IV. Our Taste for the Polite Arts. — The fourth qual-

ification necessary to enter into our Order is a taste for
51 THE FELLOW CRAFT.
useful science and liberal arts of every kind. These improve the heart as much as the understanding. They moderate the selfish affections, sweeten and harmonize the temper, and the better fit men for social happiness, that happiness which Freemasonry most zealously en- deavors to promote.
THE PLUMB. — It only needs a glance at a " bowed and tottering wall," or a building inclining sensibly from the perpendicular, or, what is more common and far more painful, a human being of either sex, wandering from the paths of rectitude, to learn the lesson of this emblem. The Plumb-line seems designed by the Author of virtue to teach us what safety there is in truth.
Who wears the Plumb, behold how true His words and walk ! and could we view
The chambers of his soul, Each thought enshrined, so pure, so good, By the stern line of rectitude,
Points upward to the goal.
The Plumb admonishes us to walk uprightly in our several stations; to hold the scale of justice in equal poise; to observe the just medium between intemperance and pleasure, and to make our passions and prejudices coincide with the line of our duty. It is the interior of moral rectitude, teaching us to avoid dissimulation in conversation and action, and to direct our paths to the path which leads to immortality. Read here the remarks upon a previous page relative to the emblem of "the right angle, the horizontal, and the perpendicular."
RECEPTION ON THE SQUARE. — As we remarked on a preceding page, under the head "Theory of the Fellow
TUB ATTENTIVE EAR, ETC. 55
Craft,'-' this degree is in strictness the working degree of the institution. All its analogies relate to labor and pil- grimage. The Fellow Crafts came from Phoenicia to erect the temples and other stately edifices of Solomon ; we en- gage to erect more stately edifices for our King — "the King of kings and Lord of lords." No effort is spared to impress upon the Fellow Crafts that "they should eat no man's bread for naught;" and amongrthe methods em- ployed is the application of the Square. To try the works of every Mason, the Square is presented as the probation of his life, proving whether his works are reg- ular and uniform or not.
Who wears the Square 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, the unerring Square,
That squares great virtue's plan.
Masons should be of one principle and one rank with- out the distinctions of pride and pageantry; intimating that from high to low the minds of Masons should be inclined to good works, above which no man stands ex- alted by his fortune.
THE ATTENTIVE EAR, THE INSTRUCTIVE TONGUE, THE FAITHFUL BKEAST. — The use of these three emblems is so natural as scarcely to require comment. Information upon all the inculcations of Masonry is chiefly acquired through the attentive ear, both the eye and the hand being subordinate to that. Ignorance is the secret of indo- lence in Masonry : the idle relish not, because they know aot. Though the mine is rich, they have never pene-
56 THE FELLOW CRAFT.
trated to its bed of golden treasures. Strange that any men, too careless to moralize, or too stupid to discern, should enter the porch of Masonry only to fall asleep in the arms of indolence and dullness.
It is a marked truth in the operations of Masonry, that he who has the instructive tongue is ever ready to communicate the science to those entitled to receive it. The genius that conducted him through the mystic temple inspired him with all the virtues of the institution^ The annals of the Order are full of the names of those whose ready and silvery tongue found no subjects more worthy to be expatiated upon than those connected with Free- masonry.
The third of this splendid trio is the faithful breast. Of all societies, this has been the most distinguished for the inviolable secrecy which its members have preserved. Neither the thunders of the Vatican, nor the tortures of the Inquisition, nor the fierce demands of a depraved public opinion, have succeeded in extorting from the faithful breast those things so solemnly deposited there.
HOPE. — We have in no author so .good a definition of this emblem as that by the Apostle Paul, in his declara- tion "that by two immutable things, in which it was im- possible for God to lie, [referring to his promise and his oath^\ we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge, to lay hold of the hope set before us, which hope we have, as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil." The same eloquent writer in another passage declares: "We are saved by hope; if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." The Psalmist has declared, " Happy is he whose hope is in the
JACHIN AND BOAZ. 57
Lord his God." His son, the wise King, adds: "The righteous hath hope in his death." The Prophet Joel avers " the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel."
