112 On The Level Masonic Magazine for St. John Fisherrow No.112
Issue No.10
July 2020
From the Editor Hello Brethren, and welcome to July 2020’s edition of “On the Level”. Issue No: 10. We hope that you and your families have all been safe and well during these past few and very difficult months. Although I have continued to produce the magazine in digital format only, I hope this has helped to take some of the boredom away.
For this magazine to prosper, your involvement as well as interest is necessary. We are all students learning the “Craft” and should share and learn with each other in Brotherly Love, and Friendship. We are taught to spread the cement of Brotherly Love and affection binding us to each other just the same as cement to stone to create one common mass. So let Brotherly Love and Friendship unite not only the brethren of 112, but our wonderful fraternity as an edifice of knowledge and understanding. Let us learn from each other by sharing our interests to enrich our masonic experience.
If you have any old billets, photos or toast cards which you would like to share then please do, I’m more than happy to scan your items and return them to you. Over the past few months I have received some interesrting articles which I will insert into the magazine and would like to thank the brethren for these, who have also taken the time to contributed to the magazine and look forward to further contributions from the brethren. (The Editor reserves the right to refuse to publish any article deemed to be offensive).
www.stjohn112.co.uk / facebook 112Magazine can also be found on issuu.com
Remember that you are the Salt of the Earth, the Light of the World, and the Fire of the Universe:
In the preface to a book entitled Long-Livers, published in 1772, Eugenius Philalethes, the Rosicrucian initiate, thus addresses his Brethren of the Most Ancient and Most Honorable Fraternity of the Free Masons: “Remember that you are the Salt of the Earth, the Light of the World, and the Fire of the Universe. You are living Stones, built up a Spiritual House, who believe and rely on the chief Lapis Angularis which the refractory and disobedient Builders disallowed. You are called from Darkness to Light; you are a chosen Generation, a royal Priesthood. This makes you, my dear Brethren, fit Companions for the greatest Kings; and no wonder, since the King of Kings hath condescended to make you so to himself, compared to whom the mightiest and most haughty Princes of the Earth are but as Worms, and that not so much as we are all Sons of the same One Eternal Father, by whom all Things were made; but inasmuch as we do the Will of his and our Father which is in Heaven. You see now your high Dignity; you see what you are; act accordingly, and show yourselves (what you are) MEN, and walk worthy the high Profession to which you are called. Remember, then, what the great End we all aim at is: Is it not to be happy here and hereafter? For they both depend on each other. The Seeds of that eternal Peace and Tranquillity and everlasting Repose must be sown in this Life; and he that would glorify and enjoy the Sovereign Good then must learn to do it now, and from contemplating the Creature gradually ascend to adore the Creator.” Manly P. Hall, Rosicrucian and Masonic Origins, 1929.
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The Right Worshipful Master Hello Brethren,
I sincerely hope that you and your families are safe and well during theses unprecedented times. Although we are now in what we would call our summer recess, I, like many of you have missed the meetings. There should have a been a few special meetings being held that I was looking forward to attending but these will now have to be re-arranged for a future date. We can only hope that in the not so distant future return to some kind of normality and see the lodge open again but under the guidance and direction of our Most Worshipful Grand Master Mason Bro. Ramsay McGhee.
On a more positive note our Immediate Past Master Bro. John Thorburn has been visiting the brethren of the lodge with a serving of afternoon tea for two which has been well received by the brethren, and I would like to thank Bro. John from the bottom of my heart for this wonderful gesture. Bro. John has been through the mill with his own health issues and this shows the character of his caring for others.
Over the last couple of weeks, donations have been donated to two very worthy causes within our “Honest Toun”. Eskgreen Residential Care Home, where Bro. Allan Williams P.M. D.S.M, Bros. Bobby & Kenny Ross visit the carehome providing entertainment for residents.
Bros. Jim Rutherford MoC and Willie Doyle P.M. presented a cheque of £250 to the Blue Triangle (Fisherrow). There is more information on page 6.
I must also thank Bro. Robert Law P.M. for his virtual walk in aid of Eskgreen Carehome. Bro. Robert raised the sum of £320 walking from Thorntree No.1038 to Kirkliston Maitland No.482. The number of steps recorded over the course of the walk were 39656 and Bro. Alan Henderson, Past Master of Rosslyn St. Clair No 606 was closest to the mark and wins a bottle of Highland Park.
