Section 30

Applying, then, our interpretation in a general
sense, the Word itself being the symbol of Divine
Truth, the narrative of its loss and the search for its
recovery becomes a mythical symbol of the decay and
loss of the true religion among the ancient nations, at
and after the dispersion on the plains of Shinar, and of
the attempts of the wise men, the philosophers, and
priests, to find and retain it in their secret Mysteries
and initiations, which have hence been designated as
the Spurious Freemasonry of antiquity.

But we have said that there is a special, or indivi-
dual, as well as a general interpretation. This com-
pound or double symbolism, if we may so call it, is by
no means unusual in Freemasonry.

We have already submitted an illustration of it in the
symbolism of Solomon's temple, where, in a general
sense, the temple is viewed as a symbol of that spiritual
temple formed by the aggregation of the whole order,
and in which each Freemason is considered as a stone;
and, in an individual or special sense, the same temple
is to be seen as a type of that spiritual temple which
each Freemason is directed to erect in his heart.

Now, in this special or individual interpretation,
the Word, with its accompanying myth of a loss, a sub-
stitute, and a recovery, becomes a symbol of the per-
sonal progress of a candidate from his first initiation
to the completion of his course, when he receives a
full development of the Mysteries.

Lost Word 309

The aspirant enters on this search after truth, as an
Entered Apprentice, in darkness, seeking for light —
the light of wisdom, the light of truth, the light sym-
bolized by the Word. For this important task, upon
which he starts forth gropingly, falteringly, doubt-
ingly, in want and in weakness, he is prepared by a
purification of the heart, and is invested with a first
substitute for the true Word, which, like the pillar that
went before the Israelites in the wilderness, is to guide
him onwards in his weary journey.

He is directed to take, as a staff and scrip for his
journey, all those virtues which expand the heart and
dignify the soul. Secrecy, obedience, humility, trust
in God, purity of conscience, economy of time, are all
inculcated by impressive types and symbols, which
connect the first degree with the period of youth.

And then next in the degree of Fellow Craft, he
fairly enters upon his journey. Youth has now passed,
and manhood has come on. New duties and increased
obligations press upon the individual. The thinking
and working stage of life is here symbolized. Science
is to be cultivated; wisdom is to be acquired; the lost
Word — Divine Truth — is still to be sought. But even
yet it is not to be found.

And now the Master Mason comes, with all the sym-
bolism around him of old age — trials, sufferings, death.
Here, too, the aspirant, pressing onward, always on-
ward, still cries aloud for "light, more light. '^ The
search is almost over, but the lesson, humiliating to
human nature, is to be taught, that in this life — gloomy
and dark, earthly and carnal — pure truth has no abid-
ing place; and Man is to be contented with a substitute,
and to that second temple of eternal life, for that true
Word, that Divine Truth, which will teach us all that

310 Symbolism of Freemasonry

we shall ever learn of God and His emanation, the
human soul.

So, the Master Mason, receiving this substitute for
the lost Word, waits with patience for the time when it
shall be found, and perfect wisdom shall be attained.

But, work as we will, this symbolic Word — this
knowledge of Divine Truth — is never thoroughly at-
tained in this life, or in its symbol, the Master Mason's
Lodge. The corruptions of mortality, which encumber
and cloud the human intellect, hide it, as with a thick
veil, from mortal eyes. It is only, as we have just
said, beyond the tomb, and when released from the
earthly burden of life, that man is capable of fully
receiving and appreciating the revelation.

Hence, then, when we speak of the recovery of the
Word, in that higher degree which is a supplement
to Ancient Craft Freemasonry, we intimate that that
sublime portion of the Masonic system is a symbolic
representation of the state after death. For it is only
after the decay and fall of this temple of life, which, as
Freemasons, we have been building, that from its
ruins, deep beneath its foundations, and in the pro-
found abyss of the grave, we find that Divine Truth, in
the search for which life was spent, if not in vain, at
least without success, and the mystic key which death
only could supply.