As we sit in our respective places in the Lodge, arid look upon the open Word in the midst, we may deem that there is a treasury of hopes contained in that book, both for this world and that which is to come. The dealings of God with his ancient people afford a sure foundation that he who is unchangeable in justice, good- ness, and mercy, can not fail to render to those who, by patient continuance in well-doing, shall merit his favor, all needed blessings. These are the inculcations of the emblem of Hope.
JACHIN AND BOAZ. — It can not be doubted that the most striking and attractive objects to a person approach- ing the Temple up Mount Moriah were the brazen Pil- lars upon the east. Whether to the stranger, who only considered them as architectural ornaments, or to the in- formed Israelite, who read in their names, dimensions, cavities, and ornaments many of the most useful incul- cations in his religious code, these Pillars were the first to catch the eye and the last to fade upon the memory. The height of these transcendent spires is variously given at eighteen and thirty-five cubits : the latter is the more likely, whether we estimate the due proportion between the diameter four cubits, or the magnitude of the great building before which they stood. Nothing less than thirty-five cubits will answer the requirements of the Fellow Craft's lecture, which sets the proportions between the heights and diameters of pillars at seven, eight, nine, ten, and ten for the Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian,
£>8 THE FELLOW CRAFT.
and Composite Orders respectively. As the particular order of architecture used in these Pillars is not given, we can not designate the exact proportion applicable; but to none of them will a height of eighteen cubits apply.
The names of these grand and awe-inspiring objects are full of meaning to a Freemason. The right Pillar — that is, the one on the south side of the door of entrance — was called " Jachin;" literally, "He will establish." The left Pillar — that is, the one on the north side of the door of entrance — was called "Boaz;" literally, "In it is power." Uniting the two definitions into one, the allu- sion is to the Divine promise that in strength God would perpetually establish the kingdom of Israel in the family of David. This, in the Masonic system, implies the en- durance and strength of our institution, which at the end of its three thousand years of history stands more firmly upon its basis than ever before.
The cavity and ornaments of the Pillars are equally emblematical. Upon the chapiters were nets of checker- work, wreaths of chain-work, seven upon each chapiter, also lily-work, and two hundred pomegranates in rows, upon each. To the instructed Israelite passing between the Pillars, these symbols betokened the great lessons of unity, peace, and plenty, and taught him that the spirit of unity produces peace, and that the combination of unity . and peace is divinely blessed to plenty. The globes or pommels upon the chapiters, with their proper scientific teachings, conveyed also the Masonic meaning, expressed upon a previous page, that the charities of Freemasons should be as boundless as the spheres.
THE ANGLE OF 90°. — The application of the right
ENTRANCE TO THE CHAMBER. 59
angle to the center of the earth illustrates the sphere of the Mason's duty and the restraints which he should impose upon the inclinations of his heart, not to wander beyond the angular limits of Masonic propriety. Upon the Angle of 90° the Fellow Craft, metaphorically, is tried, and happy he whose life and conduct shall bear so rigid a test. A very small deviation from this angle, though it may not be perceptible to man, is .distinctly so to God, who is our Divine Master, and is to reward us not merely according to the amount of our works, but according to the accuracy with which they adapt them- selves to the angle he has traced out for us. It may be that the heathen and the uncultivated denizens of the isles are not prescribed by an Angle so broad as that which is presented to us. God is merciful, and will not place upon any person more responsibilities than he has moral strength to bear; but to us who, in addition to the light of civilization, the Bible and Christianity have the brilliancy of Freemasonry shining within our souls, it is hard to see what excuse we can present our Heav- enly Master in the Judgement-day for a ^deficiency in the angular propriety of our lives. The Angle of 90° is emphatically one of the working tools of our profession; let us see that it is not less so of our practice.
THE SECOND SECTION.