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Bro. Brian Ritchie R.W.M.
~ Our Lodge Our History ~
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on lati stal
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Keystone
Opening the Lodge
The stone placed in the center of an arch which preserves the others in their places, and secures firmness and stability to the arch. As it was formerly the custom of Operative Masons to place a peculiar mark on each stone of a building to designate the workman by whom it had been adjusted, so the Keystone was most likely to receive the most prominent mark, that of the Superintendent of the structure. Such is related to have occurred to that Keystone which plays so important a part in the legend of the Royal Arch Degree.
It is absolutely necessary that the Lodge be opened in due and ancient form. Without these ceremonies, the assembly is not a Masonic Lodge. This is true because the Master must be reminded of the dignity and character of himself and of his position. And the other officers must be impressed with the respect and veneration due from their sundry stations. But more important, 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. Thus, in the opening of the Lodge, the Great Architect of the Universe must be worshipped, and His blessings upon the work about to be performed must be supplicated. At the same time, prayer is offered for peace and harmony in the closing of the Lodge.
The Templar Cross
The Hour Glass
The Hour Glass my brother is an emblem of human life. Behold how swiftly the sands run and how rapidly our lives are drawing to a close. We cannot without astonishment behold the several particles contained within this machine, how they pass away almost imperceptibly and yet within the short space of an hour they are all exhausted. Thus wastes man. Today he puts forth his tender leaves of hope, tomorrow blossoms and bears his blushing honours thick upon him, the next day there comes a frost which nips the shoot and when he thinks his greatness is still aspiring, he falls like autumn leaves to enrich our mother Earth.
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André Favin, a French heraldic writer, says that the original badge of the Knights Templar was a Patriarchal Cross, and Clarke, in his History of Knighthood, makes the same statement, but this is an error. At first, the Templars wore a white mantle without any cross. But in 1146 Pope Eugenius III prescribed for them a red cross on their breasts, as a symbol of the martyrdom to which they were constantly exposed. The cross of the Hospitalers was white on a black mantle, and that of the Templars was different in colour but of the same form, namely, a cross pattée, pattée meaning the arms broad and spreading at the outer ends. In this it differed from the true Maltese Cross, worn by the Knights of Malta, which was a cross pattée, the limbs deeply notched so as to make a cross of eight points. Sir Walter Scott, with his not unusual heraldic inaccuracy, and Godfrey Higgins, who is not often inaccurate, but only fanciful at times, both describe the Templar cross as having eight points, thus confounding it with the Cross of Malta. In the statutes of the Order of the Temple, the cross prescribed is that depicted in the Charter of Transmission, and is a cross pattée.
Afternoon Tea for 2
During the look down the brethren of the Lodge received an afternoon tea for 2 courtesy of Brother John Thorburn our IPM. A delightful box of finger sandwiches, scones, jam and clotted cream were delivered to the brethren.
er John Thank you Broth
SUPPORTING LOCAL CHARITIES
Donation 1: The Blue Triangle, provide safe, secure and supported accommodation for vulnerable people who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness. Working with people of all ages and backgrounds providing access to a whole range of skills such as learning and development, training, and other specialist skills including drugs and alcohol support. Bros. Jim Rutherford and Willie Doyle PM presenting a cheque for £250.
Donation 2: Eskgreen Residential Care Home: Eskgreen is situated on the banks of the River Esk in Musselburgh near to the High Street. A donation of £420 was donated by the Lodge. A further donation was also given to Eskgreen by Brother Robert Law P.M. who has completed his virtual walk from Lodge Thorntree No 1038 to Lodge Kirkliston Maitland No 482 following the John Muir Way and raised £320 in the process. The number of steps recorded over the course of the walk was 39656 and Bro. Alan Henderson, Past Master of Rosslyn St. Clair No 606 was closest to the mark and wins a bottle of Highland Park. Bros. Allan Williams, John Thorburn, presenting the cheque to the carehome.
