MORALS AND DOGMA

OF THE

ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE

FREEMASONRY

SUPREME COUNCIL OF THE THIRTY-THIRD DEGREE

SOUTHERN JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES

PUBLISHED BY ITS AUTHORITY.

CHARLESTON

M . . 5632

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1 8 7 1 , by

ALBERT PIKE ,

In the Ofli ce of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1 906, by

THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF THE SOUTHERNJURISD ICTION, A . A . S. R. , U . S. A .,

In the Office of the Librar ian of Congress, a t Wash ington.

L. H. J enkins, Inc.

Edition Book M anu facturers

R ichmond . Va .

Repr inted ;J une, 1 9 46.

PREFACE .

THE fol lowing work has been prepared by authority o f the Sir

preme Council of the Thirty-thi rd Degree , for the Southern

Juri sdiction of the United States,by the Grand Commander,

and is now publ i shed by its di rection . It contains the

Lectures of the Ancient and Accepted Scotti sh R i te in that juris

diction, and i s special ly intended to be read and studied by the

Brethren of that obedience, in connection with the Ri tual s of theDegrees . It i s hoped and expected that each wi ll fu rnish h imself

with a copy, and make himsel f famil iar with it ; for which purpose, as the cost of the work consi sts enti rely in the printing and

binding, i t wil l be furni shed at a price as moderate as poss ible .

No individual wil l receive pecuniary profit from it, except theagents for i ts sale .

It has been copyrighted,to prevent i ts republ ication el sewhere,

and the copyright,like those of al l the other works prepared for

the Supreme Council , has been assigned to Trustees for that Body .

Whatever profits may accrue from it wil l be devoted to purposes

of charity .

The Brethren of the R ite in the United States and Canada wil l

be afiorded the opportunity to purchase i t, nor i s i t forbidden that

other Masons shal l ; but they will not be sol icited to do so .

In ,preparing thi s work, the Grand Commander has been about

equally Author and Compiler ; since he has extracted quite

hal f its contents from the wo rks of the best writers and most phil

osophic or eloquent thinkers . Perhaps i t would have been better and more a cceptable i f he had extracted more and written

less.

Sti‘ll , perhap s ha l f of i t i s his own ; and, in incorporating here

in

IV PREFACE.

the thoughts and words of oth ers,he has continually changed

and added to .the language, often intermingl ing, in the same sen

tences, hi s own words with theirs . It not being intended for the

world at large,he has felt at l iberty to make, from all accessible

sources, a Compendium of the Morals and Dogma of the Ri te, to

re—mould sentences,change and add to words and phrases, com

bine them wi th . his own,and use them as i f they w ere h is own ,

to . be dealt with at hi s pleasure and so availed of as to make the

whole most valuable for the purposes intended . He claims , there

fore,l ittle of the meri t o f authorship, and has not cared to di s

tingu ish his own from that which he has taken from other sources ,

being quite will ing that every portion of the book , in turn, may

be regarded as borrowed from some old and better writer .

The teachings of these Readings are not sacramental,so far as

they go beyond the realm of Moral ity into those o f other domains

of Thought and Truth The Ancient and Accepted Scotti sh Rite

uses the word “Dogma in i ts true sense, of doctrine, or teaching ;and i s not dogmatic in the odious sense of that term . Every one

i s entirely free to rej ect and dissent from whatsoever herein may

seem to him to be untrue or unsound . It i s only required of him

that he shall weigh what i s taught, and give it fai r hearing and

unprejudiced judgment . Of course,the ancient theosophic and

philosophic speculations are not embodied as part of the doctr ines

of the Rite ; but because it i s o f interest and profit to know what

the Ancient Intellect thought upon these subj ects,and because

nothing so conclusively proves the radical difference between our

human and the animal nature,as the capacity of the human

mind to entertain such speculations in regard to itsel f and the

Deity . But as to these opinions themselves, we may say, in thewords o f the learned Canonist, Ludovicus Gomez :

“Opiniones

secundum varietatem temporum senescant et intermor iantu r,

alicequ e diversoe vel prioribu s contrariae ren s cantu r e t r’ f inde

pu bescant.”

Ti tles of Degree s a . herein given have in some instanceschanged. Correct ti tles are a s fo llo ws :

l° —App remrce

,

2°— Fellow-cra ft .

3° —Mm er

4°— Secret Master .

5°— Perfect Master.

6°— Intimate Secretary.

7 — Provost and Judge.

8°— Intendant of the Building.

9° —Elu of the N ine .

10°— Elu of the Fi fteen .

1 1°— Elu of the Twelve.

12°— Master Architect .

l3° —Royal Arch of Solomon.

14°— Perfect Elu .

15°— Knight of the Ea st.

16°

-Prince of Jerusalem .

17° — Knight of the East and West.

l8°— Knight Rose Croix .

19°— Pontiff .

20°— Master of the Symbolic Lodge.

21°— Noachi te or Pru ssian Knight .

22 — Knight of the Royal Axe or Prince of

23°— Chief of the Tabernacle .

