The Lost Word.
The last of the symbols, depending for its existence on its connection
with a myth to which I shall invite attention, is _the Lost Word, and the
search for it_. Very appropriately may this symbol terminate our
investigations, since it includes within its comprehensive scope all the
others, being itself the very essence of the science of masonic symbolism.
The other symbols require for their just appreciation a knowledge of the
origin of the order, because they owe their birth to its relationship with
kindred and anterior institutions. But the symbolism of the Lost Word has
reference exclusively to the design and the objects of the institution.
First, let us define the symbol, and then investigate its interpretation.
The mythical history of Freemasonry informs us that there once existed a
WORD of surpassing value, and claiming a profound veneration; that this
Word was known to but few; that it was at length lost; and that a
temporary substitute for it was adopted. But as the very philosophy of
Masonry teaches us that there can be no death without a resurrection,--no
decay without a subsequent restoration,--on the same principle it follows
that the loss of the Word must suppose its eventual recovery.
Now, this it is, precisely, that constitutes the myth of the Lost Word and
the search for it. No matter what was the word, no matter how it was lost,
nor why a substitute was provided, nor when nor where it was recovered.
These are all points of subsidiary importance, necessary, it is true, for
knowing the legendary history, but not necessary for understanding the
symbolism. The only term of the myth that is to be regarded in the study
of its interpretation, is the abstract idea of a word lost and afterwards
recovered.
This, then, points us to the goal to which we must direct our steps in the
pursuit of the investigation.
But the symbolism, referring in this case, as I have already said, solely
to the great design of Freemasonry, the nature of that design at once
suggests itself as a preliminary subject of inquiry in the investigation.
What, then, is the design of Freemasonry? A very large majority of its
disciples, looking only to its practical results, as seen in the every-day
business of life,--to the noble charities which it dispenses, to the tears
of widows which it has dried, to the cries of orphans which it has hushed,
to the wants of the destitute which it has supplied,--arrive with too much
rapidity at the conclusion that Charity, and that, too, in its least
exalted sense of eleemosynary aid, is the great design of the institution.
Others, with a still more contracted view, remembering the pleasant
reunions at their lodge banquets, the unreserved communications which are
thus encouraged, and the solemn obligations of mutual trust and
confidence that are continually inculcated, believe that it was intended
solely to promote the social sentiments and cement the bonds of
friendship.
But, although the modern lectures inform us that Brotherly Love and Relief
are two of "the principal tenets of a Mason's profession," yet, from the
same authority, we learn that Truth is a third and not less important one;
and Truth, too, not in its old Anglo-Saxon meaning of fidelity to
engagements,[232] but in that more strictly philosophical one in which it
is opposed to intellectual and religious error or falsehood.
But I have shown that the Primitive Freemasonry of the ancients was
instituted for the purpose of preserving that truth which had been
originally communicated to the patriarchs, in all its integrity, and that
the Spurious Masonry, or the Mysteries, originated in the earnest need of
the sages, and philosophers, and priests, to find again the same truth
which had been lost by the surrounding multitudes. I have shown, also,
that this same truth continued to be the object of the Temple Masonry,
which was formed by a union of the Primitive, or Pure, and the Spurious
systems. Lastly, I have endeavored to demonstrate that this truth related
to the nature of God and the human soul.
The search, then, after this truth, I suppose to constitute the end and
design of Speculative Masonry. From the very commencement of his career,
the aspirant is by significant symbols and expressive instructions
directed to the acquisition of this divine truth; and the whole lesson, if
not completed in its full extent, is at least well developed in the myths
and legends of the Master's degree. _God and the soul_--the unity of the
one and the immortality of the other--are the great truths, the search for
which is to constitute the constant occupation of every Mason, and which,
when found, are to become the chief corner-stone, or the stone of
foundation, of the spiritual temple--"the house not made with
hands"--which he is engaged in erecting.
Now, this idea of a search after truth forms so prominent a part of the
whole science of Freemasonry, that I conceive no better or more
comprehensive answer could be given to the question, _What is
Freemasonry?_ than to say that it is a science which is engaged in the
search after divine truth.
But Freemasonry is eminently a system of symbolism, and all its
instructions are conveyed in symbols. It is, therefore, to be supposed
that so prominent and so prevailing an idea as this,--one that
constitutes, as I have said, the whole design of the institution, and
which may appropriately be adopted as the very definition of its
science,--could not with any consistency be left without its particular
symbol.
The WORD, therefore, I conceive to be the symbol of _Divine Truth;_ and
all its modifications--the loss, the substitution, and the recovery--are
but component parts of the mythical symbol which represents a search after
truth.
How, then, is this symbolism preserved? How is the whole history of this
Word to be interpreted, so as to bear, in all its accidents of time, and
place, and circumstance, a patent reference to the substantive idea that
has been symbolized?
The answers to these questions embrace what is, perhaps, the most
intricate as well as most ingenious and interesting portion of the science
of masonic symbolism.
This symbolism may be interpreted, either in an application to a general
or to a special sense.
The general application will embrace the whole history of Freemasonry,
from its inception to its consummation. The search after the Word is an
epitome of the intellectual and religious progress of the order, from the
period when, by the dispersion at Babel, the multitudes were enshrouded in
the profundity of a moral darkness where truth was apparently forever
extinguished. The true name of God was lost; his true nature was not
understood; the divine lessons imparted by our father Noah were no longer
remembered; the ancient traditions were now corrupted; the ancient symbols
were perverted. Truth was buried beneath the rubbish of Sabaism, and the
idolatrous adoration of the sun and stars had taken the place of the olden
worship of the true God. A moral darkness was now spread over the face of
the earth, as a dense, impenetrable cloud, which obstructed the rays of
the spiritual sun, and covered the people as with a gloomy pall of
intellectual night.
But this night was not to last forever. A brighter dawn was to arise, and
amidst all this gloom and darkness there were still to be found a few
sages in whom the religious sentiment, working in them with powerful
throes, sent forth manfully to seek after truth. There were, even in those
days of intellectual and religious darkness, craftsmen who were willing to
search for the _Lost Word_. And though they were unable to find it, their
approximation to truth was so near that the result of their search may
well be symbolized by the _Substitute Word_.
It was among the idolatrous multitudes that the _Word_ had been lost. It
was among them that the Builder had been smitten, and that the works of
the spiritual temple had been suspended; and so, losing at each successive
stage of their decline, more and more of the true knowledge of God and of
the pure religion which had originally been imparted by Noah, they finally
arrived at gross materialism and idolatry, losing all sight of the divine
existence. Thus it was that the truth--the Word--was said to have been
lost; or, to apply the language of Hutchinson, modified in its reference
to the time, "in this situation, it might well be said that the guide to
heaven was lost, and the master of the works of righteousness was smitten.
The nations had given themselves up to the grossest idolatry, and the
service of the true God was effaced from the memory of those who had
yielded themselves to the dominion of sin."
And now it was among the philosophers and priests in the ancient
Mysteries, or the spurious Freemasonry, that an anxiety to discover the
truth led to the search for the Lost Word. These were the craftsmen who
saw the fatal-blow which had been given, who knew that the Word was now
lost, but were willing to go forth, manfully and patiently, to seek its
restoration. And there were the craftsmen who, failing to rescue it from
the grave of oblivion into which it had fallen, by any efforts of their
own incomplete knowledge, fell back upon the dim traditions which had
been handed down from primeval times, and through their aid found a
substitute for truth in their own philosophical religions.