BRINGING MASONRY TO LODGE
WHY MASONRY EMPLOYS RITUAL AND SYMBOLISM
We must ever remember that Masonry is men who are Masons. The good of an institution must always result from the acts and deeds of the members of such an organization. The Masonic Institution is the achievement of Masons.
Repetition is of the essence of ritualism; and since nothing can sooner grow stale or inept than repetition we find that many persons think of ritual as meaningless stage play. To go through the same performance over and over, to say the same words in the same way, and often not even to know the meaning of these actions and these words, is not that rather childish? This question, we take it, has come home to numberless Masons, especially Masons, for in this country we have so prized originality, novelty, and individuality that we all have a tendency to despise and to fear ceremonial. It may be well for us to reflect a little on ritual, what it is, what it does for us, and why we may all, individualistic as we may be, frankly and intelligently uphold it as having a just right to a major place in the functionings of a Masonic lodge.
Many times the question is asked: "What degree are they going to work tonight?" Perhaps the brother who asks the question is interested in witnessing one particular degree and prefers not to attend unless that degree is going to be conferred. Still, there is a mighty impersonal ring to the word "they." Many other times the question is: "What are they going to do tonight?"
We cannot leave ourselves out of the lodge. Whether or not we attend regularly, we are forever a part of the lodge. We are its success and its failure. We contribute, or we fail to contribute to its welfare.
Man's being has been shaped by a universe that loves repetition and ceremonial; the inspiration to ritualism is everywhere. Night and day everlastingly succeed each other; the four seasons continue their endless circumambulations, like the candidate about the lodge room: the stars move about in their fixed orbits, the tides rise and fall, moons wax and wane, seedtime and harvest come and go, growth is followed by decay, birth is succeeded by death, and even the comet, once deemed the most capricious of all the major objects of creation, has been found to return upon his own path forever.
The degree that is to be conferred, the business meeting that is to be held, or the program that is to be presented -all are important, but they are secondary to the question: "What will I bring to lodge tonight?"
The spirit of brotherly love, the warm and friendly handshake, the smile that reflects the Mystic Tie -all that I am capable of bringing to lodge -are the important factors.
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As man gradually became aware of the tirelessness of these cyclic changes, and as he discovered how his own life was linked thereto, he was filled with awe, and himself learned to form processions, to move in the rhythms of the dance, and to devise solemn religious ceremonials in the hope of discovering the secrets of the universe.
Famous Scottish Freemasons
Brother Jock Wallace Lodge St. John Fisherrow No. 112
Proposer Bro. Charles D. Ross & Seconder Bro. J. M. Ross
Application read in Open Lodge Enquiry Committee Ballot Initiated Fellow Craft Master Mason Mark Master Mason
5th March 1958 8th April 1958 3rd September 1958 17th December 1958 15th April 1959 4th December 1964 6th May 1965
John "Jock" Martin Bokas Wallace (6 September 1935 – 24 July 1996) was a professional Scottish football player and manager. His father, Jock Wallace, Sr., was a goalkeeper for Raith Rovers, Blackpool and Derby County.
Wallace has the unique distinction of being the only player ever to play in the English, Welsh and Scottish Cups in the same season. This was set during the 1966-67 season where he played in the FA Cup and Welsh Cup for Hereford United, and in the Scottish Cup when he moved to Berwick Rangers.
Wallyford-born Wallace, as manager of Rangers over two spells in the 1970s and 1980s, was to become one of Scottish football's best-known and most successful coaches.
Jock Wallace was a giant of Scottish football. No other description can do justice to the man who ended Celtic's domination of the game in the 1970s and who, as manager, led Rangers to two domestic trebles within three years, the Glasgow club winning the League title, the League Cup and the Scottish Cup.
Wallace had a frightening growl but a soft centre. The abiding image of him is that of the clenched fist, signifying the character he built into his teams - character which emanated from the man himself.
Wallace's playing career began inauspiciously. A goalkeeper, Wallace was freed by his first club, Blackpool, but rekindled his career by signing for Workington in 1952, dovetailing football with work in the local pit. National Service with the King's Own Scottish Borderers afforded Wallace the opportunity of signing for the local club, Berwick Rangers. After character-defining military service in Northern Ireland and - famously - the jungles of Malaya, Wallace's playing career extended to Airdrieonians, West Bromwich Albion, non-league Bedford Town and Hereford United.
