PART IV

Casting the Molten Sea
AS the spiritual gifts of tlie Sons of Sefh flowered in Solomon, the wisest of men, and enabled him to conceive and design a marvelous temple, ac- cording to the plan of his creator, Jehovah, so Hiram, the clever craftsman, embodied within himself the consummate skill of a long line of anc^ral artificers. He possessed the concentrated quintessence of the material knowledge gained by the Sons of Cain, while they wrought from the wilderness of the world a concrete civilization; and in the execution of the wonderful Temple of Solomon this superlative skill found full fruition.
Thus this glorious edifice was the chef d'oeuvre of both lines, an embodiment of the sublime spirituality of the churchmen, the Sons of Seth, combined with the superlative skill of the craftsmen, the Sons of Cain. So far, the honors were even, the achievement equal. Solomon was contented; he had carried out the design transmitted to him, he had a place of worship worthy of the Lord he revered; but the soul of Hiram wa^ not satisfied. Armed with the art of ages, he had constructed an incomparable master-
36 Freemasonry and Catholicism
piece in architecture. But tJie design had not been his own; he had been merely the tool of an unseen architect, Jehovah, working through an intermediary Solomon. This rankled in his heart, for it was as necessary for him to originate as to breathe.
In that ancient age when Cain and Abel first found themselves upon earth, Abel contentedly cared for the flocks created like himself and his parents, Adam and Eve, by Jehovah; but in Cain, semi-divine pro- geny of the Lucifer Spirit, Samsel, and Eve, the crea- ture of Jehovah, divine incentive to original effort burned; he tilled the field and made two blades of grOss grow where one grew before; the creative in- stinct must have expression.
Hiram, being the focus of and having inherited all the crafts of Cain, was also invested with the Spirit of Samsel intensified in commensurate ratio; there- fore he was consumed by an overpowering urge to add something to the Temple that would eclipse the rest of the structure in beauty and importance. Out of the travail of his spirit was bom the conception of THE MOLTEN SEA, and this great ideal he pro- ceeded to carry into execution, though heaven and earth held their breath in awe at the audacity of his purpose.
The Bible gives very little information about the j molten sea. In Second Chronicles, the fourth chap- ter, we learn that Hiram made such a vesjsel, that it was of considerable size, that it stood upon 12 oxen arranged so that their heads were at the peri-
Casting the Molten Sea 37
phery of this circular basin and their hind parts were towards its center. It was intended solely for use by the priestp. Much is said of a nature to bewilder the reader, but the above salient points prove the signal importance of this instrument, as we shall see when we study and compare the Masonic account with this veiled word of the Bible. The Masonic story runs as follows:
When Hiram had about completed the Temple, he commenced to cast the various vessels required in the service according to designs made by Solomon as agent of Jehovah. Chief among these was the great laver, intended to hold the bath of purification, through which all priests must pass to enter upon the service of the Lord. This, and all the lesser ves- sel^, were successfully cast by Hiram, as recorded in the Bible. But there is an important distinction be- tween the vessel and the molten sea which it was designed by Hiram to contain, and until that had been successfully poured, the vessel was without vir- tue, so far as purifying properties were concerned; until then it could no more cleanse the sin-stained soul than could a dry basin be utilized to cleanse the body. Nor could Solomon speak the Word, the form- ula for this wonderful work. None but Hiram knew it. This work was to be his Masterpiece, and if he succeeded, his art would have lifted him above the human, and made him divine like the Elohim Jeho- vah. In the garden of Eden, his divine progenitor Samsel, had assured his mother, Eve, that sue might
38 Freemasonry and Cathoucism
become **as the Elohim," if she ate of the tree of knowledge. For ages his ancestors had wrought in the world ; through the accumulated skill of the Sons of Cain, an edifice had been reared, wherein Jehovah hid himjself ** behind the veil*' and communed only with his chosen priests, the Sons of Seth. The Sons of Cain were thmst out of the Temple which they had buUt, as their father, Cain, had been driven from the garden which he had tilled. This Hiram felt to be an outrage and an injustice ; so he applied himself to pre- pare the means whereby the Sons of Cain might rend the veiP' and open the way to God for **who soever will.''
