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MASONIC MANUAL; 
 
 LECTURES ON FREEMASONRY : 
 
 CONTAINING THE 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS, DOCUMENTS, AND DISCIPLINE, OF THE 
 MASONIC ECONOMY. 
 
 vA 
 
 THE LATE REV. JONATHAN ASHE, D.D., M.M. 
 
 A NEW EDITION, 
 
 WITH ANNOTATIONS AND REMARKS, 
 
 > BY 
 
 the re\l George Oliver, d.d., 
 
 PAST D/P. G. M. FOR LINCOLNSHIRE ; 
 
 HONORARY MEMBER OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND LODGE, LONDON; THE SHAICSPEARE 
 LODGE, WARWICK; THE FIRST LODGE OP LIGHT, BIRMINGHAM ; THE ST. PETER’S 
 LODGE, WOLVERHAMPTON ; THE OLIVE UNION LODGE, HORNCASTLE ; THE 
 ST. PETER’S LODGE, PETERBOROUGH, ETC. ETC. ETC. 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 “THE HISTORY OF^l^fTIATION,” “ANTIQUITIES OF FREEMASONRY,” 
 
 ^STAR IN THE EAST,” ETC. ETC. 
 
 Indocti discant et ament meminisse Periti. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 RICHARD SPENCER, 314, HIGH HOLBORN. 
 
 MDCCCXLIII. 
 
PRINTED BY WILLIAM WILCOCKSON, ROLLS BUILDINGS, FETTER LANK. 
 
C tsifiA/i yy 
 
 Te. s <Zsl 
 
 ORIGINAL DEDICATION, 
 
 TO 
 
 HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS AUGUSTUS FREDERIC, 
 
 DUKE OF SUSSEX AND INVERNESS, 
 
 BARON ARKLOW, 
 
 M.W. GRAND MASTER OF MASONS, &c. &c. 
 
 MAY IT PLEASE YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS, 
 
 I take the liberty to dedicate a Book on 
 Masonry to you. Your rank at the head of the 
 Fraternity, and high station in society, distinguish 
 you as the fittest personage to patronize such a 
 work. It will, I expect, prove instructive and 
 profitable to Masons in particular, and induce men 
 in general, who read it, to appreciate the Masonic 
 principle in its truth and virtue. My intention in 
 writing it is to supply a desideratum , viz., a volume 
 containing the instructions, documents,. and disci- 
 pline of the Masonic Economy, in all its bearings. 
 The use of it must be obvious. It will plainly and 
 completely tell the Craft their eternal and temporal 
 
 801886 
 
IV 
 
 ORIGINAL DEDICATION. 
 
 obligations, and afford the uninitiated a fair review 
 and estimate of Masonry, as much as it can be 
 universally known in the reflection and effect of 
 its benefit and beauty. 
 
 It argues well for your Royal Highness’s head 
 and heart, that you are warmly interested in pro- 
 moting Masonry. Your presiding with ability, as 
 you do, in the Chair of the Grand Lodge, (in 
 which the Prince Regent presided before, and a 
 popular nobleman at present going to shed lustre 
 on his Majesty’s Eastern Empire, sat as an 
 applauded Substitute) superadds a bright advan- 
 tage to the cause, and promises a better era to 
 Masons. Masons already look up to your Royal 
 Highness as their Mecjenas. Your presidency 
 is. hailed as the day-spring from on high to dissi- 
 pate the darkness which obscures Masonry, and to 
 develope its learning and benevolence. Masonry, 
 we know, is calculated to ameliorate man in the 
 world — to make him imitate the Divine Architect’s 
 attributes, and so to superinduce the Maker’s image 
 in the human mind. Its progress and encourage- 
 ment, if so, is very good. From the common con- 
 dition of man in the multitude, and its own peculiar 
 constitution, Masonry must be confined and limited 
 
ORIGINAL DEDICATION. 
 
 V 
 
 at all times. However, if it be judiciously managed, 
 it will tend to humanize and bless mankind. So 
 the occult operation of elementary fire insinuates 
 its powers, and feeds all nature, — its fostering heat 
 is every where, and its fervent force is found in 
 each material substance. May the warmth and 
 light of Masonry be regulated and directed by 
 means of your Royal Highness, diffusing solid 
 comfort and satisfactory entertainment in the com- 
 munity, assisting the advancement of the Arts and 
 Sciences, and inspiring your own illustrious breast 
 with the consolations arising from a consciousness 
 of doing good. In the faithful spirit of this sacred 
 sentiment, I beg to subscribe myself, 
 
 May it please your Royal Highness, 
 
 Your very obedient Servant, 
 
 And truly devoted Fellow-Member of 
 
 The Fraternity of Freemasons, 
 JONATHAN ASHE, d.d., m.m. 
 
 Bristol , Nov. 1, 1813. 
 
THE ANCIENT FRATERNITY 
 
 OF 
 
 FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS, 
 
 WORTHY BRETHREN, 
 
 I feel it necessary to address you in editing a 
 new work on Masonry. Many among you are 
 aware that a Masonic Manual was wanted, both 
 for lodges and individuals, in order to supply a 
 summary of the principles and duties of the Brother- 
 hood, as much as the economy of Masonry can or 
 ought to be explained in such a manner. I humbly 
 hope that I have succeeded in contracting and 
 combining the spirit and provisions of Masonry, so 
 as to present the analysis and interest of it in an 
 unperplexed and undivided body of obligation and 
 ethics. In the progress of this interesting task, 
 which I found more arduous than I expected, I 
 had to consult the recorded history and detached 
 writings of Masons in every age and era of the 
 
Vlll 
 
 ADDRESS TO BRETHREN. 
 
 world. As I disclaim originality I shall not be 
 accused of plagiarism, and it might be even prolix 
 to enumerate the sources and authorities from which 
 I derived and took my materials. I do think it 
 right, however, to mention the respected names of 
 Preston, Smith, Furnough, and Calcott, 1 as 
 authors to whom I am particularly indebted for 
 enabling me to preserve a regulated arrangement 
 in setting forth the doctrine and discipline of 
 Masonry, 
 
 A member, as I am, of the sacred profession, 
 some blame may be attached to me for writing on 
 Masonry. I have been an admirer of it for many 
 years ; and I hope that my illustration of it in this 
 book will exculpate me from the charge of pro- 
 faneness in being a Mason, and continuing to 
 admire its principles. If its economy be some- 
 times subject to abuse, it may be well asked, what 
 system or institution of human society can be kept 
 entirely incontaminate? My book cannot fail to 
 have some tendency to disabuse Masonry? and 
 rescue it from the unfair obloquy frequently cast 
 upon it by individuals, however gifted they might 
 be, who possessed neither opportunity or candour 
 duly or truly to appreciate its merits. A few men 
 
 1 It is rather extraordinary that our worthy brother should 
 have -omitted the name of Hutchinson, when enumerating the 
 authors to whose labours he had been indebted in the compila- 
 tion of his work; because he has borrowed more matter from 
 “ The Spirit of Masonry,” than from all the rest combined. — 
 Editor. 
 
ADDRESS TO BRETHREN. 
 
 IX 
 
 of talent have attacked it with some apparent 
 success, but I need not observe to Masons that 
 they were, after all their efforts, impotent assailants. 
 Truth may be aspersed and traduced, but it cannot 
 be destroyed, or put down from the adamantine 
 basis on which it stands. In kingdoms and dynas- 
 ties of despotism, Masonry was always watched with 
 jealousy, if not excluded by tyranny. But the 
 Government of England was never hostile to it, 
 because, being founded in the genius of civil 
 liberty, it always made truth its ally. In France, 
 at any time, Masonry could not be tolerated by the 
 ruling powers . 2 Arbitrary sovereignty extinguishes 
 
 2 The French Masons, during the last century, spoke of 
 English Freemasonry in the most absurd and improbable terms, 
 classing it amongst societies of a ridiculous tendency, which 
 they ignorantly affirm we call coteries. “ Les Cotteries de Gras 
 et de Maigres, des Rois, de St. George, des Voisons loges dans 
 une meme rue ; des Nigauds et des Buveurs de Rierre de Bruns- 
 wick, des Duellistes, de Deux Sols, des Laids, des Gauds au 
 frange, des Amoureux ; la Cotterie Eternelle, et nombre d’autres. 
 La Cotterie Eternelle, qui n’a ete institute que vers la fin du 
 guerres civiles d’Angleterre, et qui a souffert quelques interrup- 
 tions, avoit pourtant deja consomme au commencement de ce 
 siecle, cinquante tonneaux de tabac, trente mille pieces du 
 bierre, mille bariques du vin rouge de Portugal, deux cens pipes 
 d’eau-de-vie, &c.” The author adds, that by Freemasons “ la 
 bouteille s’appelle baril ; il y a qui disent barique , cela est 
 indifferent. On donne au vin le nom d e poudre, aussi bien qu’a 
 l’eau ; avec cette difference, que Pun est poudre rouge , et l’autre 
 Poudre blanche. On n’a que de gobelets, qu’on appelle canons 
 (L’Ordre des Franc Masons trahi; par PAbbe Perau, p. 13,41.) 
 What superlative trash is this! — Editor. 
 
X 
 
 ADDRESS TO BRETHREN. 
 
 the spirit ot discussion, whenever individuals pre- 
 sume to erect themselves into a private or secret- 
 body. And should even the story which the Abbe 
 Baruel published with such sounding solemnity, 
 be founded in truth, the charge cannot come home 
 to British Masons, composed as they are of the 
 sovereign himself, the sons of the sovereign, and 
 the nobility of the realm, as well as the most loyal 
 and excellent supporters of the constitution and 
 commonwealth. Indeed, Baruel sufficiently invali- 
 dated his own allegations against Masons. It is plain 
 that every Masonic lodge to which he was admitted, 
 (without taking the necessary obligations which 
 guard Masonry, as if by “ a flaming sword,”) 
 constituted merely a secret club of Jacobins, as 
 sanguinary as the original conspirators who met 
 in the Rue de St. Jacques. His charges thus fall 
 to the ground; and it is evident that he is an 
 enemy to British freedom, and also ignorant of 
 Masonry, to all its intents and purposes., 
 
 Baruchs book is, no doubt, not only a libel 
 on Masonry, but insidiously libellous to the civil 
 and religious polity, which Britons support as the 
 pure eternal head-spring out of which all their 
 benefits and blessings flow, and to which Masons 
 never cease to wish prosperity in the sentiment of 
 Father Paul — Esto Perpetua HI 
 
 The writer of this work will be sorry, indeed, if 
 it frustrate his expectations of utility in its circu- 
 lation. For the entertainment of Masons it was 
 
ADDRESS TO BRETHREN. xi 
 
 chiefly made, and it is fondly hoped it will afford 
 them a considerable degree of information and use. 
 in this laudable expectation it is submitted by the 
 author, who begs to subscribe himself, with faithful 
 good wishes for the success of Masonry, and the 
 honour and advantage of all its members, 
 
 Their truly Obedient Servant, 
 
 Friend and Brother, 
 
 JONATHAN ASHE, D.D., M.M. 
 
 Bristol , Nov. 1813. 
 
THE EDITOR’S ADDRESS. 
 
 The appearance of a New Edition of the Maso- 
 nic Manual, demands a few observations from its 
 Editor. It has undergone a thorough revision, and 
 many verbal amendments have been introduced, as 
 will appear from a comparison with the former 
 editions. And this is not the only improvement 
 which has been attempted. Explanatory notes 
 have been added; and it is hoped the inquiring 
 brother may derive some important information 
 from these desultory appendages. 
 
 The work contains much of the morality which 
 had been interwoven into the Lectures of Masonry, 
 as they existed at the time when it was written; 
 and many ceremonial details have also been incor- 
 porated into its pages. And although considerable 
 alterations have been made in the Lectures since 
 that period, they have not materially affected those 
 portions of the symbolical system which have been 
 here introduced. With indefatigable industry, our 
 author has selected the most valuable illustrations 
 from all the authentic publications on Masonry, 
 and has arranged them in such a manner as to form 
 a consecutive series of Arguments which may be 
 delivered from the Chair of a Lodge with benefit 
 
THE EDITOR’S ADDRESS. 
 
 Xlll 
 
 to the hearers. He has succeeded in stringing 
 together a constellation of gems, against the purity 
 of which the most inveterate sceptic can find 
 nothing to object. 
 
 It is true, and I make the admission with regret, 
 that some of our own brethren — men of rank, talent, 
 and virtue — appear to entertain a repugnance to 
 the promulgation, through the press, of Masonic 
 writings. This is undoubtedly an error in judg- 
 ment, although it may originate in the purest 
 feelings for the prevalence of truth and moral 
 rectitude. Had it not been for the influence of 
 recent publications on Masonry, delineating its 
 moral tendency, its science, and its philosophy, 
 I am persuaded the Order would not now have 
 been in existence. Half a century ago public 
 feeling .was in arms against it; — prejudice had 
 arrayed it in the garb of vice, irreligion, and 
 atheism ; — it was represented as a monster of 
 iniquity, brooding in its occult lodges over the 
 contemplated destruction of civil and religious 
 order amongst mankind, whilst writers of character 
 and talent denounced it from the press . 1 Their 
 
 1 Thus, Le Franc, who wrote shortly after the French Revolu- 
 tion, designated Freemasonry as “ a hidden and emblematical 
 system of Equality and Deism ; ” and undertook to demonstrate 
 that “ it menaced approaching ruin both to Church and State.” 
 The Abbe Baruei was still more plain and pointed. He pro- 
 fessed to “ explain the means and succours which Freemasonry 
 afforded to the modern sophisters in the French Revolution, 
 and to show how much it threatened the social orders of the 
 world,” (vol. ii.» p. 262). A little further on he says, “ those 
 
XIV 
 
 THE EDITOR’S ADDRESS. 
 
 confident assertions were received with avidity 
 at that awful period of political agitation, and 
 excited against the Craft the bitterest feelings of 
 hatred and ill-will ; and if they had remained 
 unanswered, through an injudicious aversion to 
 publications on Freemasonry, the Order would 
 have been in danger of total annihilation. It 
 was saved by the zeal of a few intrepid Masonic 
 authors. 
 
 What is the state of Freemasonry now ? Since 
 her cause has been advocated from the press, the 
 charges urged against her with such pertinacity 
 and confidence have been discovered to be ground- 
 less and untrue ; the torrent which threatened to 
 overwhelm her has exhausted its force; numerous 
 flourishing lodges exist where Masonry was formerly 
 a by-word and a reproach ; the numbers of the 
 brethren have doubled and trebled; her charities 
 are abundant; her members virtuous and happy; 
 and never was there a time in the annals of Masonry, 
 when she was such a blessing to the brethren at 
 
 did not mislead us who, formerly initiated into those mysteries, 
 at length owned that they had been dupes ; that all that equality 
 and liberty, which they had treated as mere play, had already 
 proved a most desperate game for their country, and might bring 
 ruin on the whole universe. And I have met with many of these 
 adepts since the revolution, both in France and elsewhere, who 
 had formerly been zealous Masons, but latterly confessing with 
 bitterness this fatal secret, which reduces the whole science of 
 Masonry, like the French Revolution, to these two words, 
 Equality and Liberty.” (p. 268.) These charges, and others of 
 a still more serious nature and tendency, were re-echoed by Pro- 
 fessor Robison and others, to the great detriment of the order. 
 
THE EDITOR'S ADDRESS. 
 
 XV 
 
 large; and in such general estimation amongst 
 those who have not been admitted into her com- 
 munion. All this amount of good I have no 
 hesitation in attributing, almost solely, to the judi- 
 cious publications on the subject of Masonry which 
 have appeared during the present and the latter 
 end of the last century ; and much of it to the 
 leading periodical and organ of the Craft— the 
 “ Freemason's Quarterly Review." 
 
 As an evidence of the accuracy of this deduction, 
 the present state of Freemasonry in America, (not- 
 withstanding a most unfavourable occurrence which 
 was calculated to throw it into the shade a few 
 years ago), may be safely cited. It has a Grand 
 Lodge in every State ; and at least one periodical 
 under the patronage of every Grand Lodge. Prizes 
 are offered annually for the best Essay on the true 
 principles of the Craft, which is published by 
 authority; and the transactions of Grand Lodge 
 are distributed in the form of a printed pamphlet 
 throughout the world. In consequence of these 
 judicious proceedings, I am told that almost every 
 third male adult throughout the whole population, 
 eligible for admission into the order, is a Mason, and 
 as we learn from the printed Transactions of the 
 Grand Lodge of New York, 2 Dec. 2, 1840, “ the 
 
 2 At the above Grand Lodge, the M. W. Grand Master made 
 the following gratifying communication to the brethren. He 
 said, “ The duties of the Masonic governments correspond with 
 those of the civil governments of states ; they are to promote the 
 peace, security, prosperity, and happiness of the people ; in times 
 of danger to afford protection, by the wise application of their 
 
XVI 
 
 THE EDITOR’S ADDRESS. 
 
 Institution flourishes in all the States with vigour 
 and beautv.” 
 
 j 
 
 own powers, or by the powers of their allies ; in periods of 
 prosperity, to give the best direction to the current of popular 
 activity, by the elevation of the standard of knowledge and 
 virtue, and by cultivating foreign relations and internal improve- 
 ments. Such has been the course pursued by this Grand Lodge, 
 steadily and undeviatingly, through the whole period of the pre- 
 sent Grand Mastership. Amongst the means which have been 
 adopted to strengthen and secure the union, integrity, and purity 
 of the order, is the system which is now gradually going into 
 operation, and which, when fully developed, will concentrate in 
 this body every facility for the communication and reception of 
 intelligence, and for the cultivation of those fraternal relations 
 throughout the world which constitute the unity, usefulness, 
 and glory of our institution Everywhere within this jurisdic- 
 tion there exists a strong desire for information, not only as to 
 what this Grand Lodge is doing, but what all other Grand 
 Lodges are doing. This desire after information on all subjects 
 relating to the progress and state of the order, affords a sure evi- 
 dence that the spirit of the institution is vigorous and active ; 
 and it is the duty , and has been the determination , of the Grand 
 Officers to afford every encouragement to the increase and diffu- 
 sion of useful knowledge. Our foreign correspondence has been 
 largely extended, and is still advancing in extent and interest, 
 and the result has been an increased demand for the publications 
 of this Grand Lodge , so that the very large editions of the Tran- 
 sactions usually printed will now scarcely suffice. At the same 
 Grand Lodge, the Grand Secretary asked permission to present 
 the prospectus of a work which he contemplated publishing, 
 under the title of a 4 Portrait Gallery of Eminent American 
 Freemasons, and History of the Masonic Institution in the 
 United States.’ The proposed address to the Fraternity and the 
 prospectus were then read ; whereupon the following Resolution 
 was unanimously adopted : — 4 That this Grand Lodge highly 
 approve of the proposed work of the Rt. W. Grand Secretary, 
 entitled the Portrait Gallery of Eminent American Freemasons, 
 and recommend it to the patronage of the Fraternity.’ ” 
 
the editor’s address. xvii 
 
 From these facts and arguments the conclusion 
 is inevitable, that a discouragement of judicious 
 publications on the subject of Masonry is decidedly 
 prejudicial to the Order; because it would have a 
 tendency to prevent the dissemination of Masonic 
 principles, and obstruct their certain effect— the 
 amelioration of public morals, and the diffusion of 
 a genial system of science and philosophy, which 
 would essentially conduce to the best interests of 
 religion and virtue. 
 
 Scopwick Vicarage , Aug. 14 th, 1843. 
 
PROGRAMME OF THE MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 The author of the cc Masonic Manual” ventures 
 to invite the attention of the public to a subject, 
 which has for several years excited considerable 
 curiosity, but no profound or solid investigation. 
 
 In accompanying him through this arduous duty, 
 he trusts the reader will not expect from him a 
 rhetoric to admire, or an eloquence to applaud : 
 these are endowments which the Mason has neither 
 leisure to cultivate nor to acquire ; therefore, he has 
 aimed at nothing but simplicity and truth, and has 
 even divested himself of such technical terms as 
 might perplex the reason of those who are not 
 desirous of entering into useless refinements, and 
 tedious abstractions. 
 
 Long has the greater part of mankind laboured 
 under prejudices against Masonry, which might 
 have been avoided by an acquaintance with the 
 manners and principles of that ancient society. 
 During the study of most sciences, we notice im- 
 provements unknown to the majority of the people ; 
 and in no one instance have they become more 
 conspicuous than in the study of Masonry, and 
 particularly that portion of it which relates to the 
 
PROGRAMME. 
 
 XIX 
 
 origin and progress of that truly sublime establish- 
 ment. 
 
 Since the wild conjectures of deluded men were 
 banished from the annals of Masonry, the study of 
 Masonry has become one of the most useful and 
 pleasing to all of an enlightened understanding. 
 In the “ Masonic Manual” the science is charac- 
 terised by a manner hostile only to the pride of the 
 pedantic scholar. The author has the honour to 
 open some of the most extensive scenes — let their 
 magnificence lead the intelligent. An entrance is 
 desired, that the wonderful greatness and wisdom 
 displayed in the system of Masonry may be con- 
 templated with rapture, in parts neglected by the 
 vulgar as a “ dreary void.” For his part, although 
 imperious circumstances frequently compelled him 
 to suspend his views, still he brought with him an 
 undecayed sensibility to their attractions, and a 
 determination to perform his duty with ail the 
 assiduity and zeal he was capable of exerting on so 
 grand and important an occasion. 
 
 It is not a little to the honour of the present age, 
 that so many gentlemen of liberal fortune and 
 respectable families have dedicated much of their 
 time, and not a little of their wealth, to sustain the 
 cause of Masonic science and Masonic character. 
 This observation will, undoubtedly, from the asso- 
 ciation of ideas, recall the names of Preston, of 
 Smith, of Furnough, and of Calcott, to familiar 
 recollection. 
 
 Of the writers on Masonry, the author mentions 
 
XX 
 
 PROGRAMME. 
 
 the names of those who have endeavoured to make 
 themselves acquainted with the object of his imme- 
 diate investigation. And yet how imperfect was the 
 information they obtained ! However, his object is 
 not to criticise, but to inform. What others have 
 not done he has endeavoured to do. And if the 
 sublimity of a subject can exalt an author, he 
 flatters himself this Dissertation on Masonry will 
 raise him to the top of the compass. 
 
 That the society of Free and Accepted Masons 
 possess a grand secret among themselves, is an 
 undoubted fact; what this grand secret is, or of 
 what unknown materials it consists, mankind in 
 general, not dignified with the order, have made 
 the most ridiculous suppositions ; the ignorant have 
 thought that we confer with the devil, and many 
 other contemptible surmises have been promulgated, 
 too tedious to mention and too dull to laugh at ; 
 while the more polished part of mankind puzzle 
 themselves with reflections more refined, though 
 equally absurd. To dispel the opinionative mist, is 
 the author’s intention ; and, however rash the step 
 may be thought, that he, a mere atom in the grand 
 system, should attempt so difficult, so nice a task, 
 yet he flatters himself that he shall not only get 
 clear over it, but also meet with the united plaudits 
 both of the public and of his brethren. 
 
 Religion, morality, Masonic polity, in fine, every 
 thing important and interesting has been carefully 
 selected, to add to the illumination of the “ Masonic 
 Manual.” But while the affairs of Masonry have 
 
PROGRAMME. 
 
 XXI 
 
 been its prominent trait, no pains were spared to 
 render it worthy the perusal of the classic and the 
 statesman ; nor is it so silent on science in general 
 as not to be capable of contributing to the infor- 
 mation and amusement of all classes. To detect 
 sophistry, to denounce cabal, are its unremitting 
 endeavours. In defeating the designs of the dis- 
 affected, in frustrating the machinations of the 
 ill-disposed, in unmasking the factious spirit of an 
 organised opposition to Masonry, its utmost efforts 
 are constantly exerted. It forms, upon the whole, 
 a standard of Masonic principles, adapted not only 
 to subdue a spirit of opposition, but also to check 
 the progress of error, as likewise to infuse through- 
 out the order a true Masonic ardour, with a refined 
 sense of honour, a rigid regard for discipline, sound 
 principles of science, and an exalted notion of in- 
 dependence, with a becoming reverence for the 
 institution. In the exposure of error, in the pursuit 
 of prejudice, it endeavours to aid the energies of 
 the brethren ; and for the overthrow of licentious- 
 ness, which otherwise must effect the abridgement 
 of Masonic liberty, it never relaxes in its efforts to 
 excite the resources of the society. 
 
 It has been the peculiar province of this work to 
 offer many ideas that have escaped its contempo- 
 raries ; and amongst its proud features of distinction 
 are those of virtue, consistency, and principle. 
 
 Such is the nature of the 46 Masonic Manual/’ 
 By the unadulterated purity of its principles it must 
 ultimately command the admiration of all parties, 
 
XXII 
 
 PROGRAMME. 
 
 and cannot fail to extort a degree of approbation 
 from the candour even of those whom it reluctantly 
 condemns. Though it may be the object of others 
 to divest public opinion of all respect for Masonry 
 — of all love for that illustrious order, it has been 
 the endeavour of the author to guard them against 
 the consequences of such conduct, so sedulously 
 broached for the poisoning of their minds, the cor- 
 ruption of their manners, the contaminating those 
 sources of comfort and distinction which gladden 
 and adorn social life. In the exposure of miscon- 
 duct, in the reprobation of imposture, his only aim 
 has been to correct error, and to work amendment. 
 That he has not altogether failed in his attempts, 
 may be collected from a reference to the work, and 
 for which the author solicits the patronage of the 
 public and the fraternity. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 ARGUMENT I. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 On the Nature and Necessity of the Masonic Society, and the 
 duty incumbent on Masons to act as upright and honourable 
 men . .... 1 
 
 ARGUMENT II. 
 
 On the Origin, Nature, and Design of the Masonic Institution, 
 and a Confutation of the many shameful and idle Falsehoods 
 which are industriously propagated by its enemies . 14 
 
 ARGUMENT III. 
 
 The Confutation of Falsehood continued, and the Harmony and 
 Connection of the Society of Freemasons particularly 
 recommended ..... 32 
 
 ARGUMENT IV. 
 
 On the Absurdity of supposing that Masonry is a trifling institu- 
 tion, and that its Principles contain nothing valuable . 52 
 
XXIV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 ARGUMENT V. 
 
 On the Hieroglyphical Figures, Parabolical and Symbolical 
 Customs and Ceremonies, Secret Words and Signs, with 
 the different Degrees of Probation assigned to them by 
 Masons . . . . . .57 
 
 ARGUMENT VI. 
 
 Of the Mosaic Work as a Symbol, and the Virtues of Faith, 
 Hope, Charity, Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, Justice, 
 Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth, of the Masonic Insti- 
 tutions . . . . . .73 
 
 ARGUMENT VII. 
 
 On the Model or Ground-plan of the Temple ; Jacob’s Ladder ; 
 the Grand Architect’s Six Periods ; and Jeptha’s Battle 
 with the Ephraimites . . . .79 
 
 ARGUMENT VIII. 
 
 -On the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences — Grammar, Rhetoric, 
 Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, Astronomy ; and on 
 the Six Arts and Sciences, as blended in Astronomy . 89 
 
 ARGUMENT IX. 
 
 On the Five noble Orders of Architecture — the Tuscan, the 
 Doric, the Ionic, the Corinthian, and the Composite ; and 
 the Five Points of Masonic Fellowship justly illustrated 93 
 
 ARGUMENT X. 
 
 On the Nature of the Lodge, and the Original Institutions of 
 the Brotherhood, interspersed with a variety of Metaphy- 
 sical Disquisitions, and Scientific Allusions . 97 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XXV 
 
 ARGUMENT XI. 
 
 On the Furniture of the Lodge, and on the Apparel and Jewels 
 used by the official part of the Fraternity, the whole illumi- 
 nated with Emblematical Coruscations . . 110 
 
 ARGUMENT XII. 
 
 On the Letter G, and the relation existing between Geometry 
 and the Masonic Institution . . .122 
 
 ARGUMENT XIII. 
 
 On the Human Faculties, and particularly the Five External 
 Senses ; with a short Analysis of their Masonic Interpre- 
 tation ..*... 130 
 
 ARGUMENT XIV. 
 
 On the Master Mason’s Order and Occupation in general : the 
 whole displayed in a professional and moral point of 
 view ...... 137 
 
 ARGUMENT XV. 
 
 On the Secrecy of Masons, and on the Evidences to prove that 
 their Morality was originally deduced from the School of 
 Pythagoras, the Basilidean System, and the Druidical 
 Law ...... 145 
 
 ARGUMENT XVI. 
 
 On the Occupation of Masons, and on the Evidence that their 
 Occupation is not a mere mechanical labour, but the Exercise 
 of the best qualities of the Mind . . .160 
 
 b 
 
XXVI 
 
 CONTENTS- 
 
 ARGUMENT XVII. 
 
 On the Further Occupation of Masons, and on the necessity of 
 making Charity and Brotherly Love the first principles of 
 those Occupations .... 172 
 
 ARGUMENT XVIII. 
 
 On the Inferences to be drawn from the preceding Arguments ; 
 and an Exhibition of the scattered rays which are so 
 Masonically displayed in all and each of them . 180 
 
 ARGUMENT XIX. 
 
 General Remarks : including an Illustration of the Masonic 
 Lectures ; a particular description of the Ancient Ceremo- 
 nies ; and the Charges used in the different Degrees 188 
 
 ARGUMENT XX. 
 
 Argument on the first Masonic Lecture given in a Lodge. The 
 Declaration to be assented to. A Prayer used at Initiation. 
 Charge at Initiation into the First Degree . 198 
 
 ARGUMENT XXL 
 
 Solomon’s Invocation, and the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences, 
 as illustrative of the Second Masonic Lecture . 212 
 
 ARGUMENT XXII. 
 
 On the Third Masonic Lecture. Prayer at Initiation. Charge 
 at Initiation into the Third Degree. Illustration of the 
 History and Ceremonies connected with this Degree 226 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XXV11 
 
 ARGUMENT XXIII. 
 
 On the Ancient Ceremonies of the Order. The Manner of 
 Constituting a Lodge. The Ceremony of Consecration. 
 Ceremony of Installation . . . 232 
 
 ARGUMENT XXIV. 
 
 The Ceremony observed at laying the Foundation Stones of 
 Public Structures. The Ceremony observed at the Dedi- 
 cation of a Mason’s Hall, &c. &c. . . 245 
 
 ARGUMENT XXV. 
 
 On the Ceremony observed at Masonic F unerals, according to 
 ancient Custom ; with the Service used on that occasion 
 at the present day ..... 253 
 
 ARGUMENT XXVI. 
 
 A Charge on the Festival of St. John, as delivered by a Brother 
 Mason, at a Meeting of the Order, on the Day named after 
 that Apostle ..... 264 
 
 ARGUMENT XXVII. 
 
 An Address for a Voluntary Contribution towards increasing 
 the Fund for Charity, and also for the Distribution of a 
 Collection to Distressed Brethren . . 273 
 
 ARGUMENT XXVIII. 
 
 Heads of a Charge proper to be given to a newly-admitted 
 Brother ; pointing out the Moral and the Masonic Duties 
 imposed upon every Member of the Order, from the hour 
 of his Initiation . . . . .279 
 
XXV111 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 ARGUMENT XXIX. 
 
 An Address made to a Body of Free and Accepted Masons ; 
 pointing out the Virtues which they ought to cultivate, and 
 the Vices which they ought to avoid . . ‘289 
 
 ARGUMENT XXX. 
 
 An Address delivered in a Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, 
 immediately after the Expulsion of a Member who had 
 been repeatedly, but in vain, admonished for the illiberal 
 practice of Backbiting and Slandering his Brethren 298 
 
THE 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 ARGUMENT I. 
 
 ON THE NATURE AND NECESSITY OF THE MASONIC SOCIETY, 
 AND THE DUTY INCUMBENT ON MASONS TO ACT AS UPRIGHT 
 AND HONOURABLE MEN. 
 
 If we duly consider Man, we shall find him a 
 social being; and, in effect, such is his nature, that 
 he cannot well subsist alone : for out of society he 
 could neither preserve life, display nor perfect his 
 faculties and talents, nor attain any real or solid 
 happiness. Had not the God of Nature intended 
 him for society, he would never have formed him 
 subject to such a variety of wants and infirmities. 
 This would have been highly inconsistent with 
 divine wisdom, and the regularity of divine omni- 
 science: on the contrary, the very necessities of 
 human nature unite men together, and fix them in 
 a state of mutual dependence on one another. For, 
 select the most perfect and accomplished of the 
 human race, — a Hercules or a Sampson, a Bacon 
 or a Boyle, a Locke or a Newton ; nay, we need not 
 except Solomon himself, — and suppose him fixed 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 alone, even in this happy country, where Nature, 
 from her bounteous stores, seems to have formed 
 another Eden, and we should soon find him deplo- 
 rably wretched; and by being destitute of social 
 intercourse, deprived of every shadow of happiness. 
 
 Therefore, for the establishment of our felicity, 
 Providence, in its general system with regard to the 
 government of this world, has ordained a reciprocal 
 connection between all the various parts of it, which 
 cannot subsist without a mutual dependence ; and 
 from the human species down to the lowest parts of 
 the creation, one chain unites all nature. This is 
 excellently observed, and beautifully described, by 
 a celebrated poet, in the following lines : 
 
 God in the nature of each being founds 
 Its proper bliss, and sets its proper bounds ; 
 
 But as he formed a whole, the whole to bless, 
 
 On mutual wants built mutual happiness. 
 
 So from the first eternal order ran, 
 
 And creature link’d to creature, man to man. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 Under these circumstances, men must of necessity 
 form associations for their comfort and defence, as 
 well as for their very existence. Had revelation 
 been altogether silent on this point, yet we might 
 by the mere light of nature have easily discovered 
 it to be our duty to be kindly affectioned one to 
 another. No system can be more agreeable to the 
 common sentiments of mankind, nothing built upon 
 surer terms of equity and reason, than that I should 
 treat my fellow-creature with the same candour and 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 3 
 
 benevolence, with the same affection and sincerity, 
 I should expect myself. It is true this was not 
 delivered in express words till the time of Moses, 
 nor so fully explained and understood as at the 
 coming of the prophets. Yet we have great reason 
 to believe that it was the first law revealed to Adam, 
 immediately upon his fall, and was a genuine pre- 
 cept of uncorrupted nature. That every one is 
 naturally an enemy to his neighbour, was the male- 
 volent assertion of the late philosopher, Hobbs, one, 
 who vainly thinking himself deeper versed in the 
 principles of man than any before him, and having 
 miserably corrupted his own mind by many wild 
 extravagancies, concluded, from such acquired cor- 
 ruption, that all men were naturally the same. 
 How to reconcile a tenet of this kind with the 
 justice and goodness of a Supreme Being, seems a 
 task too difficult for the most knowing person to 
 execute ; and the author himself was contented 
 barely to lay it down, without the least show of 
 argument in its defence. That God should be a 
 being of infinite justice, creating us in a necessary 
 state of dependence on, and at the same time bring 
 us into the world with inclinations of enmity and 
 cruelty towards each other, is a contradiction so 
 palpable, as no man can assert, consistently with a 
 reverential notion of his Maker. And were there 
 no sufficient proofs against it, even from our imper- 
 fect ideas of the Creator, the very laws of nature 
 would confute it. By the law of nature, I would 
 be understood to mean, that will of God which is 
 
4 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 discoverable to us by the light of reason, without 
 the assistance of revelation. Now nothing is more 
 evident than this grand maxim : that whatever prin- 
 ciples and actions have an inseparable connection 
 with the public happiness, and are necessary to the 
 well-being of society, are fundamental laws of 
 nature, and bear the stamp of divine authority. 
 
 This will more evidently appear from the follow- 
 ing consideration. When the Grand Architect of 
 the universe had with the greatest wisdom, and 
 most exact proportion, formed this globe, and reple- 
 nished it with every thing necessary for life and 
 ornament, he last of all created man, after his own 
 image, endowing him with rational and immortal 
 powers, adequate to the present and future happi- 
 ness for which he was designed. 
 
 But though he found himself in Paradise, where 
 every thing abounded for his sustenance and delight, 
 yet for want of a creature of the same rational 
 nature with himself, his felicity was incomplete ; so 
 much did the innate ideas of society possess and 
 influence the human mind from its first existence, 
 that the highest enjoyments, without participation, 
 were tasteless and unaffecting ; a strong proof 
 that even in the original state of human nature, 
 selfish and narrow principles had no share ; and 
 that to communicate blessings was to increase them. 
 To gratify his wishes, enlarge his mind, and esta- 
 blish his before imperfect happiness, God created 
 an help-mate for him, “ Woman, his last best 
 gift;” thereby enabling him to exchange the soli- 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 5 
 
 tary for the social life; an imperfect for a perfect 
 bliss ! Now the human mind began to expand; a 
 new train of ideas and affections succeeded ; its 
 joys were increased, and its wishes accomplished. 
 These dispositions were continued with the species, 
 and man has ever since had recourse to society as 
 an essential means to humanise his heart, and 
 ameliorate the enjoyments of life. 
 
 But, alas ! he being created free in the exercise 
 of the faculties, both of body and mind, and these 
 faculties being vitiated by sin in our first parents, 
 the taint became hereditary, and soon broke out 
 in symptoms which foreboded destruction to the 
 peace and happiness of the world. Cain furnished 
 an early and terrible instance of the truth of this 
 assertion, when, of the first two brothers that ever 
 were on earth, one fell a victim to the envious fury 
 of the other, and demonstrated that a train of new 
 passions had taken possession of the human heart. 
 Envy, hatred, and revenge now made their appear- 
 ance, and bloodshed and discord followed. Ties of 
 consanguinity first cemented mankind; but after 
 the sons of Noah had rendered the earth more popu- 
 lous, and the confusion of languages had separated 
 one family from another, vice and impiety boldly 
 reared their heads. Therefore, to remedy these 
 dreadful evils, and avert their consequences, the 
 uniting various men, and different orders, in the 
 bond of friendship, seemed the best and surest 
 method ; and was, indeed, the greatest and most 
 effectual defence against the universal depravity of 
 
6 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 corrupted human nature : it was here alone pro- 
 tection could be had from the attacks of violence, 
 or the insinuations of fraud, from the force of brutal 
 strength, or the snares of guilty design. 
 
 Further to promote these ends, and secure such 
 blessings, laws were now necessarily introduced for 
 the safety and advantage of every individual ; and 
 of their good effects, we in this nation ought to be 
 better judges than the whole world besides, for 
 ours we may extol, as St. Paul expresses himself, 
 66 in confidence of boasting.” 
 
 If we confine ourselves to particular parts of 
 society, and treat the bodies of men, who, though 
 members of, and subordinate to the general sys- 
 tem, unite themselves into distinct communities, 
 for their own immediate advantage, and relatively 
 for the public benefit, we shall find some entering 
 into such associations upon different views to 
 answer various purposes. We, of this nation in 
 particular, fear no enemy at our gates, no violence 
 from our neighbours, and I hope no treachery 
 from our friends ; but assemble with men of similar 
 opinions and manners, not out of necessity for the 
 preservation of our lives, but to render them more 
 beneficial to others, and pleasing to ourselves ; by 
 enabling us to perform those duties, and afford 
 that assistance to each other in a united capacity, 
 which as individuals we were unable to do. 
 
 To this kind of associations I shall confine my- 
 self in the following work ; and shall treat on the 
 ancient institution of Free and Accepted Masons 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 7 
 
 in particular, an establishment founded on the 
 benevolent intention of extending and confirming 
 mutual happiness, upon the best and truest prin- 
 ciples of moral and social virtue . 1 
 
 For among many instances of the above truth, 
 apparent to every intelligent person, let us reflect, 
 that in all societies and governments there are some 
 indigent and miserable, whom we are taught to 
 regard as objects of our compassion and our bounty ; 
 and it is our indispensable duty to aid such with our 
 counsel, commiserate their afflictions, and relieve 
 them in their distress. 
 
 *Tis what the happy to th’ unhappy owe, 
 
 For what man gives, the gods on him bestow. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 This principle is the bond of peace, and the 
 cement of Masonic affection. Freemasons esteem 
 it a virtue of the most diffusive nature, not to be 
 confined to particular persons, but extended to 
 the whole human race, to administer assistance to 
 whom it is their highest pride, and their utmost 
 wish, establishing friendships, and forming con- 
 nections, not by receiving, but conferring benefits. 
 As soon might the builder alone work through each 
 
 1 To use the words of an elegant writer, Freemasonry is an 
 institution, not as the ignorant and uninstructed vainly suppose, 
 founded on unmeaning mystery, for the encouragement of baccha- 
 nalian festivity, and support of mere good fellowship ; but an 
 institution founded on eternal reason and truth, whose deep basis 
 is the civilization of mankind ; and whose everlasting glory is to 
 have the immovable support of those two mighty pillars — science 
 and morality. — Editor. 
 
8 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 tedious course of an edifice without the assistance 
 of his fellow-craftsmen, as poor helpless unassisted 
 man, toil through each chequered stage of human 
 life. 
 
 The Almighty has therefore furnished men with 
 different capacities, and blessed them with various 
 powers, that they may be mutually beneficial and 
 serviceable to each other; and, indeed, wherever 
 we turn our eyes and thoughts, we shall find scope 
 sufficient to employ those capacities, and exercise 
 those powders, agreeably to the celebrated maxim of 
 the great Socratic disciple, that we are not born 
 for ourselves alone. 
 