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Big Jock’s managerial career began in 1966 as player-manager of Berwick Rangers. His rise to national prominence came in 1967, when he played for and managed the Berwick Rangers side which defeated Rangers in the Scottish Cup, providing the most famous of all cup upsets in Scotland. That achievement in turn propelled Wallace into a coaching job at Hearts in 1968. In addition Wallace set a unique record of being the only player to play in the Scottish Cup, FA Cup and Welsh Cup in the same season - having played in the latter two competitions for Hereford United in the early part of the 1966-67 season.
It was in 1970 that Wallace arrived at his spiritual home, Ibrox Stadium, as coach of Rangers under manager Willie Waddell. However Wallace more than repaid his debt to the club in subsequent years, and with the help of the sand dunes of Gullane, on the East Lothian coast, he helped shape the side which was to win the 1972 European Cup Winners' Cup. Leaning on his army background with the King's Own Scottish Borderers, Wallace reduced international football players to quivering wrecks after punishing training sessions on the Gullane sands. The exercise and the military precision with which he approached the job paid rich dividends.
In his first season in charge - the club's centenary he won the Scottish Cup. In 1974-1975, it was Wallace who presided over the Rangers team that finally ended Celtic's nine-year period of dominance and won the League championship for the first time in eleven years. In seasons 1975-1976 and 1977-1978, Wallace was to capture the treble of all three Scottish trophies on two occasions.
Wallace's managership of Rangers in the mid-1970s saw the club regain the ascendancy it had enjoyed throughout much its history. But just as the prospect of further sustained success beckoned, Wallace unexpectedly resigned as manager in 1978. The precise cause was never fully established, as Wallace maintained silence until his death in 1996. Most of the speculation centred on alleged disputes with the Rangers board (and with Waddell in particular) about transfer budgets or Wallace's own salary.
Wallace's subsequent career spanned an eclectic mix of clubs. His first post was as manager of Leicester City in England. Wallace steered the club to Football League Second Division title glory in 1980, and took them to the FA Cup semi-finals. In January 1981, Wallace made an audacious attempt to sign three-time European Footballer of the Year, Johan Cruyff. Despite negotiations lasting three weeks, in which the player himself expressed his desire to play for City, a deal was never agreed. Jock Wallace saw his newly promoted Leicester City side struggle in their first season back in the top flight as they finished off the campaign in a miserable 21st position, which in turn demoted them straight back into the second division.
The 1981 – 1982 campaign proved to be a mixed bag for the foxes as they could not manage the promotion straight back in to the top flight which they had went in search for at the start of the campaign with an eighth position finish at the end of the season, however they enjoyed a
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magnificent run in the FA cup which led to them reaching the semi finals of the cup competition, suffering defeats against Tottenham Hotspur in the last four,. They reached the third round of the FA cup the following year as they suffered defeat against Notts County in the third round of the competition.
Gary Lineker was in prolific form for the club during the 1983- 1984 and 1984 – 1985 seasons as his goals helped establish the Foxes back in the first division as they finished off their campaigns in 15th position on both occasions as Gordon Mile took charge and enjoyed a fine time in charge at the club. Jock Wallace took charge at the club in 1978 and helped guide the foxes back into o the first division at the end of the 1979 – 1980 season as they finished it of being crowned as second division champions at the end of the campaign.
He returned to Scotland in 1982, taking charge of Motherwell. In 1983 he returned to manage a Rangers side that, under John Greig, had consistently under-performed since Wallace's departure. In spite of capturing two League Cups, Wallace's second spell with Rangers was a frustrating one as the club failed to dent the dominance of the New Firm of Aberdeen and Dundee United, and offered only sporadic challenge to Celtic. Wallace was sacked by Rangers in April 1986. He then had short spells in Spain, with Sevilla from 1986-87, and England with Colchester United from 1988-90.
Despite his achievements in football, Wallace fought the biggest battle of his life against Parkinson's disease, with which he was afflicted for many years. Against his toughest enemy he displayed both dignity and the character for which he will be remembered. Although he lived in Spain latterly his heart remained in Scotland, in particular at Ibrox, and he was given a rapturous reception from Rangers supporters on a recent visit there.
