Question—From whence came you as an Entered Apprentice Mason? Answer—From the Holy Lodge of St. John at Jerusalem.
[Pg 16]Q. What recommendations do you bring? A. Recommendations from the Worshipful Master, Wardens, and brethren of that Right Worshipful Lodge, who greet you.
Q. What comest thou hither to do? A. To learn to subdue my passions, and improve myself in the secret arts and mysteries of Ancient Freemasonry.
Q. You are a Mason, then, I presume? A. I am.
Q. How do you know that you are a Mason? A. By being often tried, never denied, and willing to be tried again.
Q. How shall I know you to be a Mason? A. By certain signs, and a token.
Q. What are signs? A. All right angles, horizontals and perpendiculars.
Q. What is a token? A. A certain friendly and brotherly grip, whereby one Mason may know another in the dark as well as in the light.
Q. Where were you first prepared to be a Mason? A. In my heart.
Q. Where secondly? A. In a room adjacent to the body of a just and lawfully constituted Lodge of such.
Q. How were you prepared? A. 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.
Q. You being hoodwinked, how did you know it to be a door? A. By first meeting with resistance, and afterwards gaining admission.
Q. How did you gain admission? A. By three distinct knocks from without, answered by the same from within.
Q. What was said to you from within? A. Who comes there? Who comes there? Who comes there?
Q. Your answer? A. 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.
Q. What further was said to you from within? A. I was asked if it was of my own free will and accord I made this request; if I was duly and truly prepared, worthy and well qualified; all of which being answered in the affirmative, I was asked by what further rights I expected to obtain so great a favor or benefit.
Q. Your answer? A. By being a man, free-born, of lawful age, and well recommended.
Q. What was then said to you? A. I was bid to wait till the Worshipful Master in the East was made acquainted with my request and his answer returned.
Q. After his answer was returned, what followed? A. I was caused to enter the Lodge.
Q. How? A. On the point of some sharp instrument pressing my naked left breast, in the name of the Lord.
Q. How were you then disposed of? A. I was conducted to the centre of the Lodge, and there caused to kneel for the benefit of a prayer.
[Pg 17]Q. After prayer, what was said to you? A. I was asked in whom I put my trust.
Q. Your answer? A. God.
Q. What followed? A. The Worshipful Master took me by the right hand and said, Since in God you put your trust, arise, follow your leader, and fear no danger.
Q. How were you then disposed of? A. I was conducted three times regularly around the Lodge, and halted at the Junior Warden in the South, where the same questions were asked, and answers returned at the door.
Q. How did the Junior Warden dispose of you? A. He ordered me to be conducted to the Senior Warden in the West, where the same questions were asked, and answers returned as before.
Q. How did the Senior Warden dispose of you? A. He ordered me to be conducted to the Worshipful Master in the East, where the same questions were asked, and answers returned as before, who likewise demanded of me from whence I came, and whither I was traveling.
Q. Your answer? A. From the West, and traveling to the East.
Q. Why do you leave the West and travel to the East? A. In search of light.
Q. How did the Worshipful Master then dispose of you? A. He ordered me to be conducted back to the West, from whence I came, and put in care of the Senior Warden, who taught me how to approach the East, the place of light, by advancing upon one upright regular step to the first step, my feet forming the right angle of an oblong square, my body erect at the altar before the Worshipful Master.
Q. What did the Worshipful Master do with you? A. He made an Entered Apprentice Mason of me.
Q. How? A. In due form.
Q. What was that due form? A. My left knee bare and bent, my right forming a square, my left hand supporting the Holy Bible, Square and Compass; I took upon me the solemn oath or obligation of an Entered Apprentice Mason.
Q. After you had taken your obligation, what was said to you? A. I was asked what I most desired.
Q. Your answer? A. Light.
Q. Was you immediately brought to light? A. I was.
Q. How? A. By the direction of the Master, and assistance of the brethren.
Q. What did you first discover after being brought to light? A. Three great lights in Masonry, by the assistance of three lesser.
Q. What were those three great lights in Masonry? A. The Holy Bible, Square and Compass.
Q. How are they explained? A. The Holy Bible is given to us as a guide for our faith and practice; the Square, to square our actions; and the Compass to keep us in due bounds with all mankind, but more especially with the brethren.
