially, one entitled " Judicorum de J titcrnitate R . C. Chaos,"<br />
%ad the other " Nocee chensiquee de Rozen-Crutz."<br />
32
374 PRI<br />
Clavel, with his usual boldness <strong>of</strong> assertion, which is too <strong>of</strong>ten<br />
independent <strong>of</strong> facts, declares that the degree was invented by<br />
the Jesuits for the purpose <strong>of</strong> countermining the insidious attacks<br />
<strong>of</strong> the free-thinkers upon the Roman Catholic religion, but<br />
that the philosophers parried the attempt by seizing upon the<br />
degree and giving to all its symbols an astronomical signification .<br />
Clavel's opinion is probably derived from one <strong>of</strong> those sweeping<br />
charges <strong>of</strong> Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Robison, in which that systematic enemy <strong>of</strong><br />
our institution declares, that about the beginning <strong>of</strong> the eighteenth<br />
century, the Jesuits interfered considerably with masonry,<br />
"insinuating themselves into the lodges, and contributing to increase<br />
that religious mysticism that is to be observed in all the<br />
ceremonies <strong>of</strong> the order ."* But there is no better evidence than<br />
these mere vague assertions, <strong>of</strong> the connection <strong>of</strong> the Jesuits<br />
with the Rose Croix degree .<br />
Oliver says that the earliest notice that he finds <strong>of</strong> this degree, i3<br />
in a publication <strong>of</strong> 1613, entitled "La Reformation universelle<br />
du monde entier avec la fama fraternitatis de 1' Ordre respectable<br />
de la Rose Croix ." But he adds, that 1 ' it was known much<br />
sooner, although not probably as a degree in masonry ; for it existed<br />
as a cabalistic science from the earliest times in Egypt,<br />
Greece, and Rome, as well as among the Jews and Moors in times<br />
more recent."t<br />
Oliver, however, undoubtedly, in the latter part <strong>of</strong> this paragraph,<br />
confounds the masonic Rose Croix with the alchemical<br />
Rosicrucians, and the former is singularly inconsistent with the<br />
details that- he gives in another part <strong>of</strong> his writings respecting an<br />
order to which we are now about to allude, and which it seems<br />
probable to us bad as much as any other,to do with the institution<br />
<strong>of</strong> the degree in question .<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is a tradition among the Masons <strong>of</strong> Scotland, that after<br />
the dissolution <strong>of</strong> the Templars, many o' the knights repaired to<br />
* Pro<strong>of</strong>s <strong>of</strong> a Conspiracy, p . 21 .<br />
t Oliver's Landmarks, vol . ii . p . 81, n . 35 .
PRI 375<br />
Scotland, and placed themselves under tl.e protection <strong>of</strong> Robert<br />
Bruce ; and that, after the battle <strong>of</strong> Bannockburn, which took<br />
Dlacc on St . John the Baptist's day, in the year 1314, this<br />
monarch instituted the Royal Order <strong>of</strong> Herodom and Knight <strong>of</strong><br />
the Rosy Cross, and established the chief seat <strong>of</strong> the order at<br />
Kilwinning . From that order, it seems to us by no means improbable<br />
that the present degree <strong>of</strong> Rose Croix de Heroden may<br />
have taken its origin . In two respects, at least, there seems to<br />
be a very close connection between the two systems : they both<br />
claim the kingdom <strong>of</strong> Scotland and the Abbey <strong>of</strong> Kilwinning as<br />
having been at one time their chief seat <strong>of</strong> government, and<br />
they both seem to have been instituted to give a Christian explanation<br />
to Ancient Craft Masonry . <strong>The</strong>re is, besides, a similarity<br />
in the names <strong>of</strong> the degrees <strong>of</strong> « Rose Croix de Heroden," and<br />
~' Herodom and Rosy Cross," amounting almost to an identity,<br />
which appears to indicate a very intimate relation <strong>of</strong> one to the<br />
other .<br />
<strong>The</strong> subject, however, is in a state <strong>of</strong> inextricable confusion ;<br />
and I confess that, after all my researches, I am still unable distinctly<br />
to point to the period when, and to the place where, the<br />
present degree <strong>of</strong> Rose Croix received its organization as a masonic<br />
grade .<br />
No matter, however, where precisely it received its origin, nor<br />
who has the honour <strong>of</strong> having been its inventor, it is at least<br />
certain that the degree <strong>of</strong> Rose Croix is to be placed among the<br />
most ancient <strong>of</strong> the higher degrees <strong>of</strong> masonry ; and that this<br />
antiquity, in connection with the importance <strong>of</strong> its design and<br />
the solemnity <strong>of</strong> its ritual, has given to it a universality in the<br />
masouic world, inferior only to the degrees <strong>of</strong> Ancient Craft<br />
Masonry . It is to be found, as I have already said, in nearly ad<br />
the rites, under some name and in some modification, and in<br />
many <strong>of</strong> them it is placed at the summit <strong>of</strong> the ritual .<br />
In the Ancient and Accepted Scotch rite, whence nearly At<br />
the Rose Croix Masons <strong>of</strong> this country have derived the degree.<br />
it is placed as the eighfenth on the list . Some ilea <strong>of</strong> the im.
3 T 6 PRI<br />
portance <strong>of</strong> the degree may be obtained from a brief detail <strong>of</strong> the<br />
preparatory ceremonies which are necessary to be performed by<br />
all candidates who make application for it .<br />
<strong>The</strong> ceremonies and history <strong>of</strong> a chapter <strong>of</strong> Rose Croix, are<br />
<strong>of</strong> such a nature as to render it impossible to give any account <strong>of</strong><br />
them here . <strong>The</strong> presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer is called "Ever Most Perfect<br />
Sovereign," and the two Wardens are styled "Most Excellent<br />
and Perfect Brothers ." <strong>The</strong> annual feast <strong>of</strong> the order is on<br />
Shrove Tuesday, and must be celebrated by every member<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are five other obligatory days <strong>of</strong> meeting, viz . Ascension<br />
day ; St . John the Baptist's day, Pentecost ; St. John the Evangelist's<br />
day ; Tuesday after Easter ; and All Saints' day.<br />
<strong>The</strong> degree is conferred in a body called a " Chapter <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Sovereign Princes <strong>of</strong> Rose Croix," which derives its authority<br />
immediately from the Supreme Council <strong>of</strong> the Thirty-third, and<br />
which confers with it, only one other and inferior degree, that<br />
<strong>of</strong> " Knights <strong>of</strong> the East and West." <strong>The</strong> aspirant for the degree<br />
<strong>of</strong> Rose Croix, who must, <strong>of</strong> course, have received all the<br />
preparatory degrees, applies at the door <strong>of</strong> the chapter with a<br />
petition for admission ; and if his prayer be granted, the time<br />
and place <strong>of</strong> his reception are made known to him, when he retires<br />
to return on the appointed day .<br />
On his second application, before admission, he is called upon<br />
to make the following engagements : 1, That he will never reveal<br />
the place where he was received, nor the names <strong>of</strong> those who<br />
were • present at his reception ; 2, That he will conform to all the<br />
ordinances-<strong>of</strong> the chapter, and keep himself uniformly clothed<br />
as far as he is able ; 3, That he will acknowledge his master at<br />
all times and in all places, and never confer this degree without<br />
permission from proper authority, as well as answer for the probity<br />
and respectability <strong>of</strong> those whom he way thereafter propose ;<br />
4, That he will be extremely cautious iu granting the degree, so<br />
that it may not be unnecessarily multiplied .<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are two kinds <strong>of</strong> aprons . <strong>The</strong> first, or mourning apron,<br />
is white bordered with black ; on the flap are a skull and cross .
PRI 37T<br />
bones between three red roses ; on the apron is a globe surrounded<br />
by a serpent, and above the letter J . <strong>The</strong> second apron, used<br />
on festive occasions, is red, lined and bordered with the same ;<br />
on it a triple triangle <strong>of</strong> gold, with three squares within three<br />
circle 3, and aJ in the centre ; above these the compasses extended,<br />
one point resting on the triangle, the other on the circles . This<br />
is the apron <strong>of</strong> the Scotch rite . <strong>The</strong> first apron in the French<br />
rite is black with a red cross . <strong>The</strong> second is white, bordered<br />
with red, and inscribed with the jewel <strong>of</strong> the degree . <strong>The</strong> collar<br />
is red, with the eagle <strong>of</strong> the degree embroidered on it .<br />
<strong>The</strong> jewel <strong>of</strong> the Rose Croix is a golden compass, extended<br />
on an arc to the sixteenth part <strong>of</strong> a circle or twenty-two and a<br />
half degrees . <strong>The</strong> head <strong>of</strong> the compass is surmounted by a<br />
triple crown, consisting <strong>of</strong> three series <strong>of</strong> points, arranged by<br />
three, five, and seven. Between the legs <strong>of</strong> the compass is a<br />
cross resting on the arc <strong>of</strong> the circle ; its centre is occupied by<br />
a full blown rose, whose stem twines around the lower limb <strong>of</strong><br />
the cross ; at the foot <strong>of</strong> the cross, on the same side on which<br />
the rose is exhibited, is the figure <strong>of</strong> a pelican wounding its breast<br />
to feed its young, which are in a nest surrounding it, while on<br />
the other side <strong>of</strong> the jewel is the figure <strong>of</strong> an eagle with wings<br />
displayed. On the arc <strong>of</strong> the circle, the P.-. W .- . <strong>of</strong> the degree<br />
is engraved in the cipher <strong>of</strong> the order .<br />
In this jewel are included the most important symbols <strong>of</strong> the<br />
degree . <strong>The</strong> cross, the rose, the pelican, and the eagle, are all<br />
important symbols, the explanation <strong>of</strong> which will go far to a<br />
comprehension <strong>of</strong> what's the true design <strong>of</strong> the Rose Croix<br />
order<br />
Of these emblems the eagle is perhaps the least important,<br />
and its application the most difficult to explain . <strong>The</strong> symbol,<br />
however, is <strong>of</strong> great antiquity . In Egypt, Greece, and Persia,<br />
this bird was sacred to the sun . Among the pagans it was an<br />
emblem <strong>of</strong> Jupiter, and with the Druids it was a symbol <strong>of</strong> their<br />
supreme God . In the Scriptures a distinguished. reference . is<br />
in many instances made to the eagle ; especially do we find Moses<br />
32*
378 PRI<br />
representing Jehovah as saying, in allusi . n to the belief that this<br />
bird assists its feeble young in their flight, by bearing them upon<br />
its own pinions,-" Ye have seen what I did to the Egyptians,<br />
and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you unto myself."*<br />
Hence the eagle in the Rose Croix is very appositely<br />
selected as a symbol <strong>of</strong> Christ in his divine character, bearing<br />
the children <strong>of</strong> his adoption on his wings, teaching them with<br />
unequalled love and tenderness to poise th(Lr unfledged wings<br />
and soar from the dull corruptions <strong>of</strong> earth to a higher and holier<br />
sphere . And for this reason the eagle in the jewel is very significantly<br />
represented as having the wings displayed as if in the<br />
very act <strong>of</strong> flight .<br />
<strong>The</strong> same allusion to Christ, but still more significantly, is<br />
found in the pelican feeding its young, which occupies the other<br />
side <strong>of</strong> the jewel . As this bird was formerly supposed to wound<br />
its own breast that it might with its blood feed its young, so has<br />
it been adopted as an emblem <strong>of</strong> the Saviour who shed his blood<br />
for the salvation <strong>of</strong> the human race . <strong>The</strong> pelican, therefore, on<br />
the jewel <strong>of</strong> the Rose Croix, is a fitting symbol <strong>of</strong> Christ in his<br />
mediatorial character. Ragont says that in the hieroglyphic<br />
monuments the eagle was the symbol <strong>of</strong> a wise man, and the<br />
pelican <strong>of</strong> a benevolent one ; and, therefore, he thinks that the<br />
eagle and pelican <strong>of</strong> the Rose Croix are intended to symbolize<br />
perfect wisdom and perfect charity . But this explanation applying<br />
these attributes to Christ, is not at all inconsistent with the<br />
one we have advanced .<br />
It is scarcely necessary to speak <strong>of</strong> the cross as a Christian<br />
emblem . Although it is an ancient symbol <strong>of</strong> eternal life, and<br />
is to be found in use even among the Egyptians with that signification,<br />
long before the days <strong>of</strong> Moses, yet since the crucifixion<br />
it has been peculiarly adopted as an emblem <strong>of</strong> Him who suffered<br />
on it . In this restricted sense, then, and not in that more general<br />
one <strong>of</strong> immortality, in which it is used in other parts <strong>of</strong> ma-<br />
* Exodus xix . 4. f Cours des Initiations .
PRI 37D<br />
so ary, is the cross adopted as one <strong>of</strong> t1 a emblems <strong>of</strong> the Rose<br />
Croix degree .<br />
<strong>The</strong> rose, in ancient mythology, was consecrated to Harpoerates,<br />
the god <strong>of</strong> silence ; and in the mysteries the hierophant<br />
wore a crown <strong>of</strong> roses . Hence this flower was considered as the<br />
emblem <strong>of</strong> silence and secrecy ; and when any thing was intended<br />
to be kept secret, it was said to be delivered sub rosa, or " under<br />
the rose ."<br />
Ragon, in explaining the jewel <strong>of</strong> the Rose Croix, says that<br />
as the cross was in Egypt an emblem <strong>of</strong> immortality, and the<br />
rose <strong>of</strong> secrecy, the rose followed by the cross was the simplest<br />
mode <strong>of</strong> writing " the secret <strong>of</strong> immortality ." But he subsequently<br />
gives a different explanation, namely, that, as the rose<br />
was the emblem <strong>of</strong> the female principle, and the cross or triple<br />
phallus <strong>of</strong> the male, the two together, like the Indian lingam,<br />
symbolized universal generation . But Ragon, who has adopted<br />
the theory <strong>of</strong> the astronomical origin <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, like all<br />
theorists, <strong>of</strong>ten carries his speculations on this subject to an extreme<br />
point . A simpler allusion will better suit the character <strong>of</strong><br />
the degree, and be more in accordance with what we have already<br />
said <strong>of</strong> its other symbols .<br />
<strong>The</strong> rose is, in many places <strong>of</strong> Scripture, applied as a figurative<br />
appellation <strong>of</strong> Christ . This is familiar to all readers ; thus<br />
in the Book <strong>of</strong> Canticles he is called "the rose <strong>of</strong> Sharon ." <strong>The</strong><br />
cross, <strong>of</strong> course, alludes, as we have already shown, to his death ;<br />
the rose on the cross, is therefore an emblem <strong>of</strong> the death <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Saviour for the sins <strong>of</strong> mankind .<br />
From this brief review <strong>of</strong> the symbols <strong>of</strong> the Rose Croix, it<br />
will be evident that it is, in the strictest sense, a Christian degree<br />
.* This must, <strong>of</strong> course, mark it as one <strong>of</strong> comparatively<br />
* <strong>The</strong> documents <strong>of</strong> this degree always commence with these words : "In<br />
the name <strong>of</strong> the Holy and Undivided Trinity," and end with the salutation,<br />
"In the peaceful union <strong>of</strong> the sacred numbers ." <strong>The</strong> members place R .-. t<br />
at the end <strong>of</strong> their names .
380 . PRI<br />
*modern origin, because all the ancient degrees are <strong>of</strong> universal<br />
application as to religion . <strong>The</strong> Rose Croix is, indeed, an<br />
attempt to christianize <strong>Freemasonry</strong> ; to apply the rites, and<br />
symbols, and traditions <strong>of</strong> Ancient Craft Masonry to the last and<br />
greatest dispensation ; to add to the first temple <strong>of</strong> Solomon and<br />
the second <strong>of</strong> Zerubbabel, a third, that to which Christ alluded<br />
when he said, " Destroy this temple, and in three days will I<br />
raise it up ." <strong>The</strong> great discovery which was made in the Royal<br />
Arch, ceases to be <strong>of</strong> value in this degree ; for it, another is substituted<br />
<strong>of</strong> more christian application ; the Wisdom, Strength,<br />
and Beauty, which supported the ancient temple, are replaced by<br />
the Christian pillars <strong>of</strong> Faith, Hope, and Charity ; the great<br />
lights, <strong>of</strong> course, remain, because they are <strong>of</strong> the very essence<br />
<strong>of</strong> masonry ; but the three lesser give way to the thirty-three,<br />
which allude to the years <strong>of</strong> the Messiah's sojourning on earth<br />
Every thing, in short, about the degree, is Christian .<br />
Viewed, then, in this light, as a modern invention, and as<br />
forming no part <strong>of</strong> Ancient <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, we cannot fail to<br />
admire it as an ingenious and beautiful adaptation <strong>of</strong> a universal<br />
system to a more contracted principle-and as a pardonable, if<br />
not indeed a praiseworthy attempt to apply the sublime principles<br />
<strong>of</strong> our all-tolerant order to the illustration <strong>of</strong> that last and<br />
most perfect dispensation under which we are now living.<br />
PRINCE OF THE ROYAL SECRET . See Sublime<br />
Prince <strong>of</strong> the Royal Secret .<br />
PRINCE OF THE TABERNACLE . Prince du Tabernacle .<br />
<strong>The</strong> 24th degree <strong>of</strong> the Ancient Scotch rite . This degree is intended<br />
to illustrate the directions given for the building <strong>of</strong> the<br />
tabernacle, the particulars <strong>of</strong> which are recorded in the twentyfifth<br />
chapter <strong>of</strong> Exodus . <strong>The</strong> lodge is called a Hierarchy, and<br />
its <strong>of</strong>ficers are a Most Powerful Chief Prince, representing Moses,<br />
and three Wardens, whose style is Powerful, and who respectively
PRI 381<br />
represent Aaron, Bezaleel, the son <strong>of</strong> Uri, and Aholiab, the son <strong>of</strong><br />
Ahisamach .*<br />
<strong>The</strong> jewel is the letter A, in gold, suspended from a broad<br />
crimson ribbon . <strong>The</strong> apron is white, lined with scarlet and<br />
bordered with green . <strong>The</strong> flap is sky blue . On the apron L<br />
depicted a representation <strong>of</strong> the tabernacle .<br />
PRINCIPAL OFFICERS . <strong>The</strong> Worshipful Master and<br />
the two Wardens are styled the three principal <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> the<br />
lodge .<br />
PRINCIPALS . <strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> a Royal Arch Chapter, known<br />
in America as the High Priest, King, and Scribe, arE in English<br />
Chapters called First, Second, and Third Principals .<br />
PRINCIPAL SOJOURNER. An <strong>of</strong>ficer in a Royal Arch<br />
Chapter, whose duties are similar to those <strong>of</strong> a Senior Deacon in<br />
a symbolic lodge .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Hebrew word "1,, ger, which we translate a sojourner,<br />
signifies a man living out <strong>of</strong> his own country, and is used in this<br />
sense throughout the Old Testament. <strong>The</strong> children <strong>of</strong> Israel<br />
were, therefore, during the captivity, sojourners in Babylon, and<br />
the person who is represented by this <strong>of</strong>ficer, performed, as the<br />
incidents <strong>of</strong> the degree relate, an important part in the restora-<br />
*ion <strong>of</strong> the Israelites to Jerusalem . He was the spokesman and<br />
leader <strong>of</strong> a party <strong>of</strong> three sojourners, and is, therefore, emphatically<br />
called the chief, or .principa Sojourner .<br />
PRIORY. <strong>The</strong> body <strong>of</strong> Knights Templar which, in this<br />
country, is called an Encampment, in Scotland, under the revised<br />
statues <strong>of</strong> the order, is styled a Priory . <strong>The</strong> presiding<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficer <strong>of</strong> a Priory is called a Prior ; he is, therefore, equivalent<br />
to our Grand Commander . <strong>The</strong> organization <strong>of</strong> the Templars in<br />
• Levit. aar. 23 ; 1 Chron. xxix. 15 ; Ps. azaiz . 12 .
382 PRO<br />
Scotland, is very different from that which exits in America .<br />
For a brief account <strong>of</strong> it, see Scotland, Knights Templar <strong>of</strong>.<br />
PROCESSIONS . Processions, in masonry, are entirely un<br />
der the charge <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge . No subordinate lodge has<br />
a right to appear in public, on any occasion, without the consent<br />
and approbation <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge, or <strong>of</strong> its representative,<br />
the Grand Master .* <strong>The</strong> object <strong>of</strong> this salutary regulation is,<br />
that the reputation <strong>of</strong> the order shall not suffer by the ill-timed<br />
or injudicious appearance <strong>of</strong> the brethren, when any small number<br />
<strong>of</strong> them, inspired by a love <strong>of</strong> display or other unworthy or<br />
unwise motives, might choose to exhibit themselves, and the<br />
jewels and ornaments <strong>of</strong> the order, to the public gaze . For, on<br />
such an occasion, not the lodge alone, but the whole fraternity<br />
suffers ; for the world is unable to make the distinction, and they<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten heedlessly and unjustly condemn the craft, in general, for<br />
the errors or transgressions <strong>of</strong> an individual brother, or <strong>of</strong> a<br />
single lodge . To avoid, therefore, any occasion <strong>of</strong> giving scandal,<br />
the Grand Lodge, which is composed <strong>of</strong> experienced Past<br />
Masters, has wisely reserved to itself the right <strong>of</strong> appointing the<br />
time when, the place where, and the manner in which, public<br />
displays <strong>of</strong> the order may take place .<br />
When, however, this consent has been obtained, if a single<br />
lodge walks in procession, the Master occupies the place <strong>of</strong> precedence,<br />
and may have the Bible, Square and Compasses, carried<br />
on a blue velvet cushion, borne before him . If two or more<br />
lodges are .present, the Master <strong>of</strong> the oldest lodge presides . If<br />
a past or present Grand Master, or Deputy Grand Master, or the<br />
Grand Wardens, join the procession <strong>of</strong> a subordinate lodge,<br />
proper attention is to be paid to them . <strong>The</strong>ir place in the procession<br />
is immediately after the Master <strong>of</strong> the lodge . A Grand<br />
* This rule is, however, dispensed with, in the case <strong>of</strong> masunie funerals, in<br />
places distant from the seat <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge, or rest fence <strong>of</strong> the Grand<br />
Master.
PRO 383<br />
Warden must be supplied with two DEacons . When a Grand<br />
Master or Deputy Grand Master is present, the Book <strong>of</strong> Constitutions<br />
must be borne before him . But unless the Grand or<br />
Deputy Grand Master is present, the Book <strong>of</strong> Constitutions can<br />
never be carried in a procession <strong>of</strong> a private lodge .<br />
<strong>The</strong> brethren in a <strong>Masonic</strong> procession always walk two and<br />
two . <strong>The</strong>y should be dressed in proper masonic costume, which<br />
is a suit <strong>of</strong> black, with shoes and white stockings, white gloves,<br />
and white leather aprons. Silk or satin aprons constitute no<br />
part <strong>of</strong> a Mason's dress . <strong>The</strong> apron must be <strong>of</strong> lamb's skin .<br />
PROFICIENCY . One <strong>of</strong> the requisite qualifications for advancement<br />
to a higher degree is, suitable pr<strong>of</strong>iciency in the preceding<br />
. Unfortunately, this qualification is not always sufficiently<br />
insisted on . Formerly there was a regulation, requiring that the<br />
candidate who desired to be passed or raised, should be examined<br />
in open lodge on his pr<strong>of</strong>iciency in the preceding degree . This<br />
salutary regulation is even now adhered to, by some lodges who<br />
look rather to the quality than to the quantity <strong>of</strong> their members,<br />
and who think that a lodge had better consist <strong>of</strong> a few skilful,<br />
than * many ignorant members . Some Grand Lodges, viewing<br />
the necessity <strong>of</strong> due pr<strong>of</strong>iciency in its proper light, have strengthened<br />
the ancient regulation by express rules .<br />
<strong>The</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>iciency <strong>of</strong> o fficers is also an important requisite . No<br />
brother should accept <strong>of</strong>fice in a lodge, unless fully qualified to<br />
perform its duties . An ignorant Master, and unskilful Wardens,<br />
reflect discredit not only on their own lodge, but by their incapacity<br />
to explain the peculiar tenets <strong>of</strong> the order, on the whole fraternity.<br />
In February, 1844, the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Ireland<br />
adopted, on this subject, resolutions declaring, that no brother<br />
should be considered eligible for or admissible to the <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong><br />
Junior or Senior Deacon, until by strict examination in open<br />
lodge, he shall have proved himself able to administer the mysteries<br />
<strong>of</strong> initiation to a candidate in the first degree ; nor for the<br />
<strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong> Junior or Senior Warden, until, by a like examination,
384 PRO<br />
he has proved that he is able to pass a candidate to the second<br />
degree ; nor for the <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong> Master, until he has proven his ability<br />
to enter, pass and raise, a candidate through the three degrees<br />
.<br />
A regulation <strong>of</strong> this kind ought to be adopted by every<br />
Grand Lodge in the universe .<br />
PROVINCTAT4 GRAND MASTER . An <strong>of</strong>ficer under the<br />
Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, the appointment <strong>of</strong> whom is invested<br />
in the Grand Master . He presides over a province as its Grand<br />
Master, and is empowered to constitute lodges within its jurisdiction<br />
. He is, however, enjoined to correspond with the<br />
Grand Lodge, and to transmit, at least yearly, an account <strong>of</strong> his<br />
proceedings . <strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>fice was first established in 1726 ) " when<br />
the increase <strong>of</strong> the craftsmen, and their travelling into distant<br />
parts, and concerning themselves in lodges, required an immediate<br />
head, to whom they might apply in all cases where it was<br />
not possible to wait the decision <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge ."*<br />
PROVOST AND JUDGE . Prevot et Juge. <strong>The</strong> 7th degree<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Ancient Scotch rite . <strong>The</strong> history <strong>of</strong> the degree relates,<br />
that it was founded by Solomon K . <strong>of</strong> I. for the purpose<br />
<strong>of</strong> strengthening his means <strong>of</strong> preserving order among the vast<br />
number <strong>of</strong> craftsmen engaged in the construction <strong>of</strong> the temple .<br />
Tito, Prince Harodim, Adoniram, and Abda his father, were<br />
first created Provosts and Judges, who were afterwards directed<br />
by Solomon to initiate his favourite and intimate secretary, Joabert,<br />
and to give him the keys <strong>of</strong> all the building . <strong>The</strong> Master<br />
<strong>of</strong> a Lodge <strong>of</strong> Provosts and Judges represents Tito, Prince<br />
Harodim, the first Grand Warden and Inspector <strong>of</strong> the three<br />
hundred architects . <strong>The</strong> number <strong>of</strong> lights is six, and the symbolic<br />
colour is red .<br />
<strong>The</strong> jewel is a golden key, having the letter A within a tri-<br />
• Anderson . Const. p . 340 .
PRO-PUR 385<br />
uugle, engraved on the ward . <strong>The</strong> collar is red. Ttte apron is<br />
white, lined with red, and is furnished with a pocket .<br />
PROXY <strong>The</strong> representative <strong>of</strong> a lodge in the Grand<br />
Lodge . Every lodge is entitled to be represented by its Master<br />
and Wardens . But when a lodge is too far distant from the<br />
seat <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge for those <strong>of</strong>ficers conveniently to attend,<br />
it may depute one or more Past Masters, under the seal <strong>of</strong> the<br />
lodge and the signature <strong>of</strong> the Worshipful Master and Secretary,<br />
to represent it in the Grand Lodge . A proxy has all the power<br />
that the Master and Wardens would have, if present . He may<br />
vote to the best <strong>of</strong> his judgment for the interest <strong>of</strong> the lodge,<br />
and the honour <strong>of</strong> the craft, unless instructed by the lodge, in<br />
which case he is bound to obey the expressed will <strong>of</strong> the lodge<br />
which he represents . It is not necessary that a proxy should be<br />
a member <strong>of</strong> the lodge which has appointed him . On the contrary,<br />
he generally is not .<br />
PRUDENCE . One <strong>of</strong> the four cardinal virtues, the practice<br />
<strong>of</strong> which is inculcated upon the Entered Apprentice . Prudence,<br />
which, in all men, is a virtue highly to be commended, as teaching<br />
them to live agreeably to the dictates <strong>of</strong> reason, and preserving<br />
to them by its cautious precepts the realities <strong>of</strong> temporal<br />
welfare, and the hopes <strong>of</strong> eternal happiness, is to the Mason absolutely<br />
necessary, that being governed by it, he may carefully<br />
avoid the least occasion, by sign or word, <strong>of</strong> communicating to<br />
the pr<strong>of</strong>ane those important secrets which should be carefully<br />
locked up only in the repository <strong>of</strong> faithful breasts . Hence is<br />
this virtue, in the lecture <strong>of</strong> the first degree, intimately connected<br />
with, and pointedly referred to, a most important part <strong>of</strong> our ce<br />
remonies <strong>of</strong> initiation.<br />
PURPLE . <strong>The</strong> colour <strong>of</strong> one <strong>of</strong> the veils in the tabernacle,<br />
and the emblematic colour <strong>of</strong> the three int€ rmediate degrees between<br />
the Master Mason and the Royal Arch . Purple, in Royal<br />
33
386 PYT<br />
Arch Masonry, is the emblem <strong>of</strong> union, because it is produced<br />
by the combination <strong>of</strong> blue, which is the characteristic colour <strong>of</strong><br />
the symbolic degrees, and scarlet, which is that <strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch<br />
degree . It reminds the wearer, therefore, to cultivate between<br />
these different members <strong>of</strong> the masonic family, a spirit <strong>of</strong> union<br />
and harmony .<br />
PYTHAGORAS . Masons, looking to the purity <strong>of</strong> the principles<br />
inculcated in the school <strong>of</strong> this Grecian sage, to the peculiar<br />
character <strong>of</strong> the ceremonies with which he clothed and concealed<br />
his doctrines, and to the great respect which he paid to the science<br />
<strong>of</strong> geometry, have delighted to hail him as an "ancient<br />
brother ;" and there is no doubt that his mysteries, improved by<br />
his long experience, chastened by his own virtuous character, and<br />
enlarged by his extensive researches into the systems <strong>of</strong> other<br />
countries, "were the most perfect approximation to the original<br />
science <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> which could be accomplished by a heathen<br />
philosopher, bereft <strong>of</strong> the aid <strong>of</strong> revelation ."*<br />
Pythagoras was born at Samos, about five hundred and sixtyeight<br />
years before the Christian era. Having at an early age<br />
distinguished himself in the Olympic games, and obtained the<br />
prize for wrestling, he began his travels in pursuit <strong>of</strong> knowledge ;<br />
retiring into the East, he visited Chaldea and Egypt, the seats<br />
<strong>of</strong> learning and philosophy, and gaining the confidence <strong>of</strong> the<br />
priests, he obtained from them a knowledge <strong>of</strong> their mysteries<br />
and their symbolic writings . He is said to have been instructed<br />
in the sacred things <strong>of</strong> the Hebrews by the prophet Ezekiel .t<br />
Upon his return to Europe, he settled at the town <strong>of</strong> Crotona,<br />
in Magna Grecia, where he established the school which afterwards<br />
rendered him so illustrious as a teacher <strong>of</strong> philosophy .<br />
* Oliver, Init. 123 .<br />
f Some say by Daniel. He met the Tews at Babylon, where he visited during<br />
the captivity, and Oliver says, "was initiated into the Jewish system <strong>of</strong> Free.<br />
masonry." Luu.lmark., vol . ii . p . 412 .
PYT 387<br />
His instruction, like that <strong>of</strong> all the ancient philosophers, was<br />
<strong>of</strong> two kinds, exoteric or public, and esoteric or private . To the<br />
former, all persons, indiscriminately, were admitted, but none but<br />
pupils, . selected by himself for their virtue and capacity, were<br />
permitted to enjoy the benefits <strong>of</strong> the latter .<br />
To be received as a novice in the school <strong>of</strong> Pythagoras, was no<br />
easy task. <strong>The</strong> most rigid examination was made into the character<br />
<strong>of</strong> the candidate . If he was accepted, he deposited his<br />
property in the common fund <strong>of</strong> the society, and commenced his<br />
probation, which was <strong>of</strong> an exceedingly severe description . <strong>The</strong><br />
novitiate lasted five years, during which period the aspirant was<br />
enjoined to be abstinent in food, and to preserve an uninterrupted<br />
silence . If he succeeded in obeying these instructions, he was<br />
permitted to aspire to the degrees, which were three in number,<br />
the Acousmatici, the Mathematici, and the Pythagoreans, in the<br />
last <strong>of</strong> which he was clothed in a white garment and fully instructed<br />
in the secret doctrine .<br />
Pythagoras was, perhaps, the most virtuous, and taught the<br />
purest doctrines <strong>of</strong> all the heathen philosophers . <strong>The</strong> school<br />
which he established was distinguished for the piety as well as<br />
the attainments <strong>of</strong> his disciples. <strong>The</strong>y were animated only by a<br />
reverence for the deity, and a love for their fellow-beings . <strong>The</strong>ir<br />
respect for the Divine Being was such, that they never pronounced<br />
his name in their oaths, * and their brotherly love was such, that<br />
they were accustomed to adopt the noble sentiment "my friend is<br />
my other self." t<br />
Silence and secrecy were the first lessons taught by Pythagoras<br />
to his disciples . <strong>The</strong> five years novitiate <strong>of</strong> the candidate' was<br />
passed in total silence, during which he learned to repress his<br />
curiosity; and to employ his thoughts on God . When admitted<br />
to the fellowship <strong>of</strong> the society, an oath <strong>of</strong> secrecy was propounded<br />
1.o him on the sacred tetractys .<br />
* Jamblichus, Vit. Pythag. c. 33 .<br />
t Porph . Vit. Pythag .
388 PYT<br />
Implicit obedience was another lesson prescribed to the Pythagoreans<br />
. Aurus e ivr7, " he, Vie master, has said it," was considered<br />
as the must sufficient <strong>of</strong> reasons in all questions <strong>of</strong><br />
propriety .<br />
<strong>The</strong> institutions <strong>of</strong> Pythagoras resembled the masonic in other<br />
respects besides its principles . His assemblies were arranged<br />
due east and west, because, he said, that motion began in the<br />
east and proceeded to the west . He had adopted a system <strong>of</strong> signs,<br />
whereby his disciples, dispersed though various countries, made<br />
themselves known to each other at first sight, and became as<br />
familiar at the first interview, as if they had been acquainted from<br />
their birth . And so closely, says Jamblichus, were their interests<br />
united, that many <strong>of</strong> them passed over seas and risked their fortune<br />
to re-establish that <strong>of</strong> one <strong>of</strong> their brethren who had fallen into<br />
distress .<br />
Jamblichus relates the following incident, which is in evidence<br />
both <strong>of</strong> their brotherly love and <strong>of</strong> their means <strong>of</strong> mutual recognition<br />
. A Pythagorean travelling in a distant country, fell sick<br />
and died at a public inn . Previous, however, to his death, being<br />
unable to compensate the landlord for the kindness and attention<br />
with which he had been treated, he directed a tablet, on which he<br />
had traced some enigmatical characters, to be exposed on the<br />
public road . Some time after, another disciple <strong>of</strong> Pythagoras<br />
passed that way, perceived the tablet, nd being informed by its<br />
enigmatical characters that a brother had been there sick and in<br />
distress, and that he had been treated with kindness, he stopped<br />
and reimbursed the inn-keeper for his trouble and expense .*<br />
<strong>The</strong> symbols adopted by Pythagoras in his secret instruction,<br />
were principally derived from geometry . A notice <strong>of</strong> a few <strong>of</strong><br />
them may be interesting .<br />
<strong>The</strong> right angle was an emblem <strong>of</strong> morality and justice .<br />
<strong>The</strong> equilateral triangle, was a symbol <strong>of</strong> God, the essence <strong>of</strong><br />
Light and Truth <strong>The</strong> square, like the tetractys, referred to the<br />
* Jamblichus, ut supra .
QUA 389<br />
Divine mind . <strong>The</strong> cube was the symbol <strong>of</strong> the mind <strong>of</strong> man,<br />
after it had been purified by piety and acts <strong>of</strong> devotion, and thus<br />
prepared for mingling with the celestial gods . <strong>The</strong> point within<br />
a circle, and the dodecahedron or figure <strong>of</strong> twelve sides, were<br />
symbols <strong>of</strong> the universe . <strong>The</strong> triple triangle was an emblem <strong>of</strong><br />
health, and the letter Y a representation <strong>of</strong> the course <strong>of</strong> human<br />
life, in which there are two diverging paths, the one <strong>of</strong> virtue,<br />
leading to happiness, and the other <strong>of</strong> vice, conducting to misery .<br />
Among the doctrines peculiar to the school <strong>of</strong> Pythagoras,<br />
was that <strong>of</strong> the metempsychosis, or the transmigration <strong>of</strong> souls,<br />
which he derived during his travels from the Brahmins <strong>of</strong> India<br />
He forbade the eating <strong>of</strong> flesh, and the <strong>of</strong>fering <strong>of</strong> animals in<br />
sacrifice . He taught that the universe was created out <strong>of</strong> the<br />
passive principle <strong>of</strong> matter, by the Divine Being, who was its<br />
mover and source, and out <strong>of</strong> whose substance the souls <strong>of</strong> men<br />
were formed . He believed in the universal influence <strong>of</strong> numbers,<br />
which he supposed to be the controlling principle <strong>of</strong> all things .<br />
He perceived in the human mind, not only propensities to vice<br />
and passion, but the better seeds <strong>of</strong> virtue . <strong>The</strong>se he sought to<br />
cultivate and cherish by labour, study, and abstinence <strong>of</strong> life .<br />
In short, he appears to have extracted from the various sects <strong>of</strong><br />
heathen philosophy, all that was good, and to have rejected all<br />
that was bad, forming thereby an eclectic system which approached<br />
nearer to light and truth, than any that had ever, before<br />
his day, emanated from the unassisted wisdom <strong>of</strong> man .<br />
QUALIFICATIONS OF CANDIDATES . <strong>The</strong> prerequisite<br />
qualification <strong>of</strong> candidates for admission into the mysteries<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, are <strong>of</strong> three kinds-mental, moral, and physical .<br />
33*
3 .00 QUA<br />
<strong>The</strong> mental qualifications are, that the car didate shall be a<br />
man <strong>of</strong> sane mind ; that is, neither a fool, an idiot, nor a madman<br />
; but one responsible for his actions, and competent to understand<br />
the obligations, to comprehend the instructions, 'and to<br />
perform the duties <strong>of</strong> a Mason . <strong>The</strong> mental qualifications refer<br />
to the security <strong>of</strong> the order .<br />
<strong>The</strong> moral qualifications are, that he shall be no "irreligious<br />
libertine," but an obeyer <strong>of</strong> the moral law. That is, he must be<br />
virtuous in his conduct and reputable in his character, lest the<br />
dignity and honour <strong>of</strong> the institution suffer by the admission <strong>of</strong><br />
unworthy persons . Neither must he be an atheist, but an bumble<br />
believer in the wisdom, power, and goodness <strong>of</strong> God, a belief<br />
which constitutes the religious creed <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, and which<br />
is essentially necessary to a Mason as a check upon vice and a<br />
stimulus to virtue . Another important moral qualification is,<br />
that the candidate must come <strong>of</strong> his " own free will and accord ."<br />
Masonry does not delight in proselytism . Though our portals<br />
are open to all who are worthy, yet we are unwilling that any<br />
should unite with us, except they be persuaded to the act by<br />
their uninfluenced convictions <strong>of</strong> the beauty and utility <strong>of</strong> our<br />
institution . <strong>The</strong> moral qualifications refer to the respectability<br />
<strong>of</strong> the order .<br />
<strong>The</strong> physical qualifications are, that the candidate shall be<br />
twenty-one years old or more, free born and no bondsman, <strong>of</strong><br />
able body, and " <strong>of</strong> limbs whole as a man ought to be ."<br />
This is one <strong>of</strong> the oldest regulations <strong>of</strong> our ancient craft . It<br />
arises fropi the originally operative nature <strong>of</strong> our institution .<br />
Whatever objections some ultra liberal brethren may make to<br />
the uncharitable nature <strong>of</strong> a law which excludes a virtuous man<br />
from our fellowship, because he has been unfortunate enough to<br />
l o .i e a leg or an arm, we have no right to discuss the question .<br />
<strong>The</strong> regulation constitutes one <strong>of</strong> the many peculiarities that<br />
distinguish our society from all others ; its existence continues to<br />
connect the present speculative with the former operative character<br />
<strong>of</strong> the institution ; it is an important part <strong>of</strong> our history ;
QUA 391<br />
and is, in short, by universal consent, one <strong>of</strong> the landmarks <strong>of</strong><br />
the order . It can never, therefore, be changed . <strong>The</strong> physical<br />
qualifications refer to the utility <strong>of</strong> the order .<br />
<strong>The</strong> most ancient charges in which these regulations are to be<br />
found, are those which were collected from the old records, and<br />
ordered to be printed by the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, 1722,<br />
and the manuscript charges in the possession <strong>of</strong> the Lodge <strong>of</strong><br />
Antiquity, London . As they are brief, but important, I may be<br />
excused for inserting them here .<br />
" A Mason is obliged, by his tenure, to obey the moral yaw ;<br />
and if he rightly understands the art, he will never be a stupid<br />
atheist nor an irreligious libertine."*<br />
" No master should take an apprentice, unless he has sufficient<br />
employment for him, and unless he be a perfect youth,<br />
having no maim or defect in his body, that may render him incapable<br />
<strong>of</strong> learning the art, <strong>of</strong> serving his master's lord, and <strong>of</strong><br />
being made a brother, and then a Fellow-Craft in due time, even<br />
after he has served such a term <strong>of</strong> years as the custom <strong>of</strong> the<br />
country directs : and that he should be descended <strong>of</strong> honest parents<br />
; that so, when otherwise qualified, he may arrive to the<br />
honour <strong>of</strong> being the Warden, and then the Master <strong>of</strong> the lodge,<br />
the Grand Warden, and, at length, the Grand Master <strong>of</strong> all the<br />
lodges, according to his merit ."t<br />
" Thirdly, that he that be made, be able in all degrees ; that<br />
is, free born, <strong>of</strong> good kindred, true, and no bondsman, and that<br />
he have his right limbs as a man ought to have ."I<br />
In the Constitution, published under the sanction <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Maryland, by Brother Samuel Cole the physical<br />
disabilities are set forth still more minutely, with an assignment<br />
<strong>of</strong> what is probably the true reason for their existence . <strong>The</strong>y<br />
say, " no person is capable <strong>of</strong> becoming a member, unless he is<br />
eE Old Charges, Sect. 1 .-See Anderson, Constitutions .<br />
t Ibm . Sect. 4 .<br />
t MS. in Lodge <strong>of</strong> Antiq . See Preston, 273 . Note .