 That we may not be too much elevated with the 
 contemplation of our own abundance, we should 
 consider, no man comes into this world without 
 imperfections ; that we may not decline being 
 serviceable to our fellow-creatures, we should re- 
 flect, that all have their portion for improvement ; 
 that we may not be remiss nor reluctant in good 
 offices, we should remind ourselves, however affluent 
 our fortune, we are not entirely independent of 
 others, and where much is given much will be 
 required. We are commanded to be fruitful in 
 good works ; and throughout the whole creation we 
 shall find no precedent for inutility or indolence, 
 for he that contributes neither study, labour, nor 
 fortune to the public, is a deserter of the commu- 
 nity. All human affections, if directed by the 
 governing principle of reason, tend to promote 
 some useful purpose. Compassion, if properly 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 9 
 
 exerted, is the most beneficial of all human virtues, 
 extending itself to a greater number of objects, 
 exciting more lasting degrees of happiness, than 
 any other. Some affections are indeed more fierce 
 and violent, but their action, like a sudden explo- 
 sion of combustibles, is no sooner begun than its 
 force is spent. 
 
 The rational, the manly pleasure, which neces- 
 sarily accompanies compassion, can only be known 
 to those who have experienced its effects ; for who 
 ever relieved the indigent, and did not at the same 
 time receive the highest gratification ? To see a 
 fellow-creature labouring in agony and pain, or 
 struggling under the oppressive burthen of helpless- 
 ness and want, presently raises pity in the human 
 breast, induces us to sympathise with the object in 
 his distress, and inspires us with the tender dispo- 
 sitions of charity and assistance. 
 
 If our pleasure were to be estimated in propor- 
 tion to its extent and duration, that of doing good 
 must rival and outshine all others of which the mind 
 is susceptible, being both from its nature, and the 
 variety of objects on which it acts, greatly superior 
 to the fleeting and unsatisfactory enjoyment arising 
 from the gratification of our sensual appetites. 
 Hence compassion, both on account of its duration, 
 from its pleasing effects, and its unbounded utility 
 to the world, ought to be highly valued and duly 
 cultivated by all who consult their own felicity, or 
 the prosperity and interest of that country or people 
 to wdiom they belong. 
 
10 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 It would be absurd to dwell longer on this head, 
 as I am addressing a body who in every age, from 
 the earliest times to this present day , 2 have been 
 justly celebrated for their disinterested liberality, 
 and whose proceedings have been constantly directed 
 by the desire of doing good to, and promoting the 
 happiness of every individual. 
 
 From the foregoing considerations, the necessity 
 of constituting particular societies, is strikingly 
 obvious ; for, next to the veneration of the Supreme 
 Being, the love of mankind seems to be the most 
 promising source of real satisfaction : it is a never- 
 failing one to him who, possessed of this principle, 
 enjoys also the means of indulging it; and who 
 makes the superiority of his fortune, his knowledge, 
 or his power, subservient to the wants of his fellow- 
 creatures. It is true, there are few whose abilities 
 or fortunes are so adapted to the necessities and 
 infirmities of human nature, as to lender them 
 capable of performing works of universal benefi- 
 cence; but a spirit of universal benevolence may 
 be exercised by all : and the bounteous Father of 
 Nature has not proportioned the pleasure to the 
 greatness of the effect, but to the greatness of the 
 cause. Here let not my meaning be mistaken : I 
 
 2 “ Solon, Plato, and Pythagoras, and from them the Grecian 
 literati in general, were obliged for their learning, in a great 
 measure, to Masonry, and the labours of some of our ancient 
 brethren. They fetched their knowledge from afar, and bor- 
 rowed their philosophy from the inscriptions of Egyptian 
 columns, and the hieroglyphical figures of the sacred pillars of 
 Hermes.” (Sermon at Gloucester, 1752.) — Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 11 
 
 would not be understood to insinuate that we are 
 so obliged to be bountiful that nothing will excuse 
 us; for it is an universal maxim among Masons, 
 that “ justice must precede charity;” and except 
 where the exigences of the distressed call for 
 immediate relief, we should always recollect our 
 natural connections, and debts to the world, when- 
 ever our disposition may prompt us to bestow any 
 singular bounty. And, give me leave to observe, 
 it is not the idle, indolent, or extravagant, but the 
 industrious, though distressed brother, who has a 
 just title to our extraordinary beneficence; a cir- 
 cumstance that ought always to direct the exertion 
 of the above virtue. 
 
 Having thus, in some measure, deduced the 
 nature and necessity of society, and in part shown 
 the duties incumbent upon us as members of it, 
 may we as upright men and Masons faithfully dis- 
 charge the duties of our various stations ; and above 
 all, be ever ready to do to others as we could in 
 their circumstances reasonably wish to be done 
 unto ! 3 
 
 They who move in a higher sphere, have indeed 
 
 3 Baron Bielfield, Chancellor of the Prussian Universities, 
 when considering the propriety of becoming a Mason, says, 
 “ One reflection that dissipated my scruples, and hastened my 
 reception, was, that I knew this order to be composed of a 
 great number of very worthy men ; men who, I was sure, would 
 never have twice entered a lodge, if anything had passed there 
 that was in the least incompatible with a character of the strictest 
 virtue.” — Editor. 
 
12 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 a larger province wherein to do good ; but those of 
 an inferior degree will be as eminently distinguished 
 in the mansions of bliss, if they move regularly, if 
 they are useful members of society, as the highest. 
 He who performs his part best, not he who per- 
 sonates an exalted character, will meet with 
 applause. For the moon, though it borrows its 
 light from the sun, also sets forth the glory of God ; 
 and the flowers of the field declare a providence 
 equally with the stars of the firmament. 
 
 To conclude, then, let me exhort all my worthy 
 brethren to be diligent in the cultivation of every 
 moral and social virtue; for so long do we act 
 consistently with the principles of our venerable 
 institution. Then what has been said, though on 
 an occasion far more important to mankind, may 
 not improperly be appropriated as the badge of our 
 respectable order, “ By this shall all men know 
 that you belong to the brethren, if your hearts glow 
 with affection, not to Masons alone, but to the 
 whole race of mankind.” And well, indeed, may 
 ours be called a happy institution ! whose supreme 
 wish is founded on the truest source of felicity, and 
 whose warmest endeavours are ever exerted in 
 cementing the ties of human nature by acts of 
 benevolence, charity, and social affection ; and who, 
 amidst the corruption and immorality of the latter 
 ages, have maintained in our assemblies the genuine 
 principles and unsullied reputation acquired and 
 established in the first. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 13 
 
 Whilst qualities like these direct your proceed- 
 ings, and influence your actions, Freemasonry must 
 ever be revered and cultivated by the just, the 
 good, and the exalted mind, as the surest means of 
 establishing peace, harmony, and goodwill amongst 
 men. 
 
14 
 
 ARGUMENT II. 
 
 ON THE ORIGIN, NATURE, AND DESIGN OF THE MASONIC INSTI- 
 TUTION, AND A CONFUTATION OF THE MANY SHAMEFUL AND 
 IDLE FALSEHOODS WHICH ARE INDUSTRIOUSLY PROPAGATED 
 BY ITS ENEMIES. 
 
 The antiquity and utility of Freemasonry being 
 generally acknowledged in most parts of the habit- 
 able world, it would be as absurd to conceive it 
 required new aids for its support, as for him who 
 has the use of sight to demand a proof of the rising 
 and setting of the sun. Nevertheless, in compliance 
 with the requests of many worthy brethren, I shall 
 lay before my readers some strictures on the origin, 
 nature, and design of that institution; and, with 
 prudent reserve, confute and avert the many shame- 
 ful and idle falsehoods which are industriously 
 propagated by its enemies, the better to inform the 
 candid and well-meaning brother, who might not 
 readily know how to investigate the truth, or want 
 leisure and opportunity for that purpose. 
 
 With this view, I have made it my business to 
 collect a great number of passages from writers 
 eminent for their learning and probity, where I 
 thought they might serve to illustrate my subject 
 The propriety of such proceeding is too obvious to 
 need any apology. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 15 
 
 If our first parent and his offspring had continued 
 in the terrestrial paradise, they would have had no 
 occasion for the mechanical arts, or any of the 
 sciences now in use ; Adam being created with all 
 those perfections and blessings which could either 
 add to his dignity or be conducive to his real welfare. 
 In that happy period he had no propensity to evil, no 
 perverseness in his heart, no darkness or obscurity 
 in his understanding ; for, had he laboured under 
 these maladies, he would not have been a perfect 
 man, nor would there have been any difference 
 betwixt man in a state of innocence and in a state 
 of degeneracy and corruption. It was therefore in 
 consequence of his wilful transgression that any 
 evils came upon him. And, having lost his inno- 
 cence, he in that dreadful moment forfeited like- 
 wise his supernatural lights and infused knowledge, 
 whereby every science, so far as human nature is 
 capable of, was rendered familiar to him, without 
 the tedious labour of ratiocination, requisite to men 
 even of the greatest abilities, whose ideas, after all, 
 remain weak and imperfect. 
 
 From this remarkable and fatal era we date the 
 necessity and origin of the sciences. First arose 
 divinity, whereby was pointed out to fallen man the 
 way and will of God, the omnipotence and mercy 
 of an offended Creator ; then law, as directing us 
 to distribute justice to our neighbour, and relieve 
 those who are oppressed or suffer wrong. The 
 royal art was beyond all doubt coeval with the 
 above sciences, and was carefully handed down by 
 
16 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 Methuselah, who died but a few days before the 
 general Deluge, and who had lived 245 years with 
 Adam, by whom he was instructed in all the mys- 
 teries of this sublime science, which he faithfully 
 communicated to his grandson Noah, who trans- 
 mitted it to posterity : and it has ever been pre- 
 served with a veneration and prudence suitable to 
 its great importance, being always confined to the 
 knowledge of the worthy only. This is confirmed 
 by many instances, which men of reading and 
 speculation, especially such as are of this society, 
 cannot suffer to escape them. 
 
 At first, mankind adhered to the lessons of 
 Nature ; she used necessity for the means, urged 
 them to invention, and assisted them in the opera- 
 tion. Our primitive fathers, seeing the natural face 
 of the earth was not sufficient for the sustenance of 
 the animal creation, had recourse to their faithful 
 tutoress, who taught them how to give it an arti- 
 ficial face, by erecting habitations and cultivating 
 the ground : and these operations, among other 
 valuable effects, led them to search into and con- 
 template upon the nature and properties of lines, 
 figures, superficies, and solids, and by degrees to 
 form the sciences of geometry and architecture, 
 which have been of the greatest utility to the 
 human species. Hence we were first taught the 
 means whereby we might attain practice, and by 
 practice introduce speculation. 
 
 From the Flood to the days of King Solomon, 
 the liberal arts and sciences gradually spread them- 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 17 
 
 selves over different parts of the globe, every nation 
 having had some share in their propagation ; but, 
 according to their different manners, some have 
 cultivated them with more accuracy, perseverance, 
 and success than others ; and though the secrets 
 of the royal art have not been indiscriminately 
 revealed, they have nevertheless been communi- 
 cated in every age to such as were worthy to 
 receive them. 
 
 But I am not at liberty to undraw the curtain, 
 and publicly descant on this head ; it is sacred, 
 and ever will remain so : those who are honoured 
 with the trust will not reveal it, except to the truly 
 qualified brother, and they who are ignorant of it 
 cannot betray it. 
 
 I shall, however, observe, that this art was called 
 royal, not only because it was originally practised 
 by kings and princes, who were the first professors 
 of it, but likewise on account of the superiority 
 which so sublime a science gave its disciples over 
 the rest of mankind. 
 
 This supreme and divine knowledge being derived 
 from the Almighty Creator to Adam, its principles 
 have ever since been, and still are, most sacredly 
 preserved and inviolably concealed. For as all 
 things, in process of time, are liable to decay and 
 corruption, the ancient professors, wisely foreseeing 
 the great abuses which their exalted mysteries might 
 sustain, if generally made known, determined to 
 confide the knowledge of them only to select 
 brethren; men whom they had found by long expe- 
 
18 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 rience to be well versed in the general principles 
 of the society, and who were eminent for their 
 piety, learning, and abilities. 
 
 Hence it is that a man may be sufficiently able 
 to acquit himself in every test that is laid down by 
 our present institution to prove his regular initiation 
 therein, and also to show that he is not unacquainted 
 with its general principles, and yet at the same time 
 he may be totally ignorant and undeserving of the 
 more valuable parts of the ancient society . 1 These, 
 like the adyta of the ancient temples, are hid from 
 vulgar eyes. It is not every one who is barely 
 initiated into Freemasonry that is entrusted with 
 all the great mysteries thereunto belonging — they 
 are not attainable things, of course, nor by every 
 capacity ; for, as Mr. Locke very justly observes, 
 speaking of this society, 6 ‘ Though all have a right 
 
 1 After the revival of Masonry in 1717, the order was deterio- 
 rated in public opinion by the practice of some few unworthy 
 brothers, who had been excluded for transgressing the general 
 laws. They opened lodges without the requisite authority, and 
 made Masons for a small fee, without any regard to private cha- 
 racter. Dermott observes, “ When these men, by the assistance 
 of Masonry, are admitted into the company of their superiors, 
 they too often act beyond their capacities ; and, under pretence 
 of searching for knowledge, fall into gluttony and drunkenness, 
 and thereby neglect their necessary occupations and injure their 
 families, who imagine they have a just cause to pour out all 
 their invectives against the whole body of Freemasons, without 
 considering or knowing that our constitutions and principles are 
 quite opposite to such base proceedings. Such men are totally 
 unfit to be admitted Freemasons, as they cannot fulfil any of the 
 duties of a lodge ; and if men are not persons of fortune or 
 property, they should be persons of science.” — Editor, 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 19 
 
 and opportunity, if they be worthy and able to learn, 
 to know all the arts and mysteries belonging to it, 
 yet that is not the case, as some want capacity, and 
 others industry to acquire them.” Nevertheless, 
 such is the real felicity necessarily resulting from a 
 knowledge and practice of the general principles of 
 this fraternity, as alone has been ever found sufficient 
 to entitle it to a preference of all other human 
 institutions. From the earliest ages of antiquity 
 the royal art was ever taught with the greatest 
 circumspection, — not in schools or academies to a 
 promiscuous audience, but it was confined to cer- 
 tain families ; the rulers of which instructed their 
 children or disciples, and by this means conveyed 
 their mysterious knowledge to posterity. 
 
 After the Flood, the professors of this art, accord- 
 ing to ancient traditions, were first distinguished 
 by the name of Noachidae, or sons of Noah ; after- 
 wards by that of sages or wise men — men instructed, 
 like Moses, in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, 
 Chaldeans, philosophers, masters in Israel, &c. — 
 and were ever venerated as sacred persons. They 
 consisted of persons of the brightest parts and 
 genius, who exerted their utmost abilities in dis- 
 covering and investigating the various mysteries of 
 Nature, from whence to draw improvements and 
 useful inventions. Men, whose talents were not 
 only employed in speculation, or in private acts of 
 benevolence, but who were also public blessings to 
 the age and country in which they lived ; possessed 
 of moderate desires, who knew how to conquer 
 
20 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 their passions ; who practised and taught the purest 
 morality, and exerted themselves to promote the 
 harmony and felicity of society. They were there- 
 fore consulted from all parts, and venerated with 
 that sincere homage which is never paid but to real 
 merit; and the greatest and wisest potentates on 
 earth esteemed it as an addition to their imperial 
 dignities to be enrolled among such bright orna- 
 ments of human nature. 
 
 A principal excellence, which rendered them 
 famous among men, was taciturnity, which they 
 practised in a peculiar manner, and inculcated as 
 necessary for concealing from the unworthy what 
 few T were qualified to learn, and still fewer to teach. 
 
 In the first ages of the world, science was in a 
 low state, because the uncultivated manners of our 
 forefathers rendered them, in general, incapable of 
 that knowledge which their posterity have so amply 
 enjoyed : the professors of the royal art, therefore, 
 found it absolutely requisite to exclude the more 
 unworthy and barbarous part of mankind from their 
 assemblies, and to conceal their mysteries under 
 such hieroglyphics, symbols, allegory, and figures, 
 as they alone could explain ; 2 even at this day it is 
 indispensable in us, to prevent future bad conse- 
 quences, to conceal from vulgar eyes the means 
 
 2 According to the Marquis Spineto, all hieroglyphics, pro- 
 perly and strictly so called, may be distinguished into three 
 different sorts, according to the greater or less degree of simi- 
 larity they have to the object they are intended to represent. 
 These three sorts are, 1. Hieroglyphics proper ; 2. Hieroglyphics 
 abridged; 3. Hieroglyphics conventional. — Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 21 
 
 used by them to unfold such mysteries. The greatest 
 caution was ever observed at their meetings that no 
 unqualified person might enter amongst them ; and 
 every method was employed to tyle them securely, 
 and conceal the real intent and design of their 
 convocations. 
 
 In order to render their proceedings more edify- 
 ing and extensively useful, charges were delivered at 
 certain times, as well for regulating the conduct of the 
 fraternity as for preserving that mark of distinction 
 which their superior merit justly entitles them to. 
 
 Several of those ancient orations are still extant, 
 by which it appears that, among others, one of their 
 principles was to inculcate by precept, and enforce 
 by example, a strict observance of the moral law, 
 as the chief means of supporting government and 
 authority. And it is evident that they thereby 
 effected their purpose, and secured to themselves the 
 favor, respect, and esteem of the world in general ; 
 and, — notwithstanding the indolence and ignorance 
 of some ages, the various countries, languages, sects, 
 and parties through which Masonry has passed, 
 always subjected to the necessity of oral tradition, 
 and under the numerous disadvantages with which 
 the masters of the royal art had to struggle in the 
 course of many centuries, — still does it retain, in a 
 great degree, its original perfection : a circumstance 
 that not only bears honourable testimony of its 
 intrinsic worth, but is highly to the praise of those 
 to whom this important trust has been from time 
 to time committed. 
 
22 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 After this concise and general account of the 
 ancient professors of the royal art, and the sublime 
 truths which they were possessed of, and transmitted 
 to posterity in the manner before described, we 
 will proceed to the building of that glorious edifice, 
 at which period this society became a regular and 
 uniform institution, under the denomination of Free 
 and Accepted Masons, whose customs and proceed- 
 ings I shall describe so far as may be necessary and 
 prudent. 
 
 Though the Almighty and Eternal Jehovah had 
 no occasion for a temple or house to dwell in, for 
 the heaven of heavens is not capable of containing 
 his immensity, yet it was his divine will that a taber- 
 nacle should be erected for him in the wilderness 
 by Moses, and afterwards a temple, by Solomon, at 
 Jerusalem, as his sanctuary; both of which were to 
 be constructed, not according to human invention, 
 but after a pattern which the Lord himself had 
 given. The whole model of the tabernacle was 
 shown to Moses on Mount Sinai ; and the pattern 
 of the temple was likewise given to David, by the 
 hand of the Lord, and by him delivered to Solomon, 
 his son. 
 
 The tabernacle might be considered as the palace 
 of the Most High, the dwelling of the God of Israel ; 
 wherein the Israelites, during their journeyings in 
 the wilderness, performed the chief of their religious 
 exercises, offered sacrifices, and worshipped God. 
 It was thirty cubits in length, ten in breadth, and 
 ten in height. It was divided into two partitions ; 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 23 
 
 the first was called the holy place, which was made 
 twenty cubits long and ten wide : here were placed 
 the table of shew-bread, the golden candlestick, 
 and the altar of incense. The second was called 
 the most holy place — whose length was ten cubits, 
 and breadth ten cubits — wherein, before the build- 
 ing of the temple, the ark of the covenant was kept, 
 which was a symbol of God’s gracious presence 
 with the Jewish church. The most holy place was 
 divided from the holy place by a curtain or veil 
 of very rich cloth, which hung upon four pillars 
 of Chittim-wood, that were covered with plates of 
 gold. 
 
 The temple erected by Solomon, which was built 
 after the model of the tabernacle at Jerusalem, had 
 its foundation laid in the year of the world 2993 , 
 before Christ 1008, before the vulgar era 1012; 
 and it was finished m. l. 3000, and dedicated 3001, 
 before Christ 999, before the vulgar era 1003. The 
 glory of this temple did not consist in the magni- 
 tude of its dimensions ; for though it was twice as 
 long and capacious every w 7 ay as the tabernacle, yet 
 alone, it was but a small pile of building. The main 
 grandeur and excellency were in its ornaments, 
 the workmanship being every where exceedingly 
 curious, and the overlayings prodigious ; in its 
 materials, being built of new large stones, hewn 
 out in the most curious and ingenious manner ; in 
 its outbuildings, which were large, beautiful, and 
 sumptuous; but still more admirable in this ma- 
 jestic edifice, were those extraordinary marks of 
 
24 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 divine favour with which it was honoured, viz., the 
 ark of the covenant, in which were put the tables 
 of the law, and the mercy-seat which was upon it : 
 from whence the divine oracles were given out with 
 an audible voice, as often as God was consulted in 
 the behalf of his people ; Shechinah, or the divine 
 presence, manifested by a visible cloud resting over 
 the mercy-seat ; the Urim and Thummim, by 
 which the high priest consulted God in difficult and 
 momentous cases, relating to the public interest of 
 the nation ; the Holy Fire, which came down from 
 heaven upon the altar, at the consecration : these 
 indeed were excellencies and beauties derived from 
 a divine source, distinguishing and exalting this 
 sacred structure above all others. David, filled 
 with the hopes of building this temple, declared his 
 intention to Nathan, the prophet ; but this was not 
 permitted him, because his reign had been attended 
 with wars, bloodshed, and slaughter, and he still 
 had to contend with many powerful enemies ; but, 
 though forbidden to execute this divine and glorious 
 work, he made considerable preparations for that 
 purpose ; which having done, and drawing towards 
 his latter end, he assembled all the princes and 
 chief persons of his kingdom, and ordered and 
 encouraged Solomon publicly and in their presence 
 to pursue such his intention, and delivered the 
 pattern or scheme of all the houses, &c., the courses 
 of the priests and Levites, and likewise the pattern 
 of the Cherubims; earnestly exhorting his servants 
 in regard to the tender age of his son, Solomon, 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 25 
 
 who w r as yet but very young, to yield him their 
 counsel and assistance in erecting a palace, not 
 designed for man, but for the Lord God . 3 David 
 himself gave towards the building of the temple, 
 out of his own treasures, besides a vast variety of 
 precious stones, three thousand talents of gold of 
 Ophir, and seven thousand talents of silver. 
 
 The princes of his kingdom followed the glorious 
 example of their king, and gave five thousand 
 talents and ten thousand drachms of gold, ten 
 thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents 
 of brass, and one hundred thousand talents of iron, 
 as also a great many of the most precious stones. 
 
 When David (the king) was dead, and Solomon 
 
 3 He gave them to understand that he had made great prepa- 
 rations for the work, and laid up immense quantities of gold, 
 silver, copper, iron, and other materials, to the amount, as Dean 
 Prideaux says, of upwards of 800,000,000/. sterling ; all of 
 which, together with the plans and models of the edifice, the 
 order and disposition of the several branches of divine service, 
 the courses of the priests and Levites ; of the musicians, 
 singers, and porters ; the plan for establishing judges and courts 
 of justice ; with many other religious, civil, and military regu- 
 lations, he now resigned up to Solomon, to be perfected as his 
 wisdom should direct. He requested them to assist his successor 
 in so desirable a work ; and that those who were inclined to 
 contribute towards the building should bring their free-will 
 offerings into the treasury. This exhortation inspired such a 
 spirit of munificence in the rich men of Israel, that they vied 
 with one another in the richness of their presents towards 
 building the temple ; so that David had the pleasure to see an 
 incredible quantity of gold, silver, and other metals, besides 
 precious stones, marble, porphyry, and other rich materials, 
 brought to him from all parts of the kingdom. (Univer. Hist, 
 vol. ii p. 406.)— Editor. 
 
 c 
 
26 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 was established on his throne, he resolved to carry 
 into execution his father’s design, and to erect a 
 temple to his great Creator. 
 
 For which purpose he applied to Hiram, king of 
 Tyre , 4 for assistance, and having readily obtained 
 a promise of what he desired, and procured from 
 thence and other parts men and materials sufficient 
 for his intentions, he began this great and majestic 
 fabric ; and as method and order are known and 
 confessed to be essentials requisite in conducting all 
 great designs and undertakings, Solomon likewise 
 partitioned the fellow-crafts into certain lodges, ap- 
 pointing to each, one to preside as a master, assisted 
 by two others as wardens, that they might receive 
 commands in a regular manner, take care of the 
 tools and jewels, and be duly paid, fed, clothed, 
 &c. These necessary regulations being previously 
 settled, to preserve that order and harmony which 
 would be absolutely necessary among so great a 
 number of men in executing so large a work, he 
 also took into consideration the future agreement 
 
 4 Dius, the historian, says, that the love of wisdom was the 
 chief inducement of that friendship which existed between 
 Hiram and Solomon ; that they interchanged difficult and mys- 
 terious questions relating to their several systems of Freemasonry, 
 for the purpose of mutual instruction. Alexander, the translator 
 of the Syrian annals into Greek, also informs us that, when any 
 of these propositions exceeded the king’s capacity, he referred 
 them to Abdomenus the Tyrian, who was also called Aymon, 
 and Hiram Abiff, who “ answered every device that was put to 
 him,” and even challenged Solomon, though the wisest of earthly 
 potentates, with the subtlety of the questions he proposed. — 
 Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 27 
 
 and prosperity of the Craft, and deliberated on the 
 best means to associate them by a lasting cement. 
 
 Now, brotherly love and immutable fidelity pre- 
 sented themselves to his mind as the most proper 
 basis for an institution whose aim and end should 
 be to establish permanent unity among its mem- 
 bers, and to render them a society who, while they 
 enjoyed the most perfect felicity, would be of con- 
 siderable utility to mankind. And, being desirous 
 to transmit it under the ancient restrictions as a 
 blessing to future ages, Solomon decreed that, 
 whenever they should assemble in their lodges to 
 discourse upon and improve themselves in the arts 
 and sciences, or whatever else should be deemed 
 proper topics to increase their knowledge, they 
 should likewise instruct each other in secresy and 
 prudence, morality and good fellowship ; and for 
 these purposes he established certain peculiar rules 
 and customs to be invariably observed in their con- 
 versations, that their minds might be enriched by 
 a perfect acquaintance with, and practice of, every 
 moral, social, and religious duty, lest while they 
 were so highly honoured by being employed in 
 raising a temple to the great Jehovah, they should 
 neglect to secure to themselves a happy admittance 
 into the celestial lodge, of which the temple was 
 only to be a type. 
 
 Thus did our wise Grand Master contrive a plan, 
 by mechanical and practical allusions, to instruct 
 the craftsmen in principles of the most sublime 
 speculative philosophy, tending to the glory of God, 
 
28 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 and to secure to them temporal blessings here and 
 eternal life hereafter, as well as to unite the specu- 
 lative and operative Masons ; thereby forming a 
 twofold advantage from the principles of geometry 
 and architecture on the one part, and the precepts 
 of wisdom and ethics on the other. The next cir- 
 cumstance which demanded Solomon’s attention 
 was, the readiest and most effectual method of 
 paying the wages of so vast a body of men, accord- 
 ing to their respective degrees, without error or 
 confusion, that nothing might be found among the 
 Masons of Sion, save harmony and peace. This 
 was settled in a manner well known to all regularly 
 made Masons, and therefore is unnecessary, as also 
 improper, to be mentioned here. 
 
 These arrangements being adjusted, the noble 
 structure was began and conducted with such 
 grandeur, order, and concord, as afforded Solomon 
 the most exalted satisfaction, and filled him with 
 the strongest assurance that the royal art would be 
 further encouraged in future ages, and amongst 
 various nations, from the excellencies of this 
 temple, and the fame and skill of the Israelites, in 
 the beauty and symmetry of architecture therein 
 displayed. 
 
 He was likewise sensible that, when this building 
 should be completed, the craftsmen would disperse 
 themselves over the whole earth , 5 and be desirous 
 
 s We have a tradition that, after the temple was finished, two 
 brothers of Hiram Abiff were commissioned by the king of Tyre 
 to take out a colony to assist in the foundation of Byrsa, at 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 29 
 
 to perpetuate, in the most effectual manner, the 
 harmony and good fellowship already established 
 among them, and to secure to themselves, their 
 future pupils, and their successors, the honour and 
 respect due to men whose abilities were so great 
 and would be so justly renowned ; in conjunction, 
 therefore, with Hiram, king of Tyre, and Hiram 
 Abiff, the Deputy Grand Master, he concerted a 
 proper plan to accomplish his intentions, in which it 
 was determined that, in conformity to the practice 
 of the royal art, general distinguishing characte- 
 ristics should be established for a proof of their 
 having been fellow-labourers in this glorious work, 
 to descend to their successors in all future ages, who 
 should be in a peculiar manner qualified to cultivate 
 the sublime principles of this noble establishment; 
 and such were adopted and received accordingly . 6 
 
 Carthage. One of them was placed at the head of the senate, 
 and the other was sent, with a large fleet of ships, along the 
 coast of Africa ; which he colonised, and opened such a variety 
 of new sources of traffic to the Carthaginians, as enriched then- 
 state, and rendered the name of Hanno famous in their history. 
 — Editor. 
 
 6 Our transatlantic brethren have a curious tradition of some 
 circumstances which are said to have occurred during the build- 
 ing of the temple. It appears that several of the workmen had 
 been guilty of some crime of an enormous nature, and made 
 their escape from Jerusalem. A great assembly of masters 
 had sat in consultation on the best means of discovering and 
 apprehending them. Their deliberations were interrupted by 
 the entrance of a stranger, who demanded to speak to the king 
 in private. Upon being admitted, he acquainted Solomon that 
 he had discovered where Ahirop, one of the traitors, lay con- 
 
30 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 With respect to the method which would be here- 
 after necessary for propagating the principles of the 
 society, Solomon pursued the uniform and ancient 
 custom, in regard to the degrees of probation and 
 injunctions to secresy, with which he himself had 
 been obliged to comply before he gained a per- 
 fection in the royal art, or even arrived at the 
 summit of the sciences : therefore, though there were 
 no apprentices employed in the building of the 
 
 cealed, and offered to conduct those whom the king should please 
 to appoint to go with him. This being communicated to the 
 brethren, one and all requested to be partakers in the vengeance 
 due to the villain. Solomon checked their ardour, declaring that 
 only nine should undertake the task ; and, to avoid giving any 
 offence, ordered all their names to be put into an urn, and that the 
 first nine that should be drawn should be the persons to accom- 
 pany the stranger. At break of day, Joabert, Stockin, and seven 
 others, conducted by the stranger, travelled onwards through a 
 dreary country. On the way, Joabert found means to learn from 
 the stranger that the villain they were in quest of had hidden 
 lrimself in a cavern, not far from the place where they then were. 
 He soon found the cavern, and entered it alone, where, by the 
 light of the lamp, he discovered the villain asleep, with a poinard 
 at his feet. Inflamed at the sight, and actuated by an impatient 
 zeal, he immediately seized the poinard, and stabbed him, first 
 in the head, and then in the heart ; he had only time to cry, 
 “ Vengeance is taken ! ” and expired. When the other eight 
 arrived, and had refreshed themselves at the spring, Joabert 
 severed the head from the body, and, taking it in one hand, 
 and his poinard in the other, he with his brethren returned to 
 Jerusalem. Solomon was at first very much offended that 
 Joabert had put it out of his power to take vengeance himself 
 in presence of, and as a warning to, the rest of the workmen to 
 be faithful to their trust ; but, by proper intercession, was again 
 reconciled. — Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 31 
 
 temple , 7 yet as the craftsmen were all intended 
 to be promoted to the degree of masters after its 
 dedication, and as these would secure a succession, 
 by receiving apprentices, who might themselves in 
 due time also become master masons, it was deter- 
 mined that the gradations in the science should 
 consist of three distinct degrees, to each of which 
 should be adapted a particular distinguishing test ; 
 which test, — -together with the explication, — was 
 accordingly settled and communicated to the frater- 
 nity previous to their dispersion, under a necessary 
 and solemn injunction to secresy; and they have 
 been most cautiously preserved, and transmitted 
 down to posterity by faithful brethren, ever since 
 their emigration. Thus the centre of union among 
 Freemasons was firmly fixed, and their principles 
 directed to the excellent purposes of their original 
 intention. 
 
 7 The traditions of Masonry speak of no apprentices in the 
 Tyrian quarries, but they name 10,000 in the forest of Lebanon, 
 the same number in the plains of Zarthan (where the materials 
 were arranged), and 30,000 at Jerusalem (who were employed 
 about the temple) Editor. 
 
32 
 
 ARGUMENT III. 
 
 THE CONFUTATION OF FALSEHOOD CONTINUED, AND THE HAR- 
 MONY AND CONNECTION OF THE SOCIETY OF FREEMASONS 
 
 PARTICULARLY RECOMMENDED. 
 
 The harmony and connection of the society of 
 Freemasons, and the excellent precepts and prin- 
 ciples thereof, have produced the utmost good 
 consequence, not only to the particular members of 
 it, but frequently to the nations where it has been 
 cultivated and practised ; for, united by the endear- 
 ing name of brother, they live in an affection and 
 friendship, rarely to be met with even among those 
 whom the ties of consanguinity ought to bind in 
 the firmest manner. That intimate union which 
 does so much honour to humanity in general, in 
 the particular intercourse which prevails among 
 Freemasons, diffuses a pleasure that no other in- 
 stitution can boast : for the name which they 
 mutually use one towards another, is not a vain 
 compliment, or an idle parade ; no, they enjoy in 
 common all the felicities of a true brotherhood. 
 Here, merit and ability secure to their possessors 
 an honourable regard, and a respectful distinction, 
 which every one receives with an unaffected com- 
 placency and a perfect humility ; constantly exert- 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 33 
 
 ing himself for the general good, without vanity and 
 without fear. For they who are not adorned with 
 the same advantages, are neither mortified nor 
 jealous. No one contends for superiority; here 
 emulation is only with a view to please ; the man 
 of shining abilities, and those unblessed with such 
 ornaments, are here equally admitted ; all may 
 here perform their parts ; and what may seem 
 surprising amongst such a variety of characters, 
 haughtiness or servility never appear. The greatest 
 admit of a social familiarity ; the inferior is elevated 
 and instructed, constantly maintaining by these 
 means a beneficent equality. With respect to the 
 conversation which they hold during their assem- 
 blies, it is conducted with the most perfect decency : 
 here it is an universal maxim, never to speak of the 
 absent but with respect; ill-natured satire is ex- 
 cluded; all raillery is forbidden; they will not 
 suffer even the least irony, or any poignant strokes 
 of wit, because such generally have a malignant 
 tendency ; they tolerate nothing which carries with 
 it even the appearance of vice. 
 
 Their pleasures are never embittered by un- 
 grateful reflections, but produce a serene and lasting 
 composure of mind. They flow not like a torrent 
 which descends with noise and impetuosity, but 
 like a peaceful stream within its own channel, 
 strong, without violence, and gentle without dul- 
 ness. 
 
 This exact regularity, very far from occasioning 
 a melancholy seriousness, diffuses, on the contrary. 
 
34 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 over the heart, and over the understanding, the 
 most pure delights ; the bright effects of enjoyment 
 and hilarity shine forth in the countenance; and 
 although the appearances are sometimes a little 
 more sprightly than ordinary, decency never runs 
 any risk : it is wisdom in good humour. For if a 
 brother should happen to forget himself/ or in his 
 discourse should have the weakness to use expres- 
 sions such as are distinguished under the name of 
 liberties, a formidable sign would immediately call 
 him to his duty : a brother may mistake as a man, 
 but he has opportunity and courage to recover 
 himself, because he is a Freemason. Although 
 order and decorum are always scrupulously ob- 
 served in the lodges of Freemasons, these exclude 
 not in any wise gaiety and cheerful enjoyment; the 
 conversation is animated, and the kind and bro- 
 therly cordiality that presides there, affords the 
 most pleasing sensation. 
 
 These particulars may justly recall to our minds 
 the happy time of the divine Astrea ! when there 
 was neither superiority nor subordination, because 
 men were as yet untainted by vice, and uncorrupt. 
 Having now given a general sketch of the nature 
 of this institution, from whence a candid reader 
 may form no inconsiderable idea of that composed 
 wisdom, and laudable harmony, which governs in 
 the fellowship of Freemasons, we shall proceed in 
 taking some notice of the several accusations fre- 
 quently brought against it. 
 
 And first : As none can venerate and esteem the 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 35 
 
 fair sex more than Freemasons do, we cannot but 
 reckon it a misfortune that the Jadies should be 
 offended at their non- admission into this order; and 
 the more so, as they no sooner learn with what 
 moderation the Masons comport themselves in their 
 assemblies, but without knowing the reason why 
 they are not admitted, they censure us with all 
 the severity their delicate minds are capable of. 
 This, we must beg leave to say, is entirely owing 
 to mistaken prejudice, for a little reflection would 
 convince them, that their exclusion is not in the least 
 singular. They stand in the same predicament 
 with respect to the priesthood, and many other 
 particular societies ; the solemn assemblies of the 
 ancients, the senates of pagan and the conclaves 
 of papal Rome, all national senates and ecclesias- 
 tical synods, universities and seminaries of learning, 
 &c. with which they might with equal propriety be 
 offended . 1 
 
 1 The following observations of the Rev. Dr. Orme, the 
 Editor’s immediate predecessor in the P. G. Chaplaincy of 
 Lincolnshire, are appropriate. “ From the objection that women 
 are excluded from our order, calumny has taken occasion to draw 
 inferences the most injurious and unjust ; but which, however 
 they might have operated at a time when the female mind was 
 less enlightened than it now is, make at present no ill impression 
 upon that lovely sex. They know that the not admitting them 
 into our institution is not singular, but that they are likewise 
 excluded from the priesthood, from universities, and many other 
 particular societies. We hope and trust that they will give 
 credit to our assertion, when we solemnly declare that none can 
 possibly esteem and regard them more than Freemasons ; and 
 many there are who will acknowledge, to the honour of the order, 
 
36 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 Next to the displeasure of the ladies, we will con- 
 sider a charge with regard to governments, which 
 in other countries, less happy in their constitution 
 than our own, has at different times been unjustly 
 prosecuted against this fraternity. 
 
 It has been imagined, that there is every thing 
 to be feared for the tranquillity of the state, from a 
 numerous association of men of merit and character, 
 intimately united under the seal of secresy. I agree 
 that this suspicion has in it something specious ; 
 for if the passion of a single man has caused, as we 
 have seen more than once, strange revolutions in 
 a state, what might not be produced by a body 
 so numerous and united, as that of Free and 
 Accepted Masons, were they liable to those in- 
 trigues and cabals, which pride and ambition instil 
 but too often into the human heart ? 
 
 But there is nothing to be apprehended from 
 Freemasons in these respects; they are actuated 
 by the love of order and peace, and are as much 
 attached to civil society, as united among them- 
 selves ; it is in this school that a man may learn 
 most effectually, what respect, what submission, 
 what veneration, he ought to have for his God, his 
 
 and tbe utility of its precepts, that it has made those with whom 
 they have been connected, more tender and affectionate hus- 
 bands.” A French writer on Freemasonry assigns a different 
 reason for this exclusion. He says, “ II ne fut pas difficile 
 d’eloigner les femmes de pareilles societes ; elles s’en exclurent 
 ellesmeme par vanite ; et elles couvrirent du specieux pretexte 
 de decence, ce qui n’etoit au fond qu’une attention reflechie sur 
 leurs charmes.” — Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 37 
 
 country, and his king ; it is among them, that sub- 
 ordination is fully practised and deemed a virtue, 
 not a yoke. 
 
 Equally without reason have they also been 
 accused of holding assemblies for no other purpose 
 than that of speaking with the greater freedom on 
 religious, as well as political matters. These topics 
 are never suffered to be agitated, for it is a funda- 
 mental maxim of this institution, to prohibit all 
 such disputes. The God of Heaven, and the rulers 
 of the earth, are by them inviolably respected. 
 And with regard to the sacred person of majesty, 
 every congregated lodge solemnizes the name with 
 all possible grandeur and respect. 
 
 Thus these accusations fall to the ground. It is 
 also alleged, by the objectors to Freemasonry, that 
 upon the initiation of a member into this mystery, 
 he lays himself under a solemn obligation by an 
 oath, with very severe penalties. This by them is 
 pronounced an unwarrantable proceeding. Cer- 
 tainly these persons are as ignorant as they are 
 ungenerous, and for want of better judgments form 
 erroneous notions, and from false premises draw 
 false conclusions. To obviate this objection, we 
 will trace the antiquity of swearing, and observe the 
 different customs adopted by the ancients on this 
 head; afterwards examining the nature of an oath, 
 supposing, for the sake of argument, but not 
 granting, that one is required as set forth by the 
 adversaries of Masonry; we will consider how far 
 it is, or is not, warrantable in the present case. 
 
38 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 We are informed by sacred history, what was 
 the custom of swearing among the Hebrews, who 
 sometimes swore by stretching forth their hands; 
 sometimes the party swearing put his hands under 
 the other’s thigh, which was the manner of adminis- 
 tration used by Abraham and Jacob, as we read 
 in the book of Genesis ; which was also the custom 
 of the Athenians, the Carthaginians, and the 
 Romans. 
 
 The Jews chiefly swore by Jerusalem, by the 
 temple, by the gold of the temple, by the altar, and 
 the gilt on the altar. 
 
