MASONIC EDUCATION COURSE
THE EUROPEAN CONCEPT
by Kent Henderson and Tony Pahl
Kent Henderson,
PGSwdB, is current (1996) Secretary of both Lodge Epicurean No. 906 and Lodge
Amalthea No. 914. A trained educator, he is a Past Master of The Victorian
Lodge of Research No. 218 and co-editor of its annual Transactions. He is
a graduate of the Grand Lodge of South Australia's Masonic Education Course, and
the author of many papers and books on freemasonry including Masonic World Guide
(Lewis Masonic, London, 1984) and The Masonic Grand Masters of Australia (Drakeford,
Melbourne, 1989). He is a member of most other Masonic Degrees and Orders, and a
past master in many. Tony
Pahl, a Vietnam Veteran who served in the Royal Australian Air Force
for 20 years, is a foundation petitioner and Immediate Past Master of Lodge
Epicurean No. 906. He is a Chairman of the Lodge's Education Committee and a key
member of its Promotions & Ceremonial Committee and possesses a wide knowledge
of freemasonry, particularly its ritual and ceremonial aspects.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
UNDERSTANDING FREEMASONRY (PART 1)
UNDERSTANDING FREEMASONRY (PART 2)
A JOURNEY THROUGH THE FIRST DEGREE
A JOURNEY THROUGH THE SECOND DEGREE
A JOURNEY THROUGH THE THIRD DEGREE
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INTRODUCTION
After a considerable time in
planning, the Masonic Education Course for "European Concept" lodges was
introduced in 1996. The course is simple in concept and application, yet
comprehensive. Its aim is to provide new brethren with a broad, yet thorough
knowledge of the Craft.
The Course is divided into three
sections, for the Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason. Each
Section has four parts. For
each section, candidates are presented with the course material. They are asked
to read the reference material provided and answer the comprehension questions
applicable to each. The lodge
holds various seminars for candidates in combination with lodge rehearsals and
selected meetings. Candidates bring their completed assignments, and these are
discussed and "corrected" thereat. Where a candidate cannot make a particular
Seminar, these are passed to his lodge mentor/tutor, or to an appointed member
of the Lodge Education Committee.
Each candidate is additionally
required to learn the answers to the "verbal" questions set for each degree.
The rules for promotion are as follows:
(1) No candidate can receive more than one degree
in a calendar year, except in exceptional circumstances through the agreement of
the Master and the Lodge Education Committee.
(2) No candidate can be approved for promotion to
the next degree until having:
(a) satisfactory completed the
relevant components of the Education Course, and
(b) proven his competency in the answers to the
relevant "verbal" questions to the satisfaction of the Lodge Education
Committee, or a delegated member(s).
(3) A newly-raised Master Mason
cannot receive his Grand Lodge Certificate, nor be invested in any lodge office
other than Steward, until he has satisfactorily completed Section Three of the
Course.
IMPORTANT NOTE: There is NO reason
why this Masonic Education Course cannot be applied in any lodge not structured
on the "European Concept". "European Concept" Lodges do not claim any
copyright for the course, and any craft lodge is most welcome to implement and
use it.
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UNDERSTANDING FREEMASONRY
A peculiar System of Morality
Freemasonry is so frequently quoted as 'a
peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory, and illustrated by symbols'
but, let us now examine that statement with a view to finding out just what is
meant by the phrase and how it arose.
'A peculiar system of morality' - well - word
values tend to change over the years and the word 'peculiar' in this sense means
particular or special; the morality in question has its roots in a philosophy
and a code inspired by the bible as a whole.
In mediaeval times skilled craftsmen in various
trades banded together to protect their crafts and permitted only those who had
been trained, taught, proved, and trusted to pursue their skills. It was a means
to outlaw pirates from producing inferior work and thus betray the trust of the
architect, the master, or the commissioner of the work. From such early control
development escalated in the 14th to the 17th centuries and there is ample
evidence in both England and Scotland that such a trade control included
instruction in matters beyond their crafts and skills; traces of that form of
instruction can be found in modern times. As an illustration let us take the
little booklet supplied on admission to the Freedom of the City of London which
is entitled Good Advice to Apprentices; or The Covenants of the City Indenture
(familiarly Explained and Enforced By Scripture.) from a copy dated 1863 the
first two items, from eleven are 'familiarly Explained', are here quoted:
'During which term the said Apprentice his
Master faithfully shall serve' - that is he shall be true and just to his Master
in all his dealings, both in word and deed; he must not only keep his hands from
picking and stealing, and his tongue from lying and slandering; he must also
abstain from doing him any manner of injury, by idleness, negligence, or
carelessness; by deceiving, or defaming, or any kind of evil speaking; but he
must learn and labour to do him a true and real service.
Several biblical quotations are listed in
support of those injunctions including:
Ye must be faithful in all things. (Timothy
iii, 11)
In all your labours let no iniquity be found. (Hosea xii, 8)
and in addition to those there are quotations
from Leviticus xix,11; Ephesians iv,25; Deuteronomy xxv,16; and Proverbs xii,19.
The next example is:
'His secrets keep' - that is he shall conceal
the particular secrets of his art, trade, or science, without divulging or
making any one privy to them to the detriment of his Master, whose interest may
very much depend on a peculiar management and knowledge of his business. To
behave thus is to serve faithfully; and fidelity is the glory and perfection of
a servant, as his want of it is his greatest discredit and reproach.
Only one biblical extract is given in support of
that:
Discover not a secret to another, lest he that
heareth it put thee to shame, and thine infamy turn not away. (Proverbs xxv,
9, 10 )
That booklet perpetuates injunctions similar to
those written into the Old Charges dating from the 14th century. It was from
those manuscripts the Revd. James Anderson compiled the first book of
Constitutions of the Freemasons in 1723. It was officially sanctioned by the
premier Grand Lodge founded in London in 1717, and became the means by which
Speculative Freemasonry was to be governed.
Under the sub-heading 'City Freedom' in the Good
Advice booklet the following appears: Apprentices who have faithfully served
their Masters can obtain the Freedom of the City, which confers many advantages,
for the sum of 5s only.
And that is followed by a Note which states:
Masters should enrol their apprentices at the
Chamberlain's Office within twelve months from the date of their Indentures,
it being for their mutual advantage. ... Persons who give false testimony,
forfeit their freedom. All who come to the Chamberlain's Office to enrol, turn
over, or make free their Apprentices, must bring the copies of their own
freedom with them.
The Entered Apprentice was thus guided,
encouraged, taught the skills of the craft, and if he faithfully served his
Master for the period of indenture, at least seven busy years, he obtained the
Freedom of the City of London and by becoming a Fellow of his craft was then on
his way to becoming a Master if that was his ambition. But, according to a
reference quoted by Douglas Knoop in The Mason Word, his Prestonian Lecture for
1938: 'Actually fewer than 50 per cent of the apprentices bound in London took
up their freedom.'
The earliest record among the surviving Old
Charges is the oft-quoted Regius Poem, or Halliwell MS dated c. 1396. It is
headed in Latin - 'Here begin the constitutions of the art of Geometry according
to Euclid', and among the fifteen Points and the fifteen Articles, is the
following, but quoted in modern English: The third Point must be severely with
the 'prentice know it well,
His master's counsel he keep and close,
and his fellows by his good purpose;
The privities of the chamber tell he to no man,
nor in the lodge whatsoever they do;
Whatsoever thou hearest or seest them do,
tell it to no man wheresoever you go;
The counsel of the hall, and even of the bower,
keep it well to thy great honour,
Lest it would turn thyself to blame,
and bring the craft into great shame.
(From a modern transcript by Roderick H
Baxter, Master of Quatuor Coronati Lodge in 1922.
British Masonic Miscellany Vol 1)
It is worthy of notice here that the Regius Poem
ends with the expression 'So mote it be' and that archaic expression is still
used in Freemasonry. There is no question that Freemasonry was and still is ' a
peculiar system of morality' that has stood the test of time. The essence of the
principles then taught are still to be found in the modern Charge after
Initiation, the first printing of which was by W. Smith in The Pocket Companion
published in 1735 and has remained unchanged in the basic wording.
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Veiled in
Allegory
Let us turn to the expression 'veiled in allegory', and in that connection,
note that the bible is full of accounts of incidents and stories that cannot
possibly stand up to modern analysis and in consequence has provided much that
has to be taken as allegory. Indeed the most effective teaching designed to
capture full interest was given in parable form using an example that was common
knowledge. Perhaps the clearest illustration of this is given in the Gospel
According to St. Mark (chap. iv, 2-9) in the story of the sower who went forth
to sow.
