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Abif- An honorary title given to Hiram, the Tyrian builder.
Accepted -
The Latin accipere, receive, was
from ad, meaning "to," and capere, meaning "take," therefore to take,
to
receive The passive apprenticeship and initiation, but after the participle of
this was acceptus. In Operative Masonry members were admitted through course of
time, and when the Craft had begun to decay, gentlemen who had no intention of
doing builders' work but were interested in the Craft for social, or perhaps for
antiquarian reasons, were accepted" into membership; to distinguish these
gentlemen Masons from the Operatives in the membership they were called the
"Accepted." After 1717, when the whole Craft was revolutionized into a
Fraternity, all members became non-Operatives, hence our use of the word in such
phrases as "Free and Accepted Masons."
Accord - Agreement, required ofl Masons to attain true
Brotherhood.
Active Member - One who pays of his yearly dues and who takes part
in the work of the Lodge.
Adjournment - Adjournment of a Lodge is only done by the
Worshipful Master.
Admonish - An admonition must be given with brotherly affection
and with "mercy unrestrained."
Adoration - With
Freemasons, God is worshipped in adorations which are expressed in both silent
and oral
prayers.
Adversity - Problems, Mason's help Brother Masons in adversity.
Affiliate -
Filius is Latin for son, filia for daughter; the prefix "af"
is a form of the Latin ad, meaning to add to. To
be affiliated means therefore to be adopted into a family as a
son or daughter, a meaning that beautifully covers a
Mason's relation to his Lodge once he has affiliated with it.
Affirmation - Affirmations are a promise but only oaths are
admissible in Freemasonry.
Age, Lawful - This is the age when a man may apply to join a
Masonic Lodge.
Aid of Deity - A fundamental principle of Freemasonry is asking
for aid in prayer.
Alarm - Someone desires to be admitted to the Lodge Room..
Allegiance - A Mason first allegiance is to God, second to family,
and last to Lodge.
Allegory -The
Greeks called a place of public assembly agora; from this they built the word
agoreuein, meaning
speak, in the sense of ad-dressing a public. When to this is added alias,
meaning another, the compound gives us our "allegory," which is the speaking
about one thing in the terms of something else. In Masonry we have the allegory
of Solomon's
Temple, of a journey, of the legend of a martyr builder, etc., in each case the
acting and describing of one thing being
intended to refer to some other thing. For example, the building of Solomon's
Temple is described, not for the
purpose of telling how that structure was erected, but to suggest boxy men may
work together in brotherliness at a
common task.
All-Seeing Eye - A symbol of the omnipresence and omniscience of
God.
Almsgiving - Helping the poor.
Altar - A place of sacrifice or worship. Where Masons assume the
oaths and obligations of the several Degrees.
Amen - In agreement, as in So mote it be.
Anchor - The symbol of mans hope of immortality and a safe landing
in the haven of eternal security.
Anger - Vexation, ire or rage
Anxiety - A feeling of uneasiness.
Apprentice - In Latin
apprehendre meant to lay hold of a thing in the sense of learning to understand
it, the origin
of our "apprehend." This became contracted into apprendre and was applied to a
young man beginning to learn a
trade. The latter term came into circulation among European languages and,
through the Operative Masons, gave us
our "apprentice," that is, one who is beginning to learn Masonry. An "Entered
Apprentice" is one whose name has
been entered in the books of the Lodge.
Apron -In
early English, napron was used of a cloth, a tablecloth, whence our napery,
nap-kin; it apparently was
derived from the Latin mappa, the source of "map."
"Apron is a misdivided form of "a napron," and meant a cloth,
more particularly a cloth tied on in front to protect the clothes. The Operative
Masons wore a leather apron out of
necessity; when the craft became speculative this garment, so long identified
with building work was retained as the
badge of Masons; also as a symbol of purity, a meaning attached to it, probably,
in comparatively recent times,
though of this one cannot be certain.
Apron, Washington's - The
Marquis Lafayette presented George Washington with an apron at Mount Vernon
that the emblems of Freemasonry had
been embroidered by Madam Lafayette.
Arch, Holy Royal - The
pillars which support the arch represent Wisdom and Strength; the former
denoting the
wisdom of the Supreme Architect of
the universe.
Architecture - The Freemasons five orders of architecture are
Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan and Composite.
Artificers - Skilled workmen in the building of the Temple.
Arts, Parts and Points -
Arts represents the knowledge or things made known; Parts, the degrees into
which
Masonry is divided; and Points, the
rules and usages of Masonry.
Arts and Sciences - Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic,
Geometry, Music and Astronomy are Freemasonries arts and sciences.
Ashlar- The Latin assis was a
board or plank; in the diminutive form, assula, it meant a small board, like a
shingle,
or a chip. In this con-nection it is interesting to note that our
"axle" and' "axis" were derived from it. In early English
this became asheler
and was used to denote a stone in the rough as it came from the quarries. The
Operative
Masons called such a stone a "rough ashlar," and when it had been
shaped and finished for its place in the wall they
called it a "perfect ashlar."
An Apprentice is a rough ashlar, because unfinished, whereas a Master Mason is a
perfect ashlar,
because he has been shaped for his place in the organization of the Craft.
Asher - Asher was the eighth sone of Jacob.
Ask, Seek, Knock - The
applicant for membership in Freemasonry Asks for acceptance, Seeks for Light,
and
Knocks for initiation.
Atheist -The
Greek for God was theos; when the j prefix a was placed before it, we get the
origin j of "atheism,"
signifying a denial of the god, or gods. The word should be distinguished from
"agnosticism," which means neither to
affirm nor to deny but to remain in doubt; and from "infidel," which means that
one does not
believe some doctrine.
Christians call Mohammedans "infidels" because they do
not believe the Bible; Mohammendans call Christians
"infidels" because they do not believe the Koran. Inasmuch as Masonry requires
of a petitioner that he believe in
God the atheist is automatically excluded from the Fraternity.
Audi, Vide, Tace - The Latin worded Masonic motto "Hear, See, Be
Silent."
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Badge of a Mason - See Apron (above).
Balloting - Voting on the
acceptance or rejection of a candidate. Every member is required to vote
conscientiously
for the good of the Lodge
Banishment - The exile of one who is unworthy.
Barefoot - The removal of one or both shoes.
Beauty - The beauty of character and the virtues of true manhood.
Beehive - A symbol of an obedient people and industry.
Benediction - A solemn invocation of Divine Blessing.
Benevolence - To do good and be charitable.
Bible - The Great Light of
Freemasonry. An open Bible is on the altar during all work of the Lodge, and
certain
appropriate passages are used for the
different Degrees.
Bigotry - Intolerance toward those of different creeds or
religious affiliations.
Blue - Blue is the color
of Freemasonry and the vault of Heaven. Blue and white are the only color ever
used for
decoration in a Master Mason's Lodge.
Boaz - The left-hand pillar that stood on the porch of King
Solomon's Temple.
Book Of The Law - The Holy Bible.
Brass - An alloy of copper with another metal added for strength.
Brother-
This word is one of the oldest, as
it is one of the most beautiful, in any language. No-body knows where
or when it originated, but it is
certain that it existed in the Sanskrit, in a form
strikingly similar to that used by us. In
Greek it was phrater, in the Latin
frater, whence our "fraternal" and "fraternalism." It has always meant men from
the
same parents, or men knit by very close blood ties. When associated with
"initiation, which las the general meaning
of "being born into," one can see
how appropriate is its k use in Freemasonry. All of us have, through initiation
in
our "mother" Lodges, been born
into a Masonry and therefore we are "brothers," and that which holds us together
in one great family is the "Mystic Tie," the Masonic analogue of the blood tie
among kinsmen.
Brotherly Love - Godly men love their neighbors and that this love
should be for all mankind.