 The Greeks esteemed it an honour paid their 
 deities, to use their names in solemn contracts, 
 promises and asseverations ; to call them to witness 
 men’s truth and honesty, or to punish their false- 
 hood and treachery. This was reputed a sort of 
 religious adoration, being an acknowledgment of the 
 omnipotence and omnipresence, and by conse- 
 quence of the divinity of the Being thus invoked ; 
 and the inspired writers, for the same reason, forbad 
 to swear by the pagan deities, and commanded to 
 swear by the true God. Thus, in Deuteronomy, 
 “ Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, 
 and shalt swear by his name.” And in Jeremiah, 
 “ How shall I pardon thee, for this ? thy children 
 have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no 
 gods.” And to forbear other instances, the wor- 
 shippers of the true God are, by David, represented 
 to swear by him, i. e ., by invoking his name. 
 
 The antiquity of swearing, as well as the manner 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 39 
 
 of administering an oath, having now been suffi- 
 ciently shown, we will, in the next place, as far as 
 may be necessary, take notice of the fundamental 
 principles of this establishment, as the most proper 
 method to form a right judgment of it; and then, 
 in answer to the present objection, we will examine 
 how far an oath would, or would not, be justifiable 
 on the initiation of a Mason, and supposing it to be 
 required even under such penal sanctions as have 
 been pretended. 
 
 If we examine the laws and regulations of Free- 
 masonry, it will appear that the end and purport of 
 it is truly laudable, being calculated to regulate our 
 passions, to assist us in acquiring knowledge of the 
 arts and sciences, and to promote morality and 
 beneficence, as well as to render conversation agree- 
 able, innocent, and instructive ; and so to influence 
 our practice, as to make us useful to others, and 
 happy in ourselves. With regard to the relation 
 we have as members of society in general, it will 
 appear equally evident from the said regulations, 
 that a Freemason is to be a peaceable subject, 
 conforming cheerfully to the government under 
 which he lives, is to pay a due deference to his 
 superiors ; and from his inferiors is to receive honour 
 rather with reluctance than to extort it. He must 
 be a man of universal benevolence and charity, not 
 tenacious of his abundance, when the exigences of 
 his fellow-creatures lay the justest claim to his 
 bounty. Masons not only challenge, but have ever 
 supported that character amongst the honest and 
 
40 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 candid part of mankind, whose equity and reason 
 would never suffer them to entertain ill-grounded 
 prejudices. 
 
 The great Mr. Locke appears to have been so 
 delighted with some of our principles, that he tells 
 Lady Masham, to whom he was writing on this 
 subject, “ that it was his wish they were commu- 
 nicated to all mankind, since there is nothing more 
 true than what the Masons teach, that the better 
 men are, the more they love one another, virtue 
 having in itself something so amiable as to charm 
 the hearts of all who behold it.” 
 
 And another, speaking of Freemasons, says, “no 
 abuse is tolerated among them, no intemperance 
 allowed ; modesty, union, and humility, are strongly 
 recommended.” Again, “ this society is no ways 
 offensive to religion, good manners, or political 
 government ; it has and does still flourish in Great 
 Britain and its dominions, under the protection of 
 the greatest personages, even princes of the royal 
 blood.” 
 
 Mr. Chambers, in his Cyclopaedia, also testifies 
 “ that Free and Accepted Masons are a very ancient 
 society or body of men, so called either from some 
 extraordinary knowledge of Masonry or buildings 
 which they were supposed to be masters of, or 
 because the first founders of this society were of 
 that profession. 
 
 “ They are very considerable, both for number 
 and character, being found in every country in 
 Europe, and consisting principally of persons of 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 41 
 
 merit and consideration. As to antiquity, they lay 
 claim to a standing of some thousands of years, and 
 it is said, can trace up their original as early as the 
 building of Solomon’s temple* 
 
 64 What the end of their institution is, seems still 
 to be a secret, though so much of it as is known 
 appears laudable, as it tends to promote friendship, 
 social ty, mutual assistance, and good fellowship. 
 
 44 The brethren of this family are said to be pos- 
 sessed of a number of secrets, which have been 
 religiously observed from age to age. Be their 
 other good qualities whatever they will, it is plain 
 they are masters of one in a very great degree, 
 namely, secresy.” 
 
 Now let us ask, if a number of persons have 
 formed themselves into a body with a design to 
 improve in useful knowledge, to promote universal 
 benevolence, and to cultivate the social virtues of 
 human life, and have bound themselves by the 
 solemn obligation of an oath, to conform to the 
 rules of such institution, where can be the impiety, 
 immorality, or folly of such proceeding? Is it not 
 the custom of most communities? in the state, 
 amongst the learned bodies, in commerce, &c. — a 
 case too commonly known to require a recital of 
 particular instances. I shall therefore content 
 myself with adding this observation, viz., that 
 Bishop Saunderson, an eminent casuist, in his lec- 
 tures on the subject of oaths, very judiciously 
 asserts that when a thing is not by any precepts or 
 interdict, human or divine, so determined, but 
 
42 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 every man may at his choice do or not do, as he 
 sees expedient, let him do what he will, he sinneth 
 not. As if Caius should swear to sell his land to 
 Titius, or to lend him a hundred crowns, the 
 answer is brief, an oath in this case is both lawful 
 and binding. 
 
 And as the principles of this institution are truly 
 praiseworthy, containing those valuable requisites 
 which will ever secure the esteem and admiration 
 of all good men, as well as most assuredly the envy 
 of the bad, we will put this plain question : — Is not 
 the design of it of equal importance to the public, 
 with the lending of an hundred crowns to a private 
 man ? The answer and the consequences are both 
 evident, that an oath on the subject of Freemasonry, 
 if required, is both lawful and obligatory. As for 
 the terror of a penalty, it is a mistaken notion to 
 imagine that the solemnity of an oath adds anything 
 to the obligation, or that the oath is not equally 
 binding without any penalty at all. 
 
 I shall add a few more quotations from the same 
 excellent casuist, and leave the explanation and 
 application to the intelligent. 
 
 “ A solemn oath of itself, and in its own nature, 
 is not more obligatory than a simple one ; because 
 the obligation of an oath arises precisely from this, 
 that God is invoked as a wdtness and avenger no 
 less in the simple one than in the solemn and 
 corporal; for the invocation is made precisely by 
 the pronunciation of the words, which is the same 
 both in the simple and solemn, and not by any 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 43 
 
 corporal motion or concomitant sign in which the 
 solemnity of the oath consists. 
 
 66 And it is a matter well worthy the consideration 
 of every man, that as the object of a lawful oath is 
 God alone, so it contains a solemn confession of his 
 omnipresence, that he is with us in every place ; of 
 his omniscience, that he knoweth all the secrets of 
 the heart, that he is a maintainer of truth, and an 
 avenger of falsehood ; of his justice, that he is 
 willing, and of his omnipotence, that he is able to 
 punish those that, by disregard to their oaths, shall 
 dishonour him.” 
 
 It is, therefore, of a very dangerous tendency for 
 persons who have once taken an oath to trifle and 
 play with the force of it, even supposing the occa- 
 sion of such obligation was actually of small moment 
 in itself. And this is positively determined by the 
 same writer, in the following words, and ought to 
 be a caution to all not to violate an oath, lest they 
 incur the fatal consequences of real perjury: — 
 
 “ A voluntary oath is the more binding for being 
 voluntary, because there is no stricter obligation 
 than that we take willingly on ourselves.” And in 
 another place he is more particular, — <c where a 
 matter is so trivial that it is not worth the delibera- 
 tion of a wise man, nor signifies a straw whether it 
 be done or not done — as to reach up a chip or to 
 rub one’s beard, or for the slightness of it is not so 
 much to be esteemed as to give a boy an apple, or 
 to lend a pin. An oath is binding in matters of the 
 least moment, because weighty and trivial things 
 
44 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 have a like respect unto truth and falsehood ; and 
 further, because every party swearing is bound to 
 perform all he promised as far as he is able, and as 
 far as it is lawful. To give an apple to a boy is 
 both possible and lawful ; he is bound, therefore, to 
 perform it — he ought to fulfil his oath.” 
 
 This is likewise confirmed by Moses : 66 If a man 
 swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall 
 not break his word ; he shall do according to all 
 that proceedeth out of his mouth.” And it is 
 threatened that every one that sweareth falsely shall 
 be cut off by the cause : “I will bring it forth, said 
 the Lord of Hosts, and it shall enter into the house 
 of him that sweareth falsely by my name ; and it 
 shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall 
 consume it, with the timber thereof, and the stones 
 thereof.” 
 
 The objectors being thus answered with respect 
 to the lawfulness of an oath, supposing one to be 
 required on the initiation of a Freemason, as to the 
 certainty of which conjecture is their only support, 
 I shall next take notice of the charge brought 
 against them on account of secresy — one of their 
 grand characteristics, and the innocent cause of all 
 the persecutions and reproaches they suffer. 
 
 We are condemned for keeping the essentials of 
 our institution from the knowledge of those who 
 are not members of it, which, it is said, must 
 sufficiently prove them to be of a bad nature and 
 tendency ; else why are they not made public, for 
 the satisfaction of mankind? If secresy be a virtue — 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 45 
 
 a thing never yet denied — can that be imputed to us 
 as a crime which has been considered an excellence 
 in all ages ? Does not Solomon, the wisest of men, 
 tell us, he that discovers secrets is a traitor, but a 
 man of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter ? 
 
 In conducting all worldly affairs, secresy is not 
 only essential, but absolutely necessary, and was 
 ever esteemed a quality of the greatest worth. 
 
 Thus we find the great Fenelon makes Ulysses, 
 in the system of education which he delivers to 
 his friends for his son, Telemachus, particularly 
 enjoin them, above all, to render him just, bene- 
 ficent, sincere, and faithful in keeping secrets ; a 
 precept that afterwards produced the best of conse- 
 quences to the young prince, of whom it is recorded 
 that, with this great excellence of taciturnity, he 
 not only divested himself of that close, mysterious 
 air, so common to the reserved, but also constantly 
 avoided telling the least untruth in support of this 
 part of his character : a conduct highly worthy the 
 imitation of every one to whom secrets are entrusted, 
 affording them a pattern of openness, ease, and 
 sincerity ; for, while he seemed to carry his whole 
 heart upon his lips, communicating what was of no 
 importance, yet he knew how to stop just in the 
 proper moment, without proceeding to those things 
 which might raise any suspicion, or furnish even a 
 hint to discover the purposes of his mind. 
 
 If we turn our eyes back to antiquity, we shall 
 find the old Egyptians had so great a regard for 
 silence and secresy in the mysteries of their religion, 
 
46 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 that they set up the god Harpocrates ( vid . Imagines 
 Dcorum a Vincentio chart ario), to whom they paid 
 peculiar honour and veneration, who was repre- 
 sented with his right hand placed near the heart, 
 and the left down by his side, covered with a skin 
 before, full of eyes and ears, to signify that of 
 many things to be seen and heard, few are to be 
 published . 2 
 
 And among the same people the great goddess 
 Isis, the Minerva of the Greeks, had always an 
 image of a sphynx placed at the entrance of her 
 temples, to denote that secrets were there preserved 
 under sacred coverings, that they might be kept 
 from the knowledge of the vulgar as much as the 
 riddles of that creature. 
 
 Jamblicus, in his life of Pythagoras, confirms the 
 above opinion by observing, that from the myste- 
 rious knowledge of the Egyptians that philosopher 
 drew the system of his symbolical learning and 
 instructive tenets, seeing that the principles and 
 wise doctrines of this nation were ever kept secret 
 among themselves, and were delivered down, not 
 in writing, but only by oral tradition. And indeed, 
 so cautious and prudent were they in these matters, 
 that every disciple admitted to their wise and 
 scientific mysteries was bound in the most solemn 
 manner to conceal such mysteries from the vulgar, 
 
 2 Harpocrates silentii Deus affingebatur, dextra prope cor 
 admota, pelle anterius indutus quae oculis atque auribus pluribus 
 erat distincta, ut eo intelligeremus multa videnda atque audieuda, 
 sed loquendura parum. — Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 47 
 
 or those whose ideas were not sufficiently exalted 
 to receive them. As a proof of this, we need only 
 recollect the story of Hipparchus, a Pythagorean, 
 who having, out of spleen and resentment, violated 
 and broke through the several engagements of the 
 society, was held in the utmost detestation, expelled 
 the school as one most infamous and abandoned, 
 and as he was dead to the principles of virtue and 
 philosophy, had a tomb erected for him, according 
 to their custom, as though he had been naturally 
 dead. The shame and disgrace that justly attended 
 so great a breach of truth and fidelity, drove the 
 unhappy wretch to such despair that he proved his 
 own executioner ; and so abhorred was even his 
 memory, that he was denied the rites and cere- 
 monies of burial used to the dead in those times, 
 instead of which, his body was suffered to lie upon 
 the shore of the isle of Samos. 
 
 Among the Greek nations, the Athenians had a 
 statue of brass, w 7 hich they awfully revered ; this 
 figure was without a tongue, by which secresy was 
 intimated. The Romans had a goddess of silence, 
 named Angerona, represented with her fore-finger 
 on her lips— a symbol of prudence and taciturnity . 3 
 
 5 Mr. Wilkinson, in his (t Manners and Customs of the 
 Ancient Egyptians,” says, that “ the sign adopted by the Egyp- 
 tians to indicate silence , is evidently shown from the sculptures 
 on their monuments to have been given by placing the hand 
 over the mouth , not, as generally supposed, (Plut. de Isid. 68), 
 by approaching the fore- finger to the lips: and the Greeks 
 erroneously concluded that the youthful Harpocrates was the 
 deity of silence, from his appearing in this attitude, which 
 
48 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 Anaxarchus, who, according to Pliny, was appre- 
 hended, in order to extort his secrets from him, bit 
 his tongue in the midst, and afterwards spat it in 
 the tyrant’s face, rather choosing to lose that organ, 
 than to discover those things which he had promised 
 to conceal. 
 
 We read likewise that Cato, the censor, often 
 said to his friends — of three things which he had 
 good reason to repent, the principal was divulging 
 a secret. 
 
 The Druids, in our own nation, who were the 
 only priests among the ancient Britons, committed 
 nothing to writing . 4 And Caesar observes that 
 they had a head or chief, who exercised a sort of 
 
 however humiliating to the character of a deity, was only 
 illustrative of his extreme youth, and of a habit common to 
 children in every country, whether of ancient or modern times.” 
 — Editor. 
 
 4 In the mystic bards and tales of Britain, says Davis ( Myth, 
 'of the Druids, p. 94), I find certain terms which evidently per- 
 tain to the Hebrew language, or to some dialect of near affinity, 
 as Adonai y the Lord; Al Adur , the glorious God; Arawn , the 
 Arkite, and the like. Taliesin, the chief bard, declares that 
 his love had been detailed in Hebraic; and in a song, the sub- 
 stance of which he professes to have derived from the sacred 
 ogdoad or arkites, there are several lines together in some foreign 
 dialect, apparently of great affinity with the Hebrew, though 
 obscured by British orthography. Hence I think it is probable 
 that the Britons once had certain mystic poems, composed in 
 some dialect of Asia ; that this is a fragment of those poems ; 
 and that those parts of their superstition which were not pro- 
 perly Celtic were derived from that quarter of the globe. And 
 if so, our ancestors could not have obtained their sacred vocabu- 
 lary by adopting the mere grammatical blunders of the Greeks.—- 
 Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 49 
 
 excommunication attended with dreadful penalties, 
 on those who either published or profaned their 
 mysteries. 
 
 Therefore it evidently appears from the foregoing 
 instances, along with many others, that there ever 
 were secrets amongst mankind , 5 as well respecting 
 societies as individuals, and that the keeping those 
 inviolable w T as always reputed an indispensable 
 duty, and attended with an honourable estimation. 
 It must be very difficult to assign a sufficient reason 
 why the same practice should be at all wondered at 
 or less approved in the Free and Accepted Masons 
 of the present age, than they were among the wisest 
 men and greatest philosophers of antiquity. 
 
 The general practice and constant applause of 
 the ancients, as well as the customs of the moderns, 
 one would naturally imagine should be sufficient 
 to justify Masons against any charge of singularity 
 or innovation on this account ; for how can this 
 be thought singular or new by any one who will 
 but calmly allow himself the smallest time for 
 reflection. 
 
 Do not all incorporated bodies amongst us enjoy 
 this liberty without impeachment or censure ? An 
 
 5 Sammes (Brit. Antiq., p. 76,) informs us that the Druids 
 entertained a great jealousy lest their learning and religion 
 should be too much understood and divulged, so that it was 
 grown to that height that it was accounted unlawful to reveal 
 any of their mysteries, or to set down in writing what they 
 thought most safe and honourable for themselves to deliver by 
 tradition. — Editor. 
 
50 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 apprentice is bound to keep the secrets of his 
 master ; a freeman is obliged to consult the interest 
 of his company, and not prostitute in common the 
 mysteries of his profession ; secret committees and 
 privy councils are solemnly enjoined not to publish 
 abroad their debates and resolutions. In courts- 
 martial the members are bound to secresy, and in 
 many cases far more effectual security than an oath 
 is administered. 
 
 As in society in general we are united together 
 by our indigences and infirmities, and a vast variety 
 of circumstances contributing to our mutual and 
 necessary dependance on each other, which lays a 
 grand foundation for terrestrial happiness, by secur- 
 ing general amity and the reciprocation of good 
 offices in the world, so in all particular societies, of 
 whatever denomination, they are all enjoined by 
 some sort of secresy to observe private bonds and 
 laws peculiar to each, from the highest assemblies 
 to the lowest. Consequently the injunctions of 
 secresy among Freemasons can be no more unwar- 
 rantable than in the societies and cases already 
 pointed out ; and to report, or even to insinuate 
 that they are, must argue a want of candour, a 
 want of reason, and a want of charity. For by the 
 laws of nature and of nations, every individual and 
 every society has a right to be supposed innocent 
 till proved otherwise. 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding the mysteries of our profes- 
 sion are kept inviolable, none are excluded from a 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 51 
 
 full knowledge of them, in due time and manner, 
 upon proper application, and being found capable 
 and worthy of the trust. To form other designs 
 and expectations, is like building on a sandy foun- 
 dation, and will only serve to testify that, like a 
 rash man, their discretion is always out of the way 
 when they have most occasion to make use of it. 
 
 LFPRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY %F ILLINOIS 
 
52 
 
 ARGUMENT IV. 
 
 ON THE ABSURDITY OF SUPPOSING THAT MASONRY IS A TRIFLING 
 INSTITUTION, AND THAT ITS PRINCIPLES CONTAIN NOTHING 
 VALUABLE. 
 
 We will now proceed to the next objection, viz., 
 that 64 Masonry is a trifling institution, and that 
 our principles contain nothing valuable.” 
 
 There are censurers, who find it easier to 
 decry a science than to understand it, and with 
 wicked endeavours attempt to depreciate that which 
 they cannot attain to, and make their necessity 
 appear a virtue, and their ignorance the effect of 
 choice. 
 
 This turn of mind is the despicable offspring of 
 envy, and so selfish are such men, that they would 
 rather prefer having the whole circle of the arts 
 and sciences abolished, were it in their power, than 
 that others should be possessed of a knowledge, 
 which they are themselves totally unacquainted 
 with and undeserving of. 
 
 But, alas ! they disquiet themselves in vain ; w e, 
 who are Masons, cannot but laugh at and pity 
 such feeble attacks, and are heartily sorry for those 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 53 
 
 who have no better understandings than to regard 
 them . 1 
 
 Did they know anything of our profession, they 
 could not but esteem it, for they would be convinced 
 that it is founded on the most exalted principles of 
 morality and social virtue ; tending to promote the 
 true happiness of mankind in general, the peace 
 and satisfaction of every individual in particular ; 
 to censure, then, and vilify what they are entirely 
 ignorant of, discovers the baseness of their dispo- 
 sitions, and how little they are qualified to pass 
 their judgments in matters of such importance. 
 Therefore, though we commiserate their defects, 
 we must at the same time be allowed to pronounce 
 them unworthy our further notice. 
 
 Had our institution contained nothing com- 
 mendable or valuable, it is impossible it should 
 have existed, and been patronised by the wise, the 
 good, and great, in all ages of the world. For we 
 cannot suppose that men, distinguished by every 
 accomplishment that can adorn human nature, 
 would embrace or continue in principles which 
 they found to be nugatory, erroneous, or contemp- 
 tible. Therefore the advice which Gamaliel wisely 
 
 1 In like manner the early Christians were accused by the 
 heathen with practising their own obscenities; viz., promiscuous 
 incest, and worshipping the phallus. This imputation is indig- 
 nantly repudiated in Minutius Felix. “ Et de incesto convivio 
 fabulam grandem adversum nos daemonum coitio mentita est, ut 
 
 gloriam pudicitiae deformis infamiae aspersione macularet 
 
 Etiam ille, qui de adoratis sacerdotis virilibus adversus nos tabu- 
 lator, tentat in nos conferre quae sua sunt.” — Editor. 
 
54 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 gave to the Apostles, might with great propriety be 
 recommended to these railers against Freemasons. 
 They may assure themselves, that if there was no 
 more in our institution than their little minds 
 suggest, it would have fallen to the ground ages 
 past, but the contrary being the case, they may 
 fairly conclude it will continue to exist notwith- 
 standing any opposition, for ages yet to come. 
 
 Perhaps it will be said, that the moral and social 
 principles we profess, are equally necessary to the 
 support of every well-regulated society ; how then 
 came Masons to appropriate the merit of such 
 principles to themselves ? I answer, they are not 
 only deemed necessary, but taught, and brought 
 into practice in the lodge; they are familiarized 
 to us by such a plain, pleasing, and peculiar method, 
 that they seem no longer lessons or rules, but 
 become inherent principles in the breast of every 
 Freemason. But from the corrupt state and dispo- 
 sition of mankind, there are some who will always 
 make it their business to asperse and ridicule what- 
 ever they suspect has the least beauty or excellency 
 in it. 
 
 These envious beings, having just sense enough 
 to perceive that scandal is more prevalent than 
 praise, and that satire will sooner procure them a 
 name than panegyric, and looking at our societies 
 through false and narrow mediums, they form judg- 
 ments of them congenial to themselves ; acting in 
 direct contradiction to the Apostle’s exhortation to 
 the Philippians, “ If there be any virtue, if there 
 
MASONIC MANUAL 
 
 55 
 
 be any praise,” they calumniate and condemn it, 
 notwithstanding the strength of reason with which 
 it is accompanied ; notwithstanding the apparent 
 benefit and advantage it may bring to mankind ; so 
 little relish have they for things excellent in them- 
 selves, so inattentive are they to the force of the 
 clearest reasoning, and so enveloped by ignorance 
 and prejudice, that nothing is sufficient to convince 
 them. I do not mean that ignorance which im- 
 plies a want of knowledge, but that affected and 
 presumptuous folly which despises it. And of such 
 Solomon says, “ Seest thou a man that despiseth 
 instruction? there is more hope of a fool than of 
 him.” 
 
 If, therefore, these accusers have any remains of 
 modesty, if the assertors of such calumny can ever 
 blush, they are now put to their trial ; for whilst 
 they deal thus freely with the principles and pro- 
 ceedings of persons of the greatest honour and dis- 
 tinction, they are only discovering to the judicious 
 part of mankind the weakness of their heads and 
 the wickedness of their hearts. How truly do they 
 come under the standard of that description which 
 Justus Lipsius, an eminent writer, has given us of 
 this sort of cavillers. 
 
 “ Calumny,” says he, “ is a filthy and pernicious 
 infection of the tongue; generally aimed by the 
 most wicked and abandoned part of mankind, 
 against the most worthy and deserving of esteem, 
 and which wounds them unexpectedly. And to 
 whom is it pleasing? To the vile, the perfidious, 
 
56 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 the talkative. But what is its source ? From what 
 origin does it proceed? From falsehood, as its 
 father; from envy, as its mother; and from idle 
 curiosity, as its nurse ?” 
 
 Would such persons exercise but a very small 
 portion of reason and reflection, they would readily 
 perceive the iniquity of their attempt to depreciate 
 a society which has ever withstood and repelled 
 every attack made against it ; still acquiring addi- 
 tional honour and strength, such proceedings affect- 
 ing it no more than a javelin thrown by the feeble 
 hand of old age, that never reaches, or at most 
 makes no impression on its destined mark. 
 
57 
 
 ARGUMENT V. 
 
 ON THE HIEROGLYPHIC AL FIGURES, PAR AEOLIC AL AND SYMBOLI- 
 CAL CUSTOMS AND CEREMONIES, SECRET WORDS AND SIGNS, 
 WITH THE DIFFERENT DEGREES OF PROBATION ASSIGNED TO 
 THEM BY MASONS. 
 
 The last accusation brought against Free and 
 Accepted Masons, which I shall take any notice of, 
 is that they make use of hieroglyphical figures, 
 parabolical and symbolical customs and ceremonies, 
 secret words and signs, with different degrees of 
 probation peculiar to themselves ; these are also 
 censured. 
 
 What evil these refined casuists can point out in 
 such proceedings, it is not easy to imagine. But I 
 think it no very difficult undertaking to justify them 
 against all objections. 
 
 It is well known that such customs and ceremo- 
 nies are as ancient as the first ages of the world, 
 the philosophers of which practised the method 
 of inculcating their sublime truths and important 
 points of knowledge by allegory and mythology, the 
 better to secure them from descending into the 
 familiar reach of every inattentive and unprepared 
 novice, from whom they might not meet with the 
 
 D 5 
 
58 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL, 
 
 veneration they deserved, and therefore become 
 too familiar and contemptible, for which reason 
 they were accustomed to proceed with the utmost 
 care and prudence. And Origen tells us (Origen 
 Contra Celsum ), the Egyptian philosophers had 
 sublime notions which they kept secret, and never 
 disclosed to the people, but under the veil of fables 
 and allegories : 1 also other eastern nations con- 
 cealed their mysteries under religious ceremonies, 
 a custom still retained by many of them. 
 
 An interpretation, therefore, of these allegories, 
 &c., as they come under my notice, shall be attended 
 to; and will, I flatter myself, exactly square with 
 the present purpose. 
 
 Of all the symbols appropriated to Jupiter , 2 I 
 
 1 Hieroglyphics were a sort of mystical characters, intended to 
 preserve the most important mysteries of nature, and the most 
 sublime inventions of man. The Greeks, therefore, considered 
 the interpretation of these characters as exclusively confined to 
 the priesthood, and even by them very little understood, as their 
 real and primitive knowledge had been lost and passed away, in 
 the annihilation of the power of the Pharaohs; first, by the 
 usurpation of the shepherd kings of the seventeenth dynasty; 
 and afterwards, by the irruption of the Persians, under Cambyses. 
 This persuasion of the Greeks, joined to the profound secresy 
 under which the hierophant imparted to the initiated, in the mys- 
 teries of Isis, the sublime truths to which the veneration and 
 credulity of mankind had attached so much importance, made 
 them look upon hieroglyphics as the mystical expression of these 
 secrets, so carefully preserved from the people at large, the 
 explanation of which it was impossible to obtain. — Editor. 
 
 2 Some suppose Jupiter was so named a juvando. But Selden 
 says that Jovis, Jovi, Jovem, Jove, are only corruptions of the 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 59 
 
 shall only mention the crown of rays, with the 
 petasus and caduceus, with which he is represented. 
 The first denotes the power of the Supreme Being ; 
 the other, that power ought to be accompanied by 
 prudence. 
 
 The cock was a symbol peculiar to Mercury, 
 as expressive of that vigilance which was so very 
 necessary to him, destined to execute many func- 
 tions ; as sometimes this emblem hath an ear of 
 corn in his bill, it may serve to point out to man, 
 that plenty and happiness will be the consequence 
 of care and attention. 
 
 The club is the symbol of Hercules, and denotes 
 strength. 
 
 The various symbols belonging to the goddess 
 Diana, were oxen, lions, griffins, stags, sphinxs, 
 bees, boughs, roses, &c., which signify in a mystical 
 sense, the universe, with all its productions. 
 
 The story of Minerva, is entirely allegorical, 
 relating that Jupiter having devoured Metis, i. e. 
 Prudence, conceived Minerva, and was delivered 
 of her. This symbol means plainly that prudence 
 is wholly in God, and that he produces her exter- 
 nally by the wonderful works constantly manifested 
 in his government of the universe. 
 
 sacred name Jehovah. Prudentius is witty at the expense of his 
 worshippers. He says, 
 
 Miror quod ipsum non sacratis Mentorem, 
 
 Nec templum et aras ipse Phidias habet, 
 
 Fabri deorum, vel parentes Numinum. 
 
 Qui si caminis institissent segnius, 
 
 Non esset ullus Jupiter conflatiiis. — Editor. 
 
60 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 It will not be foreign to my subject, to take 
 notice that cities, rivers, regions, and even the 
 various parts of the globe had their proper symbols, 
 which were so many ensigns to distinguish them. 
 Cities were signified by women with towers on 
 their heads: the East is represented by a woman 
 mounted upon a car, with four horses, ascending 
 as they go. The West is signified likewise by a 
 woman in a car drawn by two horses : the genius 
 that precedes her, together with the horses, de- 
 scending, by which the West, or sun setting, is 
 denoted. 
 
 The symbol of Asia was a woman with a mural 
 crown, holding an anchor, to denote that the way 
 thither was to cross the sea. Africa was depicted 
 by a woman with an elephant’s trunk on her 
 forehead. Thus were the different parts of the 
 world represented under their respective symbols 
 and hieroglyphics. 
 
 To improve properly on these mystical writings, 
 we must bring them home to ourselves, by way of 
 application. 
 
 First, in a physical sense ; for under the various 
 names of pagan deities, are concealed the body and 
 substance of natural philosophy ; under allegories 
 the poets express the wonderful works of Nature. 
 
 Secondly, in an ethical sense the scope or intent 
 of mythologists was not fable, but morality. Their 
 design was to inform the understanding, correct the 
 passions, and govern the will. Examples are laid 
 down to kindle in the mind a candid emulation, 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 61 
 
 leading through the temple of virtue to the temple 
 of honour. They set off, in the fullest colours, the 
 beauty of virtue and deformity of vice. 
 
 Thirdly, in a theological sense ; for let a skilful 
 hand modestly draw aside the veil of poetry, and he 
 will plainly discover the majestic form of divinity. 
 I think it is an assertion of Tertullian, who lived 
 in an early age of Christianity, that many of the 
 poetical fictions had their original from the Scrip- 
 tures. And Plato is said, by the best authorities, to 
 have derived the sublimest principles of his philo- 
 sophy, from some writings of Moses which he had 
 met with and studied in the course of his travels 
 in Egypt. Doubtless as the ancients, before the 
 invention of letters, expressed their conceptions in 
 hieroglyphics, so did the poets their divinity, in 
 fables and parables. 
 
 We also find, that even when they set up stones 
 in order to compose any memorial, there was some- 
 thing expressive either in the number of which the 
 monument consisted, or in the shape, or in the 
 order and figure in which they were disposed; of 
 the first kind were the monument of Mount Sinai, 
 and that at Gilgal, erected by Joshua upon the 
 banks of Jordan. They consisted of twelve stones 
 each, because the people of Israel, for whose sake 
 the altar was built beside the streams of Jordan 
 which divided itself, opening a miraculous passage 
 for the whole nation, were principally classed into 
 twelve tribes, therefore the same number of stones 
 
62 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL* 
 
 were set up in the midst of the place where the ark 
 had rested. 
 
 Likewise the famous pillars before Solomon's 
 temple were not placed there for ornament alone : 
 their signification, use, and mystical meanings are 
 so well known to the expert Mason, that it would 
 be both unnecessary, as it is improper for me to 
 assign them here; neither are the reasons why 
 they were made hollow known to any but those 
 who are acquainted with the arcana of this society ; 
 though that circumstance so often occurs in Scrip- 
 ture. 
 
 And with respect to assemblies and establish- 
 ments among men, they ever had signs and words, 
 symbolical customs and ceremonies, different de- 
 grees of probation, &c., &c., as manifestly appears 
 from all history, both sacred and profane. 
 
 When the Israelites marched through the wilder- 
 ness, we find that the twelve tribes had between 
 them four principal banners or standards: every 
 one of which had its particular motto ; and each 
 standard also had a distinct sign described upon it. 
 They encamped round about the tabernacle, and 
 on the east side were three tribes under the standard 
 of Judah; on the west were three tribes under the 
 standard of Ephraim; on the south were three 
 tribes under the standard of Reuben ; and on the 
 north were three tribes under the standard of Dan : 
 and the standard of Judah was a lion, that of 
 Ephraim an ox, that of Reuben a man, and that of 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 63 
 
 Dan an eagle . 3 Whence were framed the hiero- 
 glyphics of cherubirns and seraphims, to represent 
 the people of Israel. 
 
 The ancient prophets, when they would describe 
 things emphatically, did not only draw parables from 
 things which offered themselves, as from the rent 
 of a garment, from the sabbatic year, from the 
 vessels of a potter; but also when such fit objects 
 were wanting they supplied them by their own 
 actions, as by rending a garment, by shooting, by 
 making bare their body, by imposing significant 
 names to their sons, hiding a girdle in the bank of 
 Euphrates, by breaking a potter’s vessel, by putting 
 on fetters and yokes, by binding a book to a stone 
 and casting them both into Euphrates, by besieging 
 a painted city, by dividing hair into three parts, by 
 making a chain, carrying out household stuff, like 
 a captive and trembling, by which kind of types the 
 prophets of old were accustomed to express them- 
 selves. 
 
 Thus having in an ample manner set forth the 
 
 3 Yatablus, from a certain Jew, says that the Israelites marched 
 under four ensigns. The first was Reuben’s, whose banner was 
 a many signifying religion and reason ; the second standard was 
 Judah’s, and it was a lion , denoting power; as in after times the 
 arms of Pompey the Great, Leo ensifer, were engraven on his 
 signet ; the third distinct colours were Ephraim’s, of an ox, 
 intimating patience and toilsome labour ; the fourth was Dan’s, 
 bearing an eagle, betokening wisdom, agility, and sublimity; 
 from whence it is likely the towering Romans had taken, after 
 divers descents, their eagle, their pares aquilas, and their eagles 
 displayed under Constantine, and since. (See Dr. Keliet’s 
 Tricsenium Christi, p. 34.) 
 
64 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 antiquity, meaning, and propriety of the use of 
 hieroglyphics, symbols, allegory, &c., from the 
 earliest times, and among the wisest and best of 
 men, in order to inform and satisfy the inquirer why 
 such customs have been retained by this ancient and 
 venerable institution, strange, indeed, and destitute 
 of reason and justice, must they appear who should 
 make the least objection to our secret economy. — 
 Mistaken censurers should be left to the enjoyment 
 of their own ignorance, malevolence, and detraction. 
 
 The Book of Judges informs us that the Gilead- 
 ites made use of an expressive and distinguishing 
 mark, when pursued over the river Jordan by the 
 Epraimites. 
 
 The Essenes, among the Jews- — a sort of Pytha- 
 goreans — also conversed one with another by signs 
 and words, which they received on their admission, 
 and which were preserved with care and reverence 
 as the great characteristic of that sect. 
 
 The Greeks, likewise, had a particular method, 
 which, before an engagement, was adopted by the 
 general and officers, and by them communicated to 
 the whole army, as a mark of distinction to know 
 friends from enemies. It commonly contained some 
 good omen, or the name of some deity worshipped 
 by their country, or some hero from whom they 
 expected success in their enterprises. And it is 
 judiciously remarked by Laertius, that as generals 
 use watch-words in order to discover their own 
 soldiers from an enemy — as it is practised in all 
 armies and garrisons at this day — so it is necessary 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 65 
 
 to communicate to the members of a society certain 
 distinctions, whereby they may discover strangers 
 from individuals of their own sect. 
 
 And it is not within the reach of every one’s 
 observation that there is a meaning in many acts 
 and gestures, and that nature has endowed man- 
 kind with particular motions to express the various 
 intentions of the mind. We all understand weep- 
 ing, laughing, shrugs, frowns, &c., as forming a 
 species of universal language. Applications are 
 many times made, and a kind of dialogue main- 
 tained only by the casts of the eye, and motions of 
 the adjacent muscles ; and we have recorded in 
 history an account of a philosopher who answered 
 an argument only by getting up and walking. 
 
 Bending the knees , 4 in adoration of the Deity, 
 is one of the most ancient customs among men. 
 Bowing, or prostrating the body, is a mark of 
 humiliation ; even joining right hands is a token 
 of fidelity, for Valerius Maximus tells us that the 
 ancients had a moral deity, whom they called Fides, 
 a goddess of honesty or fidelity; and adds, when 
 they promised any thing of old, they gave the 
 hand to pledge it, as we do, and therefore she is 
 represented as giving her hand, and sometimes 
 with her two hands conjoined. Chartarius more 
 
 4 Kneeling was always esteemed a symbol of humility. — - 
 Humiliari est ad humum inclinare. Prostration was the emblem 
 of a devout temper of mind. Rising again signified Hope , or 
 hoping Charity. Standing prepared the mind for prayer and 
 thanksgiving by an unfeigned Faith. 
 
66 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 fully describes this by observing, that the proper 
 residence of faith or fidelity was thought by the 
 ancients to be in the right hand . 5 And, therefore, 
 this deity, he informs us, was sometimes represented 
 by two right hands joined together ; sometimes by 
 two little images shaking each other’s right hand ; 
 so that the right hand was by them held sacred, and 
 was symbolically made use of in a solemn manner 
 to denote fidelity. And we read in the book of 
 Ruth of particular customs practised among the 
 Israelites, whenever they meant to confirm any 
 compact they entered into. 
 
 With respect to Probationary Degrees, the 
 instances that might be produced of the antiquity, 
 necessity, and general use of them, would fill a 
 large volume ; suffice it here to mention the fol- 
 lowing : — 
 
 The philosophers inform us that the Egyptian 
 King Xopper commanded that the secret of which 
 he was possessed should not be divulged to any but 
 those who were found skilful in every step they 
 advanced; also the great heathen king Xopholet 
 ordered the grand secret of which he was possessed 
 to be revealed to none but those who after thorough 
 examination were found to be worthy, and inflicted 
 disgrace and severe punishment on those who 
 transgressed this law. 
 
 And if we examine the customs of the Jews, we 
 
 5 Amongst the Jews a glove was used to ratify a bargain or 
 contract, and given and taken as a pledge of Fidelity in the 
 transaction. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 67 
 
 shall see that the Levites had the several degrees 
 of initiation, consecration, and ministration. And 
 in their grand Sanhedrim they had all three chief 
 officers : the principal, vice-principal, and the cha- 
 cam, i. e. wise man ; the two latter were called 
 assistant-counsellors. Their pupils were divided 
 into three distinct classes, who, according to their 
 abilities, were from time to time elected to fill up 
 the vacant offices in this great assembly. 
 
 About the time of our Saviour’s nativity, the 
 eastern schools used a set form of discipline. The 
 scholar was first termed a disciple, in respect of his 
 learning ; a junior, in respect of his minority ; 
 bachur, i. e. one chosen or elected, in respect of his 
 election and coaptation in the number of disciples ; 
 and after he had proved himself a proficient in their 
 studies, and was thought worthy of some degree, by 
 imposition of hands he was made a graduate. At 
 the east end of every school or synagogue the Jews 
 had a chest, called aron or ark, in which was locked 
 up the pentateuch in manuscript, wrote on vellum, 
 in square characters, which, by express command, 
 was to be delivered to such only as were found to 
 be wise among them. This method of proceeding 
 was also observed at the building of Solomon’s 
 temple, when we know the craftsmen were not to 
 be made masters until that glorious edifice should 
 be completed, that so they might acquire compe- 
 tent skill, and be able to give ample proof of their 
 qualifications. 
 
68 
 
 MASONIC 3IANUAL. 
 
 Pythagoras, who flourished above five hundred 
 years before Christ, never permitted a pupil to speak 
 in his school till he had undergone a probation of 
 five years’ silence. 
 
 The Essenes, already mentioned, had the follow- 
 ing customs when a person desired admittance into 
 their society: he was to pass through proper degrees 
 of probation, before he could be a master of their 
 mysteries ; when he was received into the class of 
 novices, he was presented with a white garment; 
 and when he had been long enough to give some 
 competent proof of his secresy and virtue, he was 
 admitted to further knowledge, but still he went on 
 with the trial of his integrity and good morals; and 
 at length, being found worthy in every respect, was 
 fully admitted into their mysteries ; but before he 
 was received as an established member he was first 
 to bind himself, by solemn obligations and profes- 
 sions, to do justice, to do no wrong, to keep faith 
 with all men, to embrace the truth, to keep his 
 hand clear from fraudulent dealings, not to conceal 
 from his fellow-professors any of the mysteries, nor 
 to communicate them to the profane, though it 
 should be to save his life ; to deliver nothing but 
 what he received, as well as to endeavour to pre- 
 serve the principles that he professed. Every 
 member ate and drank at one common table, and 
 any brethren of the same fraternity who came from 
 places ever so remote, were sure to be received at 
 their meetings. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 69 
 
 And it may be farther remarked of the Jews that, 
 in the feast of the seventh month, the High Priest 
 was not even permitted to read the law to the people 
 until he had studied it seven days, viz., upon the 
 fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth 
 days, being attended by some of the priests to hear 
 him perform, and to judge of his qualifications for 
 that purpose. 
 
 The above proceeding is so far from being novel, 
 that it is practised in our own nation even at this 
 day in the learned societies of every denomination ; 
 — for instance, in academical degrees, there are 
 bachelor, master, doctor ; in the church, the several 
 orders of deacon, priest, and bishop ; in the muni- 
 cipal law, those of the student, barrister, and 
 serjeant ; in the civil law and physic, student, 
 bachelor, and doctor : in each of these the disciple 
 or scholar undergoes proper examinations, and 
 must, or at least ought, to be found well qualified 
 prior to his admission to superior rank. 
 