...and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came
and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth:
and immediately it sprang up, because it had not depth of earth: But when the
sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And
some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no
fruit. (but) others fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and
increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some hundred(fold).
Communicating in that manner, in whatever subject but based upon elements
already known and understood by an audience, has its greatest value in that it
can be esoteric and therefore selective, separating those who are 'properly
prepared' to appreciate an inner meaning of an otherwise plebian story, but of
interest to everyone. The story just quoted ends with the comment: 'And he said
unto them, He that hath no ears to hear, let him hear', or in other words - he
who understands, will understand!
Stories from the bible have long been the subject of Mummers Plays, Miracle
Plays, Morality and Passion Plays. They portrayed incidents that people learned
as children and that stayed with them all their lives which were, in those days,
centred almost entirely upon church or cathedral. Dressing up and acting in a
fantasy world was not only an t retained some control over the text which
paraphrased the sacred writings.
Conder also gave lists of various towns and cities to shew the proliferation
and here is a random choice as an example of that:
48 plays listed at York in the year 1430
25 at Chester from 1268 to 1577
42 at Coventry in 1468
30 at Wakefield in 1425
27 at Newcastle from 1285 to 1675.
The period that he took ranged from the 12th to the 17th centuries and in
that time similar evidence was forthcoming from other places in England, from
north to the south and from east to west. Various parts of London where plays
are known to have been presented are also mentioned but, regretfully, no texts
have survived in that connection.
The only subject related to building is the one entitled 'Building of the Ark
and the Flood' at Wakefield but no entry as to who performed it; at Newcastle it
was appropriated by the Shipwrights under the t
itle 'Noah's Flood'; in that city it is even possible that the Master Mariners
may have had something on that theme. The carpenters had the 'Burial of Christ'
and the Masons had 'The Corpus Christi' Plays; but nowhere did the masons have a
play linked with their craft and quite often they joined with another craft for
their project. Nowhere is the building of Solomon's Temple shewn to have been a
subject among the extensive list so one might search in vain for traces of the
Hiramic Legend; the Morality Plays may well have provided a pattern or a form
for it when it did arise for adoption. The earliest record of it is given in the
masonic exposure, Masonry Dissected, written and published by Samuel Prichard in
1730.
There is no mention of the building of King Solomon's temple in the earliest
manuscript, the Regius Poem of c. 1396 and it received only scant mention in the
Cooke MS of c. 1410. Whilst in that one the central character is not named he is
identified there as'... the kings son, of Tyre, as his (Solomon's) master
mason'. Into the next century, the Downland MS c. 1550, the reference is :
The king that men called Iram . . . had a son (named) Aynon, and he was
Master of Geometrie, and was chief Master of all his Masons and was Master of
all his gravings and carvings, and all manner of Masonrye that belonged to the
Temple.
In that case not only is Hiram Abif deemed to be the son of the King of Tyre,
a commonly held interpretation of the name, but we find one of a large variety
of spellings invented or copied phonetically for the master craftsman. But there
is absolutely nothing about the Hiramic legend which surely must be treated as
the most prominent allegory that was still to come into Freemasonry.
In 1723 the Revd. James Anderson compiled and published the first book of
Constitutions of the Freemasons in which he included a so-called history of the
mason craft both operative and speculative which he gathered from the manuscript
of Old Charges where legend, myth, and fairy tale often became confused with
history. Whilst he gave much attention to the biblical account of the master
craftsman being sent by Hiram King of Tyre to Solomon King of Israel, and to
interpretation of the Hebrew construction of the words 'Hiram' and 'Abif' there
was no mention of any drama involving his death which is, of course, legendary
having absolutely no foundation in fact nor biblical history because it is pure
fiction.
In Anderson's 2nd edition, published in 1738 eight years after Prichard's
exposure, Masonry Dissected, the examination of the Hebrew construction is
repeated but the subject taken a step further by the following footnote:
But tho' Hiram Abif had been a Tyrian by Blood, that derogates not from his
vast capacity; for Tyrians now were the best artificers, by the encouragement of
King Hiram: and those Texts testify that God had endued this Hiram Abif with
Wisdom, Understanding, and mechanical Cunning to perform every Thing that
Solomon required, not only in building the Temple with all its costly
Magnificence, but also in founding, fashioning and framing all the holy Utensils
thereof, according to Geometry, and to find out every Device that shall be put
to him! And the Scripture assures us that He fully maintain'd his Character in
far larger Works than those of Aholiab and Bezalleel, for which he will be
honoured in the Lodges til the End of Time.
Anderson's last remark there - 'for which he will be honoured in the Lodges
till the End of time' - is probably an indication of the use of the drama, after
a style of the Miracle Plays, but in this case performed under tyled conditions
as they are still performed in some Jurisdictions. Regarding the completion of
the Temple, Anderson wrote:
It was finish'd in the short space of 7 Years and 6 Months, to the Amazement
of the World when the Cape-stone was celebrated by the Fraternity with great
Joy. But their Joy was soon interrupted by the Sudden Death of their dear Master
Hiram Abbif, whom they decently interred in the Lodge near the Temple, according
to ancient Usage. After Hiram Abbif was being mourn'd for, the Tabernacle of
Moses and its Holy Reliques being lodged in the Temple, Solomon in a General
Assembly dedicated or consecrated it.
In that account the 'sudden death' happened after the completion of the
Temple and not during its construction. In accordance with the edict - '. . . .
he shall build an house unto my name 'King Solomon dedicated the temple to the
Holy Name, or in Hebrew terms Ha Shem. The Holy Name is allusive in that whilst
both Enoch and Noah 'walked with God' (Gen v, 22: vi, 9) there is no mention in
the bible of them being given the Name. Biblical records state that the
Patriarch Abraham, Hagar the mother of Ishmael, and the Patriarch Isaac 'called
upon the name of the LORD' which tends to credit them with knowing it (Gen. Xii,
8: xii, 4: xvi, 13: xxvi, 15) but it would appear that the name granted to them
was of descriptive character only and that is borne out by the statemente of
Moses - ' I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of
God Almighty (in Hebrew - El Shaddai), but my name JEHOVAH (in Hebrew-Jod He Vav
He) was I not known to them' (Exod. Vi, 3). The name JEHOVAH is an Anglicized
manufactured word to accommodate the Hebrew characters - the Tetragrammaton - Ha
Shem - and as they are consonants, the vowels known only to the priesthood and
with such limited use by them, the original pronunciation has been lost.
The possession of the name of a person meant a close affinity or relationship
with that person, but possession of the Holy Name was the highest privilege and,
by masonic fable, was known by the three Grand masters. In order to avoid its
full pronunciation the word was shared between them by syllables and the 'sudden
death' of one of them brought an
end to that practice; there was no question of the appointment of another to
replace him and that gave rise to a substitute - or 'the Masonic Word'. The
attempt to revive or 'raise' Hiram Abbif in order to recover from the dead, as
it were, the secret that he had in life has been submerged in a welter of
interpretations that include the fable of the Noah incident mentioned in some of
the Old Charges, a subject not from biblical history, the raising of the widow's
son by the action of Elijah (1 Kings xvii, 17-23) a similar raising of the son
of the Shunammite woman by Elisha (2 Kings iv, 34-35) and the young man by St.
Paul (Acts xx, 9-12). They are resurrection allegories, effected through divine
influence, but nowadays compared with the 'kiss of life' action.
In a symbolical interpretation 'The Name' of 'the Mason Word' is ever lost
whenever mankind turns away from his faith in the Almighty, in whatever form, or
by whatever Name he is known. Biblical history records the conquering of
Jerusalem, the destruction of Solomon's temple, the Exile of the Jews to
Babylon, and the subsequent return to Jerusalem to re-build the City and a
Second Temple. That sequence provided the 'Recovery' theme - the completion of
the Master Mason's degree, and is a subject dealt with in the Royal Arch.
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Illustrated by
Symbols
'Illustrated by symbols' is the final item for this examination and here we
have to distinguish between a tangible object, or symbol, upon which has been
bestowed a meaning or representation completely different from its form, eg, an
anchor is just an anchor to the seafarer but symbolically it is widely taken to
represent Hope; the other distinction from the tangible is the intangible and
what better example of that is a handshake to represent friendship in greeting;
the whole world seems to know that it is a symbolic means of recognition among
Freemasons!
