"THE CRAFT LECTURES" Contributed by W.Bro. J. T, Philp, P.M, P.Z. Before the Ceremonies of Passing and Raising, the Candidate is asked by the Master of the Lodge, firstly to give proofs of his proficiency in the former or previous degree. The W.M. then proceeds to put the necessary questions. The Candidate goes through this catechism, and the W.M. says, "These are the usual questions, J will put others if any brother wishes me to do so." For many decades this 'last proposition has been purely a formality, but from 1772, just two centuries ago, when the Lectures were first written by William Preston, this was not so. William Preston (1742-1818) was an operative printer and at the same time a Speculative Mason, who later became Deputy Grand Secretary. He has been called the father of masonic history, and his memory is preserved in the annual Prestonian Lecture. He is. buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. Those questions were only a small part of "the Lectures of the Three Degrees in Craft Masonry". They are very much worthwhile reading and even rehearsing in the form of the catechism in which they are written, as they fill in some of the gaps and give further explanation of the teachings of the Craft Ritual. The introductory address to the first lecture having pointed out that the lessons of Freemasonry are for the most part "veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols", then goes on to say "to draw aside this veil therefore, or more properly speaking, to penetrate through its mysteries is the object of our Masonic Lectures. The Lecture of the First Degree is divided into seven sections, the Second Degree five, and the Third Degree three, each having an introductory section. and each section rounded off with a Charge. At the end of each Lecture, the masonic fire familiar to us at the festive board is given after the Charge. These lectures were rehearsed and practised in the upper rooms of taverns. The Lodges in those days used simple tracing boards or even drew designs and plans on board or cloth or on a sanded floor. Certain sections of these lectures are merely a "question and answer" form of the Ritual itself. Other sections, however, offer in acceptable. if somewhat archaic prose, explanations of, for instance, the building of K.S. Temple on Holy Ground, a Masonic symbolic definition of Jacob's ladder shown on the First Degree Tracing Board and interesting expositions of the moral virtues: "Faith- the foundation of justice, the bond of amity and the chief support of civil society ... " "Hope-is an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast . . ." "Charily, lovely in itself, is the brightest ornament which can adorn our Masonic profession . . . If The Ornaments, Furniture and Jewels. movable and immovable, of a Lodge form the basis of one section of the first Lecture. Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth are well defined as are also Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence and Justice. What was written about Justice just two hundred years ago would not come amiss perhaps today. "Justice-is that station or boundary of right, by which we are taught to render to every man his just due and that without distinction, this virtue is not only consistent with the Divine and human law, but is the standard and cement of civil society. Without the exercise of this virtue, universal confusion would ensue, lawless force would overcome the principles of equity, and social intercourse no longer exist." The Second Lecture (second degree), traces the goodness of the Creator by minutely analysing His works; the second section offers an explanation of the need for and beginnings of Geometry, owing to the annual overflowing of the banks of the Nile, and the need to re-allocate land fairly, when the floods had subsided. This section also deals with an allegorical explanation of the six periods of the Creation. It ends with . . . "The Almighty as his last, best gift to man then created woman; under His forming hands a creature grew, manlike, but different sex, so Iovely fair, that what seemed fair in all the

world, seemed now mean, or in her summed up, in her contained. On she came .. grace was in her steps, Heaven in her eye. in every gesture, dignity and love." The Five Orders of Architecture are defined and symbolised in the Lecture in the fouth section, and should be of special interest to members of this Lodge, from which our name arises. In the fifth section, we learn how immense were the number of masons employed in the building of K.S. Temple-three hundred Rulers, three thousand three hundred Overseers and eighty thousand Craftsmen. There were also another seventy thousand men of ourden and hewers of stone, so that the total .number of men employed in the building was one hundred and fifty-three thousand six hundred. The Third Degree Lecture itself is largely repetitive of the ritual but here the Introductory Address is well worth studying. ". . . To a perfect knowledge of this Degree few attain, but it is an infallible truth, that he who gains by merit those marks of pre-eminence and distinction which the Degree affords receives a reward which amply compensates for all his attention and assiduity." This lecture does however give long explanations of same of those things which are only briefly explained in the Ceremony itself. Finally, the little book of the Craft Lectures, similar in most respects to a book of Ritual is an essential item for study, offering lucid and attractive description that assists towards a better understanding of much that would otherwise remain obscure. I trust that my brief review will stimulate a desire in our members to add the Craft Lectures to their Masonic reading. J.T.P.