249 — Prince of the Tabernacle.

25 — Knight of the Brazen Serpent.

26°— Prince of Mercy.

27 -Knight Commander of the Temple.

28°

—Knight of the Sunor Prince Adept .

29°— Scotti sh Knight of St . Andrew .

30°

—Knight Kadosh .

31°— Inspector Inquisitor .

32° —Master of the Royal Secret ,

MO RA L S AND D O G MA .

APPRENTICE .

THE TWELVE-INCH RULE AND THE COMMON GAVEL .

FORCE,unregulated or i l l-regulated

,i s not only wasted in the

void , l ike that o f gunpowderburned in the open air , and steamunconfined by science ; but, striking in the dark , and its blowsmeeting only the air

,they recoi l and bru ise itsel f . It i s destruc

tion and ruin . I t i s the volcano,the earthquake , the cyclone

not ‘growth and progress . It i s Poly ph'

emus blinded . striking atrandom

,and fall ing headlong among the sharp rocks by the

impetus o f hi s own blows .The bl ind Force of the people i s a Force that must be econ

omized, and'

also managed,as the bl ind Force of steam, l i fting the

ponderous i ron arms and tu rn ing ,the large wheel s , i s made to bore

and rifle the cannon and to weave the most deli cate lace . It mustbe regulated by Intellect . Intellect i s to the people and the people

’ sForce

,what the slender n eedle

“

of the compass i s to the ship— i tssoul

,always counsell ing the huge mass of wood and iron , and

always pointing to the north . To attack the c i tadels buil t up on allsides against the human race by superstitions, despotisms, and prej~

o

2 MORALS AND DOGMA.

udices, the Force must have a brain and a law . Then i ts deedsof daring produce permanent results , and there i s real progres s .Then there are subl ime conquests . Thought i s a force , and phi

losophy should be an energy, finding its aim and its effects in theamelioration of mankind . The two great motors are Truth andLove . When al l these Forces are combined, and guided by theIntel lect

,and regulated by the RULE of Right

,and Justice, and o f

combined and systematic movement and effort,the great revolu

tion prepared for by the ages will begin to march . The POWER O fthe Deity Himsel f i s in equil ibrium with Hi s WISDOM . Hence theonly results are HARMONY.

It i s because Force i s i ll regulated,that revolutions prove fai l

ures . Therefore i t i s that so often insurrections,coming from

those high mount ains that domineer over the moral horizon , Justice, Wisdom ,

Reason,Right, buil t o f thepurest snow of the ideal

after a long fall from rock to rock,after having reflected the sky

in thei r transparency,and been swollen by a hundred afflu ents

,in

the maj estic path of triumph,suddenly lose themselves in quag

mires,l ike a Cal i fornia river in the sands .

The onward march of the human race requires that the heightsaround it should blaze with noble and enduring lessons of courage .Deeds of daring dazzle hi story

,and form one class of the guiding

lights of man . They are the stars and coruscations from thatgreat sea o f electrici ty

,the Force inherent in the people . To strive ,

to brave al l ri sks,to peri sh

,to persevere

,to be true to one ’ s sel f, to

grapple body to body with destiny, to surpri se defeat by the l ittl eterror it inspires

,now to confront unrighteous power, now to defy

intoxicated triumph— these are the examples that the nations needand the l ight that elect rifi es them .

There are immense Forces in the great caverns of evil beneathsociety ; in the hideous degradation, squalor, wretchedne ss anddestitution

,vices and crimes that reek and s immer in the darkness

in that populace below the people, of great cities . There di sinter

estedness vani shes,every one howls

,searches

,gropes

,and gnaws

for himsel f . Ideas are ignored, and of progress there i s nothoughtf This populace has two mothers, both of them stepmothers— Ignorance and Misery . Want i s their only guide— for

the appeti te alone they crave sati s faction . Yet even these may beemployed . The lowly sand we trample upon, cast into the fur;

nace ,‘

melted, purified by fire, may become resplendent crystal.

APPRENTICE .

They have the brute force of the HAMMER, but their blows helpOn the great cause , when struck within the l ines traced by theRULE held by wisdom and di scretion .

Yet i t i s thi s very Force o f the people,th i s Ti tan i c power of the

giants, that builds the fortifi cations of tyrants, and i s embodied inthei r a rmies . Hence the possibi l ity of such tyrannies as those ofwhich i t has been said

,that “Rome smell s worse under Vitell ius

than under Sulla . Under Claudius and under Domitian there i s adeformity of baseness corresponding to the ugl iness o f the tyranny.The foulnes s o f the slaves i s a direct resul t of the atrocious baseness of the despot. A miasma exhales from these crouching consciences that reflect the master ; the publ i c authorities are uncl ean,hearts are collapsed

,consciences shru nken , soul s puny . This i s

so under Caracal la,i t i s so under Commodus , i t i s so under Hel io

gabalu s, while from the Roman senate , under Caesar , there comesonly the rank odor pecul iar to the eagle

’

s ey rie .

