TO
WINSLOW LEWIS, M. D.,
PAST GRAND MASTER OF MASSACHUSETTS,
THIS WORK
Is Deidcated,
NOT MORE
AS A TRIBUTE OF THE RESPECT WHICH I FEEL
FOR
HIS INTELLECTUAL ATTAINMENTS,
THAN
As a Token of that Sincere Affection long since won from me
BY THE
LARGENESS AND KINDNESS OF HIS HEART.
The popularity which has been accorded to the "Book of the Chapter" has induced me to believe that a Manual of the Three Symbolic Degrees, prepared according to the same method which had guided the composition of that work, would be equally acceptable to the craft.
The present volume has, therefore, been written to supply what I have long supposed to be a desideratum in Masonic literature, namely, the means of enabling the young Mason or the recent initiate more thoroughly to understand the ceremonies through which he has just passed, and to extend his researches into that sublime system of symbolism of which in the ordinary lectures of the Lodge he has received only the faint out lines.
Many who anxiously desire to obtain "more light" on the obscure subject of Masonic symbolism, and who would, if possible, learn more of the true signification of our emblems and allegories, are either unwilling or unable to devote to these objects the time and labor requisite for poring over the ponderous volumes of Masonic writers in which these subjects are discussed.
To such students, a manual arranged so as to facilitate inquiry, by making every explanation correspond, in order of time and place, with the regular progress of initiation, must be of great value, because its study involves neither a great expenditure of time, which many can not well spare, nor does it demand more intellectual exertion than almost every one is able to bestow.
In obtruding another monitorial instructor on the fraternity, already too much burdened with this class of publications, I can offer only this improved method of teaching as my excuse. I have made no innovations, but have sought to accommodate the order of ceremonies to the system of lectures long since adopted and now generally prevailing in this country.
But these lectures are only the alphabet of Masonry. He who desires to appreciate the whole truth and beauty of Masonic symbolism and philosophy, must go still further and make profounder researches. To enable such an inquirer to accomplish this task, I have written the present work in the humble hope that my labor will not be altogether in vain.
A. G. MACKEY.
April 1st. 1862
ENTERED APPRENTICE.
FIRST AND SECOND SECTIONS.
ENTERED APPRENTICE.—FIRST AND SECOND SECTIONS.
ENTERED APPRENTICE.—THIRD SECTION.
ENTERED APPRENTICE.—THIRD SECTION.
ENTERED APPRENTICE.—THIRD SECTION.
ENTERED APPRENTICE.—THIRD SECTION.
ENTERED APPRENTICE.—THIRD SECTION.
ENTERED APPRENTICE.—THIRD SECTION.
FELLOW CRAFT.
FIRST SECTION.
FELLOW CRAFT.—SECOND SECTION.
FELLOW CRAFT.—SECOND SECTION.
FELLOW CRAFT.—SECOND SECTION.
FELLOW CRAFT.—SECOND SECTION.
MASTER MASON.
FIRST SECTION.
MASTER MASON.—SECOND SECTION.
MASTER MASON.—SECOND SECTION.
MASTER MASON.—SECOND SECTION.
MASTER MASON.—SECOND SECTION.
MASTER MASON.—THIRD SECTION.
MASTER MASON.—THIRD SECTION.
Most holy and glorious Lord God, the great Architect of the Universe, the giver of all good gifts and graces: Thou hast promised that, "where two or three are gathered together in thy name, thou wilt be in the midst of them, and bless them." In thy name we assemble, most humbly beseeching thee to bless us in all our undertakings, that we may know and serve thee aright, and that all our actions may tend to thy glory, and to our advancement in knowledge and virtue. And we beseech thee, O Lord God, to bless our present assembling, and to illuminate our minds, that we may walk in the light of thy countenance; and when the trials of our probationary state are over, be admitted into THE TEMPLE "not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
Response by the Brethren.—So mote it be. Amen.