And now we know by this S3^mbolism what is meant
by Masonic labor, which, too, is itself but another
form of the same symbol. The search for the Word —
to find Divine Truth — this, and this only, is a Free-
mason's work, and the Word is his reward.

Labor, said the old monks, is worship — labor are est
orare; and thus in our Lodges do *we worship, working
for the Word, working for the Truth, ever looking for-

Lost Word 311

ward, casting no glance behind, but cheerily hoping
for the consundmation and the reward of our labor in
the knowledge which is promised to him who plays
no laggard's part.

Goethe, himself a Freemason and a poet, knew and
felt all this symbolism of a Master Mason's life and
work, when he wrote that beautiful poem, which
Carlyle has thus thrown into his own rough but im-
pulsive language:

The Mason's ways are
A type of existence, —
And to his persistence
Is as the days are
Of men in this world.

The future hides in it
Gladness and sorrow;
We press still thorough,
Nought that abides in it
Daunting us — onward.

And solemn before us
Veiled the dark portal,
Goal of all mortal;
Stars silent rest o'er us
Graves under us silent.

While earnest thou gazest
Come boding of terror,
Comes phantasm and error,
Perplexing the bravest
With doubt and misgiving.

But heard are the voices,
Heard are the sages,
The worlds and the ages;
"Choose well; your choice is
Brief and yet endless.

312 Symbolism of Freemasonry

"Here eyes do regard you,
In eternity's stillness;
Here is all fullness,
Ye, brave to reward you;
Work and despair not."

In concluding this work, so inadequate to the im-
portance of the subjects that have been discussed, one
deduction, at least, may be drawn from all that has
been said.

Tracing the progress of Freemasonry, and detailing
its system of symbolism, it has been found to be so
intimately connected with the history of philosophy,
of religion, and of art, in all ages of the world, that the
conviction at once forces itself upon the mind, that no
Freemason can expect thoroughly to comprehend its
nature, or to appreciate its character as a science, un-
less he shall devote himself, with some labor and as-
siduity, to this study of its system.

That skill which consists in repeating, with fluency
and precision, the ordinary lectures, in complying with
all the ceremonial requisitions of the ritual, or the giv-
ing, with sufficient accuracy, the appointed modes of
recognition, pertains only to the very rudiments of the
Masonic science.

But there is a far nobler series of doctrines with which
Freemasonry is connected, and which it has been our
object, in this work, to present if only in an imperfect way.
These constitute the science and the philosophy of
Freemasonry. These alone will return to the student
who devotes himself to the task of their investigation,
a sevenfold reward for his labor.

Freemasonry, viewed no longer, as too long it has
been, as a merely social institution, has now assumed
its original and undoubted position as a speculative

Lost Word 313

science. While the mere ritual is still carefully pre-
served, as the casket should be which contains so bright
a jewel; while its charities are still dispensed as the
necessary though incidental result of all its moral
teachings; while its social tendencies are still culti-
vated as the tenacious cement which is to unite so fair
a fabric in symmetry and strength, the Masonic mind
is everywhere beginning to look and ask for some-
thing, which, like the manna in the desert, shall feed
us, in our pilgrimage, with intellectual food.

The universal cry, throughout the Masonic world,
is for light; our Lodges are henceforth to be schools;
our labor is to be study; our wages are to be learning;
the types and symbols, the myths and allegories, of
the institution are beginning to be investigated with
reference to their ultimate meaning; our history is
now traced by zealous inquiries as to its connection
with antiquity. Freemasons now thoroughly under-
stand that often quoted definition, that ''Masonry is a
science of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated
by symbols. '^

Thus to learn Freemasonry is to know our work and
to do it well. What true Craftsman would shrink from
the task?

SYNOPTICAL INDEX

A

Page
Ab. The Hebrew word lb5, ab, signifies "father," and was
among the Jews a title of honor. From it, by the addition
of the possessive pronoun, is compounded the word Ahif,
signifying "his father," and appHed to the Temple Builder 56
Abif. See Hiram Ahif.