Building of the Temple -
The Masonry rituals are traced directly back to the building of the king
Solomon's
Temple.
Burial - The interment of their dead.
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Cable Tow - A cable tow is a rope used for leading. The covenant
which binds all Masons.
Cabul - Sterile, barren and displeasing.
Candidate - Among Romans it
was the custom for a man seeking office to wear a shining white robe. Since the
name for such a color was candidus
(whence our "candid"), the office seeker came to be called candidate. In our
ceremonies the custom is reversed: the candidate is clothed after his election
instead of before.
Cardinal-
In Masonry we have "cardinal
points" and "cardinal virtues." The Greeks had kradan, meaning, "swing
on," and
the Romans had cardo, meaning"hinge." The roots mean that on which a thing
swings, or hinges, on which
a thing depends or hangs,
therefore anything that is of fundamental or pivotal, importance. A member of
the Sacred
College of the Roman Church is a
Cardinal because of the importance of his office, which ranks next in dignity to
that of the Pope. The cardinal
points of the compass are those from which are determined all other points,
north,
east, south, west; the cardinal
virtues are those which are fundamental to all other virtues.
Cardinal Points - East, West, South and North. for Wisdom;
Strength; Beauty; and Darkness.
Cardinal Virtues - Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence and Justice.
Carnality -
Fleshly appetites which are natural to humanity, but in Freemasonry men are
taught self-control,
temperateness,
regularity, and lawfulness.
Cedars of Lebanon - Solomon used cedars of Lebanonfor in the
construction of the Temple.
Ceremony- The Latin caerimonia
referred to a set of formal acts having a sacred, or revered, character. A
ceremony differs from a merely formal act in that it has a religious
significance; a formality becomes a ceremony only
when it is made sacred. A "ceremony" may be individual, or may involve only two
per-sons; a rite" (see below under
"ritual") is more public, and necessarily involves many. An "observance" is
public, as when the whole nation "
observes" Memorial Day. A "Master of Ceremonies" is one who directs and
regulates forms, rites and ceremonies.
Chambers -
King Solomon's Temple was a series of chambers built on the north, south and
west sides of the
Temple.
Charge - Charges are given to the candidate as he advances from
one Degree to another.
Charity-
The Greeks had a word, charisma,
meaning a gift, and a number of words from the same root, variously
suggesting
rejoicing, gladness. The Latins had a similar word, carus, and meaning dear,
possibly connected with am
or, signifying love. From these roots came "grace,"
meaning a free, unbought gift, as in the theological phrase, "the
grace of God," and "charity."
Strictly speaking, charity is an act done freely, and spontaneously out of
friendship, not
as a civic duty and
grudgingly, as is sometimes the case in public charity. The Masonic use of the
word is much
nearer this original sense, for a
Mason extends relief to a needy brother not as a duty but out of friendship.
Charter - In Latin charta
was a paper, a card, a map; in Medieval Latin this became an official paper, as
in the
case of "Magna Charta." Our "chart" and "card" are derived from the same root. A
Masonic charter is the written
paper, or instrument, empowering a group of brethren to act as a Lodge.
Circumambulation -
In Masonic terminology this is the technical name of that ceremony in which the
candidate
walks around the Lodge. The word 4 is derived from the Latin prefix cireum,
meaning "around," and ainbulare,
meaning "walk," whence our ambulate, ambulatory, etc.; a circumambulation is
therefore a walking around. In
ancient religions and mysteries the worshippers walked around an altar;
imitating the movements of the sun; this
became known as circumambulation, and is the origin of our own ceremony.
Citizenship - Democratic principles, good government, freedom of
conscience and civic liberty.
Clay Ground - A special clay found only in the Jordan Valley was
used in casting the two great pillars, called
Boaz and Jachin.
Clandestine - In Anglo Saxon "helan"
meant something hidden, or secret, a meaning preserved in "conceal;" "hell,"
the hidden place, is from the same word. Helan descended' from the Latin celare,
hide; and on this was built the
Latin clandestinus,
secret, hidden, furtive. In English clandestine, thus derived, came to mean a
bad secret, one that
must be indulged in furtively. A secret may be innocent; it is merely something
done without the knowledge of others, and nothing
is more common; but a clandestine act is one done in such a way as to elude
observation. Clandestine Masonry is a
bad kind of irregular and unlawful secret society falsely claiming to be
Masonic. In the Constitutions a Clandestine
Mason is defined as, "One claiming to be a Free and Accepted Mason not having
received the degrees in a Lodge
recognized as regular by the Grand Lodge of the State of New York."
Clothing-
In early English cloth was used of
garment, dress, and shows up in our clad, cloth, clothe, clothing.
Clothing is the set of garments,
or coverings, by which the body is protected from the weather and concealed from
view. In Masonic usage the meaning
is much narrower and more technical; a Mason is clothed when he wears the
apron, white gloves, and the
emblem of his rank. The apron and gloves are also employed as symbols, though
gloves
have pretty much fallen into
disuse in American Masonry.
Column - The Greeks called the
top or summit of anything kolophon; in Latin culmen had a similar meaning; from
these origins come our culmination ;" excelsior, colophon, colonnade, colonel,
and climax appears to he closely
related to it. A "column" is a cylindrical, or slightly tapering, support; a
"pillar" is a rectangular support. Either may
stand free or be incorporated into the building fabric. The officers of a Lodge
are figured as columns because they
are the supports of the official fabric of the Lodge. The Great Pillars are
symbolical representations of the two pillars, which stood on the Porch of King
Solomon's Temple.
Communication -
There is some dispute as to the
origin of this word but usually it is held to have come from
communis, a Latin term for
general, or universal, whence our common, common wealth, communion, communism,
communal and many similar words.
To communicate is to share something with others so that all may partake of it;
a communication is an act, transaction, or deliberation shared in by all
present. From this it will be seen how appropriate is our use of
the word to designate those
official Lodge meetings in which all members have a part or a voice.
Compasses -
This is the plural of compass,
from the Latin corn, meaning "together," and passus, meaning a pass,
step, way, or route. Contrivance,
cunning, encompass, pass, pace derive from the same roots. A circle was once
described as a compass because all
the steps in making it were ''together," that is, of the same distance from the
center; and the word, natural
transition, became applied to the familiar two-legged' instrument for drawing a
circle.
Some Masons use the word in
the singular, as in "square and compass," hut the plural form "square and
compasses" would appear to he preferable, especially since it immediately
distinguishes the working tool from the mariner's compass, with which it might
be otherwise confused by the uninformed.
Consecration- Sacer was the
Latin for something set aside as holy. By prefixing con, meaning "together,"
consecrare resulted, the general
significance of which was that by adding to some holy object a formal ceremony
the
object was declared to be holy to
the public, and must therefore be treated as such. The ceremony of consecrating
a Lodge room is a way of giving notice to the public that it has been dedicated,
or set aside, for Masonic purposes only.
Constitution -
Statuere meant that a thing was
set, or placed, or established; when con was added
(see immediately above) constituere
meant than an official ceremony had set, or fixed, or placed a thing.
From the same source come statue,
statute, institute, restitute, etc. A Lodge is "constituted" when it is formally
and
officially set up, and given its
own permanent place in the Fraternity.
Contention Among Brethren - Differences of opinion.
Cornerstone - The block at
the corner of two wall of a building in which often certain historic documents
are
placed and on which historic
inscriptions are engraved.
Covenant of Masons - A covenant is a contract or agreement between
two or more parties on certain terms.
Cowan -
The origin is unknown, but it may be early Scotch. It was used of
a man who practiced Masonry, usually
of the roughest character as in the building of walls, who had
not been regularly trained and initiated, corresponding
in some sense to "scab" as used by labor unions. If a man has
learned the work by some illegal method he is a
cowan. An "eavesdropper" is one who spies on a Lodge, and may be
such without having learned anything about it
before. A "clandestine" is one who has gone through
initiation ceremonies but not in a regular Lodge.