Symbols may be universal and can transcend all language, classic examples of
which are road and traffic signs, but even such common signs or symbols may
still be endowed by some organised groups of societies where meanings are given
to such mundane objects but known only to themselves. Freemasonry abounds with
such symbols through which abstract ideas may be presented; they provide the
visual aid.
Not all that Albert G. Mackey wrote on Freemasonry is acceptable to modern
masonic students, but that does not mean that all his work is dismissed. Here is
what he had to say on Symbolism in his Encyclopedia, first published in 1873.
In Freemasonry, all the instruction in its mysteries are communicated in the
form of symbols. Founded as a speculative science, on an operative art, it has
taken the working- tools of the profession which it spiritulizes, the terms of
architecture, the Temple of Solomon, and everything that is connected with its
traditional history, and adopting them as symbols, it teaches its great moral
philosophical lessons by this system of symbolism.
Mackey also wrote:
The older the religion, the more the symbolism abounds. Modern religions
may display their dogmas in abstract propositions; ancient religions always
conveyed them in symbols. Thus there is more symbolism in the Egyptian
religion than the Jewish, more in the Jewish than the Christian, more in the
Christian than the Mohammedan, and lastly more in the Roman (Catholic) than
the Protestant . . . Any inquiry into the symbolic character of Freemasonry,
must be preceded by an investigation of the nature of symbolism in general, if
we would properly appreciate its particular use in the organisation of the
Masonic Institution.
It is possible that some people might argue with that, but it does provide
food for thought!
In reply to comments on their Paper - 'Masonic History Old and New' given to
Quatuor Coronati Lodge on 2 October 1942, (AQC Vol. 55, pp.285-323). Douglas
Knoop and G. P. Jones stated:
There is no evidence to suggest that masons themselves (i.e., operative
stonemasons) moralized upon their tools. Though the Regius Poem is full of
moral precepts, and the Cooke MS rather less so, in neither of these early
manuscripts, nor in later versions of the MS Constitutions, those peculiarly
masonic documents written about Masons for masons, is there any sort of
symbolism based upon masons' tools. Had the masons made use of such symbolism
in their teachings, one would have expected some reference to it in surviving
documents.
Another useful statement of theirs was 'The Philosophy and symbolism of
masonry are quite distinct from the history of masonry' and that is a point of
differentiation that is constantly overlooked by some freemasons and masonic
writers.
During the long period of transition from operative to speculative masonry in
the 17th and 18th centuries the scientific, Philosophical, the studious, those
who made up the intelligentsia many of whom indulged in studies of alchemy,
mysticism, and Kabbalistic pursuits , providing what has been termed a fringe of
the craft undoubtedly left their marks in its construction. The mystical
writings of such people had a strong influence and would account for the
adoption of certain symbolism, traces of which, however slim are there to be
found.
Symbols can be classified as a form of pictorial shorthand, examples of which
are to be seen in stained glass windows in churches, some of which are indeed
visual sermons in themselves. Emblazonment in heraldry also provide examples
where a symbol in that context can mean so much in regard to family name, a line
of succession, marriage, property, county, and countless other meanings so
cryptically displayed. Symbols therefore can mean all things to all men but an
inner meaning can be made to apply in the context in which persons have been so
informed.
Tangible forms of freemasonry are usually explained to the membership in
ceremonial or lectures, and in the case of the Lectures which can be so
informative insufficient use is made of them; there is a lack of stress placed
on that area of explanation for much that is contained in the book of Working
according to that used in a member's lodge.
The intangible symbols are much more difficult for brethren to appreciate for
they can often be bent to suit whatever interpretation that may be preferred,
and an inner meaning only applies in circumstances in which one has been so
informed. It may be truly said that we are given all the ingredients but the
mixing is left to ourselves. Let us take the expression 'The Mason Word'
appropriately used by Douglas Knoop as the title for his Prestonian Lecture in
1938, he commented as follows:
The justification for stressing the importance of the Mason Word as a
factor in the development of masonic ceremonies lies in the fact that it
consisted of something substantially more than a mere Word. Thus, the Rev.
Robert Kirk, Minister of Aberfoyle, writing in 1961, says the Mason Word 'is
like Rabbinical Tradition, in a way of comment of Jachin and Boaz, the two
Pillars erected at Solomon's Temple (1 Kings, 21) with an Addition of some
secret Signe delyvered from Hand to Hand, by which they know and become
familiar one with the other.'
The preamble to The Abstract of Laws for the Society of Royal Arch Masons (as
it was called when issued in 1778) was more clear in the point as it included
the following:
. . . We also use certain signs, tokens and words; but it must be observed,
that when we use that expression and say THE WORD. It is not to be understood
as a watch-word only, after the manner of those annexed to the several degrees
of the Craft, but also theologically, as a term, thereby to convey to the mind
some idea of that great BEING who is the sole author of our existence, and to
carry along with the most solemn veneration for his sacred Name and Word, as
well as the most clear and perfect elucidation of his power and attributes
that the human mind is capable of receiving; . . .
The 'Mason Word' is the most intangible symbol of all intangible symbols used
in Freemasonry. Without some acquaintance with the Law of Moses, otherwise
called the Torah, or the Pentateuch, where we became acquainted with the gradual
revelation of His holy will and Word and the development which ensued from that
biblical period, one cannot begin to understand what has now become so obscured.
It was not the intention in this short review to take individual symbols as a
study, nor to develop a treatise based solely upon symbolism, such an exercise
would take several volumes and would raise a proliferation of discussion or
argument, sound or otherwise; each would have an interpretation of a sort, some
that are held to the exclusion of all else. However, it must be stressed that
the bible, the Patron Saints of the Christian church, the observances of Holy
Days, all provided the very foundation for this 'peculiar system of morality'.
The system has gathered accretions from other religions, and various mystics
from different backgrounds to the extent that its simple form has been swamped;
it really has become 'veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols', some of
which have failed to stay the course but nevertheless did leave a mark or trace
e here and there to be re- discovered and perhaps enjoyed by the industrious
student of Free and Accepted masonry in the future.
The state of contention between brethren regarding some matters that are
dealt with in lectures or ceremonial was the subject of an appropriate comment
by the author of Three Distinct Knocks, a masonic ritual exposure published in
1760. Here is what he inserted at the end of the part of the Fellow-Craft
(p.45):
Some Masters of Lodges will argue upon the Reasons about the holy Vessels
in the Temple and the Windows and Doors, the Length, Breadth and height of
every Thing in the Temple, Saying, why was it so and so? One will give one
Reason; and another will give another Reason, and thus they will continue for
Two or Three Hours in this Part and the Master-Part; but this happens but very
seldom, except an Irishman should come, who likes to here himself talk,
asking, why were they round? Why were they square? Why were they hollow? Why
were the Stones costly? Why were they hewn Stones and Sawn Stones, &c. some
give one reason and some another; thus you see that every Man's Reason is not
alike. Therefore, if I give you my Reason, it may not be like another; but any
Man that reads the foregoing and following Work, and consults the 5th, 6th,
7th and 8th Chapters of the first Book of Kings, and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of
the second Book of Chronicles may reason as well as the best of them; . . .
If ever there was a common-sense summing up of the situation that surely must
be it; getting back to basics and building from there, staying within the proper
context and treating interpretation for what it is, nevertheless searching among
the symbols and allegories to find the intention of the compilers, will help
anyone to get Freemasonry into perspective.
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UNDERSTANDING FREEMASONRY (PART 2)
In Part 1 of this subject it was stated that
speculative freemasonry emerged as a biblical exercise and when, at the turn of
the 18th century re-arrangement of ritual and procedure was undertaken, obvious
Christian references were either deleted or conveniently screened. The objective
was to create a uniformity that would be acceptable to brethren of other faiths.
The first step was for the "Moderns" to make such changes in their practice that
were at variance with the "Antients" and that was done through the Lodge of
Promulgation from 1809 to 1811. Those efforts were crowned with success when the
union (of the two rival Grand Lodges) was effected in December 1813. Then
followed the Lodge of Reconciliation which officially lasted from 1813 to 1816
but in 1827 a similar body was revived to deal with the Ceremonial for the
Installation of Master in private lodges.
