CHAPTER XXXIII

THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF THE ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE (33°)
“On May 1, 1786, the Grand Constitution of the Thirty-third Degree, called the Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, was finally ratified by His Majesty the King of Prussia, who, as Grand Com- mander of tlhe Order of Prince of the Royal Secret, possessed the sovereign Masonic power over all the Craft.’
‘In the new Constitution this power was conferred on a Supreme Council of nine brethren, in each nation, who possess. all the Masonic prerogatives in their own Dis- trict that His Majesty individually possessed, and are Sovereigns of Masonry.’
‘Every Supreme Council is composed of nine Inspectors-General, five of whom should profess the Christian religion’ (Dalcho, 1802).
The English Supreme Council was estab- lished in 1845.
437
The following is a list of the thirty-three : degrees:
Ww NS
. Entered Apprentice. . Fellow Craft. . Master Mason (inc. Royal Arch *)y
. Secret Master.
. Perfect Master.
. Intimate Secretary.
. Provost and Judge.
. Intendant of the Buildings. . Elect of Nine.
. Elect of Fifteen.
. Sublime Elect.
. Grand Master Architect. 13. I4.
Freemasonry and its Etiquette
SYMBOLIC LODGES.
LODGES OF PERFECTION.
Royal Arch of Enoch. Scotch Knight of Perfection,
COUNCIL OF PRINCES OF JERUSALEM.
I5. ro.
Knight of the Sword and of the East. Prince of Jerusalem.
* See definition of Pure Antient Masonry, Art. L., | Book of Constitutions.
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Supreme Council of Scottish Rite
CHAPTER OF PRINCES OF R.C,
17. Knight of the East and West.
18. Knight of the Pelican and Eagle and Prince of the Order of Rose Croix of H.R. D. M.
CoUNCIL OF KADosH.
1g. Grand Pontiff.
20, Grand Master of Symbolic Lodges.
21. Noachite, or Prussian Knight.
22. Knight of the Royal Axe, or Prince of Libanus.
23. Chief of the Tabernacle. |
24. Prince of the Tabernacle.
25. Knight of the Brazen Serpent.
26. Prince of Mercy.
27. Knight Commander of the Temple.
28. Knight of the Sun, or Prince Adept.
29. Grand Scottish Knight of St. Andrew.
30. Knight Kadosh.
CONSISTORY OF PRINCES OF R.S.
31. Inspector Inquisitor Commander. 32. Prince of the Royal Secret.
SUPREME COUNCIL. 33. Sovereign Grand Inspectors-General.
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APPENDIX (A) CRITICISM OF THE TRACING BOARDS
LITTLE needs to be remarked upon the Tracing Board of the First Degree. It is far from being all that can be desired, but it is not open to the strong objections which exist against the other two.
The Explanation of the Second Trating Board, as givenin the Ritual, is almost from the beginning to the end a series of state- ments having little or no foundation in fact; and in several of its details it is diametrically opposed to the descriptions in the Bible of | the things alluded to. There is no Scrip- | tural warrant for the assertion that ‘the | Entered Apprentices received a weekly allowance of corn, wine, and oil; the Fellow- Crafts were paid their wages in specie.’ This, however, may be ranked among the traditions, and it is of small importance.
In the Ritual it is stated that ‘ after
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Appendix (A)
our Ancient Brethren had entered the Porch they arrived at the foot of the winding staircase, which led to the middle cham- ber.’ This idea’ is partially embodied in the Tracing Board itself There are de- picted two columns under an arch, at the very entrance of the Temple, with a picturesque view of the open country, but no Porch at all. Almost from between the two columns springs a huge winding stair- case, leading to a large and lofty vestibule, at the end of which is a doorway, with not a door, but a pair of curtains. The staircase clearly winds up to the left side of the build- ing. The only description of the ‘ Cham- bers ’ is in I Kings vi. 5, 6, and 8. Verse 8 runs thus: ‘ The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house.’ It is clear, therefore, that the staircase, so far from facing the very entrance of the Temple, was not seen at all until the door at ‘ the right side of the house’ was opened; con- sequently, all that is said about the Porch and the Pillars applies to the main entrance to the Temple, and not in any sense to the middle chamber.