Q. What were those three lesser lights? A. Three burning tapers, or candles on candlesticks.
[Pg 18]Q. What do they represent? A. The Sun, Moon, and Master of the Lodge.
Q. How are they explained? A. As the Sun rules the day, and the Moon governs the night, so ought the Worshipful Master to use his endeavors to rule and govern his Lodge with equal regularity, or cause the same to be done.
Q. What did you next discover? A. The Worshipful Master approaching me from the East, under the sign and due-guard of an Entered Apprentice Mason, who presented me with his right hand in token of brotherly love and esteem, and proceeded to give me the grip and word of an Entered Apprentice Mason, and bid me arise and salute the Junior and Senior Wardens, and convince them that I had been regularly initiated as an Entered Apprentice Mason, and was in possession of the sign, grip, and word.
Q. What did you next discover? A. The Worshipful Master a second time approaching me from the East, who presented me with a lamb-skin, or white apron, which he said was an emblem of innocence, and the badge of a Mason; that it had been worn by kings, princes, and potentates of the earth, who had never been ashamed to wear it; that it was more honorable than the diamonds of kings, or pearls of princesses, when worthily worn; and more ancient than the Golden Fleece or Roman Eagle; more honorable than the Star or Garter, or any other order that could be conferred on me at that time, or any time thereafter, except it be in the body of a just and lawfully constituted Lodge of Masons; and bid me carry it to the Senior Warden in the West, who taught me how to wear it as an Entered Apprentice Mason.
Q. What were you next presented with? A. The working tools of an Entered Apprentice Mason.
Q. What were they? A. The twenty-four-inch gauge and common gavel.
Q. How were they explained? A. The twenty-four-inch gauge is an instrument made use of by operative masons to measure and lay out their work; but we, as Free and Accepted Masons, are taught to make use of it for the more noble and glorious purpose of dividing our time; the twenty-four inches on the gauge are emblematical of the twenty-four hours in the day, which we are taught so divide into three equal parts, whereby we find eight hours for the service of God and a worthy distressed brother; eight hours for our usual vocation, and eight hours for refreshment and sleep. The common gavel is an instrument made use of by operative masons to break off the corners of rough stones, the better to fit them for the builder's use; but we, as Free and Accepted Masons, are taught to make use of it for the more noble and glorious purpose of divesting our hearts and consciences of all the vices and superfluities of life, thereby fitting our minds as lively and living stone for that spiritual building, that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Q. What was you next presented with? A. A new name.
Q. What was it? A. Caution.
[Pg 19]Q. What does it teach? A. It teaches me, as I was barely instructed in the rudiments of Masonry, that I should be cautious over all my words and actions, especially when before its enemies.
Q. What were you next presented with? A. Three precious jewels.
Q. What were they? A. A listening ear, a silent tongue, and a faithful heart.
Q. What do they teach? A. A listening ear teaches me to listen to the instructions of the Worshipful Master, but more especially that I should listen to the calls and cries of a worthy distressed brother. A silent tongue teaches me to be silent in the Lodge, that the peace and harmony thereof may not be disturbed; but more especially that I should be silent when before the enemies of Masonry. A faithful heart, that I should be faithful to the instructions of the Worshipful Master at all times; but more especially that I should be faithful and keep and conceal the secrets of Masonry, and those of a brother, when delivered to me in charge as such, that they may remain as secure and inviolable in my breast as in his own, before communicated to me.
Q. What was you next presented with? A. Check-words two.
Q. What were they? A. Truth and Union.
Q. How explained? A. Truth is a divine attribute, and the foundation of every virtue. To be good and true are the first lessons we are taught in Masonry. On this theme we contemplate, and by its dictates endeavor to regulate our conduct; hence, while influenced by this principle, hypocrisy and deceit are unknown amongst us; sincerity and plain dealing distinguish us; and the heart and tongue join in promoting each other's welfare, and rejoicing in each other's prosperity.
