MASONIC LEXICON-Part 1

A LEXICON OF

]'REE1fASONRY CONTAINING A DEFIXITION OIt'l ALL ITS CO:rrfMUNICABLE

TEH~lS.

TRADITIONS AND

NOTICES 0:&'1 ITS HISTORY

ANTI(~UITIgS, A~D

AN }... acOtJ~T OF ALL rfHE RITES AXD }IYSTERIES OF

THE ANCIEXT 'VORLD

BY

Past General Grand High Pn'€s/ I llud Serr~.'t{lrll-(]rnl'ralof the SUpre"n6 C()uru;i'l 3:3d lor tht.· Southl"rn Jurisd ictiml of the ()"z'ited States AUTHOR OF TaB: •• 'I'. X'I' UOO', OF MASONIO JttlUSPRl:1>ENOB: n "SY'H:B()I.ISM OF FuElIMASONBY" hTO"B':J:IC., 1i'I'O.

6upat; 0' ~1r,eecr9t f3"J3>1~Otf,-OP~.. t,o those to whom it is lawful, But close the d()Ot· aguiost the llninif iau~d."

il>Ocyeop.tLt. H

OLS' '9fP.t~ fC1Tt.,

I will

rt~\'oal

OR!'IiIO HYMN.

Entered tweording to Act of ALBElt'r G.

COIl gress,

:\lACKgy~

in the year 1852, by M.D.

in the Clerk's Office of the Distrkt Court of the United States for the District of South Carolina.

Entered according to Aet of

Cougr(~8R, in

the year 1855, by

,.lfJSS &. lUttyrUEU, in the Clerk's

•

Offi('(~

te~,

of the IH:o:trid Court of the UnitoU States for the Eastern IH;-;triet, of 1·(~unl"yh·&T1i8,.

according to Act of Congreu, in the year If/l, . .

MOSS & CO., In the Odloeoftbe Libntrit\n of Oongress at WUkllOgtoD.

~rl1thtr ~Ibtrt

Jiht,

8OVEREIG8 GRAND COMMANDER OF THE SUPREME OOUNCIL OF TU. S3D FOR THE SOUTHERN JUIUSDIOTION OF THE UNI!J!BD ~ATES.

The second edition of this work was dedicated to a learned and venerable brother, the Han. Thomas Douglas, of Florida, as a slight tIibute to his many virtues. In "ffering a third edition to the publie, I gladly avail nlyself of the opportunity to insoribe your name upon its pages, as amemoi.al of our friendship and a token of my high appreciatioD. of your oharacter as a leamed and in d~fatigable student

of masonio literature.

I am, as eYer, yours fratemally, ALBBBT G. :MACKEY, :rtl. D.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

THE title-page of this work will 'Sufficiently explain the nature of its contents. It is intended to furnish the inquirer, by an easy mode of refelence, with a definition of all the terms路 peculiar to our order-an explanation of the symbols with which it abounds-a record of its numerous histories and traditions-and an illustration of the various points of difficulty which are continually embarrassing the progress of the Masonic student.

The time has passed when a Mason could expect to obtain the reputation of a skilful workman by a mere hackneyed knowledge of the ritual of our order. Something more than this, the Master who desires to perform his dutiea faithfully and well, must bring to the pedestal. The intelligent brother will expect from him who sits in the place of wisdom, not only an ability to explain the ceremonies which distinguish our institution, but a capacity to trace them to their primitive source, and a knowledge of the history and antiquities of tIle order. rrhe numerous instructive works, that have lately issued frODl the press on the lJcience of Freemasonry, render it now inexcusable that the Mason should be without some portion of that knowledge which is hereafter to be demanded as the test of a skilful worknlan. To give to every brother au opportunity of obtaining the necessary information, by

1*

V

PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.

placing before him, in a compendious form, the matter scattered through many volumes, some of which are, in this eountry, rare and generally inaccessible, is the object of the Lexicon now presented to the public. .

A work of this kind has, hitherto, I believe, been unknown in our language. Glossaries of all the arts and sciences abound, but Freemasonry is without its appropriate Dic-

tionary.

How I have supplied this defect is not for me,

but for my readers, to judge.

The difficulties, however, of arranging the materials of

an extensiye subject in alphabetical order, for the first time, and without any preceding guide, are such, that it has been found impossible to avoid the omission, in their proper places, of a few articles. These have been added in a Supplement, to which the inspector is referred for any word which he shall fail to find in the body of the work.

This work, though the l:tbour of ye~trs, is still, I know, imperfect.. Yet," ,vith all its irnperfections on its head," I present it to my brethren, because I know that I am not asking more than I shall receive, "I'hen I crave-for its excellencies, their candid consideration-for its errors, their

fraterlli11 indulgence.

A. G.

MAOKBY.

ADVERTISEMENT TO THE SECOND EDITION.

SINCE the publication of the first edition of this work l my studies have continued. to be directed to the HistorJ, Science and Antiquities of Freemasonry. Some of the results of a more extended reading, and more enlarged experience in this interesting field of literature, are now presented In the addition of more than an hundred new articles to this edition, and the enlargement of many of those whicl were contained in the first.

In many instances I have not, from the nature of the subjects, permitted myself to be as explicit as some of my readers might desire; for, in the spirit of the motto placed upon the title page, while I sought to explain without reserve all that is exoteric in our system, I have not removed the veil from that which in forbidden to be made public.

Yet I trust that scattered hints in these instances, unintel.. ligible to the profane, will he sufficient to lead the attentive Mason Into that traIn 01 thought and speculation tnto which it was my object to direct him.

I again offer this work to my brethren, with the same con. fiding trust in their indulgence which inspired me on its first publication; to which is now added the obligation of gratitude for the kindness with which this contribution to the literature of Freemasonry has been received.

ALBERr

CIlAJLL••1'O., B. C. &;pi. 10, 1861..

G.

MAOKEY.

ADVERTISEMENT TO THE THIRD EDITION.

THE publishers of the Lexicon intending to issue a third edition, I have carefully revised the ,york, and added nearly a hundred new articles, so as to make it still more worthy of the patronage that has been already so liberally extended to it. Notwithstanding t.he fact, that ~t has been prepared for the press in a city distant from the author's residence -in consequence of which he has been unable to read the proofs with that diligence he would have desired-it is be.. lieved that the inspector will rarely have occasion to find fault with the typographical execution. The Lexicon has long since passed successfully through the ordeal of criticism; and the author now again submits it, with increased confidence, but with unabated gratitude, to the masonic public.

A. G.

MACKEY,

M. D.

ADVERTISEMENT TO THE FOURTEENTH EDITION.

T

HE increasing demands of the Masonic public for the路 Lexicon having determined the publishers to issue a fourteenth edition, they have submitted the \vork to the revision of the author who has carefully corrected the errors of former editions, made those alterations in the text which have been found necessary to conform to the progress of the Order since the first publication, and added many new articles.. These will, it is hoped, augment its cla~ms to that popularity which it has already rece~ved in no stinted measure from th e Craft.

ALBERT G. MACKEY, M. D. WASHINGTON, D. C., Octobe'1' 1,1871.

LIDCON OF FREEMASONRY.

--_ _ _..

A AARON. In Hebrew T'i1~. The brother of Moses, and the first high priest 'under the Mosaic dispensation. He is referred to in the English ritual of the second degree, and in the Royal Arch of the American Rite. He is also represented "by the presidingo:ffi.cer in the 23ddegree of the Ancient and Accepted Rite.

ABACUS. A table used for facilitating arithmetical calculations; or, in architecture, the crowning plate of a column and its capital. The Templars, in this country, misled by a slip of Sir Walter Scott's pen, have most erroneously given this name to the Staff of the Grand Master of the Knights Templars. Macoy, in his "Oyclopedia of Freemasonry," has unfortunately sought to perpetuate the error by defining the A.baeus.as "the name of the Grand Master's Staff of Office." That instrument is by all com.. patent authorities calleda" baculus." See that word.

AIlI3BJ1~VIATIONS. Abbreviations are much more in use anlong :French than arnollg English or Arnerican 1fasons. An alphabetical list, however, of those principally CIIlploJcd, is ap.. pended for the benefit of such as may be engaged in the exarnination of Inasollic writings. It nl tlst be observed, that a masonic abbreviation is generally distinguished by three points in a }triangular form (thus, •-.) following tIle letter: various attempts have been made to explain the origin of tllese dots, but if they have any allusion at all, we prcsun1c it to be to the three lesser lights placed in a triangular form around the altar, Of, as they 11

ABB were first introduced by our I.:'rench brethren, they may refer to the situation of the three principal officers of the lodge in the French rite, whero the l\laster sits in the east and the two \Vardens in the west. Ragon says that the three points were 11 rst used on the 12th of August, 1774, by the Grand Orient of France in an address to its subordinates.

A... Dep.o Anno Deposit'lQn is. In the year of the deposit.

The date used by Royal and Select ~I88ten1.

•1.'\..... Inv.·. .A.nn~ Invenl'ion'l"s.

In the year of the discovery.

The date used in Royal Arch l\Iasonry. .A.. ... Lo".. .Anno Lucis. .In the year of light. The date used in o

J\.ncient Craft Masonryo

A.ooLo .. G·.· Do... G.·. A.·. D.·. L.·. U.·. .A laGloire d,u Grand Arcltitecte de l' Univers.

To the glory of the Grand Architect of the Universe. The caption of aU French l\lasonic writings.

A.. ·. L'O. ".. A l'Orient,or at the East.. The seat (Jf the lodge. ( F1'e71C}t.. )

A..... 1\1.'. Anno ~Iundi, or in the year of the world Thb ~ate used in the Ancient and Accepted or Scotch rite A. ·.0.·. Anno Ordinis, or in the year of the Order. The date used by Knights 'l'ernplars . B.·. A.... Buisson Ardente, or Burning ]~ush. (Frencl".)

B.... B.·. Burning Bush. These two abbreviations are found in the caption of documents of the Ancient and l\ccepted rite.

C.... 0.·. Celestial Canopy. Another ttbbreviation found in the _me documents.

E.-. A..... Entered Apprentice..

F.... Frere, or Brother. (French.. ) j'."" C.·.. Fellow Craft.

'If ". Freres, or Brethren. (Fred,,)

a.

Grand.

G.. l..t.·.. Grand Lodge" 9 . 1\1.... Grand.1\las~r.

1.', T. '. N.·.0. \ T.·· G.'. A.". 0 ... T.·.. U.·" i

,

In the Dame

01

ABD-ABI

18

the Grand Architect of the Universe. Sometimes found at the head of· English diplomas.

J." W .. ·. Junior Warden.

1\1..... 1"1.·. Mois l\'la90nnique, or masonic month. (JfJrencA.) March is th·~ first masonic month among French Masons.

M..... M.·.. Master l\Iason.

M.-.. W.. " Most Worshipful..

R..... A.... Royal Arch..

R.".

Rose Croix.. The mark attached to their signature, by those who are in possession of the degree of Prince of Rose

+.

N

eo.

Croix.

Respectable loge, or Worshipful lodge. (French.)

Right Worshipful.

S.·. P.·. R . ·. S.·.. Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret.

S,,·. S.. ·. Trois fois saIut, or thrice greeting. The caption of French masoni . . writings. s... W ..•• Senior Warden.

T... G.". A.". 0.·. T.·. D.·. The Grand Architect of the lJni. R . ·. C)

R.·.. W.. ·"

s.....

verse.

V.·. Ven~rable, or Worshipful. (French.)

V.. •.. L..... Vraie lumiere, or true light. (French.)

v.·. W.·. w.·. :&1.. ·"

Very "\)TorshipfuL ,"Vorshipful l\fas ter.

0- An oblong square is the sign adopted for the word " lodge." .:§J ,Two squares indicate the plural, or "lodges."

ABDA.The father of Adoniram. He plays a part in some of the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Rite.

ABIF. A Hebrew word "::l~, signifYing "his father." rAe word ab, or fa.iller, was a title of honour" often used," says A.dam Clarke, "in IIebrew, to signify a master, inventor, or chief operator." In this sense it is used in IT Chronicles, ch. iva v. 16, where it is said, "the pots also, and the shoyels, and 2

14

ABL-ABR

the flesh hooks, and all their instruments, did H uram his fathel, (Huram abif,) make to I(ing Solomon." The Greek, Latin, French, and English versions, translate the Hebrew words literally as tt Hiram his father," but I..luther in his Gernlanversion bona preserved the spirit of the original by writing "machte Hur.un Abif," looking upon this latter word as a title of honour bestowed by Solomon on his c拢ief builder. See Hiram till!.

BuildeT. ABLUTION. A purification by water, whereby, in some of the higher degrees of nlasonry, the candidate is supposed, as in the religious systems of antiquity, to be cleansed from the taint of an inferior and less pure condition, so as to be prepared for initiation into a higher and purer degree. See Lustratlon ABRAXAS. In the ~IS. found by ~Ir. Locke in the Bodleial! library, the original of which is said to have been in the hand路 writing of I{ing I-Ienry VI., it is asserted that l\.Iasons conceal, aIllong other secret arts in their possession, "tIle fucultye of Abrue." This is n,n evident allusion to the word Abraxas, which was tlle nalIla applied by the arch.heretic 13asilides to the Suo prelne Deity, frolll wholn all other deities wereeulanations, being seven in nUl:llber, with 365 ,\rirtues, which were typified tlY the 'Uumencal value in Greek of the word, as is shown bel<,w. It; like the inconlInunicable nalne of God aUlong the Jews, was Jupposed to路 be possessed of Inagical virtues. .A.braxas was also the name of snulIl statues, on which were inscribed figures of the Egyptian gods, cOlubined "With IIebrew and Zoroasteri~ sJInbols, and characters in a variety of languages. According to Beausobre and Lardner, these stones were ulostly of Egyptian origin.. The deity .A.hraxHs is said to be identical with :rtfitbras or the sun.. The letters of both names, taken according to their numerical value in the Greek 1anbruage, amount exactly to 365.J

thus:

ABS 芦 1 ~ 2' p == 100 a-I e = 60

==

p.

-

e

-

t

-

40 5 10

tJ

-

9

== 100 a-I ~ == 200--365 p

a-I ~

16

200--365

The word A.braxas is of uncertain origin. Saun1aise says that it is purely Egyptian, and should properly be pronounced Abrasnx.

Beausobre, in his History of l\Ianicheism, enters into a long etymological disquIsition to prove that it is derived f1'olll two Greek-words A{3po~ Eaw, and signifies "the magnificent Saviour, he who heals and preserves." Af3poc; is also an epithet of the sun,and hence we again come to the conclusion that l\iithras and Abrax.as are identical.

It was therefore typical of the annual course of tlJ.e eartb around the SUD, constituting the solar year, and was a part of the un worship of the first seceders fronl pure Freemasonry.

It is a singular coincidence, that Belenus, the deity of the Gauls, and who is supposed froIH his forlu and ornanlents to b~ identic.1.1 with Mithras, was also equivalent, in the numerical value of the letters of his name in G-reek, to i) 65, thus:fJ

'Ij

1

e

2,

8,

80,

5,

ABSENCE.

)I

50,

0

70,

"

200-365.

It is contrary to the principles of Freemasonry,

to inflict peouniary fines for non-attendance. The obligations and duties inoulcated by the order are of such a nature, as, to

compel the attendance of its melnbers who are without reasonable excuse. It would, therefore, be a descent in the grade of punishment,and manifestly tend to weaken the solemn nature of those obligations which every Illclnber and officer contracts, were the lodge to attempt the itnposition of any trifling pecuniary penalty for inexcusable absence. ,-rho regular attendance of each brother, at his lodge, 1S strictly insisted on in t.h8 ancient charges, which prescribed as a rule, "that nn :\. ,n路 .Pellow could be absent from the lod~e, especially ",hen ,vftrnp(] to appear at it, without HQtl\l路

ACA

16

illCUi路ring a severe censure, until it appeared to . the ,l\;laster and

"l

&.rdens that pure necessity hindered him." This re6ulation has been perpetuated by the Illodern constitutions.

.A.CACIA. The ancient J1Hllle of a plant, most of WhOfE; species are evergreen, and six of which, at least, are natives of the East. The acacia of Freeluasonry is the l\firnosa Nill)tic:a of I.Jinnreus,a shnlb ",,'hich gre\v in great abundance in the neig'hbourhood of Jerusalern. l\.ccording to the Jewish law, no intern ents were perrnitted within the walls of the city, and as

it 'wns unlawful for the cohens or priests to pass over a grave, it becunl e necessary to place marks \vherever a dead body had beeT} Interred, to enable thenl to avoid it. For this purpose, the acacia was used. 1\1ueh of the Inasonic history of the acacia id InCOlll nlunicable" but it lllay be perlnitted to say, that its eYer~ green nature, united to other circunlstances, is intended to re路 mind us of t.he illlnlortality of the souL The Greek work axaxca signifies" innocC'uce or freedorn frotH sin ;" and IIutehinson, vlll(~ fancifully supposes the l\Iaster's to be a Christian degree, ex. elllplifying the rise of the Christian dispensation after the destruc.. tion of the l\Iosaic, alluding to t.his Greek rneaning of acacia, says that it irnplies H that the sins :.lnd corruptions of the old law, anel devotees of the i"J e1vish altar, had hid religion froIn those who sought her, and she \vas only to be found \vhereiu'JIo" ('en(~e survived, and under the banner of the divine hun b."

(Spirit

of l\:Iasonry, p. OB.) 'Vithout adopting t1Lis heres)'", we shan find abundant reason for 4H.hniring the propriety of' the Greek meaning, as applied to hiul'whose history is, in our order, lliost closely conneeted 路with the acacia. Coincident with the acacia,f were the palm of' the Eg:ypticHl luysteries, the lnyrtle of the Grecian, and the mistletoe of the Druids. ~A.

terrn derived fronl axaxca, H innocence," and who~ by living in strict obedience to the obligations and precepts of the fraternity, l~ fl'ee froIll sin. 1?irs1

ACACIAN.

sign.ifying a l\Iuson,

used, I believe, by 11 utchinsoD

ACC-ACK

11

it title wl1it h, fiS nppliect to Freemasons, i~ equivalent to the ternl "initiated." It alludes to the acceptance into their society, by operative ~Iasons, of those who were not operatives. An .A.ccepted 1\1380n is one who has been adopted into the order, and received the freedoIll of the society, as is the case w'ith other COlllpal1ies in ]~urope. ~rhis is evident frolll th~ regulatiollf? made on St. John's day, 16f:>3, under the Grand ~Iastership of the Earl of St. Albans" where the 'word is. rt路peatedly used in this sense. 'rhus:" No person hereafter, wLo !hall be accepted a Freemason, shall be admitted into any lodge or assembly, until he has brought a certificate of the time and place of his acceptall~on, fronl the lodge that accepted him, nnte the ~Iaster of that limit or di"V'ision where such lodge is kept.'

A.nd again: ' , No per.;on shall he made or accepted a FreemasQD; .less," etc.

ACCLAlVIATION. A certain form 'of words used in con~ taxion with the battery. In the Scotch rite it is huzza; ill "rench, vivat; and, in the rite of l\lisraim, hallelujah . In the Cork, it is 80 rnote ~'t be..

ACHAD.. IIebrew 'n~. One of the masonio names of God, :gnifying the one.. It is derived from the passage in Deuteronomy vi.. 4: "Hear, laru.el: the J.Jord our God is (ac:had) one."

掳

A.( liISHAR. He is mentioned in 1 Kings Iv. 6, under the name of AIL"is}tar, as being "over the household." He was the steward, Of, as Adalll Clarke says, the ohanlberlain of Sololllon.

The masonic spelling of the nauta, Achishar, is Ulore consonant with the Hebrew than that adopted by the English translators of the Bible. He is one of t.he persons referred to in the degree of Select lVlaster..

ACKN01VI...l:i1DG l~'D. Candidates who are invested with the 'lost Excellent )laster's degree, are said to be "received and acknowledged" as sueh; b{\cause, as the possession of that degree supposes n tllOre iolt.1l.U.ate knowledge of the science of ma-

113

ACT-ADO

sonry, the wordac'knowleaget"l is used to intimate tnat such

I

character is conceded to its possessors. The word trece1/ved conveys an allusion to the original reception of the :first M. E. Masters by King Solomon.

ACTING GRAND ~IASTER. By the constitutions of England, whenever a prince of the blood royal accepts the office of Grand Master, he is empowered to appoint a peer of the realm as Acting Grand Master.

ADMISSION. The requisites for admission into our order are somewhat peculiar. The candidate must be free born, under no bondage, bf at least twenty-one years of age, in the possession of sound senses, free froID any phYSical defect or dismemberment, l.lld of irreproachable manners, or, as it 18 technicall:v termed, "under the tongue of good report." No atheist,eunuch, or woman can be admitt.ed. The requisites as to age, sex, and soundness of body, have reference to the operative chax'2cter of the institution. 'Va can only expect able workluen in able bodied men. The mental and religious q ualificatiolls refer to the duties and obligations which a Freemason contracts. An idiot could not understand them, and an atheist would not respect them.

Even those who possess all these necessary qualifications can be admitted only undereertain regulations. Not more than five candidates can be received at one time except in urgent cases, when a dispensation may be granted by the Grand lVIaster, and no applicant can receive more than two degrees on the same day T, the last rule there can be no exception.

ADONIRAM.. The principal receiver of King Solomon's tribute, and the chief overseer of the 30,000 brethren who were "ent to cut the timber for the telnple in the forests of Lebanon.

He is introduced in the degrees of Secret and Perfect Master, and Intendant of the Building, in the Scotch rite, and in the degree of Royal Master fIe is said to have married a sister of Hiram the Builder.

A.DO

It

ADONIRAMITE MASONRY. Ma9O'nnme Adonh·iramitftJ. This rite was established in France at the close of the eighteenth century. It consists of twelve degrees, namely: 1, Entered Apprentice; 2, Fellow Craft; 3, l\Iaster ]\tIason; 4, Perfect Master; 5, Elect of Nine; 6, Elect of Perignan; 7, Minor Architect, or Scotch Apprentice; 8, Grand Architect, or Scotch Fellow Craft; 9, Scotch"l\Iaster; 10, Knight of the East; 11, Knight of Rose Croix; 12, Prllssian Knight.

Of these degrees, the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th are peculiar to Adoniramite ,Masonry; the others do not much differ from the corresponding degrees in the ancient Scotch rite. The title of tb.e order is derived from Adoniram. who took charge of t]19 works after the loss of the principal conductor, and to the time of whose superintendence the legends of the most important de.. greesrefer.

ADONIS, l'IYSTERIES OF. The mysteries which, in Egypt, the cradle of all the Pagan rites, had been consecrated to Osiris, in passing over into Phenicia were dedicated to Adonis.* According to the legend, Venus, having beheld Adonis when a child, became so enatnouredof hirll, that she seized him, and concealing him fronl sight, exhibited hiIU to Proserpine alone.

But she, becoming . equally enau10ured of his beauty, sought to obtain possession of hitn. The dispute .between the goddesses was reconciled by J upi..ter, who decided tllat Adonis should dwell six months of the year with Venus, and the remaining six months with Proserpine. ~rhis decree was executed; but Adonis, who was a great hunter, was afterwnrd killed on Mount LibanUl by a wild boar, who thrust his tusk into his groin. Venns, inconsolable for his death, inundated his .body with her te&r8, • AdMll., in the Phenioian la.ngua.ge, like Ado", in the cogna.te llebrewjI !ignifieslord or ma.ster.. The idol Tamxnuz, mentioned in the 8th chapter of Ezekiel, was considered by J aroma, andatter him by Parkhurst, 88 identical ....ith Adcmi:s.. t By 8uperiQr hemisphere, he In.",U tlAQ· NorthernJ~d by lDt~ri..... ~~

20

,liDO

until })roserpille, in pity, restored hiul to life. l\Iacrobius explnins the allegory tlltlS: "I)llilosophers haye given the !larne of \T cnus to the snperiorhcluisphcre of ,vhich ,\ve occupy a part, and that of l)roserpine to the infcl'ior.. t lIenee 'Tenus, ulllong the .Assyrians and Phcnicians, is in tears, when the Sun, in his annual course through the twelve signs of the Zodiac, pusses over (-0 our antipodes.

I?or of these twelve signs, six are said to be ~uperior, and six inferior. 'Vhen the Sun is in the inferior signs, and the da'ys ~tre consequently sllort, the goddess is supposed to weep the tenlporary death and privation of the Sun, detained by Proserpine, WhOlll \ve regard as the divinity of the southern or' antipodal regions. And Adonis is said to be restored to "Venus, when the Sun, having traversed the six inferior signs, enters those of our hemisphere" bringing with it an increase of light ftnd lengthened days. The boar which is supposed to have killed A.donis is an enlblem of winter; for this aniolaI, co\"ered with rough bristles, delights in cold, wet, and luir)" situntions, and h.is favourite food is the acorn, a fruit peeuliar to '\vinter. The Sun is f;aid, too, to be wounded by the winter, since, at that season, we lose its light and heut; effects 'w'hie}l death produces upon ani.. rnated beings. Venus is represented on ,jIount I~ibanus in an attitude of grief; her head, bent and eovered 'witI: a veil, is Austained by her left hund near her br(;~ast, nnd lIef (wuntenance is bathed with tears. 'rhis figure rt~pl'eSerlts the earth in winter, when, yeiled in clouds and depriveii of the Sun, its powers have hf~,(~Onll~ torpid. l'he fountnin.13, like the eyes of enus, are over.. flowing, and the fields, deprived of' their floral orntunents, present a joyless appearance. But ,vhcn the SUll, cluerging fronl the southern regions of the earth, passes the vernal equinox, enus is .once 11lOfC rejoiced, the fields are ngnineul bellish(~d with flowers, the grass springs up in the meadows, and the trees re-

,r

,r

coye: their foliage."

The cultiv~ltion of the ulj"'Rteries of .,Adonis was propagated fronl I)henicia into .A.ssyriu, I~abylonia, I)ersia, Greece, and Sicily.

The. celebration began in l)henicia at the period when thp wn,te1'"1

ADO

21

of the river Adonis, which descend from J\1ount Libanus, are tinged with a reddish hue derived froln the colour of the soil peculiar to the nlountnin. The Phenician wo.men believed that the wound of l\.donis was annually renewed, and that it was hid blood whic11 coloured the streaUl The phenOll1enOl1 was the signa.. for the cOIllll1enceUH;nt of the rites. I~very one assumed the Appearance of profound grief. ..A.t .A.lexnndrin, the queen bore the statue of .t\.donis, accolnpanied bS the noblest fem<1]es of the city, carrying ba.skets of eal:cs, bottles of perfulues, flowers, branches of trees, and ponlcgranates. The procession was closed by wornen bearing two beds sl)lendidly elllbroidered in gold and @ilvrr, one for \1" enus and the other for Adonis .A.t ..c\..thens they pl~lced in varjous parts of the city the figure ,)f a dead youth. 'fhese figures were afterward taken away by women clad in the habililnents of mourning, who celebrated their funeral rites.

On the second day of the mysteries, sorrow was converted into joy, and they commemorated the resurrection of Adonis. The tuysteries of l\dollis were, at one tiu1e, introduced into Judea, where the l:Iebre'\v wornen were aCcllstolued to hold an annual larnelltation for hiIn, under the naUle of Tauuuuz, of which EzeId.e! speaks, ",iii. 14: "13ehold there sat WOluen weeping for 1'UUllUUZ.." ..According to Calulet and lfaber, ..:\.donis was also identical with 13aal..peor, the idol of the 1\Ionbites, nlentioned in the t\venty.. fifth chapter of NUUl bers.

C)ur knowledge of the cerell10nies which accoIDpanied the ~uonisian initiation is but scanty. ""["he objects represented," !tlj'S Ih.lncnn, tt were the grief ot' Venus Hnd the death and re.. snrrection of A.donis. ..A.Il entire week was consumed in these cerelHonies: all the houses ,yere covered with crape or black linen: funeral processions traversed tIle streets, while the de\"'otees scourged the111se}ves, utt.ering frantic cries. The orgies were then couunenced, in which tIle Iuystery of the death of .ol.~donis was depicted.. I)uring the next tv;enty-four hours., all the people f4l~ted, at the expiration of which time the priests announced the-

A.DO resurrection of tbe god. Joy now prevailed, and lllusic ~ dancing concluded the festivals."* tJ ulius li'erlllicius, a Christian writer of the fourth centl· ry, tl1US describes a portion of the Adonisiun cereIl10nies :t "On it certain night an inlage is laid out upon a bed, and bC'rNailedin Illournful strains. At lengtll, when they are satiated with their fictitious larnentation, light is introduced, and the priest, having first anointed the rnouths of all those who had Leen weeping, whispers with a gentle murIllur: 'lTrust lJe} in£tiatcs, for the god being saved, out of pains salvation shall arise to us."

Hence the ceremonies were a representation of the death and resurrection of Adonis in the person of the aspirant.

ADOPTIVE l\IASONRY. By the immutable laws of our institution, no woman caL. :>e nlade a Freemason.. It follows, therefbre, as a Inatter of course, that lodges which adtnit feulales to Inelubership, call neYer legally exist ill the order. Our ~"rench brethren, howcv(~r, with that gallantry for which the nation is proverbial, have sought, by the estahlishl'uent of societies, which have, indeed, but a fllint resclublance to the peculiar organization of lrreeIllasonry, to enable feluales to unite themsclYfs ill BOUle sort with the lUHsonic institution, and thus to enlist tI10 synlpathies and friendship of the gel1tI~r sex. in behalf of the f'nt ternity To the organizations t:k.us estnblished for the initiation of felunIcs, the French huV'e given the ntUlle of "Adoptive lVIasonry," ma~~onnerie. a' adfJj>tlon, und tIle lodges are called loges l'l' adoption, :>r "adoptiYc lodges," because, as will hereafter be seen,overy lodge of felnales was finally obliged to be adopted by, and under the guardianship of SOIne regular masonic lodge.

• Religions or Profa.ne) Antiquity; their Mythology, Fa.bles, Hieroglyphics..l and Doctrines.. Founded on Astronomioa.l Principles. By Jona.than Duncan.

B.A.p.. 350. t lua.n oration insoribed to the Emperor.s COllsta.ns a.nd Constantiua..The clusical reader xnay compare the original la.nbl'Uage of Fermioius, which I bert' ~~rt:

NOQte ,\u.a.~ 8{m\\l\\~\ll;Q, iu

leotiea 8u{linu~ ~o:Q\tw"

~

per Qum,rot

ADO

In the beginning of the eighteenth century, several secret associations sprang up in I~rance, which, in their external characters and nly~teriot1s rites, attelnpted an imitation of FreenltlS,onry, differing, however, froIll that institution, of whi0h they were, perhaps, the rivals- for public favour, by their admission uf felnnle Illenlbers. The ladies very naturally extolled the gallar. try i:路f these nlushrooru institutions, and inveighed with increasel hostility again~t the exclusiveness of luusonry. The Itoyal .A.rt N<lS becolning unpopular, and the fraternitJ' believed therllselves e0111pclled to use strategy, and to wield in their own defence the weapons of their opponents.

A.t length, the Grand Orient of France, finding that these mystic societies were becoming so popular and. so nUluerous as to endanger the perrnanency of the masonic institution, a new rite was established in 1774, called the .uRite of .A.doption," which was placed under the control of the Grand Orient. Rules and regulations wer-" thenceforth provided for the governluent of these lodges of adoption, Olle of whieh was that no lnen should be per:nitted to a.ttend tJlelll except regular :Freclnasons, and that each lodge sllould be placed under the charge, and held under the sanction nnd warrant of SOUle regulurly constituted I11asonic lodge, whose l\lnster, or, in his a.bsence, his deputy, should 'be the presiding officer, assisted bya female President or l\listress. Under these regulations a Lodge of A doptioD was opened in Paris in 1775, under the patronage of the lodge of St. Anthony, and in ,,",hich the Duchess of l:~ourbon presided, and was installed as

G'rand lVlistress of the .A.doptive rite. l'he rite of Adoption consists of four degrees, as follow: 1. Apprentice.

2. Companion. dig,stis fletibu$ pla.ngitur.

Deinde cum sa fiats. Iamenta.tione

satia:V'erln~

Tunc a 8acerd~te omnium qui ilebant, fauces ungunturquibUJ Pt~~ctis, sacerd,()s lento murmure susurrat: , (j(lPp:stT~ jJ.l)(JTQ.1 TO'V 8eon allrwap1H1V

'lumen infertur..

f'81"CU

"lap

TJJ,lU/" U"-QW . ~.,

24

ADO

3. l\fistress.

4. Perfect l\Iistress.

The first, or .A.pprentices' degree, is shnply introductory in ita character, and is intended to prepare the candidate by its initiatory ceremony for the emblematic lessons which are contained in the remaining degrees.

In the second degree, or COIn paniou, the scene of the tempsation in Eden is emblelllutically represented, by the ceremonia.. of initiation, and the candidate is reIllinded in the course of the lecture, (for there is a lecture or catechislll to each degtee,) of the unhappy results of the first sin of woman, until they termi. nated in the universal deluge.

The building of the 'Tower of Babel, and the consequent dig.. persion of the hUluun race, constitute the legend of the third degree: or that of l\iistress. J fleob' s ladder is also introduced

an

into the cerenlonies of this degree, and the candidate is inforlned that it sYlnbolieully denotes the yurious virtues which 11 l\lason ahould possess, while the To¡wer of l~abel is an elnblelu of a badly regulated lodge, in which disorder and confusion are substituted

for the concord and obedience which s110uld always exist in such a place..

In the fourth degree, or that of Perfect l\.Iistrcss, the officers represent 1\10808, .A.aron, their wi\~es, and the SOIlS of Aaron, and the cerelnollies and instructions ref-or to the passage of the Israel.. ites through the wilderness, tiS a syrnbol of the passage of man and WOluan through this, to another and a better world..

It will be seen, fronl this briet sketch, that the rite of Adop;jOll professes, in SOUle lneasurc, to iInitate the SYlllbolic character and design of' true Freelnasonry. It cannot be denied that the idea has been \Tery ingeniouRly and successfully carried ont.

The officers of tl lodge of .A.. doption consist of a Grand lYIaster and Grand l\Iistress, an Orator, an Inspector and an Inspectress, a Depositor and a Depositrix, a Oonductor and a Conductress.. * â&#x20AC;˘ The Inspectress, assisted by the Inspector, acts a.s Senio't Warden, aud the Depositrix, assisted by the Depositor t as Junior Warde~. The Oonduotress and be Condu.c";or are the Deacons..

ADO

fhey wear a blue sash or collar, with a gold trowel suspended thereto. rr'lhe Grand l\lnster uses a Illtdlet, with which he governs the lodge, and the SUllie ilnplement is placed in the hands of the Grand l\Iistress, the Inspector and Inspectress, and Depositor nnd Depositrix.Evcry lueluber ,,"ears a plain white apron and white gloves. 'rhe brethren, in addition to the insignia of theIr rank, wear .,words and a gold ladder with five rounds, which is tIle proper jewel of Adoptive masonry. 'rhe business of the lodge is conducted by the sisterhood, th(~ hrethren only Ut=tillg as their assistants.

The Grand l\listress, however) has very little to say or do, she

being only an honorary cOIl1panion to the Grandl\Iaster, which a.ark of distin(\tion is conferred on her as a token of respect for her character and virtues. ~rhe lodge-roorll is elegantly and tastefully decorated witI} enl1:.lclns, which, of course, vary in eael1 degree.. In the degree of

Apprentico, for instance, the

rOOIll

is separated by curtains

into four apartlllcnts or divisions, representing the four quarters of the world, I~urope, Asia, L\.frica, and .A.Inerica.. 'The division at tlle entrance of the lodge represents ]~jurope, in the luiddle on tlle right is A.frica, on the left A.luerica, and. at the extreme east is i\.sia, where are erected two splendid tllrones, decorated with gold for the G-rand l\Inster und ()ralld l\listress. Before thelu is placed an altar, ancl on both sides, to the right and left, arc eight statues, rE~prest~ntirlg 'Visdolll, I~rudence, Strength, Teulperance, Flonouf, (nHlri.ty, ~Justice, and Truth. The luenl.. hers sit on eaeh side in straight lines, the sisters in front, and the brothors behind thenl, the latter hnving swords in their bunds. ~l'here cannot, in fact, be a lHoro beautiful and attractive sight, tlHHl a lodge of l\dopth路e l\Iasons properly organized and well

attended.

Looking to the lnixed sexual character of these lodges, it is not. surprising that every thing is followed by a banquet, and on many occasions by a bull. rhese, SUj"S CIayel, are inseparable 8

ADO

26

from a lodge of Adoption, and are, in fact, the real design of lUI organization, the initiatory ceremonies being but a pretext.

In the banquets of the regular lodges of the French rite, the members always use a SYIllbolic language, by which they desig.. nate the various implements and articles of food and drink upo~ the table. In imitation of this custOlU, the ladies, ill the banquets of the Adoptive lodges, have also established a symbolic language, to be used only at the table Thus the lodge-room is called "Eden;" the doors "barnersj" the Illinute5 "a ladder;" a glass is called "a lamp;" water is styled "white oil," and wine ured oiL" To fill your glass is "triul your lalup," with man) other equally eccentric expressions.

Such is the organization of French Female~ l\fasonry, as it was established and recognized by the masonic authorities of that kingdom. It is still practised as a peculiar rite, although its re.. semblance to true Freemasonry is only in name. Under these regulations, the lodge "La Candenr" was opened in Paris on the

11th of JYl3,rch, 1785, a l\Iarquis being in the chair, and a.

Duohess acting as Deputy or Grand l\Iistrcss. In the same year the Duchess of Bourbon was installed with great pornp as Grand Mistress. The reyolution checked their progress, but they were revived in 1805, when the Elupress Joseplline presided over the '~Lodge IUlperiale d" Adoption des 11'rancsChevaliers/,' at Strn~.. burg. The adoptive lodges were at first rapidly diffused througll" out all the countries of Europe, except the 13ritish Empire, whel e they were rej ected with contelllpt, but they soon declined, and are at present confined to the place of tbeir origin.

Recefttlyan American Adoptive Rite," called the" Order of the Eastern Star," invented by Bro. Robt. Morris, has become 80Ulewhat popular in this country. It consists of five degrees, yiz. : 1. Jephtha's daughter, or the daugllter's degree. 2. Ruth, or the widow's degree. 8. Esther, or the wife's 路degree. 4. )lartha, or the sister's degree. 5. Eleota, or the Benevolent It is !Itirely different ffom Enropea.u Qf Frenoh Adoptive M. sonr) C(

ADV-AFR .l.t\.Dvr.ANOl~D. When a candidate is invested with the l\:Iark Master's degree, he is said to be "advanced." The term is verJ nppropriately used to designate that the l\:Iaster l\Iason is now promoted one step beyond the degrees of Ancient Craft lVIasonry on the way to the Royal Arch.

AFFILIATED. A mason who is a member of a lodge is .aid to be "an affiliated mason," in contra-distinction to a de..

II1itted or non-affiliated one, who is not a member of any lodge.

AFFILIATION. The act by which a lodge receives a l\'lasQY\ 9.mong its members. it profane is ~路n~路tiated, tut a Mason " affiliated. The general rule is, that a candidate must be initiate-in the lodge nearest to his residence, but after a 1rlason has been made, he may unite himself with an] lodge that he chooses, and which is willing to receive hinl

AFRICAN AltCHITECTS. In the year 1767, one Baueherren instituted in Prussia, with the concurrence of Frederick II., &. society which he called (, the Order of African Architects."

The object of the institution was historical research, but it con.. tained a ritual which partook of l\Iasonry, Christianity, Alchemy, andCbivalry. It was divided into two temples, and was cOlnposed of eleven degrees. In the first temple were the degrees of1, Apprentice ;2, Fellow Craft; and 3, l\'laster. In the second temple were the degreesof--4, Apprentice of Egyptian Secre~<s; 0, Initiate in the Egyptian Secrets; 6, Cosmopolitan brother; 7, Christian philosopher; 8, Master of Egyptian Secrets; 9, Esquire; 10, Soldier; and 11, Knight. The society constructed a vast building intended as a Grand Chapter of the order, and which oontainedan excellent library, a museum of natural history, anJ It chemical laboratory.

For a long tizne the African Architects decreed annually a gold medal worth fifty ducats to the author of the best meInoir on the history of masonry.

Ragon, who seldom speaks well of any other rite th,tn his own., has, however, in his "Orthodoxie l\fa9onnique," paid the following iribute to the African Architects:-

AGE-..- \IIl "Their intercourse was modest and dignified. They did not esteeln decorations, aprons, collars, jewels, &0., but were rather fond of luxury, and delighted in sententious apothegms whose meaning was sublime but concealed.. In their assemblies thc.r read essays and cOlIlmunicated the results of their researches. .A.t their simple and decorous banquets instrructive and scielltifi~ discourses were delivered. \Vhile their initiations were gratui·. tous, they gave liberal assistance to such zealous brethren :;~ were in needy circUIllstances. 'rhey published in Germany InaIlJ important docunlents on the subject of Freenlusonry."

AGE. In the French, S.cotch, and SOlue other rites, each dl.. . gree has an emblelllutic age; that of the E ......A..... is three yeurs.. because, in the systeru of mystical numbers, three is the nUlU bel' of generation: which cOlnprisc8 three terms, the agent, the reo eipient, and the product. Five is the age of the F .. C. "., fiV6 being emblculatic of actiYe life, characterized by th~ £lye senses. .i\.nd seven is the age of the 1\1.'. 1\1.· _, it being the perf~ct nUlllbel", in allusion to the seven prhnitive planets which coulpleted the astronomic system.

AI-IIl\IAN REZON. This is the name of the l~ool{ of Con.. stitutions, whichwns used by the "A.ncient Division of I?rceUUlsons, which separnted in 173H franl the a-rand I.todge of l~~ng­ land. The" True AhiIllun I{ezon" was cOlupiIed in 177-:!. for the governlnent of the l\ncient l\Iasons, by I.Jaurenee I>enuott, at that tirne Deput'y G-rund l\.Iaster of that body. ~rhe title i~ derived from three I-Iebrclv words, ahhn, brothers, nUll/all, to choose or appoint,* and,Ytfzon, the will or law, so that it literally signifies "the luw of chosen brothers." The Book of Consti tutious of the Grand I..todge of South Carolina, and that of ._

_

"

_._--_ -----....-

.

• .Ma.na]" means to choose, appoint, or distribute into a. :r;.eculiar 31aa3 out of a generality, and is b<yClCC reallj' equivalent to "aocept'1- Du.lcho's sigIlii1catiu';'1 to prepart-, isinoorrcot.

AHO-A.LP Pennsylvania, are also called Ahiman Razon.

2U

See Book oj Con-

~Wn8.

AHOLIAB. A skilful architect, "appointed with Bezaleel to the tabernacle. l\Ioses, Aholiab, and Bezaleel, the builders of the tabernacle, are in the Royal Arch degree appro· priately placed in juxtaposition with Shem, Ham, and Japheth, who construeted the ark of safety, and with Joshua, Zerubbabel llnd Haggai, who built the second temple. ~onstruct

ALARM. The signal of the approach of a person demanding admission to the lodge is thus called in masonic language.

ALL-SEElL~G EYE. _J\n emblem of the l\laster's d€gree.

It renlinds us of that superintending Providence who know'S the Jnoet secret thoughts of our llearts, and rewards us according t<i our nlerits. * This eUlbletn was also found in the ancient mysteries, t and wa43 there, as in nUlsonry, preserved ns a testinlony of the unity of that olnniscient and olnnipresent Deity, the teaching of whose existence, in contradistinction to the popular mythology, was the aim and obj ect of all these institutions.

ALPHA AND Ol\IEGA. The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, equivulent therefore to the beginning and ending of any tIl-ing, or to the whole of it in its cornpleteness. r:rhe Jews used the first and last letters of their alphubet, .l1h1)h nud Tall, to express proverbially tho whole cOlnpass of things; as 'whet! tlley said that "l\.daIll transgressed the whole law, fron1 .A.leph tc Tau."! St.John substituted the Greek for the IIebrew letters, aa }-.'cing more faluiliar to his readers. .. Deus tutus Vi8uS,-God is u11

C,YOS,

saya Pliny.

t

Among the Egyptians tho .Eye was the symbol of Osiris, and signified Providence.. Hence they consecru.te<1, in their templQs,eyes made of preciol1l

l1&teria1& t Adam Olarke. Commentary on Re'V. i. 8.

ALP-ALT ,~"LI)BABET OF J.~NGELS.

The Jews speuk of a eelcstia1

mystical alphabet, ,vhich they say was COllIll1 unicated by th~ angels to the patriarchs. I{ircher gives a copy of it in his (J~di颅 pUB Egyptiacus, tOln. ii.

105. This alphabet is several times alluded to in the ritual of the Scotch rite.

JL31d

p:

ALTAR. The place where the sacred offerings 'were presentl~u to God. After the ereetion of the Tabernacle, altars were of t,vo kinds, altars of sacrifice and altars of incense. The altar of laasonry lnay be considered as the representative of both these forIns. Fronl thence the grateful incense of Brotherly Love, Ilelief, and 'l'lruth, is ever rising to the Great I Al\l ; while on it, the unruly passit ns and the \vorldly appetites of the brethren are laid, as a fitting sacrifice to the genius of our order.

The proper for1'11 of a Inasonic altar is that of a cube, about three feet high, ,vith four horn~, one at each corner, and having spread open upon it the lIoty Bible, square, and cOlupasses, while around it are placed in a triangular forrn and proper position the three lesser lights.

EAST.

* Wr:ST.

This dhlgranl will ex.. hibit the correet position in 'whieh the lights should be placed around the a I.. tar, the sttl1"S designati n~

the places of the

li~ht~i!'

the l~ast, "rest, nncl Sout h nnd the black dot the Y:l路 caney in the North ,vllere there is no light..

Placing the ligllts all in the eust at the head of the altar is a error, but a great one) as it does not lueet the require.. ments of the ritual, ,v路hich not only places tlleOl ill a different position, but s路ays that they surround the altar

WID rnon

Al\lERIOA.i~ l\IYSTERIES. Among the many evidences of forluer st.tlte of ~ivilization arllong the aborigines of this country whieh see.n to prove their origin from the races that inhabit the Eastern heluisphere, not the least reluarkable is the existence of fraternities boun(~ by lUJstio ties, and claimiag, like the Freemasonr. +-0, possess an esoteric knowledge which they carefully conceal fron1 all btlt the initiated. Dc "ritt Clinton, once the General Grulld ITigh I)riest of the United States, relates, on the:" authority of a respectable native minister, who had received the 8igns~ the existence of such a society among the Iroquois. r~rhe number of the 111enlbers was Ihnited to fifteen, of 'Vh0111 six were to be of the Seneca tribe, five of the Oneidas, two of the Ca)'ugaB, E.nd two of the St. I~egis. They claim' that their institution has existed from the era of the creation. The titues of their meeting; they keep secret, and throw much mystery over all their proceed ings. l'h8 UJ,rsteries of the l\Iexican tribes were characterized by ~ruelt.y anc1 bloodshed.

In the celebration of these shocking rites, the aspirant was previously subjected to long and painfUl fastings, and cOlllpelled to undergo, in even 1t heightened forln, lli the terrors altd. sufferings which distinguished the lllysteries )f the 1~a8terll contine.."t. lIe was scourged 'with cords, wounded with knivE~s, : nd cnuterized 'with red路hot cinders. So erlel were these prohations, that tuany perished under their infliction" and yet he 'w' 110 recoiled frcnn the trial, or su:tfered an involuntary groan toescnpe his lips, ",vas disnlissed with contclnpt, and considered thenceforth as unv?orthy to Iningle in the society of his . equals. It \va.s in the tC1l1ple of ,路titzliputzli that the l\IexicaD mysteries were cclebrati~cl on the grandest scale. The (~andidn.tl路J I-..eing first anointed \vith a narcotic unguent, descended into tht'1' gloomy c~a'TerllS of initiation, whh:~h were excavated beneath the 'emple. ~rhe cercIllonies 'were intended to represent the ,,"ulldcr:\IlgH of tlle god, :lud the caverns through which the aspirant \va,fI \0 pasF: were (路aIied the puth oj'tlte <lCtJAi. \lo is 01 I o0tEHl ,hrllugh these cavt.fllS amid shrieks of ap~t'li9.

I

A~l.E

32

and groans of despair, which scelll to rise frotH every side, phautQtnR (,f c1eat11 fEt past, his e'yes~ and '''Thile treulbling for his safety, he feLches the body' of a slain victilll \vhose heart bas been r;p.p:t.:~d fr)l11 his breast, and 'whose lirubs are still quivering with cl':~parting life; suddenly he finds hilnself in a spacious vault, through which an artificial snn is darting his r;'1ys, and in' the roof of which is an orifiCE:> through ,,,,hich the body of the sacrificed victiIll had been precipitated. lIe is no\v iUH11edia.tely under the high altar. Finany, after encountering ruany other horrol:s, he reaches a narro,v fissure which terrninates the suit of subter ranean apartments, unu being protruded through it by his guide~' he finds himself in open air, and in the midst of a vast multi· tude, who receive hirn with shouts as a person regenerated 01 born again.

This was the first degree of the l\Iexican mysteries. There was a higher grade attainable only by the priests, in which the instruction was of a symbolic character, and referred to the deluge and the subsequent settlerucnt of their ancestors on the luke of nlexico. 'fhe details of this legend bear a reuu,trkable shnilarity to the scriptural account of the \yanderings and final settleulcIlt of tIle Israelites. The tribe,\vas led by the god Vitzliputzli, who was seated in a sq7.tare ark, and held in his banda rod jorntc<.l l£l~e (t seJ1Jent. ~rhe ark \nlS called the throne of (j'od, and its four corners were surIlloullted by Stir-perl ts' heads. During their marches and enCUrUpll1Cnts" "V'itzliputzli revealed to theln ~1 lllode of v;orship and a code of hn~vs to govern thern after they had taken -pos:~ession of the proudsed land.

In the lllidst of their encanlptnent, they erected a tabernacle with un altar, on which was piaced the stlcred ark. .A.ftel" a tedious expedition, they finallJ tlrrived at an island in the niiddle of a lake, where they built the

*

city' ofl\Iexico, and furnished it ".,.ith a pyraulidal tctuple.

The ,mysteries of the Peruvians were more siIllple and human(~, • It may as well be renlarked in this p1:we, tha,t this regeneration, or ra.isin, death to a. second life, constituted the great end of all the pn.gan :t'.i*~"

I",)!D

A:\IE-ANC and consisted principally of a lustration, performed annually on the first da:r of the Rcptember moon.

AMERIC~t\N RITE. The rite practised in the United 8tates, and which is a mOtUfication or rather development of the York Rite. It consists of nine degrees :-1. Entered .Ap-pre:-ttiee. 2. Fellow Craft. 3. l\Iaster Mason. 4. l\rlark Master. 5. Past l\Iaster. 6. Most Excellent l\Iaster.. 7. Royal Arch. 8. ,Royal l\Iaster. 9. Select l\Iaster. The degrees of Chivalry, consisting of the I(night of the Red Cross, Knight Templar, and Knight of ~Ialta, are appendages to the Rite; and in some councils another degree, that of Super JjJxcelIent Master, is given. The system of nine degrees, however, which con. stitutes the real American Rite, I am disposed to attribute to Thomas Smith 'Vebb, who organized it in the latter part of the last century.

A1\JfPLE FOR1"I. When the Grand Lodge is opened by the Grand l\faster in person, it is said to be opened in "anlple form j';t when by the Deputy Grand l\iaster, it is in "due form;" and when by any other officer, it is said to be SiUlply "in form.."

ANCIENT AND

ACC]~PT]}D

RITE.

See Scotch Rite..

ANCII~NT CRAFT l\IASONR,Y. The degrees of Enterfl':d A.pprentice, !1'ellow-Cruft, and l\Iaster 1\Iason, are thus called, Decause they were the only degrees whioh were anciently practised by the craft-

ANCIENT l\IASONS..

See Modern Masons..

ANCIENT REFORl\IED RITE. A rite differing very slightly from the French rite.. It is practised in Bel~ium. JlJl4 Holland.

A,ND-ANT

34

ANDERSON. James Anderson, D.D., the conlpiler of the English Book of Constitutions, was born in ~~di nburgh, Scotland, on the 5th of August, 1684, but, for ulany years of his life, was a resident of England and the minister of the Scotch Presbyterian church in Swallvw street, Picadilly, London. Besides the Book Jf Constitutions, to which he is principally indebted for his reputation, he was also the author of an extensive and singular work entitled" Royal Genealogies.", Chambers, in his" Scottish Bi.. ography," describes him as " a learned but imprudent man: who lost a considerable part of his property in deep dabbling in the .:5outh Sea Scheme." He died in the year 1746, aged 62 years.

ANDROGYNOUS l\IASONRY.

Degrees iUlitative of nla..

sonry, which have been instituted for the initiation of males and females, socalldd from two Greek words signifying man and woman,.. They were first established in France in the year 1730, under the name of "lodges of adoption.. " In AUlericathere are several androgynous degrees, such as the Good Sanlaritan, the Heroine of Jericho, and the l\iason's Daughter. See Adoptive Ma8Q'lt"Y. ANGLE.

See R'iglLt ..Angle.

ANNIVERSARY. The twoallniYersaries of Symbolic ~Ia颅 !onry are, the festivals of St. John the Baptist, and St. John the Evangelist, 24th of June and 27th of December. See in this work the title D~dication. The anniverRary of the Princes (',f ltoseCroix is Easter day.

ANNO LUerS. In tlte l'ear of L'i':glLt. Used in masonit dates,and usually abbreviated A."" L.路. See Year of Light.

ANTIQUITY OF l\IASONRY. Freemasonry is in its prin.. :iples undoubtedly coeval with the creation, but in its orga.nizationas a peculiar institution, such as it now exists, we dare no,; trace it further back than to the build.ing of King Solornon' 8 fcmple It WaBJ howeverJ in ita origin closely eonnected with

ANT tJle A~cient 1\fysteries, and the curious inquirer win find some gratification in tracing this connection.

When luan was first created, he had, of course, a perfect knowledge of the true name and nature of the Being who created hhn. But when, by his own folly, he fell "from his high estate/' he lost, with his purity, that knowledge of God which in hi~ orirneval condition fornled the noblest endoWlncnt of his mind And at Iengtrb the whole hUlnan race having increased in wicked.. ness until every thought and act was evil, God determined, by a flood, to purge the earth of this excess of sin. To Noah, how.. ever, he was Dlerciful, and to this patriarch and his posterity was to be intrusted the knowledge of the tlue God. But on the plains of Shinar Dlan again rebelled, and as a punishment of his rebellion, at the lofty tower of Babel, language was confounded, and rnasonry lost, for masonry then, as now, consisted in a know.. ledge of these great truths, that there is one God, and that the soul is iInlDortal. The patriarchs, however, were saved from the general moral desolation, and still preserved true masonry, or the knowledge of these dogmas, in the patriarchal line. The Gentile nations, on the contrary, fell rapidly from one error into another, and, losing sight of the one great I A~I, substituted in his place the names of heroes and distinguished men, whom, by a ready apotheosis, they converted into the thousand deities who occupied the calendar of their religious worship.

The philosophers nnd sages, however, still retained, or discoyered by the dim light of nature, some traces of these great doctrines of masonry, the unity of God, and the immortality of the BOul. But these doctrines they dared not teach路 in public, for history records what would hava been the nt,e of such temerity, when it informs us that Socrates paid th.~ forfeit of his life for his boldness in proclaiming these truths b.. the Athenia.D youth.

They therefore taught in secret what "they were afraid to inculcate in public, and established for this purpose the Ancient ~lysteries, those truly masonic institutions, whieh, by a series of

.A.NT

36

solemn and imposing cerernonies, prepared the mind of the in~ tiate for the reception of those unpopuhtr dognuls, while, by the caution exercised in the sC'leetion of candidates, and the obligations of secrecy iInposed upon thern, the teachers were seeurcd from all danger of popular bigc.itry and fllnati路(:isul. .A. full description of these l'lystcries \\~ill be found in this \york under the appropriate title. 'l'heir Inernbcl's Vr'!'cnt through a secret oer(,mony of initiation, by \vhich they bcc~ulle entitled to a full participation in the esoteric kucHvlec1ge of the order: and \vere in possession of certain lllodes of reeognition kno,Yn only to tbelUselves. In all of thern, there \)'"as, in addition to tIle instruetions in relation to the existence of a Suprclne Deity, a legend in which, by the dranlutic representation of the violent death and subsequent restol'ation to life of sorue distinguished personage, the doctrines of the resurrection and the sours iunllortalit:y- were emblematically illustrated.

Among these religious ingtitutions was that of the Dionysian

1\Iysteries, which ,vere celebrated throughout Greece and . A.sia l\linor, and in '\"\rhich the peeuliar legend was the lllurder of Bacchus, or" as the Greeks (~alled. hitll, ])ionJ;sus, by the rritans, and his subsequent restoratirHl to life. 'fhe priests of ])iflnysus, having de,~oted tbernsclves to arehitecturnl pursuits, established, about one thousnnd yeurs before the Christian ern, a society of builders in ,A.shL 1\Iinor, who arc styled by the ancient writ~r!

The Fraternity of l)ionJsinn ..:\rchiteets," tlnd to this society was exclusively confined the privilege of' erecting teIllples and other public buildings.

The fraternity of J)ionysian ,A.rehitects ,,,ere linked together by the secret ties of the Dionysinu l\Iystcries, into '\v'hich they tad all been initiated. 'rhus cOl1stit,uted, the fraternity ,,,as distinguished by Iuany peculiarities that strikingly nssiluilute it to our order. In the exercise of charitJ. , the "lliore opulent were sacredly bound to provide for the exigencies of the poorer brothC(

Jen."

For the facilities of labour a.nd government, they were

divided into lodges, each of which was goYcrned by a l\laster and

37

.ttNT

Wardens. 'They eluploycd in their ccrerllonial obSerVtlIlCOS lliaI:y of the implements ,,"hich are still to be found arnong FreeillaSOns.~ :tnd used like thel}), a uui versal language, by which one brother could distinguish another in the dark as well as in the light, and which served to unite the ulelubers scattered over India, Persia, and Syria, into one COlUUlon brotherhood. 'The existence of this order in Tyre, at the tiIlle of the building of the 1~eIllple, is universally admitted; and IIiraul, the wido,v~s son;, to v;hom Solo.. mon intrusted the superintendence of the workluen, as an in路 habitant of Tsre, and as a skilful arehitect and cunning and curious workman, was doubtless one of its luernbers. lienee we are scarcely claiming too lunch for our order, when we suppose ~hat the Dionysians were sent by I-liraul, I~ing of Tyre, to assist I{ing Solomon in the construction of the house he was about to dedicate to J eho楼ah, and that they cOlllIDunicated to their Jewish fellow-labourers t1 knowledge of the advantages of their fraternity, and invited theln to a participation in its Inysteries and privileges.

In this union, 110\yeVer, the apocf.yphal legend of the Dionysians gave way to the true legend of the l\Iasons, which was unhappily rurnisheri by a luelancholy incident. that occurred at the tilue.

Upon the cOlllpletion of the Telnple, the worlnuen 'Nho had been engaged in its construction necessarily dispersed, to extenll their kno\vledge and to renew their labours in other lands. 13ut we do not lose sight of tIle order. e find it still existing in Judea, under the n:nne of the ~}S~l~NIAN IfRAT'F~RNITY. '1'hia was rnther a society of philosopher:! than of architects, and in this respect it appro~lclled still nearer to tIle character of uloderu lpeculutive lnnsoury. The }~8senians ,,-"erc, how'eyer, undouhtrdlJ connected with the Teulplc, as their origin is derived by the learned Scaliger, with every nppearance of truth, frot'll the I{AssrDEANS, a fraternity of .JeVw"ish devotees, who, in the language of Lawrie, had associated together as "I(nights of the Tenlple of Jerusalem, to adorn the porcheR of that nlagnificent structt:,rc, and to preserve it frolu injury und decay." The Essenians were peculiarly strict in scrutinizing the characters of all those who

"T

4

ANT npplied for adrnission into their fraternity. The successful candi date, at the termination of his probationary novitiate, was pre sented b:y the Elders of the society \vith a white gnrtuent, as an emblem of the purity of life to 'which he was to aspire, and which, like the unsullied apron" the first gift that we besto'\v upon an ]Jntered .A.pprentice, was esteemed lllore honourable than aught . that any earthly prince could give. .A.n oath was admini~tered to hilll, by which he bound hhnself not to divulge the secrets wi t:r~ which he should be intrusted, and not to lllake any innovations upon the settled usages of the society. lIe was then made acquainted with' certain Hiodes of re;ognition, and was instructed in the traditionary knowledge of the order. They adnlitted no women into their fraternity,; abolished all distinctions of rank; a.nd devoted thenlselves to the acquisition of knowledge and the dispensation of charity.

Franl the Essenians, Pythagoras dorived much if not all of the knowledge and the cerenlonies with which he clothed the esoteric ochoal of his philosophy; and while this idet1tity of doctrines and ccreluonies is universally achnitted by pr~fane historinns, ulany of the Illost COlupetcllt of our own '\vritcrs lltlVe attributed the propagation of nUlsonry into ]~tlropc to the efforts of the G'rccian sage. It is certain that such an opinion was prevalent not less than four centuries ago; for in. the ancient luanuscript, no,v wen

l\:nown to l\Iasons, \vhich ,vas disco'V'ered by the celehrated J.Joeko Ul110ng the papers of the Bodleian I.Aibrary, and which is said to be acop:.y of an original in the hand \vriting of I{ing I-Ienry tl1e Sixth, hirllself a 1\1380n, it is expressly said tlUlt Psthagornf' bI'Y'lght 111aSonry from l~gypt and Syria into G-reece, from whence) it: process of time, it passed into J~Ilgland.

I shall not vouch for the truth of this assumption; for notwith.. standing the celebrity of .Pythngoras even at this dny aUlong our fraternity, a.nd the adoption into our lodges of his well-known problem, I am rather inclined to attribute the extension of masonry into Europe to the frequent and continued communications with Palest:ne, in the earlier ages of the Ch.ristian dispensation

39

ANT

About this penod we shall find t.hat associatiuns of travenin~ ul'chitects existed in all the countries of the continent; that thes journeyed franl city to cit.y, Rnd ,vere actively engaged in tbe construction of religious edifices and regal palaces. * The governUlent of these fraternities of FreelllHsons-'for they had nlrendy l:>egun to ussume that distinctive appellation -lvns even then extrenlely regular. They liYed in huts or lodges, (a nunlC which our places of meeting still retain,) ternporarily erected for their aocOlnmodation, near the building on which they were enlployed.

Every tenth !lUlU received the title of" "rarden, and was occupied h.t superintending the labours of those placed under hhn, while the direction and supervision of the whole was intrusted to a l\Iaster chosen by the fraternity.

