XVI. the dignity of marshal ceased; but was revived by

Napoleon, with the title of Marshal of the Empire. 2. An officer known to Masonic bodies, whose duty is to have charge of processions and other public ceremonies. As a badge of special distinction he wears a scarf and carries a baton.
MARTHA. The name of the fourth degree of the order of the Eastern Star, or American Adoptive rite. It illustrates undeviating friendship and the power of faith to console the
236 MAR.
heart in seasons of affliction. Its symbolical color is green, representing at the same time, the immortality of the soul and of its affection. The incidents of the degree are re- corded in John xi. 26.
MAETINISTS. The members of a philosophical and mys- tical form of Freemasonry were called by this name, from the founder of the rite, the Marquis de Saint Martin.* Tie adepts of this order were earnest, pious, and remarkably modest men, and, although they promulgated ideas, startling in that material and skeptical age, were never fanatical in their advocacy of them, nor ill-tempered when ridiculed. Like the Rosicrucians, the Illuminati, and some other similar societies, they aspired to a higher and more positive philosophy, and sought a foundation for the ideas of religion and morality in the eternal fitness of things, and the interior experiences of the soul, rather than in tradition. They believed that the very existence of religious ideas in the human mind demonstrated their eternal truthfulness; for all subjective notions must be the reflex of an objective reality. Thus the vast orb of the sun is mirrored in the tiny dew- drop. The reflected image of the sun is a demonstration of the sun's existence. In like manner the notion of God that exists in the mind is a reflex of God himself, and could no more exist in the mind were there no God than the image of the sun could be found in the dew-drop if there were no sun. Like Goethe, they believed that " Die geisterwelt ist nicht verschlosaan" — "the world of spirits is not shut." It was their belief that an invisible sphere — a world of superior intelligence — environs man; that beneficent spirits are always near him, the constant companion of his actions, and wit- nesses of his thoughts; that the highest science — all the ideas
'Louis Claude de Saint Martin was born at Arnboise, of a noblo French family, in 1743, and died in 1803. He adopted the nom de plume of " le PhUosophe inconnu," which we read Philosopher of the unknown. He possessed vast original genius and metaphysical insight, and as a thinker he digested and assimilated, in a masterly manner, whatever he found to his taste. The first and most valued of his numerous writings was a work entitled Des Erreurs et de la Verite, published at Lyons, in 1775, in which may be found, under the most enigmatic style, that ancient doctrine which so universally prevails, of a good and a bad principle, of an ancient state of perfection of man, of his fall, and of the possibility of his restoration. For many years he devoted his best energies to reforming the system of his teacher, Martinez Paschalis, the founder of the sect of Martinists; and to that end instituted a new system that became famous under the name of Martinism, which had its center .it Lyons, in the Lodge of Beneficent Knights. This rite was extended into the principal cities of France, Germany and Russia. Saint-Martin, Like many other of the noblesse of France, suffered by the French revolution, and, being implicated in a conspiracy, owed his life to the revolution of Thermidor.
MAS.
237
of religion, art, and philosophy — are revelations of this over- world, whose ineffable splendors are ever streaming down- ward to meet humanity, which, impelled by its immortal needs, is aspiring upward to the fountain of light. The Order of St. Martin was a modification of a society founded by Paschalis, at Marseilles, 1754. It had ten degrees, divided into two divisions, called " Temples." Those of the 1st tem- ple were Apprentice, Fellow-Craft, Master, Ancient-Master Elect, Grand Architect, and Mason of the Secret. Those of the 2d temple were the Prince of Jerusalem, Knights of Palestine and Kadosch. The object of the initiation was the regeneration of men, and the instructions to neophytes embraced the whole circle of human knowledge.
MASON, ETYMOLOGY OF. The speculations of many Masonic writers respecting the origin and derivation of this word are too puerile to be repeated. It is evidently the German " metzen " to cut. In Germany the operative Masons were called " stein-metzen," stone-cutters, and sometimes "mauern," wall-builders. The term Mason is simply the German word anglicized, by softening the tz sound.
MASONIC COLORS. Every grade of Masonry is fur- nished with its peculiar and emblematic color. An important and mystic meaning has always been applied to colors, and they are used as the distinguishing mark of different nations. The colors best known, and almost universally adapted to Masonry, are seven, viz:
1. BLUE. This is the great color of Masonry. It is the appropriate tincture of the Ancient Craft de- grees. It is to the Mason an em- blem of universal friendship and benevolence, teaching us that in the mind of a brother those virtues should be as extensive as the blue arch of heaven itself. It is, there- fore, the only color, except white, which should be used in a Master Mason's Lodge. Besides the three degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry, this color is also to be found in several other degrees, especially of the Ancient and Accepted rite, where it bears various symbolic significations; all, however, more or less related to its original character, as an emblem of universal friend- ship and benevolence. This tincture was held in high veneration among all the nations of antiquity. It symbolically expressed heaven, the
firmament, truth, constancy, and fidelity.
2. PURPLE, being formed by a due admixture of blue and scarlet, is intended to remind us of the intimate connection and harmony that exists between symbolic Ma- sonry and the Royal Arch degree. In the religious services of the Jews purple is employed on several occa- sions. It is one of the colors of the curtains of the tabernacle, and is symbolical of the element of water. It is also used in the construction of the ephod and girdle of the High Priest, and the cloths for divine service. Among the Gentile nations of antiquity purple was considered rather as a color of dignity than of veneration, and was deemed an em- blem of exalted office. Pliny says it was the color of the vestments worn by the early kings of Rome, and it has ever since, even to the
238
MAS
presept tiine, been considered as the becoming insignia of regal or supreme authority.
3. SCARLET, RED, OB CBIMSON, for it is indifferently called by each of these names, is the appropriate color of the Royal Arch degree, and symbolically represents the ardor and zeal which should actuate all who are in possession of that sublime portion of Masonry. Scar- let was used as one of the vails ol xhe tabernacle, and was an emblem of the elements of fire. Scarlet was, among the Jews, a color of dignity, appropriated to the most opulent or honorable. In the middle ages, those Knights who engaged in the wars of the crusades, and especially the Templars, wore a red cross as a symbol of their willingness to un- dergo martyrdom for the sake of religion. Scarlet is in the higher degrees of Masonry as predomi- nating a color as blue is in the lower. These three colors — BLUE, PUKPLE, and SCAKLET — were called, in the early English lectures, the old colors of Masonry," and were said to have been selected "because they are royal, and such as the ancient kings and princes used to wear; and sacred history informs us that the vail of the temple was composed of these colors."
4. WHITE is one of the most ancient as well as most extensively diffused of the symbolic colors. It is to be found in all the ancient mysteries, where it constituted, as it does iii Masonry, the iuvesture of the candidate. It always, however, and everywhere has borne the same signification, as the symbol of purity and innocence. White was the color of one of the curtains of the tabernacle, where it was a symbol of the element of earth. Among the ancients the highest reverence was paid to this color. It was, in general, the garment of the Gentile as well as ol the Hebrew priests in the performance of thsir sacred rites. It is regarded as the emblem of light, religions purity, innocence, virginity, faith, joy, and life. Iii the judge, it indicates integrity; j
in the sick man, humility; in the woman, chastity. We see, therefore, the propriety of adopting this color in the Masonic system, as a symbol of purity. This symbolism com- mences in the York rite, where the lambskin or white apron is pre- sented to the Entered Apprentice as an emblem of purity of life and rectitude of conduct, and terminates in the Ancient and Accepted rite, where the Sovereign Inspectors of the 33d degree are invested with a white scarf as an emblem of that virtuous deportment, above the tongue of all reproach, which should distinguish the possessors of that exalted grade.
5. BLACK. As white is universally the emblem of purity, so black, in the Masonic ritual, is constantly the symbol of grief. This is perfectly consistent with its use in the world, where black has, from remote anti- quity, been adopted as a garment of mourning. In Masonry this color is confined to but a few degrees, but everywhere has the same single meaning of sorrow. Black is in the world the symbol of the earth, dark- ness, mourning, wickedness, nega- tion, death, and was appropriate to the Prince of Darkness. White and black together signify purity of life, and mourning or humiliation.
6. GREEN, as a Masonic color, ia confined to a few of the degrees. It is employed as a symbol of the immutable nature of truth and vic- tory. In the evergreen the Master Mason finds the emblem of hope and immoitality. In all the ancient mysteries, this idea was carried out, and green symbolized the birth of the world, and the moral creation or resurrection of the initiate.
7. YELLOW. Of all the Masonic colors, yellow appears tc be the least important, and the least used. It is a predominating color in a few of the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted rite. It was a signi- ficant symbol of the sun, of tho goodness of God, of initiation or marriage, faith, or faithfulness. In an i> iproper sense, yellow siguifiei inconstancy, jealousy, and deceit.
MAS. 239
MASON'S DAUGHTER. This degree, conferred on Master Masons, their wives, sisters, and daughters, in some things resembles the degree of Martha of the American Adoptive rite. The Scripture lesson of the degree is selected from the llth and 12th chapters of the Gospel of St John.
MASTER OF CAVALRY. An officer in a Council of the Knights of the Red Cross, equivalent to the Senior War len in the Commandery. His position is in the south, on the right of the first division when separately formed, and on the right of the whole when formed in line.
MASTER OF CEREMONIES. An officer first instituted at the court of England, in 1603, for the more honorable reception of Ambassadors and persons of distinction. This officer is found in most of the Lodges in England and on the continent, and has lately found a place in the Lodges of the United States. He assists the Senior Deacon when con- ducting the candidate, and performs the duties usually belonging to the office of Steward.
MASTER OF DISPATCHES. The Recorder of a Council of the Knights of the Red Cross.
MASTER OF FINANCES. The name of the Treasurer in a Council of Red Cross Knights.
MASTER OF INFANTRY. An officer known in the Council of the Knights of the Red Cross, equivalent to the Senior Deacon in a Lodge, or Junior Warden in a Com- mandery. His station is in the north, on the right of the second division when separately formed, and on the left of the whole when formed in line.
MASTER OF A LODGE. The presiding officer of a Lodge of Freemasons, whose style is "Worshipful." In the whole series of offices recognized by the Masonic institution, there is not one more important than that of the Master. Upon the skill, integrity and prudence of the presiding officer, depend the usefulness and welfare of the Lodge. To become the Master of a Lodge, with the title " worthy and well qualified," is a legitimate object of ambition for every young brother who takes an interest in the prosperity of the society. The powers of the Master are very great; far more varied • and positive than those of any organization now in existence. From his decisions there can be no appeal to the Lodge ; he is amenable for his conduct to the Grand Master or the Grand Lodge. Equally important with the proper qualifications for the discharge of the duties of the Master, are experience, a thorough knowledge of the ritual and
240 MAS.
the parliamentary rules of the Craft, the service of ft full term as a Warden, except in the case of a newly-constituted Lodge, when there is no Warden or Past Master to serve; a legal election; a compliance with the covenants of the installation service and induction into the oriental chair. The prerogatives of the Master of a Lodge are: 1. To congregate or assemble his Lodge; 2. To preside therein; 3. To fill temporary vacancies in office; 4. To regulate the admission of visitors; 5. To control and terminate discus- sions; 6. To determine all questions of order and the order of business, without appeal, except to the Grand Lodge or Grand Master; 7. To appoint all committees; 8. To open and close the Lodge; 9. To be the custodian of the warrant; 10. To order the issuing of summonses, and compel the attendance of members; 11. To give the casting vote in case of a tie, in addition to his own vote: 12. To sign all drafts upon the Treasurer for the payment of Lodge expenses, with the consent of the Lodge; 13. To refuse to initiate a candidate, if, in his judgment, such initiation would be improper; 14. In company with the Senior and Junior Wardens, to represent the Lodge at all communications of the Grand Lodge; 15. To appoint the Senior Deacon, and such other officers as may be prescribed in the by-laws of the Lodge ; 16. To install his successor and assist in con- ferring the official Past Master's degree. His duties are — to attend all communications of the Lodge; to open the Lodge at the time designated in the by-laws, and close it at a reasonable hour; to preserve order in the Lodge; to obey, enforce and defend the landmarks, the laws and edicts of the Grand Lodge, the orders of the Grand Master, and the by-laws of the Lodge ; to preserve the charter of the Lodge, and transmit it to his successor; to perform the ritualistic work of Masonry, and instruct the brethren; to cause an investigation into all Masonic offenses committed by the initi- ated candidates, by members of the Lodge, or by Masons residing within the jurisdiction of the Lodge; to visit the sick, and perform the Masonic burial service over the remains of a deceased member of the Lodge; to perfect himself in Ibe ritual, laws and usages of the order; to use his best Mideavors to preserve and promote peace and harmony iu the Lodge, and, by his Masonic deportment in and out of tho Lodge, be a good example to the brethren. He is ex- empt from discipline for his official acts, exctspt to the Grand Lodge. He cannot dimit or resign during his term of office, for if a vacancy should occur in the office of Master, bv death or removal from the jurisdiction, the Senior Warden assumes, by virtue of immemorial practice, all the pre-
MAS— MAIL 241
rogatives and responsibilities of that officer. His jewel is the square, because, as that instrument is dedicated to the Master, and is the proper Masonic em- blem of his office, it symbolically teaches him official and individual responsibili- ties, to regulate his actions by rule and line, and to harmonize his conduct by tie principles of morality and virtue, BO that no ill-feeling or angry discussions may arise to impair the harmony and good fellowship that should ever distinguish a Masonic Lodge, for he
"Who wears the SQUABE upon his breast, Does in the sight of GOD attest,
And in the face of man, That all his actions will compare With the Divine, th' unerring square,
That squares great virtue's plan." — MORBIS.
The jewels, furniture and other property of the Lodge are in his charge, and he has a general control over all its affairs.
MASTER OF THE PALACE. The title of an officer in a Council of Red Cross Knights. He is the Captain General in a Commandery of Knights Templar.
MASTERS OF THE VAILS. In a Royal Arch Chapter three officers whose duties are to guard the blue, purple and scarlet vails of the tabernacle. Each is armed with a sword, and carries a banner of a color corresponding with that of the vail before which he is stationed. Their jewel is a sword within a triangle.
MAUSOLEUM. A general designation of any superb and stately sepulchral monument. The name is derived from the tomb erected at Halicarnassus by Artemisia, to the memory of her husband Mausolus, king of Caria, B. c. 353. It was one of the most magnificent monuments of the kind, and was esteemed one of the seven wonders of the world. When the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, in 1404, took possession of the site of Halicarnassus, then occupied by a small village called Cleesy, while excavating among the ruins for building materials, they discovered a large chamber with marble pilasters, and with richly inlaid panels. The sarcophagus of the founder was also discovered; fragments of lions, dogs, etc.. and a beautiful sculpture of a horse, have been found.
242
MED.
Mausoleums of rare beauty and strength, bearing Masonic symbols and sentiments of fraternal affection, have been erected in several parts of Europe and America.
MEDAJJS, MASONIC. This term is applied to pieces of metal, of various forms, but generally similar to coins, not intended for circulation as money, or means of exchange, struck and distributed in commemoration of some important event. The study and a thorough knowledge of medals recognized by the Craft, especially those bearing emblems and perpetuating valuable Masonic historical eras or events, are indispensable to prevent our ancient legends, traditions and history from falling into decay or passing into oblivion. So far as our investigations have extended in Masonic medals or numismatics, there is nothing extant in this department earlier than the eighteenth century. This may be explained from the fact that before that period the ancient or operative form of the institution existed; then Masons made their medals of mighty blocks of stone; their symbols were wrought in the ground-plans of extensive and beautiful edifices; their marks were deeply cut upon the living rocks " with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever." The first Masonic medal of which we have any account (an impression of which will be seen in the accompanying engraving) was struck about A.D. 1733. Its history is substantially as follows: In 1733 a Lodge was established at Florence, by Lord Charles Sackville, son of Lionel Granville Sackville, great grandson of Thomas Sackville, who, in 1561, was Grand Master of the Masons acknowledging the jurisdic- tion of the Grand Lodge at York. This Lodge was not founded by regular author- ity; certainly there was no order for it by the Grand Lodge of England, then gov- erned by James Lyon, Earl of Strathmore. The forma- tion of the Lodge, however, was the origin of this medal, a copy of which exists in the valuable collection of Ma- sonic medals in possession of the Lodge Minerva of the Three Palms, at Leipsic. The obverse, not given here, has a bust of Lord Sackville, with the inscription, " Carolvs Sackville, Magister, Fl." The reverse exhibits Harpocrates, the god of silence, who, as the son of Isis and Osiris, stood
MASONIC MEDALS.
STRUCK IN 1832.
STRUCK IN 1812.
STBUCK IN 1811.
STRUCK IN 1787.
STUUCK IN 1774.
STRUCK IN 1774
STRUCK IN 1763.
STRUCK IN 1774.
STRUCK IN 1781.
MED— MEN. 247
at the entrance of most Egyptian and Roman temples, in his well-known attitude, leaning upon a broken column, with the fore-finger of his right hand, the emblem of silence, upon his lips, and holding in his left arm the cornucopia, filled with the rich fruits of the earth. The cubic block, around which are grouped the stone-hammer, the compas ses, the square, the level, the chisel, the plumb and mallet, is at his feet. The thyrsus, staff and the serpent, rest behind him. The motto is Ab Origins, " from the beginning." An immensely large number of Masonic medals have been struck, for as many memorable occasions, during the past century; a brief notice of which would be very far beyond our limits to give. Medals are frequently given to brothers as a reward for efficient official services and distinguished Masonic virtues.
MEDITERRANEAN PASS. An honorary or side degree conferred on Royal Arch Masons. Its legend and ritual are identical with the more imposing and interesting degree of the Knight of the Mediterranean Pass, from which this ia supposed to be extracted.
MELCHIZEDEK. Pontiff-king of Salem, and prototype of Christ. The name and his history are referred to in the Order of the High-Priesthood; also, in the 5th degree of the Asiatic Brothers, and in the Order of the Illuininati.
MELEK-MELOCHIM. King of Kings. A sacred word in several of the higher degrees of the French rite.
MELITA. The ancient Greek name of the Island of Malta; referred to in the Order of the Knights of Malta.
MEMPHIS, RITE OF. Sometimes called the Oriental rite. A modification of the rite of Misraim, organized in Paris, iii 1839, by Messieurs Marconis and Mouttet. It afterward extended to Brussels and Marseilles, thence to New York. It was composed of 90 working and 6 official degrees. For a time it excited some interest in Paris, and then fell into obscurity until 1860, when it was reorganized, the 9(> degrees reduced to 30, and then merged into the Grand Orient of France, where it is permitted to slumber. It may now bo regarded as extinct.
MENATZCHIM, COUXCIL OF. The principal degree in the French rite of the "VIEILLE BRU" was called by this name. The word is Hebrew, and means consoler, or comforter The overseers at the building of the Temple were called Menatzchim.
348 MEN— MIS.
MENU, INSTITUTES OF. The name given to tne n.ost cele- brated code of Indian civil and religious law; so called from Menu, Menou, or Manu, the son of Brahma, by whom it is supposed to have been revealed. The Hindoos, themselves, ascribe to this system the highest antiquity; and many of the most learned Europeans are of opinion that of all known works there is none which carries with it more convincing proofs of high antiquity and perfect integrity. Sir W. Jones assigns the date of its origin somewhere between Homer and the Twelve Tables of the Romans; and Schlegel asserts it as his belief that it was seen by Alexander the Great in a state not materially different from that in which we possess it. The Institutes of Menu are of a most comprehensive nature: they embrace all that relates to human life; the history of the creation of the world and man; the nature of God and spirits; and a complete system of morals, govern- ment and religion.
MESMERIAN MASONRY. A name applied to a Masonic rite invented by some of the disciples of Mesmer, A. D. 1784.
MINUTES. Records of the transactions at each meeting of the Lodge. These proceedings — that is, all which it is lawful to write — should be carefully entered on the records, and at the opening of the next meeting, read to the brethren, that errors, if any, may be corrected.
MISCHCHAN, MISCHPHERETH, MISCHTAR. Hebrew terms, signifying Tabernacle, Most Powerful, and Fountain, used as sacred words, in several of the high degrees of the French rite.
MISRAIM, RITE OF. This rite was introduced into France near the commencement of the present century. It made considerable progress, and, in 1817, application was made on fche part of its friends, to the Grand Orient, to accept it as a legitimate branch of Masonry. The application was denied, partly on the ground that the antiquity of the rite had not been proved, and partly because of the 90- degrees which its ritual comprised 68 were already included in the French system. The rite of Misraim is interesting and instructive, but many of its degrees are too abstruse to be popular. The initiation is a reproduction of the ancient rite of Isis, and represents the contests of Osiris and Typhon, the death, resurrection, and triumph of the former, and the destruction of the latter. There are 90 degrees, divided into four series —symbolic, philosophical, mystical and cabalistic, and aga.n divided into seventeen cla.'Ses.
MIT. -249
The traditions of this system are full of anachronisms, historical events and characters, separated by hundreds of years, being made to figure ou the same scone, at the same time. The work entitled " De t'Ordre Maqonnique de Misraun," published at Paris, in 1835, by Mons. Marc Bedarride, pur- porting to give the history of the Order, is a mere romance, and full of puerilities. Nevertheless, many of the degrees are highly interesting and instructive.
MITHKA, MYSTERIES OF. The Sun-God in the ancient Zeud religion, and mediator between Ormuzd, the god of light, and Ahriman, the god of darkness, through whom the latter with his kingdom of evil will be destroyed, and the former will establish his empire of light and happiness throughout the universe. His symbols are the sun — type of truth and justice — on his head; the mace — emblem of power — in his hand, or the sacrificing dagger, and the bull of the world, on whose back he lies. The mysteries of Mithra were dramatic and scenic illustrations of the Persian religion, and were divided into seven degrees. The principal dogmas, as revised by Zoroaster, are as follows: From the beginning there have existed two beings, Ormuzd and Ahriman, the principles of the universe. Ormuzd is pure eternal light, the spirit of beauty and love, and original source of all perfection. Ahriman was also originally of the light, and so far good; but as he envied the light of Ornmzd he obscured his own, became an enemy to Ormuzd and the father of evil, and of all evil beings who joined him in a contest with the good. Ormuzd and Ahrimnu performed the work of creation at different epochs, and brought into existence various species of beings. Ormuzd created th e community of good spirits; first six immortal spirits of light; then twenty-eight subordinate spirits, repre- sentatives of the months and days; and, at last, a multitude of human souls. Ahriman produced a number of bad spirits, six arch-devs, spirits of darkness, and innumerable devs of lower rank. The good dwell with Ormuzd in light. Ahrimau lives with his creatures in the kingdom of darkness. 3,000 years Ormuzd ruled alone; after which he created material beings, in their various degrees; at last man, and after the labor celebrated the first festival of creation with the good spirits. Again he ruled in this world of innocence and happiness 3,000 years. In the next period of equal length begins the contest between light and darkness, Ormuzd and Ahriman, who in a continual struggle divide the dominion of the world. The following 3,000 years extend and confirm the power of Ahriman; afterward his power declines; the dcrx sink to nothing; their former prince, through the influence of Mithra, the mediator, does homage to Ormuzd, and the
J50
MIT— MON.
empire of darkness and vice disappears. The dead arise, and all darkness, sin, and misery are ended forever. The initiation into the mysteries of Mithra :md the entire cere- monial of the seven degrees were symbolical representations of the everlasting struggle between g >od and evil, their alternate triumph and defeat, until at last evil is overwhelmed in a final overthrow, and the splendor of truth tills, and tho songs of triumphant virtue resound through, all worlds. Tho rites of Mithra seem to combine some of the features of the Indian, Egyptian, and Cabiriaii mysteries. They were widely extended through Asia and Europe, and it is said that traces of the worship of Mithra are found at the present time iu those parts of Germany that were anciently under the dominion of the Romans.