And hence Schmidtz, speaking of these Mysteries of the pagan world, calls
them the remains of the ancient Pelasgian religion, and says that "the
associations of persons for the purpose of celebrating them must therefore
have been formed at the time when the overwhelming influence of the
Hellenic religion began to gain the upper hand in Greece, and when persons
who still entertained a reverence for the worship of former times united
together, with the intention of preserving and upholding among themselves
as much as possible of the religion of their forefathers."
Applying, then, our interpretation in a general sense, the _Word_ itself
being the symbol of _Divine Truth_, the narrative of its loss and the
search for its recovery becomes a mythical symbol of the decay and loss of
the true religion among the ancient nations, at and after the dispersion
on the plains of Shinar, and of the attempts of the wise men, the
philosophers, and priests, to find and retain it in their secret Mysteries
and initiations, which have hence been designated as the Spurious
Freemasonry of Antiquity.
But I have said that there is a special, or individual, as well as a
general interpretation. This compound or double symbolism, if I may so
call it, is by no means unusual in Freemasonry. I have already exhibited
an illustration of it in the symbolism of Solomon's temple, where, in a
general sense, the temple is viewed as a symbol of that spiritual temple
formed by the aggregation of the whole order, and in which each mason is
considered as a stone; and, in an individual or special sense, the same
temple is considered as a type of that spiritual temple which each mason
is directed to erect in his heart.
Now, in this special or individual interpretation, the Word, with its
accompanying myth of a loss, a substitute, and a recovery, becomes a
symbol of the personal progress of a candidate from his first initiation
to the completion of his course, when he receives a full development of
the Mysteries.
The aspirant enters on this search after truth, as an Entered Apprentice,
in darkness, seeking for light--the light of wisdom, the light of truth,
the light symbolized by the Word. For this important task, upon which he
starts forth gropingly, falteringly, doubtingly, in want and in weakness,
he is prepared by a purification of the heart, and is invested with a
first substitute for the true Word, which, like the pillar that went
before the Israelites in the wilderness, is to guide him onwards in his
weary journey. He is directed to take, as a staff and scrip for his
journey, all those virtues which expand the heart and dignify the soul.
Secrecy, obedience, humility, trust in God, purity of conscience, economy
of time, are all inculcated by impressive types and symbols, which connect
the first degree with the period of youth.
And then, next in the degree of Fellow Craft, he fairly enters upon his
journey. Youth has now passed, and manhood has come on. New duties and
increased obligations press upon the individual. The thinking and working
stage of life is here symbolized. Science is to be cultivated; wisdom is
to be acquired; the lost Word--divine truth--is still to be sought for.
But even yet it is not to be found.
And now the Master Mason comes, with all the symbolism around him of old
age--trials, sufferings, death. And here, too, the aspirant, pressing
onward, _always onward_, still cries aloud for "light, more light." The
search is almost over, but the lesson, humiliating to human nature, is to
be taught, that in this life--gloomy and dark, earthly and carnal--pure
truth has no abiding place; and contented with a substitute, and to that
_second temple_ of eternal life, for that true Word, that divine Truth,
which will teach us all that we shall ever learn of God and his emanation,
the human soul.
So, the Master Mason, receiving this substitute for the lost Word, waits
with patience for the time when it shall be found, and perfect wisdom
shall be attained.
But, work as we will, this symbolic Word--this knowledge of divine
Truth--is never thoroughly attained in this life, or in its symbol, the
Master Mason's lodge. The corruptions of mortality, which encumber and
cloud the human intellect, hide it, as with a thick veil, from mortal
eyes. It is only, as I have just said, beyond the tomb, and when released
from the earthly burden of life, that man is capable of fully receiving
and appreciating the revelation. Hence, then, when we speak of the
recovery of the Word, in that higher degree which is a supplement to
Ancient Craft Masonry, we intimate that that sublime portion of the
masonic system is a symbolic representation of the state after death. For
it is only after the decay and fall of this temple of life, which, as
masons, we have been building, that from its ruins, deep beneath its
foundations, and in the profound abyss of the grave, we find that divine
truth, in the search for which life was spent, if not in vain, at least
without success, and the mystic key to which death only could supply.
And now we know by this symbolism what is meant by masonic _labor_, which,
too, is itself but another form of the same symbol. The search for the
Word--to find divine Truth--this, and this only, is a mason's work, and
the WORD is his reward.
Labor, said the old monks, is worship--_laborare est orare_; and thus in
our lodges do we worship, working for the Word, working for the Truth,
ever looking forward, casting no glance behind, but cheerily hoping for
the consummation and the reward of our labor in the knowledge which is
promised to him who plays no laggard's part.
Goethe, himself a mason and a poet, knew and felt all this symbolism of a
mason's life and work, when he wrote that beautiful poem, which Carlyle
has thus thrown into his own rough but impulsive language.
"The mason's ways are
A type of existence,--
And to his persistence
Is as the days are
Of men in this world.
"The future hides in it
Gladness and sorrow;
We press still thorow,
Nought that abides in it
Daunting us--onward.
"And solemn before us
Veiled the dark portal,
Goal of all mortal;
Stars silent rest o'er us
Graves under us silent.
"While earnest thou gazest
Come boding of terror,
Comes phantasm and error,
Perplexing the bravest
With doubt and misgiving.
"But heard are the voices,
Heard are the sages,
The worlds and the ages;
'Choose well; your choice is
Brief and yet endless.
"'Here eyes do regard you,
In eternity's stillness;
Here is all fullness,
Ye, brave to reward you;
Work and despair not.'"
* * * * *
And now, in concluding this work, so inadequate to the importance of the
subjects that have been discussed, one deduction, at least, may be drawn
from all that has been said.
In tracing the progress of Freemasonry, and in detailing its system of
symbolism, it has been found to be so intimately connected with the
history of philosophy, of religion, and of art, in all ages of the world,
that the conviction at once forces itself upon the mind, that no mason can
expect thoroughly to comprehend its nature, or to appreciate its character
as a science, unless he shall devote himself, with some labor and
assiduity, to this study of its system. That skill which consists in
repeating, with fluency and precision, the ordinary lectures, in complying
with all the ceremonial requisitions of the ritual, or the giving, with
sufficient accuracy, the appointed modes of recognition, pertains only to
the very rudiments of the masonic science.
But there is a far nobler series of doctrines with which Freemasonry is
connected, and which it has been my object, in this work, to present in
some imperfect way. It is these which constitute the science and the
philosophy of Freemasonry, and it is these alone which will return the
student who devotes himself to the task, a sevenfold reward for his labor.
Freemasonry, viewed no longer, as too long it has been, as a merely social
institution, has now assumed its original and undoubted position as a
speculative science. While the mere ritual is still carefully preserved,
as the casket should be which contains so bright a jewel; while its
charities are still dispensed as the necessary though incidental result of
all its moral teachings; while its social tendencies are still cultivated
as the tenacious cement which is to unite so fair a fabric in symmetry and
strength, the masonic mind is everywhere beginning to look and ask for
something, which, like the manna in the desert, shall feed us, in our
pilgrimage, with intellectual food. The universal cry, throughout the
masonic world, is for light; our lodges are henceforth to be schools; our
labor is to be study; our wages are to be learning; the types and symbols,
the myths and allegories, of the institution are beginning to be
investigated with reference to their ultimate meaning; our history is now
traced by zealous inquiries as to its connection with antiquity; and
Freemasons now thoroughly understand that often quoted definition, that
"Masonry is a science of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by
symbols."
Thus to learn Masonry is to know our work and to do it well. What true
mason would shrink from the task?
