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THE GREAT MORAL LESSONCHAPTER XIfreemasonry: Its hidden meaningGeorge H. STEINMETZ
Freemasonry is a beautiful system of morals, veiled in allegory and
illustrated by symbols." The "illustration by symbols" is that portion of
the ceremony which has preceded. The definition of allegory which reads:
"presents a truth under the guise of fictitious narrative or description"
is an exact description of what is done in this portion of this degree.
A story, is told, complete in itself, and if one desires to seek no
further he has received a valuable lesson portraying the life and action
of a man of high morality and integrity. This lesson, however, is
incomparable to the spiritual truth presented. It is to prepare the
Candidate for the acceptance of this truth that he is initiated and
instructed in the preceding degrees.
The first time one takes a particular journey he instinctively notes
certain landmarks along the way - a tree, a hill, or a stream. On a second
occasion he judges his progress toward his journey's end by these
landmarks. If necessity takes him that way again, for a third time, the
landmarks have become old friends, beckoning him on with assurances that
he is nearing his destination. Presuming he has completed his journey, his
surprise and possible consternation may well be imagined when he is
informed that such is not the case. If under these circumstances he is
told that further journeying is necessary ere his goal is reached, and
that the journey may be rough and rugged and even beset with perils, the
devout man will pray for Divine protection and assistance. He will turn to
no earthly power, nor will he beseech others to pray for him. Every man,
except he is an atheist, has some image of God before his mind's eye. To
some the image is dim and indistinct of outline, a mere philosophical
necessity. To others it is a clear concept, an abiding faith. Placed in a
position of dire peril, where material assistance is of no avail, each
man's trust in his God is put to the supreme test.
Before the Lodge prayed for the Candidate. The Lodge initiated him,
held before him the symbols, gave him instruction and brought him to the
same place as all who had gone that way before him. Its work was
accomplished. Evolution raises the race to the level where the individual
recognizes THERE IS A LAW and, learning to cooperate with it, he works out
his further destiny. Here the Candidate is in that exact position. Further
progress depends on his own efforts, hence he is informed that his goal
has not been reached, and correct ritual will add that IT IS NOT KNOWN IF
HE WILL EVER ACHIEVE IT.
It has been suggested that Masonry is Mental Science, the science of
controlling one's life and destiny through the creative power of thought.
In this connection the thesis of the objective and subjective mind proves
helpful. The process of creative thought is to visualize with the
objective mind the desired condition, and implant this picture in the
subjective mind. The latter then creates that which the objective mind
desires. This process is continuous, therefore negative, destructive
thoughts transmitted to the subjective have the same effect as positive,
constructive thoughts. Even though the individual be ignorant of this law
it is still the law. Job illustrates the negative action when he laments:
"The thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was
afraid of is come unto me." Both the positive and the negative action is
suggested in the statement: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." It
is the creative power of thought that accounts for life's every condition.
It is the purpose of Masonry to so inform its initiates that they may
actively use the Constructive principle for good and, knowing of the
Destructive principle, refrain from those mental attitudes which are
causations of evil.
The requisite of constructive creative thought is faith. "Therefore I
say unto you, what things whatsoever ye desire, when ye pray believe that
ye receive, and ye shall receive." Particularly note the two tenses.
First: "believe ye receive," present tense, "and ye SHALL receive," future
tense.
This portion of the degree allegorically depicts this power of thought.
The narrator, breaking into the middle of a story, informs the Candidate
he represents a certain person. Of what has gone before the Candidate is
not told; if he is curious he may turn to the Bible and been the tale. A
Temple is under construction and partially completed. Three Grand Masters
are in charge of the construction. Who are these three, and what is their
symbolical significance? We too, may turn to the Bible for our answer.
Relative to Hiram King of Tyre: "And Hiram sent to Solomon saying, I
have considered the things which thou sentest to me for; and I will do all
thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir." Here
related is the agreement to furnish the material for the Temple, and it is
indicative of the importance attached to the material or physical.
Symbolically Hiram of Tyre is the "Material."
"In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God
said, ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said I am but a child;
I know not how to go out or come in. Give therefore thy servant an
understanding heart to judge Thy people, that I may discern between good
and bad." Solomon symbolizes the psychical. It was the acquisition of
wisdom which enabled Solomon to visualize or create the Temple in his
mind, that it might be materialized on the chosen building site. A further
less on in Mental Science is to be gained from this scriptural passage.