”

It i s the force o f the people that sustains al l these despotisms,the basest as wel l as the best . That force acts through armies ;and these Oftener enslave than l iberate . Despoti sm there appl iesthe RULE . Force i s the M ACE of steel at the saddle-bow of theknight or o f the bi shop in armor . Passive‘ obedience by force supports thrones and ol igarchies

,Spani sh kings

,and Venetian senates.

Might, i n an army wielded by tyranny , i s the enormous sum totalo f utter weakness ; and so Humanity wages war against Humanity,in despite o f Humanity . SO a people will ingly submits to despotsm

,and its workm en submit to be despised , and its soldiers to be

whipped ; therefore i t i s that battles lost by a nation are oftenprogress attained . Less glory i s more l iberty . When the drum iss ilent

,reason sometimes speaks .

Tyrants use the force of the people to chain and subjugate— thati s

,onyoke the people . Then they plough with them as men do

with oxen yoked . Thus the spiri t o f l iberty and innovation i sreduced by bayonets

,and principles are struck dumb by cannon

shot ; while the monks mingle with the troopers, and the Churchmil itant and jubilant

,Cathol ic or Puritan, sings Te Deums for

victories over rebell ion .

The mil itary power,not subordinate to the civi l power

,again

the HAMMER or MACE of FORCE, independent o f the RULE, i s anarmed tyranny

,born full-grown

,as Athene sprung from the brain

Of Zeus . I t spawns a dynasty, and begins with Caesar to rot into

4 MORALS AND DOGMA .

Vitell ius and Commodus . At the present day i t inclines to beginwhere formerly dynasties ended.

Constantly the people put forth immense strength,only to end

in immense weakness . The force o f the peop l e i s exhausted inindefinitely prolonging things long since dead ; in governing mankind by embalming old dead tyrannies of Faith ; restoring dilapidated dogmas ; regilding faded, worm-eaten shrines ; whiteningand rouging ancient and barren superstit ions ; saving society bymultiplying parasites ; perpetuating superannuated institutions ;enforcing the worship of symbols as the actual means of salvationand tying the dead corpse of the Past

,mouth to mouth

,with the

living Present . Therefore i t i s that i t i s one of the ’ fatal ities ofHumanity to be condemned to eternal struggles with phantom s

,

with superstitions,bigotries

,hypocri s ies, prejudices , the formulas

of error, and the pleas of tyranny . Despotisms,seen in the past,

become respectable,as the mountain

,bristl ing with volcanic rock

,

rugged and horrid,seen through the haze of di stance i s blue and

smooth and beauti ful . The sight o f a s ingle dungeon of tyrannyi s worth more

,to dispel i llusions

,and create a holy hatred o f

despotism,and to direct FORCE aright

,than the most eloquent

volumes . The French '

shou ld have preserved the Basti le as aperpetual

,

lesson ; Italy should not destroy the dungeons o f theInquisition . The Force of the people maintained the Power that.built its gloomy cell s

,and placed the l iving in thei r granite sep

u lchres.

The FORCE of the people cannot , by its unrestrained and fitful

action,maintain and continue in action and existence a free

Government once created . That Force must be l imited, re

strained,conveyed by di stribution into different channels

,and by

roundabout courses,to outlets

,whence i t i s to i ssue as the law,

action, and deci sion o f the State ; as the wise Old Egyptian kingsconveyed in diff erent canals

,by sub—divi s ion

,the swell ing waters

o f the N i le,and compelled them to ferti l ize and not devastate the

land . There must be the fu r et norma,the law and Ru le

, or

Gauge, of constitution and law, w i thin which the public forcemust act . Make a breach in either

,and the great steam-hammer

,

with its swi ft and ponderous blows,crushes al l the machinery to

atoms , and, at last, wrenching itsel f away, l ies inert and dead amidthe ruin it has wrought .The FORCE of the people, or the popular wil l, in action and

APPRENTICE. S

exerted, symbolized by the GAVEL, regu lated and guided by and

acting within the l imits Of LAW and ORDER, symbolized by theTWENTY-FOUR-INCH RULE, has for i ts fruit LIBERTY, EQUALITY,and .FRATERNITY,

l iberty regulated by law ; equal ity of rights in

the eye Of the law; brotherhood with its duties and obl igations asw el l as i ts benefits .You w il l hear shortly o f the Rough ASH LAR and the PerfectASHLAR , as part o f the j ewels o f the Lodge . The rough Ashlar i ssaid to he “ a stone , as taken from the quarry , in its rude and

natural state .

” The perfect Ashlar i s said to be“ a stone made

ready by the hands o f the workmen, to be adjusted by the working-tool s O f the Fellow-Craft.” \Ve shall not repeat t he explanations o f t hese symbol s given by the York R i te . You may readthem in i ts printed monitors . They are declared to allude to thesel f-improvement of the individual cra ftsman ,— a continuation Ofthe same superficial interpretation.

