First Degree Initiation | Chapter 2

If there are any candidates to be brought forward, that will be the first business to be attended to. I will therefore proceed with a description of the ceremonies used in the admission and initiation of a candidate into the first degree of Masonry.

A person wishing to become a Mason must get some one who is a Mason to present his petition to a lodge, when, if there are no serious objections, it will be entered on the minutes, and a committee of two or three appointed to enquire into his character, and report to the next regular communication. The following is a form of petition used by a candidate; but a worthy candidate will not be rejected for the want of formality in his petition:

To the Worshipful Master, Wardens and Brethren of Lodge No. —, of Free and Accepted Masons. The subscriber, residing in ——, of lawful age, and by occupation a ——, begs leave to state that, unbiased by friends, and uninfluenced by mercenary motives, he freely and voluntarily offers himself a candidate for the mysteries of Masonry, and that he is prompted to solicit this privilege by a favorable opinion conceived of the institution, a desire

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of knowledge, and a sincere wish of being serviceable to his fellow creatures. Should his petition be granted, he will cheerfully conform to all the ancient established usages and customs of the fraternity.

(Signed)

A. B. At the next regular communication, (if no very serious objection appears against the candidate) the ballot boxes wilt be passed; one black ball will reject a candidate. The boxes may be passed three times. The Deacons are the proper persons to pass them. One of the boxes has black and white beans or balls in it, the other empty, the one with the balls in it goes before, and furnishes each member with a black and white ball; the empty box follows and receives them. There are two holes in the top of this box with a small tube, (generally) in each, one of which is black and the other white, with a partition in the box. The members put both their balls into this box as their feelings dictate; when the balls are received, the box is presented to the Master, Senior and Junior Wardens, who pronounce clear or not clear, as the case may be. The ballot proving clear, the candidate (if present) is conducted into a small preparation room, adjoining the lodge when he is asked the following questions and gives the following answers. Senior Deacon to Candidate, “Do you sincerely declare, upon your honor before these gentlemen, that, unbiased by friends, uninfluenced by unworthy motives, you freely and voluntarily offer yourself a candidate for the mysteries of Masonry?”

Ans. “I do.”

Senior Deacon to candidate. “Do you sincerely declare, upon your honor before these gentlemen, that you are prompted to solicit the privileges of Masonry by a favorable opinion conceived of the institution, a desire of knowledge, and a sincere wish of being serviceable to your fellow creatures?”

Ans. “I do.”

Senior Deacon to candidate, “Do you sincerely declare upon your honor before these gentlemen, that you will cheerfully conform to all the ancient established usages and customs of the fraternity?”

Ans. “I do.”

After the above questions are proposed and answered and the result reported to the Master, he says, ‘Brethren

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at the request of Mr. A. B. he has been proposed and accepted in regular form. I therefore recommend him as a proper candidate for the mysteries of Masonry and worthy to partake of the privileges of the fraternity and in consequence of a declaration of his intentions, voluntarily made, I believe he will cheerfully conform to the rules of the order.”

The candidate during the time is divested of all his apparel (shirt excepted) and furnished with a pair of drawers kept in the lodge for the use of candidates. The candidate is then blindfolded, his left foot bare, his right in a slipper, his left breast and arm naked, and a rope called a Cable-tow round his neck and left arm, [the rope is not put round the arm in all lodges] in which posture the candidate is conducted to the door where he is caused to give, or the conductor gives three distinct knocks, which are answered by three from within; the conductor gives one more, which is also answered by one from within. The door is then partly opened and the Senior Deacon generally asks, “Who comes there? Who comes there? Who comes there?”

First Section of the Lecture on the First Degree | Chapter 4

Having described all the ceremonies and forms appertaining to the opening of a lodge of Entered Apprentice Masons, setting them to work, initiating a candidate, and closing the lodge, I will now proceed too give the lecture on this degree. It is divided into three sections. The lecture is nothing more or less than a recapitulation of the preceding ceremonies and forms, by way of question and answer, and fully explains the same. In fact, the ceremonies and forms (generally Masonically called the work) and lectures are so much the same that he who possesses a knowledge of the lectures cannot be destitute of a knowledge of what the ceremonies and forms are. As the ceremonies used in opening and closing are the same in all the degrees it is thought best to give the whole in one insertion; it being the sincere wish of the writer that every reader should perfectly understand all the formulas of the whole Masonic fabric, as he then will thereby be able to form correct opinions of the propriety or impropriety, advantages or disadvantages of the same.