Solomon asked for wisdom, not from selfish motives but that he might guide
his people. This so pleased God, we are told, that He added riches and
long life. This is the operation of Universal Law. With wisdom one need
not ask for riches or health, for wisdom dictates that the Constructive
Principle in nature be followed and when that Great Law is obeyed "all
these things shall be added unto you."
"And King Solomon went and fetched Hiram out of Tyre, he was a widow's
son and he was filled with wisdom and understanding, and cunning to work
all works of brass. And he came to King Solomon and he wrought all his
works."
To understand the foregoing passage we must know the symbology employed
in the Bible. The masses of the ancients regarded the sun as a god, the
more enlightened as a symbol of God. Gold, because of its color, was the
symbol of the sun. Likewise brass, being more plentiful and of similar
color, was often substituted for gold. In the process of mental evolution
the sun, because of its position in the "above," assumed an ethical aspect
of the spiritual, and likewise those materials which symbolized the sun .
In this sense the Biblical statement that "Hiram was filled with wisdom
and understanding, and cunning to work all works of brass" actually
informs us that he was cunning, or skilled, to "work all works" spiritual.
Thus he clearly symbolizes the spiritual. Together with the other two we
have the Spiritual, Psychical and Physical. Man alone is composed of these
three components, thus the symbolical meaning of the Temple is clear.
The "Sanctum Sanctorum" of each individual is the secret chamber of the
soul into which one should "habitually" retire. This individual Holy of
Holies is UNFINISHED, for few have attained those spiritual heights which
are the FINISHED WORK. The Grand Master is typical of the objective mind
which retires to the secret closet of its own innermost being -
withdrawing from the material world, there to "draw designs upon the
trestle-board" - the receptive subjective mind, which but waits for the
imprint of those "designs for living." The "craft" is Universal Mind
which develops the plans drawn. The process of building the Temple is the
development of character, the evolving of the real individual.
After the process of drawing designs upon the trestle-board the Grand
Master offered up devotion to Deity. True devotion to Deity is obedience
to Universal Law. Man's ideal of God forms his character, and his life
work is the individual's contribution to the attainment of God's plans.
The Grand Master also "meditated upon the wonders of the Universe."
Such meditation brings a realization of the Infinite Wisdom which planned
this world whereon we abide. Through that meditation the Infinite Power of
creation is dimly realized. Thus it dawns upon our consciousness that we
were created by that same Universal Wisdom and Power. When we contemplate
the physical body of man we realize it is as wonderful as the universe
itself. Continued meditation brings the further realization that, wonderful as the body may be, the mind is even more
marvellous. Thus we arrive at
the true meaning of being in the image and likeness of our Creator. The
mind, the likeness of God, is endowed with the power to create the
microcosm, as God manifested in the creation of the macrocosm.
It should be remembered that this retirement into the Sanctum Sanctorum
was a "custom." We have only to make the comparison between the material
Temple and the Human Temple, to realize the need of habitual retirement to
the Holy of Holies. Had the Grand Master's retirement been irregular, had
he drawn plans for several days and then neglected to do so for a period,
the "craft" could not have maintained their labors. There would have been
times when "no plans were on the trestle-board," and the craft idle. So
with the individual; unless he daily "draws designs upon HIS
trestle-board," makes thereof a "custom," his craft will remain idle and
his Temple unfinished.
Upon one occasion the Grand Master encountered opposition, and it is
his conduct under the circumstances which is the basis for the Great Moral
Lesson. We rightly emphasize his devotion to duty, his integrity, but in
so doing the equally important lesson illustrated by the "opposition"
should not be lost.
Names are given "things" for the purpose of identification. They are
also given individuals for the same reason. Names originally were
descriptive. Any attempt to an understanding of the Bible or Freemasonry
is useless without a knowledge of the nomenclature. Similar names
obviously derive from the same country or tribe. Identical names usually
denote family relationship.
Each of the cities of Canaan had some one god it revered above all
other gods. Baal was the local nature god of Tyre, thus "Baal" or "Bal"
appearing in a name identifies the bearer as a "man of Tyre." An identical
prefix would indicate family connection, while the dissimilar suffixes
denote the individuals. Incidentally, such ritual as refers to the
"peculiarity" of these names is incorrect. They were not "peculiar" and
may well have been as common as the English "Smith." "Similarity" is the
correct expression.
Depicting them as "brethren" and "men of Tyre" is for definite symbolic
purpose. As brothers they spring from the same parentage (source). As "men
of Tyre" they are shown to be worshipers of Baal, the nature or MATERIAL
god, which establishes a distinction between them and "men of Israel," who
are worshipers of Jehovah, the SPIRITUAL God. It is inoperative to the
consistency of the allegory that these Tyrians perpetrate the deed. A
symbolic impossibility for "men of Israel." This is emphasized by the "roll-call"; all Hebrew names answering present, while the only Tyrians
called are the absent ones under discussion. (It is hoped the reader
gathers the subtle distinction - it is impossible to be more explicite.)