Craft-
In Anglo-Saxon, craft meant cunning, skill, power, dexterity, etc. The word
became applied to trades and
occupations calling for trained skill on the part of those practicing it. The
distinction between such trades and those
not requiring trained workmen, so rigidly maintained, was one of the hallmarks
of the Middle Ages. Freemasonry is
called a Craft, partly for historical reasons, partly because, unlike so many
fraternities, it requires a training (given in
the form of initiation ceremonies) of those seeking its membership.
Craftsmen - In speculative Masonry, the Fraternity is called the
Craft, therefore the members are called Craftsmen.
Creation - God created the earth and the heavens.
Cubit - The sacred cubit is 36 inches; the profane cubit is 18
inches.
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Darkness to Light - The teaching of
Freemasonry bring a man from darkness to light.
Day - A period of twenty-four hours. The period between sunrise
and sunset.
Deacon-
Despite the fact that the bloom has been rubbed off by our slangy use of it,
this is one of the most
beautiful words in our language. In Greek, diakonos was a servant, a messenger,
a waiting man. In the early
Christian Church a deacon served at the Lord's Supper and administered alms to
the poor; and the word still most
frequently refers to such a church officer. It appears that the two Lodge
offices of Senior and Junior Deacon were
patterned on the church offices.
Death - The sleep after a person dies until the resurrection of a
spiritual body.
Degree - The Latin gradus from
which are derived grade, gradual, graduation, etc., meant a step, or set of
steps,
particularly of a stair; when united with the prefix, da, meaning "down,"
it became degradus, and referred to steps,
degrees, progress by marked stages. From this came our "degree," which is a
step, or grade, in the progress of a
candidate toward the consummation of his membership. Our habit of picturing the
degrees as proceeding from lower to higher, like climbing a stair, is thus very
close to the ancient and original meaning of the word.
Demit - (Also
spelled "dimit.") As a verb this hails from the Latin dimettere, to send away,
to release, to let go;
we have it in our "dismiss." To dimit
from an organization is, using the official form, to resign, to relinquish one's
membership. It has this meaning in Masonry.
Destruction of the Temple - The destruction of the Temple of
Solomon was often prophecied and as predicted by God occured by the the armies
of Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C..
Distressed Worthy Brother - Masons go to the aid of a distressed
worthy Brother.
Dotage - An
old man in his dotage is one whose who has suffered the loss of judgment and
memory and incapable
of comprehending the
lessons of Freemasonry.
Dues -
In Latin debere meant to owe something; it is preserved in our
familiar, too familiar, "debt," in debit,
indebted, debenture, duty, dues, etc. Related is the French
devoir, often employed in English, meaning a piece of
work one is under obligation to do. The same idea appears in
"duty," which means that which is due, or that which is
owed, in the moral sense. Dues represent one's fixed and regular
indebtedness to his Lodge which he placed himself
under obligation to pay when he signed the by-laws.
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Eavesdropper-
Early European peoples used a word
in various forms - evese, obasa, opa, etc., -which meant the
rim, or edge, of something, like
the edge of a field; it came in time to be applied wholly to the gutter which
runs along
the edge of a roof. (Our "over"
comes from this root.) "Dropper" had an origin among the same languages, and
meant that which drips, or
dribbles, like water dropping from a thawing icicle. Eavesdrop, therefore, was
the water
which dripped from the eaves. If a
man set himself to listen through a window or keyhole to what was going on in a
house he had to stand so close
that the eavesdropping would fall upon him, for which reason all prying persons,
seeking by secret means what they
have no business to know, came to be called eavesdroppers.
Edict- The root of this word
is the Latin dicere, speak; united with the prefix e, meaning out, to come
forth, it
produced edicere, meaniiig
to proclaim, to speak out with authority. It came in time to be applied to the
legal
pronouncements of a sovereign or ruler speaking in his own name and out of his
own authority. When a Grand
Master issues a certain official proclamation in his own name and out of the
authority vested in his office it is an
edict.
Emblem
-
This beautiful and significant word, so familiar
to Masons, has historical affiliations with the original idea embodied in
"mosaic work," on whch something is said below. Emblem is derived from the Greek
prefix en, meaning in, united
with ballein, meaning cast, put. The word became
applied to raised decorations on pottery, to inlay work,
tessellated and mosaic work; and since such
designs were nearly always formal and symbolical in character,
emblem came to mean an idea expressed by a
picture or design. As Bacon put it, an emblem represents an
intellectual conception in a sensible image. It
belongs to that family of words of which type, symbol, figure, allegory, and
metaphor are familiar members.
Emblem of Innocence - The
lamb is used as an emblem of innocence, and the white leather lambskin apron is
regarded as an emblem of purity for
Masons.
Esoteric-
This is the opposite of exoteric.
The root of it is the Greek eso, within. It means that which is secret, in
the inner circle. Exoteric is that
which is outside. In Masonry the "esoteric work" is that part of the Ritual
which it is
illegal to publish, while the
exoteric is that part which is published in the Monitor.
Eternal Life - The faith and belief in eternal life beyond the
grave.
Evergreen -- A symbol of the immortality of the soul.
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Fellow- In Anglo Saxon lagu
(from which we have "law") meant that which was permanently ordered, fixed, set;
fe meant property; fela
suggested properties set together, in other words, a partnership. From this we
have "fellow,"
a companion, mate, partner, an equal, a peer. A man became a "fellow" in a
Medieval guild or corporation when
admitted a member on the same terms as all others, sharing equally in the
duties, rights, and privileges. In Operative
Masonry, in order to be a fellow a man had to be a Master Mason, in the sense of
having passed through his
apprenticeship, so that Masters were fellows and fellows were Masters. Prior to
about 1740 "Fellow of the Craft"
and "Master Mason" referred to the same grade or degree, but at about that year
a new division in ranking was
made, and "Fellow Craft" was the name given to the Second Degree in the new
system, Master Mason to the Third.
Form-
We speak of the "form of the Lodge," "due form," etc. The word is
derived from the Latin forma, which
meant the shape, or figure, or frame of anything; also it was
used of a bench, or seat, whence the old custom of
calling school benches "forms." It is the root of formal,
formation, informal, and scores of other English words
equally familiar. The "form of the Lodge" is its symbolical
shape; a ceremony is in "due form" if it have the officially
required character or framework of words and actions.
Fortitude -
The key to the meaning of this
magnificent word lies in its derivation from the Latin fords, meaning
strong, powerful, used in the
Middle Ages of a stronghold, or fort. Force, enforce, fortify, fortification,
forceful, are
from the same root. A man of
fortitude has a character built strong like a fort, which can be neither taken
by bribe
nor over-thrown by assault,
however strong may be the enemy, or however great may be the suffering or
deprivation within. One is
reminded of Luther's great hymn, "A mighty fortress is our God."
Fraternity- This the most
prized, perhaps, of all words in Masonry, harks back to the Latin frater, which
is so
closely allied to "brother," as already noted in the paragraph on that
word. It gives us fra, frater, fraternize, and many other terms of the same
import. A fraternity is a society in which the members strive to live in a
brotherly concord patterned on the
family relations of blood brothers, where they are worthy of the tie. To be
fraternal means to treat another man as if
he were a brother in the most literal sense.
Free - Operative Masons
who worked on King Solomon's Temple were exempted from imposts, duties and taxes
as were their descendants and as such
declared to be "free."
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G - The letter "G", the most sacred symbol in Freemasonry. The
Lodge cannot open, and no work can be
performed unless this sacred letter is
conspicuously seen in its regularly assigned place of honor in the Lodge hall.
