The Mysteries of Free Masonry

FIRST SECTION

Question—Are you a Mark Master Mason? Answer—I am; try me.

Q. By what will you be tried? A. By the engraving chisel and mallet.

Q. Why by the engraving chisel and mallet? A. Because they are the proper masonic implements of this degree.

Q. On what was the degree founded? A. On a certain keystone which belonged to the principal arch of King Solomon's Temple.

Q. Who formed this keystone? A. Our worthy Grand Master, Hiram Abiff.

Q. What were the preparatory steps relative to your advancement to this degree? A. I was caused to represent one of the Fellow Craft at the building of King Solomon's Temple, whose custom it was, on the eve of every sixth day, to carry up their work for inspection.

Q. Why was you caused to represent these Fellow Crafts? A. Because our worthy Grand Master, Hiram Abiff, had completed this keystone agreeable to the original plan, and before he gave orders to have it carried up to the Temple, was slain by three ruffians, as already represented in the preceding degrees; and it so happened that on the eve of a certain sixth day, as the craft were carrying up work for inspection, a young Fellow Craft discovered this stone in the quarry, and from its singular form and beauty, supposing it to belong to some part of the Temple, carried it up for inspection.

Q. Who inspected it? A. The Grand Overseers, placed at the East, West, and South gates.

Q. How did they inspect it? A. On its being presented to the Junior Overseer at the South gate, he observed that it was neither an oblong or a square, neither had it the regular mark of the craft upon it; but from its singular form and beauty was unwilling to reject it, therefore ordered it to be passed to the Senior Overseer at the West gate for further inspection; who, for similar reasons, suffered it to pass to the Master Overseer at the East gate, who held a consultation with his brother Overseers, and they observed, as before, that it was neither an oblong or square, neither had it the regular mark of the craft upon it; and neither of them being Mark Master Masons, supposed it of no use in the building, and hove it over among the rubbish.

Q. How many Fellow Crafts were there engaged at the building of the Temple? A. Eighty thousand.

Q. Were not the Master Overseers liable to be imposed upon by receiving bad work from the hands of such a vast number of workmen? A. They were not.

Q. How was this imposition prevented? A. By the wisdom of King Solomon, who wisely ordered that the craftsman who worked should choose him a particular mark and place it upon all his work; by which it was known and distinguished when carried up to the building, and, if approved, to receive wages.

Q. What was the wages of a Fellow Craft? A. A penny a day.

Q. Who paid the craftsmen? A. The Senior Grand Warden.

Q. Was not the Senior Grand Warden liable to be imposed upon by impostors in paying off such a vast number of workmen? A. He was not.

Q. How was this imposition prevented? A. By the wisdom of King Solomon, who also ordered that every craftsman applying to receive wages, should present his right hand through a lattice window of the door of the Junior Grand Warden's apartment, with a copy of his mark in the palm thereof, at the same time giving a token.

Q. What was that token? (This was before explained.)

Q. What did it allude to? A. To the manner of receiving wages; it was also to distinguish a true craftsman from an impostor.

Q. What is the penalty of an impostor? A. To have his right hand chopped off.

SECOND SECTION

Question—Where was you prepared to be made a Mark Master Mason? A. In the room adjoining the body of a just and lawfully constituted Lodge of such, duly assembled in a room or place, representing a workshop that was erected near the ruins of King Solomon's Temple.

Q. How was you prepared? A. By being divested of all my outward apparel and all money; my breast bare, with a cable-tow four times about my body, in which situation I was conducted to the door of a Lodge, where I gave four distinct knocks.

Q. What do these four distinct knocks allude to? A. To the fourth degree of Masonry; it being that on which I was about to enter.

Q. What was said to you from within? A. Who comes there?

Q. Your answer? A. A worthy brother, who has been regularly initiated as an Entered Apprentice, served a proper time as such; passed to the Fellow Craft; raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason; and now wishes further light in Masonry, by being advanced to the more honorable degree of a Mark Master Mason.