. 392 QUE<br />
free born, <strong>of</strong> mature and discreet age ; <strong>of</strong> good report ; <strong>of</strong> suffi<br />
cient natural endowments, and the senses <strong>of</strong> a man ; with an es<br />
tate, <strong>of</strong>fice, trade, occupation, or some visible way <strong>of</strong> acquiring<br />
an honest livelihood, and <strong>of</strong> working in his craft, as becomes the<br />
members <strong>of</strong> this most ancient and honourable fraternity, who<br />
ought not only to earn what is sufficient for themselves and families,<br />
but likewise something to spare for works <strong>of</strong> charity, and<br />
supporting the true dignity <strong>of</strong> the royal craft . Every person<br />
desiring admission, must also be upright in body, not deformed<br />
or dismembered at the time <strong>of</strong> making ; but <strong>of</strong> hale and entire<br />
limbs, as a man ought to be ."*<br />
In an able report made by Bro. W. S . Rockwell, Deputy<br />
Grand Master, to the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Georgia, he traces the existence<br />
<strong>of</strong> the law prohibiting the initiation <strong>of</strong> maimed candidates,<br />
to 'that early period <strong>of</strong> Egyptian history, in which a personal<br />
defect would exclude from the priesthood--a law which is<br />
again to be found in the Mosaic ritual, from which the masonic<br />
institution is more immediately derived . Looking to the symbolic<br />
character <strong>of</strong> speculative masonry as referring to the material<br />
temple for its architype, he explains the present existence <strong>of</strong><br />
the law in the following language, with the sentiments <strong>of</strong> which<br />
I cordially concur .<br />
" It was eminently proper that a temple erected for the worshir<br />
<strong>of</strong> the GOD OF TRUTH, the unchangeable I AM, should be constructed<br />
<strong>of</strong> white stones, perfect stones, the universally recognised<br />
symbols <strong>of</strong> this, his great and constant attribute . <strong>The</strong><br />
symbolic relation <strong>of</strong> each member <strong>of</strong> his order to its mystic<br />
temple forbids the idea that its constituent portions, its living<br />
stones, should be less perfect, or less a type <strong>of</strong> their great original,<br />
than the inanimate material which formed the earthly<br />
dwelling place <strong>of</strong> the God <strong>of</strong> their adoration ."<br />
QUESTIONS OF HENRY VI . This is a document which<br />
* See Cole, Freemas . Lib. p. 69 . Constitutions, Ch . 1, Soot. 4.
QUE J93<br />
has been so <strong>of</strong>ten printed in various masonic publications as to<br />
have become familiar to the fraternity . Its full title is, " Cer.<br />
tayne questions with answeres to the same, concernynge the mystery<br />
<strong>of</strong> maconrye ; wryttene by the hande <strong>of</strong> Hyng€ Henry the<br />
Sixthe <strong>of</strong> the name, and faythfullye copied by me, Johan Ley .<br />
;ande Antiquarius, by the commaunde <strong>of</strong> His Highnesse ." It<br />
first appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1753, where it<br />
purports to be a reprint <strong>of</strong> the pamphlet published five years before,<br />
at Frankfort.* It is there stated to have been copied by<br />
one John Collins, from a MS . in the Bodleian library, and to<br />
have been enclosed in a letter from the celebrated John Locke,<br />
the author <strong>of</strong> the Essay on Human Understanding, to Thomas,<br />
Earl <strong>of</strong> Pembroke, and bearing date flay 6th, 1696 . Preston<br />
afterward incorporated these questions into his work, and appended<br />
to them a section <strong>of</strong> remarks on the manuscript, as well<br />
as on the annotations <strong>of</strong> Mr. Locke . This work has always been<br />
received as genuine among the craft, and in the life <strong>of</strong> Leland<br />
its authenticity is positively asserted. But this has lately been<br />
denied by Mr . Halliwell, in a small work entitled, "<strong>The</strong> Early<br />
History <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> in England," published at London, in<br />
1840 . <strong>The</strong> document purporting to come from the Bodleian library,<br />
is so well known to most Masons, that I should have<br />
passed it over without notice in this work, were it not that I<br />
deemed it necessary to bring the doubts <strong>of</strong> Mr . Halliwell before<br />
my readers, many <strong>of</strong> whom may have no opportunity <strong>of</strong> seeing<br />
the original work in which the subject is discussed . <strong>The</strong> views<br />
<strong>of</strong> Mr. Halliwell will, perhaps, be best conveyed in the words <strong>of</strong><br />
the doubter himself.<br />
"It is singular," says Mr. Halliwell, 1 ' that the circumstances<br />
attending its publication should have led no one to suspect its<br />
* <strong>The</strong> titlo <strong>of</strong> the paper, as found in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1753,<br />
page 417, is as follows : " Copy <strong>of</strong> a small pamphlet consisting <strong>of</strong> 12 pagAs,<br />
in 8vo., printed in Germany in 1748, entitled : 'Ein Brief von dem beriichmten<br />
heron heron Johann Locke betre$end die Frey-Maurreren . So aufeinem<br />
Schrieb-Jisoh lines verstrorbnen Bruders ist gefunden worden .'"
394 QIIE<br />
authenticity . I was at the pains <strong>of</strong> making a long search in the<br />
Bodleian library last summer, in the hopes <strong>of</strong> finding the original,<br />
but without success . In fact, there can be but little doubt,<br />
that this celebrated and well-known document is a forgery !<br />
"In the first place, why should such a document have been<br />
printed abroad ? Was it likely, that it should have found its<br />
way to Frankfort, nearly half a century afterwards, and been<br />
published without any explanation <strong>of</strong> the source whence it was<br />
obtained ? Again, the orthography is most grotesque, and too<br />
gr-)is ever to have been penned either by Henry the Sixth, or<br />
Leland, or both combined . For instance, we have Peter Gowere,<br />
a Grecian, explained in a note by the fabricator-for who else<br />
could have solved it?-to be Pythagoras ! As a whole, it is but<br />
a clumsy attempt at deception, and is quite a parallel to the recently<br />
discovered one <strong>of</strong> the first EngUshe ltilercurie ."*<br />
Such are the objections <strong>of</strong> Mr. Halliwell to the authenticity<br />
<strong>of</strong> this celebrated antiquarian document . Let each estimate<br />
their value for himself. Fortunately, the dignity <strong>of</strong> masonry is<br />
not at all connected with the dispute . <strong>The</strong> questions throw but<br />
little light upon the history <strong>of</strong> the order, and its antiquity depends<br />
not on them alone for pro<strong>of</strong>.<br />
QUESTIONS TO CANDIDATES . Every candidate, before<br />
being admitted to participate in our mysteries, is bound to answer<br />
certain questions, respecting the motives that have influenced his<br />
application : <strong>The</strong>se questions are generally proposed in the following<br />
form<br />
" Do you seriously declare upon your honour, that, unbiassed<br />
by friends against your own inclination, and uninfluenced by<br />
mercenary motives, you freely and voluntarily <strong>of</strong>fer yourself as a<br />
candidate for the mysteries <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> ?<br />
' ,'Do you seriously declare upon your honour, that you are<br />
solely prompted to solicit the privileges <strong>of</strong> masonry, by a favour .<br />
* Halliwell, Hist . <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, p . 40 .
RAB-RAM 395<br />
able opinion conceived <strong>of</strong> the institution, a desire <strong>of</strong> knowledge,<br />
and a sincere wish <strong>of</strong> being serviceable to your fellow creatures ?<br />
"Do you sincerely declare upon your honour, that you will<br />
cheerfully conform to all the ancient established usages and customs<br />
<strong>of</strong> the fraternity ?"<br />
<strong>The</strong>se questions should be propounded to the candidate by the<br />
Senior Deacon, in the preparation room, before initiation, and in<br />
the presence <strong>of</strong> the stewards or preparers .'<br />
R .<br />
RABBONI . This word may be translated as signifying "a<br />
most excellent master or teacher ." Jahn tells us, (in his Biblical<br />
Archaeology, § 106) that the Jews, in imitation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Greeks, had their seven wise men who were called Rabboni,<br />
ItZ -j . Gamaliel, the preceptor <strong>of</strong> St . Paul, was one <strong>of</strong> these .<br />
<strong>The</strong>y styled themselves the children <strong>of</strong> wisdom, which is an<br />
expression very nearly corresponding to the Greek -^c tococooc<br />
<strong>The</strong> word occurs once as applied to Christ, in the New Testament,<br />
(John xx . 16 .) cc Jesus said unto her, Mary . She<br />
turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni, which is to say,<br />
master."<br />
RAISED . This term is used to designate the reception <strong>of</strong> a<br />
candidate into the third degree <strong>of</strong> masonry . It conveys an allusion<br />
to a particular part <strong>of</strong> the ceremonies, as well as to the fact<br />
<strong>of</strong> his being elevated or raised to that degree, which is universally<br />
acknowledged to be the summit <strong>of</strong> ancient craft masonry .<br />
RAMSAY . <strong>The</strong> name <strong>of</strong> the Chevalier Ramsay is conspicuous
396 RAM<br />
in the masonic history <strong>of</strong> the last century . He was born at Ayr,<br />
in Scotland, in 1686, and died at Germ ain-en-Laye, in France, in<br />
1743 . He was a man <strong>of</strong> extensive erudition and the friend <strong>of</strong><br />
the great and good Fenelon . One <strong>of</strong> the most faithful followers<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Pretender, he sought to identify the progress <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong><br />
with the house <strong>of</strong> Stuart . For this purpose he endeavoured<br />
to .obviate the objections <strong>of</strong> the French nobility to the<br />
mechanical origin <strong>of</strong> the institution, at which their pride revolted,<br />
by asserting that it arose in the Holy Land, during the Crusades,<br />
as an order <strong>of</strong> chivalry . His theory was, that the first Freeinasons<br />
were a society <strong>of</strong> knights, whose business it was to rebuild<br />
the churches which had been destroyed by the Saracens ; that<br />
the Saracens, with the view <strong>of</strong> preventing the execution <strong>of</strong> this<br />
pious design, sent emissaries among them, who, disguised as<br />
Christians, became confounded with the builders and paralyzed<br />
their efforts ; that the knights having discovered the existence<br />
<strong>of</strong> these spies, became in future more careful, and instituted<br />
signs and words for the purpose <strong>of</strong> detection ; and that as many<br />
<strong>of</strong> their workmen were newly converted Christians, they adopted<br />
symbolic ceremonies with the view <strong>of</strong> instructing their proselytes<br />
more readily in their new religion . Finally, the Saracens becoming<br />
more powerful, the Knights Masons were compelled to abandon<br />
their original occupation ; but being invited by a king <strong>of</strong><br />
England to remove into his dominions, they had accepted the invitation,<br />
and there devoted themselves to the cultivation and<br />
encouragement <strong>of</strong> architecture, sculpture, painting and music .<br />
Ramsay attempted to support his system by the fact <strong>of</strong> the building<br />
<strong>of</strong> the College <strong>of</strong> Templars in London, which was actually<br />
constructed in the twelfth century by the fraternity <strong>of</strong> masons<br />
who had been in the holy wars .*<br />
In 1728, Ramsay attempted to lay the foundation <strong>of</strong> a masonic<br />
reform, according to this system . He, therefore, proposed to the<br />
Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England to substitute, in the place <strong>of</strong> the three<br />
* Robison, Pro<strong>of</strong>s <strong>of</strong> a Conspiracy, p . 33 .
. REC 397<br />
legrees <strong>of</strong> Apprentice, Fellow-Craft, and Master, three others <strong>of</strong><br />
his own invention, those <strong>of</strong> Scotch Mason, Novice and Knight <strong>of</strong><br />
the Temple, which he pretended were the only true and ancient<br />
ones, and had their administrative centre, from time immemorial,<br />
in the Lodge <strong>of</strong> Saint Andrew, at Edinburgh . His views were at<br />
once rejected by the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, which has always<br />
been the guardian <strong>of</strong> the purity <strong>of</strong> Ancient Craft Masonry . But<br />
be carried them to Paris, where they met with amazing success,<br />
and gave rise to those higher degrees which have since been known<br />
by the name <strong>of</strong> the Ancient Scotch rite .* ' See a further account<br />
<strong>of</strong> Ramsay under the title Innovations .<br />
RECEIVED. After the completion and dedication <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Temple, those brethren who consented to remain and keep that<br />
magnificent structure in repair, were, according to masonic tradition,<br />
as a reward for their attachment, received and acknowledged<br />
as Most Excellent Masters . Hence, the terms are used to<br />
express the reception <strong>of</strong> a candidate into the 6th or Most Excellent<br />
Master's degree <strong>of</strong> the Ancient York rite .<br />
RECOMMENDATION . <strong>The</strong> letter <strong>of</strong> every applicant for initiation<br />
must be recommended by at least one well-known brother,<br />
who should be, if possible, a member <strong>of</strong> the lodge, and vouched<br />
for by another . See Vouching .<br />
RECORDER. An <strong>of</strong>ficer in an Encampment <strong>of</strong> Knights<br />
• Clavel, p. 165. I find the following paragraph in the Gentleman's Magazine<br />
for the year 1738 .<br />
"<strong>The</strong>re was lately burnt at Rome, with great solemnity, by order <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Inquisition, a piece in French, written by the Chevalier Ramsay, (author <strong>of</strong><br />
the Travels <strong>of</strong> Cyrus,) entitled 'An Apologetical and Historical Relation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Secrets <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, printed at Dublin by Patric Odinoko .' This was<br />
published at Paris in answer to a pretended catechism orinted there by order<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Lieutenant de Police ."<br />
34
398 RED-REF<br />
Templar, and a Council <strong>of</strong> Royal and Select Masters equivalent to<br />
a Secretary in a blue lodge .<br />
RED CROSS KNIGHT . See Knight <strong>of</strong> the Red Cross .<br />
RED CROSS OF ROME AND CONSTANTINE . A degree<br />
founded on the circumstances <strong>of</strong> the vision <strong>of</strong> a cross, with<br />
the inscription EN TS? NIKA, which appeared in the heavens to<br />
Constantine, while on a march .<br />
REFLECTION, CHAMBER OF . Cabinet des Re lezions .<br />
In French lodges the preparation room in which the candidate<br />
remains, until he is introduced . It is thus called, because the<br />
gloomy furniture, and the moral inscriptions on the walls, are calculated<br />
to produce, in his bosom, reflections <strong>of</strong> the most serious<br />
nature .<br />
A similiar apartment is used in the ceremonies <strong>of</strong> the degree<br />
<strong>of</strong> Knight Templar .<br />
REFORMED RITE . This rite was established in 1782, by a<br />
convention <strong>of</strong> Masons, who assembled at Wilhelmsbad, under the<br />
presidency <strong>of</strong> Ferdinand, Duke <strong>of</strong> Brunswick, who was elected its<br />
Grand Master . <strong>The</strong> members <strong>of</strong> this rite assumed the title <strong>of</strong><br />
" Order <strong>of</strong> Charitable Knights <strong>of</strong> the Holy City ." It was a reformation<br />
<strong>of</strong> the rite <strong>of</strong> Strict Observance, which had been established<br />
in 1754, and differed from it, principally, in rejecting all<br />
connection with the Knights Templar, <strong>of</strong> whom, the members <strong>of</strong><br />
the rite <strong>of</strong> Strict Observance had declared that Freemasons were<br />
the successors. <strong>The</strong> rite <strong>of</strong> Martinism was merged in this rite,<br />
whose system the lodges <strong>of</strong> Martinists universally adopted ; and<br />
thus constituted, it spread with astonishing rapidity over France,<br />
Switzerland, and Italy, but met with inconsiderable success in<br />
Germany, where the Templar system appears to have been, for a<br />
long time, the favourite .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Refirmed rite consisted <strong>of</strong> five degrees : 1, Apprentice ; 2,
REF-REI 399<br />
Fellow-Craft ; 3, Master ; 4, Scotch Master ; 5, Charitable Knight<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Holy City . <strong>The</strong> last degree was subdivided into three sections,<br />
namely : Novice, Pr<strong>of</strong>essed Brother, and Knight, which<br />
actually gives seven degrees in all .<br />
It is still practised in France by one lodge, and in Switzerland<br />
by five . Its supreme body is situated at Zurich, in the latter<br />
country, under the title <strong>of</strong> the "Directory <strong>of</strong> Switzerland ."<br />
REFORMED HELVETIC RITE . <strong>The</strong> rite described in<br />
the preceding article was introduced into Poland in 1784, by<br />
brother Glayre, <strong>of</strong> Lausanne, the minister <strong>of</strong> King Stanislaus,<br />
and who was also the Provincial Grand Master <strong>of</strong> this rite in<br />
the French part <strong>of</strong> Switzerland . But, in introducing it into Poland,<br />
he subjected it to several modifications, and called it the<br />
Reformed Helvetic rite . <strong>The</strong> system was adopted by the Grand<br />
Orient <strong>of</strong> Poland .<br />
REFRESHMENT . When a lodge is temporarily adjourned,<br />
the adjournment is performed in a manner peculiar to Masons, and<br />
the lodge is then said to be " called from labour to refreshment."<br />
During refreshment, the column <strong>of</strong> the W .- . should also be down,<br />
and that <strong>of</strong> the S .- . be up, to indicate that the Junior Warden,<br />
not the Senior, now superintends the craft . Calling from<br />
labour to refreshment, differs from closing, in this, that in the former<br />
mode the lodge is still open, nor when the labour is resumed,<br />
is there any ceremony <strong>of</strong> opening . Neither does the re-assembling<br />
<strong>of</strong> the brethren require any other summons or notification<br />
than the simple command <strong>of</strong> the J.- . W .- .<br />
High twelve or noon was the hour at the temple when our an-,<br />
cient brethren were regularly called from labour to refreshment .<br />
<strong>The</strong> tradition is that they worked twelve hours a day, and six days<br />
in the week .<br />
REINSTATEMENT . When a Mason, who had been expelled<br />
or suspended by a lodge, is reinstated by the lodge, which had
400 REJ-REL<br />
expelled or suspended him, he is at once restored to all his masonic<br />
'rights and privileges, just as if no such sentence had ever<br />
been passed upon him . But no lodge has the power <strong>of</strong> reinstating,<br />
except the one which inflicted the original punishment . This<br />
rule, however, does not apply to the Grand Lodge, which, as the<br />
supreme masonic tribunal, may re-instate any expelled or susended<br />
Mason within its jurisdiction, whenever the circumstances<br />
<strong>of</strong> the case may seem to warrant such an exercise <strong>of</strong> prerogative .<br />
REJECTION . One black ball, with a good reason assigned,<br />
<strong>of</strong> the sufficiency <strong>of</strong> which the Master shall be a competent judge,<br />
or two black balls,* without any reason at all being assigned, will<br />
reject a candidate for initiation . If a candidate be rejected, hw<br />
can apply in no other lodge for admission . If admitted at all, in<br />
must be in the lodge where he first applied . But the time for a<br />
new application has never been specified, so that it is held that a<br />
rejected candidate may apply for a reconsideration <strong>of</strong> his case at any<br />
time . <strong>The</strong> unfavourable report <strong>of</strong> the committee to whom the<br />
letter was referred, or the withdrawal <strong>of</strong> the letter by the candidate<br />
or his friends, is considered equivalent to a rejection<br />
RELIEF . Of the philanthropic tendency <strong>of</strong> masonry,<br />
abundant evidence is afforded in every country in which a lodge<br />
exists . Its charities are extended to the poor and destitute, to<br />
the widow and the orphan, with a liberal hand ; and its numerous<br />
institutions for improving the physical and moral condition <strong>of</strong> the<br />
human race, prove that "Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth,"<br />
are not the mere idle and unmeaning language <strong>of</strong> a boastful<br />
motto, but the true and guiding principles <strong>of</strong> our association .<br />
In our own land, several <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodges have established<br />
colleges and schools for the education <strong>of</strong> the children <strong>of</strong> Masons .<br />
* Most <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodges in the United States require unanimity in the<br />
ballot. But the Old Constitutions permitted as many as three black balls, if<br />
the lodge desired it.
REL 401<br />
Some <strong>of</strong> these have been but lately organized, yet are they all in<br />
a prosperous condition . In Europe, where the order has been<br />
longer in operation, the means <strong>of</strong> bestowing aid upon the destitute<br />
are still more perfect . Among these, the ' 4 Royal Freemasons'<br />
School for Female Children," in London, is worthy <strong>of</strong> all<br />
commendation . It was instituted in 1788, and the present<br />
building erected, at an expense <strong>of</strong> more than £3000, in the<br />
year 1793 . <strong>The</strong> object <strong>of</strong> the charity is to maintain, clothe, and<br />
educate an unlimited number <strong>of</strong> female children and orphans <strong>of</strong><br />
reduced Freemasons . It now extends its bounty to sixty-five<br />
children, who are received into the school between the ages <strong>of</strong><br />
eight and eleven, and are wholly supported until they attain their<br />
fifteenth year .<br />
<strong>The</strong> ' 1 Asylum for worthy aged and decayed Freemasons," in<br />
the same city, is another institution reflecting high honour on the<br />
society which gave it birth . It was founded in 1835, and its<br />
praiseworthy objects are sufficiently designated by its title .<br />
In Germany, we find « A Lying-in Hospital" for the wives <strong>of</strong><br />
indigent Freemasons, established at Schleswig ; an almshouse<br />
and orphan-house at Prague ; a public school at Berlin ; an institute<br />
for the blind at Amsterdam ; and a multitude <strong>of</strong> libraries,<br />
schools and hospitals, scattered throughout the German cities .<br />
In Sweden there is an orphan-house, established in 1753, at<br />
Stockholm, by the private contributions <strong>of</strong> the Swedish lodges .<br />
Ireland has also an orphan-house . But one <strong>of</strong> the most philanthropic<br />
institutions <strong>of</strong> our order, is the " Society for patronizing<br />
poor children, " established at Lyons, in France . Its object ib<br />
to diminish the primary causes <strong>of</strong> pauperism . For this purpose,<br />
it commences with the child at birth ; it selects for him a patron<br />
from its members, whose duty it is to advise with and assist the<br />
parents in the government and education <strong>of</strong> the child . He sees<br />
that the child is well fed, comfortably clothed, and properly edu<br />
cated . When ready for a trade, he directs him in its selection,<br />
and binds him as an apprentice . And when the period <strong>of</strong> apprenticeship<br />
has expired, he furnishes him with his outfit in life,<br />
34*
402 REL<br />
Of the private relief afforded in individual cases, where the<br />
sole . claim to sympathy or assistance was the possession <strong>of</strong> the<br />
name <strong>of</strong> brother, it is unnecessary here to speak . <strong>The</strong> annals <strong>of</strong><br />
masonry are crowded with such instances <strong>of</strong> masonic relief .<br />
TRUTH, may be said to be the column <strong>of</strong> wisdom, whose rays<br />
penetrate and enlighten the inmost recesses <strong>of</strong> our lodge ; BRO-<br />
THERLY LoVE, the column <strong>of</strong> strength, which binds us as one<br />
family, in the indissoluble bond <strong>of</strong> fraternal affection ; and RE •<br />
LIEF, the column <strong>of</strong> beauty, whose ornaments, more precious<br />
than the lilies and pomegranates that adorned the pillars <strong>of</strong> the<br />
porch, are the widow's tear <strong>of</strong> joy, and the orphan's prayer o2<br />
gratitude.<br />
RELIGION. <strong>Freemasonry</strong> does not pr<strong>of</strong>ess to interfere with<br />
the religious opinions <strong>of</strong> its members . It asks only for a declaration<br />
<strong>of</strong> that simple and universal faith, in which men <strong>of</strong> all<br />
nations and all sects agree,-the belief in a God and in his sn .<br />
perintending providence . Beyond this, it does not venture, but<br />
leaves the minds <strong>of</strong> its disciples, on other and sectarian points,<br />
perfectly untrammelled . This is the only religious qualification<br />
required <strong>of</strong> a candidate, but this is most strictly demanded .<br />
<strong>The</strong> religion, then, <strong>of</strong> Masonry, is pure theism, on which its different<br />
members engraft their own peculiar opinions ; but they<br />
are not permitted to introduce them into the lodge, or to connect<br />
their truth or falsehood with the truth <strong>of</strong> masonry .<br />
On this subject, the present Constitution <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge<br />
<strong>of</strong> England, holds the following language<br />
" A Mason is obliged, by his tenure, to obey the moral law,<br />
and if he rightly understand the art, he will never be a stupid<br />
atheist nor an irreligious libertine . He, <strong>of</strong> all men, should best<br />
understand that God seeth not, as man seeth ; for man looketh at<br />
the outward appearance, but God looketh to the heart . A Mason<br />
is, therefore, particularly bound, never to act against the dictates<br />
<strong>of</strong> his conscience . Let a man's religion, or mode <strong>of</strong> worship,<br />
be what it may, he is not excluded from the order, provided
REMI-REP 403<br />
he believe in the glorious Architect <strong>of</strong> heaven and earth, and<br />
practise the sacred duties <strong>of</strong> morality . Masons unite with the<br />
virtuous <strong>of</strong> every persuasion, in the firm and pleasing bond <strong>of</strong><br />
fraternal love ; they are taught to view the errors <strong>of</strong> mankind<br />
with compassion, and to strive, by the purity <strong>of</strong> their own conduct,<br />
to demonstrate the superior excellence <strong>of</strong> the faith they<br />
may possess . Thus masonry is the centre <strong>of</strong> union between<br />
good men and true, and the happy means <strong>of</strong> conciliating friendship<br />
amongst those who must otherwise have remained at a perpetual<br />
distance ."<br />
This tolerant principle is, however, unfortunately not practised<br />
in all masonic lodges . <strong>The</strong> three Grand Lodges at Berlin, in<br />
Prussia,* and the Grand Lodges <strong>of</strong> Hanover and Hamburg, refuse<br />
not only to initiate Jews, but even to admit as visitors their<br />
:sraelitish brethren, who have been made in other countries .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Grand Lodges <strong>of</strong> this country have taken this subject into<br />
consideration, and several <strong>of</strong> them have already passed resolutions,<br />
condemning the proceedings <strong>of</strong> the Prussian and German<br />
Masons, which may possibly have some effect in restoring them<br />
to the purity and liberality <strong>of</strong> masonic tolerance. <strong>The</strong> Grand<br />
Lodge <strong>of</strong> Germany, at Hamburg, which works only in the three<br />
degrees <strong>of</strong> Ancient Craft Masonry, and derives its Constitutions<br />
from the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, is happily actuated by a<br />
more enlightened spirit .<br />
REMOVAL . No lodge can remove from its usual , place <strong>of</strong><br />
meeting, without the consent <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge thereto . For.<br />
merly no proposition could be made, nor vote taken on the question<br />
<strong>of</strong> removal, unless the Worshipful Master wfs present.<br />
But this regulation appears now to have become obsolete .<br />
REPEAL. A lodge cannot, at an extra communication, re .<br />
• <strong>The</strong> Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> the Three Globes, the Royal York Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong><br />
Fritidship, and the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Prussia .
404 REP<br />
peal, annul, or alter a resolution, that has been ad : pted at a previous<br />
re ar one.<br />
REPRESENTATIVE SYSTEM . <strong>The</strong> representative system<br />
originated in this country with the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> New-York .<br />
Its organization is as follows : It is proposed, that each Grand<br />
Lodge in the United States, or, if it can be sufficiently extended,<br />
in the world, shall appoint a worthy and intelligent illason, to reside<br />
near and represent it in every other Grand Lodge . <strong>The</strong>se<br />
representatives are required to attend regularly the meetings <strong>of</strong><br />
the Grand Lodges to which they are accredited, to communicate to<br />
their constituents an abstract <strong>of</strong> the proceedings, and such other<br />
masonic matter <strong>of</strong> interest, such as expulsions, rejections, establishment<br />
<strong>of</strong> clandestine lodges, &c ., as may occur in the respective<br />
jurisdictions in which they reside . <strong>The</strong>ir costume is that <strong>of</strong><br />
the Grand Lodge which they represent, and they are also entitled<br />
to bear a banner with its colours .<br />
This system has not met with universal approbation, and has,<br />
as yet, but partially succeeded . Its friends argue, in its favour,<br />
the closer union which will thereby be cemented between the<br />
various masonic bodies thus represented, and the greater facility<br />
<strong>of</strong> communication .*<br />
But on the other side, its opposers have <strong>of</strong>fered weighty objections<br />
against its adoption . Besides the heavy expense which<br />
would necessarily attend the universal adoption <strong>of</strong> the system,<br />
there is one, which certainly claims the attentive consideration<br />
<strong>of</strong> every brother . One <strong>of</strong> the most intelligent <strong>of</strong> these objectors<br />
is Brother Moore, the editor <strong>of</strong> the Freemason's Monthly Magazine,<br />
published at Boston, in whose words, rather than in my<br />
own, I desire to present the character <strong>of</strong> this objection to the<br />
reader .<br />
0 <strong>The</strong> arduous duty <strong>of</strong> an extensive correspondence, which had formerly<br />
been confided to one <strong>of</strong>ficer, the Grand Secretary, being now divided between<br />
several .
RES 403<br />
i` Another objection that presents itself to our mind is, that<br />
the proceedings <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodges would go forth in an un<strong>of</strong>ficial<br />
form, and be liable to lead to error and confusion . It is<br />
hardly to be presumed that the representatives would all take the<br />
same view <strong>of</strong> every subject that might come under discussion, or<br />
that they would understand it alike, in all its bearings . <strong>The</strong>y<br />
would undoubtedly faithfully represent the matter to their constituents,<br />
as they should respectively understand it . But their<br />
understanding it would probably, in many cases, clash with the<br />
annual report <strong>of</strong> the <strong>of</strong>ficial <strong>of</strong>ficer . <strong>The</strong>ir representations would<br />
not, therefore, furnish safe grounds <strong>of</strong> action . <strong>The</strong> Grand<br />
Lodges would still be constrained to wait for the <strong>of</strong>ficial report .<br />
Again, there is danger that the representatives might not always<br />
be able to discriminate between what it would be proper to communicate,<br />
and what is strictly <strong>of</strong> a local character . <strong>The</strong>re is not<br />
probably a Grand Lodge in the country which has not before it,<br />
at every communication, some subject which it would prefer to<br />
keep within the limits <strong>of</strong> its own jurisdiction . And it is one <strong>of</strong><br />
the errors <strong>of</strong> human nature, that there should be an ambitious<br />
d"ire on the part <strong>of</strong> the representatives to communicate every<br />
thing which, in their judgment, might tend to raise them in the<br />
estimation, or contribute to the interest, <strong>of</strong> their constituents .<br />
<strong>The</strong>y might not always discriminate wisely .*<br />
<strong>The</strong>se objections are certainly important, and seem to have deterrea<br />
some <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodges from appointing representatives .<br />
Whether the system will ever become universal is exceedingly<br />
problematical . <strong>The</strong> enthusiasm on the subjcct, which existed in<br />
some parts <strong>of</strong> the country, when it was first proposed, zppears<br />
now considerably to have abated .<br />
RESIGNATION . No brother shoula be allowed to resign,<br />
unless he be at the time in good standing . Some lodges, however,<br />
from a mistaken feeling <strong>of</strong> kindness, have permitted a<br />
* Moore's Magazine, voL iL p . 196 .
406 RES-RHE<br />
member to resign, rather than resort to the penalty <strong>of</strong> suspension<br />
or expulsion . This is manifestly wrong . If a Mason be too bad<br />
to belong to a particular lodge, he is too bad to belong to the<br />
order in general . Besides, the acceptation <strong>of</strong> a letter <strong>of</strong> resignation<br />
is a kind <strong>of</strong> tacit acknowledgement that the character <strong>of</strong> the<br />
resigning member is free from reproach . Hence, other lodges<br />
are thus deceived into the admission <strong>of</strong> one who should originally<br />
have been cured or cut <strong>of</strong>f* by the lodge from which he had<br />
resigned .<br />
<strong>The</strong> resignation <strong>of</strong> a member dissolves all connection between<br />
himself and his former lodge, but it does not at all affect his<br />
general relations with the order, or his obligatory duties as a<br />
Mason . See on this subject, the article Demit .<br />
RESURRECTION . A resurrection from the grave and a<br />
future immortality were the great lessons which it was the design<br />
<strong>of</strong> the ancient mysteries to inculcate . In like manner by a<br />
symbolic ceremony <strong>of</strong> great impressiveness, the same sublime<br />
truths are made to constitute the end and object <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong><br />
in the third degree, or as it has been called by Hutchinson, "the<br />
Master's Order ."<br />
RETURNS OF LODGES . Every subordinate lodge must<br />
make an annual return, at some period specified in the local regulations,<br />
to the Grand Lodge from which it derives its Warrant,<br />
<strong>of</strong> the number and names <strong>of</strong> its members, and <strong>of</strong> the initiations,<br />
rejections, .suspensions, and expulsions which have taken place<br />
during the year . By this means, each Grand Lodge is made<br />
acquainted with the state <strong>of</strong> its subordinates, and the progress <strong>of</strong><br />
the order within its jurisdiction .<br />
RHETORIC . <strong>The</strong> art <strong>of</strong> embellishing language with the<br />
* Qaes sanari poterunt, quacnngne ratione sanabo ; gnea resecanda erunt, non<br />
natiar ad perniciem civitatis manare.-Cicero in Catalin.
RIG 407<br />
ornaments <strong>of</strong> construction, so as to enable the speaker to persuade<br />
or affect his hearers . It supposes and requires a proper acquaintance<br />
with the rest <strong>of</strong> the liberal arts . For the first step towards<br />
adorning a discourse, is for the speaker to become thoroughly<br />
acquainted with its subject, and hence, the ancient rule that the<br />
orator should be acquainted with all the arts and sciences . Its<br />
importance as a branch <strong>of</strong> liberal education is recommended to<br />
the Mason in the Fellow-Craft's degree .<br />
RIGHT ANGLE . A right angle is the meeting <strong>of</strong> two lines<br />
in an angle <strong>of</strong> ninety degrees, or the fourth part <strong>of</strong> a circle . Each<br />
<strong>of</strong> its lines is perpendicular to the other, and as the perpendicular<br />
line is a symbol <strong>of</strong> uprightousness <strong>of</strong> conduct, the right angle<br />
has been adopted by Masons as an emblem <strong>of</strong> virtue . Such was<br />
also its signification among the Pythagoreans . <strong>The</strong> right angle<br />
is represented in the lodges by the square, as the horizontal is<br />
by the level, and the perpendicular by the plumb .<br />
RIGHT HAND . <strong>The</strong> right hand has in all ages been deemed<br />
an important symbol to represent the virtue <strong>of</strong> fidelity . Among<br />
the ancients, the right hand and fidelity to an obligation, were<br />
almost deemed synonymous terms . Thus, among the Romans,<br />
the expression 1 ' fallere dextram," to betray the right hand, also<br />
signified to violate faith, and "jungere dextras," to join right<br />
hands, meant to give a mutual pledge . Among the Hebrews<br />
iamin, the right hand, was derived from P N, aman, to<br />
be faithful .<br />
<strong>The</strong> practice <strong>of</strong> the ancients was conformable to these peculiarities<br />
<strong>of</strong> idiom . Among the Jews, to give the right hand,<br />
was considered as a mark <strong>of</strong> friendship and fidelity . Thus St .<br />
Paul says, . " when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be<br />
pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to<br />
me and Barnabas the right hand <strong>of</strong> fellowship, that we should<br />
go unto the heathen and they unto the circumcision ." Gal . ii. 6 .
4J8 RIG<br />
<strong>The</strong> same expression, also, occurs in Maccabees . We meet, indeed,<br />
continually in the Scriptures with allusions to the right<br />
hand, as an emblem <strong>of</strong> truth and fidelity . Thus in Psalms<br />
(cxliv.) it is said, "their right hand is a right hand <strong>of</strong> falsehood,"<br />
-that is to say, they lift up their right hand to swear to what<br />
is not true . This lifting up <strong>of</strong> the right hand was, in fact, the<br />
universal mode adopted among both Jews and Pagans in taking<br />
an oath. <strong>The</strong> custom is certainly as old as the days <strong>of</strong> Abraham,<br />
who said to the King <strong>of</strong> Sodom, "I have lifted up my hand unto<br />
the Lord, the most high God, the possessor <strong>of</strong> heaven and earth,<br />
that I will not take any thing that is thine ." Sometimes among<br />
the Gentile nations, the right hand, in taking an oath, was laid<br />
upon the horns <strong>of</strong> the altar, and sometimes upon the hand <strong>of</strong> the<br />
person administering the obligation . But in all cases it was<br />
deemed necessary to the validity and solemnity <strong>of</strong> the attestation,<br />
that the right band should be employed .<br />
Since the introduction <strong>of</strong> Christianity, the use <strong>of</strong> the right<br />
hand in contracting an oath, has been continued, but instead <strong>of</strong><br />
extending it to heaven, or seizing with it a horn <strong>of</strong> the altar, it<br />
is now directed to be placed upon the Holy Scriptures, which is<br />
the universal mode at this day in all Christian countries . <strong>The</strong><br />
antiquity <strong>of</strong> this usage may be learned from the fact, that in the<br />
code <strong>of</strong> the Emperor <strong>The</strong>odosius, adopted about the year 438,<br />
the placing <strong>of</strong> the right hand on the Gospels is alluded to, and<br />
in the code <strong>of</strong> Justinian, whose date is the year 529, the ceremony<br />
is distinctly laid down as a necessary part <strong>of</strong> the formality<br />
<strong>of</strong> the oatb..*<br />
This constant use <strong>of</strong> the right hand in the most sacred attestations<br />
and solemn compacts, was either the cause or the consequence<br />
<strong>of</strong> its being deemed an emblem <strong>of</strong> fidelity . Dr. Potterf<br />
thinks it was the cause, and be supposes that the right hand was<br />
* <strong>The</strong> words <strong>of</strong> Justinian are, "tactic sacrosanctis Evangelise"-the Holy<br />
Gospels being touched.-Lib . ii . tit. 53 . lea. 1 .<br />
f Archceologia Greeca, p . 229 .
