The perfect point of entrance
by R. W. Bro. Ray Hilton, Past Secretary
You may have noticed that there are parts of our
ritual which are not
readily understood and are never explained, yet we commit them to memory and
at appropriate times recite them without question. One particularly
confusing phrase is "The Perfect Points of Entrance." does this have any
special meaning and when and how did it become a part of our ritual?
In the Entered Apprentice lecture we learn that there are four Perfect
Points of Entrance: The Guttural, Pectoral, Manual and Pedal, which are
illustrated by signs and exemplified by the four Cardinal Virtues:
Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, and Justice. After a short lecture on each
of these Cardinal Virtues, we are treated to a demonstration of the sign for
each of the points of entrance, with a reference to its origin, but at no
time are the points or cardinal virtues associated with entrance. Thus we
are left with three separate and seemingly unrelated subjects. The only
other reference to the Perfect Points of Entrance occurs in the dialogue
between the Worshipful Master and the Senior Warden during the opening and
closing of the lodge on the Entered Apprentice degree, but again the Points
of Entrance are not defined.
Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia offers this definition: "The four Perfect Points
of Entrance constitute the esoteric closing of each of the lectures on
Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence and Justice, to which they respectively do
not apply, illustrate, or in any way belong, so that the esoteric portions
of the four lectures have to be somewhat manipulated to make a connection
with them. Moreover, Point of entrance is somewhat Cabalistic, since it
does not disclose what the entrance is into. Does it mean entrance of the
candidate into something, or of something into the candidate?
Whether the architects of our ritual had something specific in mind when
they designed this particular part of the work is unclear. Perhaps it is
one of those things that is intended to excite our curiosity and leave each
of us to draw our own conclusions.
When and how did this become a part of our ritual? There is no ready answer
to this question because so much of our ritual is esoteric and is handed
down from mouth to ear, making it almost impossible to determine the exact
origin of any part of it. There is a distinct possibility that the roots of
this particular part of the lecture date back beyond the establishment of
Symbolic Masonry. Since the conferral of the Entered Apprentice degree, in
which these points occur, deals with the subject of entrance; the entrance
of the Entered Apprentice into the lodge, and the entering of his name on
the rolls of the lodge, it seems logical to conclude
that they were points of instruction relating to the candidate's entrance.
There is some evidence in the Old Manuscripts that there may have been only
one point originally, with the three others added and attached to the
lectures on the Cardinal Virtues during the 18th century. None of the early
exposed rituals had anything to say about Guttural, Pectoral, Manual or
Pedal until 1724, at which time they were mentioned as Freemason's signs,
and were not connected in any way with the subject of entry. Later
exposures, while making reference to the points of entrance, did not
associate them with the signs of Guttural, Pectoral, Manual or Pedal, and as
late as 1740 there had been no mention of the Cardinal Virtues.
Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia gives this theory on the evolution of the
Perfect Points of Entrance in our ritual: "Modern rituals on this subject,
in a portion of the Entered Apprentice lecture, combine in a single
treatment of three different things, as follows: 1. Entry on entrance, the
points at which there were secrets and penalties; 2. Certain signs classed
as Guttural,
Pectoral, Manual and Pedal; and 3. Cardinal Virtues, Temperance, Fortitude,
Prudence and Justice. In the earliest rituals, they were entirely
dissociated. At least up to 1750, points of entry were no more than secrets,
signs, tokens, etc., but undefined. These were certain signs classified as
guttural, pectoral, manual and pedal, not further defined, but seeming to
have no connection with entrance. Evidently, cardinal virtues did not enter
the ritual until after the middle of the 18th century when they were taken
from the Christian church, which derived them from Plato... So the four
cardinal virtues were imposed on the four signs; guttural, pectoral, manual
and pedal, and the whole merged with the points of entry, with the result
that three matters of doubt and uncertainty, which the ritualists were
unable to rationalize were consolidated into one incongruous mass of
verbiage. The only part which has any virtue or value is that of the
Cardinal Virtues which, however, could stand on their own merits, needing no
assistance from the other enigmatic parts."
The Cardinal Virtues aside then, we might consider the Perfect Points of
Entrance, not necessarily in the order in which they are listed, as: the
reception upon the point of a sharp instrument, the due guard, the penal
sign, and the position in the northeast corner of the lodge upon the first
step of Freemasonry, which allude to obligations, penalties, and moral
responsibilities. These would seem to be the principal points of a candidate
's entry into the
Lodge, and would explain, and perhaps justify, the retention of "The Perfect
Points of Entrance" in our ritual.
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