Synoptical Index.
A
AB. The Hebrew word בא, AB, signifies "father," and was among
the Hebrews a title of honor. From it, by the addition of the possessive
pronoun, is compounded the word _Abif_, signifying "his father," and
applied to the Temple Builder.
ABIF. See _Hiram Abif_.
ABNET. The band or apron, made of fine linen, variously wrought, and worn
by the Jewish priesthood. It seems to have been borrowed directly from the
Egyptians, upon the representations of all of whose gods is to be found a
similar girdle. Like the zennaar, or sacred cord of the Brahmins, and the
white shield of the Scandinavians, it is the analogue of the masonic
apron.
ACACIA, SPRIG OF. No symbol is more interesting to the masonic student
than the sprig of acacia.
It is the _mimosa nilotica_ of Linnæus, the _shittah_ of the Hebrew
writers, and grows abundantly in Palestine.
It is preeminently the symbol of the immortality of the soul.
It was for this reason planted by the Jews at the head of a grave.
This symbolism is derived from its never-fading character as an evergreen.
It is also a symbol of innocence, and this symbolism is derived from the
double meaning of the word αϗαϗια, which in Greek signifies the plant, and
innocence; in this point of view Hutchinson has Christianized the symbol.
It is, lastly, a symbol of initiation.
This symbolism is derived from the fact that it is the sacred plant of
Masonry; and in all the ancient rites there were sacred plants, which
became in each rite the respective symbol of initiation into its
Mysteries; hence the idea was borrowed by Freemasonry.
ADONIA. The Mysteries of Adonis, principally celebrated in Phoenicia and
Syria. They lasted for two days, and were commemorative of the death and
restoration of Adonis. The ceremonies of the first day were funereal in
their character, and consisted in the lamentations of the initiates for
the death of Adonis, whose picture or image was carried in procession. The
second day was devoted to mirth and joy for the return of Adonis to life.
In their spirit and their mystical design, these Mysteries bore a very
great resemblance to the third degree of Masonry, and they are quoted to
show the striking analogy between the ancient and the modern initiations.
ADONIS. In mythology, the son of Cinyras and Myrrha, who was greatly
beloved by Venus, or Aphrodite. He was slain by a wild boar, and having
descended into the realm of Pluto, Persephone became enamoured of him.
This led to a contest for him between Venus and Persephone, which was
finally settled by his restoration to life upon the condition that he
should spend six months upon earth, and six months in the inferior
regions. In the mythology of the philosophers, Adonis was a symbol of the
sun; but his death by violence, and his subsequent restoration to life,
make him the analogue of Hiram Abif in the masonic system, and identify
the spirit of the initiation in his Mysteries, which was to teach the
second life with that of the third degree of Freemasonry.
AHRIMAN, or ARIMANES. In the religious system of Zoroaster, the principle
of evil, or darkness, which was perpetually opposing Ormuzd, the principle
of good, or light. See _Zoroaster_.
ALFADER. The father of all, or the universal Father. The principal deity
of the Scandinavian mythology.
The Edda gives twelve names of God, of which Alfader is the first and most
ancient, and is the one most generally used.
ALGABIL. One of the names of the Supreme Being among the Cabalists. It
signifies "the Master Builder," and is equivalent to the masonic epithet
of "Grand Architect of the Universe."
ALLEGORY. A discourse or narrative, in which there is a literal and a
figurative sense, a patent and a concealed meaning; the literal or patent
sense being intended by analogy or comparison to indicate the figurative
or concealed one. Its derivation from the Greek ἀλλος and ἀγορειν, _to say
something different_, that is, to say something where the language is one
thing, and the true meaning different, exactly expresses the character of
an allegory. It has been said in the text that there is no essential
difference between an allegory and a symbol. There is not in design, but
there is this in their character: An allegory may be interpreted without
any previous conventional agreement, but a symbol cannot. Thus the legend
of the third degree is an allegory evidently to be interpreted as teaching
a restoration to life; and this we learn from the legend itself, without
any previous understanding. The sprig of acacia is a symbol of the
immortality of the soul. But this we know only because such meaning had
been conventionally determined when the symbol was first established. It
is evident, then, that an allegory which is obscure is imperfect. The
enigmatical meaning should be easy of interpretation; and hence Lemière, a
French poet, has said, "L'allégorie habite un palais diaphane"--_Allegory
lives in a transparent palace._ All the legends of Freemasonry are more or
less allegorical, and whatever truth there may be in some of them in an
historical point of view, it is only as allegories, or legendary symbols,
that they are important.
ALL-SEEING EYE. A symbol of the third degree, of great antiquity. See
_Eye_.
ANCIENT CRAFT MASONRY. The first three degrees of Freemasonry; viz.,
Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason. They are so called
because they alone are supposed to have been practised by the ancient
craft. In the agreement between the two grand lodges of England in 1813,
the definition was made to include the Royal Arch degree. Now if by the
"ancient craft" are meant the workmen at the first temple, the definition
will be wrong, because the Royal Arch degree could have had no existence
until the time of the building of the second temple. But if by the
"ancient craft" is meant the body of workmen who introduced the rites of
Masonry into Europe in the early ages of the history of the Order, then
it will be correct; because the Royal Arch degree always, from its origin
until the middle of the eighteenth century, formed a part of the Master's.
"Ancient Craft Masonry," however, in this country, is generally understood
to embrace only the first three degrees.
ANDERSON. James Anderson, D.D., is celebrated as the compiler and editor
of "The Constitutions of the Freemasons," published by order of the Grand
Lodge of England, in 1723. A second edition was published by him in 1738.
Shortly after, Anderson died, and the subsequent editions, of which there
are several, have been edited by other persons. The edition of 1723 has
become exceedingly rare, and copies of it bring fancy prices among the
collectors of old masonic books. Its intrinsic value is derived only from
the fact that it contains the first printed copy of the "Old Charges," and
also the "General Regulations." The history of Masonry which precedes
these, and constitutes the body of the work, is fanciful, unreliable, and
pretentious to a degree that often leads to absurdity. The craft are
greatly indebted to Anderson for his labors in reorganizing the
institution, but doubtless it would have been better if he had contented
himself with giving the records of the Grand Lodge from 1717 to 1738 which
are contained in his second edition, and with preserving for us the
charges and regulations, which without his industry might have been lost.
No masonic writer would now venture to quote Anderson as authority for the
history of the Order anterior to the eighteenth century. It must also be
added that in the republication of the old charges in the edition of 1738,
he made several important alterations and interpolations, which justly
gave some offence to the Grand Lodge, and which render the second edition
of no authority in this respect.
ANIMAL WORSHIP. The worship of animals is a species of idolatry that was
especially practised by the ancient Egyptians. Temples were erected by
this people in their honor, in which they were fed and cared for during
life; to kill one of them was a crime punishable with death; and after
death, they were embalmed, and interred in the catacombs. This worship was
derived first from the earlier adoration of the stars, to certain
constellations of which the names of animals had been given; next, from an
Egyptian tradition that the gods, being pursued by Typhon, had concealed
themselves under the forms of animals; and lastly, from the doctrine of
the metempsychosis, according to which there was a continual circulation
of the souls of men and animals. But behind the open and popular exercise
of this degrading worship the priests concealed a symbolism full of
philosophical conceptions. How this symbolism was corrupted and
misinterpreted by the uninitiated people, is shown by Gliddon, and quoted
in the text.