THE Second Section of the Fellow Craft's Lecture treats of the entrance into the Middle Chamber of the Temple; the objects that attract the candidate's atten- tion there; the duty of a reasonable observance of the Sabbath-day; the numerous and valuable studies recom-
60 THE FELLOW CRAFT.
mended to his mind; the rich and ample wages secured him for his labor, and the solemn reverence due from Masons unto the name of God. Properly delivered, this is the most dramatic and beautiful ceremony yet treated upon in this volume. It fully justifies us in claiming for this grade of Masonry that it particularizes circum- stances of great importance to the Fraternity, and con- firms many of our traditional tenets and customs by sacred and profane record. There is a store of valuable knowledge developed from this lecture, founded on reason, tradition, and the Sacred Record, both enter- taining and instructive.
OPERATIVE AND SPECULATIVE MASONRY. — The fre- quent use in this volume of the terms " Operative " and "Speculative" requires an explanation. To the mem- bers of this institution was anciently given the erection of all great edifices. The secrets of architecture were then parts of the secrets of Freemasonry, and none could undertake a temple, a palace, or other grand erection, until he had passed the portals of the Masonic Lodge and acquired the scientific knowledge there treasured up. Then Operative and Speculative Masonry were blended; those who built the actual temple also built the moral one. But through the lapse of ages, the se- crets of operative architecture have been given out to the world, leaving only the mysteries of the moral build- ing. Speculative Masonry, therefore, contemplates in theory what the operative builder reduces to practice, and the tools of the workmen are only used as emblems in the construction of " the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." In this thought the following lines are conceived :
THE SEVENTH DAY OF THE WEEK. 61
Darkly hid beneath the quarry,
Masons, many a true block lies ; Hands must shape and hands must carry, Ere the stone the Master prize. Seek for it, measure it, Fashion it, polish it, Then the Overseer will prize.
What though shapeless, rough, and heavy,
Think ye God his work will lose ? Raise the block, the strength he gave ye, Fit it for the Master's use. S-eek for it, measure it, Fashion it, polish it, Then the Overseer will use.
'T was for this our fathers banded;
Through life's quarries they did roam, Faithful-hearted, skillful-handed, Bearing many a true block home: Noticing, measuring, Fashioning, polishing, For their glorious Temple-home.
THE SEVENTH DAY OF THE WEEK. — As the Creator of all things has put it on record that he would have his creatures give the seventh day of each week wholly to him and his service, thus commemorating the great fact of the creation, this has been adopted among the land- marks of our institution. It is the oldest of all observ- ances, this day being consecrated in the first division of time after the creation. The Almighty Maker selected it for his own period of refreshment and rest after the completion of his labors, and we in like manner give the hours to bodily rest and the refreshment of the soul. No Lodge may lawfully meet to work upon the Sabbath-
62 THE FELLOW CRAFT.
day, and no brother give of its sacred time to his ordi- nary pursuits.
The title given to the Jewish day of rest was "the Sabbath;" it is from a Hebrew word signifying rest. Since the Christian era, the day of rest is called the Lord's Day, because it is now commemorative of Christ's resurrection from the dead; and there is thus connected with it an affectionate remembrance of the whole char- acter and offices of Him to whose service and glory it is to be devoted. Sunday was the name given by the heathens to the first day of the week, because it was the day on which they worshiped the sun, and this name,^ together with those of the other days of the week, has been continued to our times.
The sanctification of one-seventh portion of time by man is regarded throughout the whole of the Old Testa- ment Scriptures as a fundamental principle of duty, and no sin, except perhaps idolatry, is threatened with heavier penalties than Sabbath-breaking.
The Divine commandment which stands the fourth in the Decalogue, " Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy," is founded on the fact that the seventh day was blessed and hallowed by God himself, and that he re- quires his creatures to keep it holy to him. This com- mandment is of universal and perpetual obligation. The object to be accomplished by the institution is general, and applies to all people every-where with like force. Wherever there is a human creature capable of contem- plating the character of the Supreme Being, of studying his revealed will, and of considering his own immortal destiny, this commandment requires him to consecrate at least one-seventh part of his time to these holy pur-
THREE, FIVE, AND SEVfiN. 63
poses. The terms of the commandment do not fix the precise day in order, except that it is to be every seventh day. Tn other words, it simply requires that after six days of labor, one day is to be given to rest.
There is abundant evidence from history that the seventh day of the week has been observed from the earliest times as a day of rest; and the change from the seventh to the first day does not in any degree change or impair the obligation to sanctify a seventh portion of our time. So far from it, the sacredness and glory of the day are much increased by its association with that great event on which our hope of life and im- mortality entirely depends.
It seems to be admitted, by intelligent men of every class and profession, that the observance of a wreekly day of rest is as essential to our intellectual and physical as to our moral and spiritual nature.
The simple rule as to the mode of observing the day seems to be this: that there should be a cheerful resting all the day' from such worldly employments and recrea- tions as may be lawful on other days, and the spending the whole time in the public or private worship of God, except so much as may be occupied by works of neces- sity or mercy. To test the propriety of any act or pur- suit on that day, it is only needful to inquire whether the doing of it will tend to advance us in holy exercises and affection, and in preparation for the heavenly rest, or whether it is an act of necessity which can not be post- poned without serious injury.
THREE, FIVE, AND SEVEN. — Mystical numbers form important parts in the symbolisms of Freemasonry. The numbers three, five, and seven are the most suggestive
64 THE FELLOW CRAFT.
of these. Scriptural history shows how frequently they were introduced in sacred events.
" There are three that bear record in heaven : the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one." This passage expresses the whole theory of the Masonic trinity. The three principal officers of the Lodge, corresponding with the three original degrees in Masonry, are examples of the uses to which this number is applied.
The number five is not less suggestive in the Masonic rituals. There are five orders in architecture that are recognized among Freemasons: the Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite, of which the three central ones are most highly esteemed in speculative Masonry. There are five senses in human nature : hearing, seeing, touching, smelling, and tasting, of which the first three are so highly estimated in the Masonic system, that no person wrho has lost any one of them can lawfully be made a Mason. Among the furniture of the sanctuary and the temple, there were five golden candlesticks on either side of the oracle.
The number seven has even more numerous allusions in the rituals. There are seven liberal arts and sciences inculcated in the Masonic system ; viz. : grammar, rhet- oric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy, of which the fifth, generally, is most highly estimated. There are seven days in the wreek; the seventh year was anciently directed to be a sabbath of rest for all things, and the law was directed to be read to the people. A person was commanded to forgive his offending brother seven times, which our Savior extended to seventy times seven. In the sacrificial service the blood was
THE EAR OF CORN. 65
sprinkled seven times before the altar. Solomon, in his allegory of the house of wisdom, says that it has seven pillars. Seven resurrections are enumerated in Scrip- ture. The series of celestial worlds is said to consist of seven, of which the highest is the most beatific. The book of Revelations, the most symbolical series of writ- ings extant, embodies nearly all its mysteries under the number seven — as seven churches, seven golden candle- sticks, seven stars, seven lamps representing the seven spirits, the book with seven seals, the seven kings, seven thunders, the dragon with seven heads and seven crowns, seven angels bringing seven plagues, and seven vials of wrath* In our lectures, perfection is likened to gold seven times purified in the fire.
In the application of these numbers in the Fellow Craft's ritual, lengthy and beautiful discourses upon the Order in architecture and the seven liberal arts and sciences are delivered, which, being found in the Mon- itor, need no repetition here.
THE EAR OF CORN. — Much may be said of the ex- pressiveness of this emblem, suspended, in all Well-ar- ranged Lodges, over the Junior Warden's chair. As the contiguity of a fall of water to a field of standing corn gives vigor to the plant, so the graces of the Divine Spirit give nourishment to the good man's piety, and make it fruitful. The Scriptural light thrown upon this emblem is that in the eleventh chapter of Judges. Fifty- one years after the celebrated exploit of Gideon at the well Harod, the Ammonites came out of their deserts eastward, and invaded Palestine in great numbers. A part of them came up into Gilead and encamped at Aroer. Jephthah, whose residence was at Mizpeh, near 5 .
t)6 THE FELLOW CRAFT.
by, collected together an army from the surrounding tribes, attacked the Ammonites, achieved a great victory, and rescued twenty cities from their hands which they had taken. By this heroic deed the country was rid of its oppressors. On Jephthah's return home occurred that pathetic tragedy which has made the name of Jeph- thah's daughter immortal in prose and song.
Shortly afterward the Ephraitnites, whose tribe was located on the opposite side of the river westward, taking bitter offense at Jephthah for slighting them in his call for soldiers, or, what is more likely, angry that they were omitted in the distribution of the spoils, crossed the river with a great army and threatened his destruction. Jephthah was in no .whit intimidated, but at once recalled his warriors from their homes, and defeated the Ephraim- ites. Resolved to punish them for their unprovoked assault, he sent portions of his army to the fords in their rear, and intercepting them, slew all who attempted to pass, to the number of forty-two thousand. This was a blow which that haughty tribe never forgot.
As a measure for identifying the Ephraimites at the fords, an ear of corn was hung upon a branch and each traveler was requested to give its name. The proper word in Hebrew for an ear of corn is " Shibboleth," so pronounced in the pure language. But the Ephraimites, having a patois of their own, were unable thus to express the first syllable. They called it "Sibboleth," just as the Arabs pronounce the same word to the present day. Their defect of utterance was fatal to them, for every man who thus named the ear of corn was summarily dispatched.
In relation to this singular transaction, which in the
THE LETTER G. 67
vituals of the Fellow Craft plays a prominent part, a celebrated English writer of the last century says: "The application which is made of certain words among Ma- sons is as a testimony of their retaining their original one uninfringed, and their first faith with the brother- hood uncorrupted. And to render their words and phrases more abstruse and secure, they selected such as by acceptation in the Scriptures or otherwise might puz- zle the ignorant by a double implication. Thus, ' Shib- boleth/ should we have adopted the Eleusonian mys- teries, would answer as an avowal of our profession, the word implying * ears of corn.3 But taking its deriva- tive from the Greek tongue, it is equivalent to ' Colo lapidem/ implying that we retain and keep inviolate our obligations as the 'Jurimentum per jovem lapidem/ the most obligatory oath held among the heathens."
THE LETTER G. — A brother entering the Lodge while at work, has his attention turned first to the emblems upon the Altar, of which one is the immortal Word of God, and next to an object suspended over the Master's Chair, an emblem of the letter G. This is the initial let- ter of the name of Deity, that Being before whom Ma- sons of every degree bow and adore. The full bearing of this emblem is conveyed in the following lines :
That Name ! I heard it at my mother's knee, When looking up, the dear, remembered face
Beaming on mine, so fond, so tenderly,
She prayed that GOD her little son would bless.
That Name! I spoke it when I entered here, And bowed the knee, as man in worship must;
From my heart's center, with sincerity, I cried aloud, "In GOD is all my trust."
68 THE 'FELLOW CRAFT.
That Name! I saw it o'er the Master's chair.
The "Hieroglyphic bright," and bending low, Paid solemn homage to the symbol there
That speaks of GOD, before whom all should bow.
That Name! I whispered at the Altar here,
When dangers thickened, and when death was nigh;
In solemn silence, and with soul sincere, I prayed, " 0 GOD be with me, if I die ! "
That Name ! the last upon my faltering tongue, Ere death shall seal it, it shall surely be ;
The pass-word to the bright, angelic throng, Whose GOD is GOD to all eternity.
That Name then, brothers, ever gently speak, Above all father's, mother's name, revered ;
What bounties from His gracious hand we take ! 0, be His honor to our s6uls endeared.
CORN, WINE, AND OIL. — The bounties of our Heavenly Father have supplied us, while we sojourn below,. with all necessary comforts of food, shelter, and clothing. The earth abundantly yields them to the industrious laborer; from our mother's breast we pass to the yield- ing sources of the soil. The emblem of corn, implying all the nutritious fruits of the earth ; the emblem of wine, implying all that nature affords to gladden the heart, and the emblem of oz7, which to Oriental nations is quite as important as the others, represent nature's bounties, the wages of practical labor. King Solomon stipulated to pay the Temple-builders, for their service, " twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine and twenty thousand baths of oil." Thus bo.untifullj did that large-hearted monarch provide for those \vh«
THE PERFECT ASHLARS. 69
should do him service in his erections for God. Shall we not have as bountiful returns for our labor ? Toiling in the nobler system of architecture, the building up of the 4iuman soul, and laboring under the supervision of the Supreme Architect of the Universe, let us not doubt the liberality of our Master or the certainty of ample reward. Plenty, health, and peace wait upon them that do the works of God.
THE PERFECT ASHLARS. — The spirit of this whole sec- tion is conveyed in the following lines :
The sunbeams from the eastern sky Flash from yon blocks exalted high,
And on their polished fronts proclaim The framer and the. builder's fame.
Glowing beneath the fervid noon, Yon marble dares the southern sun;
Yet tells that wall of fervid flame, The framer and the builder's fame.
The chastened sun adown the west,
Speaks the same voice and sinks to rest;
No sad defect, no flaw to shame The framer and the builder's fame.
Beneath the dewy night, the sky
Lights up ten thousand lamps on high;
Ten thousand lamps unite to name The framer and the builder's fame.
Perfect in line, exact in square,
These Ashlars of the Craftsmen are;
They will to comvng time proclaim The framer and the builder's fame.
70 THE PERFECT ASHLARS.
The best specimen of a Perfect Ashlar presented in the Masonic ranks, in this country, is George Washing- ton. He was indeed a paragon in Freemasonry, an ex- emplar of its virtues and its graces. There is no degree of, moral improvement suggested by Masonic teachings- to which he did not aspire, and few to which he had not attained. His life as a citizen, a statesman, and a pa- triot, the wbrld has by heart; his career as a Freemason is not less wrorthy of admiration and respect. In the pressure of a long and doubtful war, when his faculties were concentrated in the never-ceasing details of com- mand, he was ever ready to turn his thoughts to the claims of a distressed, worthy brother, prompt to attend Lodge meetings, happy to .respond to Masonic cour- tesies.
The bust or portrait of Washington should be placed conspicuously in every Lodge-room. Not only should we become familiar with those majestic features at our dwellings, but, in conjunction, with the emblems of the Lodge, they should appear the brightest and most sig- nificant emblem of them all.
THE MASTER MASON.
0 DEATH, thy hand is weighty on the breast
Of him who lies within thy grasp ! No power can raise the captive from his rest
Whom thy strong hand doth clasp.
The tears of broken hearts do fall in vain : Their sighs are wasted o'er the grave;
Thou laugh'st to scorn the solemn funeral strain, For there is none to save.
From age to age, mankind hath owned thy sway- Submissive bowed beneath thy hand;
The hoary head, the infant of a day, The loveliest of the band.
And thou hast struck the true and faithful now,
The model of Masonic faith ; It was a cruel and a dastard blow,
0 stern, unyielding death!
Yet, boastful monster, ye shall have release,
Thy weighty hand, relentless power, Shall be withdrawn, and all thy mockings cease,
And all thy triumphs o'er.
The Lion of the Tribe of Judah comes —
See in the heavenly east the sign ! To rend the sepulchers, disclose the tombs,
And place thee, monster, in 1
THE MASTER MASON.
THE FIRST SECTION.
THE THEORY OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER MASON.
THE Degree of Master Mason is suggestive of gov- ernment over men. The Apprentice and the Fellow Craft draw the materials from quarry and forest, shape them, remove them to the places designed for them, and raise them to the wall: this is physical labor. All this requires a designing head, a draughtsman, and a superin- tendent, and this is the Master Mason. The same ne- cessity exists in Speculative or Moral Masonry.