The "First" typifies material desires, greed, avarice and covetousness,
which prompt the attempt to gain selfish benefits regardless of the rights
of others. True to Masonic symbology he strikes with the one working tool
which above all others symbolizes the material or physical, and it is
likewise noteworthy that it is a working tool of the degree we have
discovered to be the material degree.
The "Second" symbolizes the psychical. He incites those attitudes of
mind rather than material desires. He it is who is responsible for
intolerance, bigotry, hatred and envy. It is he who is conquered when we
"keep our passions within due bounds." Again the symbology of the weapon
used is in conformity. It is the emblem of the psychical and the principal
working tool of the psychical degree.
Vicious and malevolent as are the first two, it is the "Third" who is
deadly, and he strikes with a SETTING-MAUL! Here is yet another
outstanding example of the beautiful consistency of our symbology. This is
the instrument which by all logic must have at some time been numbered
among the working tools of the Craft. Its deeply significant symbology in
this instance strengthens that presumption, and adds conviction that it
was a working tool of the third degree - the spiritual degree of Masonry.
The individual retires to his Holy of Holies and plans his life in
thoughtful solitude. Primarily man realizes intuitively a first cause.
Then his intellect formulates for him a Supreme Being, thus intuition and
intellect form a basis for faith. That faith embodies the realization that
he is as his Creator. But in order to attain this lofty vision he must
wait, patiently, until his Temple is completed. Only then, if found
worthy, shall he receive that which he seeks. However, on his return to
the "mat erial world" of every day affairs, he is accosted by "DOUBT" -
"IF I am like my Creator, why cannot I create conditions in accordance
with my desires?" He does not recognize the fact that the Temple is not
yet completed, that he has not proven his worthiness, that his wisdom is
not commensurate with the power he seeks; "DOUBT" strikes down "FAITH,"
which alone can give him his desire. Then indeed is there confusion in the
Temple of that individual.
According to Mental Science there is sound reason for the Biblical
admonition that we shall be held accountable for "every idle word." We
indulge in many thoughts, in themselves not necessarily detrimental to our
spiritual welfare, but useless, wasting mental power which might be put to
better purpose. This thought is conveyed by the action of other craftsmen.
These, when properly directed by King Solomon, proved their worth. Three
of these who "repented" accomplished their mission. Thus is illustrated
the truth that, changing the process of thought from the destructive to
the constructive, the negative can be mastered and we build where formerly
we destroyed.
This portion of the allegory is taken from the Solar Myth of the murder
of the sun by three of the signs of the zodiac, and the search for him by
the other nine signs. It is quite obvious that no search would be
undertaken in the "north," for that was the region of darkness. (Masonic
ritual reveals full knowledge of this fact in the arrangement of the three
principal officers' stations.) Therefore the ritual is in error in
reciting: "we twelve with three others, etc." It would be more consistent
with both the facts in the case and other portions of the ceremonies if it
stated: "we nine with three others, etc." Later the instructions are given
to "divide into bands of three, travel, etc." These instructions should
exclude the "north."
In the attempt of the fugitives to leave the country is contained a
further allegorical lesson. Only in one way can the human mind leave its
present plane of existence, the "country" in which it now abides. That way
is in conformity with Universal Law. The inability to "leave the country
without Solomon's passport" which in this case is authority, or law, is
analogous.
Lacking that authority and unable to depart they turn back into the
country (i.e., continue on the same plane) and hide in a cave. A "cave"
being definitely a material place, we are allegorically informed they took
refuge in the material. Recalling what then transpired we see in its
enactment the continued repetition of the lesson reiterated throughout the
degrees of Masonry. Not mere punishment of crime but the inevitable
results of invoking the Destructive principle, the law of cause and
effect.
The remaining Grand Masters express the fear that the "word" is lost.
If the word is lost to the extent that it cannot be given, inferentially,
the sign intended to symbolize the word is likewise lost. This being the
case it is apparent that the true and loyal workmen cannot be rewarded as
promised. This is consistent with Universal Law, but it is beyond the
intent of this book to develop minute detail. This inference, like others
which have been made, must be left to the inclination of the individual reader to develop if he is so minded. Suffice it to state there is an
inference that future generations will discover the right.