Supreme Architect of the Universe, accept our humble praises for the many mercies and blessings which thy bounty has conferred on us, and especially for this friendly and social intercourse. Pardon, we beseech thee, whatever thou hast seen amiss in us since we have been together; and continue to us thy presence, protection, and blessing. Make us sensible of the renewed obligations we are under to love thee supremely, and to be friendly to each other. May all our irregular passions be subdued, and may we daily increase in Faith, Hope, and Charity; but more especially in that Charity which is the bond of peace and the perfection of every virtue. May we so practice thy precepts, that we may finally obtain thy promises, and find an entrance through the gates into the temple and city of our God.
Response.—So mote it be. Amen.
May the blessing of Heaven rest upon us and all regular Masons! May brotherly love prevail, and every moral and social virtue cement us.
Response.—So mote it be. Amen.
In addition to the prayer, it is sometimes customary to use the following:
Brethren:
We are now about to quit this sacred retreat of friendship and virtue, to mix again with the world. Amidst its concerns and employments, forget not the duties which you have heard so frequently inculcated, and so forcibly recommended in this Lodge. Be diligent, prudent, temperate, discreet. Remember that, around this altar, you have promised to befriend and relieve every brother who shall need your assistance. You have promised, in the most friendly manner, to remind him of his errors, and aid a reformation. These generous principles are to extend further. Every human being has a claim upon your kind offices. Do good unto all. Recommend it more especially "to the household of the faithful." Finally, brethren, be ye all of one mind; live in peace; and may the God of love and peace delight to dwell with and bless you.
O! most glorious and eternal Lord God, the world's Supreme Architect, the source of light, of life, and of love, we, thy servants, assembled in solemn Grand Lodge, would now implore thy gracious protection and favor.
In thy name, O Lord, we have assembled, and in thy name we desire to proceed in all our doings. Let the Spirit of Peace and of Love rest upon us. Let the wisdom of our sublime Institution so subdue every discordant passion within us, so harmonize and enrich our hearts with a portion of thine own love and goodness, that the Grand Lodge, at this time, and at every time, may be a sincere though humble copy of that Order, Beauty, and Unity which reign forever before thy throne.
Enlighten, we beseech thee, the dark corners of the earth with the rays of our benevolent Institution, that all the ends of the world may know thee, and every human being be taught to love his fellow-man.
Let thy protection be over all the members of the mystic family, wheresoever dispersed, and bless their lawful labors. Graciously accept these our supplications and prayers, for the sake of thy most holy and glorious name.
Response.—So mote it be. Amen.
The third section of the Entered Apprentice's lecture explains the nature and principles of our constitution, and furnishes many interesting details relating to the Form, Supports, Covering, Furniture, Ornaments, Lights, and Jewels of a Lodge, how it should be situated, and to whom dedicated.
Nearly the whole of this section has been made monitorial. Webb, and after him Cross, Hardie, Tannehill, and all other monitorial writers, have left but little of it unpublished. I have, on the same principle, slightly increased the amount of information given, by the publication of one or two passages, hitherto excepted from publication in other monitors, since I could discover no reason why this exception should have been made.
A Lodge is an assemblage of Masons duly congregated, having the Holy Bible, Square, and Compasses, and a Charter or Warrant of Constitution authorizing them to work.
Every lawful assemblage of Masons, duly congregated for work, will be "a just and legally constituted Lodge." It is just, that is, regular and orderly, when it contains the requisite number to form a quorum, and when the Bible, Square, and Compasses are present. It is legally constituted when it is acting under the authority of a Warrant of Constitution, which is an instrument written and printed on parchment or paper (but properly it should be on the former), emanating from the Grand Lodge in whose jurisdiction the Lodge is situated, and signed by the grand officers, which authorizes the persons therein named, and their successors, to meet as Masons and perform Masonic labor. As no assemblage of Masons is legal without such an instrument, it is not only the privilege, but the duty, of every Mason on his first visit to a strange Lodge, to demand a sight of its Warrant of Constitution; nor should any brother sit in a Lodge whose members are unwilling to exhibit the authority on which they act.
Our ancient brethren met on the highest hills and in the lowest valleys, the better to observe the approach of cowans and eavesdroppers, and to guard against surprise.
