Question--What does a Master's Lodge represent? Answer--The SANCTUM
SANCTORUM, or HOLY OF HOLIES, of King Solomon's Temple.
Q. How long was the Temple building? A. Seven years; during which it
rained not in the daytime, that the workmen might not be obstructed in
their labor.
Q. What supported the Temple? A. Fourteen hundred and fifty-three
columns, and two thousand, nine hundred and six pilasters, all hewn
from the finest Parian marble.
Q. What further supported it? A. Three grand columns, or pillars.
Q. What were they called? A. Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty.
Q. What did they represent? A. The pillar of Wisdom represented
Solomon, King of Israel, whose wisdom contrived the mighty fabric; the
pillar of Strength, Hiram, King of Tyre, who strengthened Solomon in
his glorious undertaking; the pillar of Beauty, Hiram Abiff, the
widow's son, whose cunning craft and curious workmanship beautified
and adorned the Temple.
Q. How many were there employed in the building of King Solomon's
Temple? A. Three Grand Masters; three thousand, three hundred Masters,
or overseers of the work; eighty thousand Fellow Crafts, and seventy
thousand Entered Apprentices; all those were classed and arranged in
such a manner, by the wisdom of Solomon, that neither envy, discord,
nor confusion were suffered to interrupt that universal peace and
tranquility that pervaded the work at that important period.
Q. How many constitutes an Entered Apprentice's Lodge? A. Seven; one
Master and six Entered Apprentices.
Q. Where did they usually meet? A. On the ground floor of King
Solomon's Temple.
Q. How many constitutes a Fellow Craft's Lodge? A. Five; two Masters
and three Fellow Crafts.
Q. Where did they usually meet? A. In the middle chamber of King
Solomon's Temple.
Q. How many constitutes a Master's Lodge? A. Three Master Masons.
Q. Where did they usually meet? A. In the SANCTUM SANCTORUM, or HOLY
OF HOLIES, of King Solomon's Temple.
Q. Have you any emblems on this degree? A. We have several, which are
divided into two classes.
Q. What are the first class? A. The pot of incense; the bee-hive; the
book of constitutions, guarded by the Tyler's sword; the sword,
pointing to a naked heart; the all-seeing eye; the anchor and ark; the
forty-seventh problem of Euclid; the hour-glass; the scythe; and the
three steps usually delineated on the Master's carpet, which are thus
explained: The pot of INCENSE is an emblem of a pure heart, which is
always an acceptable sacrifice to the Deity; and as this glows with
fervent heat, so should our hearts continually glow with gratitude to
the great and beneficent Author of our existence, for the manifold
blessings and comforts we enjoy. The BEE-HIVE is an emblem of
industry, and recommends the practice of that virtue to all created
beings, from the highest seraph in heaven to the lowest reptile of the
dust. It teaches us that as we came into the world rational and
intelligent beings, so we should ever be industrious ones; never
sitting down contented while our fellow-creatures around us are in
want, when it is in our power to relieve them, without inconvenience
to ourselves. When we take a survey of nature, we behold man, in his
infancy, more helpless and indigent than the brute creation; he lies
languishing for days, weeks, months, and years, totally incapable of
providing sustenance for himself; of guarding against the attacks of
the field, or sheltering himself from the inclemencies of the weather.
It might have pleased the great Creator of heaven and earth to have
made man independent of all other beings, but as independence is one
of the strongest bonds of society, mankind were made dependent on each
other for protection and security, as they thereby enjoy better
opportunities of fulfilling the duties of reciprocal love and
friendship. Thus was man formed for social and active life, the
noblest part of the work of God; and he, who will so demean himself as
not to be endeavoring to add to the common stock of knowledge and
understanding, may be deemed a DRONE in the HIVE of nature, a useless
member of society, and unworthy of our protection as Masons. The BOOK
OF CONSTITUTIONS, GUARDED BY THE TYLER'S SWORD, reminds us that we
should be ever watchful and guarded, in our thoughts, words, and
actions, and particularly when before the enemies of Masonry; ever
bearing in remembrance those truly masonic virtues, SILENCE and
CIRCUMSPECTION. The SWORD, POINTING TO A NAKED HEART, demonstrates
that justice will sooner or later overtake us; and, although our
thoughts, words, and actions may be hidden from the eyes of men, yet
that ALL-SEEING EYE, whom the SUN, MOON, and STARS obey, and under
whose watchful care even comets perform their stupendous revolutions,
pervades the inmost recesses of the human heart, and will reward us
according to our merits. The ANCHOR and ARK are emblems of a
well-grounded hope and well-spent life. They are emblematical of that
divine ARK which safely wafts us over this tempestuous sea of
troubles, and that ANCHOR which shall safely moor us in a peaceful
harbor, where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary shall
find rest. The FORTY-SEVENTH PROBLEM OF EUCLID--this was an invention
of our ancient friend and brother, the great Pythagoras, who, in his
travels through Asia, Africa, and Europe, was initiated into several
orders of priesthood, and raised to the sublime degree of a Master
Mason.