First Section of the Lecture on the First Degree of Masonry. “From whence come you as an Entered Apprentice Mason?”

Ans. “From the holy lodge of St. John, at Jerusalem.” “What recommendations do you bring?”

Ans. “Recommendations from the Worshipful Master, Wardens and brethren of that right worshipful lodge, whom greet you.”

“What comest thou hither to do?”

Ans. “To learn to subdue my passions, and improve myself in the secret arts and mysteries of ancient Freemasonry.”

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“You are a Mason, then I presume?”

Ans. “I am.”

“How shall I know you to be a Mason?”

Ans. “By certain signs and a token.”

“What are signs?”

Ans. “All right angles, horizontals and perpendiculars.”

“What is a token?”

Ans. “A certain friendly and brotherly grip, whereby one Mason may know another, in the dark as well as in the light.”

“Where were you first prepared to be made a Mason?”

Ans. “In my heart.”

“Where secondly?”

Ans. “In a room adjacent to the body of a just and lawfully constituted lodge of such.”

“How were you prepared?”

Ans. “By being divested of all metals, neither naked nor clothed, barefoot nor shod, hoodwinked, with a Cable Tow  about my neck, in which situation I was conducted to the door of the lodge.”

“You being hoodwinked how did you know it to be a door?”

Ans. “By first meeting with resistance, and afterwards gaining admission.”

“How did you gain admission?”

Ans. “By three distinct knocks from without, answered by the same within.”

“What was said to you from within?”

Ans. “Who comes there? Who comes there? Who comes there?

“Your answer?”

Ans. “A poor blind candidate who has long been desirous of having and receiving a part of the rights and benefits of this worshipful lodge, dedicated to God, and held forth to the holy order of St. John, as all true fellows and brothers have done, who have gone this way before me.”

“What further was said to you from within?”

Ans. “I was asked if it was of my own free will and accord I made this request, if I was duly and truly proposed, worthy and well qualified, all of which being answered in the affirmative, I was asked by what further rights I expected

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to obtain so great a favor or benefit.”

“Your answer?”

Ans. “By being a man, free born, of lawful age and well recommended.”

“What was then said to you?”

Ans. “I was bid to wait till the Worshipful Master in the east was made acquainted with my request and his answer returned.”

“After his answer returned what followed?”

Ans. “I was caused to enter the lodge.”

“How?”

Ans. “On the point of some sharp instrument pressing my naked left breast in the name of the Lord.”

“How were you then disposed of?”

Ans. “I was conducted to the center of the lodge and there caused to kneel for the benefit of a prayer.” [See page 19.]

“After prayer what was said to you?”

Ans. “I was asked in whom I put my trust.”

Third Section of the Lecture on the First Degree | Chapter 6

“We have been saying a good deal about a lodge; I want to know what constitutes a lodge?”

Ans. “A certain number of Free and Accepted Masons duly assembled in a room, or place, with the Holy Bible,

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[paragraph continues] Square and Compass, and other Masonic implements with a charter from the Grand Lodge empowering them to work.”

“Where did our ancient brethren meet before lodges were erected?”

Ans. “On the highest hills, and in the lowest vales.”

“Why on the highest hills and the lowest vales?”

Ans. “The better to guard against cowans and enemies, either ascending or descending, that the brethren might have timely notice of their approach to prevent being surprised.”

“What is the form of your lodge?”

Ans. “An oblong square.”

“How long?”

Ans. “From east to west.”

“How wide?”

Ans. “Between north and south.”

“How high?”

Ans. “From the surface of the earth to the highest heavens.”

“How deep?”

Ans. “From the surface to the center.”

“What supports your lodge?”

Ans. “Three large columns or pillars.”

“What are their names?”

Ans. “Wisdom, Strength and Beauty.”

“Why so?”

Ans. “It is necessary there should be wisdom to contrive, strength to support, and beauty to adorn all great and important undertakings, but more especially this of ours.”

“Has your lodge any covering?”

Ans. “It has; a clouded canopy, or a starry decked heaven, where all good Masons hope to arrive.”

“How do they hope to arrive there?”

Ans. “By the assistance of Jacob’s ladder.”

“How many principal rounds has it got?”

Ans. “Three.”

“What are their names?”

Ans. “Faith, Hope and Charity.”

“What do they teach?”

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Ans. “Faith in God, Hope in immortality, and Charity to all mankind.”

“Has your lodge any furniture?”

Ans. “It has; the Holy Bible, Square, and Compass.”

“To whom do they belong?”

Ans. “The Bible to God, the Square to the Master, and the Compass to the Craft.”