It is clearly stated in the Voluine of the Sacred Law that the three chambers were
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‘ built against the wall ’; and they measured, respectively, five, six, and seven cubits— that is, about nine feet, ten feet nine inches, and twelve feet six inches in breadth (length not stated); therefore the Porch and the
Pillars, etc., as applied to the middle cham- | ber, are an absurdity. The two Pillars are —
asserted to have been ‘ formed hollow, the better to serve as archives to Masonry.’ Now, supposing such Records to have been then in existence, and to have been de- posited in the two Pillars, how could they have been made accessible ?—how arranged for reference ? The thing is too absurd for argument. The Pillars were formed hollow then, as they would be now, because solid Pillars would have involved a vast waste of metal, and, from their enormous weight, such difficulty in moving and rearing, as would have taxed the skill of the Craftsmen to the uttermost. It is said ‘ those Pillars were further adorned with two spherical balls, on which were delineated maps of the Celestial and Terrestrial Globes.’ In I Kings vii. 41, mention is made of ‘ the two bowls of the chapiters, that were on the top of the two pillars.’ In verse 20 of the same chapter are these words, ‘ and the chapiters 442
Appendix (A)
upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the aetwork.’ In these two extracts it would appear that ‘ bowl’ and ‘ belly’ both mean the swell of the capitals of the Pillars. These capitals were fixed at the tops of the shafts in the usual way ; and the old compilers have here supposed that the bowls mentioned were identical with spherical balls, and those balls they have placed on the top of a square above the chapiters. The idea of these balls being covered with the delineations of the celestial and terrestrial Globes is sublime in its audacity. The first terrestrial Globe on record is that made by Anaximander of Miletus, 580 B.c.—that is, considerably over four hundred years after the date of the building of King Solomon’s Temple; the celestial Globe would probably be of even later date. The height of those Pillars was seventeen cubits and a half each, and the chapiter five cubits, equal in the whole to forty-one feet (one account, 2 Chronicles ili. 15, makes them, the Pillar thirty-five cubits, and the chapiter five cubits). Students of geography and as- tronomy must have had some difficulty in consulting globes placed at an elevation of 443
Freemasonry ana its Etiquette
from forty to fifty feet above the ground, The assertion about these globes is as wildly improbable as that the Pillars were ‘ formed hollow the better to serve as archives to Masonry.’
The. meaning of the P? W..S...« 3s literally ‘an ear of corn,’ in some sentences in the. Bible, and ‘a flowing stream’ in others, and therefore correctly depicted in the Tracing Board. The word does not mean ‘P....y,’ but its double signification may, when united, be said to denote ‘P....y.’ Eminent Hebrew scholars have been con- sulted as to the interpretation of the word, and there exists no difference of opinion between them, except that one rather favours the ‘stream of water,’ inasmuch as — the word was used asaT.... beside a stream. Nevertheless, a multitude of texts have been quoted in which the word is used in such connections that no other meaning im those places can be assigned to it than ‘ an Ear of Corn’; but no case can be cited in which the
word alone can by any means be rendered Weis Ys:
The remaining portion of the ‘ Expiana- tion’ needs little comment. The winding 444
Appendix (A)
staircase may or may not have comprised flights of three, five, and seven steps. There is no mention of this in the Bible. The Tracing Board shows fifteen continuous steps, without a break, or any indication of these three flights. It is stated in the last clause of the Explanation of the Tracing Board that ‘when our ancient Brethren were in the M. C. their attention was peculiarly drawn to certain Hebrew char- acters.’ This is, of course, a pure invention. It is of little moment, but it does not agree with the Tracing Board, in which ‘ certain Hebrew characters’ are shown above the doorway at the end of the vestibule and outside the M. C., while in the centre, at the top of the Tracing Board, is a letter ‘G’ in a radiated triangle. The Tracing Board shows a strongly marked Mosaic Pavement, whereas in r Kings v. 30 it is clearly stated, ‘and the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without,’ | meaning, probably, the Temple proper, the Holy of Holies, and the Porch. WNot one word indicating a Mosaic Pavement can be found in either of the two accounts of the building of the Temple.
The Porch and the Mosaic Pavement were
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evidently in high favour with the old com- pilers of the Ritual. They have both of these in their explanation of the Sanctum Sanctorum.
They have given their tancy very free play, and have paid but scant attention to the clear descrip¢ions of the Temple in the Kings and the Chronicles.
The following remarks embody all that needs to be said upon the Tracing Board of the Third Degree.