The rough Ashlar i s t he PEOPLE,as a mass

,rude and unor

ganized. The perfect A shlar , or cubical stone , symbol o f perfection

,i s the STATE, the rulers deriving thei r powers from the con

sent of the governed ; the consti tution and laws speaking the wil lO f the people ; the government harmonious, symmetrical, efficient,— i ts powers properly di stributed and duly adjusted in equ ilib

rium.

If we del ineate a cube on a plane surface thus

we have vi sible three faces,and nine external l ines

,drawn between

seven points . The complete cube has three more faces,making

s ix ; three more l ines, making tw elve ; and one more point , makinge ight. As the number 12 includes the sacred numbers, 3, 5, 7 , and3 times 3

,or 9

,and i s produced by adding the sacred number 3 to

9 ; while i ts own two figures, 1 , 2 , the unit or monad , and duad ,added together

,make the same sacred number 3 i t was called the

per fect number ;.

and the cube became the symbol of perfection .

Produced by FORCE, acting by RULE ; hammered in accordance

6 MORALS AND DOGMA .

with l ines measured by the Gauge; ou t of the rough Ashlar, i t isan appropriate symbol of the Force of the people, expressed as theconstitution and law o f the State ; and of the State itsel f the threevisible faces represent the three departments

,-the Executive

,

which executes the laws ; the Legislative, which makes the laws ;the Judiciary, which interprets the laws , applies and enforcesthem , between man and man , between the State and the citizens .The three invi sible faces

,are Liberty

,Equal ity

,and Fraternity,

the threefold soul o f the State— i ts vitality, spirit, and intellec t.>i<

Though Masonry neither usurps the‘place O f, nor apes rel igion,

prayer i s an essential part o f our ceremonies . I t i s the aspi rationof the soul toward the Absolute and Infinite Intell igence , whichis the One Supreme Dei ty

,most feebly and misund

'

erstandinglycharacterized as an ARCH ITECT . Certain faculties o f man aredirected toward the Unknown— thought

,meditation

,prayer .

The unknown is an ocean, of which conscience i s the compass .

Thought,meditation

,prayer

,are the great mysterious pointings

of the needle . It i s a spiritual magnetism that thus connects thehuman soul with the Deity . These maj estic i rradiations of thesoul p ierce

‘

through the shadow toward the l ight.It i s but a shallow scoff to say that prayer i s absurd

,because

i t i s not possible for us,

‘by means o f i t,to persuade God to change

His plans . He produces foreknown andi

foreintended effects, bythe instrumentali ty o f the forces of nature

,all O f which are

His forces . Our own are part of these . Our free agency andou r will are forces . We do not absurdly cease to make efforts toattain wealth or happ iness

,prolong l i fe

,and continue health,

because we cannot by any effo rt change what i s predestined . I fthe effort al so i s predestined

,i t i s not the less ou r effort, made of

ou r free w ill. SO ,l ikewi se

,we pray . Will i s a force . Thought i s

a force . Prayer i s a force . Why should it not be of the ’ law O f

God, that prayer l ike Faith and Love, should have its effects ?Man IS not to be comprehended as a starting-point

,or progress as

a goal , without those two great forces , Faith and Love . Prayer 1 8sublime . Ori sons that beg and clamor are piti ful . TO deny the

effi cacy of prayer , i s to deny that of Faith , Love, and Effort . Yetthe effects produced , when our hand , moved by our wil l , launchesa pebble into the ocean . never cease ; and every uttered word i sregistered for eternity upon the invi sible air.

APPRENTICE .

Every Lodge is a Temple, and as a whole, and in i ts detai l ssymbo l ic . The Universe itsel f supplied man with the model forthe first temples reared to the Divini ty . The arrangement O f the

Temple of Solomon,the symbol ic ornaments which formed its

chie f decorations,and the dress of the High-Priest

,all had refer

ence to the order of the Universe , as then understood . The Tem

ple contained many emblems of the seasons— the sun,the moon

,

the planets , the constel lations Ursa Major and Minor, the zodiac ,the elements

,and the other parts O f the world . It i s the Master o f

this Lodge,O f the Universe

,Hermes

,of whom t i rum i s the

representative,that i s one o f the lights O f the Lodge .

For further instruction as to the symbol i sm of the heavenlybodies , and of the sacred numbers , and O f the temple and

.

its

detai l s , you must wai t patientlyunti l you advance in Masonry, inthe mean time exerci sing your intel lect in studying them for yoursel f . To study and seek to interpret correctly the symbol s o f theUniverse

,i s the work O f the sage and philosopher . It i s to de

cipher the writing of God , and penetrate into Hi s thoughts .

Thi s i s what i s asked and answered in our catech 1sm,in regard

to the Lodge .

A Lodge i s defined to be an assemblage of Freemasons, dulycongregated

,having the sacred writings

,square, and compass, and

a charter,or warrant o f constitution , authorizing them to work .

The room'

or place in which they meet, representing some part o fK ing Solomon ’ s Temple

,i s also cal led the Lodge ; and it i s that we

are now considering.