Abnet. a Hebrew word tSUlJiC, pronounced ab-nate. The belt
or apron, made of fine linen, variously wrought, and worn
by the Jewish priesthood. It seems to have been borrowed
directly from the Egyptians, upon the representations of
all of whose gods is to be found a similar girdle. Like the
zennaar, or sacred cord of the Brahmins, and the white
shield of the Scandinavians, it is the analogue of the

Masonic apron 130

Acacia, Sprig op. No symbol is more interesting to the Ma-
sonic student than the sprig of acacia 249

The acacia is the Mimoseos nilotica of Linnseus, the shittah

of the Hebrew writers, and grows abundantly in Palestine 251
The acacia is preeminently the symbol of the immortaUty of

the soul 253

Acacia was for this reason planted by the Jews at the head of

a grave 254

This symbolism is derived from its never-fading character as

an evergreen 255

It is also a symbol of innocence, and this symbolism is de-
rived from the double meaning of the word a/caKta, which
in Greek signifies the plant, and innocence; from this
point of view Hutchinson has Christianized the symbol. 256

315

316 Synoptical Index

Lastly, it is a symbol of initiation 259

This symbolism is derived from the fact that it is the sacred
plant of the Craft. In all the ancient rites there were
sacred plants, which became in each the respective symbol
of initiation into its Mysteries; hence the idea was bor-
rowed by Freemasonry 260

Adonia. The Mysteries of Adonis, principally celebrated in
Phoenicia and Syria. They lasted for two days, and were
commemorative of the death and restoration of Adonis.
The ceremonies of the first day were funereal in their char-
acter, and consisted in the lamentations of the initiaties for
the death of Adonis, whose picture or image was carried in
procession. The second day was devoted to mirth and joy
for the return of Adonis to Ufe. In their spirit and their
mystical design, these Mysteries bore a very great resem-
blance to the third degree of Freemasonry, and they are
quoted to show the striking analogy between the ancient
and the modern initiations 41

Adonis. In mythology, the son of Cinyras and Myrrha, who
was greatly beloved by Venus, or Aphrodite. He was
slain by a wild boar, and having descended into the realm
of Pluto, Persephone became in love with him. This led
to a contest for him between Venus and Persephone, which
was finally settled by his restoration to life upon the con-
dition that he should spend one-third of the year with
each goddess in turn and one-third free. In the mythology
of the philosophers, Adonis was a symbol of the sun. But
his death by violence, and his subsequent restoration to
life, make Adonis the analogue of Hiram Abif in the
Masonic system, and identify the spirit of the initiation
in his Mysteries, which was to teach the second life, with
that of the Third Degree of Freemasonry 41

Ahriman, or Arimanes. In the religious system of Zoroaster,
the principle of evil, or darkness, which was perpetually
opposing Ormazd, the principle of good, or light. See
Zoroaster 153

Alfadir. The father of all, or the universal Father. The

principal deity of the Scandinavian mythology. . . .185
The Edda gives twelve names of God, of which Alfadir is
the first and most ancient, and is the one most generally
used.

Synoptical Index 317

Algabil. One of the names of the Supreme Being among the
Cabalists. It signifies *'the Master Builder," and is equiv-
alent to the Masonic epithet of ''Grand Architect of the
Universe." 122

