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15°- KNIGHT OF THE
EAST OR OF THE SWORD
KNIGHT OF THE EAST OR
OF THE SWORD or of the eagle
Morals and Dogma
Albert Pike
This Degree, like all others in Masonry, is symbolical. Based
upon historical truth and authentic tradition, it is still an allegory. The
leading lesson of this Degree is Fidelity to obligation, and Constancy and
Perseverance under difficulties and discouragement.
Masonry is engaged in her crusade, against ignorance,
intolerance, fanaticism, superstition, uncharitableness, and error. She does not
sail with the trade-winds, upon a smooth sea, with a steady free breeze, fair
for a welcoming harbor; but meets and must overcome many opposing currents,
baffling winds, and dead calms.
The chief obstacles to her success are the apathy and
faithlessness of her own selfish children, and the supine indifference of the
world. In the roar and crush and hurry of life and business, and the tumult and
uproar of politics, the quiet voice of Masonry is unheard and unheeded. The
first lesson which one learns, who engages in any great work of reform or
beneficence, is, that men are essentially careless, lukewarm, and indifferent as
to everything that does not concern their own personal and immediate welfare. It
is to single men, and not to the united efforts of many, that all the great
works of man, struggling toward perfection, are owing. The enthusiast, who
imagines that he can inspire with his own enthusiasm the multitude that eddies
around him, or even the few who have associated themselves with him as
co-workers, is grievously mistaken; and most often the conviction of his own
mistake is followed by discouragement and disgust. To do all, to pay all, and to
suffer all, and then, when despite all obstacles and hindrances, success is
accomplished, and a great work done, to see those who opposed or looked coldly
on it, claim and reap all the praise and reward, is the common and almost
universal lot of the benefactor of his kind.
He who endeavors to serve, to benefit, and improve the world,
is like a swimmer, who struggles against a rapid current, in a river lashed into
angry waves by the winds. Often they roar over his head, often they beat him
back and baffle him. Most men yield to the stress of the current, and float with
it to the shore, or are swept over the rapids; and only here and there the
stout, strong heart and vigorous arms struggle on toward ultimate success.
It is the motionless and stationary that most frets and
impedes the current of progress; the solid rock or stupid dead tree, rested
firmly on the bottom; and around which the river whirls and eddies: the Masons
that doubt and hesitate and are discouraged; that disbelieve in the capability
of man to improve; that are not disposed to toil and labor for the interest and
well-being of general humanity; that expect others to do all, even of that which
they do not oppose or ridicule; while they sit, applauding and doing nothing, or
perhaps prognosticating failure.
There were many such at the rebuilding of the Temple. There
were prophets of evil and misfortune--the lukewarm and the in-different and the
apathetic; those who stood by and sneered; and those who thought they did God
service enough if they now and then faintly applauded. There were ravens
croaking ill omen, and murmurers who preached the folly and futility of the
attempt. The world is made up of such; and they were as abundant then as they
are now.
But gloomy and discouraging as was the prospect, with
lukewarmness within and bitter opposition without, our ancient brethren
persevered. Let us leave them engaged in the good work, and whenever to us, as
to them, success is uncertain, remote, and contingent, let us still remember
that the only question for us to ask, as true men and Masons, is, what does duty
require; and not what will be the result and our reward if we do our duty. Work
on, with the Sword in one hand, and the Trowel in the other!
Masonry teaches that God is a Paternal Being, and has an
interest in his creatures, such as is expressed in the title Father; an
interest unknown to all the systems of Paganism, untaught in all the theories of
philosophy; an interest not only in the glorious beings of other spheres, the
Sons of Light, the dwellers in Heavenly worlds, but in us, poor, ignorant, and
unworthy; that He has pity for the erring, pardon for the guilty, love for the
pure, knowledge for the humble, and promises of immortal life for those who
trust in and obey Him.
Without a belief in Him, life is miserable, the world is
dark, the Universe disrobed of its splendors, the intellectual tie to nature
broken, the charm of existence dissolved, the great hope of being lost; and the
mind, like a star struck from its sphere, wanders through the infinite desert of
its conceptions, without attraction, tendency, destiny, or end.
Masonry teaches, that, of all the events and actions, that
take place in the universe of worlds and the eternal succession of ages, there
is not one, even the minutest, which God did not forever foresee, with all the
distinctness of immediate vision, combining all, so that man's free will should
be His instrument, like all the other forces of, nature.
It teaches that the soul of man is formed by Him for a
purpose; that, built up in its proportions, and fashioned in every part, by
infinite skill, an emanation from His spirit, its nature, necessity, and design
are virtue. It is so formed, so moulded, so fashioned, so exactly balanced, so
exquisitely proportioned in every part, that sin introduced into it is misery;
that vicious thoughts fall upon it like drops of poison; and guilty desires,
breathing on its delicate fibres, make plague-spots there, deadly as those of
pestilence upon the body. It is made for virtue, and not for vice; for purity,
as its end, rest, and happiness. Not more vainly would we attempt to make the
mountain sink to the level of the valley, the waves of the angry sea turn back
from its shores and cease to thunder upon the beach, the stars to halt in their
swift courses, than to change any one law of our own nature. And one of those
laws, uttered by God's voice, and speaking through every nerve
and fibre, every force and element, of the moral constitution He has
given us, is that we must be upright and virtuous; that if tempted we must
resist; that we must govern our unruly passions, and hold in hand our sensual
appetites. And this is not the dictate of an arbitrary will, nor of some stern
and impracticable law; but it is part of the great firm law of harmony that
binds the Universe together: not the mere enactment of arbitrary will; but the
dictate of Infinite Wisdom.
We know that God is good, and that what He does is right.
This known, the works of creation, the changes of life, the destinies of
eternity, are all spread before us, as the dispensations and counsels of
infinite love. This known, we then know that the love of God is working to
issues, like itself, beyond all thought and imagination good and glorious; and
that the only reason why we do not understand it, is that it is too
glorious for us to understand. God's love takes care for all, and nothing is
neglected. It watches over all, provides for all, makes wise adaptations for
all; for age, for infancy, for maturity, for childhood; in every scene of this
or another world; for want, weakness, joy, sorrow, and even for sin. All is good
and well and right; and shall be so forever. Through the eternal ages the light
of God's beneficence shall shine hereafter, disclosing all, consummating all,
rewarding all that deserve reward. Then we shall see, what now we can only
believe. The cloud will be lifted up, the gate of mystery be passed, and the
full light shine forever; the light of which that of the Lodge is a symbol. Then
that which caused us trial shall yield us triumph; and that which made our heart
ache shall fill us with gladness; and we shall then feel that there, as here,
the only true happiness is to learn, to advance, and to improve; which could not
happen unless we had commenced with error, ignorance, and imperfection. We must
pass through the darkness, to reach the light.
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