has laid her first egg, and hops round the farm yard in an ecstacy of joy to tell her companions what a feat she has done. I shall give him only this one definition at present, and he may muse and meditate upon it at his leisure. Freemasonry is a triangle upon a triangle, placed in the centre towards the rising of the sun; chequered with the opus grecanicum, circumscribed with scroll work, permeating through the Sephiroth, and graduating to a perfect heptad. There! Let the cowan digest that, and I will then impart some further instruction to edify his mind. He may think these are terms of diablerie and ghost raising. But I assure him they are not. It is true, an ancient objection against the Order was that the Freemasons, in their lodges, "raise the devil in a circle, and when they have done with him, they lay him again with a noise or a hush, as they please." Others diverted themselves with the story of an old woman between the rounds of a Ladder; or with the cook's red-hot iron or Salamander for making the indelible character on the new made mason, in order to give him the faculty of taciturnity.2 I once initiated a Welch Rector, who was full of the Horatian urbanity as he could hold. Alas, he is gone to the world of spirits, and a better man does not occupy his place. He told me before he was made, in his off-hand way, that being desirous of a private interview with his Satanic majesty, he sought initiation as the most probable method of attaining his point; for he understood that he was generally found in propria persona at our meetings, and amused the brethren by beating a tattoo on the board with his hoofs!!! Many a laugh have we had together after his admission, when he knew what the true tendency of masonry was, and the real causes of any extraordinary sounds which might be easily misconstrued. These, then, constitute some of the absurd conjectures of those unquiet spirits who are ever restless in their search after facts which constantly elude their grasp; and they are as far from enlightenment on the abstruse principles of the Order as were their forefathers, the cowans of the eighteenth century, whose pretended reve 2 Anderson, Const. Ed. 1738, p. 227. lations were fated, each in its turn, to disbelief and rejection from all right-minded men. One half the time and talent which they bestow upon the acquisition of illegal knowledge, where their toil cannot fail to be fruitless, would, if they had received initiation, like my friend the rector, and their enquiries had been directed into a legitimate channel, have converted them into good and worthy brothers, and given them an insight into the poetry and philosophy of masonry. This would have secured a permanent satisfaction to their own mind, and conferred upon them the approbation of the fraternity. Blanchard Powers, an aged transatlantic brother, in his Prize Essay on masonry, thus describes the benefits which it confers on society. "So sublime and heavenly is the royal art, that it solves all difficulties. It kindles a flame of love in the breasts of those who are at the greatest distance from each other, in consequence of their political and religious tenets. It moderates and subdues the spirit of the fulminating priest; his heart is melted into tender affection towards a brother mason; he presents him the friendly hand, and cordially receives him into his bosom, and addresses him by the endearing appellation of a Brother. Masonry lays men under the most solemn obligation to support the government by which they are protected, and never to encourage disloyalty or rebellion. A mason will risk his life for his brother in the hour of danger, though he may be his enemy in the midst of battle." An intelligible view of the poetry and philosophy of Freemasonry may be gathered from the lodge Lectures. themselves; which describe it as "a peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols." In the old Lectures this description is explained in every section. The floor of the Lodge symbolically teaches that as the steps of man tread in the devious and uncertain paths of life, and his days are chequered by prosperity and adversity, so is his passage through this short and precarious stage of existence. Sometimes his journey is enlightened by success; at others it is obstructed by a multitude of evils. For this reason the floor of the lodge is covered with Mosaic work, to remind us of the precariousness of our situation here; to-day prosperity may crown our labours; to-morrow we may totter on the uneven paths of weakness, temptation, and adversity. Then while such emblems are continually before our eyes, we are morally taught to boast of nothing, but to walk uprightly and with humility before T G AOTU; considering that there is no station on which pride can be stably founded. All men have birth, but some are born to more elevated stations of life than others; yet, when in the grave, all are on the level, death destroying all distinctions. As Free and Accepted Masons then, we ought ever to act according to the dictates of reason and religion, by cultivating harmony, maintaining charity, and living in unity and brotherly love. In an Icelandic poem quoted by Mallet, we find the following curious picture of the chequered scenes of human life; which, though written at an unknown distance of time, and for the use of a barbarous people, bears a striking resemblance to the peculiar doctrine of Freemasonry on the same subject. Thà eymdir strida, &c. When