Union is that kind of friendship that ought to appear conspicuous in the conduct of every Mason. It is so closely allied to the divine attribute, truth, that he who enjoys the one, is seldom destitute of the other. Should interest, honor, prejudice, or human depravity ever influence you to violate any part of the sacred trust we now repose in you, let these two important words, at the earliest insinuation, teach you to put on the check-line of truth, which will infallibly direct you to pursue that straight and narrow path which ends in the full enjoyment of the Grand Lodge above, where we shall all meet as Masons and members of one family; where all discord on account of religion, politics, or private opinion, shall be unknown and banished from within our walls.
Q. What followed? A. The Worshipful Master in the East made a demand of me of something of a metallic kind, which, he said, was not so much on account of its intrinsic value, as that it might be deposited in the archives of the Lodge as a memorial that I had herein been made a Mason.
Q. How did the Worshipful Master then dispose of you? A. He ordered me to be conducted out of the Lodge and invested of what I had been divested, and return for further instruction.
Q. After you returned, how was you disposed of? A. I was conducted to the northeast corner of the Lodge, and there caused to stand upright like a man, my feet forming a square, and received a solemn injunction, ever to walk and act uprightly before God and man, and in addition thereto received too following charge. [For this charge see pages 10-12.]
[Pg 20]
SECOND SECTION.
Question—Why was you divested of all metals when you was made a Mason? Answer—Because Masonry regards no man on account of his worldly wealth or honors; it is therefore the internal, and not the external qualifications that recommend a man to Masons.
Q. A second reason? A. There was neither the sound of an axe, hammer, or any other metal tool heard at the building of King Solomon's Temple.
Q. How could so stupendous a fabric be erected without the sound of axe, hammer, or any other metal tool? A. All the stones were hewed, squared, and numbered in the quarries where they were raised, all the timbers felled and prepared in the forests of Lebanon, and carried down to Joppa on floats, and taken from thence up to Jerusalem and set up with wooden mauls, prepared for that purpose; which, when completed, every part thereof fitted with that exact nicety, that it had more the resemblance of the handy workmanship of the Supreme Architect of the Universe than of human hands.
Q. Why was you neither naked nor clothed? A. As I was an object of distress at that time, it was to remind me, if ever I saw a friend, more especially a brother, in a like distressed situation, that I should contribute as liberally to his relief as his situation required, and my abilities would admit, without material injury to myself or family.
Q. Why was you neither barefoot nor shod? A. It was an ancient Israelitish custom adopted among Masons; and we read in the Book of Ruth concerning their mode and manner of changing and redeeming, and to confirm all things, a brother plucked off his shoe and gave it to his neighbor, and that was testimony in Israel. This, then, therefore, we do in confirmation of a token, and as a pledge of our fidelity; therefore signifying that we will renounce our own will in all things, and become obedient to the laws of our ancient institutions.
Q. Why was you hoodwinked? A. That my heart might conceive before my eyes beheld the beauties of Masonry.
Q. A second reason? A. As I was in darkness at that time, it was to remind me that I should keep the whole world so respecting Masonry.
Q. Why had you a cable-tow about your neck? A. In case I had not submitted to the manner and mode of my initiation, that I might have been led out of the Lodge without seeing the form and beauties thereof.
Q. Why did you give three distinct knocks at the door? A. To alarm the Lodge, and let the Worshipful Master, Wardens and brethren know that a poor blind candidate prayed admission.
Q. What do those three distinct knocks allude to? A. A certain passage in Scripture wherein it says, "Ask and it shall be given, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you."
Q. How did you apply this to your then case in Masonry? A. I asked the recommendation of a friend to become a Mason; I sought admission through his recommendations and knocked, and the door of Masonry opened unto me.
Q. Why was you caused to enter on the point of some sharp instrument pressing your naked left breast in the name of the Lord? A. As [Pg 21]this was a torture to my flesh, so might the recollection of it ever be to my flesh and conscience, if ever I attempted to reveal the secrets of Masonry unlawfully.
Q. Why was you conducted to the centre of the Lodge, and there caused to kneel for the benefit of a prayer? A. Before entering on this, or any other great and important undertaking, it is highly necessary to implore a blessing from Deity.
Q. Why was you asked in whom you put your trust? A. Agreeably to the laws of our ancient institution, no Atheist could be made a Mason; it was, therefore, necessary that I should believe in Deity; otherwise, no oath or obligation could bind me.