Big Jock was born Wallyford on 6th September 1935; married in 1960 to Daphne Martin who had a son John and daughter Karen. The jungle fighter in Malaya finally proved to be human after all as he sadly passed away whilst visiting his daughter in Basingstoke, Hampshire 24th July 1996, the same night as our Festival Meeting at the age of 61.
Bro Jock joined 112, on Wednesday 17th December 1958 aged 22 years, and along with Bro. John T. Edgar and James Ross, and was raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason on 23rd September 1961. Left, Jock with Captain John Greig, saluting the fans after the 3-2 victory over Celtic in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park in 1973
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Above, On one of Jock’s returns to Ibrox, he is here pictured with Boss Walter Smith and Ally McCoist with the Championship Trophy. Both Walter and Ally are also members of the Craft.
”Freemasonry Around the World”
Finland
For almost 700 years, Finland was part of the Swedish empire, and Freemasonry was originally introduced during the Swedish rule in the middle of the 18th Century. Lodge St Augustin was established in Stockholm June 1756, and had its first meeting on Finnish soil in April 1758 in Turku when Captain Anders Boije was initiated into the first degree. Their meetings were held in a variety of places; sometimes in Stockholm, sometimes in Turku, and also in Helsinki, where the regular meetings were arranged on a more regular basis in 1763. In 1777 Lodge Phoenix was established in Helsinki and during the early years of Swedish rule 150 Brethren were initiated. Freemasonry continued to blossom in Finland, and by the time that control of the country was handed over to Russian rule in 1809, following the ‘Finnish War’ of 1808-09, the membership had increased to over 450 Brethren.
Unfortunately, because many lodge members were soldiers, the work in the lodges ceased totally after the Finnish War started in 1808, and as a consequence of the war the relations with the former mother Grand Lodge in Sweden ceased. Many lodge members had moved to Sweden or to different parts of Finland, with the last masonic meeting held in Tornio in 1809. In December 1813 the Worshipful Masters of St Augustin and Phoenix lodges, appealed to the Swedish Grand Master for permission to donate their funds to the city of Helsinki for charity purposes, and permission was granted in June 1813.
In 1822 the Russian Emperor Alexander I issued an edict banning all secret societies, and some Finnish Brethren, usually merchants and seamen, joined or visited lodges abroad. This was their only outlet during Russian rule, which lasted until independence in 1917. After Finland became independent in December 1917 the idea of reviving the freemasonry came to the fore, and with the support of the Grand Lodge of New York, the first Craft Masonry Lodge Suomi Lodge No 1 was established in Helsinki on 18th of August 1922.
During the Russian rule many Finns have emigrated to USA and joined the lodges there. At the beginning of the 20th century they thought about re-introducing freemasonry back to their former homeland. The most active of these brethren was J.E. Tuokkola who in 1917 inquired about the possibility of reintroducing Craft Freemasonry in Finland. The most important Finnish-American freemason that Tuokkola brought on-board was lawyer Toivo Nekton who was a PM of a lodge in New York. The Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New York Arthur S. Tompkins granted a temporary charter for the Suomi Lodge No 1, with which the lodge granted all three degrees to 27 men in the first craft lodge in the independent Finnish Republic on 18th August 1922. Among these brethren were many influential men - captains of industry and high-ranking government officials. In August 1923 two other lodges were established with the charter from the GL of New York, one in Tampere (Tammer-lodge No. 2) and the other in Turku (Phoenix – lodge No. 3).
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Now Finland had three independent lodges and soon after established it own Grand Lodge. Grand Officers were elected in August 1924, with the first Grand Master Bro. Axel Solitander. The Swedes also restarted their masonic activities in Finland, with Lodge St Augustin resuscitated using the Swedish Rite in May 1923.
The number of Brethren in lodges increased during the 1920’s and early 1930’s, and by 1932, membership had reached over 300, with five craft lodges. After the initial enthusiasm, the appeal of Freemasonry began to wane, and numbers dropped as War approached, with the Finnish Government attempting to ban all Craft Lodges and other secret societies, under pressure from Germany. The Finnish president died in December 1940 and Brother Risto Ryti was elected as his successor. In subsequent meetings with the Grand Lodge of Finland, he stated that his government had no reason to interfere with the masonic activities in the country. But asked if the masons could suspend their activities to allow him to inform the Germans that there are no masonic meetings or activities going on in Finland, at least publicly. The library of the Grand Lodge was placed in the Helsinki University Library and the furniture etc. was placed in the homes of brethren. The money that the lodges had were donated to a fund mainly for war orphans.