“How explained?”

Ans. “The Bible to God, it being the inestimable gift of God to man, for his instruction to guide him through the rugged paths of life; the Square to the Master, it being the proper emblem of his office; the Compass to, the Craft, by a due attention to which we are taught to limit our desires, curb our ambition, subdue our irregular appetites, and keep our passions and prejudices in due bonds with all mankind, but more especially with the brethren,”

“Has your lodge any ornaments?”

Ans. “It has; the mosaic, or chequered pavement, the indented tessels, the beautiful tessellated border which surrounds it, with the blazing star in the center.”

“What do they represent?”

Ans. “Mosaic or chequered pavement represents this world, which, though chequered over with good and evil, yet brethren may walk together thereon and not stumble; the indented tessel, with the blazing star in the center, the manifold blessings and comforts with which we are surrounded in this life, but more especially those which we hope to enjoy hereafter; the blazing star, that prudence which ought to appear conspicuous in the conduct of every Mason, but more especially commemorative of the star which appeared in the east, to guide the wise men to Bethlehem, to proclaim the birth and the presence of the Son of God.”

“Has your lodge any lights?”

Ans. “It has three.”

“How are they situated?”

Ans. “East, west, and south.”

“Has it none in the north?”

Ans. “It has not.”

“Why so?”

Ans. “Because this and every other lodge is, or ought to be a true representation of King Solomon’s Temple, which

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was situated north of the ecliptic; the sun and moon therefore darting their rays from the south, no light was to be expected from the north; we, therefore, Masonically, term the north a place of darkness.”

“Has your lodge any jewels?”

Ans. “It has six; three movable and three immovable.”

“What are the three movable jewels?”

Ans. “The Square, Level, and Plumb.”

“What do they teach?”

Ans. “The Square, morality; the Level, equality; and the Plumb, rectitude of life and conduct.”

“What are the three immovable jewels?”

Ans. “The rough Ashlar, the perfect Ashlar, and the Trestle-board.”

Grand Inspector Inquisitor Commander | Chapter 31

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[Inspector Inquisitor.]

To hear patiently, to weigh deliberately and dispassionately, and to decide impartially;–these are the chief duties of a Judge. After the lessons you have received, I need not further enlarge upon them. You will be ever eloquently reminded of them by the furniture upon our Altar, and the decorations of the Tribunal.

The Holy Bible will remind you of your obligation; and that as you judge here below, so you will be yourself judged hereafter, by One who has not to submit, like an earthly judge, to the sad necessity of inferring the motives, intentions, and purposes of men [of which all crime essentially consists] from the uncertain and often unsafe testimony of their acts and words; as men in thick darkness grope their way, with hands outstretched before them: but before Whom every thought, feeling, impulse, and intention of every soul that now is, or ever was, or ever will be on earth, is, and ever will be through the whole infinite duration of eternity, present and visible.

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The Square and Compass, the Plumb and Level, are well known to you as a Mason. Upon you as a Judge, they peculiarly inculcate uprightness, impartiality, careful consideration of facts and circumstances, accuracy in judgment, and uniformity in decision As a Judge, too, you are to bring up square work and square work only. Like a temple erected by the plumb, you are to lean neither to one side nor the other. Like a building well squared and levelled, you are to be firm and steadfast in your convictions of right and justice. Like the circle swept with the compasses, you are to be true. In the scales of justice you are to weigh the facts and the law alone, nor place in either scale personal friendship or personal dislike, neither fear nor favor: and when reformation is no longer to be hoped for, you are to smite relentlessly with the sword of justice.

The peculiar and principal symbol of this Degree is the Tetractys of Pythagoras, suspended in the East, where ordinarily the sacred word or letter glitters, like it, representing the Deity. Its nine external points form the triangle, the chief symbol in Masonry, with many of the meanings of which you are familiar.

To us, its three sides represent the three principal attributes of the Deity, which created, and now, as ever, support, uphold, and guide the Universe in its eternal movement; the three supports of the Masonic Temple, itself an emblem of the Universe:–Wisdom, or the Infinite Divine Intelligence; Strength, or Power, the Infinite Divine Will; and Beauty, or the Infinite Divine Harmony, the Eternal Law, by virtue of which the infinite myriads of suns and worlds flash ever onward in their ceaseless revolutions, without clash or conflict, in the Infinite of space, and change and movement are the law of all created existences.

To us, as Masonic Judges, the triangle figures forth the Pyramids, which, planted firmly as the everlasting hills, and accurately adjusted to the four cardinal points, defiant of all assaults of men and time, teach us to stand firm and unshaken as they, when our feet are planted upon the solid truth.