 And as Freemasonry is in like manner a pro- 
 gressive science, not to be perfectly attained but 
 by time, patience, and application, how necessary is 
 it that testimonies of proper qualifications should 
 be required for the respective degrees, before the 
 candidate can attain them, both in regard to science 
 and morality — as the honour of the institution 
 should always be a principal object in view of every 
 Free and Accepted Mason, who ought to be well 
 instructed in the scientific knowledge and moral 
 
70 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 and social virtues peculiar to an inferior, ere he 
 will be admitted to the more sublime truths of the 
 perfect and well-qualified Mason. 
 
 The nature of my design leads me, in the next 
 place, to the consideration of the name which has 
 been adopted by our institution from its first esta- 
 blishment, and to inform the unlettered or inatten- 
 tive brother that this did not arise merely from our 
 skill in architecture, or the principles of building, 
 but from a more comprehensive acquaintance and 
 knowledge of the sublimest principles of philosophy 
 and moral virtue; which, however excellent they 
 may be in the opinion of the learned and judicious 
 part of mankind, cannot be indiscriminately revealed 
 to every one, lest, instead of that respect which 
 they require for want of right understanding and 
 a sound mind, they might not produce their just 
 and necessary consequences, as even the purest 
 morality and wisest systems have been too often 
 ridiculed by the folly or perverseness of weak or 
 wicked men. 
 
 Therefore the name of Mason is not to be con- 
 sidered in the contracted implication of a builder 
 of habitations, &c., but figuratively, pursuant to the 
 method of the ancient society on which this institu- 
 tion is founded; and, taken in this sense, a Mason is 
 one who, by gradual advances in the sublime truths 
 and various arts and sciences which the principles 
 and precepts of Freemasonry tend to inculcate and 
 establish, is raised by regular courses to such a 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 71 
 
 degree of perfection as to be replete with happiness 
 to himself, and extensively beneficial to others. 
 
 As to the appendage “ Free,” that evidently 
 owed its rise to the practice of the ancients, who 
 never suffered the liberal arts and sciences to be 
 taught to any but the free-born. 
 
 I now presume I have sufficiently exposed and 
 controverted the foregoing allegations. And having 
 also traced back to the earliest ages the use and 
 meaning of symbols and hieroglyphics, and likewise 
 fully demonstrated the original intention and use of 
 allegorical figures and ceremonies, and the reason- 
 ableness and necessity of progressive degrees in the 
 pursuit of every art and science, no unprejudiced 
 person will think it extraordinary that those customs 
 and ceremonies established and connected with our 
 institution have been most sacredly and inviolably 
 preserved and adhered to by us to this day. But 
 what such customs and ceremonies are — for what 
 ends and purposes used — never can be known, 
 except to true and lawful brethren. 
 
 Therefore, however anxious and restless the busy 
 and invidious may be, and whatever attempts they 
 may make to traduce our institution and proceedings, 
 or to discover our mysteries, all their endeavours 
 will prove ineffectual. They will still find that the 
 only means to attain to the knowledge of our mys- 
 teries are abilities, integrity, firmness, and a due 
 and constant perseverance in the great duties of 
 moral and social life, in the principles of religion 
 
72 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 and virtue, and whatever is commendable and 
 praiseworthy. These are the steps, and this is the 
 clue that will lead and direct the practisers of such 
 excellencies to the heights of Freemasonry, and, 
 while they adhere to them, will effectually secure 
 them favour from every able and faithful brother, 
 and the warmest approbation and satisfaction from 
 their own hearts. 
 
78 
 
 ARGUMENT VI. 
 
 OF THE MOSAIC WORK AS A SYMBOL, AND THE VIRTUES OF 
 FAITH, HOPE, CHARITY, TEMPERANCE, FORTITUDE, PRUDENCE, 
 JUSTICE, BROTHERLY LOVE, RELIEF, AND TRUTH OF THE 
 MASONIC INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 As the steps of man are attended by various 
 and uncertain incidents of life, as our days are 
 chequered with a strange contrariety of events, and 
 our passage through this existence, though some- 
 times blessed with prosperous circumstances, yet 
 often beset by a multitude of evils, hence is the 
 lodge furnished with Mosaic work, to remind us of 
 the precariousness of our state on earth. 
 
 To-day our feet tread in prosperity, to-morrow 
 we totter on the uneven paths of weakness, tempta- 
 tion and adversity. Whilst this emblem is before 
 us, we are instructed to boast of nothing, to have 
 compassion, and give aid to those who are in adver- 
 sity, to walk uprightly and with humility ; for such 
 is our existence that there is no station in which 
 pride can be stably founded : all men are similar by 
 nature, yet some are born to more elevated stations 
 than others, but when in the grave all are upon a 
 level — death destroying all distinctions. 
 
 Whilst we tread on the Mosaic work, let our 
 
 E 
 
74 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 ideas return to the original which it copies; and 
 let every Mason act as the dictates of reason 
 prompt him, to live in brotherly love, faith, hope 
 and charity. 
 
 Faith is the foundation of justice, the bond of 
 amity, and the chief support of society ; we live by 
 faith, we walk by faith ; by faith we have a con- 
 tinual hope in the acknowledgment of a Supreme 
 Being ; by faith we are justified, accepted, and 
 finally saved. A true Christian faith is the sub- 
 stance of things hoped for, the evidence of things 
 not seen. If we with suitable true devotion main- 
 tain our Masonic profession, our faith will become 
 a beam of light, and bring us to those blessed 
 mansions where we shall be eternally happy with 
 God, the Grand Architect of the Universe, whose 
 Son died for us and rose again, that we might be 
 justified through faith in his blood. 
 
 Hope is the anchor of the soul, both sure and 
 stedfast, and enters into that within the veil ; let a 
 firm reliance in the Almighty’s faithfulness animate 
 our endeavours, and teach us to fix our hopes within 
 the limits of his promises, so shall success attend 
 us. If we believe a thing to be impossible, our de- 
 spondency may render it so ; but he that perseveres 
 will ultimately overcome all difficulties. 
 
 Charity — oh, how lovely is the theme ! — it is the 
 brightest gem that can adorn our Masonic pro- 
 fession ; it is the best test and the surest proof of 
 religion. Benevolence, attended by heaven-born 
 Charity, is an honour to the nation from whence it 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 75 
 
 springs, it is nourished, and cherished. Happy is 
 the man who has sowed in his breast the seeds 
 of benevolence, the produce thereof is love and 
 peace ; he envieth not his neighbour ; he listeneth 
 not to a tale, when reported by slander; revenge 
 or malice hath no place in his breast ; he forgives 
 the injuries of men, and endeavours to blot them 
 from his recollection. Let us, therefore, remember 
 that we are Christians and Masons, being ready 
 to listen to him who craveth our assistance, and 
 from want never to withhold a liberal hand ; so 
 shall an heartfelt satisfaction reward our labour, 
 and the produce of liberality most assuredly follow 
 after. 
 
 By the exercise of brotherly love, we are taught 
 to regard the whole human species as one family — 
 the high and low, rich and poor; all created by 
 one Almighty Being, and sent into the world for 
 the aid, support, and protection of each other : on 
 this grand principle Masonry unites men of every 
 country, sect, and opinion, and conciliates true 
 friendship amongst those who might otherwise have 
 remained at a perpetual distance. 
 
 Relief is another tenet of our Masonic profes- 
 sion. To relieve the distressed is a duty incum- 
 bent upon every man, but more particularly upon 
 Masons, who are linked together by one indissolu- 
 ble chain of sincere affection ; hence, to soothe the 
 unhappy, to sympathise with their misfortunes, to 
 compassionate their miseries, and restore peace to 
 
76 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL 
 
 the troubled mind, is the grand aim we have in 
 view : on this basis we establish our friendships and 
 form our connections. 
 
 Truth is a divine attribute and the foundation of 
 every Masonic virtue : to be good men and true, 
 is a lesson we are taught at our initiation ; on this 
 grand theme we contemplate, and by its dictates 
 we endeavour to rule and govern our lives and 
 actions ; hence hypocrisy and deceit are supposed 
 to be unknown to us ; sincerity and plain dealing 
 are our distinguishing characteristics, while the 
 heart and tongue join in promoting each other’s 
 welfare, and rejoicing in each other’s prosperity. 
 
 Virtue is the highest attainment of the mind, the 
 integrity, harmony, and just balance of affection ; 
 the health, strength, and beauty of the soul. The 
 perfection of virtue is to give reason its full scope, 
 to obey the authority of conscience with alacrity, 
 to exercise the duties of life with fortitude, in 
 public to maintain justice, and in private to observe 
 temperance. To love and adore God with dis- 
 interested affection, and to acquiesce in his kind 
 providence with a calm resignation, is the surest 
 means of attaining virtue, approaching to perfec- 
 tion and happiness, and leaving the unhappy ways 
 of vice and misery. 
 
 Temperance is that due restraint of our passions 
 and affections which renders the body tame and 
 governable, and frees the mind from the allure- 
 ments of vice : this virtue ought to be the practice 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 77 
 
 of every Mason, as it teaches him to avoid excess, 
 or contracting any vicious or licentious habits that 
 might necessarily lead him to betray his trust. 
 
 Fortitude is that noble and steady purpose of the 
 soul, equally distant from rashness and cowardice, 
 which enables us to undergo any labour or difficulty 
 when found necessary or expedient, and ought to 
 be deeply impressed on the breast of every Mason, 
 as a fence of security against any attack that might 
 be made upon him, by force or otherwise, to extort 
 from him any of our royal secrets . 1 
 
 Prudence teaches us to regulate our lives and 
 actions according to the dictates of reason ; being 
 that habit of the mind by which men wisely judge 
 and prudentially determine on all things relative to 
 their present as well as their future happiness, and 
 ought to be nicely attended to in all strange and 
 mixed companies ; never to let drop or slip the 
 least hint whereby the secrets of our royal art may 
 be illegally obtained. 
 
 Justice is the boundary of right, and constitutes 
 
 1 In the last century our brethren introduced many tests of 
 fortitude, to prove the candidates before they were initiated ; 
 and hence the brandy which in those times referred to the initia- 
 tion fee, was often considered in a much more formidable point 
 of view, and was an object of dread to the nervous candidate, 
 and his initiation frequently produced more entertainment to the 
 brethren than the order would fairly justify. His fortitude was 
 severely tested in some of the lodges ; but such practices form 
 no part of the system of Freemasonry, and have been many 
 years abolished —Editor. 
 
78 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL 
 
 the cement of civil society. Without the exercise 
 of this virtue, universal confusion would ensue, 
 lawless force would take away the barriers of equity, 
 and social intercourse would no longer exist. And 
 as justice, in a great measure, constitutes the really 
 good man, so it ought to be the perpetual study of 
 the accomplished Mason never to deviate from the 
 minutest principle thereof. 
 
79 
 
 ARGUMENT VII. 
 
 ON THE MODEL OR GROUND-PLAN OF THE TEMPLE ; JACOB S 
 
 LADDER; THE GRAND ARCHITECT’S SIX PERIODS ; AND JEPTHA’S 
 
 BATTLE WITH THE EPHRAIMITES. 
 
 From the earliest period, mankind ever had 
 the most convincing proofs of the existence of a 
 Supreme Being . 1 Yet in the most ancient and 
 best historians we do not find it recorded that any 
 place was set apart for worshipping the true God, 
 till after the happy deliverance of the Children of 
 Israel from their Egyptian bondage ; when the 
 time was then at hand that the Almighty revealed 
 himself amongst men in so wonderful a manner 
 that made his name glorious throughout all nations. 
 
 He did not lead the Children of Israel through 
 the land of the Philistines, although a much nearer 
 way, but through the wilderness, wherein he showed 
 his great wisdom and mercy; as the spirit of liberty 
 being yet in embryo, their hearts might fail them 
 
 1 But though all nations acknowledged the existence of a 
 supreme and superintending power, none but the Jews wor- 
 shipped him truly. All other people, as Minucius Felix says, 
 “ Conditorem suum aut ducem inclytum, aut reginam pudicam, 
 sexu suo fortiorem, aut aJicujus muneris, vel artis repertorem 
 venerabatur, ut civem bonae memoriae. Sic defunctis praemium, 
 et futuris dabatur exemplum.”— Editor. 
 
80 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 at the appearance of so warlike a people as the 
 Philistines, and they might return to their former 
 slavery. 
 
 He therefore commanded his faithful servant 
 Moses to conduct them through the wilderness, 
 to the borders of the Red Sea, in their way to the 
 promised land ; which made Pharaoh, king of 
 Egypt, regret that he had let so many useful slaves 
 (as he was pleased to term them) depart his domi- 
 nions ; and he ordered six hundred chosen chariots 
 to attend him, with all the company of his captains 
 that were in Egypt, for he was determined to bring 
 them back to their former captivity, or perish in the 
 attempt. 
 
 The Children of Israel finding themselves con- 
 fined by the Red Sea in the front, by impassable 
 mountains on the right and left, and the Egyp- 
 tian army in the rear, fear overcame them, and 
 in their despair, they murmured sorely against 
 Moses, saying, “ Was there not ground in Egypt 
 for our interment, that thou hast brought us away to 
 die in the wilderness?” 
 
 Moses spake with comfort unto them, and told 
 them to fear nothing, for on that day they should 
 observe the salvation of the Lord, who would fight 
 for them ; and in order to prove his assertion, he, 
 by God’s command, stretched forth his hand over 
 the waves of the Red Sea, and caused a strong 
 easterly wind to blow, which divided the waters so 
 that there was apparently a wall on each side, 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 81 
 
 while the Children of Israel marched through on 
 dry ground. 
 
 Pharaoh perceiving this, his heart was hardened, 
 and he attempted to follow them, but the Almighty 
 continued his protection, by a miraculous pillar, 
 which had two wonderful effects, one was of light 
 to the Israelites by night, to conduct them through 
 the Red Sea, and the other as a pillar of cloud and 
 smoke by day, which was darkness to the Egyp- 
 tians, and prevented their pursuit; he also caused 
 a further plague amongst them, for with a mighty 
 hand and out-stretched arm, he sent an angel by 
 night to strike off their chariot-wheels, which made 
 them to drag so heavily, that the two armies came 
 not together all that night. 
 
 When morning dawn appeared, Pharaoh per- 
 ceiving the hand of God working sorely against 
 him, attempted to return ; but it was then too late, 
 for by that time the Israelites had gained the oppo- 
 site shore, when Moses desired them to look back 
 upon their long-dreaded enemy the Egyptians, for 
 in future they should see them no more ; he then, 
 by God’s command, stretched forth his hand a 
 second time over the Red Sea, which caused the 
 waters to return into their primitive channel, and 
 overwhelmed Pharaoh and all his host . 2 And in 
 
 2 Chaeremon tells a curious story about the departure of the 
 Israelites out of Egypt. “ The goddess Isis appeared to King 
 Amenophis in a vision, and chid him severely for suffering her 
 temple to be ruined in the war ; and Phritiphantes, a holy scribe, 
 suggested it to the king, that if he would clear Egypt of all 
 
82 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 commemoration of so happy and glorious a deliver- 
 ance, Moses marched three days into the wilder- 
 ness, singing hymns, praises, and thanksgivings to 
 the Most High; and they also erected a tent or 
 tabernacle in the wilderness, agreeably to the plan 
 given to Moses on Mount Sinai ; which afterwards 
 proved to be the model or ground-plan of that 
 magnificent temple, built at Jerusalem by King 
 Solomon, with such regal splendour and unparal- 
 leled refulgent lustre, as far surpassed all former 
 exertions of human skill. 
 
 Of Jacob’s Ladder. — Rebecca, the wife of Isaac, 
 well knowing there was a peculiar blessing divinely 
 confided to her husband, was resolved to obtain it 
 for her youngest son Jacob, although by birthright 
 it belonged to Esau, her first-born ; she no sooner, 
 by fraud, had obtained this blessing for Jacob, but 
 he was obliged to flee from the wrath of his brother, 
 who proposed in his mind to slay him as he jour- 
 neyed to Padanaram, in the land of Mesopotamia, 
 where, by his parents’ strict command, he was 
 enjoined to go. Coming to a desert plain, and the 
 sun being gone down, he was obliged to take up 
 his abode there for the night, where he had the cold 
 earth for his bed, a stone for his pillow, and the 
 canopy of heaven for his covering ; and as he slum- 
 
 people labouring under foul and malignant distempers, he should 
 never be troubled again with like apparitions. Upon this there 
 was a call made of impotent and infirm wretches, and 250,000 
 of them were banished from the place under the command of 
 Moses and .Joseph, two of the number, and holy men.” — Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 83 
 
 bered, in a vision he saw a ladder, the bottom of 
 which rested upon the earth, and the top reached 
 to Heaven, whereon the angels of God were ascend- 
 ing and descending ; those who were ascending, 
 were going to receive the divine commands, and 
 those descending, were coming to put the divine 
 laws into execution. 
 
 It was then and there the Almighty entered into 
 a solemn covenant with Jacob, that if he would 
 abide by his laws, and fulfil his commands, he 
 would not only bring him back to his father’s house 
 in peace and plenty, but would make of him a 
 great and mighty people ; and as in process of 
 time Joseph, by Pharaoh’s appointment, became 
 the second man in command in Egypt, so the 
 Israelites became the most prosperous nation under 
 the heavens. 
 
 The Grand Architect’s Six Periods. — When 
 we contemplate that the formation of the world was 
 the work of that omnipotent and all-wise Being, 
 who formed and created the beautiful system of 
 the universe, how ought we to adore his holy name, 
 for his infinite goodness and mercy towards the 
 children of men ! for before he was pleased to com- 
 mand the vast world into existence, the elements 
 and the materials of the creation lay blended with- 
 out form or distinction. Darkness was upon the 
 face of the deep, and the spirit of God moved upon 
 the face of the waters, when the great Jehovah, 
 as an example to man, and to show that things 
 of moment ought to be done with deliberation— 
 
84 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 was pleased to continue six days in periodically 
 creating it from chaos to perfection. 
 
 The Almighty showed the first instance of his 
 power by making light ; and seeing it was good, 
 he gave it his sacred approbation and distinguished 
 it by a new name — called the light day, and the 
 darkness he called the night ; 3 and in order to keep 
 new framed matters within just limits, the second 
 period was employed in laying the foundations of 
 the heavens, which were to sustain the waters within 
 the clouds separate from the waters beneath. In 
 the third period, he commanded those waters 
 within due bounds; on the retreat of which, dry 
 land appeared, which he called earth ; and the 
 waters when gathered together he called seas ; the 
 earth being yet irregular and uncultivated, God 
 spake the word, and nature covered it with a most 
 beautiful carpet of flowers, plants, trees, herbs, and 
 , shrubs of all sorts, in full growth and perfection. 
 In the fourth period, those two grand bright 
 luminaries, the sun and moon, were made by his 
 word, the one to rule the day, and the other to rule 
 
 3 Much has been written on the creation of angels. Ambrose 
 (Hexam. c. 5), and Hilary (de Trinit. 12), says that angels 
 existed before the creation of our world. Among the Greeks, 
 Basil, Origen, Chrysostom, and Nazianzen, held the same 
 opinion. Beda and Cassiodorus assert that they were created 
 within the six days ; while Gennadius and Acatius hold that the 
 angels were created after the world, and the soul of man after his 
 body. Almost all the divines of the Latin church, and after 
 them, the schools, believe that they formed part of the six days 
 creation. (See Col. i. 16.) — Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 85 
 
 the night; for signs and for seasons, for days and 
 for years ; beside the sun and moon, the omnipo- 
 tent and all-wise Creator, was pleased to bespangle 
 the etherial concave with innumerable stars, that 
 man, whom he intended to make, might contem- 
 plate on his great wisdom, and justly praise his 
 divine majesty and glory. In the fifth period, he 
 commanded the waters to bring forth a variety of 
 fish for our use ; and in order to imprint on 
 man a reverential awe of his divine omnipotency, 
 he created large whales, which, with other living 
 monsters, brought forth abundantly. In the fifth 
 period, he also created the fowls to fly in the air, 
 that man might please both his eyes and his ears, 
 in being delighted with some for their most beau- 
 tiful plumage and uncommon instinct, and with 
 others for their melodious notes. In the sixth 
 period, he created the beasts of the field, and 
 reptiles to crawl upon the earth, wherein we may 
 plainly perceive that his divine goodness and mercy 
 were made manifest in all his proceedings, by pro- 
 ducing what effect he pleased, without the aid of 
 natural causes, — such as giving light to the world 
 before he created the sun, and making the earth 
 fruitful, and capable of bringing forth plants without 
 the influence of the heavenly bodies. 
 
 He did not create the beasts of the field until 
 he had provided them with sufficient herbage ; nor 
 did he make man till he had fitted his house, and 
 furnished it with every thing requisite for life and 
 for pleasure. Then, to dignify the works of his 
 
86 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 hands, he made man after his own image, who 
 came into the world with greater honour than any 
 of the creatures that were before him, as they came 
 with no other ceremony than the divine fiat God 
 spake the word, and the inferior animals were 
 made ! but in the workmanship of man, there was 
 a consultation of the blessed Trinity, saying, 66 Let 
 us make man;” and he was accordingly formed 
 out of the dust of the earth, into his nostrils was 
 breathed the breath of life, and he became a living 
 soul. In this one creature was amassed every 
 thing that was excellent in the whole creation, such 
 as the quality or substance of an animate being, 
 the life of plants, the sense of beasts, the under- 
 standing of angels ; being created after the image 
 of God, to adore his divine Creator, who had so 
 nobly bestowed on him the faculty of speech, and 
 endowed him with that most noble instinct, called 
 reason. 
 
 The Almighty, then, as his last and best gift to 
 man, created woman; under his forming hand, a 
 creature grew manlike, but different in sex ; so 
 lovely and fair, that what seemed fair in all the 
 world before now seemed mean, or in her summed 
 up ; she came, led by her heavenly Maker, though 
 unseen, and guided by his voice ! Adorned with 
 whatever earth and Heaven could bestow to make 
 her amiable, “ Grace was in her steps, Heaven in 
 her eye, in every gesture dignity and love.” 
 
 On the seventh day, the Almighty’s works being 
 ended, he hallowed, blessed, and sanctified the same, 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 intending thereby, that man should work witl 
 industry six days for the support of himself anc 
 family, and set apart the seventh to rest from 
 labour, and to praise and glorify God for his being, 
 his protection, his sustenance, and every other 
 blessing that he enjoys. 
 
 May the six days’ work of the creation stimulate 
 every Freemason to industry. 
 
 Jeptha’s Battle with the Ephraimites.— -It 
 dates its origin from the time that the Ephraimites 
 crossed the river Jordan, in order to quarrel with 
 Jeptha, the Gileaditish general, by reason of his 
 not calling them out to partake of the rich spoils of 
 victory in the Ammonitish war, as their former 
 leaders had done. The Ephraimites had long been 
 a clamorous and noisy people, but at length they 
 came to extremities, threatening to destroy Jeptha 
 and his house with fire. Jeptha tried all mild and 
 lenient means to pacify them, which proving abor- 
 tive, he was obliged to have recourse to rigorous 
 ones ; he therefore gave them battle, and defeated 
 them with great slaughter . 4 
 
 4 “ The far greater part of the Jews, even Josephus, Philo, 
 and the Chaldee paraphrast, acknowledged Jeptha to have been 
 suffered by God, by the High Priests, and the whole people, 
 to offer the fruit of his own body, an innocent young virgin, an 
 only child, the sole object of his present comfort and future 
 hopes, in a burnt-offering unto the Lord, who had so often 
 declared his utter abhorrence against all such abominations, and 
 rejected the Canaanites upon that very account. A great deal 
 hath been written to establish the probability that she was not 
 put to death, but restricted to a life of celibacy ; but all that has 
 been alleged, in support of both opinions, amounts to nothing but 
 conjecture.” (Univ. Hist. vol. ii., p. 363.)— Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 s 
 
 Jeptha, in order to secure himself from the like 
 molestation in future, sent and guarded the passes 
 of the river Jordan, which he knew they must cross 
 in order to return to their own country, with strict 
 injunctions to his guards, that if any came that way, 
 and owned themselves Ephraimites, to slay them 
 immediately, and if they said nay, there was a 
 testword put to them, viz., to pronounce the word 
 Shibboleth, which they, for want of an aspiration 
 peculiar to their dialect, could not frame to articu- 
 late, but called it Sibboleth, which small variation 
 discovered their country, and cost them their lives : 
 so that there fell on that day in the field of battle, 
 and on the banks of the Jordan, as holy writ 
 informs us, forty and two thousand Ephraimites, 
 and that test-word was afterwards used amongst the 
 Gileadites to distinguish friend from foe. 
 
 
89 
 
 ARGUMENT VIXL 
 
 ON THE SEVEN LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES— GRAMMAR, RHE- 
 TORIC, LOGIC, ARITHMETIC, GEOMETRY, MUSIC, ASTRONOMY; 
 
 AND ON THE SIX ARTS AND SCIENCES, AS BLENDED IN 
 
 ASTRONOMY. 
 
 Grammar, which comprehends orthography and 
 etymology, teaches to decline nouns, conjugate 
 verbs, and to express a variety of words and 
 phrases, according to the idiom peculiar to the 
 language we speak in. This being the basis of all 
 the liberal sciences, it particularly concerns us, as 
 Masons, to know its rules ; for without this know- 
 ledge, we cannot be acquainted with the beauties 
 of our own lectures, nor can we speak with correct- 
 ness or propriety. 
 
 Rhetoric is the art of speaking with judicious 
 emphasis, which enables us to regulate and vary the 
 tone of voice, in order to persuade, soften, and 
 affect the hearts of the hearers; it likewise leads 
 the mind to the discovery of things that are new, or 
 seem abstruse: this science is also enriched with 
 figures, which add strength and beauty to elocution, 
 and is therefore properly adapted to the subjects of 
 our Masonic mysteries. 
 
 Logic is that delightful science which guides our 
 reason, and directs our understanding to the know- 
 
90 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 ledge of things in general, as well for our improve- 
 ment as the instruction of others; and as the 
 excellency of Masonry consists in the four principal 
 operations of the mind, namely, — conceiving, judg- 
 ing, reasoning, and disposing; this liberal science 
 is highly essential to our fraternal institution. 
 
 Arithmetic is the ground-work, and absolute 
 foundation of universal knowledge ; for without 
 the art of numbers, our natural abilities would in a 
 manner be useless, or at least so vague, precarious, 
 and defective, that scarce any material business 
 could be conducted with certainty. Abraham first 
 taught this useful science to the Egyptians, and it 
 was afterwards much improved by Pythagoras, 
 who introduced such hieroglyphical figures and 
 allegorical emblems, as have enabled us to keep 
 the popular world perpetually ignorant of our mys- 
 teries, until they become Masons. 
 
 Geometry is the origin of the mathematics, and 
 the foundation of architecture ; comprehending the 
 doctrine of whatever is susceptible of increasing or 
 diminishing ; hence, not only point, line, superfice, 
 and solid, come within our consideration, but also 
 time, space, velocity, and magnitude in general. 
 By the further study of this fifth science, on which 
 Masonry is founded, we are led to contemplate on 
 the inimitable works of the primary supreme grand 
 Geometrician of this vast terraqueous globe. 
 
 Music is divided into speculative and practical, 
 and is the art of so disposing and conducting sounds, 
 under certain measures of tone and time, as to 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 91 
 
 produce agreeable harmony. This accomplished 
 scientifical art may also be contrived and ordered by 
 consonances or succession, or both by just intervals, 
 so as to raise delightful sensations, and be the means 
 of blending innocent mirth with our amusements, 
 when the right worshipful master orders us from 
 labour to refreshment. 
 
 Of all the noble sciences ever cultivated by man- 
 kind, Astronomy is acknowledged to be the most 
 sublime, the most interesting, and the most useful ; 
 for it not only treats of the system, magnitude, 
 distance, conjunction, and regular course of the 
 celestial bodies, but it unfolds the mystical causes 
 by which those wonderful revolutions are performed. 
 By the further study of the planetary orbs, our 
 mental faculties also become exalted, far above 
 the contemptible doctrine of those who doubt the 
 wisdom, power, goodness, superintendence, or even 
 the existence of a Supreme Being. 
 
 Astronomy stands confessedly the most exalted 
 and sublime science that has ever been cultivated 
 by man. By this divine science the Grand Architect 
 of the Universe has enabled the mind of man, not 
 only to view his wonderful omnipotency in a much 
 stronger light than he could otherwise effect, but 
 also to demonstrate, even to the sceptic, if any such 
 exist, that nothing less than the Almighty Power 
 could establish such innumerable systems of the 
 heavenly bodies, place them at their relative dis- 
 tances, and finally keep the whole in universal order. 
 To view the starry firmament without this science, 
 
92 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 mankind are impressed with a reverential awe of 
 heavenly wisdom ; but when we explore the science 
 with its demonstrative truths, we are lost in astonish- 
 ment at the boundless fields of ether, where those 
 vast systems are placed. This noble science may 
 justly be said to comprehend the whole of the other 
 six : as by grammar we correctly express the sub- 
 stance of our observations ; by rhetoric we forcibly 
 impress the truths therein contained ; by logic we 
 proceed to demonstrate those truths ; by arithmetic 
 we make our calculations ; by geometry we measure 
 the magnitudes and distances of those vast orbs ; 
 and finally, we cannot but subscribe to the harmony 
 of the whole, where there is not the least discord 
 to be found in any of its parts. In short, it is by 
 the help of this sublime science that mankind are 
 enabled to plough the trackless ocean, to traverse 
 the sandy waste of the immense desert ; by com- 
 merce to civilize rude and savage nations, to unite 
 men of all countries, sects, and opinions, and con- 
 ciliate true friendship among persons who would 
 otherwise have remained at an immense distance 
 asunder. 
 
93 
 
 ARGUMENT IX. 
 
 ON THE FIVE NOBLE ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE : THE TUSCAN, 
 THE DORIC, THE IONIC, THE CORINTHIAN, AND THE COMPOSITE ; 
 AND THE FIVE POINTS OF MASONIC FELLOWSHIP JUSTLY ILLUS- 
 TRATED. 
 
 The Tuscan is the most simple and solid of the 
 five orders in architecture; it was invented in Tus- 
 cany, from whence it derives its name ; its column 
 is seven diameters high ; its capital, base, and enta- 
 blature, have but few mouldings or ornaments ; yet 
 there is a peculiar beauty in its simplicity, which 
 adds to its value, and makes it fit to be used in 
 structures where the more rich and delicate orders 
 would be deemed improper. 
 
 The Doric is the most agreeable to nature, and 
 most ancient ; it was invented by the Dorians, a 
 people of Greece ; its column is eight diameters 
 high ; it has no ornaments either on base or capital, 
 except the mouldings ; its frieze is distinguished by 
 triglyphs and metopes, and the triglyphs compose 
 the ornaments of the frieze ; the composition of its 
 pillar is both grand and noble, and is therefore 
 principally used in warlike structures, where strength 
 and a noble but rough simplicity is required. 
 
 The Ionic bears a kind of mean proportion 
 between the more solid and delicate orders. The 
 
94 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 first idea of its invention was given by the Ionians, 
 a people of Greece ; its column is nine diameters 
 high ; its capital is adorned with volutes, and its 
 cornice has dentils or simple modillons ; and history 
 informs us that the famous temple of Diana, at 
 Ephesus, was of this order. 
 
 The Corinthian is the richest of the five orders 
 in architecture ; it is deemed a masterpiece of art, 
 and was invented at Corinth by Callimachus ; its 
 column is ten diameters high; its capital is adorned 
 with two rows of leaves, and eight volutes, which 
 sustain the abacus: this order is principally used 
 in stately and superb structures. 
 
 The Composite, or compound Roman order, is 
 derived from the other four orders, and to the 
 Romans we are indebted for its invention ; its 
 column is ten diameters high, and is quartered 
 round as the Tuscan and Doric ; its capital has the 
 volutes of the Ionic, the two rows of leaves of the 
 Corinthian ; and its cornice has dentils or simple 
 modillons ; this order is principally used in struc- 
 tures where strength, elegance, and beauty are 
 displayed. 
 
 The Mosaic pavement, being variegated and 
 chequered, alludes to that diversity of objects which 
 decorate and adorn the creation ; likewise to that 
 wonderful variety of benefits which the great Creator 
 has so bountifully bestowed for use and sustenance, 
 even to the minutest of his creatures. 
 
 The Blazing Star — the glory in the centre — 
 reminds us of that awful period when the Almighty 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 95 
 
 delivered the two tables of stone, containing the 
 Ten Commandments, to his faithful servant Moses, 
 on Mount Sinai, when the rays of his divine majesty 
 shone so bright that none could behold it without 
 fear and trembling ; it also reminds us of the omni- 
 presence of the Almighty overshadowing us with his 
 divine love, and dispensing his blessings among us; 
 and by its being placed in the centre, it ought also 
 further to remind us, that whatever or however 
 assembled, God is in the midst of us, seeing our 
 actions and observing the secret intents and move- 
 ments of our hearts; while the indented tesselated 
 border, or skirt-work, alludes to that kind care 
 of Providence, which so happily surrounds and 
 keeps us within its protection whilst we justly and 
 uprightly govern our lives and actions by the four 
 cardinal virtues, viz. : — Temperance, Fortitude, 
 Prudence, and Justice, which are represented by 
 four tassels. 
 
 The five points of fellowship are thus illustrated : 
 When the necessities of a brother call for my aid 
 and support, I will be ever ready to lend him such 
 assistance to save him from sinking as may not be 
 detrimental to myself or connections, if I find him 
 worthy thereof. Indolence shall not cause my 
 footsteps to halt, nor shall wrath turn them aside ; 
 but, forgetting every selfish consideration, I will 
 be ever swift of foot to save, help, and execute 
 benevolence to a fellow-creature in distress, but 
 more particularly to a brother Mason. 
 
 When I offer up my ejaculations to Almighty 
 
96 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 God, I will remember a brother’s welfare as my 
 own ; for, as the voices of babes and sucklings 
 ascend to the throne of grace, so most assuredly 
 will the breathings of a fervent heart ; and so our 
 prayers are certainly required for each other. 
 
 A brother’s secrets, delivered to me as such, I 
 will keep as I would my own, because by betraying 
 that trust I might be doing him the greatest injury 
 he could possibly sustain. 
 
 A brother’s character I will support in his absence 
 as I would in his presence ; I will not wrongfully 
 revile him myself, nor will I suffer it to be done by 
 others, if in my power to prevent it Thus by the 
 five points of fellowship are we linked together in 
 one indissoluble chain of sincere affection, brotherly 
 love, relief, and truth. 
 
97 
 
 ARGUMENT X. 
 
 ON THE NATURE OF THE LODGE, AND THE ORIGINAL INSTITU- 
 TIONS OF THE BROTHERHOOD, INTERSPERSED WITH A VARIETY 
 OF METAPHYSICAL DISQUISITIONS AND SCIENTIFIC ALLUSIONS. 
 
 I now take upon me to show that the first step 
 of a Mason is the representative of the first stage of 
 the worship of the true God. 
 
 The lodge, when revealed to an entering Mason, 
 discovers to him a representation of the world ; in 
 which, from the wonders of nature, we are led to 
 contemplate the great Original, and worship Him 
 for his mighty works; and we are thereby also 
 moved to exercise those moral and social virtues, 
 which become mankind to observe as the servants 
 of the great Architect of the world, in whose image 
 we were formed in the beginning. 
 
 The Creator, designing to bless man’s estate on 
 earth, opened the hand of his divine benevolence 
 with good gifts ; he has spread over the world the 
 illumined canopy of heaven; the covering of the 
 tabernacle and the veil of the temple at Jerusalem 
 were representations of the celestial hemisphere, 
 and were “ of blue, of crimson, and purple ;” and 
 such is the covering of the lodge. As an emblem of 
 God’s power, goodness, omnipresence, and eternity, 
 
 F 
 
98 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL, 
 
 the lodge is adorned with an image of the sun ; 
 which he ordained to rise from the east and open 
 the day, thereby calling forth the people of the 
 earth to their worship and work in the walks of 
 virtue. 
 
 The great Author of all has given the moon to 
 govern the night, a fit season for solemn meditation. 
 When the labours of the day are ended, and man’s 
 mind is abstracted from the cares of life, then it is 
 for our souls’ recreation to walk forth with con- 
 templative minds to read the great lesson of the 
 Almighty in the starry firmament, and in the innu- 
 merable worlds which are governed by his will ; 
 and thence to meditate on his omnipotence. Our 
 thoughts returning from this glorious scene towards 
 ourselves, we discern the insignificance of man, 
 and by a natural inference, confess the benevolence 
 of that God who regards us, such mean atoms, in 
 the midst of his mighty works ; whose universal 
 love is thus divinely expressed : “ That not a spar- 
 row shall fall unpermitted to the Father of all, for 
 the very hairs of our head are numbered ! ” 
 
 Until matter was taken in hand by the great 
 Architect, the earth remained dark, and without 
 form ; but the divine fiat was no sooner pronounced 
 than there was light ! — Creation was delivered from 
 darkness, and the sun forthwith appeared in glorious 
 brightness. The luminary of nature fostered the 
 seeds of universal life, and vegetation flourished : 
 the moon yielded her influence to the waters, and 
 attraction originated the tides ! 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 99 
 
 Remembering such wonders in the beginning, 
 we pray for the auspicious countenance of heaven 
 on our virtuous deeds, and assume the figures of the 
 sun and moon as emblematical of the great light of 
 truth discovered to the first men ; thereby implying 
 that, as true Masons, we stand redeemed from 
 darkness, and are become the sons of light ! acknow- 
 ledging in our profession our adoration of Him 
 who gave light unto his works ! Let us then, by 
 our practice and conduct in life, show that we 
 carry our emblems worthily ; and as the children of 
 light, that we have cast away the works of darkness, 
 obscenity and drunkenness, hatred and malice, 
 Satan and his dominions ; putting on the armour 
 of light in charity, benevolence, justice, temperance, 
 chastity, and brotherly love, as the acceptable 
 service in which the great Master of all from his 
 beatitude looks down with approbation on human 
 beings. 
 
 The same divine hand, pouring forth bounteous 
 gifts, which has blessed us with the sight of his 
 glorious works in the heavens, has also spread the 
 earth with a beauteous carpet ; he has beautified 
 it in various colours, fruits and flowers, pastures 
 and meads, golden fields of corn, and green valleys, 
 mountains skirted by nodding forests, and lands 
 flowing with milk and honey : he has made it (as it 
 were in Mosaic work), giving a pleasing variety to 
 the eye of man : he has poured upon us his gifts 
 in abundance, not only the necessaries of life, but 
 
100 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 also “wine to gladden the heart of man, and oil 
 to give him a cheerful countenance and that he 
 might still add beauty to the scene of life wherein 
 he has placed us, his highly-favoured creatures, he 
 has bounded and bordered the earth with the ocean ; 
 and the wise Creator has made man in his own 
 image ; not meaning in the likeness of his person, 
 but spiritually, by breathing into his nostrils the 
 breath of life, and inspiring him with that resem- 
 blance of the Divinity, an intellectual spirit. He 
 encompassed the land by the sea, not only for that 
 salubrity which should be derived from its agitation, 
 but also that to the genius of man, a communica- 
 tion should be opened to all the quarters of the 
 earth; and that by mutual intercourse, men might 
 unite in mutual good works, and all become as 
 members of one society. These subjects are repre- 
 sented in the flooring of the lodge. 
 
 The universe is the temple of the Deity whom 
 we serve : — wisdom, strength, and beauty, are about 
 his throne, as the pillars of his works; for his 
 wisdom is infinite, his strength is omnipotence, and 
 beauty shines forth through all his creation in sym- 
 metry and order: he has stretched forth the heavens 
 as a canopy, and the earth he has planted as his 
 footstool : he illuminates his pavilion with the stars, 
 as with a diadem, and his hand he holds forth 
 majesty and glory : the sun and moon are messen- 
 gers of his will, and all his law is concord. The 
 pillars supporting the lodge are representative of 
 these divine powers. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 101 
 
 A lodge, where perfect Masons are assembled, 
 represents these works of the Deity. 
 
 We place the spiritual lodge in the vale of Jeho- 
 saphat , 1 implying thereby that the principles of 
 Masonry are derived from the knowledge of God, 
 and are established in the judgment of the Lord; 
 the literal translation of the word Jehosaphat, from 
 the Hebrew' tongue, being significative of those 
 divine ideas. The highest hills and the lowest 
 valleys , 2 were, from the earliest times, esteemed 
 sacred, and it was supposed the spirit of God was 
 peculiarly diffusive in such places . 3 So in Ezekiel, 
 “ Upon the top of the mountain, the whole limit 
 thereof round about shall be most holy.” It is said 
 in the Old Testament, the spirit of God buried 
 Moses in a valley in the land of Moab ; implying 
 that from divine influence he was interred in such 
 
 1 A belief was prevalent in the minds of the early Christians 
 that the second advent of Christ would occur in the year One 
 Thousand of the Christian era, and that the valley of Jehosa- 
 phat, which is a deep ravine adjoining the city of Jerusalem, was 
 to be the scene of the final judgment. — Editor. 
 
 2 It was said in the old York Lectures, that we meet on the 
 highest of hills or in the lowest of valleys in commemoration of 
 a remarkable custom with the ancient Jews in the building of 
 temples, schools, and synagogues ; and as, by the Jewish law, 
 whenever ten of them assembled together for that purpose, they 
 proceeded to work, so it was with our ancient brethren, who 
 formed themselves into a lodge whenever ten operative Masons 
 were assembled, consisting of the Master, two Wardens, and 
 seven Fellow- Crafts. — Editor. 
 