It
is representive of God and the science of geometry.
Gage- Gage (also spelled
“gauge”) has an uncertain ancestry. Early French and English peoples had gauger,
gagen,
etc., which referred to the measuring of wine casks; some believe our “gallon”
and “gill” to have been thus derived.
Its meaning became enlarged to include any kind of measuring, literally or
figuratively. The instrument used to do the
measuring came to be called “the gage.” Among Operative Masons it was used to
measure a stone for cutting to the
required “twenty-four-inch gage” is such a measuring rod or stick marked off
into twenty-four inches.
Gates of the Temple - The
walls of the enclosure of Temple of Solomon had a gate at each points of the
compass. The three gates on the east,
west, and the south. These gates are symbols of the sun, rising in the east,
reaching its zenith in the south, and
setting in the west.
Geometry- It is unfortunate
that for most men schoolroom drudgery has robbed this beautiful word of its
poetry.
The Greek geo (in compounds) was earth, land; metron was measure. The
original geometer was a landmeasurer, a
surveyor, but his methods became
broadened and applied to many other kinds of problems, so that at last his craft
became a portion of the art of mathematics. Geometry, that branch of mathematics
which deals with figures in space, is associated in every Mason’s mind with the
immortal Euclid, who figures 50 prominently in all the ancient Masonic
manuscripts. It
achieved its great place in Freemasonry because of its constant
and prime importance in the builders’ art.
Symbolically speaking geometry (to it
the Letter G originally referred), consists of all those fixed principles and
laws
of morality and of thought to which a right char-acter and a true mind
adjust themselves.
Glory and Beauty of the Day - Daylight, the supreme glory and
example of the goodness and glory of God.
Golden Bowl Be Broken - The rule of conduct in man's relation to
and treatment of his fellow man as spoken
by the Saviour.
Grammer- The Greeks had
graphein, to write, or draw (from this we have graphic, engrave, etc.) ; gramma
was
that which was written or drawn. Grammar now refers only to the skeletonal
framework of language, its parts of
speech and their combinations, hut formerly
it included all forms of learning based’ on language, such as rhetoric and
what
is now taught in the schools as English; by the time our Monitor was written,
however, grammar and rhetoric
had become differentiated, nevertheless the
Monitorial portion of the Second Degree makes it plain that a Fellow
Craftis
expected to be a literate man, knowing something of the arts of language in both
speaking and writing. In
interpreting the Second Degree this wide meaning of “grammar must be kept in
mind.
Grand- Grandis in the Latin
meant great, large, awesome, especially in the sense of imposing; it was
afterwards
applied to the aged, the ripe in experience, an application easy
enough to understand when one recalls the
reverence paid by the Romans to
seniority, long experi-ence, etc. this latter meaning appears in our
grandfather,
grandmother, grandsire, etc. In English the word developed in two
directions, one toward that which is great, large,
awe-in-spiring,
as in “grandeur,” the other toward dignity, exalted power. Our own use of the
term in “Grand”
Lodge, “Grand” East, “Grand” Master, harks back to the latter of the two usages.
The head of the Craft is called “
Grand”’ Master because he is its most exalted official.
Great Porch - The vestibule at the entrance into the Temple of
Solomon.
Great and Sacred Name -
Any name that is used as a title of Deity are sacred and all names of our God
are to
be uttered with profound reverence
and never blasphemously.
Great White Throne - The pure and glorious throne of God. Before
it, every knee must bow.
Grip-
Grip, grope, grab, grasp, gripe came the same roots. The Anglo Saxon gripe meant
to clutch, to lay hold of,
to seize, to grasp strongly. A grip means to clasp another’s hand firmly; it
differs from a mere hand. clasp, which
may be a meaningless formality. in that it is done earnestly, and for a
purpose—for what purpose in our fraternal
system every Mason knows. A grip should be giver. as if one meant it; half of
its meaning lies in the way it is done.
Ground Floor of the Lodge - Mount Moriah,
the site of Solomon's Temple is symbolically referred to as the "
ground floor of the Lodge."
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Harodim - The title given
to the overseers and princes appointed by Solomon to supervise the workmen
preparing
the material and in the building of
the Temple.
Heaven - A Heaven of bliss
beyond the grave. The "foreign country" in which the Master Mason seeks wages is
Heaven.
Hills and Valleys - The hilltop or mountaintop is a symbol of
"Holiness unto the Lord."
High Twelve-
The Latin nonus referred to the
ninth hour of the day, that is, nine hours after sunrise. In the
Medieval church
it referred to the middle hour between midday and sunset, that is, about three
o’clock P.M. In the
course ot time it came to refer to
any part of the middle of the day, and finally to twelve o’clock. The origin of
our “
High Twelve” is uncertain, but it
is probable that it goes back to a time before “noon" was generally used for
twelve
o’clock; the “high” doubtless
refers to the sun, which at that time was at its highest point in the sky.
Holiness - The absolute and superlative Holiness of God in
symbols, attitudes and words.
Hoodwink-
“Hood” goes back to old German and Anglo Saxon, in which it referred to head
covering, as in hat,
hood, helmet, etc.; “wink,” in the same languages, meant to close the eyes,
“wench,” “wince,” etc., being similarly
derived. A hoodwink was therefore a headdress designed to cover the eyes. The
popular use of the word is
believed to go back to the old sport of falconry, once so popular, in which the
falcon had a hood over its eyes until
ready to strike at its prey.
Holy of Holies - The
ancient Tabernacle erected by Moses at Mount Sinai was divided into two
compartments
or rooms. At the west end was the
Most Holy Place constructed of a perfect cube fifteen feet in all dimensions
contained the Ark of the Covenant.
Holy Place - The east end of the Tabernacle containing the great
Candlestick, the table for shewbread and the
altar of incense with its censer and
snuffers.
House Not Made With Hands-
The eternal dwelling place of God and the resurrected bodies of the redeemed
in the life beyond.
Human Senses - The natural faculties and endowments of man.
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Immortality - Man's immortality, the fundamental tenet.
Ineffable Name - It is
believed that the correct pronunciation of the most sacred name of God has been
lost. In it
believed, however, that this
Ineffable Name is held by the Messiah until the Day of Resurrection.
Initiation- The Latin initium
means beginning, as in our initial”; initiatus, the participle from the verb
initiare, referred
to any act incident to the beginning or introduction of a thing. The word came
widely into use in mysteries and sacred rites, whence it has come into our
4Masonic nomenclature. Back of it, as used by us, is the picture of birth, so
that the Masonic
initiation means that a candidate has been born into the Masonic life, making
the same kind of beginning therein that
a babe makes when born into the world.
Inner Door - Those who
earnestly knock to be admitted to the lessons of Freemasonry are opened by the
proper
knock at the Inner Door of the Lodge.
Innocence - From time immemorial, the lamb has been regarded as an
emblem of innocence.
Installation- Stallum
was the Late Latin for place, or seat, or proper position, which meaning is
preserved in our
English “stall.” To “install” therefore means that one has been placed in his
seat or station—the "in" meaning here the
same as in English. A Masonic installation is a ceremony by which an elected
officer is officially placed in the seat to
which his brethren have elected him.
Interment - The grave, the the resting place for bodies of the
dead.
Iron Tools - no iron tool
of any kind was employed in the building of the Temple in order that quiet and
reverence
might prevail.
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Jachin - He doth establish. The two great pillars of
Solomon's Temple called Boaz and Jachin. Jachin is a
combination of two words, Jah, a name of Jehovah, and iachin,
meaning establishment. The full significance of the
name is, therefore,
"With God's help to establish,"
Jacob's Ladder
- Jacob's vision in which he saw a stairway from earth to Heaven with angels
descending and
ascending.
