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Ceremonial Explanation of the Second Degreeby R.W. Brother Duane E. Anderson This Ceremonial Presentation was prepared by W.B. Duane E. Anderson and issued by the Masonic Research and Education Committee of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Minnesota. Suggestions for Conducting the Ceremonial PresentationThis presentation can be put on in the Lodge room or in any meeting room. It does not have to be done in a lodge building. Nine Masons, representing the W.M., S.W., J.W., LEO, Chaplain, S.D., S.S., J.S., and a Past Master, should take part in the presentation. If the presentation is done in the Lodge room, the Lodge should be either at refreshment or closed. The officers should be in their normal stations and places, and the observers and participating ladies will be seated on the side-lines. Instructions for conducting the participating ladies are given in the script.If the presentation is given in a meeting room there are many possible ways to arrange the seating of the officers and the floor movements of the participants. If the room is set up as a lodge then follow the instructions in the script. If the room is set up for a table lodge (head table and two long tables on the sides to form a “U”) then the officers can be seated as for the table lodge ceremony and, depending on the amount of space and the number of participants, the ladies can either move from place to place or simply stand at the open end of the “U” and turn to face toward the different speakers. If the room is set up for a banquet, with a head table and separate tables, a sufficiently large area in front of the head table should be cleared for conducting the participants and the officers can all be seated at the head table during the presentation. If the room is set up in “auditorium” fashion, with a speaker’s podium at the front, then a sufficiently large area at the front of the room should be cleared for the participants and the officers can all be seated in the front row or beside the podium. Circumambulation is an important symbolic part of the degree work and, for this presentation to have the best effect, it is important to have enough floor space (if at all possible) so that the participants can be conducted conveniently from place to place during the presentation. As in all ritual work, the best impression is given if the speeches are given from memory. The S.S. and J.S. parts thus should be given to members who know the third section of the Entered Apprentice lecture. The other parts contain portions of the work that all Masons should know, plus explanations and commentary that are not usually memorized. As for any presentation, whether it is a degree, a skit, or a talk, rehearsal always improves the performance. This is also true for any part that you may be reading. CEREMONYPROLOG ___________W.M. -- The purpose of this presentation is to provide an explanation and description of the flavor of typical ritual work done in a Masonic Lodge to the friends and families of Freemasons, and expose them to some of the philosophy of Masonry. All of the material used in this presentation is constructed from materials which, for more than 150 years, have been considered to be non-secret by the Grand Lodges in the United States, and especially in Minnesota. Much of this material is exactly as it is printed in the Minnesota Masonic Manual, published by the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, and which is officially considered to be a non-secret document.We have long recognized that informing our families and friends about the nonsecret aspects of Masonry is an important part of Masonic education. We have encouraged Masons to share certain publications and video tapes with their families and to invite friends to open-house presentations. However, these instruction methods do not give an awareness of the ceremonial aspects of Masonry, or of the ritualistic experiences that a candidate must encounter during the conferral of the degrees. Nor do they impart a full appreciation of the intellectual, moral, and social philosophy of our Craft. While we cannot show the Fellow Craft Degree work or discuss its secret parts, this short “Presentation In Ceremonial Form” gives an experience that is similar to what a candidate for Masonry goes through. W.M. -- Brother Lodge Education Officer, please begin the introduction of the degree. L.E.O. - The first degree is well calculated to enforce the duties of morality, and imprint on the memory the noblest principles which can adorn the human mind. It is, therefore, the best introduction to the second degree, which not only extends the same plan, but comprehends a more diffusive system of knowledge. Here practice and theory join together to help the Mason advance in knowledge and in practice.Masonry as a science is divided into different classes or degrees, for the knowledge it has to pass on to those who petition to advance in Freemasonry. The Second Degree has been called the education degree, because it contains much in the way of explanation of what the Masons sees, and is told about, in the Lodge Room. Masonry includes within its circle almost every branch of polite learning. Within the allegories of Freemasonry are comprehended a regular system of science, conduct, and morality. Many of its illustrations may at first appear unimportant; but the man more willing to learn and think will recognize them to be useful and interesting. FIRST SECTION
W.M. - Knowledge of all that is taught in this degree is
absolutely necessary for all
Freemasons. Because as the ceremonies of this degree have many
important parts it is
important that every officer and member of a Lodge should be
unacquainted with it.