 3 St. Cyril informs us, in his fourth book against Julian, that 
 the phrases, the highest of hills , and heaven , are synonymous in 
 the sacred writings. — Editor. 
 
102 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 hallowed retirement. On Elijah’s translation the 
 son of the prophets said to Elisha, “ Behold, now 
 there be with thy servants fifty strong men : let 
 them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master, lest 
 peradventure the spirit of the Lord has taken him 
 up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some 
 valley .” 4 Hence was derived the veneration paid 
 to such places in the earliest ages, and hence the 
 sacred groves of the Orientals and Druids. They 
 chose such solemn situations for their public wor- 
 ship, conceiving that the presence of the Deity 
 would hallow them : they set up their altars there, 
 and shadowed them with trees, that there, as did 
 Adam, they might “hear the voice of the Lord 
 God walking in the garden.” 
 
 In the corruption and ignorance of after ages, 
 those hallowed places were polluted with idolatry ; 
 — the unenlightened mind mistook the type for the 
 original, and could not discern the light from 
 darkness; — the sacred groves and hills became the 
 objects of enthusiastic bigotry and superstition ; — 
 the devotees bowed down to the oaken and the 
 graven image, as if they were divine. Some pre- 
 served themselves from the corruptions of the times, 
 as we find some sages and select men, to whom 
 
 4 The fraternity in Scotland, according to the traditions of the 
 Scots Masons in the ancient lodges of Kilwinning, Stirling, 
 Aberdeen, &c., used formerly to assemble in the monasteries in 
 foul weather ; but in fair weather, they met early in the morning 
 on the tops of hills, especially on the day of St. John the Evan- 
 gelist, and from thence walked, in due form, to the places where 
 they were to dine. (North. Court., p. 129). 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 103 
 
 was committed, and who retained the light of 
 understanding and truth, unpolluted with the sins 
 of the world, under the denomination of magi, 
 among the Persians ; wise men, soothsayers, and 
 astrologers, among the Chaldeans ; philosophers, 
 among the Greeks and Romans ; Brahmins, among 
 the Indians ; Druids and Bards, among the Britons ; 
 and with the chosen people of God, Solomon shone 
 forth in the fulness of human wisdom. 
 
 The master of each lodge should found his 
 government in concord and universal love ; for as 
 the Great Architect moves the systems with his 
 finger, and touches the spheres with harmony, so 
 that the morning stars sing together the songs of 
 gratitude, and the warbling floods rejoice amidst 
 the invariable beauties of order, so should we, 
 rejoicing, be of one accord and of one spirit in 
 unanimity, in charity, and in affection ; moving 
 by one unchanging system, and actuated by one 
 principle in rectitude of manners. 
 
 A Mason, sitting as the member of a lodge, 
 claiming these emblems as the testimonies of his 
 order, ought at that instant to transfer his thoughts 
 to the august scene which is there imitated, and 
 remember that he then appears professing himself 
 a member of the great temple of the universe, to 
 obey the laws of the Almighty Master of All, in 
 whose presence he seeks to be approved. 
 
 The ancient record which I have before quoted 
 expresses that the first Masons received their know- 
 ledge from God, by which means we were endowed 
 
104 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 with the due understanding of what is pleasing to 
 him, and the only true method of propagating their 
 doctrines. 
 
 The few who remained uncorrupted with the 
 sins of nations, and who served the only and true 
 God, despised the fables and follies of idolators; 
 others who were emerging from the ignorance and 
 blindness in which they had been overwhelmed, 
 contemplated on the wonders displayed in the face 
 of nature, and traced the Divinity through the ways 
 of his power and his mighty deeds. Contempla- 
 tion at first went forth admiring, but yet without 
 comprehending from whence all things had their 
 existence : contemplation returned, glowing with 
 conviction that one great Original, of infinite power, 
 of infinite intelligence, and benevolence without 
 bounds, was the Master of all. They beheld him 
 in his works, they read his majesty in the heavens, 
 they discovered his miracles in the deep ; every 
 plant that bloomed in the lap of Nature, and every 
 thing that breathed the breath of life, signified his 
 presence and his power. Such men were afterwards 
 made known to the enlightened, and were united 
 with them in the perfection of truth. 
 
 As the servants of one God, our predecessors 
 religiously believed that the Deity ought not to 
 be locally limited to an house, the work of men’s 
 hands . 5 In this the Druids copied after them : the 
 
 5 “ The appropriate place of druidical meeting in Britain was 
 Gwyrzva ; which, as it implies a place of presence, was a hill , 
 either natural or artificial, according to the convenience of the 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 105 
 
 universe, they confessed, was filled with his presence, 
 and he was not hidden from the distant quarters of 
 creation ; they looked upwards to the heavens as 
 his throne, and wheresoever under the sun they 
 worshipped, they regarded themselves as being in 
 the dwelling-place of the Divinity, from whose eye 
 nothing was concealed. The ancients not only 
 refrained from building temples, but even held it 
 utterly unlawful ; because they thought no temple 
 spacious enough for the sun, the great symbol of 
 the Deity . 6 “ Mundus universus est templum 
 solis .” 7 (the universe is Sol’s temple), was their 
 maxim; they thought it profane to limit the infinity 
 
 situation ; and if the chief Druid wanted to perform functions 
 appropriate to the branch of Ovyzcaeth, he could also act as 
 an Ovyz — hold a meeting in a grove.” (Owen’s W. Diet. v. 
 Derwyz. ) — Editor. 
 
 6 And when they did begin to build, their temples were alto - 
 gether stupendous. Not to mention the Tower of Babel, which 
 is an example familiar to every person, those of India and Egypt 
 appear to exceed our conception. The height of the pyramidal 
 gateway, says Maurice, leading to the magnificent pagoda of 
 Chillambrum, on the coast of Coromandel, exceeds 120 feet : 
 the circumference of the outer wall of Seringapatam extends 
 nearly four miles ; and the stones that form the stately roof of 
 its principal gateway to the south are 33 feet long, and 5§ broad. 
 In like manner, in Egypt, the hypostyle hall of Carnac was 
 supported by 140 columns, 200 feet high ! The colossal statues 
 of both countries were 60 or 70 feet in height ; and point out 
 the high state of perfection which the Masonic science had 
 attained in the most remote periods of time. — Editor. 
 
 7 Yet the sun had material temples erected to his honour. 
 Thus Tacitus says, Proprius honor soli , cui est vetus cedes apud 
 circum ; he was worshipped with especial honours in his own 
 house ; — and Tertullian adds, Solis effigies de fastidio cedis emicat. 
 
106 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 of the Deity ; — when, in later ages, they built 
 temples, they left them open to the heavens, and 
 unroofed. 
 
 The true believers, in order to withdraw and 
 distinguish themselves from the rest of mankind, 
 especially the idolaters with whom they were 
 surrounded, adopted emblems and mystic devices, 
 together with certain distinguishing principles — 
 whereby they should be known to each other, and 
 also certify that they were servants of that God in 
 whose hands all creation existed. By these means 
 they also protected themselves from persecution, 
 and their faith from the ridicule of the incredulous 
 vulgar. To this end, when they rehearsed the 
 principles of their profession, they pronounced, 
 “ That they were worshippers in that temple whose 
 bounds were the distant quarters of the universe, 
 whose height was exalted to the heavens, and 
 whose foundations stood upon that axis, on which 
 the revolutions of the starry sphere were per- 
 formed.” 
 
 The Egyptians are described to us as being the 
 first people who advanced to any high degree of 
 knowledge in astronomy and science ; and hence 
 they acquired the means of discovering and proving 
 the existence of the Divinity, and worshipped the 
 Author of those sublime works which they con- 
 
 An obelisk was often dedicated to the sun, deo soli : and had 
 rays, gracilescentes, diminishing in splendour. (Yid. Tertul.de 
 Spect. c. 8, Cassiod. 1. 3, Ep. 51, and Ammianus Marcel. 1. 17*) 
 — Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 107 
 
 templated. But through priestcraft, or national 
 prejudices, they soon began to represent the attri- 
 butes of the Deity in symbols ; and as the visible 
 operations of his omnipotence were chiefly expressed 
 in the powers of the sun and moon, whose influence 
 they perceived through all the field of nature, they 
 depicted the Deity by those heavenly bodies, and at 
 length, under the names of Osiris and Isis, adored 
 the God of nature . 8 
 
 As we derived many of our mysteries and moral 
 principles from the doctrines of Pythagoras , 9 who 
 
 8 We find on the Egyptian monuments, according to the 
 Marquis Spineto, the names of Osiris and Isis are expressed 
 phonetically, figuratively, and symbolically. Phonetically, the 
 name of Osiris consists of four signs or characters — a sceptre, 
 with the head of a species of wolf, which denotes the vowel O ; 
 the crooked line, S; the oval, an R; the arm, an £, or an I; — 
 which gives Osre , the abbreviation of Osire, or Osiri. His 
 symbolic name was represented by an eye and the throne, to 
 which sometimes the hatchet was added, as the symbolical sign 
 of the deity ; and, at other times, the abridged figure of the 
 god as a generic character. His figurative name was represented 
 by the image of a god, mostly sitting, bearing on his head the 
 royal pschent, and often in his hand the whip and the sceptre, 
 as he was considered the king of the Amend. The phonetic 
 exhibition of Isis was the cup, which stood for I ; the egg, which 
 was an S ; the half-circle, which stood for the feminine gender ; 
 and the throne, by which the goddess was perpetually designated. 
 Figuratively, she was represented by the image of a woman 
 sitting, holding on her head the circle, surrounded by horns; 
 and sometimes in her hand, either the sign of divine life, or a 
 flower of lotus. Symbolically, her representation was the throne, 
 the half-circle, and the egg. — Editor. 
 
 9 In the revision of our lectures, by Rodwell Wright and 
 Dr. Hemming, the outline of the geometrical system of Pytha - 
 
108 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 had acquired his learning in Egypt, and others from 
 the Phoenicians, who had received the Egyptian 
 theology in an early age, it is not to be wondered 
 that we should adopt Egyptian symbols to represent 
 or express the attributes of the Divinity. 
 
 The Pythagorean system of philosophy also points 
 out to us a reason for the figure of the sun being 
 introduced into the lodge, as being the centre of 
 the planetary system, as well as the emblem of the 
 Deity. This grand emblem was a symbol expres- 
 sing the first and greatest principles of his doctrines. 
 This was also a representation of the Abrax, which 
 governed the stellary world, and of our diurnal 
 revolutions. 
 
 In the books of Hermes Trismegistus, who was 
 an Egyptian, and said to be contemporary with 
 Abraham’s grandfather, is a remarkable passage ; 
 when speaking of the Deity, he says, “ But if thou 
 wilt see him, consider and understand the sun, 
 consider the course of the moon, consider the order 
 of the stars. Oh, thou unspeakable and unutterable, 
 to be praised with silence ! ” 
 
 From hence we are naturally led to perceive the 
 origin of the Egyptian symbolization, and the reason 
 for their adopting those objects as expressive of the 
 might, majesty, and omnipresence of the Deity. 
 
 Posterity, to record the wise doctrines and reli- 
 
 goras has been incorporated into the Second Lecture ; and I am 
 surprised that the science of numbers, taken from the same 
 source, was not added, when explaining the winding staircase.. — 
 Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 109 
 
 gious principles of the first professors of the true 
 worship, have adopted these descriptions of the 
 lodge in which they have assembled, and maintain 
 those religious tenets which nature dictates, in gra- 
 titude to Him under whom we exist ; and working 
 in the acceptable service of Him who rejoiceth in 
 the upright man. 
 
 Such is the Freemason, and such is the lodge of 
 Masons; such are the principles of this society. 
 These were the original institutions of our brother- 
 hood ; let us hold ourselves above the ridicule of 
 the vulgar, and the scoffing of the ignorant. Envy 
 is the parent of wicked works : and whilst we per- 
 form our duties in life with integrity, and maintain 
 our principles as Masons with fidelity and truth, 
 malice cannot reach our peace, nor persecution 
 shake our minds, if so established in the rectitude 
 of our hearts and the inoffensiveness of our con- 
 
 sciences. 
 
110 
 
 ARGUMENT XL 
 
 ON THE FURNITURE OF THE LODGE, AND ON THE APPAREL 
 
 AND JEWELS USED BY THE OFFICIAL PART OF THE FRATER- 
 NITY, THE WHOLE ILLUMINATED WITH EMBLEMATICAL CORUS- 
 CATIONS. 
 
 It is with pleasure I pursue the duty I have 
 imposed upon myself, to give solutions of the mys- 
 teries in Masonry; which to minds inattentive to 
 the real import of the objects in their view, might 
 remain undiscovered ; and the professor of Masonry 
 might pass on, without receiving a just sense of 
 those honours which he has assumed. 
 
 I have defined what is intended to be represented 
 by a lodge, as also its origin and nature ; it is now 
 my duty to discover to you the import of the furni- 
 ture of a lodge. 
 
 As Solomon, at Jerusalem, carried into the Jewish 
 temple all the vessels and instruments requisite for 
 the service of Jehovah, according to the law of his 
 people, so we Masons, as workers in moral duties, 
 and as servants of the Great Architect of the world, 
 have before us those emblems which must con- 
 stantly remind us of what we are, and what is 
 required of us. 
 
 The third emanation of Abrax, in the Gnostic 
 hierarchy, was Phronoesis, the emblem of Prudence, 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 Ill 
 
 which is the first and most exalted object that 
 demands our attention in the lodge. It is placed 
 in the centre, ever to be present to the eye of the 
 Mason, that his heart may be attentive to her dic- 
 tates, and stedfast in her laws for prudence is 
 the rule of all virtues ; — prudence is the path which 
 leads to every degree of propriety; — prudence is 
 the channel whence self-approbation flows for ever : 
 she leads us forth to worthy actions, and as a guiding 
 star enlightens us through the dreary and darksome 
 ways of this life. 
 
 Virtue, by moralists, is defined to be “ that sted- 
 fast purpose, and firm will of doing those things 
 which nature has dictated to us as the best and 
 most salutary ; — a habit of the soul by which man- 
 kind are inclined to do the things which are upright 
 and good, and to avoid those that are evil.” In 
 short, virtue is moral honesty, and comprehends 
 good principles. 
 
 Of the virtues, of which prudence is the rule, 
 three are called cardinal virtues, of which, properly, 
 a Mason should be possessed, — Fortitude, Tempe- 
 rance, and Justice ; for without these the name of 
 Mason is an empty title. 
 
 That Fortitude should be the characteristic of a 
 Mason we need not argue; by means of which, in 
 the midst of pressing evils, he is enabled to do that 
 which is agreeable to the dictates of right reason. 
 
 Temperance also must be one of his stedfast prin- 
 ciples, being the moderating or restraining of our 
 affections and passions, especially in sobriety and 
 
112 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 chastity. We regard Temperance, under the various 
 definitions of moralists, as constituting honesty, 
 decency, and discretion ; and in its potential parts, 
 instituting meekness, clemency, and modesty. 
 
 We profess Justice, as dictating to us to do what 
 is right to all, and to yield to every man that which 
 belongs to him. 
 
 The cardinal virtues, prudence, fortitude, tempe- 
 rance, and justice, hold in their train the inferior 
 ones of peace, concord, quietness, liberty, safety, 
 honour, felicity, piety, and pity, with many others 
 which were adored by the ancients in those ages, 
 when they confounded mythology with the worship 
 of the Divinity. Within the star-adorned zone of 
 prudence, all the virtues are enfolded. 
 
 We may apply this emblem to a still more reli- 
 gious import : it may be said to represent the star 
 which led the wise men to Bethlehem, proclaiming 
 to mankind the nativity of the Son of God, and so 
 conducting our spiritual progress to the Author of 
 redemption. 
 
 As more immediate guides for a Freemason, the 
 lodge is furnished with unerring rules, whereby he 
 shall form his conduct; the Masonic law-book is 
 laid before him, that he may not say through igno- 
 rance he erred ; having whatever the great Archi- 
 tect of the world has dictated to mankind, as the 
 mode in which he would be served, and the path 
 in which they are to tread to obtain his approbation. 
 Whatever sacred precepts have been administered, 
 and whatever laws have been recorded by sages of 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 113 
 
 old, the same are faithfully comprised in the Book 
 of the Law of Masonry. That book is never closed 
 in any lodge, and reveals the duties which the Grand 
 Master of all exacts from us ; it is open to every 
 eye, comprehensible to every mind; then who shall 
 say among us, that he knows not the acceptable 
 service ? 
 
 But as the frailty of human nature constantly 
 wages war with truth, and man’s infirmities struggle 
 with his virtues, to aid and conduct every Mason, 
 the Master holds the compass, limiting the distance, 
 progress and circumference of the work; he dic- 
 tates the manners, he gives the direction of the 
 design, and delineates each portion and part of the 
 labour; assigning to each his province and his 
 order. And such is his mastership, that each part, 
 when asunder, seems irregular, and without form ; 
 yet when put together, like the building of the 
 temple at Jerusalem, is connected and framed in 
 true symmetry and beauty. The moral implica- 
 tion of which is, that the Master in his lodge sits 
 dictating such salutary laws, for the regulation 
 thereof, as his prudence directs ; assigning to each 
 brother his proper province ; limiting the rashness 
 of some, and circumscribing the imprudence of 
 others; restraining all licentiousness and volup- 
 tuousness, discord and malice, envy and reproach ; 
 and prompting brotherly love, morality, charity, cor- 
 diality, and innocent recreation ; that the assembly 
 of the brethren may be maintained in harmony 
 and love. 
 
114 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 To try the works of every Mason, the square is 
 presented, as the probation of his life, proving 
 whether his manners are regular and uniform ; for 
 Masons should be governed by unanimity and 
 equality, without the distinctions of pride and 
 pageantry: intimating that from high to low, the 
 minds of Masons should be inclined to good 
 works, above which no man stands exalted by his 
 fortune. 
 
 But superior to all, the lodge is furnished with 
 three luminaries ; as the golden candlestick in the 
 tabernacle of Moses was at once emblematical of 
 the spirit of God, whereby his chosen people were 
 enlightened, and which was prophetical of the 
 churches; or as Josephus says, representative of 
 the planets and the powerful works of God; so 
 our three lights show us the three great stages 
 of Masonry, the knowledge and worship of the God 
 of Nature in the impeccable state of Eden; the 
 service under the Mosaic law, when divested of 
 idolatry, and the Christian revelation ; 1 but most 
 especially our lights are typical of the Holy Trinity. 
 And as such is the furniture of the lodge ; such are 
 the principles dictated to us as Masons; let us 
 rejoice in the exercise of those excellencies, which 
 should set us above the level of other men ; and 
 prove that we are brought out of darkness into 
 light. And let us show our good works unto the 
 
 1 In the “ Star in the East,” passim , this subject is copiously 
 discussed, and the present system of Freemasonry assimilated 
 with the Christian religion. — Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 115 
 
 world, that through our light so shining unto 
 men, they may glorify the great Master of the 
 universe ; and therefore 44 do justice, love mercy, 
 and walk humbly with their God.” Masons profess 
 innocence, as one of their first principles. They 
 put on white apparel, as an emblem of that 
 character, which bespeaks purity of soul, gentleness 
 and humility. 
 
 We have the following passage in the Biographia 
 Ecclesiastica : — 44 The ancients were also wont to put 
 a white garment on the person baptised, to denote 
 his having put off the lusts of the flesh, and his 
 being cleansed from his former sins, and that he 
 had obliged himself to maintain a life of unspotted 
 innocency. Accordingly, the baptized are both by 
 the Apostles and the Greek Fathers frequently 
 styled, 4 the Enlightened,’ because they professed 
 to be the children of light, and engaged themselves 
 never to return again to the works of darkness. 
 This white garment used to be delivered to them 
 with the following solemn charge : — 4 Receive the 
 white and undefiled garment, and produce it without 
 spot before the tribunal of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 that you may obtain eternal life. Amen.’ They 
 were wont to wear these white garments for the 
 space of a week after they were baptized, and then 
 put them off* and laid them by in the church, that 
 they might be kept as a witness against them, if 
 they should violate the baptismal covenant .” 2 
 
 2 White doves, or doves with silver wings, (Ps. lxviii. 13.) 
 were esteemed the favourite bird of the Deity, like the robin in 
 
116 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 Whilst the apron with which we are clothed indi- 
 cates our innocence, and belies not the wearer’s 
 heart, let the ignorant deride and scoff; superior 
 to the ridicule and malice of the wicked, we will 
 enfold ourselves in the garb of our own virtue ; and 
 safe in self-approving conscience, stand unmoved 
 amidst the attacks of invidiousness. 
 
 The raiment, which truly implies the innocence 
 of the heart, is a badge more honourable than ever 
 was devised by kings ; — the Roman Eagle, with all 
 the orders of knighthood, are inferior to it ; — they 
 may be prostituted by the caprice of princes, but 
 innocence is innate, and cannot be counterfeited. 
 
 To be a true Mason, is to possess this principle ; 
 or the apparel which he wears will expose him as an 
 apostate, disgraceful among the fraternity. 
 
 That innocence should be the professed principle 
 of a Mason, occasions no astonishment, when we 
 consider that the discovery of the Deity leads us to 
 the knowledge of those maxims wherewith he may 
 be well pleased. The very idea of a God is suc- 
 ceeded with the belief that he can approve of 
 nothing that is evil ; and when first our predeces- 
 sors professed themselves servants of the Architect 
 of the world, as an indispensable duty they professed 
 innocence, and put on white raiment as a type and 
 characteristic of their conviction, and of their being 
 
 our own country ; and hence it was esteemed sinful to disturb 
 or kill them. Thus Tibullus, (lib. 1, eleg. 8,) 
 
 Quid referam, ut volitet crebras intacta per urbas, 
 
 Alba Palsestino sancta columba suo? — Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 117 
 
 devoted to his will. The Druids were apparelled 
 in white at the time of their sacrifices and solemn 
 offices. The Egyptian priests of Osiris 3 wore snow- 
 white cotton vestments in the service of Ceres, 
 under whom was symbolized the gift of Providence 
 in the fruits of the earth ; and the Grecian priests 
 were habited in white raiments. 
 
 Every degree of vice strikes the rational mind 
 of man with some feelings of self-condemnation. 
 Under such conviction, who could call upon or claim 
 the presence of a Divinity whose demonstration is 
 good works ? Hence are men naturally led to con- 
 ceive that such a Divinity will accept only of works 
 of righteousness. Standing forth for the approbation 
 of heaven, the servants of the first revealed God 
 bound themselves to maxims of purity and virtue ; 
 and, as Masons, we regard the principles of those 
 who were the first worshippers of the true God, we 
 imitate their apparel, and assume their badge of 
 innocence. 
 
 Our jewels, or ornaments, imply that we try our 
 affections by justice, and our actions by truth, as 
 
 3 The name of Osiris seems to have been Uc-Sehor, and 
 Uc-Sehoris. According to Hellanicus, if a person had in Egypt 
 made inquiry about the term Osiris, he would not have been 
 understood, for the true name was Usiris. Philo Biblius, from 
 Sanchoniathon, calls the same deity Isiris ; and adds, that he 
 was the brother of Cna or Canaan, and the inventor of three 
 letters. I take Isiris and Usiris, as well as Osiris, to be all 
 Uc-Sehoris softened and accommodated to the ears of Greece. 
 (Bryant. Mythol, vol. i. p. 96, 8vo. edit,) — Editor. 
 
118 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 the square 4 tries the workmanship of the mechanic ; 
 that we regard our mortal state, whether it is dig- 
 nified by titles or not, whether it be opulent or 
 indigent, as being of one nature in the beginning, 
 and of one rank in its close. In sensations, passions, 
 and pleasures ; in infirmities, maladies, and wants, 
 all mankind are on a level ; nature has given us no 
 superiorities but from wisdom and virtue, which 
 constitute superiority. From such maxims we make 
 estimates of our brother, when his calamities call 
 for our counsel or our aid; the works of charity are 
 from sympathetic feelings, and benevolence acts 
 without respect of persons in dividing what she 
 gives. The emblem of these sentiments is another 
 of the jewels of our society. 
 
 To walk uprightly before heaven and before 
 men, without inclining to the right or to the left, is 
 the duty of a Mason, neither as an enthusiast nor 
 
 * Jn the translation of Cebes, by Syr Francis Poyngs, is the 
 following passage: — “ What is this place called? The habita- 
 tion of blessed folke, (quoth he). For here dwell all vertues 
 and felicitee. It must needs, then, be a fayre place (quoth I) ? 
 Then thou seest at the gate a certeyne woman, the which is 
 verye fayre, and of a constant face and behaviour, in hir middel 
 and lusti age, and hauynge hir apparell and garmentes symple. 
 She standeth not upon a round stoane, but on a square , surely 
 set and fixed ; and with hir there be two other, that seeme to be 
 hir daughters ? It appereth soe. Of these the myddlemoste is 
 Learning, the other Trouth, the other Perswasion. But why 
 stondeth this woman upon a square stoane ? It is a token 
 (quoth he) that the way that leadeth folk to her is to them 
 bothe fyrme and sure, and the gift of those thynges that she 
 geveth is to the receivours sure and stable.” — Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 119 
 
 a persecutor in religion, nor bending towards inno- 
 vation or infidelity. In civil government, firm in 
 our allegiance, yet stedfast to our laws, liberties, 
 and constitution. In private life, yielding up every 
 selfish propensity ; inclining neither to avarice nor 
 injustice, to malice nor revenge, to envy nor con- 
 tempt, in our intercourse with mankind; but as 
 the builder raises his column by the plane or per- 
 pendicular, so should the Mason carry himself 
 towards the world. 
 
 To rule our affections by justice, and our actions 
 by truth, is to wear a jewel which might ornament 
 the bosom of the highest potentate on earth; — 
 human nature has her impulses from desires which 
 are often inordinate ; love blinds with prejudice, and 
 resentment burns with fever ; contempt renders us 
 incredulous, and covetousness deprives us of every 
 generous or humane feeling. To steer the bark of 
 life upon the sea of passion without quitting the 
 course of rectitude, is one of the highest excellencies 
 to which human nature can be brought, aided by 
 the powers of philosophy and religion. 
 
 Yet merely to act with justice and truth is not 
 all that man should attempt, for even that excel- 
 lence would be selfishness ; the duty in this case is 
 not relative, but merely proper ; it is only saving 
 our own character and doing nothing for our neigh- 
 bour, for justice is an indispensable duty in each 
 individual : we were not born for ourselves alone, or 
 merely to shape our course thr.ough life in the soli- 
 tudes of tranquillity, and to study that which should 
 
120 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 afford peace to the conscience at home, but men 
 were made for society, and consequently aids for 
 each other; no one among us, be he ever so opulent, 
 can subsist without the assistance of his fellow-crea- 
 tures. Nature’s wants are numerous : our nakedness 
 must be clothed, our hunger satisfied, our maladies 
 visited. Where shall even the proud man find 
 sustenance, if he stand unaided by his neighbour? 
 when we look through the varied scene of life, we 
 see our fellow-creatures subject to innumerable 
 calamities, and were we without compassion, we 
 should exist without one of the finest feelings of 
 the human heart. To love and to approve, are 
 movements in the soul of a man which yield him 
 pleasure, but to pity gives him heavenly sensations, 
 and to relieve is divine. Charity hence has her 
 existence ; she acts from a consciousness of man’s 
 equality in nature ; she knows the level on which 
 mortality was created in the beginning. Accord- 
 ingly, the Mason indulges sympathetic feelings from 
 the affections of the heart-breathing love towards a 
 brother, coupled with that original estimation which 
 considers all our species to be brethren. The result 
 of this humane judgment, induces us to weigh the 
 necessities of our suffering fellow-creatures by our 
 equality in nature, and pursuant thereto we dispense 
 our gifts from affection. 
 
 To be an upright man is to add still greater lustre 
 to the Mason’s character; to do justice and to have 
 charity, are excellent steps in human life, but to act 
 uprightly, gives a superlative degree of excellence ; 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 121 
 
 for in that situation we should become examples in 
 religious, in civil, and in moral conduct. It is not 
 enough that we are neither enthusiasts nor persecu- 
 tors in religion, neither bending towards innovation 
 nor infidelity ; we must also not be merely pas- 
 sive but appear in the active character ; we should 
 be zealous observers and stedfast members of reli- 
 gious duty. In civil matters we should not only 
 submit to, but execute the laws of our country, and 
 obey all its ordinances; we ought to be faithful to 
 the constitution of the realm, and loyal to our king ; 
 true soldiers in the defence of our liberty, and of 
 his crown and dignity. In morality it is required 
 of us, not only that we should not err by injuring, 
 betraying, or deceiving, but that we should do good 
 in every capacity of that station in life wherein 
 Providence has placed us. 
 
 By such means let the Mason be proved, and 
 testify that his emblematical jewels are ensigns only 
 of the inward man ; so he will stand approved before 
 Heaven and before men, purchasing honour to his 
 profession, and felicity to himself as a professor of 
 Masonry. 
 
122 
 
 ARGUMENT XII. 
 
 ON THE LETTER G, AND THE RELATION EXISTING BETWEEN 
 GEOMETRY AND THE MASONIC INSTITUTION. 
 
 It is incumbent on me to demonstrate the inter- 
 esting signification of the letter G, wherewith lodges 
 and the medals of Masons are ornamented. 
 
 To apply it to the name of God only, is wrong ; 
 the symbols, indeed, used in lodges are expressive 
 of the Deity, as the great Master of Masonry, the 
 Architect of the world, and the Divine object of 
 worship and adoration. 
 
 But this significant letter also denotes with us 
 Geometry; which, to artificers, is the science by 
 which all their labours are calculated, formed, and 
 proved; and, to Masons, contains the determina- 
 tion, definition, and proof of the order, beauty, 
 and wonderful wisdom of the power of God in his 
 creation. 
 
 Geometry is said originally to have signified 
 nothing more than the art of measuring the earth, 
 or any distances or dimensions within it; but at 
 present it denotes the science of magnitude in 
 general, comprehending the doctrine and relations 
 of whatsoever is susceptible of augmentation or 
 diminution. So to Geometry may be referred the 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 123 
 
 construction, not only of lines, surfaces, and solids, 
 but also of time, motion, numbers, weights, and 
 many other matters. 
 
 This is a science which is said to have its rise, or 
 at least its present rules, from the Egyptians, who 
 were under a necessity of using it to remedy the 
 confusion generally happening in their lands, by 
 the overflowings of the river Nile, which carried 
 away yearly all boundaries, and effaced all limits of 
 their possessions. Thus this science, which con- 
 sisted only at first of the means of measuring lands, 
 that every person might have his property secured 
 to him, was called Geometry, or the art of measuring 
 the earth ; and it is probable that the draughts and 
 schemes the Egyptians were annually compelled to 
 make, helped them to discover many excellent pro- 
 perties of those figures which future speculation 
 continually improved. 
 
 From Egypt Geometry passed into Greece, where 
 it continued to receive new improvements in the 
 hands of Thales, Pythagoras, Archimedes, Euclid, 
 and others ; the Elements of Geometry, which were 
 written by Euclid, testify to us the great perfection 
 to which this science was brought by the ancients, 
 though much inferior to modern Geometry, the 
 bounds of which, by the invention of fluxions, and 
 the discovery of an infinite order of curves, are 
 greatly enlarged. 
 
 The usefulness of Geometry extends to almost 
 every art and science ; by the help of it astronomers 
 turn their observations to advantage, regulate the 
 
124 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 duration of times, seasons, years, cycles, and epochas; 
 measure the distance, motions, and magnitude of 
 the whole earth, and delineate the extent and 
 bearings of kingdoms, provinces, oceans, harbours, 
 and every place upon the globe. It is adapted to 
 artificers in every branch, and from thence builders 
 preserve regularity and due proportion in their 
 works pursuant to the orders of architecture. 
 
 This naturally leads us to conjecture why the 
 square is used as one of the lights of Masonry, and 
 part of the furniture of the lodge. To explain our 
 ideas on that matter we will only repeat the words 
 of a celebrated author ; treating of the rise and pro- 
 gress of the sciences, he says, “ We find nothing in 
 ancient authors to direct us to the exact order in 
 which the fundamental principles of measuring 
 surfaces were discovered. They probably began 
 with those surfaces which terminated by right lines, 
 and amongst these with the most simple. It is 
 hard, indeed, to determine which of those surfaces, 
 which are terminated by a small number of right 
 lines, are the most simple. If we were to judge by 
 the number of sides, the triangle has indisputably 
 the advantage. Yet I am inclined to think that 
 the square was the figure which first engaged the 
 attention of geometricians. It was not till some 
 time after this, that they began to examine equi- 
 lateral triangles, which are the most regular of all 
 triangular figures. It is to be presumed that they 
 understood the rectilinear figure first, to which they 
 afterwards compared the areas of other polygons, 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 125 
 
 as they discovered them. It was by that means the 
 square became the common measure of all surfaces ; 
 for in all ages, and amongst all nations of which we 
 have any knowledge, the square has always been 
 that in planimetry, which the unit is in arithmetic ; 
 for though in measuring rectilinear figures, we are 
 obliged to resolve them into triangles, yet the areas 
 of these figures are always given in the square. 
 Thence we are led to determine that the square 
 was the first and original figure in geometry, and 
 as such was introduced into our lodges.” 
 
 The square was the figure under which the 
 Israelites formed their encampments in the wilder- 
 ness, and under which they fortified or defended 
 the holy tabernacle, sanctified with the immediate 
 presence of the Divinity. 
 
 As we before declared it to be our opinion, that 
 this society was never formed for, or of, a set of 
 working architects or Masons; but as a religious, 
 social, and charitable establishment, and that the 
 members thereof never were embodied, or exhibited 
 to the world as builders, save only under Moses, 
 and at the temple of Jerusalem, where with holy 
 hands they executed those works of piety, as the 
 patriarchs erected altars to the honour of the 
 Divinity, for their sacrifices and religious offices ; 
 so we are persuaded that the adoption of geometry 
 by Masons, or any emblem of that science, implies 
 no more than a reverence for such devices of the 
 mind of man as should demonstrate the wisdom of 
 the Almighty in his works, whereby the powers of 
 
126 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL 
 
 Abrax are defined, and the system of the starry 
 revolutions in the heavens determined. 
 
 If we should look upon the earth with its produce, 
 the ocean with its tides, the returns of day and 
 night, the starry arch of heaven, the seasons and 
 their changes, the life and death of man, as being 
 merely accidents in the hand of nature, we must 
 shut up all the powers of judgment, and yield 
 ourselves to the darkest folly and ignorance. The 
 august scene of the planetary system, the day and 
 night, the seasons, in their successions, the animal 
 frame, the vegetation of plants, all afford us 
 subjects for astonishment above every compre- 
 hension except that of the Deity, whose works 
 they are. 
 
 Then how much ought we to esteem that mind, 
 through whose powers it is given to man to discover 
 the order of the heavenly bodies, their revolutions, 
 and their situations, whereby they render the opera- 
 tions of the Deity an unerring system, proving the 
 mightiness of his works, and the wisdom of his 
 decrees ! 
 
 It is no wonder, then, that the first institutors of 
 this society, who regarded divine revelation from 
 the earliest ages of the world unto the days of its 
 perfection under the ministry of the Son of God, 
 should hold that science hallowed amongst them, 
 whereby such lights were obtained by man, in the 
 discovery of the great wisdom of the Creator in the 
 beginning. 
 
 In short, Geometry is the first and noblest of the 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 127 
 
 sciences, and the basis on which the superstructure 
 of Freemasonry is erected. 
 
 The contemplation of this science, in a moral 
 and comprehensive view, fills the mind with rapture. 
 To the true geometrician, the regions of matter with 
 which he is surrounded afford ample scope for his 
 admiration, while they open a sublime field for his 
 inquiry and disquisition. 
 
 Every particle of matter on which he treads, every 
 blade of grass which covers the field, every flower 
 which blows, and every insect which wings its way in 
 this expanded space, proves the existence of a first 
 cause, and yields pleasure to the intelligent mind. 
 
 The symmetry, beauty, and order displayed in the 
 various parts of the animate and inanimate creation, 
 is a pleasing and delightful theme, and naturally 
 leads to the source whence the whole is derived. 
 When we bring within the focus of the eye the 
 variegated carpet of the terrestrial theatre, and 
 survey the progress of the vegetative system, our 
 admiration is justly excited. Every plant which 
 grows, every flowering shrub which breathes its 
 sweets, affords instruction and delight. When we 
 extend our views to the animal creation, and con- 
 template the varied clothing of every species, we 
 are equally struck with astonishment. And when 
 we trace the lines of geometry drawn by the divine 
 pencil in the beautiful plumage of the feathered 
 tribe, how exalted is our conception of the heavenly 
 work ! The admirable structure of plants and 
 animals, and the infinite number of fibres and 
 
128 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL, 
 
 vessels which run through the whole, with the apt 
 disposition of one part to another, is a perpetual 
 subject of study to the geometrician, who, while he 
 adverts to the changes which all undergo in their 
 progress to maturity, is lost in rapture and venera- 
 tion of the great cause which governs the system. 
 
 When he descends into the bowels of the earth, 
 and explores the kingdom of ores, minerals, and 
 fossils, he finds the same instances of divine wisdom 
 and goodness displayed in their formation and 
 structure; every gem and pebble proclaims the 
 handy-work of an Almighty Creator, 
 
 When he surveys the watery elements, and directs 
 his attention to the wonders of the deep, with all 
 the inhabitants of the mighty ocean, he perceives 
 emblems of the same supreme intelligence. The 
 scales of the largest whale, as well as the pencilled 
 shell of the minutest fish, equally yield a theme 
 for his contemplation, on which he fondly dwells, 
 while the symmetry of their formation, and the 
 delicacy of the tints, evince the wisdom of the 
 Divine Artist. 
 
 When he exalts his view to the more noble and 
 elevated parts of nature, and surveys the celestial 
 orbs, how much greater is his astonishment ! If, on 
 the principles of geometry and true philosophy, he 
 contemplate the sun, the moon, the stars, and the 
 whole concave of heaven, his pride will be humbled, 
 while he is lost in awful admiration of the Maker. 
 The immense magnitude of those bodies, the 
 regularity and velocity of their motions, and the 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 129 
 
 inconceivable extent of space through which they 
 move, are equally wonderful and incomprehensible, 
 so as to baffle his most daring conceptions, whilst 
 he labours in considering the immensity of the 
 theme ! 
 
 By geometry, therefore, we may curiously trace 
 Nature through her manifold ways, to her most 
 concealed recesses. By it we may discover the 
 power, the wisdom, and the goodness of the Grand 
 Architect of the universe, and see with surprise the 
 proportions which connect this vast machine. By 
 it we may discover how the planets move in their 
 different orbits, and perform their various revolu- 
 tions. By it we may account for the return of 
 seasons, and the variety of scenes which each season 
 displays to the discerning eye. Numberless worlds 
 roll around through the wide expanse, all regulated 
 by the same unerring laws of Nature ! 
 
 A survey of Nature, and the observation of her 
 beautiful proportions, first determined man to 
 imitate the divine plan, and study symmetry and 
 order. This gave rise to societies, and birth to 
 every useful art. The architect began to design, 
 and the plans which he laid down, improved by 
 experience and time, produced works which have 
 been the admiration of every age. 
 
130 
 
 ARGUMENT XIII. 
 
 ON THE HUMAN FACULTIES, AND PARTICULARLY THE FIVE 
 EXTERNAL SENSES ; WITH A SHORT ANALYSIS OF THEIR 
 MASONIC INTERPRETATION. 
 
 An analysis of the human faculties shall now be 
 given in this argument, in which the five external 
 senses particularly claim attention. 
 
 When these topics are proposed in our assemblies, 
 we are not confined to any peculiar mode of expla- 
 nation ; but every brother is at liberty to offer his 
 sentiments under proper restrictions. The follow- 
 ing thoughts on this important branch of learning, 
 may, however, be useful. 
 
 The senses we are to consider as the gifts of 
 Nature, and primary regulations of our active 
 powers ; as by them alone we are conscious of the 
 distance, nature, and properties of external objects. 
 Reason, properly employed, confirms, the regula- 
 tions of Nature, which are always true and salutary : 
 she distinguishes the good from the bad; rejects 
 the latter with modesty, adheres to the former with 
 reverence. 
 
 The objects of human knowledge are innume- 
 rable ; the channels by which this knowledge is 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 131 
 
 conveyed, are few. Among these, the perception 
 of external things by the senses, and the informa- 
 tion we receive from human testimony, are not the 
 least considerable ; the analogy between them is 
 obvious. In the testimony of nature given by the 
 senses, as well as in human testimony given by 
 information, things are notified by signs. In one 
 as well as the other, the mind, either by original 
 principles or by custom, passes from the sign to the 
 conception and belief of the thing signified. The 
 signs in the natural language, as well as the sen- 
 sations producing our original perceptions, convey 
 similar ideas in all climates and nations, and the 
 skill of interpreting them, it would seem, is not 
 acquired, but innate. 
 
 Having made these observations, we shall pro- 
 ceed to give a brief description of the five senses . 1 
 
 Hearing is that sense by which we distinguish 
 sounds, and are capable of enjoying all the agree- 
 able charms of music. By it we are enabled to 
 enjoy the pleasures of society, and reciprocally to 
 communicate to each other our thoughts and inten- 
 tions, our purposes and desires ; while our reason is 
 capable of exerting its utmost power and energy. 
 
 The wise, and beneficent Author of nature in- 
 tended, by the formation of this sense, that we 
 should be social creatures, and receive the greatest 
 and most important part of our knowledge by the 
 information of others. For these purposes we are 
 
 1 This disquisition has been rejected by Dr. Hemming, in his 
 revision of the Lectures. It ought to be restored, —Editor. 
 