Perhaps the grossest absurdity of all in this connection is the statement ‘ he was not buried in the Sanctum Sanctorum, because nothing commonor unclean,’ etc. Evidently the old compiler considered it the height of respectability to be buried in the church, according to the bad old fashion existing in England some years ago, and he thought that H. A. B. would certainly be buried within the. Temple, and he gives a reason (in words borrowed from the New Testament) why he was not buried in the Holy of Holics itself, being evidently ignorant of the fact that intra~mural interment was expressly forbidden by the Jewish Law. The Coffin
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Appendix (A)
is made a prominent object in this Degree. It is cited as one of the emblems of mortality, it is the most conspicuous (indeed, almost the only conspicuous) thing on the older Tracing Boards. An actual Coffin, some- times in miniature, sometimes of full size, used to be (and in many places still is) brought into the Lodge, and actually used in the Third Degree. Many instances can be brought to prove that Coffins were not in use (then at least) in Judea. The Winding Sheet alone was used, and the body was carried on a Bier. In 2 Kings xili. 21 it is related that a man was hastily cast into the “sepulchre of Elisha, and when he touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.’ Now it is clear from this that neither the man nor Elisha could have been _ in a Coffin, and Elisha was one to whom all honour in burial would have been paid. In the Christian era clear proofs are found of the use solely of the Winding Sheet. Then,. again, the B. of our Master was found very indecently i. ..d, and although it was after- wards re-i..,...d, it is as little likely that a. coffin was used as that it was ever contem- plated that he should be buried in the Holy of Holies, and was only prevented ‘ because: 447
Freemasonry and its Etiquette
nothing common or unclean was allowed to enter there.’
Equally absurd is the statement that ‘ the same fifteen trusty Fellow-Crafts were ordered to attend the funeral clothed in white aprons and gloves.’
As to the Ornaments of a Master Mason’s Lodge. ‘The Porch, Dormer, and Square Pavement,’ there is not in the Bible any foun- dation for supposing that they ever formed part of King Solomon’s Temple. There is no room for doubt upon the subject; nothing can be more clear than the description given in the Bible of the whole internal arrange- ment of the Temple; and the references given in the following remarks will show how entirely the Scripture accounts differ from the description in the Third Ceremony.
There could have been no ‘ Porch’ to the entrance to the Sanctum Sanctorum. The only Porch was outside, at the entrance to the Temple, on either side of which the Two Great Pillars stood. The ‘Dormer’ is a pure invention. No such thing is men- tioned (see 1 Kings vi. and 2 Chron. iii.). None was needed. The High Priest alone, and he only once a year, entered the Holy of Holies; and the Shekinah was there, the
448
Appendix (A)
visible manifestation of the Divine Presence in the Pillar of Cloud and of Fire. In 1 Kings (vi. 30) it is distinctly stated, ‘ the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without ’—that is, in every part—and cer- tainly the Holy of Holies would not be less richly floored than the rest; consequently, ‘the square pavement’ is an error. As a matter of course, the High Priest must walk on the floor of the Holy of Holies, be it what it might, as he must ge in at the door; but it would be absurd to say that the door was for the High Priest to enter by. The floor was just a necessary part of the struc- ture, as were the walls and the ceiling, the whole being not simply or even primarily for the use of the High Priest, seeing that he entered it but once a year. The Holy of Holies was the receptacle for the Ark of the Covenant, and the Mercy Seat, with the Cherubim, etc. (see Exod. xxxvii.). Then it is stated in the Ritual that the office of the High Priest was to burn incense once a year; that is true, but he had many other things to do on the Great Day of Atonement (see Levit. xvi.). He had to offer a young bullock and two kids; then the Cere- mony of the Scape-goat had to be gone 449
Freemasonry and its Etiquette
through, and much in the way of ‘Atonement.’ The whole chapter is full of the various acts _ of ‘ Atonement,’ but it has not one word to justify the assertion that the office of the | High Priest on that day was ‘to pray fer- _ vently that the Almighty ... peaceand tran- | quillity upon the Israelitish nation during | the ensuing year.’ He did nothing of the | kind, as a perusal of Leviticus xvi. will | clearly show. It may be mentioned that | the words ‘peace and tranquillity’ are | used twice in the Third Ceremony; such a | conjunction occurs nowhere in the Bible.
