waters, impurities, the Serpent, and Adam Belial [Baal]. But their
internal light re-ascended to Binah, and then flowed down again into the
worlds Briah and Yezirah, there to form vestiges of the Seven
Numerations. The Sparks of the great Influence of the shattered vases
descending into the four spiritual elements, Fire, Air, Water, and
Earth, and thence into the inanimate, vegetable, living, and speaking
kingdoms, became Souls.
Selecting the suitable from the unsuitable lights, and separating the
good from the evil, the Deity first restored the universality of the
Seven Kings of the World Aziluth, and afterward the three other Worlds.
And though in them were, both good and evil, still this evil did not
develop itself in act, since the Severities remained, though mitigated;
some portion of them being necessary to prevent the fragments of the
integuments from ascending. These were also left, because connection of
two is necessary to generation. And this necessity for the existence of
Severity is the mystery of the pleasure and warmth of the generative
appetite; and thence Love between husband and wife.
If the Deity, says the _Introduction_, had not created worlds and then
destroyed them, there could have been no evil in the world, but all
things must have been good. There would have been neither reward nor
punishment in the world. There would have been no merit in
righteousness, for the Good is known by the evil, nor would there have
been fruitfulness or multiplication in the world. If all carnal
concupiscence were enchained for three days in the mouth of the great
abyss, the egg of one of the days would be wanting to the sick man. In
time to come it will be called Laban [Hebrew: לבן--_white_], because it
will be whitened of its impurity, and will return to the realm Israel,
and they will pray the Lord to give them the appetite of carnal
concupiscence, for the begetting of children.
The intention of God was, when He created the world, that His creatures
should recognize His existence. Therefore He created evils, to afflict
them withal when they should sin, and Light and Blessing to reward the
just. And therefore man necessarily has free-will and election, since
Good and Evil are in the World.
And these kings died, says the _Commentary_, because the condition of
equilibrium did not yet exist, nor was Adam Kadmon formed male and
female. They were not in contact with what was alive: nor had any root
in Adam Kadmon; nor was Wisdom which outflowed from Him, their root, nor
did they connect with it. For all these were pure mercies and most
simple Love; but those were rigorous judgments. Whence face looked not
toward face; nor the Father toward the Mother, because from her
proceeded judgments. Nor Macroprosopos toward Microprosopos. And Regnum,
the last numeration, was empty and inane. It has nothing of itself; and,
as it were, was nothing, receiving nothing from them. Its need was, to
receive Love from the Male; for it is mere rigor and judgment; and the
Love and Rigor must temper each other, to produce creation, and its
multitudes above and below. For it was made to be inhabited; and when
rigorous judgments rule in it, it is inane because its processes cannot
be carried on.
Wherefore the Balance must needs be instituted, that there might be a
root above, so that judgments might be restored and tempered, and live
and not again die. And Seven Conformations descend; and all things
become in equilibrium, and the needle of the Balance is the root above.
In the world Yezirah, says the _Pneumatica Kabalistica_, [Hebrew: י]
denotes Kether; [Hebrew: יה], Hakemah and Binah; and [Hebrew: יהו],
Gedulah, Geburah, and Tephareth; and thus Vau is Beauty and Harmony. The
_Man_ is Hakemah; the _Eagle_, Binah; the _Lion_, Gedulah; and the _Ox_,
Geburah. And the mysterious circle is thus formed by the Sohar and all
the Kabalists: Michael and the face of the Lion are on the South, and
the right hand, with the letter [Hebrew: י], Yod, and Water; Gabriel and
the face of the Ox, on the North, and left hand, with the first [Hebrew:
ה] of the Tetragrammaton and Fire; Uriel and the face of the Eagle, on
the East and forward, with [ו] and Air; and Raphael and the face of the
Man, on the West, and backward with the last [Hebrew: ה], and Earth. In
the same order, the four letters represent the four worlds.
Rabbi Schimeon Ben Jochai says that the four animals of the Mysterious
Chariot, whose wheels are Netsach and Hōd, are Gedulah, whose face is
the Lion's; Geburah, with that of the Ox; Tephareth, with that of the
Eagle; and Malakoth, with that of the Man.