If is not uncommon for some brethren to think
and speak of freemasonry as if it were a specific unified entity, but that was
not the case then and is not so now, other than in the highest principles that
are encouraged by its practice. It is a development from numerous forms, and
variations continue in many jurisdictions. From the varieties of ritual and
procedures that were in existence, the eventual agreed form adopted in England
was still beset with quirks and idiosyncrasies that local custom had no
intention of releasing; but even those practices at times suffered from the
hands of "improvers" which sometimes resulted in items becoming isolated from
the original context creating illogical problems for brethren who were to
follow. In order to analyse modern items and to find basic reasons for their
adoption it is necessary to look into the background, to return to whatever
evidence may be found in manuscript material or the later published masonic
exposures.
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Just, Perfect and Regular
As an illustration of how easily something may
change and its importance lost through carelessness, let us take the reply that
is no uncommon when a Candidate is being questioned prior to being Passed to the
Fellowcraft Degree:
Q. Where were you made a Mason?
A. In the body of a Lodge, just perfect and regular.
In that answer the essential comma between
"just" and "perfect" is omitted and the masonic sense of the reply completely
lost, not only for the Candidate but seemingly for his sponsors.
In the majority of early Catechisms, dating from
the Edinburgh Register House MS in 1696, to the published ritual exposure
Masonry Dissected in 1730, there is only slight variation in the description; it
is either "a true and perfect lodge" or a "just and perfect lodge"; there is no
mention of "regular". But by the time we get to William Preston's First lecture
of Freemasonry published in 1775, but probably compiled earlier and rehearsed in
his Grand Chapter of Harodim from 1772 onwards, we find those adjectives
described in Section 1, Clause iii:
Where were you made a Mason?
In the body of a lodge, just, perfect, and regular.
What is a lodge of Masons?
Any number of Masons assembled for the purpose of explaining Masonry.
What makes a lodge just?
The Sacred Law unfolded. Because it is understood to contain the dictates of an
unerring Being; it must therefore be considered the standard of truth and
justice.
What makes it perfect?
The number seven (it then goes on to explain the liberal arts and
sciences)...."three form a lodge, five hold a lodge, and seven of more make it
perfect".
What makes a lodge regular?
The Charter, Warrant and Constitution.
It is worthy of mention here that Lodge Nos 2,
4, and 12 in the English Constitution do not have warrants, all being recorded
as "Time Immemorial".
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Irregular Steps
With regard to the word "regular" - but this time applied to steps, the
question is sometimes raised "Why does the Candidate have to take three awkward
steps of different lengths when being guided from West to East on his first
advance? But that was not always so. The earliest real evidence in that respect
is to be found in an anonymous catechism published in A Mason's Confession, that
has an attributed date of 1727, and states:
.....three chalk-lines being drawn on the floor, about an equal distance,
as at A, B, C,....says the Master, "Come forward"...so coming over the first
line with one foot, while he sets the other square off at A;...Coming over the
second line with one foot, while he sets the other square off at B;....Coming
over the third line with one foot, while he sets the other square off at C;
...so he comes over the three lines setting his feet thrice in the form of a
square.
The diagram in that book shows the steps were equal in length.
In later publications floor-drawings had much more detail and showed that the
first step was designed for the Entered Apprentice Candidate where he knelt on
the appropriate knee and took his Obligation. The second was for the Fellowcraft
ceremony and the third step for the Master Mason, with instructions regarding
kneeling and Obligations.
Three District Knocks, published in 1760 describes what is understood to have
been Antients ceremonial. After having been presented to the Junior and Senior
Wardens and the Master, the Candidate is sent back to the West "to receive
instructions" which are described as follows:
Q. What were the instructions that were given?
A. The Senior Warden taught me to take one Step upon the first Step of a right
Angle oblong Square, with my left knee bare bent, my Body upright, my right
Foot forming a Square, my naked Right hand upon the Holy Bible, with the
Square and Compasses thereon, my Left hand supporting the same; where I took
that solemn Obligation or Oath of a Mason.
In Pritchard's Masonry Dissected, published in 1730, we have:
Q. What did the Senior Warden do with you?
A. He presented me, and shew'd me how to walk (by three steps) to the Master.
That appeared before the Antients Grand Lodge was formed. We have no evidence
that the three steps were irregular of different length, but the whole subject
rests upon the word "regular" which is highlighted when the Candidate is
conducted to the right of the Master after taking his Obligation. It is there he
is shown how to take his "first regular step in freemasonry". Under close
supervision from the Junior Deacon on his approach from the West to East he was
prevented from inadvertently taking the regular step which is the one he will
use for the rest of his masonic career.
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The Three Great
Lights
When the three great though emblematical lights if freemasonry, have been
explained to the Candidate his attention is then drawn to the three lesser
lights situated in the East, South and West. That distinction in lights was no
always so and it is of interest to read what was published in the Dialogue
between Simon, a Town Mason, & Philip, a Travelling Mason; although having an
attributed date of c. 1740 it may well have been derived from an earlier source.
At that juncture it has this catechism:
Q. What did you see before you were made a Mason?
A. Nothing I understood.
Q. What did you see afterwards?
A. Three grand Lights.
Q. What do you call them?
A. The Sun, the Moon, and the Master.
Q. How do they Rule and Govern?
A. The Sun the Day, the Moon the Night, the Master the Lodge.
Q. Where stood the Master?
A. In the East.
Q. Why in the East?
A. To await the rising of the Sun to set the Men to their Work.
Q. Where stood the Wardens?
A. In the West?
Q. Why in the West?
A. To wait the Setting of the Sun, and to discharge the Men from their Labour.
In that snippet there is quite an element of the operative stonemason
builder's dawn to dusk working day. The reference to the Sun and Moon may well
have been inspired by the description in the Book of Genesis (chap. i, 16):
And God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the
lesser light to rule the night; he made stars also.
Later in that catechism in the Dialogue there is a return to the subject:
Q. You said you see three great Lights, did you see no other light?
A. Yes, one far surpassing Sun or Moon.
Q. What was that?
A. The Light of the Gospel.
In a period when Christian influence was abundant, that reference may well
have meant The Gospel According to St. John. Many early manuscripts and
publications have the following, or similar:
Q. From whence come you?
A. From the Holy Lodge of St. John.
As the Patronal Festivals of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist
were strictly observed in freemasonry.
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Ornaments,
Furniture and Jewels
It is quite a common custom for a brother, on completing the ceremony of the
Third Degree, to receive a copy of the Working that is used in his lodge, but
far too few have their attention drawn to the existence of the Lectures of the
Three Degrees; it is a publication that would lead to a better understanding of
what is contained in the Craft ritual. The Fifth Section of the First Lecture in
that book has:
Q. Of what is the interior of a Freemason's Lodge composed?
A. Ornaments, Furniture and Jewels.
Q. Name the ornaments.
A. The Mosaic Pavement, the Blazing Star, and the Indented or Tessellated
Border.
Q. Their situation?
A. The Mosaic Pavement is the beautiful flooring of the Lodge, the Blazing Star
the glory in the centre; and the Indented or Tessellated Border the skirtwork
around the same.
This is what Samuel Pritchard published:
Q. Have you any furniture in your Lodge?
A. Yes.
Q. What is it?
A. Mosaic Pavement, Blazing Star, and Indented Tarsel.
Q. What are they?
A. Mosaic Pavement, the Ground Floor of the Lodge, Blazing Star the Centre, and
Indented Tarsel the Border around it.
In a Paper given to Quatuor Coronati Lodge in 1916 (AQC Vol 29, p307) on
Tracing Boards, Bro. Dring wrote to Professor W. A. Craigie, Editor of the
Oxford English Dictionary, and published his reply which confirmed that the word
Tarsel was actually a 15-16th century variant of Tassel.
Owing to the licence in spelling in the early masonic period, and the
careless misuse of wording it is not difficult to see how "tessellated" became
"tassellated"; yet the two are far apart, with the former, composed of
tesserae "or regularly chequered" and the latter "adorned with tassels".
Masonry Dissected was the basis from which translations into French were
mounted, and bearing in mind the natural aptitude those brethren have for
embellishment, masonic ritual exposures which were published in France, or
influenced by them from the mid-18th century onwards, carried descriptions or
illustrations of floor-drawing which were the result of faulty interpretations.
Classic examples come from La Reception Mysterieuse 1738, in which the
relative portion has:
The pavement of the Room is decorated with Mosaic work, the comet is in the
centre, & the Room is carpeted all round with a brocade of gold.
Pritchard's "Blazing Star" became "the comet" and his "Border round about it"
became a "brocade of gold". In the masonic ritual exposure Le Secret des Franc
Macons, 1742, all three items were changed. Pritchard's "Mosaic Pavement" became
"Mosaic Palace". "Blazing Star" became "Star-spangled canopy". "Indented Tarsel"
became "Houpe dentellee".
