The Mysteries of Free Masonry Part 21

14th.--I swear to obey all summons sent from any council to me, or from any Most Ill.u.s.trious Knight, whether Ill.u.s.trious Counsellor for the time being, or by INDUCTION, and to be governed by the const.i.tution, usages, and customs of the order without variation or change.

15th.--I swear never to see nor permit more than two candidates, who, with the Senior Inductor, will make three, to be advanced, at the same time, in any council where I shall be; nor shall any candidate, by suffrage, be inducted without a unanimous vote of the ill.u.s.trious brethren in council; nor shall any council advance any member, there not being three ill.u.s.trious Knights, or one Most Ill.u.s.trious and four Ill.u.s.trious Knights of the Cross present, which latter may be subst.i.tuted by Most Ill.u.s.trious Induction; nor yet where there shall not be a full and proper mark of the order, such as usage has adopted to our altar, of metal, or other durable and worthy material, contained within the apartment of council, as also the Holy Bible; nor will I ever see a council opened for business, without the ceremony of testing the mark, exercised on the character of every brother, prayers, and the reading of the 35th Psalm of David; nor will I ever see, consent to, or countenance, more than two persons of the same business or calling in life, to belong to, or be inducted and advanced in any one council of which I am a member, at the same time; nothing therein going to exclude members from other parts of the country, or from foreign parts, from joining us, if they consent formally and truly to stand in deference and defence, first, of their special BAR-BRETHREN in the council, nor to prevent advancements to fill vacancies, occasioned by death or removal. To all this, and every part thereof, I do now, as before, by the honor and power of the mark, as by an honorable and awful oath, which confirmeth all things in the dread presence of the Most Holy and Almighty G.o.d, solemnly and in truth, bind and obligate my soul; and in the earthly penalties, to wit, that, for the violation of the least matter or particle of any of the here taken obligations, I become the silent and mute subject of the displeasure of the Ill.u.s.trious Order, and have their power and wrath turned on my head, to my destruction and dishonor, which, like the NAIL OF JAEL, may be the sure end of an unworthy wretch, by piercing my temples with a true sense of my ingrat.i.tude--and for a breach of silence in case of such an unhappy event, that I shall die the infamous death of a traitor, by having a spear, or other sharp weapon, like as my Lord, thrust in my left side--bearing testimony, even in death, of the power of the mark of the Holy and Ill.u.s.trious Cross, before I.

H. S., our thrice Ill.u.s.trious Counsellor in Heaven, the Grand Council of the good. To this I swear.

THE LODGE OF PERFECTION: COMPRISING THE ELEVEN INEFFABLE DEGREES OF MASONRY.

In these several degrees some name of G.o.d is used, as the distinguis.h.i.+ng word. Each name, however, is only a mode of p.r.o.nouncing the Hebrew word Jehovah. The later Jews have a superst.i.tious fear of p.r.o.nouncing that name. Whenever it occurs in the Hebrew Text, they subst.i.tute the word Adonai in its place. To those who read the original language of the Old Testament, it is known, that while the consonants of the Hebrew word remain, the vowel points may be so changed as to afford several different p.r.o.nunciations. In the different degrees of Ineffable Masonry, the four consonants (Jod, He, Vau, He) of the name Jehovah are differently pointed, so as to furnish a word for each degree. In the degree of Perfection, the candidate is sworn not to p.r.o.nounce the word but once during his life, hence it is termed INEFFABLE, or unutterable. The ordinary mode of giving it in that degree consists in simply repeating the names of its letters, "Jod, He, Vau, He." On receiving that degree, the candidate is told that he is to become acquainted with the true p.r.o.nunciation of the ineffable name of G.o.d, as it was revealed to Enoch. He is then taught to p.r.o.nounce the word "Ya-ho"--sounding the _a_ like _a_ in wall. When written in Masonic ma.n.u.scripts, this word is spelled "Ja-hoh."

SECRET MASTER.

OPENING.--The Master strikes five. At this signal the Grand Marshal rises, and the Master addresses him: Master. Your place in the Lodge?

Answer: In the North, Most Powerful.

M. Your business there? A. To see that the Sanctum Sanctorum is duly guarded.

M. Please to attend to your duty, and inform the guards that we are about to open a Lodge of Secret Masters by the MYSTERIOUS NUMBER. A.

It is done.

M. How are we guarded? A. By seven Secret Masters stationed before the veil of the Sanctum Sanctorum.

The Master strikes six. The Inspector rises. Master. Brother Adoniram, are you a Secret Master? Inspector. I have pa.s.sed from the square to the compa.s.s.