MITRE: The sacred covering for the head of the Jewish High-Priest. It was made of fine linen or silk of a blue color, wrapped in several folds, in the manner of a Turkish turban. In front and around the base of the mitre, as a band, secured with blue ribbon, was a plate of pure gold, called the " plate of the holy crown of pure gold," upon which is inscribed " HOLINESS TO THE LORD." This important vestment was worn by the High-Priest on occasions of solemn and imposing services only. This is the proper form of the mitre which sLould be worn by the High-Priest in a Royal Arch Chapter when officiating in the ceremonies of the Royal Arch degree, and when dressed in the other appro- priate priestly garments.
MONITOR. A name given to books which contain the charges, regulations, emblems, and exoteric ceremonies of Freemasonry. Numerous works of this character have been published, some of them very valuable; works arranged on Ahe principle that "the initiated know what is meant,''' which, by ingenious methods of suggestions, places before the mind of the intelligent Mason the whole ritual of the order, with its profound and varied meanings, while it reveals nothing to the profane.
MONUMENTS, SEPUTCHRAL AND MASONIC. An emblem erected over the grave, to mark the resting-place and per-
MON.
25J
petuate the memory of the dead. In the earliest ages and among the eastern nations, it was the practice to place the remains of the dead in excavated sepulchres, with monu- mental structures over them. Egypt, Palestine, Greece, Persia and Rome abounded with monuments of this char- acter. In Egypt the monarch's burial-place began to be excavated as soon as he ascended the throne, and the excavation and decoration went on year by year until the
i/ •/ •/
king's death, when it was suddenly broken off, the torn); Ihus becoming an index both of the king's magnificence and
ol lae length of his reign. Masonic monuments, as memorials of fraternal affection, and rewards of well-merited honor are often erected over the remains of the illustrious dead, with appropriate hieroglyphic symbols, or the following emblematic legend delineated thereon : A virgin weeping over a broken column, with the book open before her; in her right hand a sprig of acacia, in her left an urn; Time is behind her with his hands enfolded in tho ringlets of her
5/52 .dOP— MOS.
hair. The weeping virgin symbolizes the unfinished state of the temple ; the broken column, that one of the principal supporters of Masonry has fallen; the open book implies that his memory is recorded in every Mason's heart; the sprig of acacia refers to the discovery of his remains; the urn shows that his ashes have been carefully collected, and Time behind her implies that we are rapidly passing from life to a blessed immortality.
MOPSES. From the German mops, a young mastiff. It is intended to indicate the mutual fidelity and attachment of the brethren — those virtues being characteristic of the noble animal. This order originated in the following manner: Pope Clement XII. having issued a bull against the Freemasons in 1738, the people were alarmed, and hesitating to join a society which had been thus proscribed, formed another on the same principle, which would afford them equal gratifica- tion, without subjecting them to the thunders of the Vatican. Freemasonry was the model, with pretensions of devotion to the papal hierarchy, and thus, under the assumed appel- lation, they evaded the papal denunciation. Some of the most illustrious personages in Germany countenanced and extended their patronage to the scheme; many of the princes of the empire became its Grand Masters. In 1776 this or- ganization assumed an androgynous character, and admitted females to its ceremonies and offices. The ceremonies of this order were highly interesting. It had forms of initiation, signs, pass-words and tokens, and other marks of recogni- t tion; and the symbols admitted of an intellectual and moral explanation.
MORNING STAR, KNIGHT OF. This degree is a modifica- tion of the Kadosh, according to the nomenclature of Fustier, which is preserved in the archives of the " Lodge of the Philosophical rite."
MOSAIC WORK. The Mosaic pavement, so frequently alluded to in the rituals of the order as the ornaments of a Lodge, are the productions of artistic designs, by setting small and variously shaped stones, glass or wood of different colors, so as to give the effect of painting. The floor of the tabernacle and the pavement of Solomon's temple were thus ornamented. Mosaic or tesselated pavements were common among the ancients; the Egyptians, the Greeks and espe- cially the Romans most ingeniously decorated the floors and walls of their temples in this manner. In commemoration of the flooring of the temple and tabernacle, the Mosaic pavement is always preserved as an ornament of the Masonic Lodge, with the blazing star in the center, and the beautiful
MOS.
25S
H IMSTnlSlSJ E raiMolBl 51 i B
tesselated border* surrounding the whole, as a symbol of the manifold blessings and comforts which constantly sur- round us. The Mosaic pavement of a Lodge is placed there as an emblem of the vicissitudes of human life; that how- ever prosperity may favor us with smiles to-day, it is uncertain how long it will continue to bless us. Adversity may come when we least expect it, and penury and distress may follow joy and pleasure. The latter period of life may be subjected to want and misery, when we are most unfit to encounter it; and instead of resting in peace after a long and troublesome journey, we may be compelled again to encounter the burden and heat of the day.
MOSQUE OF OMAR, OR THE NOBLE SANCTUARY. This splendid edifice on Mount Moriah, covers a portion of the
* The indented tessel is a border of stones, of various colors, around the pavement. Tessel, from the Latin tessela, means a small square stone, and to indent is to cut or notch a margin into inequalities resem- bling teeth, a tesseb.ted border is, therefore, a notched border oi variegated colors. A limited numbei of samples of Mosaic ^voik is represented in the above engraving.
254
MOS.
space once occupied by the more brilliant Temple of Solomon. It is believed to have been commenced by the Caliph Omar, the first of that name, and father-in-law of Mahomet, between the years 638 and 644, and very much enlarged, beautified and enriched, in fact, quite rebuilt by the Caliph Abd-el Melek, in 686. It was seven years in building: the Moslems believe it to stand over the rock on which Jacob
INTERIOR VIEW OF THE MOSQUE OF OMAB.
was sleeping when he saw the vision of the heavenly ladder, but it is still more sacred to them, as to us, from having been the sacred rock beneath the altar of Solomon's Temple, whereon the daily sacrifice was offered. During the time ol the Latin kingdom in Jerusalem this mosque became a Christian cathedral, where the service was daily sung and an altar erected on the summit of the rock. The building waa called by the Crusaders the "Temple of the Lord." The fanciful and intricate patterns of the porcelain walls of the
MOW. 255
mosque, the graceful letters of the inscription round it, and the tracery of the windows are still more beautiful en a closer inspection —nothing can be more perfect of their kind, or more peculiarly charming than the harmony of the colors; the windows are filled with stained glass of the very richest and most brilliant colors, that even the palmiest days of the medieval ages could produce in Europe. Two rows of columns encircle the center, forming a double corridor, and support the clerestory and the" dome: these columns have evidently belonged to some other building — their capi- tals are mostly of acanthus leaves. The rock itself is enclosed in a metal screen of lattice work about six feet high, and to it, we are told by. the Bordeaux Pilgrim, in 3315, the Jews came every year, anointing the stone with oil, wailing and rending their garments, thus proving its authen- ticity in their minds; it had been for many years polluted by an equestrian statue of the Emperor Adrian elevated on the very rock itself. The Bordeaux Pilgrim specially mentions that this rock adored by the Jews was pierced: below it is the " noble cave" spoken of in the Mishna, into which the blood, etc., from the altar drained, and descended thence by a con- duit into the valley of Siloam, the gardens of which were enriched by this drainage.*
*Dr. JAMES T. BARCLAY, for many years a resident missionary in Jerusalem, and favorably known in Europe and this country, for the valuable discoveries he has made in the temple enclosure, to which he was admitted by special firman, gives the following description of the Mosque of Omar, in his invaluable work, "THE CITY OF THE GREAT KINXJ:" "The superb edifice called by Moslems Kubbet es-Sakhrah (Dome of the Rock), and by Franks the Mosk of Omar, is situated rather below the middle of the platform— being nearest to the western side, and farthest from the northern. The lower story, or main body of the building, is a true octagon, of sixty-seven feet on a side; but the central and elevated portion is circular. A more graceful and symmetrical dome than that which covers the building is perhaps nowhere to be found; and the lofty bronze crescent that surmounts the whole gives a pleasing architectural finish. ***** Immediately beneath the center of the dome is the venerated rock about which so much has been written. In the estimation of the Jew, this is by far the most hallowed spot on earth; for, according to the Rabbins, this is the identical rock upon which Jacob pillowed his head, and set it up for a pillar and poured oil upon the top of it; and he called the name of that place Bethel — House of God. It is the general belief, also, that it is the threshing lloor of Arauuah the Jebusite— the spot where the faith of Abraham was so sorely tried in his determined obedience to God to offer up Isaac; and the site of the Holy of Holies of the temple — which glowed beneath the divine manifestation of Deity in the Shekinah. ***** When the rock was brought to light by Omar, it was exhumed beneath an immense mound of rubbish and dirt. But it had previously been crowned by Hadrian's splendid Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. The present noble structure over ancl around it is undoubtedly the work of the munificent /Jhaliff Abd-el Melek, though often supposed to be a Christian edifice. * * * * " There are various recesses cut in the rock, b
256 MOS— MUS.
MOST EXCELLENT. The honorary title of the High- Priest of a Chapter of Royal Arch Masons.
MOST EXCELLENT MASTER. The title of the Oth degree of Masonry. It illustrates the dedication of the Temple by Solomon.
MOST WORSHIPFUL. The title of the presiding officer of a Grand Lodge, and sometimes applied to the body.
MUSIC. A combination or succession of sounds, so arranged as to please the ear.* The pleasure derived from music arises from its exciting agreeable sensations, and raising pleasing mental images and emotions. Apart from words, it expresses passion and sentiment, and linked to words, it loses its vagueness and becomes a beautiful illus- tration of language. This science is truly congenial to the
below, indicating the spots where Abraham, Elijah. David, Solomon and other renowned Hebrews were in the habit of praying; and a prayer offered there, even by us infidels, as all Christians are termed, they say, must be effectual. * * * * * The Moslem tradition concerning the Sakhrah is thai fell it from heaven about the time that the spirit of prophecy was imparted. This holy stone, they say, wished to accompany the prophet in his nocturnal flight to heaven, and actually started; but in response. to the great prophet's prayers, the angel Gabriel was dispatched to stay its flight; and so firm was the grasp by which it was retained, that the impression of the angel's hands are to be seen there to this day. They allege also that the mosk contains the scales for weighing the souls of men, the shield ot Mahommed, the birds of Solomon, the pomegranates of David, the saddle of el-Borak, and an original copy of the Khoran, the parchment leaves of which are four feet long. A well of soul- refreshing water is also alleged to exist there. A green slab of marble is also shown, formerly nailed down by eighteen silver nails, three oi which still remain. This, it seems, is a kind of chronological table; a nail having been withdrawn for each grand epoch in their history, and when the last nail takes its flight, the consummation of all things will occur. Such are a few of their legends concerning the marvelous rock. They serve, at least, to exhibit the puerility of Moslem ideas, and the strength of their credulity."
* Lucretius ascribes the invention of music to the whistling of the winds in hollow reeds. Franckinus, to the various sounds produced by the hammers of Tubal Cain. Cameleon Poutique and others to the singing of birds; and Zarlino to the sound of rushing waters. It is, however, agreed that music was first reduced to rules by Jubal, sixth in descent from Cain, who was "the father of all such as handle the harp and organ" (B. c. 1800). The flute, and harmony and concord in music were invented by Hyagnis, B. c. 150G. Vocal choruses of men are tirst men- tioned B.C. 556. Pythagoras maintained that the motions of the twelve spheres must produce delightful sounds inaudible to mortal ears, which he called "the music of the spheres." St. Cecilia, a Roman lady, is said to have excelled so eminently in music that an angel was enticed from the celestial regions by the fascinating charms of her melody; and from this tradition she has been esteemed *s the patroness of music and mufriciaiiR.
MUS— MYS. 257
nature of man; for by its powerful charms the most dis- cordant passions may be harmonized, and brought into unison; but it never sounds with such seraphic harmony as when employed in singing hymns of gratitude to the Creator of the universe. In praise of this science the great poet of nature says,
"The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not mov'd with concord ot sweet sounds, Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils; The motions of his spirit are dull as night, And his affections dark as Erebus: Let no such man be trusted."
MUSTARD SEED, ORDER OF. .This order was founded by Count Zinnendorf in 1739, under the title of 'Die Association of Moravian Brothers of the Order of Religious Freemasons, afterward styled The Order of the Grain of Mustard Seed. It belongs to the department of mystic Masonry. The rite is drawn from the parable of the mustard seed (Mark rv.), where Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a grain of mustard seed, which, though the smallest of all seeds, sends forth so great branches that the birds of heaven may repose under its shadow. It had two mottoes — one engraved on a ring, " No one of us lives for himself;" and the other, "What was it before? nothing," was engraved on a cross of gold, which the members wore as the jewel of the order, suspended from a green watered ribbon.
MYSTAGOGUE. In the Eleusinian mysteries, the official who introduced the candidates for initiation, showed the interior of the temple, and explained the doctrines, bore this name. Hence any one who deals in mysteries is called Mystagogue.
MYSTERIES. Since the establishment of the Christian church among all civilized nations the moral and religious instruction of the people has been confided to its care. The church, although one, yet among different nations exists in a great variety of forms — forms adapted to the peculiar wants and genius of the people whose improvement it seeks to ad- vance. Previous to the advent of the church this great work was accomplished among the civilized nations of antiquity by organizations which are designated under the general name of MYSTERIES. It appeal's that all the perfection of civilization, and all the advancement made in philosophy, science, and art among the ancients are due to those insti- tutions which, under the vail of mystery, sought to illustrate the sublimest truths of religion, morality and virtue, and impreoa them on the hearts of their disciples. Although 22
258 MYS.
history speaks of several institutions of the kind, as the Eleusinian mysteries, the mysteries of Mithra, etc., jet all had a common origin, and a like purpose, and never exhibited a greater variety of forms than the Christian church. The principal of these mysteries are: 1. The Indian Mysteries; 2. The Egyptian; 3. The Orphic; 4. The Cabirian; 5. The Phrygian or Samothracian; 6. The Eleusinia; 7. The Sidonian or Dionysian; 8. Pythagorean.* The civilization, arid
the social institutions of India, Egypt, Greece, and Syria, and the degree of enlightenment in religion, morality, and science, to which they attain can be traced directly to the salutary influence of the Mysteries. From the foregoing it will be seen that — to a certain degree following the opinion of many of the early Christian fathers — they realized the idea of a church. As none but the just and virtuous were eligible to membership, the initiated were — at least were reported to be — the wisest and best of all countries, and constituted the ancient Pagan Ecclesia — if one may so speak — the church, or assembly of the wise and good; a body competent to teach and enforce the everlasting truths of religion. Their chief object was to teach the doctrine of one God, the resur- rection of man to eternal life, the dignity of the human soul, and to lead the people to see the shadow of the deity, in the beauty, magnificence, and splendor of the universe. By the most solemn and impressive ceremonies they led the minds of the neophytes to meditate serioiisly the great problems of human duty and destiny; imbued them with a living sense of the vanity and brevity of life, and of the certainty of a future state of retribution ; set forth in marked contrast the beauty of virtue and truth, and the deep bitterness and tormenting darkness of vice and error; and enjoined on them, by the most binding obligations, charity, brotherly love, and inflexible honor, as the greatest of all duties, the most beneficent to the world, and the most pleasing to the gods. They also, by these rites — rites magnificent and impressive, and startling, by sudden transitions and striking contrasts — rites commencing in gloom and sorrow, and ending in light and joy, dimly shadowed forth the passage ol man from barbarism to civilization, from ignorance to science, and his constant progress onward and upward through the ages, to still sublimer elevations. The trembling and helpless neophyte, environed with terror and gloom, and pursuing his uncertain and difficult way through the mystic journey of initiation, which terminated in light and confi- dence, was a type or representative of humanity marching upward from the gloom and darkness of the primitive state
* See articles on the above under their proper heads.
MYS. 259
jf barbarism, to a high degree of enlightenment, of social refinement and perfection. The mystic ceremony was, therefore, emblematical of the progressive development of man, and was intended as an aid to that development. The initiatory rituals of Orpheus, of the Cabiri, and of Isis, typi- fying thus the development of man and the progress of society, were in a sense prophetic announcements of a golden age to come — a more perfect state, where virtue, triumphant over vice, and truth, victorious over error, would be installed on the throne of the world, and direct all human actions and rela- tions. The idea which these rites presented of future retribu- tion is not in harmony with modern opinions, at least so far as most of our Protestant communions are concerned. All the ancient systems of religion and philosophy held that all punishment was purgatorial* — a means of purification — and consequently finite and limited in its character and duration, and was graduated according to the degree of moral turpi- tude attached to each offense. Hence, in the initiation, the neophyte represented the progress of the soul through the various stages of discipline, upward from the receptacles of sorrow to Elysian beatitude and purity. In all these rites, indeed, the idea seemed to prevail that man, society, humanity, could be perfected only by the ministry of gloom and suffering. The soul's exaltation, and highest good and truest repose, were to be approached only by the way of tears, and sacrifice, and toil. Those mystic dramas symbolized the profoundest mysteries of the soul — the deepest experiences of the human heart. They taught that through darkness and difficulty, in the midst of obstacles and opposition, man should ever struggle upward and onward — onward from the shadowy vale of doubt, and fear, and perplexity, to the golden Orient, whence comes the light of eternal truth ! Some writers have contended that the mysteries, and, indeed, all the myths of antiquity, have no reference whatever to religious ideas, or to a spiritual sphere, but are merely allegorical representations of the phenomena of the physical world. Dupuisf explains all the mysteries in this way, and carries his theory so far as finally to assert that Christ is only an astronomical sign, and that the mystical woman oi the Revelations, whom St. John describes as " clothed^ with the sim, and the moon Tinder her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars," is but the constellation Virgo ! That portions of the Tsiauic and Cabirian mysteries had reference to astronomical ideas is undoubtedly true; but this fact by
* Vide Eufield's History of Philosophy. Also Guigaiant: Religions de
rAntiquite considered principalement dans leur Trcnnes Symboliquey el Mytlioloijiqne.
f Origin des tous les cultes. } Rev. xii. 1.
260 MYS.
uo moans justifies the conclusions of Dupuis and others, that they have no spiritual reference at all. On the contrary, it was the deep, earnest, and positive faith of the ancients, in the unseen and spiritual, which led them to blend in this niTinner — unfortunately so foreign to our modern habits of thinking — the ideas of science with those of religion. And here we fall far below the ancients. We have divorced science and philosophy from religion, and seem to regard them as quite different and distinct things, the deplorable results of which are seen in our modern systems of education, which are entirely material, and end in skepticism, if not in absolute irreligion. On the other hand, the ancients con- templated the universe from the religious point of view. All the phenomena of life — all the motions of the heavenly bodies — the whole stupendous spectacle of the world — revealed to them the presence of an unseen Intelligence. Hence, their religion embraced all the facts of physical science ; art and philosophy were necessary parts of religion, and reposed on a spiritual basis. Keace, instruction with them was religious and moral. And were they not right ? The mysteries were established for human instruc- tion; and there all the sciences were studied with reference to a higher sphere of thought. Nature, with all its laws, its motions, and its mysteries, which science attempts to explore, was, in their views, only a shadow or reflex, or projection, of the more substantial verities of the unseen — the eternal world; philosophy itself was religion. Such was education among the ancients, so far as it went. It was eminently religious. Hence the dramas, represented in the mysteries, and in the rites of initiation, took note at the same time of the facts of science and the verities of religion. And because thes.e dramas and rites shadowed forth some of the pheno- mena of nature, and the motions of the heavenly bodies, we are not to infer that those who celebrated them had no faith in God, accountability, or a future life ; but rather, on the contrary, that those old Grecians and Egyptians saw in all the phenomena of nature — in all the motions of the starry spheres, and in all the miracles of the world — the awful shadow of that mysterious One, who, although infinite and indivisible, yet in some manner incomprehensible to human intelligence, individualizes himself to every human thought, and localizes himself in every place. The mysteries were established then to assist the education and development of man. And with this intention the mystagogues employed every resource to stimulate the moral energies and awaken the noble instincts of those they sought -to elevate. The ancients all claimed for these mysteries a divine origin.
MYS. 261
Bacchus, in Euripides,* responds to the questions of Pen- theus, who demanded from whom he received his new wor- ship and his mysteries, that he received them from the son of Jupiter. All the ancient educators of the race affirmed the same of their teachings. Rhadamanthus says that he received from heaven the laws that he gave to the Cretans, f Minos shut himself up in a sacred cave, to com- pose his code of laws, which ho affirmed were revealed to him by the divinity. Zoroaster, the Persian Seer, claims also to have been divinely inspired. J He separated himself from society, and gave himself up to sacred meditations. He invoked the supernal powers, and at length the light of a heavenly inspiration descended upon his soul, and a divine messenger visited him and instructed him in celestial things. Thus, according to Chandemer, he received from heaven the Zend Avesta, that great depository of sublime maxims so revered by the ancient Persians. Ardheshir, desiring to reform the religious code of his kingdom, appointed one of the sages to accomplish the work. The new reformer, not wishing to make innovations which might not be authorized by heaven, invoked the aid of the spiritual powers. He sunk away into a mysterious sleep, and experienced an ecstacy, during which his soul seemed to go forth out of his body. At the end of seven days he awoke, and declared that he had been in communication with the unseen world of spirits, and employed a scribe to write the new revelations which he had received from the gods. Pythagoras§ also professed to receive the divine direction in the foundation of his famous society. He affirms of himself what Titus Livius|| asserts of Numa, viz: that the secrets of nature, which others knew by opinion and conjecture, were communicated to him by the direct interposition of the gods, and that Apollo, Minerva, and»the Muses, had often appeared to him. Whatever we may think of these professions and claims to a divine enlightenment, on the part of the ancient reformers, we cannot but respect that faith and piety which always led them to refer all wisdom and virtue to a divine influence. Their maxim seemed to be that whatever is useful to men is divine. And as the mysteries and the rules of virtue, which they cultivated and enforced, were useful to humanity, they were, of a conse- quence, providential institutions created by the will of the Eternal. After what we have now said, it cannot be diffi- cult, to see clearly the true end and purpose of the mysteries, the fiist and greatest fruits of which were, according to the
f
* Euiipid: Bacch., p. 460. f Strabo 1, x. p. 476.
t Hyde do vet, Pers. p. 317. § Phil: I. i. c. 1 Vit. Apoll.
HPlut-VitaNura .