Many duties, which cement in the firmest union of well informed
brethren, are illustrated
in this section; and an opportunity is given to make such
advances in Masonry, as
will always distinguish the abilities of those who have arrived
at a new stage in life
L.E.O. - When the Lodge is open on the Second Degree o
Freemasonry the Holy Bible,
The Great Light in Masonry, is open to Amos VII, 7& 8
• Thus he showed me:
• and behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumb-line,
• with a plumb-line in his hand.
• • And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I
said, a plumb-line.
• • Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the
midst of my people, Israel:
• • I will not again pass by them any more.
The Plumb, Square, and Level, those noble and useful implements
of a Fellow Craft, are
here introduced and moralized, and serve as a constant
admonition to the practice of
virtue and morality.
J.W. - The PLUMB is an instrument made use of by Operative
Masons, to raise
perpendiculars.
W.M. - The SQUARE, to square their work.
S.W. - And the LEVEL, to lay horizontals; but we, as Free and
Accepted Masons, are
taught to make use of them for more noble and glorious purposes.
J.W. - The Plumb admonishes us to walk uprightly in our several
stations before God and
man.
W.M. - Squaring our actions by the Square of virtue. Remembering
that we are traveling
upon the Level of time, to "that undiscovered country, from
whose bourn no traveler
returns."
L.E.O. - The second part of the work of this degree has recourse
to the origin of the
Institution, and views Masonry under two denominations,
operative and speculative.
These are separately considered, and the principles on which
both are founded,
particularly explained.
The Second Degree contains a store of valuable knowledge,
founded on reason and
sacred record, which is both entertaining and instructive.
Masonry is considered
under two denominations: Operative and Speculative.
OPERATIVE MASONRY
J.W. - By OPERATIVE MASONRY we allude to a proper application of
the useful rules
of architecture, whence a structure will derive figure, strength
and beauty, and whence
will result a due proportion, and a just correspondence in all
its parts. It furnishes us with
dwellings and convenient shelter from the vicissitudes and
inclemency’s of the seasons;
and while it displays the effects of human wisdom, as well in
the choice, as in the
arrangement of the sundry materials of which an edifice is
composed, it demonstrates
that a fund of science and industry is implanted in man for the
best, most salutary and
beneficent purposes.
SPECULATIVE MASONRY
S.W. - By SPECULATIVE MASONRY, we learn to subdue the passions,
act upon the
square, keep a tongue of good report, maintain secrecy, and
practice charity. It is so far
interwoven with religion, as to lay us under obligations to pay
that rational homage to the
Deity, which at once constitutes our duty and our happiness. It
leads the contemplative to
view with reverence and admiration the glorious works of the
creation, and inspires him
with the most exalted ideas of the perfections of his Divine
Creator.
OF THE GLOBES
L.E.O. - You will notice there are two pillars in the Lodge Room
which have a globe on
their tops. These two pillars are symbolical of the pillars
which were erected on the
portico of King Solomon’s Temple. The explanation of these
pillars is found on the
books of Kings and Chronicles of the Holy Bible. In the bible we
learn that these pillars
were named Jachin and Boaz, meaning establishment and strength.
These names alluded
to the promise of God to David that He would establish his
kingdom in strength.
S.D. - An explanation of the terrestrial and celestial globes is
an important part of the
second degree. These Globes are two artificial spherical bodies
on the convex surface of
which are represented the countries, seas, and various parts of
the earth, the face of the
heavens, the planetary revolutions, and other particulars.
The Sphere, with the parts of the earth delineated on its
surface, is called the Terrestrial
Globe; and that with the constellations, and other heavenly
bodies, the Celestial
Globe. The principal use of the globes, besides serving as maps
to distinguish the
outward parts of the earth, and the situation of the fixed
stars, is to illustrate and explain
the phenomena arising from the annual revolution, and the
diurnal rotation, of the earth
round its own axis.
They are the noblest instruments for improving the mind, and
giving it the most distinct
idea of any problem or proposition, as well as enabling it to
solve the same.