Allegory. A discourse or narrative, in which there is a literal
and a figurative sense, a patent and a concealed meaning;
the literal or patent sense being intended by analogy or com-
parison to indicate the figurative or concealed one. Its
derivation from the Greek dXXos and ayopetv, to say some-
thing different, that is, to say something where the language
is one thing, and the true meaning is something else, ex-
actly expresses the character of an allegory. It has been
said in the text that there is no essential difference between
an allegory and a symbol. There is not in design, but
there is this variation in their character: An allegory may
be interpreted without any previous conventional agree-
ment, but a symbol cannot. Thus the legend of the Third
Degree is an allegory evidently to be interpreted as teach-
ing a restoration to life; and this we learn from the legend
itself, without any previous understanding. The sprig
of acacia is a symbol of the immortality of the soul. But
this we know only because such meaning had been con-
ventionally determined when the symbol was first estab-
lished. It is evident, then, that an allegory which is
obscure is imperfect. The enigmatical meaning should
be easy of interpretation; and hence Lemiere, a French
poet, has said, "Lallegorie habite un palais diaphane" —
Allegory dwells in a transparent palace. All the legends
of Freemasonry are more or less allegorical, and whatever
truth there may be in some of them from a historical point
of view, it is only as allegories, or legendary symbols, that
they are important 75

All-seeing Eye. A symbol of the Third Degree, of great
antiquity. See Eye.

Ancient Craft Masonry. The first three Degrees of Free-
masonry; viz., Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and
Master Mason. They are so called because they alone are
supposed to have been practised by the ancient Craft. In
the agreement between the two Grand Lodges of England
in 1813, the definition was made to include the Royal Arch
Degree. Now if by the "ancient Craft" is meant the

318 Synoptical Index

workmen at the first temple, the definition will be wrong,
because the Royal Arch Degree could have had no existence
until the time of the building of the second temple. But
if by the "ancient Craft" is meant the body of workmen
who introduced the rites of Freemasonry into Europe in
the early ages of the history of the Order, then it will be
correct; because the Royal Arch Degree always, from its
origin until the middle of the eighteenth century, formed
a part of the Master's. "Ancient Craft Masonry," how-
ever, in this country, is generally understood to embrace
only the first three degrees 124

Anderson. James Anderson, D. D., is celebrated as the com-
piler and editor of "The Constitutions of the Freemasons,"
published by order of the Grand Lodge of England, in 1723.
A second edition was pubUshed by him in 1738. Shortly
after, Anderson died, and the subsequent editions, of which
there are several, have been edited by other persons. The
edition of 1723 has become exceedingly rare, and copies of
it bring fancy prices among the collectors of old Masonic
books. Its intrinsic value is derived only from the fact that
it contains the first printed copy of the "Old Charges,"
and also the "General Regulations." The history of Free-
masonry which precedes these, and constitutes the body
of the work, is fanciful, unreliable, and pretentious to a
degree that often leads to absurdity. The Craft is greatly
indebted to Anderson for his labors in reorganizing the
institution, but doubtless it would have been better if he
had contented himself with giving the records of the
Grand Lodge from 1717 to 1738 which are contained in
his second edition, and with preserving for us the charges
and regulations, which without his industry might have
been lost. No Masonic writer would now venture to
quote Anderson as authority for the history of the Order
prior to the eighteenth century. It must also be added
that in the republication of the old charges in the edition of
1738, he made several important alterations and inter-
polations, which justly gave some offence to the Grand
Lodge, and which render the second edition of no author-
ity in this respect 230

Animal Worship. The worship of animals is a species of
idolatry found in most ancient religions and was espe-

Synoptical Index 319

cially practised by the Egyptians. Temples were erected
by this people in their honor, in which animals were fed
and cared for during hfe; to kill one of them was a crime
punishable with death. After the death of these animals
they were embalmed, and interred in the catacombs.
This worship was derived first from the earlier adoration
of the stars, to certain constellations of which the names
of animals had been given; next, from an Egyptian tra-
dition that the gods, being pursued by Typhon, had con-
cealed themselves under the forms of animals; and lastly,
from the doctrine of the metempsychosis, according to
which there was a continual circulation of the souls of
men and animals. But behind the open and popular
exercise of this degrading worship the priests concealed a
symbolism full of philosophical conceptions. How this
symbolism was corrupted and misinterpreted by the un-
initiated people, is shown bj"- Gliddon, and quoted in the
text 78