It includes a multitude of geometrical figures, all having a deep significance to Masons. The triple triangle is peculiarly sacred, having ever been among all nations a symbol of the Deity. Prolonging all the external lines of the Hexagon, which also it includes, we have six smaller triangles, whose bases cut each other in the central point of the Tetractys, itself always the symbol of

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the generative power of the Universe, the Sun, Brahma, Osiris, Apollo, Bel, and the Deity Himself. Thus, too, we form twelve still smaller triangles, three times three of which compose the Tetractys itself.

I refrain from enumerating all the figures that you may trace within it: but one may not be passed unnoticed. The Hexagon itself faintly images to us a cube, not visible at the first glance, and therefore the fit emblem of that faith in things invisible, most essential to salvation. The first perfect solid, and reminding you of the cubical stone that sweated blood, and of that deposited by Enoch, it teaches justice, accuracy, and consistency.

Knight of the Royal Axe, or Prince of Libanus | Chapter 22

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SYMPATHY with the great laboring classes, respect for labor itself, and resolution to do some good work in our day and generation, these are the lessons of this Degree, and they are purely Masonic. Masonry has made a working-man and his associates the Heroes of her principal legend, and himself the companion of Kings. The idea is as simple and true as it is sublime. From first to last, Masonry is work. It venerates the Grand Architect of the Universe. It commemorates the building of a Temple. Its principal emblems are the working tools of Masons and Artisans. It preserves the name of the first worker in brass and iron as one of its pass-words. When the Brethren meet together, they are at labor. The Master is the overseer who sets the craft to work and gives them proper instruction. Masonry is the apotheosis of WORK.

It is the hands of brave, forgotten men that have made this great, populous, cultivated world a world for us. It is all work, and forgotten work. The real conquerors, creators, and eternal proprietors of every great and civilized land are all the heroic souls that ever were in it, each in his degree: all the men that ever felled a forest-tree or drained a marsh, or contrived a wise scheme, or did or said a true or valiant thing therein. Genuine work alone, done faithfully, is eternal, even as the Almighty Founder and World-builder Himself. All work is noble: a life of ease is not for any man, nor for any God. The Almighty Maker is not like one who, in old immemorial ages, having made his machine of a Universe, sits ever since, and sees it go. Out of that belief comes Atheism. The faith in an Invisible, Unnamable, Directing Deity, present everywhere in all that we see, and work, and suffer, is the essence of all faith whatsoever.

The life of all Gods figures itself to us as a Sublime Earnestness,–of

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[paragraph continues] Infinite battle against Infinite labor Our highest religion is named the Worship of Sorrow. For the Son of Man there is no noble crown, well-worn, or even ill-worn, but is a crown of thorns. Man’s highest destiny is not to be happy, to love pleasant things and find them. His only true unhappiness should be that he cannot work, and get his destiny as a man fulfilled. The day passes swiftly over, our life passes swiftly over, and the night cometh, wherein no man can work. That night once come, our happiness and unhappiness are vanished, and become as things that never were. But our work is not abolished, and has not vanished. It remains, or the want of it remains, for endless Times and Eternities.

Whatsoever of morality and intelligence; what of patience, perseverance, faithfulness, of method, insight, ingenuity, energy; in a word, whatsoever of STRENGTH a man has in him, will lie written in the WORK he does. To work is to try himself against Nature and her unerring, everlasting laws: and they will return true verdict as to him. The noblest Epic is a mighty Empire slowly built together, a mighty series of heroic deeds, a mighty conquest over chaos. Deeds are greater than words. They have a life, mute, but undeniable; and grow. They people the vacuity of Time, and make it green and worthy.

Labor is the truest emblem of God, the Architect and Eternal Maker; noble Labor, which is yet to be the King of this Earth, and sit on the highest Throne. Men without duties to do, are like trees planted on precipices; from the roots of which all the earth has crumbled. Nature owns no man who is not also a Martyr. She scorns the man who sits screened from all work, from want, danger, hardship, the victory over which is work; and has all his work and battling done by other men; and yet there are men who pride themselves that they and theirs have done no work time out of mind. So neither have the swine.

The chief of men is he who stands in the van of men, fronting the peril which frightens back all others, and if not vanquished would devour them. Hercules was worshipped for twelve labors. The Czar of Russia became a toiling shipwright, and worked with his axe in the docks of Saardam; and something came of that. Cromwell worked, and Napoleon; and effected somewhat.

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