The reason assigned in the lecture for this assembling on high places, is the modern, but not the true one. The fact is, that mountains and other high places were almost always considered as holy, and peculiarly appropriate for religious purposes, and we have abundant evidence in Scripture that the Jews were accustomed to worship on the tops of the highest hills, as it was believed that sacrifices offered from these elevated places were most acceptable to the Deity. Hutchinson says that "the highest hills and the lowest valleys were, from the earliest times, deemed sacred, and it was supposed that the Spirit of God was peculiarly diffusive in those places."
A Lodge is said, symbolically, to extend in length from east to west; in breadth, from north to south; in height, from the earth to the highest heavens; in depth, from the surface to the center. And a Lodge is said to be of these vast dimensions to denote the universality of Masonry, and to teach us that a Mason's charity should be equally as extensive.
There is a peculiar fitness in this theory, which is really only making the Masonic Lodge a symbol of the world. It must be remembered that, at the era of the Temple, the earth was supposed to have the form of a parallelogram, or "oblong square." Such a figure inscribed upon a map of the world, and including only that part of it which was known in the days of Solomon, would present just such a square, embracing the Mediterranean Sea and the countries lying immediately on its northern, southern, and eastern borders. Beyond, far in the north, would be the Cimmerian deserts as a place of darkness, while the pillars of Hercules in the west, on each side of the Straits of Gades—now Gibraltar—might appropriately be referred to the two pillars that stood at the porch of the Temple. Thus the world itself would be the true Mason's Lodge, in which he was to live and labor. Again; the solid contents of the earth below, "from the surface to the center," and the profound expanse above, "from the earth to the highest heavens," would give to this parallelogram the outlines of a double cube, and meet thereby that definition which says, that "the form of the Lodge ought to be a double cube, as an expressive emblem of the powers of light and darkness in the creation."8
A Lodge has three principal supports, which are Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty, because it is necessary that there should be wisdom to contrive, strength to support, and beauty to adorn all great and important undertakings. Of these, the column of Wisdom is situated in the east part of the Lodge, and is represented by the W∴ M∴ because it is presumed that he has wisdom to devise labor for the craft, and to superintend them during the hours thereof: the column of Strength is situated in the west part of the Lodge, and is represented by the S∴ W∴ because it is his duty to strengthen and support the authority of this Master; and the column of Beauty is situated in the south part of the Lodge, and is represented by the J∴ W∴ because from his position in the S∴ he is the first to observe the meridian sun, which is the beauty and glory of the day, to call the craft from labor to refreshment, to superintend them during the hours thereof, to see that none convert the purposes of refreshment into those of intemperance or excess, and to call them on again in due season, that the M∴ W∴ may have honor, and they pleasure and profit thereby.
The idea that the Lodge is a symbol of the world, is still carried out. It was the belief of the ancients that the heavens, on the roof of the world, was supported by pillars. By these pillars, some suppose that the mountains are alluded; but in reference to a passage in Job xxvi. 11, where it is said, "The pillars of heaven tremble." Noyes thinks that "it is more probable that heaven is represented as an immense edifice, supported on lofty columns, like a temple." But on this passage Dr. Cutbush is still more explicit. He says: "The arch, in this instance, is allegorical not only of the arch of heaven, but of the higher degree of Masonry, commonly called the Holy Royal Arch. The pillars which support the arch are emblematical of wisdom and strength—the former denoting the wisdom of the Supreme Architect, and the latter the stability of the universe."—Brewster's Encyclop., American edition.
Its covering is no less than a clouded canopy or starry decked heaven, where all good Masons hope at last to arrive, by the aid of that theological ladder which Jacob, in his vision, saw ascending from earth
to heaven, the three principal rounds of which are denominated Faith, Hope, and Charity, and which admonish us to have faith in God, hope of immortality, and charity to all mankind.
The greatest of these is Charity; for our Faith may be lost in sight; Hope ends in fruition; but Charity extends beyond the grave, through the boundless realms of eternity.