RIG 409<br />
naturally used instead <strong>of</strong> the left, because it was more honour .<br />
able, as being the instrument by which superiors give commands<br />
to those below them . Be this as it may, it is well known that<br />
the custom existed universally, and that there are abundant allusions,<br />
in the most ancient writers, to the junction <strong>of</strong> right hands<br />
in making compacts .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Romans had a goddess whose name was Fides, or Fidelity,*<br />
whose temple was first consecrated by Numa. Her symbol was<br />
two right hands joined, or sometimes two female figures _holding<br />
each other by the right hands, whence in all agreements among<br />
the Greeks and Romans, it was usual for the parties to take each<br />
other by the right hand, in token <strong>of</strong> their intention to adhere to<br />
the compact .<br />
<strong>The</strong> joining <strong>of</strong> the right hands was esteemed among the Persians<br />
and Parthians, as conveying a most inviolable obligation <strong>of</strong><br />
fidelity. Hence, when King Artabanus desired to hold a conference<br />
with his revolted subject, Asineus, who was in arms against<br />
him, he despatched a messenger to him with the request, who<br />
said to Asineus, "the king hath sent me to give you his right<br />
hand and security,"-that is, a promise <strong>of</strong> safety in going and<br />
coming. And when Asineus sent his brother Asileus to the proposed<br />
conference, the king met him and gave him his right hand,<br />
upon which Josephus remarks : "This is <strong>of</strong> the greatest force there<br />
with all these barbarians, and affords a firm security to those<br />
who hold intercourse with them ; for none <strong>of</strong> them will deceive,<br />
when once they have given you their right hands, nor will any<br />
one doubt <strong>of</strong> their fidelity, when that is once given, even though<br />
they were before suspected <strong>of</strong> injustice ."t<br />
It is thus apparent that the use <strong>of</strong> the right hand, as a token<br />
• By a strange error for so learned a man, Oliver mistakes the name <strong>of</strong> this<br />
goddess, and calls her Faith . "<strong>The</strong> spurious <strong>Freemasonry</strong>," he remarks, "had<br />
a goddess called Faith ." No such thing . Fides, or, as Hora.oe calls her, "incorrupts<br />
Fides," incorruptible Fidelity, is very different from the theologicsJ<br />
virtue <strong>of</strong> faith .<br />
t Joseph. Ant. Jud. lib . xviii. cap . ix.<br />
3 5
410 RIG-RIT<br />
<strong>of</strong> sincerity and a pledge <strong>of</strong> fidelity, is as ancient as it is universal,<br />
a fact which will account for the important station which it occu .<br />
pies among the symbols <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> .<br />
RIGHT SIDE AND LEFT SIDE . Among the Hebrews,<br />
as well as the Greeks and Romans, the right side was considered<br />
superior to. the left ; and as the right was the side <strong>of</strong> good, so was<br />
the left <strong>of</strong> bad omen . Dexter, or right, signified also propitious,<br />
and sinister, or left, unlucky. In the Scriptures, we find frequent<br />
allusions to this superiority <strong>of</strong> the right . Jacob, for instance,<br />
called his youngest and favourite child, Benja-m.in., the<br />
son <strong>of</strong> his right hand, and Bathsheba, as the king's mother, was<br />
placed at the right hand <strong>of</strong> Solomon .<br />
RING, LUMINOUS . <strong>The</strong> Academy <strong>of</strong> Sublime Masters <strong>of</strong><br />
the Luminous Ring, was a pseudo-masonic society founded in<br />
France, in 1780 . Its ritual was divided into three degrees .<br />
<strong>The</strong> first two were occupied with the history <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, and<br />
the last with the peculiar dogmas <strong>of</strong> the institution which were ;<br />
essentially Pythagorean .<br />
RITE . A modification <strong>of</strong> masonry, in which the three ancient<br />
degrees and their essentials being preserved, there are varieties<br />
in the ceremonies, and number and names <strong>of</strong> the additional degrees<br />
. A masonic rite is, therefore, in accordance with the general<br />
signification <strong>of</strong> the word, the method, order, and rules,<br />
observed in the performance and government <strong>of</strong> the masonic<br />
system .<br />
Anciently, there was but one rite, that <strong>of</strong> the "Ancient, Free,<br />
and Accepted Masons," consisting only <strong>of</strong> the three primary degrees<br />
<strong>of</strong> Entered Apprentice, Fellow-Craft, and Master Mason,<br />
hence called the degrees <strong>of</strong> Ancient Craft Masonry . But on the<br />
Continent <strong>of</strong> Europe, and especially in France and Germany, the<br />
ingenuity <strong>of</strong> some, and the vanity <strong>of</strong> others, have added to these<br />
an infinite number <strong>of</strong> high degrees, and <strong>of</strong> ceremonies unknown
RIT 411<br />
to the original character <strong>of</strong> the institution . Some <strong>of</strong> these rites<br />
lived only with their authors, and died when their paternal energy<br />
in fostering them ceased to exert himself . Others have<br />
had- a more permanent existence, and still continue, nominally,<br />
to divide the masonic family . I say, only nominally, for the<br />
fact that they are all, no matter what be their unessential difference,<br />
based upon the three ancient degrees, enables a brother <strong>of</strong><br />
any rite to visit the symbolic lodges <strong>of</strong> all the other rites . A<br />
Master Mason is, in all rites and all countries, acknowledged as<br />
such, and entitled to all the privileges which that sublime degree<br />
confers .<br />
<strong>The</strong> following are the names <strong>of</strong> the rites <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> now<br />
practised in Europe and America . <strong>The</strong> first three are the most<br />
important, oldest, and most extensive ; and the first, or York<br />
rite, approaches nearest in its construction to Ancient Craft Masonry<br />
. <strong>The</strong> degrees conferred by each <strong>of</strong> these rites, and the<br />
places where they exist, will be found under the respective titles<br />
in this work .<br />
1. York rite .<br />
2 . French, or modern rite .<br />
3 . Ancient and Accepted Scotch rite .<br />
4. Philosophic Scotch rite .<br />
5 . Primitive Scotch rite .<br />
6. Ancient Reformed rite .<br />
7 . Fessler's rite .<br />
8 . Rite <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> the Three Globes at Berlin .<br />
9. Rite <strong>of</strong> Perfection . .<br />
10 . Rite <strong>of</strong> Misriam .<br />
11 . Rite or order <strong>of</strong> the Temple .<br />
12 . Swedish rite .<br />
13 . Reformed rite .<br />
14. Schroeder's rite .<br />
15. Rite <strong>of</strong> Swedenborg .<br />
16. Rite <strong>of</strong> Zinnendr<strong>of</strong>.
412 RIT-ROM<br />
RITUAL . <strong>The</strong> ritual <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> comprises the forms<br />
<strong>of</strong> opening and closing a lodge, <strong>of</strong> initiating candidates, and <strong>of</strong><br />
conducting the other peculiar ceremonies <strong>of</strong> the order . Thu<br />
ritual differs in various places, and is not always the same in the<br />
same rite . Thus the lodges <strong>of</strong> England and America practise<br />
the same rite, the York, so far as the three symbolic degrees,<br />
and yet the rituals <strong>of</strong> the two countries vary considerably . An<br />
intimate acquaintance with the ritual constitutes what is technically<br />
called a "bright mason ."<br />
ROLL . <strong>The</strong> roll, or record <strong>of</strong> members' names, is borne by<br />
Secretaries in public processions <strong>of</strong> the order . At the funeral<br />
<strong>of</strong> a brother, his name, during a portion <strong>of</strong> the funeral ceremonies,<br />
should be inscribed in the roll <strong>of</strong> the lodge to which he belonged<br />
. <strong>The</strong> rolls, or insignia <strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>fice, carried by Secretaries in<br />
a funeral procession, are thrown into the grave .<br />
ROMAN COLLEGES OF ARTIFICERS . Collegia art?;ficum<br />
. Numa collected the various arts and trades which, during<br />
his reign, existed at Rome, into separate companies or societies,<br />
having their respective halls, courts, and religious exercises .<br />
<strong>The</strong> principal <strong>of</strong> these collegia artificum, was the college <strong>of</strong> architects,<br />
whose members he brought out <strong>of</strong> Attica, for the purpose<br />
<strong>of</strong> organization From this time, says Clavel, is to be dated<br />
the establishment <strong>of</strong> the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Bacchus at Rome .<br />
<strong>The</strong> eighth <strong>of</strong> the twelve tables contained laws applicable to<br />
the Roman colleges . <strong>The</strong>se associations, which were called so-<br />
(1alitates, or fratcrnitates, had the right <strong>of</strong> making contracts,<br />
and <strong>of</strong> enacting laws for their own government, and a few <strong>of</strong> the<br />
most distinguished, (among which were the college <strong>of</strong> architects,)<br />
were exempted from taxation .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Roman colleges were, in their character, both civil and<br />
religious institutions . <strong>The</strong>ir assemblies were held with closed<br />
doors, and the pr<strong>of</strong>ane were carefully excluded . <strong>The</strong>ir macerim,<br />
)r halls, were situated in the neighbourhood ^<strong>of</strong> those temples
ROM 413<br />
whose divinities they particularly worshipped, and whose priests<br />
employed them as artificers, in making the necessary repairs .<br />
In their assemblies they deliberated on the works entrusted to<br />
their construction, and initiated candidates into their society by<br />
mysterious ceremonies, and by symbolic instruction, derived from<br />
the working tools <strong>of</strong> their art . <strong>The</strong> brothers were divided into<br />
the usual classes <strong>of</strong> Apprentices, Craftsmen, and Masters . <strong>The</strong>y<br />
contracted an obligation to render each other mutual assistance<br />
when necessary, and were enabled to recognise each other by secret<br />
signs . <strong>The</strong>ir presidents, who were elected for five years,<br />
were called Magistri, or Masters . Besides these, there were<br />
seniores or elders, treasurers, secretaries, and other necessary<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficers .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se colleges became, in time, the depositories <strong>of</strong> all the<br />
foreign methods <strong>of</strong> initiation, which were afterwards introduced<br />
into Rome . And it was through them that the most learned<br />
masonic writers have supposed that the Hebrew mysteries were<br />
transmitted, from the Jewish artists who visited Rome in great<br />
numbers during the reign <strong>of</strong> Augustus, to the travelling Freemasons,<br />
by whom all the religious edifices <strong>of</strong> the Middle Ages<br />
were constructed .<br />
<strong>The</strong> colleges <strong>of</strong> artificers, and especially those which pr<strong>of</strong>essed<br />
architecture, spread from Rome throughout the provinces and<br />
principal cities <strong>of</strong> the empire . <strong>The</strong>y existed in vigorous activity<br />
until the fall <strong>of</strong> the Roman Empire, and continued to decline<br />
during the ages which succeeded the invasions <strong>of</strong> the barbarians,<br />
until they are supposed to have revived in the architectural associations<br />
known as the " Travelling Freemasons <strong>of</strong> the Middle<br />
Ages," an account <strong>of</strong> which will be found in another part <strong>of</strong> this<br />
work .*<br />
* I have gladly availed myself <strong>of</strong> the industry <strong>of</strong> Clavel, who has collected<br />
every thing <strong>of</strong> importance that has been written on the subject <strong>of</strong> these associ .<br />
atious .<br />
350
414 ROS<br />
ROSAIC RITE . A rite instituted in Germany by M . Rusa,<br />
a Lutheran clergyman, under the patronage <strong>of</strong> the Baron de<br />
Prinzen . It was at first exceedingly popular, but was superseded<br />
by the Strict Observance rite <strong>of</strong> Baron Hunde .<br />
ROSE . For an explanation <strong>of</strong> the Rose, as a masonic symbol,<br />
see the article Prince <strong>of</strong> Rose Croix .<br />
ROSE CROIX . See Prince <strong>of</strong> Rose Croix .<br />
ROSE, KNIGHTS AND NYMPHS OF THE . This was<br />
an order <strong>of</strong> Adoptive or Androgynous Masonry, invented in<br />
France towards the close <strong>of</strong> the eighteenth century . 31 . de<br />
Chaumont, the masonic secretary <strong>of</strong> the Due de Chartres, was its<br />
author. <strong>The</strong> principal seat <strong>of</strong> the order was at Paris . <strong>The</strong> hall<br />
<strong>of</strong> meeting was called the Temple <strong>of</strong> Love . It was ornamented<br />
with garlands <strong>of</strong> flowers, and hung round with escutcheons on<br />
which were painted various devices and emblems <strong>of</strong> gallantry .<br />
<strong>The</strong>re were two presiding <strong>of</strong>ficers, a male and female, who were<br />
styled the Hierophant and the High Priestess . <strong>The</strong> former initiated<br />
men, and the latter women . In the initiations the Hierophant<br />
was assisted by a conductor or deacon, called Sentiment,<br />
and the High Priestess by a conductress or deaconess, called<br />
Discretion . <strong>The</strong> members received the title <strong>of</strong> Knights and<br />
Nymphs . <strong>The</strong> Knights wore a crown <strong>of</strong> myrtle, the Nymphs a<br />
crown <strong>of</strong> Roses . <strong>The</strong> Hierophant and High Priestess wore, in<br />
addition, a< rose-coloured scarf, on which were embroidered two<br />
doves within a wreath <strong>of</strong> myrtle . During the time <strong>of</strong> initiation,<br />
the hall was lit with a single dull taper, -but afterwards it was<br />
brilliantly illuminated by numerous wax candles .<br />
When a candidate was to be initiated, he or she was taken in<br />
charge, according to the sex, by the conductor or conductress,<br />
divested <strong>of</strong> all weapons, jewels, or money, hoodwinked, loaded<br />
with chains, and in this condition conducted to the door <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Temple <strong>of</strong> Love, where admission was demanded by two knocks .
ROS 415<br />
Brother Sentiment then introduced the candidate by order <strong>of</strong><br />
the Hierophant or High Priestess, and he or she was asked his<br />
or her name, country, condition <strong>of</strong> life, and, lastly, what he or she<br />
was seeking . To this the answer was, " Happiness ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> next question proposed was, "What is your age ?" <strong>The</strong><br />
candidate, if a male, replied, « <strong>The</strong> age to love ;" if a female,<br />
<strong>The</strong> age to please and to be 'Loved ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> candidates were then interrogated concerning their private<br />
opinions and conduct in relation to matters <strong>of</strong> gallantry . <strong>The</strong><br />
chains were then taken from them, and they were invested with<br />
garlands <strong>of</strong> flowers which were called " the chains <strong>of</strong> love ." In<br />
this condition they were made to traverse the apartment from one<br />
extremity to another, and then back in a contrary direction, over<br />
a path inscribed with love-knots . <strong>The</strong> following obligation was<br />
then administered<br />
" I promise and swear by the Grand Master <strong>of</strong> the Universe<br />
never to reveal the secrets <strong>of</strong> the order <strong>of</strong> the Rose, and should<br />
I fail in this my vow, may the mysteries I shall receive add nothing<br />
to my pleasures, and instead <strong>of</strong> the roses <strong>of</strong> happiness may . I find<br />
nothing but the thorns <strong>of</strong> repentance ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> candidates were then conducted to the mysterious groves<br />
in the neighbourhood <strong>of</strong> the Temple <strong>of</strong> Love, where the knights<br />
received a crown <strong>of</strong> myrtle, and the nymphs a simple rose .<br />
During this time a s<strong>of</strong>t melodious march was played by the orchestra<br />
. After this the candidates were conducted to the altar<br />
<strong>of</strong> mystery, placed at the foot <strong>of</strong> the Hierophant's throne, and<br />
there incense was <strong>of</strong>fered _up to Venus and her son . If it was a<br />
knight who had been initiated, be now exchanged his crown <strong>of</strong><br />
myrtle for the rose <strong>of</strong> the last initiated nymph, and if a nymph,<br />
she exchanged her rose for the myrtle crown <strong>of</strong> Brother Sentiment<br />
. <strong>The</strong> Hierophant now read a copy <strong>of</strong> verses in honour <strong>of</strong><br />
the God <strong>of</strong> Mystery, and the bandage was at length taken from<br />
the eyes <strong>of</strong> the candidate . Delicious music and brilliant lights<br />
now added to the charms <strong>of</strong> this enchanting scene, in the midst
L16 ROS<br />
<strong>of</strong> which the Hierophant communicated to the candidate the<br />
modes <strong>of</strong> recognition peculiar to the order .*<br />
ROSICRUCIANS . Of the secret society <strong>of</strong> the Rosicrucians<br />
or Brothers <strong>of</strong> the Rosy Cross, Bailey gives the following account<br />
:<br />
"<strong>The</strong>ir chief was a German gentleman, educated in a monastery,<br />
where, having learned the languages, he travelled to the<br />
Holy Land, anno 13 78, and being at Damascus and falling sick,<br />
he had heard the conversation <strong>of</strong> some Arabs, and other Oriental<br />
philosophers, by whom he is supposed to have been initiated into<br />
this mysterious art . At his return into Germany he formed a<br />
society, and communicated to them the secrets he had brought<br />
with him out <strong>of</strong> the East, and died in 148 .1 .<br />
" <strong>The</strong>y were a sect or cabal <strong>of</strong> hermetical philosophers ; who<br />
bound themselves together by a solemn secret, which they swore<br />
inviolably to observe ; and obliged themselves, at their admission<br />
into the order, to a strict observance <strong>of</strong> certain established rules .<br />
""<strong>The</strong>y pretended to know all sciences, and especially medicine,<br />
<strong>of</strong> which they published themselves the restorers ; they also<br />
pretended to be masters <strong>of</strong> abundance <strong>of</strong> important secrets, and<br />
among others, that <strong>of</strong> the philosopher's stone ; all which they<br />
affirmed they had received by tradition from the Ancient Egyp<br />
tians, Chaldeans, the Magi and Gymnosophists .<br />
'~ <strong>The</strong>y pretended to protract the period <strong>of</strong> human life by<br />
m.es <strong>of</strong> certain nostrums, and even to restore youth . <strong>The</strong>y<br />
pretended to know all things ; they are also called the Invisible<br />
Brothers, because they have made no appearance, but have kept<br />
'themselves incog . for several years ." t<br />
<strong>The</strong> society <strong>of</strong> the Rosicrucians or Brothers <strong>of</strong> the Rosy Cross,<br />
thus engaged in the wild studies <strong>of</strong> alchemy, protracted their<br />
* I have given the above details in compliance with a promise made in' the<br />
article on "Androgynous Masonry," and for the gratification <strong>of</strong> the curious .<br />
I am indebted for them to the industry <strong>of</strong> Clavel .<br />
1 Bailey, Dict. in voce .
ROS 417<br />
existence until the middle <strong>of</strong> the eighteenth century, when they<br />
at length ceased to meet, in consequence <strong>of</strong> the death <strong>of</strong> Brun,<br />
their chief. <strong>The</strong>ir association was well organized, being divided<br />
like the society <strong>of</strong> Jesuits into bodies, having each its particular<br />
chief, with a general chief at the head <strong>of</strong> all . <strong>The</strong>ir system <strong>of</strong><br />
initiation was divided into nine degrees, as follows : 1, Zelator ;<br />
2, <strong>The</strong>ricus ; 3, Practicus_; d, Philosophus ; 5, Adeptus Junior ;<br />
6, Adeptus Major ; 7, Adeptus Exemptus ; 8, Magister ; 9,<br />
Magus .<br />
Out <strong>of</strong> this society was formed, in 1777, an association calling<br />
itself "<strong>The</strong> Brothers <strong>of</strong> the Golden Rosy Cross," whose system<br />
was divided only into three degrees . This society was very numerous<br />
in Germany, and even extended into other countries, especially<br />
into Sweden . A second schism from the Rosicrucians<br />
was the society <strong>of</strong> the " Initiated Brothers <strong>of</strong> Asia," which was<br />
organized in 1780, and whose pursuits, like those <strong>of</strong> the parent<br />
institution, were alchemy and the natural sciences . In 1785, it<br />
attracted the attention <strong>of</strong> the police, and two years later, received<br />
a fatal blow, in the revelation <strong>of</strong> all its secrets by one Rolling, a<br />
treacherous member <strong>of</strong> the association .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Rosicrucians, as this brief history indicates, had no connectios<br />
whatever with the masonic fraternity . Notwithstanding<br />
this fact, Barruel,* the most malignant <strong>of</strong> our revilers, with a<br />
characteristic spirit <strong>of</strong> misrepresentation, attempted to identify<br />
the two institutions . This is an error, into which others might<br />
unwittingly fall from confounding them with the Princes <strong>of</strong> Rose<br />
Croix, a masonic degree, pomewhat similar in name, but entirely<br />
different in character . To correct this error where it may have<br />
been committed, is the object <strong>of</strong> this article, which otherwise<br />
would not have been entitled to a place in a masonic lexicon .t<br />
* Memoirs <strong>of</strong> Jacobinism .<br />
t <strong>The</strong> Rosicrucians do not derive their name, like Rose Croix Masons, from<br />
the Rose and Cross, for they have nothing to do with the rose, but from the<br />
Latin rod, dew, and crux, the cross, as a hieroglyphic <strong>of</strong> light, which Mosheim<br />
as pl%ins as follows : 1 1 Of all natural bodica, dew was esteemed the most pow-
418 ROY<br />
ROYAL ARCH . More properly called the Holy Roya,<br />
Arch . It is the seventh degree in the York rite, as practised in<br />
this country, and by some styled the summit <strong>of</strong> ancient masonry .<br />
Dermot says <strong>of</strong> it, " this I firmly believe to be the root, heart<br />
and marrow <strong>of</strong> masonry ." And Hutchinson, speaking <strong>of</strong> it,<br />
uses the following remarkable language : "As Moses was commanded<br />
to pull his shoes from <strong>of</strong>f his feet, on Mount Horeb, because<br />
the ground whereon he trod was sanctified by the presence<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Divinity, so the Mason who would prepare himself for<br />
this exalted stage <strong>of</strong> masonry, should advance in the naked paths<br />
<strong>of</strong> truth, be divested <strong>of</strong> every degree <strong>of</strong> arrogance, and approach<br />
with steps <strong>of</strong> innocence, humility and virtue, to challenge the<br />
ensigns <strong>of</strong> an order, whose institutions arise on the most solemn<br />
and sacred principles <strong>of</strong> religion ."<br />
This degree brings to light many essentials <strong>of</strong> the craft which<br />
were for the space <strong>of</strong> 470 years buried in darkness, and at the<br />
same time impresses on the mind <strong>of</strong> the possessor the belief in a<br />
Supreme Being and the reverence due to his holy name .<br />
This is the proper place to introduce a brief account <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Temple from its dedication by Nebuchadnezzar, and its re-erection<br />
seventy years afterwards by Zerubbabel .<br />
After the death . <strong>of</strong> Solomon, ten <strong>of</strong> the twelve tribes revolted<br />
from his son Rehoboam . <strong>The</strong> tribes <strong>of</strong> Judah and Benjamin,<br />
however, continued faithful to the house <strong>of</strong> David, and were<br />
ruled by the descendants <strong>of</strong> Solomon, until, in the eleventh year<br />
<strong>of</strong> the reign <strong>of</strong> Zedekiah, the city was taken after a siege <strong>of</strong><br />
eighteen months, by Nebuchadnezzar, King <strong>of</strong> Babylon, who destroyed<br />
the city, set fire to the Temple, and carried away most <strong>of</strong><br />
the inhabitants as captives to Babylcn, 416 years after the Temple<br />
had been dedicated to Jehovah, by King Solomon .<br />
erful solvent <strong>of</strong> gold ; and the cross, in chemical language, is equivalent to<br />
light, because the figure <strong>of</strong> a cross + exhibits at the same time three letters,<br />
<strong>of</strong> which the words LVX, or light, is compounded . Hence a Rosicrucian phi .<br />
losopher is one who, by the assistance <strong>of</strong> the dew, seeks for light, or the phi .<br />
1 8801)h( -,a stone.
ROY 419<br />
<strong>The</strong> tribes <strong>of</strong> Judah and Benjamin remained in captivity<br />
seventy years at Babylon, until Cyrus, in the first year <strong>of</strong> his<br />
reign, commiserating the calamity <strong>of</strong> the Jews, issued an edict,<br />
permitting them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the house <strong>of</strong><br />
the Lord . This they did under the care <strong>of</strong> Zerubbabel, Prince<br />
<strong>of</strong> Judah, and Joshua, the High Priest who superintended the<br />
work, while Higgai, the . Scribe, instigated his countrymen, by<br />
his eloquence, to zeal and diligence in the pious labour .<br />
Until the year 1797, as no grand chapters were in existence,<br />
a competent number <strong>of</strong> companions, possessed <strong>of</strong> sufficient abilities,<br />
proceeded, under the sanction <strong>of</strong> a Master's warrant, to confer<br />
the degree <strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch with the preparatory degrees .<br />
But in that year, a convention <strong>of</strong> delegates from the several<br />
chapters in Pennsylvania met, and after mature deliberation, resolved<br />
to organize a Grand Chapter, which was accordingly done .<br />
Since that period, the jurisdiction <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch Masonry has<br />
been separated from that <strong>of</strong> the symbolic degrees .<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers in a chapter, <strong>of</strong> this degree, are a Most Excellent<br />
High Priest, King, Scribe, Captain <strong>of</strong> the Host, Principal Sojourner,<br />
Royal Arch Captain, three Grand Masters <strong>of</strong> the Nails,<br />
Secretary, Treasurer, and' Sentinel .<br />
<strong>The</strong> true origin <strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch is an important question,<br />
that has lately engaged the attention <strong>of</strong> masonic writers . Some<br />
have asserted that it was brought by the Templars from the Holy<br />
Land ; others say that it was established as a part <strong>of</strong> Templar<br />
masonry in the sixteenth century, and others again assert that it<br />
was unknown before the . year 1780. Dr. Oliver, in a work <strong>of</strong><br />
pr<strong>of</strong>ound research on this subject, says that " there exists sufficient<br />
evidence to disprove all their conjectures, and to fix the era<br />
<strong>of</strong> its introduction to a period which is coeval with the memorable<br />
schism amongst the English Masons about the middle <strong>of</strong> the<br />
last century."*<br />
*Some account <strong>of</strong> the schism which took place during the last century<br />
amongst the Free and Accepted Masons in England, showing the presumed<br />
origin <strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch degree, &c ., p. 4.
1290 ROY<br />
It seems to me, as the result <strong>of</strong> a careful examination <strong>of</strong> the<br />
evidence adduced, that before the year 1740, the essential element<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch constituted a part <strong>of</strong> the third degree,<br />
and that about that year it was severed from that degree and<br />
transferred to another, by the schismatic body calling itself "the<br />
Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England according to the old Constitutions ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> Royal Arch in England is at present practised as a fourth<br />
degree, and the possession <strong>of</strong> the Past Mastership is not, as in<br />
this country, considered as a . necessary qualification for exaltation .<br />
Any worthy Master Mason is now considered as eligible for the<br />
honours <strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch . <strong>The</strong> Royal Arch, in that country,<br />
is not considered as " essentially a degree, but the perfection <strong>of</strong><br />
the third ."* <strong>The</strong> time and circumstances <strong>of</strong> the degree as conferred<br />
in England coincide with the ritual in this country in the<br />
most important particulars . <strong>The</strong>re is, however, an anomaly in<br />
the introduction <strong>of</strong> Ezra and Nehemiah as the companions <strong>of</strong> the<br />
three principal <strong>of</strong>ficers .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Royal Arch, as conferred in Ireland, differs very materially<br />
from the degree in England and America . <strong>The</strong> Irish system<br />
consists <strong>of</strong> three degrees ; the Excellent, Super Excellent and<br />
Royal Arch, and the Past Master's degree is indispensable as a<br />
qualification for exaltation . <strong>The</strong> Excellent and Super Excellent<br />
degrees refer to events connected with the legation <strong>of</strong> Moses .<br />
<strong>The</strong> events commemorated in the Royal Arch <strong>of</strong> Ireland refer to<br />
2 Chronicles, chap . xxxiv., and expressly to the 14th verse <strong>of</strong><br />
that chapter . "And when they brought out the money that<br />
was brought into the house <strong>of</strong> the Lord, Hilkiah, the priest,<br />
found a book <strong>of</strong> the law <strong>of</strong> the Lord given by Moses ." <strong>The</strong><br />
date <strong>of</strong> their degree is, therefore, 624 B.C ., or ninety years<br />
earlier than ours .<br />
In Scotland the era <strong>of</strong> the legend <strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch is the<br />
.same as in England and America, but the organization <strong>of</strong> the<br />
system is very different . <strong>The</strong> Mark and Past Master, which are<br />
* Freemason's Quart. Rev. 1843, p . 464.
ROY 421<br />
called "Chair Master degrees," are indispensable qualifications,<br />
and candidates having had these degrees conferred receive two<br />
others, Excellent and Super Excellent, as preparatory to the<br />
Arch . Chapters in Scotland also confer on Royal Arch Masons<br />
the degrees <strong>of</strong> Royal Ark Mariner and Red Cross Knight, the<br />
latter degree receiving from them the name <strong>of</strong> " Babylonish<br />
Pass ." <strong>The</strong> Scotch Masons contend that the Royal Arch, with<br />
its subsidiary degrees, constitutes a part <strong>of</strong> Templar Masonry .*<br />
Badge <strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch . <strong>The</strong> badge <strong>of</strong> a Royal Arch Mason<br />
is the apron and sash . In America the apron is a white<br />
lambskin, bordered with scarlet edging . <strong>The</strong> sash is <strong>of</strong> scarlet<br />
silk or velvet, on which are inscribed the words " Holiness to the<br />
Lord ." <strong>The</strong> colour is emblematic <strong>of</strong> fervency and zeal ; the<br />
words are those which were worn in front <strong>of</strong> the High Priest's<br />
mitre . In England the apron and sash are <strong>of</strong> purple radiated<br />
with crimson,t the former implying awe and reverence, and the<br />
latter, justice tempered with mercy . <strong>The</strong> triple tau is delineated<br />
on the apron .<br />
Jewel <strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch . In this country we have lost sight<br />
<strong>of</strong> the jewel, though I hope to see it yet restored . <strong>The</strong> English<br />
Royal Arch jewel is a double triangle within a circle <strong>of</strong> gold . In<br />
the centre <strong>of</strong> the two triangles, a sun with diverging rays, and underneath,<br />
or suspended to this, the triple tau . <strong>The</strong> intersecting<br />
triangles denote the elements <strong>of</strong> fire and water, the circle, infinity<br />
and eternity, and the sun is an emblem <strong>of</strong> Deity . So important<br />
is the triple tau considered that it is called " the emblem <strong>of</strong> all<br />
emblems, and the Grand Emblem <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch Masonry ."<br />
ROYAL ARCH, ANCIENT . See Knight <strong>of</strong> the tvinth Arch .<br />
ROYAL ARCH CAPTAIN. <strong>The</strong> sixth <strong>of</strong>ficer in a chapter<br />
* General Regulations for the government <strong>of</strong> the order <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch Masons<br />
in Scotland . Edinburg, 1845 .<br />
t Finch says the colours are purple, red and blue, the blue implying truth<br />
%nd constancy. This agrees better with the colours <strong>of</strong> our Royal Arch .<br />
86
422 ROY-RUL<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch degree, whose duties and station are, in some<br />
respects, similar to those <strong>of</strong> a Junior Deacon in a symbolic lodge .<br />
ROYAL ARCH OF ENOCH . This is more usually known<br />
as the degree <strong>of</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong> the Ninth Arch, which see .<br />
ROYAL ART . Masonry is called a Royal Art, not only because<br />
it received its present form from the royal hands <strong>of</strong> Solomon,<br />
King <strong>of</strong> Israel, and Hiram, King <strong>of</strong> Tyre, and has since<br />
enrolled among its members the proudest and most powerful potentates<br />
<strong>of</strong> the earth, but more especially, because <strong>of</strong> the dignity<br />
and majesty <strong>of</strong> the principles which it inculcates and which elevate<br />
it above all other arts, as a king is elevated above his subjects<br />
.<br />
ROYAL MASTER. A degree by no means <strong>of</strong> ancient origin,<br />
intimately connected with the degree <strong>of</strong> Select Master, and<br />
with it, as explanatory <strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch degree, sometimes<br />
given in chapters preparatory to that degree,* and sometimes<br />
conferred on Royal Arch Masons by a distinct and independent<br />
body, called "A Council <strong>of</strong> Royal and Select Masters ." <strong>The</strong> legend<br />
<strong>of</strong> the degree is brief, but interesting .<br />
RULE . An instrument with which straight lines are drawn,<br />
and, therefore, used in the Past Master's degree as an emblem,<br />
admonishing the Master punctually to observe his duty, to press<br />
forward in-the path <strong>of</strong> virtue, and neither inclining to the right<br />
nor the left, in all his actions to have eternity in view . . <strong>The</strong><br />
twenty-four inch guage is <strong>of</strong>ten used in giving the instruction as<br />
a substitute for this working tool . But they are entirely differ-<br />
0 Such is the case in the Chapters <strong>of</strong> R . A . Masons in Virginia ; but the<br />
Grand Council <strong>of</strong> R . and S . Masters in Alabama have taken exception to this<br />
course and declared all R . and S . Masters, thus made, clandestine, and ineli .<br />
gible to admission into their Councils .
SAB-SAI 423<br />
ent ; the twenty-four inch gauge is one <strong>of</strong> the working tools <strong>of</strong><br />
an Entered Apprentice, and requires to have the twenty-four<br />
inches marked upon its surface ; the rule is one <strong>of</strong> the working<br />
tools <strong>of</strong> a Past Master, and is without the twenty-four divisions .<br />
<strong>The</strong> rule is appropriated to the Past or Present Master, because,<br />
by its assistance, he is enabled to lay down on the trestle board<br />
the designs for the craft to work by .<br />
S .<br />
SABBATH . God having created the world in six days,<br />
rested on the seventh and proclaimed it holy . It is the type <strong>of</strong><br />
that time <strong>of</strong> refreshment which he only should expect who has well<br />
and faithfully fulfilled the days <strong>of</strong> his labour . Hence, with the<br />
virtuous Mason, the Sabbath day has ever been esteemed as an<br />
occasion on which he might contemplate the works <strong>of</strong> creation<br />
and humbly adore the great Creator .<br />
SAINT ANDREW, GRAND SCOTCH KNIGHT OF .<br />
Grand Ecossais de Saint Andre . <strong>The</strong> 29th degree <strong>of</strong> the Ancient<br />
and Accepted Scotch rite, and may be considered as preparatory<br />
to the Kadosh . It is founded on the legend which we<br />
have recorded in the sketch <strong>of</strong> the Chevalier Ramsay, given in<br />
this work . It is the first .<strong>of</strong> the three degrees which he undertook<br />
to substitute in the place <strong>of</strong> the ancient symbolic degrees .<br />
This degree is sometimes called " Patriarch <strong>of</strong> the Crusades," in<br />
allusion to its supposed origin during those wars, and sometimes<br />
~~ Grand Master <strong>of</strong> Light," on account <strong>of</strong> the masonic instruc .<br />
tions it contains .<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers are a Master and two Wardens . <strong>The</strong> lodge is<br />
hung with red, and illuminated with eighty-one lights disposed<br />
by nines .
424 SAI<br />
<strong>The</strong> jewel proper is the square and compasses with a poignard<br />
in the centre, within a triple triangle, the whole surrounded by<br />
a sun . <strong>The</strong>re is another jewel, which is a cross <strong>of</strong> St. Andrew,<br />
having a Y within a triangle, surrounded by a circle in the centre<br />
<strong>of</strong> the cross, and one <strong>of</strong> these letters B . J. M . N . on each <strong>of</strong> its<br />
extremities . ,<br />
SAINT JOHN OF JERUSALEM . <strong>The</strong> primitive, or mother<br />
lodge, was held at Jerusalem, and dedicated to St . John,<br />
and hence was called " <strong>The</strong> lodge <strong>of</strong> the holy St . John <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem<br />
." Of this first lodge all other lodges are but branches,<br />
and they therefore receive the same general name, accompanied<br />
by another local and distinctive one . In all masonic documents<br />
the words ran formerly as follows : "From the lodge <strong>of</strong> the holy<br />
St. John <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem, under the distinctive appellation <strong>of</strong> Soloman's<br />
lodge, No, 1 ." or whatever might be the local name . In<br />
this style foreign documents still run ; and it is but a few years<br />
since it has been at all disused in this country .* Hence we say<br />
that every Mason hails from such a lodge, that is to say, from a<br />
just and legally constit"ted lodge . j-<br />
SAINT JOHN'S MASONRY . A term used like "Ancient<br />
Craft Masonry," to designate the three primitive degrees . <strong>The</strong>y<br />
. are, so styled by the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Scotland . "<strong>The</strong> Grand<br />
Lodge <strong>of</strong> Scotland practises no degrees <strong>of</strong> masonry but those <strong>of</strong><br />
Apprentice . Fellow-Craft, and Master Mason, denominated St .<br />
John's Masonry."T<br />
* I would certainly recommend the renewal <strong>of</strong> this masonic style, especially<br />
in diplomas .<br />
t In the degree <strong>of</strong> Grand Master <strong>of</strong> all Symbolic Lodges, the reason assigned<br />
is, "because in the time <strong>of</strong> the Crusades the Perfect Masons communicated a<br />
knowledge <strong>of</strong> their mysteries to .the Knights <strong>of</strong> St . John <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem, wherem<br />
upon it was determined to celebrate their festival annually on St. John's day,<br />
as they were both under the same law ."<br />
t Constitutions <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Scotland, c . I, art. 4 .
SAI 425<br />
SAINT JOHN THE ALMONER . <strong>The</strong> saint to whom Encampments<br />
<strong>of</strong> Knights Templar are dedicated. He was the son<br />
<strong>of</strong> the King <strong>of</strong> Cyprus, and was born in that island in the sixth<br />
century . He was elected Patriarch <strong>of</strong> Alexandria, and has been<br />
canonized by both the Greek and Roman churches, his festival<br />
among the former occurring on the 11th <strong>of</strong> November, and<br />
among the latter on the 23d <strong>of</strong> January . Bazot, who published<br />
a Manual <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, in 1811, at Paris, thinks that it is<br />
this saint, and not St . John the Evangelist, or St . John the<br />
Baptist, who is meant as the true patron <strong>of</strong> our order . " He<br />
quitted his country and the hope <strong>of</strong> a throne," says this author,<br />
" to go to Jerusalem, that he might generously aid and assist the<br />
knights and pilgrims . He founded a hospital and organized a<br />
fraternity to attend upon sick and wounded Christians, and to<br />
bestow pecuniary aid upon the pilgrims who visited the Holy<br />
Sepulchre . St. John, who was worthy to become the patron <strong>of</strong><br />
a society, whose only object is charity, exposed his life a thousand<br />
times in the cause <strong>of</strong> virtue . Neither war, nor pestilence,<br />
nor the fury <strong>of</strong> the infidels, could deter him from pursuits <strong>of</strong> benevolence<br />
. But death, at length, arrested him in the midst <strong>of</strong> his<br />
labours . Yet he left the example <strong>of</strong> his virtues to the brethren,<br />
who have made it their duty to endeavour to imitate them .<br />
Rome canonized him under the name <strong>of</strong> St . John the Almoner,<br />
or St. John <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem ; and the. Masons, whose temples, overthrown<br />
by the barbarians, he had caused to be rebuilt, selected<br />
him with one accord as their patron ."*<br />
SAINTS JOHN . St. John the Baptist, whose festival falls<br />
on the 24th <strong>of</strong> June, and St . John the Evangelist, whose festival<br />
occurs on the 27th <strong>of</strong> December, have been selected by Christian<br />
Masons as the patrons <strong>of</strong> their order ; and to them, under the<br />
appellation <strong>of</strong> the " Holy Saints John," all Christian lodges<br />
t Manual du Franc-Magon, p . 144 .<br />
36*
426 SAIL-SAS<br />
should be dedicated . See, for the author's theory on the subject<br />
<strong>of</strong> this dedication, the article Dedication in this work .<br />
SAMARITAN, GOOD . <strong>The</strong> Good Samaritan is a side de .<br />
gree given to Royal Arch Masons and their wives . Of all the<br />
side degrees it is decidedly the most beautiful and impressive .<br />
It is founded on the tenth chapter <strong>of</strong> St . Luke, 30-35 verses .<br />
A Good Samaritan is bound, when duly summoned, to nurse a<br />
companion in sickness . -<br />
SANCTUARY . That part <strong>of</strong> the temple, being two-thirds<br />
<strong>of</strong> its length, which was in front <strong>of</strong> the Holy <strong>of</strong> Holies, and between<br />
it and the porch . See Temple.<br />
SANCTUM SANCTORUM . Holy <strong>of</strong> Holies. <strong>The</strong> innermost<br />
part <strong>of</strong> the temple, into which, after its dedication, none<br />
entered but the High Priest . It was twenty cubits square, and<br />
was separated from the sanctuary by a door <strong>of</strong> cedar and four<br />
curtains <strong>of</strong> blue, purple, scarlet, and fine linen . It contained the<br />
ark <strong>of</strong> the covenant, with its mercy seat and overshadowing cherubim.<br />
See Temple .<br />
SASH . <strong>The</strong> old regulation on the subject <strong>of</strong> wearing sashes<br />
in a procession, is in the following words : "None but <strong>of</strong>ficers,<br />
who must always be Master Masons, are permitted to wear sashes ;<br />
and this decoration is only for particular <strong>of</strong>ficers ." In this country<br />
the wearing <strong>of</strong> the sash appears, very properly, to be confined<br />
to the W .- . Master, as a distinctive badge <strong>of</strong> his <strong>of</strong>fice .<br />
<strong>The</strong> sash is worn by all the companions <strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch<br />
degree, and is <strong>of</strong> a scarlet colour, with the words, " Holiness to the<br />
Lord," inscribed upon it . <strong>The</strong>se were the words placed upon the<br />
mitre <strong>of</strong> the High Priest <strong>of</strong> the Jews .<br />
<strong>The</strong> sash, or scarf, seems to have been derived from the Lennar,<br />
or sacred cord, placed upon the candidate in the initiation intc<br />
the mysteries <strong>of</strong> India, and which every Brahmin was compelled
SCA 4<br />
to wear . This cord was woven with great solemnity, and being<br />
put upon the left shoulder passed over to the right side, and hung<br />
down as low as the fingers could reach .<br />
SCANDINAVIAN MYSTERIES . <strong>The</strong> rites <strong>of</strong> initiation<br />
practised in Scandinavia, were introduced there from Scythia, by<br />
Sigge, a Cymrian warrior, who afterwards assumed the name <strong>of</strong><br />
Odin, with whom we are all familiar as the Gothic representative<br />
<strong>of</strong> 'Mercury or Hermes . This origin <strong>of</strong> these rites accounts for their<br />
general resemblance in legend and ceremonies to the Eastern<br />
mysteries . In them was celebrated the death <strong>of</strong> Balder, who was<br />
killed by Loke, who fatally wounded him with a branch <strong>of</strong> mistletoe<br />
. Balder was the sun, Loke the principle <strong>of</strong> winter, to which<br />
season the mistletoe belongs . <strong>The</strong> ceremonies <strong>of</strong> initiation represented<br />
the wailings <strong>of</strong> the gods for the death <strong>of</strong> Balder, the<br />
search for his body, in which the candidate was made to engage, and<br />
its final discovery, and his restoration to life and vigour . <strong>The</strong><br />
ceremonies were accompanied by all the paraphernalia <strong>of</strong> dismal<br />
noises and hideous sights, which was calculated to inspire the<br />
aspirant with terror and confusion, and were terminated by the<br />
administration to the initiate <strong>of</strong> a solemn oath, in which he swore<br />
to pay due submission to the chief <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> state, to practise devotion<br />
to the gods, and to protect and defend his initiated companions,<br />
at the hazard <strong>of</strong> his life from all their enemies, and if<br />
slain to avenge their death .<br />
<strong>The</strong> legend <strong>of</strong> the death <strong>of</strong> Balder, which we can scarcely doubt<br />
was the subject <strong>of</strong> initiation, is thus related. Balder was invulnerable<br />
; for Odin and Friga, (the Gothic Venus,) had exacted,<br />
in his favour, an oath <strong>of</strong> safety from every thing in nature except<br />
the mistletoe, whose promise <strong>of</strong> immunity, in contempt <strong>of</strong> its<br />
ignoble qualities, they had neglected to obtain . Loke, the principle<br />
<strong>of</strong> evil, had discovered this exception, and on a day when<br />
Balder, was sportively <strong>of</strong>fering himself as a mark to the skill and<br />
dexterity <strong>of</strong> the gods, Loke presented Hoder, who was blind, with<br />
a branch <strong>of</strong> 'mistletoe, with which he pierced the body <strong>of</strong> Balder .
128 SCA<br />
who instantly fell dead . His body was then placed in a boat,<br />
and set afloat on the waters, while all the gods mourned for his<br />
decease .* <strong>The</strong> reader who is familiar with the other mysteries<br />
<strong>of</strong> paganism, will readily detect in this legend, an obvious relation<br />
to the murder <strong>of</strong> Adonis by the boar, <strong>of</strong> Osiris by Typhon, and<br />
<strong>of</strong> Bacchus by the Titans .<br />
<strong>The</strong> ceremonies <strong>of</strong> initiation were very similar to those which<br />
have already been described in this work, as appertaining to the<br />
other rites . <strong>The</strong> candidate having been previously prepared by<br />
the necessary purifications, was conducted into the sacred cavern<br />
<strong>of</strong> initiation, his feet being naked, and led by a winding descent<br />
amid the howling <strong>of</strong> dogs, and appearance <strong>of</strong> phantoms, to the<br />
tomb <strong>of</strong> the prophetess Volva . Here, having been properly<br />
instructed, he inquires <strong>of</strong> her respecting the fate <strong>of</strong> Balder . <strong>The</strong><br />
prophetess now foretells the circumstances which have already<br />
been related in the legend above cited . <strong>The</strong> candidate presses<br />
Dnward, and soon hears the bewailings for the death <strong>of</strong> Balder .<br />
He is now confined in the Pastost until a term <strong>of</strong> penance is completed,<br />
when he is directed to search for the body <strong>of</strong> Balder, and to<br />
use his utmost endeavours to raise him from death to life . He now<br />
descends through nine subterranean passages, where sights and<br />
sounds <strong>of</strong> the most terrific character conspire to excite his imagination<br />
. He finally enters the sacellum, or holy place, and finds<br />
Balder enthroned in a distinguished seat . <strong>The</strong> aspirant was now<br />
received, as in the mysteries <strong>of</strong> Egypt, with acclamations <strong>of</strong> joy<br />
and welcome, and the Scalds, or sacred bards, like the priests <strong>of</strong><br />
Isis, chanted hymns descriptive <strong>of</strong> the generation <strong>of</strong> the gods and<br />
the creation <strong>of</strong> the world . <strong>The</strong> initiation was then terminated by<br />
the administration <strong>of</strong> the oath <strong>of</strong> fidelity already described .<br />
SCARLET. <strong>The</strong> emblematic colour <strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch degree .<br />
It is significant <strong>of</strong> the zeal and ardour which should inspire the<br />
• Oliver, Hist. Initiat . p . 256 . t See the article C<strong>of</strong>n .<br />
$ Oliver, Hist . <strong>of</strong> Initiat., lect. x.
SCH-SCO 429<br />
posst ssors <strong>of</strong> that august summit <strong>of</strong> our ritual . It was also the<br />
colour o f one the vails in the sacred tabernacle . <strong>The</strong> Hebrew<br />
words carmil, shani, and tolahht, are indifferently rendered by our<br />
translators, as crimson, or scarlet . <strong>The</strong> words appear to have been<br />
synonymous among the Jews, and to have signified a bright<br />
red colour . <strong>The</strong> colour was much worn by great men .<br />
SCHROEDER'S RITE . This is a rite consisting <strong>of</strong> the three<br />
degrees <strong>of</strong> Ancient Craft Masonry, and several higher ones, containing<br />
a mixture <strong>of</strong> magic, theosophy, and alchemy . It was<br />
invented by an impostor, <strong>of</strong> the name <strong>of</strong> Schroeder ; who, having<br />
founded at Marburgh, in 1T66, a chapter <strong>of</strong> " True and Ancient<br />
Rose Croix Masons," afterwards established, in 1779, in a<br />
lodge <strong>of</strong> Sarreburg, a school <strong>of</strong> the above named pseudo-sciences .<br />
Clavel calls Schroeder the Cagliostro <strong>of</strong> Germany . <strong>The</strong> rite is<br />
still practised by two lodges under the Constitution <strong>of</strong> the Grand<br />
Lodge <strong>of</strong> Hamburg .<br />
SCIENCES LIBERAL . See Arts Liberal .<br />
.<br />
SCOTCH MASON . Ecossais . <strong>The</strong> 5th degree <strong>of</strong> the<br />
French rite. In this degree is related the manner in which the<br />
sacred word was preserved through the skill and wisdom <strong>of</strong> our<br />
ancient brethren . <strong>The</strong> American degree <strong>of</strong> " Select Master" appears<br />
to be little more than a modification <strong>of</strong> this interesting degree .<br />
See Ecossais.<br />
A tradition contained in this degree may be interesting to the<br />
Master Mason. We there learn that HAB engraved the W .- .<br />
upon a triangle <strong>of</strong> pure metal, and fearing that it might be lost,<br />
he always bore it about his person, suspended from his neck, with<br />
the engraved side next to his breast . In a time <strong>of</strong> great peril to<br />
himself, he cast it into an old dry well, which was in the southeast<br />
corner <strong>of</strong> the temple,* where it was afterwards found by three<br />
* <strong>The</strong> Ineffable degrees <strong>of</strong> the Ancient Scotch rite Fay in the north aide <strong>of</strong><br />
the temple, which is more consistent with probability .