262 MYS.
ancients, to civilize savage people, soften their ferocious manners, render them social, and prepare them for a kind of life more worthy of the dignity of man. Cicero places, in tty number of supreme benefits which the Athenians enjoyed, the establishment of the mysteries of Eleusis, the effect of which was, he tells us, to civilize men, and to make them com- prehend the true principles of morality, which initiate man into an order of life which is alone worthy of a being destined to immortality. The same philosopher, in another place, where .he apostrophizes Ceres and Prosei'pine, says that we owe to these goddesses the first elements of our moral life, as well as the first aliment of our physical life, viz: the knowledge of the laws, the refinement of manners, and the examples of civilization, which have elevated and polished the habits of men and of cities. Their moral end was well perceived by Arrien, who tells us that all these mysteries were established by the ancients, to perfect our education and reform our manners. Pausanias,* speaking of the Eleusinia, says that the Gi'eeks, from the highest antiquity, had estab- lished them as an institution the most effectual to inspire men with the sentiments of reverence and love for the gods. And among the responses that Bacchusf makes to Pentheus, whose curiosity is excited by his mysteries, he tells him that this new- institution merits to be widely known, and that one of the greatest advantages resulting from it is the proscrip- tion of all impiety and crime. From the above it appears that the mysteries must have been of the highest utility in advancing the civilization of our race, in promoting the arts, and stimulating a taste for science and letters. We have seen that the cultivation of music commenced with the establishment of the mysteries, and formed a great portion of tke ceremonies. Sculpture and painting were encouraged, and received their first impulse in these institutions. Litera- ture and philosophy were pursued with ardor by the disci- ples of Orpheus and Eumolpus, and through them religion shed a benign and gentle radiance over all of life. Through the mysteries society received wise and wholesome laws, and that moral and mental impulsion which raised Greece to the summit of human greatness. The drama also owes its birth to these institutions. The first plays, symbolical of man and his progress, his struggles, his trials, his labor, his combats and triumphs, were performed within the secret enclosures, secure from the intrusion of profane eyes. The ceremonies were themselves dramas, shadowing forth, more or less perfectly, the great truths of God, of nature, and the soul, pointing man forward to his great destiny, acquainting him
•Pans. Phoc. p. 384. fEuripid: Bacch vi. p 460.
MYS. 2(53
with the conditions of moral perfection, and aiding him in advancing toward it.
MYSTIC MASON, KITE OF THE. The eighteenth century, if considered in connection with its intellectual activity, the immense progress made in the sciences and arts, and in rela- tion to the general advancement of the human mind, must bo recognized as the most remarkable epoch in the history ol the world. It was the golden age of science, and of scientific men. And yet, such were the negative character of its speculations, and the habit that prevailed, of studying the mysteries of the universe, and investigating the laws of nature, apart from the ideal, or without reference to a higher sphere of thought, that the human mind became almost entirely materialized, and at last sunk into the abyss of skepticism. But unbelief is not natural to the heart of man; and even when the intellect is cursed with the demon of infidelity, the heart yearns with deeper intensity to penetrate the occult realms of nature, and hold communion with the awful mysteries of those invisible regions which have no boundaries, and on which philosophy and science, that are simply material, can throw no light. Thus, toward the end of the last century — an age noted at the same time for its splendid achievements in science, and its fearful harvest of irreligion — numeixms sects of Mystics ai'ose, particularly on the European continent, whose doctrines, however crude and extravagant, were the solemn protest of the heart against the skeptical spirit of the times, and the agonizing cry of the soul for a more intimate communion with the infinite. Many of the first minds of the age were moved by this impulse, and sought peace and quiet, and consolation, and hope, in the golden realm of the ideal. The Rosicrucians, Illuniinati, the Order of St. Martin, and many bodies strictly Masonic, entered with ardor into these high speculations, which were so well calculated to exalt, refine, and expand the soul, and fill it with a divine enthusiasm. To these men the worlds revolved in a sea of light — the emanation from the infinite mind — the. natural and spiritual were united iu an everlasting embrace. Myriads of spiritual beings walked the earth, and dwelt with men, and occupied themselves with human affairs, as in the days of old. "Whatever we may think of some of their theories and operations, it cannot be denied that they accomplished a great work in arresting that furious tide of atheism which threatened, at one time, to sweep all things into its horrible abysses of darkness and despair, and in establishing a harmony between reason and the profoundest mysteries of religion. It was at this time that the " Bite of the Mystic Mason" made its appearance.
2(54 MYS.
Its character is strictly MaSonic. It recognizes the thrte symbolical degrees as the groundwork of its system. It has a strong infusion of Swedenborgian ideas, repudiates all Sadducean doctrines, and asserts the existence of angels and spirits, their constant presence with men, and invokes them in the Lodge, at the commencement of labor. Like the 28th degree of the Scotch rite, it is somewhat alchemistical. It believes the Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of Life among the possibilities of science. Thus, in the instructions of the 2d degree, the disciple is informed that Solomon learned, by the opening of the first and second circles, the art of purifying — that is, transmuting metals, wherewith to enrich and embellish his temple. This rite consists of three degrees: 1. Mystic Apprentice; 2. Mystic Fellow-Craft; 3. Mystic Master. Something of their character may be learned from the following extracts taken from the lectures:
Ques. Are you a Mystic Apprentice ?
Ans. I know the northern part of the Temple of Solomon, and the four quarters of the circle.
Ques. How were you received a Mystic Apprentice?
Ans. By striking three blows with the gavel upon
Ques. What else have you done ?
Ans. I have invoked the spirits who preside there, by pronouncing their names.
Ques. Can you repeat them ?
Ans. Mahir is that of the East, over the part of the South; Haouzay is spirit of the West, over the part of the North; and Mahal Marainto ia the spirit of the East, over the same part.
Ques. What is Masonry ?
Ans. The knowledge of the covenants of God with men.
Ques. What signify the four spirits?
Ans. They represent to us that without the assistance of the guardian angels, that God has given to all men to direct their conduct, we cannot succeed in any undertaking.
In the instructions of the 2d degree we find the following:
Ques. Are you a Mystic Fellow-Craft?
Ans. I know the column of Boaz.
Ques. What are the five perfect points of Masonry?
Ans. To build temples to virtue, and dungeons to vice; to know the relations of man with his creator; to practice faithfully his precepts; penetrate into those mysteries it is permitted us to discover, and to uiiij/loy our knowledge for the instruction and improvement of mankind
NAB— NAP. 265
N.
NABI1M, COLLEGES OF THE. Among ancient nations instruc- tion was confined to the few, and generally the schools were controlled entirely by the priests. Moses was educated in a priestly school, in Egypt; Cyrus in a seminary, under the direction of the magi — the Indian Bramins imparted instruc- tion in secret schools. In Palestine those conversant with Hebrew, science, and the Scriptures, taught in the colleges of the Nabiim. or schools of the prophets and rabbins.*
NAHAKDA, BROTHERHOOD OF. The Hebrew Rabbins relato that the captive tribes of Israel, during their exile from their"' own country, after the destruction of the first temple, in order to strengthen the bonds of fraternity, and to enjoy the consolations of friendship, founded a brotherhood at Naharda, on the banks of the Euphrates. On the return of the Jews from the captivity, Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and Esdras, carried away all the secret knowledge which was so carefully preserved within the closed recesses of this mysterious institution with them to Jerusalem, and established in that city a similar society for the same purpose.
NAPOLEON MASONRY. This brotherhood was founded at Paris, 1816, by the adherents of the Emperor Napoleon. Its ritual comprised three degrees: 1. Knight; 2. Commander; 3. Grand Elect. This last was divided into tnree classes, viz: 1. Secret Judge ; 2. Perfect Initiate ; 3. Knight of the Oaken Crown. All of them had reference to Napoleon. In the catechism of the degrees we find the following questions and answers:
Que.f. How many stories had the temjle?
Ans. Eight.
* These institutions are said to have been established by the prophet Samuel, to counteract the progress of the spurious Freemasonry which was introduced into Palestine before his time. They were seminaries in which the most talented and pious youths of Israel were educated to become tb.e future teachers of the nation. For this purpose young mon of superior capacity were invited to enter these institutions from all parts of Israel; the system of instruction comprising a thorough knowledge of the law and writings of Moses, natural philosophy, music, and poetry and as this last was altogether devoted to celebrate the power and good- ness of God, Samuel, in the 99th Psalm, is enumerated amongst thosa worthies who promoted divine knowledge. After the death of Samuel, the Nabiim spread widely over the land, and similar lodges or semina- ries were founded in every part of Israel. In the days of Elijah three of these institutions are spoken of; and though little is known of their internal economy, their rites and ceremonies being strictly concealed, there can be no doubt that they were in many respects similar to our Manonic lodges, and in some of their features they bore a resemblance to Iho colle0iate institutions of our own country.
266 NAR— NEV.
Qucs. What were their names ?
Ans. Adam, Eve, Noah, Lamech, NaamaL Phaleg, Obal, Orientr-tba hiitial letters of Napoleon. Ques. What is your age ? Ans. I have lived only teu years, i.e., 1804-14.
General Bertrand was elected the first Grand Master, without his knowledge, and in his absence the Order was governed by a Supreme Commander and two Lieutenants.
NAIJ DONNE, RITE OF. Primitive Rite, or Philadelphians— Friendly Brothers — of Narbonne. This Order was established at Narbonne, 1780, under the name of " First Lodge of St. John." In 1784 it entered into relations with the Philale- theans, at Paris, and was deeply occupied with the Hermetic Philosophy. It had ten degrees, the higher ones strongly alchemistical — divided into three classes, viz: 1st class, 1. Apprentice; 2. Fellow-Craft; 3. Master. 2d class, 4. Perfect Master; Elect; Architect; 5. Sublime Scotch; 6. Knight of the Sword; Knight of the East; Prince of Jerusalem. 3d class, 7. 1st Chapter of Rose-Croix; 8. 2d Chapter of Rose- Crcix; 9. 3d Chapter of Rose-Croix. In this, Masonic and physical science, philosophy, and whatever can contribute to the improvement and happiness of mankind, were made objects of special study. 10. 4th Chapter, called Brothers Rose-Croix of the Grand Rosary. The brothers of this degree devoted themselves chiefly to an investigation of the sciences of Ontology, Psychology, Pneumatology, in a word, all those sciences that are named occult or secret. Their professed object was the general enlightenment of man, and his ree'stablishment in his primitive rights.
NEBUZARADAN. According to Gesenius the name means "Prince and Lord of Nebo." He was the chief of the life- guard of Nebuchadnezzar, and general of his armies. He captured and sacked Jerusalem, burned the temple, and carried most of the inhabitants to Babylon. In the degrees of Knight of the East and West and Prince of Jerusalem the second Overseer bears this name, and also in the degi ee of Sovereign Prince of Masonry it is an important word.
NEKAM-NEKAH; also NEKAM-NETAK OK NEHAM-NATOR. A Hebrew expression, equivalent to "Vengeance is accom- plished, the punishment has been executed." The word is found in several of the higher degrees of Masonry.
NEOKOROS. A name derived from the Greek " neos and koreo" keeper or warder of the temple. The Priest of the 2d class in. the Egyptian Mysteries bore this name.
NEV— NIV. 267
NEOPHYTE. From neos, young, and phuton, plant. In the Eleusiiiia and other mysteries a newly-initiated person was tl.us designated. Among the early Christians the name meant a new convert from paganism; in the monasteries a novice; a title sometimes applied to the candidate for the privileges of Freemasonry.
NE VARIETUR. That it may not be changed. When a brother receives a certificate from his Lodge he is required to write his name on the margin, so as to guard against im- posture. Should a person claim to be a Mason, and present a certificate to a Lodge he desired to visit, he would be asked to write his name in a book kept for the purpose. If the writing corresponded with the name — that is, was ufac simile of it — it would be a proof of the brother's identity; but if the hand writing were different it would be a proof that the person was an impostor, and had either stolen or found the certificate. These words, "ne varietur," refer to this practice.
NEW TEMPLARS. A name given to a Masonic society organized in France, in the early part of the present century, and which claims to be legally descended from the ancient Order of Knights Templar. These pretensions, however, are not recognized. The ritual has five degrees, as follows: 1. Initiati; 2. Intimi Initiati; 3. Adepti; 4. Orientales Adepti; 5. Magni aquilae nigrse sancti Johannis Apostoli Adepti. These are mere Masonic degrees disguised under latin names. The Order, however, is respectable in point of numbers and the character of the members who are affiliated with it; and its objects, the enlightenment and improvement of mankind, and the relief of the suffering, are certainly worthy of ap- proval.
NINE, Ta£ — that is, the nine muses. In the ritual of the "Royal Order of Herodem of Kilwinning," the following questions and answers are found in the 2d section of the catechism of the first degree:
Ques. How many Knights are necessary to constitute a Chapter of the lloyal Order of Heiodeai?
Ans. Nine.
fyies Why?
Ans. For three reasons.
Ques. Will you tell me the first?
Ans. Because there are three divisions in numbers which teach us so to number our days as to apply ourselves to wisdom.
QMS. Will you give me the second ?
Ans. Because there are nine muses in harmony, which refine and polisb human nature.
QMSS. Will you name them to me ?
tins. C.illiop), Clio, Euterpe, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato. Polv- y /mnia, Urania, and T.ialia.
268
NOA.
Will yon give me the third reason? A ns. Because there are nine orders of angels in the celestial hierarchy. Ques Will you name them?
Ans. Cherubim and Seraphim, Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, Powers, Virtues, Archangels and Angels.
NOACHITE, OR PRUSSIAN KNIGHT, sometimes called The Very Ancient Order of Noachites. The 21st degree of the Ancient and Accepted rite. The traditional history of this degree is carried back to an early period; for it commemorates the destruction of the Tower of Babel. It is founded upon the immutable principles of Justice. The meeting is called Grand Chapter, and must be held in a retired place, on the night of the full moon, in each" month. The place is lighted by a large window or opening, so arranged as to admit the light of the moon, the only light allowed. The presiding officer sits facing the moonlight; he is styled Lieutenant Commander; the other officers are Warden, Knight of Elo- quence, Knight of the Chancery, Knight of the Finances, Master of Ceremonies, Warder, and Standard-Bearer. The sash, worn from right to left, is a broad black ribbon ; the jewel is a golden triangle traversed by an arrow, point downward; on the jewel is an arm upraised, holding a naked sword, and around it the motto "Fiat Justitia, Ruat Coelum."
NOAH, PRECEPTS OF. Certain commandments transmitted to the present time, in documents of the ancient stone- masons, bear this name. They require: 1. The renunciation )f all idols; 2. The worship of the true God; 3. The com- mission of no murder; 4. Freedom from the crime of incest; 5. The avoidance of theft; 6. The practice of justice; 7. The abstaining from flesh with blood in it.*
* The Rabbins affirm that God gave Noah and his sons certain precept?, which contain the natural duty common to all men; the observance of which, alone, will be suffic'snt to save them. The Hebrews would not suft'er any stranger to dwell in their country unless he would conform to them. Maimouides says that the first six of these precepts were given by Adam; the seventh WHS added by Noah. What inclines us to doubt of their antiquity is that no mention is made of these precepts in Scripture, in Onkelos, in Josephns, or in Thilo; nor iu any ancient father. — GAT-MCT.
NOM— NOV. 269
NOMINATION. Literally the act of designating a person as a candidate for any particular office. Nominations for office are, by the usages of Masonry, unlawful, and should be so declared by the presiding officer whenever attempted. The election of officers in a lodge to be strictly within the rules of Masonic consistency must be conducted upon the principles of secrecy. Fitness for a proper discharge of the duties of the office should be the only qualification to entitle the candidate, for Masonic preferment, to the suffrages of his brethren; and the brother so elected will be more honored in the silent yet appreciative action of his brethren than by an open showy acclamation.
NORMAL, from the Latin Norma. A. square for measuring right angles; employed by masons, carpenters, builders, etc., to prove that the angles are true. It was formed in its original adaptation, by the ancient operative craft, in two ways; either by two rules joined to- gether at right angles, or by a flat piece of board with a right angle cut out of it. The illus- trations are from ancient sculptured monuments.
NORTH. In the Masonic symbolism the North is the place of darkness. Intelligent Masons understand why this is so. On this word L' Encyclopedic Magonnique thus speaks: "We believe it was to England that Freemasonry was first trans- ported by the Saxons. It here took a new language, new forms modified upon the ancient. It cast its roots deep in that classic land of modern liberty. At a later period it was transplanted into France, where its authentic existence dates only from 1725; we know not whether it came then for the first time, or whether it was a return from a long exile pro- duced by the catastrophe of the Templars. We owe this benefit to an Englishman, Lord Derwentwater, who returned to his country to die for his king. Let us remark, besides, that during the last age the North has been the true East of light! It is in the British Islands, and in the north of Germany that liberty of thought, elevated ideas. Philosophy and Masonry, in fine, have the most numerous partisans; and we can easily make a climoMc scale of the philosophical spirit.''
NOVICE, NOVITIATE. 1. The same as Neophyte. 2. In the Knight Templar system of Baron Hunde, and also in the Swedish rite this word was the name of the 5th degree. 3. In the Order of Chevaliers de la St. Cite certain member? were distinguished by this name. 23
270
QBE— OBL.
O.
OBELISK. From the Greek obelitskos and obelos. Schau- berg, in his Handburh d<>r Si/mbolik d ie Freimauretci, says: "It was a frequent custom in Egypt to place before the main entrance to a temple two high obelisks, which obelisks were called 'the rays of the sun.'" This species of temple orna- ments belongs to the oldest and most simple monuments of Egyptian architecture, and are high four, sided pillars, diminishing as they ascend. It is probable that these monuments were first built before the time of Moses. There ai-e still several obelisks in Egypt; at Alexandria, at Matarea, and at Thebes. The two finest are at Luxor, at the entrance of the temple. These Egyptian obelisks are generally constructed of reel granite, from 30 to 100 feet in hight, and occupy at their base a space of from ii to 12 feet square. Some are plain, while others are adorned on all sides with hieroglyphics. Of their origin nothing is known with certainty. Probably the first images of the gods, which at an early period were nothing but stones of a pyra- midical form, furnished the idea of them. According to Herodotus they were first raised in honor of the sun, and meant to represent its rays. This is confirmed by their name and form. They might also have been raised to perpetuate the memory of certain events, since the hieroglyphics con- tained the praises of the gods and kings, or inscriptions relating to their religious notions. They were generally hewn out of a single stone in the quarries of Upper Egypt, and brought on canals to the place of their erection. Old quarries are still found there with obelisks already hewn out, or with places whence monuments of this form must evi- dently have been taken out. The two columns, Jachin and Boaz, which stood at the entrance of Solomon's Temple, were fac similes of these Egyptian obelisks, and from them arose the fashion in the middle ages of surmounting cathe- drals and churches with two towers.
OBLATE. In ecclesiastical antiquities, 1. A person who, on embracing a monastic order, had made a donation ol all his goods to the community. 2. One who is dedicated to a religious order by his parents from an early period of his life. 3. A layman residing as an inmate in a regular com- munity to which he had assigned his property. In France, in ancient times, the king possessed the privilege of recom- mending a certain number of (Mali, chiefly invalided soldiers,
OBS— ODD. 2fl
to monasteries, whom they were bound to maintain. In several parts of Europe Masonic asylums are established for the express purpose of maintaining the orphans of deceased Master Masons, and the indigent of the Order, upon similar principles to the above.
OBSECRATO. In Roman antiquity, a solemn ceremony performed by the chief magistrates of Rome, to avert any impending calamity. It consisted of prayers offered up to the gods, whom they supposed to be enraged. So exact were they in observing the prescribed form on these occasions that a person was appointed to read it over to the man who was to pronounce it, and the most trifling omission was held sufficient to vitiate the whole solemnity.
OCCULT. Something secret, hidden, or invisible, as the occult quality of matter. The ceremonies of Masonry are among the occult mysteries.
ODD-FELLOWS, INDEPENDENT ORDER OF. This Fraternity, fashioned after the model of the Masonic Brotherhood, ia a widely-extended and influential society. Its motto ia "Friendship, Love, and Truth." It first appeared in England, near the close of the last century, and at that time was a social and mutual relief society. It continued to increase until 1840, when, perhaps, the Order in England was in its highest stage of prosperity. It was introduced into the United States as early as 1799, at which time a Lodge was constituted in Connecticut. In 1802 it made its appearance in Baltimore, and in 1800 in New York. It did not, however, attract any attention till 1814, when Thomas "SVildey, who is styled the " Father of American Odd-Fellow- ship," became an earnest propagator of the Order, and founded lodges in a large number of important places. In 1821 the Grand Lodge of Maryland, and of the United States, was formed, and in 1822 the institution assumed its present form. A peculiar feature of the Order is its system of benefits, or of health insurance. In addition to the fees of admission a quarterly tax is collected from its members; which, together, form a fund of relief; and when a brother is sick he receives from his Lodge a certain sum per week, ranging from $3 to $8, or such a sum as the by-laws of the Lodge have determined on. There is, also, a funeral benefit which is paid to the family ol a brother in the event of his death. The organization of the Order in the United States stands thus: 1. The Subordinate Lodge, which has five degrees; 2. The Patriarchal or Encampment grade, which has three degrees; 3. The Grand Lodge of a State; 4. The Grand
272 ODL
Encampment of a State ; 5. Grand Lodge of the United States; 6. Grand Encampment of the United States. The Order has a system of symbolism of a highly interesting character, and a ritual instructive and impressive. In the United States tha Order has had a brilliant career, and awakened, at times, a large degree of enthusiasm. Its excellent moral teachings, the intelligence and character of its members, and the salutary influence it has exercised in the community, have made it one of the most popular institutions of the age.
ODINIC MYSTERIES. The northern mythology, in the systematic condition in which we now possess it, is the work of Scalds — that is, of the ancient minstrels of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland. Religion and civilization here, as is often the case, sprang from poetry, and were propagated and nourished, and improved by the mysteries. The rites of Odin had an Oriental origin. Odin was the name of the supreme god of the Scandinavians. It appears from the northern chronicles that in the first century of the Christian era Sigge, the chief of the Aser, an Asiatic tribe, emigrated from the Caspian sea and the Caucasus into northern Europe. He directed his course northwesterly from the Black sea to Russia, over which, according to the tradition, he placed one of his sous as a ruler, as he is said to have done over the Saxons and the Franks. He then advanced through Cimbria to Denmark, which acknowledged his fifth son Skiold as its sovereign, and passed over to Sweden, where Gylf, who did homage to the wonderful stranger, and was initiated into his mysteries, then ruled. He soon made himself master here, built Sigtuna as the capital of his empire, and promulgated a new code of laws, and established the sacred mysteries. He, himself, assumed the name of Odin, founded the priesthood of the twelve Drottars (Druids?) who conducted the secret worship, and the administration of justice, and, as prophets, revealed the future. The secret rites of these mysteries celebrated the death of Balder, the beautiful and lovely, and represented the grief of gods and men at his death, and his restoration to life The neophytes were instructed in regard to the creation of the heavens and earth, of man and woman, by three Drottars, who are called the " High," the "Equally High," and the " Highest." They discoursed to the initiates of the mysteries of the world, of day and night, of the sun and moon, of the golden age, of the winds and seasons, of the gods and goddesses, of the destinies, the twilight of the gods, the conflagration and destruction of the world. The ceremony of initiation ended with a sublime representation of the restoration of the universe, the return of all things to purity, harmony, and
GDI.