Freeluasons continued for a long time to receive the protection and enjoy the patronage of t.he church and the nobility, until the former, beCOll1ing alurrned at the increase of tlleir numbers and the extension of their privileges, began to persecute thelll with an unrelenting rigour, ~l'hich cvcntlual1.r led to their suspension on the continent. l\.lany lodges, however, had a·lready been estab.. lished in Great 13ritain, and these, shielded by the comparative mildness and justice of the British Inws, continued to propagate the doctrines of the order throughout J~nglal)d and Scotland, and to preserye unhnpaired its ancient landlnarks. FroIll the royal city of York in :bingland, and tl~e village and abbey of Kil n'inning, the cradle of masonry in Scotland, OUf order continUrjd to be disserniuated und to flourish, throughout the t,vo kingd)111S, with undiminished lustre, long after the lodges of tlleir less fortunate brethren had been dissolved by the persecutions OD the continent Frotn this period, the institutions of nlasonry began to, be extend·· ed with rapidity, and to be established with permanency.. The dignity of the order was elevuted, as the beauty of its principles became known. Nobles sought with avidit,Y the honour of initiation into our sacred rites, and the gavel of the Grand ~Iaster has bt:en more than once wielded by the hand of a king.

• See the article Trat·elltng .Ji?reemalton., in this

wor~

APII-APP .aPHANIS~I. It is stated in the preceding article that in the Ancient ],fysteries there always was a legend of the death and subsequent resurrection, or finding, of the body of some distinguished personage. 1'hat part of the cerenlonies which re.. presented the concealing of the body was called the aphan'l~sm, from t.he Greek work acpaIlG:w, to conceal.

APPEAL. The l\laster 1.3 suprelue in his lodge, so far a6 the lodge is concerned. lIe is anlenable for his conduct in the government of the lodge, not to its menlbers, but to the G-rand Lodge alone. In deciding Iloints of order, as well 3S graver nl utters, no appeal can be taken froln that decision to the lodge.

If an appeal were proposed, it would be his duty, for the preservation of discipline, to refnse to put the question. If a member is aggrieved with tIle cortduct or the decision of the l\Iaster, he has his redress by an appeul to the Grand I..Iodge, Wl1ich will, of course, see that the l\Iaster does not nl1e his lodge" in an unjust or arbitrary manner." But such a thing as an appeal froJn the 路l\laster to the lodge, is unknown in masonry. See J.lfa.ster oj a LOl(qe.

The General Grand Chapter of the United States has deter.. nl.ined that there can be no appeal frOIn the decision of a IIigh Priest to his Chapter.

A shuilar decision has been Inade by the Hon. 'V. B. IIubbard; the General Grand :J\Iaster of the I\:nights Ten1plar, i.n relution u appeals frolL G'rand COlnlnanders to their EnCfllnptUents, and hie decision appears to have been sustained by the G'eneral Grand Encampment

APPRENTICE. The Entered Apprentice is the first degree. in masonry, and though it supplies no historical knowledge, it is replete with infOl'Illution on the internal structure of the order.

It is remarkable, too, for the beauty of the nlorality which it inculcates. As an Entered l\pprentice, a lesson of humihty, and sontelnpt of worldly riches and earthly grandeur, is impressed

APR upon the mind by symbolic ceremonies, too important in their character ever to . be forgotten. The beauty and holiness of charity are depicted in emblematic modes, stronger and rhore lasting than mere language can express; and the neophyte is direct'~d to lay a corner-stone of virtue and purity, upon which he is charged to erect a superstructure, alike honourable to himself, and to the fraternity of which he is hereafter to compose a part.

This degree is considered as "the weakest part of masonry," and hence, although an Entered A pprentice is allowed to sit in a lodge of his degree, he is not permitted to speak or vote on the proceedings.

When a candidate is initiated into this degree, he is tcehically said to be U entered," tllat is, he has been permitted to enter the ground-floor of the temple, for a reason well known to

l\Iasons.

APRON. The lambskin or white leather apron, is the badge of a Mason, and the first gift bestowed by the J\faster upon the newly initiated Apprentice. The apron is worn by operati YO J\fasons, to preserve their gurnlents fronl spot or stain. But v."e: as speculative l\Iasons, use it! for a luore noble purpose. By the whiteness of its colour, and the innocence of the aniolal from which it is obtained, we ,Lre adloonished to preserve that blameless purity of life and cond net, which will alone enable us hereafter to present ourselves before the Grand l\lnster of the Uni . verse, unstained with sin and unsullied withv'ice.

Investiture constituted an important part of the l\.ncient l\Iys[.eries; and as the white apron is the investiture of 1113sonry, we find something resembling it in all the pagan rites l.rIle l~sse . . nians clothed their candidate with a white robe, reaching to the ground, and bordered with a fringe of blue riband, as un emblem of holiness. In the mysteries of Q路reece the gnrnlent of initiation was also white; because, says Cicero, white i8 a colour most 4*

42

o

APlt

acceptable to the gods This robe was consIdered sacred, and never taken off by tho possessor, until \\Torn to rags. In Persia, in the mysteries of ~Iithl'as, the robes of investiture were the Girdle, on whicll were depicted the signs of the Zodiac; the Tiara; The 1Vhite Apran; and the Purple 'funic. In the rnysteries of Hindostau, the aspirant was presented with a consecrated Sash, consisting of a cord of '1v£ne threads, which\vas worn fro U~ the left shoulder to the right side. l\.n apron, COIn posed of the three UlusonIe colours, blue, purple, and scarlet, was worn by the 1 ewish priesthood; anel the prophets, on all occasions when about to perform any solemn duty, invested theIllselves with a girdle or apron. Lastly, all the ancient statues of the heathen gods, which have been discovered in Greece, l~.sia, or AUleriea, are decorated with superb aprons. ".,.e hence deduce the antiquity and honour of this important part of a Freenlason's vestments, and substantiate the correctn&3S of our clahn, that it is "rnore ancient than the Golden Fleece or I~oman Engle, and more honourable than the Star and Garter."

The nUlsonic apron is a pure ,vhite hunbskin, froIn fourteen to sixteen inches ,vide, and fronl twelve to fourteen deep, with s fall a~out three to four inches deep; square at the bottom, with.. ant orllalnent, and bound in the SYlllbolic degrees with blue) and in the l~oyal 1'\.1"011 \vith scarlet. In this country the con struction of the apron is the saIue in each of the s)"rnbolic degrees, which are only distinguished by the Illode in which th~ apron is worn. l~ut in J~nghtnd the apron V'uries in each of tIlt: degrces.* The E.-. A .... has·a plain apron without ornament. 'fhe "If.... G.·. ha..q an addition of two sky blue rosettes at the bottom.

The 1\:1.'. 1\1. ". has an addi·tional rosette OIl the fall, and bas skyblue lining and edgin~1 a.nd silver tassels. ,\1'...... l\Ia.~ters and Past l\'r3~~:ers, in lieu of rosettes, wea.r per-

.-_._--------------------• A similar syRtem is adopted in GermZ).DY.

ARC penalculnr lines on horizontal ones" like a L1 reversed, forlning ihree sets of t'.vo right angles.

The silk or satin apron is a }i"'1renc h innovation, wholly un.. masonic, inCOlllpatible ,vith the CIU blclli3tic instruction of the investiture, and should never be tolerated in t1. lodge of York 1\-I88On8.

AROH, ANTIQUÂŁTY OF THE. 'Vriters on architecture lr.ave, until within a fe\v years, been aCCu"stOlllcd to suppose that the invention of the .A.reh nnd I(eystone was not anterior to the era of . A.ugustus. But the researches of modern antiquaries have traced the existence of the Arch as far back as 460 years before the building of ICing Solomon's te!uple, and thus conIpletely reconciled masonic tradition with the truth of history.

See KelJstone.

ARCH OF ENOOH.

The 13th degree of the Ancient and

Accepted Rite. It is more commonly called "Knigltt of the Ninth Arch," to which the reader is referred

ARCH OF FI]~A,rJTIN. Job xxvi. 11, coulpares heaven to an arch supported by pillars. "The pillars of heaven trernble and are astonisl1ed nt his reproof." Dr. Cutbush, on this pns.. suge, relnarks-" 'rhe arch in this instance is allegorical, not only of the arch of hea-v-en, but of the higher degree of nlasonry, conlillonly caIIed the Ifoly l{oJ"al .A.rch. The pillars which support the arch are clnblemntical of \\Tisdom and Strength; the foriner denoting the wisdom of the Suprelue 04~rchitect, and the latter the stability of the Universe."-Am. EeL Brewster's En-eye ARCII OF STEEL. The Grand honours are conferred, in the F'rench and Scotch rites, by two ranks of bretbren elevating and crossing their drawn swords. They call it voute d'acier.

,ARCH, ROYAL. See Royal Arch.

AH.C-ARI ARCIIITECTlTR]~. rrhe art of constructing d\vellings, as a shelter froBl the hent of SUlUlner fI nd the cold of winter, Blust have been resorted to front the very first 1l10luent in which D1an becaule subjected to the po,ver of the elelnents. ..Architecture is, therefore, not only ODe of the IHost hnportant, but ODe of the IDQ.St ancient of sciences.

Rude and irllperfect must, however, have been the first efforts of the hUlllan race, resulting in the erection of huts CIUIllSY in their appearance, and ages n1ust have elapsed ere wisdolll of design conlbined strength of material with beauty of execution . .t\.s Geolnetry i 3 the science on which masonry is fOlJ nrlf\d, .

Architecture is the art from which it borrows the language 'Jf its synl bolie instruction. In the earlier ages of the order, eyery l\Iason was either an operative mechanic or a superintending architect. And sOlnething more than a superficial knowledge of the principles of architecture is absolutely essential to thel\Iason, w~ho would either understand the forIner history of the institution or appreciate its present objects.

There are five orders of . A.rchitecture, the Doric, tlle Ionic, the Corinthian, the 'l'uscan, and the C0111posite. The first three are the ori~inal orders, and were invented in Greece; the last two are of later forluation, and o\ve their existence to Italy Each of these orders, as \vell us the otner terms of ArchiJCcture, so fa,r as thoy nre connected with FreeuHlsonry, will be found tInder their appropriate heads throughout this work.

.A.RITHl\Il~TIC. ~rhat science which is engaged in celm路 doring the properties and powers of nUlllbers, and which, fro::n its manifest necessity in all the operations of weighing, numbering, and measunng, Dlust have had its origin in the remotest ages of the world. ~ In the lecture of the degree of "Grand lVIaster .A.rchitect," the application of this science to Freen13sonry is made to consist in its rCluinding the l\fason that he is continually to add to his knowll:'dge, never to suOstract any thing from the character of his

ARK neighbour, to m?rltipl!J his benevolence to llis fellow-creatures, and to d拢li'lde his !ncans with a suffering brother. .c\.RK. The l\.rk of the Covenant or of the Testimony was a chest originallJ constructed by 1'108e8 at G'od's command, (Exoel. xxv. 16,) in which were kept the t\VO tables of stone, on which were engraved the ten COlIulHtndluents. It contained, likewise, a golden pot filled with rua.nna, Aaron's rod, and the tables of the coYenant. It was H.t first deposited in the Ulost sacred place of the tabernacle, and afterward placed by Sololuon in the Snnctuln Sanctorum of the Temple, and was lost upon the destruction of that building by the Chaldeans. The masonic路 traditions on the subject of its future history are exceedingly interestjng to Royai Arch l\Iusons.

The ark was made of shittim wood, overlaid, within and without, with pure gold. It was about three feet nine inches long, two feet three inches wide, und of the salue extent in depth. It had on the side t,vo rings of gold, through which WOl'C placed staves of shittirn wood, by 'which, when necessary, it was borne by tIle Lcvites. Its coyering ,vas of pure gold, over Wllich ,vera placed two figures called Cherubitn, with expanded vtings. 'l'he covering of the ark was called It,u})kiret, froul A~al)har, to forgive sin~ and hence its J~nglish n:une of "luercy-seat," ns bei 19 tle place where the intercession for sin was tuade.

ARI( .A.ND .A.NCHOR. ]~lnblems of a well-grounded hope and ~\, well.spent life, used in the l\laster's degree, They are cmblelllatical of that divine ar7~ which safely wafts u& over this tc!Upestucus sea of trollhIes, and thu.t anclzol which shall securely U100r us in a peaceful harbour, where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary shall find rest..

There is DO sym hoI more COlnUlOll than the ark to the spurious masonry of the Aneien t l\Iysteries,and the true or speculative F'reenulsonry.. In the due celebru,tion of their kindred myst)eries, says Faber, a certain holy ark was equally used by the Greeks,

the Italians, the Celts, the Goths? the Pbenicians, the Egyptians,

46

ARK-AR~I

the Babylonians, the Hindoos, the l\lexicans, the Northern Americans, and the Islanders of the P:lcific Ocean. * IIistorically this ark referred to the ark of Noak, but sYlnbolically it ,vas used as a coffin to receive the body of the candidate, and 'was an elnblclu of regeneration or resurrection. With this vic" the explanation we have given above frolll the masonic ritual accurately accord.o;;, and hence the ark and ancbor have been appropriately ad()pted as symbols of the third degree, or that in which the doctrine (tf the resurrection is emphatically taught.

ARI{ A.ND DOVE. An illustrative degree, preparatory to the· Royal Arch, and usually conferred, when conferred at all, imnlediately before the solemn ceremony of exaltation. The name of Noachite, sometimes given to it" is incorrect, HS this belongs to a degree in the ancient Scotch rite. It is very probable that the degree, which now, however, has lost luuch of its significaIlce, was deriyed fronl a much older one called the Royal Ark Mi.~·r'ine7s, to which the reader is referred. '.rhe previous nrtiele shows that the ark and dove formed an iInportant partJf tht" spurious Freemasonry of the ancients.

ARK, SUBSTITUTE. The Substitute Ark, is that which is represented in the Royal Arch and Select l\laster's degrees, being a substitute for the original Ark of the Coyenant that was lost at the destruction of the Temple by Nebuchadnezzar

ARl\'IS OF FREE1"IASONltY. "The l\Iasons," Sll,YS Bailey, ",~ere incorporated llbout the years 1419, having been called tho Freemasons. Their arnlorial ensigns are, az'U,re on a chcveron hetween three castles a1"!lent; a pair of compasses somew ha.t ex.. {.ended, of the first. Crest a castle of the second." ~f'he arnlS of the' Grand Lodge, according to Dermot, are the SUIue as those now adopted by Royal Arch l\Iasonry in this country, which Inay be blazoned as follows: }>art,:,r per cross 'vert voided or; in the first quarter, azure, 8 • Origin of Pagan Idolatry.

171)1.

iii. po. 121.

41 lion ranlpant, or, for the tribe of .Judah; in the or, an ox passant, sable for ; in the prolH!r, fbr I:'cuben; in tIle (l,:::u/,('" a or, fur Dan Crest an ark of the eoycnant; and supportel's, two (:hcrubim, al11Jrojler. " IIrlliness to the ].;01"(1."

The hnpossHJility of a coat, except in tlte tel'InS (If heraldrj"', ,\~ill, I trust, be Iny excuse for the t.eehni(~al nature (,f' this description, ,,"hich, I l~now', lllust be unintelligihle ail \\"'lu; are unacquainted with the principles of heraldry- 'rhe of this coat of anus lIU1)", ho'wever, be seen in Cross's Chart. rl'hese nrms are deriyed frcall the "tetrarchical" (as Sir '1"h08.

Browne calls them) or gt~nel'al banners of the four prineipa! tribes: for it is said that the t'\velve tribes, during their passage through the wilderness, were eneamped in a hollo,,, square, three on each side, as follows: J udall) Zebulon, nud in the east, under the general banner of J udall; l)an, allel Na,ph.. tnJi, in the north, unaer tlH~ banner of IJan.; )Ittnasseb, and Benj:unin, in the west, under the banner of ]~I)hraiIU; uuu ltcuben, Simeon, aud G{~d, in the south, unclel" lteuben- See Banners.. .A.1tTS~ l ..IBElt.t\L. The sevcu liberal nrts and 8(~ienecs ure illustrated in the I?eUo\v Crnft's 'riley are Granunar, l~hct{)ric, l\.rithluetie, Gt1otnefry, l\.Illsio., und .AstrflDoIHY_ Gralunulf is the 8(~iol1ce ,,,,bieh teaches us to express our idc:1S rJ.2 appropriate w路r~r{ls. \\'hieh 'W't~ HUtS :d'tcH-,,,nrd beautify nnd tnt,rn

by Ulcans of w'h He in~tru( . ts us h01V to think and reason 'with uudfo luake language subordinate to thought. .t\.ritlullctic, ,\~hic}l is the scienc.e of cornputing by oUlnbers, is ubsolutely essential, not only to a tllOr(]ugh knfnv.. l(~dge of aU luatl1t:llUtticaI science, but also to a prOpl\r pursuit f)f our dail,)" n.vQCntiolls.

GeoIllctry, ortl.lc application of .t\.rith.. luetic to sensible quantities, is ()f nll sciences the lnost irnportunt, since by it we are enabled to measure and survcjl' tIle globe thttt we inhabit. Its, principles ex.tend to other spheres; and, occu..

48

ASH

pied in the conteluplntion and nleasurement of the sun, moon, and hca\"cnly bodies, constitute the science of .A.stronolny; a.nd laRtl.y, when our lllinds arc filled, and our thoughts enlarged, by the contelllplatioll of all the ,vonders which these sciences open to our view, l\Iusic COUles f'{)rward, to soften our hea.rts and culti.. ,-ute our affections by its soothing influences. 'rhe preservation of these arts as a part of the ritual of the Fellow Craft's degree, is another evidence of the antiquity of Freeluasonry. 'rhese" seven liberal arts," as they were then for the first tinle called, constituted in the eighth century the whole circle of the sciences. 'fhe first three ,vere distinguished by the title of tri-vl:um, and the last four by that of qluulriv'iu,'1n, and to their acquisition the lnbours and studies of scholars were Ji.. rected., while beyond thenJ they never attempted to soar. iviosheim, speaking of the state of literature in the eleventh century, uses the follovdng language: "The seven liberal arts, as they were now styled, were taught in tIle greatest part of the schools, that were erected in this century for the education of youth. The first stage of these sciences was gru,n111Ulr, which was followed sucee.'3sively by rhetoric and logic. "Then the dis-

ciple, haying learned these branches, which were generally knO\YD trizF[u')n" extended his alllbition further, and was desirous of new iInprovelnent in the sciences, he was conducted slowly through the quadriviuln (arithlnetic, music, geometry, and astronoluy), to the yery SUllIIUit of literary fame."*

by the nanle of

ASI-ILAR. "Free stone as it 00111CS cut of the quarry.." Ba'ilcJJ' In speculative masonry 'we adopt the l~shlar in two dif.. ferent st-ates, as sYlubols in the .A.pprentice's degree. The Rough .A.shInr, or stone in its rude ~Llld unpolished condition, is emble.. matic of man in his natural stat.e-ignorant, uncultiyuted, and vicious. But when education has exerted its wholesome influence in expanding his intellect, restraining his passions, and purifying bis life, he then is represented by the Perfect Ashlar, which, un.. â&#x20AC;˘ Rist.. Ecdesiast.) Cent. xi., p. ii., c. 1, f

a

ASS-AST

49

del' the skilful hands of the worklnen, has been smoothed, and squared, and fitted for its place in the building..

Oliycr says that the l?erfect .c\.shlar should be "a stone of a true die squtlre, ~"fhieh ean only be tried by ~he square and com.. passes."'* 13ut he adulits that SOlHO brethren do not consider t.his form as essential. In l\ll1Crican lodges it certainly is not.

_;\.SSF.il\IBLY The anuualltlcctings of the craft, previ()us t( the organization of Grand J~odges in their present form, werE called "General ASSclllblies." 'I'hus, under the Grand l\Iaster· ship of the Earl of St. _AJbans, we read of the" Regulations made in General .l:\.sselubly, Dec. 27, 166B." ..t\.nderson suys;r that it is written in the Old Constitutions, that " Prince Edwin purchased a free charter of King Athelstane, his brother, for the Freeuulsons to have among thenlselves a correction, or a power and freedoln to regulate themselYcs, to amend what rllight happen to be fUlliss, and to hold a yeftrly comlDunication in a General Assclnbly." 'I'his charter was granted A. D. 926, and in that year the first G-oneral ASSCIUbly in England was held at the city of York, where dtle regulations for the government of the craft were adopted. 1"hese regula.tions of the AssemDIy at York have eyer since reInaincd unaltered, and it is from our submitting to their authority that we derive the name we bear of "Ancient York l\lasolls."

ASTRO~O~IY.

~rhe science which instructs us in tht laws govern the hea\'!'enly bodies. Its origin is lost in the abyss )f antiquity; for the earliest inhabitants of the earth must have been attracted by the splendour of' the glorious firmament above theIn, and would have sought in the Illotions of its luminaries for the readiest and nlost certain Inethod of lueasuring time. \Vith AstrononlY the system of l'frcclnasonry is intiIllately connected.·:~ From that science many of nur Inost significantelnblems are borrowed. ~rhc lodge itself i~ a r(~presentation of the world; it

th~t

• Landmarks, voL L, po 1U.

6

tConatitutiona. p. 84...

A.SY-ATH is adorned with the hnages of the sun and Uloon, whose regularity and precision furnish a lesson of \visdolll and prudence; it路s pilars of strength and establishlllcnt have been conlpared to the two columns which the ancients placed at the equinoctial points a.s supporters of the arch of hen.ven; the blazing star which ,vas alnong the Egyptians a syulbol of Anubis or the dog-star, whose rising foretold the overflowing of the Nile, shines in the east; while the clouded canopy is decorated wi t,h the beautiful Pleiade~ The connection between our order and astronomy is still more manifest in the spurious Freemasonry of antiquity, where, the pure principles of our system being lost, the 8ym bolie instruction ()f the heavenly bodies gave place to the corrupt Sabean worship of the sun, and mOOD, and stars-a worship whose influences are seen in all the mysteries of Paganism.

ASYLUl\I. During the session of a Commandery of Knights Templars, a part of the room is called the asylum j the word has hence been adopted, by the figure synecdoche, to signify the place of meeting of a Commandery.

ATELIER. (French.)

A lodge.

ATHEIST. One who does not believe In the existence of Such a creed can only arise from the ignorance of stupidity or a corruption of principle, since the whole universe is filled with the moral and physical proofs of a Creator. He who dOel oot look te路 a superior and superintending power as his lllakel ~nu l,1i3.i.udge, is without that coercive principle of salutary fear 'l'f:hiqh ~hqu~d prompt him to do good and to eschew evil, u,nd hi. ,oa~h .. (}~n, ,of n~cessity, be no stronger tha n his word. l\fasona, looking to the dangerous tendency of such a tenet, ha,e wise17 discouraged it, by declaring that no atheist can be adulitted to par" tic-ipate'ln their fraternity; and the better to carry this law into . ~~c9t, evnr,y ca.,n~idatc, before pU::isil!g ~hr.)~gh ,allY of .\~e ~~

God.

..

"

,

.楼t'

..

'.....

....

cj

ATH-.BAB

51

moniclS of initiation, is required, publi ely and solemnly, to declare his trust in God. ATHOL l\IASONS. The l\Iasons who, in 1739, seceded from the authoritly of the Grand Lodge of En land, and established themselves as un irregular body under the tlc.uue of "Ancient ~Ia路 sons," having succeeded in obtaining the countenance of the Duke of 1\ thoI, elected that nobleman, in 1776, their Grand Master, an office \vhich he uninterruptedly held until 1813, when the union of the two Grand Lodges took place. In consequence of th;s long adluinistration of thirty-seven years, the" Ancient Masons路" are sometirnes called "Athol l\Iasons."

ATTOUCHr~:\IE:\T.

(FrencJi.)

A grip.

A tit,Ie bestowed upon the Royal Arch degree, in the irnposing nature of its ceremonies,and the important mysteries it contains

.A.UGUST.

~onsequence of

.AITl\I, AUN,

OR

ON..

The Hindoo and Egyptian chief deit,

See more on this subject in Jel/'ovalt.

A.XE.

See Kn'l{;ht oj the Royal .Axe.

B. BABEL. This word, which in Hebrew means conJ113ion, wn.s tl e name of that celebrated tower attempted to be built or~ the plains of Shinar, A 1\1. 1775, about one hundred and forty years after the deluge, and which, lIoly ,\''rrit inf(Jrtll~ us, was destroyed b)' a special interposition of the Ahuighty..

The Noachite l\fasons date the commencement of their ordet

BAB-BAC

from this destruction, (see ".1Voach'ites,") and luuch tradition ary information on th l~ subject is prcserl;lcd in the ineffable degree of "Patriarch Noachite," to which title the reader is referred.

At Babel, what hus licon called Spurious Freemasonry took its origin. That is to :,ay, the people there aba.ndoned th:: worship of the true God, and by their dispersion lost all kuo\v. ledge of his existence, and of the principles of truth UpOll which masonry is founded. lienee it is that our traditionary ceremonies speak of the lofty tower of Babel as the place ,vhere language was confounded und masonry lost.* BABYLON. The ancient capital of Chaldea, situated on both sides of the Euphrates, and once the most ma.gnificent city of the ancient world. It was here, that' upon the de路 struction of Solomon's Telnple by Nebuchadnezzar in the Jcar of the路 world 3394, the J e"1"8 of the tribes of pJ udah and Benjamin, who were the inhabitants of pJ erusalern, were conveyed and detained in captivity for seventy-t~vo years, until Cyrus, King of Persia, issued a decree for restoring then}, and perulitted them to rebuild their tClnple under tIle superintendence of Zel~ubbabeI, the Governor of Judea, nud 'with the assistance of J JS;1ua the High Priest, and IIaggai the Scribe.

BJ.~CUIJUS. In ecclesiology, bacILlu8 is the name given tr :he pastoral staff carried by a bishop or abbot, " as symbolica1 1 ' says Durandus, "of his power to inflict pastoral correctioll.'~ As an emblem of authority and dignity, it is to bishops what the seeptre is to kings, and hence, it was also used by the heads of confraternities. In this way the baculus, or pastoral staff, caUle to be a -part of the insignia of the Grand l\laster of the I{night.~ Templara It i8 also called, by ecclesittstical writers, pedum,

.. For more on this subject, see Urnun.

B..:\.D-llJ.. L

53

which signifies a shepherd's stuff, and under the title of " pedUIU magistrale seu patriarchale," that is to say, "a magistcri3J or patriarchal staff," it is described in the ~, Statuta. Commilitonum l>rdinis Templi," (cap. xx.viii. de Vestitu, ยง 358,) as a part f:f tIle vestiture of the Grand l\Iaster of the TeIl1plars.. rI'he 1'e~:.:~plar pastoral staff is properly a bacuvuAl- Abacus is a wholly imp~'op~r word, on which, unfortunately, .A.. luerican l\Iasons have recentlJ blundered while resting on the worthless authority of a line in the " Ivanhoe" of Sir Walter Scott, who must certainly have written abacus while intending to ,,"rite baculU8. See .Aba,cu8_

B.A.DGE OF A l\lASON. This is the lambskin or white leather apron, which lllust be worn in all lodges during the hours of labour. See Apron.

BAHRDT'S RITE. This was a rite founded by 11. masonic charlatan of the naUle of rlahrdt, about the close of the eighteenth century. lIe opened a, lodge a.t Halle, in Germany, under the nUll1C of the "Gerlunn Union," and succeeded in securing the prot(lction of the :Prince of .A.. n-haldt-Bern burg, and the co-opcI'ation of t\\'enty-oue persons of rank and character This rite had six degrees, viz: 1, The Youth; 2, 'l'he ~Ian; 3, The Old ~Ian; . 1, The ~lesopolyte; 5, The Dioce.. san; f), The Superior. '1'ho Grand I;odge, ho,\vever, dissoh'cd the fraternity OIl the ground of their 'wen-king without n. charter, and Bahrdt hhnself was ~hortly after imprisoned for writing a eorrupt work.

BALLOT. In the eleetion of cnndidates, lodges h:t've recourse to a ballot of Vw"hite and black balls.. Una:li!llity of choice, in this casc, is ulwa,ys desired and demanded.; one black ball only being required to reject n. candidate. ~rhis is an inherent privilege not Rubj cct to dispensation or interference of tho Grand Lodge,. because, as tho :ll1eient eoustitutions say, "tbe members of a particular lodge arc the best judges of it;

BAL and because, if 11 turbulent Dleluber should be itllposed UpUD thelU~ it nlight spoil their harnlony or hinder tIle freedorn of t heir COllin unications, or even break and disperse the lodge, which uught to be avoided by all true and faithful."* In balloting for a f"andidate for initiation, every Inembcr is expected to vote .No one can be excused from sharh~g th'3 re",pouHibility of admission or rejection, except by the unanimoun c,)nsent of the lodge. "There a lllclllber has himself no personal 01 acquired knowledge of the qualifications of the candidate, he is bound to give itllplicit faith to the recolnlnendation of his bre.. t.hren of the reporting committee, who, he has no right to suppose, \vould make a favourable report on the petition of an unworthy applicant.

"Tith these prefatory remarks, I proceed to a description of the ~'r,eneral, and what is believed, to be the most correct usage, in bal.. loting for candidates. r:rhe COID1Ui ttee of investigation having report.ed favourably, the .\IaBter of the lodge directs the Senior Deacon to prelxtre the bal.. lot-box..t The mode in which this is accoIIlplished is as fo1101\"8: ~ehe Senior De~lcon takes the ballot-box, and opening it, places an the white and bla.ck balls indiscrilninatcly in onecOlupartIIlcnt, leaving the other entirely enlpty. lIe then proceeds "\vith the box to the ~Junior and Senior "Tardens, 1vho satisfythen.lseblcs by an i H~pQction that no ball has been left in the compartrnent in which the votes are to be deposited. The box in this and the other \llstanee t.c be referred to hereafter, is prE~sented to t]lC infericl )fficor 1irBt, and then to his superior, that the exalllin::dion and Jeci~ion of the forlner luay be substtl.ntiated nod cOllfirlned by tl:e higher autheaoity of ~he latter. Let it, indeed, be remembered,

.. See the word U1Ul.uimitg_ t There ia no necessity for the Master to inquire if it is the ple.iHU"路~ f).t the lodge to proceed to the election. 'l'he by-laws of all lodges requirbg that a.n election should follow the filYOUrahle report of the COiUlwittec 1 the bu.l1ot-box it' ordered to be prepared us a. mu.tter of course, and in accordance with the co:o .. ltitutir.nal ruin.

BAL ~hat in all such ca~es the usage of lna~onic circurnanlbula tton b r.o be observed, and that, therefor(l, we 111ust first pass the Juni,)t)~

station before we can get to that of the Senior \Varden.

These officers having thus sa,tisfied theIl1Sc!yes that the box i8 In a proper condition for the reception of the ballots, it is ther pllced upon the altar ly the SenioI Deacon, who retires to hip seat.. The ~Iaster then directs the Secretary to call the roll, which is done by cQIluue!lcing 'with the ofshipful l\Iaster:, ~,l.i.d proceedin{~ through ~lll the officers do,vn to the youngE-Rt. Iuembel'. A~ a lnutter of cOllverrience, the Secretary ger:.eral~y 'Votes the last of those in the rOOlO, a.nd then, if the Tiler is a loeUlher of 1.he lodge, he is called in, while the Junior Deueor: tiles fo~ hhn, and the name of the applicant having been v)ld him, J e is directed to deposit his ballot, which he does and then "etires.

A~ the name of each officer and melllber is called, he appro'lches the altar, and having uHlde the proper masonic salu~tltion to the Chair, he deposits his hallot and retires to his scat. f).'he roll should be called slow'ly, so that at no titne should there be Ulorc than one person present :it the box, for the great object of the ballot being secrecy, no brother should be perIuitted so near t.he ulculber voting as to distinguish the colour of the b~tH he deposits. ~rhe box is l,la.ced on the altar, and the ballot is deposited ,vith the Holf\l!lnity of a llHlsonic salutat.ion, that the voters 11lnJ be duly fl:ppre:sed with tIle stlcretl nnd re~ponsible nature of the duty they are, called on to discharge. 'The sJsteln of \'OL.. ing tl1uS described, is, therefore, fur better on this account than tna,t sOIuetinlcs adopted in Iodges~ of handing round the box for the Inerllbers to deposit their ballots frorn their ~eats. l'he master haying inquired of the "iardens if all have \"oted, tIlen orders the Senior ])eueon to "take clulrge of the ballot-box."

That officer accordingly repairs to the altar, and taking Itossession of the box, carries it., ns before, to the ..J ullior "Ynrdcn, who ex alnines the ballot, find reports, if all the balls are white, thu.t "the

"r

66

B.A.L

box is clear in the South, H or, if t here is one or luore black "balls, that "the box is foul in the South." The Deacon then carrie, it to the Senior \Varden, and after'"fard to the l\Iaster, who, of course: make the same report, accordiIlg to the circumstance, with the necessary verbal variations of ,,\\?..est" and" East."

If the box is clear-that is, if all the ballots are white- the 'laster then announces that the applicant has been duly eleetnd, and the Secretary makes a record of the fact. 1-3ut if the box i~ foul, the subsequent proceedings will depend upon the n Ulll LeI' of balls, and upon the peculiar by-laws of the lodge in which the bnlh)t has been taken. 'fhe box having been declared to be foul, the nlaster inspects the uUlllber of black balls; if he finds only one, he so states the fact to the lodge, and orders the Senior Deacon again to prepnre the ballot-box. Here the same cerelllonies are passed through that have already been described. ~I:'he balls are rernoved into one compartment, the box is sUblllitted to the inspeetioll of the "Tardens, it is pla.ced upon the altar, the roll is called, the IUCIUbc;'s advance and deposit their votes, the box is serutinizcd, and t.he result declared by the "Vardcns and l\Inster. If again but one black路 ball be路 found, or if on this ballot two black balls are found, or if there were two or more on the first ballot, the l\laster an-

nounces that the petition of the applicant has been rejected, :'lnd directs the usual record to be made by the Secretary and tht.~ Ratification to be given to the Grand Lodge. It is the usage in many lodges, for the Senior Deacon to carry the ballot box around to the members, instead of placing it on the altar; but the latter is certainly better as being accompanied with more soleuluity.

BALUSTRE. All documents issued by the So'\creign Inspectors or Supreule Councils of the 33d degree, Ancient S~.'(.路:;路. ~1

rite, are called "Balustres," from the ]j'rench "balustre," a litile pillar, in allusion to the fact that laws and edicts were formerly engraved on pillars..

BAN

61

lJANNERS. In s:y-mbolic luasonry, six banners are generally borne in processions, the material of which is;white satin or silk, bordered with a blue fringe, and on each of which is inscribed one of the following words: l?aith, Hope, Charity, vVisdom, Strength,

Beauty.

In the Royal Arch Chapter, there are four offictrs who en.tty banners. The Royal,A.reh Captain carries a whitle banner, as ar emblem of that purity \)f heart and rectitude of" conduct whic~ ought to actuate all those ,vho pass the white veil of the sanctuary.

The Master of the Third Veil carries a searlet banner, ernblclllutical of that fervency and zeal which should characterize tho possessors of the Royal.A.rch degree otwhich it is the appropriate colour.

The l\faster of the Second 'V" eil carries a purple banner, which is. embleluatic of union, because it is produced by a due Dlixture of sca~Iet and blue, the former the colour of I-toyal . ~. rch and the latter of SYIllbolic masonry, and inculcates harluony betwen these divisions of the craft. The :nlaster of the First Veil carries a blue banner, which is elnbleulatic of universal friendship and benevolence, and is the appropriate colour of the first three degrees.

On the tracing board of the Royal .A.rch degree, as practised in the Chapters of }ijngland, are found the banners of the t\velve trib&a :t~. Israel, which were as foll()\v: J udall, scarlet, it lion couchnn t.

Issachar, blue, an ass crouching beneath its burden.

Zebulon, purple, a ship.

Reuben, red, it luan.

Simeon, yellow, a sword.

G'ad, white, a troop of horsetnen.

Ephraiul, green, HIl ox.

Manasseh, flesh-coloured, ~l vine by the aide ora wall.

Benja.Iuin, green, a 'wolf.

Dan, green, an eaglt,.

Asher, purple, a cUI'.

Naphtali, blue, H hind.

We oom~ now to what Inay be JaIled the General Standard

.~

BAN Freemasonry. This is a banner belonging peculiarly to the orde'l", as the beauseant did to the TenlpIars, and \vhich llHlY be borne in all processions of the craft, to distinguish thenl frol.n any other association of Ulen. Its device is nothing but the coat of arms of the order of speculative FreClnasons as it was long si nce adopted, and as it is descrihed by l)errllott, in his l~. hiJnan Rezon. In this country tllis ba.nner has, by SOUle, been iInproperly supposed to belong exclusively to the l:toynl . J. .\.r0h, in consequence of Oro&! having placed the represuutation of its device in his chart, among the plates which are illustrative of that degree. But it is, in fact, the common property of the order, and UHlY be carried in the proces.. sions of a l\Iaster's lodge, as well as in those of a Chapter. I refer, for an exemplification of it, to the fortieth in the series of plates given in the Chart of . J ere illy Cross. The escutcheon, or shield on the banner, is divided into four cOlnpart111ents or quarters

by H, green cross, over which a narrovter one of the sanlC length of limb, and of a yellow colour, is placed, forlning what the heralds call" a crJ'ss 'vert, voided or j" each of the cOlllpartluents forlned by the lilubs of the cross, is occupied by a different device. In the first quarter is placed a golden lion on a field of blue, to re.. present the standard of the tribe of t'J udall; in the second, a bI:1Ck .ox on a field of gold, to repreSf~nt l~phrairll; in the third, n luan on a field of gold to represent Iteuben; and, in the fourth, a golden engle on a blue ground, to represent Dan. ()ver all is placed, HE the crest, an ark of the convenant, and the Inotto is, "Iloliness to the J..Iord."

These were the bunners of the four principtl1 tribes" for "when the Israelites marched through the wilderness," says Dr.. .J.t\.she, "we find that the tw"clve tribes had between thelll fOl.u-principal banners or standards, everyone of \vhich had its particular Ul0tto; and each ~t,andard also had a dist.inct sign described upon it.

'They enculnped rOl nd about the tabern:lcle, and on the eustside were three tribes undel" the standard of J udrth; on the west, were three tribes under the standard of lTIphraiul; on the south, were f".hree tribes under the standard of Itcuben; and, on tb e north.

BAN-BEA

59

were three tribes nndel the standard of Dan; and the standard of Judah was a, lion, that of l~phrai.ln an ox" that of Reuben., a DIan, t1nd that of :Dan, au eagle-\vhence ,vore fralued the hieroglyphics of cherubinI and seraphiul to represent the people (f Israel."

As the standard or banner of,F'reelnasonry in thus Ilulde up of ind derived froIH these banners of the fbu1" leadin~ tribes of IEruel, it may be interesting to learn what was the sJrnbDlic llicaning given by the IIebrews to tllese ensiguR. ,ratablu:-=; quotes tt .J e,vish writer, as saying that the lHan in the banner of Reuben, signified religion and reason; the lion, in tha.t of Judah, denoted power; the ox, in that of Ephraim, represented patience and toilsonl(~ 1a.. bout'; and the engle, in that of Dan, betol{tltIed wisdolU, agility, and subliniity. 13ut alt.hough such lllay have been the eInblerllatic ulcaning of these devices among the Israelites, the eombination of them in the masonic banner is only intend.ed to indicate the Jewish origin of our institution from Sololuon, who was the last king of Israel under whOIn the twelve tribes were united..

BANQUErr. The Banquets in l~nglish and American rnasonry do not differ froln the convivial rtlect,ings of other societies, wi.th the exception, perhaps, thatl the rule prohibiting the introduct,ion of debates on religiolls and political subjects, is {nore rigidly enforced..

But in the l?rench lodges) t,he 13auquets arc reguhl,ted by a particular systelll of rules, uUfl the introduction of cercIllonies \vhich distinguish theln frOlll all other social asselublies. The roeHn is closely tiled, and no attendants, except those who are of the fraternity, are perruitted to be present.

BAREFOOT.

See Discalceat:iQn.

BEADLl~.

An officer In a council of Knights of tbellolj Sepulchre7 corresponding to . the Junior Deacon of a symbolic

.Jo~e..

~.

GO

BEA-BEL

BE.l..t\.lJSEA.XT. The banner COll1posed of a black and a whit() · horizontal stripe, which was peculiar to the ancient Templars..

It bore this inscription: Non nobis Domine, non nobis, 8ed no.. mini tuo, do, gloriam.

BE..A.UTY. One of the three principal suppc,rts of masonry, [,he other two being\VIsDO:\! and S'rR~;NGTH. It is represented by the Corinthian cohnun and the Joo. 'V.·., because the Corin.. thian is the lllost beautiful and highly finished of the orders~ and because the situation of the ..To o. W.·. in the S. '". enables him the better to observe that bright IUlninary which, at its nleridian heigh t, is the beauty and glory of the day. H. ". A . ·.. is also con8idcred as the repreantative of the column of Beauty which sup ported the Temple.

BEEHIVE. An emblern of industry appropriated to the third degree. This is t1 virtue eyer held in high esteem uIDong the craft, for our old cl1arges tell us that" all l\:Iasons shall work honestly on working days, that they Inay live creditably on holidays." There seems, boweYcr, to be a nlore recondite Dlen.ning conneeted with this sYluboL ':rhe ~trk has already been shown to have been ~tn enlblenl COUHllon to Ifreel:nasonry and tbe ancient rnysteries, as a sYlubol of regeneration-of the second birth from death to life. Now in the mysteries a hive was a type of the ark" "Hence," says Faber, "both the diluvia.n priestesses and the regenerated souls were called bees; hence bees were feigned to be produced franl the carcase of a cow, which also symbolized the ark; and hence, as the great father was esteemed an infernal god, honey was much used both in funeral rites and in the mysteries,,"* BEL Bel, Baal, or Bul, is the name of God as worshipped among the Chaldeans and Phenicians. See Jehovah.

-----------------------• Oril. of Pag. Idol., vol ii" ISS.

BEN BENAC. builder.'"

61

A corrupted form ofa flebrew word signifying "the

BI~NEFIT FUND. In 17ÂŁ)8, a society was established in l.4ondon, under the patronage of tlle Prince of Wales, the Earl of' l\loira, and all the other aeting ofncers of tIle Grand Lodge, whose object was" the relief of sick, nged, and imprisoned brethren, and the proteetion of their 'widtHVS, children, and orphans."

The paYlnent of one guinea per nnnunl entitled every IDember, when sick or destitute, or his widow' and orphans in case of hit death, to a fixed con tribution.

Benefit funds of this kind haYc, until very lately" been unknoWJ: to the l\Iasons of .A.111Crica, but within a fe\v years sever~tl lodges have established a fund for t.he purpose. The lodge of Strict Observance in the city of New 1'rork, and others in Troy, ltd! . !tOll, Schenectady, etc., have adtJpted Benefit l~unds.

In 184 t, se\Teral lllernpers of the lodges in Louisville, I{E~ntucky, orgtHlizpd a society uurler the title of the "l?riendly Sons of St,. John."

It is construeted after the lllodel of the l~;nglish soeiet)f already mentioned. No lllculber is reeeived after 45 years of age, or ,vbo is not a cOlltributing uleluber of n lodge; the per di(!ill ullowuncc to sick lUe1l1 bers is seventy-five cents; fifty dollars is appropriated to pay the funeral expeUHes uf a decensed lllenlber, nnd t"'fcntyfive f()r those of U luclnber's ,vife; on the death of a member a gratuit.y is given to bisf~l1nily; teLl per cent. of all fees and dues is npproprinted to un orphnn fund; and it ~s eontclnplated, if the f1lnds "\\r111 justify, to pPl1sion th(~ ,vido'vs of deceased members, if their eireUulstanees require it;.

Furtl1cr reflection and a nl~)1"e careful investigntion of the priD~ ciples of our order, sinee the first (~dition of this work" hayecon.. vincec1 Inc that tlle establi81Hn(~nt in lodges of' snell benefit fund! as are d(~scribedinthe last paragraph, art.~ in opposition to the pure systeul of nUlsonic charity. 'j'hcy have, therefore, beeD ver'] properly discouraged by se veral Grand J..Iodges.

6

12

BEZ-BLU

BEZAI.lEEL. The artificer to wholn, with .A.. holiab, was en路 trusted the construction of the Ark of the Covenant and othel' things p~rtt1ining to the ta.bernacle in the 'wilderness.. They worked under the supervision of Moses, and hence in portions of the American Royal Arch the names of ~Ioses, Aholiab, and Bezalet.}l arE; conjoined as referring to the Ark of the Covenant..

BIBLE. Emphatically is the Bible called a greater light of ;::JasonrJ, for fronl the centre of the lodge, it pours forth upon t h.,: 1<~,a~t, the "1" cst, and the South, its refulgent rays of Divine truth.

The Bible is used alnong ~iasoDs as the synlbol of the win of Grd, however it may be expressed. See Furn-iture.

BL..A.CK.. Thi~ colour is a 8Y111b01 of grief and mourning. In the degree of Knight Tenlplar it refers to the execution of James de ~lolay; in the elu degrees of the Seoteh and other rites to the death of tl.e chief builder at the temple; and in the Rose tJTO:.J: to the crucifixion.

131u\.ZL~G STA.R. The blazing star constitutes one of the ornaments of the lodge. FOfIl1Crly it was ~aid to be "COlll111elllOrative of the star which appeared to guide the wise lllell of the East to the place of our Saviour's nativity." l~llt as this allusion, hnwever beautiful, interferes with the universal eharacter of Uln... ~l n1'y, it is now generally oIuitt.ed, nud the blazing st(Lr is said to be fLU embl~nl of Divine Providence. In the EngliHh rituul it is enlbleulatic of I~rudence. Dr. Ilel1uning, quoted by Oliver, says that it refer! to the sun "whieh enlightens the en.rthwith its re.. fulgcnt rays, dispensing its blessings to Inankind at large, and giving light and life to all things llcre below.. "

BLtIE.

The appropriate colour of the first three degrees or

ancient craft nlusonry, ~lnd has been explained as clnblcmatic of.

universal friendship and benevolence, instructing us, that in the

BLU-BOO

mind of a. l\Iason those virtues should be as extensive as the tAut of heaven itself.

~r0h

BI...UE l\IASONRY. The dc'~grce8 of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and l\laster l\Iaso!J; are called Blue l\Iasonry, and lodges in which they are conferr(~(l are called Blue I.Jodges, be路 lj~use the decorations of these derl'(}(~S are of this colour.

BOAZ. The name of the left, hand pillar that stood at the of King Solomon's temple It is deriyed from the Hebrew ,:J, b "in," and tj;', oaz, "strength," and signifies "in e::t,rength." See Pillars. ~路;:)l"ch

BONE. This word which is no,,~ corruptly pronolmced in one syllahle is the Hebrew \vord b(i1l.1~h, iijj:l, "builder," from the verb ba'lu.dt, ;''):1, "to build." It Vi"as peculiarly appliea, :l,t( at cpo tlet, to Hiram Abif, who superintended the construetlou 01 th.e t;01 pIe as itscbtef builder.

I~OOK Oli' CONSTITUTIO~S. The Bool{ of Constit1J.tioIlS is that work in ,vhich is contailled the rules and regulations of the order, an exposition of th.e dutics of officers, the rigllts of members, tIle detail of cerenlon io:? to be used on various oceusions, such as cODseerations, instnllatinna, fhnel"als, etc.; find, in fine, a summary of all the fundulneuta1 principles of uHlsonry. To tbis book, reference is to be Dlade iu ~n oases, where the bye-laws of the Grand Lodge are silent or lh,t sufficiently explicit.

The earlicstlloticc thatl we have of nny such Constitutions is \D a record, written in the reign of Edward IV.:- which stated that })rlIlce Edwin, having :lssetnbled the ~1~'3ons at York, in 926, then framed the .BngIish constitutions of nlasonry froln the wri. tings brought there in various langullges.. These Constitutions continued for a longtime to g'()yern the English craft under the flame of the "Gothic COllstitu:i.,us;" but as they were found,ut :~e revival of masonry in tho beginning of the eighteenth can

BOO tury, to be very erroneous and defeetive-probably froIn cart!

Iessness or ignorance in their frc("!uent transcription-in Sep. t:~',lll:,er, 1721, the l)ake of nlontagn, who ,vas then Grand l\Iaster, oI'dered Brother James Anderson to digest them "in a new and het.,ter ulethed." j~nderson having accordingly nccolllplished the hnportant task that had been assigned hirll, in I)eccluber of the same year, a uvlnluittee consisting of fourteen learned brethren, was appointed to examine the book, and they, in the j)Iarch conullunication ct' the subsequent year, haviug reported their approbation of it,it was, after SOUle alllendments, adopted by the Grand Lodge, and publlshed in 1723, under the title of "the Book of Constitutions of the Freeluasons, containing the History, Charges, R,egula.. tions, etc.. , of the l\Iost Ancient and Right VVorshipful Fraternity.

For the use of the lodges."

In 1738, a second edition was published, under the superi~.. tenc1ence of a cOlluuittee of G-rand officers. This was the last edition issued during the life-titHe of Dr. i\.nderson; but, in tl)(~ year 1754~, it was resolved "that th(~ ]~ook of Constitutions should be revised, and the necessary alterations and additions 11ltu]e, COllsistent with the laws and rules of tnnsonry.. " l\.ga.in, in 1766, a shnilar revision tookplaee, under the care of the Grand officer~ and t\,"enty~one l\Iasters of lodges; and the anH~ndlnents having been unanhnously approved by the (h·and 1.odge, in January, 1767, the fourth edititlD ,vas published.

This book is curried in all prc'eessions before the Grand l\Iaster, on a vel vet cushion, and the right of so carrying it is vested in the l\.laster of the oldest lodge-a privilege 'which arose frOlll the following circumstunces. I)uring the reign of Queen .A.nne, Fr.?c.. ulusonry ,vas in a languishillg condition, in consequence of the age and infirluities of the (i-rnnd l\Iasfer, Sir Christopher 'Yren.

On his death, and the accession of (t€f)rge the !i'irst to tIle throne.. tIH: f()ur old lodges then existing in ]~olldon, deterullned to re· vive the Grand :Lodge, 'which had for Borne sears been dOl flUID t, ~l1d to rl~nc'v the quarterly COIllll!Unications and the nnllUt1~ fl~a~t

BOO nds llleasure they accolllplished., and resolved, among other things, tha.t no lodge thereafter should be permitted to act, (the four old lodges excepted,) unless by ~luthority of a charter granted by the Grand I\Iaster, ,vith tIle approbation und consent of tha Grand I;odge. In conscqucncu of this, t11C old l\lasonsin the rnctropolis vested all tlH;il' inherent privileges as individ:lals in the four old lodges, ill trust, that they would never suffer the. &neient landlnarks to be infringed; while, on their part, the~ bodies consented to extend their patronage to every lodge \\'hi,~h should thereafter be regulurly constituted, and to admit tlH~ir l\lasters and '\v'"ardens to share with then} all the privileges of the Grand Lodge, that of precedence only excepted. The extensiom of the order, however, beginning to give to the new lo~ges a numerical superiority in the G-rand Lodge, it was fear9~d they would at length be able, bJ a lnajority, to subvert the privileges of the original l\Tasons of l~ngl:nld, ,,"hich had been centred in tho four old lodges. ()n this account, a code of articles was drawn up with the consent of all the bretlJren, for the future gO'vern:nent of the society.. '1'0 this wus annexed a regulation, binding the Grand l\Iaster and 11is successors, and the I\laster of e\1ery ne\y}y

constituted lodge, to preserve these regulations inviolable;

and declaring tlHl t no 11e,,路 regulation could be proposed, except at the third quarterly COIllllluuicatiou, and requiring it to be publicly read at the annual feast to every brother, even to tl ~ youngest Apprentice, when the approbation of at least two-thirdE' of those present should be requisite to render it obligatory. To COIDlnClnorate this CirCUll1stance, it has heen customary for the n:laster of the oldest lodge to attend every grand installation, anu

an

taking precedence of present, the G"rnnd 1\laster excepted, to deliver the Book of' Constihltions to the newly installed G-rand ~Iaster, on his prcnnising ohedienee to the ancient charges and general regulations. rrhis book, guarded by the Tiler's s,Yord, constitutes an emblem in the 1\Iaster's degree, intended to adl.l10nish the ]\Jason l.\-X'

BOO-B11E

66

that he should be guardetl in all his words and acti()DS, preserving unsullied the masonic virtues of silence and circulnspection which are inculcated in that book.

"T.

BOOK OF TIlE LA The Holy 13ible, which is always open in a lodge, as a symbol that its light should be diffused. alllong the brethren. The passages on which it is opened dUrer in the different degrees.

In this country these passages are as

follows: in the first degree, at Psalm exxxiii ; in the second, at .:\ lnos vii. 7, 8; in the third, at Ecclesiastes xii. 1-7.

BREAST PLATE. A piece of embroidery about ten inches square, worn by the J ~wish High Priest on his breast, and attached by its upper corners to the shoulders, and by its lower to the girdle of the Ephod. It was made of the same rich embroidered stuff of which the Ephod was. The front of" it was set with twelve precious stones, on each of which \ytlS engnl,"ed the name of one of the twelve tribes. Th(~se stones were dividetl trom each other by golden partitions, a.nd set inf()ur ro,vs accordIng to the following order. It Illust be relneulbered tllat they Rre to be read aceording to t,he Jewish systetl1 of writing, fronl right to left, commencing with the Sardins in the rigllt lUlDcl

upper corner rr====='.;=:====:::;:=:==== CARBUNCLE,

1'10PAZ,

* LEVI.

* SIl\IEON.

DIAMOND,

* ZEBULUN.

AMETH.YST; .

*

SAR~IU8'1 ItEuBEN.

SAPPHIR}~, -E:MERALD,

*

ISSACHAR.

*

JUDAH.

LIGURE,

*

GAD.

DAN.

JASPER,

BERYL,

*

BENJAMIN.

*

A.SHE~

l.."=====:-::.-.=:.""""I!"*".- ..:::::::;:::=;;==::;:;;:;;:::;;J

BRE 1he colours of these stones have been described by BibIlcal naturalists as follows: 1. Tho lJardtus, or ruby, ~as of a red colour, with an admixture of pu.rple. 2. The T!JjJaz, or modern chrysolite, was pale green, with an admixture of yellow. 3. The Oarbuncle was a fiery red. 4. The E11U?1'ald was of a beautiful and pure green.

5. The Sal>J>lbtl'e, or modern lapis lazuli, was a deep blue, veined with white and spotted with sIllall golden stars. 6. The Di;r.montl is perfectly white. 7. The L'i'gure, or hyacinth, was of dull red, much ulixed with yenow. 8.. The Agate wa,s of a grey horny ground, spotted with different colours, chiefly of a ciusky hue, 9.' The .ilinetll./jst was of a purple colour, composed of strong blue and deep red. 10. The Beryl, or modern aqua marina, was a pellucid gem of a bluish greeD. 11. The O'll~X was of a bluish white colour, resembling the tint of the human nail. 12. The . .laRJ.Jer was of a beautiful green, sonletiulcs clouded with white, red, or y~now.

The follo'wing are t.he IIc'braic characters in which the naWtl8 of the twelve tribes were engraved on these stones, in the same order in which they are arranged in the preceding diagram.

(

1 ,~,

II

'j pS:lf

I

i\VOrt1

r:1~N'

.,.:J tt'tt''

"":-tt

,J

,Sn~J

10 'J:1

~O,'

l' ..,tt'~

-The breast-piate was never to be separated from the priestl, garments, and was 路called th(~ "llleruorinl," becaus~ it was de. signed to reluind the II igh Priest how dear the tribes whose

18

Bltl-BltO

(lames it bore should be to llis heart. This ornanlent f9ru13 a a part of the vestluents of the fligh Priest in a Itoyn~ Arc'h Chapter. * BRIGHT. A nluson is said to be H bright" who is weE a~¡ quniutcd with the ritual, the fornls of opening and cl()sing', and the ceretnonies of initiation. 'fh is expr(~ssion cines DOt., h 'nv(. \.'e~, in its technical sense, appear tl) inelude the superior .kn(~kl ::.ugE: of the history and science of tlle institut.ion, :uJd InHHy lJrig~lt masons are therefore not neeesstu'ily learned Inasons, and on th~: contrary SOIne learned Tllusons are not well versed in the ex::,]! phraseology of the ritual. The one knowledge depends on a roo tentive memory, tbe other is derived frolH deep research.

BROACHED r:I:'I-IUIlNEI.J. In the early part of the eighteenth century tIle B1"oaclted Tht.trnel was one of the immovable jewels of an .A.pprentices' loc1ge, the other two being the Tarsel Board and the Rough .i\.shlar_ Oliver is therefore incorrect in saying ill his Dictionary, that" it \vas subsequently called the Rough Ashla.r." It is said in the rituals of 1730 to have been used" for the Entered Apprentice to learn to work upou." 1,Vhen discontinued, its placct was supplied by the Perfect Ashlar.

J~RJOI{J~N C()I.J~..ll\lN. AnH)ng the IIebrews, COlUIl1nS 'werf,\ used l11ctaphoricalIy, to signify prinees err nobles, as if they were the pillars of a state. ~rhus, in Psahlls xi. 8, the pnssage, I'ending in our transI:.tt.ion, "if the foundations be destroyed, 1;.,rhat can t.he righteous do?" is in the original," when the cohullns are over.. tIn"own," i. c. when the firI:ll supporters of what is right and good have perished. So the passage in Isaiah xix. 10, should rc~ad: uher (Egypt's) colunlDS are broken down," that is, the nobles of her state.. In Frcelnnsonry, the broken colUlun is. as l\Iaster

â&#x20AC;˘ The judges in nncien't Egypt wore breast..plates.

Jeot, seeUrim and Thum.mim.

For mote on thfA ab-

69

lJl{O-BY

i\fas1ns well know, the emblem of the fall of one of the chief lJupporters of the craft.

The ternl Wllich .Freeulusons apply to each otber. FreeUHlsons are 'brethren, not only by COUlmon pal'tieipa.. bon of the hUlnan naturt~" but as profeBsing the satne faith. as beIng jointly cng:l,gecl in the sanle labours, Hnd as being Ul1itcd by a mutual coyenan t or tie, whence they are also elnp,h,ltieally called "Brethren of the l\Iystic ~[,ie."

BROTI-IERLY Lo,rE,

I{l~IJI]~F

.A.ND 1.'RUTH.

These

words constitute the lllotto of our order, and the ch~lract.eristics of our profession. They need no explanation, but they prove that, a society which could adopt them, can be founded only on

the pnnciples of virtue. One of the ancient charges calls brotheriy love" the foundation and cape stone, the cement and glory of this ancient fraternity."

BUl~NING l~路USH. The burning bush] out of the midst of which the angel of the Lord appeared unto l\foses at ~Iount floreb, is referred to in the cerelllonics of Royal i\.rch l\Iasonry, beeause it was there t,hat the Tetrngranllnnton was delivered to the ..J ewish ht,,"giver. 'l'his "'US, theref()re, the great source of true IlU1St)llic light, nud heIlce Suprelue Coun(~iIs of the3Bd de.. grcf date their protocols a near the IJ.路. 13,. '." or "J~urning Bush,': to int.inlate that they are in their own rite the exclusive sou rea of all masonic instruction.

BY-I.lA WS. Every subordinate lodge is permitted to make its own by-laws, provided the.y do Ilotconflict with the regula... tions of the Grand Lodge, nor witll the ancient usages of the fraterni tJ But of this, the Grand l~odge is the only judge, antI therefore the original hy.. hrws ()f every lodge~, us well as all subsequent alterations of theIn, IlJllst be SUbll1itted to the Grand I.JodO'~ for approval and confirluation before they can become valid.

OAB

c.

CABBALA. The Cabbala is that peculiar science or pnhoso phy of the Jews which is occupied in the nlystical interpretation of tlle Scriptures, and in 111etapllysical s-peculations concerluni2 the Deity and the spiritual world. As nluch use is luade of theBe cabbalistic speculations in the higher philosophical degrees of masonry, a brief description of the systenl will not perhaps be considered irrelevant to the objects of this work.

The Oabbala is of two kinds: theoretical :lnd jJracii路cal. With the practical Cabbala, which is engaged in the construction of talismans and aluulets, we have nothing to do. The theoretical is divided into t,he literal and dognlatic. The dognlatic Cabbala is nothing more than the summary of the llletapbysical doctrines taught by the Cabbalistic doctors. It is, in other words, the sJsteln of Jewish philosophy. Tlle literal is a, D1ystical Illode of explaining sacred tllings by a peculiar use of the letters of words, and is the oue \vhich is ftonnected ,vith philosophical and ineffable

lnnsonry.

'T11cre ure three principal branches of tIle literal Canbala, which nrc denonlinated .Gt:~nl.atria, J.Votarlr路on, aud '1~'''In/n1路l.l.

1. Gematria is a nlode of contelnplating ","ords nccord路ing to the value of the letters of whieh they a.rc (~onl'poscd. 'l'he IIebrews, iike other ancient nations, IHtvillg no figures in their language, ulade use of the letters of their ~llphabet instead of nUlllhers, c,ach letter having a particular numericul value according to tIle following table: Aleph Beth

~

1 Yod

Gimel

:l 2Caph J 3 Lamed

Daleth

,

lIe Vau

it 5 Nun

4 Mem

" 6 Samech

, 10 I I{oph ;J. 20 j Resh

~

o .j o

30! Shin 40 'l'au 50 ]1'inal Cnph

P 100 ., 200 e' 800

n

1

400 500

60 Finall\IemC 600

n

OAB Zain Chetb Teth

r

n ~

lAin

7 8 Pe

A I~rsaddi

Final Nun .v 701 80. Final Pe

::J

::

j 700 :, 800 90 Final Tsaddi 900

r

Any two words, the letters of which have the same nUluerical value, are lllutually convertible, and each is supposed to contuiIJ the latent signification of the other. Thus the words in Genesi~ xlix. 10, ,{ Shiloh shall conle," are supposed to contain a pl'ophecy of the l\Iessiah, because the letters of "Shiloh shall corne," iTj'rt- ~:J' and of "l\Iessiah," n'~o, both have the nUDlerica] value of ~358, accordiI~g to the above table. It was by Gematria, applied to the Greek language, that we found in the article Abraxas in this work, tbe identity of .A.. braxas and lVlithra,s. This is by f~1.r the Illost COllllllon mode of applying the Cabbala.

2. N otUl'iCOll is a mode of constructing one word out of the initials or finals of nUlll)", or a sentence out of the letters of a word, each letter being used as the initiill of another word.ThU8 of the sentence in Deuterolloluy xxx. 12,_ "'Vhoshall go up f~r us to heaven ?" in IIebrev{ ilO'i.jCf;r i..j?

'0 the initial :etters of each word are taken t.o fhrin the word ;y",~, "circum.. cision," and the finals to forIn if1;" "Jehovah ;" hence it is concluded that Jehovah hath shown circurncisionto be the way to heaven. l~g:;lin: the six letters of the first word in Gonesis n'C'~i:l "in the beg i nl1ing,"are nInde use of to fOlm the ini. tials of six words which constitute a sentence signifying ~h~t "Ill the .beginning God saw that Isr-ael would accept the law,"

nS.v'

i1,,\I1 ,~,:" i~:Ji"tt' c:::i'i1'~ i1~' n'~'~':l

3. Ten:ura is Onbbala by perlnutation of letters. SometimEis the letters of a word are transposed to form another word, making wh:...t is fUIIliliarly known as an anagralll, or the letters of a word are clutnged for other~ according to certain fixed rule,:; of alpha.. beticalpermutn.tion, the 1st letter being pla.ced for the 22d, the

2d for the 21st, the 3d for the 20th, and so on. It is in th.is way that Babel, S:J.:l is made out of Sheshach e'rt', and henca

1

the Cabbalists· say that when coJ creluiah used the word ShcshtiCh (xxv. 26) he referred to Babel.

The principal sources of the Ca.bbala are the two Hebrew book~ Jesi'ra and Zoltar. l\Iuch aid in the study nlay, however, be derived frODl Allen's "l\IodernJudaism," from l\Iunck's l\Iclanges de Philosophie J uives et Arabes," s.nd from Franck\~ " IJR Kabbale.. " ~~

01\BIRI, l\Il ·ST1~RIBS OE' ':rII]~. rrhe Cabiri were originally Syrian or PhcIllcian gods, and all that 'we kno,vabout thCIU IS to be .found in a fragnlcnt of Snnconiathon, quoted by l~:use­ bius, \vhich tells us that they '\\7ere the children of Sydyk, ('Wh0111 Faber* and SOUle other autlHJl's suppose to be Noah,) al~d that they were the inventors of ship-huiIding. In the tiInc of Chronos (or Saturn) their descendants, while navigating tIle sea, ran agrcllr:.d on l\Iount Casius and there erected a teolple. 'l~~he worship of the Cabiri \vas first estnblished in the island of SMlothrace, where it nuts be supposed tlutt theso navigators first landed on passing frnu.l the continent. IJere they founded fhe :d)'stcries of the Cabiri, '\\'rhieh 'were subseqU(Hltl.y eelebrated at Thebes ~tnd J...4eUl110S, but Illore especiallj" at Sanlf)thrace, \vheI1(~e they were sOlllednH~s culled the Sa.rl1othraeian rites, tI'he rHUll~ :>f the Cabiri \vas derived origlnallJ fl'(Hrl ]>henicia, and tlH~ 'w(u,d signifies in that language l)ozocrj'"ul.t 'fherc \"ere fr)ul" of' these gods, .A.xieros, .A.xiokersos, .A,xiokersa, uud CaJu.tillus.:i. 'rhe last had been slain by the three others, and his ulurder Wd8 ("(llll· "'r..ew(,rated in the secret rites. 'The nspirant presented hinlself

• Dissert. on the l\Iysteries of the On.hiri. ldentioq,l with Shem,

#t

just man, in Hebrew.

t COtllnare the cognate Hebrew, kablr,

Bishop Cumberland thinks S.:nlyk Sadt?h~.

to he greater." t Some nuthors suppose that these four gods refer to Noab and his three ~ons, sU\'od ill the ark, an i thul'l they connec.t the Snmothracian rites with tbf Arkite wor:5hip. Sl~(' DrulUlllonfl's Origines, \"01. ii. p. 130. The ScboliNt d .4.poll. Rbod. says their nalues were Ceres, Proserpine, and BaochUJ. H

CA.B erowned with an olive branch, and girded about the loins WIth a p-arple riband or apron. lIe was placed upon a throne, uroulld which the priests and initiated perfbrlued sacred dances. Jjluneral rites were then enacted, in which the CUlldidate l'epresented Cad.. millus. The hierophants deelared that the object of the 1'.118terieswas, to make Iuen just and virtuoub. Candidates who had been guilty of any criule, were conlpel.14~d to confess to a prie£t) who purified them. lVlany persons annually resortetl to Sanlothrace to be initiat.ed. mto the celebrated mysteries;, Q.ulong 'WhOlU are Inel1tioned Cud mus, Orpheus, Hercules, and Ul'ys~es. Jambliehus says, in hi2 life of Pythagoras, that frolll those of Lemnos that sage derived much of his wisdom. The 111ysteries of the Cabiri were DlucL respected among the common people, and great car-e l\l'as taken in t.heir concealment. The priests \,~ere called Corybautes, and made use of a language peculiar to the rites.

There is luuch perplexity connected with this subject., but· it is

*

generally supposed that the Inysteries were instituted ill honour (\f l\.tyS, the son of Oybele. Accc 1ding tQl\J.acroLiuQ, i\ty::; was one of the nanles of the sun; in confirn>ation of thj~, we kno\v that the Inysteries were celebrated at the vernal equinox. T}J.C~Y lasted three days, during which theJ~ repl'csented in the person of AtyB, the enignultical death of the sun in 'winter, and :.. ;8 regeneration in the spring. In all probability, in the initiation, the candidate passed through a draUltl, the subjeet of '\vhieh wa~ the violent death of Atys. Candidates (Ill thf£lr adluission, underwent an exaulinution respecting their previous life, and after being purified and initiated were presented with u purple girdle, which was worn like an al)ron around their bodies, as an anlu1e~ to preserve them against uB dangers.

• Larcher 8ays tha.t those who bad been admitted to these mysterit·"s weN highly esteemed, as they wcre SUI,poscd tt> have nothing to apprehend froD! tempests; a.nd Plutarch tells us, that they who le~lrncd the ~lllme~ <.of the C6tbir~ pronounced them 8lowlYi as a.n amul )t to avert "ala,mity.

'14.

CAB-CAG

t.rhe myeterie5 were in existence at Samot.hrace as late as tn" el~nteenth

year of the Christian era, at which time the Emperor tiermanicus elnbarked for that island, to be initiated, but wa~ prevented from accolllplishillg his purpose by adverse winds..

C.A.BI.J~

TO\V. A properly construeted tracing board of t:h; l\.pprentice is always enclosed within a cord or cable tow; having four tassels placed at the f::1r angles, referring to the four -cardinal virtues and their illustrated points, while the cable tow is emblenlatic of the cord or band of affection which should unite ~he whole fraternity, as in Hosea xi.. 4, "I drew theul with cordo of a man, with bands of love." But there is another and not figurative use of this implement, with which liasons are well 00... quainted.. }~ntered

C.A.GLIOS~I:'RO. Joseph Balsamo, l\larquis of Pelligriui, more comIllonly known by the title which he assunled at Paris, of Count Cagliostro, was one of the nlost ingenious imposters that. ever lived. lIe was the author of (l work entitled "l\la<}onnerie l~Jgyptienne," and the founder of a pseudo-masonic systenl, which he caned the rite of I~gyptian 111tlSOnry. lIe est':lblished this rite, (the idea of wh teh he had obtai ned from SOUle manuscripts aGci路 dentnJI.y purchased at I.Jondon,) at first, in Courland, in the year 177H, whence he afterward introduced it into Gerluany, !<'rance, and ]~jngland. l~or the purpose more speedily of captivating the 'Jredulous and the irnaginative, he united with this form of mil...

IK>nry, the visionary scheules of .A.lchemy, declaring that 0110 of the objects of initiation was the possession of the philosopher's ~tfone and the elixir of iInmortality.

130th Illell and wowen were admitted into the lodges of the I~gyptian rite, though the cercunonies for each sex were slightly Jifierent~ and the lodges for their recepti()n were entirely distinct.

The systeul 'was called a, hiernrchy, and was divided into thre~ degrees, l~gyptian .A.pprentice" I1Jgyptian :b'ellow-craft, and J1~gyptinD

I\laster.

CAL Cagliostro, after llaving been banished fron1 France by the governluent, and conlpelled to fly frolnF~ngltlnd by his creditors, was finally arrested at l\ollH~ by the InquiRition, in 1789, on t\ charge of practising the rites of Freemasonry, and condenlned to perpetual iIuprisonDlen t. lIe was never afterwards heard of, :llid is supposed to have died, or to have been put to death, during his incarceration.

CALENDAR, l\LA.SONIC. Freemasons, in affixing dates to their official documents, never nlake use of the common calendar or vulgar era, but have one peculiar to themselves, which, however, varies in the different rites.

Masons of the York and French rites, that is to say, the 1\lasons of England: Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany, and America, date from the creation of the world, calling it " Anno Lucis," which they abbreviate A.'" L . "., signifying 7~n the year of l拢ght., Thus with thenl the year 1850 is A.". L."" 5850.

T~is they do" not because they believe Freemasonry to be coeval w:..\h the creation, but with a symbolic reference to the light of

masonry.

In the Scotch rite, the era also begins from the dute of th~ creation, but l)lasons of that rite, using the Jewish chronology, would call the .yetlf 1850 A.". ~I.路" or Anno ~.lundi (in the yea:~ of the world) 5610.'~rhe:Y' sometimes use tbeinitials A.'" H. "., signifying Anno IIebraico, or, ~~n the Heore'lo year. They have also adopted the IIebrew months, and the yenr tlu:lrefore ends with thelll on the 16th ~f September, the new yetlr beginning OL the 17th of the same nlonth, which is the first of Tisri.

The l\Iusons of the rite of l\Iizraim, which is practised in France, adopt the chronology of Archbishop lJ sher, and adding fvur years to the usual conlputation of the age of the world, would make the year 1850 A. L,,路. 5854" }+la.RVns of the York rite begin the year on the :first of January, but in tne li'rench rite it commences on the first of lVIarch, and ,i~St4~ o~ ~h~ !P9Pths receiving their usual names, they are de~ig.

It_

76

CAL,

natw numerically, as first, second, third, &c. 'Thus the 1st J anuary, 1850, would be styled in a French 111asonic dOCUIl1ent, the " 1st day of the 11th m,asonic nlonth, .A.nDo Lucis, 5850." The French sonletimes, instead of the initials A.·. L.·., use L' an de la v:.. L.·., or, Vra'ie LUTil.£ere, that is," Year of True Light."

Royal Arch nlasons conunence their era with the year in. which Zerubb~l:bel began to build the second temple, which was 530 years before Christ. Their style for the year 1850 is, therefore, ~~ .._ Inv.·., that is, Anno In'ven,f'ion:is, OT, in the Year of the Dis.. covery, 2380.

Royal and Select l\tlasters very often make use of the common masonic date, .A.nno L1.tCl~S, but properly they should date from the year in which Solomon's Teluple was completed, and their sty]e would then be, Anno Depos£trion{s, or 'l:n the" .Year of the Deposlte, and they would date the year 1850 as 2850.

I{nights Telnplars use the era of the organization of their trder in 1118. Their style for the year 1850 is A.-. 0--., Anno Ordtn:is, Of, 'i'n the Y(}ar of the Order, 732.

I subjoin, for the convenience of reference, the rules for disljovering these different dates.

1. To find the- itncient Graft date. Add 4000 to the vulgar era. Thus 1850 and 4000 are 5850.

2 To find the date oj· the Scotclt. rite. Add 3760 to the vul. gar era. Thu~ 1850 and 3760 are 5610. .A.fter September add one year lllore.

3. To find the date oJ- Royal Arch J.lfasonrl/. Add 530 to the rulgar era. Tbus 530 and 1850 are 2380.

4. To Jind tlle Royal aut! Select lJ.laste'rs' date. Add 1000 to the yulga.r era. Thus 1000 and 1850 are 2850.

5. 1'0 find tlJe [(n1fl7z.ts Tt,''tn:plct~·'·s date. Subtract 1118 from the vulgar era Thus 1118 frou) 1~50 is 732.

The following \"\-rill show, in one view, the date of the year 1850 \n all tbf~ branches of the order: 1""enr of the Lord, A. D, lSQQ- V'ulgar ~~~.

CAN~CAP

Year of the Light, A. L.·. 5850-Ancient Craft l\fasonry. of the "Vorld, A .1\1.·. 56l0-Scotch rite.

Year of the Discovery, A.·. I.". 2380-Royal Arch l\Iasonry.

Year of the Deposite, A.·. Dep.·. 2850-Royai and Select Ye~n~

~Iasters.

Year of the Order, A.·.

0.·. 732-Knigbts Templars.

CANDIDATE. In ancient R,onle, he who sought office from the people wore a 'white shining robe of a peculiar construction:fl(n~~ing open in front, so as to exhibit the wounds he had 1'ecoh"ed in his breast. Froln the colour of his robe or lOlla can .. dida, he was called cand/dat'lls, whence our English word candi· date. r~rhe derivation ,vill SCTve to renlind our brethren of the purity of conduct and ehuracter \vhich should distinguish all those who are candidates for adrnission into our order. For· the constitutional qualification of nUlsonic c3ndidates, see Adrn./tssion.

CAPE STONE.

Properly Chpe Stone, which see.

OAPTAIN GENERAL. The third officer in 31 Commanderyof Knights Templars. He presides over the Command';l}' in the absence of his superiors, and is one of its representatives in the Grand COlnmandery. Ifis duties 14re to see tha,t the coun.. cil chamber and asylum are duly prepared for the business of the meetings, and to connnuuicate all orders issued by tteGrand Council. His station is on the left of the Eminent Commander, and his jewel is a level surmounted by a cock, the 9n blem 01 courage.

CAP~rrV·IrrY. Soionlon ha'ving erected and dedicated a tempie to J eh )vah, died in the year of the world 3029. His donn niol1s did llot long retain their integrity, for during the reign )f his son and Sllecessor, l\uhollounl, ten of the tribes revnl~cJ Iguillst his ulltlHH'ity; und thus the sepn.rate klngdouls of Judah and Israel were established. t,\)A tenlple l'eluaiuiug in the POSSC& 1

CAR-CAT sion of the former. After a series of events unnecessary to ue narrated here, the city of Jerusalem was attacked by Nebuchadnezzar, and after a year's siege, was surrendered at luiclnight, in the eleventh yeur of t.he reign of Zedekitth, to N ebuzaradan, the captain of Nebuchadnezzar's guards. Nebuzaradan, baving rifled the temple of its sacred vessels and its t,vo pillars at the entrance of the porch, set it and the city on fire, on the tenth day of tho fifth month, corresponding to the latter part of July; and conveyed those of the people who had escaped the s'word, as capti\-"esto Babylon. Here they remained in servitude, until they 'were released by Cyrus, king of Persia, who, in the first year of his reign, published that famous decree which liberated the I-Iebrew captives, and permitted them to rebuild "the city and house of t1he Lord."* lVIany interesting circumstances in relation to thIS captivity, and its termination, are interspersed through some of the higher degrees, such as the Royal Arch, the Red Cross Knight, Knight of the East, and to parts of Jerusalem.

CARDIN.A.L VIlt1'UES. 'l'hese are !)rudence, Fortitude, Temperance, and Justice. They are dilated on in the first d~. . gree; and the practice of them urged upon the candidate, h, 6ertain striking s]usions Prince of the cereluonies of initiation.

CARPET. A painting or diagram, containing the embleuls of a particular degree. The saIne as flooring or tracing board.

It is called a carpet, because the larger ones used in a lodge are generally laid upon the ground for the purposes of instruction.

CASSIA.

Sometimes improperly used for

Acac'l~a.

CATEN...t\..RIAN ARCH. If a rope be suspended loosely by its two ends, the curve into which it falls is called a catenarian â&#x20AC;˘ Lightfoot says that the seventy year~ or the captivity began in the third 1ca.rof Jehoiakim and terminated in the first year of Cyrus, whioh he datel 6,nno Mundi 3470. HariftQuf 0/ tl. f'our Euang. /roleg. i yU..

CAU-CEP

79

curve, and this inverted foruls the catenarian arch, which 1~ aaid [,0 te strongest of all arclles. .,As the for1H of a SJlllbolic lodge is an oblong squaro, that of a 110snl l\.rch Chapter, according to the English ritual is a catcnarian arch.

C.l~lJ'rION. It was forlllerly the ellston) to bestow upon an Bntered . Apprentice, on his initiation, a ne\v nnrue which, wae " cn:ltion." 'The eustonl is no\v very generally discontin ued, altbJugh the principle which it inculcated should never be for.. gotten.

CENTRE, OPENING ON TIlE. In the ritual of the Eng.. lish lodges, it is usual for the 1\1.". when he hus opened a lodg~ in the third degree, to declare it duly" opened on the centre." This practice is thus explained: "None but l\lasters' Lodges are so opened. .J..~pprelltice and Craft Lodges are luixed lodges,-the first including brethren of the three degrees-solne higher and SOUle lo'wer in l1U1Sonry than others, eODsequently there is not a rnasonic equality alHong thelu. ~rhe l\l~lster l\Iasou io under a stronger obligation to his brothel' of an equal degree, than to ono of an iIlf'erior degree. On the contrary, in a. lodge of 1"Iasters, all are equal, all stand upon the sanIC level, all are equally near and equally distant to each other-as the centrc(J point of the c[rcle 'i,r; t~qltal(lJ near a.nd equal~1j dÂŁstant to ,its ei'rcumference. lIenee, we say a 1\laster's lodge is opened on the centre "-l\Ioore's l\Iag. "7" iii. p 356. An attelllpt has been rnade in the" Trest1e Bonrd J " published under the sanction of tho late Baltirnore l\Iasollic LOllyention, to introduce the ellston:. into the American lodges. It has, however, been very generally rejected.

"T...

C.E1PH1\'S.

A 8yrioo word signifying a rock or stone..

In

the d~gree of Royal1tIaater, it is used in reference to the cubical ,tQQ6

of masonry.

80

OER

C,ERTIFIC~\.T]1J A diplonla issued by a Grand Lodge, or by subordinate lodge under~ its authority, testifying that the holder theroof i8 a true and trusty brother, and recomulcnding him to the hospitality of the fraternity abroad. The character of this instrument has sonlet,ilues beeu luuch misunderstoood. It is by no meaJ;ls intended to act as a l'oltche'r for the bearer, nor can it be allowed to supersede the necessity of a st'rlct exarn.£.nat'ion.

A stranger, however, having been tried and proved by a more unerring standard, his certificate then properly comes in as an auxiliary testimonial, and will be perlllitted to afford good evidence of his correct standing in his lodge at home; for no body of l\'lasons, true to the principles of their order, would grant such an instrument to an unwrorthy brother, or to one who, t.hey feared, Plight make an inlproper use of it. But though the presence of a Grand I~odge's certificate be in general required as collateral evidence of worthiness to visit, or receive aid, its accidental absence, which Iuay arise in various ways, as from fire, captivity, or shipwreck, should not debar a strange brother f1"0111 the rights guaranteed to hiln by our institution, provided he can offer other eviden co of his good character. The G-rand J.Jodge of New York has, upon this 8U bj cct, taken t.he proper stand in the It

following ref,l1l1ation :-" 'fhat no l\Iason be adrnitted to any £ubordin~te lodge, under the jurisdiction of this Grand Lodge;or receive the charitioo of any lodge, unless he shall, on such applicatjon, exhibit nGrand Lodge (Jcrtificate, dUly attested by the proper authorities, except he is lcnown f,o tlte lo 1ge to Oe a worthy brother."* Since the publication of the first edition of this work, the Cer" tificate syst~m has been warmly discussed by the Grand I~odges of the Uni t.ed St~ltes, and considerable opposition to it bas been made by some of them on the ground that it is an innovation.

If it is an innovation, it certainly is not one of the present day; as we may learn from the Regulations made in General Assem • Order of the Grand Lodge of New York, JuneS, 184.$.

eHA

81

bly of the IVlasons of England, on St. J'ohn the Evangelist's day, 1663, during the Grand l\Iastership of the Earl of St. .Albans, one of which reads as follo\Y's: "That no person hereafter who shall be accepted a Free-mason shall be admitted into any lodge or asselubly, until he has brought a certificate of the tinle and place of his acceptation franl the lodge that accepted hinl, unto the l\Iaster of that liulit or divisicn where such lodge is kept."

CHAIN, l\IYSTIC To form the mystic chain is fer flit:brethren to make a circle, holding each other by the bands, ab in surrounding a grave, &c. ]~ach brother crosses his arrHS in fl'on t of his body, so as to give his right hand to his left hand neighbour, and his left hand to his right hand neighbour. The French call it chaine cl'1.J.n';on..

CHALK, CfIARCO.A.L AND CLAY.. By these three subst.'UlCâ&#x201A;ŹS, are beautifully S)rnl bolized the three qualifications for the servitude of an Entered Apprentice.

CHAMBER OF I-t]j~FL}iJOTION. In the French and Scotch rites, a small rOon} adjoining tlle lodge, in which, preparatory to initiation, the candidate is enclosed for the purpose of indulging in those serious meditatiolls which its sonlbre appearance, and the gloomy emblems with which it is furnished, are calculated to produce. It is also used in the degree of Knight Templar for a similar purpose..

OHANCELI.. OR.. An officer in a Council of Knights of tht Ited Cross, correspondin~ in some respects to the Senior Warden 9ÂŁ a symbolic lodge.

CHAPITER.

An ornamental finish to the top of a pillar.

c:a.AP~.

The oitice of cbavlain of a loet~e is one whic}

OHA is not recognized in the ritual of this country, although ofter: oonferred by courtesy.

CHAPTER. A con'Yocation of Royal Arch l\lasons is called a Chapter. In England and Ireland, l~oyal Arch l\Iasonry is con.. nected with and under the government of the Grand Lodge; but in America and Scotland, the jurisdictions are separate.. * Here, u Chapter ofRoyalArch ~Iasons is empowered to giye the preparatory degrees of Mark, Past" and Most Excellent lVIaster; although, of course,theChapter, when rlleeting in either ofthese degrees,is callf'd a lodge. In some Ohapters, the degrees of Royal and Select Master J.re also given as preparatory. degrees; but in most of the States, the oontrol of these is conferred upon separate bodies, called tc Coun.. eils of Royal and Select l\Iasters." The presiding officers of a Chapter are the High Priest, King, and Scribe, who are, respect. ively, representatives of Joshua, Zerubbahel, and Haggai. In the English Chapters, these officers tlre generally styled either by the founders' nalnes as abo,~e, or as 1st, 2d, and 3d Princip::tle.

Chapters of ROJal Arch ltlasons in this country, are priznarily under the jurisdiction of Stat(~Grand Chapters u.s lodges are under Grand Lodges; and secondly, under the General G-rand Chapter of the United States, whose Dlcetings are held triennially, and which exercises a general supervision over this branch of the the order, throughout the Union. The convocations of several of the in~ffable degrees are also called Chapters. See Royal Arch.

CIIAPTER, GRAND. A Grund Chapter ,consists of the IIigh Priests, Kings, and S ~ribes, for the time being, of t} e seve.. raj Chapters under its jurisdiction, and of the l)ast Grand and Deputy Grand High Priests, I(jngs, and Scribes of the said Orand' Uhapter. Its organization differs frenl that of a Gran.d Lodge: Past High })riests not being eligible to a sen t, after ,he â&#x20AC;˘ Formerly in this oountry. Cha'Ptcr~ ,..(~n~ elUlrtereQ b1 "114 'ln4er tllt

Âť"vJ

uf;r~nd

Lodi e,.

OD"

CIIA

83

Axpiration of their time of service, as Past J\lasters are in the Grand I.Jodge; unless they shall have served as Grand and Deputy Grand I-ligh Priests, I(ings or Scribes. Grand Chapters have the sole governlnent and superintendence, (under the Gene.. ral Grand Chapter,) of the several Roynl A.rch Cha!Jters, and Lodges of l\Iost }t~xcenent, Past and l\lark .:\lasters, within their several j"lrisdictions.

Until the year 17f}" there "'US no organization of Grand Chapters in the United States. Chapters were held under the authority of a l\Iaster's warrent, although the consent of a neighbouring Chapter was generally deellled expedient. But in 1797, delegates fro:n several of the Chapters in the Northern States a~sclnblcd at Boston, for the purpose of deliberating on the expediency of organizin~ a Grand Chapter, for the government and regula tion of the seypral Chapters within the said States. This Con von tion prepared an address to the Chapters in New York and Nt!w' :England, disclainling the power of any Grn,nd Lodge to exercise¡ authority over }{oj'ul Arch l\:Iasons, and declaring it expedient to establish a Grand Chapter. In consequence of this address, delegates froln III()st, of the Sta,tes above mentioned, met ~lt lIartfhrd, in ,Jarlllary, 1798, and organized a Grand Chapter, fOfIned and adopted flo constitution) and elected and installed their officers. This eXtuuple 'was quickly followed by other parts of the Union; and Grand Chapters now ~xist in nearly all the States.

CHAI>TER, GliJNERAL GRAND.

The General (}rano

Chapter of the United States was organized in 1806, and nleets trio enniully; it, consists of the Grand and Deput,y Grand High Prit'st8~ Kings, and Scribes, fbr the tilne being, of tIle several State Grand Chapters, and of the l)a.st General Grand II igh Priests,. Deputy General Grand fligh !)riests, !{ings, and Scribes of the said General Grand Chapter. * It exercises a t;encralsupervisor, â&#x20AC;˘ By JiD a,mendment to the Constitution adopted in 1858, Past GeneraJ Granc Officers are no longer ex o'1icio memben.

84

ORA

authority over the State Grand Chapters, and inuuediate juris diction in all States or 'rerritories where a State Gra.nd Chapter has not been established.

CHARGES. The frHternity had long been in possession of many records, containing' the ancient regulations of the order; when, in 1722, the l)uke of l\lontague being Grand l\laster cf England, the Grand l~odge finding fhult \vith their antiquated arrangement, it was directed that they should be collected: ana after being properly digested, be annexed to the 1300k of Const~,. tutions, then in course of publieatioll under the superintendence of .Brother James A.nderson. This was accordingly done, anel the document no,v to be found in all the Ahiman Re2ons, und3!' the title of "The old Charges of the l?ree and . A.ccepted 1\1:aso08," constitutes, by universal consent, a part, of the fundarnental hu\ of our order. The charges are divided into six general heads of duty, as follows: 1. Ooncerning God and religion. :!. Of the civil magistrate, SUpre111C and subordinate. B. Of lodges. 4. Of l\Iasters, "lardens, I?ello'ws, and.Apprentices. 5. Of the luau路 agement of the Oraft in working. H. Of behaviour under differ.. ent circul'l1stunces, and in various conditions. 'I'hcse clulrge~" Jontain succinct directions for the proper diseharge of a l\lason':-: (lutics, in whatever position henuty he plaeed:; and. frotn then) tin ve been abridged, or by thenl snggcstnd, all those well known directions found in our l\lnnitors. w'hi(~h l\lasterR are accustonl~6 ~o read to Ctllldidates., on their reePJ1t LJl1 into the difTefellt' de路 gr~es, and 'w hieh lur;"c, therefore, also bc.?cn dC110lniua t,(ld eharges l'he word, hovl~'l'er, in strictness and t(J Hyoid eonfusion, (Iugltt have been confined to the ()ld f1Juu,!/e.s above alluded to. *

to

CHi\. I~ITY.

"Thvugh I speak "rith

tlH~

t()ngues of

lHen an~

.. I have l'\mitted tl:t' republicn.th,m of these charges iu. the presentedi'ti<.'n .inee the)" hn.v"~ lWW beefJme nc(~cssible to every l\rU~Qn, by their inaertt<o \!1 levp.ral xUf,llleu:.

w(rrk~

on

Fret~mtl80nrv.

ellA

85

of angels, and have not ehnrity, 1 bee-DIne as sounding brass, or a tinkling cynlbal. l\lld thoug路il I have the !Sift of prophecy and understand all 11lysteries and kllu\-dt:dge, and have all fhith so that I could renlove nl0ulltuins, and have not charity? I aID no.. ~hing:" (1 Corinth. xiii. 1, 2.) Sneh VlUS the language of an . eUl\nent apostle of the Christian chul'cll, and such is the senti..

1l1(H1t that constitutes the cernenting bond of Freemasonrs路 Cnwrity is the chief corner-stone of our to!uple, and upon it is t(lo be erected a superstructure of all the other virtues, which make the good rna:l and t l ll3 good l\Iason. The charity, however, of whrch our order boasts, is not alone that senthnent of coulmiseration, which leads us to assist the poor with pecuniary donations.

LiKe the virtue described by the apostle, already quoted, its application is more noble and luore extensive. "It suffereth long and is kind." The true l\lason -will be slow to anger and easy to forgive. He will stay his falling bro~her by gentl~ admonition, and warn him with kindness, of approaching danger. He will not open his ear to his slanderers, and win close his lips against all reproach. His faults and his follies will be locked in his breast, and the prayer for luercy will ascend to Jehovah for his brot/her's sins. Nor will these sentiments of benevolence be COll.. fined to those who are bound to him, by ties of kindred or worldly friendship alone; but ex.tending thcln throughout the globe, he will love alld cherish nIl who sit beneath the broad canopy of our universal lodge.. For it is the boast of our institution, that a l\!uson, destitutE' qnd worthy, may :find in every clime ~ brothex,

a.nd in every land a home CHARLES XII., ORD~JR OF. An order of knighthood instituted in 1811 by Charles XII., l<.ing of Sweden, and which was to be conferred only on the principal dignitaries of the ma.. sonic institution in hiR dOluillions. In t,he manifesto establishing the order, the king sayR :-" 'To give to this society, (the lllRsonic) 1 proof of our gracious sentilneuts toward it, we will and. ordain that its first dignitaries to the number which we may determine,

86

CIIE-Clll

Ulost illtinlate proof of OUt confidence, and which shall be for them ::L distinctive mark of the highest dignity." 'rhe nunlber of knights are 27, all masons, and the I(ing of Sweden is the perpetual Grand :alaster.

sllu.l1 in future be decorated with the

CHERUBlj)I. The second order of the angelic hierarchy, the first being t"he seruphiul. The two cherubinl that overtopped the lnercy-sCRG or covering of the ark, in the holy of' holies, were ph\;f:ed there hy 1\1oses, in obedience to the orders of God: "And thou shalt nlul\:c two cherubirn of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy-seat. ii-nd the cheru.. binl shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy.. seat with their wings, und their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy-sefit shall the faces of the cherubiIn be.'路 (Exod. xxv., 17, 19.) It was between these cherubim, that th~' shekinah or divino presence rested, and from which issued tho Bathkol or voice of God. Of the form of these cherubinI, we arp ignorant ; Josephus says, tllat they reselubled no known creature, but that nloses nlude thenl in tho forlll in which ho saw thcln about the throne of God; others, deriving their ideas from wllat is said of thcln by ]~zeldel, Isaiah, and St. J oho, describe thell\ v.s having the face and breast of a lllan, the wings e.f ~n eagle, the hellyof a lion, and thl) legs and feet of an ox, whicll thre~ anilll1.1s, with man, are the symbols of strength and wisdom.

CHI~JF OF TIlE TABEIlN l\.CLl1J. The twenty-third de gree in the Ancient Scotch Rite. It C011111.' morates tIle institu tion of the order of the priesthood in .A.aron and llis sons Eleazar a,nd Itbamar. Its officers are three, a Sovereign Sacrificer and two High Priests, and the nlelnbers of the" IIierarchy," as the lodge is ~t:rled, are called Levites. The apron is '\vhite, lined with deep searlet and bordered with red, blue and purple riband.

A gold chandelier of seyen branches is paillted on the centr(~: and a violet-coloured lllyrtle on the flap. The jewel" which is a thu路 rible, is worn from a broad yello\v, purple, blue and scarlet sash, from tha left shoulder to the right hip.

el11

87

One of the 'working tools of a nIark ~Iaster, and ernblcillatic of the effects of education on the hUILan nlind. For, as the artist, by the aid of this instrulllent, gives fornl and regularity to the shapeless lllHSS of stone, so education, by cultivating the ideas anclby polishing the rude thoughts, transforn}~ the ignorant savage into the civilized being. ~rhe chisel is sf,ceuh~tively to the l\Iark ~laster what the .A.shlar is to tlle ]~nter(:d Apprentice.

In the English ritual, tIle chisel is one of the working tools of the Entered Apprentice, with the SUlne eUlblematic signification as we give to it in the l\lark lVlaster's degree.

CHIV~~LRY. Although Freenlasonry and the institution of ChhTulry ure Dot identical, yet we are pernlitted, frolll a variety of considerations, to infer that the latter was a branch of th~ fornler. And eyen if 'we should not come to this conclusion, the close con nection which" at the presen t day, exists between SOlll~ of the orders of chi,Tulry nnd the order of }i'reeluasonry" win au.. thorize us in devoting a few words to a brit~fexanlinatioll of this venerable institution.

'1'110 origin of chivalry is iu,路oIved in very great, obscuritj' .Ahnost every author who has written on tllis sul>ject, hns a.dopted an hypothesis of' bis o"wn. SOlne deri\"e theiust t,ution fronl the equestrIan order of ancient 1~()nH~, ~Thile others trace it to the tribes who, under the nalue of N()rt1nnen~ UbfJllt th(~ nitr h eentury, invaded the southern pnrts ()f l~~tlropc. "Tnrburton a:-erih(~~ the origin of chivalry to the l\.rabinns; l)ink(~rtou,l\l~llh,~t unci Perey, to the Scan(lhut\"h~n~. CIa vel derives it frou) th<.~ 8t1Cret societies of the Persians, 'Yhi<;h were th(~ reululus of th(~ 111'ysteries

of l\Iitbras.

ChiYnlry, like l?reenlasonry, was a CE'\renlOIlial institution, Hud its cerclllonies were highly synlbrllictll in their (,~hurttct(~l" It was divided into three degrees: that of 11.1t71", which Iuight aus'wel t(') our Apprentice; of.J'Jsqu/re, sitllitar t,::, our Fellow (;rnft; nnd of Kn ,yilt, whicb was c<luivaJcnt to our l\IuBter. 'l'he educutioDof

88

CII1

the page was conducted with tllf' greatest care. He was confided to the charge of SOine n~ble dau1e, 'who inculcated an unlill1iteu deferene\:. to the female sex: and taught him to appreciate the duties and honours of the profession in which he was about to erubark. "Then arrived at a proper age, which was geuentllJ that of fourteen, he was presented at the altar, where the priest, having consecrated a sword, suspended it from his should, r, by which sinlple cerculony, he was advanced to the second degree of chivalry, and becalne an Esquire. From this tilue, he w'a~ at,tached to the person of a knight, and becorning the sharer of }ds toils and dangers, was still further instructed in his duties.

J1:lying served a probationa!'y term in these subordinate degrees, he was, at length, if found worthy, l)romoted to the honour of knighthood, which was the third degree, and the one in which the knowledge of the mysteries was conferred. The day before the ceremony of installation, was passed by the noyice in fhsting, and the night in n, church, prostrated at the foot of the altar, and in the midst of profound darkness. The next day he knelt before the knight, who wns to receive hirl1, and took, bet,ween his hands, the solculn obligation, a.lways tf\ fly to the assistance of the oppressed, and to sacrifice himself for the honour and defence of the mysteries of chivalry. The knight then girded the candIdate with a sword, struck hiln on the neck w'ith his own, whi..~h act was called the accolade, kissed his cheeks and iorchead, and gave him, with the open palm of his hand, a gentle sIn p, the lURt. he was ever to receive without resentment. lIe then arose, nnd was clothed with the various pieces of his arIllOUf, the elU hhullatic: aense of which wa.s explained to him.

The formulary of this part of the reception has been preserved,* and furnishes abundant evidence of the sylubolic churacterof the institution. The sword which he received was called· "t.he arms of nlercy;" and he was told to conquer his ene· nllP9 by nlercy rather thun by force of arms.

Its blade was two• La. Roque, Traite de Is. Nobles!,,-

CUR-CIR

89

edged, to remind him that he must luaintain chivalry and justice, and contend only for the support of these tlOO chiefp'illars of the te,mple oj'" honour.~rhe lance represented '~rruth, because truth, like the lance, is straigb t. The coat of mail was the 8yn1 bol of a fortress erected against vice, for, as castles are surrounded by walls and ditches, the coat of ulail is closed in all its parts, and defends the knight against treason, disloyalty, pride, and every ~ther evil passion.

The rowels of the spur were given to urge tbe possessor on to deeds of honour Hnd virtue. ~rhe shield, which he places betwixt himself and his enelny, was to reluind him that the knight is UP a shield interposed between the prince and the people, to preserve peace and tranquility * After the reception, the knight was exhibited with great pomp before the people. A banquet, followed by the bestowal of largesses and altns, concluded the ceremonies. The knights ,,"ere in possession of signs of recognition known only to thelIlselves,* and were also united by a system of nlysteries, allusions to Vt"hioh will often be found in the allegories that Vv"e n1(~et 'with in t h~ ronlances of chivalry. The greater pnrt of the st,ories of Turpin and the other old romancers is filled with astroncnnical allusioIlS applied to Charleluagne, and indeed thiB prhu:e nnd his t\Yeh'(~ paladins ought" says Clayel, to be cotlsid(~rcd III the8C legends, as the sun and the twelve genii or signs of the twelve palaces of thi

zodiac.

CHRIST, ORDER OF "Then the Knights Teulplnrs were overthrown throughout Europe, they were protected in l>ortugal, and converted by the sovereign into a, new order, called tlH~ Order of Christ, and the secret part of the ritual wns nholished.. A masonic order of the SllIlle nalne was at one tittle cstubl ished in Paris by a Portuguese CIRCLE..

See l)oi'nt'loitbJn a Circle.

â&#x20AC;˘ Clavel Hist. Pitt. tit¡ In Frnnc-Ma.;on, p. 854..

"K

CIR-CLA C.IRCU~IAl\IBULATION. Circum~lInbulationi or

a proces..

sion around the altar, always fornlcd a part of the ancient reli~ gious ceremonies. In Greece, the priests and the people walked thrice round the altar during the R3.crifice, and sung a sacred nYll1n. On these occasions, the procefsion lnoved according to the course of the sun, and a hYlllll is still preserved in the writings of Callinluchus, which 'was chanted by the priests of Apollo, ait Delos, and the substance of which was, "we ilnitate the example of the SUll and follow his benevolent course." The Druids used the same cereulonies, and always nlude three turns round the altn.r" accon1panicd by all the worshippers. In some parts of Britain, this practice continued to be observed for ages after the destruction of the Druidical religion, and 3'fartin, in his Description of the "Testern Islands, written not a century ago, tells us that " in the Scottish isles the people never COIlle to the ancient sacrificing and fire-hallowing cairns, but they walk three times round thenl, franl east to west, according to the course of the SUll. This sanctified tour, or 'round b// the south, is called Deiseal, frorll Deus or Deis, the_right liand, and Soil or SuI, the sun; the 'rÂŁfll~t ]ul'ltd being ever n~~xt the heap or ca'irn."

Oliver says that in levelling the foot-stone of the temple, King Solomon and the twelve tribes circuIllurnbulated rtIOUllt l\Ioriah three times in jubilee procession.

CIRCU~ISPEC1'ION. A necessary watchfulness . 8 reeonlwended to every man, but in a lYlason it bCCOIl1eS a positive duty, and the neglect of it constitutes a heinous crirue. On this sub ject, the Old Charges are explicit. " You shall be cautious in your words and carriage, tha.t the nlost penetrating stranger shall not be able to discover or find out wha.t is not proper to be inlitated; and sOlnctimes you shall divert a discourse and Inanage it prudently for the honour of the orshipful I?ruternity."-Old

"r

()l~a;r!Jes,

Vl 4.

OL..t\..NDESTL~E.

Not legal.

A. body of XvIasons uniting in

CL..t \.-CLO

91

a lodge without the consent of a (~rand I.l()dge~ or although urigi.. nally legally constituted, eont,iuuing to w'ork after it~ charter has been revoked, is styled a "Clandestine Lodge," and its InCll11Jln'S

are called" Clandestinel\lasons." \V'ith clandestine lodges or Masons, regular l\lasoDs are forbidden to associate, or converse on masonic subjects.

OLAY GROUND.

In the clay ground between Succoth :lnd. cast all the saered vessels of the teIl1ple, u.s well as the pillars of the porch. 'l'his spot was about ;35 Iniles in t1 north-east direction froill J erusalern, and it is supposed that IIirarn selected it for his foundry, beeause the clay which c1bounded there was, by its great tenacity, peculiarly fitted for lunking moulds. The masonic tradition on this subject is sustained by the authority of Scripture. See 1 I{ings vii. 42, and 2 Chron. ~eredatha, Iliranl~\bif

iv.. 17.

CLEFTS OFTI-IE ROCI{S. The whole of Palestine is very mountainous, and these IHountains abound in deep clefts (JT caves, which were anciently l)}aces of refuge to the inhabitants in time of war, and ,vere often used as lurking places for robher~.

It is, tllcrefore, strietly in accordanec with gcograrhieal truth that the statement, in relation to the cC)Ileealnlen t of c(~rtain persons in the clefts of the rooks, is Iuade in the third degrcn.

CLOSI~(J. l'he duty of closing the lodge is :is illlpcrativt' and the cercluooy as solclnn as tlult of opening, nor should it ever be oluitted through negligenct.~, nor hurriedovcr \rith haste~ but every thing should be pertbrlued with order n.nd pre<:ision, so that DO brother shaH go away diss~ttisfied. Fronl the very nature uf our constitution, ~t lodge cannot properly be udj()lll路ned. It tnust either be closed in due forln, or the brethren cal led off to refreshruent. 13ut an adjourIlluent on nlotion, us in otlH:r so.. ciet ics, is unknown to our order. '~ehe :L\laster call, alone, dismiss the brethren, and tb~tt disluission [nu.st take plaoe after a sett.le4

92

CLO-COO

usage. . In Grand Lodges, which meet for several days successively, the session is generally continued from day to day, by calling to refreshment at the tertllination of each day's '3itting.

CLOTHED. A Mason is said to be properly clothed when he wears white leather gloves" a white apron, and the jewel of his lllasonic rank.. The gloves are now often, but improperly dis.pensed with, except C'u public OccflHions.. This costume is of aneient elate, for, in an indenture of covenants made in the reign of Henry the Sixth, of England, "between the church wardens of a parish in Suffolk and a cOlnpany of Freemasons, the latter stipulate that each man should be provided with a pair of white gloves and a white apron, and that a lodge, properly tyled, should be erected at the expense of the parish, in which they were to carryon their works." -See Quarterly Review, Vol. XXiV. p. 146.

CLOUDED CANOPY.

See Covering.

COCI{. The ancients made the coek a 'symbol of courage, and consecrated him to l\lars, Pallas and Bellona, deities of war.

As an enlblcIll Qf this quality, he is used in the jewel of the Captain General of an I~nCalllpll1ent of Knights Templars.

Rhigellini, however, gives a different explanation of this symbol. H'e says that the cock was the emblem of the sun and of life) and that as the ancient Christians allegorically deplored the death of the solar orb in Christ, the cock recalled its life and resurrection.

The cock, we kno'w, was a sYlnbol among the early Christin,ns, and is repeatedly to be :D)und on the tombs in the catacombs of Rc ,Ule Hence, I am, on further reflection, induced to believe that we should give a Christian interpretation to the jewel of a Knight Templar as syrD bolie of tho resurrection..

*

â&#x20AC;˘ !i~onnerio consideree ("oraIne- 10 result~t de~ religions Egyptie:nne, JWYO ~~ C4.re~~cp.Q(¡, tutu. ii. ~. 67. '

COE-COL

COJiJRCION. Arnong the Illlperative requisites of a candid.atE; for FreenlaSOl1ry, is one thnt he 8hould corne of his free will and accQrd. l\.Iasons cnnnot, therefore, be t.oo cautious how they act or speak before uninitiated persons 1Nho have expressed un;y de.. sire of entering the order, lest this perfi:et frcedolll of their will be infringed. Coercion is entirely out of the question. l\Iercenary or interested Inotives should be strenuously discouraged, and no other inducelnent used than that silent persuasion which arises frolu a candid exposition of the beauties and moral excellences of .our institution. . COFFIN.

In the ancient mysteries, the aspirant could not

clainl a participat.ion in the highest secrets until he had been placed in the Pastas, ]~ed or Coffin. The placing hin1 in the coffin was called the sJlubolic:al death of the IllJstel'ies, and his

deliverance was termed a ruising frotH tIle dead. Hence ar()sc' a peculiarity in tIle Greel\: \"crb tele21tao, which, in the tlctiyc ,-nice, ~ignificd "I die," and in the luiddle voice, "I nUl initiated." "':rhe luind," says au nneient writer, quoted by Stoba:~us, "is affected in dfllth ju::.;t as it is in the initiati'o7t into the In.Y~teries .And "word unswers to wurd, as well U~ thiug to thing; for "e,tE:u'rO:~ is to die, and TE).ela-O{J.C to b(~ initiated.. " The coffin in ulusonry is an emblem of the l\lttstcr'::, degree, hut :tscxplication is here in.. oommunicable.

COIJIJAR. A'rj. onl!,,,,1'T;Cn~ WorT' al'nllnl} tIle neck by theofficf3nc )f lodges, tc which is 5n~pi;~uded. a jeweliudicative of the wearer's rank. The colour of tht~ c~:#lh~1~ vnries in tIle different grades of nUlsonry. That of a $:/,ulb()lic ](luge is blue; of a Past l\'laster, purple; of a l~oyal .Arch l\Iason, scnrlet; of a Secret }laster, white bordered with black; of a l)erfeet 1\-Iaster, green, &0" These colours nrc not arbitrary, but are each accoxupaniedwith am emblematic meauing..

COLT..lliJGIA ARTIlf'ICUl\I. Colleges of A.rtitlcen. SOt #omqn Oollegea of 4 ri ijicera.

COL-COM

COLOURS. Each grade of masonry is furnished 路with ita emblematic colour. Colours have always been Invested \vlth mystic meanings. Thus, they are used as the distinguishing mark of different nations, as well as of different professions.

White has been considered as emblematic of joy, and is hence !elected as the appropriate dress for bridal occasions. On t 1: e contrary, the ~ombre appearance of black has confined its use to seasons of grief and mourning. The heralds have adopted colours as a part of their highly symbolic science, and ~nllong theIn, every colour is the symbol of a partieular virtue and quality of t,ht mind. The tIll-ee S}TID bolic colours of the ancient Druids, . i ppropriateu to their three degrees, were Green, elnblenuttic of fIope; Blue, of Truth; and White, of Light. The colours of Ancient York l\Iasonry are blue, purple and scarlet. Besides these, the different degrees of chivalry, and of Scotch masonry, have their appropriate colours. The reader is referred to these colours under their appropriate names.

COLUnIN. A round pillar Illude to support as well as to a.dofn a building, whose construction varies in the different orders of architecture. See Broken aulun~n.

COMMANDER. The Commander is the presiding officer in a Commandery of Knights Templars. His style is Eminent, and the jewel of his office is a cross, from which issue raYR of light.

COMMANDERY.

See Encampment.

COMMANDERY, GRAND.

See Encampment,

(hand~

CO~1l\lITTEE. The well-known regulation which fo "bidJ private committees in the lodge, that is, select conversations })(\. ~wecn two or luore members, in which the other melnbers ar~ lot perulitted to join, is derived froIn the Old Charges: "Y C~ are

OOM

95

not permitted to hold private committees or separate conversa.. \1ithout leave from the rrlaster, nor to talk of any thing illl.. pertinent or unsecluly, Dor to interrupt tlle l\Iaster or \'Tardens, or any brother speaking to the l\Iaster.."-Olcl Cllu.l,rges, ยง ,rl. 1.

But the use of the word committee in this sense is without the authority of good writers.

COIVIl\iON Gl\.\r]~IJ. Sec Gavr:l..

COl\IDIlTNIC.A.TE.. 'V"hen the peculiar mysteries of a de.. gree are bestowed upon a candidate by nlerc verbal description of the bestower, vdthout his being luade to pnss through the con.. stituted cereillonies, the degree is technicaII.y said to be corn./llZ z/;.. nicated. This mode is, however, entirely confined to the Scotch rite..

In York lVIasonr:y it is never permitted.

UOl\JIl\IUNICATIONS. The meetings of Lodges are called Comnllluications, and of Grand Lodges, Grand CommuI~ica.. tiona.

COlVIP1\.NION. A title bestowed by R,oynl Arch l\:fasons u!)on each other, and equivalent tel the 'w'oI'd hrot}lor in syrnbolio lodges. It refe.rs, rnost, probably, to the e()lUpnniOllship in exile and eaptivity of the nneient ,Jews, frOIl) the destruction of tll0 ~\unpl0 by Ncbuchachlczzar, to its restoration by Zerubabbel, under the ~uspices of Cyrus.

COl\IP"A.SS]~S.

..As ill operat.ive nUlsonry, the conlpasses are

used for the 3.chneUSureUlont of the architect's plans, and to enable him to give those just proportions whicll will insure beaut.y as "tell as stability to his work; so, in spenulativc nlasoD1Y, iP this iInportaut irnpletueut sylnbolic of that CVeJl tenor of deport;, ment, that true standnrd of rectitude which alol.e can bestow happiness here and felicity hcreaftar. lIence are the compassee

(:O~I·-CON

the most prominent emblem of virtue,"" the true and (July DleaSl,lre of al\Iason's life and contluct. .A.s the 13ible gives lIS l~ght on our duties to G'od, and the .~lqlla'·r.~ illustrates our duties to our neighhour and brother, AO the cO'lnpasses give that additionall£g71Jt which is to instruct us in the duty we owe to ourselves-the great inlperative duty of circumscribing our passions, and keeping our desires within due bounds. "It is ordained," says the philosophic Burke, "in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate passions cannot be free; their pasf;lons forge their fetters."

CO ~IPOSIT]1J. One of the five orders of architecture intro.. duced by the Roolans, and cOlupounded of the other four, whenc~ it derives its name. Although it combines strength with beauty, yet, as it is a comparatively mo~crn invention, it is held in little esteem among Freemasons.

CONSECRATION. When a new lodge is formed, it is necessary that it should be hallowed Qr consecrated to the purposes of Inasonry. The cerelllonies OIl this occasion vary in iiffereut countries.. They are detailed in all the l\lonitors.

CONSECRATION,ELI~l\rENTSOF. The masonic elements of consecration are corn, 2oz"ne, and oil, which .are caned the corn of llourishlnent, the wine of refreshluent, and the oil of joy. They are emblelnatic of health, plenty, and peace. SeeOm·n.

CONSISTORY. The meetings of nlembers of the 82d degree, or SubliulC Princes of the I{oyal Secret, are called ConsIstories. Its officers are, a Thrice Illustrious Grand COlllluander, two Thrice Illustrious Lieutenant Grand Commanders, Grand

• Those brethren who delight to traoe our emblems to an a.stronomi~nl ')rigin, find, in the compasses, a symbol of the Sun, the circular pivot r:" rr~ ,ep.tjng the body of the luminary, and the diverging legs hie rays.

CON-COP

97

Orator, GruAd Chancellor, Grand Treasurer, Grand Secretary, Grand Mastor Architect, Ph.ysician General, Keeper of the Seals, Grand l'laster of Ceremonies, Captain of the Gu.ards., and

Tyler.

CONSISTORY, GRAND. The governing body in a State, of the Ancient and Accepted Rite, subject, however, to the superior jurisdiction of the Supreme Oouncil of the Thirty-third.

The nlembers of the Grand Consistory are required to be in' possession of the Thirty-second degree.

CONSTANTINE.

See Red &088 ojRorne and OO'1UJtanti'1UJ.

CONSTITUTION OF A LODGE. Any number ofl\Iaster Masons, not less than seven, being desirous of forming a new lodge, having previously obtained a Dispensation from the Grand Master, must apply, by petition, to the Grand Lodge of the State in which they reside, praying for a Charter or Warrant of Constitution to enable theIll to assemble as a regular lodge. Their petition being favorably received, a warrant is immediately granted, and the Grand l\>Iaster appoints a day for its consecration and rei the installation of its officers. In this consecration and instal1~,.t;0~ consists the constitution of a lodge, and when it is thus oonsecrated, and its officers are installed by the authority -of the Grand Lodge, it is.said to be legally oonatitut6a.

CONSTITu'rIONS.

See Boole of {JO'll~titutions.

Cf," [VOCATION. The meetings of Chapters of Roy8f' Arch .t\fasons sire styled Convocations; those of Grand Chap~ are Grand Convocu,tions.

COPESTONE.*

The topmost stone in a building; thJl 'as!

â&#x20AC;˘ In masonic langnnge this word is usually but incorrectly ~rQ~o\n~OOd It! derivation is from t'b.c- qt\xon co,p, the head:-

cap~'tofl~.

98

COR

laid, as the foundation stone is the first. "To celebrate the P4)~ stone," is to celebrate tIle completion of the edifice, a custom qtH( observed by operative Masons.

CORINTHIAN ORDER. This is the lightest a.ld most ornamental of the pure orders, and possesses the highest degree of richness and detail that architecture attained under the G'reeks.

Its capital is its great distinction, and is richly adorn,~d with leaves of acanthus; olive, &c., and other ornaments. The colunul of Beauty which supports the lodge, is of the Corinthian order,

'Iud its appropriate situation and symbolic officer arc in the S.路.

CORN. Com, wine, and oil are the masonic elements of con.. f5ecration.. The adoption of these symbols is supported by the ~.ighest antiquity. Corn, wine, and oil were the most important productions of Eastern countries; they constituted the wealth of the people, and were esteenled as the supports of life and the means of refreshment. David enumerates theln among the greatest blessings that we enjoy, and speaks of them as "'W1~ne that maketh glad the heart of milll, and 0'拢1 to make his face ~hine, and bread which strengthcneth man's heart." l?s.. civ. 14, In devoting any thing to religious purposes, the anointing with oil was considered as a necessary part of the cerenlony, a rite which has descended to ChristhlD nations. The tnbernacle in the wilderness, and all its holy vessels, were, hy God's express <Y>mmand, anointed with oil; Aaron and his two sons were set apart for the priesthood with the saUle ceremony; and ~he pro.. phets and kings of Israel were consecrated to their offices b,Y the same rite. Hence, Freemasons' lodges, which are but telnples to the l\Iost High, are consecrated to the sacred purposes for whioh they were built, by strewing corn, wine, and oil upon the "lcxZge,'" the emblem of the Holy Ark. Thus does this mystic ceremony instruct us to be nourished with the hidden manna of rigbteou~. ness, to be refreshed with the Word of the Lord, and to rejoioo ~itb ;-O!/ unspeakable in the riches of divine grace. " Wbere..

COR,

99

fore, my brethren," says the venerable Harris, (C wherefore do you carry co'rrn, 'wine, and oil, in your processions, but to remind you, that in the pilgrimage of human life, you are to impart a {Jortion of your ')'read to feed the hungry, to send a cup of yOUl 'l~vne to cheer the sorrowful, and to pour the bea:i ng oil of your consolation into the wounds which sickness hath made in the bodies, or affliction rent in the hearts of your fellow-travellers!'''

-Discourses, IV. 81..

In processions, the corn alone is carried in a golden pitchf'.') the wine and oil are placed in silver vessels, and this is to remind us that the first, as a necessity and the "staff of life," is of more importance and more worthy of honom than the others, which are but comforts.

CORNER-STONE.. The first stone, in the foundation of every magnificent building, is called the corner-stone, and is lai~ in the north-east, generally with solemn H,nd appropriate ceremonies.. To this stone, fonuerly, some secret influence was attributed.

In Alet's Ritual, it is directed to be "solid, angular, of about a foot square, and hl.id in the north-east." Its position, as Oliver justly rema.rks, ,( accounts in a rational manner, for the general disposition of a newly initiated candidate, when enlighten~d b':4t uninstructed, he is accounted to be in the most superfici?J iJ~:t of IDaJ3onry."-S'lgns and Symbols, p. 225.

OORNUCOPI.A.. The born of plenty It IS a symbol of abundance, and as such has been adopted as the jewel of the Stewards of a lodge, to remind them that it is their duty t路路 .74f e that the tables are properly furnished at refreshment, and rhat avery brother is suitably provided for.

CORYBANTES, l\IYSTERIES OF THE.. Rites instituted in Phrygia, in honour of Atys, the lover of Cybele. The god. dess Wad au pposeu first to bewail the death of her lover,anti aflerwards to rejoice for his restoration to life. The ceremonie,

100

COT-COV

were a scenical representation of this alternate lamentation and rejoicing, and of the sufferings of Atys, who was placed in aD ark or coffin during the 1110urnful part of the orgies.

COTYTTO, l\lYSTl~l\IES OF. These lUY8teries 'were i!lIsti ruted in Thrace, and passed over into Greece and ItonH~, where they were known as the rites of the 130na Dca. They were celebrated by females alone, and were conducted with so llluch secrecy that their ceremonies are entirely unknown.

COUNOll.... In several of the higher degrees of masonry, the meetings are styled councils-as a council of I(nights of the Red Cross, and of Princes of Jerusalenl. . A. portivn of the room in which a chapter of Royal Arch l\Iasons or Knights of the Red Cross meets, is emphatically designated as the Grand Council.

COUNCIL OF ROYAL AND SELECT l\11\.ST~JRS. Bodies in which the degrees of Royal and Select :Thlasters are given.

The nanIes und number of the officers vary slightly in different councils. They are perhaps Inost properly, a Thrice Illust,rious Grand 1\'Iastcr, Illustrious IIiram of Tyre, Principal Conductor of the Works, Treasurer, Recorder, Capta.in of the Guards, Conductar of the Council, and Steward. Of these officers, the first three represent the three Grand ~Iasters at the Temple.

COUNCIL OF TIlE TRINITY. An independent nlusonic jurisdiction, in which are conferred the degrees of }{night of the Christian Mark, and Guard of tlle Conelave, Knight of the IIoly Sepulchre, and the 1I01y and ~rhrice Illustrious Order of the Cross. They are conferred after the EncanlpInent degrees. They are Christiar. degrees, "tud refer to the crucifixion.

COVERING OF THE LODGE. Our ancient brethren me~ 'beneath no other covering than the cloudy canopy of heaven.

COlV-CRA ~rhe

innulllcrahle stars tllut decked its concave surfacE, we::.-e as Hvirlg' witnesses of the power and wisdom of Him, at whose :mercdnalne they ,vere taught to bow; and 'were nightly "'''inning fro III the virtuous l\lason, by their bright effulgence, the praser of hope, and the hymn of praise. Our lodges still clailn this noble roof, clublenlatically, as their only covering, which adn1onishes thenl with a "sic itur ad astra," to aspire fl'om earth to beaven, and to seek there the rest from labour, and the reward of toil.

COWAN. One of the profane. This purely masonic term is derived from the Greek kuon, a dog. In the early ages of the church, when the mysteries of religion were communi~ated only to initiates under the veil of secrecy, the infidels and unbaptized profane were called" dogs," a term probably suggested by such passages of Scripture as l\l:1tt. vii. 6, "Give not that which is holy to dogs," and Philip. iii. 2, "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.. " Hence, as lC'llo1't, or dog, meant among the early fathers one who bad not been initiated into the Ohristian Iuysteries, the terIll was borrowed by the E'reema.. sons, and in tirne corrupted into t':O'll:an. The attempt made by some unti-nHlsonic writers to derive the \vord from the ChOUa'lM of the l?rench Revolution is absurd. The word was in use long before the French Revolution was even meditated. In the sec.. ond edition of Anderson's "Constitutions" published in 1738, it occurs in the following passage at page 146: "But Free and Accepted Masons shall not allow cowana to work with them, nor shall they be employed by cowan8 without an urgent necessity j and even in that case they shall not teach rowam, but must have a separate communication."

CRAFT. The ordinary acceptation is a trade or mechanical art, and collectively, the persons practising it. Hence," the Craft," in speculative luusonry, signifies the whole body of Free路 masons, wherever dispersed.

9*

102

ORA-ORO'

CRAFTED. .A. word sOInethlles colloquially used, instead. 0; the lodge term" passed," to designate the adv~::lcement of a didate to the second degree.

CRA.FTSMAN. CREATED.

A Mason.

Not much used.

I{nights of th~ Red Cross, Knights ~f l\Ialtn,

and Knights Tenlplars, 'when advanced to those degrees, are said to be "dubbed and created."

CREED OF A MASON. The creed of a J.\;Iason is brief, unentangled with scholastic subtleties, or with theological difficulties. It is a creed which denlands and receiyes the universai consent of all men, which admits of no doubt, and defies schism.

It is the belief in GOD, the suprcnle architect of heaven and earth; the dispenser of all good gifts, and the judge of the quick and the dead.

CROSS. The cross was an inlportant emblem in the Pagan (llysteries, and was used as an hieroglyphic of life. It is retained in one of its modifications, the triple tau, as nn enlblem of the It. .. A.路. degree, according to the English ritual, alld is to be foundplelltifully dispersed through the symbols of the ineffable and philosophical degrees. As an emblem in the degrees of' (~hi valry, it bQafS a strictly Christi3.n allusion.

But I do not re~ ~ )~llize it as appertaining to synlbolic lnnsonry. See Pri'ple Tau. CRos~-r.JEGGED. It was an invariable custom in the Mid.. dIe Ages, in laying out the body of a Knight Templar after death, to cross one leg over the other; and in all the monuments of these knights now remaining in the various churches of Europe, there will always be found an inlage of the person buried, sculptured on the stone, lying on a bier in this cross-legged position.

ORO-ORO Templars of the present day will readily connect this posture with an nppropriate portion of the degree as now conferred.

When, in the 16thcentul'y, H, portion of the Knights Temphtrs of Scotland united thenlselves with a masonic lodg~ at Sterling, t,hey were commonly known by the nanle of the U cross-legg{ll~ nlasons." Oliver relates the filet, but assigns no plausible reaSf)D for the appellation. It was, I presume, given in allusion k. thl! funeral posture of the Ten}plars, a.nd a "cross-legged l'Iason" would, therefore, be synoDJDloUS with a masonic Knight Tenlplar.

CROW. An iron implement to raise weights. It is one of ,he working tools of a Royal Arch ~fason. For its symbolii) neaning, see Picka.xe.

Cl10'VN, PRINCESSES OF THE. Priru;esses de la coutonne. A species of androgynous nlasonry, established at Sax ony, in 1770.-0lavel, Hist. de [(1; Franc-Mox;on.

CH,lTS.A.DES.

A few masonic writers have endeavoured to the introduction of masonry into Europe, to these wars.

Thosowho ,enterta.in this opinion, suppose thu.t the order wa.q unknown in Christendolu until it WtlS brought there by the knights ,vho had visited the floly Land, and who, they contend, were instructed in its Dlysteries by the Jews of Palestine. But this theory is whollJ'I' untenable; for the first crusade commenced in 1065; and we have the best evidence that a convention of I\Iasons assembled at York, on tile sumUI0DS of Prince Edwin, as early as 926, or 139 years before a single knight had entered Asia. traCt~

CRUX ANSATA. Thecru.x ansata or cross, surmounted by a circle, thus, J:i.:...... was, in the Egyptian mysteries, a symbol of eiernallife.