This wise philosopher enriched his mind abundantly in a general
knowledge of things, and more especially in Geometry or Masonry; on
this subject he drew out many problems and theorems; and among the
most distinguished, he erected this, which, in the joy of his heart,
he called EUREKA, in the Grecian language signifying, I HAVE FOUND IT;
and upon the discovery of which he is said to have sacrificed a
hecatomb. It teaches Masons to be general lovers of the arts and
sciences. The HOUR-GLASS is an emblem of human life. Behold! how
swiftly the sands run, and how rapidly our lives are drawing to a
close. We cannot, without astonishment behold the little particles
which are contained in this machine; how they pass away almost
imperceptibly, and yet, to our surprise, in the short space of an hour
they are all exhausted.
Thus wastes man to-day; he puts forth the tender leaves of hope;
to-morrow, blossoms, and bears his blushing honors thick upon him; the
next day comes a frost, which nips the shoot, and when he thinks his
greatness is still ripening, he falls, like autumn leaves, to enrich
our mother earth. The SCYTHE is an emblem of time, which cuts the
brittle thread of life, and launches us into eternity. Behold! what
havoc the scythe of time makes among the human race; if, by chance,
we should escape the numerous evils incident to childhood and youth,
and, with health and vigor, arrive to the years of manhood, yet
withal, we must soon be cut down by the all-devouring scythe of time,
and be gathered into the land where our fathers had gone before us.
The THREE STEPS, usually delineated upon the Master's carpet, are
emblematical of the three principal stages of human life, viz.: Youth,
Manhood, and Age. In youth, as Entered Apprentices, we ought
industriously to occupy our minds in the attainment of useful
knowledge; in manhood, as Fellow Crafts, we should apply our knowledge
to the discharge of our respective duties to God, our neighbors, and
ourselves; so that in age, as Master Masons, we may enjoy the happy
reflections consequent on a well-spent life, and die in the hope of a
glorious immortality.
Q. What are the second class of emblems? A. The spade, coffin,
death-head, marrow bones, and sprig of cassia, which are thus
explained: The SPADE opens the vault to receive our bodies, where our
active limbs will soon moulder to dust. The COFFIN, DEATH-HEAD, and
MARROW BONES are emblematical of the death and burial of our Grand
Master, Hiram Abiff, and are worthy our serious attention. The SPRIG
OF CASSIA is emblematical of that immortal part of man which never
dies; and when the cold winter of death shall have passed, and the
bright summer's morn of the resurrection appears, the Son of
Righteousness shall descend, and send forth his angels to collect our
ransomed dust; then, if we are found worthy, by his pass-word we shall
enter into the Celestial Lodge above, where the Supreme Architect of
the Universe presides, where we shall see the King in the beauty of
holiness, and with him enter into an endless fraternity.
Here ends the first three degrees of Masonry, which constitutes a
Master Mason's Lodge. A Master Mason's Lodge and a Chapter of Royal
Arch Masons are two distinct bodies, wholly independent of each other.
The members of a Chapter are privileged to visit all Master Mason's
Lodges when they please; and may be, and often are, members of both at
the same time; and all the members of a Master Mason's Lodge who are
Royal Arch Masons, though not members of any Chapter, may visit any
Chapter. I wish the reader to understand that neither all Royal Arch
Masons nor Master Masons are members of either Lodge or Chapter; there
are tens of thousands who are not members, and scarcely ever attend,
although privileged to do so.
A very small proportion of Masons, comparatively speaking, ever
advance any further than the third degree, and consequently never get
the great word which was lost by Hiram's untimely death. Solomon, King
of Israel, Hiram, King of Tyre, and Hiram Abiff, the widow's son,
having sworn that they, nor either of them, would ever give the word,
except they three were present (and it is generally believed that
there was not another person in the world, at that time, that had it),
consequently the word was lost, and supposed to be forever; but the
sequel will show it was found, after a lapse of four hundred and
seventy years; notwithstanding, the word MAH-HAH-BONE, which was
substituted by Solomon, still continues to be used by Master Masons,
and no doubt will, as long as Masonry attracts the attention of men;
and the word which was lost is used in the Royal Arch Degree. What was
the word of the Royal Arch Degree before they found the Master's word,
which was lost at the death of Hiram Abiff, and was not found for four
hundred and seventy years? Were there any Royal Arch Masons before the
Master's word was found? I wish some masonic gentleman would solve
these two questions.
The ceremonies, histories, and the Lecture, in the preceding degree
are so similar that perhaps some one of the three might have been
dispensed with, and the subject well understood by most readers,
notwithstanding there is a small difference between the work and
history, and between the history and the Lecture.
I shall now proceed with the Mark Master's degree, which is the first
degree in the Chapter. The Mark Master's degree, the Past Master's,
and the Most Excellent Master's, are Lodges of Mark Master Masons,
Past Master, and Most Excellent Master; yet, although called Lodges,
they are called component parts of the Chapter. Ask a Mark Master
Mason if he belongs to the Chapter; he will tell you he does, but that
he has only been marked. It is not an uncommon thing, by any means,
for a Chapter to confer all four of the degrees in one night,
viz:--the Mark Master, Past Master, Most Excellent Master, and Royal
Arch degrees.
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