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Keepers of the House Shall Tremble
- The failings of the body in old age or as weakened by the approach
of death. The usual
interpretation is that the arms and legs are the keepers.
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Labor
-
The Latin labor meant toil, work, the put-ting forth of effort; it appears to be
akin to robur, or strength,
preserved in our “robust.” While labor and work are used interchange-ably, the
latter is a more generic word, and
admits of a much wider range of uses. Work may be either hard or easy but labor
is always hard; work is used of all sorts of effort; labor refers generally to
muscular effort, followed by fatigue. When labor is kept up unremittingly it is
toil; and when
toil is uninteresting, uninspiring, and poorly paid it is drudgery. When
working, one’s ambition is to succeed with it;
when laboring, one looks forward to resting from it; hence, it is from labor
that we seek refreshment, not from work.
Landmark-
In the early Anglo Saxon, German, or Scandinavian languages the
noun “land” meant the same as in
modern English, although as a verb it meant
“come to land,” a meaning reflected in our custom of saying a man
lands from a
ship, etc. “Mark” is found in almost all European languages, and derives from
the Latin margo, edge,
boundary, whence our margin, mark, and cognate terms. A
“landmark” is some mark, line or object to indicate a
boundary. The landmarks of Masonry are those principles by which
the Craft is bounded, that is, marked off from
all other societies and associations and with-out which it would
lose its identity.
Legend-
The Greeks had legein, speak; the Latins legere, read; from these we have
legend, lecture, etc. In the
early Christian church the legend was the Scripture
selection read in a church service; later the term became
ap-plied to stories about the lives of the saints, especially to their wonders
and miracles. The famous “Golden
Legend,” a collection of such stories, was one of the most popular books of the
Middle Ages. Legend’, as now
used, is a story without historical foundations but told in the form of history,
hence our “Legend of the Third
Degree,” a narrative in dramatic form that Masons have long understood to be
non-historical.
Level-
In Latin libra was a balance, the root of our libration,
equilibrium; libella was the diminutive form of the
same word, and from it has
come our level, an instrument by which a balance is proved, or by which may be
detected the horizontal plane. It is closely as-sociated in use
with the plumb, by which a line perpendicular to the
horizontal is proved. The level is that on which there are
no in-equalities, hence in Masonry it is correctly used’ as a
symbol of equality. “We meet upon the level” because
Masonic rights, duties, and privileges are the same for all
members with-out distinction.
Level of Equality - The fundamental principle that all men are
created equal, with certain inalienable rights to life,
liberty and the pursuit
of happines.
Libertine-
Liber was the Latin for “free,” as in our liberty, liberal, etc.
When the Romans gave a slave his freedom
he was called libertus, so that in
Roman history a libertine was a freed-man. In theology a libertine came to mean
one who holds loose views, a freethinker; in morality, a licenticus
person, one who flouts moral laws. Whether the
early Masons used “libertine” to mean a
“freethinker” or a licentious man, is a point that has never been decided’;
in practice, they probably used it in both
senses.
Light of Life - The source
of enlightenment and knowledge for life's darkness, perplexities and doubts is
the Holy
Bible -- the Great Light of Masonry.
Lily Work - An emblem of
peace and purity which occupies a place of conspicuousness and distinction in
the
Temple and its furniture.
Lion of the Tribe of Judah
- Emblematically of strength. Refers to Christ, the anointed of God and royal
head
of God's Kingdom.
Lodge-
This word comes from the Old French, English and Medieval Latin, and meant
gen-erally a hut, a cottage,
a gallery, a covered way, etc.; our “lobby” had the
same beginning. How the Operative Masons came to employ
the term, and just what
they meant by it, has never been determined; they had a symbolic Lodge, their
building was
a Lodge, the group of members was a Lodge, an as-sembly of Masons was a
Lodge, and often times the whole
body of Masons was called a Lodge. In our own usage the word has three
technical meanings; the place where
Masons meet, the assembly of the brethren duly congregated for labor, and a
piece of furniture.
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Mason- This is a word from the
Middle Ages, with an uncertain origin. The old Gothic maitan meant to hew, or
cut, and it is supposed the word carried that general meaning through Medieval
Latin, English, German, and in the
Scandinavian languages. If at first it was used only of a stone-cutter, it came
later to mean a builder. Why the
Operatives were called “Freemasons” is still an unsolved puzzle; the most likely
view is that they were a society of
builders free to move from one place to another in contrast to the gild Masons
who were confined in their labors to
one community. In our Fraternity a Mason is a builder of manhood and
brotherhood.
Master- The Latin root mag had
the general meaning of great—as in “magnitude”; it was the source of the Latin
magister, head, chief,principal, the word of which “magistrate” was made.
During the Middle Ages it fell into use as
a conventional title applied to
persons in superior rank, preserved in our own familiar “mister,” always written
“Mr”,
colloquial
form of “master.” Also it came to be used’ of a man who had overcome the
difficulties in learning an art,
thereby proving himself to be greater than his task, as when it is said of an
artist who has overcome all the obstacles
and difficulties of painting, “He is a master.” A Master Mason is so called
because be has proved himself capable of
mastering the work; also because he belongs to a Degree so named.
Master Builder
- An architect, a skilled worker and a capable artisan. One who is qualified in
heart and mind, by
skill in moral and
spiritual science, and by Holy consecration to erect temples of immortal
characters.
Metal Tools -
The preparation of all materials for the building of Solomon's Temple was done
in the forests and
quarries as the use of
metal tools in the actual construction of sacred altars and edifices was
forbidden.
Monitor- The Latin monere
meant to warn; it was the root of our admonish, admonition, etc.; a monitor was
the
man who did the warning. The term became widely used in early school systems
of the senior pupils in a class
whose duty it was to instruct his juniors; from
this it passed to include the book, the blackboard and other
instruments used by
him in his teachings. Our use of it carries this last mean-ing; the Masonic
Monitor is a book for
teaching a candidate the exoteric work.
Mosaic - This word has
nothing to do with Moses. Its root was the Greek mousa, a muse, suggesting
something
artistic. The same root appears in our “museum,” literally a place
where artistic work is exhibited. Through the Latin
it came into modern
languages and during the Middle Ages became narrowed down to mean a pattern
formed by
small pieces of inlay, a form of decorative work much in vogue during
the time of the Opera-tive Masons. Our “
mosaic pavement is so called because it consists of an inlay pattern, small
black and white squares alternating to
suggest day and night.
Mystery -This word is used in
Masonry in two senses entirely different; indeed, though spelled and pronounced
the same, they are really two words. “Mystery” in the sense of strange, unknown,
weird, secret, hails from the
Greek, .in which muein meant to close the eyes,
lips and ears; from this came musterion, a secret ceremony or
doctrine,
appearing in Latin as mysterium. The word mystery, thus derived, means secrecy,
hiddenness, and is
properly used of the esoteric elements in Masonry. But in
the phrase “arts, parts and mysteries” the word is from
the Latin ministerium,
having the meaning of trade, art, craft, occupation, etc., preserved in the
familiar metier from
the French, often used as an English word, and the much more familiar
“minister,” “ministry,” etc.; in this sense -- the sense most often used in our
Craft the “mysteries of Masonry” are its workings, just as the mysteries of
Operative Masonry were its
trade secrets known only to those trained and skilled in the building arts. In
the latter of the two senses “mystery”
and “master” (see above) are closely affiliated in origin, a master being one
who has become completely skilled in
mysteries.
Mystic- In the Greek,
muster was one who had been initiated. Originally, so Jane Harrison believes,
the root
word referred to pollution; but inasmuch as the Greek mysteries had for
their aim the removal of moral pollution, the
word became generally associated
with the mysteries themselves, and at last was used to signify a man who had
gone through them. Mystic in our own use of it, as in “Mystic Tie,” refers not
to the mysterious in Freemasonry, or
to any mysticism in it, but to the fact of
our being a secret society, practicing initiaton.