130 sco<br />
Masters . <strong>The</strong>y were passing near the well at the hour <strong>of</strong> meridian,<br />
and were attracted by its brilliant appearance ; whereupon,<br />
one <strong>of</strong> them descending by the assistance <strong>of</strong> his comrades, obtained<br />
it, and carried it to King Solomon . What was his disposition <strong>of</strong><br />
it is known to the Royal Arch Mason .<br />
SCOTCH RITE, ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED . Thir rite,<br />
which was organized in its present form in France, early in the<br />
eighteenth century, derives its title from the claim made by those<br />
who established it in that country, that it was originally instituted<br />
in Scotland, a claim whose validity is now generally disputed . It<br />
is, next to the York rite, perhaps the most extensively diffused<br />
throughout the masonic world . Supreme Councils, or lodges <strong>of</strong><br />
this rite, exist in England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Belgium,<br />
the United States, and many other countries . <strong>The</strong> administrative<br />
power <strong>of</strong> the rite is deposited in Supreme Councils <strong>of</strong> Sovereign<br />
Grand Inspectors General, one <strong>of</strong> which Councils only can<br />
exist in a nation, except in the United States <strong>of</strong> America, where<br />
there are two, one at Charleston, in South-Carolina, for the South,<br />
and one at Boston, for the North .*<br />
<strong>The</strong> Scotch rite, or as it is now more usually designated, the<br />
Ancient and Accepted rite, consists <strong>of</strong> thirty-three degrees, divided<br />
as follows<br />
1. Entered Apprentice .<br />
2. Fellow-Craft .<br />
3. Master Mason .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se degrees are conferred in a symbolic lodge, and differ<br />
only in a few points from the same degrees as conferred in a lodge<br />
<strong>of</strong> the York rite .<br />
4. Secret Master .<br />
5 . Perfect Master.<br />
6. Intimate Secretary.<br />
7. Provost and Judge .<br />
0 See Supreme Council.
SCO 431<br />
8. Intendant <strong>of</strong> the Buildings .<br />
9. Elected Knights <strong>of</strong> Nine .<br />
10. Illustrious Elect <strong>of</strong> Fifteen .<br />
11. Sublime Knights Elected .<br />
12 . Grand Master Architect.<br />
13 . Knight <strong>of</strong> the Ninth Arch .<br />
14. Grand Elect, Perfect and Sublime Mason .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se degrees are conferred in a body called a Lodge <strong>of</strong> Perfection,<br />
the presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer <strong>of</strong> which must be in possession <strong>of</strong> the<br />
16th degree .<br />
15. Knight <strong>of</strong> the East .<br />
16. Prince <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se two degrees are conferred in a body called a Council <strong>of</strong><br />
Princes <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem .<br />
17. Knight <strong>of</strong> the East and West .<br />
18 . Sovereign Prince <strong>of</strong> Rose Croix.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se two degrees are conferred in a body called a Chapter <strong>of</strong><br />
Princes <strong>of</strong> Rose Croix .<br />
19. Grand Pontiff .<br />
20 . Grand Master <strong>of</strong> all Symbolic loci ges .<br />
21. Noachite, or Prussian Knight .<br />
22 . Knight <strong>of</strong> the Royal Axe, or Prince <strong>of</strong> Libanus .<br />
23 . Chief <strong>of</strong> the Tabernacle .<br />
24. Prince <strong>of</strong> the Tabernacle .<br />
25. Knight <strong>of</strong> the Brazen Serpent .<br />
26. Prince <strong>of</strong> Mercy, or Scotch Trinitarian .<br />
27. Sovereign Commander <strong>of</strong> the Temple .<br />
28 . Knight <strong>of</strong> the Sun .<br />
29 . Grand Scotch Knight <strong>of</strong> St. Andrew .<br />
30. Grand Elect Knight Kadosh .<br />
31. Grand Enquiring Commander .<br />
32 . Sublime Prince <strong>of</strong> the Royal Secret .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se degrees, from the 19th inclusive, are conferred in a body<br />
designated as a Consistory <strong>of</strong> Princes <strong>of</strong> the Royal Secret, but
332 SCO-SEA<br />
they confer the 30th, 31st, and 32d, only as the proxies <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Supreme Councils .<br />
33 . Sovereign Grand Inspector Generals .<br />
This degree is given in a body called the Supreme Council,<br />
which is the administrative head <strong>of</strong> the rite .<br />
For further details, see the article Supreme Council .<br />
SCOTCH TRINITARIAN . See Prince <strong>of</strong> Mercy .<br />
SCRIBE . <strong>The</strong> Scribe is the third <strong>of</strong>ficer in a Royal Arch<br />
Chapter, and is the representative <strong>of</strong> Haggai. <strong>The</strong> Sophar, or<br />
Scribe, in the earlier Scriptures, was a kind <strong>of</strong> military secretary,<br />
but in the latter he was a learned man, and doctor <strong>of</strong> the laws,<br />
who expounded them to the people . Thus Artaxerxes calls Ezra<br />
the priest, "a Scribe <strong>of</strong> the law <strong>of</strong> the God <strong>of</strong> heaven ." Horne*<br />
says that the Scribe was the King's Secretary <strong>of</strong> State, who registered<br />
all acts and decrees . It is in this sense that Haggai is<br />
called the Scribe in Royal Arch Masonry .<br />
SCYTHE . This is one <strong>of</strong> the melancholy emblems in the<br />
Master's degree, reminding us <strong>of</strong> the rapid flight <strong>of</strong> time, and<br />
that death, with inexorable haste, will visit alike the prince's<br />
palace and the peasant's hut .<br />
SEAL . No masonic document is valid beyond the jurisdiction<br />
in which the lodge from which it emanates, resides, unless<br />
it have appended to it the seal <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge . Foreign<br />
Grand Lodges never recognise the transactions <strong>of</strong> subordinate<br />
lodges out <strong>of</strong> their jurisdiction, unless the good standing <strong>of</strong> the<br />
said lodges is guaranteed by the seal <strong>of</strong> their Grand Lodge, and<br />
the signatures <strong>of</strong> the proper <strong>of</strong>ficers .<br />
SEAL OF SOLOMON. This is supposed to have been either<br />
* Introduction to Scriptures, iii . 93 .
SEC 433<br />
a pentangle, or, as the archaeologists more generally think, a<br />
double triangle . Richardson, in his Persian and Arabic Dictionary,<br />
says, that the muchra Salimani, or Seal <strong>of</strong> Solomon was<br />
two triangles interlaced . <strong>The</strong> Orientalists attributed many virtues<br />
to this seal, and the Talmudists say that it was inscribed on the<br />
foundation stone <strong>of</strong> the Temple.<br />
SECRECY . <strong>The</strong> objection which has been urged against<br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong> on the ground <strong>of</strong> its secret character, is scarcely<br />
worthy <strong>of</strong> serious refutation . It has become threadbare, and<br />
always has been the objection only <strong>of</strong> envious and illiberal minds .<br />
Indeed, its force is immediately destroyed, when we reflect that<br />
to no worthy man need our mysteries be, for one moment, covered<br />
with the veil <strong>of</strong> concealment, for to all the deserving are our<br />
portals open . But the traditions and esoteric doctrines <strong>of</strong> our<br />
order are too valuable and too sacred to be permitted to become<br />
the topic <strong>of</strong> conversation for every idler who may desire to occupy<br />
his moments <strong>of</strong> leisure in speculations upon subjects which<br />
require much previous study and preparation to qualify the critic<br />
for a ripe and equitable judgment . Hence are they preserved,<br />
like the rich jewel in its casket, in the secret recesses <strong>of</strong> our<br />
lodge, to be brought forth only when the ceremonies with which<br />
their exhibition is accompanied, have inspired that solemnity <strong>of</strong><br />
feeling with which alone they should be approached .<br />
SECRETARY . An <strong>of</strong>ficer who records the proceedings and<br />
conducts the correspondence <strong>of</strong> the lodge . <strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong> Grand<br />
Secretary, in the Grand Lodge, was created in the year 1722,<br />
under the Grand Mastership <strong>of</strong> the Duke <strong>of</strong> Wharton, the duties<br />
having been previously performed by the Grand Wardens .*<br />
SECRET MASTER. <strong>The</strong> fourth degree <strong>of</strong> the Ancient<br />
Scotch rite, and the first <strong>of</strong> what are called the "Ineffable or<br />
See Anderson's Constitutions, p. 205.<br />
37
434 SEC-SEE<br />
Sublime degrees ." In it is explained the mystic meaning <strong>of</strong><br />
those things which are contained in the Sanctum Sanctorum .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Master represents Solomon coming to the temple to elect<br />
seven experts to replace the loss <strong>of</strong> an illustrious character . He<br />
is styled Most Powerful . <strong>The</strong>re is one Warden who represents<br />
the noble Adoniram, who had the inspection <strong>of</strong> the workmen on<br />
Mount Libanus, and who was the first Secret Master . <strong>The</strong> lodge<br />
is clothed with black, and enlightened by eighty-one lights, arranged<br />
by nine times nine .<br />
<strong>The</strong> jewel <strong>of</strong> this degree is an ivory key, on which is engraved<br />
the letter Z, suspended from a white ribbon edged with<br />
black .<br />
<strong>The</strong> apron is white, edged with black ; the flap blue, and an<br />
All-Seeing Eye engraved thereon . <strong>The</strong> white is emblemat;c <strong>of</strong><br />
candour and innocence, the black <strong>of</strong> grief .<br />
SECRET MONITOR . A side degree very extensively known<br />
in the United States, and which is intended to strengthen the<br />
bonds <strong>of</strong> fraternal affection which should exist among all Masons<br />
. During its ceremonies, which are very simple, the beautiful<br />
and affecting history <strong>of</strong> the friendship between David and<br />
Jonathan, which is contained in the twentieth chapter <strong>of</strong> the first<br />
book <strong>of</strong> Samuel, is recited .<br />
SEEING . One <strong>of</strong> the five human senses, whose importance<br />
is treated <strong>of</strong> in the Fellow-Craft's degree . By sight, things at a<br />
distance are, as it were, brought near, and the obstacles <strong>of</strong> space<br />
overcome . So in <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, by a judicious use <strong>of</strong> this sense,<br />
in modes which none but Masons comprehend, men distant from<br />
each' other in language, in religion and in politics, are brought<br />
near, and the impediments <strong>of</strong> birth and prejudice are overthrown .<br />
But, in the natural world, sight cannot be exercised without the<br />
necessary assistance <strong>of</strong> light, for in darkness we are unable to<br />
see . So in the Mason, the peculiar advantages <strong>of</strong> masonic sight<br />
require, for their enjoyment, the blessing <strong>of</strong> masonic l:'ght . Illu-
SEL 435<br />
minated by its divine rays, the Masi n sees where others are<br />
blind ; and that which to the pr<strong>of</strong>ane is but the darkness <strong>of</strong> ignorance,<br />
is to the initiated filled with the light <strong>of</strong> knowledge and<br />
understanding .<br />
SELECT MASTER . <strong>The</strong> same observations that have been<br />
made in relation to the degree <strong>of</strong> Royal Master, are applicable<br />
to this, as they are both intimately connected . It records the<br />
traditions connected with the concealment <strong>of</strong> important mysteries<br />
at the building <strong>of</strong> the first temple, and furnishes an important<br />
link in the great chain <strong>of</strong> history which connects the incidents<br />
<strong>of</strong> Ancient Craft Masonry with those that constitute the essence<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch .<br />
In the United States, the Royal Arch is considered as the<br />
seventh degree, those <strong>of</strong> Mark Past and Most Excellent Master<br />
being interposed between it and the third . In one or two <strong>of</strong> the<br />
States, however, the Royal and Select Masters have been inserted<br />
after the Past and before the Most Excellent, and within a few<br />
years an attempt has been made to make this innovation general .<br />
This has arisen from a recent controversy on the subject <strong>of</strong><br />
jurisdiction . <strong>The</strong> Royal and Select degrees belonged originally<br />
to the Supreme Councils <strong>of</strong> the Ancient and Accepted Rite, and<br />
were conferred under their authority, and by their deputies .<br />
This authority and jurisdiction the Supreme Councils still claim ;<br />
but, for many years past, through their negligence, the Councils<br />
<strong>of</strong> Royal and Select Masters, in some <strong>of</strong> the States, have been<br />
placed under the control <strong>of</strong> independent jurisdictions called<br />
Grand Councils. Like all usurped authority, however, this claim<br />
,<strong>of</strong> the State Grand Councils does not seem to have ever been<br />
universally admitted, or to have been very firmly established .<br />
Repeated attempts have been made to take the degrees out <strong>of</strong> the<br />
hands <strong>of</strong> the Councils, and to place them in the chapters, there<br />
to be ' :onferred a.s preparatory to the Royal Arch . <strong>The</strong> General<br />
Grand Chapter, in the triennial session <strong>of</strong> 1847, adopted a resolution,<br />
granting this permission to all chapters in States where
436 SEN-SER<br />
no Grand Councils exist . But, seeing the manifest injustice and<br />
inexpediency <strong>of</strong> such a measure, at the following session <strong>of</strong> 1850,<br />
it refused to take any action on the subject <strong>of</strong> these degrees . In<br />
1853 it disclaimed all control over them, and forbade the chapters<br />
under its jurisdiction to confer them .<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is no doubt in my own mind that the true jurisdiction<br />
<strong>of</strong> these degrees is vested in the Supreme Councils <strong>of</strong> the<br />
,Ancient and Accepted Rite, and that they should be conferred<br />
rather as illustrations <strong>of</strong>, than as preparatory to, the Royal Arch .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Royal Arch_ degree itself contains the most essential parts<br />
<strong>of</strong> the legends <strong>of</strong> these degrees, and can be understood without<br />
them, although they furnish many additional particulars which<br />
it would be interesting to the masonic student to know .<br />
SENIOR WARDEN . See Wardens .<br />
,SENSES . <strong>The</strong> five human senses are Seeing, Hearing, Feeling,<br />
Smelling, and Tasting ; <strong>of</strong> which the first three are, for certain<br />
well known reasons, held in great estimation among Masons .<br />
<strong>The</strong>ir nature and uses form a part <strong>of</strong> the instruction <strong>of</strong> the degree<br />
<strong>of</strong> Fellow-Craft . See them under their respective titles .<br />
SENTINEL . An <strong>of</strong>ficer in a Royal Arch Chapter, in a<br />
Council <strong>of</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong> the Red Cross, and in an Encampment <strong>of</strong><br />
Knights Templar, whose duties are similar to those <strong>of</strong> a Tiler in<br />
a symbolic. lodge .<br />
SERPENT . <strong>The</strong> serpent obtained a prominent place among<br />
the symbols <strong>of</strong> the Spurious <strong>Freemasonry</strong> <strong>of</strong> the earliest ages .<br />
Among the Egyptians, it was the symbol <strong>of</strong> Divine Wisdom,<br />
when extended at length, and the serpent with his tail in his<br />
mouth was an emblem <strong>of</strong> eternity . <strong>The</strong> winged globe and serpent<br />
symbolized their triune deity . In the ritual <strong>of</strong> Zoroaster,<br />
the serpent was a symbol <strong>of</strong> the universe . In China, the ring<br />
between two serpents was the symbc 1 <strong>of</strong> the world governed by
SEV 437<br />
the power and wisdom <strong>of</strong> the Creator . <strong>The</strong> same device with, it<br />
is presumed, the same signification, is several times repeated on<br />
the Isiac table, which shows the universality <strong>of</strong> the symbol . In<br />
fact, serpent worship was one <strong>of</strong> the earliest deviations from the<br />
true system, and in almost all the ancient rites we find same allusion<br />
to this reptile . At the orgies <strong>of</strong> Bacchus,* the serpents<br />
were carried in the hands, or crowned the heads <strong>of</strong> the Bacchanalians,<br />
while frequent cries <strong>of</strong> " Eva, Eva," were frantically<br />
uttered. One <strong>of</strong> the ceremonies in the rites <strong>of</strong> Jupiter Sabasius<br />
was to let a serpent slip down the back <strong>of</strong> the person to be initiated<br />
. According to Plutarch, the women <strong>of</strong> Mount Haemus, in<br />
Thrace, practised similar rites. According to Bryant, the worship<br />
<strong>of</strong> the serpent began in Chaldea, and thence passed into<br />
Egypt, where the serpent-god was called Can-oph, Can-eph, and<br />
C'neph . <strong>The</strong> Ethiopians introduced it into Greece . And so<br />
long did the serpent worship continue, that it is mentioned by<br />
Tertullian, and other fathers, as one <strong>of</strong> the early heresies <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Church, and practised by a sect called Ophites . Oliver says,<br />
that in Christian masonry the serpent is an emblem <strong>of</strong> the fall<br />
and subsequent redemption <strong>of</strong> man . I do not, however, myself,<br />
deem it as a pure masonic symbol . When used, I suppose it to<br />
be with its ancient signification <strong>of</strong> Divine Wisdom and Eternity ;<br />
accordingly as it is exhibited in a lengthened form, or convoluted<br />
with its tail in its mouth<br />
SEVEN. <strong>The</strong> number seven, among all nations, has been<br />
considered as a sacred nu*ber, and in every system <strong>of</strong> antiquity .<br />
we find a frequent reference to it . <strong>The</strong> Pythagoreans called it a<br />
* <strong>The</strong> Greek name <strong>of</strong> Bacchus is Dionysus, an account <strong>of</strong> whose mysteries<br />
is to be found in this volume. Wilford (Essay on Egypt, in the Asiatic Researches)<br />
supposes this deity to have been identical with the Hindoo god,<br />
Deva-Nahusha, popularly called Deo-Naush . Now Faber (Horns Mosaicss)<br />
derives Dionysus from this Deo-Naush, and Naush fram the Hebrew word<br />
wrjj, or Naash, a serpent, making Dionysus, or Deo-Naash, equivalent,<br />
therefore, to the god Naash, or the serpent-god .<br />
37*
438 SEV<br />
venerable number, because it referred to the creation, and be .<br />
cause it was made up <strong>of</strong> the two perfect figures, the triangle and<br />
the square . Among the Hebrews, the etymology 3f the word<br />
shows its sacred import ; for, from the word Vn V (shebang,)<br />
seven, is derived the verb VnV (shabang,) to swear, because<br />
oaths were confirmed either by seven witnesses, or by seven victims<br />
<strong>of</strong>fered in sacrifice, as we read in the covenant <strong>of</strong> Abraham<br />
and Abimelech .* (Gen . 21-28 .) Hence, there is a frequent<br />
recurrence to this number in the Scriptural history . <strong>The</strong> Sabbath<br />
was the seventh day ; Noah received seven days' notice <strong>of</strong><br />
the commencement <strong>of</strong> the deluge, and was commanded to select<br />
clean beasts and fowls by sevens ; seven persons accompanied him<br />
into the ark ; the ark rested on Mount Ararat in the seventh<br />
month ; the intervals between despatching the dove, were, each<br />
time, seven days ; the walls <strong>of</strong> Jericho were encompassed seven<br />
days, by seven priests, bearing seven rams' horns ; Solomon was<br />
seven years building the temple, which was . dedicated in the<br />
seventh month, and the festival lasted seven days ; the candlestick<br />
in the tabernacle consisted <strong>of</strong> seven branches, and finally,<br />
the tower <strong>of</strong> Babel was said to have been elevated seven stories<br />
before the dispersion .<br />
Among the heathens, this number was equally sacred .t A<br />
few instances <strong>of</strong> their reference to it, may be interesting. <strong>The</strong>re<br />
were seven ancient planets, seven Pleiades, and seven Hyades ;<br />
seven altars burnt continually before the god Mithras ; the Arabians<br />
had seven holy temples ; the Hindoos supposed the world<br />
to be enclosed within the compass <strong>of</strong> seven peninsulas ; the Goths<br />
* <strong>The</strong> radical meaning <strong>of</strong> VnW, is sufficiency or fulness, and the number<br />
seven was thus denominated, because it was on the seventh day that God completed<br />
his work <strong>of</strong> creation ; and "hence," says Parkhurst, "seven was both<br />
among believers and boathens the number <strong>of</strong> sufficiency or completicn ."--<br />
Lexie. N. T. in ooc. erra.<br />
t Cicero, in' his Dream <strong>of</strong> Scipio, calls it the binding knot <strong>of</strong> au chugs<br />
qui numerns rerum omnium fere nodus est ." * Soon . Scrip . 5. And Plato, in<br />
his Timseus, taught that the soul <strong>of</strong> the world, "anima mundane," was gene .<br />
rated out <strong>of</strong> the number seven .
SEV 439<br />
nad seven deities, viz . : the Sun, the Moon, Tuisco, Woden,<br />
Thor, Friga, and Seatur, from whose names are derived our days<br />
<strong>of</strong> the week ; in the Persian mysteries were seven spacious<br />
caverns, through which the aspirant had to pass ; in the Gothic<br />
mysteries, the candidate met with seven obstructions, which were<br />
called the "" road <strong>of</strong> the seven stages ; and finally, sacrifices were<br />
always considered as most efficacious when the victims were seven<br />
in number .*<br />
*An anonymous writer adds the following to the list above citad, <strong>of</strong> the<br />
consecrations <strong>of</strong> the number seven<br />
"In six days earth's creation was perfected-the seventh was consecrated to<br />
rest. If Cain be avenged sevenfold, Lamech seventy and sevenfold . Abraham<br />
pleaded seven times for Sodom ; he gave seven ewe lambs to Abimelech<br />
for a well <strong>of</strong> water. Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and also another<br />
seven years . Joseph mourned seven days for Jacob . Laban pursued after<br />
Jacob seven days' journey . <strong>The</strong> seven years <strong>of</strong> plenty, and the seven years<br />
<strong>of</strong> famine, were foretold in Pharaoh's dream by the seven fat and lean beasts,<br />
and the seven ears <strong>of</strong> blasted corn. <strong>The</strong> children <strong>of</strong> Israel were to eat unleavened<br />
bread seven days . <strong>The</strong> young <strong>of</strong> animals were to remain with the<br />
dam seven days, and at the close <strong>of</strong> the seventh to be taken away . By the<br />
old law, man was commanded to forgive his <strong>of</strong>fending brother seven times, but<br />
the meekness <strong>of</strong> the Saviour extended his forbearance to seventy times seven .<br />
On the seventh month a holy observance was commanded to the children <strong>of</strong><br />
Israel, who fasted seven days, and remained seven days in tents . Every<br />
seventh year was directed to be a year <strong>of</strong> rest for all things, and at the end <strong>of</strong><br />
seven times seven years commenced the jubilee ; they were to observe a feast<br />
-seven days, after they had gathered in their corn and wine ; seven days they<br />
were to keep a solemn feast, as they had been blessed in the work <strong>of</strong> their<br />
hands . Every seventh year the land lay fallow . Every seventh year there<br />
was a general release from all debts, and bondsmen were set free . Every<br />
seventh year the law was directed to be read to the people . If they were<br />
obedient, their enemies should flee before them seven ways ; if disobedient,<br />
their enemies should chase them seven ways . Hannah, the mother <strong>of</strong><br />
Samuel, in her thanks says, that the barren hath brought forth seven, as some<br />
Jewish writers say that his name answers to the value <strong>of</strong> the letters in the<br />
Hebrew word, which signify seven . Seven <strong>of</strong> Saul's sons were hanged to stay<br />
a famine. Jesse had seven sons, the youngest <strong>of</strong> whom ascended the throne<br />
<strong>of</strong> IsraeL <strong>The</strong> number <strong>of</strong> animals in sundry <strong>of</strong> their oblations, were limited<br />
to seven. Seven days were appointed for an atonement on the altar, and<br />
she priest's son was appointed to wear his father's garment seven days ."<br />
Were it necessary, the list might be still further enlarged .
440 SHE-SRI<br />
In <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, seven is an essential and importar t number,<br />
and throughout the whole system the septenary influence extends<br />
itself in a thousand different ways .<br />
SHEKEL . A weight among the Hebrews, <strong>of</strong> which there<br />
were two kinds, the king's shekel, and that <strong>of</strong> the sanctuary ;<br />
the latter being double the value <strong>of</strong> the former . <strong>The</strong> common<br />
or king's shekel, which is the one alluded to, in the Mark degree,<br />
was worth about half a dollar . Th. shekel was not a coin,<br />
but a definite weight <strong>of</strong> gold or silver, which, being weighed out,<br />
passed as current money among the Hebrews . <strong>The</strong> half shekel<br />
has been adopted as the value <strong>of</strong> a mark, because it was the<br />
amount paid by each Israelite after he arrived at manhood, towards<br />
the support <strong>of</strong> the Temple, and was hence, called tribute<br />
money .<br />
SHEKINAH . <strong>The</strong> Divine presence manifested by a visible<br />
cloud resting over the mercy seat in the holy <strong>of</strong> holies . It first<br />
appeared over the ark when Moses consecrated the Tabernacle ;<br />
and was afterwards, upon the consecration <strong>of</strong> the Temple by Solomon,<br />
translated thither, where it remained until the destruction<br />
<strong>of</strong> that building .<br />
SHIBBOLETH . <strong>The</strong> word Jj~ :)V, in Hebrew, has two<br />
significations ; 1, An ear <strong>of</strong> corn ; and 2, A stream <strong>of</strong> water. This<br />
is the word which the Gileadites, by the order <strong>of</strong> Jeptha, required<br />
the Ephraimites to pronounce . As the latter were desirous <strong>of</strong><br />
crossing the river Jordan, and as the word signifies a stream <strong>of</strong><br />
water, it is probable that this meaning suggested it as an apps<br />
priate test word on that occasion. <strong>The</strong> proper sound <strong>of</strong> the first<br />
letter <strong>of</strong> this word is sh, a harsh breathing -which is exceedingly<br />
difficult to be pronounced by persons whose vocal organs have not<br />
been accustomed to it. Such was the case with the Ephraimites,<br />
who substituted for the aspiration the hissing sound <strong>of</strong> s . <strong>The</strong>ir<br />
organs <strong>of</strong> voice were incapable <strong>of</strong> the aspiration and, therefore, as
SHO 441<br />
the record has it, they I' could not frame to pronounce it right ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> learned Burder remarks that in Arabia the difference <strong>of</strong> pro.<br />
nunciation among persons <strong>of</strong> various districts is much greater than<br />
in most other places, and such as easily accounts for the circumstance<br />
mentioned in the passage <strong>of</strong> Judges .* Hutchinson, speaking<br />
<strong>of</strong> this word, rather fancifully derives it from the Greek 6cgw,<br />
I revere, and Ac6oc, a stone, and therefore, he says " rg3oAcOov,<br />
8ibbolithon, Colo Lapidem, implies that they (the Masons) retain<br />
and keep inviolate their obligations, as the Juramentum<br />
per Jovem Lapidem, the most obligatory oath held among the<br />
heathen." t<br />
SHOE . Among the Ancient Israelites, the shoe was made<br />
use <strong>of</strong> in several significant ways . To put <strong>of</strong>f the shoes, imported<br />
reverence, and was done in the presence <strong>of</strong> God, or on entering<br />
the dwelling <strong>of</strong> a superior . To unloose one's shoe and give it to<br />
another, was the way <strong>of</strong> confirming a contract . Thus we read in<br />
the book <strong>of</strong> Ruth, that Boaz having proposed to the nearest kinsmen<br />
<strong>of</strong> Ruth, to exercise his legal right, by redeeming the land<br />
<strong>of</strong> Naomi which was <strong>of</strong>fered for sale, and marrying her daughterin-law,<br />
the kinsman being unable to do so, resigned his right <strong>of</strong><br />
purchase to Boaz ; and the narrative goes on to say, " Now this<br />
was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming<br />
and concerning changing, for to confirm all things ; a man plucked<br />
<strong>of</strong>f his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour : and this was a testimony<br />
in Israel . <strong>The</strong>refore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee.<br />
So he drew <strong>of</strong>f his shoe ." . . Ruth iv . 7, 8 .<br />
As to the ancient custom <strong>of</strong> taking <strong>of</strong>f the shoes as a mark <strong>of</strong><br />
reverence, the reader is referred to the article Discalceation .<br />
SHOVEL. One <strong>of</strong> the working tools <strong>of</strong> a Royal Arch Mason.<br />
* Burder's Oriental Customs, vol . IL numb. 782 .<br />
t Hutchinson, Spirit <strong>of</strong> Masonry, p . 113.
442 SID-SIG<br />
<strong>The</strong> working tools <strong>of</strong> this degree are the Crow, Pickaxe and Shovel,<br />
which may be thus explained .<br />
<strong>The</strong> crow is an implement used to raise heavy stones, the pick .<br />
axe to loosen the soil and prepare it for digging, and the shovel<br />
to remove rubbish . But the Royal Arch Mason is speculatively<br />
taught to use them for a more glorious and exalted purpose . By<br />
them he is- admonished to raise his thoughts above the corrupting<br />
influence <strong>of</strong> wordly-mindedness, loosening from his heart the hold<br />
<strong>of</strong> evil habits, and removing the rubbish <strong>of</strong> passions and prejudices<br />
that he may be fitted, when he thus escapes from the captivity<br />
<strong>of</strong> sin, for the search and the reception <strong>of</strong> Eternal Truth and<br />
Wisdom .<br />
SIDE DEGREES . <strong>The</strong>se are degrees, which have generally<br />
been the invention <strong>of</strong> Grand Lectures, but which have no connection<br />
with the ritual <strong>of</strong> masonry, and whose . legality is not acknowledged<br />
by Grand Lodges. Some <strong>of</strong> them are very interesting,<br />
with an evident moral tendency, while others again, are trifling,<br />
and with no definite nor virtuous object in view . <strong>The</strong> worst <strong>of</strong><br />
them, however, can only be considered, in the language <strong>of</strong> Preston,<br />
as "innocent and in<strong>of</strong>fensive amusements ."<br />
SIGNATURE . A Mason receiving from a lodge a certificate,<br />
is required to affix in the margin his signature in his usual handwriting,<br />
as a means <strong>of</strong> identifying the true owner from a false<br />
pretender, in case the certificate should be lost, and thus come<br />
into the possession <strong>of</strong> any one not legally entitled to it . See Are<br />
Varietur .<br />
SIGNET . A private seal set in a ring . <strong>The</strong> ancient Orientalists<br />
engraved names and sentences on their seals, a custom<br />
which the modern Mohammedans continue to follow . Many <strong>of</strong><br />
these signet rings have, within a few years past, been dug up in<br />
Egypt, having the letters <strong>of</strong> a name cut in cameo on one side, and<br />
a figure <strong>of</strong> the sacred beetle- on the other A signet was <strong>of</strong>ten
SIT-SOL 44s<br />
given by the owner to another person, and served in such a case<br />
as a pass, investing the receiver with all the anthority possessed<br />
by the giver.<br />
Signets were originally engraved altogether upon stone, and,<br />
according to Pliny, metal ones did not come into use until the<br />
time <strong>of</strong> Claudius Caesar . <strong>The</strong> signet <strong>of</strong> Zerubbabel was, therefore,<br />
most probably <strong>of</strong> stone . _<strong>The</strong> signet <strong>of</strong> Solomon is said to have<br />
been a pentalpha or endless triangle within a circle, and having<br />
the name <strong>of</strong> God engraved thereon .<br />
SITUATION OF THE LODGE . See East.<br />
SIX PERIODS, THE GRAND ARCHITECT'S . c' <strong>The</strong><br />
Grand Architect's six periods" is an expression used by Masons<br />
to designate the six days <strong>of</strong> the Creation . Our masonic books<br />
dilate upon them as a proper means <strong>of</strong> stimulating the Mason to<br />
industrious labour during the week, that he may be enabled to rest<br />
upon the Sabbath, to contemplate the glorious works <strong>of</strong> Creation<br />
and adore their great Creator.<br />
SMELLING . One <strong>of</strong> the five human senses, and as the<br />
recipient <strong>of</strong> the numerous fragrant odours that arise from the<br />
flowers <strong>of</strong> the field and other objects <strong>of</strong> nature and art, a source<br />
<strong>of</strong> enjoyment to man .<br />
SOLOMON . King <strong>of</strong> Israel and First Grand Master <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong> . His history is full <strong>of</strong> interest to the fraternity.<br />
He was the son <strong>of</strong> David and Bathsheba, and was born in . the<br />
year <strong>of</strong> the world 27171 . Of him it had been prophecied to his<br />
father, "hold a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man<br />
<strong>of</strong> rest ; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round<br />
about ; 'for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace<br />
and quietness unto Israel in his day . He shall build a house for<br />
my name, he shall be my son, and I will be his father ; and r
444 SOL<br />
will establish the throne <strong>of</strong> his kingdom over Israel forever ."<br />
1 Chron . xxii . 9, 10 .<br />
Solomon had scarcely commenced his reign, when he beg n<br />
to prepare for the fulfilment <strong>of</strong> his father's last solemn injunctions<br />
to build a temple to the' Most High . With this view he<br />
applied for help to the most powerful <strong>of</strong> his allies, Hiram, King<br />
<strong>of</strong> Tyre, a_prince <strong>of</strong> a liberal disposition, who, far from envying<br />
Solomon's wealth and fame, cordially assisted him, and supplied<br />
him, not only with the proper materials, but also with labourers,<br />
and above all with an architect <strong>of</strong> surpassing skill in every kind<br />
<strong>of</strong> cunning workmanship . Solomon now appointed a tribute to<br />
be laid on all the people, <strong>of</strong> 30,000 labourers, whom he divided<br />
into three classes <strong>of</strong> 10,000 in each . Each <strong>of</strong> these classes<br />
worked one month in cutting timber on Mount Lebanon, and<br />
then rested twos Over these he placed Adoniram as Junior<br />
Grand Warden . <strong>The</strong>re were also 80,000 masons, and 70,000<br />
labourers or men <strong>of</strong> burden, the remains <strong>of</strong> the old Canaanites,<br />
who are not reckoned among the masons, and 3300 overseers,<br />
with 300 rulers, making in all 183,600 persons engaged upon<br />
the Temple, <strong>of</strong> whom 113,600 were masons .<br />
<strong>The</strong> TemplOwas begun on Monday, the 2d day <strong>of</strong> the month<br />
Zif, corresponding to the 21st <strong>of</strong> April, in the year <strong>of</strong> the world<br />
2992, and 1012 years before the Christian era, and was completed<br />
in a little more than seven years, on the 8th day <strong>of</strong> the<br />
month Bul, or the 23d <strong>of</strong> October, in the year <strong>of</strong> the world<br />
2999, during which period no sound <strong>of</strong> axe, hammer, or other<br />
metallic tgol was heard, every thing having been cut and framed<br />
in the quarries or on Mount Lebanon and brought properly prepared<br />
to Jerusalem, where they were fitted up by means <strong>of</strong><br />
wooden mauls .<br />
"<strong>The</strong> Old Constitutions aver," (I here quote from Anderson,)<br />
'~ that some short time before the consecration <strong>of</strong> the Temple,<br />
King Hiram came from Tyre, to take a view <strong>of</strong> that mighty edifice,<br />
and to inspect the different parts there<strong>of</strong>, in which be was<br />
accompanied by King Solomon and the Deputy Grand Master,
SOB 445<br />
Hiram Abif; and after his view there<strong>of</strong> declared the Temple to<br />
be the utmost stretch <strong>of</strong> human art . Solomon here again renewed<br />
the league with Hiram, and made him a present <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Sacred Scriptures translated into the Syriac tongue, which, it is<br />
said, is still extant among the Maronites and other Eastern Christians,<br />
under the name <strong>of</strong> the old Syraic version ."<br />
Solomon next employed the craft in the construction <strong>of</strong> other<br />
works, such as his two palaces at Jerusalem, and his house <strong>of</strong> the<br />
forest <strong>of</strong> Lebanon, besides several cities, the most magnificent <strong>of</strong><br />
which was Tadmor or Palmyra .<br />
But although Solomon had now become the most renowned <strong>of</strong><br />
all the princes <strong>of</strong> his time, exceeding in riches and wisdom all<br />
who had gone before him, he, at length, forsook the law <strong>of</strong> his<br />
fathers, and began to worship the false gods <strong>of</strong> his strange wives .<br />
During his idolatry, he built temples to Chemosh, Moloch, and<br />
Ashtaroth . But repenting <strong>of</strong> his grievous sin, about three years<br />
before his death, he exclaimed, " Vanity <strong>of</strong> Vanities, all is Vanity<br />
!" He died at the age <strong>of</strong> fifty-eight, in the year <strong>of</strong> the world<br />
3029, and before Christ 975 .<br />
Solomon is supposed to preside, or rather the Master is his<br />
representative, in Lodges <strong>of</strong> Fellow-Crafts, Master Masons, Mark,<br />
Past and Most Excellent Masters, and in Councils <strong>of</strong> Select<br />
Masters, and also in several <strong>of</strong> the Ineffable degrees . See more<br />
on this subject under the title Temple, Organization at the .<br />
SORROW LODGES . It is the custom among Masons on<br />
the continent <strong>of</strong> Europe to hold special lodges at stated periods,<br />
for the purpose <strong>of</strong> commemorating the virtues and deploring the<br />
loss <strong>of</strong> their departed members and other distinguished worthies<br />
<strong>of</strong> the fraternity who have died . <strong>The</strong>se are called Funeral or<br />
Sorrow lodges . In Germany they are held annually ; in France<br />
at longer intervals . A French lodge in New York, " L'Union<br />
Francaise," holds them decennially . Sorrow lodges have also,<br />
put not lately, been held by a French lodge in Charleston, S . C .,<br />
`~ La Candeur ." <strong>The</strong> custom has been pursued by two lodges in<br />
38
446 sou-sov<br />
New York, " Pythagoras, No. 86," and " St . John's, No . 6," but<br />
I know <strong>of</strong> no other instances <strong>of</strong> Sorrow lodges being held in the<br />
United States . <strong>The</strong> custom is, however, a good one, eminently<br />
consistent with the principles <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, and which I<br />
should rejoice to see universally adopted by American lodges .<br />
On these occasions the lodge is clothed in the habiliments <strong>of</strong><br />
mourning and decorated with the emblems <strong>of</strong> death, solemn<br />
music is played, funeral dirges are chanted, and eulogies on the<br />
life, character and masonic virtues <strong>of</strong> the dead are delivered .<br />
SOUTH . When the sun is at his meridian height, his invigorating<br />
rays are darted from the south . When he rises in the<br />
east, we are called to labour ; when he sets in the west, our daily<br />
toil is over ; but when he reaches the south, the hour is high<br />
twelve, and we are summoned to refreshment.<br />
SOVEREIGN COMMANDER OF THE TEMPLE . Souverain<br />
Commandeur du Temple . <strong>The</strong> 27th degree <strong>of</strong> the Ancient<br />
Scotch rite . <strong>The</strong> presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer is styled "Most Illustrious<br />
and Most Valiant," the Wardens are called "Most Sovereign<br />
Commanders," and the Knights " Sovereign Commanders ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> place <strong>of</strong> meeting is called a " Court." <strong>The</strong> apron is fleshcoloured,<br />
lined and edged with black, with a Teutonic cross encircled<br />
by a wreath <strong>of</strong> laurel and a key beneath, all inscribed in<br />
black upon the flap . <strong>The</strong> scarf is red bordered with black,<br />
hanging from the right shoulder to the left hip, and suspending<br />
a Teutonic cross in enamelled gold . <strong>The</strong> jewel is a triangle <strong>of</strong><br />
gold, on which is engraved the ineffable name in Hebrew . It is<br />
suspended from a white collar bound with red and embroidered<br />
with four Teutonic crosses .<br />
Vassal, Ragon, and Clavel are all wrong in connecting this de .<br />
gree with the Knights Templar, with which order its own ritual<br />
declares that it is not to be confounded . It is without a lecture .<br />
Vassal expresses the following opinion <strong>of</strong> this degree<br />
49 <strong>The</strong> 27th d agree does not deserve to be classed in the Scotch
SOP 447<br />
rite as a degree, since it contains neither symbols nor allegories<br />
that connect it with initiation . It deserves still less to be ranked<br />
among the philosophic degrees . I imagine that it has been intercalated<br />
only to supply an hiatus, and as a memorial <strong>of</strong> an order<br />
once justly celebrated."*<br />
SOVEREIGN GRAND INSPECTOR GENERAL . <strong>The</strong><br />
33d and last degree <strong>of</strong> the Ancient and Accepted Scotch rite .<br />
Its members constitute a Supreme Council, which is the chief<br />
tribunal <strong>of</strong> masonry in that rite . This degree was instituted in<br />
the year 1786, under the following circumstances . By the constitutions<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Scotch rite, which were ratified on the 25th <strong>of</strong><br />
October, 1762, the King <strong>of</strong> Prussia was proclaimed as its chief,<br />
with the title <strong>of</strong> Sovereign Grand Inspector General and Grand<br />
Commander . <strong>The</strong> higher councils and chapters could not be<br />
opened without his presence, or that <strong>of</strong> a substitute appointed by<br />
him. All the transactions <strong>of</strong> the Consistory <strong>of</strong> the 32d degree,<br />
then the highest, required his sanction, or that <strong>of</strong> his substitute,<br />
and various other masonic prerogatives were attached to his <strong>of</strong>fice .<br />
No provision had, however, been made in the constitutions for his<br />
successor ; and, as it was absolutely necessary that some arrangement<br />
should be made by which the supreme power should not become<br />
extinct on his death, the kind established the 33d degree, out<br />
<strong>of</strong> the possessors <strong>of</strong> which the Supreme Council is formed, a body<br />
possessing all the masonic rights and prerogatives formerly exercised<br />
by the King <strong>of</strong> Prussia . See Supreme Council .<br />
<strong>The</strong> order or badge <strong>of</strong> ,the degree is a white sash, four inches<br />
broad, edged with gold fringe, and suspended from the right<br />
shoulder to the left hip . At the bottom is a red and white rose,<br />
and on the part that crosses the breast must be a triangle <strong>of</strong> gold<br />
surrounded by a sun, and within the triangle the figures 33 . On<br />
each side <strong>of</strong> this emblem, at the distance <strong>of</strong> two inches, must be<br />
a drawn dagger .<br />
* Vassal, Cours Magonique, p. 507.