13 2 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 endowed with hearing, that, by a proper exertion 
 of our rational powers, our happiness may be com- 
 plete. 
 
 Seeing is that sense by which we distinguish 
 objects, and in an instant of time, without change 
 of place or situation, view armies in battle array, 
 figures of the most stately structures, and all the 
 agreeable variety displayed in the landscape of 
 nature. By this sense we find our way in the 
 pathless ocean, traverse the globe of earth, deter- 
 mine its figure and dimensions, and delineate any 
 region or quarter of it. By it we measure the 
 planetary orbs, and make new discoveries in the 
 region of fixed stars. Nay, more, by it we perceive 
 the tempers and dispositions, the passions and 
 affections of our fellow-creatures, when they wish 
 most to conceal them, so that though the tongue 
 might be taught to lie and dissemble, the coun- 
 tenance would display the hypocrisy to a discerning 
 eye. In fine, the rays of light which administer to 
 this sense, are the most astonishing parts of the 
 inanimate creation, and render the eye a peculiar 
 object of admiration. 
 
 Of all the faculties, sight is the noblest. The 
 structure of the eye, and its appurtenances, evince 
 the admirable contrivance of Nature for performing 
 all its various external and internal motions ; while 
 the variety displayed in the eyes of different animals, 
 suited to their several ways of life, clearly demon- 
 strates this organ to be the master-piece of Nature’s 
 work. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 133 
 
 Feeling is that sense by which we distinguish the 
 different qualities of bodies ; such as heat and cold, 
 hardness and softness, roughness and smoothness, 
 figure, solidity, motion and extension ; which, by 
 means of certain corresponding sensations of touch, 
 are presented to the mind as real external qualities, 
 and the conception or belief of them is invariably 
 connected with those corresponding sensations by 
 an original principle of human nature, which far 
 transcends our inquiry. 
 
 All knowledge beyond our original perceptions is 
 got by experience. The constancy of Nature’s laws 
 connects the sign with the thing signified, and we 
 rely on the continuance of that connection which 
 experience has discovered. 
 
 These three senses, hearing, seeing, and feeling, 
 are peculiarly considered as objects of inquiry among 
 Masons. 
 
 Smelling is that sense by which we distinguish 
 odours, which convey different impressions to the 
 mind. Animal and vegetable bodies, and indeed 
 most other bodies, continually send forth effluvia of 
 vast subtilty, as well in the state of life and growth 
 as in the state of fermentation and putrefaction. 
 The volatile particles probably repel each other, and 
 scatter themselves in the air, till they meet with 
 other bodies to which they bear a chemical affinity, 
 with which they unite and form new concretes. 
 These effluvia being inhaled into the nostrils along 
 with the air, are the means by which all bodies are 
 smelled. Hence it is evident there is a manifest 
 
134 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 appearance of design in the great Creator’s having 
 planted the organ of smelling in the inside of that 
 canal through which the air continually passes in 
 respiration. 
 
 Tasting enables us to make a proper distinction 
 in the choice of our food. The organ of this sense 
 guards the entrance of the alimentary canal as that 
 of smell guards the entrance of the canal for respira- 
 tion. From the situation of these organs, it is plain 
 that they were intended by nature to distinguish 
 wholesome food from that which is noxious. Every 
 thing that enters into the stomach must undergo 
 the scrutiny of tasting, and by it we are capable 
 of discerning the changes which the same body 
 undergoes in the different compositions of art, 
 cookery, chemistry, pharmacy, &c. 
 
 Smelling and tasting are inseparably connected, 
 and it is by the unnatural kind of life men commonly 
 lead in society, that these senses are rendered less 
 fit to perform their natural functions. 
 
 Through the medium of the senses we are enabled 
 to form just and accurate notions of the operations 
 of nature ; and when we reflect on the means by 
 which the senses are gratified, we become conscious 
 of the existence of bodies, and attend to them, till 
 they are rendered familiar objects of thought. 
 
 To understand and analyze the operations of the 
 mind, is an attempt in which the most judicious 
 may fail. All we know is, that the senses are the 
 channels of communication to the mind, which is 
 ultimately affected by their operation ; and when 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 135 
 
 the mind is diseased, the senses lose their powers. 
 The fabric of the mind, as well as that of the body, 
 is curious and wonderful ; the faculties of the one 
 are adapted to their several ends with equal wisdom 
 and no less propriety than the organs of the other. 
 The inconceivable wisdom of an Almighty Being 
 is displayed in the abilities of the mind, which 
 extends its energy to every branch of science, and 
 is therefore a theme particularly worthy of attention. 
 In the arts and sciences which have least connec- 
 tion with the mind, its faculties are still the engines 
 which we must employ ; according as we understand 
 their nature and use, their defects and disorders, we 
 apply them with the greater success. 
 
 Wise men agree that there is but one way to the 
 knowledge of Nature’s works — the way of observa- 
 tion and experiment. By our constitution we have 
 a strong propensity to trace particular facts and 
 observations to general rules, and to apply those 
 rules to account for other effects, or to direct us in 
 the production of them. This procedure of the 
 understanding is familiar in the common affairs of 
 life, and is the means by which every real discovery 
 in philosophy is made. 
 
 On the mind all our knowledge must depend; it 
 therefore constitutes a proper subject for the inves- 
 tigation of Masons. By anatomical dissection and 
 observation we may become acquainted with the 
 body, but our constant study and sagacity is wanted 
 in order to ascertain the capability and powers of 
 the mind. 
 
136 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 To sum up the measure of God’s bounty to man, 
 we may add that memory, imagination, taste, rea- 
 soning, moral perception, and all the active powers 
 of the soul, present such a vast and boundless matter 
 for philosophical disquisition, as far exceeds human 
 inquiry, impossible to be really and essentially 
 known by any save Him to whom mankind in 
 general are indebted for creation, preservation, and 
 every blessing they enjoy. 
 
137 
 
 ARGUMENT XIV, 
 
 ON THE MASTER MASON’S ORDER AND OCCUPATION IN GENERAL 2 
 
 THE WHOLE DISPLAYED IN A PROFESSIONAL AND MORAL POINT 
 
 OF VIEW. 
 
 As I at first proposed to investigate the three 
 progressive orders of Masons — Apprentices, Crafts- 
 men, and Masters—by a definition and description 
 of the several circumstances which attended the 
 worshippers of the true God, so have I, in the 
 former arguments, shown, that by the apprentice’s 
 order is implied the first knowledge of the God of 
 nature, in the earliest ages of man. Under the 
 craftsmen I have shown the Mosaic legation, and 
 the building of the temple at Jerusalem, together 
 with the light which men received for the discovery 
 of divine wisdom by geometrical solutions. I now 
 proceed to the third stage , 1 the most sacred, viz., 
 the Master Mason’s order. 
 
 Under the Jewish law the service of God became 
 clouded and obscured by ceremonies and rites, 
 which daily crept in upon it through imitation of 
 the neighbouring heathen. When the morals of 
 
 1 This ingenious explanation of the third stage of Masonry 
 is borrowed from Hutchinson’s “ Spirit of Masonry ; ” but 
 there are reasonable doubts respecting its accuracy. — Editor. 
 
138 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 the Jewish nation were corrupted, civil jurisdiction 
 lost its sacred basis, innovations sapped religious 
 government, and anarchy succeeded. In this man- 
 ner the strength of the Jews was dissolved, and the 
 heathen triumphed over their nation . 2 
 
 Jehovah, their God and King, perceiving the 
 degradation of the Jew as well as Gentile, in his 
 benevolence was moved to redeem mankind. He 
 saw that the revelation which he had deigned to 
 make of his divinity, might, majesty, and wisdom, 
 to the nations of the earth, and more especially to 
 the Jewish tribes, was not sufficient to preserve them 
 in their duty ; he weighed the frailty of mankind 
 in the balance which his justice suspended, and to 
 their imperfections he held out his mercy. The 
 Egyptians had abused their learning and wisdom ; 
 the Jews had polluted God’s ordinances and laws ; 
 
 2 I subjoin a copy of the prayer which was formerly used 
 by our Hebrew brethren at the opening of their lodges: — 
 “ Enlighten us, we beseech thee, O ! Lord Jehovah, in the true 
 knowledge of Masonry ; by the sorrows of Adam, thy first-made 
 man ; by the blood of Abel, the holy one ; by the righteousness 
 of Seth, in whom thou wert well pleased ; and by thy covenant 
 with Noah, in whose architecture thou wast pleased to save the 
 seed of thy beloved. Number us not among those that know 
 not thy statutes, nor the divine mystery of the secret Cabala. 
 But grant, we beseech thee, that the ruler of this lodge may be 
 endued with knowledge and wisdom to instruct us, and explain 
 his secret mysteries, as our holy brother Moses did (in his lodge) 
 to Aaron, to Eleazer and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron, and to the 
 seventy elders of Israel. And grant that we may understand, 
 learn, and keep all the statutes and commandments of the Lord, 
 and this holy mystery, pure and undefiled, unto our lives’ end. 
 Amen, so mote it be.” — Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 139 
 
 and Satan had established his dominion in the 
 strong places of the earth. 
 
 Piety, which had planned the temple at Jerusa- 
 lem, was extinguished ; the reverence and adoration 
 due to the Divinity was buried in the filth and 
 rubbish of the world ; persecution had dispersed the 
 few who retained their obedience, and the name of 
 the true God was almost totally lost and forgotten 
 among men ; religion sat mourning in Israel in 
 sackcloth and ashes, and morality was scattered, 
 as it were, by the winds of heaven. 
 
 In this situation, it might well be said, “ That 
 the guide to heaven was lost, and the master of the 
 works of righteousness was smitten.” The nations 
 had given themselves up to the grossest idolatry, 
 Solomon had fallen, and the service of the true God 
 was effaced from the memory of those who had 
 yielded themselves to the bondage of sin. 
 
 In order that mankind might be preserved from 
 this deplorable state of darkness and destruction, 
 and as the old law was dead and become rottenness, 
 a new doctrine and new precepts were wanting to 
 give the key of salvation, by means of which men 
 might find the ways of the Deity. 
 
 In this woeful dilemma the great Father of all, 
 commiserating the miseries of the world, sent his 
 only Son, who was innocence itself, to teach the 
 doctrines of eternal life. By Him man was raised 
 from the death of sin unto the life of righteousness, 
 being lifted from the valley of death to the region 
 of hope ; not only working for us this redemption, 
 
140 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 but granting us the covenant of regeneration; — 
 whence we are capable to become the children of 
 the Divinity, and inheritors of Heaven. 
 
 Masons, describing the deplorable state of reli- 
 gion under the Jewish law, speak in figures : — 
 
 Her tomb was in the rubbish and filth cast out 
 from the temple, and the Acacia spread its branches 
 over her monument.” The Greek name for inno- 
 cence being similar, implies that the corruptions 
 which crept into the old law had hid religion from 
 those who sought her, and she was only to be found 
 with innocence, under the banner of Messiah, the 
 tree of life ; and in regard to Masons themselves, it 
 signified that they ought to be distinguished as true 
 Acacians or innocent people. 
 
 The acquisition of the doctrine of redemption is 
 expressed in the typical character of Huramen, the 
 Greek for “ I have found,” and by the applications 
 of that name with Masons it is implied, that we 
 have discovered the knowledge of God and his 
 salvation, and have been redeemed from the 
 sin of death, and the sepulchre of pollution and 
 unrighteousness. 
 
 Thus the Master Mason represents a man under 
 the Christian doctrine, saved from the grave of 
 iniquity, and raised to the life and grace of sal- 
 vation. 
 
 As the great testimonial that we are risen from 
 the state of corruption, we bear the emblem of the 
 Holy Trinity, as the insignia of our vows, and of 
 the origin of the Master’s order. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 141 
 
 On receiving this ensign, the Mason professes 
 himself in a short distich, in the Greek language, 
 which, from the rules of our order, we are forbidden 
 to commit to writing; the literal meaning of which 
 is “ Vehementer cupio vitam;” ardently I wish 
 for life ; meaning the everlasting life of redemption 
 and regeneration ; an avowal which carries with it 
 the most religious import, proceeding from a pure 
 faith. The ceremonies attending this stage of our 
 profession are solemn and tremendous ; during 
 which a sacred awe is diffused over the mind, the 
 soul is struck with reverence, and all the spiritual 
 faculties are called forth to worship and adora- 
 tion. 
 
 This our order is a positive contradiction to 
 Judaic blindness and infidelity, and testifies our 
 faith concerning the resurrection of the body. 
 
 The divine construction put upon this emblem 
 of the Master’s order, which he declares is the prin- 
 ciple by which he is raised from darkness, is also 
 the emblem of moral duties professed by the Mason, 
 and which in former ages were most religiously per- 
 formed. These are principles immediately resulting 
 from the Christian doctrine . 3 
 
 The Master Mason imposes a duty on himself 
 full of moral virtue and Christian charity, by 
 
 3 In testimony of the above facts, the Deacon's Jewel is a 
 dove. And in ancient times the holy Eucharist was kept in a 
 vessel in the shape of a dove, as an emblem of Christian charity, 
 taken from the holy spirit brooding over Christ in this form„ 
 (Durant* de Ritib, Eccles. c. 34.)— Editor. 
 
142 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 enforcing that brotherly love which every man 
 should extend to his neighbour. 
 
 First, that when the calamities of our brother 
 call for our aid, we should not withdraw the hand 
 that might save him from sinking; but that we 
 should render him those services, which, not injuring 
 our own families or fortunes, charity and religion 
 may dictate, for relieving our distressed fellow- 
 creatures. 
 
 Secondly, that indolence should not persuade the 
 foot to halt, or wrath turn our steps out of the way ; 
 but forgetting injuries and selfish feelings, and 
 remembering that man was born for the aid of 
 his generation, and not for his own enjoyments 
 only, but to do that which is good ; we should be 
 swift to have mercy, to save, to strengthen, and 
 execute benevolence. 
 
 Thirdly, as the good things of this life are 
 variously dispensed, and some are opulent whilst 
 others are in distress; such principles also enjoin 
 a Mason, be he ever so poor, to testify his good- 
 will towards his brother. Riches alone are not the 
 only means of doing good ; virtue and benevolence 
 are not confined to the walks of opulence ; the rich 
 man, from his many talents, is required to do exten- 
 sive good; and yet poverty is no excuse for an 
 omission of goodness; for as the breathings of a 
 contrite heart are regarded by our heavenly Father, 
 so a worthy Mason’s prayer may prove effectual in 
 calling down a blessing on his brother. 
 
 Fourthly — the fourth principle is never to injure 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 143 
 
 the confidence of a brother, by revealing his secrets ; 
 for perhaps that were to rob him of the guard which 
 protects his property or life. The tongue of a 
 Mason should be void of offence, and without guile ; 
 speaking truth with discretion, and keeping itself 
 within the rule of judgment; maintaining a heart 
 void of uncharitableness, locking up secrets, and 
 communicating in charity and love. 
 
 Fifthly, of charity, so much is required of a 
 Mason, in his gifts as discretion shall limit; — 
 charity begins at home; but like an olive, whose 
 fruit is good to eat, and whose shade is shelter to 
 the weary traveller, so is charity to the needy. 
 Charity spreads its arms abroad in the strength and 
 opulence of its station, and affords a retreat for 
 those who sit down under its branches. Charity, 
 when we give without discrimination, is no longer 
 a virtue; but, when guided by discretion, it is 
 pleasant as the beams of morning, in which thou- 
 sands rejoice. When the donative of pity is detri- 
 mental to a man’s own family, it becomes the 
 oblation of imprudence, and like incense offered 
 to idols, the sacrifice is unaccepted of Heaven. 
 
 As Moses was commanded to pull his shoes from 
 his feet, on Mount Horeb, because the ground 
 whereon he trod, was sanctified by the presence of 
 the Divinity ; 4 so the Mason who would prepare 
 
 4 This arrangement was soon introduced into the heathen 
 mysteries ; and originated a practice of testifying a veneration 
 for the gods by performing religious ceremonies with bare feet, 
 as did the Jewish priesthood. Going barefoot was a sign of 
 
144 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 himself for this third stage of Masonry, should 
 advance in the path of truth, be divested of every 
 degree of arrogance, and come as a true Acacian, 
 or blameless worshipper, with innocence, humility, 
 and virtue, to challenge the ensigns of an order, 
 whose institutions are founded in the most solemn 
 and sacred principles of religion. 
 
 sorrow, and was used by David when he was expelled by his 
 rebellious son. (2 Sam. xv 30.) The Cretans, who were other- 
 wise very lax in the discipline of their religious mysteries, made 
 it penal for any person to enter the temple of Diana with his 
 feet covered. Pythagoras enjoined on his disciples the necessity 
 of a strict adherence to this practice ; nudis pedibus rem sacram 
 facito ; and even the Roman ladies of the highest rank were not 
 excused when they entered the temple of Vesta. At this day, 
 the Mahometans, who bear a corpse to its final destination in 
 India, throw off their shoes. And the reverence indicated by 
 bare feet is still prevalent in the East. On the same occasions 
 as we take off our hats — they uncover the feet ; and it would 
 be thought highly indecorous to enter a temple or mosque with 
 their feet covered. — Editor. 
 
145 
 
 ARGUMENT XV. 
 
 ON THE SECRECY OF MASONS, AND ON THE EVIDENCES TO 
 PROVE THAT THEIR MORALITY WAS ORIGINALLY DEDUCED 
 FROM THE SCHOOL OF PYTHAGORAS, THE BASILIDEAN SYSTEM, 
 AND THE DRUIDICAL LAW. 
 
 In this age when things serious are too often 
 ridiculed, things religious treated with contempt, 
 and what is moral spurned from the doors of the 
 polite, no wonder if our intentions to prove this 
 society a religious, as well as civil institution, 
 should be ridiculed and despised. 
 
 It is not to be doubted but many assemblies of 
 Masons were held before the Christian era. The 
 first stage of Masonry took its rise in the earliest 
 times ; it originated in the mind of Adam, descended 
 pure through the antediluvian ages ; was after- 
 wards taught by Ham, and from him, amidst the 
 corruptions of mankind, flowed unpolluted and 
 unstained with idolatry to these our times, by the 
 channel of some few of the sons of truth, who 
 remained uncontaminated with the sins of nations, 
 carrying forward to us pure and spotless principles, 
 together with the original symbols. Those ancients, 
 enlightened with the original truth, were dispersed 
 through many states ; they were called to join the 
 Jewish nation, and many of them became united 
 
 H 
 
146 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL, 
 
 with that people. The intelligent were employed 
 in the construction of the tabernacle of Moses, they 
 were embodied at the building of the temple at 
 Jerusalem, and might from thence emigrate into 
 distant countries, where they would superintend 
 other religious works. The ceremonies of Masons, 
 prove that the testimonials and insignia of the 
 Master’s order, in the present state of Masonry, 
 were devised within the ages of Christianity; and 
 we are confident there are not any records in being, 
 in any nation, or in any language, which can show 
 them to be pertinent to any other system, or give 
 them greater antiquity . 1 
 
 1 If Dr. Ashe refers in the above passage to the legend of the 
 third degree, I think his conclusion is erroneous. I agree with 
 the ingenious author that the present system of Freemasonry is 
 essentially Christian ; and not the less so because it commences 
 with the Jews : for Judaism, in all its references, was only a 
 schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. (Gal. iii. 24.) But I am 
 persuaded that the original version of that legend was used in 
 the very earliest times — even before the Flood — as a memorial 
 of the resurrection, and a type of Christ. It was known both 
 to the patriarchs, Jews, and idolaters ; was referred to by Jesus 
 Christ and his Apostles ; and is allegorized in the parable of 
 the moral death and restoration of the prodigal son, who, it is 
 there said, “ was dead and is alive again ; was lost and is found.” 
 The idolaters exemplified the legend, and it was referred by 
 them to the setting and rising of their chief deity, the sun ; 
 although some referred it to the sowing and sprouting of corn. 
 I cannot enter more fully on this mysterious subject ; but the 
 fraternity will understand my meaning. I may, however, add — 
 as it forms the theme of an existing document from the pen of 
 Bro. Sir W. Drummond, author of the Origines, which is to be 
 seen in the archives of the Royal Arch Chapter at Edinburgh, 
 No. 1 — that this eminent person interprets our legend astrono - 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 147 
 
 In this country, under the Druids, the first prin- 
 ciples of our profession most assuredly were taught 
 and exercised : how soon the second stage and its 
 ceremonials were promulgated after the building of 
 the temple at Jerusalem, we have no degree of 
 evidence. As to the third and most sacred order, no 
 doubt it was adopted upon the conversion of those 
 who attended the Druidical worship, who had pro- 
 fessed the adoration of the One Supreme Being, and 
 who accordingly would more readily receive the 
 doctrines of a Mediator. 
 
 2 
 
 Under our present profession of Masonry, we 
 allege that our morality was originally deduced from 
 the school of Pythagoras, and that the Basilidean 
 system of religion furnished us with tenets, princi- 
 
 mically . And though I differ widely from the theory, I must 
 confess that the arguments are very ingenious, and the coinci- 
 dences extraordinary. Hutchinson treats it as an allegory; 
 while I am persuaded it is commemorative of an actual fact 
 which occurred in the earliest age of the world. — Editor. 
 
 2 Our author here labours under a mistake. Speculative 
 Masonry owes nothing to Druidism, although it is freely admitted 
 that they have some ceremonies in common. But if we are 
 correct in supposing that the Tyrians or Phoenicians adopted 
 some of the usages of Speculative Masonry from the Jews, this 
 coincidence is easily accounted for. The intercourse of the 
 Phoenicians with this island gave a new character to the druidical 
 religion. And it is quite certain, that while the system of Specu- 
 lative and Operative Masonry united, flourished in England, under 
 the patronage of Athelstan and Edwin, Druidism was prohibited 
 by law ; although it continued to be practised secretly for many 
 centuries, and is not yet entirely extinct. The question is dis- 
 cussed at large in the Freemason’s Quarterly Review , vol. viii, 
 p. 9 — 20 . — Editor. 
 
 h 2 
 
148 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 pies, and hieroglyphics ; 3 but these, together with the 
 Egyptian symbols and Judaic monuments, are col- 
 lected only as a successional series of circumstances, 
 which the worshippers of the Deity, in different 
 and distant ages of the world, had professed; and 
 are all resolved into the present system of Masonry, 
 which is made perfect by means of Christianity. 
 Thus it appears that Masons handed down, unadul- 
 terated, religious worship from the earliest ages. 
 
 That there were builders of cities, temples, and 
 fortifications, from the beginning, is indisputable ; 
 but that the artificers were formed into bodies, ruled 
 by their own proper laws, and knowing in mysteries 
 and secrets which were kept from the rest of man- 
 kind is not alike true ; for so plain, easy, and intel- 
 ligible is the mechanic art of building, that it is 
 comprehensible to ordinary capacity, and needed 
 not to be wrapped up in mystic rules; neither was 
 there any occasion for the artificers to be possessed 
 of a science unrevealed to the world. 
 
 Man would be taught building by the animals 
 daily under his observation — the fox, the rabbit, 
 and many other creatures form themselves caves; 
 the beaver is an architect in wood, and builds his 
 house ; the birds prepare their nests for the protec- 
 tion of their young ; the bee labours in constructing 
 
 3 It is well known from historical testimony, that the Egyptians 
 erected pyramids in honour of the sun, which were placed so 
 correctly that they served i for gnomons to mark the time, 
 and improved the science of astronomy by its application to 
 chronology, and discovered the number of days in the solar year. 
 Hence Basilides might have derived this portion of his system. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 149 
 
 hives and store-houses : the ants are gathered in a 
 commonwealth, where their provender and progeny 
 are secured. All these would instruct men in 
 building; so that whilst our race were acquiring 
 the first rudiments of knowledge from the book of 
 nature, after the darkness which had overwhelmed 
 them in their disobedience, this could remain no 
 secret. 
 
 Besides, if we should be esteemed merely the 
 successors of mechanics, and as such, should take 
 our grand progress from the building of the temple 
 at Jerusalem, we shall find that Hiram, who was 
 sent from Tyre to assist in that structure, had not 
 his excellence in architecture only, but in molten 
 work, and also in dying, as is said in Chronicles: — 
 “ He was skilful to work in silver and gold, in brass, 
 in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in fine 
 linen, and in crimson ; also to grave all manner oi 
 graving.” He was the subject of a state, wherein 
 the worship of idols was established. This kind 
 of religion gave encouragement to and advanced 
 the fine arts, as it employed statuaries, sculptors, 
 painters, and those who made graven images. 
 Solomon ornamented his temple with artificial 
 cherubims and palm-trees, fruits and flowers ; from 
 whence we do not doubt Hiram was skilled in the 
 business of a statuary and painter, and that he 
 made graven and molten images. In Kings, it is 
 said only, “ that Hiram was filled with wisdom 
 and understanding, and cunning to work all works 
 in brass.” As to Solomon’s part in this great 
 
150 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 structure, being inclined to complete it as a work 
 of piety, pursuant to the ordinances of Heaven, and 
 the promises made to his father David, he was 
 truly the executor of that plan which was revealed 
 to him from above. He called forth the sages and 
 religious men amongst his people to perform it. 
 He classed them according to their rank in their 
 religious profession, as the priests of the temple 
 were stationed in the solemn rites and ceremonies 
 instituted there. This distinction was maintained 
 in most religious societies, but especially with the 
 primitive Christians. The chosen ones of Solomon, 
 as a pious and holy duty, conducted the work. If 
 we regard them as architects by profession, so we 
 may consider Abel, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, 
 and David, by reason of the building of their altars, 
 which were no other than works of piety and devo- 
 tion. From those circumstances, we are bold to 
 \ 
 
 say, that if we trace the antiquity of Masonry on 
 operative principles, and derive such principles 
 from the building of Solomon’s temple, we may as 
 well claim all the professions which Hiram excelled 
 in : but we will leave this speculation at present. 
 
 Some masters of design have brought their works 
 to a singular justness, symmetry, and order, in 
 Egypt and Greece, in Italy, as well as many other 
 European states ; but they, like proficients in paint- 
 ing and music, had their excellence from a degree 
 of genius and taste peculiar to themselves. It was 
 an ordinary acquisition of art, and they needed not 
 mysteries to keep it secret. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 151 
 
 We are persuaded there was no occasion to form 
 such secret rules for the compact of operative 
 masons. Solomon, for the conduct of such a mul- 
 titude, wisely preserved the order of the religious, 
 and the mysteries of their initiation, for the rule of 
 his people employed in the temple. Assuredly, the 
 secrets revealed to us were for other uses than what 
 relate to the working of masses of stone ; and our 
 society, as it now stands, is an association on 
 religious and charitable principles ; which principles 
 were acquired from a knowledge of God and the 
 Christian revelation. 
 
 Soon after Christianity became the established 
 religion of this country, the professors of it employed 
 themselves in founding religious houses, and in the 
 building of places of public worship. On any 
 reform of religion, it is observable the first professors 
 are inclinable to enthusiasm. Such was the case 
 in this land, on the advancement of the Christian 
 doctrine. A fervour for endowments infatuated the 
 minds of the converted ; certain days were assigned 
 for the purpose of attending to religious works and 
 edifices, called haly-wark-days, on which no man 
 of what profession, rank, or estate soever, was 
 exempt from attending that duty. Besides, there 
 was a set of men called haly-wark-folk, to whom 
 were assigned certain lands, which they held by the 
 service of repairing, defending, or building churches 
 and sepulchres ; for which pious labours they were 
 free from all feudal and military services: these 
 men being stone-cutters and builders, might also 
 
152 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 be of our profession, and most probably they were. 
 The county of Durham entertained a particular set 
 of those haly-wark-folk, who were guards of the 
 patrimony and holy sepulchre of St. Cuthbert. 
 Those men come the nearest to a similitude of 
 Solomon’s Masons, and the title of Free and 
 Accepted Masons, of any degree of architects we 
 have gained any knowledge of : but wdiether their 
 initiation w r as attended with peculiar ceremonies, or 
 by what laws they were regulated, we have not 
 been able to discover; and must lament that in 
 the church records of Durham, or in any public 
 records, there are not the least remains of evidence, 
 touching those people and the constitution of their 
 society. It was a matter to be coveted by us 
 studying this subject, as most probably such con- 
 stitution or evidence would have confirmed every 
 hypothesis we have raised on the definition of our 
 emblems and mysteries. 
 
 The emblems used by these people very much 
 resembled the emblems of our society, several 
 tokens of which have been found of late years in 
 pulling down ruined monasteries. It is much to 
 be wished, that those noblemen, &c. on whose 
 estates ancient abbeys stand, would, on all occasions 
 of pulling down or repairing, give instructions to 
 their workmen, to preserve with care any antique 
 marks, characters, or emblems they may find . 4 
 
 4 The above observations have been illustrated under my own 
 eye. At the building of King Solomon’s temple, according to 
 our traditions, certain persons were appointed, called mark-men, 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 153 
 
 There are double walls, or hollow pillars, in which 
 
 whose business it was to put a private mark upon the materials 
 as they came out of the hands of the workmen, whether in the 
 Tyrian quarries, the forest of Lebanon, or the clayey ground 
 between Succoth and Zeredatha, that every man’s work might be 
 known, and the materials put together with greater accuracy, when 
 they were brought to the holy city of Jerusalem. These marks 
 consisted of certain mathematical figures — the square, the cross, 
 the level, and the perpendicular, differently modified, which King 
 Solomon directed to be used for the above purpose, and have 
 since been denominated the Freemason’s secret alphabet. The 
 same system was transmitted by the Dionysian architects; and 
 was used by the expert Freemasons who built the noble religious 
 edifices of this and other European nations. In the summer of 
 1841, I visited the ruins of Kirkstead Abbey, in company with 
 an eminent practical architect, Brother Nicholson of Lincoln ; 
 and we found numerous detached wrought stones scattered about 
 which showed the architectural character of the building. In a 
 paper read before the Society of Antiquaries, by G. Goodwin, 
 junior, Esq., in the same year, the author says, that about three 
 years’ previous, his attention was first drawn to the fact, that 
 “ the stones, both inside and outside various ancient buildings in 
 England, bore, in many cases, a peculiar symbol or mark, which 
 was evidently the work of the original builders.” It immediately 
 occurred to him that these marks, if collected and compared, 
 might assist in connecting the various bands of operatives who, 
 under the protection of the church — mystically united — spread 
 themselves over Europe during the middle ages, and are known 
 as the Freemasons. “ In length these marks vary from two to 
 seven inches. They are formed by a single line slightly indented ; 
 and consist chiefly of crosses, known masonic symbols, emblems 
 of eternity, and of the Trinity, the double triangle, the trowel, 
 the square, &c. The fish, a well-known and much-used symbol 
 of our Saviour in the early Christian church, occurs frequently 
 both in England and France.” In perfect conformity with this 
 doctrine, the marks on the wrought stones at Kirkstead were of 
 precisely the same character; and every stone had its private 
 mark. — Editor. 
 
 h 5 
 
J54 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 such things were deposited. Few men will be at 
 the expense of digging to the foundations of such 
 buildings, where valuable marks and curious in- 
 scriptions might be found on the foundation, or 
 what was called the angle-stone, which formed a 
 perfect cube. This was a very ancient custom : 
 the unbelieving Jews accused our Saviour of having 
 stolen the mystic words, the Tetragrammaton, or 
 Urim and Thummim, from the foundation of the 
 temple at Jerusalem, which they said he carried 
 concealed about him, whereby he was enabled to 
 work his miracles. 
 
 Soon after the progress of Christianity in England, 
 all Europe was agitated by the zeal of an enthu- 
 siastic monk, who prompted the zealots in religion 
 to the crusades ; in which, for the purpose of re- 
 covering the holy city and Judea out of the hands 
 of infidels, armed legions of devotees and enthu- 
 siasts, in tens of thousands, poured forth from every 
 state to waste their blood and treasure in a purpose 
 as barren and unprofitable as it was impolitic. 
 
 It was deemed necessary that those who took up 
 the ensign of the cross in this enterprize, should 
 form themselves into such societies as might secure 
 them from spies ; and that each might know his 
 companion and brother-labourer, as well in the 
 dark as by day. As it was with Jeptha’s army at 
 the passes of Jordan, so also was it requisite in these 
 expeditions that certain signs, signals, watch-words, 
 or pass-words, should be known amongst them ; for 
 the armies consisted of various nations and various 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 155 
 
 languages. We are told in the Book of Judges,- 
 “ that the Gileadites took the passes of Jordan 
 before the Ephraimites; and it was so, that when 
 those Ephraimites who had escaped said, 4 let me go 
 over, that the men of Gilead said unto him, — 4 Art 
 thou an Ephraimite?’ If he said 4 nay,’ then said 
 they unto him, 4 say now Shibboleth,’ and he said 
 4 Sibboleth,’ for he could not frame to pronounce it 
 right. Then they took them and slew them at the 
 passage of Jordan.” 
 
 No project or device could answer the purposes of 
 the crusaders better than those of Masonry : — the 
 maxims and ceremonials attending the Master’s 
 Order had been previously established, and were 
 materially necessary on that expedition; for the 
 Mahomedans were also worshippers of the Deity, 
 and the enterprizers were seeking a country where 
 the Masons were in the time of Solomon called 
 into an association, and where some remains would 
 certainly be found of the mysteries and wisdom 
 of the ancients and of our predecessors. Such 
 degrees of Masonry as extended only to the acknow- 
 ledgment of their being servants of the God of 
 Nature, would not have distinguished them from 
 those they had to encounter, had they not assumed 
 the symbols of the Christian faith. 
 
 All the learning of Europe in those times, as in 
 the ages of antiquity, was possessed by the religious ; 
 they had acquired the wisdom of the ancients, and 
 the original knowledge which was in the beginning ; 
 many of them had been initiated into the mysteries 
 
156 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 of Masonry, they were the projectors of this enter- 
 prise, and as Solomon in the building of the temple, 
 introduced orders and regulations for the conduct 
 of the work, which his wisdom had derived from 
 the learning of the sages of antiquity, so that no 
 confusion shall happen during its progress, and so 
 that the rank and office of each fellow-labourer 
 might be distinguished and ascertained beyond the 
 possibility of deceit; in like manner, the priests 
 projecting the crusades, being possessed of the mys- 
 teries of Masonry, the knowledge of the ancients, 
 and of the universal language which survived the 
 confusion of Shinar, revived the orders and regula- 
 tions of Solomon, and initiated the legions therein 
 who followed them to the Holy Land : hence that 
 secrecy which attended the crusaders. 
 
 Among other evidence which authorises us in the 
 belief that Masons went to the holy wars, is the 
 doctrine of that order of Masons called the Higher 
 Order; we are induced to believe that order was 
 of Scottish institution; separate nations might be 
 distinguished by some separate order, as they were 
 by singular ensigns, but be that as it may, it fully 
 proves to us that Masons were crusaders. 
 
 As the intention of this argument was not only to 
 speculate on the ancient secrecy among Masons, but 
 also to treat of the secrecy of Masons in this age, we 
 must therefore turn our thoughts to the importance 
 secrecy is of amongst us, when there are no holy 
 wars to wage, and nothing but charity and brotherly 
 love to cherish among Masons. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 157 
 
 This institution, which was first founded in the 
 mysteries of religion, is now maintained by us on 
 the principle of lending mutual aid and consolation 
 to each other. How should we be able to discern 
 the brethren of this family but through such tokens 
 as should point them out from other men ? Lan- 
 guage is now provincial, and the dialects of different 
 nations would not be comprehensible to men igno- 
 rant and unlettered. Hence it became necessary 
 to use an expression which should be cognizable by 
 people of all nations. So it is with Masons ; they 
 are possessed of that universal expression, and of 
 such remains of the original language, that they can 
 communicate their history, their wants, and prayers 
 to every brother Mason throughout the globe ; from 
 whence it is certain that multitudes of lives have 
 been saved in foreign countries, when shipwreck 
 and misery had overtaken them ; when robbers had 
 pillaged, when sickness and want had brought them 
 down to the gates of the grave, the discovery of 
 Masonry has proved effectual to save them ; the 
 discovery of being a brother, has stayed the savage 
 hand of the conqueror, lifted in the field of battle 
 to cut off the captive, has suspended the sword 
 imbrued in carnage and slaughter, and subdued 
 the insolence of triumph to pay homage to the 
 craft ! 5 
 
 5 Instances of these effects are numerous ; and there is not a 
 Mason living, of any standing, but can furnish cases where a 
 knowledge of Freemasonry has “relieved distress, taught the 
 ignorant, and wiped rivers of tears from the eye of bereavement; 
 
158 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 The importance of secrecy with us is such, that 
 we may not be deceived in the dispensing of our 
 charities ; that we may not be betrayed in the ten- 
 derness of our benevolence, or let others usurp the 
 portion which is prepared for those of our own 
 family. 
 
 To betray the watchword which should keep the 
 enemy from the walls of our citadel, in order to 
 open our strongholds to robbers and deceivers, is 
 as great a moral crime as to show the common thief 
 the weakness and secret places of our neighbour, 
 that he may take his goods. Nay, it is still greater, 
 for it is like aiding the sacrilegious robber to ransack 
 the holy places, and steal the sacred vessels and 
 consecrated elements, devoted to the most sacred 
 rites of religion. It is snatching from the divine 
 hand of charity the balm which she holds forth to 
 heal the distresses of her children ; the cordial cup 
 of consolation which she offers to the lip of calamity, 
 and the sustenance her fainting infants should 
 receive from the bosom of her celestial love. 
 
 As such, then, is the importance of our secrecy, 
 wherefore should the world wonder that no Masonic 
 tongue has ever revealed it? It was mentioned by 
 divine lips, “ What man is there of you, whom if his 
 son ask for bread will give him a stone ; or if he ask 
 
 where it has reconciled jarring interests, and converted the 
 bitterest enemies into the dearest friends.” Such is its daily 
 operation. Hence all mankind may see the benign influence of 
 Masonry, as all true Masons have done from the beginning of 
 the world, and will do to the end of time. — Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 159 
 
 a fish will give him a serpent ? ” Then can there 
 be a man so iniquitous among Masons, as to guide 
 the thief to steal from a sick brother the medicine 
 which should restore his health ? the balsam which 
 should close his wounds ? the clothing which should 
 shield his trembling limbs from the rigours of the 
 winter ? the bread which should save his soul alive ? 
 
 Such is the importance of our secrecy, were there 
 no other ties upon our affections or consciences than 
 merely the sense of the injury we should do to the 
 poor and wretched by a transgression of this rule, 
 we are persuaded it would be sufficient to seal the 
 lips of every man who professes himself to be a 
 Mason. 
 
160 
 
 ARGUMENT XVI. 
 
 ON THE OCCUPATIONS OF MASONS, AND ON THE EVIDENCE THAT 
 THEIR OCCUPATION IS NOT A MERE MECHANICAL LABOUR, BUT 
 THE EXERCISE OF THE BEST QUALITIES OF THE MIND. 
 
 In t a former Argument, I have declared it to be 
 my opinion, that Masons, in the present state of 
 Masonry, were never a body of architects . 1 By the 
 “ Book of Constitutions,” published by authority, 
 we see no grand communication held in form till of 
 very late date ; neither is there any evidence therein 
 to contradict the positions I have laid down. The 
 
 1 The author has fallen into this error by forgetting that 
 'Freemasonry is divided into two branches, Operative and Specu- 
 lative. The former comprises all natural, mathematical, and 
 mechanical knowledge, so far as it is subjected to the external 
 senses ; and the latter, the knowledge of the hidden order of 
 the universe, and the secret things both of heaven and earth, 
 more particularly those of a spiritual and intellectual nature. 
 The knowledge of Operative Masonry is derived from three 
 sources: — 1 From observation and experience, which are com- 
 mon to all mankind ; 2 From judgment and reflection, with 
 which God hath endowed his creatures in various proportions 
 and degrees ; and 3. From the traditions of the masters of 
 wisdom and science in every age, whether oral or written. It 
 was founded at the building of the temple by the three Grand 
 Masters ; who are represented by the three lights, which are 
 emblematical of their respective characters — Wisdom, Strength* 
 and Beauty. — Editor 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 161 
 
 succession therein described is by no means to be 
 accepted and understood in a literal sense, but as a 
 pedigree or chronological table of the servants of 
 the Deity, working the duties of righteousness. 
 
 We ground a judgment of the nature of our 
 profession on our ceremonials, and flatter ourselves 
 that every Mason will be convinced they have 
 no relation to building and architecture, but are 
 emblematical, and imply moral, and spiritual, and 
 religious tenets. It appears self-evident, that the 
 situation of the lodge, and its several parts, are 
 copied after the tabernacle and temple, and are 
 representative of the universe : implying that the 
 universe is the temple in which the Deity is every 
 where present ; our mode of teaching the principles 
 of our profession is derived from the Druids ; our 
 maxims of morality from Pythagoras ; our chief 
 emblems originally from Egypt ; to Basilides we 
 owe the science of Abrax, and the characters of 
 those emanations of the Deity which we have 
 adopted, and which are so necessary for the main- 
 tenance of a moral society. We believe that our 
 present ceremonies were more generally taught, 
 and more candidates were initiated therein on the 
 opening of the crusades, than any other era, or on 
 any other known occasion. 
 