After the war Freemasons contacted the Finnish state and inquired about the possibility of restarting masonic activities again, and this was granted in May 1945. Suomi Lodge No 1 restarted working almost immediately, with Tammer Lodge No 2, meeting in the W.M.s home, because the lodge premises have been lost during the war. In 1948 a sixth lodge was founded in Pori, with the name Satakunta No 7 and in 2th of May 1950 the seventh Lodge in Lahti called Pyhän Yrjänän Loosi.
The 1940’s was mainly an era of re-establishing the lodges, with the real era of growth in Finnish freemasonry during the 1950’s and 60’s. In the 1950’s 12 new lodges were established, and by the end of the 1960’s 59 Lodges existed, and membership had grown to almost 3000 Brethren. The growth of membership slowed down in the 1980’s but the number of members is still growing annually even today.
Today a total of 175 Lodges exist, with 3 of them in Sweden, and total membership reaching 7432, with a total of 330 initiates during 2015. The average age is 61, and attendance levels stand at a healthy 55% The average annual membership fee of the lodges is 192€ per member, with the annual ‘Capitation Fee’ paid to GL currently at 64€, The relationship with the established Lutheran church is good, and there are about 40 Lutheran clergymen who are members of Finnish Lodges. The Masonic magazine Koilliskulma is published five times a year, and is delivered to every member of the Finnish Craft..
The great Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius, was initiated, passed & raised in a single day in 1922, at the age of 56 in Soumi Lodge No. 1. The entire ceremony lasted from 10 am till 7 pm with an intermission of an hour for lunch. His Mother Lodge had only been formed a few months earlier with the support of the Grand Lodge of New York.
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Due to the Virus lockdown we all missed out on celebrating the 70th Birthday celebrations of 2 of our very worthy Past Masters.
Brother Allan Williams P.M. D.S.M. had his birthday in May while Brother Douglas Hoy P.M. D.S.M.celebrated his in June. Sadly both party had to be cancelled but I’m sure when we can, we’ll raise a glass or 2 or maybe a few.
WAYFARING MAN
A term used in the legend of the Third Degree to denote the person met near the port of Joppa by certain persons sent out on a search by King Solomon. The part of the legend which introduces the Wayfaring Man, and his interview with the Fellow Crafts, was probably introduced into the American system by Webb, or found by him in the older ceremonies practiced in the United States. It is not in the old English instructions of the eighteenth century, nor is the circumstance detailed in the present English lecture. A wayfaring man is defined by Phillips as "one accustomed to travel on the road." The expression is becoming obsolete in ordinary language, but it is preserved in Scripture-"he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city" (Judges xix, 17)-and in Freemasonry, both of which still retain many words long since disused elsewhere. Source: Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry
JEWELS OF A LODGE
Every Lodge is furnished with six jewels, three of which are movable and three immovable. They are termed jewels, says Brother Oliver, because they have a moral tendency which renders them jewels of inestimable value. The movable jewels, so called because they are not confined to any particular part of the Lodge, are the Rough .Ashlar, the Perfect Ashlar, and the Trestle-Board. The Immovable Jewels are the Square, the Level, and the Plumb. They are termed Immovable, because they are appropriated to particular parts of the Lodge, where alone they should be found, namely, the Square to the East, the Level to the West, and the Plumb to the South. In the English system the division is the reverse of this. There, the Square, Level, and Plumb are called Movable Jewels, because they pass from the three officers who wear them to their successors. Source: Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry
The Book of Constitutions Guarded by The Tyler’s Sword
some chairs that were used in the lodge room before it was remodeled; let us light the cigar, cigarette or pipe that Masonic custom denies us in the lodge, tilt our chairs back against the wall, lay our heads against that greasy spot left by many heads that have rested there before ours, and listen to this Masonic Philosopher.