The Seven lower Sephiroth, says the _Æsch Mezareph_, will represent
Seven Metals; Gedulah and Geburah, Silver and Gold; Tephareth, Iron;
Netsach and Hod, Tin and Copper; Yesod, Lead; and Malakoth will be the
metallic Woman and Morn of the Sages, the field wherein are to be sowed
the Seeds of the Secret Minerals, to wit, the Water of Gold; but in
these such mysteries are concealed as no tongue can utter.
The word [Hebrew: אמש], Amas, is composed of the initials of the three
Hebrew words that signify Air, Water, and Fire; by which, say the
Kabalists, are denoted Benignity, Judicial Rigor, and Mercy or
Compassion mediating between them.
Malakoth, says the _Apparatus_, is called _Haikal_, Temple or Palace,
because it is the Palace of the Degree Tephareth, which is concealed and
contained in it, and Haikal denotes the place in which all things are
contained.
For the better understanding of the Kabalah, remember that Kether, or
the Crown, is treated of as a person, composed of the ten Numerations,
and as such termed Arik Anpin, or Macroprosopos:
That Hakemah is a person, and termed _Abba_, or _Father_:
That Binah is a person, and termed _Mother, Imma_:
That Tephareth, including all the Nurnerations from Khased or Gedulah to
Yesod, is a person, called Seir Anpin, or Microprosopos. These
Numerations are six in number, and are represented by the interlaced
triangle, or the Seal of Solomon.
And Malakoth is a person, and called the wife of Microprosopos. Vau
represents the Beauty or Harmony, consisting of the six parts which
constitute Seir Anpin.
The wife, Malakoth, is said to be _behind_ the husband, Seir, and to
have no other cognition of him. And this is thus explained: That every
cognizable object is to be known in two ways: _à priori_, which is when
it is known by means of its cause, or of itself; or, _à posteriori_ when
it is known by its effects. The most nearly perfect mode of cognition
is, when the intellect knows the thing itself, in itself, and through
itself. But if it knows the thing by its similitude or idea, or species
separate from it, or by its effects and operations, the cognition is
much feebler and more imperfect. And it is thus only that Regnum, the
wife of Seir, knows her husband, until face is turned to face, when they
unite, and she has the more nearly perfect knowledge. For then the
Deity, as limited and manifested in Seir and the Universe are one.
Vau is Tephareth, considered as the Unity in which are the six members,
of which itself is one. Tephareth, Beauty, is the column which supports
the world, symbolized by the column of the junior Warden in the Blue
Lodges. The world was first created by judgment: and as it could not so
subsist, Mercy was conjoined with Judgment, and the Divine Mercies
sustain the Universe.
God, says the _Idra Suta_, formed all things in the form of male and
female, since otherwise the continuance of things was impossible. The
All-embracing Wisdom, issuing and shining from the Most Holy Ancient,
shines not otherwise than as male and female. Wisdom as the Father,
Intelligence the Mother, are in equilibrium as male and female, and they
are conjoined, and one shines in the other. Then they generate, and are
expanded in the Truth. Then the two are the Perfection of all things,
when they are coupled; and when the Son is in them, the summary of all
things is in one.
These things are intrusted only to the Holy Superiors, who have entered
and gone out and known the ways of the Most Holy God, so as not to err
in them, to the right hand or to the left. For these things are hidden;
and the lofty Holinesses shine in them, as light flows from the splendor
of a lamp.
These things are committed only to those who have entered and not
withdrawn; for he who has not done so had better never have been born.
All things are comprehended in the letters Vau and He; and all are one
system; and these are the letters, [Hebrew: תבונה], Tabunah,
Intelligence.
[Illustration: of letter 'X']
XXIX.
GRAND SCOTTISH KNIGHT OF ST. ANDREW.