Contemplating these bodies, we are inspired with a due reverence
for the Deity and His
Works, and are induced to encourage the studies of astronomy,
geography, navigation,
and the arts dependent on them, by which society has been so
much benefited.
OF ORDER IN ARCHITECTURE
L.E.O. - The orders of architecture come under consideration in
this degree, and a brief
explanation of the five orders and the origins of architecture
are interesting and
informative.
W.M. - When we say order in architecture we mean a system of all
the members,
proportions and ornaments of columns, and pilasters; or, it is a
regular arrangement of the
projecting parts of a building, which, united with those of a
column, form a beautiful,
perfect and complete whole.
From the first formation of society, order in architecture may
be traced. When the rigor of
seasons obliged men to contrive shelter from the inclemency of
the weather, we learn that
they first planted trees on end, and then laid others across, to
support a covering. The
bands which connected those trees at the top and bottom, are
said to have given rise to the
idea of the base and capital of pillars; and from this simple
hint originally proceeded the
more improved art of architecture.
J.D. - The five orders are thus classed: The Tuscan, Doric,
Ionic, Corinthian, and
Composite.
The TUSCAN is the most simple and solid of the five orders. It
was invented in Tuscany,
whence it derived its name. Its column is seven diameters high;
and its capital, base and
entablature have but few moldings. The simplicity of the
construction of this column
renders it eligible where ornament would be superfluous.
S.W. - The DORIC, which is plain and natural, is the most
ancient, and was invented by
the Greeks. Its column is eight diameters high; and has seldom
any ornaments on base or
capital, except moldings; though the frieze is distinguished by
triglyphs and metopes, and
triglyphs compose the ornaments of the frieze. The solid
composition of this order gives
it a preference in structures where strength and a noble
simplicity are chiefly required.
The Doric is the best proportioned of all the orders. The
several parts of which it is
composed are founded on the natural position of solid bodies. In
its first invention it
was more simple than in its present state. In after times, when
it began to be adorned, it
gained the name of Doric; for when it was constructed in its
primitive and simple
form, the name of Tuscan was conferred on it. Hence the Tuscan
precedes the Doric in
rank, on account of its resemblance to that pillar in its
original state.
W.M. - The IONIC bears a kind of mean proportion between the
more solid and delicate
orders. Its column is nine diameters high; its capital is
adorned with volutes, and its
cornice has dentils. There is both delicacy and ingenuity
displayed in this pillar, the
invention of which is attributed to the Ionians, as the famous
temple of Diana, at Ephesus,
was of this order.
J.W. - The CORINTHIAN, the richest of the five orders, is deemed
a masterpiece of art.
Its column is ten diameters high, and its capital is adorned
with two rows of leaves, and
eight volutes, which sustain the abacus. The frieze is
ornamented with curious devices,
the cornice with dentils and modillions. This order is used in
stately and superb
structures.
J.D. - The COMPOSITE is compounded of the other orders, and was
contrived by the
Romans. Its capital has the two rows of leaves of the
Corinthian, and the volutes of the
Ionic. Its column has the quarter round as the Tuscan and Doric
order, is ten diameters
high, and its cornice has dentils or simple modillions. This
pillar is generally found in
buildings where strength, elegance, and beauty are displayed.
L.E.O. - An analysis of the human faculties is also given in
this degree, in which the five
external senses of human nature particularly claim attention.
These are Hearing, Seeing,
Feeling, Smelling, and Tasting.
S.S. - HEARING is that sense by which we distinguish sounds, and
are capable of
enjoying all the agreeable charms of music. By it we are enabled
to enjoy the pleasures of
society, and reciprocally to communicate to each other our
thoughts and intentions, our
purposes and desires; while thus our reason is capable of
exerting its utmost power and
energy. The wise and beneficent Author of Nature intended, by
the formation of this
sense, that we should be social creatures, and receive the
greatest and most important part
of our knowledge by the information of others. For these
purposes we are endowed with
hearing, that, by a proper exertion of our natural powers, our
happiness may be complete.