APPENDIX (B) ‘Tue Master’s Licur’
‘ FREEMASONS’ HALL, “ December 7, 1839. *DEAR SIR AND BROTHER,
‘In reply to your questions as to the propriety of extinguishing the Master’s Light, and, if extinguished, of introducing a Lanthorn with a Star, etc., I feel no difficulty of stating that such extinguishment is not
450
Appendix (B)
only improper, but positively in violation of a most maturely considered and unequivocal direction of the Grand Lodge, and that the introduction of a Lanthorn, etc., is equally against the order.
‘In the Lodge of Reconciliation, the ex- tinguishment had been proposed, and occa- sioned much dissatisfaction; in order, there- fore, to settle that, and some other points, or, more properly speaking, to carry out the intention and direction of the Act of Union, that there should be a conformity of working, etc., a Special Grand Lodge was convened on May 20, 1816, to witness the ceremonies proposed by the Lodge of Reconciliation. These concluded, the several points were discussed—amongst others, the Lights in the Third Degree: and decisions were come to upon them. But to afford opportunity for the most mature consideration, and to leave the subject without a possibility of objection, another Special Grand Lodge was holden on June 5 following, to approve and confirm what had been done on May 20.
“At these Meetings, the M. W. G. Master presided, and the attendance of Members was larger than at any other I recollect (ex- cepting the day of Union).
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‘The decision was, that the Master’s Light was never to be extinguished while the Lodge was open, nor was it by any means to be shaded or obscured, and that no Lan- © thorn or other device was to be permitted _ as a substitute.
‘One of the reasons is, that one of the Lights represents the Master, who is always present while the Lodge is open, if not actu- ally in his own person, yet by a Brother who represents him (and without the Master or his representative the Lodge cannot be open), so his Light cannot be extinguished until the Lodge is closed; the two other lights figuratively represent luminaries, which, at periods, are visible—at other times, not so.
‘As to the penalty with which the Grand Lodge might think fit to visit a Lodge acting in contravention of its positive order, I venture no opinion; you are as capable ar myself to decide upon that point.
‘T remain, ‘ Dear Sir and Brother, ‘Yours fraternally, (Signed) ‘WiLLtiAM H. Wuitez, G.S.’
452
APPENDIX (C)
THE ENTERED APPRENTICE’S SONG
THIS ancient and very famous Masonic ditty was originally called ‘ The Freemason’s Health.’
It is said to have been composed by Bro. Matthew Birkhead, who died on Decem- ber 30, 1722, but it is quite possible that it was only ‘arranged’ by him, as it is said to
‘have been in general use among Operative
Masons about 1650, and that ancient Free- masons’ jugs exist which have the song thereon, and which were made in the days of Matthew Birkhead the elder; not his son above referred to.
The earliest impression of it is taken from Read’s ‘ Weekly Journal, or British Songster’ (becember I, 1722), where it is printed in the following form:
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Freemasonry and its Etiquette
THE FREEMASON’S HEALTH.
Le
Come, let us prepare; We Brothers that are. ,
Met together on merry Occasion;
Let’s drink, laugh and sing; Our Witte has a Spring.
’Tis a health to an accepted Mason
Lo The world is in pain Our secret to gain, But still let them wonder and gazeon; Till they’re shown the Light, They’ll ne’er | know the Right Word or Sign of an accepted Mason.
IIT. |
’Tis this and ’tis that, They cannot tell what, Why so many great Men of the Nation, Should Aprons put on, To make themselves — one With a Free or an accepted Mason. |
IV. Great Kings, Dukes, and Lords Have laid by their swords, This our Mist’ry to put a good grace on; And ne’er been ashamed To hear them; selves named With a Free or an accepted Mason. 454
Appendix (C)
V. Antiquity’s pride We have on our side, It makes each man just in his station; There’s nought but what’s good To be under- stood By a Free or an accepted Mason.
VI.
Then joyn hand in hand, T’each other firm stand ; _ Let’s be merry and put a bright face on: What mortal can boast So noble a toast As a Free or an accepted Mason.
gg Note the use of the word ‘ or.’ * * * *
Yn early days an accepted Mason was a sort of ‘ honorary ’ Free Mason. The phrase ‘A Free or an Accepted Mason’ embraces, therefore, either oe (Operative) Free Mason ora (Speculative) ‘Accepted Mason.
* * * *
The words and music are given in the First Edition of the ‘ Book of Constitutions ’ issued in 1723.
Subsequently, about 1730, the following stanza was composed by Bro. Springett, Perm. Deputy Grand Master of Munster—
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‘We're true and sincere, We’re just to the | Fair: ‘ They'll trust us on any occasion; No mortal can more The Ladies adore Than a Free and an Accepted Mason.