A miraculous tradition, something like that connected with the _labarum_
of Constantine, hallows the Ancient Cross of St. Andrew. Hungus, who in
the ninth century reigned over the Picts in Scotland, is said to have
seen in a vision, on the night before a battle, the Apostle Saint
Andrew, who promised him the victory; and for an assured token thereof,
he told him that there should appear over the Pictish host, in the air,
such a fashioned cross as he had suffered upon. Hungus, awakened,
looking up at the sky, saw the promised cross, as did all of both
armies; and Hungus and the Picts, after rendering thanks to the Apostle
for their victory, and making their offerings with humble devotion,
vowed that from thenceforth, as well they as their posterity, in time of
war, would wear a cross of St. Andrew for their badge and cognizance.
John Leslie, Bishop of Ross, says that this cross appeared to Achaius,
King of the Scots, and Hungus, King of the Picts, the night before the
battle was fought betwixt them and Athelstane, King of England, as they
were on their knees at prayer.
Every cross of Knighthood is a symbol of the nine qualities of a Knight
of St. Andrew of Scotland; for every order of chivalry required of its
votaries the same virtues and the same excellencies.
Humility, Patience, and Self-denial are the three essential qualities of
a Knight of St. Andrew of Scotland. The Cross, sanctified by the blood
of the holy ones who have died upon it; the Cross, which Jesus of
Nazareth bore, fainting, along the streets of Jerusalem and up to
Calvary, upon which He cried, "Not My will, O Father! but Thine be
done," is an unmistakable and eloquent symbol of these three virtues. He
suffered upon it, because He consorted with and taught the poor and
lowly, and found His disciples among the fishermen of Galilee and the
despised publicans. His life was one of Humility, Patience, and
Self-denial.
The Hospitallers and Templars took upon themselves vows of obedience,
poverty, and chastity. The Lamb, which became the device of the Seal of
the Order of the Poor Fellow Soldiery of the Temple of Solomon, conveyed
the same lessons of humility and self-denial as the original device of
two Knights riding a single horse. The Grand Commander warned every
candidate not to be induced to enter the Order by a vain hope of
enjoying earthly pomp and splendor. He told him that he would have to
endure many things, sorely against his inclinations; and that he would
be compelled to give up his own will, and submit entirely to that of his
superiors.
The religious Houses of the Hospitallers, despoiled by Henry the
Eighth's worthy daughter, Elizabeth, because they would not take the
oath to maintain her supremacy, had been Alms-houses, and Dispensaries,
and Foundling-asyla, relieving the State of many orphan and outcast
children, and ministering to their necessities, God's ravens in the
wilderness, bread and flesh in the morning, bread and flesh in the
evening. They had been Inns to the wayfaring man, who heard from afar
the sound of the Vesper-bell, inviting him to repose and devotion at
once, and who might sing his matins with the Morning Star, and go on his
way rejoicing. And the Knights were no less distinguished by bravery in
battle, than by tenderness and zeal in their ministrations to the sick
and dying.
The Knights of St. Andrew vowed to defend all orphans, maidens, and
widows of good family, and wherever they heard of murderers, robbers, or
masterful thieves who oppressed the people, to bring them to the laws,
to the best of their power.
"If fortune fail you," so ran the vows of Rouge-Croix, "in divers lands
or countries wherever you go or ride that you find any gentleman of name
and arms, which hath lost goods, in worship and Knighthood, in the
King's service, or in any other place of worship, and is fallen into
poverty, you shall aid, and support, and succor him, in that you may;
and he ask of you your goods to his sustenance, you shall give him part
of such goods as God hath sent you to your power, and as you may bear."
Thus CHARITY and GENEROSITY are even _more_ essential qualities of a
true and gentle Knight, and have been so in all ages; and so also hath
CLEMENCY. It is a mark of a noble nature to spare the conquered. Valor
is then best tempered, when it can turn out a stern fortitude into the
mild strains of pity, which never shines more brightly than when she is
clad in steel. A martial man, compassionate, shall conquer both in peace
and war; and by a twofold way, get victory with honor. The most famed
men in the world have had in them both courage and compassion. An enemy
reconciled hath a greater value than the long train of captives of a
Roman triumph.
