CHAPTER in.

MASTER MASON'S DEGREE.
This degree is the perfection of Symbolic Masonry. It is the highest of the degrees known at the completion of the first tem- ple. The principles and truths here put forth are of the most pure and sublime nature. A pious reverence for Deity is incul- cated. Virtue, Fidelity, and Integrity are here also particularly illustrated. During the ceremonies, a solemn awe pervades the mind, calculated to inspire it with a deep feeling of our depend- ence upon the great Creator of all things, and instinctively leads it to contemplate with cheering hope the final reward that await the "just made perfect."
As the degree of Entered Apprentice illustrates the moral bearing of the various implements of Masonry, and the Fellow- craft inculcates the necessity of those intellectual improve- ments which enlarge the mind and elevate man, so does the sublime degree of Master Mason impress him with that faith in the resurrection to a future life.
From this degree the rulers of masonic bodies, in the first three degrees, are selected, as it is only from those who are well skilled in the mysteries of our institution, and capable to give instruction, that we can expect to receive it ; and great care should be observed in selecting those best qualified for the gov- ernment of a Lodge, as its prosperity and harmony depend, in a great measure, upon its rulers.
PRAYER AT OPENING A MASTER MASONS' LODGE.
Most holy and glorious Lord God, the Supreme Ruler and Governor of all things, Giver of all good gifts and graces, thou hast promised that where two or three are gathered together in thy name, thou wilt be in the midst of them.
In thy name we assemble, most humbly beseeching thee to bless us in all our laudable undertakings, that we may know and serve thee aright; and that all of our actions may tend to thy glory and our advance- ment in knowledge and virtue. Amen.
Response — So mote it be.
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Section First.
This section is initiatory, and yet is of such importance that a knowledge of it is indispensable to every brother who desires to be useful in the ceremonials of the Lodge ; and he who is deficient therein, we may safely conclude is but illy qualified to act as a skillful ruler or governor of the work.
The following passage of Scripture is here introduced during the ceremonies :
"Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them ; while the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain :
" In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, and the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low ;
"Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail ; because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets; or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain,
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or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." — Ecclesiastes xii: 1-7.
The working tools of a Master Mason are all the implements of Masonry appertaining to the first three degrees indiscriminately, but more especially the trowel.
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UNIVERSAL MONITOR.
The Trowel is an instrument made use of by operative masons to spread the cement which unites a building into one common mass; but we, as Free and Accepted Masons, are taught to make use of it for the more noble and glorious purpose of spreading the cement of brotherly love and affection; that ce- ment which unites us into one sacred band, or society of friends and brothers, among whom no contention should ever exist but that noble contentiou, or rather emulation, of who can best work and best agree.
Section Second.
This section recites the historical traditions of the Order, and presents to view a finished picture of the utmost consequence to the Fraternity. It exemplifies an instance of virtue, forti- tude, and integrity seldom equaled, and never excelled, in the history of man.
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FUNERAL DIRGE.
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here be - low, Through a pil - grim-age of woe ! trophies wave O'er the slumbers of the grave, al - tar come, Waft this Friend and Brother home.
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4 There, enlarged, thy soul shall see What was veiled in mystery; Heavenly glories of the place Show his Maker face to face.
5 Lord of all !— below— above- Fill our hearts with Truth and Love ; When dissolved our earthly tie, Take us to thy Lodge on high.
96 UNIVERSAL MONITOR.
Craftsmen, here * the * of your * * * * struck * in the performance of duty. A martyr to his fidelity, * was brought to this lonely spot by unhallowed hands, at a midnight hour, under the hope that the eyes of man would never more find him, or the hands of justice be laid upon his guilty * . "Vain hope!" his work was not done. Yet his col- umn is broken; the honors, so justly his due, have not been paid him; his * was untimely, and his breth- ren mourn; his * shall be * , shall be honored, shall be borne to the Temple for more decent * , and a marble * shall be erected to commemorate his labors, his fidelity, and his untimely * . Brother J. W., you will take the * by the * * * , and see if it can be * . Most Excellent King Solomon, owing to a high state of putrefaction, * >:
* >k * * >! you will endeavor to raise the * by the * *
* * * . M. E., for the reasons already given, the * * * * * * * * * be so * . Brother 8. W., our attempts are all vain. What shall we do ? Pray. Let us pray !
PRAYER.
Thou, 0 God ! knowest our down-sitting and our up-rising, and understandest our thoughts afar off. Shield and defend us from the evil intentions of our enemies, and support us under the trials and afflictions we are destined to endure while traveling through this vale of tears.
Man, that is born of a woman, is of few days and
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full of trouble. He cometh forth as a flower, and is cut down ; he fleeth also as a shadow, and con- tinueth not.
Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee ; thou hast appointed his bounds that he can not pass ; turn from him that he may rest, till he shall accomplish his day.
For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. But man dieth and wasteth away ; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood de- cayeth and drieth up, so man lieth down, and riseth not up till the heavens shall be no more.
Yet, 0 Lord ! have compassion on the children^f thy creation ; administer them comfort in time of trouble, and save them with an everlasting salvation. Amen.
Response — So mote it be.