Q. What further was said to you from within? A. I was asked if it was of my own free will and accord I made this request; if I was duly and truly prepared; worthy and well qualified; had wrought in the quarries, and exhibited specimens of my skill and proficiency in the preceding degrees; all of which being answered in the affirmative, I was asked by what further right or benefit I expected to gain this favor.

Q. Your answer? A. By the benefit of a pass-word.

Q. What was that pass-word? A. Joppa.

Q. What did it allude to? A. The city of Joppa, the place where the materials were landed for building king Solomon's Temple, after being prepared in the forest of Lebanon, and carried there on floats (by sea). [Masonic tradition informs us that the banks of this place are so perpendicular that it was impossible to ascend them without assistance from above, which was effected by brethren stationed there, with this strong grip; this has been explained; which, together with the word Joppa, has since been adopted as a proper pass to be given before entering any well-regulated Lodge of Mark Master Masons.]

Q. What further was said to you from within? A. I was bid to wait till the Right Worshipful Master in the East was made acquainted with my request and his answer returned.

Q. When his answer was returned, what followed? A. I was caused to enter the Lodge.

Q. On what did you enter? A. On the edge of the engraving chisel, under the pressure of the mallet, which was to demonstrate the moral precepts of this degree, and make a deep and lasting impression on my mind and conscience.

Q. How was you then disposed of? A. I was conducted four times regularly around the Lodge and halted at the Junior Warden's in the South, where the same questions were asked, and answers returned as at the door.

Q. How did the Junior Warden dispose of you? A. He ordered me to be conducted to the Senior Warden in the West, where the same questions were asked, and the same answers returned as before.

Q. How did the Senior Warden dispose of you? A. He ordered me to be conducted to the Right Worshipful Master in the East, where the same questions were asked, and answers returned as before; who likewise demanded of me from whence I came, and whither I was traveling.

Q. Your answer? A. From the West, and traveling to the East.

Q. Why do you leave the West and travel to the East? A. In search of light.

Q. How did the Right Worshipful Master dispose of you? A. He ordered me to be conducted back to the West, from whence I came, and put in the care of the Senior Warden, who taught me how to approach the East, the place of light, by advancing upon four upright regular steps to the fourth step, my feet forming a square, and my body erect at the altar before the Right Worshipful Master.

Q. What did the Right Worshipful Master do with you? A. He made a Mark Master Mason of me.

Q. How? A. In due form.

Q. What was that due form? A. Both knees bent, they forming a square, both my hands on the Holy Bible, Square, and Compass, my body being erect; in which posture I took upon me the solemn oath or obligation of a Mark Master Mason.

Q. Have you that oath or obligation? A. I have.

Q. Will you give it me? A. I will, with your assistance. [Here, as in the preceding degree, you repeat after the Right Worshipful Master, I, A. B., etc. See pages 67 and 68.]

Q. After your oath or obligation, what follows? A. Information was brought that the Temple was almost completed, but the craft was all in confusion for want of a certain keystone, which none of them had been instrumental to make.

Q. What followed? A. King Solomon believing in confidence, that our worthy Grand Master, Hiram Abiff, had completed this keystone agreeable to the original plan, ordered inquiry to be made among the Master Overseers, if a stone bearing a particular mark had been presented to them for inspection; and on inquiry being made, it was found that there had.

Q. What followed? A. King Solomon ordered search to be made for the stone, when it was found, and afterwards applied to its intended use.

Q. What color was the stone? A. White.

Q. What did it allude to? A. To a passage in Scripture, where it says, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving him that receiveth."

Q. What was that new name? A. The letters on the stone and the initials of the words for which they stand, viz.: H. T. W. S. S. T. K. S.

Q. Of what use is this new name to you in Masonry? A. It was the original mark of our worthy Grand Master, Hiram Abiff, and is the general mark of this degree, and the letters form the circle, in the centre of which every brother of this degree places his particular mark, to which his obligation alludes.