 The English historians agree that, in the reign 
 of Henry II., and the year 1188, at an interview 
 between the kings of England and France, attended 
 by the prelates and nobility of both nations, the 
 archbishop of Tyre pronounced such a melancholy 
 
162 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 account of Saladin’s success in the Holy Land, 
 and the miseries of the Christians in that country, 
 that the audience was greatly affected with the 
 relation, and the two kings agreed to devote their 
 whole attention to the relief of those adventurers. 
 They received the cross from the hands of the 
 archbishop, resolving to go there in person ; and 
 their example was followed by Philip, Count of 
 Flanders, and a great number of the prelates and 
 nobility there present ; a plenary indulgence was 
 published in the pope’s name, for all those who 
 would make a fair confession of their sins, and 
 engage in the crusade ; the different nations as- 
 sumed crosses of a different colour, and rules and 
 orders were established for preventing riot, luxury, 
 and disorder, pending the enterprise. 
 
 These were the principal rules made for the 
 regulation of the crusaders . 2 We may conjecture, 
 these religious campaigns being over, that men 
 initiated in the mysteries of Masonry, and engaged 
 and enrolled under those rules and orders which 
 were established for the conduct of the nations in 
 the Holy War, would form themselves into lodges, 
 and keep up their social meetings, when returned 
 home, in commemoration of their adventures and 
 mutual good offices in Palestine, and for the pro- 
 
 2 In speaking of the Mason-knights of the Holy Cross, I may 
 here observe, that the common tradition was, that the name of 
 Golgotha, which, in Syriac, signifies a skull, was given to the 
 mountain where Christ was crucified, on account of Adam’s 
 head, supposed to have been buried there by Shem, the son of 
 Noah. — Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 163 
 
 pagation of that knowledge into which they had 
 been initiated. 
 
 As a further argument that builders and archi- 
 tects were not the original members of our society, 
 the Masons of the city of London obtained their 
 incorporation and charter in the reign of King 
 Henry V., in or about the year 1419; they taking 
 on themselves the name of Freemasons. By their 
 charter they are governed by a master and two 
 wardens, with twenty-five assistants. Of this in- 
 corporated body, sixty-five are of the Livery of 
 London, 
 
 It has never been pretended that the society of 
 Free and Accepted Masons have in any manner 
 been connected, or much less have united them- 
 selves, with the incorporated body of Masons 
 enchartered, but on the contrary, have kept them- 
 selves totally apart. 
 
 It has been alleged, that in the reign of King 
 Henry VI. a law was enacted, setting forth, “ That 
 by the yearly congregations and confederacies made 
 by Masons in their general assemblies, the good 
 course and effects of the statute of labourers were 
 openly violated and broken, and making the future 
 holding of their chapters and congregations felony.” 
 
 It is impossible that this statute should relate to 
 any other persons than the incorporated body of 
 working Masons, who, under an exclusive charter, 
 by secret combinations, raised the prices of their 
 labour, and prevented craftsmen of their fraternity, 
 not members of the charter, from exercising their 
 
164 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 trade within the limits of London, which might 
 occasion a grievance worthy of Parliamentary 
 redress ; but in what manner the statutes of 
 labourers could be affected by the associations of 
 our fraternity, is not in our power to comprehend. 
 Our records give us no evidence of any such con- 
 vocations at the time mentioned. 
 
 By the charter of Masons, they assumed the 
 title of Freemasons, being entitled to the franchises 
 of the city of London. 
 
 Why the title of Free is annexed to our society, 
 or that of Accepted, we hope we may be allowed 
 to conjecture was derived from the crusades. — 
 There the volunteers entering into that service 
 must be free-men, born free, and not villains, or 
 under any vassalage ; for it was not until long after 
 the crusades, that vassalage and feudal services, 
 together with other slavish tenures, were taken 
 away. 
 
 They were entitled to the style of Accepted, 
 under that plenary indulgence which the Pope 
 published, for all that would confess their sins, and 
 enlist in the enterprize of the holy war ; whereby 
 they were accepted and received into the bosom 
 of the father of the church. Some authors have 
 presumed to tell us that it was the original design 
 of the Christian powers, in their enterprise to the 
 Holy Land, to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem ; 
 but we cannot discover any good authority for this 
 assertion. In modern Masonry it is given as a 
 principle, why our dedication of lodges is made to 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 165 
 
 St. John, that the Masons who engaged to conquer 
 the Holy Land, chose that saint for their patron. 
 We should be sorry to appropriate the Balsarian 
 sect of Christians to St. John, as an explanation 
 of this principle ; St. John obtains our dedication, 
 as being the proclaimer of that salvation which was 
 at hand, by the coming of Christ ; and we, as a set 
 of religious brethren, assembling in the true faith, 
 commemorate the proclamations of the Baptist. 
 In the name of St. John the Evangelist, we acknow- 
 ledge the testimonies which he gives, and the divine 
 logos , or word, which he makes manifest . 3 But to 
 return to the subject of the crusaders. 
 
 It is probable that the same enthusiastic spirit 
 which engaged men to enter into the crusades, at 
 the vast expense and hazard which history describes, 
 also led them into as enormous a folly in the build- 
 ing of religious houses. During the reign of Henry 
 the Second, when the English first engaged in the 
 holy war, there were not less than one hundred and 
 eleven abbeys, nunneries, and religious houses 
 
 3 The old Lectures ask — “ What is the reason why our Lodges 
 are dedicated to God and holv St. John ? Because, in the time 
 of the Palestine wars, the Mason-knights, having united with 
 those of St. John of Jerusalem, to fight against the infidels, 
 they placed themselves under the protection of that saint ; and 
 proving victorious in battle, they agreed, after returning thanks 
 to God, that the Lodges of Masons should in future be dedicated 
 to him ” — When I was first initiated into Masonry, the Lodges 
 were accordingly dedicated to “ God and holy St John they 
 were opened by the same formula ; which was again repeated 
 in the O.B., and I hope the period is not far distant when it will 
 be restored by authority. — Editor. 
 
166 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 founded in this kingdom ; during the reign of 
 Richard the First, eighteen ; and during the reign 
 of Henry the Third, forty ; which shews the super- 
 stitious infatuation which had totally seized the 
 minds of the people in those reigns. The ecclesi- 
 astics, in imitation of the works of Solomon, might 
 become the masters of those works, and superintend 
 and conduct the labours of the inferior sect of haly- 
 wark-folk; that by acceptable hands such pious 
 works might be conducted, and from whence the 
 ignorant and profane might be rejected, like the 
 Samaritans ; these might assume the honorary title 
 of Masons, which, from vulgar acceptation, would 
 naturally confound them with ordinary mechanics. 
 
 In the Anglo-Norman Antiquities, it is said of 
 Freemasons, that they were a religious association, 
 who engaged in the founding and erecting of 
 churches and religious houses in Palestine. I 
 have already mentioned the religious sect who 
 * were really architects and builders of churches, 
 the haly-wark-folk, with no small degree of respect. 
 They were a body of men subsisting before the 
 crusades; they were maintained by the church, 
 under which they held lands for the service of 
 erecting and repairing holy edifices, and guarding 
 the sepulchres of saints. It is not improbable, that 
 when the rage of holy works and holy wars agitated 
 all Europe, that a body of those people might 
 embark in the enterprize, and be transported 
 thither to build churches, for the better planting 
 or propagating the Christian doctrine, or to guard 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 167 
 
 and maintain the holy sepulchre. We would be 
 ready at all times to admit that these emigrants 
 might possess some rules and ceremonies for initia- 
 tion peculiar to themselves, so far as the bearers 
 of burthens were admitted under Solomon in the 
 building at Jerusalem, and that they might retain 
 their singular maxims and principles in secrecy ; 
 and it may also be admitted, that in honour of that 
 gradation of Masonry and of their profession, they 
 might claim the greatest antiquity, from Solomon’s 
 temple at least ; they might even be more than a 
 collateral branch of the Free and Accepted Masons, 
 as we have before admitted, and be initiated in the 
 mysteries of Masonry, their occupation being in no 
 wise incompatible with our profession; and they 
 might be known and distinguished by the title of 
 Operative Masons, as the Essenes were divided 
 into Theoricks and Practicks. But from the writings 
 of the author of the Anglo-Norman Antiquities, 
 we are convinced he was not a Free and Accepted 
 Mason himself ; and as the secrecy of that society 
 had attracted the attention of many, who, as their 
 curiosity was exercised, raised conjectures respect- 
 ing the name of Masons, to discover their origin 
 and principles, or to reconcile their own opinions ; 
 from whence, nothing was more likely to strike the 
 attention of an historian, than this body of men, the 
 haly^wark-folk, as if they were Masons. 
 
 Were we claimants only of the title of mechanics, 
 we might have chose as ancient, and a more honour- 
 able branch of the arts and sciences ; we might have 
 
168 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 substituted geometry to a more worthy duty ; and 
 have honoured our Maker in some profession more 
 expressive of our sense of his power and dignity. 
 
 Our origin in this country is thought to be from 
 the Phoenicians/ (who came here with the Tyrian 
 Hercules, and introduced the doctrines of Ham and 
 the Ammonian rites, together with the Hebrew 
 customs) and afterwards emigrants from the Holy 
 Land, who taught us the rules instituted by Solomon 
 at the temple of Jerusalem ; and finally, the propa- 
 gators of the Christian doctrine, who brought with 
 them the principles of the Master’s Order, and 
 taught the converted those sacred mysteries which 
 are typical of the Christian faith, and expressive of 
 the hope of the resurrection of the body, and the 
 life of regeneration. Yet we fear few among us 
 are equal to the character we assume. Our lodges 
 are not now appropriated to worship and religious 
 ceremonies ; we meet as a social society, inclined 
 to acts of benevolence, leaving our sacred offices 
 too much unperformed. We are totally severed 
 from architects, and are become a set of men 
 working in the duties of charity, good offices, and 
 brotherly love. Christians in religion, — sons of 
 
 4 Strabo (lib. 1.) informs us that the Phoenicians went beyond 
 the pillars of Hercules, and built cities in Lybia a short time 
 subsequent to the Trojan war ; and Milton conjectures that this 
 record concerning Lybia, quasi Alebion, so called by the Phoe- 
 nicians, had some relation to this island, which was denominated 
 Albion. However this may be, it is quite clear that the 
 Phoenicians traded to this island at a very early period, and gave 
 a new character to the rites of the druidical religion. — Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 169 
 
 liberty and loyal subjects ; we ha v, r 'opted rules, 
 orders, emblems, and symbols, wh enjoin us to 
 live a life of morality: — we hav^ furnished our 
 lodges with those striking objects, which should at 
 once intimate to us the mightiness and wisdom of 
 God, the instability of the affairs of man, and the 
 various vicissitudes in human life, and have set 
 before our eyes preceptors of moral works ; and to 
 strengthen our faith, we have enlightened our lodge 
 with the emblem of the Trinity. 
 
 It is well known to us, that there is scarcely a 
 state in Europe in which our fraternity have not 
 formed a body. The wisdom of the ancients would 
 pass abroad into many regions, and those who had 
 assisted in the pious labours at Jerusalem, would, 
 like Pythagoras, teach the sciences and mysteries 
 which they professed, and communicate the system 
 to which they had been initiated; — religious men 
 would retain the doctrines and mysteries with 
 reverence, and with caution reveal them to those 
 they thought worthy ; hence the original knowledge 
 would pass into many countries. But there is 
 no accounting for this universality of the society, 
 upon the principles of architecture and operative 
 Masonry. The rage of church building had not 
 seized all Europe as it did England ; neither is 
 there any probable reasons to be deduced from 
 architecture and the practice of builders, to account 
 why in every tongue, and in every kingdom, the 
 ceremonials of being made a Mason should be the 
 same. If the honour of architecture were all that 
 
170 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL* 
 
 was to be regarded in the society, various would be 
 the devices by which the members in each nation 
 would profess it. As architecture, according to its 
 present orders, had its progress from Egypt and 
 Greece, some nations would have borrowed symbols 
 and ensigns peculiar to those people ; or we should 
 have had in our ceremonies, or in our workings, 
 some devices which might have distinguished to us 
 the beauties, orders, ornaments, proportions, or 
 symmetries, of some or all of the rules, modes, or 
 orders of architecture, either from the plains of 
 Shinar, from Egypt, Jerusalem, Tadmor, or Greece, 
 or have retained some geometrical problems, on 
 which the general principles of proportion in archi- 
 tecture were grounded or demonstrated : but instead 
 of that, there is nothing of the kind preserved. On 
 the contrary, our mysteries are totally abstracted 
 from the rules of mechanics ; they are relative to 
 religion and morality, and are conducive to pious 
 ' works : they are unfurnished with any type, symbol, 
 or character, but what appertains to designate the 
 servants and devotees of the great Architect who 
 made the worlds. 
 
 There is not an instance of the European states 
 uniting in any one enterprise, save the holy war; 
 and from thence, we most rationally must con- 
 ceive, the present number of Masons dispersed over 
 the face of Europe was principally derived. The 
 Amonian rites are almost totally extinguished, 
 religious zeal has imbrued the sword in carnage, 
 and Europe has groaned under persecutions; the 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 171 
 
 Romans extirpated the Druids. Christians have 
 waged cruel wars, and bigotry has deluged society 
 with human blood. By the crusades, the number 
 of our fraternity would be greatly augmented ; the 
 occasion itself would revive the rules of Masonry, 
 they being so well adapted to that purpose, and also 
 significative of the Christian faith, from whence 
 sprang the spirit of the enterprize. After these 
 pursuits subsided, bodies of men would be found 
 in every country from whence the levies were called ; 
 and what would preserve the society in every state, 
 even during the persecution of zealots, is the Master 
 Mason’s Order under its present principles, which 
 is adapted to every sect of Christians. It originated 
 from the earliest influence of Christianity, in honour 
 to, or in confession of, the religion and faith of 
 Christians, before the poison of sectarists was dif- 
 fused over the church. 
 
 To the ancient rules, deduced from Solomon, 
 other laws and ordinances were added during the 
 enterprizes of the crusaders, for the prevention of 
 riot, luxury, and disorder ; and for maintaining that 
 necessary subordination, which the command of such 
 armies required. Many of those rules we retain in 
 the conduct and government of our lodges, which 
 can in no wise be deduced from any other original. 
 
172 
 
 ARGUMENT XVII. 
 
 ON THE FURTHER OCCUPATION OF MASONS, AND ON THE NECES- 
 SITY OF MAKING CHARITY AND BROTHERLY LOVE THE FIRST 
 PRINCIPLES OF THOSE OCCUPATIONS. 
 
 As charity is one of the principal characteristics 
 of a Mason, I will treat of it in this Argument. 
 
 We do not mean to make strictures on the modern 
 error of indiscriminately dispensing alms to all sup- 
 pliants, without regard to their real wants or real 
 merits ; whereby the hypocrite and knave often eat 
 the bread by which virtue in distress ought to 
 be relieved. This is a mistaken character of 
 charity, in which she is too often abused. Though 
 the bounties of benevolence and compassion may 
 be given with a righteous design, yet they should be 
 managed with discretion. 
 
 The ancients used to depict the virtue of charity 
 in the character of a goddess, seated in a chair of 
 ivory, with a golden tiara upon her head, set with 
 precious stones ; her virtue, like the light of heaven 
 represented universal benevolence ; and the gems of 
 her fillet denoted the inestimable blessings which 
 flowed variously from her bounty. 
 
 They also represented the charities, otherwise 
 called the Graces, under three personages : they 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 173 
 
 were painted naked, to intimate that good offices 
 should be done without dissembling, and hypocrisy: 
 they were represented young, to signify that the 
 remembrance of benefits should never be effaced, 
 and smiling, to tell us that we should do good to 
 others with cheerfulness. They were represented 
 linked together, arm-in-arm, to instruct us that one 
 kindness should prompt another, and that the knot 
 and band of love should be indissoluble. The 
 poets tell us, that they used to wash in a living 
 fountain, because in doing acts of charity the heart 
 ought to be sincere and pure. 
 
 Charity, in the works of moralists, is defined to 
 be the love of our brethren, or a kind of brotherly 
 affection one towards another. The rule and 
 standard that this habit is to be examined and 
 regulated by, among Christians, is the love we bear 
 to ourselves, or that the Mediator bore towards us ; 
 that is, it must be unfeigned, constant, and out of 
 no other design than man’s happiness. 
 
 Such are the general sentiments which the 
 ancients entertained of this virtue, and what the 
 modern moralists and Christians define it to be at 
 this day. 
 
 In what character charity should be received 
 among Masons, is now our purpose to define, as it 
 stands limited to our society. 
 
 Being so limited, we are not subject to be imposed 
 on by false pretences; and are certain of its proper 
 and merited administration. It is hence to be hoped 
 that charity subsists with us without dissembliug or 
 
174 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 hypocrisy, and is retained in sincerity and truth : 
 that benefits received impress a lively degree of 
 gratitude and affection on the minds of Masons, as 
 their bounties are bestowed with cheerfulness ; the 
 benevolence of our society is so mutual and bro- 
 therly, that each renders good offices as readily as 
 he would receive them. 
 
 In order to exercise this virtue, both in the 
 character of Masons and in common life, with 
 propriety, and agreeable to good principles, we 
 must forget- every obligation but affection; for 
 otherwise it were to confound charity with duty. 
 The feelings of the heart ought to direct the hand 
 of charity. For this purpose we should be divested 
 of every idea of superiority, and estimate ourselves 
 as all equal in the scale of brotherhood. In this 
 disposition of mind we will be susceptible of those 
 sentiments which charity delights in — to feel the 
 woes and miseries of others with a genuine and true 
 sympathy of soul : — compassion is of heavenly birth ; 
 — it is one of the first characteristics of humanity. 
 Peculiar to the human kind, it distinguishes us from 
 the rest of God’s creatures ! 
 
 He whose bosom is shut up against compassion, 
 is as bad as a barbarian ; his manners are brutal, 
 and his mind is gloomy and remorse. 
 
 What kind of man is he, who, blessed with 
 opulence, and possessed of abundance, can behold 
 virtue in distress, and merit in misery, without pity? 
 Who can behold, unmoved, the desolate and forlorn 
 estate of the widow and the orphan, pining in want 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 175 
 
 and wretchedness ? The hard-hearted and inhuman 
 alone are able to look on without commiserating 
 such helpless sufferers. How gracious is kindness ! 
 The eyes of angels view with delight the exercise 
 of such benevolence as forms the character of the 
 good Samaritan — saints touch their golden lyres, 
 to hymn Humanity’s honour and praise ; and appro- 
 bation shines upon the face of omnipresence, when 
 the good man balms the wounds of suffering virtue ! 
 
 I now will speak of brotherly love, in that degree 
 which solely appertains to Masons. 
 
 The necessity there is for the exertion of brotherly 
 regard among Masons in the lodge, is obvious to 
 every one: peace, regularity, and decorum, are 
 indispensable duties there : all resentment and 
 remembrance of injuries should be forgotten ; and 
 that cordiality ought to be warm among us which 
 brings with it cheerfulness and rejoicing: — the true 
 worshippers of the Deity, men who held just notions 
 of the principles of nature, in the times of barbarous 
 ignorance, could not publicly practise the one, or 
 promulgate the other : but happy is our estate, in 
 this lettered age and this land of liberty ; we pro- 
 fess our sentiments with freedom, and without fear ; 
 we exercise our religious principles under a full 
 toleration; and, as social beings, we assemble in 
 the lodge to enjoy the pleasures of friendship and 
 true benevolence. 
 
 After the business of the lodge is despatched, we 
 are assembled to circulate the cheerfulness of our 
 hearts without guile ; for there are no tale-bearers, 
 
176 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 censors, or revilers among us— our lodge is holy 
 ground. We may say, figuratively, 66 it is situate 
 in the secret places, where the cock holdeth not 
 his watch, where the voice of railing reacheth not, 
 where brawling, or the intemperate wrath of women, 
 cannot be heard.” 
 
 Without suspicion of being betrayed in our 
 words, or ensnared in the openness of our dealings, 
 our mirth here is undisguised; it is governed by 
 prudence, tempered with love, and clothed with 
 charity ; thus it is void of offence ; no malicious 
 mind construes innocent expressions amiss, or inter- 
 prets unmeaning jests into sarcasms, but as every 
 sentiment flows full of benevolence, so every ear 
 is attuned to the strain in harmonious concord. 
 
 Peace, regularity, and decorum, which, I observed, 
 were indispensable duties, are not the offspring of 
 control, or the issue of authority, but a voluntary 
 service, which brings every one to the lodge. 
 
 There are seasons, indeed, in which authority is 
 properly exercised ; man is frail ; the most prudent 
 may sometimes deviate. It was a maxim of the 
 ancient philosophers that, “ to err is human — 
 therefore in the lodge there ought to be a constant 
 governor, who should restrain the improprieties 
 which may creep in among us. 
 
 Another degree of brotherly love which should 
 prevail is to hear the petitions of every member of 
 our society with tenderness and attention. Where 
 there is at any time a brother of our community sick, 
 or in distress, the case of his calamities should come 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 177 
 
 represented by a brother who will neither deceive 
 us, nor hold back any part of his merits ; and the 
 lodge must testify all due regard, by receiving the 
 petition patiently, and giving relief according to 
 desert. 
 
 The most material part of that brotherly love 
 which should subsist among Masons is, that of 
 speaking well of each other to the world ; more 
 especially it is expected of every member of this 
 fraternity that he should not traduce his brother. 
 Calumny and slander are detestable crimes against 
 society. Nothing can be viler than to traduce a 
 man who is absent ; it is like the economy of an 
 assassin, who has not virtue enough to give his 
 adversary the means of self-defence, but, lurking 
 in darkness, stabs him whilst he is unarmed and 
 unsuspicious of an enemy. 
 
 Calumny has this direful consequence, that it 
 carries with it not a momentary ill effect only, but 
 endures long. The wickedness of the world is such 
 that it is greedy of scandal, and when once the voice 
 of defamation has uttered its malevolence, like a 
 pestilence it proceeds and contaminates ; it spreads 
 jealousies in families, promotes division and wrath 
 among friends, urges parent against child, and bro- 
 ther against brother ! When once the pernicious 
 tale gets birth, it cannot be recalled : and thus the 
 sinner’s penitence is not capable of expiation ; for 
 the evil consequences may lay dormant in the womb 
 of futurity, and become an intail of sorrow on the 
 third and fourth generation of him that is injured. 
 
178 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 Surely malice and mischief, or some infernal motive, 
 must actuate the mind which is capable of defaming 
 the innocent ! — there is no crime of which such a 
 wretch might not be the perpetrator; against such 
 an offender there is no armour for defence ; he 
 assaults the naked and unsuspicious, and, like the 
 contagion of some horrid disease, he smites whilst 
 the victim sleeps. Justice is disarmed against such 
 a sinner, as concealment is his safeguard, and the 
 eye of heaven alone discovers his iniquity. 
 
 It is not only expected of Masons that they 
 should, with a conscientious soul, refrain from evil 
 speaking, but also that they should speak well of 
 each other. 
 
 To give a man his just and due character is so 
 easy a duty, that it is not possible for a benevolent 
 mind to avoid it ; it is a degree of common justice 
 which honesty itself prompts one to. It is not 
 enough that we refrain from slander, but it is 
 required of Masons that they should speak gra- 
 ciously and with affection, withholding nothing that 
 can be uttered to a brother’s praise or good name 
 with truth. What a pleasure does it give the heart 
 feeling benevolent dispositions, to give due praises ! 
 There is a selfish joy in speaking good, as self- 
 approbation succeeds it. Besides, the breast of 
 such a man feels enlarged whilst he utters the praise 
 of his neighbour ; and he experiences the finest 
 sensations of love, whilst he moves others to feel 
 for the object of his regard. 
 
 . The neutral disposition, which tends neither to 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 179 
 
 good nor evil is frigid and reserved ; but the man 
 that feels brotherly love is warm to commend. It is 
 an easy and cheap means of bestowing good gifts and 
 working good works ; for by a just praise to industry 
 you recommend the industrious man to those to 
 whom he might never be known, and thereby you 
 may enlarge his credit and his trade. By a just 
 commendation of merit, you may open the paths 
 of advancement through those whose interest might 
 never have been petitioned. By a proper praise 
 of genius and art, you may rouse the attention of 
 those patrons to whom the greatest deservings might 
 have remained a secret. It is a degree of justice 
 which every man has a right to from his brother, 
 that his virtues be not concealed. 
 
 To conceal the imperfections of our friend and 
 cover his infirmities, is Christian-like and chari- 
 table, consequently befitting a Mason. Even the 
 truth should not be told at all times ; for where we 
 cannot approve we should pity in silence. What plea- 
 sure or profit can there arise by exposing a brother? 
 To publish his misfortune is infernal, to revile him 
 for defects which he cannot mend, is inhuman ! 
 
 From hence we may determine that the duty 
 of a Mason leads to acts of benevolence ; and that 
 his heart and hand go together in all kindness and 
 goodness. 
 
 Let us therefore be stedfast and immovable in all 
 our ordinances, in order to evidence, before all men, 
 that we are a brotherhood of virtue and honourable 
 dispositions. 
 
180 
 
 ARGUMENT XVIII. 
 
 ON THE INFERENCES TO BE DRAWN FROM THE PRECEDING 
 ARGUMENTS, AND AN EXHIBITION OF THE SCATTERED RAYS 
 WHICH ARE SO MASONICALLY DISPLAYED IN ALL AND EACH 
 OF THEM. 
 
 I will conclude these arguments by collecting 
 into one view the propositions and maxims which 
 have engaged our attention throughout the whole 
 work ; thereby to give a favourable idea of the 
 mysteries of Masonry, the progression and spirit of 
 its institution, origin, and present state. 
 
 I may have seemed prolix, and appeared to 
 have filled my arguments or representations with 
 repetitions ; but where that seeming impropriety 
 takes place, it was necessary to urge a position 
 which combated some vulgar error or prejudice. 
 
 From the ancient rites and ceremonies which I 
 have laid before you, it will be easy for you to trace 
 the origins of our own rites, and to discover the 
 foundations on which our society was erected. It is 
 evident they had their progress in the post-diluvian 
 world, from Ham. I have been under a necessity 
 sometimes to use terms of art, or expressions which 
 to others may not carry distinct and clear images, 
 but which to the brethren convey the united 
 force of technicalities, symbols, and hieroglyphics. — 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 181 
 
 When I speak of Masons under the denomination 
 of a society, I mean Masons as embodied in lodges, 
 according to the present manner in which such 
 lodges are held. Our antiquity is in our principles, 
 maxims, language, learning, and religion : those we 
 derive from Eden, from the patriarchs, and from the 
 sages of the east : all which are made perfect under 
 the Christian dispensation. The light and doctrines 
 which we possess are derived from the beginning of 
 time, and they have descended through this long 
 succession of ages uncorrupted ; but our modes and 
 manners are deduced from the eras of the Creation, 
 the building of the temple at Jerusalem, and the 
 Christian revelation. 
 
 I have explained to you that the structure of the 
 lodge is a pattern of the universe, and that the first 
 entry of a Mason represents the first worship of the 
 true God. We have retained the Egyptian symbols 
 of the sun and moon, as the emblems of God’s 
 power, eternity, omnipresence, and benevolence ; 
 and thereby we signify that we are the children of 
 light, and that the science of our profession consists 
 in the knowledge and adoration of the Almighty 
 Architect, enthroned in the heaven of heavens. 
 We derive from the Druids many of the Amonian 
 rites ; and are bold to say that we retain more of 
 their ceremonials and doctrines than is to be found 
 in the whole world besides; and have saved from 
 oblivion many of their religious rites, in our initia- 
 tion to the first degree of Masonry, which otherwise 
 would have been lost to posterity. These we seem 
 
182 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 to have mixed and tempered with the principles of 
 the Essenes, who are a sect as ancient as the depar- 
 ture of the Children of Israel out of Egypt. The 
 philosophy of the Egyptians, and the manners, 
 principles, and customs of the Hebrews were intro- 
 duced to this land by the Phoenicians, and make a 
 part of our profession, so far as they are adapted to 
 the worship of Nature’s great Author, unpolluted 
 by idolatry. 
 
 We hold our grand festival on the day of St. John, 
 which is Midsummer-day, in which we celebrate 
 that season when the sun is in its greatest altitude, 
 and in the height of its prolific powers, as the great 
 type of the omnipotence of the Deity. 
 
 The famous law T yer Lord Coke, in his treatise on 
 66 Lyttleton’s Institutes,” says, “ Prudent antiquity 
 did, for more solemnity and better memory and 
 observation of that which is to be done, express 
 substances under ceremonies.” 
 
 It has been pointed out to you that the furniture 
 of the lodge contains emblems illustrative of morality 
 and good government. Prudence shines in the 
 centre, or if you would apply this object to more 
 sacred principles, it represents the blazing star 
 which conducted the wise men to Bethlehem, and 
 proclaimed the presence of the Son of God. It is 
 here placed in your view, that you may remember 
 to work out the works of your salvation. The 
 tesselated or Mosaic work intimates to you the 
 chequered diversity and uncertainty of human 
 affairs, that you may not set your hearts on the 
 
MASONIC MANUAL, 
 
 183 
 
 things of this world, but lay up your treasure 
 where rust cannot deface its polish and lustre. 
 
 To protect and support us under the infirmities 
 of nature, and lead us to the paths of propriety, the 
 Book of True Knowledge is in the lodge ; the 
 Master circumscribes you as with the sweep of 
 the compass ; and the square is your trial, whereby 
 you shall prove the rectitude and uniformity of 
 your manners. 
 
 In the next Argument it was demonstrated to 
 you that to be a worthy servant in the temple of 
 God you must be clothed with innocence, that your 
 service may stand in approbation, and you may be 
 accepted in Heaven. Our jewels are emblems of 
 that good working in a moral mind which adorns 
 the life of man — they signify faith, charity, and 
 uprightness. 
 
 In the succeeding Argument you were led to a 
 discernment of the second class of the servants of 
 God under the Mosaic law, the truth being stripped 
 of the errors of idolatry. This stage is adapted to 
 the second gradation of Masonry. 
 
 I have argued for the propriety of our adopting 
 geometry in this society, as being a science from 
 whence the mighty powers of God are revealed and 
 demonstrated to mankind. 
 
 Afterwards the state of the worshippers of the 
 Deity was explained under the corruptions of the 
 house of Israel, as likewise of the old law. In an 
 assembly of Christians, it is in no wise requisite to 
 attempt an argument on the necessity which there 
 
184 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 was upon earth for a Mediator and Saviour for 
 man. In the superstitions, ceremonials, and rituals 
 of the Jewish temple, the true worship of God was 
 obscured and confounded, and innocence became 
 the only ornament of its monument. Then it was 
 that the Divinity, looking down with an eye of 
 commiseration on the deplorable state of man, 
 in his mercy and love, sent us a Preceptor and 
 Mediator, who should teach us the doctrine of 
 regeneration, and raise us from the sepulchre of 
 sin to w T hich the human race were gone down. He 
 gave us the precepts of that acceptable service 
 wherewith his Father should be well pleased; he 
 made the sacrifice of expiation, and by becoming the 
 first fruits of them that slept, manifested to man- 
 kind the resurrection of the body and the life 
 everlasting. In the master’s order this whole 
 doctrine is symbolized, and the Christian economy 
 is by types presented to us. 
 
 - We Masons have adopted three particular cha- 
 racteristics — secresy, charity, and brotherly love. 
 Our sense of these three great duties has been 
 explained, and of what especial import they are of 
 to Masons, or to men who have separated them- 
 selves from the rest of mankind, and professed they 
 are servants of Him who ruleth in the habitations 
 of Heaven. 
 
 Lastly, we have attempted to examine into the 
 origin of our society ; and in many instances, 
 wandering without evidence, have been left to 
 probability and conjecture. It does not now seem 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 185 
 
 material to us what our originals and predecessors 
 were, if we occupy ourselves in the true spirit of 
 Masonry; in that divine spirit which inspired the 
 patriarchs when they erected altars unto the Lord : 
 — if we are true servants unto our king, faithful 
 and true to our chartered liberties, Christians in 
 profession and in practice, and to each other, and 
 mankind in general, affectionate and upright. 
 
 Whether Masons were originally builders, or 
 religious, it matters not to us in this age. Com- 
 paring these works with the righteousness to w r hich 
 you have been exhorted, the honour of antiquity 
 would be swallowed up in the virtues of practice, 
 and in the splendour of that light of acceptation, 
 which at once proclaims to the world that we are 
 servants of the true God, who saves our souls alive. 
 
 If our ceremonies mean not the matter which has 
 been expressed, if they imply not the moral and 
 religious principles which I have endeavoured to 
 unveil, it may be asked of you Masons, what they 
 do imply, import, or indicate ? 
 
 Can we presume so many learned and noble 
 personages would, for so many successive ages, 
 have been steady members of this fraternity, if the 
 mysteries were unimportant, and the ceremonies 
 unintelligible? It cannot be; take away their 
 spirit, and they become ridiculous. 
 
 Has it been for ages a maxim of foolish sport, to 
 introduce men to a silly snare in which the guide 
 having been entrapped into ridicule, longs to laugh 
 at another similarly deceived? This cannot be 
 
186 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 presumed. Besides, if it were only so, the snare 
 might be formed and ornamented with simple 
 things, and there were no need to introduce sacred 
 matters into the device. This renders the con- 
 jecture so absurd, that it will bear no further 
 animadversion. 
 
 Masons profess that they are pilgrims in progres- 
 sion from the east. The Almighty planted a garden 
 in the east, wherein he placed the perfection of 
 human nature — the first man, full of innocence and 
 divine knowledge, and full of honour, even bearing 
 the image of God. Learning had its origin in the 
 east after the Flood : the Egyptians were the first 
 who represented the zodiac, and the first who 
 demonstrated the wisdom of the great Architect of 
 the world in the revolutions of the heavens ; they 
 were the first protectors of the science of geometry. 
 
 In regard to the doctrine of our Saviour and the 
 Christian Revelation, it proceeded from the east. 
 The star which proclaimed the birth of the Son of 
 God, appeared in the east. The East was an 
 expression used by the prophets to denote the 
 Redeemer. Therefore it may well be conceived 
 that we should prove our progress to be from 
 thence ; if we profess by being Masons, that we are 
 a society of the servants of that Divinity, whose 
 abode is with the Father co-eternal in the centre of 
 the heavens. But if we profess no such matter, 
 then why should not we have alleged our progress 
 to have been from the north, and the regions of 
 chaos and darkness ? 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 187 
 
 But we will, my brethren, close this Argument 
 with a sincere exhortation, that you continue to act 
 as upright and religious men ; — that you exert 
 yourselves in the promotion of its honour ; — and let 
 the wicked and ignorant revile ever so maliciously, 
 be strenuous in your duties, as Masons and as 
 brethren : exercise your benevolence with openness 
 of heart, and your charity with cordiality, and not 
 as hypocrites; with attention endeavour to arrive at 
 the utmost knowledge of your profession, the end 
 of which, we nobly proclaim to you, is to work out 
 the works of righteousness. 
 
188 
 
 ARGUMENT XIX. 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS : INCLUDING AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE 
 
 MASONIC LECTURES ; A PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION OF THE 
 ANCIENT CEREMONIES ; AND THE CHARGES USED IN THE 
 DIFFERENT DEGREES. 
 
 Masonry is an art useful and extensive. In 
 every art there is a mystery, which requires a pro- 
 gress of study and application to arrive at any 
 degree of perfection. Without much instruction, 
 and more exercise, no man can be skilful in any 
 art; in like manner, without an assiduous applica- 
 tion to the various subjects treated in the different 
 Arguments of Masonry, no person can be sufficiently 
 acquainted with its true value. 
 
 From this remark it must not be inferred, that 
 persons who labour under the disadvantage of a 
 confined education, or whose sphere of life requires 
 assiduous attention to business or useful employ- 
 ments, are to be discouraged in their endeavours 
 to gain a knowledge of Masonry. To qualify an 
 individual to enjoy the benefits of the society at 
 large, or to partake of its privileges, it is not 
 absolutely necessary that he should be acquainted 
 with all the intricate parts of the science. These 
 are only intended for persons who may have leisure 
 and opportunity to indulge such pursuits. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 189 
 
 Some men may be more able than others, some 
 more eminent, some more useful, but all, in their 
 different spheres, may prove advantageous to the 
 community; and our necessities, as well as our 
 consciences, bind us to love one another. To those, 
 however, whose early years have been dedicated 
 to literary pursuits, or whose circumstances and 
 situation in life render them independent, the 
 offices of the lodge ought to be principally restricted. 
 The industrious tradesman proves himself a valua- 
 ble member of society, and worthy of every honour 
 that we can confer: but the nature of every man’s 
 profession will not admit of that leisure which is 
 necessary to qualify him to become an expert 
 Mason, so as to discharge the official duties of a 
 lodge with propriety. And it must be admitted, 
 that those who accept of offices, and exercise 
 authority in a lodge, ought to be men of superior 
 prudence and genteel address, with all the advan- 
 tages of a tranquil, well -cultivated mind, and 
 retentive memory. All men are not blessed with 
 the same powers, nor have they the same talents ; 
 all men, therefore are not equally qualified to 
 govern. But he who wishes to teach must submit 
 to learn, and no one is qualified to support the 
 higher offices of the lodge until he has previously 
 discharged the duties of those that are subordinate, 
 which require time and experience. All men may 
 rise by gradation, and merit and industry are the 
 first step to preferment. Masonry is wisely calcu- 
 lated to suit different ranks and degrees, as every 
 
190 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 one, according to his station and ability, may be 
 employed and class with his equals. Founded 
 upon the most generous principles, no disquietude 
 appears among the professors of the art ; each class 
 is happy in its particular association ; and when the 
 whole meet in general convention, arrogance and 
 presumption appear not on the one hand, or diffi- 
 dence and inability on the other, but all unite in 
 the same plan, to promote that endearing happiness 
 which constitutes the essence of civil society. 
 
 The Ceremony of Opening and Closing a Lodge. 1 
 
 In all regular assemblies of men, convened for 
 wise and useful purposes, the commencement and 
 conclusion of business are accompanied with some 
 form. In every country of the world the practice 
 prevails, and is deemed essential. From the most 
 remote periods of antiquity it is traced, and the 
 refined improvements of modern times have not 
 abolished it. 
 
 Ceremonies, simply considered, are insignificant, 
 but their effects are sometimes important. When 
 they impress awe and reverence on the mind, and 
 engage attention, by external attraction, to solemn 
 rites, they are interesting objects. These pur- 
 poses are effected from judicious ceremonies, are 
 regularly conducted, and properly arranged. On 
 
 1 In the old York system, as it is called, the Holy Bible was 
 opened in the First Degree at Ruth ii ; in the Second Degree 
 at Judges xii ; and in the Third, at 1 Kings, viii. Some altera- 
 tion has since been adopted, which I am not at liberty to 
 specify. — E dito r. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL, 
 
 191 
 
 this ground, they have received the sanction of the 
 wisest men in all ages, and consequently could not 
 escape the notice of Masons. To begin well, is 
 the most likely means to end well ; and it is 
 justly remarked, that when order and method are 
 neglected at the beginning, they will be seldom 
 found to take place at the end. 
 
 The ceremony of opening and closing a lodge 
 with solemnity and decorum, is therefore univer- 
 sally adopted among Masons ; and though the 
 mode in some lodges may vary, still an uniformity 
 in the general practice prevails in every lodge ; and 
 the variation, if any, is solely occasioned by a want 
 of method, which a little application might easily 
 remove. 
 
 To conduct this ceremony with propriety, ought 
 to be the peculiar study of every Mason ; especially 
 of those who have the honour to rule in our assem- 
 blies. To persons thus dignified, every eye is 
 directed for propriety of conduct and behaviour; 
 and from them, our brethren less informed, will 
 naturally expect to derive examples worthy of imi- 
 tation. 
 
 From a share in this ceremony no Mason is 
 exempt. It is a general concern, in which all must 
 assist. This is the first request of the Master, and 
 the prelude to business. No sooner has it been 
 signified, than every officer repairs to his station, 
 and the brethren rank according to their degrees. 
 The intent of the meeting becomes the object of 
 attention, and the mind is insensibly drawn from 
 
192 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 those indiscriminate subjects of conversation which 
 are apt to intrude on our less serious moments. 
 
 Our care is first directed to the external avenues 
 of the Lodge, and the proper officers, whose pro- 
 vince it is to discharge that duty, execute the trust 
 with fidelity. By certain mystic forms, of no recent 
 date, they intimate that we may safely proceed. 
 To detect impostors among ourselves, an adherence 
 to order in every part of the Masonic business is 
 always preserved, and the Lodge is opened and 
 closed in solemn form. 
 
 At opening the Lodge, two purposes are effected : 
 the Master is reminded of the dignity of his character, 
 and the brethren of the homage and veneration due 
 from them in their sundry stations. These are not 
 the only advantages resulting from a due observance 
 of the ceremony ; a reverential awe for the Deity is 
 inculcated, and every eye is fixed on that object 
 from whose radiant beams light only can be derived. 
 Hence in this ceremony we are taught to adore the 
 God of Heaven, and to supplicate his protection on 
 our well-meant endeavours. Thus the Master 
 assumes his government in due form, and under 
 him his Wardens, who accept their trust after the 
 customary salutations, as disciples of one general 
 patron. After which the brethren, with one accord, 
 unite in duty and respect, and the ceremony con- 
 cludes. 
 
 At closing the lodge, a similar form takes place. 
 Here the less important duties of Masonry are not 
 passed over unobserved. The necessary degree of 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 193 
 
 subordination which takes place in the government 
 of a lodge is peculiarly marked, while the proper 
 tribute of gratitude is offered up to the beneficent 
 Author of life, and his blessing invoked in behalf of 
 the whole fraternity. Each brother faithfully locks 
 up the treasure which he has received in his own 
 repository ; 2 and, pleased with his reward, retires to 
 enjoy and disseminate, among the private circle of 
 his friends, the fruits of his labour and industry in 
 the lodge. 
 