The song appeared in the 1738 Edition of | the ‘ Book of Constitutions ’ with this stanza | added.
Various trifling and seemingly unnecessary | alterations have been made from time to © time by our irrepressible modernizers and | reformers until the following seems to be the generally accepted present day version of it.
(N.B.—Organists are respectfully reminded, that for the comfort of elderly voices—and | therefore the general good of the occasion— it is advisable to play it in F.)
THE ENTERED APPRENTICE’S SONG.
Come, let us prepare; We Brothers that are © Assembled on merry occasion; To drink, Jaugh and sing; Be he beggar* or King, Here’s a health to an Accepted Mason.
* In the first section of the first Lecture we read: ‘ Brother to a King, fellow to a Prince or to a beggar, if a Mason and found worthy.’
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Appendix (C)
The world is in pain Our secrets to gain, And still let them wonder and gaze on; They ne’er can divine the word or the sign , Of a Free and an Accepted Mason.
’Tis this and ’tis that, They cannot tell what, Why so many great men of the Nation, © Should aprons put on, And make themselves one With a Free and an Accepted Mason.
Great Kings, Dukes, and Lords Have laid by their swords, Our Myst’ries to put a good grace on; And ne’er been ashamed To hear them- selves named As a Free and an Accepted Mason.
Antiquity’s pride We have on our side, To keep us upright in our station; There’s nought but what’s good To be under stood By a Free and an Accepteu Mason.
(All rise and join hands.) 457
Freemasonty and its Etiquette
Then join hand in hand, By each brother firm stand;, - Let’s be merry and put a bright face on: What mortal can boast So noble a toast As a Free and an Accepted Mason ?
(Repeat.) What mortal can boast Sc noble a toast As a Free and an Accepted Mason?
458
APPENDIX (D)
PROPOSITION FORM RIN i ye oe TONER: No. eoeee
Form to be signed personally by the Candidate, as well as by his Proposer and Seconder, and then read by the Master or Secretary in open Lodge befove the Ballot takes place.
1. Name (in full) of Candidate..........cceceees Enid, Qe Ull POStGl PHUVAte AAAVESS\iNiise soe os ccs cote celee PUB USTHESS =A CAVESSimieleclas sic! i sle\e ¢ cle Gee oie PSPEAL LE \oto cnet oreteieletciorets QCCUPALION ose ciefs) shoe slsleroretetels 5. Has a proposal for Initiation been made before to any LOGS CTA 1. etapl tan ota aclet sd oe oteeeeaemisteoreet clalaie. ae Signature of Candidate .......-. BUS AIT IES
DIGIT Jo vie Sielete sate LON e'sjers We, the undersigned IMFENTD CLSLOL THE Lodge, No. ...., do hereby declare that we, from
personal knowledge, believe that the Candidate who has signed above is a fit and proper person to be initiated as a Member of this Lodge..
IN G10" Of LP7ODOSEPM wieie o\eieic:e) s\ee'n' ale ele ULCAIOR eran ere eres INGER Oh SY ILOTOTA HOS OOOCOOCUNOOE SMLERGE 7210.01 velo vata teh OAL Cua oic Mel sneisleyolenela ny pO RGAE
I have had duei inquiries made (Constitution 183), and the Candidate has been approved by the Standing Committee of the Lodge.
SEG HE LOS A 38 5 OS 6 CLOG Oe soystavsiolale/ eke W.M.,Lodge No. ..«+-
EDV ALE cturatetoretslere'c Ta clerest hl O\avare ee 459
Freemasonry and its Etiquette
It is suggested that the proposed Candi- date should be ‘sounded’ as to the answer | he will be likely to give to that important question concerning ‘the first and most © important of the Antient Landmarks ’ (see p. 67), and that he should be made aware of the contents of the Declaration which he | will be asked to sign (Const. 187); also that he should be given an opportunity of making himself acquainted with the By-laws of the | Lodge of which he is to become a member, | as his acceptance thereof at his Initiation is | deemed to be a declaration of his submission to them. It is only fair, therefore, that he should see them beforehand.
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APPENDIX (E)
INFORMATION FOR THE GUIDANCE OF ANY LopGE OF INSTRUCTION WHICH MAY BE DESIROUS OF OBTAINING THE OFFICIAL. . RECOGNITION OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE EMULATION LODGE OF IMPROVE- MENT