J.S. - SEEING is that sense by which we distinguish objects, and
in an instant of time,
without change of place or situation view armies in battle
array, figures of the most
stately structures, and all the agreeable variety displayed in
the landscape of nature. By
this sense we find our way in the pathless ocean, traverse the
globe of earth, determine its
figure and dimensions, and delineate any region or quarter of
it. By it we measure the
planetary orbs, and make new discoveries in the sphere of the
fixed stars. By it we
perceive the tempers and dispositions, the passions and
affections, of our fellow
creatures, when they wish most to conceal them; so that, though
the tongue may be
taught to lie and dissemble, the countenance would display
hypocrisy to the discerning
eye. In fine, the rays of light which administer to this sense,
are the most astonishing
parts of the animated creation, and render the eye a peculiar
object of admiration.
Of all the faculties, sight is the noblest. The structure of the
eye, and its appurtenances,
evinces the admirable contrivance of nature for performing all
its various external and
internal motions; while the variety displayed in the eyes of
different animals suited to
their several ways of life, clearly demonstrates this organ to
be the masterpiece of nature's
work.
J.D. - FEELING is that sense by which we distinguish the
different qualities of bodies;
such as heat and cold, hardness and softness, roughness and
smoothness, figure, solidity,
motion and extension.
S.D. - SMELLING is that sense by which we distinguish odors, the
various kinds of
which convey different impressions to the mind. Animal and
vegetable bodies, and
indeed most other bodies, while exposed to the air, continually
send forth effluvia of vast
subtlety, as well in the state of life and growth as in the
state of fermentation and
putrefaction. These effluvia, being drawn into the nostrils
along with the air, are the
means by which all bodies are smelled. Hence it is evident, that
there is a manifest
appearance of design in the great Creator's having planted the
organ of smell in the inside
of that canal, through which the air continually passes in
respiration.
S.W. - TASTING enables us to make a proper distinction in the
choice of our food. The
organ of this sense guards the entrance of the alimentary canal
as that of smelling guards
the entrance of the canal for respiration. From the situation of
both these organs, it is
plain that they were intended by nature to distinguish wholesome
food from that which is
nauseous. Everything that enters into the stomach must undergo
the scrutiny of tasting;
and by it we are capable of discerning the changes which the
same body undergoes in the
different compositions of art, cookery, chemistry, pharmacy,
etc.
W.M. - To sum up the whole of this transcendent measure of God's
bounty to man, we
shall add, that memory, imagination, taste, reasoning, moral
perception, and all the active
powers of the soul, present a vast and boundless field for
philosophical disquisition,
which far exceed human inquiry, and are peculiar mysteries,
known only to nature, and to
nature's God, to whom we are all indebted for creation,
preservation and every blessing
we enjoy.
OF THE SEVEN LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES
L.E.O. - The seven liberal Arts and Sciences, Grammar, Rhetoric,
Logic, Arithmetic,
Geometry, Music and Astronomy, are next illustrated and
explained in the degree
S.S. GRAMMAR teaches the proper arrangement of words, according
to the idiom or
dialect of any particular people; and that excellency of
pronunciation, which enables us to
speak or write a language with accuracy, agreeably to reason and
correct usage.
J.S. - RHETORIC teaches us to speak copiously and fluently on
any subject, not merely
with propriety alone, but with all the advantages of force and
elegance; wisely contriving
to captivate the hearer by strength of argument and beauty of
expression, whether it be to
entreat and exhort, to admonish or applaud.
J.W. - LOGIC teaches us to guide our reason discretionally in
the general knowledge of
things, and directs our inquiries after truth. It consists of a
regular train of argument,
whence we infer, deduce, and conclude, according to certain
premises laid down,
admitted, or granted; and in it are employed the faculties of
conceiving, judging,
reasoning, and disposing; all of which are naturally led on from
one gradation to another,
till the point in question is finally determined.
J.D. - ARITHMETIC teaches the powers and properties of numbers,
which is variously
effected by letters, tables, figures and instruments. By this
art, reasons and
demonstrations are given, for finding out any certain number,
whose relation or affinity
to another is already known or discovered.
S.W. - GEOMETRY treats of the powers and properties of
magnitudes in general, where
length, breadth, and thickness are considered, from a point to a
line, from a line to a
superficies, and from a superficies to a solid. A point is a
dimensionless figure; or an
indivisible part of space. A line is a point continued, and a
figure of one capacity,
namely, length. A superficies is a figure of two dimensions,
namely, length and breadth.