APHANISM (Greek ἀφανίζω, _to conceal_). In each of the initiations of the
ancient Mysteries, there was a scenic representation of the death or
disappearance of some god or hero, whose adventures constituted the legend
of the Mystery. That part of the ceremony of initiation which related to
and represented the death or disappearance was called the _aphanism_.
Freemasonry, which has in its ceremonial form been framed after the model
of these ancient Mysteries, has also its aphanism in the third degree.
APORRHETA (Greek αποῤῥέτα). The holy things in the ancient Mysteries which
were known only to the initiates, and were not to be disclosed to the
profane, were called the _aporrheta_. What are the aporrheta of
Freemasonry? what are the arcana of which there can be no disclosure? is a
question that for some years past has given rise to much discussion among
the disciples of the institution. If the sphere and number of these
aporrheta be very considerably extended, it is evident that much valuable
investigation by public discussion of the science of Masonry will be
prohibited. On the other hand, if the aporrheta are restricted to only a
few points, much of the beauty, the permanency, and the efficacy of
Freemasonry, which are dependent on its organization as a secret and
mystical association, will be lost. We move between Scylla and Charybdis,
and it is difficult for a masonic writer to know how to steer so as, in
avoiding too frank an exposition of the principles of the Order, not to
fall by too much reticence into obscurity. The European Masons are far
more liberal in their views of the obligation of secrecy than the English
or the American. There are few things, indeed, which a French or German
masonic writer will refuse to discuss with the utmost frankness. It is now
beginning to be very generally admitted, and English and American writers
are acting on the admission, that the only real aporrheta of Freemasonry
are the modes of recognition, and the peculiar and distinctive ceremonies
of the Order; and to these last it is claimed that reference may be
publicly made for the purposes of scientific investigation, provided that
the reference be so made as to be obscure to the profane, and intelligible
only to the initiated.
APRON. The lambskin, or white leather apron, is the peculiar and
distinctive badge of a mason.
Its color must be white, and its material a lambskin.
It is a symbol of purity, and it derives this symbolism from its color,
white being symbolic of purity; from its material, the lamb having the
same symbolic character; and from its use, which is to preserve the
garments clean.
The apron, or abnet, worn by the Egyptian and the Hebrew priests, and
which has been considered as the analogue of the masonic apron, is
supposed to have been a symbol of authority; but the use of the apron in
Freemasonry originally as an implement of labor, is an evidence of the
derivation of the speculative science from an operative art.
APULEIUS. Lucius Apuleius, a Latin writer, born at Medaura, in Africa,
flourished in the reigns of the emperors Antoninus and Marcus Aurelius.
His most celebrated book, entitled "Metamorphoses, or the Golden Ass," was
written, Bishop Warburton thinks, for the express purpose of recommending
the ancient Mysteries. He had been initiated into many of them, and his
descriptions of them, and especially of his own initiation into those of
the Egyptian Isis, are highly interesting and instructive, and should be
read by every student of the science of masonic symbolism.
ARCHETYPE. The principal type, figure, pattern, or example, whereby and
whereon a thing is formed. In the science of symbolism, the archetype is
the thing adopted as a symbol, whence the symbolic idea is derived. Thus
we say the temple is the archetype of the lodge, because the former is the
symbol whence all the temple symbolism of the latter is derived.
ARCHITECTURE. The art which teaches the proper method of constructing
public and private edifices. It is to Freemasonry the "ars artium," the
art of arts, because to it the institution is indebted for its origin in
its present organization. The architecture of Freemasonry is altogether
related to the construction of public edifices, and principally sacred or
religious ones,--such as temples, cathedrals, churches,--and of these,
masonically, the temple of Solomon is the archetype. Much of the symbolism
of Freemasonry is drawn from the art of architecture. While the
improvements of Greek and Roman architecture are recognized in
Freemasonry, the three ancient orders, the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian
are alone symbolized. No symbolism attaches to the Tuscan and Composite.
ARK OF THE COVENANT. One of the most sacred objects among the Israelites.
It was a chest made of shittim wood, or acacia, richly decorated,
forty-five inches long, and eighteen inches wide, and contained the two
tables of stone on which the ten commandments were engraved, the golden
pot that held manna, and Aaron's rod. It was placed in the holy of holies,
first of the tabernacle, and then of the temple. Such is its masonic and
scriptural history. The idea of this ark was evidently borrowed from the
Egyptians, in whose religious rites a similar chest or coffer is to be
found. Herodotus mentions several instances. Speaking of the festival of
Papremis, he says (ii. 63) that the image of the god was kept in a small
wooden shrine covered with plates of gold, which shrine was conveyed in a
procession of the priests and people from the temple into a second sacred
building. Among the sculptures are to be found bass reliefs of the ark of
Isis. The greatest of the religious ceremonies of the Egyptians was the
procession of the shrines mentioned in the Rosetta stone, and which is
often found depicted on the sculptures. These shrines were of two kinds,
one a canopy, but the other, called the great shrine, was an ark or sacred
boat. It was borne on the shoulders of priests by means of staves passing
through rings in its sides, and was taken into the temple and deposited on
a stand. Some of these arks contained, says Wilkinson (_Notes to Herod._
II. 58, _n._ 9), the elements of life and stability, and others the sacred
beetle of the sun, overshadowed by the wings of two figures of the goddess
Thmei. In all this we see the type of the Jewish ark. The introduction of
the ark into the ceremonies of Freemasonry evidently is in reference to
its loss and recovery; and hence its symbolism is to be interpreted as
connected with the masonic idea of loss and recovery, which always alludes
to a loss of life and a recovery of immortality. In the first temple of
this life the ark is lost; in the second temple of the future life it is
recovered. And thus the ark of the covenant is one of the many masonic
symbols of the resurrection.
ARTS AND SCIENCES, LIBERAL. In the seventh century, and for many centuries
afterwards, all learning was limited to and comprised in what were called
the seven liberal arts and sciences; namely, grammar, rhetoric, logic,
arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. The epithet "liberal" is a
fair translation of the Latin "ingenuus," which means "free-born;" thus
Cicero speaks of the "artes ingenuæ," or the arts befitting a free-born
man; and Ovid says in the well-known lines,--
"Ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes
Emollit mores nec sinit esse feros,"--
_To have studied carefully the liberal arts refines the manners, and
prevents us from being brutish._ And Phillips, in his "New World of Words"
(1706), defines the liberal arts and sciences to be "such as are fit for
gentlemen and scholars, as mechanic trades and handicrafts for meaner
people." As Freemasons are required by their landmarks to be _free-born_,
we see the propriety of incorporating the arts of free-born men among
their symbols. As the system of Masonry derived its present form and
organization from the times when the study of these arts and sciences
constituted the labors of the wisest men, they have very appropriately
been adopted as the symbol of the completion of human learning.
ASHLAR. In builders' language, a stone taken from the quarries.
ASHLAR, PERFECT. A stone that has been hewed, squared, and polished, so as
to be fit for use in the building. Masonically, it is a symbol of the
state of perfection attained by means of education. And as it is the
object of Speculative Masonry to produce this state of perfection, it may
in that point of view be also considered as a symbol of the social
character of the institution of Freemasonry.
ASHLAR, ROUGH. A stone in its rude and natural state. Masonically, it is a
symbol of men's natural state of ignorance. But if the perfect ashlar be,
in reference to its mode of preparation, considered as a symbol of the
social character of Freemasonry, then the rough ashlar must be considered
as a symbol of the profane world. In this species of symbolism, the rough
and perfect ashlars bear the same relation to each other as ignorance does
to knowledge, death to life, and light to darkness. The rough ashlar is
the profane, the perfect ashlar is the initiate.