273
peace. The wonderful ash tree Yggdrasil, on which the earth is supposed to rest, was the most notable and significant symbol in these mysteries. Dr. Oliver seems to think that it is the analogue of Jacob's Ladder, but without sufficient
reason. It was the symbol of universal life. According to the ancient Edda, it stands over the well of time; its branches extend over the world, its top reaches above the heavens. It has three roots, one among the gods, another among the giants, and a third under Hela. Near the middle
274 OFF.
root is the fountain of wisdom — the well of Hymir. Near the heavenly root is the sacred fountain by which the goda hold their council and make known their decisions. From this fountain rise three beautiful maids — the Norns or Fates — whose names are Urdur, the Past; Verdandi, the Present; and Skuld, the Future. On the top of the tree, immediately under its lofty branches, sits an eagle with a hawk, the symbol of watchfulness, between his eyes, which possesses great power and wisdom; the squirrel Ratatosk (mischief) runs up and down the tree, fanning strife between the eagle and the serpent at the root, by whispering to the one what the other says; four harts, which represent the four winds, roam through its branches and bite the buds; the serpent Nidho'gge (darkness) is perpetually gnawing at its roots; the trunk of the tree decays, but the holy maidens constantly water its roots from the sacred fountain, that it may not wither. The city on the mountain is Asgard, the name of the abode of the gods, access to which is only gained by crossing the bridge Bifrost — the rainbow. On one end of the bridge is a citadel in which dwells Heimdall, the warden appointed by the gods to watch without ceasing, that no enemy cross or even approach it. At the foot of the hill of Asgard lies Midgard — middle earth — the dwelling place of mortals. The earth thus formed is round and flat, and the arched heaven above is supported by four dwarfs called A ustri, east; Vestri, west; Northri, north ; and Suthri, south. The sea forms a belt around the earth, and beyond this belt is Jotenheim, the abode of the giants. Incessant warfare is carried between the wicked giants who live in the gloomy region and the noble heroes of Axgard, who defend the inhabitants of Midgard from their invasions. Thesa rites were celebrated periodically, in the temple of Thor, at Qpsal, Sweden, and in that of Frigga, on the Island of Rugen. They exercised a profound influence on the life and thought of the Scandinavian people. They taught the immortality of man, and -this conviction of eternity so possessed the Northmen that the y sought, rather than avoided, death. Looking forward to the golden-roofed palace of heroes, the glorious Valhalla, the residence of Odin, gleaming in the splendor of an everlasting morning, where, as they were taught by their mysteries, they should join the innumer- able company of the brave, whom the beautiful Valkyrse had previously conducted thither, they stood, undismayed, in the face of the most appalling dangers, and, with joyful songs, entered the gloumy shades of the valley of death.
OFFERINGS, THE THREE GRAND. Offerings are gifts vslrich man brings to the Deity, thus symbolically giving
OHE— OPE. 275
himself up to him. This was the first mode of openly recog- nizing the divinity, and a principal part of the service of God in all the religions of antiquity; and even to this day the inhabitants make offerings to the Supreme being, as they make presents to their temporal lords. The idea that God has physical wants, and finds pleasure in food, drink, and perfumes, was the origin of such offerings, which took their character from the mode of life of those who presented them. The three grand offerings referred to in Masonry were those of Abraham, David and Solomon, which were presented on Mount Moriah. There Abraham offered up his son Isaac ; there David built an altar, and offered thereon peace and burnt offerings to regain the favor of the Almighty, and move him to stay the plague which was destroying the people; and there Solomon, at the consecration of the temple, presented costly offerings to the Lord. These are the three grand offerings of Freemasonry.
OHEB-ELOAH. A Hebrew expression, which denotes "one whom God loves." It is a sacred word in several Masonic degrees. In the 30th degree of the Ancient and Accepted rite the symbolical ladder with seven steps has these worda upon the right side.
OPENING OF THE LODGE. All rites and ceremonies should have for their aim the instruction and improvement of those concerned. They should be simple in character, adapted to the purposes designed, and easy of performance; they should be performed with earnestness, precision, cor- rectness, and in proper time. The ceremony of opening a Lodge is important, instructive and impressive. To conduct this ceremony with propriety ought to be the peculiar study of all Masons, especially of those who have the honor to preside in our assemblies. To those who are thus dignified, every eye is directed for regularity of conduct and behavior; and from them other brethren, less informed, may naturally expect to derive instruction. From a share in this cere- mony no Mason is exempted; it is a general concern, in which all must assist. This is the first request of the Master, and the prelude to business. Precisely at the appointed time, the presiding officer should take the chair, and give the proper signal, then every officer should repair to his proper station, and the brethren appropriately clothe themselves and take their seats. Punctuality in this matter is of the highest importance. Our first care is directed to the external avenues of the Lodge ; and the officers, whose province it is to discharge that duty, are required to execute the trust with fidelity. "In the ancient mysteries (those
276 OPE.
sacred rites which have furnished so many models for Masonic symbolism), the opening ceremonies were of the most solemn and impressive character. The sacred herald commenced the initiatory ceremonies by the solemn for- mula: 'Depart hence, ye profane!' to which was added a proclamation which forbade the use of any language that might be deemed of an unfavorable character to the ap- proaching rites." At the opening of the Lodge two purposes are effected; the Master is reminded of the dignity of his character and position, and the brethren of the respect and veneration due to him in their sundry stations. Thes' are not, however, the only advantages resulting from a due observance of the ceremony; a reverential awe for the Deity is inculcated, and the eye is fixed on that object from whose radiant beam alone light can be derived. Hence, in this ceremony, we are taught to adore the Great Architect of the universe, and to supplicate that the labors then begun may be continued in peace and closed in harmony. A Lodge must always be opened on the third degree, and in due form, for the transaction of any business, except for initiating and passing a candidate into the mysteries of the first and second degrees. The first business after opening, if it be a regular communication, is the reading of the minutes of the previous communication, for the information of the brethren. The transactions of the evening should always be read before the Lodge is closed, that the brethren may know that they have been properly recorded, and then duly approved.
OPEEATIVE MASONEY. The physical wants of man originally compelled the establishment of operative Masonry. When by transgression man forfeited his primeval home and was obliged to seek shelter from the storms and from the winds, from the • cold and from the heat, in winter, the caves of the earth — in summer, the bower of twined foliage, would be his dwelling; next, his inventive mind did conceive the rude tent, then the cabin, afterward the house and the splendid palace, the adode of elegance and skill. Masonry, in its character as an operative art, is familiar to every one: as such, it is engaged in the application of the rules of architecture to the construction of public and private edifices. It abounds in the use of technical terms, and makes use of implements and materials whicli are peculiar to itself. It is the popular theory that the operative Masons were the founders of the system of speculative Masonry, in which they applied the language and ideas of their art of building to a spiritual and religious sense. At first operative Ma- sonry existed simply as an art of building. Then the operative Masons, with the assistance of learned and pious
OPH— ORA. 277
men, invented the speculative science, or .Frvemasonry, and then each became an integrant part of one undivided system. Not, however, that there ever was a time when every ope- rative Mason, without exception, was acquainted with or initiated into the speculative science. There are, even now, thousands of skillful (operative) stone-masons who know nothing of the symbolic meaning of the implements they employ. Speculative Masonry, now known as Freemasonry, is, therefore, the scientific application and the religious consecration of the rules and principles, the technical lan- guage and the implements and materials, of operative Masonry to the worship of God as the Grand Architect of the universe, and to the purification of the heart and the inculcation of the dogmas of a religious philosophy.
OPHITES. An Egyptian Gnostic brotherhood, sometimes called "Brothers of the Serpent," because the serpent was an important symbol in their mysteries. It made its appear- ance in the second century, and held, in common with the Valentinians, the doctrines of the two principles, of seons and of the theogony therewith connected. They were peculiar by the reverence in which they held the serpent, a living one being employed in their ceremonies. It was an emblem of wisdom — sophia — and not, as in other systems, a symbol of evil.
OEANGEMEN. This name was first used by the Catholics of Ireland as an apellation of their Protestant countrymen, who adhered to the house of Orange. It has since been assumed by a political order which was founded in 1794. In 1795 the rules and regulations of the Lodges were published by Thomas, who had privately been made a Mason at Dyon, in the county of Tyrone. At first the order had but one degree; later — 1796 — the purple degree was added by John Teinpleton, and still later that of " Alarkman," and " Heroine of Jericho." The ritual is Masonic in its character, and the organization of the society imitates the Masonic model. The object of the society is to defend the interests of Protestants in Ireland, and propagate Protestant ideas among the Irish. The initiate is required by a solemn oath to renounce all allegiance to the Pope and sympathy with popery, and to declare his unwavering loyalty to the Protestant dynasty of Great Britain.
ORATOR. An officer in most of the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted and French rites. His duties are to explain the history and lectures of the degrees to the candidate during the ceremony of initiation
278 OKD.
ORDER. Lexicographers thus define this word, "a regulai government; a society of dignified perrons, distinguished by marks of honor; a religious fraternity." The military orders are societies, the members of which are bound by certain vows and rules, and distinguished by particular badges. They originated from the institutions of chivalry and the ecclesiastical corporations, and were in the beginning frater- nities of men, who, in addition to particular duties enjoined by the law of honor, united for the performance of patriotic, charitable, or religious purposes. The oldest Christian orders of which history speaks are the order Sanctce ampullae, which Clovis founded in the year 499; the Order of the Oak, which Garcias Ximenes, King of Navarre, founded in 722, and the Order of the Genet, the date of whose origin is uncertain. The first orders after these arose during the time of the crusades, and were an example for all future orders. From societies, established under certain rules, for the cure of sick persons as well as the diffusion of the Christian religion, first proceeded the religious military orders, of which the oldest is the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Their rules are similar to the laws of the monastic orders. The celebrated Order of Templars arose at this period, and distinguished itself by its zeal and bravery through the whole duration of the ci'tisades. The Orders of St. John and of the Knights of the Temple are reproduced in the orders of Masonic Knighthood. The name, order, is applied to a vast number of societies, secular and religious, and also to a considerable number in which the secular and religious are united. O1 theee Freemasonry is the most ancient and most distinguished. In the Manuel da Franc Maqon we find the following reasons why Freemasonry is entitled to be called an order: "An order is a body whose character is known, its practices observable, its rules fixed, its purposes declared, its utility proved, and whose credit is found in the protection of the government. It enters not into the principles of Masonry to unvail its mysteries to the public; but the kings who are members of the order attest that its mysteries would be honored if they were revealed. Its rules are fixed. No one is received into its circle who is not well-born and of good reputation. Its purpose is plain to all; to love God, serve the country, and do good to all. Its utility is proved by its excellent precepts, and the services it renders to humanity. Its credit is not doubtful, since it is protected by sovereigns, and everywhere the title of Freemason is a powerful recommendation. Freemasonry is, therefore, an Order. Religion is a virtue which moves us to render to God the worship that is his due. Freemasons adore the Grand Architect of the universe, therefore, the Order of Freemasonry is religious in its teach-
ORD--OKN. 279
ings and practice. Freemasonry is an art, since it draws. historically, its origin and illustration from the building oi the Temple of Solomon. The art is royal, since Solomon was the conductor of the labors and the chief of the -work- men, and the princes and kings who are Masons, are, as Masons, simple artisans. Freemasonry is a society, for ita members are elected and are brothers. This society is perfect; for it has existed from time immemorial, and ita principles are immutable."
ORDER-NAME. In the Orders of Strict Observance, the lllummuti, and the Royal Order of H-R-D-M. of Kilwinning, each member received at his reception a kind of baptismal name expressive of some quality or virtue. Thus Baron Knigge, in the Strict Observance, bore the name of " Ci/f/i><>."
ORDO AB CHAO. Order out of Chaos. A motto of the Supreme Council, thirty-third degree of the Ancient and Accepted rite.
ORIENT. From the Latin participle " Orient," rising, i. e., the rising of the sun — the East. The Lodge, being a source of light, is called the Orient or East. A Grand body is called the Grand East; thus the Grand Lodge of France is called "Grand Orient." This title is applied to most of the Grand bo .lies in Europe.
ORIENTAL CHAIR OF SOLOMON. In the East, the seat of the Master in a symbolical Lodge. When the Master of the Lodge is installed he is said to be inducted into the oriental chair of King Solomon.
ORIFLAMME. The ancient royal standard of France. Originally it was the church banner of the abbe} of St. Denis, which was presented by the Lord Protector of the convent whenever it was neces- sary to take up arms for the preservation of its rights and possessions. It was a piece of red silk — hence the name — fixed on a golden spear, in the form of a banner, and cut into five points, each of which was adorned with a tassel of green silk. The banners of several orders imitating the ceremonies of Freemasonry are of this
description, and sometimes bear the name Oriflamme upon
them.
ORNAMENTS OF A LODGE. The Mosaic pavement, the indented tessel, and the blazing star, are called the ornaments of a Lodge..
280 OHN— OSL
ORNAN. A Jebusite, from whom David purchased the threshing-lloor on Mount Moriah, on which to erect an altar to God— 2d Chron. xxi. 18-25. The site of the threshing-lloor afterward became the location of the temple.
OKPHIC MYSTERIES. The founder of these mysteries- Orpheus — lived about forty years before the Trojan war. His mysteries were of the Egyptian type, he having been initiated by the priests of Egypt, to which country he went in search of wisdom. The Orphic rites were of a mystical and philosophical character, and, in after ages, united with the Pythagorean, were widely diffused in both Europe and Asia. The Orphic mysteries were the fountain of Grecian civilization. Through their influence the untamed tribes of Greece were trained to the habits of civilized life, and were united in towns and cities, and instructed in useful arts. In his mystic society commenced the development of those great ideas which regenerated that celebrated country, placed it at the head of the civilization of the world, and made it preeminent in science, literature, philosophy, and poetry, and in all the arts that enrich society and embellish life. These rites were the foundation of the mysteries of Eleusis. The Orphic poems embrace the whole cycle of the esoteric religious principles, and the doctrines of the mysteries.
OSIRIS, LEGEND or. In the articles Isian and Egyptian mysteries we have given an account of this chief figure in the Egyptian mythology. Most writers who have expressed opinions on this subject seem to think that the legend has solely an astronomical sense, and simply means the contest between light and darkness, the conservative and destroying Bowers of nature. Thus, when the sun — Osiris — sets, dark- ness — Typhon — appears to triumph, and when the sun risea Typhon or darkness is vanquished, and so the eternal contest goes on. During the last age it was a fashion among the material philosophers to explain all ancient mythology, and ehe mysteries in this manner, in order to show that they had ^o religious sense. This was carried so far that even Christ was declared to be nothing but a symbol of the sun, and the twelve apostles were the twelve signs of the zodiac ! We cannot admit that the Osirian myth is to be explained ttoleiy from the astronomical point of view. It had a higher meaning, and shadowed forth the great mystery of the world, the conflicts of good and evil, of vice and vii'tue, and announces that even through persecution and death, justice and truth, and virtue, shall advance to a perfect victory; and that the night of death shall yield to an immortal day.
OVE— PAL. 281
OVERSEER. Iii the system of Strict Observance, and several others, each of the first two officers of the Lodge, after the Master, is called "Overseer." The name is also given to the Senior and Junior Wardens in English Lodges. In a Mark Master's Lodge three officers bear this title, namely: Master, Senior and Junior Overseers. The duties of these officers are performed by the three Masters of the Vails. Their official emblem is a square.
P.
PALESTINE. 1. The Land of Canaan— Judea. There are two periods in the history of this country which are peculiarly interesting to Freemasons, viz: that which in- cluded the reign of Solomon, during which the temple was built, and the one when that country was the theater of the exploits of the crusades, from which time many knightly orders date their existence. The Christian kingdom of Jerusalem was founded in 1099, by the Crusaders. Its constitution was European: a patriarchate, four archbishop- rics, several earldoms and baronies, and three orders of knighthood, were instituted; an army of from 12,000 to 20,000 men was kept on foot; and the mosque built by the caliph Omar, in 638, upon the site of Solomon's Temple, was changed into a magnificent cathedral. During this period the order of Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem arose, and also that of the Knights Templar. 2. Palestine has been styled the Father-land of the Masonic orders; and a large number of degrees derive their names from its cities and other noted localities, and events that have transpired in its history.
PALLADIUM, ORDER OF THE. The date of the origin of this society is unknown. It first appeared at Doua}r, France. Its ritual and statutes are ascribed to Fenelon; the rules admitted both sexes to membership; its professed objects were spiritual and moral improvement. The male members were called the "Companions of Ulysses," and the female tin "Sisters of Penelope." The seal of the order was a heart, crowned with flowers, upon an altar, ornamented with a garland, with a branch of laurel at the right, and another of palm, at the left. Upon the heart was the inscription: "Je sais aimer," I know how to love. This device and the in- timacy which prevailed between the Companions of Ulysses and the Sisters of Penelope indicate with sufficient plainness the certain end and principal object of the order of the Palladium. Its existence was of short duration.
982 PAN.
PANATHENJ3A. One of the famous festivals of Greece, celebrated at Athens in honor of Athene, patron goddess oi the city, and intended to remind the people of Attica ol their union into one community by Theseus. Before the time of Theseus, or before the formation of the Attic confederacy, this festival was celebrated only by the citizens of Athens, and called simply Athencea. According to tradition, the Athensea owed its origin/to King Erichthonius, about 1506 or 1521 B. c. The later Panathensea appears to have been a double festival. All writers who mention it speak of a Lesser or Greater Panathenaea, the former held annually, the latter every fourth year. Both took place in the month Hecatombceon (July), and lasted several days. The Lesser Panathensea was celebrated with gymnastic games, musical compositions, declamations, and a torch-light race in the evening, the whole concluding with the sacrifice of an ox contributed by every one of the Athenian boroughs, from which the whole company enjoyed a sumptuous entertainment. During the celebration, no person was permitted to appear in dyed garments. The prize of the victors was a vessel filled with oil, from the sacred tree on the Acropolis. The Greater Panathenaea only differed from the Lesser in being more bolemn and magnificent. Homeric poems were sung; dra- matic representations were given, and on the last day of the festival a splendid procession took place, in which Athene's (Minerva) sacred garment was carried. This garment was woven by a select number of virgins called epyao-xai, from ipyov, work. It was of a white color, without sleeves, and embroidered with gold. Upon it were described the achieve- ments of the goddess, particularly her victories over the giants. This garment was carried in procession in such a manner as to give it the appearance of the sail of a vessel, to the temple of Ceres Eleusiania, thence to the citadel, where the peplus was placed upon the statue of Minerva, which was laid upon a bed strewed and artistically decorated with flowers. Not alone the Athenians, but the whole popu- lation of Attica poured forth on this occasion. It was usual to set all pi-isoners at liberty, and to present golden crowns to such as had deserved well of their country.
PANTHEISTIC BROTHERHOOD. Toland, in his cele- brated essay, "Pantheisticon," describes a fraternity whose ritual, as well as principal features, had a strong likeness to Freemasonry; and, thereby, the society gained much credit, but its pretensions to a Masonic character were exposed on 'he establishment of the Grand Lodge in London, A. D. 1717, ad the society was soon abandoned.
PAR— PAS.
283
PAROLE. It is well known that the order of Odd-Fellows, in addition to its permanent and unchangeable pass-words, has an annual traveling "word," and also term pass- words. The Masonic fraternity in the United States has no arrange- ment of this kind. But the order in France has a system of this character. The parole is of two kinds "mot de semektre" — half-yearly word — and "mot annuel" — annual word — tho first of which is given to all the Lodges at the semi-annuul festival of the brotherhood, and the second is communicated to the higher orders in November.
PASSED. A word used to describe the advancement of an Entered Apprentice to the degree of Fellow-Craft. It alludes to his passage between the symbolical columns and through the porch to the middle chamber of the temple.
PAST HIGH -PRIEST, an honorary title by which a companion who has served in the office of High-Priest for the official term of one year is known. The honors and special privileges pertaining to the office are conferred in a convention called the Order of High-Priesthood,, composed of present and past High-Priests, which is held to be the bond of brotherly love that unites those who have been elevated to the highest station in a Royal Arch Chapter by their companions, and are engaged in one common task of preserving the landmarks of the order unimpaired, and in protecting, by their high authority, the integrity and honor of the institution. The jewel of a Past High-Priest consists
of a plate of gold in the form of a triple triangle, a breast- plate being placed over the point of union. In front, on the face of each triangle is inscribed, with the tetragrammaton, nil""!*1? on the other side the upper triangle has the following mystical notation, «,,, *7*70 ; the two lower triangles have the Hebrew letters ft and p inserted upon them. Each side of each triangle should be one inch in length, and may be ornamented at the fancy of the wearer. The breastplate may be plainly engraved or set with stones.
234 PAS.
PAST MASTEE. The name of a degree conferred on Mas- ters of Lodges before they can assume the duties of the chair. The same degree is also the second of the series known as the Royal Arch degrees. This somewhat anomalous arrangement has led to a confusion of ideas, and considerable controversy in regard to the rights of these two classes of Past Masters Is a brother who has received the degree of Past Master in a Royal Arch Chapter, but who has never been elected to nor installed into the office of Master of the Blue Lodge, eligible to the elective offices in the Grand Lodge? The constitutions of most Grand Lodges confine the honors of official station to Past Masters. The point to be determined is what construction must be put on this term Past Master, as used in the constitutions. Does it refer solely to those who have actually passed the oriental chair, or does it include others who are not actual Past Masters, but who are entitled to the name, from the fact that they have received the degree in the Royal Arch Chapter ? It would seem to be a plain conclusion that, as neither the Grand Lodges nor their subordinates know anything of such a body as the Chapter, the authors of those constitutions could have had no refer- ence to the Chapter whatever, nor to any of its degrees. When designating those who should be eligible to office in the Grand Lodge, they must have had in their minds those, and only those, who had actually served a term as Master of a Blue Lodge. In point of fact, the degree of Past Master is out of place in the Chapter, and has no right there. It belongs to the Blue Lodge, and should be conferred only upon actual Masters of Lodges when installed into office. As a degree of the Lodge, used as above, it is fit and proper. In the Chapter it has no significance nor pertinence what- ever— it is simply an act without meaning, and mars greatly the beauty of Royal Arch Masonry. The degree, itself, fur- nishes strong internal evidence that it never was intended for any persons but Masters of Lodges. It deals solely with the duties of Masters and with Masonic labors which belong exclusively to Blue Lodges, and is nothing more nor less than the beginning of the installation service.
PASTOPHORAI. From the Greek words pastes, a couch or chest, and pherd, I bear, equivalent to couch-bearers. The priests of the first class in the Egyptian mysteries bore this name. In the performance of certain ceremonies they carried an image of a god — Osiris — whose allegorical death had been represented on an enclosed couch, or rather, per- haps, in a kind of coffin. This title was also applied to other persons who carried images of their deities through the public streets for the purpose of eliciting charity.
