13:1 From the affair of Jephthah, an Ephraimite was termed a cowan. In Egypt, cohen was the title of a priest or prince, and a term of honor. Bryant, speaking of the harpies, says, they were priests of the sun; and, as cohen was the name of a dog as well as a priest, they are termed by Apollonius “the dogs of Jove.” Now, St. John cautions the Christian brethren, that “without are dogs” (κυνες), cowans or listeners (Rev. xxii. 15), and St. Paul exhorts the Christians to “beware of dogs, because they are evil workers” (Phil. W. 2). Now, κυων, a dog, or evil worker, is the masonic cowan.–Historical Landmarks, vol. i. p. 349.

15:1 The ceremony of OPENING THE LODGE is solemn and impressive. Every brother is reminded of his duties and obligations. The necessary precautions are employed to avoid the intrusion of the profane, and every member, being compelled to assume a share of the necessary forms, is thus admonished that Masonry is a whole of which each Mason forms a part.–Lexicon.

The first business which occupies the brethren at their stated meetings is what is technically called opening the Lodge. It is a solemn and imposing rite, and strongly files the attention of every serious Mason. Every officer is made acquainted with his duty, and seriously impressed with the importance attached to his situation.–Theo. Phil., p. 272-3.

18:1 When a Mason enters a Lodge after it is opened and at work, he proceeds to the centre of the Lodge, at the altar, and, facing the Worshipful Master in the east, gives the duegard and sign of the degree in which the Lodge is working. The duegard is never omitted when the Master is addressed.

28:1 Every initiated person, whether prince, peer, or peasant, is bound, al least once during his Masonic career, to pass through this emblematical p. 29 feature of his profession, as an unmistakable pledge of fidelity. He may not like it. He may object to it. He may think it degrading. But he has no option. He cannot avoid it. If he seriously intends to be a Mason, he must endure it with patience, as an indispensable condition of his tenure. And accordingly no instance is on record where the privilege of initiation has been abandoned from a rejection of this preliminary ceremony. Nor has any one, when the rite has been completed, ever found reason to question its propriety. Such a proceeding is, indeed, utterly improbable, for it bears such a beautiful analogy to the customs of all primitive nations, that its origin may be reasonably ascribed to some unfathomable antiquity, which might probably extend–although we have no evidence of the fact–to a period before the universal deluge.

“The reverence indicated by putting off the covering of the feet,” says Dr. Kitts, “is still prevalent in the East. The Orientals throw off their slippers on all those occasions when we should take off our hats. They never uncover their heads, any more than we do our feet. It would everywhere, whether among Christians, Moslems, or pagans, be considered in the highest degree irreverent for a person to enter a church, a temple, or a mosque, with his feet covered.” In like manner our Mosaic pavement is accounted pure and immaculate; and therefore no pollution can be tolerated on that sacred floor.”–The Freemason’s Treasury, p. 177.

30:1 This is the first admission of a candidate before initiation. He avows airs belief and trust in God: and it is on that avowal alone that his admission among us is based. If he refused to acknowledge the being of a God would he at once rejected; but on the receipt of a solemn declaration that he puts his trust in God, the chief officer of the Lodge expresses his satisfaction, and tells him that where the name of God is invoked no danger can possibly ensue.–Historical Landmarks, vol. i. p. 45.

31:1 NOTE.–If more than one candidate is being initiated at once, they p. 32 are required to take hold of each other’s arms. Five are about as many as can be initiated at once; the same number “passed” to Second Degree; but only one at a time can be raised to the Master’s Degree. Small Lodges cannot manage but one at a time conveniently.

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