Q. Why did the Worshipful Master take you by the right hand and bid you rise, follow your leader, and fear no danger? A. As I was in darkness at that time, and could neither forsee nor avoid danger, it was to remind me that I was in the hands of an affectionate friend, in whose fidelity I might with safety confide.
Q. Why was you conducted three times regularly round the Lodge? A. That the Worshipful Master, Wardens and brethren might see that I was duly and truly prepared.
Q. Why did you meet with those several obstructions on the way? A. This, and every other Lodge is, or ought to be, a true representation of King Solomon's Temple, which, when completed, had guards stationed at the East, West, and South gates.
Q. Why had they guards stationed at those several gates? A. To prevent any one from passing or repassing that was not duly qualified.
Q. Why did you kneel on your left knee and not on your right, or both? A. The left side has ever been considered the weakest part of the body; it was, therefore, to remind me that that part I was then taking upon me was the weakest part of Masonry, it being that only of an Entered Apprentice.
Q. Why was your right hand placed on the Holy Bible, Square and Compass, and not your left, or both? A. The right hand has ever been considered the seat of fidelity, and our ancient brethren worshipped Deity under the name of Fides, which has sometimes been represented by two right hands joined together; at others, by two human figures holding each other by the right hand; the right hand, therefore, we use in this great and important undertaking, to signify, in the strongest manner possible, the sincerity of our intentions in the business we are engaged.
Q. Why did the Worshipful Master present you with a lamb-skin, or a white apron? A. The lamb-skin has, in all ages, been deemed an emblem of innocence; he, therefore, who wears the lamb-skin, as a badge of a Mason, is thereby continually reminded of that purity of life and rectitude of conduct, which is so essentially necessary to our gaining admission into the Celestial Lodge above, where the Supreme Architect of the Universe presides.
Q. Why did the Master make a demand of you of something of a metallic nature? A. As I was in a poor and penniless situation at the time, it was to remind me if ever I saw a friend, but more especially a brother, [Pg 22]in a like poor and penniless situation, that I should contribute as liberally to his relief as my abilities would admit and his situation required, without injuring myself or family.
Q. Why was you conducted to the northeast corner of the Lodge, and there caused to stand upright, like a man, your feet forming a square, receiving, at the same time, a solemn charge to walk and act uprightly before God and man? A. The first stone in every Masonic edifice is, or ought to be, placed at the northeast corner; that being the place where an Entered Apprentice Mason receives his first instructions to build his future Masonic edifice upon.
THIRD SECTION.
Question—We have been saying a good deal about a Lodge, I want to know what constitutes a Lodge? Answer—A certain number of Free and Accepted Masons, duly assembled in a room or place, with the Holy Bible, Square and Compass, and other Masonic Implements, with a charter from the Grand Lodge, empowering them to work.
Q. Where did our ancient brethren meet before Lodges were erected? A. On the highest hills, and in the lowest vales.
Q. Why on the highest hills and in the lowest vales? A. 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.
Q. What is the form of your Lodge? A. An oblong square.
Q. How long? A. From East to West.
Q. How wide? A. Between North and South.
Q. How high? A. From the surface of the earth to the highest heavens.
Q. How deep? A. From the surface to the centre.
Q. What supports your Lodge? A. Three large columns or pillars.
Q. What are their names? A. Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty.
Q. Why so? A. 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.
Q. Has your Lodge any covering? A. It has; a clouded canopy, or starry-decked heaven, where all good Masons hope to arrive.
Q. How do you hope to arrive there? A. By the assistance of Jacob's ladder.
Q. How many principal rounds has it got? A. Three.
Q. What are their names? A. Faith, Hope, and Charity.
Q. What do they teach? A. Faith in God, hope in immortality, and charity to all mankind.
Q. Has your Lodge any furniture? A. It has; the Holy Bible, Square, and Compass.
Q. To whom do they belong? A. The Bible to God; the Square to the Master; and the Compass to the Craft.
Q. How explained? A. 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 [Pg 23]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 bounds with all mankind, but more especially with the brethren.