I

104

CUB

CUBE. The cube is defined to be a regular solid body, con aisting of six. square and equal faces or sides, and the angles al. right angles. In the double cube, four of the faces are oblong squares. The cube, from its perfect form, constitutes an important geometrical figure aUlong l\Iasons. The perfect Ashlar, it is supposed by some, s110uld be of this figure, and the form of the lodge, taken in its height and depth, as well as its length and bl"13adth, is a double cube though in itssuperfices it cODstituttS only an oblong square.

ClJBICAL STONE. The cubical stone forms an impc.,rtant part of the ritual of the Royal Arch and Rose Croix, as well as some other of the high degrees. We have a masonic iegend respecting a cubical stone, on which the sacred name was inscribed in a mystical diagram. On this stone, Adam made Ilis offerings to God. This stone is called" the masonic stone of foundation/' and our traditions very IDinutely trace its history. ,Vhen J:lcob fied from Esan to his uncle Laban, in l\Iesopotamia, he carried this stone with hinl) and used it as his pillow on the occasion of his Inemor~l.ble dream, the foot 'of the ladder appearing to l'est on the stone. It was subsequently taken by him into ]~gypt, and when the Israelites departed fronl that country, l\loses conveJed away with his followers the stone of foundation, as a tulisnUln, by which they were to be conducted into the promised land. Tn ~he battle with the AmnJekites, he seated hiIllself on this ston(:~ . Afterward this stone was deposited in a secret crypt of the teulple, in a manner well known to Select l\lasters, and there ro.. mained ~iddeD until, at the rebuilding of the temple by Zerubbabel" ]'\j was discovered by three zealous sojourners, and Iuude the corner.. s t..)De of the second teulple.

*

-The stone pinal', anointed with oil, wn.g a common patria.rchal hieroglyphic, connected with the worship of the Supreme Being; and, as Fa.ber remarks. 11 rude stone, anointed in the ~ame way, was among the heathens one of. the most ancient symbols of the Grout F~lther. The cubical stone is" indeed, an important link, connecting the路 spul'ious and the true Freemasonry.

CUB-DAR

CUBIT. A nleasure of length, originally d.;noting the diB~ tance from the elbow to the extrerrlity of the middle finger, or the fourth part of' a well proportioned man's stat,ure. The He. brew cubit, according to Bishop Cumberland, wu'? twenty..one inches; but only eighteen according to other authorities. There were two kinds of cubits, the sacred and pr,-fane-the forluer equal to thirty.. six, and the latter to eighteen inches. It is by the common cubit that the dimensions of the various parts of thL temple are to be computed.

CYRUS. Cyrus king of Persia, was a gre~Lt conqueror, and after having reduced nearly all Asia, he crossed the }~uphrates, and laid siege to Babylon, which he took by diverting the course of the river which ran through it. The Jews, who had been carried away by Nebuchadnezzar, on the destruction of the temple, were then remaining as captives in Babylon. These C~y-rus re.. leased A. )1. 3466, or, B. C. 538, and sent thelu back to flJ eru.. salem to .rebuild the house of God, under the care of Joshua,

Zerubbabel and Haggai.

D. DARKNESS. Darkness aIllong Freemasons is embleluaticnl of ignorance; for, as our science has technically been caU(~d "I-Aux," or light, the absence of light, lllust be the absence of kD(nvledge.

Hence the rule, that the eye should not sec, until the henrt has conceived the true nature of those henuties whieh constitute the mysteries of our order. In the spurious Preclunsonry of the ancient mysteries, the nspir~lllt wus ahvays shrotl/led in darkness, as a preparatory step to the rt1ception of the full light of know. ledge. The time of tllis confineluent ill darkn(,~R and solitude, varied in. the different mysteries. Among the r>ruitls of Britain,

lOG

DAT-DEA

the period was nine days and nights j in the Grecian mysteries, it was three tiules nine dass; while tllllong the I'>ersians, according to Porphyry, it was extended to the alUlost incredible period of fifty days of darkness, solitude and fasting.

In the beginning, LIGHT was esteemed above darkness, an] the prhnitiveEgyptians 'worshipped On, as their chief deIty, under the eharacter of eternal I.light. But, as the learned ()liyeI oh::.erv~F" "this worship was so In debased by superstitious prac.. tices." Darkness was then adored as the first born, as the pro.. genitor of dny, and the state of existence before creation. The apostrophe of Young to Night, embodies the feelings which gave origin to this debasing worship of darkness: "0 majestic night!

Nature's great ancestor! day's elder born J .And fated to survive the transient sun!

By mortals and immortals seen with awe 1"

Freemasonry lU1S restored Darl{ness to its proper place, as a etate of preparation; the SYIll hoI of that antenlundane chaos from whence light issued at the divine COlllUHll1d; of the state of non.. entity before birth, and of ignorullce b(~fore the reception of know.. ledge. lIenee, in the ancient 1l1)Tsteries, the release of the aspirant fi"oUl solitude and darkness was eallod the act of regeneration, and he was said to be born again, or to be raised frolll the dead. And in lnasonry, the darkness 'which envelopes the lllind of the uninitiated, being relnoved by the bright, effulgence of Illilsonic light" l\lasons are appropriately ealkd "the sons of light."

DATES. SeE. Oalenda路r, Jlfason'l,路c.

DEACON. In every well regulated synlbolic lodge, the twn lowest of the internal offiears are the Senior and ~Junior Deacons.

The fortner is appointed by the ~ia~ter, und the latter by the Senior "Tarden. It is to the Deacons that the introduction of visitors should be properly entrusted. 'l:heir duties comprehend

DEC-IlED

107

~so,

a general surveillance over the security of the lodge, alld WhOlll they are ~tppointcd Hence their jev{el, in allusion to the necessity of circunlspection and justice, is a ~quare and cOlnpasRes. In the centre, the Senior J)eacon wears a sun, and the Junior Deacon a moon, which serve ro distinguish their respective ranks. In the rite or l\Iisraiul, the deacons are called acolytes.

The office of Dea.cons in l\Iasonry appear to have been derive:l from the usages of the priIl1itive church.. In the Greek church, the deacons were n.1ways the 7CU).Wpot, p~y1ori or doorkeepers, and in the Apostolical Constitutions the deacon was ordered to stand at the men's door, and the sub-deacon at the women's, to see that none came in or went out during the oblation. *

they are the proxies of the officers by

DECLARATION OF CANDIDATES. Oand1¡dates.

See Questiv1'l8 to

DEDIC.A.'l'ION.. 'Vhen a Dlasonic haJI has been erected, it is dedicated, with certain well known and hnpressive cerelIlonies, to Jfasonr:lJ, l.r[rtlu~, andlTnll'ersal Bene1)ol(!nce.

Lodges, however, are differently dedieuted. A.nciently, they were dedicated to !{iug Solomon., as the founder of ancient craft masonry, and the first l\lost l~xcel1ent G'rand l\Iaster. Christian lodges are generally dedicated to St John the Buptist, and St..

J ahn the E'vangelist; and in every well regulated lodge, there is exhibited a certain point within a circle, embordered by two per.. pendicular lines, called the "lines parallel," which represent these two saints. In those l'Jnglish lodges which have adopted the union systcnl of work, the dedication is to "God and his service," and the lines parallel represent l\:Ioses and Solomon 'l'his change ,vas adopted by the Grand Lodge of England, in 1813, to obviate the charge of s.ectarianism. I have, however, in r~

,

'

",' d,

C',; 2

â&#x20AC;˘ Con at. Apost., Db. riR..t Cap. IL

DED

another work, endeavoured to prove that to this charge we by no 31eans render ourselvt?s tllnenable by this dedication to the above sa}nts, since it is nUl-de to theIn, Hot as Christians, but as eminent lVlasons; not as saints, but as pious and good men; not as teach.. ers of a religIous sect, but as brigh t CXCl plars of all those VIrtues. which l\lasons are taught to reverence Hnd practice.* "rith respect to the originnl cause of tllis dedication, the I~nglish lodges huse preserved a tradition, which, as a matter of curiosity, nHty fin d a place in this work. I am indebted for it to Brother l\Ioore's excellent l\lttgazine, vol. ii., p. 263.

"Franl the building of the first tenlple at Jerusalem, to the Babylonish captivity, Frecrnasons' lodges were dedicated to King Solomon; frolll thence to the cOluing of the l\lessiah, they were dedicated to Zerubbabel, the builder of the second temple; and from that thue to the final destruction of the temple by Titus, in the reign of Vespasian, they were dedicated to St. John the I~aptist; but o\ving to the 111Uny nlussacres and disorders which attended that ulcmorable event, Freenlusonry sunk very much into decay; llulny lodges \vera entirel,Y broken up, and but few could Iueet in sulncient uunlbers to constitute thei!" legality, and at a general Ineeting of the craft, held in the city of Benjamin, it was observed that the principal reason for the decline of rnasonry was the want of a Grand l\JustQr to patronize it; they, therefore, deputed seven of their 1l10st eUlinent lllembers to wait upon St John the ]~vangelist, who 'was at that time Bishop of J~phesus, requosting hilll to take the office of Grand Master.. He returned for ans'wer, that though well stricken in yea,ra, (being upwards of ninety,) yet having been in the early part of his life initiated into mnsonry, he would take upon himself that office; he therel)jt cOIllpleted by his learning, what the other St. John had cOlllpleted by his zeal, and thus drew what Freemasons term a line parallel; ever since which Freemasons' lodges in all Christian â&#x20AC;˘ See an article by the author on t'.

iii..

r

8.

tal'

~u.bjeot, in

MQo:re'jjJ :ff~~Ul&8ons' M...

DED

lOS

countries have been dedicated both to St. John the Baptist, and St. John the Evangelist."

But the task is not difficult to trace more philosophically, and, l believe, lllore corrootly, the real origin of this custom. In the ~purlous masonry, so well h:nown as the lnysteries of Pagan nations, we luay find the Inost plalLsible reasons for the cele~ration of our festivals in June and Decclnber, and for the dedication of our lodges to St. •Tohn the Baptist, and St. J oIln tIle Evangelist.

The postediluviaos, aceording to the test.inlony of the Jewish writer, l\Iaimoincles, the l\lngians of I)ersia, unml their ritual was inlproved and purified by Zoroaster, and nlost probably the ancient Druids, introduced into their rites a great respect for, and even an adoration of the Sun, as the sonrce of light and life, and ti"uition, and the visible representative of the invisible creative and pre.. servati ve principle of nature. To such sects, the period when the sun reached his greatest northern and southern declination, by entering the zodiacal signs, Cancer andCHpricorll, Illarked, as it ?"ould be, by the Inost evident etlects 011 the seasons, and ('1) the leugth of the days and nights, eould not have passed uIlob· served; but, on the contrary, lllust have occupied a distinguished place in their ritual. Now these irnportant days falll"espectivel] on Ule 21st of June and the 22d of Decclllber.

In the spurious lllasonry of the ancients these d~LYS were, doubtless, cel{~hrated as l'eturning eras in the existence of the great s<)urce of lip;ht, and objeet of their worship. Our ancient bret.hrt:n adc)pted the ellstonl, abandoning, however, in deference to their o,vn purer doctrines, the idolatrous principles which were connected with these dates, and confining their celebrationexclu . sively to their nsu'clnolnical iUlportnnce.. But tilue passed on" Christianity carne to Iningle its rays with the liglit of nlasoury, and our Christian ancestors, finding that the church had appro. priated two d,LyS near these solstitiul periodg to the meU10fjl' of

two elninent sai:rlts;, it was ensy to incorporate these festivals, lIS the lapse of a few days, into the masonic calendar, and to adopt these worthies as patrons of our Ql"der.. 'ro this ~hange, the IV

110

DED·-DEG

earlier Christian l\lasons were doubtless the more pcrsuadec. tlH~ peculiar character of these saints. St...John the 13aptist, by an.. nouncing the approach of Christ, and by the lll)'stic ablution to which 116 subjected his proselytes, and which was after'ward adopted in the co1'el11ony of initiation into Christianity, 1l1ight wen be considered as the Gtrand ][[crophant of the church, while the mysterious and emblenHLtic nature of the Apocalypse assituiIated the mode of teaching adopted by St. John the ]~vangelist to that practised by the fraternity.

It is thus that I trace the present systeul of dedication, thron.gh these saints, to the heliacal worship of the ancients.

I'toyal .A.reh Chapters are dedicated to Zerubbabel, Prince or

GOyerllOr of Judah, and ~~ncalnplnents of I{nights 'l'en)pl~r3 to St. John the Ahnol1er. l\Ittrk lodges should be dedicated to Hiram the Builder; Past ~Iasters' to the Sts. J o:b.n, and l\Iost Excellent l\Iaaters' to King Sololuon.

DEDICATION OF TIIl~ T]jJl\IPLE. ~rhe tenlple having been conlpleted, Soloillon dedicated it to Jeho'v'ah in the lllonth Tizri, 2999 years after the creation, and 1005 before the advent of Christ. l\Iasollic tradition tells us that he assenl bled the nine Deputy Grand ~Insters in the holy place frOIll \\"hich all natural light had beenc~\refully excludt~d, and 'which only l·eceived the artificial light whicheluanated froDl the east, west, and south, and there nlade the necessary nrrangelnents, * after which he stood before the altar of the IJord, and offered up that beautiful invocation and prayer ,vhich is to be found in the 8th chflpter of the 18t 1300k of Kings.

D~JGR]jES. Ancient Craft Masonry, or as it is called by the Grand Lodge of Scotland) "St. John's l\{usonry," consists of but three degrees, Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and l\Inster ~la.son. The degrees in all the rites vary in nuulber and eha-

• Oliver. Landmarkst 1. 580.

DEL-DEM

!l1

racter, inasIlluch as they are cornparatively modern; but they all ~onilncnce with the thl'el.~ of . Ancient Craft ~Iasonry.

In all the l)agan Dlystel'ies, there were progressiye degrees of \Ditiation. In the mysteries of IIindostan, there ,vere tour de路 ~rees; three in those of (J.rccee; the saUle nUlhber tllllong th~ Druid:;; and t,vo uIllong the l\Iexicans. ~rhe object of theso steps of pl"(Jha tiou \V:1S to test the character of the aspirant, and at the saIne titne to prepare hinl b.y gra.dual reveltLtions, for the

!ulJ)ortant knowledge he was to receive at the finallnOluent of hi!

IJ ELT..:\.. .t\.. triungle. The name of a piece of furni Lure in an EneaIUpUlent cf Knights Teulplars, which, being of a trian.. ~路'.l1ar fOrIll, derives its name froln the Greek letter 6, delta. It i~ ~lls,) the title given,in the French and. Scotch rites,to the IUUli.. nQl.l~ triangle which encloses the ineffable name.

D:El\II'I'. .A, l\Iason is said to dClllit froDl the order when he withdraws fronl all connection with it. It relieves the individual froIll nIl pecuniary contributions, and debars hinl from pecunia.ry relief, but it does not cancel his llu1sonic obligations, nor eXOlllpt hitl.l. fronl that wholesolne control which the ord{~rexerciscs over the 1)101'a1 conduct of its lueUl bers. In this respect the luaxiln is, once a J.lv.}son and a.lwa.ys l~ 11fason.

A very incxclL<;ablecorruption of this word has lately sprung up in this country, and a few American lVlasons, in violation of all the rules of etylllology, and the authority of all Masonic Writers from l\.lld(~rson to Oliver, a.re now attempting to introdu路ce the word di?n拢t. ~rhe Iueanings of the two words are, as well as their derivation, elltirely different. To demit is from demitt6re, "to let go, or withdraw," just what the memher docs when he t1l'1}'l'it8 f)rom the lodge. To d'i1nit is fromdi1t'l,ittertJ) "to send away." ...~ l\fason may de711it or withdraw from the lodge, for tJlut is good English; but he cannot dimit or send away from the Lodge, beca.use that would b& nonsense, unless he sends so:w.ethins

112

DEP-DES

else away and stays hirllself'. TItle word dimit was invented by somebody who was ignorant of the Latin language and did not know the force of the root from which the word is derived. It is found in l\lacoy·s Cyclopedia, who derives it from dimitto, which he says means" to permit to go; " but unfortunately, dimitto has no such meaning in pure Latin. The word dimit should be carefully eschewed by all correct speakers and writers. A derllit, which is wholly a technical word, is a certificate that the brother therein named has resigned his membership, and that, being in good standing, his resignation has been accepted.

DEPlTTY- GRAND ~lASTER. The assistant, and in hi~ absence, the representative of the Grand l\laster. He was form.. erly appointed by his superior, but is now elected by the craft.

While the Grand Master is present, the D.·. G.·. M.·. has neither duties nor powers; these are exercised only in the absence of the 'Presiding officer.

DERMOTT, LAURENCE. He was at first the Grand Secre.. uary and afterwards the Deputy Grand l'Iaster of that body of masons, who, in 1739, seceded fro111 the Gr~tnd I..lodge of England and called themsel-,es" Aneient 1~ ork l\Iusons,'1 stigmatizing the regular masons as t, nlodt~rus." In 1764, ·DerIllott published the Book of Constitutions of hisG-randLodge under the title of "l Ahiman Rez.~.l.; or a help to all that are or would be Free and Accepted l\lasous, containing the quin1jc~senceofaU that bas beeD puhlished on the subject of Freeluasonry." This work passed through several editions, the last of which was edited, in 1818,

by Thon1US Harper the Deput,y Gr~tnd l\Iuster of the Ancient J\lasons, under the title of "The Constitutions of Freemasonry, or Ahiman Rezon/' It is not, however, considered as any authority for masonic law.

DES.A.GULIERS.

John Theophl1us Desaguliers, LL.D., w~ite~ 'lnd lecturer on experimental

r· ~.S.:t and ~ disting~isheq

DEU-DIO

~13

philosophy, was the second Grand :r.1aster a"fter the reorganization of Freemasonry in 1717. In 1720, he compiled, with Dr. An.. derson, the earliest form of masonic lectures that are now extant, although the use of thenl has long since been abandoned for more modern and cOlllplete ones. He was born at Rochelle, in France, on the 12th l\larch, 1683, and died at London in 17..J:B DEUS l\IEUl\IQU]~ (JUS. G-od and my right.. of the B3d degree, .A.ncient and Accepted rite.

The Inotti:

DIONYSIAN ARCfII'I'ECTS. The priests of Bacchus, or, as the Greeks called lliIll, DiOTl,Y'sus, having devoted thenl:.;clyc~ to a:rchitectural pursuits, established about 1000 years bef()l"c the Christian era, a society or fraternity of builders in Asia ~linor, which is styled by t.he ancient writers the Fraternity of Dionysian A.rcp.itects.. AI"; account of this institution is given under the head of "Antiq'ltities of Freernason'l"y."

DIONYSIA~

l\fYSTERI]~S.

These mysteries were cele-

brated throughout Greece and .A.sia JYlinor, but print}ipally at Athens, where the years were nUlubered by them.. They were instituted in honour of l~tlcchus, and were int.roduced into Greece from l~gypt, which, as we shall have abundant occasion to see i,n the course of this work, \vas the parent of all the ancient rites. f.n the"e Dlysteries, the rnurder of Bacchus by the Titans Waf' ~olnmenlorated, in \\rhich legend he is evidently identified with tbe EgyptiauOsiris, who was slain by his brother, Typhon. Tht aspirant in the cerelnonies through which he passed, reFresenterl the Illurder of the god, and. his restoration to life.

The COIlllllcncemcnt of the mysteries, or what we might rna..

80nically call the opening of the lodge, was signalized by the con路 secration of an egg, in allusion to the mundane egg from which all things were supposed to have sprung. The cand~date having been first purified by water, and crowned with a rnyrtle branch, Wqs iqtroduced into the vestibule, n.nd tbe:reclothcd in tll(.~ i~H~red 10*

DIO

114

habilaments. fIe wa~ tl.cn delivered to the conductor, who, aft~.n the mystic warning, E:xa~, €xat;, ~(f4e (3efir;2tU, "Depnrt het (~C, aU yeprofane I"~ exhorted the candidate to exert all his fortitude anel courage in the dangers and trials· through which he was ahout to pass. He was then led through a series of dark caverns, a part of the ceremonies which Stobreus calls "a rude a.nd fearful lnarch through night and darkness." During this passage he is terrified by the howling of wild beasts, and other fearful noises; a rtifieial thunder reverberates through the subterranean apartments, and tr:l nsien t flashes of lightning reveal monstrous apparitions to his ~ig'ht. In this state of darkness and terror he is kept for three Jays and nights, after which he commences the aphanism or mys:,l(;ttl death of Bacchus. He is now placed on the pastos or couch, that is, he is confined in a solitary cell, where he is at liberty to reflect seriously on the nature of the undertaking in which he is engaged. During this time, he is alarmed with the sudden crash of waters, whIch is intended to represent the deluge. Typhon, searching for Osiris, or Bacchus, for they are here identical~ discovers the ark in which he had been secreted, and tearing it violently asunder, scatters tbe limbs of his victim upon the waters.. The aspirilnt now hears the larnentations which are in· stituted for the deatb of the god. Then con?111CnCeS the seal'ch of Rhea for the remains of Bacchus. The apartlnents are filled with shrieks and groans; the initiated lningle with their howling~ ?f despair, the frantic dances of the COfybantes; every thing if4 3 Sjene distraction and l~wdness; until, at a signal from the t icropbunt, the whole dranlR changes; the lllourning is turned to joy; the mangled body is found; and the aspirant is released frotn his confinernent, amid the shouts of EupYjxap.ev, EurxQ.tpOp.2) $ u we have found it, let us rejoice together." 'l'he candidate i, now Illude to descend into the infernal regions, ,,·here he sees the torlnents of the wicked, and t he rew~l1"18 of the virtuous. It was no" that he receh"ed the lecture explanatory of the rit.(~&, and ·wns invested with the trlkens which ::icrvcd the initiated us a

or

~~a.~s

of

rcco~nitio,n.

Jl~

t4en underwent a lust r1lf,l(lO> aft-or

DIS

111

which he was introduced into the holy place, where he received the name of Epopt, and was fully instructed in the doctrine of the mysteries, which consisted in a belief in the existence of one God, and a future state of rewards and punishments. These doctrines were inculcated by a variety of significant symbols. i\.fter the perforluance of these ccrenlonie~, the aspirant was dislllissed, and the rites concluded with the pronunciation of the m:ystic words Konx~ OnljJQ:J;, an attelIlpted explanation of which will be found under the head of Eleusinian mysteries.

DISCAI"CEATION. The ceremony of taking off the. shoes, as a token of rcsper~t, whenover we are on orabollt to approach holy ground. It is referred to in Exodus, (iii. 5,) where .th.e angel of the Lord, at the burning bush, exclaims to Moses: " Draw not nigh hit.her; put off thy shoes from off thy feet,for the place ·whereon thou standest is holy ground." It is again luentioned in Joshua, (v. 15) in the following words: "And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua:, Loose thy shoe frOIl) off thy foot; for the place '\v hereon thou standest is holy."

And lastly, it is alluded to in the injunction given in EcclesiastQs, ('''. 1) "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God.. " The rite, in fact, always was, and still is, used aIDong theJe:ws anu other Orient.al nations, when entering their temples nnd other sacred edifices. It doe! not seen} to have been dcrh·ed frotu the command given to 1'10se8:; but rather to have existed a~ a religious custom from time inlmemorial, and to have been bOTrowed,as l\lede supposes, by the Gentiles, through trnditioll, frotH the patriarchs. rhe direction of Pythagoras to his disciples, was in thee<: words: Avu7:ob1j7:Ot:; Oue: xal np0(J'xl.wee-that is, "OtTer sacrifice and worship with thy shoes ofl:" Justin l\lnrtyr sa)'s that those who came to worship in th€ sanctuaries and temples of the Gentiles, were cOllllnanded ·by their priests to put off their shoes.

Drusiua, in his Notes on the Hook of Joshua, says t.hat nJIlong

116

lns

most of the Eastern Llations i r, was a· pious duty to tread the pavement of the telnplc with unshod feet.* l\Iaimonides, the great expounder of the, Jewish law, asselts that "it was not lawful f( If a Juan to come into the mountain of God's house with his sho's on his feet, or with his staff, or in his working garments, or wi rh dust on hi~ feet."t Ra,bbi Solomon, cOlunleuting on the eonllnand in Leviticl.:.! xix.. 30, "Ye shall reverence U1Y sanctuary," Inakes the SalliE: r,)· mark in relation to this custoru. ()n this subject Dr. Oliyer ob serves: " Now tbe act of going with nuked feet "l'us always con· sidereda token of hUlnility and reverence; and the priests, in temple worship, always officiated with feet uncovered, although it was frequently injurious to their health."t Mede quotes Zago Zaba, an Ethiopean Bishop, who was aill.. bassador from David, I(ing of .A.byssinia, to John III., of Portugal, as saying: " We are not perulitted to enter the church, except barefooted.. " § The l\:Iaholnnledans, when about to perfofrll their devotions" always leave their slippers at the door of the lllosque. The Druids practised the saIne Cl1StOlll \vhenever they celebrated their 8acred rites; and the ancient Peruyians are snoid alw1l.ys to have left their shoes at the poreh, w'llen they entered the n13gnificcnt tenlple consecrated to tho 'worship of Ule Sun. Ad~nn Clarke thinks tbat the enstfnn of 'worshipping the Dejty barefooted, was so general ntnong nIl nations of antiquity, that he assigns it as one of his thirteen proofs that the wh()lc hUluau raoe have been deriyed from one faulily.

Finally, Bishop J>atrick, speaking of t he origin of thi~ rite, says in his conlnlentaries: "l\loses did not give the fir:;t beginning to this rite, bu;, it V"as derived frolll the pat.riarchs before • Quod etiatn nune apud. plorasquo Qrientia nutionc~ piaculum sit. pede teul'r1orum pavimentn. calcasse.. t Beth lIn.bhechirnh, c. 1. i HistQricnJ I.,:tndmnrks, \"01. ii.. p. 481. i NOll rllltur n(tbis potestas adeundi templum nisi nudibus pedibu••

<.~a1<~(lat.

DIS

117

hiln, and transnlitted to future tinlCS f1"ol11 that ancient, general tradition; for we find no COll,IlUUHl in the law of 1\10808 for the priests performing the service of the tenlple without Sh08S, but it is certain they did so franl imulelllorial custOlll; and so do the 1\lohaulnledans and other nations at this day" I>ISCOVERY.

"Anno inventiunis/' or "in the year of t~p

(Ii se o'V'ery," is the style assurued by l~oyal Arch l\fnsons, in corn llleUloration of an event which took place soon after the comnlencement of the rebuilding of the Temple by Zerubbabel.

See Oalendar, Masonic.

DISPENSATION. A permission to do that which, without such permission, is forbidden by the constitutions and usages of the order. The power of granting Dispensations is confided tc the Grand ~Iaster, or his representative, but should not be exer.. cised except on extraordinary occasions, or for excellent reasons.

The dispensing power is confined to only four circurnstances.

1. A lodge cannot be opened and held, unless a \,tarrant of Constitution be first granted by the G'rand J.Jodge; but the Grand Master Dlay issue his Dispensation, enlpowering a constitutional number of brethren to open nnel hold a lodge until the next communication of the Grand Lodge At this cOllununication, the Dispensation of the Grand l\laster is either revoked or confirmed.

A lodge under Dispensation, is not permitted to be represented, nor to vote in the Grand Ledge.. 2. Not lllore thnn five candi路 dates can be made at the same communication of a lodge; but t,he Grand :rrlaster, on the showing of sufficient cause, may extenJ to a lodge the privilege of' nlakillg ns many lnore as he Inny think proper.. 8. No brother can at the saIne tiole belong to t\VO lodges, within路three niiles of each other. But the Gruna :\IIaster may dispense with this regulation also. 4. Every lodge nlust elect and install its officers ()n the constitutional night, ,,~hi(~h, in most masonic jurisdictions, precedes the anniversary of St. John the Evangelist. Should it, however, neglect this duty, or should any officer die, or be expelled, or remove permanently, no.subse..

.t>IS-DltE

11~

quen t election or installation cnn take place, except under di&pensation of the Grand l\Iastel".

DISTRICT DEI)UTY G路R,AND l\ll\STER.

An officer ap-

pointed to inspect old lodges, conseerate new ones, install t.lacir officers, and exereise a general sUfervisiou over the fraternit,Y ir~ dist,ricts where, fraul t.he extent of the jurisdiction, the Grana 1\J aster or his Deputy cannot conveniently attend in person. lie is considered as a Grand Officer, and as the represen tntive of the G-rand Lodge in the district in 'which he resides. In the English Grand Lodge, officers of this description are called Provincial Grand ~Iasters.

DORIC ORDER.

The oldest and most original of the three

Grecian orders.

It is remarkable for robust solidity in the column, for Dlassive grandeur in the entablature, and for harolonious sim.. plicity in its construction. Tho distinp;uishing characteristic of this order, is the want Jf a base. The flutings are few, large,

and very little conCfi\'e. The c~tpital bns 110 astragal, but only one or Inore fillets, which separate the flutings frolIl the tOfUS. * The column of strength which supports the lodge, is of the Doric order, and its appropriate situation and sYluboIic officer are in

the W.".

D()VE, I<:NIGIITS AND I.. .ADIES OF THE. (}ll(!"l)(lh路er~ C'luN-'alteres de la Colombe. .A. secret society fruluec!3u the In xlel of Freemasonry, to which women were adlllitted; it was i:lstitllted at Versailles, in 1784, but it is now ex.tinct. ~t

DRESS OF A MASON. Oliver says-J- that. "the aneient symbolical dress of a l\fnster l\Inson was a j'"cll()'w jlleket and blue breeches, alluding to the brass conlpaSS(~s with steel poirlts, which were assigned to the l\laster, or Gr(lnd~Ia3ter, as govenHH' of the craft. But the real dress ,vas U I,lain black eout and brceche~ .. St'lwrt.f)iet of A l'l'hlfl路ptllrt',

t L1f.Ddrua.rk~. "'t.t.

i. p.16W.

DRtJ

119

with white waistcoat, s!.ockings, aprons and gloves." In. this country the masonic costullle is a full suit of black, with white stockings whe~:e shoes are 'worn, and white leather aprons and gloves. The earliest code of lectures known in England described the Sylllbolic clothing of a l\laste:' ~iason as "a skull cap and jacket yellow, and nether garments blue."

DRUIDS. The Druidical rites were practised in Britain and Gaul, though they were brought to a much greater state of per.. fection in the former country, where the isle of Anglesea was considered as their chief seat. The word Druid has been supposed to be derived frQID the Greek Jpuc;, or rather the Celtic Der~l), an oak, which tree was peculiarly sacred among them; but I am inclined to seek its etymology in the Gaelic word Druidll" which signifies a wise Ulan or a nlagician. The druidical ceremonies of initiation, according to Oliver, "bore an undoubted reference to the salvati.on of Noah and his seven conlpanions in the ark."

Indeed, all the ancient Inysteries appear to have been arkite in their general character. Their places of initiation were of various forlns; circular, because a eircle was an enlblem of the universe; or oval, in allusion to the mundane egg, from which, uccording to the ]~gyptians, our first parents issued; or serpen· tine, because a serpent was the symbol of flu, the druidieal Noah; or winged, to represent the motion of the Divine Spirit; or eru· ~iform. because a cross was theeUlbleIll of regeneriL.ion.* Tht~ir 0D1y covering was the clo'uded ca,nO]JlI, because theydeelned it absurd to confine the Olnnipotent beneath aroof;.tund they were

------_._-------.--"• The. cross, as at:. enlbbm of regeneration, was first adopted by the EgJ'p.

'Ha.ns, who expressed the several increases of the Nile, (bywbose fertilizing in Dndations their soil was regenerated,) by a. column marked with several crosses 1'hcy hung it as a talisman around the necks of their children and sick pee ~ people. It was sometixnes represented in an abridged form, by the letter T.-· Pluche, HiBtorie dUJ Oiel. t It was a.n article in the druidica.l creed, that it was unlawful to buH'l :em pIes to the gods; or to worship them within waJ.lsor under roofs."- Dr.llt.,...

,.,'. Bi.t. Eng.

120

DlttJ

constructed of embankments of car1 h, aud of uDl1(~wn stone8 J unpollllted w'ljtlt a rnetaZ tool. No one was permitted to ent.~r t.heir sacred retreats, unless he bure a chain,. The chief priest 01 hieroplulllt, was called the Archdruid. Their gr:'lud perio3.s (f initiation were quarterly, taking place on the days when the ~UD reached his equinoctial and solstitial points, which at that rt~ln()t6 period ,vere the 13th of ]j'ebruary, the 1st of l\lay:, the 1nth of August, and the 1st of N oveID bel". The principal of these 路was the 1st of l\lay, (which, according to 1\11".. Iliggius,* \vas t,be fest1 ~Tal of the Sun entering into Taurus,) and the ~lay-day celebratll)~ which still exists among us, is a remnant of the druichcal r~ res.

It was not lawful to comulit their ceremonies or doctrines to writing, as we learn from Coosar;t and hence the ancient G路1"cek and ROlDan writers have been enabled to give us路 but little lufornlation on this subject.

The institution was divided into three degrees or classes, the lowest being the Bards; the second the Fatds, or l'lzles, and the highest the Druids.t l\Iuch luental preparation and physical purification were used previously to adnlission into the first de.. ~ree..

The aspirant was clothed ,,"ith the three sacred colours, white, blue, and green; white as the sYlllbol of I.Jight, Llue of 'l'ruth, and green of I-Iope. 'Vhen the rites of initiation were passed, the tri..coloured robe ""<.18 (~hanged for one of green.; in the second degree, the cnndidate was clothed in blue, and having surmounted all the dangers of the third, and arrived at thn sunIIn it of perfection, he received the red tiara and flowing Inautle of purest white. The cerelllonies were nUlnerous, the phj'sical proofs painful, and the lnental trials appalling. r.rhey cOlllluenced in the first degree, with placing the aspirant in the paHtos, bed, or coffin, where his symbolical death was r(~prcs(lnted, and they ~erlninated in the thIrd, by his regeneration or restoration to lifd

*

Higgins' Celtic Druids, p. 149. The astronomic rela.tions of this day !lave been a,ltered l)y the procN~si()I1 of the equinox. t tt Ncque fa~ esse existimtlnt, en. lit-oris mandare."-.Bell.. Gall.. vi. 13. t EZee Strabo, lib. iv', a.nd Ammian. Marccllinus, lib. xv.

DUE-DUN

121

fraIl.. the wonlb OT the giantess Ceridwin, and the committal of the body of the 'Ilewl:1J b07"1j~ to the waves ina small boat, symbolica.. of the ark. The result was, generally, that he succeeded in reaching the safe landing-place that represented l\Iount Ararat, but if his arnl was weak, or his heart failed, death was the xlmost inevitable consequence. If he refused the trial, through timidity) he was contelnptuously rejected, and declared forever ineligible t,( participate in the sacred rites. But if he undertook it and succeeded, he was joyously invested with all the privileges of druidism.

The doctrines of the Druids were the same as those entertained

by Pythagoras. They taught the existence of one Supreme Being; a future state of rewards aud punishments; the immortality of the soul, and a metempsychosis j* and the objec~ of their mystic rites was to communicate these doctrines in symbolic language.

With respect to the origin of the Druids, the most plausible theory seems to be that of l\1r. Higgins, that the Celts, who prac.. tised. the rites of Druidism, "first came froIu the east of the Caspian sea, bringing with them their seventeen letters, their festivals, and their gods." Without such a theory as this, we shall be unable to account for the analogy which existed between the rites of druidislll and those of the other pagan nl ystories, the latter of wholll undoubtedly derived their origin froDl the mysteries of ancient Illdia through those of Egypt.

DUE FORM. DlJE GUARD.

See Ample Form.

We are by this ceremony strongly renlinded

of tho time and nln.pn~r of taking our solelnn vows of duty, and hsnce are duly gua1¡ded against any violation of our sacred promises as initiated Iuernbers of a great moral and social insti~ tution..

DUNCKERLEY, TIl 01'11\8, called by Oliver " the mostemiâ&#x20AC;˘ Cmsarsaysof theul; In pri mis }},)O volunt persuadere, non interire ani aed ab aliis post nlortem ~td nHm~ trnnsire puront/'-Bell. Gall.,!.. vi.

H

DOS,

EAG-EAR

nent l\la8on of the age." Dunckerley acted an important part in the transactions of English Masonry from the middle to near the end of the eighteenth century. lIe held many offices, among others that of a Provincial Grand l\Iaster; and being a lIlan of education and ability, thoroughly conversant with scientific and 'Philosophical studies, he exercised much influenco over the craft, modifying and improving the systeul of lectures 'tvhich had been established by 1"1~rtinClare. He was a natural son of George the Second, and so recognized by the royal family. He was born in 1724, and died in 1795, aged 71 years.

E. EAGLE, DOUBLE HEADED. The double headed eagle is the ensign of the kingdoln of Prussia, and as Frederick II. was the fouuder and chief of the 33d or ultiulate degree of the Scotch or .i\ncient and l\.ccepted rite, us it is now called, the double headed eagle has been adopted ns theclublem or jewel of that degree, to denote its Prussian origin. ]~AR OF COI~N. This was, alnong all the ancients, an em blem of plenty. Ceres, who was universally worshipped as thE. godacss of abundance, and c,\ren called by the Gree.ks, Dem~::tc.r) a manifest corruption of Gemet/J)路, ormollter e(,~rt7L, was sym hf Ii. cally represented with a garland on her head composed of ears of corn, a lighted torch in one hnnd, and a cluster of poppies and ears of corn in the other. And in the IIebrew, the most signifi. cant of all languages, the two,\\Tords '\vhich signify an ear of corn, are both derived from roots which give the idea of abun. dance. For shibboleth, which is applicable both to an ear of corn and a flood of water, has its root in shabal, to increase or to flow abunda.n tly; and the other name of corn, dogan, iR de-

EA&

]~3

rived from tbe verb, dagah, signifying to multiply or to be in¡ creased.

EAST. ~rhe East has always been considered peculiarly sacred..

This was, without exception, the case in all the ancient mysteries.

In the EgJptian rites, especially, and those of Adonis, which ,vero! among the earliest, and fronl which the others derived their existence, the Sun was the object of adoration, and his revolutions thrJugh the various seasons were fictitiously represented. The spot, therefore, where this IUlninary lunde his :lppearance at the conlmenceUlent of day, and where his worshippers were wont, anxiously, to look for the first darting of his prolific rays, was esteclned as the figurative birthplace of their god, and honoured with an appropriate degree of reverence. And even among those nations where Sun-worship gave place to more enlightened doctrines, the respect for the place of Sun-rising continued to exist.

Our Jewish brethren retained it, and handed it down to their Christian successors. The camp of Judah was placed by 1\10se8 in the East as a nHtl"'k of distinction; the tabernacle in the wilder.. ness was placed due EaRt and \,rcst; und -the practice was con.. tinued in the erection of Christian churches. Hence, too, the priulitive Christians nlwHYs turned towards the East in their public pruj"ers, wbieh custOlll St. Augustine accounts fl)r, "because the ]~~ast is the Illost honourable part of t he world, being the region of light whence the glorious sun arises."* .A,nd hence aU masonic lodges, like their great prototype, the Teluplc of J crusaleIIl, are built, or supposed to be built, due J1Jast aild 'Vest, and as the Nort h is estee rned a place of darkness, the East, on ih;, oontrary, is considered a place of light. t â&#x20AC;˘ St.. August. de Senn. Dom. ill Monte, c. 5. t In the pritllitiveChristian Church, according to St. Ambrose, in the cere" monies accompanying the bn,ptism of a cn,techumen," be turned towards the West, the image of da:rkness, to abjure the world, and towards the East, the tmblmn of light, to denote bis alliance with. Jesus Chri.s~.'~ S~e Oll.atea~ f>riand, l;leafJ,tie.so! Ciriftianitll' Book 1.:1 ch.~ ..

t24

EAV-ECO

E.\.VESDROPPER. A listener. The name is deri,ed rrolm the punishment which according to Oliver, was directed, in the lectures, at the revival of luasonry in 1717, to be inflicted on a detected cowan, and which was-" To be placed under the eaves l)f the house in rainy weather, till the water runs in at his shoulders and out at his heels."

ECLECTIC l\IASONltY. This was an order or rite established

by Baron de Knigge, t('! the purpose, if possible, of abolishing the" hautes grades," or philosophical qegrees which had, at that period, increased to an excessive nunlber. This(' Eclectic masonry" acknowledged the three symbolic degrees only, as the true ritual, but perlnitted each lodge to select at its option any of the higher degrees, provided they did not in terfere with the uniformity of the first three.

The founder of the rite hoped by this system of diffusion to weaken the irnportance and at length totally to destroy the exist. ence of these high degrees. But he failed in this expectation, and while these high degrees are still flourishing, there are not a d()Zt~~~ lodges of the -Eclectic rite now in operation in Europe.

Into tl:lis country it bas never penetrated. :it Frankfort, in Germany, in the year 1783,

E(;ObSl\.IS. The fifth degree in the French rite. It is 00... cupied in the detail of those precautions lnade use of. just before the cC)InpJ~tion of the Teulple, for the preservation of important sâ&#x201A;ŹcrtltR,:tnd is very similar in the character of its legend to the Ar..leriC~tn dugree of Select l\laster.

See Scotch Mason ECOSS.A.ISl\L By this word I luean those numerous Scotch degrees which find their prototypes in the degree established by t,be Chevalier Ramsay, and which he called Ecossnis, or Scotch Mason, because he asserted that thE systelll came originally from Scotland. From the one prinlitive degree of Ramsay an hundred others llave sprung up, sOluethncs under the name of Ecossais,

.:ijd sQ1;petimes 'Q,uq,er. other titles, bl.lt still :remiqiul' one uniforJQ

EGY

12:1

~haracter,-that of detailing the mode in which the great secret was preserved. This systelll of Rcossaism is to be found in all the rites. In the French it bear~ the name of EC0,3sais, and is jescribed in the preceding artiole. In the ancient Scotch rite is divided into three degrees, and consists of the Grand l\Iaster Architect, Knight of the Ninth Arch Elect, Perfect and Sublhne l\Iason. Even in the appendagcl,s to the York rite we find an Eeossais under the name of the Select l\tlaster.

Some idea of the extent to which these degrees have beeD muI tiplied, may be forUled fronl the fact that Oliver has a list of eighty of thenl. Baron de Tschoudy enUmel"ates twenty-seven of thenl, which he does not consider legitimate, leaving 3J fir greater number to whose purity he does not obj~ct.

:t

EGYPTIAN :1'IYSTERIES. Egypt was the cradle of ail tho:J nlysteries of paganisnl. At one thue in possession of all the learning and religion that W:1S to be found in the world, it ex.tended into other nations the influence of its sacred rites and its secret doctrines. '1'ho irnportance, therefore, of the Egyptian mysteries, will entitle theIll to t1 lllore diffusive explanation than has been awarded to the exanlination of the other rites of spurious Freemasonry.

The priesthood of l~gypt con:-;tituted a sacred caste, in whom the stlcerdotal functions were hereditary. They exercised also an iln portant part in the goverlHuent of the state, and the kings of Ef!ypt were but the first ~ubject8 of its priests.

They had originally organized, and continupd to control the ceremonies of lHitiation. 'fheir doctrines were of two kinds, exoteric or public, whieh were, connnunicated to the multitude, and esoteric or secret, which were revealed only to a chosen few; and to obtain theIn, it was necessary to pass through an initiation. which, aE we shall see, wascharacterizecl by the severest trials of courage and fortitude.

*

â&#x20AC;˘ In the Royal Arch degree, the King is a.n officer inferior .\) the Big)

Priest. '<

.

1 .

.l *

<..i

120

EGY

The principal selLt of the nl'ysteric., was at l\Ielllphis, in the neighbourhood of the great P'yr~llllid. They ,,,ere of t\VO kinds, the greater and the less; the forlller being the ulyst.eries of Osiris and Serapis; the latter those of Isis. ~rhe lllysterics of Osiris were celebrated at the autuulual equinox: those of Serapis, at the SUUllner solstice; and those of Isis at the vernal equinox. 'llhe candidate wus required. to exhibit proofs of :1, hlalne1e~s life. For S0111e days previous to the COIlllUenCenlont of the ('el',"~ 1110nies of inititltion, he a bst:.lined frc)lu all unchnstc acts, confinl~d himself to an exceedingly light diet, frolu \vhich anilnal food '\~tu: rigorously excluded, and purified hirnself by repeated ablutions.

Being thus prepared, the candidate, conducted by a, guide, pro.. ceeded in the middle of the night, to the lrlouth of a low gallery, situated in one of the sides of the P)Ti.Ullid. I-Iaving crawled, for 801110 distance, on his hands and knees, be at length came to the orifice of a wide and apparen tly unflttholnable 'well, \vhich the guide directed him to descend. Perhaps he hesitates and refuses to encounter the seeDling danger; if so, he, of' course, renounces the enterprise, and is reconduett1~.1 to the 'world, never again to becoule a candidate for initiation; hut if he is anilluLted by courage, hedeterrllines to descend; \vhereupon t.he corlductol" points hiln to an iron ladder~ which rnakes the deseeut perfectly safe. .At t.be sixtieth step, the cnndidute renelled tJle entrance to a'winding gallery through ~t brazen door, wInch opened noiselessly and ahnost sl)ontu,neously" but. which shut behind hinl witb t1, hen:vy clang, that reverberated through the h JU<.)'\v passagt:~s. In front of thi~ door was nn iron grate, through the b~n's of 'which the aspirant beheld an extensive gallery, wllose roof "'ras supported on eneh side, by a long row of l'najestic eolulllns, and enlightened by a lJlultitude of brilliant lanlps. The voiees of the prie3ts 11l1d priestesses of Isis, chanting funeral hYluns, were Iningled 'with the sound of Illelodious iDstruulen ts, whose lueluncholy tones could not fail to affect the aspirant with the lllOSt solelnn feelings.

Ilia guide now denla,nded of hitn, if he was st,ill firol in his pur.. ooae of p~~ip.~ tlu'ough the trials and dangers that ~waitetl him,

EGY

127

3r whether, overcome by what Le had alreac1y ax:t-(.r~'.:nl'J:.l, he was desirous of returning to the surface and aba:Gdcnir.g .a;~~e en.. terprise. If he still persisted, they both entered a r ·.~r=rrv gallery, on the walls of 'v hich were inscribed the folloyr~."1g r} gnifi.. cant words: "The lllortal who shall travel over th~.3 Yooa'l, with... out hesitating or looking behind, shall be purified by fire, ~y wa· ter and by air, and if he can surrllountlhe fear of de~th, h~ shall eUlerge fron1 the bosorn of the earth; he shall revisit the ~ight, and cluhn the right of preparing his soul for the reception of the mysteries of the great goddess Isis." The conductor now abandoned the aspirant to hiulself, "tNurnillg hilll of the dangers that surrounded and awaited hiln, and exhorting hitll to continue, (if be expected succe~.~.,) unshaken in his firluness.

The solitary candidate now con tinues to traverse the gallery for SOUle distance farther. On each side are placed in niches, colossal statues, in the attitude of l11umlnies, awaiting the bour of resurrection. The hunp v;ith ,vhich, at the COnlUl.enCement uf the ceretnonies, he had been furnished, casts but a glirlilliering light around, scarcely suffieient to Iuake "darkness visihle."

Spectres seenl to lnenae(~ hiln at every step, but on hin nearer approach they vanish ill(O airy nothingness. At length he reaches an iron door gnar led by three men arlned with swords, and disguised in lU:lsks ."eselnbling the lleads of jaekals. One of thenl addressQs hinl UF, follows: "\V·e are not h~re to impede your passage. Continue your journey, if the gods have gi't""on you the po\ver Hnd strength to do 80. But remelnber, if )",on on ~:e pass the threshold of that door, )"OU Inust not dare to p,;,use, or attclupt to retrace your steps; if you do, you will find u::c hcr~ prepared to oppose ;rour re~reat, and to prevent YOur retJ.rn. H IIaviIlg p(~sRed through the door, the candidat6 has B3arCe~] pro.. ceeded fifty steps before llC is dazzled by a oriEia:lt :iigiI~, ··~'hose intensity 8.ugluents as he advances. lIe now findo n;.;:ncclf in. a spacious hnll, fil]t~d with infl~'tnlnlable satstancsG, in ~ r,r:tre of I.'ODlbustion, whose fialnes pervade the ";vb-ola t,J..l~J:iI:!.Oht.J and forma bower of fire on the roofttbove.. Through this in is De-

128

E37

oessf, ~:; tLa.t he should pass ,vith the greatest speed, to iL70iJ t.h~ p.'ffecl-.. . :f t:l.e flalnes. To this peril succeeds another. On the othe:' ..;:c.e 0f tb'is fiery furnace, the floor of the hall is garnisht:.d with ~ hu~;c: nat-work of red hot iron bars, the narrow interstices of which rJford the aspirant th@\ only chances of a secure footi:1g.

[IavL"Jg surmounted this difficulty by the greatest address, another and ur.:.expected obstacle opposes his farther progress. A wide and rapid canal, fed from the waters of the Nile, crosses the pas.. sage he is treading. Over this stream he has to swim. Divest.. ing hin1self, therefore, of his garments, he fastens them in a bundle upon the top of his head, and holding his lamp, which ~ now affords him all the light that he possesses, high above tbe water, he plunges in and boldly swims across.

On arriving at the opposite side, he finds a narro,v landing place, bounded by two high walls of brass, into each of which is inserted an immense wheel of the same uletal, and terluinatcJ by an ivory door. This, of course, the aspirant attempts to openbut his efforts are in vain. The door is unyielding. At length he espies two large rings, of which he immediately takes hold, in the e~pectation that they will afford him the Dleans of effecting an er.trance. But what are his surprise and terror, when he be.. holde the brazen wheels revolve upon their axles with a forlllidable :,"apidit:l ~nd. stunning noise; tho platform sinks from under hiln, a!ld he renutins suspended by the rings, over a fathomless abys~, from which issues a chilling blast of wind; his lanrp is extiI: guished, and he is left in profound darknes8. For more than f'v rJlinut~ he remains in this unenviable posit.ion, deafened by tl.~ noise of the revolving wheels, chilled by the coid current of aL~~ ~n<i dreading least his strength shall fail him, when he nlusi inevitabl~r be precipitated into the :yawning gulf below But ~:J d\,:grees ':ice noise eeases, the platforUl resumes its forlller posit. o=', aDd the aapirant is restored to safety. The ivory door now ':~:c_~jat100~'31~T cperAs, and he finds himself in a brilliant ly illUlI.,,,, a\: ~ r,:VGl'~~~:ne:'lt, iI' the Illidst of the p:路iests of Isis, clothed til tho ulystic insignia of theIr offices, who weiconle hiul, and con..

EGY

129

gratulate him on his escape fr Dill the dangers which have menaoed him. In this apartment he beholds the various symbols of the EgJptiHD mysteries, the occult signification of which is by degreei' explained to him.

But the ceremonies of initiation do not cease here. The candidate is subjected to a series of fastings, which gradually increase in severity for nine tirnes Dine days. Durirlg this period a rigorou.:l silence is imposed upon hinl, which, if he preserve it inviolable, is at length rewarded by his receiving a full revelation of th~. esoteric knowledge of the rites. This instruction took place during what was called the twelve days of nlunifestation. He was conducted before the triple statue of Osiris, Isis, and IIorus, where, bending the knee, he was clothed with the sacred garments, and crowned with a wreath of palIn; a torch was placed in his hand and he was made to pronounce the following 8010111D obligation: " I swear never to reveal, to any of the uninitiated, the things that I shall see in this sanctuary, nor any of the knowledge thnt shall be COIDlllunicated to Dle. I call as witnesses to lIly prornise, the gods of heaven, of earth and hell, and! invoke their vengeance on IllY head, if I should ever wilfully violate IllY oath."

Ifaving undergone this fOrluality, the neophyte was introduced into the Inost secret part of the sacred edifice" where a priest instructed hitn in the Rpplication of their sYlubols to the doctrines of the Dlysteries. lIe was then publicly announced, amid the rejoicings of the 111ultitude, as an initiated, and thus terruinated the ceremonies of initiation in tiO the ?ily.';lerles of Isis, which were tl-e first degree of the Egyptian rites..

The rtt!lsteries of Se.ra!p'is const,itutcd the second degree. Of these rites we know but little. Apuleius* alone, in his "l\Ieta.. morphoses," has written of them, and what he has said is unim.. portant. He oIlly tells us that they were celebrtlted at the sumUlcr â&#x20AC;˘ It is indeed singula.r, tha.t Herodotus, who treats oircumstantiallyof the gods of the Egyptians and their religion, should make no mention af S~ra.pit or his rite&.

130

EGY

solstice, and at night; that. thE.- e:.\Ildidate 'Y~lS usual fastings and purifieations.; and that 111) one ,vas to partake of thenl, uuless he had preyiously been initiated into

the mysteries of Isis TLe rnlfsteri'es of OSi~ris fornled the third degree or sUllunit (If the Egyptian initia.tion. In these, the of the 111urder of Osiris, by his brother rryphoD, 'was represented, and the god W:J.,,~ personated by the candidate. Osiris: aeeording to the tradition, was a wise king of EgSpt, who having aehievecl the r(·f(n~nl of b i~ subjects at hOllle, resolved to spread the blessings (d~ civilization in the other parts of the card!. This 110 nccolnplished, but on his return he found his kingdfHll, ,,"hich he had left in the Ca1'0 of his wife Isis, distracted by the seditions of his brother 'Typhon Osiris att.empted, by nlild rClllonstrances, to oonvillcc his brother of the impropriety of his conduct, but he fell a sacrii1ce in the attempt. I!'or 'ryphotl Inurdered hiln in a secret. apartlnent, and cutting up the body·, enclosed the pieces in a ehest, \vllieh he committed to the waters of the Nile. Isis, searehiug for the body, found it, and entrusted it to the care of the prie~ts, (l •..:t'ab.. fishing at the sanlC tiIue the nlysteries in cOllnuellloration of the foul deed. One piece of the b()dy, hO"l"cver, she eouhl lJot the '1ne~nbrurn7Ji"rile.. 11'01' this she suhstitut.ed n fi.l(~titiotts r(lIH'e" sentation, which she consecrnt(~d, and \vhieh, under the nalne of pllallus, is to be found a~ the eu\blcUl of fecundity in all the an..

cient mysteries.

This legend was purely astronolnicnl. Osiris \vas the sun, Isi3 the mOOD. Typhon was the '5Jlubol of \vinter, which destroys the fecundating and fertilizing p<HYOrS of the sun, thus, as it were, depriving him of life. This \\1:\8 the eatllstrophe celebratct.l in t.he mysteries, and the aspirant was Dlnde to pass fictitiously· through the sutferinbrlS ~uld the death of Osiris.

The secret doctrines of the l~gyptian rites related to the gods the creation and h~\'crllnlen t of the world, and the Illture an/~ condition of the hUIllan soul. In their initiations, says (Hi vcr, ~ey informed the enndidute that, the ulysterics ,,"ere receivfld

ELE

131

franl Adttm, Seth, and I~noch, and tiley called the perfect.lJ initiated candidate ~4.1-o1n-Jah, from the UUUle of the Deity. Secrecy was principally inculeated, and all their lessons were taught by l\lany of these have heen preserved. "rith them, a wIthin a. 'was the sJnlbol of the Deity surrounded by eternity j the globe "r:1S a synlbol of the suprelue and eternal God; t1 serpent with the tail in IJis lllouth, \vas e.nblamatic of eternity; a child si ttin g on the lotc,s was 11 synl hoI of the sun; a palnl tree, of vict.ory; a stafF, of authority; an ant, of knowledge; a goat, of fecundity; u wolf, of aversion; the right hand with the fingers open, of plenty; and the left hand closed, of protection..

*

ELECT, PEl=tFECT .t\.ND SUBLIl\lE l\iASON.

One wno

is in possession of the 14th degree of the ancient Scotch rite..

See Perfect-ion.

ELECT OF PEIlIGN .A.N. i\. French degree illustrative of the punishnlcnt inflicted upon certain criminals whose exploits constitute :1 portion of the legcud of syulbolic masonry. The counterpart of tlus df'gree is to be fQund ill the Elected Knights of nine, and Illustrious lÂŁlected of Fifteen in the ancient Scotch rite.

ELECTl~D

!{NIGIITS OF FIFTEEN.

See lllmtriotu

Elected 01 Fijeeen. l~LEc~rJ~D lCNIG1I'TS OF NINE. .lJ!aitre ~lu ties neuft.

The ninth degree in the uneicnt Seotch rIte. There are but two

officers: the l\Iost Powerful, who represents Solomon, and one "rarden in the 'Vest., rppresenting Stolkill. The Dleetings are _lled Chnpters. In this d('gree is detailed the Inode in wldcb cErtain ****** ******, ydlO just before the conlpletion of the .. See, for the fnets n:~corded in t.hi.::: nl'tide,. Apuleius, :M:etamorph..; 0la.vel, llistoire dt.) lu, Frune-.M:u;ourie; Olin.'r, ~ign:-: llnd S.ymbols; Pluche" Histoire dn Ciel" etc.

132

ELE

Temple, had been engaged in an exe",rable deed of villany, re.. ceived their punishnlent. It exenlplifies t.he truth of the maxim, that the punish lnent of crirlle, though sonletimes slow, is ever sure; and it adIllonishes us, by the historical circumstances on which it is founded, of the binding nature of our masonic obli路 gations. The symbolic colours are red, white, and. black. The white is emblematic of the purity of the knights; the red" of the crime which was CODlmitted; and the black, of grief: This degree, under the title of" ELU," constitutes the 4th degree in the French rite.

ELECTION. It is an ancient regulation that no candidate can be elected a member of our order, until strict enquiry shall have been made into his moral cha.racter. For this purpose, all letters of application, unless a dispensation is granted, must lie over at least one lllouth, during which time they are entrusted to a committee of investigation, whose unfavourable report is equivalent to a rejection by the It,dge, and precludes the necessity of a ballot. If it be ftlVOurable, the ballot is then entered into.

The reason why an unntvourahle report of thecOlllnlittee is equivalent to a rejection, is, that us it takes two at: least of the committee to Inake the report unfavourable, it is to be supposed that these two would of course black-ball the candidate. And as two black balls constitute a pereulpt.Jry rejection, they nU1Y be considered as already given by the report. For the further regulation of the election, see the word Ballot.

The election of the officers of a lodge, Inust always take plal~e before St.. John the Evangelist's day, which is with us the COlllmencement of the nlasonic year. Should it froln any circulll.tances be postponed, it cannot afterward be entered into, except by dispensation from the G-rand l\lnster. Nominations ot' candi dates are not perlnitted by the usages of maso-ury, but a short time previous to the election, the brethren should be called off to refresh nl ent, for the purpose of interchanging their opinions.

They are then called on, and each brother deposits in the ballot-

ELE

lSS

box the name of him whorn he deems best qualified or most wor-

thy; and the votes being counted, the one who has received a majority of the votes is declared elected..

ELEPHANTA. The cavern of Elephanta in Hindostan if: . ~he most ancient temple in the world. It was the principal place for the celebration of the lllyBteries of India.

ELEUSINIAN l\tIYSTERIES. These were among th~ most important of the ancient rites, and were hence often called em.. phatically "the myste'ries." Cicero speaks of them as "the sacred and august rites of Eleusis, where Ulen conle fronl the remotest regions to be initiated."* They were originally celebrated only at Eleusis, a town of Att.ica in Greece, but they were extended to ltaly, and even to Britain. In these mysteries was commemorated the search of Ceres after her daughter Proserpine, who had been ravished by Plato, and carried to the infernal regions. The chief dispenser of the nlysteries was called the flierophant, or revealer of sacred things; to him were joined three assistants, the Daduchus or torch-bearer, the Ceryx or herald, and the Ho epi bomo or altar-server. The lllyst.eries were of two kinds, the greater and lesser. The latter were merely preparatory, and consisted of a nine days lustratlion and purification succeeded by sacrifices.

A year after,those persons, who had passed through

~he

lesser were adluitted into the greater, where a full revelation was made of the secret doctrine. This, according to the opinion of the learned Warburton, prineipally consisted in a declaration of the unity of God, an opinion not wit,h safety to be publicly promulga.ted, amid the errors and superstitionsof ancientpolytheisnl.

t

â&#x20AC;˘ Eleusina sancta. illa et augusta; ubi initiantur gent~8 orarum ultime.Nal. Deor. lib. i. t The learned Fa.ber behaves there was an intima,te oonnexion existing between the .Arkite worship and the orgies of Eleusis, a. connexion which h. traoe. through all the ancient mystcries.-.Faber'. Oa,lxri and Origin oj P ... prJ Idolatry.

12

134

ELE

For, as Plato observes, in his Timreus, '~it is difficult to discovel the author and father of the Universe, a:id when discovered, impossible to reveal him to all mankind."

The herald opened the ceremonies of initiation into the greater :aysteries by the proclamation, exa~, exat:;, fUf7:e {3ef31)Aoc, "Retire, V! ye profane." Thus were the sacred precincts tiled.. The aspirant was presented naked. lIe was clothed with the skin of a calf. An oath of secrecy was administered, and he was then asked, "Have you eaten bread ?" The reply to which was," No, I have drunk the sacred mixture, I have been fed" from the basket of Ceres; I have laboured, I have been placed in the calathius, and in the cystus." These replies proved that the candidate was duly and truly prepared, and that he had made suitable profi. ciency by a pre"vious initiation in the lesser mysteries. The calf.. skin was then taken from him, and he was invested wIth the sacred tunic, which he was to wear until it fell to pieces. He was now left in utter darkness, to await in the vestibule the time when the doors of the sanctuary should be opened to him. Terrific noises, reselnbling the roar of thunder, and the bellowing of mighty ,vil1ds were heard; Dlimic lightning flashed, and spectres of horrihle foruls appeared. During this period, which, if the conjecture is correct, must have been the funcreal* part ot the rites, it is supposed that the tragic end of Bacchus, the SOIl of Seillcle, who was D1urdered by the Titans, was celebrated. The doors of the inner temple were at length thrown open, and the cundidate beheld the statue of the goddess Ceres, surrounded by a dazzling light. The candidate, who had heretofore been called a Inystes or novice, was now terlued epoptes, an inspector or eye. wi tn~:;s, and the secret doctrine was revealed. The assenlbly was then "l.osed with the Sanscrit words, "lconx orrz, pax," another proDf, if another were wanting, of the Enstern origin of th.e Gre.. (}i,lD x -ysteries. t l

â&#x20AC;˘ c"'rho mysteries of antiquity were aU funereal."-Oliver, Hilt. 01 Initi... tion, I ~ 814. t Ti..e wl'irds Oandso 1-.a Om Pack,a, of which kODX om pax are a Greeial)

ELFj

18~

The qualifications for initiation were maturity of age.. and purity of conduct. A character, free from SUspicIon of imnl0ral.