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Names of the Temple - The
Temple built by Solomon, which occupies such importance throughout the
symbolisms and legends of
Freemasonry, is given a number of names in the Bible: The Palace of Jehovah, The
House of Sanctuary, and The House of
Ages.
North Side - In Masonic symbolism the North Side of the Lodge
represents God's exalted throne.
Northeast Corner - As one
receives more light in Masonry he reaches the Northeast Corner which is
representative of the cornerstone of
a great moral and spiritual edifice.
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Obligation-
Obligate and oblige are sister
words, deriving from the same Latin root, ob, a prefix meaning before,
or about;
and ligare, meaning bind, as in our ligament. An obligation is a tie, or pledge,
or bond’ by which a man is
tied to his fellows, or gives his
word to perform certain duties. Accordingly we have obliging, referring to one
who is
willing to bind himself to do
something for you, obligatory, etc. The obligation is the tie, or bond, itself;
in Masonry a
formal and voluntary pledge on the
candidate’s part by virtue of which he is accepted as a responsible member of
the family of Masons.
Oblong- This has long been a
puzzle word in Masonic nomenclature. How, it is asked, can a square be oblong,
when a square is equal on all its sides? The answer is that in this connection
“square” is used in the sense of
rectangle; the angles are squared, not the
sides. Oblong is derived from ob, near, or before, and longus, long; that is,
it means something approximately long, so that the main axis is much longer than
the others, as a slender leaf, a shaft, etc. An “oblong square is a rectangle of
which two opposite sides are much longer than the other two. The Lodge
symbolically is an
oblong square in this sense.
Operative-
We distinguish Operative Masons,
builders of the Middle Ages, founders of Masonry, from
Spectulative Masons,
present members of the Fraternity, using the builders’ tools as emblems and
symbols. The
Latin for toil, or work, was opus, still used’ in that form in
English to signify a musical or literary achievement. Opus
was the root of operari, to work,
whence we have our operate, operative, operation, opera, operator, and many
others. The Operative Mason was
one who toiled at building in the plain, literal sense of the word.
“Speculative” will be explained farther down.
Ornament-
Ornare was the Latin verb meaning
to adorn, to equip, of which the noun was ama-men turn,
trappings,
embellishment, furniture, etc., from which was derived our “adorn-ment” and
“ornament.” In church usage “ornaments” was the name given to all the equipment
used in the services of divine worship. We speak of the mosaic pavement, the
indent-ed tessel, and blazing star as “ornaments of the Lodge;” whether the term
was used by Lodges originally
because they were considered to be adornments, or
because they were part of the Lodge equipment it is impossible
to say, though
the latter alternative appears to be the more likely.
Opening of the Lodge - The
Lodge must be opened in due and ancient form and the Master must be reminded
of the dignity and character of
himself and of his position. The other officers must be impressed with the
respect and veneration due from their stations and the Fraternity in Lodge
assembly and in work must maintain a reverential awe for Deity, and
must look to the Great Light of
Freemasonry, the Holy Bible, for guidance and instruction. The Lodge must be
opened and closed with a
Prayer.
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Password- The Latin passus
meant pace, step, track, passage; it contains the picture of a path, road,
aisle, or
door through which one can make his way, hence our “pass,” derived from it. From
it also we have our word
“pace.” A password is any agreed word or counter-sign that permits one to pass
through an en-trance or passage
otherwise closed.
Penalty- It is
significant that our “penal” derives from the Latin for pain, paena, the root of
our penance, penalty,
penitence, penitentiary. punish, primitive, pine, and a
circle of similar English words. It has the meaning of pain
inflicted for the
purpose of correction, discipline, or protecting society, never the inflic-tion
of pain for its own sake.
Our own penalties are symbolical in form, their language being derived from
early English forms of punishment for
heresy and treason.
Pillar- The Latin pila
was a pile,—such as a pile under a house—a pier, a pillar, or a mole,— the last
named a
massive stonework enclosing a harbor. In ancient times pillars were used for all
manner of religious and symbolical
purposes, as when Jacob erected a pillar at a grave, or Solomon set up two great
pillars— the prototype of ours—
on the Porch before his Temple.
Pillars of Brass - The two giant bronze pillars, Boaz and Jachin
were significant features of King Solomon's
Temple that stood in front of the
entrance to the Great Porch at the east entrance of the Temple.
Pillars of Wisdom - The
seven great pillars of wisdom are regarded by Masons to be of value in the
building
of a moral and spiritual edifice.
Plumb- Plumbum was the Latin
for lead, and was used also of a scourge with a blob of lead tied to it, of a
line
with a lead ball at its end for testing perpendicularity, etc., the source
of our plumb, plumber, plunge, plump, plumbago, plummet, etc. A plumb-line is
accordIngly a line, or cord, with a piece of lead at the bottom to pull it taut,
used to test vertical walls with the line of gravity, hence, by a simple
expansion of reference, an emblem of uprightness. Up means up, right means
straight; an upright man is one who stands straight up and down, doesn’t bend or
wabble, has no crooks in him, like a good solid wall that won’t cave in urnkr
pressure.
Poor - One of the tennets of Freemasonry is the duty of rendering
aid and sustenance to those in need.
Porch - The Great Porch of the Temple of Solomon a distinctive
recognition in the ritual and teachings of Masonry.
Prayer - A petitions to Deity in behalf on one's own needs and
others, A communion with God.
Preparation - In Masonry it is the preparation of moral, ethical
and spiritual vocations.
Profane-
This has a technical meaning in
Masonry, nevertheless it adheres closely to the original significance of the
word. Fanum was the Latin for temple; pro meant “before,” in the sense of
“outside of.” It is the picture of man
standing on the outside, not permitted to
enter. It has tlfis same sense in Masonry; the “profane” are those men and
women who stand outside of
Masonry. The word here, of course, has nothing to do with profanity in the sense
of
sacrilegious language.
Prudence - Regulating our
conduct by the dictates of reason and in obedience to the cardinal virtues of
faith, hope
and love.
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Q
Qualification-
Qualify comes from the same word
as quality. The root of it is the Latin qua, preserved in our
“what.” The
quality of a thing was its whatness, the stuff of which it was made, its nature.
The fy in “qualify” is from
facere, to make, so that “qualify”
means that a thing is made of the required stuff; and qualification means the
act by
which a thing is made of the
required nature, or is declared to have it. The candidate for the Degrees of
Masonry
must possess certain
characteristics in his nature; must be a man of lawful age, etc., and these are
his qualifications.
Quarry-
The Latin quadratum was a square; originally, quadrate and quarry
meant the same. The word became
applied’ to the pit from which rock is hewn because the principal
task of workmen therein was to cut, or square, the stones; hence, literally a
quarry is a place where stone-squaring is done. In Masonry “quarry” sometimes
refers to the rock pits
from which Solomon’s workmen hewed out the stones for his Temple;
at other times it refers to the various arenas
of Masonic activities, as when it is said of an active Lodge
member that “he is a faithful laborer in the quarry.”
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Raise or Raised-
In the Anglo Saxon arisan was used of any motion up or down, but
in English it became used only of an upward motion, as in arise, rising, raise,
rear, etc. Raise means to hoist, or carry, or lift, a body upward in space.
There is no need to explain to a Mason why it is said of a candidate who has
completed the Third Degree that he has been “raised,” or why the climactic
ceremony in that Degree is described as “raising.” One is “initiated” an Entered
Apprentice, “passed” a Fellowcraft, “raised” a Master Mason.