The late Bro. Harry Carr, in Early French Exposures (p73) interprets "Houpe"
as "tuft or Tassel" and "dentellee" as "toothed or indented". It is entirely due
to faulty translations from English to French, and later from the reverse
process that we see tassels on the four corners of some checkered carpets. The
English ritual exposure Jachin and Boaz published in 1762 was a re-translation
from French to English. In the portion after the Candidate has sealed his
Obligation and been entrusted it has:
He is also learnt the Step, or how to advance to the Master upon the
Drawing on the Floor, which in some lodges resembles the grand Building,
termed a Mosaic Palace, and is described with the utmost exactness. They also
draw other figures, one of which is called the Laced Tuft, and the Throne
beset with stars...
Later in that catechism is the following:
Q. Had you any covering to your Lodge?
A. Yes, a cloudy canopy, or divers Colours, or the Clouds.
That item gave full influence for those brethren who decided to have ceilings
of lodge rooms decorated with sky, clouds, stars and the sun and moon, to which
the signs of the Zodiac were sometimes added as a border. Some attractive
examples of that artistry are still seen in various Masonic Halls.
In an inventory, taken in 1771 by members of the Lodge of Refief (No. 42)
which meets at Bury, Lancashsire, we find:
1 Carpet. 4 Brass letter, E. W. N. S. A Brass Sun, Moon and a letter G,
etc. A Painted Square Pavement, and indented Tarsel. There is an example of
the importance given to the indented border in the Minutes of Royal Sussex
Lodge which met at Worthing in February 1823:
Order'd that Bro. Palmer be desired to add to the form of the Lodge an
Indented Border forthwith.
In that sense, "the Lodge" meant the floor-drawing which in that period was
either painted on oilcloth, or an early Tracing Board. But, probably it was an
oilcloth because two years later in the records of the same lodge is "the
present of a Tracing Board" which was obtainable from masonic equipment
suppliers and was then becoming a standard feature. In two manuals, published in
the U. S. A., The True Masonic Chart by Jeremy Cross (1824) and Illustrations of
Masonry by Capt. William Morgan (1827), there are specific connecting of the
Blazing Star with Christianity:
The ornaments of a Lodge are the Mosaic Pavement, the indented Tessel and the
Blazing Star. The Mosaic Pavement is a representation of the ground floor of
King Solomon's temple; the indented tessel that beautiful tesselated border, or
skirting, which surrounds it; and the blazing star in the centre is
commemorative of the Star which appeared to guide the wise men of the East to
the place of our savior's nativity. The Mosaic pavement is emblematical of human
life, chequered with good and evil; the beautiful border which surrounds it,
those manifold blessings and comforts which surround us, and which we hope to
enjoy by a faithful reliance on Divine Providence which is hieroglyphically
represented by the Blazing Star in the centre.
Later in that section there is an explanation of the four Cardinal Virtues,
Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude, and Justice, but no connection made between
those and the tassels at the four corners of the indented border which is so
often seen.
The earliest evidence available that shows the Houpe Dentellee or Tasselled
Cord, but not as a border, is to be found in Catechisme des Franc-Macons
published in 1744. It is depicted as an ornament at the head of the "Plan of the
Apprentice Fellow's Lodge" as that illustration is called. Again we are indebted
to Harry Carr who ably researched these masonic exposures and published a
collection of them, translated into English with a commentary on each, under the
title Early French Exposures 1737-1751 (Quatuor Coronati Lodge, 1971). He drew
attention (pp. 320-1) to this item which was described as the "Cordon de Veuve"
or the "Widow's Cord" explaining that it was an addition to the coat of arms on
the occasion of the death of an armigerous husband and in heraldry was known by
that expression. Ingenuity played its part in bringing that item to a lodge
floor- drawing, or Tracing Board, presumably on the grounds that all brethren in
freemasonry are brothers of Hiram Abif who was a widow's son. Examples are still
to be seen where crudely drawn tasselled cords surround drawings on lodge
boards, and even on some Royal Arch banners.
Various designers in the late 1790's and early 1800's included tassels at the
corners of a patterned border which surrounded the chequered pavement or carpet,
as well as on Tracing Boards of that period. An early example is to be seen in
John Cole's Illustrations of Masonry published in 1801. An interesting Tracing
Board was lodged in the Provincial Grand Mater's room at Barnstaple, Devon. It
has initial letters at the four corners, not tassels, P for Prudence, T for
Temperance, F for Fortitude, but unfortunately the J for Juctice has hardly
survived the test of time. That Tracing Board was originally with other lodge
furniture in the Royal Cumberland Lodge at Bath, in Somerset,, and dates back to
the late 18th century. It was sold in 1843 and how it came to Barnstaple was the
subject of a Paper by Bro. Bruce Oliver printed in the Transactions of Quatuor
Coronati Lodge (AQC Vol 55, pp. 109-133).
At the end of the Sixth Section of the Craft Lectures there is a Charge which
includes the Cardinal Virtues:
May Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth, in conjunction with Temperance,
Fortitude, Prudence, and Justice, distinguish Free and Accepted Masons till
time shall be no more.
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Furniture of the
Lodge
The Craft Lectures assert that the furniture of
the lodge consists of "the Volume of the Sacred Law, the Compasses and the
Square" as describes them as:
....the Scared Writings are to rule and govern
our faith, on them we Obligate our Candidates for Freemasonry. So are the
Compasses and Square, when united, to regulate our lives and actions.... The
Sacred Volume is derived from God to main in general; the Compasses belong to
the Grand Master in particular; and the Square to the whole Craft.
Q. Why the Sacred Volume from God to man in
general?
A. Because the Almighty has been pleased to reveal more of his Divine Will in
that Holy Book than he has by any other means.
Whilst "the Volume of the Sacred Law" now
officially describes whatever is binding on the conscience of the Candidate,
according to his faith, in the early period of organised Freemasonry it was
unquestionably the Bible. Evidence is to hand that from 1396 onwards it was
markedly Trinitarian as will be seen from the following examples, the first from
Grand Lodge MS No 1 dated 1583, (phrased in modern language):
The might of the father in Heaven and the
wisdom of the glorious Son through the grace and goodness of the Holy Ghost,
that being three persons and one God, be with us at our beginning, and give us
grace so as to govern us here in living that we may come to his bliss that
never shall have ending. AMEN.
The conclusion to that Roll has:
These Charges that we have now rehearsed unto
you and all others that belong to Masons ye shall keep, so help you God and
your hallydome, and by this book in your hands unto your power. Amen so mote
it be.
The second example is from the William Watson MS
and is dated 1687 one hundred years later. Experts have classified this as
"being at least second only in importance to the celebrated Cooke MS of early
fifteenth century (Old Charges of British Freemasons W. J. Hughan, London 1895)
it ends with:
These charges that we declared and recorded
unto you ye shall well and truly keep to your power, so help you God and
Holidome and by ye contents of this book.
Those examples place beyond doubt that "this
book" implied the Bible; the use of the archaic word "halidom", however spelt,
intended the obligation to be deemed a holy undertaking. But, yet another
manuscript is worth quoting in this context as it supplies further detail and,
as it is dated c1700, brings us near to the Premier Grand Lodge of 1717:
First you are to put the person who is to get
the word, upon his knees; and after a great many ceremonies, to frighten him,
you make him take up the Bible; and, laying his right hand upon it, you are to
conjure him to Secrecy, by threatening, that, if he shall break his Oath; the
Sun in the firmanent & all the Company there present, will be witness against
him, which will be the occasion of his damnation. (Chetwode Crawley MS)
By the time we reach the Revd James Anderson's Constitutions of the
Freemasons, published and officially adopted in 1723, when Freemasonry had
opened its doors to men of other religions providing that such faith
acknowledged a Supreme Being, we find under the section relating to Behaviour,
sub-section 2:
....Therefore no private pique or quarrels must be brought within the Door
or the Lodge, far less any quarrels about Religion, or Nations, or State
policy, we being only, as Masons, of the Catholic Religion above mention'd; we
being also of all Nations, Tongues, Kindreds, and Languages, and are resolved
against all Politics, as what never yet conduc'd to the Welfare of the Lodge,
nor ever will. This charge has always been strictly enjoin'd and observ'd; but
especially since the Reformation in Britain, or the Dissent Secession of these
Nations from the Communion of Rome. (1st Edn. 1723, p54).