Ity, was absolutely required in the aspirant. Nero, on this account, did not dare, when in Greece, to offer himself as a candidate for initiation. The privilege was at first confined to nat.ive~ of Greece, but it was afterwards extended to foreigners. Signi. ficant sJnlbols were used as Dleans of instruction, and words of recognition were CODllli unicated to the initiated. In these regulations, as well as in the gradual advanceluent of the candidate from one degree to another, tha,t resemblance to our own institu.tion is readily.perceived, which has given to these, as well as to the other ancient mysteries, the appropriate name of Spurious Freemasonry. The following passage of an ancient author, preserved by Stobreus, and quoted by 'Varburton in the 2d Book of his Divine Legation, is too interesting to Freemasons to be omitt.ed: " The mind is affected and agitated in death just as it is in initiation into the grand Inysteries; and word answers to word, as vteU 36 thing to thing; for Tâ&#x201A;ŹAE:U't"a", is to die; and TeAelqOac, to be inItiated. The first stage is nothing, but errors and uncertainties; laborious wanderings; a rude and fearfal Inarch through night and darkness. And now arrived on the verge of death and initiation, every thing wears a dreadful aspect; it is all borror, trelubling, sweating, and affrightluent.. But this scene once over, a llliraculousand divine light displa.ys itself,a.nd shining plains, and :flowery meadows, open on all hands before them~ lfere they are entertained with hymns and dances; with the sub !inle doctrines of faithful knowledge, and with reverend and holy corruption, are still used, oocording to Capt.. Wilford, at the religious meetingt "od oeremenies of the Brahmins.. He gives the definitionaf the ~xpression as follows: '" Oandacha signifies the object of our most ardent wishes. Om. is the famous monosyllable used both at the beginning and conolusion of a prayer or religious rite like, .Am~:fl. Pacshtt.exactly answers to the obsolete Latin 'Word ftx; it signifies ohange, course, stead, plaO\l, turn of ~rk, duty, fortune, .0.."

"-al.tie Reeearohes, voL v. I).. 800.

136

ELU-El\IB

visioDA. And now become perfect and initiated, they are FREE, and no longer under restraint; but crowned and triumphant, they walk up and down the regions of the blessed; converse witL pure and holy men, and celebrate the sacred mysteries at pleasure."

ELU. This, which may be translated" Elected Mason," is l1.e fourth degree of the French rite. It is occupied in the details of the detection and punishment of certain traitors who, just before the completion of the Temple, were guilty of a henious crime.

ELUS. All the degrees, whose object is that detailed in the preceding article, are called "Elus," or "the degrees of the Elected." They are so numerous as to form, like Ecossaism, a particular system, which is to be found pervading every rite. In the York rite, the Elu is incorporated in the ~Iaster's degree; in the French, it occupies a distinct degree; in the ancient Scotch rite, it consists of three degrees, Elected I{nights of Nine, Illustrious Elect of Fifteen, nud Sublillle Knights Elected. Ragon reckons the five preceding dtgrees aluoIlg the Elus, but without reaSOD, as they belong rather to the order of Masters, and are so classed by the chiefs of the Scotch rite.

Those higher Elus, in which the object of the election is 3hanged and connected with Templar )vlasonry, are more pro.. perly called" Kadoshes."

El\iBLEM. An occult representation of something unknown or concealed, by a sign that is known. In all the ancient mysteries, and in the philosophic school of PJ'thagoras, the mode of instruction adopted was by embleuls. The same system is pursued in Freenlasonry. The explanation of such of these emblems as it ia lawful to divulge, will be found under the prope: leads in this work. See, also, S!J rnbol.

12

131

EMP-ENe

EMPERORS OF TIlE EAST AND '¡VEST.

In 1758 there

was established in Paris a body called the" Council of Emperors Jf the East and V\T est." The meulbers assumed the titles of "Sovereign Prince l\1asons, Substitutes General of the Royal1\.rt, Grand Superintendants and officers ,of the Grand and Sovereign Lodge of St John of J erusaleru." Their ritual consisted of twenty-five degrees, as follows: 1 to 19, the same as t.he SJotch Rite (which see.) 20, Grand Pat.riarch Noachite. 21, 1(cy of l\Iasonry. 22, Prince of I.Jebanon. 23, Knjght of the Sun. 24, Kadosh. 25, Prince of the Royal Secret. In the same year the degrees were established in the city of Berlin, and adopted by the Grand Lodge of the Three Globes. Frederick II. King of Prussia, is said to have subsequently nlerged this body in the Ancient and Accepted Rite of which he was the head, adding eight degrees to the twenty-five they already possessed, so as to make the whole Dumber thirty-three.

It is however a nlistake to suppose, as has been asserted by Thory* and Ragout that tb e Council of Elnperors of the East and West was the origin of the Ancient and Accepted Rite. The former had originally adop~ed t"tcnty-five of the degrees of the latter rite, but were subsequently re:fl>fulcd and reorganized by Jj'rederick.. Such at least is the theory now entertained by the possessors of the. Ancient and Accepted Rite.

ENCAMP~IENT. All regular assemblies of Knights Templars were formerly called Encanlpnlents. They are now called COlnmanderies, and IDust consist. of the fbllowingofficers: Enlinent Commander, Generalissimo, Captain Genel"&l, Prelate, Senior Warden,Junior 'Varden, 'freusurer ~ lleeorder, nrder, Standard Bearer, Sword Bearer, and SentineL rrhesc Coullllunderies derive their 'Varrants of Constitution frotn a ()rtlnd t;onluw.nd... ery, or if there is no euch body in the Stat.e ill w11ich they 3 r e

,V

â&#x20AC;˘ Acta I.,utomOrUl.ll. t Orthodoxie Mn~onniqu6. ~*

138

ENO

organized, from the Grand Encampment of the United States.

They confer the degrees of I{:night of the Red Cross, Knight Templar, and Knight of l\Ialta.

In a Commandery of I{nights Templars, the throne is situated in the East. Above it are suspended three banners: the centre Que bearing a cross, surmounted by a glory; the left one having inscribed on it the emblems of tIle order, and the right one, a paschal lamb. ~ehe Eminent Commander is seated on the throne; the Generalissimo, Prelate, and the Past Commanders on his right; the Captain General on his left; the Treasurer a.nd Recorder, as in a syn1 bolie lodge; the Senior Warden at the south-west angle of the triangle, and upon the right of the first division; the J unior Warden at the north-west angle of the tl'i.. angle, and on the left of the third division; the Stundard Bearer in the West, between the Sword Bearer on his right, and the Warder on his left; and in front of him is a stall for the initiate.

The Knights are arranged in equal numbers on each side, and in front of the throne. *

ENCAMPMENT, GRA.ND. This body is now styled a Grand Commandery. When three or nlore COlnmanderies are instituted in a State, they may unite and form a G'rand Commandery, under the regulations prescribed by the Grand lUnenmplnent of the United States. They have the superintendence of all Oouncils of I(nights of the Red Cross and Comnlunderies of~ I\'.nights Templars that are holden in their respective jurisdictions.

A Grand Commandery meets at least annually, and its officers '''ionsist of a Grand Commander, Deputy- Grand Oonl mander, Grand tieneralissimo, Grand Oaptain GenernJ, Grand Prelate, Grand Senior and Junior Warden, Grand Treasurer, Grand Recorder, Grand Standard J3earer, and Grand Sword Bearer.

ENCAillPl\lJiJN'r, Glt.t\.ND.

The present Graud EJncamp-

Cross, Templars' Chart, p. 41,

ENO

13~

ment of the United States was instituted on the 22d day of June, It eousists of a (}rand ~Iastcr, Deputy Grand l\Iaster, und other (}r:uld officers, Silllilar to those of a Grand OOlumundery, with the representatives of the various Grand Commanderies, and of the subordinate Conlmanderies under its hnmediate jurisdic...

lSlG.

tjf)Il.

rrhe Grand

I~Ilcampnlent

meets triennially.

J~NO(JII. ()f Enoch, thr father of l\fethuselah, the following t.ruditiun j~ interesting. hen the increasing wickedness of lIwnkind had caused God to threaten the world w'ith univer~al destruetic>n, l~no('h became afraid that the knowledge of the arts and scienees would perish with the hUlnan race. To avoid this catastrophe, and to preserve the principles of the sciences for the posterity of those "rhOln G-od should be pleased to spare, he erected two great pillars on the top of the highest mountain, the one of brass to vtrithstancl ,vater, and the other of nlarble to withstand fire, for he was ignorant whether the destruction would be by a general deluge or a cOllflagration~ On the marble pillar be cngraved un historical dire<.~tioll in respect to a subterranean tClllple which he had built by the inspiration of tIle l'Iost lIigh, and on the pillar of' brass he inscribed the prinei pIes of the liberal arts~ and especially of Illa~onry. III the flood which subsequently tOOk plaee, the Inarble pilla.r was, of cour~e, swept ilway, but by divine perl'nission, the pillar of brass withstood the w~lh:r, by which meatiS the aneient state of the arts, and purticulurly of masonry, has been hnnded down to us. This tradition has been adopted into the IJ()(lge of l)erfection, (Scot;tish rite,) unci forIns a part of t.he degree of the 2\.ncient Arch of Solomon, or Knights of the

"i

NInth .Arch.

Ac.~:)rding to the Greeks, Enoch was the sa,me as Rerules TriHulcgistus.He taught, say the)~, the urt. of building cities, difo:eoV(~l'ed the knowledge of the Zodiac, nnd the eourse of the planets.. lnade excpllent laws, and appo'inted festivals for sacrificing to th(~ 8un, nnd instructed them in the '\vorship of the true God..

fIe, too,

W~lS

the inventor of books) and the art of writing.

ENT-EPO

"According to our traditions, Enoch was a very eUliuent Free-mason, and the conservator of the true nUllle of God, which was subsequently lost even arnong his favorite people the Jews.. " ENTERED. We say of a candidate, who has received the first degree of masonry, that he has entered our society; wheuve the degree is called that of " Entered Apprentice."

ENTERED APPRENTICE.

AJ)prenti.

See Apprentice.

EPHOD. A garment worn by the high priest over the tunio and outer garillent. It was without sleeves, and divided below the arm pits into two parts or halves, one falling before and the other behind, and both reaching to the middle of the thighs.

They were joined above on the shoulders by buckles and tWQ large precious stones, on which were inscribed the names of the twelve tribes, six on each. The Ephod was a distinctive mark of the priesthood. It was of two kinds, one of plain linen for the priests, and another, richer, and embroidered for the High Priest., which was cOlnposed of blue, purple, criInson, and fine linen.

EPOPT. This was the name given to one who had passed through the great mysteries, and been perulitted to behold what was concealed frolu the rnystes, who had only neen inithtted into the lesser. It signifies an eye-witness, and is derived from the Greek â&#x201A;Ź7t:01r:7:E:UW, to loolt 'into, to behold. The epopts repeated the oath of secrecy which had been administered to thâ&#x201A;Ź.m on their initiation into the lesser mysteries, and were then conducted into the lighted interior of the sanctuary and permitted to behold what the Greeks eU1phaticaUy termed a the sight," auror/la. The epoptB alone were admitted to the sanctuary, for the mJ~tre were confined to the vestibule of the temple. The epopts were, in fact, the l\'laster n.lasons of the l\lysteries, while the mystre were tlhe Apprentices and Fellow Crafts.

ESO

141

~1S0TERIC AND EXOTERIC l\IASONRY.* From two Greek words signifying interior and exterior. The ancient phi-

losophers, in the estnblishment of their respective sects, divided their schools into tWIl kinds, exoteric and esote'ric. In the exoteric school, instruction was given in public places; the elements of science, physical and Illoral, were unfolded, and those principles which ordinary intelligence could grasp, and against which the prejudices of ordinary nlinds would not revolt, were inculcated in places accessible to all whom curiosity or a love of wisdofi\ congregated. But the more abstruse tenets of their philosophy were reserved for a chosen few, who, united in an esoteric school, received, in the secret recesses of the master's dwelling, lessons too strange to be acknowledged, too pure to be appreciated, by the vulgar crowd, who, in the morning, had assembled at the public lecture.

Thus, in some measure, is it with masonry. Its system, taken as a whole, is, it is true, strictly esoteric in its construction. Its disciples are taught a knowledge 'which is forbidden to the profane, and it is only in the ad.ytulll of the lodge that these lessons are hestowed; and yot, viewed in itself and unconnected with the world without, Inason ry contains within its bosonl ""11 ex< teric and esoteric school, as palpably divided as were those of tl.e ancient ~ects,with this silllple difference, that the admission or the excluRion was in the latter case involuntary, and dependent solely on the will of the instru(~tor, while in the fornier it '"is voluntary, and dependent only on the will and the wishes of the disciple.. In the sense in which I wish to convey the terms, every Mason,. on his initiation, is exoteric-he beholds before him a beautiful fabric, the exterior of which, alone, he has examined, and with this exanlination he nUlY, possibly, remain satisfied-Inany,alns ! too many, are. If so, he will remain a.n Exoteric Mason. But there are others, whoso curiosity is not so easily gratified-th Y t

... See a Funeral Address delivered by the author in the year 1848, published in Moore'a Freemason's Mag. VoL iii. No.. 1.

ana

142

ESO

desire a further and more intima.te knowledge of the s{ruchn,) than has been presented to their view-they enter and ex::nnin~: its internal form-they traverse its intricate passag ;8, t'.Jey explore its hidden recesses, and admire and contemplate itb lllagni. ficent apartments-their knowledge of the edifice is thu;-j 8n路 larged, and with 1l10re extensive, they have purer views of the principles of its construction, than have fallen to the lot of their less enquiring brethren. These men become Esoteric ~Ia~wns.

The bidden things of the order are, to thenl, familiar as housebold words,-theyconstitute the lVlasters in Israel, who are to guide and instruct the less informed-and to diffuse light over paths which, to all others, are obscure and dark.

There is between these studious Masons, and their slothful, unenquiring brethren, the same difference in the views they take of masonry, as there is between an artist and a peasant in their respective estimation of an old painting-it may be of a Raphael or a Beubens. The peasant gazes with stupid wonder or with cold indifference, on the canvass redolent with life, witllout the excitation of a single enlotion in his barren soul. I ts colours mellowed to a rich softness, by the hand of time, are to him less pleasing than the gaudy tints which glare upon the sign of his village inn; and its suhject, borrowed frotH the deep lore of his.. tory, or the bold iruuginings of poesy, ar~ less intelligible to hiul. than the daubed print which hangs conspicuouslJ at his cJttage fireside. And he is amazed to see this paltry piece of canvass bought with the treasures of w~alth, and guarded with a care tbat the brightest jewel would demand in vain.

But to the eye of the artist, how different the impresf'ion CODreyed ! To him, every thingbeanls with light, and life, and beauty. To him, it is the voice of nature, speaking in the language of art. Prometheus-like, he sees the warm blood gushing through the blue veins, and the eye beaming with a fancied ani ..

Illation-the correctness of its outlines-the boldness of its fore... ~horteDings, where the limbs appe~tr ready to burst from the cnDv:l88,-the delicacy of its shadows, and the fine arrange.luent of

ESO

l~

its lights, are all be~)re hiIll, subjects of admirfrtion, on which he could fore-v-cr gaze, nnd exan1plcs of inst.ruction which he \vould fain imitate.

And whence arises this difference of iUlpression, produced by t,he sanle object on t,,·o different individuals? It is not frorll genius alone, for that, unaided, brings no light to the luiod, though it prepares it f(JI' its l'eeeption. It is cultiyatlon \vhicb enlarges the intellect, and fits it. as a luatrix for the hirth of thoHe truths which find in the boson1 of ignorance no abiding plnc~.

And thus it is with masonry. 1"18 ~-e cultivate it as a 8cien~e its objects become extended-as our ltnowledge of it increases, new lights burst forth from its inmost recess, which to the inquisitive l\Iason, burn with bright effulgence; but to the inattentive and unsearching, are but as dim and fitful glimnierings, only rendering "darkness visible."

Let every :J\Iason ask hiInself, if he be of the esoteric or the exoteric school of lllason.ry. lIas he studied its hidden beauties and excellencies? lias he explored its history, and traced out the origin and the erudite llleaning of its syulbols? Or has he supinely rested content with the knowledge he received at the pedestal, nor sought to puss beyond the porch of the Temple ?

If so, he is not prepared to find in our royal art those lessons vhich adorn the path of life, and cheer the bed of deuth; and, tor all purposes, except those of social Iueeting, and friendly reo cognition, masonry is to him a sealed book.

But, if he has ever felt a desire to seek and cultivate the internal philosophy of Inasonry, let him advance in those :arel) ~rodden paths; the labour of such a pursuit is itself ::.-efrcsh· ment, and the reward great. Fresh flowers 1>100111 ·lL ev'cry step; and the. prospect on every side is so fined with beauty and en· chantment, that, ravished at the sight, he will ruall on with c.n· thusiasm from fact to fact, and from truth to truth, until the

whole scienco of masonry lies before him invested with a new fQlUl ands~b1imity.

ESQ-ESS

144

ESQUIRE. A grade or rank in the degree of Knights'l'em.. plars, according to the English organization. See Knight Ttfn-

plaT.

ESSENES. A sect among the J eWB, supposed by masonio writers to have been the descendants of the Freemasons of the Temple, and through whom the order was propagated to modern times. See the article" Antiqu拢ty of Jfasonrll," in this work.

The real origin of the Essenes has been a subj ect of much dispute among profane writers; but there is certainly a remarkable coincidence in many of their doctrines and ceremonies with those p:refessed by the Freemasons. They were divided in to two classes, spec'lllative." and ope1路at~路ves; the former devoting themselves to a life of contemplation, and the latter daily engaging in the practice some handicraft. The proceeds of their labour were, however, deposited in one general stock j for they religiously observed a communit.y of goods. They secluded themselves from the rest of the world, and were completely esoteric in their doctrines, which were also of a symbolic character. They admitted no women into their orderjabolished all distinctions of rank, "meeting on the level," and giving the precedence only to virtue. Charity was bestowed on their indigent brethren, and, as a means of recognition, they adopted signs and other modes similar to those of the l:i'lreemasons. Their order was divided into three degrees. When a candidate applied for admission, his character was scrutinized with the greatest severity. He was then presented with a girdle, a hatchet, and a white garment.

Being thus admitted to the first degree, he remained in a state CI probation for one year; during which time, although he lived accordIng their customs, he was not adrnittedto their meetings.

A.t the termination of this period, if found worthy, he was ad.. van.Jed to thd second degree, and was made a partaker of the waters of purification. But he was Dot yet permitted to Ii ve among them, but after enduring another probation of two years (l'urntion, he was at length路 admitted to the third degree, and

or

EUN

145

united in full fellowship with them. On this occasion, he took l solemn oath, the principal heads of which, according to Josephus, were as follows: To exercise piety to'\vard God, and justice toward men; to hate the ,vicked and assist the good; to show fidelity to all nlen, obedience to those in authority, and kindness t() those below him; to be a lover of truth, and u. reprover of faJs{~h()od, to keep his hands clear froln theft, and his soul froul unlawful gains; to conceal nothing frolll his o'wn sect, nor to discover any . of their doctrines to oth(~rs; to conlnlunic~lte their doetrine,,~, in no otherwise than he had reeeived them, himself; and lastly to preserve the books belonging to the sect, and the narnes of the angel~ in which he shall be instructed. Philo, of l\.lexandria;who; in two books written expressly on the subject of the }"~ssenses, has given a copious account of their doctrines and nlunners, says, that 'when they were listening to ~he secret instructions of their chiefs, they stood with" the l'~gh t h:.tnd OIl the breast a little below the chin, and the left hand pluced nlang the side." A simi.. lar position is attributed by )lucrobius to Venus, when deploring the death of Adonis, in those rites which were celebrated at Tyre, the birth-place of Hirarn the I3uilder.

*

EUNDell. No eunuch can be initia ed as a l\Itl.son

The

c:untempt in l\"hich these unfortunate beings are held by the rest of their felIowMcreatures, unfits thelu for the close union of bro· therIJ love which Inasonry inculcates; and the vicious and malignant disposition, which all experience teaches us is the cha-. raeteristic of this· -olated rucc, d(~rived doubtle&<; from ~heir feeZ. ing of isolation, ~bars thCZIl froul entrance into a societywhoee foundation is laid in religion and III orality.. The prohibition de.rives support, also, from the authority of Scripture.. By the rJewi8h law, (Dent. xxiii. 1,) eunuchs are forbidden "to ental into the congregation of the Lord."

• J OIeph.

~en.

J :j

Jud.. IL vW.

146

EXA

EXALTED. A candidate is said to he exalted, \vhen be re. "ceives the degree of lloly Royal l~.l"ch, the seventh in York nla.. sonry. Exalted means elevated or li/tetl 'l.p, and is applicable both to a peculiar ceremony of the degree, and to the fact that this degree, in the rite in which it is practised, constitutes the summi..t of ancient masonry.

EXAMINATION. The due exaulination of strangers \vho claim the right of visit, should be entrusted only to the lnost. skilful and pr"ldent brethren of the lodge. And the eX~llnining committee should never forget, that no man applying for adnlls.. sion is to be considered as a l\lason, howeyer strong ll1UY be his recommendations, un til by undeniable evidence he has proved him~elf to be such.

All the necessary forms and antecedent cautions should he observed. Enquiries should be made as to the time and place of initiation, as a prelilninnry step, the Tiler's 0 B, of course, never being otllitted. Then rernen) ber the good old rule of "commencing at the beginning." Let every thing proceed in regular course, not varying in the slightest degree from the order in which it is to be supposed that the inforruation sought \va~ originally received. Whatever be the suspieions of inlposturc, let no expression of those suspicions be ruade until the final d~足 cree for rejection is uttered. And let that decree be utltered in general terms, such as, "I am not satisfied,'" or "I do not re.. cognize you," and not in more specific language, such as "'You d.id not answer this enquiry," or " You are ignorant on that point." The candidate for exanlination is only' en titled to know that he has not complied generally with the requisitions of his examiner. To descend to particulars is always iInproper and and often dangerous. Above all, never ask what the lawyers eall tt leading questions," which include in thenlselves the an.. swers, nor in any manner aid the Ineulory or prcnnpt the forget.. fulness of the party examined~ by the slightest hints. If he has it in hirD it will come out 'withuut assistance, and if he has it not,

mxu-EXP

147

be is clearly entItled to no aid. The l\lason 'who is so unmindful of his obligations as to have forgotten the instructions he has received, lllust pay the penalty of his carelessness, and be dcpriyed of his eontclnplated visit to that society, whose secret luodes of recognition he has so little valued as not to have treasured thCIll in his 11lcluory. ].Jastlj", never should an unj ustifiable delicacy weaken the rigor of these rules. IteulCluber, that for the \viscst and Dlost evident reasons:, the lllcreiful InaxiIn of the law, which says that it is better that ninety-nine guilty lllCU should escape, tbnn that one il1uoeent, llHlU should be punished, is '\vith us reversed, and that in ulasonryit 拢8 better that n in(~tlJ and nine true Tnen sMuld be t1lrned (l lOa!! front tbp dnor oj" II lodye, titan tltat one cowan ihAuld be adrn rUed.

EXCl,USION. EXOT1~RIC. ]~Xl)UJJSIO~.

See Visit, Right 0/.

See Esoteric. ]~xpulsion

is the highest masonic penalty

that can be iluposcd by a lodge, upon any of" its delinquent members \Ve shall, therefore, it Iuore than a passing notioe, and treat, 1st, of its effects; :2<1, of the proper tribunul to impose it ; 3d, of the pcrscma ,,'ho Inay be subject to it; and 4th, of tIl(~ njl("in(~e8 for \vhieh it luay be inflict,cd.

1. ExpulsilHl frr'lu a lodgo deprives the party expelled of aU the rights and privileges that he ever enjoyed, not only asa nlcm路 btl}' of the partieular lrHlge frotH which he hUR been ejected, but also of those which 'w(:'re inherent in hinl us a nleulbcr of the fraternity at largo. lIe is at once ascoyuplctcly di1rcsted of his nHlsonicchuracter, t\S though he had nc\"er been adnlitted, so far as regard:-; his rightR, while his duties and nbligntiolls rCltluin as firnl us eyer, it being inlpossihle for Hny hlllllnn !Jo'w'er to cancel thCIll. lIe can no longer dClnand the nid of his brethren, nor require froIll th<Hll the perfofluanee of uny of the tlutie~ to 'which

EXP

he was formerly entitled, nor visit any lodge, nor unite in any of the 'public or private ceremonies of the order. lIe is considered as being without the pale, and it would be criminal in any brother, aware of his expulsion, e"en to hold communication with him OIl masonic subjects.

2. The only proper tril tunal to iUlpose this heavy punishment, is a Grand Lodge. l\. subordinat(~ lodge tries its delinquent member, and if guilty deelares hini expelled. But the sentenc(~ is of no force until the Grand Lodge, under whose jurisdiction it is working, bas confiruled it. And it is optional with the Grand Lodge to do so, or, as is frequently done, to reyerse the decision and reinstate the brother. Some of the lodges in this country claim the right to expel independently of the action of the Grand Lodge, but the claim is not valid. The very fact that an expulsion is a penalt.y, affecting the general relations of the punished party with the whole fraternity, proves that its exercise. never could with propriety be entrusted to a body so circumscribed in itR authority as a subordinate lodge. Besides, the general practice of the fraternity is again~t it. The English Constitutions vest th{ power to expel exclusively in the Grand Lodge. "The sub.. ordinate lodge may suspend and report the case to the Grand Lodge. If thE offence and evidence be sufficient,expulsion 18 decreed ."* 3.. A.ll Masons, whether 1ueDlbers of lodges or not, are subject to the infliction of this punishrnentl' w'hen found to merit it. 'Ve have already said, under the artiele " J)!~rn/tt," that resignatioll or withdrawal fran) the order, does not cancel a lVlason's obligat.ions, nor exempt biln fr0111 that wholesollle control which the ordeI exercises over the InofHl conduct of its lllcl11bers.'l'he faet that a nlason, Ilot a melnber of any particular lodge, but who has been guilty of ImUloral or UnllH\Sonic conduct, can be tried and punished by any lodge, within whose jurisdiction he lliay be residing, is without doubt. Tlle remarks of Brother l\Iooret on this subject,

.. _- _.._--------------------â&#x20AC;˘ Moore"s l\Iu.gazine, vol. 1, p. 356. t Moore's Magazine, vel. 1. p.. 36.

EXP

149

are too valuable to be onlitted. "Eyery member of the frater.. nity is accountable for his conduct ns a 1"Iason, to any regularly constituted lodge; but if he be u, DlelU ber of a parti'Cular lodge, he is more irtlmediately accountable to that lodge. A l\fasoD acquires sonle special privileges by bccoluing n melnber of a lodge, Itud he has to perfornl special services \v hich he nlight not other.. wise be subjected to. But he enters into no new obligations tf) the fraternity generally, and his accountal)ility is not increased any further than regards the faithful perforluance of those special duties. Hence, thp difference bet\vcen those brethren who are members of a lodge, and those who are not, is, that the members are bound to obey the By-Laws of their own particular lodges, in addition to the general duty of the fraternity. Again, every l\lason is bound to obey the summons of a lodge of l\:1aster Masons, wllethcr he be a member or otherwise. This obligation on the part of an individual, clearly implies a power in the lodge to in.. vestigate and control his conduct, in all things which concern the interest of the institution. This power cannot路 be confined to those brethren who are members of lodges, for the obligation is ,general."

4. Immoral conduct, such as would subject a candidate for admission to rejection, should be the only offence visited with expulsion. As the punishment is general, affecting the relation of the one expelled with the whole fraternity, it should not be lightly imposed, for the violation of any masonic act not general in its character. The comnlission of a grossly iUl1noral act is a yiolationof the contract entered into between ea,ch l\Inson and his order. If sanctioned by silence or impunity, it would bring discredit on the institution, and tend to impair its usefulness.

A Mason who is a bad nlan, is to the fraternity what a mortified limb is to the body, and should be treated with the same mode of cure-he should be cut off, lest his example spread, and disease be propagated through the constitution. But it is too nluch the custom of lodges in this country, to extend this remedy to cases neither deserving nor requiring its application. I allude here, 13*

150

EXP

particularly, to expulsion for non-paYlueutl of lodge dues. Upon the principle just laid down, this is neither kind nor coneistent.

The paymen ~ of arrears is a contract, in which the only parties are a particular lodge and its melubers, of which contract the body at large know nothing. It is not a general masonic duty, and is not called for by any masonic regulation. The system of arrears was unknown in former years, and has only been established of late for the sake of convenience. Even now there are some lodges where it does not prevail;* and no Grand Lodge has ever yet attempted to control' or regulate it, thus tacitly admitting that it forms no part of the general regulations of the order. Hence the non-payment of arrears is a violation of a special and voluntary obligation to a particular lodge, and not of any general duty to the fraternity at large. The punishnlent therefore inflicted should be one affecting the relations of the delinquent with the particular lodge, whose by-laws he has infringed, and not a general one affecting his relations with the whole order. But expulsion has this latter effect, ana is therefore inconsistGnt and unjust. And as it is a punishment too often inflicted upon poverty, it is unkind.

A lodge might in this case forfeit or suspend the IDeln bershir of the defaulter in his own lodge, but such suspension should not affect the l'igh t of visiting other lodges, nor any of the other privilegt~s inherent in him as a Mason. This is the practice, we are glad to say, pursued by the G-rand Lodge of 1'lassachusetts, one of the nlost enlightened lnasonic bodies in the Union. It is also dIe regulation of the Grand Lodge of .l~nglaDd, from which ill )st of our Grand Lodges derive, directly or indirectly, their ex¡ istence. It is consonant with the ancient usages of the fraternity And finally, it would produce all the good effects required by punishment, namely, reform and the prevention of crime, and â&#x20AC;˘ I would cite, as an instance coming under my immediate and )crsonal knowledge, the case of Union Kilwinning Lodge in Charleston, S. C., where I",ery member pays a certain sum on his admission, and is forever afterwarda txempt from con tzibutions of any kind.

EXP-EXT

151

ought to be adopted by every Grand Lodge, as a part of its constitution.

One other question arises. Does expulsion from one of what is called the higher degrees of nlasonry, such as a Chapter or an EncampIllent, affect the relations of the expelled party to Blue 1'lasonry. 'Ve answer unhesitatingly, it does not. In thit opinion, we are supported by the best authority, thougll the action' of some Grand Lodges, as that of New York, is adverse to it..

But the principle upon which our doctrine is founded, is plain.

A Chapter of Royal .A.feb I\Iasons, for instance, is not, and can.. not be recognized as a masonic body, by a lodge of l\laster l\Iasons..

"They hear them so to be, but they do not know theal so to be," by any of the modes of recognition known to Inasonry. The acts, therefore, of a Chapter, cannot be recognized by a ~Iaster Mason's lodge, any more than the acts of a lit(路ary or charitable society wholly unconnected with the order. Again. By the present organization of }l'reeluasonry, Grand Lodges are the supretue nlasonic tribunnls. If, therefore, expulsion from a Ohapter of Royal . A.rchl'iIasons involved expulsion from a. Blue lodge, the right of the Grand Lodge to hear and determine causes, and to regulate the internal concerns of the Institution, v;ould be interfered with by another body beyond its control. But the con.. verse of this proposition does not hold good. Expulsion frotti a Blue lodge involves expulsion from all the higher degre{~s.

J3ecause, as they are cOlnposed of Bluel\lasons, the 1110111 bers could not of right sit and hold cOlIlmunieations on luasonic 8ubject:i with one who was an expelled l\Iason.

EXTENT OF TIlE I,ODGJ1J. Boundless is the cxtel1tof a l\Iason's lodge-in 11eight to the topmost heaven; in depth to the central abyss; in length from east to west; in breadth from nQrth to south.. Thus extensive is the limit of .masonry, and thusex.tensiveshould be a l\Iason'seharity. See more on thiE ~ubJect in the article Form oj the Lodge..

FAI-FEL

162

F. FAITH. The lowest round in the theological ladder, and hence symbolically instructing us that the first step in nH1S011l'Y, the first, the essential qualification of a candidate, is faith in God. In the lecture of the E.路. A.路. it is said that "Faith luay be lost in sight; I-Iope ends in fruition; but Charity extends beyond the grave, through the boundless realms of eternity." .A.nd this i~ said, because as ~'lith is "the evidence of things not seen," when we see we no longer believe by faith but through denlonstra. tinn, and as hope lives only in the expectation of possession, it ceases to exist when the object oncehoped for is at length enjoyeJ, but charity, exercised on earth in acts of mutual kindness and forbearance, is still found in the world to come, in the sublim~I fornl of morcy from God to his erring creatures.

FEAST, ANNUAJ..J. The ccnvocation of the craft togcthel ,at an annual feast, for the laudable purpose of promoting social feelings, and cementing the bonds of brotherly love by the interchange of ccurtesies, is a time-honored eustonl, which is still, and we trust, will ever be observed. At this meeting, no business of any kind, except the installation of officers, should be transacted, and the day must be passed in innocent festivity. 'l'heelection of officers always takes place at a previous Ineeting, in obedienee to a regulation adopted by the Grand Lodge of ~JDglalld, in 1720, as follows: "It was agreed, in order to avoid disput.es on the annual feast day, that the new Grand l\'laster for the future shall be named and proposed to the Grand I..Jodge, some thue before the feast." See Andetrson, Oonst. p.. 200..

FEELING.

One of the five human senses, and, for well-known

t"casons, in great estimation among 1\'Iasons.

FELLOW-CRAFT.

Oompagnon.

The second degree of an路

FES

163

jient craft masonry. It is particularly devoted t:J 8cic~-,~e. As in the first degree, those lessons are inlpressed, of mOl"',lity and brotherly love, which should enlinently distinguish the YIJ(~t2fuJ apprentice; so in the second, is added that extens~.on of kn o"\"flcdgc; which enabled the original craftsulcn to labor with a.bility and 8uccess,at the construction of the Teulple. In the degroe 'jf Entored Apprentice, every elllblenlaticaJ eerclllony is dire~ted tu the lustration of the heart; in that of l~ello\v~Craft, to the ~':1­ largcment of the nlind. .AJready clothed in the white garllier.t of innocence, the advancing candidate is now investediVith th-c deep and unalterable truths of science. At length be passes the porch of the Temple, anti in his progress to the middle chamber is taught the ancient and unerring method of distinguishing a friend from a foe. His attention is directed to the ,,-andel's of nature and art, and the differences between operative and speculative masonry are unfolded, until by instruction and contemplation he is led to view with r6 verence and ndluiration the glorious works of th~ creation, and is inspired with the nlo~t exaltcu. ideas of the perfections of his Divine Creator..

FESSLER'S RITE. A rite forl11erly pructised by the (~ralld J..todge "Royal York it l' .A.lnitie" at 13erlin. It eonsisted of nine degrees, viz: 1, Apprentice; 2, Fellow-Craft; 3, l\laster; 4, IIo1y of fIoHes; 5" Justification; l), Celebration; 7, rTrue light; .\ 8, Fatherland; 9, I>erfeetion. 1'hey were drawn up, saJs Clavel, froln the rituals of the Golden 1~o8e Croix, of the rite rtf Strict Observance, of the Illuulinuted Chapter of Sweden, nnd the.:\ncient Chapter of Clernlont at. ])aris. 'l'hey nre n()w practised by but few lodges, lluving been abnndoned by the (h'and Lodge which established theIn, for the purpose of adopting thcaucient York rite under the Oonstitutions of England.* FESTIVALB.

The masonic festivals most gencrnlly cele·

• Fessler's, rite is perhaps tb" most abstrusel,y learned and philosophical 61 all the rite&.

L54

FID-FIX

brated, are those of St. John the l~aptist, f:J une路 24, and St. John the Evangelist, Deceluber 27. These are the days kept in this country. Such, too, was forulerly the case in J1Jngland, but the

annual festival of the G-rulld I~'Odge of ~jngland now falls on the 'Vednesday following St. George's day, _A.. prjl 23, that Saint being the patron of I~Jngland.For a siIuilar reason, St. Andrew's day, Novenlber 30, is kept by the G-rand Lodge of Scotland.

FIDES Fidelity; to which virtue, the ancients paid divine honours, under the name of the gaddeRs of faith, oaths, and honesty. The oaths taken in the nalue of this goddess were held to be more inviolable than any others. NUlna was the first who built temples, and erected altars to the goddess Fides or Fidelity.

No animals were killed, and no blood shed in her sacrifices. The priests who celebrated then1 were clothed in '\\"'hite, and were conducted with much pomp to the place of sacrifice, in chariots, having their whole bodies and hands enveloped in their capacious mantles. Fidelity was generally represen ted urllong the ancient~ by two right hands joined, or by two hUluan figures holding each other by the right hand. Horace calls incorruptible :Fidelity the 'Sister of Justice, and Cicero Inakes theln identical; tho:?e prlftciples of J nstice, says he,. which, when exercised toward God, are teruled Religion, and toward our p,Lrents, Piety, in matters of truBt urc called Fidelity. *

FINANCES. The finances of the lodges are placed unl~l' the charge of the Treasurer, who only pays thenl Quton the ord~r of the ])ilaster, and with the consent of the brethren, previously expressed in open lodge. By uu urnvritten law, the finaUi)ea should be first received by the Secretary, who then pays th!m over to the Treasurer, taking his receipt for the same. A !C.'lltUt.! check is thu~ kept on each other by these officers.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - ..

__._--

.. Justitia erga Deos religio, erga parentes pietas.-ere拢.t:: it reb lP ,ominatur.-Orat.78.

~ ',,,.

FIN-FIV

156

rINES. Fines for llon-attelldance or neglect of duty, nrc not \t&ually irnpc'tsed in rnasonie bOtlit路s, because each lueluber is btHllld to the dischnrge (}f these dutie>s by a 11l<Jtive Iuore powerf,ul thnu any that could be furnisbed a pecuniary penalt,.y. 'The iUl ... position of such n penalty 'would he a tacitl aclnHnvledgluellt of the inadequacy of that l1H.>tive, and ,\"()uld hence detract frOlll itR solemnity and its binding nature.

FIVE. One of the sacred nUlnhers of I~"re(nl1asonry. Its symbolic properties are nInny and ('uricJus. It is ftJrll1t~ b:y ~;l, oombination of the ])uad 'witb the 'rriud, of the first even nunlber with (excluding unity) the first odrl ()ue, 2 + 8. In the iclH)ol of P,Ythagoras, it represented I;ight, and umong his diseiples a triple triangle, forllling the outline of a five pointed star, was an

emblem of health, because being alternately cOlljoined w'ithin Itself, it constitutes a figure of jilx: lines. .A lucHlg the Cabbalists, the saIne figure, with the oalne of G"od "'\Titten on each of its points, and in the centre, vnlS CfHlsidered ta]isul芦ulie. 'fhe lluluher five ,vas uluong the Ilebrews u l:;a(~red round uUluhcr, and iH re... peatedly used as such in the ()Id ~restatnent, us, ii,n' exaluple, in Genesis xliii. 34, xlv. 22, xlvii. 2, Isaiah xviLG, xix. 18, xxx.

17. "This usage," says (,::teSCuiUB, "perhaps (rver t() tho flebrewB frOIll the r(~ligiou8 rites of Iut!ia, and otlHH oriental nati()lIS; a1l1()ng Vdl01U Jf ce Ininnr plnnets nndJirf' tll(~nu路~nti~" and cleluentary povlcrs, wer(~ ae<:ount()d suered . " I?rcnmasons, five is luorcpnrtieularlJ 8'ynllH)1i<.,~al of the five ol'derp of architecture, and tbe fiv(~ hUlllU!l S(~ll~eS, hut, still InOr(~ c~tleCUlJ Irv t\f the Irive Points of li'eHowship.

FIVE POIN'l'S 01~' 11'1~~I.JJO'VSIIII). l\Iusons owe (ertain duties of brotherly love and fellowship to e~u~ll oHl(,~r, the practice of which, tlS the distinguishing principles of our order, ure hlcul.. cHt.ed by tho ~Inster in the lnost irnpl"(~ssive UUlunCt".

FiJ'8t. Indolenee should not eause our f()otsteps to hult" or wrath turu thclll aside, but withettger alacrity and swifttlCSS of we

156

FIV-FLO

should press forward in the exercise of charity and kindness to I distressed fellow-creature.

Secondly. In our, devot.ions to Almighty God, we should re. member a brother's welfare as our own, for the prayers of a fer.. vent and sincere heart will find no less favour in the sight of hen,. ven, because the petition for self is mingled with aspirations of benevolence for a friend.

Thirdly. When a brother intrusts to our keeping the secret thoughts of his bosom, prudence and fidelity should place a sacred seal upon our lips, lest, in an unguarded moment, we betra.y the solemn trust confided to our honour.

Fourthly. When adversity has visited our brother, and his calamities call for our aid, we should cheerfully and liberalJ y stretch forth the hand of kindness, to save him from sinking, and to relieve his necessities.

Fifthly. \Vhile with candour and kindness we should admonish a brother of his faults, we should never revile his charact(x bt} hind his back, but rather, when attacked by others, support and defend it.

FIVE SENSES. The five human OODses, which are, Hearing, Seeing, Feeling, SmelliDg~ and Tasting, are dilat:ed on in the lec.. ture of the Fellow Crafts' degree. See each word in its appropriate place in this Lexicon.

FLOATB. Pieces of tinl ber, made fast together with rafters, for conveying burdens down a river with the stream.-Baile.7J The use of these floats in the building of the temple is thus de.. scribed in the letter of King I-liram to Solomon: "And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need; and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; &nd thou shalt ea.rry it up to J erusalem."-2 akron. ii. 16.

FLOORING. A frame-work of board or canvas, on which the emblems of any particular de~e are'inscribed, for the assist..

FOR

157

a,nce of the Master in giving a lecture. It is so called., because formerly it was the cllstoln to inscribe these designs on t.hE; floor of the lodge room in chalk, which was wiped out when t.he lodge was closed. It is the same as the "Carpet," or "Tracing B.)ard."

FORM OF THE I.lODG·E. ~rhe form of the lodge is said tc be an oblong square, havIng its greatest length from east to west, and its greatest breadth frolH north to south. According to Oliver, the form of the lodge ought to be a double cube, as an expressive emblem of the united powers of dttrknessand light in the creation, and because the ark of the covenant and the altar of incense were both of t11at figure. But these two theories of its form are not inconsistent with eaoh other, for, taken in its solid dimensions, the lodge is a double cube, while its surface is a palallelogram or oblong square.

TJlis oblong form of the lodge has, I think, a synlbolir allusion, which has not been heretofore adverted to, so far as laIn aware, by any· masonic writer.

If, on a map of the world, we draw lines which shall circum.. scribe just that portion which ,vas known and inhabited at the time of the building of Solonlon's tcruple, the8e lines, run.. ning a short distanc;e north and south of the l\Iedit?rranean Sea, and extending from Spain to A.~in l\I.inor, will form an oblong square, whose greatest length will be from east to west, and whose greatest breadth will be fronl north to south, as is shown in the annexed diagram.. ~OltTU.

INHABITEDPAB:rs OF EUROPE..

• ()

·es

::&!

!

INHABITBD PARTS OF AI'IUCA.

14:

EA.!'!.

158

FOR

The oblong square which thus enclosed the whole habitabh part of the globe, would represent the form of the lodge to denote the universality of masonry, sillce the world .constitutes the lodge) a doctrine that has since been taught in that expressive sentence: In every clime the ~Iason may find a home} and in every land a brother.

FORTITUDE..

One of the four cardinal virtues, whose ex..

It not only instructs the worthy J\Iason to bear the ills of life with becoming resignation, "taking up arms against a sea of trouble," but, by its intim~te connection with a portion of our ceremonies, it teaches him to let no dangers shake, DO pains dh olve the inviolable :fid~lity he owes to the trusts reposed in him.

oellencies are dilated on in the first degree.

FORTY-SEVENTH PROBLEl\l. The forty-seventh problem uf Euclid's first book, 'which has been adopted as an emblem in t.he l\laster's degree, is thus enunciated. "In any right angled triangle, the square which is described upon the side subtending the right angle, is equal to the squares described upon the sides which contain the right angle." ~rhis interesting problenl, on account of its grent utility in Dluking calculations, and draw¡jng plans for buildings, is Bonletitnes called the "carpenter's theorem."

For the dernonstration of this problerll, the world is indebted

to Pythagoras, who, it is said, was so elated after nlaking the discovery, that he ulnde an offering of a hecntom b, or a aacrifiee of a hundred oxen to the gods. * The de,"otion to learning which this religious act indicated, in the nlind of the ancient pbilosopher, has induced l\fasons to adopt the problem as a. melllento, instructing them to be 10yers of the arts and sciences.

The triangle, whose base is 4 parts, whose perpendicular is

â&#x20AC;˘ The .,ell-known aversion of Pythagoras to the shedding of blood ba! lod t<> tbesupposition that tho saorifice consisted of IJIuill o~en" tlll\ode or w~x, a,.qd tf,O~ of living a:Qim~

FOR

159

3, and whose hypothenuse is 5, and which would exactly serve ~br a dema 1tration of this problem,* was, according to Plutarcla., a sYJubol frequently employed by the Eg)rptian priests, and hence It is called by ~I. J omurd,t the EgJptian triangle. It was, with the Egyptians, the symbol of universal nature, the base repres(~nting Osiris, or the nlule principle, the perpendicular, Isis, or the female principle, and the bypothenuse, IIorus, their SOD, or the produce of the tvto principles. rThey added that 3 was the first perfect odd nUlllber, that 4 was the square of 2, the 5rst even number, and that 5 was the result of 3 and 2.

But the Egyptians made a still more important use of this

triangle.

It was the standard of all their measures of extent,

and was applied by thelu to the building of the pyramids. Th~ researches of l\I. J omard, on the Egyptian system of measures, published in the magnificent work of the !i'rench sayans on Egypt, has placed us cOlnpletely in possession of the uses made by the Egyptians of tbis forty-seventh prohlcIl1 of Euclid, and of the triangle which forrncd the diagranl by \yhich it was demonstrated..

If we insclibe wi thin u. circle a triangle, whose perpendicular shall be 300 parts, whose buse shall be 400 parts, and whose hypothelluse shall be 500 parts) which of course bear the same proportion to each athel· us 3, 4 and 5; then, if we let a perpen.. dicular fall froln tlle angle of the perpendicular and base to the hypothenuse, and extend it through the hypothenuse to the circuluference of the circle, this c}lord or line will be equal to 480 parts, and the t,vo segluents of the hypothenuse, on each side of it, will be found equal, respectively, to 180 and 820.

From the point 'where this ehord intersects the hypothenuse, let another line faUperpcl1dicularly to the shortest side of the tri...

• :ror thesqu&re of the base is 4 X 4, or 16, the square of the perpendicular is 3 X 3, or 9, and the squa.re of the hypothenuse is 5 X 5, or 25;. but 25 11 tho sum of 9 and 16, and therefore the square of the longest side is equal M the sum of the squares of the other two, which is the forty....eventh problem of Euclid. t m hi. II Bxp¢ lition dn Systeme Metrique del Anc1em BgyptIeu.'.

160

FRE '"

angle, and this line will be equal to 144 parts, while tlle shortcl se~nlent, formed by its junct.ion with the perpendicular side of the triangle, will be equal to 108 parts. lIenee, we lllay derive the following measures from t.he diagram: 500, 480, 400, 320, 180, 144, and 108, and all these without the slightest fraction. Sup. posing, then, the 500 to be cubits, we have the measure of the base of the great pyralnid of l\lcrnphis. In the 400 cubits of the base of the triangle, we have the exact length of the Egyptian stadium. The 320 give us the exact number of Egyptian cubits contained in the flebrew and Babylonian stadium. The l!tadium of Ptolemy is represented by the 480 cubits, or length" of the line faJling from the right angle to the circumference of the circle, through the hypothenuse. The number 180, which expresses the smaller segment of the hypothenuse, being doubled, will give 360 cubits, which will be the stadium of Cleomedes By doubling the 144, the result will be 288 cubits, or the length of the stadium of Archimedes, and by doubling the 108, we produce 216 cubits, or the precise value of the lesser Egyptian stadium.

In this manner, we obtain from this triangle all the Ineasures of length that were in use among the Egyptians; and since this triangle, whose sides are equal to 3, 4, and 5, was the very one that most naturally would be used in del110nstrating the forty-seventh problem of Euclid j. and since by these three sides the :FJgyptians symbolized Osiris, Isis, and 11oru8, or the two producers and the product, the very principle, expresicd in syolbolic language, which constitutes the tern1S of the problem as enunciated by P:ythagoras, that the sum of the squares of the two sides will produce the square of the third,we have no reason to doubt that the forty-seventh problem was perfectly known to the Egyptian priests, and by

them communicated to Pythagoras.

FREE BORN.

The constitutions of our order require that

every candidate shall be free born. And this is necessary, for, "s adraissioninto the fraternity iln 0lves a soleoln contract, no one can bind himself to its performance 'w 110 is not the mastet 1

Fl~E

161

of his own actions; nor can the Ulan of servile condition or slavish nJind be expected to perforru llis masonic duties wit.h that "freedoul, ferYcncJ, a.nd zeal," \vhich tIle laws of our institution require. Neither, according to the authority of Dr.Oliver,* "can any onc, although he haTe bt:en initinted, eontinue to nct flB a ~Iason, or practise the rites of the order, if be be tenlpora... rily deprived of his libert,Y ()l' freedom (}f' \viIL" ()u this subject, the Grand J..lodge of .ITIngland, 011 the oecnsion of cert:du 1\laBOll! having been lllnde in the I\:illg's lleneh pri:-;on, a special resolution in NOyenlher, 178B~ declaring '~'l'hat it is inconsistent with the principles of luasnnry for any FreelllHson's lodge to be 'held, for the purpose of lunking, passing, or r,lisil1,g ::\Insons: in any prison or place of con'fincluent."t • The same usage existed in the spurious Freenlfisonry of the ancient myst€ries, where slaves could not be initiated, the raquisite8 for initiation being that a mun Dlust be a free-born deni.. zen of the country, as \vell as of irreproachable lllorals.

F~~~EMASO.N. 'rho word "free," in connection ,,·itll " rtIa.. "'tIn," originally signified thu,t the person so cnlled \vas free of thecOulpnny or guild of incorp()ratod l\lusf)Ds. l?tJr those op(~ra", tiyc l\Iasons who were not thus luade free of the guild, 'were not perulitted t.o work 'with tllose 'who \"ere.. J.\. silllilar rt:~gulution still exists in Inany parts of .rJnrope, ulthough it is IH)t known to this country. r:rhe tern} apP(lars to have been first t·hus used in the tenth oentury, when the tra\'I'(dling Ifr(~eUlaSons ,vera incorporated by the Rotunn I>onti ff. See 'j"rcuwll ina FreernaS01l8.

FltE}]~Il\.SONllY.

"J.\

bt~autiful systenl.

in allegory, nnd illustrated by sytnlJols."

of nloralit.y, \"eiled

'.ro this e'.lblilne defini-

tion of our order, borrowed frcnn the lectures of ourl~~ng:lhdl brethren, nnd prefixed by Dr. Oliver, as a motto to one of hit • Historic.al Landmarks. i. 110 t Minutes of the Grand Lodge, qu()t~d by Olh·eT',

.4*

ut

'1.loP"0'l

162

FRE

most interesting wor1\s, I shall take the liberty of adding an ex position of it.s principlos fl'Olll the pen ot De 'Vitt Clinton, as pure a patriot as ever served his country, and as bright a l\lnson as ever honoured tIle fraternity.

U Although," sa}"s he, "the origin of our fraternity is cLvereJ with darkness, and its history is, to a great extent, obscure, yet we can confidently say, that it is the lllost ancient society in tre world-and we are equally certain that its principles are base(~ on pure morality-that its ethics are the ethics of Christianity...its doctrines, the doctrines of patriotism and brotherly loye-und its sentiments, the sentituents of exalted benevolence. Upon these points, there can be no doubt. All that is good, and kind and charitable, it encourages; all that is vicious, and croel, tnd oppressive, it reprobates."*

FRENCH RITE.

Rae Franf)ais ou moderne.

The French

or :rrIodern rite is one of the three principal rites of Freemasonry.

It consists of seven degrees, three synlbolic and four higher, viz.

1. Apprentice; 2. Fellow Craft; 3. l\Iaster; 4. Elect; 5.

Scotch l\iaster; 6. I\:nigbt of the East; 7. Rose Croix. This rite is practised in li'rancc, in Brazil, and in Louisiana. It was founded in 1786, by the Grand Orient of France, who, unwilling to destroy entirely the high degrees which 'were then practised by the different rites, and :yet anxious to reduce tllenl to a slunller number, and to greater sinlplicity, extra~ted these degrees out of the rite of Perfection, nlaking some few slight modifications. l\Iost of the authors who have treated of this rite have given to its symbolism an entirely astrononlical meaning, Among these writers, we may refer to Ragon, in his" Cours Philosophique," as prohably the most scientific.

â&#x20AC;˘ Address at the hlBtalla.tion of b"rand Muter Van BeD8sellaer, New l852.

Yor~­

1M

FUN-FCI~

FUNERAL RITES. None but l\Iaster l\Iasons can be in.. terrQ1. with t,he funeral 11onours of rnasonry, and e,ren then the performance of the service is subjected to (4ertain nna.lternble re.. strictions. No l\fason can be buried vtith the forUlulities of the order, except by his own request, preferred, while living, to the ~Iaster of the lodge of which he \VHS a, nlelnb(~r, strangers and

the higher officers of the order excepted.

No lJllblie proeession

can take place, nor can two or 1110re lodgeR asseUl ble f()r this pur. pose, until a dispensation has been grant(~d by the Grand )Iaster.

The ceremonies practised 011 the intCrIllent of a brother are to be found in all the ~Ionitors. It is unnecessary, therefore, to specify them here.

FURNITURE OF A IJODGE.

Eyery well..regulated ladge

must contain a Bible, square, and compa~seB, which are technically said to constitute its furniture, and whi(~h ar(~ respectively dedicated to God, the l\laster of the lodge, and the Craft. Our English brethren differ frolu us in theirexplanntir'D of the furniture Oliver gives their illustration, frolu the I~Ilglish lectures, as follows路 "The l~ible is said to derive frotu (j od to Juan iu g(,~nertlJ, because the Ahllighty has been pleased to rc\'cal IHore of his divine will by that boly book,路 than by nny other lueans. '1' he compasses being the chief hnplclnent used in the CfHlstruction of all architecturnl plans and designs, are assigned to the (jrand l\laster in l)articu}ar, as eUlblerns of his dignity, he beillg the chief head and ruler of the craft, square is given to the whole masonic bod,Y, because lve are nIl obligated within it, and are consequontly bound to act theroon." ,

"rhe

164

G. G A VEL. The common gavel is onc of the workIng tools of an Entered Apprentice. It is made use of by the operative 1\1 rison to break off the corners of the rough ashlar, and thus fit it the better for the builder's use, and is therefore adopted as a BYlllbol in speculati vo UltlSOnry, to adrllonish UR of the duty of divesting our luillds and consciences of all the vices and iInpurities of life, thereby fitting our bodies as liying stones for that spiritual building not made 'with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Hence, too, we see the propriety of adopting the gavel as the instrument for Iuaintaining order in the lodge. For, as the lodge is an imitation of the ternple, and each member represents a stone thereof, so, by the influence of the gavel, all the ebullitions of temper, and t.he indecorulll of frivolit.y are restrained, as the material stO.les of tlUlt building were, by the same instrument, divested of their asperities and ilnperfections.

In the first edition of this work, I conf(~ssed tnyself at a loss for the derivation of the 'word l( gaveL" I have, however, no longer any doubt that it borrows its naU1C fronl its S'llHI1C, being that of the gable or !lai.)(~l end. of a house, and this word agaiu OOlne:3 fronl the G'errllull fJ/j:>fid, tt SUllllnit,. top, or.peu.k,-the idea

of u pointed

extl'Clllity

being

COIllIllOU

to alL

·

In the Il~l1ne, as ,yell as the application of this implement, error has 'crept into the custOlllS of the lodges.. The implenlent employed by many l\Iasters is not 3, gavel, but a mallet, (the French l\Iasons, in fact, nutke use of the word "maillet,") and is properly not one of the working tools of an l:<J••• A.·., but a rt~pre· sentation of the settinu·/nlQ/lll, one of the embleuls of the third degree. The two implements and the two nalnes are entirely distinct, and should never be confounded; and I am surprised to lee so learned a l\rlasoD as Brother Oliver, falling into this to('

GEN

163

usual error, and speaking of " the common gavel or setting-maul," as Sj"nonymous terms. 'l'he true form of the gavel is that of the stone-mason's hammer.

It is to be made with a cutting edge, as in the annexed engraving) that it may be used "to break off the corners of rough stones,'} an operation which could never be effected by the con1mOE haulluer or nlallet. The gavel, th 11S shaped, will give, when looked at in front, the exact representation of the ga'vel or gable end of a house, whencc 1 as I have already said, the name is derived.

The gavel of the nlaster is also called a " Hiram," for a reMUD which will be explained under that word.

*

GENEIl.A.I;ISSI.~lO. The second officer in a Commander] of Knights 'Teln phtrs, and one of its representatives in the Grand Commandery. Ilis duty is to receive and communicate all orders, signs, and petitions; to assist the Eminent Commander, and, in his absence, to preside over the COlllmandery. His station is on the right of the lDtnincnt COIDlllander, and his jewel isa square, surnloullted by a paschal lamb.

GENUFLEXION.

Bending the knees bas, in all ages of路

the world, been considered as an act of reverence and humility, and ht~nce Pliny, the ROlnun naturalist, ob~erves, that " a oertain degree of religious reverence is attributed to the knees of man."

Solonlon placed himself in this position when he prayed at the consecrn,tion of thetem"Ple, and lVlasons use the same posture in BOme lJ*,rtions .of their cerenl0nies, as a token of solemn reverence.

-In my labours, as Grand Lecturer of South.Carolina, I have succeeded, in man,. instances, in correcting this error, and placing the common gavel in the h~nd8 of the Master and 'Vardens, for the government of the lodge, " iUe the .01&llet or setting-maul remains in the archiveJ of the lodge, to be uedool1 &I ID emblem of the t.hirddegree.

166

GEO

GE{JbIETRY. Geometry is defined to be that science which teaches the nature and relations of whatever is capable of measurement. It is one of the oldest and most necessary of sciences; is that upon which tl}.e whole doctrine of mathematics is founded, and is so closely connected with t.he practice of operative masonry, that our ancient brethren were as often called geometricians aB Masons. It was, indeed" in such great repute among the wise men of antiquity, that Plato placed over the portals of the academy this significant inscription: Ov~e{~ dre{J)p..~TPTJ1:0~ elt117:w, "Let none enter who is 19norant of georrltetr;y."

The first inhabi~nts of the earth must have practised the simplest principles of geonletry in the construction of even the rude huts which were intended to shelter them from the in.. clemencies of the weather; and afterward, when they began to unite in communities, and to exercise the right of property in lands, this science must have been still further developed, as a necessary D1eans of measuring and distinguishing each person'!! particular domain. I.Jand-surveying, indeed,. seems to have been the most important purpose to which geometry was originally applied: a fact warra.nted also by the derivation of the word, whose roots, in the Greek language, sigIlify (t a measure of the earth." l~ut as operative masonry and architecture improved, and, in the construction of edifices, elegance was added to strength, and or... natnent to utility, geonletry began, too, to be extended in its principles, and perfected in its systetn. The Egyptians were undoubtedly one of the first nations who cultivated geometry as a science.. " It was not less useful and necessary to them," as Goguet observes,* "in the affairs of life, than agreeable to their speculatively philosophical genius.. " From Egypt, which was the parent both of the sciellces and the mysteries of the Pagan world, it passed over into other countries, and geometry and operative masonry have ever been found together, the latter carrying into â&#x20AC;˘ L'Ori,.

d~ Lob, 1:..

L. UY. UL

167

GEO-GIB

execution those designs which were first traced according to the principles of the fornler.

Speculative masonry is, in like manner, intimately connected with geometry. In deference to our operative ancestors, and, in fact, as a necessary result of our close connection with them, speculative FreeIl13sonry derives its most important emblems ÂŁi'Oill this parent science. .A.s the earthly tenlple was constructed under the correcting application of the plumb, the level, and the SCluare, by which its lines and angles were properly admeasured , so we are accustomed, in the construe.tion of the great moral edi.. fice of our minds, symbolically to apply the same instruments, in order to exhibit our work on the great day of inspection as "true and trubty."

The explanation of the principal geometrical figures given by Pythagoras, may be interesting to the masonic student. According to the Grecian sage, the point is represented by unity, the Hne by tbe duad, the surface by the ternary, and the solid by the quarternary. The circle, he says, is the most pt.rfect t f curvilinear fi'brures, containh g the triangle in a concealed manner.

The triangle is the principle of the generation and formation of bodies, because all bodies are reducible to this figure, and theeltments are triangular. The square is the symbol of the divine essence.

GIBA.LI~I ORGIBLIM. These were the inhabitants of the Phenicia.ncity of Gebal, called by the Greeks Byblos. The Phe..

nician word,S~J, "gebal," (of which O,S:l.1, "gibalim,"or" giblim," is the plural,) signifies a Mason, or stone-squarer. Gesenius* says" that the inhabitantCJ of Gebal were seamen and builders; and Sir William Drumn~t)nd asselts that" the Gibalim were Master Masons, who put the finishing hand to Solomon's temple."t â&#x20AC;˘ Reb. Lex. In Toe. t Origines, 'VoL liL, b.

T..

ell. iT., p.

tn.

168

GLO-GOD

GLOBE. In the Egyptian Inysterie.s, the globe WItS a symbol of the Supreme and I~ternal God. An10ng. the l\iexicans, it re.. presented universal po·wer. .L~n1011g Freemasons, t.he globes, celestial and terrestrial, are emblems of the universal extension )f the institution, and reluind us also of the extensive claims of rhat charity we are called on to pra.ctise. ~4

Gl..OVES. White gloves form a part of a Freemason's cost.ulne, and should alwa:ys be .:worn in the lodge.* An instance of the antiquit.y of this dress is given in this work, under the article " Clothed." In an institution so symbolical as ours, it is not unreasonable to suppose that the white gloves are to remind us, that "without a pure heart and clean hands," no one ~can "stand in the holy place." And this is the emblematic use of the gloves in the :French rite, where every .A.pprent.ice, on his initiation, is presentet with two pair, one for hhnself, and one for his wife or mistress.

