more light #270
Quotes from Brother Hunt
by Ed Halpaus
Grand Lodge Education Officer
Grand Lodge of A. F. & A. M. of Minnesota
Dear Masonic Student,
One of my favorite Masonic Authors and a very learned Mason was Brother C.C.
Hunt, former Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Iowa. He wrote some great
Masonic books that are well worth the time and expense to read if you want to
learn about Freemasonry. When I read in his books I will occasionally mark
something with a ‘Q’ to denote that I want to use that quote in an article
sometime. Well, I thought I would share some of those with you this week,
because I’m sure you would like to read a bit of what he had to say so many
decades ago about different topics of Freemasonry. – Ed
“It is not by the intellectual attainment of oral expression that we become
Masons, but by the way in which we acquire the science and couple it with the
art of temple building, and practice it in our every day association with our
fellow men. ‘No degree of Masonry is of any avail, unless it bears fruit in
action.”
“Man feels the need of a home for his soul as well as for his body and Masonry,
recognizing this need, applies, in all its ceremonies and instruction, the
principles of material building to that of spiritual.
“This fact must be borne in mind if we would understand Masonic symbolism. The
symbols which we use may have other interpretations than those which we give,
just as a word may have different meanings in different connections, and we must
therefore remember that our interpretation is based upon their use in teaching
the principles of character building.
“When the Great Light of Masonry speaks of man as having been made in the image
of God it does not refer to his material body, but to the spiritual nature of
his soul. ‘God is a spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit
and in truth.’ (John 4:24). Hence the temple that we build is a spiritual
building, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
“The claim of Cross to having originated the emblem [peculiar to the 3°] is,
however, disputed. Oliver speaks of the monument but does not assign it to an
American origin and the idea itself is very old.
“In the Barney ritual of 1817, formerly in the possession of Samuel Wilson of
Vermont, which was the work adopted by the Grand Lodge of Iowa in 1860, there is
the marble column, the beautiful virgin weeping, the open book, the sprig of
acacia, the urn, and Time standing behind. The only part lacking is the broken
column and the words referring to this were added later – Samuel Wilson says;
‘previous to 1826 but the date or circumstances I cannot recall.’ Thus it would
seem that everything in the present emblem except the reference to the broken
column was in use prior to the publication of Cross’s work and in fact the
emblem is somewhat different form is frequently found in ancient symbolism.
“With the Jews the column symbolized the princes, rulers, or nobles, and a
broken column denoted that a pillar of the state had fallen.”
“Masons use oil at the dedication of a Masonic temple or the laying of a corner
stone to indicate that the building is consecrated to the purpose for which it
was designed. It should be noted that unless the building is to be ‘erected for
the worship of God, for educational or charitable objects, for Masonic uses, or
for the purpose of the administration of justice and free government,’ Masons
will not perform the ceremony. Thus the building must be intended to serve
mankind by contributing to his development and growth in character or the use of
the consecrating elements would have no meaning.”
Well, there are a few quotes from Brother Hunt, I hope you enjoyed them. – Ed
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