448 SO V-SPE<br />
<strong>The</strong> jewel is a black-double headed eagle <strong>of</strong> Prussia, with gol<br />
den beaks and crowned with an imperial crown <strong>of</strong> gold, holding a<br />
naked sw .rd in his claws .<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is no apron worn in this degree .<br />
<strong>The</strong> motto <strong>of</strong> the order is Deus meumque Jus, " God and my<br />
right ."<br />
SOVEREIGN MASTER . <strong>The</strong> presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer in a Council<br />
<strong>of</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong> the Red Cross . He represents Darius, King<br />
<strong>of</strong> Persia .<br />
SPECULATIVE MASONRY . <strong>Freemasonry</strong> is called speculative<br />
masonry, to distinguish it from operative masonry, which is<br />
engaged in the construction <strong>of</strong> edifices <strong>of</strong> stone . Speculative masonry<br />
is a science, which, borrowing from the operative art its<br />
working tools and implements, sanctifies them, by symbolic instruction,<br />
to the holiest <strong>of</strong> purposes--the veneration <strong>of</strong> God, and<br />
the purification <strong>of</strong> the soul .<br />
<strong>The</strong> operative mason constructs his edifice <strong>of</strong> material substances<br />
; the speculative mason is taught to erect a spiritual building,<br />
pure, and spotless, and fit for the residence <strong>of</strong> him who dwelleth<br />
only with the good . <strong>The</strong> operative mason works according to the<br />
designs laid down for him on the trestle board by the architect ;<br />
the speculative is guided by the great trestle board, on which is<br />
inscribed the revealed will <strong>of</strong> God, the Supreme Architect <strong>of</strong><br />
heaven and earth ; the operative mason tries each stone and part<br />
<strong>of</strong> the building by the square, level and plumb ; the speculative<br />
mason examines every action <strong>of</strong> his life by the square <strong>of</strong> morality,<br />
seeing that no presumption nor vain glory has caused him to<br />
transcend the level <strong>of</strong> his allotted destiny, and no vicious propensity<br />
has led him to swerve from the plumb line <strong>of</strong> rectitude .<br />
And lastly, as it is the business <strong>of</strong> the operative mason, when his<br />
work is done, to prove every thing "true and trusty," so is it the<br />
object <strong>of</strong> the speculative mason, by a uniform tenor <strong>of</strong> virtuous con •<br />
duct, to receive, when his allotted course <strong>of</strong> life has passed, the inap .
SPH-SPU 449<br />
preciable reward, from his Celestial Grand Master, <strong>of</strong> "W ell done,<br />
thou good and faithful servant ."<br />
SPHINX. A fabulous monster, to which the ancients give<br />
the face <strong>of</strong> woman and the body <strong>of</strong> a lion . It is found in great<br />
abundance on Egyptian monuments, and Plutarch says that it<br />
was always placed before the temples <strong>of</strong> the Egyptians to indicate<br />
that their religion was enigmatical . As a symbol <strong>of</strong> mystery it<br />
has been adopted as a masonic emblem .<br />
SPURIOUS FREEMASONRY . Dr. Oliver, one <strong>of</strong> the most<br />
learned and philosophic Masons <strong>of</strong> this or perhaps any other time,<br />
contends that "the science which we now denominate Speculative<br />
Masonry was coeval, at least, with the creation <strong>of</strong> our globe, and<br />
that the far-famed mysteries <strong>of</strong> idolatry were a subsequent institution,<br />
founded on similiar principles, with the design <strong>of</strong> conveying<br />
unity and permanence to the false worship, which it otherwise<br />
could never have acquired ." This schism from the pure and<br />
original source has been designated by the name <strong>of</strong> the Spurious<br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong> <strong>of</strong> Paganism, to distinguish it from the purer system,<br />
which this theory supposes to have descended in a direct and uninterrupted<br />
line to the Freemasons <strong>of</strong> the present day .<br />
In a later work, Dr . Oliver still further explains his idea <strong>of</strong> the<br />
spurious <strong>Freemasonry</strong> . <strong>The</strong> legends and truths 'which were<br />
transmitted pure through the race <strong>of</strong> Seth, were altered and corrupted<br />
by that <strong>of</strong> Cain, and much confusion arose in consequence<br />
<strong>of</strong> the frequent intercomm_tinications <strong>of</strong> these two races before the<br />
Deluge, though the truth would still be understood by the faithful<br />
. Of these was Noah, who, out <strong>of</strong> all these deviations <strong>of</strong> the<br />
antediluvians, was enabled to distinguish truth from falsehood,<br />
and to transmit the former in a direct line, according to Rosenberg,<br />
through Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Levi, Kelhoth, Amram,<br />
Moses, Joshua, the Elders, the Prophets and the wisemen to Solomon<br />
. Hence Freemasons are sometimes called Noachidae, the<br />
descendants and disciples <strong>of</strong> Noah .<br />
38*
450 SQU<br />
But Ham had been long familiar with the corruptions tf the<br />
system <strong>of</strong> Cain and with the gradual deviations from truth which<br />
had crept into the system <strong>of</strong> Seth, and after the deluge he propagated<br />
the worst features <strong>of</strong> both systems among his descendants,<br />
out <strong>of</strong> which he or his immediate posterity formed the institution<br />
known, by way <strong>of</strong> distinction, as the Spurious <strong>Freemasonry</strong> .*<br />
Such is the theory advanced on this subject which is now very<br />
generally admitted by masonic writers . <strong>The</strong> doctrine is, however,<br />
imperfect, unless we advance one step further .<br />
<strong>The</strong> spurious <strong>Freemasonry</strong> had descended through the Gymnosophists<br />
<strong>of</strong> India to Egypt, and thence into Greece, and perhaps<br />
by a different route to Scandinavia and the northern nations <strong>of</strong><br />
Europe . Among all these it appeared in the form <strong>of</strong> initiations<br />
and mysteries whose legends bore just so much <strong>of</strong> the remains <strong>of</strong><br />
truth as to evince their divine origin, and yet so much <strong>of</strong> falsehood<br />
as to demonstrate their human corruption .<br />
<strong>The</strong>re was, in after times, a communication between one branch<br />
<strong>of</strong> this spurious <strong>Freemasonry</strong> and the true system . This took<br />
place at the Temple <strong>of</strong> Solomon, between the Jewish Masons and<br />
the Dionysian Artificers, when true <strong>Freemasonry</strong> borrowed its<br />
present organization from the greater practical wisdom <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Dionysian, without, however, surrendering any <strong>of</strong> its truth . And<br />
the bond <strong>of</strong> this union between the two bodies which had so long<br />
divided the world, was Hiram Abif, who was himself a member<br />
<strong>of</strong> both systems-<strong>of</strong> the true system by birth, as the son <strong>of</strong> Jewish<br />
parents-and <strong>of</strong> the spurious by pr<strong>of</strong>ession and residence, as an<br />
artificer <strong>of</strong>Tyre .<br />
SQUARE . <strong>The</strong> square is an angle <strong>of</strong> ninety degrees, or the<br />
f : urth part <strong>of</strong> a circle . It is one <strong>of</strong> the working toe is <strong>of</strong> a<br />
Fellow Craft, and the distinctive jewel <strong>of</strong> the Master <strong>of</strong> a lodge .<br />
<strong>The</strong> square is an important implement to operative masons, for<br />
• Oliver's Histor . Landmarks, i . 60.
STA 451<br />
by it they are enabled to correct the errors <strong>of</strong> the eye, and to ad .<br />
just with precision the edges, sides, and angles <strong>of</strong> their work .<br />
<strong>The</strong> nicest joints are thus constructed, and stones are fitted with<br />
accuracy, to fill their destined positions . Not less useful is this<br />
instrument to speculative masons, as a significant emblem <strong>of</strong> morality<br />
. As, by the application <strong>of</strong> the square, the stone is tried<br />
and proved, so, by the application <strong>of</strong> the principles <strong>of</strong> morality,<br />
each action <strong>of</strong> human life is judged, and approved or condemned,<br />
as it coincides with, or deviates from, those eternal and immutable<br />
principles. And as the stone, that on inspection with the<br />
square does not prove "true and trusty," is rejected or its defects<br />
amended, so each action that is not consistent with the dictates<br />
and rules <strong>of</strong> morality is carefully avoided by him who<br />
wishes to erect a mental structure <strong>of</strong> virtue, that shall afford him<br />
honour in life and repose in death .<br />
And hence, as it is the duty <strong>of</strong> the Master <strong>of</strong> the lodge to<br />
preserve among its members a strict attention to moral deportment,<br />
and to mark and instantly correct the slightest deviation<br />
from the rules <strong>of</strong> propriety and good conduct, the square is appropriately<br />
conferred upon him as the distinctive jewel <strong>of</strong> his<br />
<strong>of</strong>fice .<br />
Masons are said to part on the square, because having met together,<br />
their conduct should be such that, when they part, no<br />
unkind expression or unfriendly action shall have deranged that<br />
nice adjustment <strong>of</strong> the feelings, which alone unites them in a<br />
band <strong>of</strong> brothers ; an adjustment which can only be preserved<br />
by a constant application -<strong>of</strong> the square <strong>of</strong> morality .<br />
STANDARD BEARER . An <strong>of</strong>ficer in an Encampment <strong>of</strong><br />
Knights Templar, whose duty is sufficiently explained by hie<br />
title . A similar <strong>of</strong>ficer exists in a Council <strong>of</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Red Cross .<br />
STAR . <strong>The</strong> star with five points, which is fou id among the
452 STA<br />
emblems <strong>of</strong> the Master's degree, is an allusion to the five points<br />
<strong>of</strong> Fellowship, or summary <strong>of</strong> a Mason's duty to his brother .*<br />
<strong>The</strong> blazing star in the centre <strong>of</strong> the Mosaic pavement, is an<br />
emblem <strong>of</strong> that Divine Being, whose beneficence has chequered<br />
the dark field <strong>of</strong> human life with brighter spots <strong>of</strong> happiness .<br />
Those brethren who delight to trace our astronomical symbols to<br />
the cradle <strong>of</strong> that science, Egypt, and to the Egyptian priests,<br />
its earliest cultivators, find in the seven stars depicted on the<br />
Master's carpet, a representation <strong>of</strong> the Pleiades, and in the<br />
blazing star an allusion to the dog-star, which the Egyptians<br />
called Anubis or the barker, because its rising warned them <strong>of</strong><br />
the inundation <strong>of</strong> the Nile, which always quickly followed its<br />
appearance, and thus admonished them to retire from the lower<br />
grounds, just as the barking <strong>of</strong> a dog admonishes his master <strong>of</strong><br />
approaching danger .<br />
* It is dangerous to differ in opinion, on a masonic subject, from Brother<br />
Moore, the Editor <strong>of</strong> the Magazine published at Boston (a work, my numerous<br />
obligations to which, I may as well take this opportunity <strong>of</strong> acknowledging) ;<br />
but in his opinion <strong>of</strong> the five-pointed star, I cannot, unfortunately, agree with<br />
him . In his Magazine, ( vol. iv. no. 5,) he remarks, that "it has no explanation<br />
in the degree, and is not a masonic emblem as genuine masonry is practised<br />
in this country ." <strong>The</strong> star <strong>of</strong> five points, so far as my opportunities<br />
reach, has been adopted in all our lodges, and if no explanation <strong>of</strong> it is given<br />
in our lectures, its manifest allusion is well understood . It is, therefore, as<br />
much a masonic emblem, as the equilateral triangle, which has the same universal<br />
acceptation among the fraternity, without receiving any notice in our<br />
lectures .<br />
While on the subject <strong>of</strong> the star with five points, I cannot refrain from recording<br />
an interesting historical document, for which, by the bye, I am indebted<br />
to the work in which this emblem is denounced as unmasonic . At a<br />
celebration <strong>of</strong> the Festival <strong>of</strong> St . John the Baptist, in 1844, at Portland,<br />
Maine, R.-. W.- . Brother Teulon, a member <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Texas, in<br />
reply to a toast complimentary to the Masons <strong>of</strong> that republic, observed,<br />
"Texas is emphatically a masonic country ; all our Presidents and Vice-Pre.<br />
sidents, and four-fifths <strong>of</strong> our State <strong>of</strong>ficers, were and are Masons : our national<br />
emblem, the 'Lone Sear,-was chosen from among the emblems selected by<br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong>, to illustrate the moral virtues-it is a five -pointed star, and alludes<br />
to the five points <strong>of</strong> fellowship."-See Moore's Freemason's Hag . vol. iii.,<br />
p . 309 .
Anhalt-Bernburg,<br />
Anhalt-Dessau,<br />
Bavaria,<br />
Belgium,<br />
Bremen,<br />
Brunswick,<br />
Denmark,<br />
STA 453<br />
In the English ritual, and formerly in ,ur cwn, the star is<br />
said to be commemorative <strong>of</strong> that star which appeared to guide<br />
the wise men <strong>of</strong> the East to the place <strong>of</strong> our Saviour's birth .<br />
In the Spurious <strong>Freemasonry</strong> <strong>of</strong> the Egyptians, the blazing<br />
star was the symbol <strong>of</strong> Horus the son <strong>of</strong> Isis-the sun-the primordial<br />
principle <strong>of</strong> existence .<br />
STATISTICS OF MASONRY . <strong>The</strong> universality <strong>of</strong> masonry<br />
is not more honourable to the order, than it is advantageous<br />
to the brethren . From East to West, and from North to<br />
South, over the whole habitable globe, are our lodges disseminated<br />
. Wherever the wandering steps <strong>of</strong> civilized men have<br />
left their foot-prints, there have our temples been established .<br />
<strong>The</strong> lessons <strong>of</strong> masonic love have penetrated into the wilderness<br />
<strong>of</strong> the West, and the red man <strong>of</strong> our soil has shared with his<br />
more enlightened brother the mysteries <strong>of</strong> our science ; while<br />
the arid sands <strong>of</strong> the African desert have more than once been<br />
the scene <strong>of</strong> a masonic greeting . <strong>The</strong> Mason, indigent and destitute,<br />
may find in every clime a brother, and in every land a<br />
home .<br />
<strong>The</strong> evidence <strong>of</strong> these assertions will be found in the following<br />
table <strong>of</strong> the countries in which <strong>Freemasonry</strong> is openly and avowedly<br />
practised, by the permission <strong>of</strong> the public authorities .<br />
Such places as Italy, where, owing to the suspicious intolerance<br />
<strong>of</strong> the government, the lodges are obliged to be holden in private,<br />
are not mentioned.<br />
I. Eui opE.<br />
Malta,<br />
Mecklenburg-Schwerin,<br />
Norway,<br />
Portugal,<br />
Posen, Duchy <strong>of</strong><br />
Prussia,<br />
Prussian-Pcland,
454<br />
England,<br />
France,<br />
Frankfort-on-Maine,<br />
Guernsey, Isle <strong>of</strong><br />
Hamburg,<br />
Hanover,<br />
Hesse-Darmstadt,<br />
Holland,<br />
Holstein Oldenburg,<br />
Ionian Islands,<br />
Ireland,<br />
Jersey, Isle <strong>of</strong><br />
Lubeck,<br />
Luxemburg,<br />
Ceylon,<br />
China, (Canton,)<br />
India,<br />
New South Wales,<br />
Java,<br />
Algeria,<br />
Bourbon, Isle <strong>of</strong><br />
Canary Islands,<br />
Cape <strong>of</strong> Good Hope,<br />
Goa,<br />
STA<br />
U. AsiA .<br />
III. OCEANICA .<br />
IV. AFRICA .<br />
V. AMERICA.<br />
Saxe,<br />
Saxe-Coburg,<br />
Saxe-Gotha,<br />
Saze-Hilberghausen,<br />
Saxe-Meningen,<br />
Saxe-Weimer,<br />
Saxony,<br />
Schwartzenberg-Rudolstadt,<br />
Scotland,<br />
Spain,<br />
Sweden,<br />
Switzerland,<br />
Wurtemburg. .<br />
Persia,<br />
Pondicherry,<br />
Prince <strong>of</strong> Wales' Island .<br />
Sumatra.<br />
Sandwich Islands .<br />
Guinea,<br />
Mauritius,<br />
Mozambique,<br />
Senegambia,<br />
St. Helena.<br />
Antigua, Martinico,<br />
Barbadoes, New Brunswick,<br />
Bermudas, Nova Sectia,
Brazil,<br />
Canada,<br />
Colombia,<br />
Curacoa,<br />
Dominica,<br />
Dutch Guiana,<br />
English Guiana,<br />
French Guiana,<br />
Grenada,<br />
Guadeloupe,<br />
Hayti,<br />
Jamaica,<br />
Labrador,<br />
STE 455<br />
Panama,<br />
Peru,<br />
Rio de la Plata,<br />
St. Bartholomew's,<br />
St. Christopher's,<br />
St . Croix,<br />
St . Eustatia,<br />
St . Martin,<br />
St. Thomas,<br />
St . Vincent,<br />
Trinidad,<br />
United States,<br />
Venezuela .<br />
STEWARDS . Officers in a symbolic lodge, whose appoint,<br />
ment is generally vested in the Junior Warden . <strong>The</strong>ir duties<br />
are, to assist in the collection <strong>of</strong> dues and subscriptions ; to provide<br />
the necessary refreshments, and make a regular report to<br />
the Treasurer ; and generally to aid the Deacons and other <strong>of</strong>ficers<br />
in the performance <strong>of</strong> their duties . <strong>The</strong> jewel <strong>of</strong> the <strong>of</strong>fice<br />
is a cornucopia .<br />
STEWARDS' LODGE . <strong>The</strong> Stewards' or Grand Stewardslodge,<br />
which still exists in some jurisdictions under peculiar local<br />
regulations, as a Standing Committee on Grievances, Charity,<br />
&c., was originally instituted on the 24th <strong>of</strong> June, 1735 . In<br />
that year, says Anderson', upon an address from those that had<br />
been Stewards, the Grand Lodge, in consideration <strong>of</strong> their past<br />
services and future usefulness, ordained that they should be constituted<br />
a lodge <strong>of</strong> Masters, to be called the Stewards' lodge ; to<br />
be registered as such in the Grand Lodge book and printed lists,<br />
with the times and place <strong>of</strong> their meetings, and that they should<br />
have the privilege <strong>of</strong> sending twelve representatives to the<br />
Grand Lodge, namely, a Master, two Wardens, and nine more
456 STO-SUB<br />
STONE OF FOUNDATION . Masonry ,ontains a legend<br />
<strong>of</strong> a cubical stone, on which was inscribed the sacred name<br />
within a mystical diagram . This stone is known as the "stone<br />
<strong>of</strong> foundation." For its history, see Cubical Stone .<br />
STRENGTH . One <strong>of</strong> the three principal supports <strong>of</strong> masonry<br />
. It is represented by the Doric column and the S .- . W .- .,<br />
because the Doric is the strongest and most massy <strong>of</strong> the orders,<br />
and because it is the duty <strong>of</strong> the S .-. W ., ., by an attentive superintendence<br />
<strong>of</strong> the craft, to aid the W.-. M .- . in the performance<br />
<strong>of</strong> his duties, and to strengthen and support his authority .<br />
Hiram, King <strong>of</strong> Tyre, is also considered as the representative <strong>of</strong><br />
the column <strong>of</strong> strength which supported the temple .<br />
SUBLIME . In York masonry, this is the epithet applied to<br />
the Master's degree . It alludes to the sublime nature <strong>of</strong> the<br />
doctrines taught in that degree, which are the resurrection <strong>of</strong><br />
the body and the immortality <strong>of</strong> the soul .<br />
SUBLIME GRAND LODGE . Sometimes called the Ineffable<br />
Lodge, or Lodge <strong>of</strong> Perfection . It is, in the Ancient<br />
Scotch rite, the lodge which confers the degrees from the fourth<br />
to the fourteenth inclusive . It must derive its Warrant <strong>of</strong> Constitution<br />
from a Grand Council <strong>of</strong> the Princes <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem . or<br />
from a higher council, or Sovereign Grand Inspector General .<br />
SUBLIME KNIGHT ELECTED . Sublime Chevalier flu .<br />
<strong>The</strong> 11th -degree in the Ancient Scotch rite, sometimes callc-i<br />
"Twelve Illustrious Knights ." After vengeance had been taken<br />
upon the traitors already mentioned in the decrees <strong>of</strong> Elected<br />
Knights <strong>of</strong> Nine and Illustrious Elected <strong>of</strong> Fifteen, Solomon, to<br />
reward those who had exhibited their zeal and fidelity in inflicting<br />
the required punishment, as well as to make room for the<br />
exaltation <strong>of</strong> others to the degree <strong>of</strong> Illustrious Elected <strong>of</strong> Fifteen,<br />
appointed twelve <strong>of</strong> these latter, chosen by ballot to constitute<br />
a new degree, on which he bestowed the name <strong>of</strong> Sublime
SUB 457<br />
Knights Elected, and gave them the command over the twelvo<br />
tribes <strong>of</strong> Israel . <strong>The</strong> Sublime Knights rendered an account each<br />
day to Solomon <strong>of</strong> the work that was done in the temple by<br />
their respective tribes, and received their pay. <strong>The</strong> lodge is<br />
called a Grand Chapter . Solomon presides, with the title <strong>of</strong><br />
Thrice Puissant, and instead <strong>of</strong> Wardens, there are a Grand Inspector<br />
and a Master <strong>of</strong> Ceremonies . <strong>The</strong> room is hung with<br />
black, sprinkled with white and red tears .<br />
<strong>The</strong> apron is white, lined and bordered with black, with black<br />
strings ; on the flap, a flaming heart .<br />
<strong>The</strong> sash is black, with a flaming heart on the breast, suspended<br />
from the right shoulder to the left hip .<br />
<strong>The</strong> jewel is a sword <strong>of</strong> justice .<br />
This is the last <strong>of</strong> the three Elus which are found in the Ancient<br />
Scotch rite . In the French rite they have been condensed<br />
into one, and make the fourth degree <strong>of</strong> that ritual, but not, as<br />
Ragon admits, with the happiest effect .<br />
SUBLIME PRINCE OF THE ROYAL SECRET . Souverain<br />
Prince du Royal Secret . <strong>The</strong> 32d degree, and until the<br />
year 1786, when the 33d was instituted by Frederick, King <strong>of</strong><br />
Prussia, the summit <strong>of</strong> the Ancient Scotch rite . <strong>The</strong> members<br />
are styled the Guardians <strong>of</strong> the Treasure <strong>of</strong> the Temple . Its<br />
meetings are called Consistories . <strong>The</strong> 32d degree -can only be<br />
conferred by authority <strong>of</strong> the Supreme Council <strong>of</strong> the 33d .<br />
This degree furnishes a history peculiar to itself, <strong>of</strong> the origin <strong>of</strong><br />
masonry, and an explanation <strong>of</strong> the symbolic meaning <strong>of</strong> the<br />
preceding degrees .<br />
Its <strong>of</strong>ficers are numerous . <strong>The</strong> principal ones are a Thrice<br />
Illustrious Grand Commander, two Thrice Illustrious Lieutenant<br />
Grand Commanders, a Minister <strong>of</strong> State, Grand Chancellor,<br />
Grand Treasurer, and Grand Secretary .<br />
<strong>The</strong> hangings <strong>of</strong> a Consistory are black, strewed with tears<br />
<strong>The</strong> jewel is a Teutonic cross . <strong>The</strong> apron is white, bordered<br />
39
45R SUB-SUN<br />
with black, and on it is inscribed the tracing-board )f the degree .<br />
On the flap <strong>of</strong> the apron is a double-headed eagle .<br />
SUBSTITUTE WORD . <strong>The</strong> true English translation <strong>of</strong><br />
this most important word has been most miserably distorted and<br />
corrupted by illiterate lecturers . A moderate acquaintance with<br />
the Hebrew language would have shown its correct meaning, and<br />
that when first used it was but a natural expression <strong>of</strong> horror<br />
and astonishment uttered by King Solomon . Its signification<br />
may be discovered by a reference to the separate syllables <strong>of</strong><br />
which it is composed, and which are to be found in their alphabetical<br />
order in the present work . <strong>The</strong> intelligent mason by<br />
putting them together in their proper order will obtain the whole<br />
sentence . On such a subject I cannot, <strong>of</strong> course, be more explicit.<br />
It may, however, be observed, in conclusion, that there<br />
can be no doubt that the word originally consisted <strong>of</strong> four syllables,<br />
by which an equal, alternate division was made, and that in<br />
its present form it has been subjected to much corruption, the<br />
fourth or last syllable being now altogether omitted in pronun .<br />
ciation .<br />
SUCCOTH . A town <strong>of</strong> Judea, 34 miles north-east <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem,<br />
near which Hiram Abif cast the sacred vessels <strong>of</strong> the Temple.<br />
See Clay Grounds .<br />
SUN AND MOON . <strong>The</strong> sun and the moon, with the Master<br />
<strong>of</strong> the lodge, are depicted in the lodge by the three lesser lights,<br />
whose presence are to instruct the last that he should exercise<br />
the same regularity and precision in the superintendence <strong>of</strong> his<br />
lodge, as the two others exhibit in their government <strong>of</strong> the day<br />
and night .<br />
In all the Pagan initiations, we find traces <strong>of</strong> these symbols<br />
which, as in masonry, were represented by the three superior<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> the mysteries . In Greece, the Hierophant, or revealer<br />
<strong>of</strong> sacred things, the Daduchus or torch-bearer and Ho epi bo-
SUP 459<br />
mos, or altar-server, were the representatives <strong>of</strong> the Creator, the<br />
sun and moon, while the Ceryx or herald, as a Deacon, represented<br />
Mercury, who was the messenger <strong>of</strong> the gods . In the<br />
mysteries <strong>of</strong> India, the chief <strong>of</strong>ficers were placed in the east, the<br />
west, and the south, respectively to represent Brahma, or the<br />
rising ; Vishnu, or the setting ; and Siva, or the meridian sun .<br />
In the Druidical rites, the Arch-druid, seated in the east, was<br />
assisted by two other <strong>of</strong>ficers, the one in the west representing<br />
the moon, and the other in the south, representing the meridian<br />
sun .<br />
<strong>The</strong> sun and the moon are preserved in our lodges, as emblems<br />
<strong>of</strong> the wisdom, and power, and goodness <strong>of</strong> God, who made the<br />
one to rule the day, and the other to govern the night ; but the<br />
heathens, in departing from the true light, which masonry has<br />
preserved, confounded the creature with the Creator, and gave<br />
that adoration to the instruments which should only have been<br />
paid to the First Great Cause.<br />
Hence the origin <strong>of</strong> sun-worship, which was one <strong>of</strong> the first<br />
deviations from pure and patriarchal religion, and the evidence<br />
<strong>of</strong> which is to be found in the earliest mysteries <strong>of</strong> Osiris in<br />
Egypt, <strong>of</strong> Adonis in Phenicia, and <strong>of</strong> Mithras in Persia .<br />
SUPER EXCELLENT MASTER . A degree which was<br />
formerly conferred in Councils <strong>of</strong> Select Masters . It is founded<br />
on circumstances that occurred at the destruction <strong>of</strong> the Temple<br />
by Nebuchadnezzar, King <strong>of</strong> Babylon . Its presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer is<br />
called ' 1 Most Excellent,Sing," and represents Zedekiah, the<br />
last King <strong>of</strong> Judah . <strong>The</strong> historical incidents <strong>of</strong> this degree,<br />
but less in detail, are to be found in the first part <strong>of</strong> the Royal<br />
Arch .<br />
I have the ritual <strong>of</strong> another degree <strong>of</strong> Super Excellent, given<br />
in Ireland, preparatory to the Royal Arch . But it is, or seems<br />
* Oliver, Signs and Symbols, p . 203 .
460 SUP<br />
to be, a modification <strong>of</strong> the Most Excellent Master <strong>of</strong> tk York<br />
rite, and the Perfect Master <strong>of</strong> the Ancient Scotch rite .<br />
SUPPORTS OF THE LODGE . <strong>The</strong> institution <strong>of</strong> masonry,<br />
venerable for its antiquity, and its virtuous character, is said to<br />
be supported by Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty ; for the wisdom<br />
<strong>of</strong> its eminent founders was engaged in its first design ; the<br />
strength <strong>of</strong> its organization has enabled it to survive the fall cf<br />
empires, and the changes <strong>of</strong> languages, religions, and manners<br />
which have taken place since its formation ; and the beauty <strong>of</strong><br />
holiness is exhibited in the purity and virtue that it inculcates,<br />
and in the morality <strong>of</strong> life which it demands <strong>of</strong> all its children .<br />
Our lodges, thus supported, will find in these columns another<br />
analogy to their great prototype, the Temple <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem . Fox<br />
that mighty fabric was designed by the wisdom <strong>of</strong> Solomon,<br />
King <strong>of</strong> Israel, who found strength to carry on the great undertaking<br />
in the assistance and friendship <strong>of</strong> Hiram, King <strong>of</strong> Tyre ;<br />
and beauty to adorn the structure in the architectural skill and<br />
taste <strong>of</strong> Hiram, the widow's son .<br />
SUPREME COUNCIL OF GRAND INSPECTORS GEN-<br />
ERAL . <strong>The</strong> supreme masonic authority <strong>of</strong> the Ancient Scotch<br />
rite . It was established in 1786, by Frederick II ., King <strong>of</strong><br />
Prussia, for the purpose <strong>of</strong> exercising, after his death, the ma •<br />
sonic prerogatives which he personally possessed as the acknow<br />
lodged head <strong>of</strong> the rite . Not more than one Supreme Council<br />
can exist in each nation,* and it must be composed <strong>of</strong> nine members,<br />
called Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, five <strong>of</strong> whom,<br />
at least, must pr<strong>of</strong>ess the Christian religion . Not less than three<br />
constitute a quorum for the transaction <strong>of</strong> business . Its <strong>of</strong>ficers<br />
are as follows, all <strong>of</strong> whom are elected for life :-<br />
A Most Puissant Grand Commander, who is the representative<br />
<strong>of</strong> Frederick II ., King <strong>of</strong> Prussia .<br />
* Two are permitted in the United States .
SUP 461<br />
A Most Illustrious Lieutenant Grand Commander, representing<br />
Louis <strong>of</strong> Bourbon .<br />
An Illustrious Treasurer_ General <strong>of</strong> the Holy Empire .<br />
An Illustrious Secretary General <strong>of</strong> the Holy Empire .<br />
An Illustrious Grand Master <strong>of</strong> Ceremonies .<br />
An Illustrious Captain <strong>of</strong> the Guards .<br />
<strong>The</strong> following account <strong>of</strong> the institution <strong>of</strong> the Supreme Council<br />
I have condensed from Dalcho,* and other authorities .<br />
In 1761, the lodges and councils <strong>of</strong> the superior degrees, being<br />
extended throughout the continent <strong>of</strong> Europe, Frederick II .,<br />
King <strong>of</strong> Prussia, as Grand Commander <strong>of</strong> the order <strong>of</strong> Prince <strong>of</strong><br />
the Royal Secret, was acknowledged as the head <strong>of</strong> the Scotch<br />
rite . • <strong>The</strong> Duke <strong>of</strong> Sudermania was his deputy in Sweden, and<br />
Louis <strong>of</strong> Bourbon in France .<br />
On the 25th <strong>of</strong> October, 1762, the Grand <strong>Masonic</strong> Constitu<br />
tions were finally ratified in Berlin, and proclaimed for the<br />
government <strong>of</strong> all masonic bodies working in the Scotch rite<br />
over the two hemispheres .<br />
In the same year, they were transmitted to Stephen Morin,<br />
who had been appointed in August, 1761, Inspector General for<br />
the New World, by the Grand Consistory <strong>of</strong> Princes <strong>of</strong> the Royal<br />
Secret, convened at Paris, under the presidency <strong>of</strong> Chaillon de<br />
Joinville, Substitute General <strong>of</strong> the order .<br />
When Morin arrived in the West Indies, he, agreeably to his<br />
patent, appointed a Deputy Inspector General . This honour was<br />
conferred on M . Hayes, with the power <strong>of</strong> appointing others<br />
where necessary .<br />
Hayes appointed Isaac Da Costa, Deputy Inspector General<br />
for the State <strong>of</strong> South Carolina, who, in 1783, established a<br />
Sublime Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Perfection in Charleston . . After Da<br />
Costa's death, Joseph Myers was appointed to succeed him by<br />
Hayes, who also appointed Solomon Bush, Deputy Inspector<br />
General for Pennsylvania, and Barend M .. Spitzer for Georgia ;<br />
Orations, p . 68.<br />
39•
4t.2 SUP<br />
which appointments were confirmed by a Council <strong>of</strong> Inspectors<br />
that convened in Philadelphia on the 15th <strong>of</strong> June, 1781 .<br />
On the 1st <strong>of</strong> May, 1786, the Grand Constitutions <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Supreme Council <strong>of</strong> the 33d degree were ratified by the King <strong>of</strong><br />
Prussia, by which the masonic prerogatives <strong>of</strong> Inspectors were<br />
deposited in a council consisting <strong>of</strong> nine brethren in each nation<br />
On the 20th <strong>of</strong> February, 1788, a Grand Council <strong>of</strong> Princes<br />
<strong>of</strong> Jerusalem was opened in Charleston, by Myers, Spitzer, and<br />
A. Forst, Deputy Inspector General for Virginia .<br />
In 1795, Col . John Mitchell was appointed by Spitzer a Deputy<br />
Inspector General, in the place <strong>of</strong> Myers, who had removed, but<br />
he was restricted from acting until after Myers' death, whichtook<br />
place in the following year .<br />
On the 31st <strong>of</strong> May, 1801, the Supreme Council <strong>of</strong> the 33d<br />
degree was opened in Charleston with the grand honours <strong>of</strong> masonry,<br />
by John Mitchell and Frederick Dalcho, Sovereign Grand<br />
Inspectors General, and in the course <strong>of</strong> the succeeding two<br />
years, the whole number <strong>of</strong> Inspectors General was completed .<br />
On the 5th day <strong>of</strong> August, 1813, a similar Supreme Council<br />
was, in accordance with the Secret Constitutions, duly and lawfully<br />
established and constituted at the city <strong>of</strong> New York,* by<br />
Emanuel De La Motta, as the representative, and under the sanction<br />
and authority <strong>of</strong> the council at Charleston . <strong>The</strong> masonic<br />
jurisdiction <strong>of</strong> the New York council is distributed over the<br />
northern, north-western, and north-eastern parts <strong>of</strong> the United<br />
States . And this, with the council at Charleston, are the only<br />
recognised . councils which exist, or can exist, according to the<br />
Secret Constitutions in the United States .<br />
This was the origin <strong>of</strong> the Scotch rite in the United States<br />
<strong>of</strong> which there now exist twc Supreme Counci"s ; one at Charles<br />
ton, S . C., and the other in the city <strong>of</strong> Boston both bodies being<br />
in active operation .<br />
• <strong>The</strong> seat <strong>of</strong> this Council has lately been removed to Boston .
SU S--S'G 0 463<br />
SUSPENSION . A masonic punishment by which a party is<br />
temporarily deprived <strong>of</strong> his rights and privileges as a mason .<br />
Suspension may be definite or indefinite in the period <strong>of</strong> its duration<br />
. A mason who has been indefinately suspended can be restored<br />
only by a vote <strong>of</strong> the body which suspended him . One<br />
who has been suspended for a definite period is restored by the<br />
termination <strong>of</strong> that period, without any special action <strong>of</strong> the<br />
lodge .<br />
SWEDENBORG, RITE OF . We have seen in the article<br />
"Illuminati <strong>of</strong> Avignon," that the religious dogmas <strong>of</strong> Swedenborg<br />
were brought, in the middle <strong>of</strong> the eighteenth century, (the<br />
great season <strong>of</strong> rite-making,) to the aid <strong>of</strong> masonry for the purpose<br />
<strong>of</strong> manufacturing a new rite . In 1783, the Marquis de<br />
Thome modified the system which has been adopted in the lodge<br />
<strong>of</strong> Avignon, to suit his peculiar views, and thus instituted what<br />
is properly known as the rite <strong>of</strong> Swedenborg . It consists <strong>of</strong> six<br />
grades, namely : 1, Apprentice ; 2, Fellow-Craft ; 3, Master<br />
<strong>The</strong>osophite ; 4, Illuminated <strong>The</strong>osophite ; 5, Blue Brother ; 6,<br />
Red Brother .<br />
It is still practised in some lodges in the north <strong>of</strong> Europe .<br />
SWEDISH RITE. <strong>The</strong> rite practised by the Grand Lodge.<br />
)f Sweden consists <strong>of</strong> twelve degrees, the fifth <strong>of</strong> which gives the<br />
possessor the rank <strong>of</strong> civil nobility in the state . <strong>The</strong> degrees are<br />
as follows<br />
1, Apprentice ; 2, Fellow-Craft ; 3, Master ; 4, Apprentice<br />
and Fellow-Craft <strong>of</strong> St . Andrew ; 5, Master <strong>of</strong> St, Andrew ; 6,<br />
Brother Stuart ; 7, Favourite Brother <strong>of</strong> Solomon ; 8, Favourite<br />
Brother <strong>of</strong> St . John, or White Ribbon ; 9, Favourite Brother <strong>of</strong><br />
St. Andrew, or Violet Ribbon ; 10, Member <strong>of</strong> the Chapter ;<br />
11, Dignitary <strong>of</strong> the Chapter ; 12, Reigning Grand Master .<br />
SWORD BEARER . An <strong>of</strong>ficer in a council <strong>of</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong><br />
the Red Cross, and in an encampment <strong>of</strong> Knights Templar, whose
464 SWO-SYM<br />
station is in the west, on the right <strong>of</strong> the Standard Bearer, and<br />
when the knights are in line, on the right <strong>of</strong> the second division .<br />
His duty is, to receive all orders and signals from the Grand<br />
Commander; and see them promptly obeyed . He is, also, to<br />
assist in the protection <strong>of</strong> the banners <strong>of</strong> his order . His jewel<br />
is a triangle and cross swords .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Grand Sword Bearer is also an <strong>of</strong>ficer <strong>of</strong> a Grand Lodge,<br />
whose duty it is to carry the Sword <strong>of</strong> State in public processions<br />
. In some Grand Lodges he receives the title <strong>of</strong> Grand<br />
Pursuivant .<br />
SWORD POINTING TO THE NAK1D HFART . A<br />
symbol <strong>of</strong> that Divine justice which must, sooner or later, overtake<br />
all who have sinned ; for, though man looketh to the outward<br />
appearance, God looketh to the heart alone, which, concealing<br />
its inmost passions from the world, is naked and open to his<br />
ALL-SEEING} EYE .<br />
It is an emblem <strong>of</strong> the Master's degree .<br />
SYMBOL . A sensible image used to express an occult but<br />
analogical signification . Almost all the instruction given in masonry<br />
is by symbols . Such was also the case in the ancient<br />
mysteries . "<strong>The</strong> first learning in the world," says Stukely,<br />
" consisted chiefly in symbols . <strong>The</strong> wisdom <strong>of</strong> the Chaldeans,<br />
Phenicians, Egyptians, Jews, <strong>of</strong> Zoroaster, Sanchoniathon, Pherecydes,<br />
Syrus, Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, <strong>of</strong> all the ancients<br />
that is come to our hand, is symbolical . It was the mode, says<br />
Serranus, on Plato's Symposium, <strong>of</strong> the ancient philosophers to<br />
represent truth by certain symbols and hidden images ."<br />
Symbols were first adopted by the Egyptian priests for the<br />
purpose <strong>of</strong> secrecy ; they concealing, by their use, those pr<strong>of</strong>ound<br />
speculations which constituted the agporeta <strong>of</strong> their mysteries,<br />
and which they were unwilling to divulge to the unprepared<br />
and uninitiated vulgar. From the Egyptians, Pythagoras<br />
received a knowledge <strong>of</strong> this symbolical mode <strong>of</strong> instruction, and
SYM 465<br />
communicated it to the sect <strong>of</strong> philosophy which he afterwards<br />
Lnstituted .<br />
According to Porphyry, there was this distinction between the<br />
hieroglyphic and symbolic method <strong>of</strong> writing among the Egyptians<br />
: that the former expressed the meaning by an imitation<br />
<strong>of</strong> the thing represented, as when the picture <strong>of</strong> smoke ascending<br />
upwards denoted fire ; and the latter allegorizing the subject<br />
by an enigma, as when a hawk was used to signify the sun, or a<br />
fly to express the quality <strong>of</strong> impudence .* <strong>The</strong> former <strong>of</strong> these<br />
methods was open to all who chose to learn it ; the latter was<br />
reserved by the priests for the purpose <strong>of</strong> mystic instruction,<br />
and was, as I have already said, communicated only to the initiated<br />
.<br />
<strong>The</strong> symbols, says Warburton,t were <strong>of</strong> two kinds, tropical<br />
and enigmatical . <strong>The</strong> tropical, which were the more natural,<br />
were made by employing the more unusual properties <strong>of</strong> things<br />
to express subjects . Thus, a cat signified the moon, because the<br />
pupil <strong>of</strong> her eye was observed to be dilated at the full and contracted<br />
at the decrease <strong>of</strong> that satellite . <strong>The</strong> tropical were constituted<br />
by the mystical assemblage <strong>of</strong> two or more things whose<br />
combined properties expressed a particular quality . Thus, a<br />
beetle, with a round ball in its claws, denoted the sun, because<br />
this insect makes a ball <strong>of</strong> dung, which he rolls in a circular<br />
direction, and with his face looking towards the sun .§<br />
But the priests, in adopting the symbol, as a depository <strong>of</strong><br />
their secret doctrines, were not contented with the use <strong>of</strong> it to<br />
designate only substances ; their mystic instruction was <strong>of</strong> too<br />
elaborate a nature, to be satisfied with so circumscribed an alpha-<br />
* r@v piv (ypapµarwv kpoyAv4cXw- v) XowvoAoyovµivwv Xar& µiprpty, r%w A (avp/a) caw)<br />
iAAayopvµ&vw Xar& rwac aivryµovs . De Vit. Pythag. xi. 15.<br />
t Divine Legation, vol . iii. 141 .<br />
$ Such is Plutarch's account <strong>of</strong> this symbol ; but I am not aware that modern<br />
zoologists support this theory <strong>of</strong> lunar influence . 1V'importe, the Egyptians be .<br />
lieved it, and that is all that the argument requires .<br />
I Clem . Alexand . Stromata.