GOD.. Freemasons have always been worshippers of the ODO true God. '(This," SityS Hutchinson,t " was the first and cornerstone on Wllich our originals thought it eX,pedient to place the foundation of 111tlSOnry." "Vhile the world around theul was polluted with sun-worship, nnd brute-\vorship, and all the absurdi. tics of polytheislU, lllasonry, even in its spurious foru18, as the ullcicnt IXlysteries have approprintely been styled, was alone occupied in raising altars to the one I .A.1\1, and. declaring and teaching the unity of the Godhead. J osephu13, in his defence of the Jews against Apion, sunlS up in a few words this doctrine of the Inysteries, and its conformity with the ..J ewish belief,which was, of course, identical w'ith that of the FreelDusollS. (( G·od, perfect and blessed, contains all things, is self-existent nnd the C~l.use of exit!tcnce to all, the beginning, the Iuiddlc, and the end of all things."!

• I r )gret t, say, that this rule is too much neglected in. our AmeriC&ll lodges.

t

:t

Spirit of Masonry, p 6..

Joseph. contra Ap., tb. IL, cap.. I.

Got-ORA

169

GOLGOTHA. A flebrew word, signi(ying "a skull." It Wa.'! the name given by the Jews to :rtIount Calvary, where Christ was crucified, and where his sepulchre was situated.

GOTHIC CONSTITUTIONS. Those regulations of the oraft, which were adopted in 926, at the General Assem bly in. the city of York, under Prince I£dwin, and to which addition::; were made from time to time, at, other annual assenlblies of the fraternity, are called the Gothic Constitutions, from the fact tLat they were written in the old Gothic character. Several cordes of them were in existence at the reyival of masonry in 1717. In 1721, they were digested by Dr. Anderson, in a new and better method, and forln the foundation of the Book of Constitutions, the first edition of which was published in 1722_

GOOD SAMARIT1\..N.

See

Sarnar1.-lan.

GRAMMAR. One of the seven liberal arts and sciences, which forms, with Logic and Rhetoric, a triad, dedicat.ed to tIle cultivation of language. "God," says Sunetins, "created luaD the participant of reason; and us he willed hiDl to be a soc~nl being, he bestowed upon him the gift of language, in the perfceting of which there are three aids. The first is Grarn1nar, whieh rejects from language all solecisms a:ld barbarous expressions ,; the second is LO[Ji(~, which is occupied with the truthfulness of language; and the third is Rhetoric, which secks only t.he adorn, n ID3nt of language.

*

GRAND HONOURS.

See Honours.

GRAND INQUISI'rOlt. Grand "1JRJ)fj("teur-7·nq'U,;.~'1~tellr-corn­ mandeur. The 31st degree of the Anel<:nlt Scotch rite. It is not a historical dogree, but siruply tu.huini~trative in its eha· • Sa.net.. Minot.., lib. t, en.l>. 2, npud Harris, Hermea.

....'"

L

0,.

L

GRA

170

racter,-the duties of the members being to exa.mine and regulate the proceedings of the inferior lodges and chapters Ita place of meeting is called a tribunal, its decorations are white, and its presiding officer is called a President, who is elected for life.

GltAND LODGES, HISTORY OF.

The presen~ organiza

tion of Gnlnd I.Jodges is by no means coeval with the origin of our institution. Every longewas originally independent ;unJ a sufficient nUlnber of brethren llleeting together, were empowered to practise all the rights of masonry without a warrant of constitution. This privilege, as Preston remarks, was inherent in them as individuals. The brethren were in the custom of meeting annually, at least as many as conveniently could, for the purpose of conference on the general concerns of the order, and on this occasion a Grand l\faster, or superintendent of the wholE fraternity, was usually chosen. These me _tings were not, bow.. ever, called Grand Lodges, but" Assenlblies." This nanle and organization are as old as the fourth century of the Christian era; for, in a 1\18.* once in the possession of Nicholas Stone, a sculptor under tbccelebrated Inigo Jones, it is stated that " St i~.lbans (who was Inartyred in 306) loved l\lasons well, nnd cherislled them 111uch And he got thelll a charter froul the king and his counsell, for to holde a generall counsel and gave itt to ncUlle Assernblie." 1'he priyiIege of attending these annual llsseulblies was not restricted, as it n ow is, to the Grand Officers, Rnd :\lasters, and Wardens of subordinate lodges, but constituted one of the obligatory duties of every ~Iason. Thus, aUlong the ancient masonic charges, in possession of th(~ I.Jodge of Antiquity, at J.. ondon, is one which declares that "every l\-Iaster and Fellow shall COlne to the assenlbUe, if itt be within fifty miles of him, and if he have any warning. .A.nd if he have trespassed the crn,ft, to abide the award of l\lasterB and Fellows."

****.

â&#x20AC;˘ Quoted by Preston..

JRA

171

England. The next* charter granted in England to the :alasons, as a body, was bestowed by I<.ing .A.thelstane, in 926, upon the application of his brother, Prince Edwin. " l\.ccordingly, Prince Edwin sunlmoned all the l\Iasons in the realm to meet him in a congregation at York, ,vho carne and conlposed a General Lodge, of which he was Grand ~last~r; and having brought with them dl the writings and records extant, some in Greek, some in Latin, Bonle in French, and other languages, from the contents thereof that assellLbly did frame the constitution and charges of an En.. glish lodge."t Fron] this assenlbly at York, the true rise of masonry in England is generally dated; froln the statutes there enacted, are derived the English l\fasonic Constitutions; and froln the place "Jf meeting, the ritual of the :mnglish lodges is designated as the " Ancient Yark Rite."

For t1 long time, the York assembly exercised the masonic Jurisdiction over all England; but,. in 1567, th~ IV[asoDs of the ~uthern pt1rt of t~he island elected Six Thomas Gresham, the eclebra.t,cd merchant, their Grtlnd l\f.a.'.3ter.. fIe was succeeded by the illustriolls architect, Inigo ,Jones. There were now two Grand l\:1asters in JiJngland who ussulued distinctive titles; the G ,'and XtIaster of the north being called Gretnd l\Iaster of uIl r:ngland,¡ while he who presided in the south was called Grand ~laster of l:Dnglandoo In the beginning of the 18th century, masonry in the south of ,England had fitllen in to decay. The disturbances of the re,",olution, which placed 'Villiam III.. on the throne, and the subsequont warmth of political feelings which agitated the two parties of the state, ba.d given this peaceful society a wound fat.al to its success. Sir Christopher 'Vren, the Grand l\Iaster in the reif,fD. of Queen Anne, b1td becolneaged, infirm, and inactive, and h~~nce the general assemblies of the Grand Lodge had ceased to â&#x20AC;˘ And if the anecdote of St.. Albans be not &Uthentic, the nut. t BUaa ,4shmole'. H8.

ORA

172

There were, in the year 1715, but. four lodges in working in the (~ity of London.

These four lodges, desirous of reviving the prosperity of the order, deterluined to unite theIl1Selves under a Grand J\iaster) Sir Ohristopher Wren being now dead, and none having, as yet, been ttppointed in his place. They, therefore, "Dlet at the Apple tree tavern; and having put into the chair the oldest l\I~~.¡ ter lVIason, (being the l\Iaster of a lodge,) they constituted thernselves a Grand r.. odge, ptro ten1l)ore, in due form, and forthwith revived the quarterly cOlnlnunication of the officers of lodges; (called the Grand Lodge,) resol'\ed to hold the annual assembly and feast, and then to choose a Grn.nd ~Iaster froID among themselves, till they should have the honour of a noble brother at their head."* Accordingly, on St. John the Baptist's day, 1717, the annual assembly and feast were held, and lV[r. Anthony Sayer duly p ~oposed and elected t1rand l\'Iaster. The Grand Lodge adopted. among its regulations, the following: "That the privilege of L~':elnbling as l\Iasons, ,vhich had hitherto been unlimited, should ~J vested in certain lo..iges or asselublies of l\Iasons, convened in take place.

t.he south of England,

an

::e~~'lin

pla.ces; and that every lodge to be here~tfter convened, t.he four old lodges at this thneexisting, shnuld be legally ~".~thorized to act by a warrant f)'OUl the Grand l\'Iaster, for the tiD~~e being, granted to certain individuals by petition, with the CJ!lce::t Rnd approbation of the (~'l"and I.Jodge in communication,

~=":cept

and that, without such warrant, no lodge should be hereafter d,e.1::."red regular or constitutional.")

7il conlpliluent, however, to the four old lodges, the privileges which they had alwn.Js possessed uuder the old organization were particularly reserved to thelXl; and it was enacted that "no law, rule, or regulation, to bo hereafter nlnde or passed in Grand IJodge, should ever depriye them of such privilege,t or enoroach â&#x20AC;˘ Andc-rson '8 Constitutions, p. 19-r t Among these privileges, were these of assembling without & warra.nt of ~onstituti()n, and raising Ma.sons to the Ma.8ter's deiYee, a power fora loog thne exercised only by the Grand Lo:lge.

173

GRA

any landmark which was at that time established as the stand.. ard of masonic governlnenL" The Grand Lodges of York and of London kept up a friendly intercourse, and lllutual interchange of recognition, until the latter boay, in 1725, granted a warrant of constitution to some ~Iasolls who had seceded from the foruler.

This unnlasonic act wns severely reprobated by the Yark Grand Lodge, and prod uced tlH) first interruption to the harmony that had long subsisted be tween them.

It was, however, followed some years after b: ~nother unjustifiable act of interference.

In 1725, the Earl of C.. .aw ford, Grand l\iuster of· EnglaDoCl, constituted two lodges within the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of York, and grantet1. without its consent, deputations for Lancashire, Durhanl, ~lnd Sorthuulberland.

"This circumstance," says Pre~ton, "the G'rand Lodge at YOl'k highly resented, and ever afterward vie'wed the proceedings of the brethren in the south with a jeal..

OUR ese.

All friendly intercourse ceased, and the York l\Iasons, frOIn that IllOlllcnt, considered their interests distinct from thE'-' 1\1 asons under the Grund Lodge in IJondon.

Three years nftel", ill 1738, several brethren, dissatisfied with the conduct of tbeGrnnd I.Jodgc of :B~ngland, seceded from it, and held unauthorized meetings for the purpose of initiation.

Taking ndvuutage of the brench between the Grand Lodges of York and London, they assllIued the character of York ~lasons.

011 the GrnndLodge't; deterlUiutLtion to put strictly in execution the laws against sneh seceders, the~y still further separated from its jurisdiction, and assunled the appellation of "Ancie'nt York Llfll$ons." 'l'hey announced that the ancient landmarks were a.lone l)reserved by thC1U; and, declnring that the regular lodgf\s

I)D

*

had ftdopted new pklIlS, and snnctioned innovations, they branded. thCIll with the ntune of ".1Iodern .1Ifasons."

In 1739,· they established tl new (}rand I.I(Hlgc in r.. ondon, under the name of the" G'rand l~odge of .A.ncient 'Y odr 1\f n~ous," and, persevering • Pre8tnn·~: rnU8tratitm~. p. 18'

15

174

GRA

in the nlcasures they had adopted, heldcomUluuicatiolls and appointed annual feasts. They were soon afterward recognized by the l\Iasons of Scotland and Ireland, and were encouraged and fostered by many of the nobility. 'fhe two Grand Lodges continued to exist, and to act in opposition to each other, extend. ing their schisms into other countries, until the year 1813, wheL, under the Grand l\fastership of the Duke of ~ussex, tht'}' were happily united, and discord, we trust, forever banisho 1 frtm.

English Masonry..t Scotland. Freemasonry was introduoed into Scotland by the arehitects who built the Abbey of Kilwinning; and the village of, that name bears the same relation to Scottish masonry, that the city of York does to English. Assenlblies, for the general government of the craft, were frequently held at Kilwil1ning..

In the reign of James II., the office of Grand 1fIaster of Scotland W3S granted to Willianl St. Clair, Earl of Orkney and Caithness, and Bnron of Roslin, "his heirs and successors," by the king's charter.! But, in 1736, the St. Olair who then exercised the Grand l\'Iastership, "taking into consfderation that his holding or claiming any such jurisdiction, right" or privilag , might be prejudicial to the craft and vocation of maso!1ry,"搂 renounced his claims, and clupo'wered the l?reemasons to cLeos, their Grand l\I~tster. The路 consequence of this act of resigliatic'~ was the imUlediate organization of the Grand I.Jodge of ScotIan:r, over wholn, for obvious reaSOIlS, the late hereditary G'rand M~ter was unanitnously called to preside. . lr!lland. In 1729, the Freemasons of Dublin held an ~~tro.. bly, nnd organized the "Grand Lodge of Ireland." The Dar1 )f Kingston was elected the first Grand l\laster..

*

.. For instance, there were, originally, in Massa.chusetts and South Caroline,; two Grand Lodges, claiming their authority from these discordant bodies. I:1 the former State, however, they were united in 1792, and in tha latter in 181~. t 'W'e tnny as well mention bere, tha.t the rites and cerexnonies, of these bodie' "ere e@s(lontiully the 8~lme, and that the landmarks were equally pr"",erved by them. t See the MS. 'n the Edinburgh Advocates' Libra.ry, quoted by Ln.."ri~.. ~ See the deed of resignation in Lawrie's Rist. Masonry.

3-RA

175

France.. In the beginning of the 18th century, Freemasonry in France was in a state of great disorder. E'.rery lodge acted independently of all others; the l\Iasters were elected for life, and exercised the privileges and prHvers which are now confined to Grand Lodges; ,there was no Inasonic centre, and consequently no masonic union.

In 1735, there were six lodges in Paris, and several others in the different provincial to\YDS. 'l'he Ea.rl of Derwentwtlter, the celebrated Jacobite, who afterward was beheaded at London, for his adherence to the house of Stuart, exercised the functions of Grand Master by a tacit oonsent, although not l::y a formal elec. tion. In the following year, Lord flarnouster was elect.ed by the Parisian lodges Grand l\Iaster; and in 17U8, he was suc.. ceeded by the Duc d' Antin. On his de(tth, in 1743, the Count de Clermont was elected to supply his place.

Organized Freenlasonry in France dates its existence from tbiR 13.tter year. In 1735, the lodges of Paris had petitioned the Grand TAdge of England for the establishment of a Provincial Gr8lld Lodge, which, on political grouuds, had been refused.. In 1743, however, it was granted, and the Provincial Grand Lodge of France was constituted under the name of the "Grand Loge Anglaise de France." The Grand l\Iaster, Clermont, was, however, an inefficient officer; anarchy and confusion once Inore invaded the fraternity; the authority of the Grand Lodge was prostrated; and the establishment of mother lodges in the provinces, with the original intention of superintending the proceedings of the distant provincial lodges, instead of restoring harmonJ) U was vainly expected, widened still more the breach. For, assuming the rank,and exercising the functions, of Grand Lodges} they ceased all correspondence with the metropolitan body, and became in fact its rivals.

Under these circumstances, the Grand Lodge declared itself independent of England in 1756, and assumed the title of the "Grand Lodge of France." It recognized only the three degrees of Apprentice, Fellow-Craft) and Mastel Mason, and was

176

GRA

oompo~ed of the grand officers to be elected out of the body of the fraternity, and of the nIasters for life of the Parisian lodges; thus formally excluding the provincial lodges from any participation in the governnlent of the craft.

But the proceedings of this body were not less stormy than those of iiA~ predecessor. 'Ve have stated that the Count de ClerIllont proved an inefficient Grand l\faster. Ire had appointed, ;n succession, two deputies, both of whom had been displeasing to the fraternity. The last, Lacorne, was a nlan of such low lribin and. rude manners, that the Grand Lodge refused to lueet him as their presiding officer. Irritated a.t this pointed disrespect, he s'ought in the taverns of Paris those l\Iasters who bad ulade a traffic of initiations, but who, heretofore, had submitted tc the control, and been checked by the authority, of the Grand Lodge. From among them he selected officers devoted to his ~eryice, and undertook a complete reorganization of :he Grand Lodge.

The retired menlbers, however, protested against these illegal proceedings; and in the subsequent year, the Grand l\iaster con.. sented to revoke the authority he had bestowed upon Lacarne, and appointed as his deputy, 1\1. Chainon de Jonville. The respectable nlenl bers now returned to their seats in the Grand Lodge; and in the triennial election which took place in June, 1765, the officers who had been elected during the Deputy Grand l\Iastership of Lacarne were all rell1oved. The displaced officers protested, and published a def3.111atory memoir on the subject, and were in consequence expelled from masonry by the Grand Lodge. III feeling on both sides was thus engendered, and car.. ried to such a height, that, at one of the cOIDrnunications of thJC Grand Lodge, the expelled brethren, attempting to force their way in, were resisted with violence. The next day the lieutenant of police issued an edict, forbidding the future meetings of the Grand Lodge.

The expelled party, however, still continued their meetings.

1'Le Count de Clennont died in 1771: and the e4cluded brethren

GRA

171

having invited the Duke of Chartres, (afterwards Duke of Orleans,;

to the Grand l\lastership, he accepted the appointment. TheJ now offered to unite with the Grand Lodge, on condition that the latter would re-voko the decree of expulsion. The proposal was accepted, and the Grand Lodge went once more into o~eratioD . ....

Another union took place, which has since considerably influenced the character of l?rcllch lnasonry. During the troubles of the preceding years, ulasonic bodies were in:;;tituted in various parts of the kingdorn, which professed to confer degrees, of a higher nature, than those belonging to craft Innsonry, and which hn're since been kno,vn by the narue of the Ineffable degre~.s T:lese chapters assurned a right to organize and control synl bolie or blue lodges, and this USSUlllption had been a fertile source of controversJ~ between thenl and the Grnnd I.Jodge.

By the latter

body they had never been recognized, but the lodges under their direction had often been declared irregular, and their nlombers expelled. 'rhey IlOW, however, dCluanded a recognition, and proposed, if their request ,,"as cOlllplicd 'with, to bestow the governUlent of the" hunts grades" upon the sanle person who was at the head of the Grand Lodge. 'l'he cOlllpromise was made, l

the recognition was decreed, and the Duke of Chartres was elected Grand l\laster of all the councils, chapters, and Scotch odges of France.

But peace was not yet restored. ~rhe party who had heen expelled) Inoved by a spirit of revenge for the disgrace formerly i:lflictcd on them, su(~ceeded in obtaining the appointment of ~ conlmittee which was eUlpo\ycred to prepare a new constitution 1\11 the lodges of Paris and the provinces were requested tu appoint dt~puties, who were to forrn a conyention to take the new constitution into consideration. This convention, or, as they naIled it, national assembly, nlet at Paris, in December, 1771 .

1'ho Duke of Luxernburg presIded, and on the 24th of that month, the ancient Grand Lodge of Frnnce was declared extinct, and in its place another substituted, with the title of Grand Orient <If: Frafl..C6..

118

GRA

Notwithstanding the deelarn,tion of extinction by the national n.ssenlbly, the Grand IJodge continued to Ineet and to exercise ita functions. ~rhus the fraternity of France continued to be hal rassed, by the bitter contentions of these rival bodies, until the commenceUlen t of the reval ution corn pelled both the Grand Orient and the GTand Lodge to suspend their labours.

On the restoration of civil order, both bodies resullled thei:w operations, but the Grand Lodge had been '\veakened by the deatl of IHaDy of the perpetual l\lasters, who llad originally been attached to it; and a better spirit arising, the Grand Lodge was) by a solenIn and Inutual deelaration, united to the Grand Orient

on the 28th of June, 1799.

Dissensions, however, continued to arise between the Grand Orient and the different chapters of the higher degrees. Several of those bodies had at various periods given in their adhesion to the Grand Orient., and again violated the cOlnpact of peaCt'\.

Finally, the G-rand Oricl1t perceiving that the pre~tensions of tl1f~ Scotch rite l\lnsons would be a perpetual source of disorder, decreed on the 16th of Septeulhcr, 1805, tha.t the SupreIllc Council of t,hc 33d degree should thenceforth becoule an indcpendcIlt body, with the power to confer warrants of constitution for all the degrees superior to the 18th:t or Rose Croix; while the chapters of that and the inferior degrees were placed under the exclusive control of the Grand Orient.

But a further detail of the dissensions which obscured masonry in France, would be painful as well as tedious. They were renewed in 1821, by the reorganization of the Supreme Council, which had been dormant since 1815. But in 1842 an advance to'wards n. reconciliation was made by the Supreme Council, which has at length been met by the Grand Orient. The friendship ';vas consulnnluted in 1842, and peace now reigns, at last, among the 1\1 ason~ of France.

Germany. The first German lodge was esta'blished at Col()gne, in 1716, but it <lied a,huost as soon as it was born. Be-

GRA venteen years afterward, (in 1733,) according to Preston,* a charter was granted by the Grand IJodge of l~ngland, to eleven German l\lasons in Hamburg. In 1738, another lodge was est:a-. blisbed in Brunswick, under the authority of- the Grand Lodge of Scotland. This lodge, which was called "'The 'Three G·loveR," united with the lodgeR of'~ The rrhrcc\rl1iLC Eagles," and" 'rIle Three Swans," to organize, in 17·11, a (1rand ]~odgc, the first esul,blished in Germany. 'I'his Grand Lodge still exists, and has u!\der its jurisdiction eighty-eight subordinate lodges. There is aJ.lother Grand LOdge at Brullswick, which ,vas established iD 1768, by the Grand IJodge of J1Jngland, and \vhich is considered as the metropolitan Grund Lodge of GernulllY. It has under its jurisdiction fifty-three subordinate lodges. j>russia. ~rhe llu}al York Urand Lodge of Prussia is situated at Berlin. It was e~tu.blisheu as ;;i. subordinate lodge, in 1752.

In 1765 it initiated the Duke of York, and then assunled the name of "Royal York in Friendship." It had under its jurisdiction, in 1840, twenty-seven lodges. The" Grand Lodge of t,he 'I'hree G-lohes" was founded in 1740, and has under its jurisdletion oue hundred and seventy·seven lodges. There are now three Grand Lodges in l)russia, the "Three Globes," the" Royal "r ork," and. the "NationaJ," which was founded, in 1770, by a warrant froln the Grand I..4odge of l~ngland ; every lodge in :Prussia derives its ,varrant frolllone of these Grand Lodges.

Saxony. The first lodge in Saxony was the Three "?·hite ·..~ugles, which was fortned in .1738 at Dresden. In 1741 anotl- f'X was foruled at LeipHig, and a third in the following year at Al tenburg. The Grand I..4odge of Saxony was establised in 181~ It h3.S adopted the systeln of Ancient Craft, or St. John's masonry, for its rite, and under this all its subordinates, ex.cept two, profess toO work.

Belgtu,m. In 1721, the Grand Lodge of England constituted Lhe lodge of t, Perfect Union," atl\fons, and in 1730, another at Ghent. The former was afterward erected into .a Grand Lodge.

1'h~ present Grand Orient of Be.I~ium has its seat at 13russels.

J80

GRA

Holland. The first lodge established in Holland, was at the Hague in 1731, under the warrant of the Grand Lodge of England.

It was, however, only a lodge of emergency, having been called to initiate the Duke of Tuscany, afterward Francis the First, Emperor of Germany. .-\fter the ceremony had been perfoflued by the Earl of Chesterfield" the lodge was closed. The first re. gular lodge was establi~h('d at the saIne place in 1734, which fi y-e years a~er took the n~nne of " lVlother I.Jodge." In 1735, a lodge was opened at AIllsterdam. The National G-raud I.lodge was esta. blished on the 18t}} Decelnber, 1757, H,nd now has about seventJ lodges under its register.

IJenmarlc. The Grand Lodge of Denmark was instituted in 1743. It derived its existence from the Grand Lodge of Scotland. ft is situated at Copenhagen. Masonry in this country is in a flourishing condition; it is recognized by the state, and the reign-

ing king is Grand lVlaster.

Sweden. In no country has the progress of masonry been more prosperous than in Sweden. It arose there in 1754, under the charter of the Grand Lodge of Seotland.. The seat of the Grand Lodge is at Stockhohn, anrt the king is a,t the head of the craft..

R1tSS'iCL. An English lodge was constituted at St. Peter8burB~ in 1740, uncler a 路warrant fr0111 the Grand I.Jodge of :BJngland, and masopry soon afterwards began to inerease w'ith great rapidity tJlfOUghout the elIlpire. In 177"2, the G-rand IJodge of l~Ilglaud established a }>rovineinl Grand l\lasteri:ihip, and lodges \ver(~ constituted sueeessively at I\Ioscow, JUga, Sass,Y, and in v:triou; parts Df Court1and. 'l'he order was patronized l:>'y the throne, and, of course, l.y the nobility. 13ut, unfortunah1ly, politics began to poison, with its pollutions, the pure atrnnsphere of nUlsonry, and the order rapidly declined. I.Jodgcs are, ho\vever,still priv!ttely held in yarious parts of the eU1l>ire..

Poland. In 17 aD, Freeuulsonry was suppressed in this king.. dOln by an edict of }<ing.A.ugustus II. In 1781, boWeVt}T, it was reviv(~d tluder the auspices of the Grand Orient of Franen;

ORA

181

who, upon the application of three lodges at Warsaw, established lodges at 'Vilna, Dubno, Posen, Grodno, and Warsaw. These united in 1784, to form a Grand Orient, but the decree of the Emperor Alexander in 1822 closed a.ll the lodges of Poland.

Bohemia.. Freenlasonry Vlas instituted in Boheluia, in 17 If, . . by the Grand Lodge of Scotland. In 1776 it WaS highly pros' perous, and continued so until the comrnencement of the FrencL revolution, when it was suppressed by the Austrian goVâ&#x201A;Ź.rnulent Its present condition I have no Dlenns of ascertaining..

Switzerland.. In 1737, the Grand Lodge of England granted & patent to Sir George HaUlilton, by authority of which he insti.. tutcd a Provincia.l Grand Lodge at Geneva. Two years afterwards the same body bestowed a warrant of constitution on a lodge situated at Lausanne.. l\Iasonry continued to flourish in Switzerland until 1745, when it was prohibited by an edict of the Council of Berne.. From this attack, however, it reJovered in 1764. The lodges resumed their labours, and a Grand Lodge was organized at Geneva. But Switzerland, like France, has been sorely visited with masonic dissensions. At one tiIne there existed not less than three conflicting nlasonic authorities in the republic. Peace has, however, been restored, and the National Grand Lodge of Switzerland, seated at Berne, now exercises sale masonic jurisdiction, under the name of .A.lpiD~1. The Book of Constitutions is shnilar to that of England. The Grand Lodge Alpina recognizes only the three degrees of A.ncient Craft l\'Ia!onry.

Italy.. The enmity of the Roman church towards Freemasonry, has e'V'er kept tIle l~ltter institution in a depressed state in Italy.

A lodge existed at Florence, as early as 1733, established by Lo1"dCharlcs Sackville, the son of the Duke of Dorset. Now, in the year 1871, the Grand Lodge of Italy is in open and activ,e existence.

Spain.

The first lodge established in Spain was in 1727, at

Gilbraltar. Another was constituted the year following, nt .:\la.. drid. A third was formed ,...t. Andalusia, in 1731. The pt'f¡

182

ORA

secutions of the priests and governluent were always obstacles to the successful propagation of n13sonry in this kingdom. Lodges, however, still exi~t. and work in various.parts of Spain, but their uleetings are in private.

Portugal. "'That has been said. of Freeluasonry in Italy and Spain, is equally applicable to Portugal. Though lodges were ~t3tab1ished as carly as 1735, they always were, and continue to be, holden with great secrecy. One, hOWeVE'f, of the influences uf the French invasion, was the dissemination of b'reemasonry atllong the Portuguese, and the Grand Orient of Lusitania is in open existence, its seat being the city of Lisbon.

Turkey. Of the state of masonry in the Ottoman Empire, we know but little. Clavel says, that lodges were established at Constantinople, Smyrna and Aleppo, in 1738. There is a Provincial Grand Lodge of Turkey at Constantinople, under the

English regi¡me.

.Asia. Freenlasonry was introduced into India, in 1728, by Sir George Pomfret, who established a lodge at Calcutta. Another was formed in 1740, and in 1779 there was scarcely a town in Hindostan in which there was not a lodge. In that year OUldit ul O!llrah Bahauder, the eldest son of the nabob of the Carnatic, \vas initiated at Trinchinopoly. l\Iasonry ex.ists in a prosperous condition, in Asia l\linor and all the English settlenlents, under the jurisdiction generally of the Grand Lodge of England. There are several lodges in China.

4tr{ca.. Freemasonry was introduced into Africa, in 1736#

by the establishment of lodges at Cape Coast on the Gambia River.. Lodges have since been const.it.uted at the Cape of Good Hope; in the islands of I\lauritius, l\Iadagascar, and St. Helena; and at Algiers, Tunis, l\tlorocco, Cairo, and .A.lexandria.

Oceanica. Into these remote regions has the institution of Freemasonry extended. Lodges have existed since 1828, at Sidney, Paramatta, l\ielbourne, and in many other of the English

coloniesâ&#x20AC;˘ ..America.. The first lodge established in Canada, was at Cape

GRA

IPl

Breton, in the year 1745. Lodges existed from as early a period in the -vvr est India Islands On the establishment of the Brazilian Empire, a Grand Lodge was instituted, and, in 1825, Don J:>edro the First was elected its Grand l\laster. In 1825, the Grand lJOdge of l\-Iexico was organized; and in 1837, that of Texas waf instituted. Long before these periods, however, lodges had beeu constituted in both these countries, under charters from different f.trand Lodges in the 1Jnited States.

United States. The first notice that we have of Freemasonry in the United States, is in 1729, in which year, during the Gran.'! l\'Iastership of the Duke of Norfolk, IVIr. Daniel Cox was appointed Provincial Grand Master for New Jersey. I have not~ however, been able to obtain any evidence that he exercised his . prerogative by the establishment of lodges in that province, although it is probable that he did. In ~he year 1733 the" St. John's Grand Lodge" was opened in Boston in consequence of a charter granted, on the application of several brethren residing in that city, by Lord Viscount 1\-Iontacute,* Grand ~rnster of England.

This charter is dated on the 30th of April, in the saIne year, and appointed the R. 'V. Ilenry Price, Grand l\Iaster in North America, with power to appoint his Deputy, u,nd the other officers necessary for forluing a Grand I.Jodge, and also to constitute lodges of F.L¡ee and Accepted l\Iasons as often as occasion should require.

The first charter gra,Ilted by this body was to "St. J ohn'a Lodge" in 130ston, which lodge is still in existence. In the succeeding Jear, it granted a charter for the constitution of a lodge in Philadelphia, of which the venera,hIe Benjamin Franklin was the first 1'laster. This Grand Lodge, however, descending from the G'rand l,odge of England, was, of course, composed of l\Iodern Masons.t

---_._ _----, ......

_,

_'.-

- , - - - - - - _ . _ - - - - ~ _ . _ . - - - - - ".. ' ...

â&#x20AC;˘ I am indebted to my esteemed friend&nd learned brother A. O. Sullivan, Grand Secretary of Missouri, for calling my attention to the ina.dvertence I have oommitted in previous editions of spelling this na.me Jlo.t(tgt~e instead of J{ont<l.Cut6. But I ma.y console myself with the ra.ther selfish reflection that n~arl,. all of my contempora.rics have fanen into the same error. t See the artiole JfotUrta Mallo,....

ORA.

184

A number of brethren, there, re~iding in Boston, who were .:\ncient l\:Iasons, applied to and received a dispensation frolli J...ord Aberdour, Grand 1\'1aster of Scotland, cons.tituting them a regular lodge, under the designation of St. Andrew's I...odge: Xo. 82, and the ~Iassachusetts Grand Lodge, descending froID ~he G-rand Lodge of SJJtland, was established on the 27th De~~;nlber, 1769. On the 19th June, 1792, the two Grand L(~ . g'.~~: were united, and all the distinctions of Ancient and ~lodern .:\1J.·· (;jons abolished.

In 1735, Freemasonry was introduced into Boath-Carolina by the constitution of "80101110n'8 Lodge, No.1," under a \Varrant frUIll Lord Montague, Grand l\laster of Free and Accepted l\laSOllS of England.

This was, therefore, the fourth lodge organized Three other lodges were soon afterwards in the United States. constituted. In 1754, on the 30th of ~larch, the l\'farquis of Carnarvon, Grand ~laster of England, issued his "Tarrant, can., stituting a Provincial Grand Lodge in the province, and appointing Chief Justice Leigh, Provincial Grand Master. On the 24th of December, in the same year, the G'rand Lodge was solemt,lly constituted at Charleston. In 1787 a Grand Lodge of _~ncient Yark l\fasons was also established at Charleston, and in the course of the succeeding years, many distlb'Teeable dissensioDs oceurred between this and the Grand Lodge of Free and .A.ccepted l\lasons which had been organized in 1754. 'l'hese, however, a.t length, happily terminated, and an indissoluble union took place betwuen the two bodies in December, 1817, which resulted in the for· ma1.i(n of the present" Grand Lodge of Ancient Ifreemasons."

In 1764, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania was established by a Warrant issued from the Grand Lodge of England. Subs3quently, the Grand Lodge of North Carolina was constituted in 1771; that of Virginia in 1778; and that of New York

*

in 1781 • It mnked u K o. 45, on tho Register of England, while Solomon'a lodge In Savannah, which preceded it in time of constitution, held the number 4:6. 8,."

Hutchinson's List.

ORA.

18~

These Grand Lodges were, until the close of the Revolutionary \Var, held under the authority of Charters granted either by the Grand Lodge of England, or that of Scotland. But, on the con firuw.tion of our politictll independence, the brethren, desirous of a like relief frolll the thraldorn of a foreign power, began to or ganize Grand I.Jodges in their respective liInits, and there D~W exist such bodies in every State and Territory in the lYnion, the last formed being that of l\Iinnesota in 1853.

GRAND LODGES., J11RlbDIOTION oIi'. A Grand Lodge is invested Nith power and authority over all the craft within itp jurisdiction. It is the ~.prerne Court of Appeal in all mnsonie cases, and t.o its decrees unlilnited obedience must be paid, by every lodge and every l\Iason situated within its controL The goveroluent of Grand Lodges is, therefore, completely de~otic.

While a Grand Lodge exists, its edicts n1ust be respected and obeyed without examination by its subordinate lodges. Yet should 1t Grand J..Aodge decree wrongfully or eont rury to the ancient COl1gtitutions, though there be no redress for its subordinates, the Grand I.Aodges in other States llUlY declaro its pro(~eedings irregular, a.nd ev-en put it out of th'3 pale of llJUSonr:y, by refusing to hold COluDlunion witJl it But In this case, the Grund Lodge does not suffer nlore than the craft in general \v()rking und(~r it ~ for every l\Inson 'who should then aekuo,vledge its authority, \vould be plaeed under the satne ball of ultlsonie outlaWl"Y. Grand I~odge8 are, however, exceedingly scrupl1hn.ts in exercising this interference with the nlHsonic authorities of other jurisdictiotls, reserving the exertion of this power only for cases in which th(~re lULS been 11 mauifest violation of the ~tneient hlndnutrks. An instance of this kind hUB lately oecul"redin this eountry. In 1828, the lahours of the Grand Lodge of )I.ichigan, in consequence of the anti-ulasonic excitetnent then at its height, were suspended, and the lodges under its juristli<:tion djRsolved. In 1841,lnas(~nryhaving re\"ivi~d in t.bRt the ~.Iasolls of:t\lichigan met in conY{~ntion, and with jut the existence of a singie subordinate lodge, proceeded 16 ..

186

ORA

to institute a Grand Lodge. This was in pDJpabl~ derogation o~ the fundanlental laws of the order. Consequently, the other supreme masonic bodies in the Union refused to acknowledge the Grand Lodge of l\lichigan. Afterwards (in 1844) this body, aubmitting very properly to the general opinion of the fraternity, proceeded to organize according to the legitimate mode, by the (~on'vention of tn.e constitut.ional nUlnber of lodges, and it is now rpcognized as a egularly constituted Grand Lodge.

This suprerne power that is vested in Grand J~odges, by which they are constituted as the sole judges and exponents, for theiJ respective jurisdictions, of the ancient landmarks and usages of the fraternity, is derived from the fundamental laws of masonry.

It is based, too, upon sound sense and expediency. For withou~ a governing power, so large a body as the craft would soon run into anarchy. But this power could not be placed in the hands of subordinate lodges, or individual brethren, for that would create endless confusion. Grand Lodges are, therefore, its proper depositories, since they contain within thenlselves the united wisdom and prudence of many subordinate lodges. And so car~ful has our institution been of the preservation of this power to Grand Lodges, that according to the Ancient Charges, the master of every lodge is called upon, previous to his installation, to give his assent to the following propositions: "You agree to hold in veneration, the original rulers and patrons of the order of Freemasonry, and their regular successors, suprenle and subordinate, according to their stations; and to submit to the awards and resolutions of your brethren in Grand Lodge convened, in every case, consistent with the constitutions of the order. " You promise to pay homage to the Grand l\IRster for the time being, and to his officers when duly installed, and strict~y t<J conlorn~ to ever!! edict of t}be Grand Lodge."

GRAI~'D LODGI~S,

OI{GANIZ.A.TION OF.

Itre organized in the following manner.

Grand

L~g~.s

Three or more legaJly

GRA

IB"I

constituted lodges working in any state, kingdom, or other in dependent political division, where no Grand Lodge already ex. lE;ts, may meet in convention, adopt by-Ia,vs, elect officers, and organize a Grand Lodge. The lodges within its jurisdiction then surrender their Warrants of Constitution to the Grand Lodge~ from which they respectively had received them, and accept ot.hers from the newly organized Grand I~odge, which thenceforward exercises all Dlasonic juri3diction ovel the state in which it bas been 1)rganized.

A Grand Lodge thus organized, consists of th B l\lasters and \Vardens of all the lodges under its jurisdiction, and such Past :\Iasters as may enrol themselves or be elected us nlem hers. Past ~Iasters are not, .however, mClllbers of the Grand Lodge by in.. herent right, but only by courtesy, and many of the Grand Lodges have adopted a regulation by which they are entirely excluded from active membership.

All Grand Lodges a.re governed by the following officers: Grand rtfaster, Deputy G'r~Lnd l\laster, Senior and Junior G-rand "T~l1'dens,

Grand Treasurer, and Grand Secretar.y. 1'hese arc usually teru:i'ed the Grand officers; in addition t.o thenl there are subordinate officers appointed by the Grand l\Iaster and the Grand "Tardens, such as Grand Deucons,Grand Stewards, Grand l\Iarshal, Grand Pursuivant, Grand Sword Bearer, and Grand Tiler; but their number and titles vary in different Grand Lodges.

GRAN D 1\1AS'l'J1JR. The presiding officer of the luasonic fraternity, to whom is entrusted the execution of iluportant duti~s) And who is consequently inveBted with extensive powers,. should always be selected f')r his respectability, virtue, and learning. l~()r the first, that the dignity of the fraternity lllay not, suffer under his administration; for the second, that he lnay afford an exanlple worthy of iInitation to his brethren; for the last, that he may be enabled to guide and control thecrnft with proper skill and accuracy.

The powers of the Grand 1tlaster during the recess of the Grand Lod~e nrc very extensive. He has full authorit.y and right not

GRA

188

only to be present, but also to preside in every lodge, wit'll

th~

Master of the lodge on his left hand, and to order his Grand Wardens to attend him, and act as ardens in that particular lodge. * I-Ie has the right of visiting the lodges and inspecting their books and mode of work as often as he pleases, or if unable to do so, he ulay depute his grand officers to act for bhn. He has the power of granting dispensations for the forlnation of new lodges, which dispensations are of force until revoked by himself or the Grand Lodge. He nuty also grant dispensations for aeventI other purposes, for which see the 9.rtiele "Dispensation,."

Formerly, the Grand l\Iaster appointed his Grand officers, but this regulation has been repealed; and the Grand officers are now all elected by the Grand Lodge. .

When the Grand l\:Iaster visits a lodge, he must be received with the greatest respect., and the l\'Iaster of the lodge should always offer him the chair, which the Grand l\Iaster mayor may not accept at his pleasure.

ShQuld the Grand l\faster die, or be absent from the jurisdiction during his term of office, the Deputy Grand l\Iaster assumes his powers, or if there b~ no Deputy, then the Grand 'Vardens according to seniority.

"r

GRAND 1\1 A.STEl~ ARCHITECT.

GrandMaster Architect.

The 12th degree in the A.ncient Scotch rite. This is strictly a scientific degree, resembling in tlul..t respect the degree of Fellow Craft. In it the principles of architecture and the connection of he libert\l arts with luasonry, are unfolded. Its ¡officers are three, !\troat Po~terful and two '\Varclens. 1.'he chapter is decoratod wit.h white and red hangings, and furnished with the five OrdCl"& of architecture and a case of mathematical instruments. The jewel is a gold medal, on both sides of which are engraved the orders of architecture. It is sUdpended by a stone colored

ribbon. â&#x20AC;˘

GeI.~ral

Regula.tione, 1757,

Ar~

5, In .A.ndert01J ConaL D7.

GRA-GRE

189

GRAND l\IASTER OF ALL SYl\IBOLIC LODGES. Venerable 'lna£trede to'Mtes les logeg. The 20th degree in the.

Ancient Scotch rite. rl'he presiding officer is styled Venerable Grand l\laster, and represents Csrus l\.rtaxerxes.. He is s~ated in the east on a throne ele'W ated upon ninesteps,and is assisted by two 'Vardens in the west. The decorations of the lodge are hlue and yellow.. The lecture of the degree contains some inter'lsting instructions respecting the first and second temple..

Among the traditions preserved by the possessors of this degr~j is one which states that after the third temple was destroyed by 'ritus, the son of Vespasian, the Christian Freemasons who were then in the 11::01y La'ld, being filled with sorrow, departed frore home with the determination of building a fourth, * and that, di.. viding themselves into several bodies, they dispersed over the various parts of Europe. The greater nunlber went to Scotluncl, and repaired to the town of Kilwinning, where they established 3 lodge and built an abbey, and where the records of the order were deposited..

1

GRAND OFFERINGS.

See G'1"ound Floor 01 the Lodge.

GRAND PONTIFF. Gran(.l Pontife au Sltolime Ecos8ais.

The 19th degree of the .A.ncicnt Scotch rite.. The degree is oc" cnpied in an examination of the l\.pocalyptic Inysteries of the New Jerusalem. Its officers are a 'flll"ice Puissa.nt and one Warden.

The rrhrice Puissant is seuted in the east OIl a throne canopied with blue, and wears 11. white sutiu robe.. 1.'he Warden is in the rest, and holds It staff of gold. 1'he I'llelUbers are clothed in ~hite, with blue fiUets elnbroidered widl twelve stars of gold, and are called True and !«'aithful Brothers. The decorations of the Lodge are blue sprinkled with gold stars GR~1EN. 'fIle embletnat.ic color of a Knight of the Red Oross, and of a Perfeet l\laster.

--------_..

~ ..........• ... ,

_-"._-----_.'----

-l'bia was to be a spiritual

0110..

190

GRO-GUA

The Red Cross Knight is reminded by this color that rrrut,h Ie a divine attribute, and that like the green Bay tree it will flourish in perpetual verdure.

The Perfect l\Iaster is admonished by it, that being dead in sill, he must hope to revive in virtue.

GROU~D FLOOr, OF TfIE LODGE. Mount Moriah, un which the Temple of Solomon was built, is symbolically called the gro'Um.d floor of the lodge, and hence it is said that "the lodge rests on holy grour.d." This ground floor of the lodge is reulurk... able for three great events recorded in Scripture, and which ar43 called "the three gr.and offerings of masonry."

It was here that Abraham prepared, as a token of his faith, to offer up his beloved son Isaac-this was the first grand offering j it was here that David, when his people were afflicted with a pestilence, built an altar, and offered thereon peace offerings and burnt offerings to appease the wrath of God-this was the second g'rand offerin,g j and lastly, it was here, that when the Temple was completed, King Solomon dedicated that magnificent structure to the service of Jehovah, with the offering of pious pr~1yers and many costly presents-and this was the third grancl offe'ring.

This sacred spot was once the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, and from him David purchased it for fifty shekels of ailver.* The Cabbalists delight to invest it with still Ulore solemn associations, and declare that it was the spot on which Adam was born and Abel slain. To the l\'!ason it is sufficiently endeared by ~he collection that it was here that after a long night of darkness; !,angnagB was resto'J"edana masonr!llounll..

G1JA. GE. See Twtmtu-lour

i~c'h

Gauge..

GUARDS OF THE CONCLAVE. See KnightsoftAe CJ1tri.,. tian Mark. â&#x20AC;˘ 1 Chronicles xxi. 26.

GUT-IIAI

191

GUTTURAL. Belonging to the throat; from the Latin guttur, the thrJat. The throat is that avenue of the body which is mOB1 emploJ'ed in the sins of intelnperance, and hence it suggests to the l\'Iason certain symbolic instructions in relation to the virtue of temperance.

H. HAGGA1. Haggai was the first of the three prophets who flourished after the captivity. He was most probably born a't Babylon, whence he accompanied Zerubbabel to Jerusalem to rebuild the second temple. In the Royal Arch he is represented by the Scribe, because he expounded the law to Zerubbabel and Joshua, which was the proper duty of a Scribe. (See Scribe.) He reproved the people for their neglect in rebuilding the temple, and incited them to the work, by the promise of God's assistance.

His intimate connection with the King and High Priest, and the masonic authority for placing him in the council with Zerub.. babel and Johsua, are confirmed by the first ,~erse of the Book of Haggai: "In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the nlonth, caIne the word of the Lord

by Hc..l.Ug(l;'i the Prophet unto Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Johsua the son of Josedech the High Priest, saying,:" etc.

HAH.

The Hebrew definite article, il" .signifying "the."

HAIL, OR HALE. This word is used among Masons with two very different significations.. 1. When addressed as an inquiry to a visiting brother, it has the same import as that in which it is used under like CirCU1l1stanc.es by lnariners. Thus: (l WheD~ dQ you hail ?" that is, "of' what lodge are you a member 1" Used in this sense, it comes from the Saxon terIQ ofsalutatiou u HlE~.1"

192

lI.A.I-HAR

and should be spclt "bail." 2. Its second use is confined t, what :.\lasons underst~Lnd by the "tie," and in this sense it signifies to conceal, being derived fro1:H the Saxon word " IIEIJAN,"* to hide. By the rules of etyulolog'y, it should be spelt "hale."

The preservation of this Saxon word in the masonic dialect, while it has ceased to exist in the vernacular, is a striking proof of the antiquity of the order and its ceremonies, in England.t

HAND.

See Rlght Rani£.

HAR~IONY. Harmony is the cbie'f' support of every well' regulated institution. Without it, the most extensive empires must decay; with it, the weakest nations may become powerful.

The ancient philosophers and poets believed, that the prototype of barmony was to be found in the sublinle music of the spheres, and that man, copying nature, has attempted to introduce this divine melody into hUIIlan life.! And thus it proves its celestial origin, by the heavenly influence it exerts on earth. Sallust re· presents the good king l\Iicipsa as saying, that "by concord sruall things increase; by discord the greatest fall gradually into ruin."§ JJet every 1\1a80n, anxious for the pr()sperit.y of his order, feel the tnlth of the maxiIn, and reruernber that for harmony should his lodge be opened-i'n harmony should it work-and with har. mony be closed.

HARODIl\I. A Hebrew word, signifying pr'tnces or rulers.

In 1 I{ings v. 16, it is said that Solomon had 3300 chief officers who ruled over the people, and in2 Chronicles ii. 18, we read • E, in Anglo-Su.xon, is to be pronoullced as a in t.he word/ate. t" In the western pnrts of Engla,nd/,' says Lord King, "at this very day to lele over R,ny thing signifies a,mol'lg the common people to cover it; a.nd he thnt co'vereth an houso with title or slate is called a. helliar."-Oritical Hist. 01 the ApCllttltle Greed, p. 178. ~ See Cicero, Somnium Scipionib.

? COMor:lia Jugur$. ~ lS.

parv&> res

Qrl

'Junt, disoordia. maxume dllabu.ntur..

B~ll.

lIAR-IlEA

193

&8 follows: "and he set three score and ten thousand of them to be bearers of bUl'dens, and. four score thousand to be hewers in

the mountain, and three thousand and six: hundred overseers to set the people at work." The difference between the 3600 overseers Incntioncd in this place, and the 3300 recorded ill the book of Kin~s, arises fronl the faet that in the farlller place 300 chief \)verseers are included th:lt are not alludt. 1 to ill the latter. These .300 overseers were the Flarodirn, or J>rovosts, or Princes. *

HARODIM, GRAND CHAPTER OF. An institutior: opened in J~ondon, in 1787, whose nature is thus defined by Preston, who is said to have been its founder: "The luysteries of this order are peculiar to the institution itself, while the lectures of the chapter include every branch of the masonic system, and represent the art of masonry in a finished and cODlplete fOfln."t in other words, it was a school of instruction organized upon a peculiar plan. Different classes were established, and particular lectures restricted to each class. The lectures were divided into sections, and the sections into clauses. The presiding officer was called the Chief Jlarod. FIe annually distributed' the various sections to skilful Dleulhers, 'f\rho were called Sectionists, and these divided the different clauses aUlong others who were denoruinated Clauseholders. "Then a. melllber becanle possessed of all the 'Sect.ions, be was denominated a I...ccturer. The whole system was adluirably adapted to the purposes of masonic instruction.. This body, I believe,. (though I CUuDotspeak with certainty,) no longer exists. Dr. Oliver, however, writes of. it in 1846 as if it were still in op,eration.

HEAL. A Mason who has received the degrees in a clan.. destine lodge, or in an irregular manner, is not permitted to enj 0) th e privileges of masonry, until be has passed through the ceremonies in a legally constituted lodge, or if it be the higher degrees, U

â&#x20AC;˘ TheM pa.8i'&ges are thus ably explained by Br()th~r Kleinsob Inidt in Constituttouensbuoh der Freimaurer." v.. 1, !i'' . l '(.. .Fra.,nk~ox:'~ ~1&"t mU8t. of Muon...." p. 264.

h.~

HE.A-IIER

19-1

in a chapter or encampment. After passing through this prOt(.~~. for which the expense is generally reduced, the brother is said tv

'Je healed.

HEARING. One of the fiye tunlan senses, nnd highly im" portant to l\Jasons as one ~f the nlodes through which tIle universal language of masonry may be comnlunicated. But tbe canten: plation of this subiect also conveys to us two invaluable lessons First, that we should always listen with humility to the lessons )f instruction that come from the lips of those wiser than ourselves; and secondly, tha~ our ears should ever be open to the call~ for 'assistance, which the worthy and destitute may make upon ~ur charity.

HEREDOM, RITE OF.

See Perfection, rite of.

HERl'\iAPHRODITE. Strictly, this word should have no place in a ~lasonic Lexicon; but as I have heard many unskilful brethren nlake use of it, and refer to it, with nlueh gravity in certain parts of the cereIllony of initiation, I will avail Inyself of this opportunity, to announce a fhct to theln, which has long since been received as indisputable, by dle whole lnedical world. The hermaphrodite is a monster, the belief in which has long been exploded; no such being ever existed, and e\~ery instance of the pretended cOnfOfIl1ation of both sexes in one animal, has upon inspection proved to be nothing nlore than a variety in the structure ijf the female organs.

HERMETIC RITE.. This is the name of a spurious sy8tem of Freemasonry, established by one Pernetti, in 1770, at Avignon in France. Its object was to teach symbolically the pretended arts of the alcheUlists, the tranSlllutation of metals, and the com.. position of the uniyersal panacen, and of the elixir of life. It is now extinct, or exists only in its modifica,tion, the " PhiloS( phic ;;coth rite," (which Ree.) 路 路 HF~l)r

"P"P1M. ROYAL

ORDE~O:F.

'l1WIitJ \1Iorderll'hicb

19$

HER

is said to ba-re been founded in the year 1314, by I{ing Robert Bruce.. It is alDlost confined t: Scotland, out of which country it is hardly known. The best account of it that I cnn find, is the following, given by Dr. Oliyer in his "I-listorical I~andnlark," vol. ii. p. 12.

"Its history, in brief, relates to the dissolution of tqe Or1r:. of the Temple. Some of these persecuted individuals took refugt in Scotland, and placed thcll1selvâ&#x201A;Źs uncler the protection of Robert Bruce, and assisted him at the battle of Bannockburn, which was fought on St. John's day, 1314. .llfter this battle, the Royal Order was founded; and, from the fact of the Teluplars having contributed to the Yictory, and the subsequent grants to their order by King Robert, for which they were formally eXCODllliUnicated by the Church, it has by some persons been identified with that ancient military order. But there are sound reasons for believing that the two systems were unconnected with each other.

"The Royal Order of fl. R. D. .1\1.* had foruler!y its chiefseat at Kilwinning, and there is reason to think that it and St. John's masonry were then governed by the saIne Grand Lodge. But during the sixteenth und seven teen tIl centuries, masonry was at a very low ebb in Scotland, and it. w'as with the greatest difficulty that St.. John's masonry \vas preserved.. The Grand Chapter of II. R. D ~1. resumed its functions about the middle of the last century at Edinburg; an~, in order to preserve a marked distinction between the Roy ~ll Order and Craft l\fasonry, which had forrned a Grand J..Iodge there in 1736, the former confined itself solely to the two degrees of II. l~. D. 1\1. and R . S. Y.. C.. S. t " The first of these degrees may not lUl.\"Te been originally Ir: Ifsonic. It appears rather to have been connected with the ce:::e.. monies of the early Christians. 'fbe second degree, which was termed the Grade de In Tour, is honorary; the tradition being that it was an order of knighthc)od, cOllfl~rred on the field of BanD :-ckburn, and subsequently in Grand I.~()dge, opened in the .A"the}' â&#x20AC;˘ Tha.t is,. llc}'()rtem..

t

That is. Berm/em a.nd

}!~

aro....

196

HER

of Kilwinning. lt i~ purely Scotch, and gi-ven to Scotch ~la~Oh8 only; or to those who ~)eCOnle so by affiliation, on being registered in the books of the Grand Chapter. But no one is regarded as a lawful Brother of H. R. D. ~I. or Knight of R. S. Y.O. S., until he· be acknowledged by the Grand Chapter of Scotland."

In a note to his assertion that the Degree of H. R. D. lYle •• WL.~ connected with the cerclnonies of the early Christians," Dr. Oliver says that" these cereulonies are beHeved to have been introduced by the euldees, in the second or third centuries of the Christian era."Some light may be thrown upon this supposition, by the following extract from a 1\18. in my possession relating to this degree.

"Q. In what place was this order first established?

"A. First. at I-colmb-kill, or I-colulnb-kill, and afterwards at Kilwinni.ng, where the I{ings of Scotland presided in person as Grand Master."

I-colm-kill, it will be recollected, was one of the principal seats of the Culdees.

HERODEN. "Heroden," says a lV1S. of the ancient Scotch rite in my possession, ~'isa mountain situated in the N.. of Scotland, where the first or metropolitan lodge of ]Jurope was held.

Hence the ternl Sovereign Prince of Blose Croix de IIeroden."

The French l\fasons spell it "IIeredom," which, I hnagine, is sinlply a Gallic mode of expressing the Scottish title Heroden.. * I rofer for further explanation to the preceding article.

'V..

.. Since the 2d edition of this work was issued, Ragon has published a new a.nd elaborate treatise entitled "Orthodoxie Ma901lnique," in which he asserts thnt the wor<l" IIere<lorn," wns invented })ctwoeD 174·0 and 17'45, by the adherents of Obarlt:s Stuart the Pretender at the Court of St. Germain, the residence, during that period, of that unfortunate prince, nnd that it is only a corruption of the mediooval Latin word, "booredulu," signifying "an heritage, " and alluded to the castle of St. Germain. But as Rttgon's favorite notion is that the Scotch rite, for which he has but little fr:endsbip, was instituted for tho purpose of aiding the Stuarts in a restoration fl' the throne of their ancestors, his theories and de.. rivations must be tn.ken witb gOniC grains of allownnce.. The suggestion is, how• • ,.r, an ingenious one.

HER-IltG

191

HEROINE OF .JFjRrOIIO. A side degree, in~tituted 10 this country, and, like the Ih-ench masonry of adoption, COlunlon to both men and worncu. None but Royal ..t\.rch l\lasons, their wives and widows, are qualified to receive it. It is by no means extensively known, though there are SOIne females in the Northern 'and Western States upon whom it has been conferred.

HESED. A Hebrew word,'On, pronounced hes-cd, signifying (" mercy."

HIGH PLACES. The Hebrews, as well as other ancient nations, were accustomed to worship on the t.ops of ,( the highest hills," and sacrifices offered from these elevated posi-tions wpre superstitiously supposed to be most acceptable to the Deity. 'So tenacious were the Jews of the observance of this custom, that even after the completion of the telnple, they continued, notwithstanding the prohibition in Deuter01101uy, to erect chapels on the meuntains aroundJerusalelu, and to offer sttcrifices in them.

Even Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice, and the reason aRsigned is, because "it was the great high place."* " The higlwst hill~<; and the lOloestvallelJs/' says II utchinson, " were from the earliest thnes esteelucd sacred, and it was supposed that the spirit of God was peculiarly difrllsive in those places." Bryant says that high places were ahvays dedicated to Sun worship, which was the spurious lPreeruasonry.

Oli\ÂĽer t mentions a traditlion aluong the~Iasons of Scotland, that the brethren of the ancient lodges of Kilwinning, Stirling, Aberdeen, &e., used fOflnerly to asselnble in the monasteries in foul weather; but in fair weather, especially on the day of St. John the Evangelist, they met on the tops of the neighbouring

hills.

HIGH PRIEST. â&#x20AC;˘ 1 KiDp ilL 4"

The presiding officer ofa Chapter of RoyaJ

~2'.

t

La:admarb I, 862.

198

BIG

Arch Masons

He is the representative of Joshaa, the High Priest, who, with Zel'ubbabel, Prince of Judah, and IIaggai the the Scribe, laid the foundations of the second temple, and resumed the worship of the Lord.

HIGH PRIEST OF THE JEWS.

The office of Higc

Priest among the Jews, was, on its first institution, confined tc the house of Aaron in the line of his eldest son, though it was afterwards transferred to the family of Judas ~Iaccabeus. The High Priest was at the head of religious affairs, and was the ordinary judge, not only of ecclesiastical matters, but even of the general justice of the Jewish nation. He was consecrated to his sacred office with the most imposing ceremonies, such as investiture, anointing, and sacrifices. The first of these, as it is imitated in thevestment.s of the High Priest of a Royal Arch Chapter, requires some notice here.

The garme,nts worn by the High Priest were as follows: he was first clothed in a pair of linen drawers. Over this was a coat or shirt of fine linen reaching to his feet, and with sleeves extending to his wrists. Over this again was a robe of blue, called the coat of ephod. It was without sleeves, hut consisted of two pieces, one before and another behind, having a large opening in the top for the passage of the head, and another on each side to admit the arrus. It extended only to the middle of the legs, and its skirt was adorned with little golden bells and ponlegranates. Above these vestInents was placed the ephod, which has already been described as a short gnrment cOll1ing down only to the breast bef()re, but sonlewhat longer behind, without sleeves, and artificiall, wrought with gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, in eln.. broidery of various figures. It was looped on the shoulders with two onyx stones, on each of which was inscribed the names of six of the tribes. On the front of the ephod he wore the breast plate, which has already been described.* The High Priest .1st

an

â&#x20AC;˘ See artiole Breaat Plate.

BIG

199

~ore, at his solemn ministration, a lllitre of fine linen of a blue ,colour. This was wrapt in several folds, and worn about his bead in the manner of a Turkish turban, except that it was without a crOWD, being open on top, and sitting on his head like a garland.

In front of it there hung down upon his forehead a square plate of gold, called the plate of the golden crown, upon which wert':. inscribed the words IIOLINESS TO THE LORD. * These vestments, as we have before observed, are worn by thc> High Priest of a Chapter of Royal Arch ~Iasons, and each of them conveys to the possessor a portion of symbolical instruction.

The various colours of the robes are emblematic of the graces and virtues which should adorn the huulan mind; the white, of innocence and purity; the scarlet, of fervency and zeal; the purple, of union; and the blue, of friendship. The mitre is to remind him Gf the dignity of his office, and the inscription on its plate to admonish him of his dependence on God. Lastly, the br~ast plate, upon which is engraved the nalnes of the twelve tribes, is to teach him that he is al wttys to bear in Illind his responsIbility to the laws and ordinances of the institutioll,and that the honour and interests of the chapter and its Inembers should alw~ltys be near his heart.t

HIGH

PRI~JSTIIOOD,

ORDJiJR OF.

This is an honorary

degree, conferred only on the High Priest of a Itoyal Arch â&#x20AC;˘ See Home's Scripture History of the Jews. B. 1. Cb. 3. Sect.. 4. the ancient Jews gave a different symbolic inter. pl t>t&tion to these vestments. The breast pln,te in the middle of the ephod Wa:! 'mblematic of the earth pln.ced in the centre, while the surrounding ocea.n was represented by the zone or girdle of the lIighPriest.. '1'he two onyx zStone. were symbols of the sun and 1l100D, and the twelve stones in the breast plate of the twelve zodiacal signs. The blue mitre with its sa.cred inscription Wa.b e-m.. blema.tio of heaven and the Deity who resided there.-Antlq. Jlldttic. lib. iii. c.1.

'Va may observe furtber of the mitre, that in the form of the Pt3tt!5ian tiara. or Phrygian bonnet, it was worn by the priests of Egypt, from whom the Jews, :doubtless, borrowed it, and by those of the god Mitbras. Its pyramidal sha.pe .made it symbolical or the beams of the sun. Maurice, in his" Indian Anti..

'Iattiea," suggests that the word mitre may be derived from Hitira.

t According to Josephus,

200 Ohapter. It nlay be conferred by three High Priests, but when the oercmonies are perforrl1ed in ~1mple form, the presence of at least nine I-ligh Priests is required. This degree is to the office of Ifigh Priest what that of Past l'Iaster is to the office of 'Vor.. shipful l\laster of a symbolic lodge. In it is commemorated an l.Dcicnt circumstance which occurred to a priest of God. The ;'cremonies, when duly performed, are exc'eedingly impressive.

HIRAM. A name given to the gavel of the Worshipful )Iaster, because, as Solomon controlled and directed the workmen in the temple by the assistance of Hiram the Builder, so does the l\'Iaster preserve order in the lodge by the aid of the gavel.