Let me introduce the speaker of the evening, although, as presiding officers so often say, he hardly needs an introduction. I believe that most Masons know him well and, after I describe him, you will easily recognize him. He is the Tiler of his Lodge and a very interesting man to meet. You will find it worth while cultivating his acquaintance.
"I have often wondered, " says Peter, "about these Masonic Symbols. Generally when you fellows are in there watching the work I am out here by myself, and so you see I have lots of time to think. Sometimes I am puzzled by what the Ritual says in its explanation of these symbols. Take for instance, those nine emblems of the Third Degree. I suppose most of you fellows have forgotten all about them because you generally come streaming out here and throw your aprons in a pile for me to straighten out about the time the Master starts on his lecture. The only time you stay is when the Master tells you there is going to be coffee and sandwiches after the work, and then you hang around during the lecture.
I have met him wherever I have been privileged to visit lodge. He is a man of uncertain age. He is old in wisdom, in his knowledge of Masonic Lore, and in his understanding of human nature. He is young with that spirit of eternal youth that comes with fulfillment of the sweet law of Brotherhood. He knows all the Brethren intimately and never misses a meeting of his lodge. He has seen young men hesitatingly enter the preparation room for the first time; he has seen them passed and raised, watched their enthusiastic progress through the stations, served under them as they sat in the Oriental Chair, and walker with drawn sword at the head of the procession as they were carried to their last resting place. His name is legion but I prefer to call him Peters, because everybody calls him by his first name; and if your think tank is working tonight, you will recognize the appropriateness of calling him Peter.
He does not get into the lodge room very often and would be particularly embarrassed if called upon to make a speech. I have seen him come into the room on large meeting nights to help the deacons purge the lodge. He will cast his eyes carelessly over the crowd and then confidently couch for every man in the room. I have sometimes wondered whether he possesses uncanny wisdom or whether he is simply faking. But let us go out into his little room that is furnished with a cast-off table and
"There is one of those emblems that has given me more trouble than anything else in Masonry; it is the one in which you see a book lying on a velvet pillow with a sword over the top. The Masters tells you that it is the Book of Constitutions Guarded by the Tiler's Sword, and that it reminds us to be ever watchful and guarded in our thoughts, words, and actions, particularly when before the enemies of Masonry, ever bearing in mind those truly Masonic virtues,; silence and circumspection. Now, that never seemed just right to me.
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"Those old boys who gave us this Ritual had pretty good ideas about symbolism, and the things they used as symbols generally meant just exactly what they told you about them. It is funny how much meaning they could get out of such things as a trowel, a square or a level. True symbolism, you know, isn't forced. It just comes naturally.The moment you hear the explanation, you say, 'Of Course! Why didn't I think of that before?’
That is why I could never see what there was about that book and sword to teach us to be watchful and guarded in our thoughts, words and actions. "You know the Chinese with their three monkeys, one with his hands over his ears, the other with his hands over his eyes, and the third with his hands over his mouth made a much better symbol of being watchful and guarded than our book and sword, and the same thing holds true in regard to silence and circumspection. If that is what we want to teach, we had better get rid of that book and sword and throw a picture of the three wise monkeys on the screen.
"Some time ago I read a book written by a great man who had spent his life studying Masonry. One thing that makes me want to study Masonry is that so many great men have found it worthy of such deep study. This writer seemed to have the idea that Masonry didn't always say just exactly what it meant. He said something about the real truth of Masonry being hidden in the Ritual instead of being revealed by it; that you had to search out the real meaning of the Masonic Symbols for yourself. That always stuck by me. I was talking to one of the brethren about it and he agreed with this Masonic writer. This brother said we don't sell the secrets of Freemasonry; when a man pays for his degrees, we only sell him the tools and he must use them to dig out the secrets for himself. And so I dug away at the old book and sword trying to understand what it really meant until the other night when one of these Service association fellows came around and talked to us.
