Part 35 (1/2)
Q. What did you see when you were received? A. Things that were marvellous.
Q. How were you received? A. By water and the effusion of blood.
Q. Explain this to me? A. A Mason should not hesitate to spill his blood for the support of Masonry.
Q. What are the ornaments of the Grand Council? A. Superb thrones, sun, more perfumed ointment, and a basin of water.
Q. What is the figure of the draft? A. An heptagon within a circle.
Q. What is the representation of it? A. A man vested in a white robe, with a golden girdle 'round his waist--'round his right hand seven stars--his head surrounded with a glory, a long, white beard--a two-edged sword across his mouth, surrounded by seven candlesticks, with these letters: H. D. P. I. P. R.
Q. What signifies the circle? A. As the circle is finished by a point, so should a Lodge be united by brotherly love and affection.
Q. What signifies the heptagon? A. Our mystic number which is enclosed in seven letters.
Q. What are the seven letters? A. B. D. W. P. H. G. S.; which signifies Beauty, Divinity, Wisdom, Power, Honor, Glory, and Strength.
Q. Give me the explanation of these words? A. Beauty to adorn; Divinity, that Masonry is of divine origin; Wisdom, a quality to invent; Power, to destroy the profane and unworthy brethren; Honor, is an indispensable quality in a Mason, that he may support himself in his engagements with respectability; Glory, that a good Mason is on an equality with the greatest prince; and Strength, is necessary to sustain us.
Q. What signifies the seven stars? A. The seven qualities which Masons should be possessed of: Friends.h.i.+p, Union, Submission, Discretion, Fidelity, Prudence and Temperance.
Q. Why should a Mason be possessed of these qualities? A. Friends.h.i.+p, is a virtue that should reign among brothers; Union, is the foundation of society; Submission, to the laws, regulations, and decrees of the Lodge, without murmuring; Discretion, that a Mason should always be on his guard, and never suffer himself to be surprised; Fidelity, in observing strictly our obligations; Prudence, to conduct ourselves in such a manner that the profane, though jealous, may never be able to censure our conduct; and Temperance, to avoid all excesses that may injure either body or soul.
Q. What signifies the seven candlesticks, with their seven letters? A.
seven crimes, which Masons should always avoid, viz.: Hatred, Discord, Pride, Indiscretion, Perfidy, Rashness, and Calumny.
Q. What are the reasons that Masons should particularly avoid these crimes? A. Because they are incompatible with the principles and qualities of a good Mason, who should avoid doing an injury to a brother, even should he be ill-treated by him, and to unite in himself all the qualities of a good and upright man. Discord, is contrary to the very principles of society; Pride, prevents the exercise of humanity; Indiscretion, is fatal to Masonry; Perfidy, should be execrated by every honest man; Rashness, may lead us into unpleasant and disagreeable dilemmas; and Calumny, the worst of all, should be shunned as a vice which saps the very foundation of friends.h.i.+p and society.
Q. What signifies the two-edged sword? A. It expresses the superiority of this degree over all others that precede it.
Q. Are there any higher degrees than this? A. Yes; there are several.
Q. What signifies the book with seven seals, which none but one can open? A. A Lodge, or Council, of Masons, which the Most Puissant alone has a right to convene and open.
Q. What is enclosed in the first seal? A. One bow, one arrow, and one crown.
Q. What in the second? A. A two-edged sword.
Q. What in the third? A. A balance.
Q. What in the fourth? A. Death's head.
Q. What in the fifth? A. A cloth stained with blood.
Q. What in the sixth? A. The power to darken the sun, and tinge the moon with blood.
Q. What in the seventh? A. Seven trumpets and perfumes.
Q. Explain these things to me? A. The bow, arrow, and crown, signifies that the orders of this respectable council should be executed with as much quickness as the arrow flies from the bow, and be received with as much submission as if it came from a crowned head, or the chief of a nation. The sword, that the Council is always armed to punish the guilty. The balance is a symbol of justice. The skull is the image of a brother who is excluded from a Lodge or Council. This idea must make all tremble when they recollect the penalties they have imposed on themselves under the most solemn obligations! The cloth stained with blood, that we should not hesitate to spill ours for the good of Masonry. The power of obscuring the sun and tinging the moon with blood, is the representation of the power of the Superior Councils--in interdicting their works, if they are irregular, until they have acknowledged their error, and submitted to the rules and regulations of the craft established by the Grand Const.i.tutions. The seven trumpets, signify that Masonry is extended over the surface of the earth, on the wings of fame, and supports itself with honor. The perfumes denote that the life of a good Mason should be, and is free from all reproach, and is perfumed by means of good report.
Q. What age are you? A. Very ancient.