PAT. 285
PATENT. A warrant of constitution conferring privileges, f.rid by the authority of which societies and companies exercise ineir peculiar functions. All Masonic bodies work under a patent or charter, derived from some legitimate authority having full power to grant the same. It must be confessed that not a few of the Masonic patents and charters of the last century were forgeries. The one that Baron Humle laid before the Convention of Kohlo, June, 22, 1772, was written in cipher, and no person has ever yet beeu able to explain or read it. It was examined, however, by Firks, Lestwitz, De Bruggen and Hohenthal, who pro- nounced it legitimate, and Kessler, in a funeral oration pronounced over the deceased Grand Master, relates thai the Brothers Smith brought it from England or Scotland about the year 1754 ! Many other patents arid charters that are sometimes spoken of had an origin equally lofty in the clouds of doubt and ambiguity.
PATMOS, KNIGHT OF. A degree which belongs to a series of degrees that the ancient Grand Encampment of Templars in Scotland conferred. It is historical, and has reference to the banishment of St. John and the visions of the Apocalypse.
PATRIARCH. From the Greek patria, family, and arch&n, head or chief. The heads of the antediluvian families, ami the three fathers of the Hebrew race, are thus designated. The celebrated Charter of Cologne speaks of an unknown or invisible Patriarch, and also a Supreme Master Elect, who are to be recognized as the legitimate governors of the Craft. The name is found also in the encampment degrees of the Order of Odd Fellows; in several of the high grades of Free- masonry, and in the 20th degree of the Councils of the Emperor of the East and West. At Paris there is an officer who bears the name of Grand Patriarch.
PATRON. A protector. The Latin patronus signified, in the Roman Republic, a patrician, who had plebeians called I'lii'iitis under his immediate protection, and whose interests he supported by his authority and influence. The historj cf Freemasonry in Great Britain shows that the Order, at a very early period, recognized the king as its patron, or some one appointed by the king to represent him. The constitu- tions of York also ordained that " All legitimate societies" — of Masons — " shall labor under a patron." Charles I. was patron of the English Masons from 1625 to 1644. The changed cii'cumstances of the times, the growth of democratic ideas, and the overwhelming political power now possessed by the masses of the people, have rendered the expression, "patrou of Masonry," very nearly an obsolete notion.
286 PEL— PER.
PELICAN. It was formerly believed that this bird, when food could not be found, would sacrifice itself to its young and nourish them with its own blood. Hence the Pelican nourishing its young ones with its blood has often been used by various societies as a symbol of self-sacrificing benevo- lence. Eagon says that in the hieroglyphic language the Eagle signified a wise, and the Pelican a benevolent, man, and therefore concludes that the Eagle and Pelican of the Rose Croix degrees symboMze perfect Wisdom and perfect Lovo.
PENNY. The Greek drachma, or Roman denarius, was the name of the coin mentioned in the parable of the " vine- yard," with which the laborers were paid for their day's work. " Every man received a penny." The value of this coin was twelve to fourteen cents United States currency. It plays an important part in the degree of Mark Master.*
PERFECTIONISTS. This was the name that Weishaupt first gave to that branch of the order which was afterward exchanged for that of Illuminati.
PERFECTION, DEGREE OF. Also called Grand Elect, Per- fect and Sublime Mason. The French style it Grand Ecossais de la voute sacre'e de Jacques VI. It is the 14th degree of the
* An erroneous impression prevails respecting the real value of money in olden times, on account of our associations with its present value. A penny, equivalent to twelve or fourteen cents, seems to us to be a mean compensation for ten or twelve hours toil in the vineyard, and the two pence (Luke x. 35) affords very equivocal evidence to our minds of gene- rosity in the good Samaritan; but when it is considered how much of the comforts and necessaries of life these apparently trifling sums could obtain, the case appears differently. As lately as the year 1351 the price of labor was regulated in England by act of Parliament, and "hay- makers, corn-weeders, without meat, drink, or other courtesy" (in model n phrase, finding themselves, ) were to have a penny a day. In many places these were the highest wages paid for any kind of agricultural labor, some kinds being still less. The pay of a chaplain in England, in 1314, was three half pence, or about three cents a day. At the same time wheat was sixteen cents a bushel, and a fat sheep only twelve cents. A ponny a day under such circumstances would not be inconsiderable wages. In the time of Christ a penny or Roman denarius would have bought, it is estimated, at least ten times more than it would have done in England in the year 1780 — and prices then were very much lower than at the present day. — BIBLE DICTIONARY.
CHAMBBB OF DEATH. — PERFECT MASTER
TOMB OP HIRAM.
PER 291
Ancient and Accepted rite, and the 20th of the Kite of Misraim. Chevalier Ramsay and other political associates of the Pretender were undoubtedly the authors of the degree.
PERFECTION, RITE OF. A French system founded by De Bonneville, 1754, which assumed that the Freemasons were the lineal descendants of the Templars, and therefore that all Masons were Knights Templar. It had 25 degrees. Stephen Morin and others introduced some modifications and additions into the rite, and transplanted it in the United States under the name of the Ancient and Accepted rite.
PERFECT MASTER. The 5th degree of the Ancient and Accepted rite. The legend of this degree is founded upon the circumstances of King Solomon's efforts in establishing appropriate obsequies as a grateful tribute of respect to the memory of a worthy departed brother. The Master is styled Most Venerable, and represents Adoniram. The hangings are green; in each corner of the room is a white column; the altar is covered with a black cloth, strewed with tears. The apron is white lambskin, lined and bordered with green; in the center of which is painted, within three circles, a square stone, on which the letter J is inscribed; the flap of the apron is green, symbolically to remind the neophyte that, being iead in vice, he must hope to revive in virtue. The jewel is a compass open to GO. degrees, the points on the arc of a circle. The solemn ceremonies of an interment take place during the progress of this degree.
PERFECT UNION, LODGE OF. A new arrangement of Masonic degrees which made its appearance in France during the latter part of the last century, under the auspices of the Lodge of Perfect Union at Rennes. It received the title of the Elect of Truth, and had 14 degrees, divided into three classes. This rite is but a modification of the Rite of Perfection.
PERSECUTION. No society or order of men has been the object of greater abuse or more malicious misrepre- sentation and unreasonable persecution than that of Free- masonry. Even among the Jews, not many years after the building of the temple, Freemasons were accused of idolatry, the temples where they practiced their mysteries were destroyed, and many of them were put to death. This arose in a great degree from the ignorance of the Jews of that age. They misapprehended the lofty ideas of their greatest king and wisest sage, Solomon, and were made to believe, after his death, that the symbolical decorations of the temple were of a profane and idolatrous character. They were also taught
2U3
FEB.
to distrust the liberal views entertained in regard to other nations, and saw in his friendly and fraternal intercourse with Hiram of Tyre, and other distinguished Gentiles, a departure from the strictness of the Hebrew faith. During the life of Solomon the company of Hiram continued to practice their rites unmolested; but after his death a strong and bitter opposition sprang up against them. Their mys- teries, not being understood, were called " abominations," and a general movement for the extermination of the Sidonian architects was organized. This ancient persecution of the Sidonian Masons finds its parallel in the persecutions of modern Masons by the Roman Church and other religious bodies. In 1738, Pope Clement XII. fulminated his cele- brated bull against the Order, in which he shows himself as fanatical and ill-informed in regard to the nature of Free- masonry as those who headed the persecutions of the Si- donians among the ancient Jews. He says: "We have learned that a society has been formed under the name of Freemasons, into which persons of all religions and aD. sects are indiscriminately admitted, and whose members have established certain laws which bind themselves to each other, and which, in particular, compel their members, under the severest penalties,' by virtue of an oath taken on the Holy Scriptures, to preserve an inviolable secrecy in relation to everything that transpires in their meetings." The bull concludes with a command to all bishops to inflict on Masons "the penalties which they deserve, as people greatly sus- pected of heresy, having recourse, if necessary, to the secular power." The "penalty" here alluded to is plainly enough explained by the following Jranscript from an edict published in the following year: " No person shall dare to assemble at any lodge of the said society, nor be present at any of their meetings, under pain of death and confiscation of goods, the said penalty to be without pardon." This bull, however, failed to stay the progress of the institution, and wheu Benedict XIV., 1751, renewed ,it, and ordered its enforce- ment, his proclamation was treated with derision and con- tempt. In Germany, Spain, Turkey, Portugal, France aiiJ Switzerland the order has, at times, been persecuted, but it has outlived all opposition, and is now master of those who once trampled it under foot. The anti-Masonic movement in the United States is familiar to all. It was a real benefit to Masonry, and has overwhelmed its authors with infamy and scorn. But the last (and we hope it will be the last) and probably the most ridiculous attempt at persecuting the Masonic institution emanated from the Secret Consistory of the .Vatican, by Pope Pius IX., September 25, 1865, in the form of a Papal Allocution to his " Venerable Brethren." This
PER. 293
dreadful anathema pronounces, ex-cathedra, that Freemasonry is " monstrous, impious and criminal, full of snares and frauds — a dark society; the enemy of the Church and of God, and dangerous to the security of kingdoms; inflamed with a burning hatred against religious and legitimate authority; desirous of overthrowing all rights human and divine," etc. It may not be necessary to waste much time or space to the refutation of the charges displayed in this silly and odious papal address. Such accusations against a public body of men spread over the whole surface of the civilized world and in all classes of society, among whom may be numbered monarchs, princes, senators, prelates, and the great and good of all countries, accompanied by the awful sentence of eternal perdition, are detestable, and not worthy of any serious notice. The Pope and his venerable brethren do not like Freemasonry. Very well; nobody blames them for that; and least of all, the members of the Masonic Order; for it is not a proselytizing institution. He objects to it because it is a secret society. Very well ! Has Roman- ism no secrets? Then it has no confessional, and it never had an inquisition. Why this Allocution, in which secret societies are subjected to such severe invective, was actually delivered in his own Secret Consistory. But as the Roman Church is hostile to freedom of conscience, its doctrines are therefore incompatible with the tolerant and liberal princi- ples of Freemasonry. We shall patiently await another (although another may never occur) " Thunder from the Vatican," but in the meantime the Order of Freemasonry must move on.
PERSEVERANCE, ORDER OF. -An Order of Knights and Ladies, which was founded at the Court of Louis XV., A.D 1771, by the Polish Countess, Potoska, Count Brostosky, and the Marquis de Seignelay. Its existence was short.
PERSIAN PHILOSOPHICAL RITE. A new system of Masonry which arose at Paris in the year 1819. It was not much encouraged, and has now ceased to exist. Little is known of its ritual, and whether the three symbolic degrees were essential to its members, or whether they were included in the fanciful names of the degrees adopted, we are unable to learn. It consisted of seven degrees, viz: 1. Listening Apprentice; 2. Companion Adept, Esquire of Benevolence; 3. M aster of the Sun — from the 29th degree of the Scotch rite; 4. Architect of all Rites, Knight of the Philosophy of the Heart — enthusiasm; 5. Knight of Eclecticism and of Truth; 6. Master Grand Shepherd; 7. Venerable Grand Elu. 25
294 PHA— PHI.
PHALLUS. An image of the virile member, which, fast- ened to a pole, was carried in the religious processions of many of the nations of antiquity. It was not an object of worship, as some have thought, but was reverenced as a symbol of the male productive principle. This symbol, under the name of Lingain, was first employed in the Indian Mys- teries; thence it was introduced into Egypt, and made still more conspicuous in the Mysteries of Isis. The legend of Osiris relates that, on being overcome by Typhon, his body was dismembered, and the several parts of it — and among them the virile member — were concealed by Typhon in the four quarters of the globe. Isis, after a long search, suc- ceeded in finding all the members except the one in question, and of this she made a wooden image, which was carried in the processions peculiar to the festivals of Osiris, as an emblem of the productive energies of nature. In the Grecian Mysteries, also, it was used in the same sense, and traces of- it are even found among the Jews. The Phallus was not associated in the minds of the people with any low, vulgar Dr lascivious ideas, but rather represented, as we have before observed, that plastic power, that creative force of nature, that mysterious and inexhaustible fountain of life from which all things proceed. This sign has been prominently associated with the symbol of the Point within a Circle.
PHI BETA KAPPA. An order composed of students in American colleges. The first society of the kind was, we believe, organized by the members of William and Mary's College in Virginia, and under the auspices of Thomas Jefierson. It has a sign, grip and word, and a silver medal, which serves as a token of membership; on one side of which, under six stars, the number of colleges where the Order is in vogue, and above a hand, are engraved the initials . 13. K. ; while on the other is marked the date of its foundation, " S. P., December 5, 1776." The letters S. P. stand for Societas Philosophies. The three Greek initials signify "Philosophia biou Kubernetes" — Philosophy, the guide of life.
PHILADELPHIA'S. This was the appellation of a lodge erected at Narbonne, France, in which the Kite of Narbonne and also the Primitive rite had their seats. This rite claims to rest upon a scientific study of Masonry. Thory — "Hixtoire du Grand Orient" — says: " Suivant I'ecrit: notion generate sur te caractere et I'objei du rite primitif, le regime est forme par trois classes de Masons, qui regoivent dix degres d' instruction. Ces degres, ou classes ne sont pas la designation de tels ou tels grades, mais des de nominal ions de collections, qn'il sujfit de
PHI. 295
derouler autant qu'elles en sont susceptible, pour en fairs willir un nombre presque infaii de grades!'* Thus, for example, the 4th degree, under the titles of Perfect Master, Elect, Archi- tect, designates an acquaintance with the greater part of the degrees analogous to them.
PHILALETHEANS. This name— a compound Greek- word — signifying the " Friends or Lovers of Truth," was given to an order which originated in the "Loye des Amis Eeunis,'' A. D. 1773. The rite or system of degrees was divided into twelve classes:
1. Apprentice.
2. Fellow-Craft
3. Master.
4. Elect.
5. Scottish Knight.
6. Knight of the East.
8. Knight of the Temple.
9. Unknown Philosopher.
10. Sublime Philosopher.
11. Initiated.
12. Phiklethean, Lover of Truth,
or Master of all Degrees.
7. Knight ot the Kose-Oroix.
Like the sect of St. Martin, it had a mystical formation, but most of its teachings were of an elevated character, and discussed the profoundest questions of philosophy in an able manner. It attracted the attention of many distinguished men, who became active members of it; among whom were Count de Gebelin, Dutrousset d'Hericourt, the Landgrave Fredrich Ludwig of Hessen Darmstadt, Baron Gleichen, Abbe Rozier, etc. The soul of the Order was Savaletto de Langes, who was also its founder.
PHILOCHOREITES, ORDER OF. This was a secret society composed of men and women, founded by some officers connected with the French army, in Spain, A. D. 1808, and was afterward carried by them into France. It was also diffused by the Spanish army through many other parts of Europe. It was a system of Adoptive Masonry, with initi- ation and mysteries. The Lodge was styled the Circle. Each Knight bore an Order name.
PHILOSOPHERS UNKNOWN, ORDEK OF. This Order, sometimes called also the Order of Unknown Philosopher- Judges, was a Masonic society, and had two degrees. It belonged to the Templar-Jesuitical system, and its tendency, on the whole, was unmasouic, although it wrapped itself in a Masonic form. The jewel of the Order was a dagger, with the words Tain and Revenge.
* According to the MSS. "a general idea of the character and objects of the Primitive Bite, " the system includes three classes of Masons who receive ten degrees of instruction. These classes are not the designation of such and such degrees, but of collections, which, being properly de- veloped, may produce an infinite number of degrees.
296 PHI.
PHILOSOPHICAL DEGBEES. The degrees, above the 18th, are distinguished by this name; but why they should be thus named it is difficult to explain. Only one of them — the 28th, or Knight of the Sun — can lay any claim to the appellation. Nearly all the rest are historical and moral, and are, for the most part, amplifications of preceding de- grees. During the last century, however, there were several philosophical rites practiced among Masons, but they have gradually been dropped. Only one — the 28th — of our sys- tem remains. The name Philosopher is given to a largo number of degrees in several Masonic rites. In the Lodge of des Amis Reunis we find the degrees of Cabalist Philoso- pher, Philosopher of the Grand Circle, Hermetic Philoso- pher, and Philosopher of Hermes. Elsewhere we find Cabalistic Philosopher, Cabalistic Philosopher of the Sublime number Five, Christian Philosopher — degree of the African Architects, Grand Mistress Philosopher — in the Chapter of the Dames of Mt. Tabor, Grand Philosopher, Perfect Mason Philosopher, Perfect Master Philosopher, Sublime Philoso- pher, Philosopher of the Sublime number Nine, Philosopher of Samothrace, etc. The foregoing by no means com- pletes the list, but these will serve to show the character of the Masonic mind during the last half of the 18th century. There was a yearning for the attainment of the highest truth, and these rites, with their multifarious degrees, were con- sidered as so many steps leading thereto.
PHILOSOPHIC SCOTCH EITE. This system was estab- lished in Paris, and adopted by the Grand Lodge in 1776. Some few years previously a Mason named Pernetti founded a rite, to which he gave the name of " Hermetic, or Sublime Masters of the Luminous Ring," the object of the contriver - being to instruct his disciples, not only in the higher degrees of Masonry, but also in the art of transmuting metals and preparing the elixir of life. Pernetti had for a pupil a physician named Boileau, who did away with the alchemy, and made it more purely Masonic, and then gave this re- formed rite the name above affixed to it. This rite, which Clavel says is still practiced in France, has twelve degrees, the three degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry being necessary pre -requisites, though they do not form a part of the rite. The degrees are: 1, 2, and 3, Knight of the Black Eagle or Bose-Croix, divided into three parts; 4. Knight of the Phcrnix; 5. Knight of the Sun; G. Knight of Iris; 7. True Mason; 8. Knight of the Argonauts; 9. Knight of the Golden Fleece; 10. Grand Inspector, Perfect Initiate; 11. Grand Inspector, Grand Scotch Mason; 12. Sublime Master of the Luminous Bing. The ioctrine taught in this rite was that
PHI. 297
Freemasonry was founded by Pythagoras; and t.ae lectures consisted of an explanation of the philosophy and peculiar doctrines of the Samian sage, asserting, for instance, that the symbols he adopted in his secret instruction were chiefly derived from geometry ; thus, the right angle was au emblem of morality and justice; the equilateral triangle was a sym- bol of God, the essence of light and truth; the square referred to the divine mind; the cube was the symbol of the mind of man after it had been purified by acts of piety and devotion, and thus prepared for mingling with the celestial beings. The point within a circle, and the dodecahedron or figure of twelve sides, were symbols of the universe; the triple triangle was an emblem of health; and the letter Y a representation of the course of human life, in which there were two diverging paths, the one of virtue leading to happiness, and the other of vice conducting to misery.*
PHILOSOPHY OF MASONRY. This expression opens an immense field for the intelligent Mason to explore, and one so rich in materials that it can never be exhausted. The Philosophy of Freemasonry involves the history of its origin, an inquiry into the ideas that lie at its base, an investi- gation of its peculiar form, an analytical study of its several degrees, and a development of the ideas which are illustrated by its ritualistic emblems, myths and allegories, and which speak through its sublime system of symbols. Freemasonry has now arrived at a period in its history when the pros- perity of the Order imperatively demands a deeper insight into its character and teachings. In this country, for nearly half a century. Masons have occupied themselves merely with the outward and material forms of the institution. Not knowing in what ideas the system had its birth, what truths were symbolized by the rites, what notions were intended to
"Pythagoras, in pursuit of knowledge, traveled into Chaldea and Egypt, and is said to have been instructed in the sacred lore of the Hebrews, either by the Prophet Ezekiel or Daniel. Dr. Oliver asserts that he was initiated into the Jewish system of Freemasonry, and that "his mysteries were the most perfect approximation to the original science of Freemasonry which could be accomplished by a philosopher bereft of the aid of revelation." Jamblicup relates, as evidence of their brotherly love and of their means of mutual recognition, the following incident: A Pythagorean, traveling in a distant country, fell sick and died at a public inn. Previously to his death, however, being unable to compensate the landlord for the kindness and attention with which he had been treated, he directed a tablet, on which he had traced somo enigmatical characters, to be exposed on the public road. Some tim« after another disciple of Pythagoras passed that wny, perceived the tablet, and learning from the inscription that a brother had been there sick and in distress, and that he had been treated with kindness, hi stopped and reimbursed the innkeeper for his trouble ami expense.
298 PHCE— PLA.
be illustrated by its symbols, they have not been able to rise to a true appreciation of its sublime spirit and profound significance. The superior intelligence and culture of tho present age require more than this. The questioning spirit of the times demands aieason for this and for that; it cannot rest in a dead form, an outward sign. Masons should acquaint themselves with the philosophy of Masonry, seek and find the sense of its rites, study its symbols until they see them all aglow with infinite and eternal truths. " Sym- bols are the speech of God," and through them Eternity lookjs into Time, and the Infinite holds communion with the finite, the divine with the human — through them the mys- terious currents of life from the over-world stream into our human world of prosaic reality, and light it up with a living glory. There is that latent in Freemasonry which makes it exactly the institution most needed in this age. But to be an effective agent in elevating and advancing man to a more perfect condition, the sense of its mysteries must be better understood by Masons, its philosophy must be studied, and its grand and ancient emblems and symbols must be made to speak their immortal meanings as of old. In other words, Freemasonry must be idealized. Masonic literature is ex- ceedingly poor in works touching upon this point. The lectures of Kagon, "Cours Philoxophique" in France, and the "Rationale and Ethics of Freemasonry" by Arnold, in the United States, are the only works we have any knowledge of in this department.
PHCENIX. A Phoenix, burning, with the words written beneath, "Perit ut uu to Jacques de Molay, was adopted as the seal of the Order of the Temple, according to the accoiint of the Baron Hunde, by Harris, the second Grand Master after Molay, A. D. 1313; or according to Starck's assertion by Aumont, Molay's suc- cessor, 1312-13.
PLATONIC ACADEMY. An institution having Masonic emblems, which was founded at Florence, 1480, during the reign of Cosmo de Medici. It was devoted to the study of the Platonic Philosophy.* Clavel supposes — drawing his conclusions from the Masonic symbols that adorn their hall, which yet exists — that they were a society of Masons, who, even at that early period, had abandoned the operative for the speculative art.
* Plato believed God to be nn infinitely wise, just and powerful Spirit; and that he lormcil t;u: visible universe out. of proi'-xistent aniorphorus matter, according to perfect patterns or ideas eternally existent in his own mind. Philosophy he coiisidered as being a knowledge of the true nature of things, us discoverable in those eternal idc.is after which uiJ things were ftwuionecL
PLE— PEE.
209
PLENTY. Literally denoting a full or adequate supply; an abundance. As an emblem of Masonry it is symbolized by a sheaf of wheat (com- monly called corn), suspended near a water- fall. The Hebrew word Shibboleth, which occupies an important part in the ceremonies of the Fellow-Craft's degree, signifies an ear of corn, also a rapid stream or flow of water. In the Eleusinian Mysteries the goddess Ceres was represented with a flaming torch in her right and an ear of corn in her left hand, and a wreath about her head, as emblems of peace and plenty. This goddess is nearly always represented thus ; several gems and medals are now extant, where the ears of corn appear with her image.