ASHMOLE, ELIAS. A celebrated antiquary of England, who was born in 1617.
He has written an autobiography, or rather diary of his life, which
extends to within eight years of his death. Under the date of October 16,
1646, he has made the following entry: "I was made a Free-Mason at
Warrington, in Lancashire, with Col. Henry Mainwaring, of Carticham, in
Cheshire; the names of those that were then at the lodge: Mr. Richard
Penket, warden; Mr. James Collier, Mr. Richard Sankey, Henry Littler, John
Ellam and Hugh Brewer." Thirty-six years afterwards, under date of March
10, 1682, he makes the following entry: "I received a summons to appear at
a lodge to be held the next day at Masons' Hall, in London. 11.
Accordingly I went, and about noon was admitted into the fellowship of
Freemasons by Sir William Wilson, Knight, Captain Richard Borthwick, Mr.
William Woodman, Mr. William Grey, Mr. Samuel Taylour, and Mr. William
Wise. I was the senior fellow among them (it being thirty-five years since
I was admitted); there was present beside myself the fellows after named:
Mr. Thomas Wise, master of the Masons' Company this year; Mr. Thomas
Shorthose, Mr. Thomas Shadbolt, ---- Waidsfford, Esq., Mr. Nicholas Young,
Mr. John Shorthose, Mr. William Hamon, Mr. John Thompson, and Mr. William
Stanton. We all dined at the Half-Moon Tavern, in Cheapside, at a noble
dinner prepared at the charge of the new-accepted Masons." The titles of
some of the persons named in these two receptions confirm what is said in
the text, that the operative was at that time being superseded by the
speculative element. It is deeply to be regretted that Ashmole did not
carry out his projected design of writing a history of Freemasonry, for
which it is said that he had collected abundant materials. His History of
the Order of the Garter shows what we might have expected from his
treatment of the masonic institution.
ASPIRANT. One who aspires to or seeks after the truth. The title given to
the candidate in the ancient Mysteries.
ATHELSTAN. King of England, who ascended the throne in 924. Anderson cites
the old constitutions as saying that he encouraged the Masons, and brought
many over from France and elsewhere. In his reign, and in the year 926,
the celebrated General Assembly of the Craft was held in the city of York,
with prince Edward, the king's brother, for Grand Master, when new
constitutions were framed. From this assembly the York Rite dates its
origin.
AUTOPSY (Greek αὐτοψία, _a seeing with one's own eyes_). The complete
communication of the secrets in the ancient Mysteries, when the aspirant
was admitted into the sacellum, or most sacred place, and was invested by
the Hierophant with all the aporrheta, or sacred things, which constituted
the perfect knowledge of the initiate. A similar ceremony in Freemasonry
is called the Rite of Intrusting.
AUM. The triliteral name of God in the Brahminical mysteries, and
equivalent among the Hindoos to the tetragrammaton of the Jews. In one of
the Puranas, or sacred books of the Hindoos, it is said, "All the rites
ordained in the Vedas, the sacrifices to fire, and all other solemn
purifications, shall pass away; but that which shall never pass away is
the word AUM, for it is the symbol of the Lord of all things."
B
BABEL. The biblical account of the dispersion of mankind in consequence of
the confusion of tongues at Babel, has been incorporated into the history
of Masonry. The text has shown the probability that the pure and abstract
principles of the Primitive Freemasonry had been preserved by Noah and his
immediate descendants; and also that, as a consequence of the dispersion,
these principles had been lost or greatly corrupted by the Gentiles, who
were removed from the influence and teachings of the great patriarch.
Now there was in the old rituals a formula in the third degree, preserved
in some places to the present day, which teaches that the candidate has
come _from the tower of Babel, where language was confounded and Masonry
lost_, and that he is travelling _to the threshing-floor of Ornan the
Jebusite, where language was restored and Masonry found_. An attentive
perusal of the nineteen propositions set forth in the preliminary chapter
of this work will furnish the reader with a key for the interpretation of
this formula. The principles of the Primitive Freemasonry of the early
priesthood were corrupted or lost at Babel by the defection of a portion
of mankind from Noah, the conservator of those principles. Long after, the
descendants of this people united with those of Noah at the temple of
Solomon, whose site was the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, from
whom it had been bought by David; and here the lost principles were
restored by this union of the Spurious Freemasons of Tyre with the
Primitive Freemasons of Jerusalem. And this explains the latter clause of
the formula.
BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY. When the city and temple of Jerusalem were destroyed
by the army of Nebuchadnezzar, and the inhabitants conveyed as captives to
Babylon, we have a right to suppose,--that is to say, if there be any
truth in masonic history, the deduction is legitimate,--that among these
captives were many of the descendants of the workmen at the temple. If so,
then they carried with them into captivity the principles of Masonry which
they had acquired at home, and the city of Babylon became the great seat
of Speculative Masonry for many years. It was during the captivity that
the philosopher Pythagoras, who was travelling as a seeker after
knowledge, visited Babylon. With his ardent thirst for wisdom, he would
naturally hold frequent interviews with the leading Masons among the
Jewish captives. As he suffered himself to be initiated into the Mysteries
of Egypt during his visit to that country, it is not unlikely that he may
have sought a similar initiation into the masonic Mysteries. This would
account for the many analogies and resemblances to Masonry that we find in
the moral teachings, the symbols, and the peculiar organization of the
school of Pythagoras--resemblances so extraordinary as to have justified,
or at least excused, the rituals for calling the sage of Samos "our
ancient brother."
BACCHUS. One of the appellations of the "many-named" god Dionysus. The son
of Jupiter and Semele was to the Greeks Dionysus, to the Romans Bacchus.
BARE FEET. A symbol of reverence when both feet are uncovered. Otherwise
the symbolism is modern; and from the ritualistic explanation which is
given in the first degree, it would seem to require that the single bare
foot should be interpreted as the symbol of a covenant.
BLACK. Pythagoras called this color the symbol of the evil principle in
nature. It was equivalent to darkness, which is the antagonist of light.
But in masonic symbolism the interpretation is different. There, black is
a symbol of grief, and always refers to the fate of the temple-builder.
BRAHMA. In the mythology of the Hindoos there is a trimurti, or trinity,
the Supreme Being exhibiting himself in three manifestations; as, Brahma
the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Siva the Destroyer,--the united
godhead being a symbol of the sun.
Brahma was a symbol of the rising sun, Siva of the sun at meridian, and
Vishnu of the setting sun.
BRUCE. The introduction of Freemasonry into Scotland has been attributed
by some writers to King Robert Bruce, who is said to have established in
1314 the Order of Herodom, for the reception of those Knights Templars who
had taken refuge in his dominions from the persecutions of the Pope and
the King of France. Lawrie, who is excellent authority for Scottish
Masonry, does not appear, however, to give any credit to the narrative.
Whatever Bruce may have done for the higher degrees, there is no doubt
that Ancient Craft Masonry was introduced into Scotland at an earlier
period. See _Kilwinning_. Yet the text is right in making Bruce one of the
patrons and encouragers of Scottish Freemasonry.
BRYANT. Jacob Bryant, frequently quoted in this work, was a distinguished
English antiquary, born in the year 1715, and deceased in 1804. His most
celebrated work is "A New System of Ancient Mythology," which appeared in
1773-76. Although objectionable on account of its too conjectural
character, it contains a fund of details on the subject of symbolism, and
may be consulted with advantage by the masonic student.
BUILDER. The chief architect of the temple of Solomon is often called "the
Builder." But the word is also applied generally to the craft; for every
Speculative Mason is as much a builder as was his operative predecessor.
An American writer (F.S. Wood, of Arkansas) thus alludes to this symbolic
idea. "Masons are called moral builders. In their rituals, they declare
that a more noble and glorious purpose than squaring stones and hewing
timbers is theirs, fitting immortal nature for that spiritual building not
made with hands, eternal in the heavens." And he adds, "The builder builds
for a century; masons for eternity." In this sense, "the builder" is the
noblest title that can be bestowed upon a mason.
BUNYAN, JOHN. Familiar to every one as the author of the "Pilgrim's
Progress." He lived in the seventeenth century, and was the most
celebrated allegorical writer of England. His work entitled "Solomon's
Temple Spiritualized" will supply the student of masonic symbolism with
many valuable suggestions.
C
CABALA. The mystical philosophy of the Jews. The word which is derived
from a Hebrew root, signifying _to receive_, has sometimes been used in an
enlarged sense, as comprehending all the explanations, maxims, and
ceremonies which have been traditionally handed down to the Jews; but in
that more limited acceptation, in which it is intimately connected with
the symbolic science of Freemasonry, the cabala may be defined to be a
system of philosophy which embraces certain mystical interpretations of
Scripture, and metaphysical speculations concerning the Deity, man, and
spiritual beings. In these interpretations and speculations, according to
the Jewish doctors, were enveloped the most profound truths of religion,
which, to be comprehended by finite beings, are obliged to be revealed
through the medium of symbols and allegories. Buxtorf (Lex. Talm.) defines
the Cabala to be a secret science, which treats in a mystical and
enigmatical manner of things divine, angelical, theological, celestial,
and metaphysical, the subjects being enveloped in striking symbols and
secret modes of teaching.
CABALIST. A Jewish philosopher. One who understands and teaches the
doctrines of the Cabala, or the Jewish philosophy.
CABIRI. Certain gods, whose worship was first established in the Island of
Samothrace, where the Cabiric Mysteries were practised until the beginning
of the Christian era. They were four in number, and by some are supposed
to have referred to Noah and his three sons. In the Mysteries there was a
legend of the death and restoration to life of Atys, the son of Cybele.
The candidate represented Cadmillus, the youngest of the Cabiri, who was
slain by his three brethren. The legend of the Cabiric Mysteries, as far
as it can be understood from the faint allusions of ancient authors, was
in spirit and design very analogous to that of the third degree of
Masonry.
CADMILLUS. One of the gods of the Cabiri, who was slain by his brothers,
on which circumstance the legend of the Cabiric or Samothracian Mysteries
is founded. He is the analogue of the Builder in the Hiramic legend of
Freemasonry. 256
CAIRNS. Heaps of stones of a conical form, erected by the Druids. Some
suppose them to have been sepulchral monuments, others altars. They were
undoubtedly of a religious character, since sacrificial fires were lighted
upon them, and processions were made around them. These processions were
analogous to the circumambulations in Masonry, and were conducted like
them with reference to the apparent course of the sun.
CASSIA. A gross corruption of _Acacia_. The cassia is an aromatic plant,
but it has no mystical or symbolic character.
CELTIC MYSTERIES. The religious rites of ancient Gaul and Britain, more
familiarly known as _Druidism_, which see.. 109
CEREMONIES. The outer garments which cover and adorn Freemasonry as
clothing does the human body.
Although ceremonies give neither life nor truth to doctrines or
principles, yet they have an admirable influence, since by their use
certain things are made to acquire a sacred character which they would not
otherwise have had; and hence Lord Coke has most wisely said that "prudent
antiquity did, for more solemnity and better memory and observation of
that which is to be done, express substances under ceremonies.".
CERES. Among the Romans the goddess of agriculture; but among the more
poetic Greeks she became, as Demeter, the symbol of the prolific earth.
See _Demeter_.
CHARTER OF COLOGNE. A masonic document of great celebrity, but not of
unquestioned authenticity. It is a declaration or affirmation of the
design and principles of Freemasonry, issued in the year 1535, by a
convention of masons who had assembled in the city of Cologne. The
original is in the Latin language. The assertors of the authenticity of
the document claim that it was found in the chest of a lodge at Amsterdam
in 1637, and afterwards regularly transmitted from hand to hand until the
year 1816, when it was presented to Prince Frederick of Nassau, through
whom it was at that time made known to the masonic world. Others assert
that it is a forgery, which was perpetrated about the year 1816. Like the
Leland manuscript, it is one of those vexed questions of masonic literary
history over which so much doubt has been thrown, that it will probably
never be satisfactorily solved. For a translation of the charter, and
copious explanatory notes, by the author of this work, the reader is
referred to the "American Quarterly Review of Freemasonry," vol. ii. p.
52.
CHRISTIANIZATION OF FREEMASONRY. The interpretation of its symbols from a
Christian point of view. This is an error into which Hutchinson and
Oliver in England, and Scott and one or two others of less celebrity in
this country, have fallen. It is impossible to derive Freemasonry from
Christianity, because the former, in point of time, preceded the latter.
In fact, the symbols of Freemasonry are Solomonic, and its religion was
derived from the ancient priesthood.
The infusion of the Christian element was, however, a natural result of
surrounding circumstances; yet to sustain it would be fatal to the
cosmopolitan character of the institution.
Such interpretation is therefore modern, and does not belong to the
ancient system.
CIRCULAR TEMPLES. These were used in the initiations of the religion of
Zoroaster. Like the square temples of Masonry, and the other Mysteries,
they were symbolic of the world, and the symbol was completed by making
the circumference of the circle a representation of the zodiac.
CIRCUMAMBULATION. The ceremony of perambulating the lodge, or going in
procession around the altar, which was universally practised in the
ancient initiations and other religious ceremonies, and was always
performed so that the persons moving should have the altar on their right
hand. The rite was symbolic of the apparent daily course of the sun from
the east to the west by the way of the south, and was undoubtedly derived
from the ancient sun-worship.
CIVILIZATION. Freemasonry is a result of civilization, for it exists in no
savage or barbarous state of society; and in return it has proved, by its
social and moral principles, a means of extending and elevating the
civilization which gave it birth.
Freemasonry is therefore a type of civilization, bearing the same relation
to the profane world that civilization does to the savage state.
COLLEGES OF ARTIFICERS. The _Collegia Fabrorum_, or Workmen's Colleges,
were established in Rome by Numa, who for this purpose distributed all the
artisans of the city into companies, or colleges, according to their arts
and trades. They resembled the modern corporations, or _guilds_, which
sprang up in the middle ages. The rule established by their founder, that
not less than three could constitute a college,--"_tres faciunt
collegium_,"--has been retained in the regulations of the third degree of
masonry, to a lodge of which these colleges bore other analogies.
COLOGNE, CHARTER OF. See _Charter of Cologne_.
COMMON GAVEL. See _Gavel_.
CONSECRATION. The appropriating or dedicating, with certain ceremonies,
anything to sacred purposes or offices, by separating it from common use.
Masonic lodges, like ancient temples and modern churches, have always been
consecrated. Hobbes, in his _Leviathan_ (p. iv. c. 44), gives the best
definition of this ceremony. "To consecrate is in Scripture to offer,
give, or dedicate, in pious and decent language and gesture, a man, or any
other thing, to God, by separating it from common use.".
CONSECRATION, ELEMENTS OF. Those things, the use of which in the ceremony
as constituent and elementary parts of it, are necessary to the perfecting
and legalizing of the act of consecration. In Freemasonry, these elements
of consecration are _corn_, _wine_, and _oil_,--which see.
CORN. One of the three elements of masonic consecration, and as a symbol
of plenty it is intended, under the name of the "corn of nourishment," to
remind us of those temporal blessings of life, support, and nourishment
which we receive from the Giver of all good.
CORNER STONE. The most important stone in the edifice, and in its
symbolism referring to an impressive ceremony in the first degree of
Masonry.
The ancients laid it with peculiar ceremonies, and among the Oriental
nations it was the symbol of a prince, or chief.
It is one of the most impressive symbols of Masonry.
It is a symbol of the candidate on his initiation.
As a symbol it is exclusively masonic, and confined to a temple origin.
COVERING OF THE LODGE. Under the technical name of the "clouded canopy or
starry-decked heavens," it is a symbol of the future world,--of the
celestial lodge above, where the G.A.O.T.U. forever presides, and which
constitutes the "foreign country" which every mason hopes to reach.
CREUZER. George Frederick Creuzer, who was born in Germany in 1771, and
was a professor at the University of Heidelberg, devoted himself to the
study of the ancient religions, and with profound learning, established a
peculiar system on the subject. Many of his views have been adopted in the
text of the present work. His theory was, that the religion and mythology
of the ancient Greeks were borrowed from a far more ancient people,--a
body of priests coming from the East,--who received them as a revelation.
The myths and traditions of this ancient people were adopted by Hesiod,
Homer, and the later poets, although not without some misunderstanding of
them, and they were finally preserved in the Mysteries, and became
subjects of investigation for the philosophers. This theory Creuzer has
developed in his most important work, entitled "Symbolik und Mythologie
der alten Völker, besonders der Greichen," which was published at Leipsic
in 1819. There is no translation of this work into English, but Guigniaut
published at Paris, in 1824, a paraphrastic translation of it, under the
title of "Religions de l'Antiquité considérées principalement dans leur
Formes Symboliques et Mythologiques." Creuzer's views throw much light on
the symbolic history of Freemasonry.
CROSS. No symbol was so universally diffused at an early period as the
cross. It was, says Faber (Cabir. ii. 390), a symbol throughout the pagan
world long previous to its becoming an object of veneration to Christians.
In ancient symbology it was a symbol of eternal life. M. de Mortillet, who
in 1866 published a work entitled "Le Signe de la Croix avant le
Christianisme," found in the very earliest epochs three principal symbols
of universal occurrences; viz., the _circle_, the _pyramid_, and the
_cross_. Leslie (Man's Origin and Destiny, p. 312), quoting from him in
reference to the ancient worship of the cross, says "It seems to have been
a worship of such a peculiar nature as to exclude the worship of idols."
This sacredness of the crucial symbol may be one reason why its form was
often adopted, especially by the Celts in the construction of their
temples, though I have admitted in the text the commonly received opinion
that in cross-shaped temples the four limbs of the cross referred to the
four elements. But in a very interesting work lately published--"The Myths
of the New World" (N.Y., 1863)--Mr. Brinton assigns another symbolism.
"The symbol," says this writer, "that beyond all others has fascinated the
human mind, THE CROSS, finds here its source and meaning. Scholars have
pointed out its sacredness in many natural religions, and have reverently
accepted it as a mystery, or offered scores of conflicting, and often
debasing, interpretations. _It is but another symbol of the four cardinal
points, the four winds of heaven._ This will luminously appear by a study
of its use and meaning in America." (p. 95.) And Mr. Brinton gives many
instances of the religious use of the cross by several of the aboriginal
tribes of this continent, where the allusion, it must be confessed, seems
evidently to be to the four cardinal points, or the four winds, or four
spirits, of the earth. If this be so, and if it is probable that a similar
reference was adopted by the Celtic and other ancient peoples, then we
would have in the cruciform temple as much a symbolism of the world, of
which the four cardinal points constitute the boundaries, as we have in
the square, the cubical, and the circular.
CTEIS. A representation of the female generative organ. It was, as a
symbol, always accompanied by the phallus, and, like that symbol, was
extensively venerated by the nations of antiquity. It was a symbol of the
prolific powers of nature. See _Phallus_.
CUBE. A geometrical figure, consisting of six equal sides and six equal
angles. It is the square solidified, and was among the ancients a symbol
of truth. The same symbolism is recognized in Freemasonry.
D
DARKNESS. It denotes falsehood and ignorance, and was a very universal
symbol among the nations of antiquity.
In all the ancient initiations, the aspirant was placed in darkness for a
period differing in each,--among the Druids for three days, among the
Greeks for twenty-seven, and in the Mysteries of Mithras for fifty.
In all of these, as well as in Freemasonry, darkness is the symbol of
initiation not complete.
DEATH. Because it was believed to be the entrance to a better and eternal
life, which was the dogma of the Mysteries, death became the symbol of
initiation; and hence among the Greeks the same word signified _to die_,
and _to be initiated_. In the British Mysteries, says Davies (Mythol. of
the British Druids), the novitiate passed the river of death in the boat
of Garanhir, the Charon of the Greeks; and before he could be admitted to
this privilege, it was requisite that he should have been mystically
buried, as well as mystically dead.
DEFINITION OF FREEMASONRY. The definition quoted in the text, that it is a
science of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols, is the
one which is given in the English lectures.
But a more comprehensive and exact definition is, that it is a science
which is engaged in the search after divine truth.
DELTA. In the higher degrees of Masonry, the triangle is so called because
the Greek letter of that name is of a triangular form.
It is a symbol of Deity, because it is the first perfect figure in
geometry; it is the first figure in which space is enclosed by lines.
DEMETER. Worshipped by the Greeks as the symbol of the prolific earth. She
was the Ceres of the Romans. To her is attributed the institution of the
Eleusinian Mysteries in Greece, the most popular of all the ancient
initiations.
DESIGN OF FREEMASONRY. It is not charity or alms-giving.
Nor the cultivation of the social sentiment; for both of these are merely
incidental to its organization.
But it is the search after truth, and that truth is the unity of God, and
the immortality of the soul.
DIESEAL. A term used by the Druids to designate the circumambulation
around the sacred cairns, and is derived from two words signifying "on the
right of the sun," because the circumambulation was always in imitation of
the course of the sun, with the right hand next to the cairn or altar.
DIONYSIAC ARTIFICERS. An association of architects who possessed the
exclusive privilege of erecting temples and other public buildings in Asia
Minor. The members were distinguished from the uninitiated inhabitants by
the possession of peculiar marks of recognition, and by the secret
character of their association. They were intimately connected with the
Dionysiac Mysteries, and are supposed to have furnished the builders for
the construction of the temple of Solomon.
DIONYSIAC MYSTERIES. In addition to what is said in the text, I add the
following, slightly condensed, from the pen of that accomplished writer,
Albert Pike: "The initiates in these Mysteries had preserved the ritual
and ceremonies that accorded with the simplicity of the earliest ages, and
the manners of the first men. The rules of Pythagoras were followed there.
Like the Egyptians, who held wool unclean, they buried no initiate in
woollen garments. They abstained from bloody sacrifices, and lived on
fruits or vegetables. They imitated the life of the contemplative sects of
the Orient. One of the most precious advantages promised by their
initiation was to put man in communion with the gods by purifying his
soul of all the passions that interfere with that enjoyment, and dim the
rays of divine light that are communicated to every soul capable of
receiving them. The sacred gates of the temple, where the ceremonies of
initiation were performed, were opened but once in each year, and no
stranger was allowed to enter. Night threw her veil over these august
Mysteries. There the sufferings of Dionysus were represented, who, like
Osiris, died, descended to hell, and rose to life again; and raw flesh was
distributed to the initiates, which each ate in memory of the death of the
deity torn in pieces by the Titans."
DIONYSUS. Or Bacchus; mythologically said to be the son of Zeus and
Semele. In his Mysteries he was identified with Osiris, and regarded as
the sun. His Mysteries prevailed in Greece, Rome, and Asia, and were
celebrated by the Dionysiac artificers--those builders who united with the
Jews in the construction of King Solomon's temple. Hence, of all the
ancient Mysteries, they are the most interesting to the masonic student.
DISSEVERANCE. The disseverance of the operative from the speculative
element of Freemasonry occurred at the beginning of the eighteenth
century.
DISCALCEATION, RITE OF. The ceremony of uncovering the feet, or taking off
the shoes; from the Latin _discalceare_. It is a symbol of reverence. See
_Bare Feet_.
DRUIDICAL MYSTERIES. The Celtic Mysteries celebrated in Britain and Gaul.
They resembled, in all material points, the other mysteries of antiquity,
and had the same design. The aspirant was subjected to severe trials,
underwent a mystical death and burial in imitation of the death of the god
Hu, and was eventually enlightened by the communication to him of the
great truths of God and immortality, which it was the object of all the
Mysteries to teach.
DUALISM. A mythological and philosophical doctrine, which supposes the
world to have been always governed by two antagonistic principles,
distinguished as the good and the evil principle. This doctrine pervaded
all the Oriental religions, and its influences are to be seen in the
system of Speculative Masonry, where it is developed in the symbolism of
Light and Darkness.
E
EAST. That part of the heavens where the sun rises; and as the source of
material light to which we figuratively apply the idea of intellectual
light, it has been adopted as a symbol of the Order of Freemasonry. And
this symbolism is strengthened by the fact that the earliest learning and
the earliest religion came from the east, and have ever been travelling to
the west.
In Freemasonry, the east has always been considered the most sacred of the
cardinal points, because it is the place where light issues; and it was
originally referred to the primitive religion, or sun-worship. But in
Freemasonry it refers especially to that east whence an ancient priesthood
first disseminated truth to enlighten the world; wherefore the east is
masonically called "the place of light."
EGG. The mundane egg is a well-recognized symbol of the world. "The
ancient pagans," says Faber, "in almost every part of the globe, were wont
to symbolize the world by an egg. Hence this symbol is introduced into the
cosmogony of nearly all nations; and there are few persons, even among
those who have not made mythology their study, to whom the _Mundane Egg_
is not perfectly familiar. It was employed not only to represent the
earth, but also the universe in its largest extent." _Origin of Pag.
Idolatry_, i. 175.
EGG AND LUNETTE. The egg, being a symbol not only of the resurrection,
but also of the world rescued from destruction by the Noachic ark, and the
lunette, or horizontal crescent, being a symbol of the Great Father,
represented by Noah, the egg and lunette combined, which was the
hieroglyphic of the god Lunus, at Heliopolis, was a symbol of the world
proceeding from the Great Father.
EGYPT. Egypt has been considered as the cradle not only of the sciences,
but of the religions of the ancient world. Although a monarchy, with a
king nominally at the head of the state, the government really was in the
hands of the priests, who were the sole depositaries of learning, and were
alone acquainted with the religious formularies that in Egypt controlled
all the public and private actions of the life of every inhabitant.
ELEPHANTA. An island in the Bay of Bombay, celebrated for the stupendous
caverns artificially excavated out of the solid rock, which were
appropriated to the initiations in the ancient Indian Mysteries.
ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES. Of all the Mysteries of the ancients these were the
most popular. They were celebrated at the village of Eleusis, near Athens,
and were dedicated to Demeter. In them the loss and the restoration of
Persephone were scenically represented, and the doctrines of the unity of
God and the immortality of the soul were taught. See _Demeter_.
ENTERED APPRENTICE. The first degree of Ancient Craft Masonry, analogous
to the aspirant in the Lesser Mysteries.
It is viewed as a symbol of childhood, and is considered as a preparation
and purification for something higher.
EPOPT. (From the Greek ἐπόπτης, _an eye witness_.) One who, having been
initiated in the Greater Mysteries of paganism, has seen the aporrheta.
ERA OF MASONRY. The legendary statement that the origin of Masonry is
coeval with the beginning of the world, is only a philosophical myth to
indicate the eternal nature of its principles.
ERICA. The tree heath; a sacred plant among the Egyptians, and used in the
Osirian Mysteries as the symbol of immortality, and the analogue of the
masonic acacia.
ESSENES. A society or sect of the Jews, who combined labor with religious
exercises, whose organization partook of a secret character, and who have
been claimed to be the descendants of the builders of the temple of
Solomon.
EUCLID. The masonic legend which refers to Euclid is altogether
historically untrue. It is really a philosophical myth intended to convey
a masonic truth.
EURESIS. (From the Greek εὔρεσις, _a discovery_.) That part of the
initiation in the ancient Mysteries which represented the finding of the
body of the god or hero whose death was the subject of the initiation.
The euresis has been adopted in Freemasonry, and forms an essential part
of the ritual of the third degree.
EVERGREEN. A symbol of the immortality of the soul.
Planted by the Hebrews and other ancient peoples at the heads of graves.
For this purpose the Hebrews preferred the acacia, because its wood was
incorruptible, and because, as the material of the ark, it was already
considered as a sacred plant.
EYE, ALL-SEEING. A symbol of the omniscient and watchful providence of
God. It is a very ancient symbol, and is supposed by some to be a relic of
the primitive sun-worship. Volney says (_Les Ruines_, p. 186) that in most
of the ancient languages of Asia, the _eye_ and the _sun_ are expressed by
the same word. Among the Egyptians the eye was the symbol of their supreme
god, Osiris, or the sun.
F
FABER. The works of the Rev. G.S. Faber, on the Origin of Pagan Idolatry,
and on the Cabiri, are valuable contributions to the science of mythology.
They abound in matters of interest to the investigator of masonic
symbolism and philosophy, but should be read with a careful view of the
preconceived theory of the learned author, who refers everything in the
ancient religions to the influences of the Noachic cataclysm, and the
arkite worship which he supposes to have resulted from it.
FELLOW CRAFT. The second degree of Ancient Craft Masonry, analogous to the
mystes in the ancient Mysteries.
The symbol of a youth setting forth on the journey of life.
FETICHISM. The worship of uncouth and misshapen idols, practised only by
the most ignorant and debased peoples, and to be found at this day among
some of the least civilized of the negro tribes of Africa. "Their
fetiches," says Du Chaillu, speaking of some of the African races,
"consisted of fingers and tails of monkeys; of human hair, skin, teeth,
bones; of clay, old nails, copper chains; shells, feathers, claws, and
skulls of birds; pieces of iron, copper, or wood; seeds of plants, ashes
of various substances, and I cannot tell what more." _Equatorial Africa_,
p. 93.
FIFTEEN. A sacred number, symbolic of the name of God, because the letters
of the holy name הי, JAH, are equal, in the Hebrew mode of
numeration by the letters of the alphabet, to fifteen; for י is
equal to ten, and ה is equal to five. Hence, from veneration for
this sacred name, the Hebrews do not, in ordinary computations, when they
wish to express the number 15, make use of these two letters, but of two
others, which are equivalent to 9 and 6.