It i s said to be supported by three great columns, WISDOM ,

FORCE or STRENGTH,and BEAUTY

,repiesented by the Master, the

Senior Warden,and the Junior Warden ; and these are said to be

the columns that support the Lodge ,“because \Visdom, Strength ,

and Beauty , are the perfections o f everything, and nothing canendure w ithou t ' them .

” “Because,

” the York Ri te says, i t i s

necessary that there should be Wisdom to conceive, Strength tosupport and Beauty to adorn

,al l great and important undertak

ings.

”Know ye not,

” says the Apostle Paul ,“ that ye are the

temple of God,and that the Spirit of God dwel leth in you ? I f

any man desecrate the temple O f God, him shall God destroy, forthe temple of God i s holy, which temple ye are .

”

The Wisdom and Power of the Deity are in equil ibrium . The

8 MORALS AND DOGMA .

laws o f nature and the moral laws are not the mere despotic mandates O f His Omnipotent will ; for, then they might be changed byHim

,and order become disorder

,and good and right become evil

and wrong ; honesty and loyalty, vices ; and fraud, ingratitude , andvice

,virtues . Omnipotent power

,infinite

,and ex i sting alone,

would necessari ly not be constrained to consi stency. Its decreesand laws could not be immutable . The laws of God are not obl igatory on us because they are the enactments o f His POWER, orthe expression of Hi s WILL ; but because they express His infiniteWISDOM . They are not right because they are Hi s laws

,but Hi s

laws because they are’

right. From the equil ibrium of infinitewisdom and infinite force

,results pe r fect harmony, in physics and

in the moral universe . Wisdom,Power

,and Harmony constitute

one Masonic triad . They have other and profounder meanings ,that may at some time be unveiled to you .

As to the ordinary and commonplace explanation,i t may be

added,that the wisdom of the Architect i s di splayed in combining,

as only a ski ll ful Architect can do,and as God has done every

where,— for example

,in the tree

,the human frame, the egg, the

cel l s o f the honeycomb— strength,with grace

,beauty

,symmetry,

proportion,l ightness

,ornamentation . That, too, i s the perfec

tion of the orator and poet— to combine force,strength

,energy ,

with grace of style,mu sical . cadences , the beauty of figures, the

play and irradiation of imagination and fancy ; and so, in aState

,the warl ike and industrial force of the people, and thei r

Titanic strength,must be combined with the beaut y of the

arts,the sciences, and the intellect, i f the State would sca le

the heights o f excel lence,and the people be really free . Har

mony in this,as in all

'

the Divin'e , the material, and thehuman

,i s the result of equil ibrium, O f the sympathy and opposite

action of contraries ; a single Wisdom above them holdi ng the .

beam of the scales . To reconcile the moral law,human responsi

bility, free-will , with the absolute power of God ; and the existenceof evil with His absolute w isdom

,and goodness, and mercy,

these are the great enigmas of the Sphynx .

You entered the Lodge between two columns. They representthe two which stood in the porch of the Temple

,on each side of

the great eastern gateway . These pi l lars, of bronze, four fingersbreadth in thickness, were, according to the most au thentic

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

10 MORALS AND DeeMA .

tinu ally directed, and thither he hopes at last to arrive by theaid of the theological ladder which Jacob in hi s vi sion saw

ascending from earth to Heaven ; the three principal rounds o fwhich are denominated Faith

,Hope

,and Chari ty ; and which

admonish us to'

have Faith in God,Hope in Immortal i ty

,and

Charity to all mankind .

” Accordingly a ladder,sometimes with

nine rounds , i s seen on the chart, resting at the bottom on theearth

,i ts top in the clouds

,the stars shining above it ; and thi s i s

deemed to represent that mystic ladder,which Jacob saw in hi s

dream,set up on the earth

,and the top of it reaching to Heaven ,

with the angel s of God ascending and descending on it . Theaddition of the three principal rounds to the symbol i sm

,i s wholly

modern and incongruous .The ancients counted seven planets

,thus arranged : the Moon

,

Mercury,Venus

,the Sun

,Mars

,Jupiter, and Saturn . There

were seven heavens and seven spheres of these planets ; on allthe monuments o f M i thras are seven altars or pyres

,consecrated

to the seven planets,as were the seven lamps of the golden

candelabrum in the Temple . That these represented the planets,

we are assured byClemens of Alexandria, in hi s Stromata, and byPhilo Judaeu s.

T0 return to its source in the Infinite, the human soul, theancients held

,had to ascend

,as it had descended , through the

seven spheres . The Ladder by which i t reascends, has, accordingto Marsiliu s Ficinu s, in hi s Commentary on the Ennead of Plo

tinus,seven degrees or steps ; and in the Mysteries o f Mithras ,

carried to Rome under the Emperors,the ladder, w ith

‘

its sevenrounds

,was a symbol referring to thi s ascent through the spheres

of the seven planets . Jacob saw the Spirits O f God ascending anddescending on it ; and above it the Deity Himsel f . The M i thraic

Mysteries were celebrated in caves, where gates were marked atthe four equinoctial and sol stitial points o f the zodiac ; and theseven planetary spheres were represented, which soul s needs musttraverse in descending from the heaven of the fixed stars to theelements that envelop the earth ; and seven gates were marked ,one for each planet

,through which they pass, in descending or

returning.