"He showed us how much the Masons had to do with the founding of this government. He told us how Paul Revere's ride was organized among Masons and how all the fellows that helped Paul Revere make that ride were his Brethren, while Paul Revere himself was Provincial Grand Master of Masons in Massachusetts. He told us of the Boston Tea Party, and how the little affair was arranged at the Old Green Dragon Tavern, which was nothing
more or less than a Masonic Temple. He told us about John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, Joseph Warren, Lafayette, and George Washington; and ever so many more of those early patriots who were all Masons, and how it was by working together as Masons that they carried out on the Revolutionary War, and then afterwards built this nation of ours. he told us about the constitution of the United States. You know the interesting thing about that is not that these men were Masons, many of our prominent citizens today are Masons, but that the same group of men who were leaders of our Fraternity were also leaders of the nation at that time. And then he told us how, because our Brethren had laid the foundation of this nation and because that foundation was in accord with Masonic principles, it was our duty to build the rest of the Temple to Liberty in America, and to watch over it and guard it with our very lives.
"So I got the thinking about that old Book and sword and it seemed to me that perhaps after all there was a real meaning behind it that was concealed rather than revealed in the Ritual, as that Masonic writer that I told you about said; and it seemed to me that Book of Constitutions, instead of being a symbol of silence and circumspection, was a symbol of constitutional government such as we have in this country. Our Book of Constitutions, you know, is our Masonic fundamental law, just as the Constitution of the United States is the fundamental law of our nation. So you see how naturally it becomes the symbol of constitutional government. "That Sword over the Book is this little old sword lying here on the table beside me. You know, this sword isn't any good to hurt anybody with, but it is just a symbol by which Freemasonry protects itself against cowan's and eavesdroppers. So it is just a symbol of Masonry on guard and, as the Book of Constitutions is a symbol of constitutional government, the Tiler's Sword is a symbol of Constitutional Government.
the Tiler's Sword is a symbol of Masonry on guard. Do you see what I'm getting at? I believe the Book of Constitutions Guarded by the Tiler's Sword teaches us that Masonry should always be the Guardian of Constitutional Government.
"I was telling another Brother about this the other night and he told me I was wrong because Masonry was older than the United States government and the symbol, he said, must be older than this country of ours. So I got to thinking about that too and it came to me that much of this speculative Masonry that we have today comes to us from England. Of course, I understand that Masonry as we know it has been gathered together from nay countries. Some fellows say that we get it direct from the boys that worked on King Solomon's Temple but it may be that isn't quite right. Speculative Masonry, in its present form at least, did have its origin in England, and you know that a lot of the ideas about constitutional government that were accepted by us were first brought into practice back in England before the United States became a free country. And so I thought it very likely that even back then in those days our English Brethren, just like our Revolutionary Brethren were fighting for constitutional government and maybe they had as much to do with getting it in England as George Washington, Paul Revere and the other boys had with getting it in this country.
"But I'm inclined to agree with Brother Mackey, who believed that our monitorial definition of this emblem is a modern one, and was introduced by Brother Webb. It does not appear in the first edition of Webb's Monitor, but I found it in the second edition, printed in 1802. Mackey says, 'This interpretation of Webb is a very unsatisfactory one. The Book of Constitutions is the Symbol of constituted law rather than of silence and circumspection, and when guarded by the Tiler's Sword it would seem properly to symbolize regard for and obedience to law, a prominent Masonic
duty.' "So, until somebody shows me that I am wrong, I am going to believe every time I see that book and sword on the screen that the book is the Constitution of the United States and the sword is Freemasonry on guard; and instead of teaching me to be watchful and guarded in all my thoughts, words and actions; it is going to teach me to be ever watchful and guarded against the enemies of my nation and its Constitution, so that when I get up into the Grand Lodge above those old boys up there that built this nation are going to meet me with the Lion's Paw, and vouch for me when the Supreme Grand Master of the Universe takes the Pass.
That is Peter's story of the Book of Constitutions Guarded by the Tiler's Sword. You may take it or leave it, but somehow or other I think he is right. At least, ever since I heard tell that story I have had a new thrill while listening to the Master explaining the nine Masonic Emblems in the Third Degree; and I say to myself, "Well, that is all right for the candidate. We can't give him all the light at once, because he would simply be blinded by its brilliance. But, for myself, I have been out in the anteroom with Peters using our working tools in a search for further Masonic light, and I know that sword and book mean that it is up to me to fight the enemies of constitutional government and to protect our Constitution from those seeking to destroy it. And with the help of the Great Architect of the Universe, and my nearly three million Brethren, Author Unknown 1923 by The Masonic Service Association