POMEL. Literally a round knob. The term is used to designate the globes which rested on the summit of the pillars that stood at the entrance of the temple.
PONTIEEX. This title was borne by the members of one of the great colleges among the ancient Romans, instituted by Nunaa, for the purpose of preserving and cultivating the highest order of knowledge, particularly of a religious character. Their duties embraced the regulation of all the religious rites and ceremonies (public and private) of the state. They were a self-elected body down to the latter ages of the republic, when the power of election was some- times held by the people. It was finally vested in the emperors, who added as many to their number as they thought fit. The chief of the pontifices was called the Pontifex Maximus. His station was one of great dignity and power, as he not only had supreme authority in religious matters, but, in consequence of the close connection between the civil government and religion of Home, he had also considerable political influence.
PRELATE. An officer in a Council of Red Cross Knights and Commandery of Knights Templar, whose title is "Excellent." His duties are to officiate at the altar and rehearse the lessons of divine inspiration. His position is at the right of the Generalis- simo in the East. His jewel is a triple triangle, with a passion cross in the center of each, which is the emblem of the Eternal Jehovah, and is to remind him of the importance of the sacred trust reposed in him.
gOO FBI.
PRIEST, Hebrew, Cohen. One who officiates in the pcblio worship of God, especially in making expiation for sin, being " ordained for men in things pertaining to God, to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins." In the Old Testament the priesthood was not annexed to a certain family until after the promulgation of the law by Moses. Before that time the first born of each family, the fathers, the princes, the kings, were the priests in their own. cities, and in their orrn houses. In the solemnity of the covenant, made by the Lord with his people, at the foot of Mount Sinai, Mosos performed the office of mediator, and young men were chosen from among Israel to perform the office of priests. But after the Lord had chosen the tribe of Levi to serve him in his tabernacle, and the priesthood was annexed to the family of Aaron, the right of offering sacrifices and oblations to God was reserved to the priests of this family. The High-Priest was at the head of all religious affairs, and was the ordinary judge of all difficulties that belonged thereto, and even of the general justice and judgment of the Jewish nation. God had appropriated to the person of the High-Priest the oracle of his truth; so that when he was habited in the proper ornaments of his dignity, and with the Urim and Thummim, he answered questions proposed to him, and God disclosed to him secret and future things. He was forbidden to mourn for the death of any of his relations, even for his father or mother; or to enter into any place where a dead body lay, that he might not contract or hazard the contraction of uncleanness. He had the privilege of entering the sanctuary only once a year, on the day of solemn expiation, to make atonement for the sins of the whole people. In general, no priest who had any corporeal defect could offer sacrifice, or enter the holy place to present the shew-bread. The consecration of Aaron and of his sons was performed by Moses in the desert, with great and im- posing solemnities. The garments worn by the High-Priest consisted of the following articles : Short linen drawers; over this was a shirt or tunic of fine linen, embroidered, reaching to the feet, and with sleeves extending to his wrists; over this again was another garment called the robe of the ephod, woven entire, blue, with an ornamented border around the neck, and a fringe at the bottom, made up of pomegranates and golden bells. Above all these vestments was placed the ephod, made without sleeves, and open below the arms on each side, consisting of two pieces, one of which covered the front of the body, and the other the back, and reaching down to the middle of the thighs. They were joined together on the shoulders by golden buckles set with
HIGH-PRIEST IN FOI/L EOBES.
PEL 303
gerns, and two large precious stones set in gold, on which were engraved the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, six on each stone, according to their order. The material of which the ephod was wrought was extremely costly ; of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine-twined linen, with rich golden em- broidery; also a girdle of fine linen, woven with blue, purple, scarlet and gold* passed twice around the body. Just above the girdle, on the breast of the ephod, and joined to it by golden chains attached to rings at the upper corners, was suspended the breastplate, which was made of the same rich material as the ephod; it was about ten inches square; the front of which was set with twelve precious stones, ou each of which was engraved the name of one of the sons of Jacob; these stones were divided from each other by golden partitions, and set in four rows. Upon his head was the miter. This was made of fine linen or silk, blue, wrapped in several folds, in the manner of a Turkish turban. In front, and around the base of the miter, as a band, secured with blue ribbon, was a plate of gold, called the "plate of the holy crown of pure gold," upon which was inscribed, " HOLINESS TO THE LORD," in Hebrew characters. These vest- ments should be worn by the High-Priest of a Royal Arch Chapter at every convocation, and when worn each of them will convey to the possessor important lessons of symbolical instruction. The various colors of the robes are emblematic of the graces and virtues which should adorn the human mind; the white, of innocence and purity; the scarlet, of fervency and zeal; the purple, of union; and the blue, of friendship. The miter is to remind him of the dignity oi his office, and the inscription on its plate to admonish him of his dependence on God. Lastly, the breastplate, upon which is engraved the names of the twelve tribes, is to teach him that he is always to bear in mind his responsibility to the laws and ordinances of the institution, and that the honor and interests of the Chapter and its members should alwaj s be near his heart.* In the United States the High-Priest is the first officer of a Chapter of Royal Arch Masons. He represents Joshua, the High-Priest, who, with his com-
* According to Josephus the ancient Jews gave an interesting symbol- ical interpretation to the several parts of these vestments. He says, Ifcat being made of linen signified the earth ; the blue denoted the sky, being like lightning in its pomegranates, and in the noise of its bells resembling thunder. The ephod showed that God had made the universe of four elements, the gold relating to the splendor by whicn all things are enlightened. The breastplate in the middle of the ephod resembled the earth, which has the middle place of the world. The sarJonyxes declare the sun and moon. The twelve stones are the twelve months or signs of the zodiac. The miter is heaven, because blue.
304 PHI.
pinions, Zerubbabel, Prince of Judah, and Haggai, the scribe, assisted in building the second temple.
PEIMITIVE SCOTCH KITE. This system was first intro- duced at Namur, in 1770, and consisted of thirty-three degrees, mos.tly taken from the Scottish series of Heredom. Its principal author was Bro. Marchot, an eminent advocate at Nivellea It never extended beyond Namur. Clavel says it is principally practiced in Belgium, and has its see at Namur, in the Lodge de La Bonne Amitie.
PRIMITIVE SCOTCH EITE, OK THE PHILADELPHI CP NAEBONNE, was established at Narbonne, on the 19th of April, 1780. It consisted of three classes of Masons, who received ten degrees of instruction — a degree meaning a certain amount of instruction, and some of them including several Masonic degrees. Thus, the first class had for its three degrees, the three symbolic degrees in all the rites; the second class had for its first (4th) degree the Perfect Master, Elu and Architect; for its second (5th) the Sublime Scottish; for its third (6th) the Knight of the Sword, Knight of the East and Prince of Jerusalem; while the third class had for its four degrees, all being in the Chapter of Rose Croix, instruction in all branches of knowledge, especially Masonic, physical, philosophical, psychological and occult. This rite was reconstituted in the Low Countries in 1819.
PRINCE OF JERUSALEM. The 16th degree of the Ancient and Accepted rite. The history of this degree is founded upon the incidents that occurred during the build- ing of the second temple, at which time the Jews were much annoyed by the constant and malicious interference of the Samaritans, their ancient enemies. This degree is closely connected with, and a continuation of, the degree of the Knight of the East and Sword, to which the reader is referred for a more detailed statement. There should be two principal apartments in addition to the ante-room. The first apartment represents the court of Zerubbabel at Jerusalem. The hangings are of saffron color, except the East, which is hung with white, blue, red, and violet colors, in stripes. The second apartment represents the council chamber of Darius, King of Persia. The hangings are green, the throne and canopy saffron color. In it is no Masonic furniture. The Senior Warden presides and represents Darius, King of Persia, dressed in royal robes, and wearing a crown. In the first apartment the presiding officer repre- sents Zerubbabel, and is styled Most Illustrious. The apron is of crimson, lined and edged with saffron color. On the flap is an equal balance, held by a hand of Justice. In the
PEL
305
middle of the apron, a representation of the second temple. The jewel is a medal of gold ; on which is engraved a hand, holding an equal balance ; a double-edged sword, surrounded by five stars ; on one side of which is the letter D, and on the other the letter Z, the initials of Darius and Zerubbabel. The Princes of Jerusalem are sometimes styled "Chiefs* of Masonry," and are authorized to visit and inspect all lodges of inferior degrees. V
PEIXCE OF MERCY, OK SCOTCH TRINITARIAN. The 26th degree of the Ancient and Accepted rite. It is a highly philosophical degree, and its ritual very impressive; its title clearly designates its character and intention. The body is styled a Chapter. The hangings are green, supported by 9 columns, alternately white and red; upon each of which is n chandelier, holding 9 lights. Near the altar is a statue of white marble, the figure of a virgin, covered with thin gauze. This represents TRUTH, and the palladium of the Order of the Princes of Mercy. The presiding officer is styled Most Excellent Chief Prince. The jewel is an equilateral triangle of bars of gold, with a flaming heart, of gold, in the center. On the heart are the letters I. H. S; and on the respective sides of the triangle, W on the right, F on the left, and H on the bottom. The jewel is suspended from a small collar of narrow watered purple ribbon, and hangs on the left breast.
PRINCE OF EOSE CROIX, sometimes called KNIGHT OF THE EAGLE AND PELICAN. The 18th degree of the Anciei't and Accepted rite. It is the most ancient, interesting, an 1 most generally practiced of the philosophical degrees ( f Masonry. It is found in all the principal rites, and wher ; it does not exist by name its place is supplied by other s whose symbols do not differ materially from it. To tho- ; who have not gone beyond the symbolic degrees, the naii:o. is perhaps more familiarly known than any other of tLo higher degrees. Of its origin nothing satisfactory is know-. Baron Westerode, in 1784, supposes it to have been institute 1 by the Knights Templar in Palestine, in the twelfth centu- v, and asserts that Prince Edward, afterward King Edward 1, was then admitted into the Order, under the auspices « ' Raymond; he also says that the Order was derived fro - Oruiesius, its founder, an Egyptian priest, who had bt > j 26
306 PEL
converted to Christianity. Kagon has elaborately imesti- gated the subject, and attributes its origin to a pious and learned monk, named John Valentine Andrea, who nourished in the latter part of the 16th century; and the same author says that Andrea, grieved at seeing the principles of Christianity forgotten in idle and vain disputes, and that science *vas made subservient to the pride of man instead of contributing to his happiness, passed his days in devising what he sup- posed to be the most appropriate means of restoring each to its legitimate, moral and benevolent tendency. Clavel affirms that the degree was founded by the Jesuits, for the purpose of counteracting the insidioiis attacks of freethinkers upon the Romish faith, but offers no evidence in support of his assertion; when, in fact, they were the great enemies of Masonry, and so far from supporting it wrote a treatise against the Order. Oliver says that " the earliest notice that he liiids of this degree is in a publication of 1613, entitled ' La Reformation universdle du monde entier avec la fa ma f ra- ter nitatis de I'Ordre respectaJ)le de la Itose-Croix.'"* And he adds: "It was known much sooner, although not probably as a degree in Masonry; for it existed, as a cabalistic science, from the earliest times, in Egypt, Greece, and Home, as well as among the Jews and Moors in times more recent, "f The
* Landmarks, vol. ii. p. 63 n. 35 Am. ed.
t There is a tradition among the Masons of Scotland, that after the dis- solution of the Templars, many of the Knights repaired to Scotland a-ud placed themselves under the protection of Robert Bruce, and that after the battle of Bauuockburu, which took place on St. John the Baptist's day, in the year 1314, this monarch instituted the Royal Order of Heredom and Knight of the Rosy-Cross, and established UK- chief seat of the Order at Kilwiiming. From that Order, it seems to us by no means improbable that the present degree of Rose-Croix de Heroden may have taken its origin. In two resj ects, at least, there seems to be a very close connection between the two systems: they both claim the kingdom of Scotland and the Abbey of Kilwiiinmg as having been at one time their chief seat of government, and they both seem to have been instituted to give a Christian explanation to Ancient Craft Masonry. There is, besides, a similarity in the names of the degrees of "Rose-Croix de lEeroden," and "Heredom and Rosy-Cross," amounting almost to au identity, whick appears to indicate a very intimate relation of one to the other. The subject, however, is in a state of inextricable confusion, and we confess that after all our researches we are still unable distinctly to
Ejint to the period when, and to the place where, the present degree of ose-Croix received its organization as a Masonic grade. No matter, however, where precisely it received its origin, nor who has the honor of having been its inventor, it is at least certain that the degree of Rose- Croix is to be placed among the most ancient of the higher degrees of Masonry; and that this antiquity, in connection with the importance of its design and the solemnity of its ritual, has given to it a universality in the Masonic world, inferior only to the degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry. It is to be found, as we have already said, in nearly all the rites.' under Borne name and in some modification, and in many of them it in placed *i the fninmit of the ritual.
PEL 307
ceremonies of the degree are of the most imposing and impressive character. Its ritual is remarkable for elegance of diction, while the symbolic teaching is not only pleasing, but consistent, figuratively expressing the passage of man through the valley of the shadow of death, accompanied and sustained by the Masonic virtues — FAITH, HOPE, and CHARITX — and his final reception into the abode of light, life, and immortality. VIRTUE and HUMILITY are the foundations and characteristics of this sublime degree. "A man's life," it has been beautifully said, "is laid in the loom of time, to a pattern which he does not see, but God does; and his heart is a shuttle. On one side of the loom is sorrow, and on the •other joy; and the shuttle, struck alternately by each, flies back and forth, carrying the thread, which is white or black, as the pattern needs, and in the end, when God shall lift up the finished garment, and all its changing hues shall glance out, it will then appear that the deep and dark colors were as needful to beauty as the light and high colors." Some writers have labored to give an exclusive Christian character to this degree; but the following words of one oi the most eminent students of Masonry, and an ardent admirer of the Ancient and Accepted rite, may very properly be quoted,* and a study of the ritual will further prove the correctness of the remarks: "If anywhere bi'ethren of a particular religious belief have been excluded from this degree, it merely shows how gravely the plans and purposes of Masonry may be misunderstood; for, whenever the door of any one degree is closed against him who believes in one God and the soul's immortality, on account of the other tenets of his faith, that degree is no longer Masonry." Bodies of this degree are styled Sovei'eign Chapters. In cases of reception, there are three apartments, beside the ordinary reception room. The presiding officer is styled Most Wise Master. The recipient is created and constituted "a Knight of the Eagle and Pelican, and Prince of the Order of Rose-Croix." To give the degree full effect music is required. The Knights are dressed in black, with black gloves and a sword. The collar should be reversible, of velvet or silk, crimson on one side and black on the other; plain, without device or embroidery on the crimson side, and with a passion-cross of scarlet on the black side. The apron is, on one side, white satin, bordered with crimson; on the other, black velvet. On the white side is painted or embroidered the pelican side of the jewel. On the black side is a red passion-cross. The jewel hangs at the bottom of the collar, or is suspended to a narrow crimson watered
* Albert Pike.
308
PRI.
ribbon on the breast. The jewel is a compass, its points resting on the segment of a circle ; at the bottom, on one side, is an eagle, with its wings extended and head slightlj
depressed; and on the other a pelican piercing its breast to feed its young, which are in a nest beneath it; between the legs of the compass is a red cross, and above a red rose in full bloom; on the summit of the compass is an antique crown. On the segment of the circle are the letters I. N. R. I. The jewel is of gold, with the pelican and eagle of silver. In this jewel are included the most important symbols of the degree. The cross, the rose, the pelican, and the eagle, are all important symbols, the explanation of which will go far to a comprehension of what is the true design of the Rose Croix degree.
PRINCE OF THE TABERNACLE. The 24th degree ol the Ancient and Accepted rite. It is intended to illustrate the directions for constructing the tabernacle, which God ordered Moses to build, the particulars of which may be found in the 25th chapter of Exodus. This was a movable chapel, and so contrived as to be taken to pieces and put together at pleasure, for the convenience of carrying it from place to place, during the wandering of the Israelites in the
PEL
309
wilderness for forty years. The body is styled a Court. The presiding officer represents Moses, and is called Most Puissant Leader. The second officer represents Eleazar, the High-Priest, the son of Aaron. The candidate represents Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the High-Priest. Two apart- ments are required when conferring the degree. The hangings are red and black. The jewel is the letter fc$ sus- pended from a violet colored watered ribbon. This degree is most intimately connected with, and should be considered a continuation of, that of the Chief of the Tabernacle. The especial duties of a Prince of the Tabernacle are to labor incessantly for the glory of God, the honor of his country, and the happiness of his brethren; to offer up thanks and prayers to the Deity in lieu of sacrifices of flesh and blood.
PRINCIPAL OFFICERS. A term applied to the Wor- shipful Master and the Senior and Junior Wardens. They are called the three principal officers of the Lodge.
PRINCIPAL SOJOURNER. An officer in a Chapter oi Royal Arch Masons. He represents the leader of a party of Jews, who sojourned in Babylon for a time after the departure of Zerubbabel with the ^
main body, and who subsequently came up to Jerusalem to assist in rebuilding the temple. His duties in the Chapter are similar to those of the Senior Deacon in the symbolic Lodge. He wears a black robe, with a rose-colored border, and a slouched hat and pilgrim's staff. His station is on the left, in front of the Council. His jewel is a triangular plate, on which a pilgrim is engraved.
PRINCIPALS. The first three officers in an English Royal Arch Chapter are the First Principal, who represents Zerub- babel, the prince of the people; the Second Principal, whc represents Haggai, the prophet; and the Third Principal, who represents Josluva, the High-Priest.
310 PKO— PEU.
PROVOST AND JUDGE. The 7th degree of the Ancient and Accepted rite. The legend of this degree is founded upon the principles of Impartiality and Justice. After the death of the Grand Master Workman of the temple, King Solomon, for the purpose of strengthening his means of preserving order among the vast number of craftsmen engaged in the construction of the temple, appointed seven Provosts and Judges, in order that all complaints among the workmen might be heard, disputes settled, and justice administered. The apartment represents the middle cham- ber of King Solomon's Temple; the hangings are red, with a sky-blue canopy in the East. The room is lighted with 5 lights, 1 in each corner, and 1 in the middle. Thepiesiding officer is styled Venerable Chief Provost and Judge. The apron is white, edged with red; in the middle is a pocket, with a red and white rosette. On the flap is painted, or embroidered in gold, a key. The sash is crimson, worn from right to left; from it hangs the jewel, which is a key of gold.
PROXY (contracted from Procuracy). The agency of one person who acts as a substitute for another, or as his prin- cipal; authority to act for another, or for a body, especially in a legislative body. Every Lodge is entitled to be repre- sented in its Grand Lodge, by its Master and Wardens. Should these, or either of them, be unable to attend the Grand Lodge at any communication, a brother or brothers may be appointed. Such substituted representatives, in the absence of their principal, succeed to all his powers and privileges, but in his presence they cannot act. Persons appointed proxies must be Master Masons, and members of some subordinate Lodge under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge, and must be furnished with a written certificate of their appointment, under the seal of the Lodge or party appointing them. A proxy cannot appoint a proxy. An officer of the Grand Lodge cannot, as such officer, appoint a proxy, unless the constitution specifically give him such power. The Grand Master is the only officer who has the power or right of appointing his proxy, for any purpose, unless such power be granted by the particular constitution. In the selection of an agent for the proper discharge of a Masonic duty, preference should always be given to able and experienced Masons; it is, therefore, suggested that as a general rule a Master or Past Master should have the preference.
PRUDENCE. One of the four cardinal virtues, the practice of which is beautifully explained in the Entered Apprentice degree.
PYT.
311
PYTHAGOKAS, SYMBOLS OF. The esoteric or secret instructions of Pythagoras were explained with the aid ol symbols, as the readiest and most efficient method of im- pressing upon the mind of the candidate for the mysteries the sublime truths and moral lessons for which the school of that justly celebrated philosopher was distinguished. A few of the most important symbols are here explained. The Equilateral Triangle, a perfect figure, was adopted among the ancient nations as a symbol of Deity, the principle #nd author of all sublunary things; the essence of Light and Truth, who was, and is, and shall be. The Square compre- hends the union of the celestial and terrestrial elements of power; and was the emblem of Morality and Justice. The Tetractys was a sacred emblem, which was expressed by ten jods disposed in the form of a triangle, each side containing four. This was the most expressive symbol of Pythagoras.
TKTBACTY8.
On it the obligation to the aspirant was propounded; and it was denominated the Trigonon mysticum, because it was the conservator of many awful and important truths, which are explained as follows: The one point represented the Monad, or active principle; the two points the Duad, or passive principle ; the three points the Triad, or the world proceeding from their union; the four, the Quarternary, or the liberal sciences. The Cube was the symbol of the mind of man, after a well-spent life in acts of piety and devotion, and thus prepared by virtue for translation into the society of the
POINT WITHIN A CIRCLE.
TKIFLK TBIANQLC.
47TH PBOBLHH.
celestial gods. The Point within a Circle was the symbol of the universe. The use of this emblem is coeval with the first created man — the creation was the circle and himself the center. The Dodeccedron, or figure of twelve sides, wag also a symbol of the universe. The Triple Triangle — a unity of perfectness — was a symbol of health, and was called Hygeia. The Forty-seventh proposition of Euclid was in- * -juted and explained by Pythagoras, and is so extensively
312 PYT.
useful that it has been adopted in all Lodges as a significant symbol of Freemasonry. The letter Y was a symbolical rep- resentation of the course of human life. Youth, arriving at manhood, sees two roads before him, and deliberates which he shall pursue. If he meet with a guide that directs him to pursue philosophy, and he procures initiation, his life shall be honorable and his death happy. But if he omits to do this, and takes the left hand path, which appears broader and better, it will lead to sloth and luxury; will waste his estate, impair his health, and bring on an old age of infamy and misery.*
PYTHIAN FESTIVAL. One of the four great national festivals of Greece, celebrated every fifth year in honor of Apollo, near Delphi. Their institution is variously referred to Amphictyon, son of Deucalion, founder of the council of Amphictyons, and Diomed, son of Tydeus ; but the most common legend is, that they were founded by Apollo himself, after he had overcome the dragon Python. The festivities were similar to those at Olympia, and the victors were rewarded with costly gifts, fruits of various kinds, medals prepared for the purpose, and garlands of laurel, etc.