Q. What followed? A. I was more fully instructed with the secrets of this degree.

Q. Of what do they consist? A. Of signs and tokens.

Q. Have you a sign? A. I have.

Q. What is it called? A. Heave over.

Q. What does it allude to? A. To the manner of heaving over work that the Overseers said was unfit for the Temple; also the manner the keystone was hove over.

Q. Have you any other sign? A. I have (at the same time giving it).

Q. What is that? A. The due-guard of a Mark Master Mason.

Q. What does it allude to? A. To the penalty of my obligation; which is, that my right ear should be smote off, that I might forever be unable to hear the word, and my right hand be chopped off, as the penalty of an impostor, if I should ever prove wilfully guilty of revealing any part of my obligation.

Q. Have you any further sign? A. I have.

Q. What is that? A. The grand sign, or sign of distress.

Q. What does it allude to? A. To the manner the Fellow Crafts carry their work up to the Temple for inspection; also the manner I was taught to carry my work, on my advancement to this degree.

Q. Have you any other sign? A. I have not; but I have a token (gives it to him).

Q. What is this? A. The pass-grip of a Mark Master Mason.

Q. What is the name of it? A. "Joppa."

Q. What does it allude to? A. The city of Joppa.

Q. Have you any other token? A. I have.

Q. What is this? A. The real grip of a Mark Master Mason.

Q. What is the name of it? A. Mark well.

Q. What does it allude to? A. To a passage of Scripture, where it says, "Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary, which looketh towards the East, and it was shut; and the Lord said unto me, son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and the laws thereof, and mark well the entering in of the house, with the going forth of the sanctuary."

Q. Who founded this degree? A. Our three ancient Grand Masters, viz.: Solomon, King of Israel, Hiram, King of Tyre, and Hiram Abiff.

Q. Why was it founded? A. Not only as an honorary reward, to be conferred on all who have proved themselves meritorious in the preceding degrees, but to render it impossible for a brother to suffer for the immediate necessities of life, when the price of his mark will procure them.

Q. A brother pledging his mark and asking a favor, who does he represent? A. Our worthy Grand Master, Hiram Abiff, who was a poor man, but on account of his great skill and mysterious conduct at the building of King Solomon's Temple, was most eminently distinguished.

Q. A brother receiving a pledge and granting a favor, whom does he represent? A. King Solomon, who was a rich man, but renowned for his benevolence.

THE PAST MASTER'S DEGREE

This degree is very simple. It is necessary that a Master Mason should take this degree before he can, constitutionally, preside over a Lodge of Master Masons as Master of it; and when a Master Mason is elected Master of a Lodge, who has not previously received the Past Master's degree, it is then conferred upon him, often without any other ceremony than that of administering the obligation.

This Lodge is opened and closed in the same manner that the Lodges of the first three degrees are; the candidate petitions and is balloted for in the same manner, but he is received into the Lodge in a very different manner. He is conducted into the Lodge without any previous preparation, when the presiding officer rises and says, "Brethren, it is inconvenient for me to serve you any longer as Master of this Lodge. I wish you would select some other brother for that purpose." The candidate is nominated, the usual forms of balloting for officers are then dispensed with, and a vote of the Lodge is taken by yeas and nays. The candidate is elected, and generally refuses to serve, but he is eventually prevailed on to accept; whereupon the presiding officer addresses the Master-elect in the words following, viz.:

"Brother, previous to your investiture, it is necessary that you assent to those ancient charges and regulations, which point out the duty of a Master of a Lodge.

1. You agree to be a good man and true, and strictly to obey the moral law.

2. You agree to be a peaceable subject, and cheerfully to conform to the laws of the country in which you reside.

3. You promise not to be concerned in any plots or conspiracies against government; but patiently to submit to the decisions of the supreme legislature.

4. You agree to pay a proper respect to the civil magistrate, to work diligently, live creditably, and act honorably by all men.