M. What is the hour? I. The dawn of day has driven away darkness, and the great light begins to s.h.i.+ne in this Lodge.

The Master strikes seven. The brethren rise. Master. If the great light is the token of the dawn of day, and we are all Secret Masters, it is time to begin our labors; give notice that I am about to open a Lodge of Secret Masters by the mysterious number. The Inspector obeys.

The signs of the degrees from Entered Apprentice to Royal Arch, inclusive, are given with that of silence, which belongs to this degree. The Master places the two forefingers of his right hand on his lips. This is answered by the brethren with the two forefingers of the left. All clap hands seven times.

M. I declare this Lodge of Secret Masters open, and in order for business. Brother Grand Marshal, please to inform the guards.

SECOND SECTION.--Question--What did you see in the Sanctum Sanctorum when the thick veil was removed? Answer--I saw the great circle, in which was enclosed the blazing star, which filled me with awe and reverence.

Q. What do the Hebrew characters in the triangle signify? A. Something above my knowledge, which I cannot p.r.o.nounce.

Q. What word did those Hebrew characters compose? A. The ineffable name of the Great Architect of the Universe.

Q. To whom was that name revealed? A. To Moses; he received the p.r.o.nunciation thereof from the Almighty on the mount, when he appeared to him, and by a law of Moses it was forbidden ever to be p.r.o.nounced unless in a certain manner, so that in process of time the true p.r.o.nunciation was lost.

Q. What more did you perceive? A. Nine other words.

Q. Where were they placed? A. In the nine beams of the blazing luminary.

Q. What did they signify? A. The nine names which G.o.d gave himself when speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, and the promise that his posterity should one day discover his real name.

Q. Give them to me, with their significations? A. "Eloah," The Strong.

"Hayah," He is. "Shaddai," The Almighty. "Elyon," The Most High.

"Adonai," The Lord. "Ahad Kodesh," The Holy One. "Riba," The Mighty.

"Mahar," Merciful. "Eloham," Merciful G.o.d.

Q. What doth the circle which surrounds the delta signify? A. The eternity of the power of G.o.d, which hath neither beginning nor end.

Q. What doth the blazing star denote? A. That light which should guide us to the Divine Providence.

Q. What is signified by the letter G in the centre of the blazing star? A. Glory, Grandeur and Gomez, or Gibber Hodihu.

Q. What is meant by these? A. By Glory is meant G.o.d, by Grandeur, man who may be great by perfection; and Gibber Hodihu, is a Hebrew word signifying thanks to G.o.d. It is said to have been the first word spoken by the first man.

Q. What else did you see in the Sanctum Sanctorum? A. The ark of alliance or covenant.

Q. Where was the ark of alliance placed? A. In the west end of the Sanctum Sanctorum, under the blazing star.

Q. What did the ark with the blazing star represent? A. As the ark was the emblem of the alliance which G.o.d had made with his people, so is the circle which surrounds the delta in the blazing star, the emblem of the alliance of Brother Masons.

Q. Of what form was the ark? A. A solid oblong square.

Q. Of what was it made? A. Of s.h.i.+ttim wood covered within and without with pure gold, surmounted with a golden crown and two cherubims of gold.

Q. What was the covering of the ark called? A. Propitiatory.

Q. Why so? A. Because G.o.d's anger was there appeased.

Q. What did the ark contain? A. The tables of the law which G.o.d gave to Moses.

Q. Of what were they made? A. Of white marble.

Q. Who constructed the ark? A. Bezeleel of the Tribe of Judah, and Aholiab of the Tribe of Dan, who were filled with the spirit of G.o.d in wisdom and understanding, and in knowledge and in all manner of workmans.h.i.+p.

Q. What was the name of the Sanctum Sanctorum in Hebrew? A. "Dabir."

Q. What does the word signify? A. Speech.

Q. Why was it so called? A. Because the Divinity resided there in a peculiar manner, and delivered his oracles.

Q. How many doors were there in the Sanctum Sanctorum? A. Only one on the east side called "Zizon," or Bal.u.s.trade. It was covered with hangings of purple, scarlet, blue, and fine twined linen of cunning work, embroidered with cherubims, and suspended from four columns.

Q. What did these columns represent? A. The four cardinal points.

Q. Your duty as a Secret Mason? A. To guard the Sanctum Sanctorum, and sacred furniture of the holy place.

Q. What was that furniture? A. The altar of incense, the two tables of shew-bread, and the golden candlesticks.