How is this to be accomplished? By all the veiled hints which may be
discovered in the ritual it is clear that it must be through PERSONAL,
INDIVIDUAL EFFORT. Reasonable presumption indicates it was thus acquitted,
originally, by the Grand Masters. There is a difference, however; the
workman is to be given a substitute which we may correctly assume contains
a clue to the right. The method of choosing a substitute was announced,
and should be kept in mind, as it has a bearing on what is later brought
out i n connection with the meaning of the substitute.
In the effort to raise the body, the first means tried was ineffectual,
because in conformity with scientific truth no effect can be greater than
its cause. The grip of an Entered Apprentice is of the material, and the
material cannot "cause" itself.
A second effort was likewise impotent. Mind alone cannot cause life,
hence the use of psychical means, symbolized by the grip of the
Fellow-craft, cannot bring back life. In this extremity it was natural to
ask Divine guidance. Being inspired to use means which we have seen to be
emblematic of the spiritual, a natural law is invoked - that "like
attracts like" spirit responds to spiritual means.
In Mackey's Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry he comments on "Marrow of the
Bone" as follows: "An absurd corruption of a Jewish word, and still more
absurdly said to be its translation. It has no appropriate signification
in the place to which it is applied, but was once religiously believed in
by many Masons who, being ignorant of the Hebrew language, accepted it as
a true interpretation. It is now universally rejected by the intelligent
portion of the craft."
The word in question is incorrectly pronounced, which is quite
understandable under the circumstances surrounding its transmission to us.
Fortunately the pronunciation has not been so badly mutilated as to be no
longer recognizable. Therefore the meaning is not lost to us. This is
actually two Hebrew words. The first is the Hebrew interrogative pronoun
"what." Dependent on its use it might also signify "why" or "how." Coupled
as it is in this instance, "how" is preferable. It can correctly be
interpret ed: "what a great master" - "what, a great master" or "how great
a master." As uttered by King Solomon, if the circumstances are brought to
mind, it is apparently addressed to The Supreme Being, and can therefore
as easily be construed to mean; "How great is Thy might."
On mention of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Christian immediately
traces the lineage of Jesus, and interprets such reference as pertaining
to him. No criticism is intended of these views, no particular
interpretation is ever forced upon the Mason, nor is Masonry dogmatic in
the sense that any specific interpretation of its mysteries is insisted
upon as being the one and only true meaning of its allegories and
symbology. No Mason should ever be intolerant of the views of others, and
he should consider any intelligent interpretation offered by another, for
it is through diversity that the harmony of unity is eventually attained,
be it in the Universe or in the Lodge.
According to tradition, Jesus was a widow's son when he began his
ministration. He was subjected to three temptations, which he withstood.
Some maintain the Masonic allegory re-enacts the temptations and death of
Jesus. There are indeed parallels present but, upon the theory that
Masonry had its origin at the building of King Solomon's Temple, a date is
established approximately one thousand years prior to the lifetime of
Jesus.
Some two thousand years before the building of Solomon's Temple,
history reveals a similar event. We refer to the Egyptian legend of
Osiris. How much further into prehistoric time it extends we have no means
of knowing. There are extant paintings on the walls of Egyptian tombs of a
priest with the head and claws of a lion covering his own head and hands,
raising an individual clothed in white robes, presumably the candidate of
the Mysteries, from a reclining position in an open sarcophagus.
The essential substance of all these allegories is that there is one
Infinite Power, an Omnipotent Creator and Sustainer of the Universe - that
man is created in the image and likeness of that Creator. He is not
material but spiritual, hence man in His likeness partakes of that
spirituality. Man, through the misuse of his freedom of choice, lost the
knowledge of the use of his spiritual power. He misused that freedom of
choice to choose the material rather than the spiritual. The intent of all
these allegories is to bring man to the realization of his spiritual
nature, that he may "find that which is lost." Only as man thinks of
himself in terms of a spiritual being can he regain his lost estate, for:
"AS A MAN THINKETH IN HIS HEART, SO IS HE."
Freemasonry is taught by degrees only. Just as surely can it be said it
is only learned "by degrees" gradually - as the result of sincere desire
and effort on the part of the seeker after its light. There is no
"substitute" for these two requirements, "SINCERE DESIRE and EFFORT," but
there is guidance in the search. A clue is found - in the closing prayer
of the Lodge. "Wilt Thou be pleased so to influence our hearts and minds
that we may, each one of us, PRACTICE OUT OF THE LODGE those great moral
duties which are inculcated in it, and with reverence STUDY AND OBEY the
laws which Thou hast given us in thy Holy Word."
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