The Lodge continues throughout this degree to be presented to the initiate as a symbol of the world, and hence its covering is figuratively supposed to be the "clouded canopy" on which the host of stars is represented. If the Lodge represent the world, then its covering must be represented by the blue vault of heaven.
The mystical ladder which is here referred to, is a symbol that was widely diffused among the religions of antiquity, where, as in Masonry, it was always supposed to consist of seven steps, because seven was a sacred number. In some of the Ancient Mysteries, the seven steps represented the seven planets, and then the sun was the topmost; in others they represented the seven metals, and then gold was the topmost; in the Brahminical mysteries they represented the seven worlds which constituted the Indian universe, and then the world of Truth was the highest. The seven steps of the Masonic ladder are Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, Justice, Faith, Hope, and Charity; that is, the four cardinal and the three theological virtues. Now, as charity is love, and as the sun represents Divine Love, and as also the astronomical sign of the sun is gold, and as truth is the synonym of God, it is evident, that the topmost round in all these ladders, whether it be the sun, or gold, or truth, or charity, conveys exactly the same lesson of symbolism, namely, that the Mason, living and working in the world as his Lodge, must seek to raise himself out of it to that eminence which surmounts it, where alone he can find Divine Truth.
The furniture of a Lodge consists of a Holy Bible, Square, and Compasses.
The Holy Bible is dedicated to God; the Square, to the Master; and the Compasses, to the craft.
The Bible is dedicated to God, because it is the inestimable gift of God to man; * * * the Square, to the Master, because it is the proper Masonic emblem of his office; and the Compasses, to the craft, because, by a due attention to their use, they are taught to circumscribe their desires, and keep their passions within due bounds.
The ornaments of a Lodge are the Mosaic Pavement, the Indented Tessel, and the Blazing Star. The Mosaic pavement is a representation of the ground floor of King Solomon's Temple; and the indented tessel, of that beautiful tesselated border or skirting which surrounded it.
The Mosaic pavement is emblematical of human life, checkered with good and evil; the beautiful border which surrounds it is emblematical of those manifold blessings and comforts which surround us, and which we hope to obtain by a faithful reliance on Divine Providence, which is hieroglyphically represented by the blazing star in the center.
Mosaic Pavements, consisting of stones of various colors, so disposed as to represent different shapes or forms, were common in the temples of the ancients. Fellows says that they represented the variegated face of the earth in the places where the ancients formerly held their religious assemblies. The true derivation of the word is unknown, or at least unsettled.
The Indented Tessel is a border of stones, of various colors, placed around the pavement. Tessel, from the Latin tessela, means a little square stone, and to indent is to cut or notch a margin into inequalities resembling teeth. A tesselated border is, therefore, a notched border of variegated colors.
The Blazing Star is said by Webb to be "commemorative of the star which appeared to guide the wise men of the East to the place of our Savior's nativity." This, which is one of the ancient interpretations of the symbol, being considered as too sectarian in its character, and unsuitable to the universal religion of Masonry, has been omitted since the meeting of Grand Lecturers at Baltimore, in 1842.
A Lodge has three symbolic lights; one of these is in the East, one in the West, and one in the South. There is no light in the north, because King Solomon's Temple, of which every Lodge is a representation, was placed so far north of the ecliptic, that the sun and moon, at their meridian height, could dart no rays into the northern part thereof. The north we therefore masonically call a place of darkness.
The three lights, like the three principal officers and the three principal supports, refer undoubtedly to the three stations of the sun—its rising in the east, its meridian in the south, and its setting in the west—and thus the symbolism of the Lodge, as typical of the world, continues to be preserved.
The use of lights in all religious ceremonies is an ancient custom. There was a seven-branched candlestick in the tabernacle, and in the Temple "were the golden candlesticks, five on the right and and five on the left." They were always typical of moral, spiritual, or intellectual light.
A Lodge has six jewels; three of these are immovable and three movable.
The immovable jewels are the Square, Level, and Plumb.
The square inculcates morality; the level, equality; and the plumb, rectitude of conduct.