But in the 2nd Edition, published in 1738 (p144), under the sub-title
"Concerning God and Religion" we read:
...In Antient Times the Christian Masons were charged to comply with
Christian Usages of each Country where they travell'd or work'd; But Masonry
being found in all Nations even of divers Religions, they are now only charged
to adhere to that Religion in which all men agree (leaving each Brother to his
own particular Opinions) that is, to be Good Men and True, or Men of Honour
and Honesty, by whatever Names, Religions or Persuasions they may be
distinguished;... thus Masonry is the Center of Union and the happy means of
conciliating Persons that otherwise must have remain'd at a perpetual
distance.
The position today is made abundantly clear and guidance is contained in the
published Basic Principles of Grand Lodge Recognition in 1929:
That all initiates shall take their obligation on or in full view of the
open Volume of the Sacred Law, by which is meant the revelation from above
which is binding on the conscience of the particular individual who is being
initiated.
Further clarification to that was agreed between the Grand Lodges of England,
Ireland, and Scotland, in August 1938. It was subsequently published by each
Grand Lodge as Aims and Relationships of the Craft and contained the following:
3. The first condition of admission into, and membership of, the Order is a
belief in the Supreme Being. This is essential and admits of no compromise.
4. The Bible, referred to by Freemasons as the Volume of the Sacred Law, is
always open in the Lodges. Every Candidate is required to take his Obligation
on that book or on the Volume which is held by his particular creed to impart
sanctity to an oath or promise taken upon it.
From the established practice in the English Constitution the Square and
Compasses rest upon the Bible at every meeting, but in a multi-faith membership
relative Holy Writings will rest alongside each other, eg, the Bible as whole
for Christians, The Torah, or Old Testament for Jews, Koran for Muslims,
Bhagvada Gita for Hindus, Zend Avesta for Parsees, and so on. Under the Grand
Lodge of Israel three volumes are laid alongside each other on the Pedestal thus
catering for the three religions prominent in that country. The Square and
Compasses are placed upon that which is to be used for an Obligation. The Grand
Master is from each religion in rotation.
It is the custom in many lodges for the Bible to be open at a particular
section, according to the ceremony to be performed, and a relative extract read
out to enlighten the brethren. Such a commendable practice can only add to the
solemnity of the occasion.
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A JOURNEY THROUGH THE FIRST DEGREE
In our Journey through the First Degree we meet
a series of challenges. No doubt we all remember that first challenge: "Do you
feel anything?" That first incident was designed to intimate to us that we were
about to engage in something serious and solemn. We were no sooner inside the
Lodge than we were faced with the second challenge: "Are you free?" Then, when
we vowed that we were unfettered, body, mind and soul, the blessings of the
Almighty was invoked on the proceedings. Then, without a pause, came the third
and most important challenge of all: "In all cases of difficulty and danger, in
whom do you put your trust?" There is, of course, only one answer, but that
answer is the confession of a simple faith - the simple faith of Masonry. We do
not enquire a candidate's religion, but we do insist on a belief in a Supreme
Being - faith in the Great Architect of the Universe is the rock foundation on
which the whole Masonic edifice is built.
Of the three theological virtues, Faith, Hope
and Charity, the last is, of course, the greatest - "chief among the blessed
three", as we sing in our ode - but Faith is necessarily the first, the starting
point in any approach to God. And so we find right at the beginning of our
Masonic career a profound emphasis on a simple faith. But let us continue our
journey.
We enter the Lodge room from the West,
symbolizing the gateway of life, not birth, but the beginning of life. Being the
gateway to life, it will also eventually be the gateway from life, but that
comes much later in our story. We travel down the North side, the place of
darkness, symbolizing the development of life - the time spent by the embryo in
the mother's womb, or the seed in the darkness of the earth. Then we arrive in
the East, where we receive the light, symbolizing birth.
In his circumambulation of the Lodge our
candidate follows the path of the sun, which, of course, rises in the East,
reaches its zenith in the South - at least it does in the Northern Hemisphere,
where our ceremonies originate - then sets in the West, and returns to the East
through the hours of darkness.
Our candidate knocks, three times at the Junior
Wardens pedestal and three times at that of the Senior warden. These three
knocks have a profound significance; they betoken the three degrees, which in
turn represent man's approach to God in each of the three phases of nature: a
physical approach, a mental or intellectual approach, and a spiritual approach.
The candidate, of course, knows nothing of this at this stage, but the pattern
of our three degrees is based on this fundamental principle.
We advance to the East by three irregular steps,
symbolizing stepping into the unknown. The first is a timid step, full of
caution; the second a little bolder, indicating rising confidence, and the third
quite bold, because fear has now been dispelled. The first part of the sign of
an Entered Apprentice has the same significance - reaching into the unknown.
The predominating number of this degree is
three, just as five and seven are the numbers of the other two degrees, and so,
as the candidate kneels he forms three squares: the first with his leg, the
second with his foot, and the third with his arm. His hand in this position is
an emblem of concealment - he takes a vow of concealment - and it is worthy to
notice that the words used, "hele and conceal", have the same meaning: "hele:
being derived from the Anglo-Saxon, the language in use before William the
Conquerer arrived from Normandy, and "conceal" being derived from the Norman
French that he brought with him, thus establishing a second language in England.
Freemasonry here used a word fro each language to make sure that it was not
misunderstood. This might throw a little light on the age of our ritual.
Both these words mean to "cover up", just as
does our other word "heal", which was derived from the same Anglo-Saxon word "helan".
The thatchers of roofs, particularly in Cornwall and Devon, are called "heelers"
to this day, and our nurseryman use that word when they cover the roots of a
plant with earth, till they are ready to place it in the ground.
The obligation is obviously twofold, in as much
as we may neither do certain things ourselves, nor permit them to be done by
others; but the word "indite", which is not properly understood, makes the
obligation threefold. Its meaning is "to direct or dictate what is to be uttered
or written". If we may not permit a second person to direct or dictate what is
to be uttered or written to a third person, the word has a profound significance
on our obligation.
When God accused Cain of Abel's murder, he
answered: "Am I my brother's keeper?" The word "indite" in our obligation shows
that we are our brother's keeper. The mere passive witnessing a brother thus
violating his obligation implies the violation of our own.
We are made a Mason in the body of a Lodge
"just, perfect and regular". The word "just" in this instance has the archaic
meaning of "correct". As it does in the investiture of the Treasurer when we use
the words "just and regular accounts". What makes the Lodge "just", what makes
it "perfect", and what makes it "regular"? The Sacred Volume open on the
Master's pedestal makes it just, and complete. The number seven makes it
perfect, as we learn in the words of the First Tracing Board, with a
confirmation of that in the Second Tracing Board, as you, no doubt, remember.
The warrant or charter of the United Grand Lodge of Victoria makes it regular.
Without the Sacred Volume to make the Lodge just and complete, the presence of
"seven regularly made Masons" to make it perfect, and the warrant or charter to
make it regular, no Lodge can conduct the ceremony of initiation.
After the candidate has received the light, he
takes his first regular step in Freemasonry, which he does in the for of a tau
cross. When I was in India several years ago, I noticed that they used the same
words as we do regarding the placing of the candidate's feet, but they added the
words: "so as to form the letter T". This is quite right, as the English letter
T is the equivalent of the Greek letter tau, and the three emblems in the form
of an inverted letter T on the apron of an Installed Master are tau crosses. The
letter tau is the nineteenth letter of the Greek alphabet.
In its original form of a cross, it is probably
the most ancient of all sacred signs. It is depicted on the oldest monuments in
Egypt, Assyria, Persia and Hindustan. According to Mackey, Moses marked this
sign on the fore head of his brother, Aaron, when he anointed him as the first
High Priest of Israel. It was this sign that Ezekiel caused to be marked on the
foreheads of the righteous, who were thereby saved from death. In India it is
the sign of the Brahma, the creator, the first of the Hindu Trinity, and used by
Brahmins, the highest caste in that religion. It was highly revered by the
ancient Druids, and is, of course, the most sacred sign of Christianity.
We form a tau cross in each of the three
degrees, and when we are exalted in the Royal Arch - which it is claimed, is not
another degree, but the completion of the third - we find the three crosses
united in the "triple tau".
As the left-hand side symbolizes evil, we always
take a step with the left foot, as symbolical of putting down evil, before we
make this sign. The Latin word for "left" is sinister, which accounts for the
ominous significance attributed to this English word.
