The Officers of a Lodge.
The Three Principal Officers of a lodge are, it is needless to say,
situated in the east, the west, and the south. Now, bearing in mind that
the lodge is a symbol of the world, or the universe, the reference of
these three officers to the sun at its rising, its setting, and its
meridian height, must at once suggest itself.
This is the first development of the symbol, and a very brief inquiry will
furnish ample evidence of its antiquity and its universality.
In the Brahminical initiations of Hindostan, which are among the earliest
that have been transmitted to us, and may almost be considered as the
cradle of all the others of subsequent ages and various countries, the
ceremonies were performed in vast caverns, the remains of some of which,
at Salsette, Elephanta, and a few other places, will give the spectator
but a very inadequate idea of the extent and splendor of these ancient
Indian lodges.[70] More imperfect remains than these are still to be found
in great numbers throughout Hindostan and Cashmere. Their form was
sometimes that of a cross, emblematic of the four elements of which the
earth is composed,--fire, water, air, and earth,--but more generally an
oval, as a representation of the mundane egg, which, in the ancient
systems, was a symbol of the world.[71]
The interior of the cavern of initiation was lighted by innumerable lamps,
and there sat in the east, the west, and the south the principal
Hierophants, or explainers of the Mysteries, as the representatives of
Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva. Now, Brahma was the supreme deity of the
Hindoos, borrowed or derived from the Sun-god of their Sabean ancestors,
and Vishnu and Siva were but manifestations of his attributes. We learn
from the Indian Pantheon that "when the sun rises in the east, he is
Brahma; when he gains his meridian in the south, he is Siva; and when he
sets in the west, he is Vishnu."
Again, in the Zoroasteric mysteries of Persia, the temple of initiation
was circular, being made so to represent the universe; and the sun in the
east, with the surrounding zodiac, formed an indispensable part of the
ceremony of reception.[72]
In the Egyptian mysteries of Osiris, the same reference to the sun is
contained, and Herodotus, who was himself an initiate, intimates that the
ceremonies consisted in the representation of a Sun-god, who had been
incarnate, that is, had appeared upon earth, or rose, and who was at
length put to death by Typhon, the symbol of darkness, typical of the
sun's setting.
In the great mysteries of Eleusis,[73] which were celebrated at Athens, we
learn from St. Chrysostom, as well as other authorities, that the temple
of initiation was symbolic of the universe, and we know that one of the
officers represented the sun.[74]
In the Celtic mysteries of the Druids, the temple of initiation was either
oval, to represent the mundane egg--a symbol, as has already been said, of
the world; or circular, because the circle was a symbol of the universe;
or cruciform, in allusion to the four elements, or constituents of the
universe. In the Island of Lewis, in Scotland, there is one combining the
cruciform and circular form. There is a circle, consisting of twelve
stones, while three more are placed in the east, and as many in the west
and south, and thirty-eight, in two parallel lines, in the north, forming
an avenue to the circular temple. In the centre of the circle is the image
of the god. In the initiations into these rites, the solar deity performed
an important part, and the celebrations commenced at daybreak, when the
sun was hailed on his appearance above the horizon as "the god of victory,
the king who rises in light and ascends the sky."
But I need not multiply these instances of sun-worship. Every country and
religion of the ancient world would afford one.[75] Sufficient has been
cited to show the complete coincidence, in reference to the sun, between
the symbolism of Freemasonry and that of the ancient rites and Mysteries,
and to suggest for them a common origin, the sun being always in the
former system, from the earliest times of the primitive or patriarchal
Masonry, considered simply as a manifestation of the Wisdom, Strength, and
Beauty of the Divine Architect, visibly represented by the position of the
three principal officers of a lodge, while by the latter, in their
degeneration from, and corruption of the true Noachic faith, it was
adopted as the special object of adoration.