They are called immovable jewels, because they are always to be found in the East, West, and South parts of the Lodge, being worn by the officers in those respective stations.
The movable jewels are the Rough Ashlar, the Perfect Ashlar, and the Trestle-Board.9
The rough ashlar is a stone as taken from the quarry in its rude and natural state.
The perfect ashlar is a stone made ready by the hands of the workmen, to be adjusted by the working tools of the fellow-craft. The trestle-board is for the master workman to draw his designs upon.
By the rough ashlar we are reminded of our rude and imperfect state by nature; by the perfect ashlar, that state of perfection at which we hope to arrive by a virtuous education, our own endeavors, and the blessing of God; and by the trestle-board we are also reminded that, as the operative workman erects his temporal building agreeably to the rules and designs laid down by the master on his trestle-board, so should we, both operative and speculative, endeavor to erect our spiritual building agreeably to the rules and designs laid down by the Supreme Architect of the Universe, in the great books of nature and revelation, which are our spiritual, moral, and masonic trestle-board.
To every Mason, whatever may be his peculiar religious creed, that revelation of the Deity which is recognized by his religion becomes his trestle-board. Thus, the trestle-board of the Jewish Mason is the Old Testament; of the Christian, the Old and the New; of the Mohammedan, the Koran. But as no operative mason can work without a trestle-board, where the designs and instructions of his master for his conduct in the building on which he is engaged may be delineated, so no speculative mason can labor truly and profitably in the great work of life without a trestle-board which may contain the delineation of the designs and will of his Eternal Master. And thus it is that, as the atheist acknowledges no such Master, and can therefore have no such trestle board, he is not permitted to unite with us in our "moral, spiritual, and masonic" labor. And this is really the reason of the law which forbids the initiation of atheists.
A Lodge is situated due east and west, because when Moses crossed the Red Sea, being pursued by Pharaoh and his host, he erected on the other side, by divine command, a tabernacle,10 which he placed due east and west, to receive the first rays of the rising sun, and to commemorate that mighty east wind by which their miraculous deliverance was effected. This tabernacle was an exact pattern of King Solomon's Temple, of which every Lodge is a representation, and it is, or ought, therefore, to be placed due east and west.
The orientation of Lodges, or their position due east and west, is derived from the universal custom of antiquity. "The heathen temples," says Dudley, "were so constructed that their length was directed toward the east, and the entrance was by a portico at the western front, where the altar stood, so that the votaries approaching for the performance of religious rites, directed their faces toward the east, the quarter of sunrise." The primitive reason of this custom undoubtedly is to be found in the early prevalence of sun-worship, and hence the spot where that luminary first made his appearance in the heavens was consecrated, in the minds of his worshipers, as a place entitled to peculiar reverence. Long after the reason had ceased, the custom continued to be observed, and Christian churches still are built, when circumstances will permit, with particular reference to an east-and-west position. Freemasonry, retaining in its symbolism the typical reference of the Lodge to the world, and constantly alluding to the sun in his apparent diurnal revolution, imperatively requires, when it can be done, that the Lodge should be situated due east and west, so that every ceremony shall remind the Mason of the progress of that luminary.
Our ancient brethren dedicated their Lodges to King Solomon, because he was our first Most Excellent Grand Master; but modern Masons dedicate theirs to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, who were two eminent patrons of Masonry; and since their time, there is represented, in every regular and well-covered Lodge, a certain point within a circle, embordered by two perpendicular parallel lines, representing St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist; and upon the top rests the Holy Scriptures. The point represents an individual brother; the circle is the boundary line, beyond which he is never to suffer his prejudices or passions to betray him. In going round this circle, we
necessarily touch upon these two lines, as well as the Holy Scripture; and while a Mason keeps himself circumscribed within these due bounds, it is impossible that he should materially err.
The point within a circle is an interesting and important symbol in Freemasonry, but it has been so debased in the interpretition of it given in the modern lectures, that the sooner that interpretation is forgotten by the Masonic student, the better will it be. The symbol is really a beautiful but somewhat abstruse allusion to the old sun-worship, and introduces us for the first time to that modification of it known among the ancients as the worship of the Phallus.