VIRTUE, TRUTH, and HONOR are the three MOST essential qualities of a
Knight of St. Andrew. "Ye shall love God above all things, and be
steadfast in the Faith," it was said to the Knights, in their charge,
"and ye shall be true unto your Sovereign Lord, and true to your word
and promise. Also, ye shall sit in no place where that any judgment
should be given wrongfully against any body, to your knowledge."
The law hath not power to strike the virtuous, nor can fortune subvert
the wise. Virtue and Wisdom, only, perfect and defend man. Virtue's
garment is a sanctuary so sacred, that even Princes dare not strike the
man that is thus robed. It is the livery of the King of Heaven. It
protects us when we are unarmed; and is an armor that we cannot lose,
unless we be false to ourselves. It is the tenure by which we hold of
Heaven, without which we are but outlaws, that cannot claim protection.
Nor is there wisdom without virtue, but only a cunning way of procuring
our own undoing.
Peace is nigh
Where Wisdom's voice has found a listening heart.
Amid the howl of more than winter storms,
The halcyon hears the voice of vernal hours,
Already on the wing.
Sir Launcelot thought no chivalry equal to that of Virtue. This word
means not continence only, but chiefly manliness, and so includes what
in the old English was called _souffrance_, that patient endurance which
is like the emerald, ever green and flowering; and also that other
virtue, _droicture_, uprightness, a virtue so strong and so puissant,
that by means of it all earthly things almost attain to be unchangeable.
Even our swords are formed to remind us of the Cross, and you and any
other of us may live to show how much men bear and do not die; for this
world is a place of sorrow and tears, of great evils and a constant
calamity, and if we would win true honor in it, we must permit no virtue
of a Knight to become unfamiliar to us, as men's friends, coldly
entreated and not greatly valued, become mere ordinary acquaintances.
We must not view with impatience or anger those who injure us; for it is
very inconsistent with philosophy, and particularly with the Divine
Wisdom that should govern every Prince Adept, to betray any great
concern about the evils which the world, which the vulgar, whether in
robes or tatters, can inflict upon the brave. The favor of God and the
love of our Brethren rest upon a basis which the strength of malice
cannot overthrow; and with these and a generous temper and noble
equanimity, we have everything. To be consistent with our professions as
Masons, to retain the dignity of our nature, the consciousness of our
own honor, the spirit of the high chivalry that is our boast, we must
disdain the evils that are only material and bodily, and therefore can
be no bigger than a blow or a cozenage, than a wound or a dream.
Look to the ancient days, Sir E..., for excellent examples of VIRTUE,
TRUTH, and HONOR, and imitate with a noble emulation the Ancient
Knights, the first Hospitallers and Templars, and Bayard, and Sydney,
and Saint Louis; in the words of Pliny to his friend Maximus, Revere the
ancient glory, and that old age which in man is venerable, in cities
sacred. Honor antiquity and great deeds, and detract nothing from the
dignity and liberty of any one. If those who now pretend to be the great
and mighty, the learned and wise of the world, shall agree in condemning
the memory of the heroic Knights of former ages, and in charging with
folly us who think that they should be held in eternal remembrance, and
that we should defend them from an evil hearing, do you remember that if
these who now claim to rule and teach the world should condemn or scorn
your poor tribute of fidelity, still it is for you to bear therewith
modestly, and yet not to be ashamed, since a day will come when these
who now scorn those who were of infinitely higher and finer natures than
they are, will be pronounced to have lived poor and pitiful lives, and
the world will make haste to forget them.
But neither must you believe that, even in this very different age, of
commerce and trade, of the vast riches of many, and the poverty of
thousands, of thriving towns and tenement houses swarming with paupers,
of churches with rented pews, and theatres, opera-houses, custom-houses,
and banks, of steam and telegraph, of shops and commercial palaces, of
manufactories and trades-unions, the Gold-room and the Stock Exchange,
of newspapers, elections, Congresses, and Legislatures, of the frightful
struggle for wealth and the constant wrangle for place and power, of the
worship paid to the children of mammon, and covetousness of official
station, there are no men of the antique stamp for you to revere, no
heroic and knightly souls, that preserve their nobleness and equanimity
in the chaos of conflicting passions, of ambition and baseness that
welters around them.
