Ronaynes Handbook Of Freemasonry 23

Ronaynes Handbook Of Freemasonry 23

forming a square, your left hand supporting the Holy

Bible, Square and Compass, your right resting thereon,

which alludes to the manual.

 

JUSTICE.

 

"Justice is that standard, or boundary of right,

which enables us to render unto every man his just

due, without distinction. This virtue is not only con

sistent with divine and human laws, but is the very

cement and support of civil society; and as justice in

a great measure constitutes the really good man, so

should it be the invariable practice of every Mason

never to deviate from the minutest principles thereof,

ever remembering that solemn charge you received

while standing in the North-East corner of the Lodge,

your feet forming the angle of a square, which alludes

to the pedal.

 

"My brother, it is hoped and expected that you

will apply yourself to the study of Masonry as Entered

Apprentices served their masters in ancient times,

which was with freedom, fervency and zeal, emblem-

atically represented by chalk, charcoal and clay, be-

cause there is nothing more free than chalk, the least

touch of which leaves a trace behind. Nothing more

fervent than charcoal, to which, when well ignited, the

most obdurate metals yield. Nothing more zealous

than clay, or Mother Earth which is constantly being

employed for man's use and is as constantly remind-

ing him, that as from it he came, so to it he must

sooner or later return.

 

 

 

WORK ON THE FIRST DEGREE.

 

 

 

95

 

 

 

CHARGE AT INITIATION INTO FIRST DE-

GREE.

 

"My Brother, having passed through the cere-

monies of your initiation, I congratulate you on your

admission into our ancient 'and honorable Fraternity.

Ancient, as having existed from time immemorial

honorable, as tending to make all men so, who are

strictly obedient to its precepts. It is an Institution

having for its foundation the practice of the moral

and social virtues. And to so high an eminence has

its credit been advanced, that, in every age and coun-

try, men pre-eminent for their moral and intellectual

attainments have encouraged and promoted its inter-

ests. Nor has it been thought derogatory to their dig-

nity that monarchs have, for a season, exchanged the

sceptor for the trowel to patronize our mysteries, and

join in our assemblies.

 

"As a Mason, you are to regard the volume of the

Sacred Laws as the great light in your profession ; to-

consider it as the unerring standard of truth and jus-

tice, and to regulate your actions by the Divine pre-

cepts it contains. In it you will learn the important

duties you owe to God, your neighbor, and yourself.

To God, by 'never mentioning his name but with that

awe and reverence which are due from the creature

to his Creator ; by imploring his aid on all your lawful

undertakings and by looking up to Him, in every

emergency, for comfort and support. To your neigh-

bor, by acting with him upon the Square ; by render-

ing him every kind office which justice or mercy may

require ; by relieving his distresses, and soothing his

afflictions; and by doing to him, as, in similar cases,

you would that he should do unto you. And to your-

self, by such a prudent and well-regulated course of

 

 

 

96 HAND BOOK OP FREEMASONRY.

 

 

 

discipline as may best conduce to the preservation of

your faculties in their fullest energy ; thereby enabling

you to exert the talents, wherewith God has blessed

you, as well to his glory as to the welfare of your

fellow creatures.

 

"As a Citizen, you are enjoined to be exemplary

in the discharge of your civil duties, by never propos-

ing, or countenancing, any act which may have a tend-

ency to subvert the peace and good order of society;

by paying due obedience to the laws under whose

protection you live, and by never losing sight of the

allegiance due to your country.

 

"As an Individual, you are charged to practice

the domestic and public virtues. Let Temperance

chasten, Fortitude support, Prudence direct you, and

Justice be the guide of all your actions. Be especially

careful to maintain, in their fullest splendor, those true

Masonic ornaments — Brotherly Love, Relief, and

Truth,

 

"Finally: fee faithful to the trust committed to

your care and manifest your fidelity by a strict ob-

servance of the principles of the Fraternity; and by

refraining to recommend any one to a participation in

our privileges, unless you have strong reasons to be-

lieve that, by a similar fidelity, he will ultimately reflect

honor on our ancient Institution.*

 

"You will now be seated at the right of the Jun-

ior Warden in the South."

 

The candidate takes his seat, as directed, and the

degree is ended.

 

The foregoing is the correct mode of conferring

the first degree in Masonry; and the lecture, as here

given, is precisely as it is given in the Lodge in any

part of the United States.

 

 

 

* "Standard Monitor," Cook, 1903, p. 24.

 

 

 

CHAPTER IV.

 

LECTURE ON ENTERED APPRENTICE DEGREE-

 

On the night of his initiation the candidate, of

course, knows little or nothing of the horrible ami

miserably degrading ceremonies through which he is

passing. He is introduced in a strange and unusual

manner to a strange company; and everything that

happens to him from the moment he enters the Lodge-

room, in a state of profound darkness, is calculated

to confuse, confound and bewilder.

 

And immediately after the working tools are pre-

sented, the Worshipful Master (if competent to do

so), calls his attention to the most salient points in the

initiatory ceremonies, and gives the pretended reason

why each ceremony was performed, as detailed in

pages 80 to 84. I say here the pretended reason, be-

cause it is far from being the true and historic one.

"PYeemasonry" is but the modern name for the "An-

cient Mysteries/' or that secret religious worship

which existed among the pagan nations of antiquity

in honor of the sun-god; and every religious rite or

ceremony which is now-a-days practiced in the Lodge-

room, is so performed because that very same cere-

mony used to be practiced in the secret worship of

Osiris, Baal, Bacchus, Dionysius or Tammuz in the

ancient worship of the sun. In this secret worship,

and in this view of the Masonic symbols and cere-

monies, is contained the real secrets of Masonry and

nowhere else; and for a full explanation of this im-

portant subject, as well as the manner in which Free-

masonry or the "Mysteries" came to be revived in

 

 

 

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98

 

 

 

HAND BOOK OF FREEMASONRY.

 

 

 

these modern times, the reader is further referred to

the author's other work. The Master's Carpet, where

all these rites, are examined in detail, and their ori-

gin and symbolism fully demonstrated. But very

few Masons, however, understand or care the least

particle about the symbolic teachings of Masonry.

The great majority of them join it for the purpose

of using it in their business; and so long as they can

pass themselves as Masons, and make use of the

secret language which Masonry puts within their

reach, they are perfectly satisfied and desire nothing more.