Brother S. W., your counsel was timely and good. Men should ever remember that, when the strength and wisdom of man fails, there is an inexhaust- ible supply above, yielded to us through the power of prayer. My mind is now clear ; the * shall be * . Craftsmen, you have labored upon the Temple more than seven years, honestly toiling, encouraged and buoyed up by the promise that, when the Temple was completed, those of you who wrought faithfully, should
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UNIVERSAL MONITOR.
receive the * of a * * . The M. W. is lost in the * of our * * * * * ? but j w{\\ sut>_ stitute a * which shall be adopted for the regula- tion of all M. M. * until ages shall find
out the right. I will, then, * the * by the
* * * * , and the first * * after the * is thus * , shall be adopted as a * * for the
* * , until future generations shall discover the right * * >!|
>k >k >k >! k >k
*
*
MASTER HAS 99
Third.
The Third Section treats of many particulars relative to King Solomon's Temple, together with the emblems usually delineated upon the Masters1 carpet-, etc.
bolomon's temple. King Solomon- Temple wa- erected on Mount Moriah, near the place where Abraham was about to offer up his son Isaac : the same that was purchased by David of Oman, the Jebusite. whereon to erect an altar to God, when he in his mercy stayed the angel of pestilence when about to stretch forth his destroy- ing hand over the city of Jerusalem. It was begun in the fourth year of the reign of King Solomon, the third after the death of David, four hundred and eigh'y years after the passage of the children of Israel through the Red Sea. on Monday, the second day of the month Zif. whi cred year, fixes the date of its commencement to have been on the 21st day of April, in the year of the world two thousand nine hundred and ninety-two. and one thousand and twelve year- before the Christian era. Owing to the Masonic skill and wise regulations of King Solomon, under circnu - rendered pe-
culiarly favorable by Divine providence, the building was carried forward with such amazing speed that the Temple was completed in all its parts in a little more than seven years, on the Bth day of the month Bui. or the 23d of October, in the year of the world 2999. The stones were all hewn, squared, and numbered in
100 UNIVERSAL MONITOR.
the quarries where they were raised ; the timbers felled and prepared in the forests of Lebanon, and conveyed by sea in floats to Joppa; thence by land to Jerusalem, where the building was erected by the aid of wooden instruments prepared for that purpose, so that there was not heard the sound of axe, hammer, or any tool of iron, on or about the Temple, during its erection ; and when completed, its several parts fitted with such exactness that it had more the appearance of being the handiwork of the Supreme Architect of the universe than of human hands.
This famous fabric was supported by fourteen hundred and fifty-three columns, two thousand nine hundred and six pilasters, all hewn from the finest Parian marble, which, together with gold and silver, cedar and olive-wood, and precious stones, comprised the chief materials employed in its construction. That so vast and magnificent a structure should have been erected in the brief period of seven years, six months, and two days, will cease to excite our astonishment or even surprise, when we reflect that King David had devoted many years of his prosperous reign in accu- mulating treasure and materials for the work, that the whole was dedicated to God, erected by his divine command, and carried forward to completion under his special care. The entire structure was indeed the per- fection of architectural skill, magnificence, and beauty. Its roof was of olive-wood, covered with plates of bur- nished gold, and its external walls were of polished stones of most exquisite whiteness ; so that, to those who viewed it at a distance, the whole structure re-
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sembled a mountain of glittering snow ; and when the rays of the rising sun were reflected from its polished surface, it dazzled the eyes of all who at such times beheld it — so refulgent was the splendor of this glori- ous achievement of Masonic art. But the grandeur, beauty, and admirable proportions of the Temple, lan- guage is inadequate to describe; and yet the inner temple, or sanctuary, was by far the most splendid part of this magnificent structure. Its inner walls, posts, doors, floors, and ceilings were of cedar and olive-wood, and planks of fir, which were entirely cov- ered with plates of gold, and adorned with precious jewels of many splendid colors. Of its richness, some idea may be formed from the fact that the gold used in the decoration of the holy place alone amounted to twenty-one and a half millions of dollars.
The whole cost of the Temple, as furnished us by Masonic tradition, amounted to the almost fabulous total of six thousand five hundred and ninety millions of dollars, a sum scarcely within our comprehension, and indeed incredible but for the fact that, inasmuch as the Temple was dedicated to Grod, erected by his express command, and designed for the devout celebra- tion of his divine worship by the whole body of his chosen people, it does not appear unreasonable that King Solomon should have devoted the entire re- sources of his vast dominion, together with the munifi- cent sums left by King David, with those contributed by Hiram, king of Tyre, and other tributary kings and rulers, to the completion of his glorious work, which was the most beautiful and magnificent achievement
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of mankind — the glory of its inspired founder, the pride of the Jewish people, and the admiration of the world.
There were employed in its building, three Grand Masters, three thousand three hundred Masters or overseers of the work, eighty thousand Fellow Crafts, and seventy thousand Entered Apprentices; all these were classed and arranged in such a manner by the wisdom of Solomon that neither envy, discord, or con- fusion were suffered to interrupt that universal peace and tranquillity which prevailed among the workmen at that important period. They were then, as now, divided into three classes or degrees — those of E. A. , F. C, and M. M. E. A. held their lodges on the * * * of the Temple, and an E. A. Lodge con- sisted of not less than 1 — 6, * * . F. 0. held their lodges in the * * * of the Temple, and a F. C. Lodge consisted of not less than 2 — 3, * * * ; whilst a