We learn thi s from Celsus,in Origen

,who says that the sym

bolie image of thi s passage among the stars , used in the Mith raic

Mysteries, was a ladder reach ing from earth to Heaven , divided

APPRENTICE. 1 1

into Seven steps or stages, to each of which was a gate, and at thesummit an eighth one

,that of the fixed stars . The symbol was

the same as that_

Of the seven stages of Borsippa, , the PyramidO f vitrified brick, near Babylon, bui l t o f seven stages , and each o fa diff erent color . In the Mithraic ceremonies

,the candidate went

through seven stages O f initiation,passing through many fear ful

trial s— and of these the high ladder with seven rounds or stepswas the symbol .

You see the Lodge , i ts detai l s and ornaments, by its Lights .You have already heard what these Lights, the greater and lesser ,are said to be , and how they are spoken O f byour Brethren of theYork Ri te .

The Holy B ible, Square, and Compasses , are not only styled theGreat Lights in Masonry

,but they are al so technical ly called the

Fu rniture of the Lodge ; and , as you have seen , i t i s held thatthere i s no Lodge without them . Thi s has sometimes been madea pretext for excluding Jews from our Lodges

,because they can

not regard the New Testament as a holy boOk . The Bible i s anindispensable part of the furniture of a Christian Lodge

,only

because i t i s the sacred book of the Chri stian religion . TheHebrew Pentateuch in a Hebrew Lodge

,and the Koran in a

Mohammedan one,belong on the Altar ; and one of these , and the

Square and Compass,properly understood . are the Great Lights

by which a Mason must walk and work .

The obligation of the candidate i s always to be taken on thesacred book or books of hi s rel igion

,that he may deem it more

solemn and binding ; and therefore it was that you were asked o fwhat rel igion you were . We have no other ‘concern with yourreligious creed .

The Square isi

a right angle,formed by two right l ines . It i s

adapted only to a plane surface,and belongs only to geometry ,

earth-measurement,that trigonometry which deal s only with

planes',and with the earth

,which the ancients supposed to be a

plane . The Compass describes ci rcles, and deal s with sphericaltrigonometry

,the science O f the spheres and heavens . The for

mer,therefore

,i s an emblem of what concerns the earth and the

body ; the latter of what concerns the heavens and the soul . Yetthe Compass i s al so used in plane trigonometry

,as in erecting per

pendicu lars ; and , therefore , you are reminded that . although inthi s Degree both points of the Compass are under the Square

,and

the symbols,and not with their phi losoph ical and spiri tual mean

ings,still the divine ever mingl es w ith the human ; with the

earthly the spiritual intermixes ; and there i s something spiri tual

in the commonest duties of l i fe . The nations are not bodies

po l itic alone, but also soul s-po l i tic and woe to that people which,seeking the material only

,forgets that i t has a soul . Then we

have a race,petrified in dogma

,which presupposes the absence of

a soul and the presence only of memory and instinct, or demoral

ized by lucre . Such a nature can never lead civi l ization . Genuflex ion before the idOl or the dol lar atrophies the muscle whichwalks and the will which moves . Hieratic or mercantile absorption diminishes the radiance of a people, lowers i ts horizon bylowering its level

,and depr ives i t Of that understanding of the

universal aim,at the same time human and divine, which makes

the missionary nations . A free peop le, forgetting that it has a soulto be cared for

,devotes al l i ts energies to its materia l advancement .

I f i t makes war,i t i s to subserve its commercial interests : The

citizens copy after the State,and regard wealth

,pomp, and luxury

as the great goods o f l i fe . Such a nation creates wealth rapidly,and distributes it badly . Thence the two extremes

, O f monstrousopulence and monstrous misery ; all the enjoyment to a few, allthe privations to the rest

,that i s to say

,to the people ; Privi lege,

Exception , Monopoly, Feudality, springing up from Labor itsel fa false and dangerous situation

,which

,making Labor a bl inded

and chained Cyclops,in the mine

,at the forge

,in the workshop , at

the loom , in the field, over poi sonous fumes, i n miasmatic cell s. inunventilated factori es , founds publ ic power upon private misery,and plants the greatness o f the State in the suff ering of the indie .

vidual . It i s a greatness i ll constituted,in which all the material

elements are combined,and into which no moral element enters.

I f a péople , like a star, has the right of ecl ipse, the l ight ought toreturn . The ecl ipse shou ld not degene rate into night .

The three lesser, or the Sublime Lights, you have heard, are the

Sun, the Meon , and the -Master of the Lodge ; and you have heardwhat our Brethren of the York R ite say in regard to them , andwhy they hold them to be Lights of the Lodge . But the Sun andMoon do in no sense l ight the Lodge

,unless i t be symbolical ly ,

and then the l ights are not they,but those things of which they

are the symbols . O f what they are the symbol s the Mason in that

APPRENTICE. 13

Rite is not told. Nor does the Moon in any sense ru le the nightwith regulari ty .