Refreshment-
Friscus, or frescus, in the Latin had the
meaning of new, fresh, recent; the re meant again; so that refresh means to
renew, to make over, to undo the ravages of use and time, in Shakespeare’s
phrase, “to knit up the raveled sleeve of care.” To “pass from labor to
refreshment” is to find rest and recreation so as to undo the wearing effects of
toil, as when a laborer knocks off at noon to eat his lunch and have a rest.
Regular-
The Latin rex, king, sovereign, ruler, was a root from which many
words have sprung, regal, royal, etc.; the Latins themselves had regula, or
rule, and regere, to rule or govern. From this source has come our “regular.” It
means a rule established on legitimate authority. In Masonry “regular” is
applied to those rules which have been established by Grand Lodges and Grand
Masters. A “regular Lodge” is one that conforms to Grand Lodge requirements; a
“regular Mason” is the mem-ber of such a Lodge who conforms to its laws and
by-laws.
Right-
This, one of the noblest words in the English language, is also
one of the oldest, being found in the very ancient Sanskrit in the form raj
meaning rule. It appeared in Latin as rectus, meaning direct, straight, a rule,—
rule being used in the sense of our ruler, a device for drawing a line which is
the shortest distance between two points. Such words as regent, rail, direct,
rector, rectify, rule, came from this Latin term. Right means “straight,” as in
a “right line,” a “right angle,” etc.; through a familiar metaphorical
application it has come to stand for conduct in conform-ity with moral law. Our
“rights” are those privileges which strict law allows to us. A “horizontal” is a
right line on the level; a perpendicular” is a right line up and down, or at
right angles to the horizontal. “Right” and “regular,” discussed just above,
origi-nally were close together in meaning.
Ritual-
A ritual is a system of rites. “Rite,” like “right,” is very old;
it has been traced to the if Sanskrit riti, meaning usage, which in turn was
derived from ri, meaning flow, suggesting the regular current of river. In Latin
this became ritus meaning in general a custom, more particularly a religious
custom, or usage. In taking over this word the church applied it to the acts in
solemn religious services which had to be performed according to strict rules.
In Masonry the ritual is the prescribed set of ceremonies used for the purpose
of initiation. It should be noted that a set of ceremonies does not become a
ritual until it has been prescribed by some official authority.
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Sanctuary - Holy places dedicated to the services and worship of
God.
Sanctum Sanctorum - The Latin phrase referring to the Holy of
Holies or innermost chamber of King Solomon's Temple where the Ark of the
Covenant was kept.
Seal- This, like our words
“sign” and “insignia,” is derived from the Latin sigillum, diminu-tive of signum,
meaning a mark, or sign. It is some kind of device affixed to a document in
place of a signature or in close connection with a signature for the purpose of
showing that the document is regular or official. A document bearing the seal of
a Lodge shows that it is officially issued by the Lodge, and not by some
irresponsible person or persons. The word is also used of the tool by means of
which the device is stamped into wax, or whatever similar material may be used
for the purpose.
Secrecy- From Se, apart,
and cernere, separate, the Latins had secretum, suggesting something separated
from other things, apart from com-mon kndwledge, hidden, covered, isolated,
hence “secrecy.” There is a fundamental difference between “secret” and
“hidden,” far whereas the latter may mean that nobody knows where a thing is,
nothing can be secret e without at least one person knowing it. The secrets of
Freemasonry are known to all Masons, therefore are not hidden; they are secrets
only in the sense that they are not known to profanes. A similar word is
“occult,” which means a thing naturally secret, one, as it were, that secretes
itself, so that few can know about it. See also the paragraphs on “clandestine”
and “mystery” in the preceding pages. There is also another less familiar word
in Masonry meaning hidden, covered up, concealed, secret; it is pronounced
“hail” but is spelled “hele.”
Secretary- The present use of
this word has departed widely from its original meaning. The Latin secretus
meant secret, private; secretarium was a conclave, a caucus, a council behind
closed doors, consequently a secretarius was some very confidential officer, and
was used of a secretary in our sense, of a notary, a scribe, etc. Since the
handling of correspon-dence and the keeping of records is usually a confidential
service the man who does it has come to be called a secretary. The secretary of
a Lodge cares for all its correspondence and its records.
Self Support - The duty to support one's self and his family by
individual initiative and personal labor is a universal tenet of Freemasonry.
Shibboleth - A word used by followers of Jephthah to test certain
of the Ephraimites who because of their Ephraimite dialect, they pronounced it
Sibboleth.
Sign- This comes from the
Latin signum, a word which appears in a dozen or more English words, as
signature, signet, signify, consign, countersign, resign, etc. Where a seal is
used principally on documents and for the purpose of showing them to be
official, sign is used much more variously and widely; it is some kind of
gesture, device, mark, or design which indicates something, or points to
something, and which often has a meaning known only to the initiated. Masonic
signs are gestures that convey a meaning which only Masons understand, and which
most frequently are used for purposes of recognition.
Solomon - peaceable - Solomon was the son of David and
Bathsheba, and David's successor on the throne of Israel.
Spiritual Temple - Symbolic of the building of King Solomon's
Temple, for the more important superstructure of moral, ethical and spiritual
components knows as the Spiritual Temple.
Speculative- The Latin specere
meant to see, to look about; specula was a watchtower, so called because from it
one could look about over a wide territory. It came to be used metaphorically of
the mental habit of noting all the aspects of a subject; also, as applied to
theo-retical knowledge as opposed to practical skill. “Speculative Masonry” was
knowledge of the science, or theory, of building; “Operative Masonry,” trained
skill in putting that knowledge into practice. ‘When Operative Masonry was
dropped out of the Craft in the eighteenth century, only the speculative
ele-ments remained and these became the basis of our present Fraternity. It is
for this reason that we continue to describe it as Speculative Masonry. The word
has nothing to do with philosophical speculation, or with theorizing merely for
its own sake.
St. John the Baptist - Masons honor St. John the Baptist as the
forerunner of the Messiah and Saviour. The names of the Holy St. John the
Baptist and the Holy St. John the Evangelist are reverently associate in
significant rituals of the Masonic Fraternity.
St. John the Evangelist - As a disciple of St.
John the Baptist, John, a son of Zebedee and brother of James, was among the
earliest to follow Jesus and to enter into full Christian discipleship. In
Masonic history and in rituals, St. John the Evangelist is highly honored and
his memory beautifully commemorated.
Steward -
This came into general use through
the church, in which it was adopted as the name for an important official and
also for an important theological doctrine; the doctrine of stewardship. The
word itself had a peculiar origin. In Anglo Saxon stigo was a sty or place in
which domestic animals were kept; I weard (see “warden” on following page) was a
guard, or keeper; therefore the steward was the keeper of the cattle pens. Its
meaning became enlarged to include the duties of general over-seer, one who is
in charge of a household or estate for another; and still more generally, one
who provides for the needs for food, money, and supplies. In the history of Ma-sonry
the office of steward has performed a variety of functions; the caring of funds,
distribution of charity, preparing for banquets and similar services.
Sublime-
Sublimis, in Latin, referred to
something high, lofty, exalted, like a city set on top of a hill, or an eagle’s
nest atop some lonely crag. It refers to that which is eminent, of superlative
degree, moral grandeur, spiritual exaltation. Inasmuch as the Third Degree is at
the top of the system of Ancient Craft Masonry, it is known as “The Sublime
Degree.
Summons- Like the word
monitor, explained some pages back, summons is derived from the Latin term of
which the verb was monere, meaning to warn, or to remind, as in “admonish ;“ the
“sum” is the combining form of sub, under, or privy to, in the secret of, as in
the old phrase “sub rosa.” A summons is an official call sent out by persons in
authority to some person acknowledging that authority to appear at some place,
or to perform some duty; in other words a person who is “on the inside,” who is
a member, is admonished by his superiors, and must obey under penalty. The duty
involved and the penalty attached distinguishes a summons from a mere
invita-tion. A Lodge, Grand Lodge, or some official issues a summons; a fellow
Mason not in official position makes a sign; a Mason is under obligation to
respond to either, if it be due, official, or regular.