A solid is a figure of three dimensions, namely length, breadth
and thickness.
By this science, the architect is enabled to construct his
plans, and execute his designs;
the general to arrange his soldiers; the engineer to mark out
ground for encampments;
the geographer to give us the dimensions of the world, and all
things therein contained, to
delineate the extent of seas, and specify the divisions of
empires, kingdoms and
provinces. By it, also, the astronomer is enabled to make his
observations and to fix the
durations of times and seasons, years and cycles. In fine,
geometry is the foundation of
architecture, and the root of the mathematics.
S.D. - MUSIC teaches the art of forming concords, so as compose
delightful harmony, by
a mathematical and proportional arrangement of acute, grave and
mixed sounds. This art,
by a series of experiments, is reduced to a demonstrative
science, with respect to tones,
and the intervals of sound. It inquires into the nature of
concords and discords, and
enables us to find out the proportion between them by numbers.
L.E.O. - ASTRONOMY is that divine art, by which we are taught to
read the wisdom,
strength and beauty of the Almighty Creator, in those sacred
pages, the celestial
hemisphere. Assisted by astronomy, we can observe the motions,
measure the distances,
comprehend the magnitudes, and calculate the periods and
eclipses, of the heavenly
bodies. By it we learn the use of the globes, the system of the
world, and the preliminary
law of nature. While we are employed in the study of this
science, we must perceive
unparalleled instances of wisdom and goodness, and, through the
whole creation, trace
the glorious Author by his works.
W.M. - GEOMETRY, the first and noblest of sciences, is the basis
on which the
superstructure of Masonry is erected. By geometry, we may
curiously trace nature,
through her various windings, to her most concealed recesses, by
it, we discover the
power, the wisdom, and the goodness of the Grand Artificer of
the Universe, and view
with delight the proportions which connect this vast machine. By
it we discover how the
planets move in their different orbits and demonstrate their
various revolutions. By it we
account for the return of seasons, and the variety of scenes
which each season displays to
the discerning eye. Numberless worlds are around us, all framed
by the same Divine
artist, which roll through the vast expanse, and are all
conducted by the same unerring
law of nature. A survey of nature, and the observations of her
beautiful proportions, first
determined man to imitate the Divine plan, and study symmetry
and order. This gave rise
to societies, and birth to every useful art. The architect began
to design, and the plans,
which he laid down, being improved by experience and time, have
produced works which
are the admiration of every age.
The lapse of time, the ruthless hand of ignorance, and the
devastations of war, have laid
waste and destroyed many valuable monuments of antiquity, on
which the utmost
exertions of human genius have been employed. Even the Temple of
Solomon, so
spacious and magnificent, and constructed by so many celebrated
artists, escaped not the
unsparing ravages of barbarous force. Freemasonry,
notwithstanding, has still survived.
The attentive ear receives the sound from the instructive
tongue, and the lessons of
Masonry are safely lodged in the repository of faithful breasts.
Tools and implements of
architecture are selected by the Fraternity, to imprint on the
memory wise and serious
truths; and thus, through a succession of ages, are transmitted
unimpaired, the excellent
tenets of our Institution.
When a Brother is advanced to the second degree of Masonry he is
reminded that it is the
internal and not the external qualifications of a man, are what
Masonry regards. He is
reminded that as we advance in life and gain more knowledge,
experience, and assets our
obligations in life increase, and that as we move along through
life we are expected to
discharge our obligations thoroughly and cheerfully. Reminding
us that to whom much is
given mush is expected.
The Fellow Craft is also told that in all our dealings with
mankind and our Lodge
Brothers we are to judge with candor, admonish with friendship,
and reprehend with
justice.
The study of the liberal arts, which tends so effectually to
polish and adorn the mind, is
earnestly recommended to the Fellow Craft Mason. He is told that
as a Mason he is
expected to conform to the principles of Freemasonry and to
persevere in the practice of
every commendable virtue, which distinguish us as Masons.
W.M.
Chaplain
Response: "So mote it be."
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