The Sun is the ancient symbol of the l i fe—giving and generative

power of the Deity. To the ancients, l ight was the cause O f l i fe ;and God was the source from which all l ight flowed ; the essenceo f Light, the Invisible Fire, developed as Flange manifested aslight and splendor . The Sun was His mani festation and vi sibleimage ; and the Sabaeans worshipping the Light— God

,seemed

to worship the Sun, in whom they saw the mani festation of the

Deity .

The Moon was the symbol of the pass ive capacity of nature toproduce

,the female

,of which the l i fe-giving power and energy

was the male . It was the symbol of I si s, Asta’

rte,and Artemis

,

or Diana . The “Master of Life” was the Supreme Deity

,above

both,and mani fested through both ; Zeus, the Son of Saturn,

becom e K ing O f the Gods ; Horus, son of O si ri s and I si s, becomethe Master of Li fe ; Dionu sos or Bacchus, l ike Mithras, becomethe author ofL ight and Li fe and Truth .

no:

The Master o f Light and Li fe, the Sun and the Moon, are Symbolized in every Lodge by the Master and Wardens : and thi smakes i t the duty o f the Master to di spense l ight to the Brethren,by h imsel f, and through the Wardens, who are hi smin i sters .

“Thy sun,

” says ISA IAH to Jerusalem,

“ shal l no more go down,

neither shal l thy moon withdraw itsel f ; for the LORD shal l bethine everlasting l ight

,and the days of thy mourning sha l l be

ended . Thy people al so shall be al l righteous ; they shal l inheri tthe land forever . Such i s the type of a free people .

Ou r northern ancestors worshipped thi s tri-une Deity ; ODIN,the Almighty FATHER ; FREA ,

hi s wi fe,emblem o f universal mat

ter ; and THOR, hi s son,the mediator . But above all these was

the Supreme God,

“ the autho r o f everything that ex isteth, theEternal

,the Ancient

,the Living and Awful Being

,the Searcher

into concealed things,the Being that never changeth .

” In theTemple of Eleusis (a sanctuary l ighted only by a window in theroof

,and representing the Universe ) , the images of the Sun,

Moon,and Mercury

,were represented .

“The Sun and Moon,

” says the learned DELAUNAY,represent the two grand principles o f al l generations, the active

and passive , the male and the female . The Sun represents the

14 MORALS AND DOGMA.

actual l ight . He pours upon the Moon hi s fecundating rays ; bothshed thei r l ight upon thei r offspring

,the Blazing Star

,or HORUS,

and the three form the great Equilateral Triangle,i n the centre of

which i s the omnific letter of the Kabalah,by

°

whi'ch creation i ssaid to have been eff ected .

”

The ORNAMENTS of a Lodge are said to be the Mosaic Pavement, the Indented Tessel , and the Blazing Star .

” The MosaicPavement

,chequered in squares or lozenges

,i s said to represent

the ground-floor o f K ing Solomon ’ s Temple ; and the IndentedTessel “ that beauti ful tesselated border which surrounded it .The Blazing Star in the centre i s said to be “ an emblem of DivineProvidence

,and commemorative of the star which appeared to

guide the wi se men of the East to the place of our Saviour ’ snativity .

” But “ there was no stone seen” within the Temple .The w allsw ere covered with planks of cedar, and the floor wascovered with planks of fir . There i s no evidence that there wassuch a pavement or floor in the Temple, or such a bordering. InEngland

,anciently

,the Tracing-Board was surrounded with an

indented border ; and it i s only in Amer ié a that such a border i sput around the Mosaic pavement . The tesserae, indeed, are thesquares or lozenges of

‘

the pavement . In England,also

,

“

the

i ndented or denticulated border” i s called “ tesselated,” because i t

has four “ tassel s,

” said to represent Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence

,and Justice . It was termed the Indented Trassel ; but thi s

is a mi suse of words . It i s a tesserated pavement, with an indent

ed border round it .

The pavement,alternately black and white

,symbolizes

,whether

so intended or not,the Good and Evil Principles o f the Egyptian

and Persian creed . It i s the warfare Of Michael and Satan,of the

Gods and Titans,of Balder and Lok ; between l ight and shadow,

which i s darkness ; Day and N ight ; Freedom and Despoti sm ;Rel igious Liberty and the Arbitrary Dogmas o f a Church thatthinks for its votaries

,and whose Pontiff claims to be infall ible

,

and the decretal s of its Council s to constitute a gospel .

The edges of thi s pavement,i f in lozenges

,wil l necessari ly be

indented or denticulated,toothed l ike a saw ; and to complete and

fini sh i t a bordering i s necessary . It i s completed by tassel s asornaments at the corners . I f these and the bordering have any

symbol ic meaning, i t i s fanci ful and arbitrary.