466 SYM-TAB<br />
bet ; they next, therefore, bad recourse to sensible objects, as a<br />
means <strong>of</strong> expressing mental and moral qualities ; thus, destruction<br />
was expressed by the mouse, impurity by the goat, aversion<br />
by the wolf, knowledge by the ant ; and the reason <strong>of</strong> the signification,<br />
as well as the thing signified, formed a part <strong>of</strong> their<br />
apporeta, or secrets .<br />
This is the highest and most intellectual method <strong>of</strong> applying<br />
symbols, and it is the method adopted in <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, which, in<br />
its use <strong>of</strong> symbolic instruction, is an exact counterpart <strong>of</strong> the<br />
ancient mysteries .<br />
SYMBOLIC DEGREES . <strong>The</strong> first three degrees <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>,<br />
the Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master<br />
Mason, are called in the York rite, symbolic degrees, because<br />
they abound in symbolic instruction, not to be found in the<br />
remaining degrees, which are principally historical in their<br />
character .<br />
SYMBOLIC LODGE . A lodge in which the symbolic de .<br />
grees are conferred ; that is, a lodge <strong>of</strong> Entered Apprentices,<br />
Fellow Crafts, or Master Masons .<br />
T .<br />
TABERNACLE . <strong>The</strong> tabernacle was the place <strong>of</strong> worship,<br />
representing a temple, which God commanded Moses to construct<br />
in the wilderness for the religious service <strong>of</strong> the Jews, and in<br />
which the ark <strong>of</strong> the covenant and sacred vessels were kept until<br />
Solomon removed them into the temple . <strong>The</strong> tabernacle was so<br />
contrived as to be taken to pieces and put together again at pleasure<br />
. <strong>The</strong> tabernacle was in shape a parallelogram, fronting<br />
the East, thirty cubits or forty-five feet in length, and len cubits
TAB-TAL 467<br />
or fifteen feet in height and breadth . <strong>The</strong> inside was divided by<br />
a richly embroidered vail <strong>of</strong> fine linen into two parts, the holy<br />
place and the holy <strong>of</strong> holies, in the latter <strong>of</strong> which was placed the*<br />
ark <strong>of</strong> the covenant . Besides this vail <strong>of</strong> fine linen which separated<br />
the most holy place, the tabernacle was furnished with other<br />
vails <strong>of</strong> divers colors : namely, <strong>of</strong> blue and purple, and scarlet<br />
and fine twined linen, from which are derived the emblematic colours<br />
<strong>of</strong> the several degrees <strong>of</strong> masonry .*<br />
<strong>The</strong> room in which a Chapter <strong>of</strong> Royal Arch Masons meets, is<br />
called the tabernacle, and is a representation <strong>of</strong> that temporary<br />
tabernacle which was erected by Zerubbabel near the ruins <strong>of</strong><br />
old temple while the Jews, under his direction, were constructing<br />
the new one .<br />
TABERNACLE, CHIEF OF THE . See Chief <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Tabernacle .<br />
TABERNNACLE, PRINCE OF THE . See Prince <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Tabernacle.<br />
TALMUD . As many <strong>of</strong> the traditions <strong>of</strong> masonry are to be<br />
found in the Talmud, some acquaintance with the character <strong>of</strong><br />
that work is essential to the masonic student .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Talmud, which is a Hebrew word, "?1A"'l, signifying doctrzize,<br />
is a collection <strong>of</strong> treatises written by the rabbins and wise men<br />
and embodying the civil and canonical law <strong>of</strong> the Jews . Moses<br />
is believed to have received two kinds <strong>of</strong> law on Mount Sinai, the<br />
* According to Josephns (Antiq . Jud . jib . iii. c. 7 .) the tabernacle was a symbol<br />
<strong>of</strong> the universe . <strong>The</strong> 12 loaves placed on the table were emblematic <strong>of</strong> the<br />
12 months <strong>of</strong> the year ; the 70 branches <strong>of</strong> the candlesticks represented the<br />
70 decani or divisions <strong>of</strong> the planets ; and the 7 lamps, the 7 planets . <strong>The</strong><br />
vails <strong>of</strong> the tabernacle composed <strong>of</strong> four different colours, were emblematic <strong>of</strong><br />
the four elements ; the fine linen, made <strong>of</strong> flax, the produce <strong>of</strong> the earth, represented<br />
the earth ; the purple represented the sea, because it was stained by the<br />
blood <strong>of</strong> a marine shell-fish, the murex ; the blue represented the air, it being<br />
the colour <strong>of</strong> the sky ; and the scarlet represented fire.
468 TAL<br />
one written and the other oral. <strong>The</strong> written law s to be found<br />
in the Pentateuch . <strong>The</strong> oral law was first communicated by<br />
Moses to Aaron, then by them to the seventy elders, and finally<br />
by these to the people, and thus transmitted, by memory, from<br />
generation to generation . This oral law was never committed to<br />
writing until about the beginning <strong>of</strong> the 3rd century,* when Rabbi<br />
Jehuda the Holy, finding that there was a possibility <strong>of</strong> its being<br />
lost from the decrease <strong>of</strong> students <strong>of</strong> the law, collected all the<br />
traditionary laws into one book, which is called the " Mishna,"<br />
a word signifying repetition, because it is, as it were, a repetition<br />
<strong>of</strong> the written law .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Mishna was at once received with great veneration, and<br />
many wise men among the Jews devoted themselves to its study .<br />
Towards the end <strong>of</strong> the 4th century, Rabbi Jochanan, the president<br />
<strong>of</strong> a school at Tiberias in Palestine collected their several<br />
opinions on the hlishna, into one book <strong>of</strong> commentaries which he<br />
called the " Gemara," a word signifying completion, because the<br />
the Gemara completes the work . <strong>The</strong> Mishna and the Gemara<br />
united constitute the Talmud .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Jews in Chaldea, not being satisfied with the interpretations<br />
in the work <strong>of</strong> Rabbi Jochanan, composed others, which<br />
were collected together by Rabbi Asche into another Gemara .<br />
<strong>The</strong> work <strong>of</strong> R. Jochanan has since been known as the " Jerusalem<br />
Talmud" and that <strong>of</strong> R . Asche as the " Babylonian Talmud,"<br />
from the places in which they were respectively compiled .<br />
In both works, the Mishna or Law is the same ; it is only the<br />
Gemara or :commentary that is different .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Jewish scholars place so high a value on the Talmud, as<br />
to compare the Bible to water, the Mishna to wine, and the Gemara<br />
to spiced wine ; or the first to salt, the second to pepper, and<br />
the third to spices . This work, although it contains many pue-<br />
• Morin, however, in his 11 Eaercitationes Biblicee," assigns the 8th century<br />
as the date <strong>of</strong> the composition . <strong>The</strong>re is much controversy on this subject<br />
among scholars . I hare, in this- article, given the dates agreed upon by the<br />
greater number .
ZAS-TAT 469<br />
rilities, is, however, extremely serviceable as an elaborate compendium<br />
<strong>of</strong> Jewish customs, and has therefore been much used in the<br />
criticism <strong>of</strong> the Old and New Testaments . It furnishes also many<br />
curious illustrations <strong>of</strong> the masonic system ; and several <strong>of</strong> the<br />
traditions and legends, especially <strong>of</strong> the higher degrees, are either<br />
found in or corroborated by the Talmud . <strong>The</strong> treatise entitled<br />
" Middoth," for instance, gives us the best description extant <strong>of</strong><br />
the Temple <strong>of</strong> Solomon .<br />
TASSELS . <strong>The</strong> Tracing-board <strong>of</strong> the Entered Apprentice's<br />
degree, when properly constructed, has a border or skirting around<br />
it, and at each corner a tassel attached to a cord or cable tow .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se refer to the four perfect points and to the four cardinal<br />
virtues, and are called the guttural, pectoral, manual, and pedal<br />
tassels . <strong>The</strong>y are also said in the English ritual to refer to the<br />
four rivers <strong>of</strong> Paradise .<br />
TASTING . One <strong>of</strong> the five human senses, <strong>of</strong> but little importance<br />
in masonry, except as one <strong>of</strong> the sources <strong>of</strong> our enjoyment<br />
and protection, by enabling us to distinguish food which is pleasant<br />
and wholesome, from that which is disagreeable and unhealthy .<br />
Hence, for this as well as for every blessing <strong>of</strong> life, are we taught<br />
to be thankful to Him who is the "author <strong>of</strong> every good and<br />
perfect gift."<br />
TATNAI AND SHETHAR-BOZNAI . <strong>The</strong> names <strong>of</strong> two<br />
Persian governors who opposed the attempts <strong>of</strong> the Jews to rebuild<br />
the temple. When, by the command <strong>of</strong> Artaxerxes, Zerabbabel<br />
and his followers had discontinued the rebuilding <strong>of</strong> the<br />
temple, which they had commenced by permission <strong>of</strong> Cyrus, his<br />
predecessor, they remained quiet until the reign <strong>of</strong> Darius, who<br />
succeeded Artaxerxes . <strong>The</strong>y then recommenced the work, but<br />
Tatnai, the Persian governor on the Jewish side <strong>of</strong> the Euphra .<br />
tes, accompained by Shethar-Boznai and his companions, not .<br />
being aware <strong>of</strong> the previous edict <strong>of</strong> Cyrus permitting the Jews to<br />
40
470 TAU<br />
rebuild, proceeded to Jerusalem, and demanded by what right<br />
they were rebuilding the temple ; and when the Jews informed<br />
them that they were working under the authority <strong>of</strong> a former decree<br />
<strong>of</strong> Cyrus, the Persian governors wrote to Darius, giving an account<br />
<strong>of</strong> these circumstances, and inquiring if such a decree was in existence,<br />
and if it was the king's pleasure that it should still be<br />
obeyed . Darius, influenced by his friendship for Zerubbabel,<br />
who visited him on the occasion <strong>of</strong> this interference, gave orders<br />
not only that the Jews should not be molested, but that they<br />
should receive every assistance from the Persian <strong>of</strong>ficers in their<br />
pious undertaking <strong>of</strong> rebuilding the house <strong>of</strong> the Lord .<br />
TAU CROSS . <strong>The</strong> Tau Cross or Cross <strong>of</strong> St . Antony,* is a<br />
cross in the form <strong>of</strong> a Greek T . It was among the ancients a<br />
hieroglyphic <strong>of</strong> eternal life . It was the form <strong>of</strong> the vilometer,<br />
or measure <strong>of</strong> the vile, used to ascertain the height <strong>of</strong> the inun<br />
dation, upon which the prosperity <strong>of</strong> the country and the life <strong>of</strong><br />
the inhabitants depended, and was, in consequence, used among<br />
the Egyptians as an amulet, capable <strong>of</strong> averting evil . Hence it<br />
was a favourite symbol <strong>of</strong> the Egyptians, and under the form <strong>of</strong><br />
the "Crux ansata" was to be seen in all their temples, very <strong>of</strong>ten<br />
held in the hands <strong>of</strong> their deities or suspended from their necks .<br />
Jablonskit says it is the Egyptian representation <strong>of</strong> the Phallus,<br />
considered by some as the symbol <strong>of</strong> the deity, and by others as<br />
that <strong>of</strong> eternal life . Kircher thinks that the Crux ansata was a<br />
monogram denoting Mercury or Phtha, who was the conductor<br />
<strong>of</strong> the souls <strong>of</strong> the dead ; and Dr . Clarke$ says that the tau cross<br />
was a monogram <strong>of</strong> Thoth, " the symbolical or mystical name <strong>of</strong><br />
hidden wisdom among the ancient Egyptians ; the OEOZ <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Greeks." In the initiation in Hindostan the tau cross, unde,<br />
the name <strong>of</strong> "tiluk," was marked upon the body <strong>of</strong> the candidate<br />
as a sign that he was set apart for the sacred mysteries . <strong>The</strong><br />
* So called because it is said to have been the cross on which that saint mf<br />
fered martyrdom .<br />
t Panth . .gypL i . 282 . f travels, vol . Y . p. 31L
TEM 4i 1<br />
same mark was familiar to the ancient Hebrews, for, in the vision<br />
<strong>of</strong> Ezekiel, it is thus alluded to : " Go through the midst <strong>of</strong> the<br />
city, and set a mark, (in the original 1 1'l, tau,) upon the foreheads<br />
<strong>of</strong> the men that sigh, and that cry, for all the abominations that<br />
be done in the midst there<strong>of</strong>."* This mark was to distinguish<br />
them as persons to be saved on account <strong>of</strong> their sorrow for sin,<br />
from those who, as idolators, were to be slain, and its form was<br />
that <strong>of</strong> the Hebrew letter tau, which, in the ancient Phenician<br />
alphabet, and on the coins <strong>of</strong> the Maccabees, has the shape <strong>of</strong> a<br />
cross .<br />
Among the Druids it was the custom to consecrate a tree by<br />
cutting the form <strong>of</strong> a tau across upon its bark . In ancient times<br />
it was set as a mark on those who had been acquitted by their<br />
judges, and by military commanders on such <strong>of</strong> their soldiers as<br />
had escaped unhurt from battle, and hence it was considered as<br />
an emblem <strong>of</strong> life .t Finally, observe that the tau is the last<br />
letter <strong>of</strong> the Hebrew alphabet, as the Aleph is the first, and that<br />
the tau assumes in the Ancient Phenician and Samaritan alphabets<br />
the form <strong>of</strong> a cross, and we see another consecration <strong>of</strong> this<br />
symbol in the expression, 1 1 1 am the Alpha and the Omega, the<br />
beginning and the end," which, spoken in the Hebrew language,<br />
would be, " I am the Aleph and the Tau ." t<br />
We are not, therefore, to be surprised that the Tau Cross has<br />
been adopted as one <strong>of</strong> the symbols <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, and that in<br />
- the form <strong>of</strong> the Triple Tau it constitutes the most sacred emblem<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch, symbolizing the fact that the possessors <strong>of</strong><br />
that degree are consecrated and separated, or set apart, as the<br />
recipients <strong>of</strong> a sublime but hidden wisdom . See Triple Tau .<br />
TEMPERANCE . One <strong>of</strong> the four cardinal virtues, the<br />
* Ezekiel, ix. 4. <strong>The</strong> Septuagint has ro onµcwv, the mark, which Lowth suggests<br />
should read rav a ctov, the mark tau.<br />
t Oliver, Landmarks, ii . p. 621 .<br />
$ My esteemed friend, George R. Gliddon, Esq ., the celebrated Egyptian<br />
Archaeologist, first called my attention to this illustration, which he extended<br />
still further, but on a subject irrelevant to the present occasion .
472 TEM<br />
practice <strong>of</strong> which is inculcated in the first degree . <strong>The</strong> mason<br />
who properly appreciates the secrets, which he has solemnly promised<br />
never to reveal, will not, by yielding to the unrestrained<br />
call <strong>of</strong> appetite, permit reason and judgment to lose their seats, ;<br />
and subject himself, by the indulgence in habits <strong>of</strong> success, to<br />
discover that which should be concealed, and thus merit and receive<br />
the scorn and detestation <strong>of</strong> his brethren . And lest any<br />
brother should forget the danger to which he is exposed in the<br />
unguarded hours <strong>of</strong> dissipation, the virtue <strong>of</strong> Temperance is<br />
wisely impressed upon his memory, by its reference to the most<br />
solemn portion <strong>of</strong> the initiatory ceremony .<br />
TEMPLARS . See Knights Templar .<br />
TEMPLARS OF SCOTLAND . By the "Revised Statutes<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Grand Conclave <strong>of</strong> the Knights <strong>of</strong> the Temple,"* <strong>of</strong><br />
Edinburgh, Scotland, the Knights Templars have an organization<br />
very different from that existing in any part <strong>of</strong> the world where<br />
this ancient and honourable order is to be found . Some account<br />
<strong>of</strong> it may, therefore, not be uninteresting .<br />
" <strong>The</strong> religious and military order <strong>of</strong> the Temple," in Scotland,<br />
consists <strong>of</strong> two classes : 1 . Novice and Esquire ; 2. Knight<br />
Templar . <strong>The</strong> Knights consist <strong>of</strong> three grades, 1 . Knights created<br />
by Priories ; 2. Knights Commanders, elected from the<br />
Knights, on memorial to the Grand Master and Council, supported<br />
by the recommendation <strong>of</strong> the Priories to which they belong<br />
. 3 . Knights Grand Crosses, to be nominated by the Grand<br />
Master .<br />
*According to the organization <strong>of</strong> the order in Scotland, it is not a prerequisite<br />
qualification towards becoming a Knight Templar, that the candidate<br />
should possess the preparatory masonic degrees . <strong>The</strong> Knight Templar<br />
<strong>of</strong> Scotland is not, therefore, necessarily a mason . I give this strange, and I<br />
cannot help thinking, illegal regulation, on the authority <strong>of</strong> Brother C . W.<br />
Moore. (Mag. vol . iv. p . 138 .) It must have been a late enactment, for in<br />
the Statutes, adopted April 13th, 1843, (ch . vi . 1,) it is declared 1 Q to be imperatii<br />
e that all candidates bo Royal Arch Masons ."
TEM 473<br />
<strong>The</strong> supreme legislative authority <strong>of</strong> the order is the Grand<br />
Conclave, which consists <strong>of</strong> the Grand Officers, the Knights<br />
Grand Crosses, the Knights Commanders, and the Prior <strong>of</strong> each<br />
Priory . Four Chapters are held annually, at which times the<br />
Grand Master, if present, acts as President. At the quarterly<br />
meeting in March, the Grand Officers are elected .<br />
During the intervals <strong>of</strong> the meetings <strong>of</strong> the Grand Conclave,<br />
the affairs <strong>of</strong> the order, with the exception <strong>of</strong> altering the Statutes,<br />
is entrusted to the Grand Council, which consists <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Grand Officers elected by the Conclave, the Grand Priors <strong>of</strong><br />
Foreign Langues, and the Knights Grand Crosses .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Grand Officers, with the exception <strong>of</strong> the Past Grand<br />
Masters, who remain so for life, the Grand Master, who is elected<br />
triennially, and the Grand Aides-de-Camp, who are appointed by<br />
him and removed at his pleasure, are elected annually . <strong>The</strong>y<br />
are as follows<br />
Grand Master,<br />
Past Grand Masters,<br />
Grand Seneschal,<br />
Preceptor and Grand Prior <strong>of</strong> Scotland,<br />
Grand Constable and Mareschal,<br />
Grand Admiral,<br />
Grand Almonei or Hospitaller,<br />
Grand Chancellor,<br />
Grand Treasurer,<br />
Grand Secretary and Registrar,<br />
Primate or Grand Prelate,<br />
Grand Provost or Governor-General,<br />
Grand Standard-Bearer or Beaucennifer,<br />
Grand Bearer <strong>of</strong> the Vexillum Belli,<br />
Grand Chamberlain,<br />
Grand Steward,<br />
Two Grand Aides-de-Camp .<br />
A Grand Priory may be instituted by the Grand Conclave, in<br />
any nation, colony or langue, to be placed under the authority<br />
40*
474 TEM<br />
<strong>of</strong> a Grand Prior who is elected for life, un . es9 superseded by<br />
the Grand Conclave .<br />
A Priory, which is equivalent to our Encampments, consists<br />
<strong>of</strong> the following <strong>of</strong>ficers<br />
Prior,<br />
Sub-Prior,<br />
Mareschal or Master <strong>of</strong> Ceremonies,<br />
Hospitaller or Almoner,<br />
Chancellor,<br />
Treasurer,<br />
Secretary,<br />
Chaplain and Instructor,<br />
Beaucennifer, or Bearer <strong>of</strong> the Beauseant,<br />
Bearer <strong>of</strong> the Red Cross Banner, or Vexillum Belli,<br />
Chamberlain,<br />
Two Aides-de-Camp,<br />
Band, Guards, etc .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Grand Conclave may unite two or more Priories into a<br />
Commandery, to be governed by a Provincial Commander, who<br />
is elected by the Grand Conclave .<br />
<strong>The</strong> costume <strong>of</strong> the Knights, with the exception <strong>of</strong> a few<br />
slight variations to designate difference <strong>of</strong> rank, is the same as<br />
that described as the ancient costume in page 270, <strong>of</strong> this work<br />
TEMPLE OF SOLOMON . <strong>The</strong> Temple <strong>of</strong> the Lord,* at<br />
Jerusalem, was commenced by Solomon, King <strong>of</strong> Israel, in the<br />
year <strong>of</strong> the world 2992, and being finished in seven years and<br />
six months, was dedicated to the service <strong>of</strong> the Most High, in<br />
the year 3000 . It stood on Mount Moriah, one <strong>of</strong> the eminences<br />
<strong>of</strong> the ridge, called in Scripture Mount Zion, and was originally<br />
the property <strong>of</strong> Ornan the Jebusite, who used it as a threshing-<br />
* It is called in Scripture, hekal adonai, "the ptlace <strong>of</strong> Jehovah," to intimate<br />
that its splendour and magnificence were not intended to reflect honour<br />
on those who constructed it, but only to prepare it as a fit dwelling for Him, .<br />
wht' iv the "King <strong>of</strong> kings and Lord <strong>of</strong> lords ."-
TEM 475<br />
floor, and from wnom it was purchased by King David, for the<br />
purpose <strong>of</strong> erecting an altar .* It retained its original splendour<br />
only thirty-four years, when Shishak, Sing <strong>of</strong> Egypt, took away<br />
its richest treasures ;t it was afterwards, in the eleventh year <strong>of</strong><br />
the reign <strong>of</strong> Zedekiah, plundered and burnt by the Chaldeans,<br />
under Nebuchadnezzar .1 After the captivity, the temple was<br />
rebuilt by Zerubbabel, with greater extent, but inferior glory .<br />
<strong>The</strong> temple was originally built on a very hard rock, encompassed<br />
with frightful precipices . <strong>The</strong> foundations were laid very<br />
deep, with immense labour and expense . It was surrounded<br />
with a wall <strong>of</strong> great height, exceeding in the lowest part four<br />
hundred and fifty feet, constructed entirely <strong>of</strong> white marble .<br />
<strong>The</strong> temple itself, which consisted <strong>of</strong> the porch, the sanctuary,<br />
and the holy <strong>of</strong> holies, was but a small part <strong>of</strong> the edifice on<br />
Mount Moriah . It was surrounded with spacious courts, and<br />
the whole structure occupied at least half a mile in circumference<br />
. Upon passing through the outer wall, you came to the<br />
first court, called the court <strong>of</strong> the Gentiles, because the Gentiles<br />
were admitted into it, but were prohibited from passing farther .<br />
It was surrounded by a range <strong>of</strong> porticos or cloisters, above which<br />
were galleries or apartments, supported by pillars <strong>of</strong> white marble .<br />
Passing through the court <strong>of</strong> the Gentiles you entered the<br />
court <strong>of</strong> the children <strong>of</strong> Israel, which was separated by a low<br />
stone wall, and an ascent <strong>of</strong> fifteen steps, into two divisions, the<br />
outer one being occupied by the women, and the inner by the<br />
men . Here the Jews were in the habit <strong>of</strong> resorting daily for<br />
the purposes <strong>of</strong> prayer .<br />
Within the court <strong>of</strong> the Israelites, and separated from it by a<br />
wall one cubit in height, was the court <strong>of</strong> the priests . In the<br />
centre <strong>of</strong> this court was the altar <strong>of</strong> burnt <strong>of</strong>ferings, to which<br />
the people brought their oblations and sacrifices, but none but<br />
the priests were permitted to enter it .<br />
From this court, twelve steps ascended to the temple, strictly<br />
*See 2 Sam . axiv. 23, 24 ; 1 Chron . zsi . 25 . t 2 Chron. xii. 9 .<br />
1 See Captivity .
476 TEM<br />
so called, which, as I have already said, was divided into three<br />
parts, the porch, the sanctuary, and the holy <strong>of</strong> holies .<br />
<strong>The</strong> PORCH <strong>of</strong> the temple was twenty cubits in length, and the<br />
same in breadth . At its entrance was a gate made entirely <strong>of</strong><br />
Corinthian brass, the most precious metal known to the ancients .<br />
Beside this gate there were the two pillars Jachin and Boaz, which<br />
had been constructed by the architect whom the King <strong>of</strong> Tyre<br />
had sent to Solomon, and which are thus described by Josephus<br />
" Moreover this Hiram made two hollow pillars, whose outsides<br />
were <strong>of</strong> brass, and the thickness <strong>of</strong> the brass was four fingers'<br />
breadth, and the height <strong>of</strong> the pillars was eighteen cubits, and<br />
their circumference twelve cubits ; but there was cast with each<br />
<strong>of</strong> their chapiters, lily work that stood upon the pillar, and it<br />
was elevated five cubits, round about which there was net-work,<br />
interwoven with small palms made <strong>of</strong> brass, and covering the<br />
lily work . To this also, were hung two hundred pomegranates<br />
in two rows."*<br />
From the porch you entered the SANCTUARY by a portal,<br />
which, instead <strong>of</strong> folding doors, was furnished with a magnificent<br />
vail <strong>of</strong> many colours, which mystically represented the universe .<br />
<strong>The</strong> breadth <strong>of</strong> the sanctuary was twenty cubits, and its length<br />
forty, or just twice that <strong>of</strong> the porch and holy <strong>of</strong> holies . It occupied,<br />
therefore, one half <strong>of</strong> the body <strong>of</strong> the temple . In the<br />
sanctuary were placed the various utensils necessary for the daily<br />
worship <strong>of</strong> the temple, such as the altar <strong>of</strong> incense, on which incense<br />
was daily burnt by the <strong>of</strong>ficiating priest ; the ten golden<br />
candlesticks ; and the ten tables on which the <strong>of</strong>ferings were laid<br />
previous to the sacrifice .<br />
<strong>The</strong> HOLY OF HOLIES, or innermost chamber, was separated<br />
from the sanctuary by doors <strong>of</strong> olive, richly sculptured and inlaid<br />
with gold, and covered with vails <strong>of</strong> blue, purple, scarlet, and<br />
the finest linen . <strong>The</strong> size <strong>of</strong> the holy <strong>of</strong> holies was the same as<br />
that <strong>of</strong> the porch, namely, twenty cubits square . It contained<br />
* Antiq . lib . viii . c . 3 .
TEN 477<br />
the ark <strong>of</strong> the covenant, which had been transferred into it from<br />
the Tabernacle, with its overshadowing cherubim and its mercyseat<br />
. Into the most sacred place, the High Priest alone could<br />
enter, and that only once a year, on the day <strong>of</strong> atonement .<br />
<strong>The</strong> temple, thus constructed, must have been one <strong>of</strong> the most<br />
magnificent structures <strong>of</strong> the ancient world . For its erection,<br />
David had collected more than four thousand millions <strong>of</strong> dollars,*<br />
and one hundred and eighty-four thousand six hundred men<br />
were engaged in building it for more than seven years ; and<br />
after its completion it was dedicated by Solomon, with solemn<br />
prayer, and seven days <strong>of</strong> feasting ; during which, a peace-<strong>of</strong>fering<br />
<strong>of</strong> twenty thousand oxen and six times that number <strong>of</strong><br />
sheep, was made, to consume which the holy fire came down<br />
from heaven .<br />
Thirty-three years after its completion this beautiful edifice<br />
was despoiled, in the reign <strong>of</strong> Jeroboam, by Shishak, King <strong>of</strong><br />
Egypt, and finally burnt to the ground by Nebuchadnezzar, King<br />
<strong>of</strong> Babylon, and the' inhabitants <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem earried as captives<br />
to that city in the year 588, B . C., during the reign <strong>of</strong> Zedekiah .<br />
TEMPLE, CLASSIFICATION OF THE WORKMEN<br />
AT THE . In 2 Chronicles, chap . ii . verses 17 and 18, we read<br />
as follows<br />
" And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the<br />
land <strong>of</strong> Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father<br />
had numbered them ; and they were found an hundred and fifty<br />
thousand and three thousand and six hundred .<br />
" And he set threescore and ten thousand <strong>of</strong> them to be<br />
bearers <strong>of</strong> burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the<br />
mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers tc set<br />
the people a-work ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> same numerical details are given in the 2d verse <strong>of</strong> the same<br />
chapter. Again, in 1 Kings, chap . v ., verses 13 and 14, it is said<br />
*One hundred and eight thousand talents <strong>of</strong> geld, and one million seventeen<br />
thousand talents <strong>of</strong> silver .
478 TEM<br />
" And King Solomon raised a levy out <strong>of</strong> all Israel ;<br />
levy was thirty thousand men .<br />
and the<br />
' 1 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by<br />
courses : a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at<br />
home : and Adoniram was over the levy ."<br />
<strong>The</strong> succeeding verses make the same enumeration <strong>of</strong> workmen<br />
as that contained in Chronicles quoted above, with the exception<br />
that by omitting the three hundred Harodim, or rulers<br />
over all, the number <strong>of</strong> overseers is stated in the book <strong>of</strong> Kings<br />
to be only three thousand three hundred .<br />
With these authorities, and the assistance <strong>of</strong> masonic traditions,<br />
Anderson constructs the following table <strong>of</strong> the craftsmen at the<br />
temple .<br />
Harodim, Princes, Rulers, or Provosts, 300<br />
1Mlenatzchim, Overseers or Master Masons, 3,300<br />
Ghiblim, Stone Squarers,<br />
Ischotzeb, Hewers,<br />
Benai, Builders,<br />
all Fellow Crafts, 80,000<br />
All the Freemasons employed in the work <strong>of</strong> the<br />
113,600<br />
Temple, exclusive <strong>of</strong> the two Grand Wardens,<br />
Besides the Ish Sabbal, or men <strong>of</strong> burden, the remains <strong>of</strong><br />
the old Canaanites, amounting to 70,000, who are not numbered<br />
among masons .<br />
In relation to the classification <strong>of</strong> these workmen, Anderson<br />
says, " Solomon partitioned the Fellow-Crafts into certain lodges,<br />
with a Master and Wardens in each ; that they might receive<br />
commands in a regular manner, might take care <strong>of</strong> their tools<br />
and jewels, might be regularly paid every week, and be duly<br />
fed and clothed ; and the Fellow-Crafts took care <strong>of</strong> their succession<br />
by educating Entered Apprentices ."*<br />
Josephus makes a different estimate . He includes the 3,300<br />
overseers in the 80,000 Fellow-Crafts, and makes the number <strong>of</strong><br />
masons, exclusive <strong>of</strong> the 70,000 bearers <strong>of</strong> burdens, only 110,0 00 .<br />
A worx published in 1764, entitled the " <strong>Masonic</strong> Pocket<br />
0 Constitutions, p. 22, ed . 1769 .<br />
)
Total, - - - - 116,000 Masons,<br />
which, with the 70,000 Ish Sabbal or labs arers, will make a<br />
grand total <strong>of</strong> 186,600 workmen .<br />
According to the authority <strong>of</strong> Webb, there were three Grand<br />
Masters, 3,300 Overseers, 80,000 Fellow-Crafts, and 70,000 Entered<br />
Apprentices . This account makes no allusion to the 300<br />
Harodim, nor to the levy <strong>of</strong> 30,000 . It is, therefore, manifestly<br />
incorrect . Indeed, I doubt whether we have any certain authority<br />
for the complete classification <strong>of</strong> the workmen, as neither the<br />
Bible nor Josephus gives any account <strong>of</strong> the number <strong>of</strong> Tyrians<br />
employed . Oliver,* however, has collected from the masonic<br />
traditions an account <strong>of</strong> the classifications <strong>of</strong> the workmen, which<br />
I shall insert, with a few additional facts, taken from authorities<br />
in my possession .<br />
According to these traditions, the following was the classification<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Masons who wrought in the quarries<br />
6 Super-Excellent Masons,<br />
48 Excellent Masons,<br />
8 Grand Architects,<br />
16 &rchitects,<br />
2,376 Master Masons,<br />
700 Mark Masters,<br />
1,400 Markmen,<br />
53,900 Fellow-Crafts .<br />
<strong>of</strong> Tyre<br />
58,454 Total .<br />
TEM<br />
Book," gives a still different classification .<br />
ing to this work, was as follows<br />
<strong>The</strong> number, accord-<br />
Harodim, - - - 300<br />
Menatzchim, - - - 3,300<br />
Ghiblim, - - - - 83,000<br />
Adoniram, - - - 30,000<br />
479<br />
See the whole subject treated at length in the 15th lecture )f his "Hip .<br />
torical Landmarks."
480 TEM<br />
<strong>The</strong>se were arranged as follows : <strong>The</strong> Super-Excellent Masons<br />
were divided into two Grand Lodges, with three brethren in<br />
each to superintend the work . <strong>The</strong> Excellent Masons were divided<br />
into six lodges, <strong>of</strong> nine each, including one <strong>of</strong> the Super-<br />
Excellent Masons, who acted as Master . <strong>The</strong> eight Grand Architects<br />
constituted one lodge, and the sixteen Architects another .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Grand Architects were the Masters, and the Architects the<br />
Wardens <strong>of</strong> the lodges <strong>of</strong> Master Masons, which were eight in<br />
number, and consisted, with the <strong>of</strong>ficers, <strong>of</strong> three hundred each .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Mark Masters were divided into fourteen lodges <strong>of</strong> fifty in<br />
each, and the Markmen into fourteen lodges, also <strong>of</strong> one hundred<br />
in each . <strong>The</strong> Mark Masters were the Masters, and the Markmen<br />
the Wardens <strong>of</strong> the lodges <strong>of</strong> Fellow-Crafts, which were seven<br />
hundred in number, and with these <strong>of</strong>ficers consisted <strong>of</strong> eighty in<br />
each .<br />
<strong>The</strong> classification in the forest <strong>of</strong> Lebanon, was<br />
3 Super-Excellent Masons,<br />
24 Excellent Masons,<br />
4 Grand Architects,<br />
8 Architects,<br />
1,188 Master Masons,<br />
300 Mark Masons,<br />
600 Markmen,<br />
23,100 Fellow-Crafts,<br />
10,000 Entered Apprentices .<br />
35,227 Total .<br />
as follows<br />
<strong>The</strong>se were arranged as follows : <strong>The</strong> three Super-Excellent Ma .<br />
sons formed one lodge . <strong>The</strong> Excellent Masons were divided intu<br />
three lodges <strong>of</strong> nine each, including one <strong>of</strong> the Super-Excellent Masons<br />
as Master. <strong>The</strong> four Grand Architects constituted one lodge,<br />
and the eight Architects another, the former acting as Masters and<br />
the latter as Wardens <strong>of</strong> the lodges <strong>of</strong> Master Masons, which
TEM 481<br />
were four in number, and consisted with these <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> three<br />
hundred in each . <strong>The</strong> Mark Masters were divided into six<br />
lodges <strong>of</strong> fifty in each, and the Markmen into six lodges <strong>of</strong> one<br />
hundred in each . <strong>The</strong>se two classes presided, the former as<br />
Masters and the latter as Wardens in the lodges <strong>of</strong> Fellow-<br />
Crafts, which were three hundred in number, and were composed<br />
o f eighty each, including these <strong>of</strong>ficers .<br />
After three years had been occupied in "hewing, squaring,<br />
and numbering," the stones, and " felling and preparing" the<br />
timbers, these two bodies <strong>of</strong> Masons united for the purpose <strong>of</strong><br />
properly arranging the materials, so that no metallic tool might<br />
be required in putting them up, and they were then carried up to<br />
Jerusalem . Here the whole body was congregated under the<br />
superintending care <strong>of</strong> HAB, and *to them were added four hundred<br />
and twenty lodges <strong>of</strong> Tyrian and Sidonian Fellow-Crafts,<br />
having eighty in each, and the twenty thousand Entered Apprentices<br />
<strong>of</strong> the levy from Israel, who had been therefore at rest,<br />
and who were added to the lodges <strong>of</strong> Entered Apprentices,<br />
making three hundred in each, so that the whole number engaged<br />
at Jerusalem amounted to two hundred and seventeen<br />
thousand two hundred and eighty-one, who were arranged as<br />
follows<br />
Nine lodges <strong>of</strong> Excellent Masons, nine in each, are - 81<br />
Twelve lodges <strong>of</strong> Master Masons, three hundred in<br />
each, are - - - 3Y 600<br />
One thousand lodges <strong>of</strong> Fellow-Crafts, eighty in each,<br />
are 80,000<br />
Four hundred and twenty lodges <strong>of</strong> Tyrian Fellow-<br />
Crafts, eighty in each, are - - - 33,600<br />
One hundred lodges <strong>of</strong> Entered Apprentices, three<br />
hundred in each, are - - - - 30,000<br />
Seventy thousand Ish Sabbal, or labourers, are - - 70,000<br />
Total - - - - 217,281<br />
41 .
482 ' TEM<br />
Suca is the system adopted by our English brethren ; the<br />
American ritual has greatly simplified the arrangement . Ac.<br />
cording to the system now generally taught, the workmen at the<br />
building <strong>of</strong> the temple were classed as follows<br />
Three Grand Masters .<br />
Three hundred Harodim, or chief superintendents, who may<br />
be called Past Masters .*<br />
Three thousand three hundred Master Masons, divided into<br />
lodges <strong>of</strong> three each .<br />
Eighty thousand Fellow-Crafts, who were also divided into<br />
lodges <strong>of</strong> five each .<br />
Seventy thousand Entered Apprentices, divided into lodges <strong>of</strong><br />
seven each .<br />
According to this account, there must have been-<br />
One thousand one hundred lodges <strong>of</strong> Master Masons .<br />
Sixteen thousand lodges <strong>of</strong> Fellow-Crafts .<br />
Ten thousand lodges <strong>of</strong> Entered Apprentices .<br />
No account is here taken <strong>of</strong> the levy <strong>of</strong> thirty thousand, who<br />
are supposed not to have been Masons, nor <strong>of</strong> the builders <strong>of</strong><br />
Hiram, whom the English ritual places at thirty-three thousand<br />
six hundred, and most <strong>of</strong> whom were, as I suppose, members <strong>of</strong><br />
the Dionysiac fraternity . On the whole, the American system<br />
seems too defective to meet all the demands <strong>of</strong> the student, an<br />
objection to which the English is not so obnoxious . I should be<br />
rejoiced, therefore, to see this latter system, with some modificatibns,<br />
generally adopted by our Grand Lecturers .<br />
TEMPLE OF ZERUBBABEL . Cyrus, King <strong>of</strong> Persia,<br />
having liberated the Jews, seventy years from the commencement<br />
<strong>of</strong> their captivity, in the reign <strong>of</strong> Jehoiakim, and fifty-two<br />
years after the destruction <strong>of</strong> the Temple, forty-two thousand<br />
• <strong>The</strong>y cannot according to our ritual, be Most Excellent Masters, because,<br />
according to the legend <strong>of</strong> that degree, it was not established until the Temple<br />
was completed .
TEM 483<br />
three hundred and sixty <strong>of</strong> the liberated captives, by permission<br />
<strong>of</strong> the king, returned to Jerusalem under the guidance <strong>of</strong> Joshua<br />
the High Priest, Zerubbabel the Prince or Governor, and Haggai<br />
the Scribe, and two years after, that is, 535 years B . C ., they<br />
laid the foundations <strong>of</strong> the second temple . <strong>The</strong>y were, however,<br />
much disturbed in their labours by the Samaritans, whose <strong>of</strong>fer<br />
to unite with them in the building they had rejected . Artaxerxes,<br />
known in pr<strong>of</strong>ane history as Cambyses, having succeeded Cyrus<br />
on the throne <strong>of</strong> Persia, he forbade the Jews to proceed with the<br />
work, and the Temple remained in an unfinished state until the<br />
death <strong>of</strong> Artaxerxes and the succession <strong>of</strong> Darius to the throne .<br />
As in early life there had been a great intimacy between this<br />
sovereign and Zerubbabel, the latter proceeded to Babylon, and<br />
obtained permission from the monarch to resume the labour .<br />
Zerubbabel returned to Jerusalem, and notwithstanding some<br />
further delays consequent upon the enmity <strong>of</strong> the neighbouring<br />
nations, the second Temple, or as it may be called by way <strong>of</strong> distinction<br />
from the first, the Temple <strong>of</strong> Zerubbabel, was completed<br />
in the sixth year <strong>of</strong> the reign <strong>of</strong> Darius, 515 years B . C ., and<br />
just twenty years after its commencement. It was then dedicated<br />
with all the solemnities that accompanied the dedication <strong>of</strong><br />
the first .<br />
This second Temple did not equal the first in the glory and<br />
splendour <strong>of</strong> its decorations-the ark <strong>of</strong> the covenant was lost,<br />
although, by the precautions <strong>of</strong> our ancient Grand Masters, an<br />
exact copy <strong>of</strong> it bad been preserved amid the ruin and desolation<br />
<strong>of</strong> Jerusalem . Both the. Shekinah, the glory <strong>of</strong> God, and the<br />
Bathkol, or oracle, were departed forever .* Still, there is much<br />
to interest the people in this second house <strong>of</strong> the Lord . <strong>The</strong><br />
masonic stone <strong>of</strong> foundation, which had been safely deposited by<br />
the wisdom <strong>of</strong> the first Masons, was found and made the chief<br />
* <strong>The</strong> Jews say that there were five things wanting in the second temple,<br />
which had been in the first, namely : the Ark, the Urim and Thummin, the<br />
fire from heaven, the divine presence, or cloud <strong>of</strong> glory, and the spirit <strong>of</strong> pro<br />
phecy and power <strong>of</strong> miracles .
484 - TEM-TES<br />
corner-stone, and all the holy vessels were returned by order <strong>of</strong><br />
the King <strong>of</strong> Persia ; the Tyrians again furnished timbers from<br />
the forest <strong>of</strong> Lebanon, and at length the cope-stone, on which<br />
seven eyes had been engraved by the express command <strong>of</strong> sod,<br />
was celebrated with sacrifices and rejoicings .<br />
TEMPLE, ORDER OF THE . A masonic institution in<br />
France, whose members claim to be the lineal descendants <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Knights Templar . It appears, however, that this claim is unfounded,<br />
and that the society is only a masonic rite, in which<br />
something that they call a continuation <strong>of</strong> the order <strong>of</strong> the Templars,<br />
is engrafted on degrees borrowed from the Ancient Scotch<br />
rite . Originally the order <strong>of</strong> the Temple consisted <strong>of</strong> the following<br />
six degrees : 1, Apprentice ; ?, Fellow-Craft ; 3, Master ; 4,<br />
Master <strong>of</strong> the East ; 5, Master <strong>of</strong> the Black Eagle <strong>of</strong> St . John ;<br />
6, Perfect Master <strong>of</strong> the Pelican . But in 1808, to disguise this<br />
evident masonic origin, the degrees received the following names<br />
1, Initiate, (this is the degree <strong>of</strong> the Entered Apprentice ;) 2,<br />
Initiate <strong>of</strong> the Interior, (this is the degree <strong>of</strong> Fellow-Craft ;) 3,<br />
Adept, (this is the Master ;) 4,. Adept <strong>of</strong> the East, (the Illustrious<br />
Elected <strong>of</strong> Fifteen <strong>of</strong> the Scotch rite ;) 5, Grand Adept <strong>of</strong><br />
the Black Eagle <strong>of</strong> St . John, (the Elected Knights <strong>of</strong> Nine ;)<br />
these constitute the House <strong>of</strong> Initiation ; 6, Postulant <strong>of</strong> the<br />
order, (Perfect Adept <strong>of</strong> the Pelican ;) this is called the House<br />
<strong>of</strong> Postulance, and is nothing but the Rose Croix <strong>of</strong> the Scotch<br />
rite ; 7, Esquire ; 8, Knight or Levite <strong>of</strong> the Interior Guard .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se last .degrees are called the Covenant, and are the same as<br />
the Scotch degree <strong>of</strong> the Knight <strong>of</strong> K-H .*<br />
TESSELATED BORDER . <strong>The</strong> skirting which surrounds<br />
the mosaic pavement . A late masonic writer suggests that the<br />
proper term is "tasselled border ;" the word tasselled alluding,<br />
he thinks, to the four tassels that are placed at the corners <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Clarel Hist . Pittoresq., pp . 66, 214-219.