HlR.A. '1, KING OF TYRE. He was the conteulporary of Solom(\n, and assisted hin1 in the construction of the TClnple' furnishing him with timber, stone, and artificel's, and loaning him one hundred and twenty talents of gold, equal in Federal curreney, to about two and a. h411f Inillions of dollars. Upon Sololnon's accession to the throne of Israel, fIirH-Ill sent aIllbassadors to congratulate him on this event. 8010111on, in reply, nlade known to lIiral11 his intention of carrying into effect the long conteluplated object of his father Da.vid, by the erection of a Ternple to I!J ehovah, and he requested the assistance of the I{ing of Tyre. Hirunl, in his answer, expressed his willingness to grant the required assist.. ance, and said, "I will do all thy desire concerning titn ber of cellar, null tiznber of fir. n:Iy servants shall bring theul down frolu Lpbanon unto tlhe sea; and I will convey thern by sea in floats) 'l'J.nto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause thern to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them; and thou Ihalt accomplish my desire in gh-ring food for Iny brotherhof"d.".* The titnber 'which was cut in IJebanon, was accordingly sent in floats to J'Oppll, the seaport of Jerusalem, whence it was con veyed by land to that city. Solomon, in return for this kindness â&#x20AC;˘ Bee 1 Kings v. 8.

$).

BiR gave Iting Hiram yearly \ wen ty thoUS3.nd measure:s* of wheat, and twenty thousand nleasures of pure oil, besides liberally supporting the artificers and laborers with WhOlll the I{ing of TJre had supplied him. Solomon also presented hiIn with twenty cities in Galilee, with which, however, he was not satisfied, and a masonic tradition informs us, that he visited the King of Israel, to expostulate with hinl on his injustice. Dius and I\lenal1der, t,vo heathen historians inform us that IIiram ~tnd Solomon corres.. ponded frequently, and attempted to puzzle each other by sul tile questions.

HIRAM THE BUILDER. Among the worktnen sent by Hiram, King of Tyre, to Sololnon, was one whom he styles "a cunnIng man, endued with unc1erstanding,"t and he is in another place described as "a widow's son of the tribe of Naphthali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding, and cunning to work in all works in brass.. "! This is the workman to WhOUl Soloinon was iXldebted for the construction of all the ornalllents of the Telnple. I-liram calls hiIu llurarn abi, that is, "IIiralll nlY filther; which is an evidence of his high standing at the Tyrian Court; for the titlle ab, or father, was ~l.lUong the IIebrews often bestowed as a title of honour and dignity, on the chief advisers and intilllute friends of the king.. Thus Joseph,. according to SOIne eOlllInentators, is called, Abrl~ch~ or the "fhther of the king," and this very Hiram is spoken of in Chron'iclesยง in the fr)llowing :Nords; gnasah Hnram AlJ(f l'11'telm'h l:;hlonl.o, that is, "did Ruranl his father, Inake to I{iug SoloIuoll. "The ntlUHJ given to this architect in the lodges, is derived fro01 this passage, Ifllram ab'if, nleaning in Hebrew, IIiraol his father.

This Hiram, fronl his profession as tUl architeet, and his birth โ ข ~E!' word which in our Bibh~s h~ trltn~lu,ted I.. m(msurc," is, in the original, co rim. The eorwas a. mOl\SUre coutnining ten (~phu,h8 or ba.ths, and equal to a little m.ore than seventy-five wine gn.llolls. t 20hroniolee ii 18.

1: 1 Kings viii. 14. f 2 Chronicles iv. 16..

HIR-nON

Asa Tyrian, was, in all probability, acquainted with the Dionysian fraternity, which society had extended itself to Tyre, and if so) the union in his person of the Tyrian and Israelitish ra.ces, must have afforded him a. favourable opportunity, as we have already suggested, of communicating the mxsteries of that fraternity to the Jewish builders of the Temple.

*

HIRAMITES. .A. name bestowed upon Freemasons, to indicate their descent from Hiralu, the chief builder at I(ing Solomon's Temple. More particularly is the term used in the degree of Patriarch Noachite, (the twenty-first degree of the Scotch rite,) to distinguish l\laster l\iasons from the brethren of that degree, who profess to descend immediately, and without connection with Temple masonry, from the sons of Noah. Some learned writers, however, embrace all Masons under the general term of Noachites.

HISTORY.. The history of the order, since it has assumed its present organization, will be found in the article Grand Lodges; its antecedent history must be sought for under the head of An.. tl~qUJt!l of ..~fasonrlJ" HOLINESS TO T,H~J I~ORD. Kodesh ladonai. This was the inscription worn by the IIigh Priest on his forehead, in obe.. dience to the cOlnnland of God, expressed in Exodus. " And they Blade the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like to the engraving of a signet, HOLINESS ~ro THE LORD.." xx.xix. 30..

HOLY OF

HOI~IES..

HONOUR.A.BLE.

See Temple.

This was the title formerly given to the

degree of Fellow Craft.

It

~hat

There is a masonic tradition that he married the sister of Adoniram, and his widow survived him ma.ny years.

BON

203

HONOR.A.RY DEGR1~E. The degrees of rast l\Iuster and High Priesthood, are styled honorary, because each is conferred 18 an "honorarium," or reward attendant upon certain offices; that of Past l\Iaster upon the elected l\Iaster of a symbolic lodge) and that of the High Priesthood upon the presiding officer of a Chapter of Royal Arch l\Iasons. The degree of l\fark l\Iaster, it ftppenrs to me, is called an honorary degree, because it was ine tended originally to be conferred only on worthy Fellow Crafts..

It certainly should, consistently with its own tradition, precede the degree of l\olaster l\:Iason.. The side degrees are also sometimes called honorary degrees.

HONOURS, GRAND. The Grand Honours of masonry are those peculiar acts and gestures, by which the craft have always been accustomed to express their homage, their j oJ, or their grief on menlorable occasions. They are of two kinds, the privat.e and public, and each of thenl are used on different occasions and for differen t purposes..

The private Grand lIouours of IUMonry are performed in a nUl-n路 ner known only tol\Iaster l\Iasons, since they can only be used 1n a l'Iaster's lodge. 'They are practised by the craft only on four occasions: when a ulusonic hall is to be consecrated, a new lodge to be const,ituted, a nluster elect to be installed, or a Grand l\lasteI or his Deputy to be received on nn official visitation to a lodge.

They are used at aU these ceremonies as tokens of congratulation and homage. .l\nd as they can only be given by Thlaster l\lasI)US, it is evident that every consecration of a hall, or constitution of a new lodge, every installation of a Worshipful l\laster, and every reception of a Grand l\Iaster, Illust be done in the third degree It is also evident froin what has been said, that the mode and manner of giving the private Grand Honours can only be personally -communicated to l\Iaster ~lasons. They are among the aporreta -the things forbidden to be divulged..

The public Grand Honours, as their name imports, do not par..

take of

~hi~

aeoret charaoter_

They are given

OD

all publio

lION

204

oocu!ions, in the presence of the profane a~ well as the initialed rhey are used at the laying of corner-stones of public buildings, or in other services in which the lninistrations of the fraternity are required, and especially in路 fune~~als. They are given in the following manner: Both arms are crossed on the breast, the left uppermost" and the open palols of the hands sharply striking the shoulders, they are then raised above the head, the palms striking each other, and then made to fall smartly upon the thighs. This i~ repeated three times, and as there are three blows given each time, namely on the breast., on the palms of the hands, and on the thighs, nlakin g nine concussions in all, the Grand Honours are' \ technically said to be given "by three times three." On the occasion of funerals, each one of these honours is accolllpained by the words "the will of Goel ~~s accornplished j so mote it be," audibly pronounced by the brethren.

These Grand Honours of masonry have undoubtedly a classical origin, and are but an imitation of the plaudits and acclamations practised. by the ancient Greeks and Romans, in t.heir theatres, their senu.tes, and their public gaulcs. There is abundan t evidenc~ in the writings of the ancients, that in the days of the empire, the Romans had circulllscribeel the mode of doing homage to their erllperors a,nd great InOD when they made their appearance in public, and of expressing their approbation of actors at the theatre, within as explicit rules and regulations as those that govern the system of giving the Grand Honours in ]'reemasonry. This was not the case in the earlier ages of Rome, for Ovid, speaking of the Sabines, says that when thoy applauded, they did so without an y rules of art: "In medio plausu, piau15uJ!l tunc arte carebat."

And Propertius speaks, at a later uay, of the :PgD.orance cf the country people, who, at the theatres, destroyed the general har.. mony, by their awkward attempts to join in the modulated aft'" plauses of the lnore skilful citizens.

Tflle ancien t Romans had

~ried th~ir scienQ~ QU

this snbjoot

nON

200

00 such an extent, as to have divided these honou'rs into three itinds, differing from each other in the mode in which the hands were struck against each other, and in the sound that thence resulted. Suetonius, in his life of Nero, (cap. xx.,) gives the names of these various kinds of applause, which he says were called !J;mb'i, intbrices and testre; and Seneca, in his ' , Naturales Qurestiones," gives a description of the manner in which they wer e executed. The" bODlbi," or hu/rtts, were produced by striking tIle palnls of the hands together, while they were in a hollow or con路 cave position, and doing this at frequent intervals, but with littlE:: force, 80 as to imitate the humming sound of a swarm of bees.

The "im brices," or tl~les, were made, by briskly striking the flattened and extended paInls of the hands against each other, so as to resern ble the sound of hail pattering upon the tiles of a roof.

The "testre," or ea.rthen ~iases, were executed by striking the palm of the left hand, with the fingers of the right collected into one point. By this blow a sound was elicited, which itnitated that given out by an earthen vase, when struck by a stick.

The Roulans, and other ancient nations, having invested this system of applauding with Rll the accuracy of a seience, used it in its various forms, not only for the purpose of testifying their approbation of actors in the theatre, but also 11cstowed it, as a mark of respect, or a token of adulation, on their elnperors, and other great nleu, on the occasion of their making their appearance in public. IIuzzas and cheers haNe, in this latter case, been generally adopted by the moderns, while themallual applause is only appropriated to successful public speakers and declaimers.

The Freemasons, ho\vever, have altogether preserved the ancient ~ustom of applause, guarding and regulating its use by as stdct, though different rules, as did the ROlnans; and thus showing, as another evidence of the antiquity of their institution, that tIlt: " Grand IIonouff'" of Freemasonry are legitimately derived froID the (t pIausus," or applaudings, practised by the ancients on pub lic occasions.

18

200

HOP-HOU

HOPE. The second round in the theolo;::>ical and masoni. ladder, and appropriately placed there. For having attained thtl first, or faith in God, we are led by a belief in his wisdom and goodness, to the hope of immortltlity. This is but a reasonabl(' expectation; without it, virtue would lose its necessary stimulus, and vice its salutary fear; life would be devoid of joy, and the grave but a scene of desolation.

HOST, CAPT-,-~IN OF THE. An officer in a Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, whose duties are of a peculiar nature, resembling in some degree those of a Master of Ceremonies. The perSOD, who in Scripture is called Captain of the Host, occupied a station somewhat similar to that of a modern general, having the whole army under his command.

HOUR GLASS. An emblem in the third degree, reminding us, by the quick passage of its sands, of the transitory nature of human life.

HOURS OF WORK. Lodge hours, or hours of work, before or after which time no business should be transacted in the lodge, are prescribed in the Book of Constitutions. They are, f"roIll the vernal to the autumnal equinox, between the hours of seven and ten, and from the autumnal to the vernal, between six and nine..

In this selection of the hours of night and darknessfor initiation, the usual coincidence will be found between the ceremonieEJ of FreemasoLry and those of the Ancient Mysteries, showing their evident derivation frOln a common origin.

In the "Bacchre" of Euripides, that author introduces the god Bacchus, the supposed inventor of the Dionysian l\Iys.teries, as "eplying to the question of King Pentheus, in the following words: " Pentkeu.s.-By night or day, these sacred rites perform'at thO.1 ?

Baechu8.-MostIy by night, for venera.ble is darknesl ;". â&#x20AC;˘ DEN. Ta J'up6. "Jr1"CJJP" p.lff 11I,(iptJ~ reM-IS; AIO. N'6~T'C1Jp Til X'OAAtl o'Jl.v6nrr' lX.el. UKOTOC.

[Eurip. Baoo1. .Act. i .. 1. 486.

BOU

207

and in all the other mysterIes the same reason was assigned for aocturnal celebrations, since night and darkness have sornething solemn and august in them which is disposed to fill the nlind with sacred awe. And hence, black, as an emblem of darkness and night, was considered as the colour appropriate to the 1l1ysteries..

In the mysteries of Hindostan, the candidate for initiation) having been duly prepared by previous purifications, \yas led at the dead of night to the gloorny cavern, in which the mystic rites were performed.

The same period of darkness was ~dopted for the celebration of the Inysteries of l\Iithras, in Persia. Alnong the Druids of Britain and Gaul, the principal annual initiation comluenced at " low twelve," or midnight of the eve of l\Iay-day. In short it ia indisputable, that the initiations in all the ancient mysteries were nocturnal in their character.

The reason given by the ancients for this selectiun of night as the time for initiation, is equally applicable to the systeJll of Freemasonry. "Darkness," SflyS Oliver, "was an emblem of death, and death was a prelude iN resurrection. It will be at once seen, therefore, in what ,manner the doctrine of the resur.. rection was inculcated and exemplified in these rerual'kable institutions."

Death and the resurrection were the doctrines taught ill the ancient mysteries; and night and darkness were necessary to add to the sacred awe and reverence which these doctrines cught always to inspire in the rn,tional andcontenlplative nlind. The same doctrines form the very ground-work of l~'reemasonry. and as the l\laster l\-Iason, to use the language of Ifutchinson, U represents a man saved from the gr~tYe of iniquity and raised to "be faith of salvation," darkness and night are the appropriate a.ccompaniments to the80lemn ceremonies whioh demonst~te this

profession.

208

IDI-lLL

I. IDIOT. Idiocy is one of the mental disqualificatioI1s for initiation. This does not, however, include a nlere dullness of intellect and indocility of apprehension. These amount only to stupidity, and "the judgment of the heavy or stupid nIan," as Dr. Good has correctly rClnarked, "is often as sound in itself as that of a man of more capacious comprehension." The idiot is characterized by U a general obliteration of the mental powers and affections, a paucity or destitution of ideas, an obtuse sensibility, a vacant, countenance, an imperfect or broken articulation, with occasionally transient and unmeaning gusts of passion."* A being thus mentally afflicted, is incompetent to perform the duties, to observe the obligations, or to appreciate the instructions of Freemasonry, and to such a being the ancient constitutions of our order have wisely forbidden access to our portals.

ILLUlVIINATI. llluminees (Signifying in Latin enllghtened.)

This was a secret society instituted in Bavaria, in 1776, by Adam Weishaupt, Professor of Canon Law in the University of Ingold.. stat. Weishaupt was a radical in politics, and an infidel in re.. ligion; and he organized this association, not more for the purpose of aggrandizing himself, than of overturning Christianity and the institutions of society. With the view of carrying his objects more cOlllpletely into effect, he united hhuself with a lodge of Freemasons in Munich, and attempted to graft his system of Illuminism upon the stock of Freenlasonry. Many Freema.

SODS, misled by the construction of his first degrees, were enticed into the order, but the developlnents made in the higher degrees, so averse from all the virtuous and loyal principles of Masonry, soon taught them the error they had comnlitted, and caused them to abandon Illuminism with greater rapidity than that with which

â&#x20AC;˘ l quote tile specific qefiIlitin 1 of the enlightene4 wri~raJ.reaq.y cite<l..

ILL

209

they had embr~lced it. Amoilg those who had abandoned the order, some went so far as to betralJ its secret principles. The Elector of Bavaria becorning alarlned at the political tenets which were said to be taught in their assenlblies, instituted a judicial extuuination into the rnerits of the c]u~rges l1Htdc against theIn, and the conscfluence WHS, that the IlluIIlinati were cOluplctely extinguished in his territories.* ~rhe serpent had, h{nvcvcr, only been scotched, not killed; and the ordt~r aftt;~r\Yards llulde rapid progress in other parts of (}errnany, and e~peciany in ]j'ranct, where it had been introduced in 1787, t\~,.o :years before the execution of Louis It ,vas an institution created at the period, when the locust plague of infidelit,y and atheislll was blighting, with its destructive influences, the peace and order of Europe; and with the return of sense and virtue, it ceased to exist. Illuluinism

x,rI.

belongs only to the history of the past.

Illuminism was by its founder arranged systelnatically into ~lasses, each of which was again subdivided into dOhrrees, in the foIlnwing manner : Preparation, Novice, NURSERY,

{

~Iinerval,

Illuminatus Minor.

En teredApprentice,

S

Sym bolic¡ Fellow Craft" ( lVlaster rvIason. '.â&#x20AC;˘ Scotch {.. IIlllJllinatus l\lnjor or Scotch Novioe, Illunlinatus Dirigens or Scotch Knight.

Presbyter, Priest, Let;ser Prince, MYSTERIES, Regent, l\Iagus, Greater Rex.

M.ASONRY,

{

-See Robison's l~ Proofs of a Conspil'ney,t' which, although the worlt of an .nemy to our order, contains a. very c:xc(\Uont o'xl'lltsition of the nature of thi. ytl~UdO"1An.sOlll0 blstitution.

11*

ILL-IMM

210

ILIJU~lINATED TIIEOSOPIIISTS. A nl0dification of tlle above society, instituted at Paris by one Chasttlnier, who suc-

ceeded in introducing his system in London.

ILLUMINATI OF AVIGNON. A species of Freenlasonry ustituted in 1760, by Pernetti, a Benedictine nl0nk, and Gabrianca, a Poliah nobleman, in which the reveries of Sweden borg

were mingled '1ith the principles of masonry.

LLLIJSTRIOUS ELECTED OF FIFTEEN. .JJfait'res elMs des The tenth degree in the ancient Scotch rite. The place l)f tneeting is called a chapter; tIle elllblematic colour is black, strewed with tears; and the principal officers are a Most Illustrious, a Grand Inspector and a Junior Warden. The history of this degree developes., the continuation and conel usion of the punish.. nlent inflicted on three traitors, who, just before the conclusion of the Temple, had committed a crime of the most atrocious character. fjU inze.

.

Il\IMANUEL. A Hebrew word signifying "God with us," frOIn j.jO.v, 'i'mmanu a with us," and ~~, el "God." A name applied to Christ.

Il\Il\IORTALITY OF ,THE SOUL. A belief in this doctrine is inculcated in masonry by several expressive emblems, but lllore especia11y by the second round of Jacob's ladder, and by the ~prig of acacia. Its inculcation is also the principal synl" bolic object of the third or 1\:Iaster l\-Jason's degree.

The teaching of this doctrine was one of the nlost importt'tnt of the Ancient l\Iysteries. They syrnbolized dle resurrection and new birth of the spirit by that final part of the ceremonies of their legend which celebrated the restoration of their hero to life, as in the cnse of ]3acchu~ among the Dionysians, or the finding of the mutilated body, as in that of ()sir18 ,nuong the Egyptians. ~l.:1ch

was the groping in

tlarl~nc~s t~f~cr

trllth arp.ong the cltscjpJeJ

IMM-I~tP

211

of the spurious Freemu8onry; an d we now teach the same truth in the l\:faster's d{!gree, but aided by a better light.

On this subj ect a. learned brother* th'us describes the differences between the spurious and true Freelnasonry: "Whereas the heathens had taught th i~ doctrine onl~y by the application of a fnble to their purpose; the \\'isdolll of the ri()u~~ Grand l\Iaster of the Israelitish l\Iasnns took advantage of a real circumstance which would lllore forcibly hnpress the sub.. lim9 truths he intended to inculcate upon the minds of all brethren."

Il\IMOVABLE JE'VELS. i\..ccording to the old system used in England, the iInmovable j e'\vels of the lodge are the Rough .A.slllar, Perfect Ashlt1r, and ~rrestle Botlrd; but in this country, by the decision of the Btlltimore l\lasonicOonvention in 1843, they are made to consist of the Square, Le,,¡el, and Plumb See Je'wels of the Lodge.

I~rPLEl'IENTS. The implenlcnts luade use of in operative masonry tl.re all adopted by speeulati\1'e Inasonry, for the purpose of syulbolical instruction. ]~ach will be discussed in its proper place, throughout this 'work. But I 111Uy here be perll1itted to recount the lnode in which they are distributed uIllong tbe different degrees, and the reasons for this distribution. The twentyfour inch gauge and gavE'} are bestowed upon the I~ntered .A,pprentice, because these are the iInp]cnnents used in the- quarries in hewing the stones and fitting thCIIl for the builder's use, an 0ccupation which, for its shnplicity, is properly suited to the unskilled apprentice. The square, level, and plunlb are elllployed in the still further preparation of these stones and in adjusting them to their appropriate position:.;;. This is the labour of the craftsmen, and hence t.o the Fellow Craft are they presented.

But the work is not completed, until the stones thus adjusted

â&#x20AC;˘ Archdeacon

~{ant,

quoted by Dr. Oliver, Lan<lmark'1 II. 2.

212

IND

have b~en accurately examined by the master workmaJ: "and permanently secured in their places by celuent. This is accomplished by the trowel, and hence this implement is entrusted to the l\1aster lVIason. Thus the tools attached to each degree ad~ monish the ~Iason, as an .:\.pprel1tice, to prepare his mind for the reception of the great truths which are hereafter t<: be unfolded to him; as a Fellow Craft to Illurk their importance and adapt them to their proper uses; and as a l\Iaster to adorn their beaut)' by the practice of brotherly love and kindness, the cement that binds all l\'Iasons in one common fraternity.

INDENTED

TESSEJ~.

rounds the Mosaic pavement.

The ornamented border which surSee Tessellated Border.

INDUCTION. Candidates who have been initiated into a nouncilof the" Holy and 1'hrice Illustrious Order of the Cross" Pore said to be inducted. Past niasters are said to be inducted into the OrientaJ Chair of King Solomon.

INDIA, lVIYS'rERIES OF..

Though the mysteries of Greece Rome were modelled after those of Egypt, these last undoubtedly derived their existence from the East, where the priests first began to conceal their doctrines under the form of Inysterious rites, and to reyeal thern only to those who underwent a process of initiation. The western philosophers derived 111ucb, if not an of their learning froIl1 the gymnosophists or sages of India, who were not more celebrated for the exten t of their knowledge, than for the sitnplicity of their lives. 'l'hey ineulcated a belief in tho triad of gods, Bralll11a, Vishnu, and SiV~L, the first being the supreme, eternal, uncreat,ed god. It was f1'o111 the gylnnosophists that the philosophers of other nations acquired their idea of the existence of a Suprelue Being, and of the ilulllortaHty of the soul.

The illstructions of the gymllosophists were oral, and secret. They were conllunnicated only after a process of initiation, which i~ ~aid to ha ye been extreulely seyere in its trials. ~nd

INn The cerclllonies of initiation into the mysteries of ancient rndia, have teen collected from various sources with great in¡ dustry and research by Dr. Oliver. "They formed," says he, '~one of the earliest corruptions of the pure science, which is now denominated FreClllaSonry, and bore a direct reference to the h~1ppiness of man in paradise, the subsequent deviations from right.. eousness, and the destruction aecolnplished by the general deluge." * The scenes of initiation were in spa.cious caverns, the principal or which were Elephanhl. and Salsette, both situated near Bombay. The lllysterics 'were divided into four degrees, and the candidate was permitted to perform the probation of the first at the early age of eight years. It consisted simply in the investiture with the linen garll1ent, and Zennar or sacred cord, composed of nine threads, and suspen ded from the left shoulder across the breast to the right side; of sacrifices accompanied by aqueous ablutions ; and of an explanatory lecture delivered to the juvenile aspirant by the priest. He was now delivered into the care of a Brahmin, who thenceforth became his spiritual guide, and prepared hhn by repeated instructions and a life of austerity for admission into the second degree. To this, if found quali.. fied, he was admitted at the requisite age. The probationary

ceremonies of this degree consisted in an incessant occupation

in prayers, fastings,ablutions,a.nd the study of astronomy.

'Having undergone these austerities for a sufficient period, after haying been placed in the }>astos, he was led at night to the gloomy caverns of initiation, which had been duly prepared for his reception.

The interior of this cavern was brilliantly illuminated, and there sat the three chief hierophants, in the east, west, and so~th, representing the gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, surrounded by the attendant mystngogues, dressed in appropriate vestments.

After an invocation to the Sun, the aspirant was called upon to promise that he would be obedient to his superiors, keep his bod, â&#x20AC;˘ Bist. Initiat. leet. it p. 'L

214

IND

pure, and preserve inviolable secrecy on the subj ect of the mysteries. He was then sprinkled with wate'i", an invocation of the deity was whispered in his ear, he was divested of his shoes, and IlJade to circumalubulate the cavern three tilnes, in imitation of th~ course of the Sun, whose rising was personated by the hiero phant representing Brabnla, stationed in the east, whose meridian height by the representative of Siva in the south, and WhOB6 setting by the representative of Vishnu in the west. fIe was then conducted through seven ranges of dark and gloomy caverns, during which period the wailings of l\Iahadeva for the loss of Siva was represented by dismal howlings. The usual paraphernalia of flashes of light, of dismal sounds and horrid phantoms, was practised to intimidate or confuse the aspirant.

After the performance of a variety of other ceremonies, many of which we can only conjecture, the candidate reached the extremity of the seven caverns; he was now prepared for enlightenment by requisite instruction and the administration of a solemn oath.

This part of the ceremonies being concluded, the sacred conch was blown, the folding doors were suddenly thrown open, and the aspirant was adulitted into a spacious apartrnent filled with dazzling light, ornall1ented with statues and emblematical figures, richly decorn,ted with gelDs, and scen ted with the most fragrant perfumes.

1.'his was a representation of Paradise.

The candidate was now supposed to be regenerated, and he was invested by the chief 13rtthmin with the white robe and tiara; :1, cross was marked upon his fnrehead, and a tau upon his breast, and he was in vested wit.h the signs, tokens, and lecturcp of the order. lIe was presented with the sacred belt, the magical black stone, the taJislnanic jewel to be worn upon bis breast, and the路 serpent stone, which, as its name iluported, wa,g an antidote against the bite of serpents. And lastly, he was entrusted with the sacred name, known only to the initiated. This ineffable Dame was AUl\I, which, in its trilitera .. fOfIll, was significant of the creative, preservative, and destroyIng po\ver, that is, of Brahwu, Vishnu, and Siva. It could not b~~ pronounced, but was to be the

INE-INF

215

eubject of incessant silent contemplation. The emblen.s around and the aporreta or secret things of t.he mysteries were now E,X路 plained.

Here ended the second degree. The third took place when the candidate had grown old and his children had all been pro vided for. This consisted in a total exclusion in the forest, where as an anchorite he occupied himself in ablutions, prayers, and路 ' sacrifices.

In the fourth degree, he underwent still greater austerities, the object of which was to impart to the happy sage who observed them, a portion of the divine nature, and to secure him a residence among the immortal gods.

The object of the Indian mysteries appears to have been to teach the unity of God, and the necessity of virtue. The happiness of our first parents, the subsequent depravity of the human race, and the universal deluge were described in a manner which showed that their knowledge must have been derived from an nuthentic source.

INEFFABLE.. From the Latin word" ineffabilis," not to be spoken or expressed. Eleven degrees above the :rtfaster ]tIa.. son in the Ancient Scotch rite, are thus called, in allusion to the Btl-notity and sublimity of the secrets they contain. The term especially refers to the ineffable or unpronounceable word the illva~tigation of which constitutes the peculiar object of these degrees.

INFORMATION, LAWFUL. One of the modes of recognising-a stranger as a true brother, is from the "lawful infor路 mation" of a third party. No l\Iason crtn lawfully give inf(\rmation of another's qualifications unless he has actually tested him by the strictest trial ~Lnd examination, or knows that it haf:l been done by another. But it is not {~very l\Iason who IS competent to give" lawful inforlllatiou." Ignorant and unskilful brethren ~allnot do so, because they nre incapable of discovering truth or of detecting error. A" rusty )Iason" should never attempt to

216

IN1-INN

examine a stranger, and certainly if he does his opinion as to thf: If the information given is on the ground that the part.y who is vouched for, has been seen sitting in a lodge, care must be taken to inquire if it was a "just and legally constituted lodge of "l\'laster Masons."

A pe.rson UHlY forget from the lapse of time, and vouch for a stranger as a l\las.. ter l\'Iason, when the lodge in which he saw him was only opened in the first or second degree. Information ghren by letter, or through a third party, is irregular. The person giving the in.. formation, tIle o~e receiving it, and the one of whOln it is given" s110uld all be present at the same time, fbr otherwise there would be no certainty of identity. The information must be positive, not founded on belief or opinion, but derived from a legititnate source. And, lastly, it must not have been received casually, but for the every purpose of being used for masonic purposes. For one to say to another, in the course of a desultory conversation, 4~. B. is a Mason,'} is not sufficient.

He may not be speaking with due caution, under the expectation that his words will be considered of weight He must say sou1ething to this effect" " 1 know this man to bea Master Mason, for such or such reaSODb, and you may safely recognise him as such."

This alone will ensure the necessary care and proper obse~vance of prudence.

result is worth nothing.

"

INITIA.TION. The reception into the first degree of rna路 sonry is thus called. It is derived from the J..latin word 1路n'itfa, which signifies the fin;t principles of a science. The sump term was u路sed by the ancients to designate adnlission into the Thus Justin, speaking of mysteries of their Pagan rites.

Mida, King of Phrygia, says he was initiated into the mysteries by Orpheus. "Ab Orpheo sacrorum solennibus initiatU!.1' Lib. xi. c.. 7.

INNOVATIONS..

Nothing is more offensive to the tn.e Ma.. than any innovations on the ancient usages and customs of tb 3 order. It is in consequence of this consel'\ ative principlEt

SOD

INN

217

that masonry, notwithstanding many attempts have been made tc. alter, or as it was supposed, to amend it, still remains unchanged -now, as it bas al"ays been.

The middle of the eighteenth century Vlas the most prominent era of those ~ttltelnpted innovations.

After the downfall of the house of Sttu~rt, and the defeat of tlu Pretender's hopes in 1715, his a.dherents vu.inlyendeavoured to tnlL~t Freemasonry as a powerful adjunct to his cause.

For thi~ purpose it was declared by those who had enlisted in this design, that the great legend of Inasonry alluded to the violent death of Charles I., and Croolwell and his cOlnpanions in rebellion were execrated as the arch traitors whonl the lodges .were to condemn.

To carry out these views, new degrees were now for the first tirne manufactlired, under the titles of Irislt ilfaster, Perfect Irtslt Ala,sfer, Puissant Irish Alaster, and others of shnilar appellations.

The Chevalier Ramsay, so well known in Illasonic history, soon after made bis appearance in the political world, and having attached himself to the house of Stuart, he endeavoured Iuore effectually to carry out these views by redueing the whole system to perfect order, and giving to it the appearance of plausibility For this purpose he invented a Dew theory on the subject of the origin of Freemasonry. lIe declared that it was instituted in the Holy Land at the tiule of the (}rusu,des, where the Knights Terl1plars had associated theIllll路lves together for the purpose of rebuilding those churches and ot hersuerededifices which had been destroyed by the Saracens.

These latter, however, having discovered this holy design, and being determined to thwart it, had enlployed enlissa.ries 'who: sccretly :.ningling with the Christian wOrktllen, Illaterially iU"lpeded and often entirely paralyzed their labours. The Christians, as a 1gecarity against this Rp.ecies of treason, then found it necessary to iuvontsigns and other lnodc~ of recognition by which intruders might be detected.

When coxnpelled by the failure of the Crusaders to leave tbg Holy Land, these piou& as well as warlike knights were invi'.fJ6d 11i

218

INR

by a king of England to retire to his dominions, where they devoted themselves to the cultivation of architecture and the fine arts.

Ramsay pretended that the degrees originally established by the Templars were those of Scotch Master, Novice, and K.night of the Temple, and he even had the audacity to 'propose, in 1728, to the Grand Lodge of England to substitute them for Ule three primitive degrees of symbolical masonry, a proposition which met with no more success than it deserved.

In Paris, hO"'ever, he was more fortunate, for there his degrees were adopted, not, indeed, as a 8ubstitute for, but as an addition to Ancient Craft Masonry.

These degrees became popular on the Continent, and in a short time gave birth to innumerable others, which attempte'd to com.. pensate for their want of consistency with the history, the traditions, and the principles of 'the ancient institution, by splendour of external decorations and gorgeousness of ceremonies. Happily, however, the existence of these innovations has been but ephemeral. They are no longer worked as degrees, but remain only in the library of the lnasonic student as subjects of curious inquiry.

The" hautes grades" of the French, and the Philosophic degrees of the Ancient' and Accepted Scotcn rite, are not innovations on, but illustrations of, pure symbolic masonry, aud as such will be found to be the depositories of many interesting traditions and instructive speculations, which are elninently useful. in shedding light upon the character and objects of the institution.

I. N. R. I. The initials of the Latin tiJentence which was placed. upon the Cross: Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judreorum. The Rosicrucians used them as the initials of one of their hermetic secrets: Igne Natura Renovatur Integra-" By fire nature is perfectly renewed."* They also adopted them to express the names¡ of th"eir three elementary principlGs, salt, sulphur, and mercury, by making them the initials of the sentence, Igne Nitrum Roris â&#x20AC;˘ Cours Philosopbique et Interpretatif des Initiations, p. 323.

INS-路IN'r

219

lizvenitur. Ragon finds in the equi v'alent Hebrew letters "." the initials of the Hebrew naUles of the ancient elements; Iam'inlm, water, Nour, fire, R'uach, air, and Iebschah, earth.

These speculations may afford some interest to the Rose Croix Mason and the Knight Templar.

INSPECTOR.. See Sovereign Grana Inspector General.

INSTALLATION. The officers of a lodge, before they can proceed to discharge their functions, must be Installed. The officers of a new lodge are installed by the Grand .l\'Iaster, or by some Past Master deputed by him to perfOl'In the ceremOilY. Formerly the Master was installed by the Grand l\Iaster, the Wardens by the Grand Wardens, and the Secretary and Treasurer by the Grand Secretary and Treasurer, but now this custom is not continued.. At the election of the officers of an old lodge, the l\Iaster is installed by his predecessor or some Past Master present, and the Master elect then instals his subordinate officers. No officer after his installation can resign. At his installation the Master receives the degree of Past Master.. It is a law of masonry that all officers hold on to their respective offices until their successors are installed.

INSTRUCTION, LODGE OF. These are assemblies of brethren congregated without a warrant of constitution, under the direction of a Lecturer or skilful brother for the purpose of im路. provement in masonry, which is accomplished by the frequent rehearsal of the work and lectures of each ,degree. These bodic3 should consist exclusively of Master Masons, and though they possess no masonic power, it is evident to every Mason that they are extreulely useful, as schools of preparation for the duties that are afterwards to be performed in the regular lodge.

INTENDANT OF THE BUILDINGS. Intendant des Barhis desree is som.et~es c~lleq. "Mas~er in Israel."

~imeftt8..

22(\

INT-IRI

It is the ~ighth in the Ancient Scotch rite. Its emblematic colour is red, and its principal officers are a Thrice Puissant representing Solomon, a Senior 'Varden representing the illustrious Tito, one of the Harodim, and a Junior "rarden representing AdonirRm the son of Abda. In the history of the degree, we are told that it was instituted to supply a great loss well known to l\Iastcl

Masons INTIMATE SECRETARY. Secretaire intim,e. The sixth degree In the ancient Scotch rite.. Its emblematic colour is black, strewed with tears, and its collar and the lining of the apron are red. Its officers are only three: Solomon, I{ing of Israel; Hi.. ram., King of Tyre; and a Captain of the Guards.. Its history records an instance of unlawful curiosity, the punishment of which was only averted by the previous fidelity of the offender.

INVESTITURE.

See Apron..

IONIC ORDER..

Next to the Dorio the oldest order among

the Greeks. It is more delicate and graceful than the Doric, ;tnd more majestic than the Corinthian.. Its column is fluted with twenty-four channels, the abacus is scooped on the side, and the principal ornaments of its capital are its two spiral volutes. The architectural judgment and skill displayed in its composition as an intermediate order, between the rude massiveness of the Doric and the extraneous beaut,y of the Corinthian, has ocoasioned it to be adopted as the column of 'Visdom that supports the lodge. Its appropriate situation and symbolic officer are in the E.路..

IRISH DEGREES. The establishment of certain degrees, called by this title, such as the Irish l\laster, Perfect Irish Master, Puissa.nt Irish lVlaster, and many others of a similiar nature, was an att~mpt on the part of the adherents of the exiled hooso of t3tl;1aft, to give to Freemasonry a political bias, alJd to emist the

ISII-IZA

221

D1embers of the fraternity on the side of King James, and his so:m the pretender.

ISH CHOTZEB. The hewers who were engaged in felling timber on 1vIt. Lebanon for the building of Solomon's temple.

They anlounted to 80,000. See 1 Kings v. 15, and 2. Chron. ii. 18. '\\rTebb calls them Fellow Crafts, but Webb's arrangement of the workmen at the temple is not a correct one.

ISH SABAL. The bearers of burdens at the building of the temple. They amounted to 70,000. See 1 Kings v. 15, and 2.

Chron. it 18. They are the Entered Apprentices of Webb, but the old writers say that they were not masons, but the descendants of the ancient Canaanites.

ISH SOUDY.

It is acorrnpted form of the

Hebrew~,.,t;{

'''0, isl~ sod?;, "a man who is nlY confidant or faluiliar friend; t,

and hence it is DUlsonicaUy interpreted to signify "a man of my choice" or "a select Dlason." A similar expression is to be found in Job. xix. 19, 1Jlatl~ sodt·, that is," the Iuen of my intimacy, "or as it has been translated in the COOlmon version "my inward

friends."

IZABUD.. Properly Zabucl. He is mentioned in 1 Kings, iv.5, as" the principal officer and the king's friend." !(itto, speaking of the position held by Izahud or Zabud in the household of SoloIuon, says that the tel'lll " king's friend" implies the possession of the utnlost confidence of, and familiar intercourse with, the nlonar9h, to whose person "the friend" at all times has aeeeRS, and whose influence is tberefore often greater, even in matters of state, than that of the recogn ised ministers of government."· Zabud, und(}r the corrurted n~nne of Izabud, is an important per..

• Cye1c.ped. Bib. Lltera.t. in voc. Zabu,d. See aIao. Jahv.Bib.. AfCh-.o!. f23G. JV.

222

JAC

!Onage in the degree of Select l\'Iaster, where his peculiar position in the household of King Solomon is correctly defined according to the definition of Kitto.

J. JACHIN. The name of the right band pillar that stood at the porch of King Solomon's temple. It is derived from two Hebrew

words, iT' }ah, "God" and i'~' iachin," will establish."

3ignifies, therefore, " God will establish."

It

JACOB'S LADDER. When Jacob, by the command of his father Isaac, was journeying towards Padara.-aram, while sleeping one night with the bare earth for his couch and a stone for his pillow, he beheld the vision of a ladder whose foot rested on the earth and its top reached to heaven. Angels were continually ascending and descending upon it, and promised hiIn the blessing of a numerous and happy posterity. When Jacob awoke, he was filled with pious gratitude, and consecrated the spot as the house of God.* This ladder, so remarkable in the history of the Jewish people, has also occupied a oonspicuous place among the symbols of rna.. sonry. Its true origin was lost among the worshippers of tho Pagan rites, but the symbol itself, in various modified forms, was retained. Among them it was always rna,de to consist of seven rounds, which might, as Oliver suggests, have been in allusion ~ither to the seven stories of the Tower of Babel, or to the Sabhatical period. In the Persian mysteries of l\lithras, the ladder of seven rounds was symbolical of the soul's approach to perfection. These rounds were called gates, aLd in allusion to them

,TAC the candidate was made t.> pass through seven dark and winding caverns, which process was called the ascent of the ladder of perfection. Each of these caverns \vaS the representative of a world, or state of existenc.e through which the soul was supposed to pass in its progress frolll the first world to the last, or the world of truth. Each round of the ladder was said to be of metal of increasing purity, and '\\.~ dignified also with the name of its protecting planet. Some itlea of the construction of this symbolio c.adder may be 4f;)t:uneo from the following table: 7 Gold,.

8 t lD, Truth.

6 Silvar, )}Ioon, l\Iansion of the Blessed.

5 'Iron, 4 Tin,

Mars, Jupiter,

World of Births.

Middle World.

S Copper?

Venus, Heaven.

2 QuickaiJTcr, l\1ercury, World of Pre-existence.

Saturn, First World.

1 Lead?

Thus, to().) in all the Dlysteries of the ancients, we find some al~usion to this sacred ladder, requiring, it is true, in some in. stances, considerable ingenuity to trace the identity. Even in the Edda of the Scandinavi.a.ns we find the great tree Ygdrasil, which Dr. Olivercollcludes, for the nlost sufficient reasons, to be ana路 logous with the ladder of Jacob.

Among the Hebrews the staves of th~ ladder were originally 2upposed to be infinite. The ~JBsenians first reduced them to seven, which were called the Sephiroth, whose names were Strength, l\Iercy, Beauty, Eternity, Glory, the Foundation, and the Kingdom..

Among Freelnasons the principal rounds only are named, and they are Faith, Hope, and Charity, because Inasonry is found~d upon Faith. in God, IIope of 11l1111ortaIity, and Charity to all mankind. But of these,Charity is the greatest; for Faith ends in sight, Hope termintttes in fruition, but Charity extends beyond the grave. It is by the pra.ctice of these virtues that the Mason expects to find access t{) IIi-m who is the subject of Faith, the object of Hope, and the eternal fountu.in of Cllarity. He~oe it W

224

JAC-JEH

sylnbt>lically saIl, that Masons hope to rea~h the clouded canopy of their lodge by the assistance of Jacob's Theological Ladder.

JACQUES DE lVIOL.A.Y. The celebrated Grand l\Iaster of the Knights Tenlplar at the tilne of their suppression by Philip the Fair and Pope 路Cleruent V. De l\Iolay was elected Grand M"aster in 1297, and suffered Inartyrdorn by being burnt to d.eath on the 18th of lViarch, 1314. See K:n"lglbts Templar.

JAR. The Syriac name of God. It was also used by the Hebrews as an abbreviation of ,Jelw'vah, and seems to have beeu" well known to the Gentile nations as the triliteral name of God; for, although biliteral among the Hebrews, it assumed among the Greeks the triliteral form, as lAO. l\lacrobius, in his Saturnalia, says that this was the sacred name of the Supreme Deity, and the Clarian Oracle being asked which of the gods was J ao, replied, "The initiated are bound to conceal the Inysterious secrets. Learn thou that IAn is the Great God Suprelue who ruleth over all."

See the word Jehovah.

JEHOSAPI-IAT. The Valley of J ehosaphat is situated east of J erusaleln, between lVIount Zion and the l\Iount of Olives. In the ancient rituals of our order the Valley of Jehosaphat played an important part, but it is now very rnuch neglected in the nlodern working of the lodges. It has been supposed, in consequence of the prophecy of Joel (iii. 13,) that this valley is to be the scene of the final judgment. The word itself denotes "the Lord jurlgeth,', and hence Hutchinson says that the spiritual lodge is placed in the Valley of J ehosaph41t to imply that the principles of Inasonry are derived from the knowledge of God, and are established in the judgments of the Lord.

JEHOVAll. The ineffable name of God. In Hebrew, it consists of four letters lili'1' and is hence called the nomen if?

(Iragraflnmaton or quadriliteral name. It is derived fr.om the

JEH

substantive verb iT,;' hc/;vah, ':ro

BE; and, as it combines in itself the present, past, and future fl)rlllS of the verb, it is to be considered as designating God as hnmutable, eternal, the only being who can say forever, "I A~U THAT I Al\L" This nrnne was first announced to 1\loses by God, when he appeared to hill1 in the burn.. ing bush; on which occasion he said," this is llly ntlllle forever, and this is IllY memorial unto rdl generations." (l~x. iii. 15.)

It was considered unlawful to pronounee this n:.uue of God, except on one sacred occasion, (the day of the atonclnent,) when it was only uttered by tIle I-ligh Priest in the holy of holies, aluid the sound of trurnpets and cymbals, "\vhich prevented the people frotH hearing it. This custom DO doubt originally arose frolll a wish to prevent its becoluing known to the surrounding nations, and being by them blasphemously applied to their idols.. Some of the Jews afterward atteIl1pted, by an ingenious corruption of the text of liJxodus aboye quoted, to defend the custom by the authority of Scripture. By the change of a single letter, they 111utle the word l' ola'ln, which signifies "forover," read l' alarn, that is, "to be concealed," and hence the passage 'was translated, "this¡ is Iny name to be concealed;" instead of "this is IUy n:llue forever."

Aud thus pJosephus, in writing upon this ~ubjcct, uses the following expressions: ""Thereupon God doclared to l\Ioses his holy Otune which had never been discovered to lucn before; concerning which it is not lawful for me to say any lllore."* In obedience to this law, whenever the word ,Jehovah occurs to a Jew in read.. ir g, he absta.ins frotH pronouncing it, and substitutes in its place tho word .A.<lonal; or L01"d. In consequence of the people thus abstaining from its utterance, tbe t,rue pronunciation of the ntulle was at length lost.. Nor is the question yet definitely settled, some ()rientalists contending, on orthographical grounds, that JEIIO'VAH is the true pronunciation, while others, on the uuthoiity of certain al1eient writers, as..~ert that it was pronounced J AO. t

â&#x20AC;˘ Antiquities gf the Jews.

'Vhiston's trans.; B. II.. c. 12. is difficult tl$ mn.ke 0110.. unacquainted with the strt:wtur(~ of th8 R,bl:ew lan~u8.ge, comprehend how the pronuncia.tion of .... word, WU(}tlQ lott~r.

t The task

JEll

~26

Some learned Jews even doubt whether ,J ehovah be the b11e name of God, which they consider to have been irrecoverably lost, and they say that this is one of the 111ysteries that will be re.. vealed only at the cOIlling of the Thlessiah. They attribute this 108m to the sinful habit of applying the Inasoretic points to so sacred. a name, in consequence of 'v hich the true vowels \vere lost. Thf'Y even relate the legend of a celebrated Hebrew scholar whom God permitted to be burnt by a ROlllan en1peror, because he had beeD heard to pronounce the holy nalne with these points.

This dispute is not likely to be terminated by a reference tc. ancient authorities, among \vhom there is too great a discrepancy in relation to the name to be easily reconciled. Irenreus calls it Jaoth, Isidore says it is JodJod, Diodorus Siculus, Jao, Clemens of Alexandria, Ja;zt, and Thcodoret says that the Hebrews pronounced it Jet, and the Samaritans Javalt.

*

are preserved, can be wholly lost. It may be attempted, however, in the fQI.. lowing nlanner. The Hebrew alphabet oonsists entirely of consonants.. The vowel sounds were originally supplied by the reader while reading, he being previously IDfLde acquainted with the correct pronunciation of each word, and if he (lid not possess t.his kno'\..-ledge the letters before him could not supply it, and he Wl'LS, of course, unttblo to pronounce the word. Every Hebrew, however, knew from pra.ctice, the vocal sounds with which the consonnnts were prollounced in the different words, in the same mllnDer as every English reader knows the different SOUTHls of (( in hat, hate, all, was, n,nd tlHLt knt is pronounced lcnigllt. 'rho words" God S11ve the republic," written in the lIebrew Dlethod, would appear thus: ." Gel sv th rpblc:''' Now this incommunicable name of God consists, as we have alrendy observed, of four letters, Yod, He, Vav, and He,equivalent, in English, to the cOlnbination JIIVII. It is now,we presume, evident, that these four letters cannot, in our own language, be pronounced, unlesb at least two vowels be supplied. Neither can they in Hebrew.. In other word, the vowels ,vere kno,\yn to the J ow, llccause he heard the words continually pronounced, Just 11S we know that ]'fr.. stand for .lIfi8ter, because we oontinuall:r hear this combi~ation so pronounced. But the name of God,of which these four letters are symbols, was never pronounced, but another word, adonai, sub.. stituted for it; and hence, as tho letters themselves have DO vocal power, the Jaw, not kncwing the implied vowels, was unable to supply theQ:lf 8tld thus th. pronunciation of the word was, in time, entirely I08\'

!

Oliver, IDsi'D~u. of

l~{'~'i\l

An'h, II,

1~.

227 The Grand, Elect, Perfect and Sublhnc Masons tell us that the pronunciation varied arnong the patriarchs in different ages.

Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah pronounced it Jl.lha;* Sheu11 Arphaxad, Selah, Heber and Peleg pronounced it Jeva; Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah, Abrahanl, Isaac and Judah called it Jot~a 1·

by IIezrom and Ram it was pronounced Jevo; by Atuinndab and Nasshon, Jevahj by Sahnon, Boal, and Obed, .. lolu~; by JC:SSi; and David, Jehovah.. And they imply that none of these was the right pronunciation, which ,vas only in the possession of Enoch, Jacob, and Moses, whose naines are, therefore, not mentioned in this list.

Lancit says that the word should be read from left to right, and pronounced HO-HI, that is to say, "He-She ;" ho being in Hebrew the masculine pronoun, and hi the feminine. H o-H I, (hi pronounced he;t) therefore, denotes the male and female principle, the vis genitrix, the phallus and lingam, the point within the circle, the notion of which, in some one form or another of this double gender, pervades all the ancient systems as the representative of the creative power.

Thus one of the IHunes given by the mythological writers to the Supreme Jupiter, wasappe>;JoOYjAuC;, the man-woman. In one of the Orphic hymns we find the following line: .zc~ a{xmv

.J()f1. it a

i"£lliTO,

Ztl'> a,.,.ppoTO) CrNi:ro 1IVpf"•

ma,u, JOf)(J is an immortal ";'rg...

And Plutarch, in his IBis and Osiris, says "God, who iss mal ( and female intelligence, being both life and light, brought forth another intelligence, the Creator of the world." All the Pagan • In all these names tho J is to be pronounced as Y, the A. as a in !atne.r, the .E aaa in mate; thus Jell.ovft must be pn)nounced as if written Ya-ho..vnh.. t This speculation of Micbool Angelo Lanci. one of the greatest OrientaUats of the present day1 I have at sec()nd~hnnd. His grea.t work-intended to be, Indeed, an opus magnum-has not been published, and I a-m indebted for this, u well as many other of his invcstigatiQns, tu my learned friend, George R..

Gliddon, Esq•• whQ was a pupil of this ilhu~tri()U8 scholar.

228

JEH

gods and goddesses, however various their appellation, were but different. expressions for the tunle and feillale principle. "In fact," says Russel,* " they 111Uy all be included in t.he one groat Hernlu,phrodite, the app~Y081jAut;; who conlbines in his nature all the elements of production, and \vho continues to support the; ast creation which originally proceeded from his wilL" The J e\vs believed that this holy ntnne" which they h\.~ld III the highest veneration, was possessed of unbounded powers. " lIe who pronounces it," say they, "shakes hea'Ven and eart.h~ and inspires the very angels with astonishulcnt and terror. There is a sovereign authority in this nunlo; it governs the world by its power. The other nUllles and surnanles of the Deity are ranged about it like officers and soldiers about their sovereigns and generals; from this king-n~ul1e, they receiye their orders and obey."t The Rabbins call it shenL ltanphoraslt, the unutterable name, and say that David founel it engraved on a stone wllile he was digging the foundations of the earth.

Manasseh Ben Israel states it as tIle opinion of the Cabbalists, that ~J ehovah is not only the nalUC of the divine essence, but that it also denotes the l\.ziluthic world, or world of â&#x201A;ŹHllanations, which contains the ten Sephiroth, or ernanations froul the Deity which COlllpose the universe, according the Ra,bbinical philosophy..

The Hebrew' substantive verb I AM:, which is ;,'n~, is said by the 'rahnudists to be equivalent to ;,'ii', nnd the four letters of which it is fonned possess peculiar properties. N is in Hebrew DUlnerically equi'lulent to 1, and' to 10, which is equal to 11, 8 result also obtained by taking the second and third letters of the holy name, or i1 and " \vhich are 5 and 6, ~nnot..nting to 11. But the 5 and 6 invariably produce the sume nunlber in their lDuIti.. plication, for 5 times 5 are 25, and 6 titl1es 6 arc 36, and this invariable product of r1 and , was said to denote the unchangeableness of the First Cause. Again I a,rn n~i1N commences with â&#x20AC;˘ Connec-aon of Saered and Profane History, voL 1. p. 4:02.

t Calmet, Diet.. Bib. I.

751..

JEH JchotJal~, iliil' with' or numbers, which signified that God was the beginning and end of all things. * There are Dlany other Talmudical exercitations on the ineffable name which it is 4lunecessary to dwell upon. To the Hebrew student nlost of them are fanliliar; fo any other they would be uninteresting or inexplicable.

The pronunciation of the name was preserved and transmi tted by the Essenes, who always communicated it to each other in a whisper, and in a such a form, that while its component parts were known, its connected whole still remained a mystery.

Nor 1, the beginlt.ing of numbers, and 10, the end

ot

It is said, too, to have been the pass-word in the Egyptian Mysteries, by which the candidate was admitted to the chambers of initiation. The modern Jews say it was engraved on the rod of Moses, and enabled him to perform his miracles, and they attribute all the wonderful works of Jesus Christ to the potency of this incommunicable name, which they say he stole out of the temple and wore about him.

The Jews had four symbols by which they expressed this ineffable name of God; the first a.nd nlOSt. common was two Jods with 8, Sheva, and the point Kametz underneath, thus ~ ;; the sec.ond was three point~ in a radiated form like a diadem, thus l i .~ to represent, in all probability, the sovereignty of God; the third was a J od within an equilateral triangle thus, &. which the Cab¡ balists explained as a ray of light whose lustre was too transcendent to be conteolplated by hUIllan eyes; and the fourth was the letter~, which is the initial letter of SlLadat, "the .-\lnlighty," and was the symbol usually placed upon their phylacteries. Dux..

torf mentions a fifth method, which was by three Jods with a Kametz underneath inclosed in a circle.

Of the varieties of this sacred name in use among the different nations of the earth, three particularly merit the attention of Royal Arch l\Iasons. â&#x20AC;˘ For these Ta.lmudicaJ rema.rks, I t\m indebted to Dl11earDed friend, 1f. '\ootweU, Esq., of Milledgeville, Ga.

a

JER

230

1. JA.R.

This name of God is found in the 68th Psalm, v

4: "Extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name J.AH " It is the Syriac name of God, and is still retained in some of tll(~ Syriac fo-rms;.of doxology, according to Gesenius.

2. BEL, or BAAL. This word signifies a lord, master, or poslessor; and hence it was applied by many of the nations 01 th( East, to denote the Lord of all things, and the Master of thti world. Baal was worshipped. by -the Chaldeans, the l\ioabites; the Phenicians, the Assyrians, and sometimes even by the lIebrews. It has been supposed that the first Baal was the Chaldean Nimrod. This word is repeatedly met with in the Scriptures, both in allusion to the idolatrous worship of this god, and in connection with other words, to denote the names of places.

3. ON. This was the name by which Jehovah was worshipped among the Egyptians. It is this God of whom Plato speaks in his Timreus, when he says, "tell me of the God ON; which IS and never l{new beginning." The Egyptians gave to this God the saIne attributes that the Hebrews bestowed upon Jehovah, and though we are unable to say what was the signification of On in the ancient Egyptian, we know that this word in Greek, ON, has the same signification of being or existence as iT,;" has in IIebrew.'fbe Hindoos used the word AUl\I or AUN. I have made these remarks on the three names of God in Syriac, Ohaldaic, and Egyptian, JAR, BEL, and ON, it:. the expectation that my Royal Arch companions will readily recognise them in a corrupted form, and thus be enabled to understand a mystery which, I confess, was to me, at first, unintelligible.

JERUSALEM.

The capital of Judea and the Jity of the

I10ly Temple-memorable as .the scene of many events that are dear to the ~rason'B memory. At the time that the Israelites entered the Promised Land, the city was in possession of the Jebusites, from whom, after the dentll of Joshua, it was conquered, and afterwards inhabited by the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, although Mount Zion for a long period subsequent continued t4

231

JEW

be occupied by the descendants of Jehus, and in the z:eign of David that monarch is said to h~tve purchased Mount l\foriah from Ornan the Jebusite, who had used it as a threshing floor.

Here, afterwards, Solomon was permitted to build a temple to the Lord.

JEWELS. Every lodge is furnished with six jewels, threfj 'Of which are movable and three immovable. The movable j(~wels, so called because they are not confined to any particular part of the lodge, are the rough ashlar, the perfect ashlar, and the trestle board. The immovable jewels are the square, the level, They are termed immovable, because they are appropriated to particular parts of the lodge, where alone they should be found, namely, the square to the east, the level to the west, and the plulub to the south.

Jewels are also the names applied to the emblems worn by the officers of lVlasonio bodies as distinctive badges of their Orffices.

For the purpose of reference the jewels w-orn in symbolic lodgeE!, in chapters, council~, and encampruents, are here appended.

and the plumb.

W.". Master 8enior Warden Junior Warden Treasurer Secretary Senior Deacon

1. In S)Jmbolic Lodges. wears a square. " "

a level. a plumb. cross keys. cross pens. equare and comp888,

" " "

Junior Deacon*

"

Steward Tyler

t' .~'

SUD in the centre. !CJ.u&re and compass

moon in the centre. a cornucopia.

3

cross swords.

The jewels are of¡ silver in a subordina.te lodge, and of gold in a

Grand Lodge. â&#x20AC;˘ In Bngliah lodges the jewel of the Deacon. ia a dov...

JEW

2. I'll, Rogal Arch Ohapterl. wears a mitre. " a level surmounted by & King crown. a plumb-rule surmounted Scribe by a turban. a triangular plate inscribed Captain of the HOBt with a soldier.

Principal Sojo~Jl'I1er s. triangular plate inscribed with a pilgrim.

Royal Arch Captain tt a sword Grand l\'Iaster ofthe Veils" a sword.

The other officers as in a symbolic lodge. All the jewels are of g pld, and suspended within an equilateral triangle.

S. In ROlJal and Select CÂĽJunclls.

T. I. Grand l\:Iaster wears a trowel and square. r. Hiram of Tyre " a trowel and level.

Principal Conductor of " a trowel and plumb. the works.

Treasurer " a trowel and cross keys..

Recorder " a trowel and cross pens.

Captain of the Guards " a trowel and sword.

Steward " a trowel and cross swords. l\Iarshal " a trowel and baton.

If a conductor of the Council is used, he wears a trowel and baton and then a scroll is added to the l\Iarshal's baton to distin.. ~uish the two officers.

All the jewels are of ailver and are enclosed within an equilateral triangle.

4. In Con~ma1tderie8 of Knights Telnplars.

Eminent Commander wears a cross surmounted by rays of light. a square surmounted by Generalissimo " a paschal lamb. a level surmounted by â&#x20AC;˘ Captain General

High Priest

"

"

cock.

JEW-JOA

Prelate

wears

Senior Warden

"

Junior Warden

"

Treasurer Recorder Standard Bearer

" " "

Warder

"

Three Guardl

"

233

a triple triangle. a hollow square and sword of justice. eagle and flaming sword. cross keys. cross pens. a plumb surmounted by a banner. a square plate inscribed with a trumpet and cross swords. a square plate inscribed with a battle-axe.

The jewels are of silver.

JEWEL OF AN ANCIENT GRAND l\IASTER. A masonic tradition informs us that the J ewe1 of an ancient Grand 1\Iaster at the Telnple was the squn.re and COIUpa.SS with the letter G between. This was the jewel worn by Hiram Abif on the day which deprived the craft of his inv~lu~ble services, and which was subsequently found upon him.

JOABERT. This was the name of the chief favourite of Solomon, who, according to the traditions of masonry, incurred the displeasure of Hiram of Tyre on a certain occasion, but was subsequently pardoned; and, on account of the grent attachluent he had shown to the person of his tnaster, was appointed the Secretary of Solomon and Hiram in their Illost inthnat(} relations. fIe ,vas afterward still further promoted by 80101110n, und appointed with Tito and Adoniranl a Provost and Judge. fIe distinguished llitUlelf in his successful efforts to bring {~ertain traitors to coudign punishment, and although by his rashne8s he tit first excited the anger of the king, he was suhseqllentl:y forgiven, and eventually receiTed the highest reward that So!cHlloncou:ld bost< w, by being made an Elect, Perfect, and Sublhne l\Iu.son.

.., ...

234

JOH-JOP

JOHANNITE MASONRY. That system of masonry which contends for the dedication of all symbolic lodges to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist. This is the system now practisp.d in the United States, and formerly in England. SincA the union in 1813, a change has been effected in the latter couu try, in whose lodges,the "lines paraJlel" are said to represent 1\'108es and King Solomon. But this is adnlitted to be an in.. novation, and the most celebrated masonic writer of England, Dr. Oliver, has written a series of "Letters on J oha-nnite l\Ia.. sonry," in which he strongly argues for the restoration of the ancient parallelism.

JOHN'S BROTHERS. In a curious masonic document, entitled the Charter of Cologne, it is said that before the yea;r 1440, the Society of Freemasons were known by no other name than that of "John's Brothers;" that they then began to be called at Valenciennes, Free and Accepted l\Iasons; and that at that time, in some parts of Flanders, by the assistance and riches of the brotherhood, the. first hospitals were erected for the relip.f of such as were afflioted wit,h St. Anthony's fire.

JOPPA. A town of Palestine and the seaport of Jerusalem, from which it is distant about forty miles in a westerly direction.

It was here that the King of Tyre sent ships laden with timber and marble to be forwarded overland to Soloul0n for the construction of the Temple. Its shore is exceedingly rough· and nluch dreaded by navigators, who, on account of its exposure and the perpendicularity of its banks, are compelled to be perpetually on their gua.:-d. The following extract from the narrative of the Baron Geramb~ a Trappist, who visited the Holy Land in 1842, will be interesting to ~Iark l\-Iasters. " Yesterday Inorning at daybreak, boats put off and surrounded the vessel to take us to the town (of J Of pa,) the access to 1vh/ich 'l~S d ifficuJt on account of the 'numerous rocks that l)res(~nt to v£e-w the£r ba're flanks. The walls were covered with spectators, attracted by curiosity. The

JOS-JUR

23!i

boats being much lower than the bridge, 'lP011t lvhicJt one is L.bli'.ged and ha.ving no ladder, the landing is not effected un"tlUHti danger. lVIore than once it has happened, that passengers in springing out have broken their limbs, and we Dlight have met with the like accident, rif several per.wntS had 'not hastened to ourr assistance ,,* The place is now called Jaffa. tâ&#x201A;Ź climb,

JOSHUA, OR JESHUA. The High Priest who with Ze.. rubbabel the J)rince of J'udah, superintended the re-building of the Temple, after the Babylonian captivity. He was the High Priest by lineal descent from the Pontifical family; for he was the son of Josadek, who was the son of Seraiah, who was the High Priest when the Temple was destroyed by the Chaldeans.

JUDAH. The wllole of Palestine was sometirnes called the Land of Judah, because Judah was a distinguished tribe in ob.. taining possession of the country. The tribe of Judah bore tl.