5. You agree to hold in veneration the original rules and patrons of Masonry, and their regular successors, supreme and subordinate, according to their stations, and to submit to the awards and resolutions of your brethren when convened, in every case consistent with the constitution of the Order.

6. You agree to avoid private piques and quarrels, and to guard against intemperance and excess.

7. You agree to be cautious in carriage and behavior, cautious to your brethren, and faithful to your Lodge.

8. You promise to respect genuine brethren and discountenance impostors, and all dissenters from the original plan of Masonry.

9. You agree to promote the general good of society, to cultivate the social virtues, and to propagate a knowledge of the arts.

10. You promise to pay homage to the Grand Master for the time being, and to his officer when duly installed, strictly to conform to every edict of the Grand Lodge or General Assembly of Masons that is not subversive of the principles and ground work of Masonry.

11. You admit that it is not in the power of any man, or body of men, to make innovations in the body of Masonry.

12. You promise a regular attendance on the committees and communications of the Grand Lodge, on receiving proper notice, and to pay attention to all the duties of Masonry on convenient occasions.

13. You admit that no new Lodge can be formed without permission of the Grand Lodge, and that no countenance be given to any irregular Lodge, or to any person clandestinely initiated therein, being contrary to the ancient charges of the Order.

14. You admit that no person can be regularly made a Mason in, or admitted a member of any regular Lodge, without previous notice, and due inquiry into his character.

15. You agree that no visitors shall be received into your Lodge without due examination, and producing proper vouchers of their having been initiated into a regular Lodge."

The presiding officer then asks the Master-elect (candidate), the following question, which he must answer in the affirmative: Q. "Do you submit to these charges and promise to support these regulations as Masters have done, in all ages, before you?" A. "I do." The presiding officer then addresses him: "Brother A. B., in consequence of your cheerful conformity to the charges and regulations of the Order, you are now to be installed Master of this degree, in full confidence of your care, skill, and capacity, to govern the same. But previous to your investiture, it is necessary you should take upon yourself the solemn oath or obligation appertaining to this degree; if you are willing to take it upon you, you will please to kneel before the altar, when you shall receive the same." [Here Lodges differ very materially, but this is the most prevalent mode of proceeding.] The candidate then kneels on both knees, lays both hands on the Holy Bible, Square and Compass, and takes the following oath or obligation:

"I, A. B., of my own free will and accord, in presence of Almighty God, and this Right Worshipful Lodge of Past Master Masons, do hereby and hereon, most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear, in addition to my former obligations, that I will not give the degree of Past Master Mason, or any of the secrets pertaining thereto, to anyone of an inferior degree, nor to any person in the known world, except it be to a true and lawful brother or brethren Past Master Masons, or within the body of a just and lawfully constituted Lodge of such, and not unto him or unto them whom I shall hear so to be, but unto him and them only whom I shall find so to be, after strict trial and examination, or lawful information. Furthermore, do I promise and swear, that I will obey all regular signs and summons sent, thrown, handed, or given from the hand of a brother of this degree, or from the body of a just and lawfully constituted Lodge of Past Masters, provided it be within the length of my cable-tow. Furthermore, do I promise and swear, that I will support the constitution of the General Grand Royal Arch Chapter of the United States of America, also that of the Grand Chapter of the State of –, under which this Lodge is held, and conform to all the by-laws, rules and regulations of this or any other Lodge, of which I may at any time hereafter become a member, so far as in my power. Furthermore, do I promise and swear, that I will not assist, or be present at the conferring of this degree upon any person who has not, to the best of my knowledge and belief, regularly received the degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, Master Mason, and Mark Master, or been elected Master of a regular Lodge of Master Masons. Furthermore, do I promise and swear, that I will aid and assist all poor and indigent Past Master Masons, their widows and orphans, wherever dispersed around the globe, they applying to me as such, and I finding them worthy, so far as in my power, without material injury to myself or family. Furthermore, do I promise and swear, that the secrets of a brother of this degree, delivered to me in charge as such, shall remain as secure and inviolable in my breast as they were in his own, before communicated to me, murder and treason excepted, and those left to my own election. Furthermore, do I promise and swear, that I will not wrong this Lodge, or a brother of this degree, to the value of one cent, knowingly, myself, nor suffer it to be done by others, if in my power to prevent it. Furthermore, do I promise and swear, that I will not govern this Lodge, nor any other over which I may be called to preside, in a haughty, arbitrary, or impious manner; but will at all times use my utmost endeavors to preserve peace and harmony among the brethren. Furthermore, do I promise and swear, that I will never open a Lodge of Master Masons, unless there be present three regular Master Masons, besides the Tyler, nor close the same without giving a Lecture, or some section or part of a Lecture, for the instruction of the Lodge. Furthermore, that I will not, knowingly, set in any Lodge where anyone presides who has not received the degree of Past Master. [This last point is, in many Lodges, entirely omitted. In some, the two last.] All which I do most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear, with a fixed and steady purpose of mind, to keep and perform the same, binding myself under no less penalty than to have my tongue split from tip to root, that I might forever thereafter be unable to pronounce the word, if ever I should prove wilfully guilty of violating any part of this my solemn oath or obligation of a Past Master Mason. So help me God, and make me steadfast to keep and perform the same."