TET 485<br />
tracing-board <strong>The</strong> suggestion is ingenious, but not correct .<br />
Tesselated means inlaid with various kinds <strong>of</strong> colours, or variegated<br />
with flowers, &c ., and the word alludes to the variegated<br />
ornaments <strong>of</strong> the border . See Mosaic Pavement .<br />
TETRACTYS . (Greek, rerpaxruc, four . <strong>The</strong> tetractys was<br />
a sacred symbol <strong>of</strong> the Pythagoreans, which was<br />
> > expressed by ten jods disposed in the form <strong>of</strong> a<br />
triangle, each side containing four as in the<br />
> > > > annexed figure . This they explained as follows<br />
:-<br />
<strong>The</strong> one point represented the Monad, or active principle .<br />
<strong>The</strong> two points, the Duad, or passive principle .<br />
<strong>The</strong> three, the Triad, or world arising from their union .<br />
<strong>The</strong> four, the Quarternary, or the liberal sciences .<br />
On this figure, the oath was propounded to the aspirant in the<br />
esoteric school <strong>of</strong> Pythagoras . Jamblichus gives this oath in his<br />
life <strong>of</strong> Pythagoras<br />
Ou pa aperepn yeven, +rapab,vra rerpaxrvv<br />
Uayav asevaov oucewc, p ;wjAa r'exovcav.<br />
By that pure quadrilit'ral name on high,<br />
Nature's eternal fountain and supply,<br />
<strong>The</strong> parent <strong>of</strong> all souls that living be,-<br />
By it, with faithful oath, I swear to thee .<br />
<strong>The</strong> tetractys was undoubtedly borrowed by Pythagoras from<br />
the tetragrammaton <strong>of</strong> the Jews,* when he visited Babylon, and<br />
was instructed by Ezekiel' in the Jewish mysteries .<br />
TETRAGRAMMATON. (Greek .) <strong>The</strong> word <strong>of</strong> four letters<br />
. <strong>The</strong> incommunicable name <strong>of</strong> God in Hebrew, 111+,<br />
which, as consisting <strong>of</strong> four letters, was thus called . See<br />
Jehovah.<br />
* Cudworth (Intellectual system, p . 376) thinks there is no doubt <strong>of</strong> this, ar.d<br />
the most learned writers have generally agreed with him in the opinion .<br />
41*
486 THE-THIS<br />
T . -. G • . A. - . 0 . • . T.- . U . • . <strong>The</strong> Grand Architect <strong>of</strong> the Uni.<br />
verse. A very common abbreviation <strong>of</strong> the name <strong>of</strong> God, used<br />
by masonic writers .<br />
THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES. <strong>The</strong>se are Faith, Hope, and<br />
Charity, which, as forming the principal rounds <strong>of</strong> the masonio<br />
ladder, constitute a part <strong>of</strong> the instruction <strong>of</strong> the Entered Ap<br />
prentice . Of these, Faith may be explained to be the first round,<br />
because faith in God is the first requisite qualification <strong>of</strong> a candidate<br />
for masonry ; Hope is the second, because hope in immortality,<br />
is a necessar' consequence <strong>of</strong> faith in a divine being ; and<br />
Charity is the third, because the mind that is elevated by such a<br />
faith, and the heart that is warmed by such a hope, cannot fail<br />
to be stimulated by that universal love <strong>of</strong> the human race, which<br />
is but another name for Charity .<br />
Again . Charity is the highest round, because Charity is the<br />
greatest <strong>of</strong> these virtues . Our faith may be lost in sight ; "faith<br />
is the evidence <strong>of</strong> things not seen ;" he that believes only on the<br />
evidence <strong>of</strong> his senses, believes from demonstration, and not from<br />
faith, and faith in him is dead . Hope ends in fruition ; we hope<br />
only for that which we desire, but do not possess ; and the attainment<br />
<strong>of</strong> the object is the termination <strong>of</strong> our hope . But Charity<br />
extends beyond the grave, through the boundless realms <strong>of</strong> eternity<br />
; for there, even there, the mercy <strong>of</strong> God, the richest <strong>of</strong> all<br />
charities, throws a veil over our transgressions, and extends to<br />
the repentant sinner the boon <strong>of</strong> that forgiveness which divine<br />
justice must have denied .<br />
THIRTY-THIRD DEGREE . See Supreme Council.<br />
THREE . One <strong>of</strong> the sacred numbers <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> .<br />
Three was considered among all the Pagan nations as the chief<br />
<strong>of</strong> the mystical numbers, because, as Aristotle remarks, it contains<br />
within itself a beginning, a middle, and an end. Hence<br />
we find it designating some <strong>of</strong> the attributes <strong>of</strong> almost all the
THR 487<br />
gods . <strong>The</strong> thunder.-bolt <strong>of</strong> Jove was three-forked ; the sceptre<br />
<strong>of</strong> Neptune was a trident ; Cerberus, the dog <strong>of</strong> Pluto, was threeheaded<br />
; there were three Fates and three Furies ; the sun had<br />
three names, Apollo, Sol, and Liber ; and the moon three also,<br />
Diana, Luna, and Hecate . In all incantations, three was a<br />
favourite number, and hence, the poet says, numero Deus impari<br />
gaudet. A triple cord was used, each cord <strong>of</strong> three different<br />
colours, white, red, and black, and a small image <strong>of</strong> the subject<br />
<strong>of</strong> the charm was carried thrice around the altar, as we see in<br />
Virgil's eighth ecologue<br />
~~ Terna tibi haec primum triplici diversa colors<br />
Licia circumdo, terque hasc altaria circum<br />
Eff giem duco."<br />
<strong>The</strong> Druids paid no less respect to this sacred number.<br />
Throughout their whole system, a reference is constantly made<br />
to its influence ; and so far did their veneration for it extend, that<br />
even their sacred poetry was composed in triads .<br />
In all the mysteries, from Egypt to Scandinavia, we find a<br />
sacred regard for the number three . In the rites <strong>of</strong> Mithras, the<br />
Empyrean was said to be supported by three intelligences, Ormuzd,<br />
Mithra, and Mithras . In the rites <strong>of</strong> Hindostan, there<br />
was the trinity <strong>of</strong> Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva . It was, in short,<br />
a general character <strong>of</strong> the mysteries to have three principal <strong>of</strong>ficers<br />
and three grades <strong>of</strong> initiation .<br />
In <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, the number three is the most important and<br />
universal in its applicatiop <strong>of</strong> all the mystic numbers . Thus we<br />
find it pervading the whole ritual. <strong>The</strong>re are three degrees <strong>of</strong><br />
Ancient Craft Masonry-three principal <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> a lodge<br />
three supports-three ornaments-three greater and three<br />
lesser lights-three movable and three immovable jewelsthree<br />
principal tenets-three rounds <strong>of</strong> Jacob's ladder-three<br />
working tools <strong>of</strong> a Fellow-Craft-three principal orders <strong>of</strong> architecture-three<br />
important human senses-three ancient Grand Masters-three<br />
recreant F .- . C . - . ;-and indeed so many instances <strong>of</strong>
488 THR. -TIB<br />
the consecration <strong>of</strong> the number that it would exceed the Limita<br />
<strong>of</strong> this volume to record them .<br />
THREE GLOBES, RITE OF THE GRAND LODGE OF .<br />
<strong>The</strong> lodge <strong>of</strong> "Three Globes" was established at Berlin in 1746,<br />
and in 1765 was constituted as a Grand Lodge . It, for a long<br />
time, practised only the three primitive degrees <strong>of</strong> Ancient Craft<br />
Masonry ; but afterwards adopted seven others, borrowed from<br />
France . <strong>The</strong> three ancient degrees are under the control <strong>of</strong><br />
the Grand Lodge, but the seven higher ones are governed by an<br />
Internal Supreme Orient, whose members are, however, elected<br />
by the Grand Lodge . <strong>The</strong> rite <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Three Globes is practised by one hundred and seventy-seven<br />
lodges in Germany .<br />
THREE STEPS . <strong>The</strong> three steps on the Master's carpet are<br />
emblematic <strong>of</strong> the three stages <strong>of</strong> human life-youth, manhood,<br />
and old age, and allude to the three degrees which are respectively<br />
representations <strong>of</strong> these three stages .<br />
THRESHING-FLOOR . <strong>The</strong> threshing-floor <strong>of</strong> Araunah, or<br />
Ornan the Jebusite, was on Mount Moriah . It was purchased<br />
by David for a place <strong>of</strong> sacrifice, for six hundred shekels <strong>of</strong> gold,<br />
and on it the temple was afterwards built . See Ornan the Jebusite<br />
.<br />
THUMNIIN. See Urim and Thummim .<br />
TILER . An <strong>of</strong>ficer in a symbolic lodge, whose duty it is to<br />
guard the lodge against the intrusion <strong>of</strong> the pr<strong>of</strong>ane . As in<br />
operative masonry, the tiler, when the edifice is erected, finishes<br />
and covers it with the ro<strong>of</strong>, so in speculative Masonry, when the<br />
lodge -is duly organized, the Tiler closes the door and covers the<br />
sacred precincts from all intrusion . <strong>The</strong> Tiler is not necessarily<br />
a member <strong>of</strong> the lodge, but should always be a worthy Mason
TIT.-TRA 489<br />
and skilful in the craft. He generally receive-3 a moderate compensation<br />
for his services .<br />
TITO . Tito Prince Harodim was one <strong>of</strong> the especial favourites<br />
<strong>of</strong> King Solomon . He presided over the lodge <strong>of</strong> Intendants<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Building, and was one <strong>of</strong> the twelve Illustrious Knights<br />
who were set over the twelve tribes, that <strong>of</strong> Napthali being<br />
placed under his care .<br />
TOKEN . This word, in Hebrew, X11~, oth, is frequently<br />
used in Scripture to signify a sign or memorial <strong>of</strong> something<br />
past, some covenant made or promise given . Thus God says to<br />
Noah, <strong>of</strong> the rainbow " it shall be for a token <strong>of</strong> a covenant between<br />
me and the earth ;" and to Abraham, he says <strong>of</strong> circumcision,<br />
" it shall be a token <strong>of</strong> the covenant betwixt me and you ."<br />
In masonry, the grip <strong>of</strong> recognition is called a token, because it<br />
is an outward sign <strong>of</strong> the covenant <strong>of</strong> friendship and fellowship<br />
entered into between the members <strong>of</strong> the fraternity, and is to be<br />
considered as a memorial <strong>of</strong> that covenant which was made,<br />
when it was first received by the candidate, between him and the<br />
order into which he was then initiated .<br />
TRACING-BOARD . A painting representing the emblems<br />
peculiar to a degree, arranged for the convenience <strong>of</strong> the lee.<br />
turer. Each degree <strong>of</strong> symbolic masonry has its tracing-board,<br />
which are distinguished as tracing-boards the first, second, and<br />
third. It is, therefore, the same as the flooring or carpet .<br />
TRADITIONS . <strong>The</strong> legends or traditions <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong><br />
constitute a very considerable and important part <strong>of</strong> its ritual .<br />
In many instances these traditions have been corrupted by<br />
anachronisms and other errors, which have naturally crept into<br />
them during a long series <strong>of</strong> oral transmission . No one, therefore,<br />
can for a moment contend that all the legends and tradi .<br />
tions <strong>of</strong> the order are, to the very letter, historical facts . All
X90 TRA<br />
that can be claimed for them is, that in some there is a great<br />
deal <strong>of</strong> truthful narrative, more or less overlaid with fiction ; in<br />
others, simply a mere substratum <strong>of</strong> history ; and in others, noking<br />
more than an idea, to which the legend or myth is indebted<br />
for its existence, and <strong>of</strong> which it is, as a symbol, the exponent .<br />
<strong>The</strong> intelligent Mason will always, however, be able, after a<br />
little consideration, to separate the substratum <strong>of</strong> truth from the<br />
superstructure <strong>of</strong> fiction which has been imposed upon it . And<br />
then, what is presented as a tradition will <strong>of</strong>ten be found to be a<br />
mere myth or allegory, whose symbolic teaching is <strong>of</strong> great<br />
beauty and importance . It is a part <strong>of</strong> the science <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong><br />
to elaborate out <strong>of</strong> these traditions the truth, symbolic or<br />
historical, which they are intended to convey, and to distinguish<br />
a tradition founded in fact from one which is based upon a myth,<br />
so as to assign to the annals and the poetry <strong>of</strong> the order their<br />
respective portions .<br />
TRANSIENT BRETHREN . Transient brethren, when they<br />
visit a lodge, are to be cordially welcomed and properly clothed .<br />
But on no occasion are they admitted until, after the proper precautions,<br />
they have proved themselves to be " true and trusty ."<br />
See Yisit, Right <strong>of</strong>.<br />
TRANSIENT CANDIDATE . A transient candidate is one<br />
not living in the place where he applies for admission . If well<br />
recommended by two or more members <strong>of</strong> the lodge, a ballot<br />
may take .place on the same night that he applies ; whereas, in<br />
the case <strong>of</strong> a permanent resident, the letter must be referred to a<br />
committee, and lie over for at least a month .<br />
TRAVELLING FREEMASONS . <strong>The</strong>re is no portion <strong>of</strong><br />
our annals so worthy <strong>of</strong> investigation as that which is embraced<br />
by the middle ages <strong>of</strong> Christendom, when the whole <strong>of</strong> Europe<br />
was perambulated by our brethren in associations <strong>of</strong> travelling<br />
artisans, under the name <strong>of</strong> 11 Free and Accepted Masons," for
TRA 491<br />
the purpose <strong>of</strong> erecting religious edifices . <strong>The</strong>re is not a country<br />
<strong>of</strong> Europe which does not at this day contain honourable<br />
evidences <strong>of</strong> the skill and industry <strong>of</strong> our masonic ancestors. I<br />
therefore propose, in the present article, to give a brief sketch<br />
<strong>of</strong> the origin, the progress and the character <strong>of</strong> these travelling<br />
architects .<br />
Clavel, in his " Histoire Pittoresque de la Franc-hMaconnerie,"<br />
has traced the organization <strong>of</strong> these associations to the "collegia<br />
artificum," or colleges <strong>of</strong> artisans,* which were instituted at<br />
Rome by Numa, in the year B . C. 714, and whose members were<br />
originally Greeks, imported by this lawgiver for the purpose <strong>of</strong><br />
embellishing the city over which he reigned .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se associations existed in Rome in the time <strong>of</strong> the emperors<br />
. <strong>The</strong>y were endowed with certain privileges peculiar to<br />
themselves, such as a government by their own statutes, the<br />
power <strong>of</strong> making contracts as a corporation, and an immunity<br />
from taxation . <strong>The</strong>ir meetings were held in private, like the<br />
esoteric schools <strong>of</strong> the philosophers . <strong>The</strong>ir presiding <strong>of</strong>ficers<br />
were called " magistri." <strong>The</strong>y were divided into three classes,<br />
corresponding with the three degrees <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, and they<br />
admitted into their ranks, as honorary members, persons who<br />
were not, by pr<strong>of</strong>ession, operative masons . Finally, they used a<br />
symbolic language drawn from the implements <strong>of</strong> masonry, and<br />
thet were in possession <strong>of</strong> a secret mode <strong>of</strong> recognition .<br />
In time, the "collegia artificum" became the repository <strong>of</strong> all<br />
the rites which were brought to Rome from foreign countries,<br />
and thus we may suppose the Hebrew mysteries, or Temple Masonry,<br />
to have been introduced into that country . This supposi<br />
tion may derive some support from the fact, that in the time <strong>of</strong><br />
Julius Caesar the Jews were first permitted to open their synagogues<br />
and worship the God <strong>of</strong> their fathers, without restraint,<br />
at Rome, -a toleration for which they were probably indebted tc<br />
their fraternization with the members <strong>of</strong> the colleges <strong>of</strong> artificers ;<br />
* See Roman Colleges, in this work .
492 TRA<br />
and in the reign <strong>of</strong> Augustus, many <strong>of</strong> the Roman knights embraced<br />
Judaism, and publicly observed the Sabbath .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se "sodalitates," or fraternities, began upon the invasion<br />
<strong>of</strong> the barbarians to decline in numbers, in respectability, and<br />
in power. But on the conversion <strong>of</strong> the whole empire, they or<br />
others <strong>of</strong> a similar character began again to flourish . <strong>The</strong> priests<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Christian church became their patrons, and under their<br />
guidance they devoted themselves to the building <strong>of</strong> churches<br />
and monasteries . In the tenth century, they were established as<br />
a free guild or corporation in Lombardy . <strong>The</strong> most celebrated<br />
<strong>of</strong> these corporations in Italy was that <strong>of</strong> Como, and the name<br />
<strong>of</strong> « Magistri Comacini," or Masters <strong>of</strong> Como, became at length,<br />
says Muratori, the generic name for all these associations <strong>of</strong><br />
architects .<br />
From Lombardy, which they soon filled with religious edifices,<br />
they passed beyond the Apps, into all the countries where Christianity,<br />
but recently established, required the erection <strong>of</strong> churches .<br />
<strong>The</strong> popes encouraged their designs, and more than one bull<br />
was despatched, conferring on them privileges <strong>of</strong> the most extensive<br />
character . A monopoly was granted to them for the erection<br />
<strong>of</strong> all religious edifices ; they were declared independent <strong>of</strong><br />
the sovereigns in whose dominions they might be temporarily residing,<br />
and subject only to their own private laws ; they were<br />
permitted to regulate the amount <strong>of</strong> their wages ; were exempted<br />
from all kinds <strong>of</strong> taxation ; and no Mason, not belonging to their<br />
association, was permitted to compete with or oppose them in the<br />
pursuit <strong>of</strong>._employment . And in one <strong>of</strong> the papal decrees on<br />
the subject <strong>of</strong> these artisans, the supreme pontiff declares that<br />
these regulations have been made "after the example <strong>of</strong> Hiram,<br />
King <strong>of</strong> Tyre, when he sent artisans to King Solomon for the<br />
purpose <strong>of</strong> building the . Temple <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem ."<br />
After filling the continent with cathedrals, parochial churches,<br />
and monasteries, and increasing their own numbers by accessions<br />
<strong>of</strong> new members from all the countries in which they had been<br />
Jabouring, they passed over into England, and there introduced
TRri 493<br />
their peculiar styli <strong>of</strong> building . <strong>The</strong>nce they travelled to Scotland,<br />
and there have rendered their existence ever memorable by<br />
establishing, in the parish <strong>of</strong> Kilwinning, where they were erecting<br />
an abbey, the germ <strong>of</strong> Scottish <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, which has regularly<br />
descended through the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Scotland to the<br />
present day .<br />
<strong>The</strong> government <strong>of</strong> these fraternities, wherever they might be<br />
for the time located, was very regular and uniform . When<br />
about to commence the erection <strong>of</strong> a religious edifice, they first<br />
built huts, or, as they were termed, lodges in the vicinity, in<br />
which they resided for the sake <strong>of</strong> economy as well as convenience<br />
. It is from these that the present name <strong>of</strong> our places <strong>of</strong><br />
meeting is derived . Over every ten men was placed a warden,<br />
who paid them wages, and took care that there should be no<br />
needless expenditure <strong>of</strong> materials, and no careless loss <strong>of</strong> implements<br />
. Over the whole, a surveyor or master, called in their<br />
old documents, " magister," presided, and directed the general<br />
labour .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Abbe Grandidier, in a letter at the end <strong>of</strong> the Marquis<br />
Luchet's "E.'sai star les Illumines," has quoted from the ancient<br />
register <strong>of</strong> the Masons at Strasburg, the regulations <strong>of</strong> the association<br />
which built the splendid cathedral <strong>of</strong> that city . I have<br />
not been successful in my efforts to obtain a sight <strong>of</strong> the original<br />
work, but the elaborate treatise <strong>of</strong> Clavel furnishes us with the<br />
most prominent details <strong>of</strong> all that Grandidier has preserved .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Cathedral <strong>of</strong> Strasburg was commenced in the year 12T7,<br />
under the direction <strong>of</strong> Hervin de Steinbach . <strong>The</strong> Masons who,<br />
under his directions, were engaged in the construction <strong>of</strong> this<br />
noblest specimen <strong>of</strong> the Gothic style <strong>of</strong> architecture, were divided<br />
into the separate ranks <strong>of</strong> Masters, Craftsmen, and Apprentices .<br />
<strong>The</strong> place where they assembled was called a " hutte," a German<br />
word equivalent to our English term, lodge . <strong>The</strong>y employed<br />
the implements <strong>of</strong> masonry as emblems, and wore them as insignia<br />
. <strong>The</strong>y had certain signs and words <strong>of</strong> recognition, and received<br />
their new members with peculiar and secret ceremonies,<br />
42
494 TRA<br />
admitting into their ranks many eminent persons who were not<br />
operative Masons by pr<strong>of</strong>ession .*<br />
<strong>The</strong> fraternity <strong>of</strong> Strasburg became celebrated throughout<br />
Germany ; their superiority was acknowledged by the kindred<br />
associations, and they in time received the appellation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
1 ' haupt hutte," or Grand Lodge, and exercised supremacy over<br />
the hutten <strong>of</strong> Suabia, Hesse, Bavaria, Franconia, Saxony, Thuringia,<br />
and the countries bordering on the river Moselle . <strong>The</strong><br />
Masters <strong>of</strong> these several lodges assembled at Ratisbon in 1459,<br />
* <strong>The</strong> correspondent <strong>of</strong> the Boston Atlas gave, in 1847, the following details<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Cathedral at Cologne, another labour <strong>of</strong> the Travelling Freemasons <strong>of</strong><br />
the Middle Ages<br />
"<strong>The</strong>re stood the huge mass, a proud monument to Gerhard, Master <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Cologne Lodge <strong>of</strong> Freemasons, and resisting, as it does, the attacks <strong>of</strong> nature<br />
and the labour <strong>of</strong> man, a symbol <strong>of</strong> that mystic brotherhood which, to use the<br />
words <strong>of</strong> Lafayette, ' owes a double lustre to those who have cherished, and to<br />
those who have persecuted it .'<br />
" During the interval between 1248 and 1323, there were not only fifty<br />
Masters, and three times as many Fellow-Craft, daily employed, but a large<br />
number <strong>of</strong> Entered Apprentices, from all parts <strong>of</strong> Christendom, who had come<br />
to study both the operative and speculative branches <strong>of</strong> the art, and carried<br />
home with them the principles which directed the erection <strong>of</strong> almost every<br />
Gothic monument <strong>of</strong> the age ; others, which prepared the way for the light <strong>of</strong><br />
the Reformati,,n<br />
' <strong>The</strong>y dreamt not <strong>of</strong> a perishable home,<br />
Who could thus build.'<br />
" After the se^ession <strong>of</strong> the Freemasons from the church, the works were suspended,<br />
leaving only the choir, with its side aisles, completed . Saxatile creepers<br />
covered the other foundations, and after remaining untouched, except by<br />
the iron hand o' Time, for nearly five centuries, it could but remind one <strong>of</strong> a<br />
' broken promise to God.' In 1829, the attention <strong>of</strong> the King <strong>of</strong> Prussia was<br />
directed to it, and the work recommenced with such skill, that an association<br />
was formed in 1842 for the purpose <strong>of</strong> continuing it vigorously . s * *<br />
<strong>The</strong> original plans, which were taken from the lodge by the French in 1794,<br />
have been recovered, and are strictly adhered to by the architect, M . Zmerner,<br />
who has even adopted the ancient and accepted division <strong>of</strong> the workmen .<br />
<strong>The</strong> first class receives 57 cents per'diem, the second, 48 cents, and the third,<br />
41 cents, those in the two latter receiving promotion when their industry and<br />
ability merit it ."
TRA 495<br />
and on the 25th <strong>of</strong> April contracted an act <strong>of</strong> union, declaring<br />
the chief <strong>of</strong> the Strasburg Cathedral the only and perpetual<br />
Grand Master <strong>of</strong> the General Fraternity <strong>of</strong> Freemasons <strong>of</strong><br />
Germany .<br />
Similar institutions existed in France and in Switzerland . In<br />
the latter country the Grand Lodge was established c riginally at<br />
Berne, about the middle <strong>of</strong> the fifteenth century, during the<br />
construction <strong>of</strong> the cathedral at that place, but in 1502 it was<br />
transferred to Zurich .<br />
<strong>The</strong> details <strong>of</strong> the proceedings <strong>of</strong> the travelling Freemasons<br />
in England are more familiar, as well as more interesting, to us .<br />
<strong>The</strong>y entered that kingdom at an early period . ' -e have already<br />
seen that their organization in Italy, as a free guild, took place<br />
early in the tenth century ; and we know, from undoubted documents,<br />
that Prince Edwin assembled the English Masons at<br />
York in 926, when the first English Grand Lodge was constituted<br />
. It is from this general assembly <strong>of</strong> our ancestors at<br />
York, that all the existing constitutions <strong>of</strong> our English and<br />
American lodges derive their authority . From that period the<br />
fraternity, with various intermissions, continued to pursue their<br />
labours, and constructed many edifices which still remain as<br />
monuments <strong>of</strong> their skill as workmen, and their taste as architects<br />
. Kings, in many instances, became their patrons, and<br />
their" labours were superintended by powerful noblemen and eminent<br />
prelates, who, for this purpose, were admitted as members<br />
<strong>of</strong> the fraternity . Many <strong>of</strong> the old charges, for the better<br />
government <strong>of</strong> their lodges, have been preserved, and are still to<br />
be found in our books <strong>of</strong> 'Constitutions, every line <strong>of</strong> which indicates<br />
that they were originally drawn up for associations strictly<br />
and exclusively operative in their character .<br />
In glancing over the history <strong>of</strong> this singular oody <strong>of</strong> architects,<br />
we are struck with several important peculiarities .<br />
In the first place, they were strictly ecclesiastical in their constitution<br />
. <strong>The</strong> Pope, the supreme Pontiff <strong>of</strong> the Church, was<br />
their patron and protector . <strong>The</strong>y were supported and encouraged
496 TRA<br />
by bishops and abbots, and hence their chief employment appears<br />
to have been in the construction <strong>of</strong> religious edifices . Like their<br />
ancestors, who were engaged in the erection <strong>of</strong> the magnificeut<br />
Temple <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem, they devoted themselves to labour for the<br />
"House <strong>of</strong> the Lord ." Masonry was then, as it had been be .<br />
fore, and has ever been since, intimately connected with religion .<br />
<strong>The</strong>y were originally all operatives . But the artisans <strong>of</strong> that<br />
period were not educated men, and they were compelled to seek<br />
among the clergy, the only men <strong>of</strong> learning, for those whose<br />
wisdom might contrive, and whose cultivated taste might adorn,<br />
the plans which they by their practical skill were to carry into<br />
effect . Hence the germ <strong>of</strong> that speculative masonry, which once<br />
dividing the character <strong>of</strong> the fraternity with the operative, now<br />
completely occupies it, to the entire exclusion <strong>of</strong> the latter .<br />
But, lastly, from the circumstance <strong>of</strong> their union and concert,<br />
arose a uniformity <strong>of</strong> design in all the public buildings <strong>of</strong> that<br />
period-a uniformity so remarkable as to find its explanation<br />
only in the fact, that their construction was committed throughout<br />
the whole <strong>of</strong> Europe, if not always to the same individuals,<br />
at least to members <strong>of</strong> the same association . <strong>The</strong> remarks <strong>of</strong><br />
Mr . Hope on this subject, in his " History <strong>of</strong> Architecture," (p .<br />
239,) are well worthy <strong>of</strong> perusal . "<strong>The</strong> architects <strong>of</strong> all the<br />
sacred edifices <strong>of</strong> the Latin church, wherever such arose,-north,<br />
south, east, or west,-thus derived their science from the same<br />
central school ; obeyed in their designs the same hierarchy ; were<br />
directed in their constructions by the same principles <strong>of</strong> propriety<br />
and taste ;.-kept up with each other, in the most distant parts to<br />
which they might be sent, the most constant correspondence ;<br />
and rendered every minute improvement, the property <strong>of</strong> the<br />
whole body and a new conquest <strong>of</strong> the art . <strong>The</strong> result <strong>of</strong> this<br />
unanimity was, that at each successive period <strong>of</strong> the monastic<br />
dynasty, on whatever point a new church or new monastery<br />
might be erected, it resembled all those raised at the same period<br />
in every other place, however distant from it, as if both had been<br />
built in the same place by the same artist . For instance, we
TRA 497<br />
hnd, at particular epochs, churches as far distant from each other<br />
as the north <strong>of</strong> Scotland and the south <strong>of</strong> Italy, to be minutely<br />
similar in all the essential characteristics ."<br />
In conclusion, we may remark, with some pride as their descendants,<br />
that the world is indebted to this association for the<br />
introduction <strong>of</strong> the Gothic, or, as it has lately been denominated,<br />
the pointed style <strong>of</strong> architecture . This style-so different from<br />
the Greek or Roman orders-whose pointed arches and minute<br />
tracery distinguish the solemn temples <strong>of</strong> the olden time, and<br />
whose ruins arrest the attention and claim the admiration <strong>of</strong> the<br />
spectator, has been universally acknowledged to be the invention<br />
<strong>of</strong> the travelling Freemasons <strong>of</strong> the Middle Ages .<br />
TRAVELLING WARRANTS . <strong>The</strong>se are Warrants <strong>of</strong> Constitution<br />
granted to lodges, empowering the members to remove<br />
their lodge at pleasure, and to open it and transact lodge business<br />
in any part <strong>of</strong> the world in which they may be stationed .<br />
Such Warrants are granted generally to lodges in the army . In<br />
1779, the Massachusetts Grand Lodge granted a warrant to Gen .<br />
Patterson and others, to hold a travelling lodge in the American<br />
army, to be called 1 ' Washington Lodge ." In 1756, R . W.<br />
Richard Gridley was authorized " to congregate all Free and Accepted<br />
Masons, in the expedition against Crown Point, and form<br />
them into one or more lodges ." In 1738, St. John's Grand<br />
.Lodge, at Boston, granted a travelling warrant to a lodge to be<br />
holden in His Majesty's 28th regiment, then stationed at Louisburg<br />
.* Lodges <strong>of</strong> this character are still very common in the<br />
British army .t<br />
In the London Review, 1834, two interesting anecdotes are<br />
recorded <strong>of</strong> lodge No. 227, attached to the 46th regiment <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Moore's Magazine, vol. i, p. 15 .<br />
t During the late war between the United States and Mexioo, travelling<br />
warrants were granted to some <strong>of</strong> the regiments <strong>of</strong> volunteers in the American<br />
army .<br />
42*
498 THE--TRt<br />
British army, and working under a travelling warrant from the<br />
Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> Ireland . During the Revolution, « the masonic<br />
chest <strong>of</strong> the 46th, by the chance <strong>of</strong> war, fell into the hands <strong>of</strong><br />
the Americans : the captors reported the circumstance to Gen .<br />
Washington, who embraced the opportunity <strong>of</strong> testifying his admiration<br />
<strong>of</strong> masonry in the most marked and gratifying manner,<br />
by directing that a guard <strong>of</strong> honour, under the command <strong>of</strong> a<br />
distinguished <strong>of</strong>ficer, should take charge <strong>of</strong> the chest, with many<br />
articles <strong>of</strong> value belonging to the 46th, and returned them to the<br />
regiment . In 1805, the chest was captured again in Dominica,<br />
by the French, who carried it on board their fleet without knowing<br />
its contents . Three years afterward, the chest, at the request<br />
<strong>of</strong> the <strong>of</strong>ficers who had commanded the expedition, was<br />
returned by the French government with several complimentary<br />
presents ."<br />
TREASURER. <strong>The</strong> fourth <strong>of</strong>ficer <strong>of</strong> a symbolic lodge, whose<br />
duty it is to receive all money from the hands <strong>of</strong> the Secretary,<br />
or otherwise, and pay it out again by the order <strong>of</strong> the Worship .<br />
ful Master, and with the consent <strong>of</strong> the lodge . He is a responsible<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficer, and is generally required to give security for the<br />
faithful performance <strong>of</strong> his duties .<br />
TRESTLE-BOARD. A trestle-board, from the French tresteau,<br />
is a board placed on a wooden frame <strong>of</strong> three legs . <strong>Masonic</strong>ally,<br />
it means the board on which the master workman lays<br />
his designs_-to direct the craft in their labours . In speculative<br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong>, it is symbolical <strong>of</strong> the books <strong>of</strong> nature and revelation,<br />
iu which the Supreme Architect <strong>of</strong> the Universe has developed<br />
his will, for the guidance and direction <strong>of</strong> his creatures,<br />
in the great labour <strong>of</strong> their lives, the erection <strong>of</strong> a temple <strong>of</strong><br />
holiness in the heart .<br />
TRIANGLE, DOUBLE . <strong>The</strong> double triangle is described<br />
by some writers as identical with the pentalpha <strong>of</strong> Pythagoras,
TRI 499<br />
or pentangle <strong>of</strong> Solomon . This, however, is not the case . <strong>The</strong><br />
pentalpha has five lines and five angles, and<br />
the double triangle has six lines and six<br />
angles . <strong>The</strong> former, was among the Pythagoreans,<br />
an emblem <strong>of</strong> health, and among<br />
Masons it is the outline or origin <strong>of</strong> the fivepointed<br />
star, the emblem <strong>of</strong> fellowship ; the<br />
VWA<br />
A<br />
latter is a symbol <strong>of</strong> Deity . In Christian churches the double<br />
triangle is used as a symbol <strong>of</strong> the tw<strong>of</strong>old nature <strong>of</strong> Christ .<br />
TRIANGLE, EQUILATERAL . This, as the most perfect<br />
<strong>of</strong> figures, was adopted by all the ancient nations as a symbol <strong>of</strong><br />
the Deity . It still retains that allusion as an emblem <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong><br />
. Among the Hebrews, a jod in the centre <strong>of</strong> an equilateral<br />
triangle, was one <strong>of</strong> the emblems <strong>of</strong> Jehovah . In the<br />
system <strong>of</strong> Pythagoras, the obligation was administered to the<br />
candidate on the Tetractys, which was expressed by ten jods<br />
arrayed in the form <strong>of</strong> a triangle, which, with them, was the<br />
symbol <strong>of</strong> Deity, as embracing in himself the three stages <strong>of</strong><br />
time, past, present, and future ; he was, he is, and be shall be .<br />
Among the Hebrews, a jod in the centre <strong>of</strong> a triangle was one<br />
<strong>of</strong> the modes <strong>of</strong> expressing the incommunicable name <strong>of</strong> Jehovah,<br />
and was supposed, by some authors, to refer to the triune<br />
God: This allusion to Deity it still preserves in the masonic<br />
ritual .<br />
TRIANGLE, TRIPLE . This is another <strong>of</strong> the numerous<br />
forms in which the triangle is arranged, and<br />
like all the others, it is used as a symbol <strong>of</strong><br />
Deity, though perhaps it is here made to<br />
assume a still more sacred character from its<br />
triple form . As such, it has been adopted as<br />
the most appropriate jewel <strong>of</strong> the Illustrious<br />
Prelate in an En ;ampment <strong>of</strong> Knights TemplarTT
500 TRI<br />
TRIPLE TAU . <strong>The</strong> Tau Cross, or Cross <strong>of</strong> St. Anthony, is<br />
a cross in the form <strong>of</strong> a Greek T . <strong>The</strong> triple tan is a figure<br />
formed by three <strong>of</strong> these crosses meeting in a point, and therefore<br />
resembling a letter T resting on the traverse beam <strong>of</strong> an H .<br />
This emblem is not adopted in American <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, but placed<br />
in the centre <strong>of</strong> a triangle and circle-both emblems <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Deity ; it constitutes the jewel <strong>of</strong> the Royal Arch as practised<br />
in England, where it is so highly esteemed as to be called the<br />
c' emblem <strong>of</strong> all emblems," and "the grand emblem <strong>of</strong> Royal<br />
Arch Masonry ." <strong>The</strong> original signification <strong>of</strong> this emblem has<br />
been 'variously explained . Some suppose it to include the initials<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Temple <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem, T. H ., Templum .Hierosolymm ;<br />
others, that is a symbol <strong>of</strong> the mystical union <strong>of</strong> the Father and<br />
Son, H signifying Jehovah, and T, or the cross, the Son . A'<br />
writer in Moore's Magazine ingeniously supposes it to be a representation<br />
<strong>of</strong> three T squares, and that it alludes to the three<br />
jewels <strong>of</strong> the three ancient Grand Masters . It has also been<br />
said that it is the monogram <strong>of</strong> Hiram <strong>of</strong> Tyre, and others assert<br />
that it is only a' modification <strong>of</strong> the Hebrew letter shin, W, which<br />
was one <strong>of</strong> the Jewish abbreviations <strong>of</strong> the sacred name . Oliver<br />
thinks, from its connection with the circle and triangle in the<br />
Royal Arch jewel, that it was intended to typify the sacred name<br />
as the author <strong>of</strong> eternal life . <strong>The</strong> English Royal Arch lectures<br />
say that "by its intersection it forms a given number <strong>of</strong> angles<br />
that may be taken in five several combinations ; and, reduced, their<br />
amount in right angles will be found equal to the five Platonic<br />
bodies which represent the four elements and the sphere <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Universe ." Amid so many speculations, I need not hesitate to<br />
<strong>of</strong>fer one <strong>of</strong> my own . I have already stated under the article<br />
Tau Cross, that the Prophet Ezekiel speaks <strong>of</strong> the tau or tan<br />
cross as the mark distinguishing those who were to be saved, on<br />
account <strong>of</strong> their sorrow for their sins, from those who, as idolaters,<br />
were to be slain . It was .a mark or sign <strong>of</strong> favourable distinction,<br />
and with this allusion we may, therefore, suppose the triple<br />
tau to be used in the Royal Arch degree as a mark designating
TRO 50 1<br />
and separating those who know and worship the true name <strong>of</strong><br />
God, from those who are ignorant <strong>of</strong> that august mystery .<br />
TROWEL . An implement <strong>of</strong> operative masonry, which has<br />
been adapted by speculative Masons as the peculiar working tool<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Master's degree . By this implement, and its use in operative<br />
masonry to spread the cement which binds all the parts <strong>of</strong><br />
the building into one common mass, we are taught to spread the<br />
cement <strong>of</strong> affection and kindness, which unites all the members<br />
<strong>of</strong> the masonic family, wheresoever dispersed over the globe, into<br />
one companionship <strong>of</strong> Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth .<br />
This implement is also very appropriately devoted to the Master's<br />
degree, because, as Master Masons only, do we constitute<br />
the recognised members <strong>of</strong> the great brotherhood <strong>of</strong> masonry .<br />
he Entered Apprentice and Fellow-Craft are not considered as<br />
members <strong>of</strong> the masonic family .<br />
Again is this implement considered the appropriate working<br />
tool <strong>of</strong> a Master Mason, because, in operative masonry, while the<br />
Apprentice is engaged in preparing the rude materials, which<br />
require only the guage and gavel to give them their proper shape,<br />
the Fellow-Craft places them in their proper position by means<br />
<strong>of</strong> the plumb, level, and square ; but the Master Mason alone,<br />
having examined their correctness, and proved them true and<br />
trusty, secures them permanently in their place by spreading,<br />
with the trowel, the cement that irrevocably binds them together .<br />
<strong>The</strong> trowel has also been adopted as the jewel <strong>of</strong> the Select<br />
Master . But its uses in this degree are not symbolical . <strong>The</strong>y<br />
are simply connected with the historical legend <strong>of</strong> the degree .<br />
TROWEL AND SWORD . In the degree <strong>of</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong><br />
the East we are told that at the building <strong>of</strong> the second temple,<br />
Zerubbabel ordered the workmen to carry a sword in one hand<br />
and a trowel in the other, so that while they worked with one<br />
hand they might be enabled to defend themselves with the other<br />
from -the attacks <strong>of</strong> their envious neighbors, the Samaritans. To
"02 TRO-TUB<br />
commemorate the valour <strong>of</strong> these worthy craftsmen, the sword and<br />
trowel en saltire have been place upon the English Royal Arch<br />
Tracing-board . In the American ritual this expressive symbol<br />
<strong>of</strong> valour and piety has been omitted .<br />
TROWEL, COMPANY OF THE . A society composed <strong>of</strong><br />
learned and eminent persons, instituted at Florence in 1512 .<br />
Its emblems were the trowel, the gavel and the square, and its<br />
patron was St . Andrew . Clavel thinks the institution was derived<br />
from the society <strong>of</strong> Travelling Freemasons, and was organized<br />
by persons <strong>of</strong> quality, who had been admitted as honorary<br />
members <strong>of</strong> that operative association .<br />
TRUE MASONS, ORDER OF THE . A branch <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Hermetic rite <strong>of</strong> Pernetti, under the name <strong>of</strong> the order <strong>of</strong> True<br />
Masons, was established at Montpelier, in 1778, by Boileau,<br />
who subsequently introduced the Philosophic Scotch rite . It<br />
consisted <strong>of</strong> six degrees . 1, the True Mason ; 2, the True Mason<br />
in the right way ; 3, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Golden Key ; 4, Knight<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Rainbow ; 5, Knight <strong>of</strong> the Argonauts ; 6, Knight <strong>of</strong><br />
Golden Fleece .<br />
TRUTH . Truth is one <strong>of</strong> the . three principal tenets <strong>of</strong> our<br />
order, Brotherly Love and Relief being the other two . To be<br />
1' true and trusty" is one <strong>of</strong> the first lessons in which the aspirant<br />
is instructed . All other things are mortal and transitory, but<br />
truth alone is immutable and eternal ; it is the attribute <strong>of</strong> Him<br />
in whom there is no variableness nor shadow <strong>of</strong> changing .<br />
TUBAL CAIN . <strong>The</strong> son <strong>of</strong> Lamech ; the first who wrought<br />
in iron and brass . He was the inventor <strong>of</strong> edge-tools, and introduced<br />
many arts into society which tended towards its improve .<br />
ment and civilization . Tubal Cain is the Vulcan '<strong>of</strong> the pagans,<br />
and is thought to have been closely connected with Ancient Free .<br />
masonry . Fabez says that "all the most remarkable ancient
TUS-TWE 50-'<br />
buildings <strong>of</strong> Greece, Egypt and Asia Minor, were ascribed to<br />
Cabirean or Cyclopean Masons," the descendants <strong>of</strong> Vulcan, Dhu<br />
Balcan, the god Balcan, or Tubal Cain . Oliver says " in after<br />
times Tubal Cain, under the name <strong>of</strong> Vulcan and his Cyclops,<br />
fig red as workers in metals and inventors <strong>of</strong> the mysteries ; and<br />
hence it is probable that he was the hierophant <strong>of</strong> a similar institution<br />
in his day, copied from the previous system <strong>of</strong> Seth, and applied<br />
to the improvement <strong>of</strong> schemes more adapted to the physical<br />
pursuits <strong>of</strong> the race to which he belonged ."* For these reasons<br />
Tubal Cain has been consecrated, among masons <strong>of</strong> the present<br />
day, as an ancient brother . His introduction <strong>of</strong> the arts<br />
<strong>of</strong> civilization having given the first value to property, Tubal<br />
Cain has been considered among masons as a symbol <strong>of</strong> worldly<br />
possessions .<br />
TUSCAN ORDER . One <strong>of</strong> the five orders <strong>of</strong> architecture,<br />
and <strong>of</strong> comparatively modern date, having been invented by the<br />
Italians. It so much resembles the Doric, that it has been considered<br />
by most writers as merely a variety <strong>of</strong> that order . Its<br />
want <strong>of</strong> antiquity causes it to be held in but little esteem among<br />
Freemasons .<br />
TWELVE ILLUSTRIOUS KNIGHTS . See Sublime<br />
Knight Elected .<br />
TWELVE GRAND POINTS OF MASONRY . <strong>The</strong> old<br />
English lectures contain the following passage : "<strong>The</strong>re are in<br />
<strong>Freemasonry</strong> twelve original points, which form the basis <strong>of</strong> the<br />
system, and comprehend the whole ceremony <strong>of</strong> initiation . Without<br />
the existence <strong>of</strong> these points, no man ever was or can be legally<br />
and essentially received into the order . Every person who is<br />
made a mason must go through all these twelve forms and . ceremonies,<br />
not only in the first degree, but in every subsequent one ."<br />
* Oliver, Landmarks, ii p. 213 .
j 1j'4 TWE<br />
Important as our ancient brethren deemed the explanation <strong>of</strong><br />
these points, the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England thought proper, in 1813,<br />
to strike them from its ritual, and as they never were introduced<br />
into this country, a synopsis <strong>of</strong> them may not be uninteresting or<br />
unacceptable .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se twelve points refer the twelve parts <strong>of</strong> the ceremony <strong>of</strong><br />
initiation to the twelve tribes <strong>of</strong> Israel, in the following manner<br />
1 . To Reuben was referred the opening <strong>of</strong> the lodge, because<br />
he was the first-born <strong>of</strong> his father .<br />
2. To Simeon was referred the preparation <strong>of</strong> the candidate,<br />
because he prepared the instruments <strong>of</strong> destruction for the slaughter<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Shechemites .<br />
3 . To Levi was referred the report, because he gave a signal<br />
or report to his brothers when they assailed the men <strong>of</strong><br />
Shechen .<br />
4. To Judah was referred the entrance, <strong>of</strong> the candidate, because<br />
this tribe first entered the promised land .<br />
5. To Zebulun was referred the prayer, because the prayer and<br />
blessing <strong>of</strong> his father was conferred on him in preference to his<br />
brother, Issachar .<br />
6. To Issachar was referred the circumambulation, because, as<br />
an indolent and thriftless tribe, they required a leader to advance<br />
them to an equal elevation with the other tribes .<br />
7: To Dan was referred the ceremony <strong>of</strong> advancing to the<br />
altar, as a contrast with the rapid advance <strong>of</strong> that tribe to<br />
idolatry .<br />
8 . To Gad was referred the obligation, because <strong>of</strong> the vow <strong>of</strong><br />
Jephtha, a member <strong>of</strong> that tribe .<br />
9 . To Asher was referred the time when the candidate was<br />
intrustecd, because Asher, by the fertile soil <strong>of</strong> its district, was<br />
,represented by fatness and royal dainties, which were compared<br />
to the riches <strong>of</strong> masonic wisdom which the candidate then received<br />
.<br />
10. To Naphthali was referred the investment, when the candidate,<br />
having received his apron, was declared free, because the
TWE -TYR 505<br />
tribe <strong>of</strong> Naphthali bad a peculiar freedom attached to them in<br />
conformity with the blessing pronounced by Moses .<br />
11. To Joseph was referred the north-east corner, because, as<br />
this reminds us <strong>of</strong> the most superficial pact <strong>of</strong> masonry, so the<br />
two half tribes <strong>of</strong> Ephraim and Manasseh, <strong>of</strong> which the tribe <strong>of</strong><br />
Joseph was composed, were accounted more superficial than the<br />
rest, inasmuch us they were only the grandsons <strong>of</strong> the patriarch<br />
Jacob .<br />
12 . To Benjamin was referred the closing <strong>of</strong> the lodge, because<br />
he was the last son <strong>of</strong> Jacob .<br />
<strong>The</strong>se points, as I have already observed, are now obsolete,<br />
but they afford instruction, and will be found worthy <strong>of</strong> attention<br />
.<br />
TWENTY-FOUR INCH GUAGE . An instrument made<br />
use <strong>of</strong> in operative masonry, for the purpose <strong>of</strong> measuring and<br />
laying out work, and which, in speculative masonry, constitutes<br />
one <strong>of</strong> the working tools <strong>of</strong> the Entered Apprentice . <strong>The</strong><br />
twenty-four inches which are marked upon its surface, are emblematical<br />
<strong>of</strong> the twenty-four hours <strong>of</strong> the day, which, being divided<br />
into three parts, instruct the mason to give eight hours to<br />
labour, eight hours to the service <strong>of</strong> God and a worthy, distressed<br />
brother, and eight to refreshment and sleep . William <strong>of</strong> palms .<br />
bury tellsus, that this method <strong>of</strong> dividing the day is the same<br />
that was adopted by King Alfred . Why the twenty-four inch<br />
guage has been adopted as the working tool <strong>of</strong> an Entered Ap .<br />
prentice, may be seen by a reference to the word Implements .<br />
TYLER. See Tiler .<br />
TYRE . A city <strong>of</strong> Phenicia, on the coast <strong>of</strong> the Mediterranean<br />
sea, ninty-three miles north <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem . It is distinguished in<br />
masonic history for the part taken by Hiram, its king, in supplying<br />
workmen and materials for the building <strong>of</strong>. the Temple. This<br />
magnificent place, once the richest kjd most powerful <strong>of</strong> the cities<br />
43
506 UNA-UNI<br />
<strong>of</strong> the coast, has long since been demolished, and on a part <strong>of</strong><br />
its ruins the insignificant village <strong>of</strong> Sur has been founded by the<br />
Metoualies .<br />
U .<br />
UNANI3IITY . Unanimity in the choice <strong>of</strong> candidates is considered<br />
so essential to the welfare <strong>of</strong> the fraternity, that the old<br />
regulations <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, have expressly provided<br />
for its preservation in the following words<br />
"But no man can be entered a brother in any particular lodge,<br />
or admitted a member there<strong>of</strong>, without the unanimous consent <strong>of</strong><br />
all the members <strong>of</strong> the lodge then present, when the candidate<br />
is proposed, and when their consent is formally asked by the Master<br />
. <strong>The</strong>y are to give their consent it their own prudent way,<br />
either virtually or in form, but with unanimity . Nor is this inherent<br />
privilege subject to a dispensation ; because the member<br />
<strong>of</strong> a particular lodge are the best judges <strong>of</strong> it ; and because, if a<br />
turbulent member should be imposed upon them, it might spoil<br />
their harmony, or hinder the freedom <strong>of</strong> their communication, or<br />
even break and disperse the lodges, which ought to be avoided by<br />
all true and faithful ."* See Ballot .<br />
UNFAVOURABLE REPORT . <strong>The</strong> unfavourable report <strong>of</strong><br />
w committee on the application <strong>of</strong> a candidate is equivalent to a<br />
rejection, and precludes the necessity <strong>of</strong> a ballot . For the reason,<br />
see Election .<br />
UNIVERSI TERRARUM ORBIS ARCHITECTONIS<br />
PER GLORIAM INGENTIS . By the Glory <strong>of</strong> the Grand<br />
* Revised Regulations, anno 1767 .