Symbol- It is interesting to
compare this word with “emblem” with which it is so often confused. The Greek
symbolon was a mark, or sign, or token, or tally; it is derived from sun,
togeth-er, and ballein, put, or throw, from which we have ball, ballistics, etc.
Symbolon indicated two things put together, thrown together, or matched
together. If, for example, the numeral 9 is matched to a pile of marbles, one to
one, the 9 is a symbol of the number of marbles. From this came the custom of
calling a symbol some object, device, design, picture, etc., used not for its
own sake, but for the purpose of referring to some other, and per-haps very
different, thing with which it has been associated. It is any visible, audible,
or tangible object used to typify some idea, or truth, or quality, as when a
wedding ring is made the symbol of marriage, the square is made the symbol of
the earth, or the cross is made the symbol of Christianity, the crescent of
Mohammedanism, etc.
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Temple-
The Greeks had temenos, a sacred enclosure, a plot of ground
marked off to be a holy place; the Latins had templum, a consecreated place. A
temple is a building set apart because it is holy, dedicated to religious uses.
It has its place in Masonry largely because of the prominence of Solomon’s
Temple in the Ritual. It is interesting to note that in Masonic nomenclature the
ideal life, here and hereafter, is described metaphorically as a temple, one of
a thousand examples of the extent to which Freemasonry is saturated with
religious language and emotions.
Temple Builder - In Freemasonry the legend of the Temple builder
forms a significant part of the Third Degree.
Temple of the Body - In Masonry we are taught that man's body is
to be made a fit Temple for the indwelling of God.
Three Chambers - The upper, middle and lower chambers of King
Solomon's Temple were rooms adjoining the main building fitted for quiet
communication with God.
Tiler/Tyler - In the
Latin tegere (from which came “thatch”) meant cover, roof; tegulae were the
tiles, pieces, slabs, used for roof-coverings. A tiler, therefore, is one who
makes, or fastens on, tiles. Since in Operative Masonry the tiler was the
workman who closed the building in, and hid its interior from outside view, the
guardian of the entrance to the Lodge was figuratively called by this name. It
was once supposed that “tiler” came from the French tailleur, a cutter, a hewer
(from whence we have “tailor”), and it was accordingly spelled “tyler;” that,
however, is incorrect, “tiler” being the correct spelling.
Token-
This is from the Greek deigma.. meaning example, or proof—the
origin of the word “teach,” and in its orginal sense had much the same meaning
as sign and symbol, for it was an object used as the sign of something else. It
is generally used, however, in the sense of a pledge or of an object that proves
something. In our usage a token is something that exhibits, or shows, or proves
that we are Masons—the grip of recognition, for example.
Trust in God - As a candidate crosses the threshold of the Lodge,
and throughout all the ceremonies and rites of Freemasonry, he is required to
"put his trust in God."
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Unity - Masons are constantly taught to avoid "confusion among the
workmen," discord, strife, jealousies and vain discussions on non-essentials;
and to cultivate zealously and fervently the spirit of true unity in the Lodge
and in the Fraternity.
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Veiled Allegory - A thing spoken like a parable, with hidden
meaning .
Veil of the Temple - A curtain or partition which separated the
Holy Place from the Most Holy Place in the temple.
Visitors - No Mason is allowed to regard as a stranger or visitor
any Brother Mason, even though he has no acquaintance with him, and even if he
may be of some other religion, country or nationality.
Vows - Vows are the covenants of heart and conscience which serve
as the main force of heart and character in faithfully observing the obligations
verbally expressed before the altar.
Vouch-
This harks back to the Latin vocare, to call, to summon, and is
the origin of voice, vouchsafe, vocation (in the sense of a “calling”), vocal,
etc. To vouch is to raise one s voice in testimony, to bear witness, to affirm,
to call to witness. If we vouch for a brother we raise the voice to testify that
we know him to be a regular Mason.
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Wages- Wage, of which wages is
the collective plural, remotely descended from the Latin vas, having the meaning
of pledge, security, pawn, or a promise to pay backed up by security. After it
entered into modem languages it had
a peculiar history; it became “gage,” a
pledge or pawn, appearing in our engage, disengage, etc., but having no
relation
with gage, one of our Working Tools; “wager" in the sense of a bet; in another
context it became “wed,” the
act of marrying, so called because of the pledges
given; and “wage” in the sense of compensation for service given.
An “allowance”
is a one-sided form of payment, depending on the will of the giver; a “stipend”
is a fixed sum,
usually nominal, and is supposed to be paid as per a permanent
arrangement; a “salary” (from sal, or salt, the old
pay given soldiers) is an amount fixed by contract, and estimated over a
relatively long period of time, year or
month; “wages” are paid to laborers over short periods of time, or at the
completion of the required task. In
Speculative Masonry the Master Mason symbolically receives “wages,” rather than
salary, because they represent
the rewards that come to him as rapidly as he does his work; and, as the
etymology of the word suggests, they are
certain, something one may bank on.
Warden-
“Ward” is of Medieval origin, having been used in early English,
French, German, etc., always in the
sense of to guard something, a meaning preserved in warden,
guard, guardian, wary, ware, ward, etc. A warden is
guardian of the west gate of the Temple, the Junior Warden of the
south gate.
Warrant-
This also derives from the same
source, and carries the general meaning of “to de-fend,” “to guard.”
Warrant is sometimes used as a
pledge of security; in Masonry it is a document officially issued to authorize
the
formation of a Lodge, and
consequently acts as the pledge, or security, for the future activity of it.
White - White is symbolic of purity in its various uses in
Masonry.
White Stone - The white stone is a token of fraternal friendship
and helpfulness as well as enduring alliance.
Widow's Son - Masons are
sometimes referred to as "sons of the widow" as this was the title applied to
Hiram,
chief architect of Solomon's Temple.
Widows and Orphans -
Masons are solemnly pledged to make special provision for widows and orphans in
need, especially among families of
the Fraternity.
Winding Stairs - The Temple of Solomon had a winding stairway
consisting of fifteen steps leading from the porch to the second floor. These
are symbols in the work of Freemasonry.
Wisdom of Solomon - King
Solomon represents the highest degree of wisdom. The East, the source of light,
symbolizes the wisdom needed for
success in life. The East is represented by the pillar that supports the Lodge
and
by the Worshipful Master.
Work-
The idea behind this noble old word is one that
has powerfully appealed to all European peoples and is
found in nearly every
Euro-pean language. The Greek ergon meant work, organ on. was the instrument by
which
work was done; from this source we have energy,
organ, erg, and it appears in combination in such words as
metallurgy. To work means to put forth effort in
order to accomplish something; play is also a putting forth of effort,
but in that case the effort is its own end, and
is done for its own sake. Work has an end beyond itself. The official
ritual of the Lodge is called the Standard Work;
it came to be so called by analogy, the ritual of Speculative
Masonry corresponding to the daily labor of the
Operative Masons.
Worshipful- The Anglo Saxon
weorth was something honorable, deserving of respect, a meaning that shows up in
worth, the value of anything, also in worship, which is deference paid to some
object or person of great importance. Worshipful
describes something full of the qualities calling for such deference. It was
used in Medieval times of one’s parents,
officers of the state, prelates, etc., signifying that such persons were of high
station or entitled to deferential respect.
It is so used in our term, “Worshipful Master.”
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Masonic Abbreviations
The information in this chart was prepared by Paul M.
Bessel, Executive Secretary of the Masonic Leadership Center.
http://www.bessel.org/
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