To this end he sent messengers over the world to collect all the metals with which the Sons of Cain had ever wrought. With his hammer he pulverized them and placed them in a fiery furnace to extract by alchemistry, from each particle, the quintessence of knowledge derived in the experience of working with it. Thus the combined quintessence of these various base metals would form a spiritiial sublimate of knowledge incomparable in potency, valuable be- yond all earthly things. Being of ultimate purity it would contain no color, but resemble a *'sea of glass." Whoever should lave in it would find himself endow- ed with perpetual youth. No philosopher could com- pare with him in wisdom; this ** white stone" knowl- edge would even enable him to lift the veil of in- visibility and meet the superhuman Hierarchs, who
Casting the Molten Sea 39
work in the world with a potency undreamt of by the masses.
Masonic traditions tell us that Hiram's prepara- tions were so perfect that success would have been afssured, had not treachery triumphed. But the in- competent craftsmen whom Hirim had been unable to initiate into the higher degrees, conspired to pour Water into the vessel cast to receive the molten sea; for they knew that the Son of Fire was unskilled in the manipulation of the watery element, and could not combine it with his wonderful alloy. Thus, by frustrating Hiram's cherished plan and spoiling his Masterpiece, they aimed to revenge themselves upon the Master. Solomon had been privately informed of the nefarious plot, but jealously on account of the Queen of Sheba bound his tongue and stayed his arm, for he hoped that when the ambitious plan of Hiram failed, the affections of the queen would turn from his humiliated rival to himself. He therefore closed eyes and ears to plot and plotters.
When Hiram confidently pulled the plugs, the liquid fire ru/shed out, was met by the water, and there was a roar that seemed to shake heaven and earth, while the elements boiled and battled. All but Hiram hid their faces at the awful havoc; then from the center of the raging fire he heard the call of Tubal Cain, bidding him jump into the molten sea. Full of faith in his ancestor, who had gone before him upon the path of fire, Hiram obeyed and plunged fearlessly into the flames. Sinking through the dis-
40 Freemasonry and Catholicism
integrated bottom of the ve^el, he was conducted succe^fuUy through nine-arch-like layers of the earth to the Center, where he found himself in the presence of Cain, the founder of his family, who gave him instructions relative to blending Water and Fire, and who furnished him with a new hammer and a iNEw WORD, which would enable him to produce these results. Cain looked into the future and uttered a prophecy which has been partly fulfilled; what re- mains is in process of realization day by day, and a^ surely as time goes on all wilj come to pass.
**You, Hiram,'' said Cain, '*are destined to die with hope^ unfulfiUed, but many sons will be bom to the widow and keep your memory screen through the ages, and at length one will come who is greater than you. You shall not wake till the Lion of Judah raises you with the powerful grip of His paw. This day you have received your baptism of fire, but He shall baptise you ivith Water and with Spirit; you, and every son of the widow, who will come to Him. Greater than Solomon, he will build a new city and a Temple wherein the nations may worship. The Sons of Cain and the Sons of Seth shall there meet in Peace, at the sea of glass. And as Melchisedec, King of Salem (Salem means Peace,). and Priest of God, ministered to Abraham, the father of nations, when mankind was yet in its infancy, so shall this new Light combine in Himself the dual ofBce of King and Priest after the order of Melchisedec. He shall judge the nations with the law of love and to him
Casting the Molten Sea 41
that overcometh will be given a White Stone with a name that will serve as passport to the temple. There he may meet the king face to face,''
Hiram was again conducted to the surface of the earth and as he walked from the scene of his shatter- ed ambition, the conspirators set upon and fatally- wounded him ; but before he expired, he hid the ham- mer and disc upon which he had inscribed the Word. This was never found until ages later when Hiram, **the widow's Son,'' was reborn as Lazarus and be- came the friend and pupil of the Lion of Judah, who raised him from death through initiation. When the hammer was found it had the shape of a cross, and the disc had become a rose. Therefore Hiram took his place among the immortals under the new and symbolical name
Christian Rosenkreuz.
He founded the Order of Temple-Builders which bears his name ; in that Order aspiring souls are still instructed how to fuse the base metals and make the White Stone.
The symbology of the foregoing will be explained in the following chapters.