The obligation being administered, the candidate rises,4 and the Master proceeds to give the sign, word, and grip of this degree, as follows: The sign (sometimes called the due-guard) is given by laying the edge of the thumb of the right hand in a vertical position on the centre of the mouth, high enough to touch the upper lip. The word is given by taking each other by the Master's grip, and pulling the insides of their feet together, when the Master whispers the word, "Giblem,"5 in the ear of the candidate. Then they clap their left hand on each other's right arm, between the wrist and elbow, disengaging (at the same moment) their right hand from the Master's grip; they each seize the left arm of the other with their right hands, between the wrist and elbow, and (almost at the same instant) yielding their left hand hold on each other's right arm, and moving their left hands with a brisk motion, they clasp each other's right arm with their left hands, above the elbow, pressing their finger nails hard against the arms, as they shift their hands from place to place; and the Master says (in union with these movements), "From grips to spans, and from spans to grips: a twofold cord is strong, but a threefold cord is not easily broken." The Master then conducts the candidate to the chair, and, as he ascends the steps, the Master says, "Brother, I now have the pleasure of conducting you into the oriental chair of King Solomon;" places a large cocked hat on his head, and comes down to the front of the newly-installed Master, and addresses him as follows: "Worshipful brother, I now present you with the furniture and various implements of our profession; they are emblematical of our conduct in life, and will now be enumerated and explained as presented. The Holy Writings, that great light in Masonry, will guide you to all truth; it will direct your path to the temple of happiness, and point out to you the whole duty of man. The Square teaches to regulate our actions by rule and line, and to harmonize our conduct by the principles of morality and virtue. The Compass teaches to limit our desires in every station; thus rising to eminence by merit, we may live respected, and die regretted. The Rule directs that we should punctually observe our duty; press forward in the path of virtue, and neither inclining to the right or to the left, in all our actions have ETERNITY in view. The Line teaches the criterion of moral rectitude; to avoid dissimulation in conversation and action, and to direct our steps to the path that leads to IMMORTALITY. The Book of Constitutions you are to search at all times; cause it to be read in your Lodge, that none may pretend ignorance of the excellent precepts it enjoins. Lastly, you receive in charge the by-laws of your Lodge, which you are to see carefully and punctually executed. I will also present you with the mallet; it is an emblem of power. One stroke of the mallet calls to order, and calls up the Junior and Senior Deacons; two strokes call up all the subordinate officers; and three, the whole Lodge." The following charge is then delivered to the newly-installed Master (alias candidate) by the former Master: