Preface

LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
GIFT OF
MRS. MARY WOLFSOttN
IN MEMORY OF
HENRY WOLFSOHN
THE
SYMBOLISM OF FREEMASONRY:
ILLUSTRATING AND EXPLAINING
its £ time m&
BY
ALBERT G. MACKEY, M. D.,
AUTHOR OF " LEXICON OF FREEMASONRY," " TEXT-BOOK OF MASONIC
JURISPRUDENCE," ** CRYPTIC MASONRY,"
ETC., ETC.
"Ea enim quss scribuntur tria habere decent, utilitatem prxsentem^ cerium finem, inexpugnabile fund amentum."
CARD ANUS.
NEW YORK:
CLARK AND MAYNARD,
5 BARCLAY STREET. 1869.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by
ALBERT G. MACKEY, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of South Carolina.
Stereotyped at the Boston Stereotype Foundry, No. 19 Spring Lane.
TO
GENERAL JOHN C. FREMONT.
MY DEAR SIR:
While any American might be proud of associating his name with that of one who has done so much to increase the renown of his country, and to enlarge the sum of human kriowledge, this book is dedicated to you as a slight testimonial of regard for your personal char- acter, and in grateful recollection of acts of friendship.
Yours very truly,
A. G. MACKEY.
1 4GP97
PREFACE.
OF the various modes of communicating instruction to the uninformed, the masonic student is particularly interested in two; namely, the instruction by legends and that by symbols. It is to these two, almost exclusively, that he is indebted for all that he knows, and for all that he can know, of the philosophic system which is taught in the institution. All its mysteries and its dog* mas, which constitute its philosophy, are intrusted for communi- cation to the neophyte, sometimes to one, sometimes to the other of these two methods of instruction, and sometimes to both of them combined. The Freemason has no way of reaching any of the esoteric teachings of the Order except through the medium of a legend or a symbol.
A legend differs from an historical narrative only in this — that it is without documentary evidence of authenticity. It is the off- spring solely of tradition. Its details may be true in part or in whole. There may be no internal evidence to the contrary, or there may be internal evidence that they are altogether false. But neither the possibility of truth in the one case, nor the cer- tainty of falsehood in the other, can remove the traditional nar-
3
4 PREFACE.
rative from the class of legends. It is a legend simply because it rests on no written foundation. It is oral, and therefore legendary.
In grave problems of history, such as the establishment of em- pires, the discovery and settlement of countries, or the rise and fall of dynasties, the knowledge of the truth or falsity of the legenda- ry narrative will be of importance, because the value of history is impaired by the imputation of doubt. But it is not so in Free- masonry. Here there need be no absolute question of the truth or falsity of the legend. The object of the masonic legends is not to establish historical facts, but to convey philosophical doctrines. They are a method by which esoteric instruction is communicated, and the student accepts them with reference to nothing else ex- cept their positive use and meaning as developing masonic dog- mas. Take, for instance, the Hiramic legend of the third degree. Of what importance is it to the disciple of Masonry whether it be true or false? All that he wants to know is its internal signi- fication ; and when he learns that it is intended to illustrate the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, he is content with that interpretation, and he does not deem it necessary, except as a mat- ter of curious or antiquarian inquiry, to investigate its historical accuracy, or to reconcile any of its apparent contradictions. So of the lost keystone; so of the second temple; so of the hidden ark : these are to him legendary narratives, which, like the casket, would be of no value were it not for the precious jewel contained within. Each of these legends is the expression of a philosoph- ical idea.
But there is another method of masonic instruction, and that is by symbols. No science is more ancient than that of symbol- ism. At one time, nearly all the learning of the world was con- veyed in symbols. And although modern philosophy now deals only in abstract propositions, Freemasonry still cleaves to the
PREFACE. 5
ancient method, and has preserved it in its primitive importance as a means of communicating knowledge.
According to the derivation of the word from the Greek, " to symbolize" signifies "to compare one thing with another." Hence a symbol is the expression of an idea that has been de- rived from the comparison or contrast of some object with a moral conception or attribute. Thus we say that the plumb is a symbol of rectitude of conduct. The physical qualities of the plumb are here compared or contrasted with the moral conception of virtue, or rectitude. Then to the Speculative Mason it becomes, after he has been taught its symbolic meaning, the visible expression of the idea of moral uprightness.
But although there are these two modes of instruction in Free- masonry,— by legends and by symbols, — there really is no radi- cal difference between the two methods. The symbol is a visible, and the legend an audible representation of some contrasted idea — of some moral conception produced from a comparison. Both the legend and the symbol relate to dogmas of a deep religious character; both of them convey moral sentiments in the same peculiar method, and both of them are designed by this method to illustrate the philosophy of Speculative Masonry.
To investigate the recondite meaning of these legends and symbols, and to elicit from them the moral and philosophical les- sons which they were intended to teach, is to withdraw the veil with which ignorance and indifference seek to conceal the true philosophy of Freemasonry.
To study the symbolism of Masonry is the only way to inves- tigate its philosophy. This is the portal of its temple, through which alone we can gain access to the sacellum where its apor- rheta are concealed.
Its philosophy is engaged in the consideration of propositions relating to God and man, to the present and the future life. Its
6 PREFACE.
science is the syrrbolism by which these propositions are present- ed to the mind.
The work now offered to the public is an effort to develop and explain this philosophy and science. It will show that there are in Freemasonry the germs of profound speculation. If it does not interest the learned, it may instruct the ignorant. If so, I shall not regret the labor and research that have been bestowed upon its composition.
ALBERT G. MACKEY, M. D.
CHARLESTON, S. C., Feb. 22, 1869.
CONTENTS.
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