grief oppresses the mournful mind, Again, the illustration of the IM J contains a direction to the same effect. "As the tressel board is for the master to draw his designs on, the better to enable the younger brothers and the more expert Fellow Crafts to carry on the intended building with order, regularity, and success; so may the Holy Bible be justly deemed the tressel board of the Grand Architect of the Universe; because in that holy book he hath laid down such divine plans, and moral designs, that were we conversant therein and adherent thereto, it would bring us to a building not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. The Rough Ashlar is a stone rough as when taken from the quarry, and by the skill and ingenuity of the workmen being modelled and brought into due form, represents the mind of man in its infancy, uncultivated and irregular like this stone, but by the kind care and instruction of parents, guardians, and teachers, in endowing it with a liberal education, the man becomes moralized, and rendered an useful member of society. The Perfect Ashlar is a stone of a true die square, which can only be tried by the square and compasses. It represents the mind of man after a well spent life in acts of piety and devotion to God, and benevolence and good-will to man, which can only be tried by the square of God's Word, and the compass of his own conscience." The Principal Point and the Original Signs are illustrative of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth; and of Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, and Justice; all of which are moral duties emanating from that sacred Volume which is always spread open upon the Pedestal; and are copiously explained in the primitive lectures of masonry. Another beautiful illustration of the poetry of the Order is found in its application of the virtues of silence or secresy, which is one of the distinguishing virtues of the masonic science, and is regularly enforced in the ordinary masonic lectures. Of all the arts which masons profess, the art of secresy particularly distinguishes them. Taciturnity is a proof of wisdom, and is allowed to be of the utmost importance in the different transactions of life. The best writers have declared it to be an art of inestimable value; and that it is agreeable to the Deity himself, may be easily conceived, from the glorious example which he gives, in concealing from mankind the secrets of his Providence. The wisest of men cannot penetrate into the arcana of heaven, nor can they divine to-day what to-morrow may bring forth. A certain Key is also spoken of in the Prestonian Lectures, which ought always to hang in a brother's defence and never to lie to his prejudice; and the brethren are advised of the value of a tongue of good report, which ought always to treat a brother's character in his absence as tenderly as if he were present; and if unfortunately his irregularities should be such, that this cannot with propriety be done, to adopt the distinguishing virtues of the science. This system was solemnly impressed upon the candidate in the mysteries of Egypt, whence originated the famous quinquennial silence of Pythagoras. The priests of Egypt were aware, if ever any set of men were ac quainted with the maxim, that knowledge is power. The higher classes of the priesthood were extremely cautious how they communicated information to the younger and lower orders of the hierarchy; and these again were not less reserved in their intercourse with the rest of society. The numerous and dangerous ordeals through which the priests had to pass, and the long term of years allotted for their apprenticeship, sufficiently prove the truth of the statement which I have just been making. Every step by which the aspirant advanced, was preceded by a new trial of his patience, and a new proof of his fortitude. Before he passed into darkness, and when again he returned to the light, the object which still met his eyes, was the image of the god whose finger is on his lip. Silence and secresy were the first duties taught to the aspirant. He might listen, but he might not speak. If he heard a voice, it addressed him in the language of mystery. If he received information, it was conveyed to him through the medium of tropes and symbols. In Freemasonry this silence or secresy is urged on the brethren, that they may avoid speaking of a brother's faults; because human nature being imperfect, we are none of us free from errors of some kind; and therefore, as we are liable to censure ourselves, we should refrain from passing sentence upon others, that they may be actuated by a similar motive, and avoid all unfavourable reflections on our own conduct. It is an amiable principle, and highly beneficial to society; for what good can possibly arise from a public exposure of each other's foibles or miscarriages. If I err to-day, and my brother charitably passes it over, shall I expose the fault which he may commit to-morrow? Such a course would merit the severest reprobation. We have a rule, which, if universally observed, would produce more peace and happiness in the world, than, I am afraid, is to be found amongst mankind at present. It is a golden maxim, applicable to all times and occasions, and cannot possibly fail in its operation. It was delivered by the Divinitytaught in the gospel-recognized in Freemasonry-and is equally beneficial to all orders and descriptions of * Drummond. Orig., vol. ii., p. 207. |