It is quite true that Government tends always to become a conspiracy
against liberty; or, where votes give place, to fall habitually into
such hands that little which is noble or chivalric is found among those
who rule and lead the people. It is true that men, in this present age,
become distinguished for other things, and may have name and fame, and
flatterers and lacqueys, and the oblation of flattery, who would, in a
knightly age, have been despised for the want in them of all true
gentility and courage; and that such men are as likely as any to be
voted for by the multitude, who rarely love or discern or receive truth;
who run after fortune, hating what is oppressed, and ready to worship
the prosperous; who love accusation and hate apologies; and who are
always glad to hear and ready to believe evil of those who care not for
their favor and seek not their applause.
But no country can ever be wholly without men of the old heroic strain
and stamp, whose word no man will dare to doubt, whose virtue shines
resplendent in all calamities and reverses and amid all temptations, and
whose honor scintillates and glitters as purely and perfectly as the
diamond--men who are not wholly the slaves of the material occupations
and pleasures of life, wholly engrossed in trade, in the breeding of
cattle, in the framing and enforcing of revenue regulations, in the
chicanery of the law, the objects of political envy, in the base trade
of the lower literature, or in the heartless, hollow vanities of an
eternal dissipation. Every generation, in every country, will bequeath
to those who succeed it splendid examples and great images of the dead,
to be admired and imitated; there were such among the Romans, under the
basest Emperors; such in England when the Long Parliament ruled; such in
France during its Saturnalia of irreligion and murder, and some such
have made the annals of America illustrious.
When things tend to that state and condition in which, in any country
under the sun, the management of its affairs and the customs of its
people shall require men to entertain a disbelief in the virtue and
honor of those who make and those who are charged to execute the laws;
when there shall be everywhere a spirit of suspicion and scorn of all
who hold or seek office, or have amassed wealth; when falsehood shall no
longer dishonor a man, and oaths give no assurance of true testimony,
and one man hardly expect another to keep faith with him, or to utter
his real sentiments, or to be true to any party or to any cause when
another approaches him with a bribe; when no one shall expect what he
says to be printed without additions, perversions, and
misrepresentations; when public misfortunes shall be turned to private
profit, the press pander to licentiousness, the pulpit ring with
political harangues, long prayers to God, eloquently delivered to
admiring auditors, be written out for publication, like poems and
political speeches; when the uprightness of judges shall be doubted, and
the honesty of legislators be a standing jest; then men may come to
doubt whether the old days were not better than the new, the Monastery
than the Opera Bouffe, the little chapel than the drinking-saloon, the
Convents than the buildings as large as they, without their antiquity,
without their beauty, without their holiness, true Acherusian Temples,
where the passer-by hears from within the never-ceasing din and clang
and clashing of machinery, and where, when the bell rings, it is to call
wretches to their work and not to their prayers; where, says an animated
writer, they keep up a perennial laudation of the Devil, before furnaces
which are never suffered to cool.
It has been well said, that whatever withdraws us from the power of our
senses, whatever makes the Past, the Distant, or the Future, predominate
over the Present, advances us in the dignity of thinking beings. The
modern rivals of the German Spa, with their flaunting pretences and
cheap finery, their follies and frivolities, their chronicles of dances
and inelegant feasts, and their bulletins of women's names and dresses,
are poor substitutes for the Monastery and Church which our ancestors
would have built in the deep sequestered valleys, shut up between rugged
mountains and forests of sombre pine; and a man of meditative temper,
learned, and of poetic feeling, would be glad if he could exchange the
showy hotel, amid the roar and tumult of the city, or the pretentious
tavern of the country-town, for one old humble Monastery by the wayside,
where he could refresh himself and his horse without having to fear
either pride, impertinence, or knavery, or to pay for pomp, glitter, and
gaudy ornamentation; then where he could make his orisons in a church
which resounded with divine harmony, and there were no pews for wealth
to isolate itself within; where he could behold the poor happy and
edified and strengthened with the thoughts of Heaven; where he could
then converse with learned and holy and gentle men, and before he took
his departure could exalt and calm his spirits by hearing the evening
song.