The Phallus was an imitation of the male generative organ. It was represented usually by a column, which was surrounded by a circle at its base, intended for the cteis, or female generative organ. This union of the phallus and the cteis, which is well represented by the point within the circle, was intended by the ancients as a type of the prolific powers of nature, which they worshiped under the united form of the active or male principle, and the passive or female principle. Impressed with this idea of the union of these two principles, they made the older of their deities hermaphrodite, and supposed Jupiter, or the Supreme God, to have within himself both sexes, or, as one of their poets expresses it, "to have been created a male and an unpolluted virgin."
Now, this hermaphrodism of the Supreme Divinity was again supposed to be represented by the sun, which was the male generative energy, and by nature or the universe, which was the female prolific principle. And this union was symbolized in different ways, but principally by the point within the circle, the point indicating the sun, and the circle the universe of nature, warmed into life by his prolific rays.
The two parallel lines, which in the modern lectures are said to represent St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, really allude to particular periods in the sun's annual course. At two particular points in this course the sun is found on the zodaical signs Cancer and Capricorn, which are distinguished as the summer and winter solstice. When the sun is in these points, he has reached respectively his greatest northern and southern limit. These points, if we suppose the circle to represent the sun's annual course, will be indicated by the points where the parallel lines touch the circle. But the days when the sun reaches these points are the 21st of June and the 22d of December, and this will account for their subsequent application to the two Saints John, whose anniversaries the Church has placed near those days.
So the true interpretation of the point within the circle is the same as that of the Master and Wardens of a Lodge. The reference to the symbolism of the world and the Lodge is preserved in both. The Master and Wardens are symbols of the sun—the Lodge, of the universe or the world; the point also is the symbol of the same sun, and the surrounding circle of the universe, while the two parallel lines really point, not to two saints, but to the two northern and southern limits of the sun's course.
The three great tenets of a Mason's profession are Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth, which are thus described:
By the exercise of brotherly love, we are taught to regard the whole human species as one family; the high and low, the rich and poor; who, as created by one Almighty Parent, and inhabitants of the same planet, are to aid, support, and protect each other. On this principle, Masonry unites men of every country, sect, and opinion, and conciliates true friendship among those who might otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance.
To relieve the distressed, is a duty incumbent on all men, but particularly on Masons, who are linked together by an indissoluble chain of sincere affection. To soothe the unhappy, to sympathize with their misfortunes, to compassionate their miseries, and to re store peace to their troubled minds, is the great aim we have in view. On this basis we form our friend ships and establish our connections.
Truth is a divine attribute, and the foundation of every virtue. To be good and true, is the first lesson we are taught in Masonry. On this theme we contemplate, and by its dictates endeavor to regulate our conduct; hence, while influenced by this principle, hypocrisy and deceit are unknown among us, sincerity and plain-dealing distinguish us, and the heart and tongue join in promoting each other's welfare, and rejoicing in each other's prosperity.
Every Mason has four * * * * which are illustrated by the four cardinal virtues, Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, and Justice, and are thus explained:
Temperance is that due restraint upon our affections and passions which renders the body tame and governable, and frees the mind from the allurements of vice. This virtue should be the constant practice of every Mason; as he is thereby taught to avoid excess, or contracting any licentious or vicious habit, the indulgence of which might lead him to disclose some of those valuable secrets which he has promised to conceal and never reveal, and which would consequently subject him to the contempt and detestation of all good Masons. * * *
Fortitude is that noble and steady purpose of the mind whereby we are enable to undergo any pain, peril, or danger, when prudentially deemed expedient. This virtue is equally distant from rashness and cowardice; and, like the former, should be deeply impressed upon the mind of every Mason, as a safeguard or security against any illegal attack that may be made, by force or otherwise, to extort from him any of those valuable secrets with which he has been so solemnly intrusted, and which were emblematically represented upon his first admission into the Lodge. * * * *
Prudence teaches us to regulate our lives and actions agreeably to the dictates of reason, and is that habit by which we wisely judge and prudentially determine on all things relative to our present as well as to our future happiness. This virtue should be the peculiar characteristic of every Mason, not only for the government of his conduct while in the Lodge, but also when abroad in the world. It should be particularly attended to in all strange and mixed companies, never to let fall the least sign, token, or word whereby the secrets of Masonry might be unlawfully obtained. * * * *
Justice is that standard, or boundary of right, which enables us to render to every man his just due, without distinction. This virtue is not only consistent with Divine and human laws, but is the very cement and support of civil society; and as justice in a great measure constitutes the real good man, so should it be the invariable practice of every Mason never to deviate from the minutest principles thereof. * * * *
As an encouragement and example to the candidate, he is reminded that our ancient brethren served their masters with freedom, fervency, and zeal—which qualities are symbolically illustrated—and the lecture closes with an appropriate reflection on the certainty of death.