Q. Has your Lodge any ornaments? A. It has; the Mosaic, or checkered pavement; the indented tressel; that beautiful tesselated border which surrounds it, with the blazing star in the centre.
Q. What do they represent? A. The Mosaic, or checkered pavement, represents this world; which, though checkered over with good and evil, yet brethren may walk together thereon and not stumble; the indented tressel, with the blazing star in the centre, 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.
Q. Has your Lodge any lights? A. It has; three.
Q. How are they situated? A. East, West, and South.
Q. Has it none in the North? A. It has not.
Q. Why so? A. Because this and every other Lodge is, or ought to be, a true representation of King Solomon's Temple, which 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.
Q. Has your Lodge any jewels? A. It has; six; three movable and three immovable.
Q. What are the three movable jewels? A. The Square, Level, and Plumb.
Q. What do they teach? A. The Square, morality; the Level, equality; and the Plumb, rectitude of life and conduct.
Q. What are the three immovable jewels? A. The rough Ashlar, the perfect Ashlar, and the Tressel-Board.
Q. What are they? A. The rough Ashlar is a stone in its rough and natural state; the perfect Ashlar is also a stone, made ready by the working tools of the Fellow Craft to be adjusted in the building; and the Tressle-Board is for the master workman to draw his plans and designs upon.
Q. What do they represent? A. The rough Ashlar represents man in his rude and imperfect state by nature; the perfect Ashlar also represents man in that state of perfection to which we all hope to arrive, by means of a virtuous life and education, our own endeavors, and the blessing of God. In erecting our temporal building, we pursue the plans and designs laid down by the master workman on his Tressle-Board: but in erecting our spiritual building, we pursue the plans and designs laid down by the Supreme Geometrician of the Universe, in the Book of Life, which we, Masonically, term our spiritual Tressle-Board.
Q. Who did you serve? A. My Master.
Q. How long? A. Six days.
[Pg 24]Q. What did you serve him with? A. Freedom, Fervency, and Zeal.
Q. What do they represent? A. Chalk, Charcoal, and Earth.
Q. Why so? A. There is nothing freer than chalk, the slightest touch of which leaves a trace behind; nothing more fervent than heated charcoal; it will melt the most obdurate metals; nothing more zealous than the earth to bring forth.
Q. How is your Lodge situated? A. Due East and West.
Q. Why so? A. Because the Sun rises in the East and sets in the West.
Q. A second reason? A. The gospel was first preached in the East and is spreading to the West.
Q. A third reason? A. The liberal arts and sciences began in the East and are extending to the West.
Q. A fourth reason? A. Because all the churches and chapels are, or ought to be, so situated.
Q. Why are all churches and chapels so situated? A. Because King Solomon's Temple was so situated.
Q. Why was King Solomon's Temple so situated? A. Because Moses, after conducting the children of Israel through the Red Sea, by divine command, erected a tabernacle to God, and placed it due East and West, which was to commemorate, to the latest posterity, that miraculous East wind that wrought their mighty deliverance; and this was an exact model of Solomon's Temple; since which time, every well regulated and governed Lodge is, or ought to be, so situated.
Q. To whom did our ancient brethren dedicate their Lodges? A. To King Solomon.
Q. Why so? A. Because King Solomon was our most ancient Grand Master.
Q. To whom do modern Masons dedicate their Lodges? A. To St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist.
Q. Why so? A. Because they were the two most ancient Christian patrons of Masonry; and, since their time, in every well-regulated and governed Lodge there has been a certain point within a circle, which circle is bounded on the East and the West by two perpendicular parallel lines, representing the anniversary of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, who were two perfect parallels, as well in Masonry as Christianity, on the vertex of which rests the Book of the Holy Scriptures, supporting Jacob's Ladder, which is said to reach the watery clouds, and, in passing round this circle, we naturally touch on both these perpendicular parallel lines, as well as the Book of the Holy Scriptures; and while a Mason keeps himself thus circumscribed, he cannot materially err.
END OF THE LECTURE, AND OF THE FIRST DEGREE.
It is proper to add here that very few Masons ever learn the Lecture. Of course, it is necessary that the officers of the Lodge should understand their own particular part, and that is generally all they learn.
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