UPR-URI 507<br />
Architect <strong>of</strong> the Universe.-This is the caption to all balustres or<br />
documents emanating from a Sovereign Inspector or Supreme<br />
Council <strong>of</strong> the 33d degree <strong>of</strong> the Ancient Scotch rite .<br />
UPRIGHT POSTURE . To man alone, <strong>of</strong> all the inhabitants<br />
<strong>of</strong> the earth, has his Creator given an upright and erect<br />
posture, to elevate his mind by the continual sight <strong>of</strong> the heavenly<br />
host, and by the noble thoughts that his natural attitude inspires,<br />
to draw him from the grovelling cares <strong>of</strong> earth, to a contemplation<br />
<strong>of</strong> the divine sources from whence he sprang . Ion the human<br />
race this erect stature is the foundation <strong>of</strong> their dominion<br />
and superiority over all the rest <strong>of</strong> the animal world .*<br />
"Thus while the mute creation downward bend<br />
<strong>The</strong>ir sight, and to their earthly mother tend,<br />
Man looks al<strong>of</strong>t, and with eternal eyes<br />
Beholds his own hereditary skies."t<br />
<strong>The</strong> man who has planted his feet upon the immutable square<br />
<strong>of</strong> morality, and whose body is erect in the proud consciousness<br />
<strong>of</strong> virtue, is, indeed, worthy <strong>of</strong> the dominion which has been<br />
given him over the beasts <strong>of</strong> the field and the fowls <strong>of</strong> the air.<br />
And the mason, remembering that " God hath made man upright,"<br />
I should constantly endeavour to preserve that upright<br />
posture <strong>of</strong> his body and his mind .<br />
URIM AND THU MIIYL Two Hebrew words, p +`l1 ~4 and<br />
13 > o1" l, Aurim and Thummim, signifying, as they have been<br />
translated in the Septuagint, " Light and Truth ."§ <strong>The</strong>y were<br />
sacred lots worn in the breast-plate <strong>of</strong> the High Priest, and to be<br />
consulted by him alone for the purpose <strong>of</strong> obtaining a revelation<br />
* Turner, Sac . His. World. I . lett. 21, p. 420 .<br />
tPronaque cum spectent animalia cetera terram<br />
Os homini sublime dedit : cuelumque tueri<br />
Jussit, et erectos ad sidera tollere vultus .<br />
Ovid. Met . B . L 84.<br />
$ Ecolesiastes, vii. 29 . dnaWTts Kat 1 dMOU4,
08 URN<br />
<strong>of</strong> the will <strong>of</strong> God in matters <strong>of</strong> great moment . What they<br />
were, authors on Jewish antiquities have not been Ale to agree .<br />
Some suppose, that the augury consisted in a more splendid appearance<br />
<strong>of</strong> certain letters <strong>of</strong> the names <strong>of</strong> the tribes inscribed<br />
upon the stones <strong>of</strong> the breast-plate ; others, that it was received<br />
by voice from two small images which were placed beyond the folds<br />
<strong>of</strong> the breast-plate . A variety <strong>of</strong> other conjectures have been<br />
hazarded, but as Godwyn observes, "he spoke best, who ingeniously<br />
confessed that he knew not what Urim and Thummim was ."*<br />
But the researches <strong>of</strong> Egyptian Archaeologists have thrown<br />
much light upon this intricate subject, and relieved it <strong>of</strong> many<br />
<strong>of</strong> its difficulties. It is now known that the Egyptian judges<br />
wore breast-plates having inscribed on them two figures, the one<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Sun Ra., in a double sense, that <strong>of</strong> physical and intellectual<br />
light, and the other, that <strong>of</strong> the goddess Thme in her tw<strong>of</strong>old<br />
capacity <strong>of</strong> truth and justice .<br />
Now in Hebrew the double capacity <strong>of</strong> any thing is expressed<br />
by the plural form <strong>of</strong> the noun . But the Egyptian Ra, the sun<br />
oi- light, is in Hebrew Aur and Thme, truth is Thme. Our, in<br />
the plural, is Aurim . Thme, in the plural, is Thmina Now it<br />
seems to me, and I have the high authority <strong>of</strong> the Egyptian<br />
archaeologists with me, that the Aurim and Thummim <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Hebrew breast-plate were borrowed from the breast-plates <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Egyptian judges . Moses, we know, was versed in all the learning<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Egyptians, and these very breast-plates had already<br />
been consecrated in the eyes <strong>of</strong> the Jews by their seeing them<br />
worn as tokens <strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficial dignity by the ministers <strong>of</strong> justice,<br />
who were also High Priests in that Egypt which had formerly<br />
'peen the land <strong>of</strong> their task-masters .<br />
URN . <strong>The</strong> urn has been adopted as a memorial <strong>of</strong> death ;<br />
because formerly it was the custom, instead <strong>of</strong> burying corpses,<br />
to burn them upon a funeral pyre, and deposit the ashes in an<br />
0 Moses and Aaron, B . iv. ch . 8 .
VEI 509<br />
inn. This custom was sometimes adopted by the Jews, as in the<br />
case <strong>of</strong> Sairl, whose body was burnt by the men <strong>of</strong> Jabesh,<br />
though their usual method was that <strong>of</strong> inhumation .<br />
VEILS . <strong>The</strong> veils <strong>of</strong> the tabernacle were <strong>of</strong> four colours,<br />
blue, purple, scarlet, and white or fine .linen . <strong>The</strong>se colours<br />
have been adopted as the symbolic colours <strong>of</strong> masonry . White<br />
is the emblem <strong>of</strong> innocence, and is found in the gloves and<br />
apron ; blue is the emblem <strong>of</strong> universal friendship, and is appropriated<br />
to the symbolic degrees ; scarlet is the emblem <strong>of</strong> zeal<br />
and fervency, and is appropriated to the Royal Arch ; purple,<br />
which is the union <strong>of</strong> blue and scarlet, is thence the emblem <strong>of</strong><br />
unity and concord, and has been adopted as the colour <strong>of</strong> the intermediate<br />
degrees between the symbolic and the Royal Arch .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Jews, according to Josephus, gave to these veils an astronomical<br />
signification, and supposed them to represent the four<br />
elements . Fine white linen was a symbol <strong>of</strong> the earth, because<br />
it was made-out <strong>of</strong> flax, a production <strong>of</strong> the earth : the blue, as<br />
the colour <strong>of</strong> the sky, was a symbol <strong>of</strong> the air ; the purple, <strong>of</strong><br />
the sea, because it derived its colour from the murex, a shell-fish<br />
that inhabits the sea ; and the scarlet was the natural symbol <strong>of</strong><br />
fire .*<br />
VEILS, MASTERS OF THE . Three <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> a Royal<br />
Arch Chapter, who, being armed with a sword, and bearing a<br />
banner <strong>of</strong> the appropriate colour, are stationed . at the blue, purple,<br />
and scarlet veils . <strong>The</strong> white veil is guarded by the Royal<br />
Arch Captain .<br />
w Josephus, Antiq. Judaic, lib. iii. c. 7.<br />
43 ,
510 \ rER-VIS<br />
VERGER . An <strong>of</strong>ficer in a Council <strong>of</strong> Knights <strong>of</strong> the Holy<br />
Sepulchre, corresponding to the Senior Deacon in a symbolic<br />
lodge.<br />
VISITATION . <strong>The</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficial visit <strong>of</strong> the Grand Master and<br />
his <strong>of</strong>ficers to a subordinate lodge, for the purpose <strong>of</strong> inspecting<br />
its books and mode <strong>of</strong> work, is called a visitation . On this occasion,<br />
the lodge should be opened in the Master's degree ; the<br />
Grand Officers should be received with all the honours <strong>of</strong> masonry,<br />
and the seats <strong>of</strong> the <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> the lodge should be surrendered<br />
to the corresponding Grand Officers . This last is done<br />
as an acknowledgment <strong>of</strong> the authority from which the lodge derives<br />
its Warrant <strong>of</strong> Constitution .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Grand Master and the Deputy Grand Master are entitled,<br />
in all their visits to subordinate lodges, to certain privileges,<br />
which are thus laid down in the English Constitutions<br />
"<strong>The</strong> Grand Master has full authority to preside in any<br />
lodge, and to order any <strong>of</strong> his Grand Officers to attend him ;<br />
his Deputy is to be placed on his right hand, and the Master <strong>of</strong><br />
the lodge on his left hand . His Wardens are also to act as<br />
Wardens <strong>of</strong> that particular lodge during his presence ." P . 30 .<br />
"<strong>The</strong> Deputy Grand Master has full authority, unless the<br />
Grand Master, or Pro-Grand Master, be present, to preside in<br />
every lodge which be may visit, with the Master <strong>of</strong> the lodge on<br />
his right hand . <strong>The</strong> Grand Wardens, if present, are to act at<br />
Wardens ." P . 33 .<br />
But this power <strong>of</strong> presiding, in an informal visit, does not<br />
seem to have been extended to the Grand Wardens ; though, <strong>of</strong><br />
course, if the visit be <strong>of</strong>ficial, and the Grand and Deputy Grand<br />
Masters be absent, the Senior Grand Warden will preside as Deputy<br />
Grand Master, and the Master <strong>of</strong> the lodge will, in that<br />
case, sit on the right .<br />
VISIT, RIGHT OF . Every mason who is a working brother,<br />
that is to say, who is a subscribing member <strong>of</strong> a lodge, nas
vIs 511<br />
a right to visit any other lodge as <strong>of</strong>ten =e it may suit his conve-<br />
.ience or his pleasure .*<br />
This right is guaranteed to every mason by the most ancient<br />
:egulations . In the "Ancient Charges at the Constitution <strong>of</strong> a<br />
Lodge," contained in a MS . <strong>of</strong> the Lodge <strong>of</strong> Antiquity in London,<br />
it is directed, " That every mason receive and cherish<br />
strange fellowes when they come over the countrie, and sett them<br />
on worke, if they will worke, as the manner is ; that is to say, if<br />
the mason have any mould stone in his place, he shall give him<br />
a mould stone, and sett him on worke ; and if he have none, the<br />
mason shall refresh him with money unto the next lodge ."<br />
This regulation is explicit . It not only infers the right <strong>of</strong><br />
visit, but it declares that the strange brother shall be welcomed .<br />
It refers, however, only to the case <strong>of</strong> "strange fellowes," whom<br />
we now denominate transient brethren . But in the case <strong>of</strong> brethren<br />
who reside in the place where the lodge is situated, to<br />
which they demand admittance, other and subsequent regulations<br />
have been created. In this case it seems to be necessary that<br />
the visiting brother shall be a member <strong>of</strong> some other lodge .<br />
This doctrine is expressed in the following sections <strong>of</strong> the Constitution<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England : " A brother, who is<br />
not a subscribing member to some lodge, shall not be permitted<br />
to visit any one lodge in the town or place where he resides,<br />
more than once during his secession from the craft." P . 89 .<br />
A non-subscribing brother is permitted to visit each lodge<br />
once, because it is supposed that this visit is made for the purpose<br />
<strong>of</strong> enabling him to make a selection <strong>of</strong> the one in which he<br />
may prefer working. But afterwards he is excluded, in order to<br />
discountenance those brethren who wish to continue members <strong>of</strong><br />
the order, and to partake <strong>of</strong> its benefits, without contributing to<br />
its support.<br />
# I shall not enter upon the question that has been mooted by Brother<br />
Moore, [Freemason's Nag. vol. iii . 225,] whether this is an inherent right . It<br />
will be sufficient, as seen above, that the right is secured by the oldest regula .<br />
tions .
512 POT<br />
Another regulation on this subject is, that no visitor can be<br />
admitted into a lodge, unless he is personally vouched for by a<br />
brother present, or has submitted to a due examination .<br />
A fourth regulation, and one that has lately given occasion 'n<br />
considerable discussion, is, that a strange brother shall furnish<br />
the lodge he desires to visit with a certificate <strong>of</strong> his good standing<br />
in the order . <strong>The</strong> regulation requiring certificates has been<br />
said by some to be an innovation . That it is not so, but, on the<br />
contrary, was in force at an early period, will appear from the<br />
following extract, from the "Regulations made in General Assembly,<br />
Dec. 27, 1663," under the Grand Mastership <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Earl <strong>of</strong> St . Albans : "3 . That no person hereafter who shall be<br />
accepted a Freemason, shall be admitted into any lodge or assembly,<br />
until he has brought a certificate <strong>of</strong> the time and place <strong>of</strong><br />
his acceptation, from the lodge that accepted him, unto the<br />
Master <strong>of</strong> that limit or division where such a lodge is kept ."<br />
This regulation has since been reiterated on several occasions ; by<br />
the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England in 1772, and at subsequent periods<br />
by several <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodges <strong>of</strong> this and other countries .<br />
<strong>The</strong> right <strong>of</strong> visit is, therefore, regulated .by the following<br />
principles : Transient brethren may visit lodges, provided they<br />
prove themselves qualified by a voucher or by examination, and<br />
by the possession <strong>of</strong> a certificate ; and resident brethren after the<br />
first visit, only while they are contributing members to the order .<br />
VOTING . Voting in lodges viva voce is an innovation .<br />
<strong>The</strong> ancient method was by holding up one <strong>of</strong> the hands . In<br />
the regulations <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England, revised in 1767,<br />
it is said, "<strong>The</strong> opinions or votes <strong>of</strong> the members are always to<br />
be signified by each holding up one <strong>of</strong> his hands ; which uplifted<br />
hands the Grand Wardens are to count, unless the number <strong>of</strong><br />
hands be so unequal as to render the counting useless . Nor<br />
should any other kind <strong>of</strong> division be ever admitted on such<br />
occasions ."
VOU--WAG 513<br />
VOUCHING . To vouch is to bear witness ; vouching for a<br />
3rother is, therefore, bearing witness that he is a true and trusty<br />
mason . And no one can, <strong>of</strong> course, give this testimony <strong>of</strong> a<br />
stranger's character, unless he has personally satisfied himself <strong>of</strong><br />
his qualifications .<br />
A candidate's letter must be signed by two brethren, one <strong>of</strong><br />
whom vouches for his possessing the necessary qualifications,<br />
moral, mental, and physical, and is, hence, called the voucher ;<br />
and the other, upon this vouching, recommends him to the<br />
lodge ; and no candidate, unless thus properly vouched for, can<br />
be suffered to enter upon the ceremonies <strong>of</strong> initiation .<br />
WAGES . <strong>The</strong>re are various masonic traditions respecting<br />
the wages paid to the workmen at the building <strong>of</strong> the temple .<br />
<strong>The</strong> whole is stated to have been equal to six hundred and<br />
seventy-two millions <strong>of</strong> dollars, but the authorities differ as to<br />
the proportion in which it was distributed . Of course, the<br />
higher the degree, the higher must have been the amount <strong>of</strong><br />
wages . A Master must have received more than a Fellow-Craft .<br />
<strong>The</strong>re was an old tradition among the English masons, that<br />
the men were paid in their lodges by shekels-a silver coin <strong>of</strong><br />
about the value* <strong>of</strong> fifty cents-and that the amount was regulated<br />
by the square <strong>of</strong> the number <strong>of</strong> the degree that the workman<br />
had attained. Thus, the Entered Apprentice received one<br />
shekel per day ; the Fellow-Craft, who had advanced to the<br />
second degree, received the square <strong>of</strong> 2, or 2X2-4 shekels ;<br />
and the Markman, or third degree, received the square <strong>of</strong> 3, or<br />
3X3___9 skekels ; whilst the ninth degree, or Super-Excellent<br />
Mason, received the square <strong>of</strong> 9, or 9X9=81 shekels .
514 WAR<br />
According to this tradition, the pay-roll would be as follows<br />
An Entered Apprentice received 1 shekel or<br />
A Fellow-Craft, it 4
WAR 515<br />
important He is, under the Master, to superintend the craft<br />
during labour, and, in his absence, to preside over the lodge .<br />
With the Worshipful Master and the Junior Warden, he represents<br />
the lodge in the Grand Lodge . <strong>The</strong> Senior Warden has<br />
the privilege <strong>of</strong> appointing the Junior Deacon ; and to him,<br />
when the Master is otherwise engaged, are all reports to be made<br />
by that <strong>of</strong>ficer . His jewel is a level-an emblem <strong>of</strong> the equality<br />
and harmony which should exist among Masons in the lodge<br />
while at work . Before the Senior Warden is placed, and he<br />
carries in all processions, a column, which is a representation <strong>of</strong><br />
the right-hand pillar that stood at the porch <strong>of</strong> King Solomon's<br />
Temple .<br />
In case <strong>of</strong> the death, removal from the State, or expulsion <strong>of</strong><br />
the Master, the Senior Warden presides over the lodge for the<br />
remainder <strong>of</strong> his term <strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>fice . During the temporary absence<br />
the Master, the Senior Warden will, sometimes, through courtesy,<br />
resign the chair to a former Past Master ; yet, in this case, the<br />
latter <strong>of</strong>ficer derives his authority from the Warden, and cannot<br />
act until this <strong>of</strong>ficer has congregated the lodge . <strong>The</strong> same thing<br />
is applicable to the Junior Warden, in case <strong>of</strong> the absence both<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Master and the Senior Warden . This rule arises from the<br />
fact that the Warrant <strong>of</strong> Constitution is granted to the Master,<br />
Wardens,_ and their successors in <strong>of</strong>fice, and not to the members<br />
<strong>of</strong> the lodge . A lodge, therefore, cannot be legally congregated<br />
without the presence <strong>of</strong> at least one <strong>of</strong> these <strong>of</strong>ficers, or a Past<br />
Master.<br />
Junior Warden . <strong>The</strong> Junior Warden presides over the craft<br />
during refreshment, and in the absence <strong>of</strong> the Worshipful Master<br />
and Senior Warden, he performs the duties <strong>of</strong> presiding<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficer . <strong>The</strong> jewel <strong>of</strong> the Junior Warden is a plumb, emblematic<br />
<strong>of</strong> the rectitude <strong>of</strong> conduct which should distinguish the<br />
brethren, when, during the hours <strong>of</strong> refreshment, they are beyond<br />
the precincts <strong>of</strong> the lodge . His seat is in the S .- , and he<br />
represents the Pillar <strong>of</strong> Beauty . He has placed before him, and<br />
carries in procession, a column, which is the r^presentative <strong>of</strong>
516 WAR<br />
the left.-hand pillar which stood at the porch <strong>of</strong> Solomon's<br />
Temple .*<br />
One other regulation in relation to these <strong>of</strong>ficers, requires to.<br />
be mentioned . When the lodge, by death or otherwise, is deprived<br />
<strong>of</strong> the services <strong>of</strong> any <strong>of</strong> the other <strong>of</strong>ficers, an election may<br />
be immediately held, under the dispensation <strong>of</strong> the Grand Master,<br />
to supply the vacancy. But no election can be had to supply the<br />
place ad interim, <strong>of</strong> either the Master or Wardens, while one <strong>of</strong><br />
the three remains . If two <strong>of</strong> them, as, for example, the Master<br />
and Senior Warden, have died or been deposed, the Junior Warden<br />
must occupy the chair during the remainder <strong>of</strong> the term, and<br />
appoints his Wardens pro tempore at each communication, until<br />
the regular constitutional night <strong>of</strong> election . It is only in the case<br />
where the whole three have died, or otherwise left the lodge, that<br />
a dispensation can be granted for an election to supply their place .<br />
Because, by the regulation granting to them only the Warrant<br />
<strong>of</strong> Constitution, without, at least, one <strong>of</strong> them to preside, and to<br />
assume the authority delegated by the Warrant <strong>of</strong> Constitution,<br />
the lodge is virtually extinct .<br />
<strong>The</strong> situation <strong>of</strong> the three superior <strong>of</strong>ficers in the lodge differs<br />
somewhat in the different rites. In the French rite, they are<br />
placed in the east, in a triangular form ; in the Scotch rite, the<br />
Wardens are in the west ; in the York rite their respective situations<br />
are well known .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Senior and Junior Wardens are also <strong>of</strong>ficers in an Encampment<br />
<strong>of</strong> Knights Templar, whose duties are, in some respects,<br />
similar to those <strong>of</strong> the Senior Deacon in a symbolic lodge .<br />
WARDENS, GRAND . <strong>The</strong> Grand Wardens, who are the<br />
* <strong>The</strong> two columns which, in the York rite, are small, and placed upon the<br />
pedestals <strong>of</strong> the two Wardens, are-much better represented in the French rite .<br />
<strong>The</strong>re, two large pillars <strong>of</strong> bronze, ornamented with net-work, lily-work, and<br />
pomegranates, are placed on each side <strong>of</strong> the entrance <strong>of</strong> the lodge, it the<br />
west, and at their bases are placed two triangular tables, at which the Wardens<br />
are seated .-
WAR 517<br />
assistants <strong>of</strong> the Grand Master in the government <strong>of</strong> the Grand<br />
Lodge, must be Past Masters <strong>of</strong> skill and good report . In the<br />
absence <strong>of</strong> the Grand and Deputy Grand Master, the Senior<br />
Grand Warden takes the chair, and in his absence, the Junior .<br />
And, in case <strong>of</strong> the death <strong>of</strong> the Grand Master, the same order<br />
<strong>of</strong> precedence is to be observed, until a new Grand Master is<br />
elected .<br />
In visitations, when the Grand Master and his Deputy are<br />
absent, the Senior or Junior Grand Warden may preside, but in<br />
this case he acts only as a Deputy, and must be received with the<br />
honours due to his rank, the Master <strong>of</strong> the lodge sitting on his<br />
right hand.<br />
When a Grand Warden attends in the procession <strong>of</strong> a private<br />
lodge, he takes place immediately after the Master <strong>of</strong> the lodge,<br />
and two Deacons, with black rods, are to attend him, but the<br />
Book <strong>of</strong> Constitutions is not borne before him : this can only be<br />
carried in a procession where the Grand Master or his Deputy is<br />
present.<br />
WARDER . An <strong>of</strong>ficer in an Encampment <strong>of</strong> Knights Templar,<br />
whose duties are similar in general to those <strong>of</strong> the Junior<br />
Deacon <strong>of</strong> a symbolic lodge .<br />
WARRANT OF CONSTITUTION . No assemblage <strong>of</strong> Masons<br />
can be legally congregated for work, as a lodge, except under<br />
the authority <strong>of</strong> a Warrant <strong>of</strong> Constitution, granted by some Grand<br />
Lodge . This regulation has been in existence ever since the present<br />
organization <strong>of</strong> Grand Lodges, though formerly, a sufficient<br />
number <strong>of</strong> brethren meeting together within a certain district,<br />
with the consent <strong>of</strong> the civil authorities <strong>of</strong> the place, were empowered<br />
to make Masons, and to practice the rites <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong> ;<br />
and this privilege was inherent in them as individuals : it was,<br />
however, on the organization <strong>of</strong> the order in its present form, resigned<br />
into the hands <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodges .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Warran' <strong>of</strong> Constitution is granted to the Master and<br />
44
518 WEL-WES<br />
Wardens, and to their successors in <strong>of</strong>fice ; it continues in force<br />
only during the pleasure <strong>of</strong> the Grand Lodge, and may, therefore,<br />
at any time be revoked, and the lodge dissolved by a vote <strong>of</strong> that<br />
body . This will, however, never be done, unless the lodge has<br />
violated the ancient landmarks, or failed to pay due respect and<br />
obedience to the Grand Lodge .<br />
When a . Warrant <strong>of</strong> Constitution is revoked, or recalled, the<br />
jewels, furniture, and funds <strong>of</strong> the lodge revert to the Grand<br />
Lodge .<br />
Lastly, as a lodge holds its communications only under the<br />
authority <strong>of</strong> this Warrant <strong>of</strong> Constitution, no lodge can be opened,<br />
or proceed to business, unless it be present . If it be mislaid or<br />
destroyed, it must be recovered, or another obtained ; and until<br />
that is done, the communications <strong>of</strong> the lodge must be suspended ;<br />
and if the Warrant <strong>of</strong> Constitution be taken out <strong>of</strong> the room, during<br />
the session <strong>of</strong> the lodge, the authority <strong>of</strong> the Master instantly<br />
ceases .<br />
It is called a " Warrant <strong>of</strong> Constitution," because it is the intrument<br />
which authorizes or warrants the persons therein named<br />
to open and constitute a lodge .<br />
WELCOME . It is the duty <strong>of</strong> every lodge to welcome and<br />
clothe every worthy and well-qualified brother who visits it .<br />
That is, to receive him with the honours due to his rank, and to<br />
furnish him, if necessary, with the proper investiture . And a<br />
particular <strong>of</strong>ficer, the Senior Deacon, is directed to see that this<br />
duty is performed .<br />
WEST . In the early ages <strong>of</strong> the world, the wisdom <strong>of</strong> men<br />
was concentrated in the easternmost parts <strong>of</strong> the earth ; and the<br />
nations which had disseminated themselves along the shores <strong>of</strong><br />
the Mediterranean, to the west <strong>of</strong> the plains <strong>of</strong> Shinar, were obliged<br />
to return towards the East in search <strong>of</strong> the knowledge <strong>of</strong> their<br />
forefathers . <strong>The</strong> West was then a place <strong>of</strong> darkness, and he who<br />
sought light wax obliged to leave it and travel to the East . In
WHI-WIS 519<br />
astronomy, there is the same peculiarity in relation to .he course<br />
<strong>of</strong> light . <strong>The</strong> earth revolves upon its axis from west to east<br />
But the sun rises in the latter point, and while the eastern hemisphere<br />
is enjoying the light <strong>of</strong> day, the western parts <strong>of</strong> the globe<br />
are enveloped in darkness ; until, by the diurnal revolution <strong>of</strong><br />
the earth, they are brought towards the East, and placed within<br />
the influence <strong>of</strong> the enlightening rays <strong>of</strong> the solar orb. Masons<br />
do not forget these facts in history and science ; and they know<br />
that he who, being in the darkness <strong>of</strong> the West, would seek true<br />
light, must travel to the East .<br />
WHITE. One <strong>of</strong> the emblematic colours <strong>of</strong> masonry, which is<br />
preserved in the apron and gloves, with which the initiate is invested<br />
. It is a symbol <strong>of</strong> innocence and purity. <strong>The</strong> white investiture,<br />
as may be seen throughout this work, was a part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
ceremonies <strong>of</strong> all the ancient mysteries .<br />
WIDOW'S SON . One <strong>of</strong> the most illustrious personages<br />
in masonic history is so called, because he is described in<br />
Scripture as having been " the son <strong>of</strong> a widow <strong>of</strong> the tribe <strong>of</strong><br />
Napthali."<br />
WINDING STAIRS . <strong>The</strong>se constitute an important part <strong>of</strong><br />
the esoteric instruction <strong>of</strong> masonry . We are told in 1 Kings vi .<br />
8, that "they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber<br />
." <strong>Masonic</strong> tradition tells that there were fifteen steps, divided<br />
into unequal courses . <strong>The</strong> English Masons formerly said<br />
that there were twenty-seven, divided into one, three, five, seven,<br />
and eleven, but they have now abandoned the eleven <strong>of</strong> the<br />
last course, and leave but sixteen . <strong>The</strong> one they refer to the<br />
unity <strong>of</strong> God .<br />
WISDOM. One <strong>of</strong> the three principal supports <strong>of</strong> masonry<br />
. It is represented by the Ionic column, and the W. - . M. • . ;<br />
because, the Ionic column wisely combines the strength without
520 WOM<br />
the massiveness <strong>of</strong> the Doric ; with the grace, without the exuberance<br />
<strong>of</strong> ornament <strong>of</strong> the Corinthian ; and because it is the<br />
duty <strong>of</strong> the W .- . M .- . to superintend, instruct, and enlighten the<br />
craft by his superior wisdom . Solomon, King <strong>of</strong> Israel, is also<br />
considered as the column <strong>of</strong> wisdom that supported the temple .<br />
WOMAN . <strong>The</strong> objection so <strong>of</strong>ten made by the fair sex, that<br />
they are most ungallantly refused an entrance into our order,<br />
and a knowledge <strong>of</strong> our secrets, is best answered by a reference to<br />
the originally operative character <strong>of</strong> our institution . That<br />
woman is not admitted to a participation in our rites and ceremonies,<br />
is most true . But it is not because we deem her unworthy<br />
.or unfaithful, or deny her the mind to understand,, or the heart to<br />
appreciate our principles ; but simply because, in the very organization<br />
<strong>of</strong> masonry, man alone can fulfil the duties it inculcates,<br />
or perform the labours it enjoins . Free and speculative masonry<br />
is but an application <strong>of</strong> the art <strong>of</strong> operative masonry to moral<br />
and intellectual purposes . Our ancestors worked at the construction<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Temple <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem ; while we are engaged in<br />
the erection <strong>of</strong> a more immortal edifice-the temple <strong>of</strong> the mind .<br />
<strong>The</strong>y employed their implements for merely mechanical purposes ;<br />
we use them symbolically, with more exalted designs .<br />
Thus, in all our emblems, our language, and our rites, there<br />
is a beautiful exemplification and application <strong>of</strong> the rules <strong>of</strong> operative<br />
masonry, as it was exercised at the building <strong>of</strong> the temple .<br />
And as King Solomon employed in the construction <strong>of</strong> that edifice,<br />
only hale and hearty men, and cunning workmen, so our<br />
lodges, in imitation <strong>of</strong> that great exemplar, demand as the indispensable<br />
requisite to admission, that the candidate shall be freeborn,<br />
<strong>of</strong> lawful age, and in the possession <strong>of</strong> all his limbs and<br />
members, that he may be capable <strong>of</strong> performing such work as the<br />
Master shall assign to him .<br />
Hence, it must be apparent that the admission <strong>of</strong> women into<br />
our order would be attended with a singular anomaly . As they<br />
worked not at the temple, neither can they work with us . But
WOR-XER 521<br />
we love and cherish them not the less . One <strong>of</strong> the holiest <strong>of</strong><br />
our mystic rites inculcates a reverence for the widow, and pity<br />
for the widow's son . <strong>The</strong> wife, the mother, the sister, and the<br />
daughter <strong>of</strong> the Mason, exercise a peculiar claim upon each Mason's<br />
heart and affections . And while we know that woman's<br />
smile, like the mild beams <strong>of</strong> an April sun, reflects a brighter<br />
splendour on the light <strong>of</strong> prosperity, and warms with grateful glow<br />
the chilliness <strong>of</strong> adversity, we regret, not the less deeply, because<br />
unavailingly, that no ray <strong>of</strong> that sun can illume the recesses<br />
<strong>of</strong> our lodge, and call our weary workmen from their labours to<br />
refreshment .<br />
WORK . See Labour.<br />
WORKLNG TOOLS . See Implements .<br />
WORSHIPFUL . <strong>The</strong> title given to a symbolic lodge, and<br />
to its presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer, the Master. Past Masters, after leaving<br />
the chair, still retain the title <strong>of</strong> Worshipful . In the French<br />
rite, the lodge is called "Respectable," and the Master ''le Venerable<br />
." See Master <strong>of</strong> a Lodge, for the duties <strong>of</strong> this <strong>of</strong>ficer .<br />
x .<br />
XEROPHAGISTS. Pope Clement XU. having issued a Bull<br />
forbidding the practice <strong>of</strong> <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, the Masons <strong>of</strong> Italy,<br />
who continued to meet, for the purpose <strong>of</strong> avoiding the penalties<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Bull, called themselves Xerophagists . <strong>The</strong> word means<br />
literally dry livers, persons who do not drink, and they adopted<br />
the title, because they introduced something like the principle<br />
<strong>of</strong> total abstinence from intoxicating drinks into the institution .<br />
44*
522 YEAYOR<br />
Y .<br />
YEAR OF LIGHT . Anno Lucis . <strong>The</strong> date used by sym .<br />
bolic Masons, as being the era <strong>of</strong> the creation, when LIGHT was<br />
called into existence by the fiat <strong>of</strong> the Almighty, and when the<br />
true principles which distinguish our order first received their<br />
birth . Masons do not now adopt this era, because they any<br />
longer believe that <strong>Freemasonry</strong>, as it now appears, is to be dated<br />
from the creation ; but simply, because the great moral and religious<br />
system, which masonry has preserved amid ages <strong>of</strong> darkness,<br />
is coeval with the hour when the Supreme Will called light<br />
and life into existence .<br />
YORK . A city in the north <strong>of</strong> England, memorable for<br />
being the place where <strong>Freemasonry</strong> was <strong>of</strong>ficially re-established<br />
in that kingdom, and the first Grand Lodge formed in 926, by<br />
Prince Edwin, the brother <strong>of</strong> King Athelstane, from whom he<br />
purchased a free charter for that purpose .*<br />
YORK RITE . <strong>The</strong> Ancient York rite is that practised by<br />
all English and American lodges, though it has deviated somewhat<br />
from its original purity . It derives its name from the city<br />
<strong>of</strong> York, where the first Grand Lodge <strong>of</strong> England was held .<br />
<strong>The</strong> Ancient York rite originally consisted <strong>of</strong> but the three<br />
primitive degrees <strong>of</strong> Ancient Craft Masonry, but in this country<br />
four others have been added to it ; and its degrees, as it is at<br />
present practised, are as follows : 1, Entered Apprentice ; 2, Fellow-Craft<br />
; 3, Master Mason ; 4, Mark Master ; 5, Past Master ;<br />
6, Most Excellent Master ; 7, Holy Royal Arch . In some <strong>of</strong><br />
the United States, two other degrees are also given, in this rite,<br />
those <strong>of</strong> Royal and Select Master . <strong>The</strong> order <strong>of</strong> High Priest-<br />
* See this work, p . 168 .
ZED-ZER 523<br />
hood is also given, as an honorary degree appertaining to the<br />
presiding <strong>of</strong>ficer <strong>of</strong> a Royal Arch Chapter .<br />
<strong>The</strong> York rite is the mother <strong>of</strong> all the other rites ; from it, they<br />
have separated as so many schisms : it is the most ancient, the<br />
most simple, and most scientific, and so far as my knowledge <strong>of</strong> the<br />
other rites extends, with the principal <strong>of</strong> which I am sufficiently<br />
acquainted, I may be permitted to say, that it is the only one in<br />
which the true system <strong>of</strong> symbolic instruction has been preserved .<br />
ZEDEKIAH . <strong>The</strong> last King <strong>of</strong> Judah, before the captivity<br />
<strong>of</strong> Babylon, in whose reign the Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar<br />
. <strong>The</strong> eyes <strong>of</strong> Zedekiah were put out, and being<br />
loaded with chains <strong>of</strong> brass, he was carried a captive to Babylon,<br />
where he afterwards died .<br />
ZENITH . That point <strong>of</strong> the heavens situated immediately<br />
over the head <strong>of</strong> the spectator, and which the sun reaches at<br />
meridian . <strong>The</strong> Supreme Councils <strong>of</strong> the 33d degree <strong>of</strong> the Ancient<br />
Scotch rite, do not date their documents as other Masons<br />
do, from the Orient, but from the Zenith .<br />
ZEREDATHA . A town <strong>of</strong> Judea, 35 miles north <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem,<br />
in the clay ground near which, Hiram Abif cast the<br />
sacred vessels <strong>of</strong> the Temple . See Clay Grounds.<br />
ZERUBBABEL . <strong>The</strong> grandson, though called by Ezra, the<br />
Don, <strong>of</strong> Salathiel, who was the son <strong>of</strong> Jeconiah, King <strong>of</strong> Judah<br />
He was, therefore, <strong>of</strong> the royal race <strong>of</strong> David . He was born at<br />
Babylon, as the Hebrew signification <strong>of</strong> his name imports, and<br />
returned to Jerusalem in the beginning <strong>of</strong> the reign <strong>of</strong> Cyrus,
524 ZIN<br />
with the sacred vessels <strong>of</strong> the Temple, which Cyrus had come<br />
mitted to his care, as the chief <strong>of</strong> the Jews who were in captivity<br />
at Babylon . He laid the foundations <strong>of</strong> the second Temple, and<br />
restored the worship <strong>of</strong> the Lord and the usual sacrifices . He<br />
is represented by the second <strong>of</strong>ficer in the Royal Arch degree .<br />
<strong>The</strong> incidents <strong>of</strong> Zerubbabel's life are also referred to in several<br />
other degrees, such as Knight <strong>of</strong> the Red Cross, Knight <strong>of</strong> the<br />
East, and Prince <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem .<br />
ZINNENDORF, RITE OF. Count Zinnendorf, chief physician<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Emperor Charles VI ., invented a new rite, which was<br />
a modification <strong>of</strong> the Illuminism <strong>of</strong> Avignon, adding to the mysteries<br />
<strong>of</strong> Swedenborg, <strong>of</strong> which this latter rite was principally<br />
composed, several things taken from the Scotch, German, and<br />
Swedish degrees, as,.ell as from Templar MVlasonry . His system<br />
consisted <strong>of</strong> seven degrees, divided into three sections, as follows<br />
:-<br />
I. Blue, or St . .Tohn's Masonry .-1, Entered Apprentice ; 2,<br />
Fellow-Craft ; 3, Master Mason .<br />
II. Red Masonry .--4, Scotch Apprentice and Fellow-Craft ;<br />
5, Scotch Master .<br />
III. Capitular Masonry.-6, Favourite <strong>of</strong> St . John ; 7, Elected<br />
Brother.<br />
Zinnendorf died in the year 1800, having attempted, without<br />
sue'ess, to introduce his system into England .<br />
THE END .