To the Master Mason were intrusted the secrets of architecture, plans, measurements, and estimates, the weight, tenacity, and durability of materials, and all that learning needful to transform rude stones and the trunks of trees into edifices that should be the wonder and de- light of the earth. With such transcendent privileges there was coupled a heavy burden of covenants, and he was expected to exemplify before his fellow-laborers every virtue and grace symbolized on the Trestle-Board of the Master Builder. (73)
74 THE MASTER MASON.
A late writer has elegantly said : We have seen the type of man complete in moral worth and intellectual culture. What more is left? Communion with ^ his Maker. The mere knowledge of Deity is that of our august Creator, whom we are to reverence and in whom alone we are to put our trust. But we have not yet seen Him walking upon the earth and holding open com- munion with the sons of men. Man has not been enno- bled by personal contact with the All-Holy. Let us suppose three brethren, types respectively of moral, in- tellectual, and physical perfection, joined together in holy fellowship, which should make their very souls as one, might they not in mystic union call upon the great and sacred name of Deity and receive an answer to their prayer ? That such an idea did prevail, we have suffi- cient proof, and it is to this, rather than to any mere utilitarian views, that we are to look for the rule which, in a purely speculative institution, so sternly demands physical as well as moral and intellectual integrity.
The Degree of Master Mason is a type of the com- munion of man with God. Long before the incarnation of that great Being was the hope entertained of seeing Him with mortal eyes, and no exertions were deemed too great to insure that consummation. With us these ideas are but a type, for we have that realization so longed for by the brethren of old. And yet, as a type, how interesting it is to look back upon their struggles to look forward into what is now so bright and clear !
We now find man complete in morality and intelli- gence, with the story of religion added, to insure him of the protection of the Deity, and guard him against ever
THE COMPASS. 75
going astray. These three degrees thus form a perfect and harmonious whole.
THE COMPASS. — The use of the Compass, whose beau- tiful allegory was explained in a preceding grade, is peculiarly adapted to the present Degree. Within its extreme points, when properly extended, are found the grand principles of Friendship, Morality, and Brotherly Love. No subject can more properly engage the atten- tion than the humane and generous feelings planted by nature in the human breast. Friendship is traced through the circle of private connections to the grand system of universal philanthropy, but the Brotherly Love so well known to the Masonic family is one of the purest emanations of earthly friendship. A community of sentiment and feeling creates a community of interest, cultivated and cherished by every brother.
Morality is practical virtue, of which so much is said in the preceding degrees. It is the journey of Wisdom, pursuing and disseminating happiness. It is no cold speculation, but a living principle. Saint John, himself one of the purest exemplars of these three virtues, has left it on record, that if a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, lie is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen? Beloved, if God so loved us, «ve ought also to love one another; and this command- ment have we from Him, That he who loveth God, love his brother also. So sings the Masonic lyrist :
By one God created, by one Savior saved, By one Spirit lighted, with one mark engraved, We learn through the wisdom our spirits approve, To cherish the spirit of Brotherly Love.
76 THE MASTER MASON.
In the land of the stranger we Masons abide, In forest, in quarry, on Lebanon's side; Yon Temple we build it, its plan 's from above, And we labor supported by Brotherly Love.
Though the service be hard, and the wages be scant, If the Master accept it, our hearts are content; The prize that we toil for, we '11 have it above, When the Temple's completed, in Brotherly Love.
Yes, yes, though the week may be long, it will end; Though the Temple be lofty, the key-stone will stand; And the Sabbath, blest day, every thought will remove, Save the memory fraternal of Brotherly Love.
THE ALTAR. — The sacrifices made upon the Masonic Altar are the bloodless offerings of the soul. David describes them when he says, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, 0 God, thou wilt not despise." These may be individual- ized as sacrifices of our own will, of feelings of contempt, anger, and hatred; of tale-bearing and indiscretion; of selfishness and the indulgence of our passions. Such are the offerings made upon the open Law and in front of the emblem of the letter G.
Friendship, on wing etherial flying round, Stretches her arm to bless the hallowed ground; Humanity, well pleased, here takes her stand, Holding her daughter, Pity, by the hand; Here Charity, which soothed the widow's sigh, And wipes the dew-drop from the orphan's eye; Here stands Benevolence, whose large embrace Uncircumscribed takes in the human race; She sees each narrow tie, each private end, Indignant, Virtue's universal friend; Scorning each frantic zealot, bigot tool, She stamps on Masons' breasts her Golden Rule.