To find in the BLAZIN G STAR of five points an allusion to the

APPRENTICE . 15

Divine Providence,i s also fanci ful and to make it commemorative

o f the Star that i s said to have gu ided the Magi , i s to give i t ameaning comparatively modern . Originally i t represented S IRIUS,or the Dog-star, the forerunner of the inundation Of the N i le ; theGod ANUBIS, companion of 15 1 8 in her search for the body of

OSIRIS, her brother and husband . Then i t became the image of

HORU S, ,the son of OSIRIS, himsel f symbol ized also by the Sun,

the author o f the Seasons,and the God of Time ; Son of ISIS, who

was the universal nature,himsel f the primitive matter,inexhaust

ible source of Li fe,spark of uncreated fire

,universal seed of all

beings . I t was HERMES, also, the Master of Learning, whosename in Greek i s that Of the God Mercury . It became the sacredand potent Sign or character of the Magi , the PENTALPHA, and isthe significant emblem of Liberty and Freedom,

blazing with a

steady radiance amid the weltering elements of good and evi l ofRevolutions, and promising serene skies and fert il e seasons to thenations, a fter the storms of change and tumult.In the East of the Lodge, over the . Master; inclosed in a tri

angle , i s the Hebrew letter YOD s or ( If In the Engl i sh and

American Lodges the Letter i s substi tuted for thi s, as theinitial of the word GOD, with as l ittle reason as i f the letter D.,

initial Of D IEU, were used in French Lodges instead of the properletter. YOD i s, i n the Kabalah

,the symbol of Unity, of the

Supreme Deity, the first letter Of the Holy Name ; and also asymbol of the Great Kabal i stic Triads . To understand its mysticmeanings, you must open the pages o f the Sohar and Siphra deZeniu tha, and other kabali sti c books, and ponder deeply on theirmeaning. It must suffice to say, that i t i s the Creative Energy ofthe Deity, i s represented as a point, and that point in the centre ofthe Circle of immensity . It i s to us in thi s Degree

,the symbol of

that unmani fested Deity, the Absolute, who has no name .

Our French Brethren place th is letter YOD in the centre of theBlaz ing Star . And in the old Lectures, ou r ancient Engl i shBrethren said

,

“The Blazing Star or Glory in the centre refersu s to that grand luminary

“

,the Sun

,which enl ightens the earth,

and by its genial influence dispenses blessings to mankind .

” Theycalled i t al so in the same lectures

,an emblem of PRUDENCE . The

w ord Prudentia means , in i ts original and fullest s ignification ,Foresight ; and, accordingly, the Blazing Star has been regardedas an emblem of Omni science, or the All-seeing Eye, which to the

16 MORALS AND DOGMA.

Egyptian Initiates was the emblem of Os iri s, the Creator. Withthe YOD in the centre, i t has the kabal i stic meaning of the DivineEnergy, mani fested as Light, creating the Universe .

The Jewel s o f the Lodge are said to be six in number . Threeare called “Movable,

” and three “Immovable .

” The SQUARE,the

LEVEL, and the PLUMB were anciently and properly called theMovable Jewels , because they pass from one Brother to another.I t i s a modern innovation to cal l them immovable, because theymu st always be present in the Lodge . The immovable j ewel s arethe ROUGH ASHLAR

,the PERFECT ASHLAR or CUBICAL STONE, or,

in some R i tual s , the DOUBLE CUBE, and the TRACING-BOARD, orTRESTLE-BOARD .

O f these j ewel s ou r Brethren of the York R i te say : The

Square inculcates Moral i ty ; the Level, Equal ity ; and the Plumb,Recti tude of Conduct .

” Their explanation Of the immovableJewels may be read in their monitors .

a: a:

Our Brethren of the York R i te say that “ there i s representedin every wel l-governed Lodge

,a certain point

,within a circle ;

the point representing an individual Brother ° the Circle, theboundary l ine Of his conduct, beyond which he i s never to sufferhis prejudices or passions to betray him .

”

This i s not to interpret the symbol s of Masonry. It i s said bysome, with a nearer approach to interpretation , that the pointwithin the circle represents God in the centre of the Universe . Iti s a common Egyptian sign for the Sum

'

and Osi ri s , and i s sti llused as the astronom ical Sign of the great luminary . In the Ka

balah the point i s YOD,the Creative Energy of God, i rradiating

with l ight the circular space whi ch God,the universal Light,

left vacant,wherein to create the worlds

hby withdrawing His

substance of Light back on all sides from one point .

Our Brethren add that “ thi s circle i s embordered by twoperpendicular paral lel l ines

,representing Saint John the Baptist

and Saint J ohn the Evangel i st, and upon the top rest the HolyScriptures

”

(an open book ) .

“ In going round thi s ci rcle,

” theysay, we necessari ly touch upon these two l ines as wel l as uponthe Holy Scriptures ; and while a Mason keeps himsel f circumscribed within the i r precepts

, it is imposs ible that he shouldmaterial ly err.”