Brother:
As you are now introduced into the first principles of Masonry, I congratulate you on being accepted into this ancient and honorable Order: ancient, as having subsisted from time immemorial; and honorable, as tending, in every particular, so to render all men who will be conformable to its precepts. No institution was ever raised on a better principle or more solid foundation; nor were ever more excellent rules and useful maxims laid down than are inculcated in the several Masonic lectures. The greatest and best of men, in all ages, have been encouragers and promoters of the art, and have never deemed it derogatory to their dignity to level themselves with the fraternity, extend their privileges, and patronize their assemblies. There are three great duties which, as a Mason, you are charged to inculcate—to God, your neighbor, and yourself. To God, in never mentioning his name but with that reverential awe which is due from a creature to his Creator; to implore his aid in all your laudable undertakings, and to esteem him as the chief good. To your neighbor, in acting upon the square, and doing unto him as you wish he should do unto you. And to yourself, in avoiding all irregularity and intemperance, which may impair your faculties, or debase the dignity of your profession. A zealous attachment to these duties will insure public and private esteem.
In the State, you are to be a quiet and peaceful subject, true to your government, and just to your country; you are not to countenance disloyalty or rebellion, but patiently submit to legal authority, and conform with cheerfulness to the government of the country in which you live. In your outward demeanor, be particularly careful to avoid censure or reproach.
Although your frequent appearance at our regular meetings is earnestly solicited, yet it is not meant that Masonry should interfere with your necessary vocations, for these are on no account to be neglected; neither are you to suffer your zeal for the Institution to lead you into argument with those who, through ignorance, may ridicule it.
At your leisure hours, that you may improve in Masonic knowledge, you are to converse with well informed brethren, who will be always as ready to give, as you will be ready to receive, instruction.
Finally, keep sacred and inviolable the mysteries of the Order, as these are to distinguish you from the rest of the community, and mark your consequence among Masons. If, in the circle of your acquaintance, you find a person desirous of being initiated into Masonry, be particularly attentive not to recommend him unless you are convinced he will conform to our rules; that the honor, glory, and reputation of the Institution may be firmly established, and the world at large convinced of its good effects.
1. This prayer is found in Preston, upon whose authority I have restored the word "godliness" instead of "virtuousness" used by Webb, or "holiness" adopted by Cross. The prayer, but in a very different form, is, however much older than Preston, who borrowed, abridged, and altered the much longer formula which had been used previous to his day. It is said that the prayer at initiation was a ceremony in use among the "Ancient" or "York Masons," but omitted by the "Moderns."
2. Lecture on the "Symbolism of Freemasonry," p. 15.
3. The Order of the Golden Fleece was an order of knighthood Instituted in 1429, by Philip, Duke of Burgundy.
4. There is no such order as the Knights of the Roman Eagle. The expression (which is an unhappy one) probably refers to the fact that the Eagle was the standard of the ancient Roman Empire.
5. The Order of the Garter, the most noble of the British orders of knighthood, was instituted in 1341, by Edward III. The Star and the Garter are the insignia bestowed upon and worn by a knight.
6. Webb, Cross, Hardie