*PYTHAGOBAS, the celebrated philosopher, \vas born at Samos, about 540 B. c. His father, Mnesarchus, was a person of distinction, and therefore the son received that education which was best calculated to enlighten his mind and invigorate his body. Like his contemporaries, he was made acquainted with poetry and music; eloquence and astronomy became his private studies, and in gymnastic exercises he often bore the palm for strength and dexterity. At an early age he left his native country and began his travels in pursuit of knowledge; he visited Egypt, Chaldsea and India, where he gained the confidence of the priests, and availed himself of an understanding of the mysteries and symbolic writings by which they governed the princes as well as the people of those countries; and after he had spent many years in gathering all the infor- mation which could be collected from antique traditions concerning the nature of the religions and the immortality of the soul, he revisited his native island. The tyranny of Polycrates, at Samos, disgusted the philosopher, who was a great advocate of national independence; and, though he was a great favorite of the tyrant, he retired from the island and settled in the town of Crotona, in Southern Italy, where he founded a sect which received the name of The Italian, or Pythagorean Fra- ternity; and he soon saw himself surrounded by a great number of pupils, which the recommendations of his mental, as well as his personal accomplishments, had procured. Pythagoras was, perhaps, the most virtuous, and taught the purest doctrines of all the heathen philoso- phers. He distinguished himself particularly by his discoveries in geometry, astronomy and mathematics; and it is to him that the worli* is indebted for the demonstrations of the 47th proposition of the first book of Euclid's elements, about the square of the hypothenuse. The time and the place of the death of this great philosopher are nnknowii; yet many suppose that he died at Metapontum, about 487 B.C. ; ;m great was the veneration of the people of Magna Graicia for him that he received the same honors as were paid to the immortal gods, and his house became a sacred temple.
QUA.
313
QUALIFICATIONS OF CANDIDATES. The Masonic institution, like other societies, is composed of individual members, which, in the aggregate, make up a body or Lodge. As the source of power is, primarily, vested in the members, it is important to consider who should compose the body or be admitted into the Order. The qualifications which aro indispensable in a candidate for initiation into the mysteries of Freemasonry are four-fold in their character — Moral, Physical, Intellectual and I'ot-uical.
\ has said, ' ' a fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the ana re of his soul. ''
The Political qualifications art intended to maintain the independ- ence of the Fraternity; because its obligations and privileges are thus confided only to those who, from their position in society, are capable of obeying the one, and of exercising the oilier without the danger of let or hindrance from superior authority.
Of the Moral, Physical and Poii- litical qualifications of .1 candidate there can be no doubt, as they are distinctly laid down in the Ancient Charges and Constitutions. The Intellectual are not so readily decided. These essential qualifica- tions may be briefly summed up in tne following axioms:
Morally, the candidate must be a man of irreproachable conduct, a T in the existence of God, and living "under the tongue of good report1'
Pkysicully, he must be a man of at least twenty-one ye;irs of age, upright in body, with the senses of a man, not deformed or dismem- bered, but with hale and entire limbs as a man ought to be.
Intellectually, he must be a man in the full possession of his intellects, not so young that his mind shall not have been formed, nor so old that it shall have fallen into dotage ; ueithei a fool, an idiot, nor a madman; and with so much education as to enable him to avail himself of tbe teachings of .Masonry, and to cultivate at his leisure a knowledge of the principles and doctrines of our royal art.
1'oiiticuliy, he must be in the unrestrained enjoyment of his civil
The Moral character is intended to secure the respectability ot the Order, because, by the worthiness of its candidates, their virtuous de- portment and good reputation, will the character of the institution be judged, while the admission of irreligious libertines and contem- ners of the moral law would neces- sarily impair its dignity and honor.
The Physical qualifications con- tribute to the utility of the Frater- nity, because he who is "deficient in any of his limbs or members, and who is not in the possession of all his natural senses and endow- ments, is unable to perform, with pleasure to himself or credit to the Fraternity, those peculiar labors in which all should take an equal part. He thus becomes a drone in the hive, and so far impairs the useful- ness of the Lodge, as • • ;x place where Freemasons assemble to work, and to instruct and improse themselves in the mysteries of their ancient science."
The Intellectual qualifications re- fer to the security of the Fraternity: because they require that its mys- teries shall be coutided only to those •whose mental developments are such as to enable them properly to appreciate, and faithfully to pre- serve from imposition, the secrets thus entrusted to them. It is evi- dent, for instance, that an idiot could neither understand the hid- den doctrines that might be com- municated to him, nor could he so secure such portions as he might remember, in the "depository of his heart," as to prevent the de- signing knave from worming them out of him; tor, as the wise Solomon
314
QUA.
and personal liberty, and this, too, | The Lodge which strictly de-
by the birthright of inheritance, and not by its subsequent acquisition, in consequence of his release from hereditary jondage.
mands these qualifications of its candidates may have fewer members than one less strict, but it will un doubtedly have better ones.
But the importance of the subject demands for each class of the qualifications a separate section, and a more extended consideration. Dr. Oliver, in his "Institutes of Masonic Jurisprudence," enumerates the following as the qualifica- tions of candidates, according to the English Book of Con- stitutions, and we here show how easily our transatlantic brethren can change a provision which has, from time imme- morial, been regarded as an unchangeable landmark:
"1. Every candidate for the honors of Masonry ought to lead an uncor- rupt life, and do the thing which is right, always speaking the truth from his heart; to use no deceit in his tongue, nor to do evil, or slander his neighbor. He must be lowly in his own eyes, and give due honors to good and pious men. If he swears unto his neighbor he must not dis- appoint him, even though it should subject himself to temporary in- convenience, neither must he lend money to his brother on exorbitant usury, or take reward against the innocent. In conformity with this primitive recommendation, our con- stitutions pronounce that 'every candidate must be a free man, and his own master, and at the time of his initiation, be known to be in reputable circumstances. He should be a lover of the liberal arts and sciences, and have made some pro- gress in one or other of them. '
"In 1763, the worthy candidate was described to be one 'who to a well-informed and accomplished mind added elegance of manners and a conduct guided by principle ; one who would not have injured the rights of the meanest individual ; who contracted no debts that he could not pay, and thought every breach of morality unbecoming the character of a gentleman, and who studied to be useful to others so far as his opportunity or abilities enabled him. ' This standard of qua- lification may be considered rather high, and, indeed, it is, and ought to be, so in an institution which plumes itself on its moral tenden-
cies, and maintains a leading posi- tion amongst the existing societies which are professedly devoted to works of benevolence and charity. It would be well if the Masters of Lodges were to give themselves the trouble of examining, more particu- larly than they generally do, whether their candidates are able to sub- stantiate a valid claim to these preliminary qualifications.
' ' 2. According to the customs and regulations of our ancient brethren, every candidate was formerly re- quired to be 'a free man, born of a tree woman.' This formula was originally considered to be an un- changeable landmark ; but on the extinction of negro slavery by the British parliament, the following arguments were used at a Grand Lodge, holdeu Sept. 1, 1847, in favor of its alteration. The Grand Master (Earl of Zetland) requested the brethren to consider the propriety of remodeling the form by which a candidate for initiation declares himself to be free born. ' There are,' he said, 'at the present moment, many men in Jamaica and other places who are free by the law of emancipation, and yet, their mothers having been slaves, they cannot conscientiously sign such a declara- tion, knowing it to be untrue; and in the absence of that preliminary act, we cannot initiate them. I should be glad to see it altered, and, therefore, move that in future we substitute the words free arjeni for free born, and that the declaration be thus revised.' The amendment was unanimously adopted.
QTJE.
315
QUESTIONS OF KING HENRY VI. This curious docu- ment, which has been printed in many works on Masonry, has elicited a vast amount of discussion among Masonic writers as to its genuineness. It first appeared in the " Gen- tlemen's Magazine" for 1753, where it purports to be a reprint of a pamphlet of 12 pp., published in 1748, in Frankfort, Germany. It is entitled "Certayne questyons, with answeres to the same, concernynge the mystery of Masonrye; writtene by the hande of Kynge Henrye the Sixthe of the name, and faythfullye copyed by me, Johan Leylande, Antiquarius, by the commands of his Highnesse." The magazine above referred to states that this document was copied by one John Collins, from a MS. in the Bodleian library, and to have been enclosed in a letter from John Locke, the celebrated meta- physician, to Thomas, Earl of Pembroke, dated May 6, 1696. For the still further preservation of this singular paper, it is here repeated, together with the explanatory notes of Mr. Locke:
Ans. The Venetians,* whoo be- ynge grate merchaundes, corned ffyrste ffromme the este ynn Veue- tia, for the cominodyte of mer- chauiKlysynge beithe este and weste bey the redde and myddlonde sees
Ques. Howe comede ytt yn Eng- elonde ?
Ans. Peter Gower,f a Grecian journeyedde ffor kunnynge yn Egypte, and in Syria, and yn
*The Venetians, &c.] In the times ot monkish ignorance it is no wonder that the Phoenicians should be mistaken for the Venetians. Or, perhaps, if the people were not taken one for the other, simili- tude of sound illicit deceive the clerk who first took down the examination. The Phoericians were the greatest voyagers among the ancients, and were in Europe thought to be the inventors of letters, which, perhaps, they brought from the east with other arts.
t Peter (iower.J This must be another mistake of the writer. I was puzzled at first to guess who Peter Grower should be, the name being perfectly English; or how a Greek should come by such a name. But as soon as I thought of Pythagoras, I could scarce forbear smiling, to find that philosopher had undergone a metemp. sychosis he never dreamt of. We need only consider the French prouunciatiou of his name, Pythagore, that is, Petagore, to conceive how easily such a mistake may be made by au unlearn id clerk. That Pythagoras travelled for knowledge into Egypt, o.c., is known to all the learned; f ad that he was initiated into several dif- ferent Orders of priests, who in those d:\ys kept all their learning secret from the vulgar, as is well known. Pythagoras also made CV-TV geometrical theorem a secret, and admitted only such »o ihe
Ques. Whattmoteyttbe?*
Ans. Ytt beeth the skylle of Na- ture, the understondynge of the myghte that ys hereynne, and its sondrye werkynges; sonderlyche, the skylle of reckenyngs, of waii*htes and metynges, and the true nianere of liwjonnynge a] thyn^s for manues use; headlye, dwellinges. and buyldynges of alle kindes, and all other thyuges that make gudde to manne.
Ques. Where dyd ytt begynne ?
Atis. Ytt dydd begynue with the ffyr.ste menne yn the este,t which were before thej ffyrste inenne of the weste; and comyiuge westlye, ytt iiAlhe broughte herwyth alle coin- foitej to the wylde and comfortlesse.
Qneti. Who dyd brynge ytt westlye?
*What mote ytt be?] That is, what may this mystery of Masonry be ? The answer imports. That it consists in natural, mathematical, and mechanical knowledge. Some part of which (as ap- pears by what follows) the Masons pretend to have taught the rest of mankind, and some part they still conceal.
ft Ffyrste inenne yn the este, &c.] It should see in by this, that Masons believe there were men in the east before Adar. , who is called the " ffyrste manne of the weste ;" and that arts and sciences began in the east. Some authors of great note for learning have been of the same opinion; and it is certain that Europe and Africa, (which, in respect to Asia, may be called western countries.) were wild and savage, long atcer arts and politeness of manners n-ere iiignut pcrfeotiou in China ami the : adieu.
316
QUE.
everyche londe, whereas the Vene- tians had de plaunted ma9onrye, and wynnynge entraunce yn al lodges of maconnes, he lerned muche, and retournedde, and woned yn Grecia Magna, * wacksynge and becorn- mynge a myghtye wyseacre, f and gratelyche renowned, and her he framed a grate lodge at Groton,| and maked manye Ma9onnes, some whereoffe dyde journeye yn Fraunce and maked mauye Ma9onnes ; where- fromme, yn processe of tyme, the Arte passed in Engelonde.
Ques. Dothe Ma9onnes descouer here artes unto odhers ?
Ans. Peter Gower, whenne he jour- neyede to lerne, was ffyrste made,§ and anonne techedde; evenne soe shulde all odhers beyn recht. Na- theless Ma9onnes hauethe|| alweys, yn everyche tyme, from tyme to tyme, communycatedde to mann- kynde soch of her secrettes as gen- erallyche myghte be usefulle; they hauthe keped back soche allein as shulde be harmfulle yff they corned
knowledge of them as had first undergone a five years' silence. He is supposed to • be the inventor of the 47th proposition of the first book of Euclid, for which, in the joy of his heart, it is said he sacrificed a hecatomb. He also knew the true system of the world, lately revived by Copernicus ; and was certainly a most wonderful man. See his Life by DION HAL.
* CrRficiA M AGNA, a part of Italy formerly BO called, in which the Greeks had settled a large colony.
t Wyseacre.] This word at present sig- gnifies simpleton, but formerly had a quite contrary meaning. Wiseacre, in the old Saxon, is philosopher, Wiseman, or wizard; and having been frequently used ironically, at length came to have a direct meaning in the ironical sense. Thus Duns Scotus, a man famed for the subtilty and acuteness of his understanding, has, by the same method of irony, given a general name to modern dunces.
$ OJroton.] Groton is the name of a place in England. The place here meant is Crotona, a city of Grecia Magna, which in the time of Pythagoras was very populous.
§' Ffyrste made.] The word MADE I suppose has a particular meaning among the Masons; perhaps it signifies initiated.
II Magonnes hauethe — communycatedde, kc.] This paragraph hath something re- markable in it. It contains a justification of the secrecy so much boasted of by Masons, and so much blamed by others; asserting tha~ they have iu all ages dis- covered such things as might be useful, and that thej conceal such only as would be hurtful either to the world or them- selves. What these secrets are, we see afterwards.
yn euylle haundes, oder soche as ne myghte be holpynge wythouten the techynges to be joynedde herwythe in the lodge, oder soche as do bynde the fres more stronglyche togeder, bey the proffyte and commodyte com yuge to the confrerie herfrorume.
tyues. Whatte artes haueth the Ma9onnes techedde mankynde ?
Ans. The artes agricultura, * ar- chitectura, astrouornia, geometria, numeres, musica, poesie, kimistrye, governemente, and relygyonne.
Ques. Howe commethe Ma9onnea more techers than odher meune ?
Ans. The hemselfe huuthe allein in arte of ffyndynge ueue artes, f whyche arte the ffyrste Ma9onnes receaued from Godde; by the whyche they fyndethe what artes hem plesethe, and the treu way of techynge the same. Whatt odher menne doethe ffynde out, ys onelyche bey chaunce, and herfore but lytel I tro.
Ques. What dothe the Ma9onneg concele and hyde ?
Ans. Thay concelethe the arte of ffyndynge neue artes, and thatt ys for here owne proffytte, and preise:J thay concelethe the arte of kepynge secrettes, § that soe the worlde may-
* The artes agricultura, &c.] It seems a bold pretence, this of the Masons, that they have taught mankind all these art*. They have their own authority tor it; and I know not how we shall disprove them. But what appears most odd is, that tliey reckon religion among the arts.
t Arte of n'yndynge neue artes .] The art of inventing arts must certainly be a most useful art. My Lord Bacon's Novum Orgauum is an attempt towards somewhat of the same kind. But I much doubt, that if ever the Masons had it, they have now lost it; since so few new arts have been lately invented, and so many are wanted. The idea I have of such an art is, that it must be something proper to be employed in all the sciences generally, as alegabra ii iu numbers, by the help of which new rules of arithmetic are, and may be found.
t Prcise :] It seems the Masons have great regard to the reputation as well as the profit ot their Order; since they make it one reason for not divulging an art in com- mon, that it may do honour to the possess- ors of it. I think in this particular they show too much regard for their ov/n soci- '•ty. and too little for the rest of mankind.
§ Arte of knpynge secrettos.] What kind ot an art this is, I ca:i by no means imagine. But certainly such an art the Mar-ons must have; for though, a.s some people suppose, l^uy should have no secret »t all, even that must be a secret, which, being discovered would expose thorn U
QUE.
317
eth nothynge concele from them. Thay concelethe the arte of wunder- werckynge, and of foresayinge thynges to comme, that so thay same artes may not be usedde of the wyckedde to an euyell ende. Thay al- so coxicelethe the arte of chaunges. * the wey of wynnynge the facultye of Abrac, f the skylle of becommynge gude and parfyghte wythouten the hoJpyuges of fere and hope; and the universelle longage ot
the highest ridicule; and therefore it re- quires the utmost caution to conceal it.
* Arte of chaunges.] I know not what this means, unless it be the transmutation of metals.
t Facultye of Abrac.] Here I am utterly In the dark.
J Universelle longage of Magonnes.] An universal language has been much desired by the learned of many ages. It is a thing rather to be wished than hoped for. But it seems the Masons pretend to have such a thing among them. If it be true, I guess It must be something like the language of the Pantomimes, among the ancient Romans, who are said to be able, by signs only, to express and deliver any oration intelligibly to meu of all nations and lan- guages. A man who has all these arts and advantages is certainly in a condition to be envied: but we are told that this is not the casewitli all Masons; for though these arts are among them, and all have a right and an opportunity to know them, yet some want capacity, and others industry, to acquire them. However, of all their arts and secrets, that which I most desire to know is, " The skylle of becoinmyuge gude
Ques. Wylle he teche me thay same artes?
Ans. Ye shalle be techedde yff ya be werthye, and able to lerne.
Ques. Dothe all Muyonnes kunne more then odher menne ?
Ans. Not so. Thay onlyche haueth recht and occasyonne more then odher menne to kunne, butt manye doeth fale yn capacity, and manye more doth want industrye, that ys pernecessarye for the gayn- ynge all kunnynge.
Ques. Are Mayonnes gudder men than odhers ?
Ans. Some Ma9onues are not so virtuous as some odher menne ; but, yn the most parte, thay be more gude then they would be yf thay war not Ma9onnes.
Ques. Dothe Ma9onnes love eidher odher ntyghtlye as beeth sayde ?
Ans. Yea verylyche, and yt may not odherwise be: for gude menne and true, kennynge eidher odher to be soche, doeth always love the more as they be more gude.
[Here endethe thequestyonncs aud awnawnres.]
and parfyghte;" and I wish it were com municated to all mankind, since there il nothing more true than the beautiful sen- tence contained in the last answer, " That the better men are, the more they love one another:" Virtue having in itself something so amiable as to charm the hearts of all that behold it.
This document has always been regarded as authentic, and even the life of Leland asserts its genuineness. But this has recently been disputed by Mr. J. O. Halliwell, the distin- guished antiquarian, in a work entitled, "The Early History of Freemasonry in England," published in London, 1844.*
* "It is singular," says Mr. Halliwell, "that the circumstances attend- ing its publication should have led no one to suspect its authenticity. A few years since I was at the pains of making a long search in the Bod- leian Library, in the hope of finding the original, but without success, and I think there is little doubt but that this celebrated and well-known document is a forgery. In the first place, why should such a d >cument have been printed abroad? Was it likely that it should have found its way to Frankfort, nearly half a century afterward, and been published without any explanation of the source whence it was obtained? A^ain fche orthography is most grotesque, and too gross ever to have been penned either by Heniy the Sixth or Leland, or both combine,!. Foi instance, we have Peter Gowere, a Grecian, explained in a note by the fabricator — for who else could have solved it ? — to be Pythagoras ! A - a whole, it is but a very clumsy attempt at deception, and is qa«» „ parallel to the recently discovered one of the first Enylishe Mercuric. L** us add that Freemasonry is not in any degree dishonored by the rejec- tion of this evidence from its history.
27
318 QUE— RAM.
QUESTIONS TO CANDIDATES. Before the candidate for the privileges and mysteries of Freemasonry can be admitted to a participation in its ceremonies he is required to give his free and full assent to the following questions, respecting the motives that influenced his desire to become a Mason:
1. Do you seriously declare, upon i knowledge, and a sincere wish of your honor, that, unbiassed by the | being serviceable to your fellow- improper solicitation of friends, and ! creatures ?
uninfluenced by mercenary motives,
3. Do you seriously declare, upon
you freely and voluntarily offer your- your honor, that you ifiU cheerfully self a candidate for the mysteries of i conform to all the ancient usages Freemasonry. an(j .established customs of the
2. -Do you seriously declare, upon i Fraternity?
your honor, that you are prompted i 4. Do you solemnly declare, upon to solicit the privileges of Freema- ' your honor, that you have never soniy by a favorable opinion con- petitioned any other Lodge for ini- ceived of the institution, a desire of! tiation and been rejected?
R.
RABBI, or RABBOXL A Hebrew word signifying Teacher or Master. The ancient Jews employed it as a title co designate their learned men, particularly the professors in the schools of the Nabiim or Prophets. Gamaliel, the celebrated Phar- isee, and preceptor of St. Paul, was one of these. This title was never formally bestowed on more than sevon persons. In John xx. 16, Christ is thus called : " Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni, which is to say, Master-." It is an important and significant word in Freemasonry.
RAMSAY, ANDREW MICHAEL, better known as the CHEVA- LIER DE RAMSAY, was born at Ayr, Scotland, June 9, 1686. He was the son of a baker, in good circumstances, and received a liberal education, first at the school of his na- tive place, and afterward at the University of Edinburgh. Becoming dissatisfied with the condition of affairs, particu- larly of the religious character, in Scotland, he repaired to the continent, and at the University of Leyden, he made the acquaintance of Mr. Poiret, a mystic divine, who induced him to adopt the doctrines of that system of theology. In 1710, he visited the celebrated Fenelon, Archbishop of Cambray, who had imbibed the fundamental principles of mysticism, and by that amiable prelate he was persuaded to become a Roman Catholic. Fenelon's influence procured him the appointment of preceptor to the Duke de Chateau-Thiery and the Prince de Turenne, where ho was raad« a knight of
RAM. v 31«
the Order of St. Lazarus, and about the same time became a member of tlie Masonic Fraternity, in which he soon became a conspicuous and active member. He was also one of the most faithful and zealous adherents of the Pre- tender (James III.), of whose son he was for a time the tutor ; in this position he sought to identify the influence and progress of Freemasonry with the fortunes of the house of Stuart. For this purpose he endeavored to obviate the objections of the French nobility to the mechanical origin of the institution, by asserting that it arose in the Holy Land during the Crusades, as an order of Chivalry.* In the year 1740, he delivered his celebrated discourse at Paris, in which he set forth his theory in regard to the origin of Freemasonry, as follows, viz : " That the first Freemasons were a society of knights, who had devoted themselves to the purpose of rebuilding the sacred edifices which had been destroyed by the Saracens; that the latter, with a view of preventing the execution of this pious design, sent emissaries among them, who, disguised as Christians, mingled with the builders, and paralyzed their efforts; that the knights, having discovered the existence of these spies, became more careful in the future, and instituted certain signs and words for the purpose of guarding against them; and, as many of their workmen were new converts to Chris- tianity, they adopted certain symbolic ceremonies, in order more readily to instruct their proselytes in the new religion. Finally, the Saracens becoming more powerful, the Knight Masons were compelled to abandon their original occupa- tion; but, being invited by a King of England to remove into his dominions, they accepted the invitation, and there devoted themselves to the cultivation and encouragement of the arts of Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, and Music. Ramsay attempted to support his theory by the fact of the building of the College of Templars, in London, which edifice was actually constructed in the 12th century by the fraternity of Masons who had been in the holy wars." In 1728, Ramsay attempted a Masonic reform according to this sya^m. He proposed to the Grand Lodge of England to substitute, in place of the three symbolic degrees, three others of his own invention; those of Scotch Mason, Novice and Knight of the Temple, which he pretended were the only true and ancient degrees, and had their adminis-
* "The constitutions of English Masonry appeared too coarse for the tefined taste of our neighbors, and they must make it more like the occupation of a gentleman. Therefore, the degrees of Apprentice, Fellow-Craft, aud Master, were called symbolical; and the whole con- trivance was considered either as typical of something more elegant. 01 as a prepiiration for it." — Robifon.