The word of the degree is a Hebrew word, whose
meaning gives us the key to God's covenant with Israel, of which to name of the
pillar was intended to be a constant reminder, as we see form this paraphrasing
of the covenant: "In the strength of Jehovah shall the king rejoice, for He will
establish the throne of David and his kingdom to his seed forever". The pillar
has nothing really to do with the great grandfather of David, only inasmuch as
they both bore the same name, thus the name of one serves as a reminder of the
other.
"Have you anything to give?" Here Brethren, is
our fourth challenge, and, although at the time we were prevented from accepting
that challenge, now that we are Freemasons, we are bound to accept, for we have
so much to give - our time, our energy, our devotion. To disregard this
challenge is to condemn ourselves to lack of interest, which so often becomes
that fatal attitude of apathy.
The ancient Greeks had three words - eros,
philia, and agape which are translated to the same English word "love", but to
the Greeks they had three distinct meanings. Eros was the love between the
sexes; philia the love of man for man - brotherly love; and the third, agape,
something far greater - the love of God for man, which, of course, knows no
bounds. The equivalent of agape in the Latin language was caritas, and it is
from this word that our word "charity" is derived, and it has the same meaning.
It seems to have been somewhat degraded in the outside world, but in Freemasonry
it still has that deeper meaning. We cannot hope to attain to such a love, but
we can strive to emulate it to the best of our ability.
Faith, as I have already mentioned, is
necessarily the first step in any approach to God, and the three degrees in
Freemasonry represent our approach to God in the three phases of our nature. We
belong to God, body, mind and soul. It is Hope that enables us to take the next
step, but Charity, that sublime virtue derived from an emulation of God's love
for man, must be the greatest, and so we depict it on our Tracing Board as the
top rung of the ladder.
The North-east charge is a dramatization of this
great virtue; it reminds us of our obligation to relieve the distress of our
indigent brother, and this reminder is constantly
repeated at the conclusion of every meeting in
the Tyler's Toast. During my Masonic career I have heard several interpretations
of the Tyler's Toast, but the following has so appealed to me that I have
forgotten the others.
According to this interpretation the Tyler's
Toast is meant to remind us of the time, when we stood on the North-east corner
of the Lodge, and listened for the first time to these words "... it cannot be
denied that we have many members of rank and opulence amongst us; neither can it
be concealed that among the thousands who range under its banner, there are some
who, perhaps from circumstances of unavoidable calamity and misfortune, are
reduced to the lowest ebb of poverty and distress. On their behalf it is our
usual custom to awaken the sympathy of every newly initiated Brother, by making
such a claim, etc." The charge concludes with the words: "...should you, at any
future time, meet a Brother in distress who might solicit your assistance, you
will remember those peculiar moments when you were admitted into Freemasonry ...
and cheerfully embrace to opportunity of practicing towards him that virtue that
you now profess to admire."
When we honour this toast to our distressed
Brethren we think of them as being dispersed to the four points of the compass
over the surface of land and water, and so we point, but not to the South, for,
symbolically speaking, we are standing in the South, but we point to the other
three - straight ahead to the North, left to the West, and right to the East. We
do this three times in allusion to the three degrees, which in turn allude to
the triple nature of man - body, mind, and soul - for man must dedicate himself
to God in each of the three phases of his nature, and in each of the three
degrees to represent our approach to God in that particular phase of our being.
When we find ourselves face to face with the
distressed Brother, what might we be called upon to do in order to carry out
this obligation?
Well first of all, we may have to thrust our
hands into our pockets where we keep our money. However, financial aid may not
be his greatest need; perhaps he is depressed, downcast, discouraged, and our
sympathy, counsel, or encouragement could give him renewed strength to fight
life's battle. He may have all the money he needs, and yet be destitute of
faith, of hope, and of course, it is our duty to share our faith, our hope, and
our courage with him. Our aid to this distressed Brother could take yet a third
form; perhaps he is aged, invalid, blind, or otherwise handicapped, and so
unable to something that we could do for him - some physical task that we could
do for him with these hands.
Yes, our aid will come from our pockets, from
our hearts, or from our hands, and so we indicate each in turn. And we do it
three times for the same reason that we pointed three times: body, mind and
soul; hand, head and heart; north, west and east. And in silence, because
whatever aid we render to our distressed Brother will forever remain a secret
between the giver and the receiver.
"To our next merry meeting" we say with the
hands in this position. The hand in this position always symbolizes concealment,
as it was thus that we took our obligation. This time it is a double
concealment, representing concealment in two places. It is not only what
occurred in the Lodge Room, but also what occurred here at the festive board,
where we honour this toast, that is not to be divulged to the outside world.
We call our place of refreshment "the South",
because the cathedral builders always erected their lodge on the sunny side of
the construction, which in the Northern Hemisphere is the south. It was here
that our ancient Brethren took their refreshment, and so the place of
refreshment came to be called the "South".
It has been well said: "Faith is lost in sight,
Hope ends in fruition, but Charity extends beyond the grave through the
boundless realms of eternity".
This sounds like a riddle, but it is profound
truth, because faith is the assurance of things not seen, and when we finally
see, then we believe through sight, and no longer through faith - "Faith is lost
in sight". As hope exists only in the expectation of possession it must
necessarily cease, when the thing desired is at last enjoyed: "Hope ends in
fruition; but Charity, exercised here on earth in acts of mutual kindness and
forbearance, is still to be found in the world to come in its most sublime form
as God's mercy to His erring creatures".
In the Reasons for Preparation we are told that
our right arm was made bare in token of our sincerity, and to show that we are
able and willing to work. This, Brethren, is yet another challenge, similar to
"give", because unless we are prepared to work diligently in gaining knowledge
and carrying out the teachings of the Craft, we are sentencing ourselves to the
same fate as those who do not give. The important point is that both "give" and
"work" imply involvement.
Again in the Reasons we are told: "There was not
heard the sound of a hammer or any other implement of iron". To my knowledge
there are four references to this in the Sacred Volume. The first is a warning,
which is given in Exodus 20:25, where we read: "And if thou wilt make me an
altar of stone, thou shalt build it of hewn stone, for if thou lift up thine
tool upon it, thou hast polluted it".
The second is an instruction, which is given in
Deuteronomy 27:5, where we read: "And there shalt thou build an altar unto the
Lord thy God, an altar of stones; thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon
them".
We know that the command was carried out,
because it is recorded in Joshua 8:30-31: "Then Joshua built an altar unto the
Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the
children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar
of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron".
The fourth reference shows us that this law was
observed in the erection of King Solomon's Temple, for in the First Book of
Kings 6:7, we read: "And the house, when it was in building, was built of stones
made ready, before they were brought hither; so that there was neither hammer
nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building".
I will mention but two things in the Tracing
Board, and the first of these is a pair of things, the Rough and Perfect
Ashlars. Both of these ashlars are reminders of the necessity for moral
behaviour and the importance of developing the intellectual faculty. In the
ritual we are told: "The Rough Ashlar is a stone, rough and unhewn as taken from
the quarry until, by the industry and ingenuity of the workmen, it is modelled,
wrought into due form, and rendered fit for the hands of the more expert
craftsman; this represents man in his infant or primitive stage, rough and
unpolished as that stone, until by the kind care and attention of his parents or
guardians by giving a liberal and virtuous education, his mind becomes
cultivated, and he is thereby rendered a fit member of civilized society. The
Perfect Ashlar is a stone of true die or square, fit to be tried by the S. and
C.s; this represents man in the decline of years, after a regular well-spent
life in acts of piety and virtue, which cannot otherwise be tried and approved
than by the S. of God's word, and the C.s of his own self-convincing conscience.
Dr Mackey (Encyclopedia of Freemasonry and its
kindred Sciences) presents the same idea in these words: "The Rough Ashlar, or
stone in its rude and unpolished conditions, is emblematical of man in his
natural state - ignorant, uncultivated, and vicious. But when education has
exercised its wholesome influence in expanding his intellect, restraining his
passions, and activating his mind, he is then represented by the Perfect Ashlar,
which, under the skilful hand of the expert Craftsman, has been smoothed and
squared and fitted for its place in the building".
Dr. Joseph Fort Newton (The Builders) clothes
the idea in these beautiful words: "Freemasonry insists that its members shall
be men, free men of adult age and of good report; as the stones of King
Solomon's Temple were hewn and chiselled and shaped and polished, far away, so
that without the sound of axe or hammer, they might be softly, silently set in
the place that awaited them; so in the Lodges of freemasonry the characters of
its members are silently, secretly smoothed and shaped, until the rough stone
becomes the Perfect Ashlar, the long pilgrimage is over, the working tools are
laid down, and the finished stone finds its last resting place in the great
temple of humanity, which the Great Architect has been building since the world
began:.