I..4ion in their standn.rd, and hence the tnasonic allusion to the Lion of the tribe of Judah. See also Genesis xlix.~ 9. "Judah is

a lion's whelp."

JUD.A.H AND BEN.JAMIN. Of the twelve tribes of Israel who were, at various tiInes carried into captivity, only two, those of Judah and Benjamin, l"eturned under Zerubbabel to rebuild the second temple.

JtJNIOR WARDEN.

See Wardens.

JURISDICTION. The jurisdiction of a Grand Lodge extends ovel every lodge worlting within its territorial limits, and over all places not already occupied by It Grand Lodge. The territorial lirnits of a Grand Lodge are determined in general by the political boundaries of the country in which it is placed. Thus the terri.. torial limi~ of the Grand Lodge of South Carolina are circum-

! Pilgrimai8 to Jenaaalf>tQ, ,~d

Sin4L Vql.l. '" 21.

236

JUS-ItAD

8crioed within the settled boundaries of that Stat(. N or can it! jurisdiction extend beyond these liulits into the neighbouring States of North Carolina or Georgia.. The Grand Lodge of South Carolina could not, therefore, without an infringement of masonic usage, grant a warrant of constitution to any lodge located in either of these latter States. It might, however, grant a charter for a lodge in any Territory if there is not in existence a Grand IJodge of that Territory. Thus the lodges of France held of the Grand Lodge of ]jJngland, until the formation of a Grand IJodge of France, and the Grand Lodges of bot.h England, Scotland, and France, granted warrants to various' lodges in America, until after the Revolution, when the States began to organize Grand J.Jodges for themselves. For the purpose of avoiding collision and unfriendly feeling, it has becoIlle the settled usage, that when a Grand Lodge has been legally organized in a State, all the lodges within its limits must sur.. render the charters \vhich they have received from foreign bodies, and accept new ones from the recently established Grand Lodge.

JUSTIOE. One of the four cardinal virtrues, the practice of which is inculcated in the first degree. The l\fason who romClubers how enlphatically he has been charged to preserve an upright position in all his dea1ings with luankind, should never f'ttiI to act justly to himself, to his brethren, and to the world.

This is the corner-stone on which alone he can expect "to erect "\ superstructure alike honourable to himself and to the fraternity."

R. KADOSH.

This is the name of a very importa.nt degree

ID

many of the rites of masonry. The word is I!ebrew, and signifies holy, consecrated, separated,. and is intended to denote the

KAS

231

elevated character of the degree and the sublilllity of the :rutba which distinguish it and its possessors fl.·Olll the other degrees.

Pluche says that in the East, a person preferred to honours bore a sceptre, and sometiules a plate of gold on the forehead,. called a. Kados}/;, * to apprise the people that the bearer of this mark or :od ,vas a public person who possessed the privilege of entering into hostile camps without the fear of losing his p~rsonal liberty.

The degree of I<'adosh, though found in many of the rites and in various countries, seelns, in aU of theIn, to have been more or less connected with the Knights Telnplars. In SOllle of the rites it was placed at the head of the list, and was then dignified ag the "ne plus ultra" of nlasonry.

It was sometimes given as a separate order or rite within itself, and then it was divided into the three degrees of Illustrious Knight of the Temple, Knight of the Black Eagle, and Grand Elect.

Oliver enumerates six degrees of Kadosh: the I{night Kadosh; Kadosh of the Chapter of Clern1ont; Philosophical Kadosh; Ka.dosh Prince of Death; and Kadosh of the Ancient and Accepted Scotch rite.

Ragon speaks of a I{adosh which is said to have been established at J erusalenl in 1118, but I inlagine that this can be no

ot.her than the order of Knights Templars.

Of these degrees, we need pay little attention to any except that of the Ancient and Accepted Scotch rite, the most inlportant of the few that continue to be worked. See Kniglltt of Kado81~.

KASSIDEANS. (lIeb.. chas·tdim, pious.) The Kassideans or Assideans, (though the etymology of the word indicates tl\at the former is the better spelling,) are described in the 1st Book of l\laccabees ii. 42, as "Dlighty nlen of Israel, such as were voluntarily devoted unto the law,"They were a fraternity emi. nently pious and charitable, who devoted themselves part.icularly to repairing the Terllple and keeping it in order.. They were, • Whence probably b derived the OadUtOBIUI of Meratl1'1'_

KEY therefore, not only content to pay the usual tribute, out charged themselves with greater expense on that account. Their USU!l" oatn. was "by the temple." This sect arose either during the eaptivity, or soon after the restoration. Scaliger contends that they were the source whence, in after times, sprung the Essenes, that body whose close connection with the Freenlasons has been so much insisted on by certain writers. I-Ience Lawrie infers their relationship to the architects who built the house of the Lord for Solomon, and calls them" Knights of the Tenlple of Jerusalem." They were, in fact, the conservators of masonry lI1IDong the Jews, and deposited it with their successors, the Essenians, who brought it down beyond the times of Christ.

KEY. The key was anciently an emblem of power, and as such bas been adopted as the jewel of the Treasurer in a Blue lodge, because he has the purse under his command. The key is also a symbol of silence and circumspection, and as such has been adopted as one of the emblems of the Royal Arch Tracing Board. 't The key," says Dr. Oliver, " is one of the most important symbols of .Jj'reemRsonry. It bears the appearance of a common metal instrument, confined to the perfornlance of one simpIe act. But the well instructed brother beholds in it the symbol which teaches hinl to keep a tongue of good report, and to abstain from the debasing vices of slander and defamation."*

KEY OF MASONRY.

See Knight 01 the Sun.

KEY-STONE. That stone placed in the centre of an aroh which preserves the others in their places, and secures firmness and stability to the arch. As it was formerly the custom of I'perative masons to place a peculiar mark on each stone of a building to designate the workman by whom it had been ad.. justed, so the Key-Stone was most likely to receive the most prominent mark,t bat of the superintendent of the structure~ â&#x20AC;˘ Uistorioal La.lld~a:rÂĽ;8, 1.

KIL

239

Such is related to haye occurred to that Key-Ston<. which plays so important a part in the legend of the ROJal Arch degree.

The objection has sonlctitnes been made, that the arch was unknown to the tiules of Sololllon. But this objection has been completely laid at rest by the researches of antiqu~tries and travellers within a few years past. "Yilkinson discovered arches with regular key-stones in the doorways of the tOlnbs of Thebes, the construction of which he traced to the year 1540, B. C., or 460 years before the building ot the TClnple of Sololllon. And Dr. Clark asserts that the Cycoplean gallery of Tyrius exhibits lancet-shaped arches almost as old as the tinles of ...~ braham. In fact, at the era of the building of tho Teu1ple, the construction of the arch was a secret, which was, however, known to the Dionysian Artificers, many of whom were present and engaged in the works of the Temple, and of which society we have elsewhere said that there was every reason to believe that Hiram

Abif was a meluber..

KILWINNING. As the city of Yorlr claims to be the birthplace of masonry in England, the obscure little -village of I{Ilwinning is entitled to the saIne honour with respect to the origin of the order in tho sister kingdonl of Scotland. 1\. place, in itself small and wholly undistinguishable in the political, th@ literary, or the coullllercialannals of its country, has become of great importance in the estimH,tion of the masonic antiquary from its intitllate connection with the history of the institution.

The abbey of Kilwinning is situated in the bailiwick of Cun.. ninghtun, about three miles north of the royal burgh of Irving, noar the Irish Sea. The abbey was founded in the year 1140,

by Hugh ~lorville, Constable of Scotland, and dedicated to St. ~Vinning, being intended for a company of monks of the Tyronesian order, who had been brought from Kelso. The edifice lUust have been constructed at great expense, and with much luagnificence, since it is said to have occupied sevcl1l1 ~res ()f

{5roundin its wholeexteQ.t

240

KIL

I.Jaurie sa.ys, that, by authentic documents as well as by other collateral arguments which amount almost to a demonstration, the existence of the I(ihvinning lodge has been traced back as far as the end of the fifteenth century, But we know that the body of architects who perambulated the continent of Europe, under the name of ~'T::tavelling Fl'eelllaSolls," flourished at a much earlier period; and we learn, also, frolu Laurie himself, that several of these 1\1asons travell~d into Scotland, about the beginning of the twelfth cent,ury. * Hence, "we have every reason to suppose that these men were the architects who constructed the abbey at Kilwinning, and who first established the institution of Freemasonry in Scotland. If such be the fact, we mnst place the origin of the first lodge in that kingdom at an earlier date, by three centuries, than that claimed for it by Laurie, which would bring it much nearer, in point of time, to the great Masonic Assembly, convened in the year 926, by Prince Edwin, at York, in England.

There is some collaterhl evidence to sustain the probability of this early commencement of masonry in Scotland. I t is very generally admitted that the Royal Order of Herodem was founded by King l~obert Bruce, at I{ilwinning. Thory, in the u. Acta Latamorum," gives the following chronicle: "Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, under the title of Robert I., created the order of St..A.ndrew of Chardon, after the battle of Bannockburn, which was fought on the 24th of June, 1814. To this order WHo.S afterward united that of Herodem, for the sake of the Scotch ~Iasons, who forIned a part of the thirty thousand troops with whonl he had fought an army of one hundred thousand Englishmen.. I{ing Itobert reserved the title of Grand Master to hitnself and his successors forever, and founded the Royal Grand Lodge of Herodem at Kilwinning.

Dr. Oliver says that u the Royal Order of Herodem had formerly its chief seat at Kilwinning ; and there is every reason â&#x20AC;˘ History of FreemasoDX1, :p. 89.

KIL

241

it and St. John's masonry were then governed by the same Grand Lodge."

In 1820, there was published, at Paris, a record which states that in 1286, J alnes, I..4ora Stewart, l-eceived the Earls of Glou... r.ester and Ulster into his lodge at I(ilwinning, which goes to prove that It lodge was t.hen existing ana in active operation ut that place.

I confess that I am disposed to give some credit to the autho路 rity of these documents. They, at least, furnish the evidence that there has been a general belief among the fraternity of' the antiquity of the Kilwinning Lodge. Those, however, 'whose fnith is of a more hesitating character, will find the most sati8factory testimonies of the existence of that lodge in the beginning of the fifteenth century.. At that period, when James II. was on the throne, the Barons of Roslin, as hereditary Grttnd l\lasters of Scotland, held their annual meetings at ICihvinning, and the lodge at that place granted warrants of constitution for the formation of subordin~,tte lodges in other parts of the kingdonl The lodges thus fonued, in token of thc}ir respect for, and sub.. mission to, the Illother lodge, whence they derived their existence, affixed the word Kilwinning to their O\VD distinctive name, many instances of which are still to he found on the register of the Grand Lodge of Scotland-such as Canllollgate Kilwinning, Greenock Kilwinning, CUluberland l{ilwinnillg, &0.

13ut, in process of time" this Grand Lodge at Kil winning ceased to retain itssuprelUllc:y, and finally its veryexistellce. .A.s in the case of the sister kingdoro, where the Grand J.Jodge was removed from York, the birthplace of English masonry, to London, 80 in Scoth'lnd, the supreme sea.t of the order wa..q H t length transferred. from I(ihvinning to the metropolis; and hence, in the dOCUIllent ~ntitled the "Ch~trter of Cologne,'J which purports to have boon written in 1535, we find, in a li"t of nineteen" Grand I.Jodges in Europe, that that of Scotland is to think that

Juentioned as sitting atE~inburg, under the Grand lVlastership of lohn Bruce.. In 1743, the Lodge of !{ilwinoing, nlthough uni al

!42

KIN

versally admitted to have been the cradle of Scottish masonry, was compelled to content itself with the second number on the register of the Grand Lodge, in consequence of its records having been destroyed by fire, while the lodge of St. l\lary 8 Chape , having been more fortunate in preserving its arnhi ves as far back as the year 1598, received the first Dumber and the pre.. cedence among the lodges of Scotland. flere terminates the connection of Kilwinning as a place of any importance with Scottish masonry A lodge long continued to exist there, and may probably still remain; but its honourl:i Bnd dignities consist only in the recollections of its venerable origin, and in the union of its name with many of the most opu.. lent and respectable lodges of Scotland. As for the abbey, the stupendous fabric which was executed by the Freemasons who first migrated into Scotland, its history, like that of the lodge which they founded, is one of decline and decay. In 1560 it was in a great measure demolished by l~lexandcr, Earl of Glen~ cairne, in obedience to an order from the States of Scotland, in the exercise of their usurped authority during the imprisonment of }Iary Stuart. A few years afterward, a part of the abbey chapel was repaired and converted into the parish church, al1d was used as such until about the year 1775, wb~n, in consequence of its ruinous and dangerous state, it was pulled down and an elegant church erected, in the modern style. In 1789, so much of the ancient abbey remained as to enable Grose, the antiquary, to take a sketch of the ruins; but now, Dot a vestige of the building is to be found, nor can its exact site be ascertained with any precision.

1

KING. The second officer in a Royal Arch Chapter. He is t,he representative ofZerubbabel, prince or governor of Judah.

When the chapter meets as a lodge of l\Iark, Past, or Most Excellent l'Iasters, the I{ing acts as Senior 'Varden. See Zenwbabel..

After the rebuilding of the second temple, the government of

the Jews was administered by the High Priests as the vice-

KNE-KNI gerents of the I{ings of Per&la, to whonl they paid tribute.

This is the reason that the High Priest is the presiding officer in a chapter, and the I(ing only a subordinate.

KNEELING.

See Genuflect-irm.

KNIGHTHOOD, ORDJ1JRS OF. In the article on tl(~ Crusades, I have stated the inlpossibili t.y of admitting that we are indebted to therll for the introc1uetion of Inasonry into Europe, and the reason assigned was its inconsistency with historical facts. The objection, however, does not exist against the opinion that the orders of knighthood assu111cd the masonic character from the influence of these \yars. On the contrary, we have every reason for believing that the knights \vho visited Palestine organizeu their chivalric systenl upon the model of the masonic institutions which existed there, and into which, we may also presulue, that most of them were admitted. Upon this subject we have sOlnething IDore than mere conjecture to direct us, for we are iufbrmed by Adler, \vho wrote an account of the .A.ssocia.. tion of Druses on l\Iount Libanus, that the I\:nigh ts Tcmplars were actuaJly Ineulbers of the Syriac fraternities~* The oldest order of nlHsonic knighthood is said by a writer in the Freemason's Qtl1trterly Review, to be the Itosy Cross of Scotland, and the fact thttt it unites the Trowel with the Sw·ord, an ullion which the Inore lIloderll orders have sought to avoid, is ad.. duced as evidence of this antiquity. 'rhe same union of the Sword and Trowel is likewise adopted by the Knights of the East, who also claim to be the most ancient order of masonic knighthood.

t

KNIGHT OF TIlE BR1\.ZEN SERI)liJN'r. ffhevalier au Serpent d' aira in. l'he 25th degree in the .Ancien t, Seotch rite.

• A.dler, de DJ.·u:is Mont. Liban. t This' is not the sa.me degree as the Rose Croix of the Anl'lont and Aoeept{),i rite. For some account of it, see the word lJeredom. in:hi& Lexicon..

244

KNI

The history of this degree is founded upon the circunlstances related in Dum hers, eh. xxi ver. 6-9: "And the Lord sent fiery serpents arnong the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. rrherefore the people came to 1\loses, and said, "Ve have sinned; fur we have spoken against the Lord, and against tllee: pray uu to the I . ord that he take away the serpents froJlll us. ..A.nd l\Ioscs prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto ~Ioses,mrLke thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall corne to pass, that everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it shall live. ..A.nd nloses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole; and it calne to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, The hangings of the lodge a.re red and blue. A he lived." transparency, representing the Burning Bush with the Incommunicable name in the centre, is placed over the throne. A conical mount, elevated on five steps, is placed in the centre of the room.

The lodge has but one light It is named the Court of Sinai. ~rhe presiding officer is styled "l\Iost Powerful Grand J\laster," 1tud represents 1\10se8; the \Vardens are called" l\:Iinisters," and represent .拢\..aron and Joshua; the Orator is styled "Pontiff," and the Secretary "Grand Graver."

The candidate is called " A Travc:ller."1'he j~wel is t1 serpent entwined around a tau cross, standing upon a triangle, with the inscription It is suspended froID a ,vhite ribbon .

The knights say that this degree "ras founded in the thne of the Crusades, by ,John Ralph, 'who established the order in th~ Holy Laud as a military and 11lonusti0 society, and ga,ve it the name of the Brazen Serpent., because it was a part of their obli.. gation to receive and gratuitously nurse sick travellers, to protect them against tht: attacks of the Saracens, and escort them safely to Palestine; thus alluding to the healing and saving virtues of the Brazen Serpent [uuang the Israelites in the wilderness.

".,rr'.

l<NIG路Il'r (fF 'fIlE AMERICAN EAGLE.

A. side degree,

K.Nl

~!5

of a military character, which was invented, I think, i:l or some of the Western States.

Tes:~

Iu~IGHT OF TfIE CIIRISTI.A.N l\:IAR.I{, l\ND&Ul~ . RD路 OF THE CONOLAVE. The first degree in a Council of the Trinity. This order is said to have been organized by POpt.'l Alexander for the defence of bis person, and to have been origi~ nally selected from the most worthy I{nights of St. John of Jerusalem. Their ceremonies are founded on certain passages in the Books of Ezekiel and Jeremiah. The officers are. an Invin.. cible Knight, Senior and Junior I(night, six Grand Ministers, Recorder, Treasurer, Conductor, and Guard. The jewel is a triangular plate of gold, with the letter G within a five-pointed star engraved on one side, and seven eyes on the other. The motto of the order is, " Christus regnat, vincit, triumpbat.. Rex regnantium, Dominus dominantium." Christ reigns, conquers and triumphs. King of ICings and Lord of Lords.

The degree is given in New-York Commanderies of Knights Templar, after the Knight of ~Ialta"

KNIGHT OF CONSTANTINOPLl~. A side degree, insti. tuted,doubtless, by some Lecturer, teaching, however, an ex.cellent In oral lesson of humility. Its history has no connection whatever with masonry"The degree is not very extensively diffused, but several Masons, especially in the 'Vestern States, are in possession of it. It may be conferred by any Mastel Mason on another, although the proper performance of the cere.. monies requires the assistance of several. When the degree. is formally conferred, the body is called a Oouncil, and consists of the following officers: Illustrious Sovereign, Chief of t:'Je Artilans, Seneschal, Conductor, Prefect of the Palace, and Captain of the Guards.

KNIGHT OF THE EAGLE.

See Rose

~.

246

KNI

KNIGHT OF THE EAST. Ohevalier <1' Orient. The 15th degree i~ the Ancient Scotch rite. This is a very interesting degree. It is founded upon the circumstance of the assistance rendered by Darius to the Jews, who had been liberatecl fro!u their captivity at Babylon, and who had been prevented nJtcr the death of Cyrus, by their enemies, from completing their purI\o~( )f rebuilding the temple. The Ineetings are called "Councils." 'fhe hangings of the council chamber are water..coloured, inter. spersed with red, in allusion to certain events that occurred at the river Euphrates, on the return of the Israelites from captivity. It is illuminated by seventy-two lights, in memory of the seventy-two years of captivity, and also for another reason.

All the Knights are decorated with a green watered ribbon from the right shoulder to the left hip, a wooden 1-.>ridge being painted on the front of it, with the letters Y and H upon it. It is also painted over with the heads and limbs of bodies newly slain. The apron is lined with red, and bordered with green, having three heaps of triangular chains painted on it, and on the flap a bloody head l>otween two swords in sahire. The officers are: 1, Cyrus or Sovereign; 2, Nehetuias or G-rand Keeper of the Seals; 3~ Sathrabuzulles or Grand General; 4, :l\lithridat;es or Grand ~rreasurer; 5, Sidrus or l\Iinister of State. The I'Cnigh ts of the ]~ast afterwurds, in Pa.lestine, assuluedthe name of Knights of the l~ed Cross, under which ntune a degree is now given, as preparatory to that of Knight Templar.

Scripture and the traditions of the order furnish us with many interesting facts in relation to this degree. The Knights of the East are said to derive their origin from the captivity of ~he Israelites in Babylon. After sevent.y.. twoyears of servit"lde, they were restored to liberty by Cyrus, king of Per;Ol;1.l,; t1:rcugh the intercession of Zerubbabel, 11 prince of the tril.p,~f J- udab, and N ehemias, a 1101y man of a disting~isl1ed family.

Cyrus then permitted the Jews to return to J erusa~eIl', for the purpose of rebuilding the temple, and he caul:)cd all the :hoI] ves路

KNI

247

gels and ornaments which had been carried away at its destruc. tlon by Nebuzaradan, to be restored to them.

He entrusted the command of the returning captives to Ze.. ru'Pbabel, and issued an edict fur their free passage from Syria to Jeru~alem. Zerubbabel then assembled the Israelites, to the number of 42,860, exclusive of slaves and servants, :tud ha'ving armed those Masons who had escaped the fury of the enemy a.t the destruction of the old temple, amounting to 7000, he placed them at the head of the people to fight such as should oppose their return to Judea. The march was prosperous as far as the banks of the Euphrates, where Zerubbabel first found armed troops to oppose their passage. .A battle now ensued, and all the enemy, to a man, were either drowned in the river or cut to pieces at the passage of the bridge.

After a march of four months, the Israelites arrived at J erusalem on the22d ofJune. Seven days after they began to lay out the work of the new temple. The workmen were divided, as at the building of the old temple, into classes, over which a chief with two assistants presided; every degree of each class was paid according to its rank, and eaoh class had its distinctive modes of recognition.

The works had scarcely been begun, before the worktnen were disturbed by the persecutions of the neighbouring Samaritans, who, j"1fiuenced by envy, were determined to oppose the reconstruction of the edifice.. But Zerubbabel ordered, as a measure of precaution, that the Masons should work with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other, that they might be able at any moment to defend themselves from. the attacks of their enemies.

This second temple occupied forty-six years in its construction, ha ving been begun in the reign of Cyrus and completed in that of Artaxer.xes. I t was consecrated in the sarue manner as Solomon had consecrated the first. From the Masons who constructed it, and who were created Knights of the E&c;t by Cyrus, the present order of knights claim their descent.

The degree of Knights of the East constitutes the 6\h d:egr~

KNt of the French ri te. It does nut differ in essentials from same degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scotch rite.

4

KNIGHT OF THE EAST AND WEST.. Chevaz,,;e'r d' Orf~. ent et d' Occident. The 17th degree in the Ancient Acotch rite) called a Council. This is a degree of chivalry, unconnected by its history with Freelnasonry. The knights asse,l." that upon "heir return from the Holy Land, in the age of the Crusaders, their ancestors organized this order; and that, in the year 1118~ the first knights, to the number of eleven, took their vo\'Vs of secrecy, friendship and discretion, between the hands of Garinus, pa.triarch and prince of Jerusalern. The presiding officer is called l\lost Powerful; the Wardens and twenty-one knights, \\,.. orship.. ful Ancients; and the rest of the brethren, Worshipful Knights. gold, The jewel is a heptagon of silver, at each angle a star and one of these letters B. D. W. P. H. C. S.; in the uentr~ il! inscribed a lamb on a book with seven seals. On the reverso of the jewel are the same letters, but the device is a two-(~dged 8~ord between the scales of a balance.

The apron is white, lined with red, and ins,eribed with a. twaedged sword.

or

!(NIGHT OF THE HOLY

SEPULCIIl~E.

This order

was instituted by St. Helena, the mother of Consta.ntine the

Great, in 302, after she had visited Jerusalem, and, ac~ording. to thl} traditions of the Roman Church, discovered the true cross.

III 304, the order was confirmed by Pope l\farcellinus. During thi.\ times of the Christian I(ings of Jerusalem, the Knight9 of the Holy Sepulchre were eminent for their courag~ and fidelity.

Upon the loss of the Holy Land, they took refuge in Perugia, and were afterwards路incorporated with the Knights' of Rhodes.

Curzon, in his "ViRits to l\;Ionasteries in the Levant," states that the order is still conferred in Jerusalem, but only OIl ltoman Catholics of noble birth, by the Reverendissimo or Superior of the Franciscans, and tlhat the accolade, or blow of knighthood)

KNt

249

..zs bestowed with the sword of Godfrey de Bouil..on, which is preserved, with his spurs, in the sacristy of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The degree was formerly given in Oouncils the Trinity, next after the I<.night of the Christian l\lark and in New-York Encalupments of l<:nights Teulplar. The presiding officer is called " Right l~everend Prelatu."

The council chamber is decorated with black ornaments; the altar is covered with black, and htlS three lights, a crucifix, and skull

or

and cross bones.

KNIGHT OF K--H. Grand Elected Knight of Kadosh Grand Alu Ohevalier K(~a,usch. The 29th d(}gree in the Ancient Scotch rite. This degree is inthnately con nected with the ancient order of the Knights Tenlplar, a history of 'whose destruction, by the united efforts of Philip, King of France, and I>ope Clement fOfIns a part of the instructions given to the candidate. The dress of the knights is black, as ~l.n eInblem of nlouruing for the extinction of the I{nights Teluplar, and the death of Jacques de l\IoIay, their last Grand l\Iaster.. 'l'hey 'wear it red cross suspended by ~1 black ribbon from the left shoulder to the right side. 'l'hc presiding officer is st)rled l\Iost Dlustrious Grand Conlmand~r.

,r.

KNIGHT OF THE LILIES OF TIlE VALLEY..

~rhis

was a degree conferred by the Grand Orient of France as an appendage to Telnplarisln. The Knights rrelnph1r who received it were constituted Knights Commanders.

KNIGHT OF MALT;\.. 'rhe Knights of St. John of Je.. rusalem, or HospitaUers of St. ,Jo11n, afterwards called Knights of Rhodes, and finally Knights of l\Ialta, were fbundcd :1bout the xmmencement of the Crusades, as a military n.nd religious order In 1048, some pious merchants frolll Aluulfi, .in the kingdom of Naples, built a church and Ulouastery at ~Jerusalelll, which the.} dedicated to St. tJohn t.he Aluloner. The monks were hence called Brothers of St. John, or Ilospitallers, and it was their dut}

.teNI to assist those sick and needy pilgrims whom a spirit of piety had ..ed to the Holy I.and. They assumed the black habit of the hermits of St. AUbJ1lstine, distinguished only by a white cross of eight points on the left breast. They rapidly increased in num.. bers and in wealth, and at the beginning of the twelfth century, were organized as a nlilitary order by RaYluond du Puy, who a.dded to their original vows of chastity, obedience, and poverty, the obligation of defending the church against infidels. Raymond then devided theln into three classes: Knights, who alone ,bore arms; Chaplains, who were regular ecclesiastics; and Servitors, who attended to the sick. After long and bloody contests with the Turks and Saracens, they were finally driven from Palestine in the year 1191. Upon this, they attacked and conquered Cyprus, which, however, they lost after eighteen years occupation; they then established themselves at the Island of Rhodes, under the Grand l\fastership of Fulk de Villaret, and assumed the title of I{nights of Rhodes On the 15th of December, 1442, after a tranquil occupation of this island for luore than two hundred years, they were finaily ejected from all their possessions by the sultan, SoliInan the Second. After this disaster, they successively retired to Castro, l\lessil1a, and Rcnne, until the Elnperor Charles V_, in 1530, bestowed upon thern the Island of l\Ialta, upon the oondition of their defending it from the depredations of the Turks, and the corsairs of Barba.ry, and of restoring it to N :.q)les, should t,hey o'Ver succeed in recovering Rhodes. They now took the ntune of Knights of l\'Ialta, by which title they have ever since been designated. IIere the organization of the order was¡ as follows: The chief ,of the order wa.s called (, Grand l\'Iaster of the Holy lIospital of St. John of Jerusalem, and Guardian of the arnlY of Jesus Christ." He was elected for life, and resided at the city of yT'alette.. He was addressed by foreign powers with the title of "altezza eminentisshna," and enjoyed an annual revenue of about one million of guilders.

The knights were divided into

*

â&#x20AC;˘ The Grand Master's election was regulated in the following manner, when Clark wrote his U History of Knighthood." The several semina.ries named tW4

KNI

2b

eight languages, according to theIr respective nations. The Ian. guages were t,hose of Provence, Auvergne, France, Italy, Arragon J Germany, Castile, and England. Upon the extinction of the Ian.. guage of Engla.nd, that of Anglo-Bavaria was substituted, The Grand Officers were also eight in nUluber, and consisted of the chi6fa of the different languages, as follows: 1. The chief of the language of Provence was Gra.nd Commander.

2." " Auvergne " ]\larshal.

J." " France" HospitalIer. 4." " Italy "Grand Admiral. ,,, " Arragon" Grand Conservator.

6." " Germany" Grand Ba.iliff.

T. " II Castile (t Grand Chancellor.

England" Turcopolier or Captain [General of the Cavalry.

8."

"

The knights, in time of war, wore over their usual garments a scarlet surcoat, elnbellished before and behind with a broad white cross of eight points. In tinles of peace, the dress of ceremony was a long black nluntle 1 upon which the S~tme cross of white linen was sowei.

I. 1565, the Island of l\falta was belcagured by Solinutn the Becond, on which occasion the knights suffered ilnnlense loss, fronl which they' never entirely recovered. Of the eight languages, the English became extinct in the sixteenth century, those of It'rance, Auvergne, and Provence, perished in the anarchy of the French revolution, Castile and Arragon were separated at the peace of Amiens,and the remaining two have been since abolished. ':rhe order, ther~fore, as respects its ancient constitution, has now ceased to exist.

In 1798, the knights chose Paul I . , Emperor of Russia, as their Grand Master, who took them under his protection. Upon his death they elected Prince Carracciolo.. Upon the reduction knights eaoh, allowing o.1so two for the English; those sixteen, from arn()ng themselves chose eight: those eight chose a knight, a priest, and & serving brother; and they three. out of the sixteen ~reat orosses" eleot~d t~~ GraIJd Hn.s~r.

252

KNI

of the Island of ~:Ialta by the English in 1800, the chief scat of the order was transferred to Catanea in Sicily, whence in 1826 it was removed by the authority of the Pope to Ferrara. The last public reception of the order took place at Sonneburg in 1800, when Leopold, the p~'esent I{ing of Belgiulu, and Prince Ernest of I-Iesse Philippsthal Bttrchfeld, with several other knightR, were created.

In 1841, Ferdinand I., Empel~or of Austria, issued a decree restoring the order in Italy, and endowing it with a moderate 1'evenue.* But the wealth, the power, and the magnificence of the order have passed away with the age and the spirit of chivalry which gave it birth.

Ancient Oeren~on,ies of Reception.-They were simple and iUlpressive.

"The novice was made to understand that he was 'about to put off the old man, and to be regenerated;' and ha"'dng received absolution, was required to present ~imself in a secular habit, without a girdle, ill order to appear perfectly free on entering into so sacred an engagement, and with a burning taper in his hand, representing charity. He then received the holy communion, and aftel"Wards presented himself 'most respectfully before the !)erson 'who 'was to perfoflu the cerenlony, and requested to be received into the conlpany of brothers and into the holy order of the Hospital of I'J erUSaICll1.' The rules of the order, the obligations he was about to take upon hinlself~ and the duties that would be required of him, being explained, an open ~Iissal was then presented to hhn, on which he placed both of his hands, and made his profession in the following terms: a 'I, N., do vo,v'tnd pronlise to Almighty God, to the eternal Virgin l\iary, nlother of God,and to St. John the Baptist, to ren路路 der henceforward, by ~he grace of God, perfect obedience to the Buperiorplaced over me by the choice of the order, to live without personal property, and to preserve my chastity.' " Having taken his hands from the book, the brother who re. _._------------_.._----------

" s~~ lloore', 14ag;azme f9f a copl of tbiadecr"-

KNI ceived him said as follows: 'We acknl wledge you the servant of the poor and sick, and as having consecrated yourself to the service of the Church.' To which he answered: 'I acknowledge myself as such.' He then kissed the l\fissal and returned it to the brother who received him, in token of perfect obedience. 110 was then invested with the mantle of the order, in such a manner as th:1t the cross fell on his left breast. A variety of other minoT ceremonies followed, and the whole was concluded with a series of appropriate and solemn prayers."* As a masonic grade, the degree of Knight of l\Ialta is in this coun~ry communicat.ed in a Commandery of Knights Templar, a6 an appendant order thereto.

KJ.~IGHT OF THE l\IEDITERRANEAN PASS. This is an honorary degree, conferred only on Knights Templar as Knights of lVlalta. It is conferred by Inspectors of the 33d degree of the Ancient and .A..coepted rite, though, I suppose, it may also be conferred by Encamprnents of I{nights Teulplar that are in p08sessionof it, upon their lllelllbers.

The degree is said to have been founded by the I<:nights of :\lalta, about the year 1367. In un excursion of a prtrty of ~Ial¡ tese knights, they were attacked while crossing the river Offallto,t in Italy, by a very superior force. Notwithstanding the disparity of nUluhers, the knights succe(3ded in obtaining a signal victory, ~nd routed the Turks, with an iLUluense loss, the river being ~itcrnlly sta.ined ,vith their blood. .A.s a reward of their Yalour, the knights who had thus distinf5wshed themselves were uffrancbised. on all the Mediterranean shores; that is to say, they received perIuission to pass and repass, ,,;, herever and whenever it scclued to thcln good, and this was the ,----,~---,-,-~---

â&#x20AC;˘ Moore's Maga.zine, Tol ii, p.

,----------

U~3--4.

t This is th& anoient Aufidius, rnemorable for the battle of Ca.nn~ f)ught on fts banks, between lIu.nnibal and the Romans, in whiohtbe latter were d9feate4 with the los. of 45 J OOO Illen.

254

KNI

origia of the degree which was instituted in cOlllluemoration of these circumstances. Such is the legend of the knigl: ts of thl~ degree. It is by no means to be confounded with the side degree of the "~Iediterranean Pass," conferred 011 Royal Arch Masons, which resembles it only in the name.

KNIGHT OF THE NINTH ARCH.

Royal Arcne.

The

13th degree in the . A..ncient Scotch rite, sometimes called the " Ancient Royal Arch of Solomon." This is, without question, t.he Inost interesting and impres~5ve of what are called the inef.. fable degrees. The historical portlt ns of this degree are copious, and aff~rd us much information in relation to Enoch, and the mode in which, notwithstanding the destructive influence of the neluge and the lapse of ages, he was enabled to preserve important secrets eventually to be communicated to the first possessors of tJhis degree. Its officers are a lVIost Potent Grand Master, representing Solomon K. of I., a Grand "rarden, representing Hiram K. of T., a Grand Inspector, Grand Treasurer, and Grand Secretary.

The apron of this degree is lined with yellow, and has on it a triangle.

The jewel is a medal of gold. On one side is ~ representation of two people letting down a third through a square hole into arches, and round the edge these letters: "R. S. S.. G.. I. E. S. T. P. A. T. S.. R. E., A. ~I. 2995/' They are the initials of the ['>llowing sentence: "Regnante Sapientissimo Salamone, G-J-- et S - - Invenerunt l)retiosissimum ...\ rtificuln Thesaurum: Subter Ruinas Enoch, Anno Mundi 2995."

KNIGHT OF THE PELICAN.

One of the titles by which

the Princes of Rose Croix are designated.

KNIGHT OF THE RED CROSS.. This is strictly a masonic order of knighthood, and its history is intimately connected with

t.becircumstaQoes :related in the Royal Arch

d~ree.

It ~ uo

KNI

255

a,nalogy to the degrees of chivalry, dating its existen~e long before the Crusades, or eve~ the Christian era, as far back, indeed, as the reign of Darius, by whom it is said to have been founded.

It is, however, always conferred in a Commandery of I(nights Templar, and is given preparatory to communicating that degree, though there is no connection whatsoever between the two. After the death of Cyrus, the Jews, who had been released by him from their captivity, and permitted to return to Jerusalem, for the purpvse of re-building the temple, found themselves obstructed in the undertaking by the neighbouring nations, and especially by the Salnaritans. Hereupon, they sent an embassy, at the head of which was their prince Zerubbabel, to Darius the successor of Cyrus, to crave his interposition and protection. ZerubbabeI, awaiting a favourable opportunity, succeeded not only in obtaining his request,. but also in renewing the friendship which formerly existed between the king and himself. In commemoration of these events, Darjus is said to have instituted a new order, and called it the I{nights of the East. They afterwards assumed their present nalue froln the red cross borne in their banners. The historict1lcircumstances connected with this degree will be found in Josephus, and 111 the 3d and 4th chapters of the 1st book of Esdras. It is asserted that this order has been long known in Europe, under different names, though its introduction into this country is of compa.ratiyely recent date. A council of Knights of the Red Cross is composed of the following officers: a Sovereign Master, Chancellor, l\'Iaster of the Palace, Prelate, J\'laster of Despatches, Master of Calvary, l\:Iaster of Infantry, Standard-Bearer, Sword-Bearer, Warder, and Sentinel.

KNIGHT OF TIlE ROYAL AXE, OR PRINCE OF R0!lal-Baclu~, ou Prtnce du Liban. The 22dde-

,LIBANUS.

gree in the Ancient Scotch rite. It was instituted to record three memorable services rendered to masonry by the "mighty cedars of Lebanon," and its history furnishes some intcrestiDS in.formation on the subject of the SidDuian architects.

29

256

I\'.NI

W f:, learn froln this degree that the Sidonians were employed cutting cedars, on l\Iount Libanus or Lebanon, for the COlistruction of Noah's ark. Their descendants subsequently cut cedars from the same place for the ark of the covenant; and the descendants of these were again eIl1ployed in the same offices, and in the salne place, in obtaining Inaterials for building Solomon's temple. Lastly, Zerubbabel ernployed them in cutting the cedars of Lebanon for the use of the second temple. This celebrated nation forIlled colleges on lYlount Liballus, and in their labours a~ ways adored the Great Architect of the Universe. I have no doubt that this last sentence refers to the Druses, that secret sect .of Theists, who still reside upon l\'lount Libanus, and in the adjacent parts of Syria and Palestine, and whose nlysterious ceremonies have attracted so much of the curiosity of Eastern travellers.

Thory* says that Pierre Riel, lVlarquis of Beurnonville, who died in P,lris in 1821, hnving gone to the island of Bourbon, was there elected Grand lVlaster of all the lodges of India, in 1778, and then instituted this degree.

The apron of the Knights of the l~oyal Axe is white, lined and bordered with purple. On it is painted a round table, on which are laid several architectural plans. On the flap is a three-headed serpent. The jewel is a golden axe, having on the hiLudle and blade the initials of several personages illustrious in the history of masonry .'0

KNIGHT OF THE ROSY CROSS. Order 01

See HereMm,

.rwp

KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM. A<-.cord.. ing to a tradition of the Rose Croix, 27,000 of the descendant.s of the lY[asons who, at the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, had fled to Scotland, being desirous of uniting in the wa,r of the Crusades, obtained pernlission of the Scotch monarch, and, O~ their arrival in Palestine, perfornled so many deeds of valour &I â&#x20AC;˘ Chl&onologie" tome i., p. IlL

251

KNI

to attract the adu.lirtttion of the Knights of St. John of J erusa· lem, who, as a token of their esteelll, requested to he initiated into the masonic order, whence arose the connection of that body with the Freemasons.

KNIGIIT OF ~rIIE SUN. Ohevalierdzt Solit~l. Tht 28th degree of the . A.ncient Scotch rite, scnnetiInes called by other names, as Prince of the Sun, l)rince l\.dept, and I(ey of 1\1 fL... sonry, or Chaos Disentangled. 1'his is a philosophical degree.

Its ceremonies and lecture are ctnploycd ill giving a history of all the preceding degrees, and in explaining the emblenlS of Inasoury. Its great object is the inculcation Of'rRUTH. The principal officers are styled Thriee I)erfect l:father .l\danl and Brother Truth; the other officers are narned after the seven chief angels, and the brethren are called SJlphs. The jewel is a gold nledal, with a sun on one side surrounded by rays, and on the reverse a globe. There is but one light in the lodge, which shines from behind n globe of' water.

Ragon, * speaking of this degree, says that it is not, like many of the high degrees, tt Inodern invention, bu.t is of the highest antiquity, and was, in fact, the last degree of initiation, teaching, as it did, the doetrines of natural religion, which fornlcd an. essential part of the ancient mysteries..

KNIGH'r OF TH:D}

THl:t~JE

KINGS.

A side :legree

sometimes given by I ..ecturers. Its history connects it with the dedication of the first teluple, the conferrer of the degr(~e representing King SOl()111on. Its nloral tendency appeurs to be the inculcation of reconciIiat:ion of grievances among .l\Iasons by i'riendly conference. Itm~ty be conferred by any Mltster l\Iaso~ JD another.

KNIGHT TEl'IPLAR. In the early ages of the Christian \1hurch, a holy veneration for the seenes which had been conse• Couts Philosophique, p. 861.

22*

·

KNI crated by the sufferings and death of the foun.rler of our religion. led thousands of pious pilgril~ls to visit Jerusalem, for the pur, pose of offering up their devotions at the sepulehre of the Lord. ~ro such a height did this religious enthusiasm arrive, that, in 1064, not less than seven thousand pilgrims asselubled from all parts of Europe around the tOln b of Christ. l\..t a time 'when the facilities of intercourge V\J"hich now exist were unknown, the journey must have al\"\ aJs been attended with difficulties and dangers, to which the youthful, tlle aged, and the infirn1, 111ust often have been sacrificed But when Palestine was concluered by the Arabs, and the land of pilgrimage becanle infested by hordes of barbarous fanatics, inspired with the most intense hatred towards Christianit,y, these difficulties and dangers were eminently increased. The tale of the sufferings inflicted on the pilgrims by the l\lussulnlan possessors of Jerusalem excited in Europe an enthusiastic indignation, which led to the institution of the Crusades, wars undertaken solely for the purpose of recovering the Iioly I~and froln the followers of 1tIahomet. In 1099, the city of ,Jerusalem ,vas captured by the Crusaders, the conse.. ,nence of which ,vus un increase in the zeal of pilgrilnage, which lad been gathering intensity during its long suppression hy the &urbarities of the TurcoIlluns. But, although the infidels had been dri-ren out of J erusalclll, they had not been expelled from Palestine, but they still continued to infest the lofty mountains bordering on the sea-coast, from whose inaccessible strongholds they were wont to make incursions into the roads surrounding the Holy City" and pillage every unguarded traveller.

To protect the pious pilgrims thus exposed to plunder and death, nine noble knights, who had previously dist,inguished themselves at the siege of J erusaleul: united in a brotherhood, and bound themselves bia solemn cODlpact to aid one another in clearing the highways of infidels and robbers, and in protecting the pilgriln through the passes and defiles of the mountains to the Holy City.~ â&#x20AC;˘ The Knight Templars,t by C. G. ,A idison, Esq.., of the bner Temple. ~f

London, 1842..

P

}{NI

259

These knights called themselves the Poor Fello1.() Solrli;er s oj JeSU8 Ohrist.

Baldwin, King of ~Jeru.~alem, gave thelu, in 1118, for a dwelling, a part of the church which had been built by the Emperor Justinian within the site on 'which the teulple of Solo.. mon had been erected on l\Iount l\Ioriah, and adjoining to the telnple which had been built by the Caliph OIuar. '!'henceforth they assumed the title of "Poor -Fello\v Soldiers of Uhrist and of the temple of Solomon.' '* 'rhe views of the order no,v he came more extensive, and they added to their profession of pro路 tecting poor pilgrims, that of defending the kingdom of J erusa1em, and the whole Eastern church, frolll the attacks of infidels.

Hugh de Payena was chosen by the knights their leader, under the title of the "l\faster of the Temple.. " Their name and reputation spread rapidly through J~urope, and many of the nobles of the West, who had visited Palestine as pilgrims, aspired to become members of the order. In 1128, they received a rule or system of regulations from the pope, which had been drawn expressly for them by St. l~ernard. In the same year Hugh de PayeDs visited various parts of Europe, and received franl dif" ferent princes and nobles nlany liberal donations of land and money. In England, especiallj"', where tlhe alllount granted was large, he established a branch of the order, placing a Knight Templar at it,s hea.d, as his procurator nnd vicegerent, with the title of路 Prior of the Temple. .A.s the l~Dglish dOlnains became enlarged, this title was successively changed to that of Grand Prior, and then to that of i'laster of the Temple in England.

At this time, ~he rule of St. Bernard, which bad been adopted for their government, prescribed to theul a dress, consisting of a white mantle, "that those," as the rule expressed it, "who have cast behind thelll a dark life, m,ty know that they are to commend themselves to their creator by a pure and white life.."t To this, Pope Eugenius some years afterwards added a red cross,

as a symbol of martyrdom..

Their banner was half black, haH

... Pa.uperes Commilitiones Christi et Templi Salomoni...

t

Regala.. ;ap xx.

260

KNI

whit,o, called Beauseant, "that is to say, in the Gall c tongue; I3ien-seant, (well-beco'1l1,·iJlg,) because they are fair and fa\"'ourabl€ to the friends of Ohrist, but black and terrible to his enelnies.";t.

The knights, engaged in continual wars with the infidels, con· !inued to inercase their reputation, and enlarge their posses~ions, which are esteelned by Dugdale to have produced: in 1185, tbp. enormous annual sun1 of six lnillions sterling. lint in the be~ ginning of the 14th century, the avarice of Philip Ie l~el, antI the weakness and perfidy of Clement V., conspired to givr, a blow to their order, from which it never recovered. Before adverting to that catastrophe, I shall occupy a few lllOlllcntR in ex~ amining the organization of the order during the most prosperous period of its existence.

The order of the Telnple, in the 12th century, was divided Into three classes: knights, priests, and serying brethren. Every candidate for admission into the first class lllust have received the honour of knighthood in due fornl, and according to the laws of chivalry, and consequently the I{nightsTemplar were all ruen flf noble birth. The second class, or the priests, were not origi..

Bb.lly a part of the order, but by the bull of Pope .A.Iexander, known as the bull O'~nne datunz, 0l)tin~wrrl, it was ordained th~Lt they might he adlllitted, to enable the knights THore cornmodi..

01151y to bear divine service, and to receive the saeramants.

Serving brothers, like the priests, 'were not a part of the primitive institution. They owed their existence to the increasing prosperity and luxury of the order.

Over this society, thus constituted, wa-s placed a presiding officer, with the title of Grand l\laster. Hi~ power, tllougb great, was limited. lIe was, in war, the cODlwandcr-in-chief of all the forces of the TClnple. In his hands was placed the? whole patronage of the order, and as the vicegerent of tIle pope, he was the spiritual head and bishop of all the clergy belonging to the society. He was, however, much controlled and guided • James de Vitry.

Hist. HierOioL

!{NI

261

by the clwptt~,r, witbuut whose consent he was never pBrmitted to draw out or eX,pend the money of the order.

The Grand ~laster r8Bi<led originally 2.t J erusaleul; afterviards, when that city was lost, at j\.cre, and finally at Cyprus. His dutlY aI'ways required him to be in the Holy Land; be conse.. quently never resided in Europe. Jle was elected for life frolu arnong the knights in the follo~'i:Jg Inanuer. On the death of the Grand l\laster, a Grand I)rior ¡V:l.~ e:~10sen to adlninister thE, affairs of the order until a suecessol" C01JJd. he elected.. "Then the day which had be.en appointed f()r the election arrived, the . chapter usually assembled at the chief Se~Li.1 of the order,; three or more of the mostesteeulcd knights were then proposed, the Grand Prior collected the votes, and he who had received the greatest number was nominated to be the eleeting Prior. An Assistant was then associated with hi,Ill in the person Qf another knight. These two remained all night in the chapel engaged in prayer. In the morning, they chose two others, and these four, two morp-, and so on until the nurnber of twelve ('that of the .poetIes) had been selected. The twelve then selected a chap.. lain. The thirteen then proceeded to vote for a (}rand l\Iaster, who was elected bY:1 majority of the votes. \Vhen the election was completed, it was announced to the asseulbled br0thren, and when all had prolnised obedience, the Prior, if the person was present, said to hirn, "In the IlUlue of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, we have chosen, and do choose tJb.ee, brother N., to be our ~Iaster." 'rhen, turning to the brethren, he said, "Beloved sirs and brethren, give thanks unto God, behold h'1re our l\'Iaster ,,* The remaining officers were a l\Iarshal, who ,vas ch~rged with the execution of the military arrangements on the field of battle~ The Prior of Jerusalem, called the Grand Preceptor of the Temple, was the Treasurer of the order, and had charge of all the receipts and expenditures. ~rhe Draper had the care of the clothing departIllcnt, and distributed the garluents to all the â&#x20AC;˘ See N. Axneric. Qunrt. Mag. voL TiL p. 328.

262

KNI

brethren. The Standard-Bearer bore the glorious Beanseant tc the field. The Turcopilar was the commander of a body of lighhorse called Turcopoles, w'ho were employed as skirmishers and light cavalry. And lastly, to the Guardian of. the Chapel was entrusted the care of the portable chapel, which was always car . ried by the Templars into the field.. * Each province of the order had a Gra:c.d Prior, who was in it the representative of the Grand lYfaster j and each house wa~ governed by a :Prior or Preceptor, who commanded its knights in time of war, and presided over its chapter in peace..

The mode of reception into the order is described to have been excGedingly solemn. A novitiate was enj oined by the canons; though practically, it was in general dispensed with. The can.. didate was received in a chapter asselubled in the chapel of the order, all strangers being rigorously excluded. The Preceptor opened the business with an address to those present, demanding if they knew of any just cause or impedilnent why the candi. date shou.ld not be admitted. If no objection was made, the candidate was conducted into an adjacent chamber, where two or three of the knights, placing before his view the rigour and austerities of the order, demanded if he still persisted in entering it.. If he persisted, he was asked if he was married or betrothed, had made a vow in any other order, if he owed more than he could pay, if he was of sound body, without any secret infirlnity, and free? If his answers proved satisfactory, they left him and ret",lrned to the chapter, and the Preceptor again asked, if any one had any thing to say against his being received. If all were sileut; he asked if they were willing to receive him. 0 n their assenting, the candidate wals led in by the knights who had questioned him, and who now instructed him in the mode of asking admission.. He advanced, and kneeling before the Preceptor with folded hands, said, "Sir, I am come before God, a.nd before you and the brethren.; and I pray and beseech you, â&#x20AC;˘ This list is given on the authority of Addison. .lightly in the names a.nd number of these ofl1cerg..

Other write18 vaq

KNI

263

Cor the sake of God, and our sweet lady, to reueive me into your society and the goon works of the order, as one who, all his life long, will be the servant and slave of the order." The Preceptor then inquired of him if he had well considered all the trials and difficulties which awaited him in the order, adjured hiIn on the Holy Evangelists to speak the truth, and then put to him the questiol1s "which had already been asked of hinl in the preparation rOOUl, further inquiring if he was a knight, and the 80n of a knight and gentlewornan, and if he was a priest. He then asked him the following questions: "Do you promise to God and Mary, and our dear lady, obedience, as long as you live, to the J\Iaster of the Temple, and the Prior who shall be set over you; do you promise chastity of the body; do you further pro.. mise a strict compliance with the laudable customs and usages of the order now in force, and such as the ~Iaster and knights may hereafter add; will you fight for and defend, with all your migb t, the holy land of Jerusalem, and never quit the order but with the consent of the l\Iaster and Chapter; and lastly, do JOU agree that you never ,,"ill see a Christian unjustly dâ&#x201A;Źprived of his inheritance, nor be aiding in such tt deed ?', The answers to all these questions being in the nffirmu,tive, the Preceptor then said: "In the nnme of God, and of l\Iary, our dear la.dy> and in the na..'lle of St. Peter of Rome, and of our Father the Pope, and in the nalne of all the brethren of the Telnple, we receive you to all the good works of the order, which have 'been performed from t,he beginning; and will be perforrned to the end, you, your father, your mother, and all those of your fan.lily whom you let participate therein. So you, in like mu,nner, receive us to all the good works which you have performed and will perform. We assure you of bread and water, the poor clothing of the order, and labor and toil enow."

The Preceptor then took the whit~ mantle, n'ith its ruddy cross, placed it about his neck and bound it fast.. The Chaplain repeated the 133d Psalm: Behold hO'UJ gooda'lld how pleasant ,U is jor bl'ethren to dwell together in

'.,J/nit.y ;" and the prayer of the Holy Spirit, "De:usiJUi corda

~

KNI

264

fiilelium; each hrother said a Pater, and the Preceptor an<1 Chaplain kissed the candidate. He then placed himself at the feet of the Preceptor, who exhorted him to peace and charity, to chastity, obedience, humility, and piety, and so the ceremony ,vas ended.* But to resume the history of the or<ler. From the time of II ugh de Payens, to that of Jacques de l\folay, the Teulplars continued to be governed by a succession of the noblest and bravest knights of which the chivalry of Christendom could boast. They continued to increase in power, in fame and in wealth, and, what is unfort.unately too often the concomitants of these qualities, in luxury and pride. In the beginning of the 14th century, the throne of France was filled by Philip the Fair, an ambitious, a vindictive, and an avaricious prince. In his celebrated controversy with Pope Boniface, the Templars had, a,s was usual with tl~em, sided with the Pontiff and opposed the King,; this aet excited his hatred: the order was enormously wealthy; this aroused his avarice: their power interfered with political aggrandizement; and this alarlned his his designs nmbition~ He, t-herefore, secretly concerted with Pope Clement V. a plan for their destruction, and the appropriation of their revenues. Clernent, by his direction, wrote in June, 1306, to De l\:lolay, the Grand l\tIaster, who was t.henat Cyprus, inviting hirn to come and consult with him on some matters of great importance to the order. De ~rolay obeyed the summons, and arri"ved in the beginning of 1307 at Paris, with sixty knights and a large amount of treasure. lie was immediately hnprisoned, and, on the 18th of October following, every knight in li"rnnce was, in consequence of the secret orders of the King, arrested on the pretended charge of idolatry, and other enormous .crimes, of which a renegade and expelled Prior of th e order was said to have confessed that the knights were guilty in their secret chapters.. On the 12th of ~Iay, 1310, fifty-four of the knights were, after a mock trial, publiclJ burnt, and on the 18th of March,

or

â&#x20AC;˘ N. Am. Quart.. Mag. utsupra.

KNI

~65

1314, De l\lolay, the Grand l\Iaster, and the three principal dIg. nitaries of the order, suffered the saIne fate. They died faithfully asserting their innocence of all the crimes imputed to them.

The order was now, by the energy of the I(ing of France, as¡ sisted by the spiritual authority of the Pope, suppressed throughout ]~urope. .l3ut it was not annihilated. De l\Iolay, in ,anticipation of his fate, had t1ppointed John l\'Iark I..larrnienus a.~ his successor in office, and froul that time to the present there has been a regular and uninterrupted succession of Grand :&Iasters. Of the names of these Grand l\lastcrs, and the date of their election, I annex a list for the gratification of the curious.* 1118.

1. Hugh de Payens, 1139.

2. Robert of Burgundy, 1147.

S. Everard de Baxri, 1151.

4" Bernard de Trenellape, 1154..

0" Bertrand de Blan chefort, 1165.

6. Andrew de ~.Iontbar 1169.

7. Philip of Naplus, 1171.

8. Odo de St. Amand, 1180.

9.. Arnold de Troye, 1185.

10. John Terrieus, 1187.

11. Gerard Ridefort, 1191.

12. Robert Sablaeus, 1196 IS. Gilbert Gralius, 1201.

14. Philip de Plessis, 1217.

15. Willianl de Cnrnota, 1218.

16. Peter de )lontagu, 1229 17. Armaud de l)etragro8sa, 123'j".

18. Herman de Petragrorius, !~4/i.

19. WHliuln de Itupefort, â&#x20AC;˘ It may be as weH t() olH~crvo tJmt thiR is the Ih;t, given by tho orde,.- "t tll5 T<,mple at Paris, who elaim to he the linnlll de8(~l'nrlants of the llnci~nt ord~l'.

Other Templn.f::J, "']10 do not admit tll(!' legality ()f th~ Gru,nd Ma.stership

Larmenlus, give dtffereDtcataloguesof Orand Masters.

266

!tNI

William de Sonnac, 1247.

Reginald Vie.hierius, 125.0.

Thomas Beraud, 1257.

William de Beaujeau, 1274.

Theobald Gaudinius, 1291.

Jacques de Molay, 1298.

John lVlark Larnlienus.

1314.

Thomas 'fheobald Alexandrinus, 1324.

Arnold de Braque, 1340.

John de Claremont, 1349.

Bertrand du Guesclin, 1357.

John Arminiacus, 1381.

Bernard Arminiacus, 1392 John Arminiacus, 1419.

John de Oroy, 1451.

Bernard Imbault, 1472.

Robert Senoncourt, 1478.

Galeatius de Salazar, 1497.

Philip Chabot, 1516.

Gaspard de Jaltiaco Tavanensis, 1544.

Henry de Montmorency, 1574.

Charles de Valois, 1615.

James Ruxellius de Granceio, 1651.

Due de Duras, 1681.

Philip Duke of Orleans, 1705.

Due de 1'Iaine, 1724.

Louis I-Ienry Bourbon, 1737. i7. Louis Francis Bourbon, 1741.

48. Due de Cosse Brissac, 1776.

49 Claude 1\:1. It. ChE.1villon, 1792.

5(' Bernard R. F. P:11:tprat, 1804.

51. Sir Sidney SlDith, 1838.

Nntwithstanding, therefore, the efforts of the King and the Pope, the order of Templars wns not entirely extinguished. In France it still exists, and ranks aUlong lts members some of the most 20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25 26 27.

28.

29.

30.

81.

32.

83.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40..

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46

KNI

267

influential noblenlon of the klngdoln. In I>ortugal, the nanu! of the order has been changed to that of the " Knigh ts of ChrIst.," and itf:: Cross IS frequently conferred by the governluent as t.he reward of distinguished tllerit. In England, the Encalnpment of Baldwin, which WitS establislled at Bristol by the Templars who returned with Richard I. from Palestine, still continues to hold ~tg regular Dleetings, and is believed to have preserved the ancient costtune and ceremonies of the order. This ellcalupment, with nnotl1cr at Bath, and a third at York, constituted the three original encampments of England. FroIn these have emanated the existing encampments in the British Islands and in the UnitedStates, so that the order, as it now exists in Britain and America, is ft, lineal descendant, of the ancient order.

The connection between the I\:nigl1 ts Templar and tIle Freemasons has been repeatedly asserted by the cnenlies of both insti.. tutions~ and as often adnlitted by their friends.

I.Jawrie, on tIlis subject, 110Ids the following language: "We know that the I{night Templars not only possessed the mysteries, but perfofIlled the ceremonies, and inculeated the duties of Frecluasons ;"* and ]18 attribut.es the dissolution of the orcIe!' t.o tIle discovery of their being Freenlasons, and their assembling in secret to practise the rites of the order. lIe further endeavours to explain the manner in Wllich they became the depository of the Dlusonic nlysteries by tracing t,heir initiat,ion to the Druses, a S)triac fraternity, which, at the time of the Crusades, and long after, existed on Mount I.libanus. t Oo.'ltume -At the conclusion of this article, a few remarks on the costume of the order may be acceptable. The present black dress of the Templars is derived from the Knights of l\Ia.lta, to whom" with the Teutonic Knights, their estates were assigned by Pope Clement on t,he dissolution of the order, and with whom ID',l,ny of the knights united themselves. But originally, as we â&#x20AC;˘ Hist. of :Freemasonry, p.. 68. t Bitt. of Freemasonry, p. 88.

268

KNI

have already observed, their costU1l1e ,,"aR u.;hite. In the Statute. of the order, as established in Scotl:lnd, which were revised in 1843, the ancient costulue was exactly adopted. l\.ceording to these regulations the dress of the I(uights Templar is as follows: A white woollen Inantle to reach the knee in front, and taper .away to the ankle behind, fastened with white cord and tassel, and with a red cross patee on the left shoulder; white woollen tunic, reaching to about three or four inches above the knee, with the cross upon the left breast; ,vhite stock with falling white shirt collar; tight white pantaloons; buff boots, with buff tops turned over five inches broad, no tassels; spurs gilt, with red leathers; sash of white silk, half a yard in breadth, tied in a knot in front; the ends edged with a white silk fringe hanging down, and a small red cross near the extremities; white woollen cap with red leather band, or, if he has obtained a diploma from the Grand :L\iaster, a red velvet cap; no feather; cross-hilted sword ,vith brass guard, and white ivory hilt; scabbard of red morocco; belt of red leather, \vith gilt buckle; buff gauntlets, with a red cross on the wrist; badge, n.nd enalnel1ed black cross, with white orle, and ~1.s1na.ll red cross enaulelled thereon, suspend.. ed from the neck by a red ribbon 'with white edges, about two inches broad, passing through the ring of the badge.

In Alnerica, until 1862, the Templar costume was as follows: The suit was black, with black gIo路ves. A bhtck velvet sash, trimmed with silver lace, crossed the body frolll the left shoulder to the right hip, having at it.'3 end a cross-hilted dagger, a black rose on the left shoulder, and ft ~Ialtese cross at the end. Where the sash crossed the left breast, wns a nine-pointed star in silver. with a cross and serpent of gold in the centre~ withIn a circle, around which \vere the words, " i'n hoc srigno vinces." 'l'he apron was of black vel vet, in a triangular form, and edged with silver lace. On its flap was placed a triu,ngle of silver, perforated with twelve holes: with a cross and serpent in the centre; on the cen.. tre of the apron was a skull aud cross-bones, between three stars

of seven points, having a red cross in the centre of each.

The

LAB-LAN

20S

belt was blaek, to which was attached a cross..hilted sword. The caps varied in forlu and decoration in difl'erent encalupments.

Bllt in 186~ the Grt1ud ]~nCall1pment of the United States directed the dress to consist of a blttck frock coat and pantaloons, with white scarf and sword belt, and white gauntlets. The apron, very injudiciously, as I think, was discarded.

L. LABOUR. From the time of opening to that of closing, a lodge is said to be at labour. This is but one of the numerous instances in which the terms of operative masonry are symbolically applied to speculative; for, as our operativ~ ancestors, when congregated in lodge, were engaged in the building of nlaterialedifices, so Free and .A.ccepted l\lasons are supposed to be enlplo,yed in the erection of a superst4ructure of virtue and In orality, upon the foundation of the masonic principles which they were taught at their admission into the order. Extending the allusion, the lodge is said " tc be called from labour to refreshluent," whenever, in the course of the Ineeting, it adjourns fora definite period, or takes a recess of a. few minutes. During this time, the Junior Warden presides over the craft.

LADDER.

See Jacob's Ladder.

LA NDMARKS.

In ancient times, it was the custom to mark

路 the boundaries of lands by means of stone pillars, the removal of which, by malicious persons, would be the occasion of much con... fusion, men having no other guide than these pillars by which to distingui~h the limits of their property. To remove them; therefore, was considered a heinous crime. "Thou shalt not," says the Jewish law, "remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of 28*