820 BAM— REG.
trative center, from time immemorial, in the Lodge of St. Andrew, at Edinburgh. His proposition was at once re- jected by the Grand Lodge of England, which has ever been averse to any innovations in Ancient Craft Masonry.* He, however, carried his degrees to Paris, where they met with astonishing success, and gave rise to all those higher grades which have since been known by the name of the Ancient Scottish Rite, and which afterward became so popu lar on the continent, and gave birth to innumerable other degrees. These first degrees, introduced by Ramsay, wero called " Scottish Degrees," because they were supposed to have been instituted by James II., in Scotland, in 1688. The incorrectness of this assertion is, however, historically proven; for in the records of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, we find no mention of any other than the three symbolic degrees prior to the year 1763. In this year, we find the first mention of the Royal Arch Degree in Scotland, whither it had been introduced from England, where it had already been practiced as early as 1752. Thus, prior to 1763, all these pretended Scottish degrees were absolutely unknown in Scotland, and could not therefore have been instituted there in 1688. During a visit to his native country, he offered to settle an annuity on his relations, but they indig- nantly refused to accept it, on the ground of his having renounced the Protestant religion. After his return to France he resided at Pontoise, a seat of the Prince de Turenne, in whose family he continued, in the capacity of intendant, till his death, which happened at St. Germain-de- Laye, May 6, 1743. He was the author of several works which were very popular.
RECEIVED. In the first degree of Masonry the candidate, on being initiated, is described as "entered;" in the second degree, as "passed," and in the third, as " raised." The word "received" is used in the sixth, or Most Excellent Master's degree, to express the same condition.
TIECHABITES. A religious order among the ancient Jews, instituted by Jonadab, the son of Rechab, from whom they derived their name. It comprised only the family and posterity of the founder, who was anxious to perpetuate among them the nomadic life; and, with this view, prescribed to them several rules, the chief of which were — to abstain from wine, from building houses, and from planting vines. These rules were observed by the Rechabites with great strictness. (See Jer. xxxv. 6.) In modern times, societies
* Kloss contradicts this, and says that he was only once in England, and that in 1730, to receive the degree of Doctor of Law.
EEC— REF. 321
bearing the name ol Rechabites, for the avowed object oi abstaining from the use of wine, and promoting the cause of temperance, have been organized in various parts of the world, particularly in the United States.* Many of these recent organizations have adopted ceremonies of initiation, pass-words, grips, etc.
RECORDER. Literally, the chief judicial officer of a borough or city, exercising within it, in criminal matters, the jurisdiction of a court of record; one who enrolls or records. Masonically, an officer in a Commandery of Knights Tem- plar, and a Council of Royal and Select Masters, who has charge of the records and seal of those bodies; his duties are equivalent to those of the Secretary of a symbolic Lodge.
RECTIFIED RITE. This right came from and was a modi- fication of the system of the Templars. It was adopted in 1782, by the Lodges of Strict Observance (Rite Templier); bat was subsequently practiced only by some Scottish Directories, the last of which, that of Zurich, was in existence and working as late as 1844. It may be regarded as extinct, since that Directory has been united with the National Grand Lodge of Berne, and has formed with it a new power, styled Grand Lodge of Alpina, sitting alternately at Berne and Zurich. It works the modern English rite; but some of the Lodges under it havo reserved to themselves the power of giving the higher degrees that are conferred in foreign countries, not to propagate them, but by way of historical instruction, and to enable their members to be admitted to visit all bodies working the high degrees.
REFLECTION, CHAMBER OF. A room adjoining the asylum of a Commaiidery of Knights Templar in which the candi- date is placed during the ceremonies of the order. In tb-~ French and Ancient and Accepted rites the candidate is placed in this room, where he remains for serious reflection, and until he is introduced into the higher and more sublime mysteries of initiation.
REFORMED RITE. This was a reformation of the Rite of Strict Observance, which had been established in 1754, rejecting the connection which the latter had with the Knights Templar. The Reformed rite was established by an assembly of Masons at Wilhelnisbad, under the auspices
* In 1851 the Grand Lodge of the United States, Independent Order oi Odd Fellows, established a degree specially for the use of the wives ol the members of the order, called the Degree of Rebekah, which has become very popular throughout this country in connection \viththot widely extended institution.
322 REF— REJ.
of Ferdinand, duke of Brunswick, in the year 1782, assuming in the first instance, the title of the "Order of Beneficent Knights of the Holy City." M. de St. Martin's system was merged into this; and the Lodges that had adopted Mar- tinism adopted the Reformed rite. The ritual of initiation is divided into two parts; the External Order, comprising the three symbolic degrees, and the Internal Order, composed of three degrees, forming a religious system based on chivalry. These two orders are connected by an interme- diate degree, the Scotch Master of St. Andrew, in which candidates were selected for the Beneficent Knights of the Holy City. This system produced different Directories, styled "Scottish," having special names and particular magistral sees, and each exercising, within its jurisdiction, a pretended Masonic Supremacy. These distinct establish- ments, united by the same principles, the same doctrines, and the same Masonic formulas, styled themselves "The French Tongue," Langue Franqaise. They corresponded with Chambery, which had the Directory of Italy, or of Austrian Loinbardy. Many Provinces of France, among others Alsac, Frauche-Comte, Dauphine and Provence, had Lodges constituted by these Directories. The rite was extended into Switzerland. Its supreme body is at Zurich, under the title of the " Directory of Switzerland."
REFORMED HELVETIC RITE. The same as the rite Described in the preceding article, with some changes intro- duced by Mon. Glayre, of Switzerland, who carried the rite into Poland in 1784, where it was adopted by the Grand Orient. It is still practiced, but to a limited extent, in that country.
REINSTATED. This term is applied to a Mason who has been expelled or suspended from the Lodge of which he was a member. On his restoration he is restored to all the rights and privileges of the Fraternity. No other Lodge than the one which inflicted the punishment has the uower to restore to membership in a Lodge. The Grand Lodge, which is the supreme authority within the territorial juris- diction, has the power to restore an expelled Mason to the privileges of the order, on proper application being made to that body.
REJECTION. In the United States an applicant for initi- ation can be received only by a unanimous vote. One black ball ensures rejection, and the rejected candidate can apply to no other Lodge for admission, without the consent of the one which first received his proposition. In the absence of
REL. 323
any local regulations to the contrary a candidate who has been rejected may renew his application at any time when he may have reason to expect a more favorable consideration of his petition.
RELAXED OBSERVANCE, CLERKS OF. This system grew out of a schism which occurred in the order of the Strict Observance, at Vienna, in 1767. The new order had as chiefs, among others, the Baron von Caven and the preacher Stark.* They pretended to have exclusive possession of the secrets of the association, and to know the mysterious cavern in which were hidden the riches of the ancient Templars. The regime comprised ten degrees: 1. Apprentice; 2. Fellow- Craft ; 3. Master ; 4. African Brother ; 5. Knight of St. Andrew; 6. Knight of the eagle, or Master Elect; 7. Scottish Master; 8. Sovereign Magus; 9. Provincial Master of the Red Cross; 10. Magus, or Knight of Splendor and Light. The last degree was divided into five parts, viz: Knight Novice of the third year; Knight Novice of the fifth year; Knight Novice of the seventh year; Knight Sevite, and Knight Priest. Von Stark, by means of this new system, exercised a powerful influence among the Knights and Com- manders of the several branches of Templars then existing in France, Germany and Russia. The rite met with great success until 1800, when the Mother Lodge Royal York a 1' Amitie, at Berlin, declared that it renounced the high degrees, and would thenceforward work only the symbolic degrees. The same schism produced the HIGH OBSERVANCE, in which they dealt with alchemy, magic, the cabala, divina- tions, and other fanciful practices; and the EXACT OBSERVANCE, in which the teaching partook of that of the two first Ob- servances, that had for their bases the systems of Jesuitism and Catholicism.
RELICS. The name given in theological and historical nomenclature to what may be in general described as the personal memorials of those among the dead who have been distinguished during life by eminent qualities. The term is also applied to certain emblems of mortality in the Templar system of Masonry, . which, in connection with the Holy Scriptures, teach us that a faithful reliance in the truth re- vealed in that sacred volume will afford us consolation in the gloomy hour of death, and secure to us inevitable happiness in the world that is to come.
• JOHN AUG. VON STABK, commonly called the Preacher, a man of bril- liant intellect and great ambition, was born at Schweriu, October 29, 1741, graduated with the highest honors at Go'ttingen; initiated iu a French Military Lodge in 1763; died 1816.
324: BEL.
RELIGION. " Speculative Masonry is so far interwoven with religion as to lay us under obligations to pay that rational homage to the Deity which at once constitutes our duty and cur happiness. It leads the contemplative mind to view with reverence and admiration the glorious works of creation, and inspires him with the most exalted ideas of the perfection of his divine Creator." That Freemasonry should be spoken of as a religious institution, or as imparting religious instruction, undoubtedly sounds strange to those who think religion must necessarily be confined to a partic- ular set of theological dogmas, or, in other words, be secta- rian. But why should it be thought necessary to make religion traverse simply the narrow circle of sectarian ideas ? Is it not a degradation to confine it to so limited a sphere ? The Masonic idea is that religion is absolute, everlasting and unchanging; that it is not a dogma, or a collection of dogmas, but rather reverence and humility before the awful Ideas of Infinity and Eternity ; a sense of subjection to the great law of Justice which stretches through the universe, and of obligation to love and serve man on earth, and God in heaven. The ideas of God, retri- bution, a future life — these great facts of religion are not the property of any one sect or party; they form the ground- work of all creeds. Religion, we have said, is everlasting and immutable. It is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. Sectarianism is but the material framework, changeable and perishable, which, men in different ages and countries have raised around it. This material and human investiture of sectarian dogmas changes with the times and seasons ; but that religion, in the light of which all Masons, whatever their particular creed, desire to walk — that religion, sent forth into the world with the awful sanction of the DEITY upon it, which, as an Ancient says, " is to visit the widow and the fatherless in their afflictions, and keep one's self unspotted from the world" — that religion, the essence of which is to love God supremely and our neighbors as we love ourselves, can never change ; being absolute, it can never pass away, and it may be taught, with all its obligations, duties and hopes, and all its beautiful applications to life, without being trammelled by any sectarian dogmas whatever. About religion, in its absoluteness, neither men nor sects ever dispute or quarrel. No; it shines over the human eoul clear and bright, like the eternal stars, visible to all; and always, and everywhere, has her voice been heard, consoling the sorrowful, fortifying the weak, and bidding the sons of men aspire to a celestial communion. Such is the Masonic idea of religion. Freemasonry recognizes God as irimanent
KEP. 325
in all created things, working in each blade of grass, and swelling bud, and opening flower, and looks upon all tho sciences as so many divine methods through which the In- finite Artist reveals his mysteries to man. Should any Masonic brother, or any other, think that we are claiming too much for Freemasonry in this respect, we have only to ask him to turn to the " charges" and " lectures" published in our books, to find abundant proofs of what we assert. There we read : " The universe is the temple of the Deity whom we serve: Wisdom, Strength and Beauty are around his throne, as pillars of his works; for his wisdom is infinite, his strength is omnipotent, and his beauty shines forth through all his creation." Ancient Freemasonry invariably united all the sciences to the religious sentiment. Of Arithmetic it says: "All the works of the Almighty are made in number, weight, measure, and, therefore, to under- stand them rightly, we ought to understand arithmetical calculations, and be thereby led to a more comprehensive knowledge of our great Creator." " Astronomy," it says, " is that sublime science which inspires the contemplative mind to soar aloft and read the Avisdom and beauty of the Creator in the heavens. How nobly eloquent of God is the celestial hemisphere, spangled with the most magnificent symbology of his infinite glory." Discoursing of Geometry, it says, " By it we discover the power, wisdom and goodness of the Grand Artificer, and view with delight the order and beauty of his works and the proportions which connect all parts of his immense universe." Freemasonry, therefore, in the spirit of true reverence, consecrates all to God— the worlds with their sublime mysteries, and the human mind with its mighty powers and the sciences which it has dis- covered and explained.
REPEAL. A resolution adopted at a regular meeting of a Lodge, cannot be repealed or reconsidered at any special or extra session.
KEPEESENTATIVES, GRAND LODGE. The system oi Representatives in Grand Lodges originated in the United States, with the Grand Lodge of New York. The system has now become almost universal throughout the world, and much good is being accomplished from its influence, as producing a closer union between the various Masonio bodies thus represented. The Masonic costume is that of the Grand Lodge they represent, and they are also entitled to bear a banner with the name and colors peculiai to tha body represented.
826 EIG— KIT.
EIGHT-HAND. In Freemasonry, the right hand is an emblem of fidelity, and hence, in the fraternal greetings oi the Order, it plays a conspicuous part. In the ancient Roman, Collegia Fabrorum, a goddess — Fides or Fidelity — was worshiped by the members. She was symbolically represented by two right hands joined, or by two female figures holding each other by the right hands. The Jewish historian, Josephus, speaking of the [Persians and Parthians, relates an incident where the right hand was given as a pledge of security, and says, in regard to the custom : " This is of the greatest force there, with all these barbarians, and affords a firm security to those who hold intercourse with them; for none of them will deceive, when once they have given you their right hands ; nor will any one doubt their fidelity when that is once given, even were they before sus- pected of injustice."
RIGHT SIDE AND LEFT SIDE. The ancients held that the right side- possessed some peculiar excellence above the left, and hence the Latin words " dexter" right, and " sinister" left, also convey the sense of lucky, or good; and unlucky, or evil. The right side has always been considered the place of honor, and the Scriptures abound in passages illustrative of this idea — as in Matt. xxv. 33-4: "And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the king say to those on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father," etc.
RITE. This word is defined to be a formal act of service established by law, precept or custom; a symbolical cere- mony and method of representing ideas. Freemasonry, although uniform and immutable, in its principles and gene- ral laws, exists, nevertheless, in a variety of methods or forms, which are called rites. These differences, however, are unimportant, and do not affect in the least the funda- mental plans of the Order, nor disturb its interior harmony; for Masons, whatever may be the legal rite which they pro- fess, recognize no less, as brothers, Masons of a different rite. These remarks will apply with great force to a mem- ber of the Symbolic Lodge — a Master Mason — who is, in all rites and in all countries, acknowledged as such, and en- titled to all the privileges which that universal degree con- fers. Until within a recent period, there was but one system, known as Ancient Craft Masonry, consisting of only three degrees — Entered Apprentice, Fellow-Craft and Master Mason. Many rites and systems have sprung up in various parts of Europe, but without permanent existence. The following list will serve to show to what extent the ingenuity
KIT.
327
and industry of man may be exerted to gratify his personal interest or vanity. Very few of these degrees or rites are now practiced:
1. York Rite. This system is the most ancient, simple, and scientific, having existed from time immemo- rial. It derives its name from the city of York, in the north of Eng- land, where, in 926, the first Grand Lodge of England was organized. In this, the present rite of pure Ma- sonry, originally consisted of the three primitive degrees. Entered A p- prentice, Fellow-Craft, and Master Mason, under the title of Ancient Craft Masonry. To them have been added, in modern times, four other degrees, viz : Mark Master, Past Mas- ter, Most Excellent Master, and the Royal Arch. The York rite is the most extensively diffused of the rites, embracing four-fifths of the Masons of the habitable globe. It is the predominating rite in Eng- land, Scotland. Ireland, their de- pendencies, and the United States of America, and is practiced, in a modified form, by several of the European Grand Lodges. From this arose —
2. The English Kite, adopted by the United Grand Lodge of England and Wales, at the union in 1813, and is now practiced by the Lodges under that jurisdiction.
3. Ancient and Accepted Rite, or Ineffable degrees; first known in France, in 1758, as the Emperors of the East and West, with twenty- five 'degrees. Subsequently these degrees were increased to -thirty- three, iinder the title of Ancient and Accepted Scottish Kite, at the city of Charleston, where, in the year 1801, a Supreme Council for the southern portion of the United States was organized. In 1807 another Supreme Council was estab- lished in New York, for the north- ern portion of the United States. These two bodies are now ^1867) in active operation, one in New York and the other in Charleston. This rite, except the York, is the most widely diffused throughout the, world.
4. Rite of Strict Observance, a sys-
tem of degrees of immense popu- larity for many years, in Germany, founded by Baron Von Hund, in 1754.
5. Chapter of Clermont, with seven degrees, organized in France about the year 1Y50, by the Chevalier de Bonneville. This was the first sys- tem of what is now termed the "high degrees." From this sprang —
6. The Rite of Perfection, the first of the series of the Ineffable degrees, established in 1754.
7. French, or Modern Rite, was established by the Grand Orient o/ France, about the year 1786.
8. Rite of Elected Cohens, or Priests, was founded some time between 1754 and 1760, by Martinez Paschalis. in France.
9. Rite of St. Martin, or Martin- ism, was instituted by the Marquis de St. Martin, at Lyons, France, about the year 1767.
10. Elect of Truth, or Lodge of Perfect Union, founded and prac- ticed for a short period at Eennes, in France, during a portion of the last century.
11. Emperors of the East and West, established in Paris, about 1758; the members were at first called ' ' Sovereign Prince Masters, Sub- stitutes General of the Royal Art, Grand Superintendents and Officers of the Grand and Sovereign Lodge of St. John of Jerusalem." This rite had twenty-five degrees, and is the parent of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.
12. Philosophic Scotch Rite was established in Paris, by a physician named Boileau, in 1774; it was adopted by the Grand Lodge ia 1776.
13. Order of African Architects WAS established in Germany, by a Prussian named Bancherren, with the approbation of Frederick II. , in 1767.
14. Rite of Philalelhes, or Searchers after Truth, wan organized by Sal-
328
KIT.
/alette de Langes, at Paris about the year 1775.
15. llluminati of Avignon was in- troduced into Paris by a Benedictine monk, named Pernetti, and Baron Gabrianca, a Polish nobleman, about 1760.
16. Rite of Swedenborg was framed from the system of the llluminati of Avignon, by the Marquis de Thomae. in J.783. This rite is still practiced in some parts of Sweden.
17. Rite of Zinnendorff, which was a modification of the Swedehborgian and other rites, was promulgated by Count Zinnendorff, in Germany, in 1767.
18. Reformed Rite, established in 1782, at Wilhelmsbad. The mem- bers of this rite assumed the title of ' ' Order of Charitable Knights of the Holy City."
19. Reformed Helvetic Rite was in- troduced into Poland in 1784, by Bro. Glayre. The Grand Orient of Poland adopted it.
20. Order of True Masons, an off- shoot of the Hermetic Bite " of Per- netti, was formed at Montpelier, in France, in 1778.
21. Adoniramite Rite was estab- lished in France, during the latter part of the last century. The exact date of its rise, and the name of its founder, are at present unknown.
22. Fessler's Rite, established by the Lodge ' ' Royal York of Friend- ship," at Berlin, in 1798, is still practiced to some extent.
23. Rite of Mizraim. This rite was first introduced in 1805, at Milan, Italy, and was said to have been brought from Egypt by a learned philosopher of that country, named Ananiah. It was established in Paiis in 1814, but has never been recognized by the Grand Orient of France or any other Grand body.
24. Rite of the Grand Royal Mother Lodge of the Tkree Globes. Ou the 13th of September, 1740, a number of brethren residing in Berlin, Ger- many, established "by royal au- thority, and without demanding a charter from any other Grand Lodge, the Lodge of the "Three GJobes, which, in 1744, became
the " Grand Royal Mother Lodge of the Three Globes," of which the king, Frederick II., was recorded as Grand Master. This is the popu- lar and prevailing rite practiced in Prussia.
25. Persian Philosophic Rite was founded in France about the year 1819. It was not much encouraged, and has now ceased to exist.
26. Order of the Temple. This order flourished for a brief period in France, during the early part of the present century. The members claimed a regular descent from the Knights Templar of Palestine.
27. Order of Charles XIII. This order was instituted by Charles the Thirteenth, King of Sweden, in 1811, into which distinguished Ma- sons were admitted.
28. Rite of Memphis was estab- lished in Paris, in 1839, by J. A. Marconis and E. A. Montet. It was a variation of the Rite of Misraim, and its existence was very brief.
29. Rile of Mopses was founded in 1740, in Germany. In 1776 it became an androgynous order, and admitted females as members.
30. Royal Order of Heredom and Rosy Gross, said to have been founded by King Robert Bruce at Kilwin ning, after the battle of Ban- nock burn, in 1314. This order is confined exclusively to Scotland, and is given only to those who have attained high positions in the Fra- ternity.
31. The Swedish Rite, or that prac- ticed by the sanction of the Grand Lodge of Sweden, was founded upon the above order.
32. tichrceder's Rite was first estab- lished at Marburgh, Germany, in 1766. This rite is still practie&d in some parts of Germany.
33. Primitive Rile of Narbonne was established ii t that city in 1780. The degrees were selected from other rites, and were chiefly of a philo- sophic character, assuming as their object the reformation of intellectual man, and his restoration to his pri- mitive rank of purity and perfection.
34. Frercs Po>itives, an association of operative and speculative Ma
BIT— EOS.
329
sons, established afc Avignon, in 1178. Their principal employment was the building and repairing stone bridges.
35. Order of Mustard Seed, or the Fraternity of Moravian Brothers of the Order of Religious Freemasons, was instituted in Germany, in 1739.
36. The Kniyht of Malta, as a Ma- sonic grade, was established in England, in the early part of the seventeenth century.
37. Council of the Trinity was an independent Masonic system, in which were conferred a number of Christian degrees. This order was established by St. Helena, the mother of Constantiue, A. n. 326, when on her visit to Jerusalem.
38. Rosaic Rite was instituted in Germany, during the last century. It was for a short time exceedingly popular, but was superceded by the Rite of Strict Observance.
39. Bahrdt's Rite was established at Halle, Germany, about the close of the eighteenth century, Its pros- perity was of short duration.
40. Knights and Ladies of the Dove. An organization founded at Ver- sailles, France, in 1784, into which ladies were introduced. It soon ceased tc exist.
41. Eclectic Rite. This system was established at Frankfort, Germany, by Baron de Knigge, having for its object the abolition of the high grades, or philosophical degrees, which had, at that period, increased to an extraordinary number. It is clear the Baron did not succeed in his endeavors, as many of the de- grees he attempted to destroy are still flourishing, while his rite is very little known.
42. Grand Chapter of Harodim, an institution revived, (it is supposed, by Bro. Win. Preston, ) in London,
in 1787. It was a school of instruc- tion, organized upon a peculiar plan, and the lectures were divided into sections, and the sections into clauses. Its teaching embodied the whole art of Masonry.
43. Knight of the Mediterranean Pass, an independent and honor- ary degree, established in 13G7, and conferred only on Knights Templar as Knights of Malta.
44. Knight of Constantine, like the preceding, is an honorary, or tide degree, and only occasionally con- ferred.
45. Knights and XyrnpJis nf the Rose. This was an order of Adopt- ive Masonry, invented toward the close of the eighteenth century, by