Now let me add the thought contained in the last
verse of that poem by Lawrence Greenleaf, entitled "Temple of Living Stones":
"Although our past achievements we with honest
pride review,
As long as there's Rough Ashlars there is work for us to do;
We still must shape the living stones with instruments of love,
For that eternal mansion in the paradise above;
Toil as we've toiled in ages past to carry out the plan;
'Tis this: the Fatherhood of God, and the Brotherhood of man".
In ordinary everyday life, when we speak of a
"rude or "Polished" mind, of an "upright" man, who is a "pillar" of society, of
meeting on the "level", and acting on the "square", we are using words that
found their origin in our Masonic Craft; and when we speak of putting someone
through the Third Degree, we are thinking of an ordeal, and our Masonic ordeal
teaches us that we cannot rely on our own worth, no matter how virtuous, nor yet
on all the science and accumulated knowledge of mankind, but only on the sure
grip of faith; all else will prove a slip and fail us in the hour of trial.
Which brings us back to the point where we
stared our journey, and where we answered that most important challenge: "In all
cases of difficulty and danger, in whom do you put your trust?" Our answer, "In
God", is a confession of faith, the simple faith of Masonry is its very
cornerstone, its first and greatest landmark, the basis of its plan, its
purpose, its promise. There is no other foundation - upon faith in God,
Freemasonry builds its temple of Brotherly love, Relief and Truth.
As he has for most things, Dr. Newton (The
Builders) has something apt to say about the simple faith; and so I will
conclude this chapter with his words: 'Out of this simple faith grows by
inevitable logic the philosophy which Freemasonry teaches in signs and symbols,
in pictures and parables. Stated briefly, stated vividly, it is that behind the
pageant of nature, in it and over it, there is a Supreme Being, who initiates,
impels and controls all; that behind the life of man and his pathetic story in
history, there is a righteous will, the intelligent conscience of the Most High.
In short, that the last thing in the universe is mind, that the highest and
deepest thing is conscience, and that the final reality is the absoluteness of
love; higher than his faith cannot fly, and deeper than his thought cannot dig".
The other reference I wish to make to the
Tracing Board is not to two things like the Ashlars, but to three things, the
pillars. They warrant a chapter on their own.
back to top
THE THREE GREAT PILLARS
The column of office of the Junior Warden is the pillar of the Corinthian
Order. It is an emblem of beauty, and points out that he is to adorn the work
with all his powers of genius and active industry, to promote regularity among
the Brethren by his precept and example, and the discriminating encouragement of
merit.
The outstanding feature of the Corinthian Order is the acanthus leaf, the
introduction of which is attributed to Callimachus, the celebrated architect of
ancient Greece. Long before the Christian era a Corinthian maiden, who was
betrothed, took ill and died before the time for the appointed marriage. Her
faithful and grieving nurse placed on her tomb a basket containing many of her
toys and covered it with a flat tile. It so happened that the basket was placed
immediately on top of an acanthus root, which then grew up and around the
basket, and curled around the weighty resistance of the tile, exhibiting a form
of foliage, which was, on being seen by the architect, perceived as a potential
form of architecture. He adopted it as a model for the capital of a new order of
architecture, perpetuating in marble this story of affection.
It is the most elaborate of the three Greek orders, the other two of which
are the Ionic and the Doric. It gained great favour with the Romans, who tried
to improve on it with the Composite, but the Corinthian has steadily maintained
its popularity. The finest Greek example is the choragic monument of Lysicrates
in Athens. The Roman examples include the Temple of mars at Ultor, The temple of
Vespasian, the third range of the Colosseum, and the Pantheon.
Emblematically, this column is female, and its distinguishing characteristics
are lightness and beauty. In proportion its length is nine to eleven times its
diameter, and in Freemasonry it represents Hiram Abif.
When Hiram, King of Tyre, which was the chief city of Phoenicia, accepted
King Solomon's invitation to support him with men and materials for the building
of the Temple, he sent his outstanding man to take charge of the construction.
This is recorded in the First Book of Kings 7:13, where we read:
"And Solomon sent and brought Hiram out of Tyre. He was the son of a widow
of the tribe Napthali, and his father was a man of Tyre."
His father , therefore, was a Phoenician, but his mother was an Israelite.
Some Masonic scholars contend that this man of tyre was his step-father, and
that his real father, his mother's first husband was a man of the tribe of Dan,
making him fully an Israelite by birth. The history of Tyre goes back to the
fifteenth century B.C. (The City of Tyre was about one hundred and sixty
kilometres from Jerusalem.).
Hiram Abif, or being translated, Father Hiram, was a very talented man, as we
can see from the passages of scripture. The first records:
"Hiram was a worker in bronze, and he was full of wisdom, understanding and
skill for making any manner of work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and did
all his work."
And the other passage (The Second Book of Chronicles 2:14) records the words
of Hiram, King of Tyre, in describing the man he was sending:
"He is trained to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood; and
in purple, blue and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and to do all, sorts of
engraving, and to execute any design that may be assigned to him with your
craftsmen, the craftsmen of my Lord David, your Father."
His skill as a Mason is certified by the famous archaeologist, Professor
Smythe, who tells us that there were stones as large as 11.81 metres long, 2.13
metres high, and 2.44 metres wide, and that these were formed so as to fit and
rest on the natural rock foundation, and that the joints between these stones
were so perfect that the blade of a knife could not be inserted between them.
A stone of these dimensions would weigh about 140 tonne, and had to be moved
into position without the aid of any kind of machinery, for this was before the
invention of even the system of pulleys mentioned in the first Tracing Board.
This enormous mass had to be dragged along an first conceived by King David, but
for several reasons this mighty warlike King could not commence the work,
although he did discuss the matter with Hiram, King of Tyre. It was left to his
son, Solomon, upon his ascent to the throne to make a treaty with that monarch,
who was to support him so ably with men and materials.
Phoenicia was a buffer state between Egypt, Assyria and Babylon, and, except
for brief periods of independence, was politically overlorded in turn by these
three great powers, but as a trading, seafaring nation, the Phoenicians never
completely lost their independence. They were the outstanding financiers and
money-lenders of their day, and had extensive overseas resources - Carthage, the
great rival of Rome, was started as a colony of Phoenicia. Tyrian ships visited
what is now known as the British Isles, and it has been established that their
country actually operated the tin mines in Cornwall, which are still yielding
tin today. It was this tin that was mixed with copper to make the bronze
pillars, the great laver, and the many ornaments of the Temple.
Not only did Hiram, King of Tyre, supply Solomon with the architect himself,
Hiram Abif, but with many thousands of menatzchin, or prefects, or more
familiarly speaking overseers, who were the artificers or skilled tradesmen.
They were to oversee the vast number of unskilled labourers, who were drawn
mainly from the satellite peoples of Israel, such as the Moabites, and other
indigenous tribes. These unskilled labourers loaded timber from the forests of
Lebanon onto the ships that were to transport it to Joppa, from where it was
transported to Jerusalem. The Phoenicians supervised the preparation of the
stones in the quarries, and their placement in the building, after the unskilled
labourers had transported them there, again under the skilled workers of Tyre.
The metal work was cast in the Plain of Jordan, in the clayground between
Succoth and Zeredatha under the supervision of Hiram Abif and his skilled
artificers.
It took seven and a half years to complete the Temple, and then only by
working the unskilled labour at ten thousand a shift, thanks to the wonderful
support of Hiram, King of Tyre, whose honesty and integrity were bywords in his
day. Of course, he was not doing this for nothing. His was a trading nation, and
he wanted his caravan routes kept open, and in this way Solomon was able to
repay him, besides supplying him with goods that Tyre itself could not produce.
Hiram came to the throne at the early age of nineteen years, and he reigned
for thirty-four years, dying at the age of fifty-three. He is mentioned only
twice in our ritual. The first time is in the First Tracing Board in that part
which is repeated in our installation ceremony as the Address to the Pillars,
where we are told that he is represented by the Doric column of the Senior
Warden. The second reference is even less specific: in the rather negative
statement, that he was one of the three Grand masters who bore sway at the
building of the Temple at Jerusalem. His importance would seem to warrant a more
passing reference.
He was the king of a country which, although it has left us no record of its
achievements, is credited with doing much towards the improvement of the art of
writing and, by some, even with the invention of the alphabet and the system of
ciphers that we use today. Thanks to Flavius Josephus, th |