THE TROWEL. 77
THE TROWEL. — The Master Mason is not restricted to a single implement, or set of implements, for his mystic work; but the most appropriate tool in his department is the Trowel — the emblem of peace — used to spread the cement of brotherly love and affection ; that cement which unites us into one sacred band or society of friends and brothers, amongst whom no contention should ever exist save that noble contention, or rather emulation, of who best can work and best agree. The parts of a building can not be united without proper ce- ment; no more can the social compact be maintained without the binding influence of love.
CHARITY. — So much has been said in other pages of this volume upon Charity, or more properly Love, that it would be superfluous to enlarge further upon this sub- ject. No one has so clearly defined it as the Apostle who so thoroughly experienced it, the Evangelist John. His soul was filled with this divine emanation when he wrote, "He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him." "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." "Let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and truth." "Brethren, let us love one another, for love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God and honoreth God. He that loveth not, honoreth not God, for God is love." "Breth- ren, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."
Under the term " Charity," the Apostle Paul, in a masterly summing-up of the subject, writes: "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and though I have the gift of prophesy, and understand all mysteries
78 THE MASTER MASON.
and all knowledge, and though I bestow all iny goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. And now abideth Faith, Hope, Charity, these three ; but the great- est of these is Charity."
PRAYER. — The posture of bended knees is often al- luded to in Scripture. Solomon kneeled down upon his knees before the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven. Ezra says, "I fell on my knees, and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God." Daniel kneeled on his knees three times a day and prayed. Paul says, "I bow my knees unto the Father."
As an appropriate form of Lodge prayer, in wrhich Masons of all persuasions can unite without compromise of religious principle, the one entitled the Lord's Prayer is the most perfect: "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we for- give our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen."
THE FOUNDATION-STONE.
When the Spirit came to Jephthah,
Animating his great heart, He arose, put on his armor,
Girt his loins about to part; Bowed the knee, implored a blessing,
Gave an earnest of his faith, Then, divinely-strung, departed,
Set for victory or death.
THE FIVE POINTS OF FELLOWSHIP. 79
If a rude, uncultured soldier
Thus dre\v wisdom from above, How should we, enlightened laborers,
Children of the Sire of Love — How should we, who know " the wisdom,
Gentle, pure, and peaceable," Make a prayerful preparation,
That our work be square and full !
Lo, the future! One can read it!
He its darkest chance can bend. Lo, our wants ! how great, how many !
He abundant means can lend. Kaise your hearts, then, laborers, boldly,
Build and journey in his trust; Square your deeds by precepts holy,
And the end is surely blest.
Vainly will the Builders labor
If the Overseer is gone ; . Vainly gate and wall are guarded
If the All-seeing is withdrawn: Only is successful ending
When the work's begun with care; Lay your blocks, then, laborers, strongly,
On the Eternal Rock of Prayer!
THE SECOND SECTION.
THE Second Section is devoted to that combination of duties implied under the figure of " The Five Points of Fellowship ; " likewise to the most expressive arrangement of Masonic emblems, " The Broken Column." These two subjects, inserted in the the center of the Master's lecture, form in truth the very heart of the matter, and no Mason can be esteemed well instructed who does not familiarize
80 THE MASTER MASON.
himself with them. This section recites the historical tradition of the Order, and presents to view a picture of great moral sublimity. It recites the legend, the symbol- ical interpretation of which testifies our faith in the resur- rection of the body and the immortality of the soul; while it also exemplifies an instance of integrity and firmness seldom equaled, and never surpassed.
THE FIVE POINTS OF FELLOWSHIP. — The. old records succinctly declare that the Master Mason should not withdraw his hand from a sinking brother; that his foot should never halt in the pursuit of duty ; that his prayers should unceasingly ascend for the distressed; that his faithful heart should equally conceal the secrets and the faults of a brother.; and that approaching evil should be averted by a friendly admonition. The same thought is more elaborately conveyed in the following, from an author of the last generation :