 These are faint outlines of a ceremony which 
 universally prevails among Masons in every country, 
 and distinguishes all their meetings. Hence it is 
 arranged as a general section in every degree, and 
 takes the lead in all our illustrations. 
 
 A Prayer used at opening the Lodge. 
 
 May the favour of Heaven be upon this meeting ! 
 and as it is happily begun, may it be conducted with 
 order, and closed with harmony ! Amen. 
 
 A Prayer used at closing the Lodge. 
 
 May the blessing of Heaven rest upon us, and all 
 regular lodges ! may brotherly love prevail, and 
 every moral and social virtue cement us ! Amen. 
 
 Charges and Regulations for the Conduct and Behaviour of 
 Masons. 
 
 A rehearsal of the ancient charges properly suc- 
 ceeds the opening, and precedes the closing of a 
 
 2 Fidei propria sedes in dextera manu credebatur, ideo interdum 
 duabus junctis manibus fingebatur, interdum duabus imagunculis 
 dexteram dexterae jungentibus, quamobrem apud veteres dextera 
 tanquam res sacra credebatur. — Editor. 
 
194 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 lodge. This was the constant practice of our ancient 
 brethren, and ought never to be neglected in our 
 regular assemblies. A recapitulation of our duty 
 in the lodge, cannot be disagreeable in this place. 
 
 ANCIENT CHARGES, TO BE REHEARSED AT OPENING THE LODGE. 
 
 On the Management of the Craft in Working. 
 
 Masons employ themselves diligently in their 
 sundry vocations, live creditably, and conform with 
 cheerfulness to the government of the country in 
 which they reside. 
 
 The most expert craftsman is chosen or appointed 
 Master of the work, and is duly honoured in that 
 character by those over whom he presides. 
 
 The Master, knowing himself qualified, under- 
 takes the government of the lodge, and truly dis- 
 penses his rewards according to merit. 
 
 A craftsman who is appointed Warden of the 
 work under the Master, is true to the Master and 
 fellows, carefully oversees the work, and the brethren 
 obey him. 
 
 The Master, Wardens, and brethren are just and 
 faithful, and carefully finish the work they begin, 
 whether it be in the first or second degree ; but 
 never put that work to the first which has been 
 appropriated to the second degree. 
 
 Neither envy nor censure is discovered among 
 Masons. No brother is supplanted or put out of his 
 work, if he be capable to finish it; nor can any one 
 with equal advantage to the Master, finish the work 
 begun by another. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 195 
 
 All employed in Masonry meekly receive their 
 rewards, and use no disobliging name. Brother or 
 fellow are the appellations they bestow on each 
 other. They behave courteously within and without 
 the lodge, and never desert the Master till the work 
 is finished. 
 
 Laws for the Government of the Lodge ; to he rehearsed at 
 opening the Lodge. 
 
 You are to salute one another in a courteous 
 manner, agreeably to the forms established among 
 Masons ; you are freely to give such mutual instruc- 
 tions as shall be thought necessary or expedient, not 
 being overseen or overheard, without encroaching 
 upon each other, or derogating from that respect 
 which is due to a gentleman were he not a Mason ; 
 for though as Masons, we rank as brethren on a 
 level, yet Masonry deprives no man of the honour 
 due to his rank or character, but rather adds to it, 
 especially if he has deserved well of the fraternity, 
 who always render honour to whom it is due, and 
 avoid ill-manners. 
 
 No private committees are to be allowed, or 
 separate conversations encouraged; the Master or 
 Wardens are not to be interrupted, or any brother 
 who is speaking to the Master ; but due decorum 
 must be observed, and a proper respect paid to the 
 Master and presiding officers. 
 
 These laws are to be strictly enforced, that 
 harmony may be preserved, and the business of the 
 lodge carried on with order and regularity. Amen, 
 so mote it be ! 
 
196 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 Charge on the Behaviour of Masons . To he rehearsed at 
 closing the Lodge. 
 
 When the lodge is closed, you are to indulge 
 yourselves with innocent mirth, and carefully to 
 avoid excess. You are not to compel any brother 
 to act contrary to his inclination, or give offence by 
 word or deed, but enjoy a free and easy conversa- 
 tion. You are to avoid immoral or obscene dis- 
 course, and at all times support with propriety the 
 dignity of your character. 
 
 You are to be cautious in your words and 
 carriage, that the most penetrating stranger may 
 not discover or find out what is not proper to be 
 intimated; and, if necessary, you are to waive a 
 discourse, and manage it prudently, for the honour 
 of the fraternity. 
 
 At home, and in your several neighbourhoods, 
 you are to behave as wise and moral men. You 
 are never to communicate to your families, friends, 
 .or acquaintance, the private transactions of our 
 different assemblies; but upon every occasion to 
 consult your own honour, and the reputation of the 
 fraternity at large. 
 
 You are to study the preservation of health, by 
 avoiding irregularity and intemperance, that your 
 families may not be neglected and injured, or your- 
 selves disabled from attending to your necessary 
 employments in life. 
 
 If a stranger apply in the character of a Mason, 
 you are cautiously to examine him in such a method 
 as prudence may direct, and agreeably to the forms 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 197 
 
 established among Masons; that you may not be 
 imposed upon by an ignorant or false pretender, 
 whom you are to reject with contempt, and beware 
 of giving him any secret hints of knowledge. But 
 if you discover him to be a true and genuine brother, 
 you are to respect him ; if he be in want, you are 
 without prejudice to relieve him, or direct him how 
 he may be relieved; you are to employ him, or 
 recommend him to employment ; however, you are 
 never charged to do beyond your ability, only to 
 prefer a poor Mason, who is a good man and true, 
 before any other person in the same circumstances. 
 
 Finally, these rules you are always to observe and 
 enforce, and also the duties which have been com- 
 municated in the Argument; cultivating brotherly 
 love, the foundation and cape-stone, the cement and 
 glory of this ancient fraternity ; avoiding upon every 
 occasion, wrangling and quarrelling, slandering and 
 backbiting ; not permitting others to slander honest 
 brethren, but defending their characters, and doing 
 them good offices, as far as may be consistent with 
 your honour and safety, but not farther. Hence, 
 all may see the benign influence of Masonry, as all 
 true Masons have done from the beginning of the 
 world, and will do to the end of time. Amen, so 
 mote it be ! 
 
198 
 
 ARGUMENT XX. 
 
 ARGUMENT ON THE FIRST MASONIC LECTURE GIVEN IN A LODGE. 
 
 THE DECLARATION TO BE ASSENTED TO. A PRAYER USED AT 
 
 INITIATION. CHARGE AT INITIATION INTO THE FIRST DEGREE. 
 
 Having illustrated the ceremony of opening and 
 closing a lodge, and inserted the charges and prayers 
 usually rehearsed in our regular assemblies on those 
 occasions, we shall now enter on a disquisition of 
 the different sections of the arguments appropriated 
 to the three degrees of Masonry , 1 giving a brief 
 summary of the whole, and annexing to every 
 remark the particulars to which the section alludes. 
 By these means the industrious Mason will be the 
 better instructed in the regular arrangement of the 
 
 1 Have the three degrees of Masonry any hidden reference 
 to the three heavens mentioned by St. Paul, and the three 
 degrees of blessedness conferred on the human soul? — 1. Some 
 shall shine as the stars ; 2. Others as the brightness of the 
 firmament ; 3. And others as the sun, for ever and ever. — The 
 moon and stars are symbols of the first degree ; the clear fir- 
 mament, represented by the spherical balls placed on the two 
 pillars, of the second ; and the sun, figurative of the light of 
 revelation and the resurrection from the dead, of the third. 
 It may be also remarked, although merely as a coincidence, 
 without assuming any typical reference, that our holy religion 
 mentions also three states of punishment, viz. : — 1. Beaten with 
 few stripes ; 2. Beaten with many stripes ; 3. The punishment 
 of the lake that burneth with brimstone and fire. — Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 199 
 
 sections in each Argument, and be enabled with 
 more ease to acquire a knowledge of the art. 
 
 The first Argument is divided into sections, and 
 each section into clauses. In this Argument virtue 
 is painted in the most beautiful colours, and the 
 duties of morality are strictly enforced. In it, we 
 are taught such useful lessons as prepare the mind 
 for a regular advancement in the principles of 
 knowledge and philosophy, and these are imprinted 
 on the memory by lively and sensible images, to 
 influence our conduct in the proper discharge of 
 the duties of social life. 
 
 The first section of this Argument is suited to all 
 capacities, and ought to be known by every person 
 who wishes to rank as a Mason. It consists of 
 general heads, which though short and simple, carry 
 weight with them. They not only serve as marks of 
 distinction, but communicate useful and interesting 
 knowledge when they are duly investigated. They 
 qualify us to try and examine the rights of others 
 in relation with our privileges, while they prove 
 ourselves ; and as they induce us to inquire more 
 minutely into other particulars of greater import- 
 ance, they serve as an introduction to subjects which 
 are more amply explained in the following sections. 
 
 As we can annex to this remark no other expla- 
 nation consistent with the rules of Masonry, we must 
 refer the more inquisitive to our regular assemblies 
 for farther instruction . 2 
 
 2 Here I would call the attention of the brethren to the three 
 points of entrance, which are said to include the whole ceremony 
 
200 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 The second section makes us acquainted with the 
 peculiar forms and ceremonies at the initiation of 
 candidates into Masonry, and convinces us, beyond 
 the power of contradiction, of the propriety of our 
 rites, while it demonstrates to the most sceptical 
 and hesitating mind their excellence and utility. 
 
 The following particulars relative to that cere- 
 mony may be here introduced with propriety. 
 
 A Declaration to be assented to by every Candidate in an adjoining 
 apartment, previous to initiation . 
 
 “ Do you seriously declare, upon your honour, 
 before these gentlemen, that unbiassed by your 
 friends against your own inclinations, and unin- 
 fluenced by mercenary motives, you freely and 
 voluntarily offer yourself a candidate for the mys- 
 teries of Masonry ? ” — “ I do.” 
 
 66 Do you seriously declare, upon your honour, 
 before these gentlemen, that you are solely prompted 
 to solicit an initiation into the privileges of Masonry 
 by a favourable opinion conceived of the institution, 
 
 of initiation, as embracing preparation, admission, and O.B. 
 On this point our lectures are evidently imperfect, because the 
 ceremony embraces several points which are not included in the 
 general definition. For instance, it comprehends opening and 
 closing, a trust, an investment, and a peculiar place for the 
 candidate. I prefer that passage in the old lecture which gives 
 twelve original points, constituting the basis of the system, and 
 without which no person ever was, or can be, legally and essen- 
 tially received into the order. And it is quite true that every 
 person who is made a Mason must go through all these twelve 
 forms and ceremonies, not only in the first, but in every sub- 
 sequent degree. — Editor. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 201 
 
 a desire of knowledge, and a sincere wish of being 
 serviceable to your fellow-creatures?” — “ I do.” 
 
 “ Do you seriously declare, upon your honour, 
 before these gentlemen, that you will cheerfully 
 conform to all the ancient established usages and 
 customs of the fraternity ?” — “I do.” 
 
 The candidate is then proposed in open lodge as 
 follows : — 
 
 “ R. W. Master and Brethren, 
 
 66 At the request of Mr. A. B. [mentioning his 
 profession and residence], I propose him in form as 
 a proper candidate for the mysteries of Masonry ; I 
 recommend him as worthy to partake the privileges 
 of the fraternity ; and in consequence of a declara- 
 tion of his intentions, voluntarily made and properly 
 attested, I believe he will cheerfully conform to the 
 rules of the order.” 
 
 A Prayer used at Initiation . 
 
 “ Vouchsafe thine aid, Almighty Father of the 
 Universe, to this our present convention, and grant 
 that this candidate for Masonry may dedicate and 
 devote his life to thy service, and become a true 
 and faithful brother among us ! Endue him with 
 a competence of thy divine wisdom, that by the 
 secrets of this our art, he may be better enabled 
 to display the beauties of godliness, to the honour 
 of thy holy name ! So mote it be.” 
 
202 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 It is a duty incumbent on every Master of a 
 lodge, before the ceremony of initiation takes place, 
 to inform the candidate of the purpose and design 
 of the institution ; 3 to explain the nature of his 
 solemn engagements ; and, in a manner peculiar to 
 Masons alone, to require his cheerful acquiescence 
 to the duties of morality and virtue, and all the 
 sacred tenets of the order. 
 
 The third section, by the reciprocal communica- 
 tion of our marks of distinction, proves us to be 
 regular members of the order ; and inculcates those 
 necessary and instructive duties which at once 
 dignify our characters in the double capacity of 
 men and Masons. 
 
 We cannot better illustrate this section, than by 
 inserting the following 
 
 Charge at Initiation into the First Degree. 
 
 66 Brother, — As you are now introduced into 
 the first principles of our order, it is my duty to con- 
 gratulate you on being accepted a member of an 
 ancient and honourable society : ancient, as having 
 subsisted from time immemorial, and honourable, 
 as tending, in every particular, so to render all 
 men, who will be conformable to its precepts. No 
 institution was ever raised on a better principle, or 
 more solid foundation ; nor were more excellent 
 
 3 In France, aussitot que le recipiendaire entre dans la 
 chambre de reception, on jette de la poudre oude la poix-resine, 
 dont inflammation fait toujours un certain effet. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 203 
 
 rules and useful maxims laid down, than are incul- 
 cated on all persons at their initiation into our 
 mysteries. Monarchs, in every age, have been 
 encouragers and promoters of our art, and have 
 never deemed it derogatory from their dignities, to 
 level themselves with the fraternity, to extend its 
 privileges, and to patronise its assemblies. 
 
 66 As a Mason, you are to study the moral law, as 
 contained in the sacred code ; to consider it as the 
 unerring standard of truth and justice, and to regu- 
 late your life and actions by its divine precepts. 
 
 “ The three great moral duties — to God, your 
 neighbour, and yourself, you are strictly to observe. 
 To God, by never mentioning His name but with 
 that awe and reverence which is due from a crea- 
 ture; to implore His aid in your laudable under- 
 takings, and to esteem and worship Him as the 
 chief good. To your neighbour, by acting upon 
 the square, and considering him equally entitled, 
 with yourself, to share the blessings of Providence, 
 rendering unto him those favours, which in a 
 similar situation you would expect to receive from 
 him. And to yourself, by avoiding irregularity and 
 intemperance, which might impair your faculties, 
 and debase the dignity of your profession. 
 
 “ In the state, you are to be a quiet and peaceable 
 subject, true to your sovereign, and just to your 
 country; you are not to countenance disloyalty or 
 rebellion, but patiently submit to legal authority, 
 and conform with cheerfulness to the government 
 under which you live, yielding obedience to the 
 
•204 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 laws which afford yon protection, and never forget- 
 ting the attachment you owe to the country where 
 you first drew breath. 
 
 66 In your outward demeanour, you are to avoid 
 censure or reproach, and beware of all who may 
 artfully endeavour to insinuate themselves into your 
 esteem, with a view to betray your virtuous resolu- 
 tions, or to make you swerve from the principles of 
 the institution. Let not interest, favour, or preju- 
 dice bias your integrity, or influence you to be guilty 
 of a dishonourable action, but let your conduct and 
 behaviour be regular and uniform, and your deport- 
 ment suitable to the dignity of the profession. 
 
 “ Above all, practise benevolence and charity; for 
 by these virtues, Masons have been distinguished in 
 every age and country. The inconceivable pleasure 
 of contributing towards the relief of our fellow- 
 creatures, is truly experienced by persons of a 
 humane disposition, who are naturally excited by 
 'Sympathy to extend their aid to alleviate the 
 miseries of others. This encourages the generous 
 Mason to distribute his bounty with cheerfulness : 
 supposing himself in the situation of the unhappy 
 being he relieves, as he would wish to be relieved, 
 were he himself in similar distress. 
 
 “ The constitutions of the order ought next to 
 engage your attention. These contain the history 
 of Masonry from the earliest periods, with an account 
 of illustrious characters who have enriched the arts 
 in various countries, and the laws and charges by 
 which the brethren have been long governed. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 205 
 
 “ A punctual attendance on our assemblies I am 
 earnestly to enjoin, especially on the duties of the 
 lodge in which you are enrolled a member. Here, 
 and in all other regular meetings of the fraternity, 
 you are to behave with order and decorum, that 
 harmony may be preserved, and the business of 
 Masonry properly conducted. The rules of moral 
 propriety and behaviour you are not to violate ; 
 you are to use no unbecoming language, in dero- 
 gation of the name of God, or toward the corruption 
 of good manners: you are not to introduce or 
 maintain any dispute about religion or politics ; or 
 behave irreverently while the lodge is engaged in 
 what is serious and important; but you are to pay 
 a proper deference and respect to the Master and 
 presiding officers, and diligently apply to the prac^ 
 tice of the art, that you may sooner become a 
 proficient therein, as well for your own credit, as 
 the honour of the lodge in which you have been 
 received. 
 
 66 But although your frequent appearance at our 
 regular meetings is earnestly solicited, Masonry is 
 not intended to interfere with your necessary avo- 
 cations in life, as these are on no account to be 
 neglected: neither are you to suffer your zeal for 
 the institution, however laudable, to lead you into 
 argument with those who may ridicule it, but 
 rather extend your pity towards all, who through 
 ignorance contemn what they never had an oppor- 
 tunity to appreciate. At leisure hours, study the 
 liberal arts and sciences, and improve in Masonic 
 
206 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 disquisitions, by the conversation of well-informed 
 brethren, who will be as ready to give, as you can 
 be to receive instruction. 
 
 “ Finally, keep sacred and inviolable those mys- 
 teries of the order which are to distinguish you from 
 the rest of the community, and maintain your own 
 respect among the fraternity. If, in the circle of 
 your acquaintance, you find a person desirous of 
 being initiated into Masonry, be particularly atten- 
 tive not to recommend him unless you are convinced 
 he will conform to our rules, that the honour and 
 reputation of the institution may be firmly esta- 
 blished, and the world at large convinced of its 
 benign influence. 
 
 “ From the attention you have paid to the recital 
 of these charges, we are led to hope that you will 
 form a proper estimate of the value of Freemasonry, 
 and imprint on your mind the dictates of truth, 
 honour, and virtue.’’ 
 
 The fourth section rationally accounts for the 
 origin of hieroglyphical instruction, and points out 
 the advantages which accompany a faithful obser- 
 vance of our duty : it illustrates, at the same time, 
 certain particulars, our ignorance of which might 
 lead us into error, and which, as Masons, we are 
 indispensably bound to know. 
 
 To make daily progress in the art, is a constant 
 duty, and expressly required by our general laws. 
 What end can be more noble than the pursuit of 
 virtue ? what motive more alluring than the practice 
 of justice? or what instruction more beneficial 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 ‘207 
 
 than an accurate elucidation of those symbols which 
 tend to embellish and adorn the mind? Every 
 thing that strikes the eye more immediately en- 
 gages the attention, and imprints on the memory 
 serious and solemn truths. Hence Masons have 
 universally adopted the plan of inculcating the 
 tenets of their order by typical figures and allego- 
 rical emblems, to prevent their mysteries from 
 descending to the familiar notice of inattentive and 
 unprepared novices from whom they might not 
 receive due veneration. 
 
 It is well known that the usages and customs of 
 Masons have ever corresponded with those of the 
 ancient Egyptians, to which they bear a near 
 affinity. These philosophers, unwilling to expose 
 their mysteries to vulgar eyes, concealed their 
 particular tenets and principles of polity under 
 hieroglyphical figures, and expressed their notions 
 of government by signs and symbols, which they 
 communicated to their magi alone, who were bound 
 by oath not to reveal them. Pythagoras seems to 
 have established his system on a similar plan, and 
 many orders of a more recent date have copied the 
 example. Masonry, however, is not only the most 
 ancient, but the most moral institution that ever 
 existed : every character, figure, and emblem, de- 
 picted in a lodge, has a moral tendency, and tends 
 to inculcate the practice of virtue. 
 
 The fifth section explains the nature and princi- 
 ples of our institution, and teaches us to discharge 
 with propriety the duties of the different depart- 
 
•208 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 merits which we are to sustain in the government 
 of a lodge. Here, too, our ornaments are dis- 
 played, or jewels and furniture specified, and a 
 proper attention is paid to our ancient and venera- 
 ble patrons. 
 
 To explain the subject of this section, and to 
 assist the industrious Mason to acquire it, we recom- 
 mend a punctual attendance on the duties of a lodge, 
 and a diligent application to the truths there de- 
 monstrated. 
 
 The sixth section, though the last in rank, is not 
 the least considerable in importance. It strengthens 
 those which precede, and enforces, in the most 
 engaging manner, a due regard to character and 
 behaviour, in public, as well as in private life — in 
 the lodge, as well as in the general commerce of 
 the society. 
 
 This section forcibly inculcates the most instruc- 
 tive lessons. Brotherly love, relief, and truth, are 
 themes on which we expatiate, while the cardinal 
 virtues claim our attention. By the exercise of 
 brotherly love we are taught to regard the whole 
 human species as one family — the high and low, the 
 rich and poor; who, as children of one Almighty 
 Parent, and inhabitants of the same world, are to 
 aid, support, and protect each other. On this 
 principle, Masonry unites men of every country, 
 $ect, and opinion, conciliates true friendship, among 
 those who might otherwise have remained unknown 
 at a distance. Relief is the next tenet of our pro- 
 fession. To relieve the distressed is a duty incurn- 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 209 
 
 bent on all men, chiefly on Masons, who are united 
 by an indissoluble bond of sincere affection. To 
 sooth calamity, to alleviate misfortune, to compas- 
 sionate misery, and to restore peace to the troubled 
 mind, is the grand aim of the true Mason. On 
 this basis he establishes his friendships, and forms 
 his connections. Truth is a divine attribute, and 
 the foundation of every virtue. To be good men 
 and true is the first lesson we are taught. On this 
 theme we contemplate, and by its dictates endea- 
 vour to regulate our conduct. Influenced by this 
 principle, hypocrisy and deceit are unknown ; sin- 
 cerity and plain dealing distinguishes us, while 
 the heart and the tongue join in promoting each 
 other’s welfare, and rejoicing in each other’s pros- 
 perity. 
 
 To this illustration succeeds an explanation of 
 temperance, fortitude, prudence, and justice. By 
 temperance, we are taught to govern the passions, 
 and check unruly desires. The health of the body, 
 and the dignity of the species, are equally concerned 
 in a faithful observance of it. By fortitude we are 
 taught to resist temptation, and encounter danger 
 with spirit and resolution. This virtue is equally 
 distant from rashness and cowardice, and he who 
 possesses it is seldom shaken, and never overthrown 
 by the storms that surround him. By prudence 
 w r e are instructed to regulate our conduct pursuant 
 to the dictates of reason, and to judge and deter- 
 mine with propriety in the execution of everything 
 that can tend to promote either our present or future 
 
210 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 well-being. On this virtue all others depend : it is 
 therefore the chief jewel that can adorn the human 
 character. Justice, the boundary of right, constitutes 
 the basis of civil society. 
 
 The explanation of these virtues is accompanied 
 with some general observations on the equality 
 observed among Masons. In a lodge, no estrange- 
 ment of behaviour is discovered. Influenced by 
 one principle, an uniformity of opinion (useful in 
 exigencies and pleasing in familiar life) universally 
 prevails, which strengthens all the ties of friendship, 
 and equally promotes love and esteem. Masons are 
 brethren by a double tie, and among brothers no 
 invidious distinctions should exist. Government is 
 always respected, and honour rendered to whom it 
 is due. A king is reminded that, although a crown 
 may adorn his head or a sceptre his hand, the blood 
 in his veins is derived from the common parent of 
 mankind, and no better than that of his meanest 
 subject. The senator and the artist are alike taught 
 that, equally with others, they are by nature exposed 
 to infirmity and disease ; that an unforseen mis- 
 fortune, or a disordered frame, may impair their 
 faculties, and level them with the most ignorant of 
 their species. This checks pride, and incites cour- 
 tesy of behaviour. Men of inferior talents, such 
 as are not placed by fortune in exalted stations, are 
 instructed to regard their superiors with peculiar 
 esteem, when, divested of pride, vanity, and external 
 grandeur, they condescend, in the badge of inno- 
 cence and bond of friendship, to trace wisdom and 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 211 
 
 follow virtue, assisted by those who are of a rank 
 beneath them. Virtue is true nobility, and wisdom 
 is the channel by which virtue is directed and con- 
 veyed, Wisdom and virtue alone mark distinction 
 among Masons. 
 
 Such are the arrangements of the sections in the 
 preceding Argument of Masonry, which, including 
 the forms adopted at opening and closing a lodge, 
 comprehend the whole of the first degree. This 
 plan has not only the advantage of regularity to 
 recommend it, but the support of precedent and 
 authority, and the sanction and respect which flow 
 from antiquity. The whole is a regular system' of 
 morality, conceived in a strain of interesting alle- 
 gory, which readily unfolds its beauties to the candid 
 and industrious inquirer. 
 
212 
 
 ARGUMENT XXL 
 
 SOLOMON’S INVOCATION, AND THE SEVEN LIBERAL ARTS AND 
 SCIENCES, AS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE SECOND MASONIC LECTURE. 
 
 Masonry is a progressive science, and divided 
 into different classes or degrees, for a more regular 
 advancement in the knowledge of its mysteries. 
 According to the progress we make, we limit or 
 extend our inquiries ; and in proportion to our 
 capacities, we attain to a less or greater degree of 
 perfection. 
 
 Masonry includes almost every branch of polite 
 learning. Under the veil of its mysteries is com- 
 prehended a regular system of science. Many of its 
 illustrations may appear unimportant to the incon- 
 siderate, but the man of more enlarged faculties 
 will consider them in the highest degree useful and 
 interesting. To please the accomplished scholar 
 and ingenious artist, it is wisely planned ; and in the 
 investigation of its latent doctrines, the philosopher 
 and mathematician may experience satisfaction and 
 delight 
 
 To understand the various subjects of which 
 Masonry treats, would transcend the powers of the 
 brightest genius ; still, however, some approach 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 213 
 
 to perfection may be made, and the man of wisdom 
 will not check the progress of his abilities, though 
 the tasks he attempts may at first seem insurmount- 
 able. Perseverance and application will remove 
 difficulty as it occurs ; every step he advances new 
 pleasures will open to his view, and instruction of 
 the noblest kind attends his researches. In the dili- 
 gent pursuit of knowledge, great discoveries are 
 made, when the intellectual faculties are employed 
 in promoting the glory of God and the good of 
 man. 
 
 Such is the tendency of every illustration in 
 Masonry. Reverence for the Deity and gratitude 
 for the blessings of Heaven, are inculcated in every 
 degree. This is the plan of our system, and the 
 result of all our inquiries* 
 
 The first degree is intended to enforce the 
 duties of morality, and imprint on the memory the 
 noblest principles which can adorn the human mind. 
 The second degree extends the same plan, and 
 comprehends a more diffusive system of knowledge. 
 Practice and theory qualify the industrious Mason 
 to share the pleasures which an advancement in the 
 art necessarily affords. Listening with attention 
 to the wise opinions of experienced craftsmen on 
 important subjects, his mind is gradually familiarised 
 to useful instruction, and he is soon enabled to 
 investigate truths of the utmost concern in the 
 general transactions of life. 
 
 From this system proceeds a rational amuse- 
 ment ; the mental powers are fully employed, and 
 
214 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 the judgment is properly exercised. A spirit of 
 emulation prevails, and every one vies who shall 
 most excel in promoting the valuable rules of the 
 institution. 
 
 The first section of the second degree elucidates 
 the mode of instruction into this class, and instructs 
 the diligent craftsman how to proceed in the proper 
 arrangement of the ceremonies, which enables him 
 to judge of their importance, and convinces him of 
 the necessity of adhering to the established usages 
 of the order. Here he is entrusted with particular 
 tests, to prove his title to the privileges of this 
 degree, and satisfactory reasons are given for their 
 origin. Many duties which cement in the firmest 
 union well-informed brethren, are illustrated, and 
 an opportunity is given to make such advances in 
 Masonry as will reward the industry, and distinguish 
 the abilities of able craftsmen. 
 
 This section recapitulates the ceremony of initia- 
 tion, and contains many important particulars with 
 which no officers of a lodge should be unacquainted. 
 
 Charge at Initiation into the Second Degree. 
 
 a Brother, — Being advanced to the second 
 degree, we congratulate you on your preferment. 
 The internal, and not the external qualifications of 
 a man are what Masonry regards. As you increase 
 in knowledge, you will improve in social virtue. 
 
 te It is unnecessary to recapitulate the duties which 
 as a Mason you are bound to discharge, or enlarge 
 on the necessity of a strict adherence to them, as 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 215 
 
 your own understanding must have appreciated their 
 value. It may be sufficient to observe, that your 
 past behaviour and regular deportment have merited 
 the honour which we have conferred ; and in your 
 new character, it is expected that you will conform 
 to the principles of the order, and steadily persevere 
 in the practice of every commendable virtue. 
 
 “ The study of the liberal arts, which tends so 
 effectually to polish and adorn the mind, is earnestly 
 recommended to your consideration, especially the 
 science of geometry, which is established as the basis 
 of our art. Geometry, in the manner in which we 
 make use of it in Masonry, being of a divine and 
 moral tendency, is enriched with the most useful 
 knowledge ; while it proves the wonderful properties 
 of nature, it demonstrates the more important truths 
 of morality. 
 
 “As the solemnity of our ceremonies requires a 
 serious deportment, you are to be particularly atten- 
 tive to your behaviour in our regular assemblies; 
 you are to preserve our ancient usages and customs 
 sacred and inviolable ; and you are to induce others, 
 by your example, to hold them in veneration. 
 
 “ The laws and regulations of the order you are 
 strenuously to support and maintain. You are 
 not to palliate, or aggravate the offences of your 
 brethren, but in the decision of every trespass 
 against our rules, judge with candour, admonish 
 with friendship, and reprehend with justice. 
 
 “ As a craftsman, in our private assemblies you 
 may offer your sentiments and opinions on such 
 
2] 6 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 subjects as are regularly introduced in the lecture. 
 By this privilege you may improve your intellectual 
 powers, qualify yourself to become a useful member 
 of the society, and, like a skilful brother, strive to 
 excel in every thing that is good and great. 
 
 66 All regular signs and summonses, given and 
 received, you are duly to honour and punctually to 
 obey, inasmuch as they consist with our professed 
 principles. You are to supply the wants and relieve 
 the necessities of your brethren to the utmost of your 
 power and ability; and you are on no account to 
 wrong them or see them wronged, but apprize them 
 of approaching danger, and view their interest as 
 inseparable from your own. 
 
 “ Such is the nature of your engagements as a 
 craftsman, and to these duties you are bound by 
 the most sacred ties.” 
 
 The second section of this degree presents 
 ample matter for the man of genius. It cursorily 
 specifies the particular classes of the order, and 
 explains the requisite qualifications to preferment 
 in each. In the explanation of our usages, many 
 remarks are introduced, equally useful to the expe- 
 rienced artist, and the sage moralist. The various 
 operations of the mind are demonstrated, as far as 
 they will admit of elucidation, and a fund of exten- 
 sive science is explored throughout. Here we find 
 employment for leisure hours, trace science from 
 its original source, and, drawing the attention to the 
 sum of perfection, contemplate with admiration 
 the wonderful works of the Creator. Geometry is 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 217 
 
 displayed with all its powers and properties; and, 
 in the disquisition of this science, the mind is filled 
 with pleasure and delight. Such is the latitude of 
 this section, that the most judicious may fail in an 
 attempt to explain it, as the rational powers are 
 exerted to their utmost stretch, in illustrating the 
 beauties of nature, and demonstrating the more 
 important truths of morality. 
 
 As the orders of architecture come under con- 
 sideration in this section, a brief account of them 
 may not be improper, although the subject has been 
 fully enlarged upon already. 
 
 By order in architecture, is meant a system of 
 all the members, proportions, and ornaments of 
 columns and pilasters ; or, it is a regular arrange- 
 ment of the projecting parts of a building, which, 
 united with those of a column, form a beautiful, 
 perfect, and complete whole. Order in architec- 
 ture may be traced from the first formation of 
 society. When the rigour of seasons obliged men 
 to contrive shelter from the inclemency of the 
 weather, we learn that they erected beams of timber 
 and laid others across, to support a covering. The 
 bands which connected those timbers from top and 
 bottom, are said to have suggested the idea of bases 
 and capitals of pillars, and from this simple hint 
 originally proceeded the more improved art of 
 architecture. 
 
 The five orders having been already mentioned 
 and explained in a particular manner, it will be 
 sufficient in this place to refer the reader to the 
 
218 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 illustration of them already given. A few general 
 and appropriate observations will be superadded, to 
 give due information to the Masonic student. 
 
 The original orders of architecture attended to 
 by Masons, are but three — the Doric, Ionic, and 
 Corinthian. To these the Romans have added 
 two — the Tuscan, which they made plainer than 
 the Doric; and the Composite, which was more 
 ornamental, if not more beautiful, than the Corin- 
 thian. The first three orders alone, however, show 
 invention and particular character, and essentially 
 differ from each other ; the two others have nothing 
 but what is borrowed, and differ only accidentally ; 
 the Tuscan is the Doric in its earliest state; and 
 the Composite is the Corinthian enriched with the 
 Ionic. To the Greeks, and not to the Romans, we 
 are indebted for what is great, judicious, and distinct 
 in architecture. 
 
 These observations are intended to induce the 
 industrious craftsman to pursue his researches into 
 the rise and progress of architecture, by consulting 
 the works of learned writers professedly upon the 
 subject. 
 
 The third section of this degree has recourse to 
 the orign of the institution, and views Masonr 
 under two denominations: operative and specu- 
 lative. These are separately considered, and the 
 principles on which both are founded, particularly 
 explained. Their affinity is pointed out by alle- 
 gorical figures and typical representations. Here 
 the rise of our government, or division into classes, 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 219 
 
 is examined; the dispositions of our rulers, supreme 
 and subordinate, are traced ; and reasons are assigned 
 for the establishment of several of our present 
 practices. The progress made in architecture, 
 particularly in the reign of Solomon, is peculiarly 
 remarked; the number of artists employed in 
 building the temple of Jerusalem ; and the privi- 
 leges which they enjoyed are specified ; * 1 the period 
 stipulated for rewarding merit is fixed, and the 
 inimitable moral to which that circumstance alludes, 
 
 1 Ancient Masonic tradition informs us that the Speculative 
 and Operative Masons who were employed at the building of the 
 Temple, were arranged into nine classes, as follows: — 
 
 DEGREES. 
 
 PRESIDENTS. 
 
 NUMBER. 
 
 DAILY WAGES. 
 
 Super Excellent Masons. 
 
 Tito Zadok. 
 
 9 
 
 81 shekels. 
 
 Excellent Masons. 
 
 Hiram A biff. 
 
 45 
 
 64 — 
 
 Grand Architects. 
 
 Adoniram. 
 
 12 
 
 49 — 
 
 Architects. 
 
 Hoabert. 
 
 24 
 
 36 — 
 
 Mark Masters. 
 
 Ghiblim. 
 
 600 
 
 25 — 
 
 Master Masons. 
 
 Mohabin. 
 
 1000 
 
 16 — 
 
 Mark Men. 
 
 Stolkyn. 
 
 2000 
 
 9 — 
 
 Fellow Crafts. 
 
 Hiram A biff. 
 
 80,000 
 
 4 — 
 
 Entered Apprentices. 
 
 Adoniram. 
 
 30,000 
 
 1 — 
 
 Total Number 113,690 
 
 Besides the Ish Sabbal, or labourers, who were Canaanites. 
 There were also employed about the building, in addition to the 
 children of Israel, many Tyrians, Sidonians, and Egyptians, who 
 were mostly Ghiblimites. 
 
 l 2 
 
220 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL 
 
 explained ; the creation of the world is described, 
 and many particulars recited, all of which have 
 been carefully preserved among Masons, and trans- 
 mitted from one age to another by oral tradition. 
 In short, this section contains a store of valuable 
 knowledge, founded on reason, and sacred record, 
 both entertaining and instructive. The whole 
 operates powerfully in enforcing the veneration 
 due to antiquity. 
 
 We can afford little assistance, by writing, to the 
 industrious Mason in this section, as it can only 
 be acquired by oral communication ; for an expla- 
 nation, however, of the connection between opera- 
 tive and speculative Masonry, we refer him to the 
 fourth section. 
 
 As many of the particulars in this section have 
 a reference to the Temple of Jerusalem, we shall 
 here insert the invocation of Solomon, at the dedi- 
 cation of that edifice. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 cc And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord 
 in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, 
 and spread forth his hands, saying : O Lord God, 
 there is no God like unto thee, in heaven above, or 
 in the earth beneath; who keepest covenant and 
 shewest mercy unto thy servants ; who walk before 
 thee with all their hearts. Let thy word be verified, 
 which thou hast spoken unto David my father. 
 Let all the people of the earth know, that the Lord 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 221 
 
 is God, and that there is none else. Let all the 
 people of the earth know thy name, and fear thee. 
 Let all the people of the earth know, that I have 
 built this house, and consecrated it to thy name. 
 But, will God, indeed, dwell upon the earth? 
 Behold, the heaven, and heaven of heavens cannot 
 contain thee ; how much less this house, which I 
 have built ! yet, have respect unto my prayer, and 
 to my supplication, and hearken unto my cry : may 
 thine eyes be open towards this house, by day, and 
 by night; even towards the place, of which thou 
 hast said, My name shall be there ! And when thy 
 servant, and thy people of Israel, shall pray toward 
 this house, hearken to their supplication ; hear thou 
 them in heaven, thy dwelling-place; and when 
 thou hearest, forgive ! 
 
 u And the Lord answered, and said, I have 
 hallowed the house which thou hast built, to put 
 my name there for ever ; and mine eyes and mine 
 heart shall be there perpetually. 
 
 “ And all the people answered and said, The 
 Lord is gracious, and his mercy endureth for ever.” 
 
 The fourth and last section of this degree is no 
 less replete with useful instruction. Circumstances 
 of great importance to the fraternity are here 
 particularised, and many traditional tenets and 
 customs confirmed by sacred and profane record. 
 The celestial and terrestrial globes are considered 
 with a minute accuracy ; and here the accomplished 
 gentleman might display his talents to advantage, 
 in the elucidation of the sciences, which are classed 
 
222 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 in a regular arrangement. The stimulus to prefer- 
 ment, and the mode of rewarding merit, are pointed 
 out ; the marks of distinction which were conferred 
 on our ancient brethren as the reward of excellence, 
 explained; and the duties, as well as privileges, of 
 the first branch of their male offspring defined. 
 This section also contains many curious observa- 
 tions on the validity of our forms, and concludes 
 with the most powerful incentives to the practice of 
 piety and virtue. 
 
 As the seven liberal arts and sciences are illus- 
 trated in this section, it may not be improper to 
 give a short explanation of them. 
 
 Grammar teaches the proper arrangement of 
 words, according to the idiom or dialect of any 
 particular people ; and that excellency of pronun- 
 ciation, which enables us to speak or write a lan- 
 guage with accuracy, agreeably to reason and 
 correct usage. 
 
 Rhetoric teaches us to speak copiously and 
 fluently on any subject, not merely with propriety 
 but with all the advantages of force and elegance ; 
 wisely contriving to captivate the hearer by strength 
 of argument and beauty of expression, whether it 
 be to entreat or exhort, to admonish or applaud. 
 
 Logic teaches us to guide our reason discretion- 
 ally in the general knowledge of things, and to 
 direct our inquiries after truth. It consists of a 
 regular train of argument, whence we infer, deduce, 
 and conclude, according to certain premises laid 
 down, admitted or granted ; and in it are employed 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 223 
 
 the faculties of conceiving, judging, reasoning, and 
 disposing; which are naturally led on from one 
 gradation to another, till the point in question is 
 finally determined. 
 
 Arithmetic teaches the powers and properties of 
 numbers, which are variously effected, by letters, 
 tables, and figures. By this art, reasons and demon- 
 strations are given for finding out any certain 
 number, whose relation or affinity to others is 
 already known. 
 
 Geometry treats of the powers and properties of 
 magnitudes in general, where length, breadth, and 
 thickness are considered. By this science the archi- 
 tect is enabled to construct his plans ; the general 
 to arrange the ranks of his army, the engineer to 
 mark out ground for encampments ; the geographer 
 to give us the dimensions of the world, to delineate 
 the extent of seas, and specify the divisions of 
 empires, kingdoms, and provinces; and by it the 
 astronomer is enabled to make his observations, 
 and fix the duration of times and seasons, years and 
 cycles. In fine, geometry is the foundation of archi- 
 tecture, and the root of mathematics. 
 
 Music teaches the art of forming concords, so as 
 to compose delightful harmony, by a proportional 
 arrangement of acute, grave, and mixed sounds. 
 This art, by a series of experiments, is reduced to 
 a science, with respect to tones, and the intervals of 
 sound only. It inquires into the nature of concords 
 and discords, and enables us to find out the propor- 
 tion between them by numbers. 
 
224 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 Astronomy is that art by which we are taught to 
 study the wonderful works of the Almighty Creator, 
 in the celestial hemisphere. Assisted by astronomy, 
 we can observe the motions, measure the distances, 
 comprehend the magnitudes, and calculate the 
 periods and eclipses of the heavenly bodies. By it 
 we learn the use of the globes, the system of the 
 world, and the primary law of nature. While we 
 are employed in the study of this science, we must 
 perceive unparalleled instances of wisdom and good- 
 ness, and through the whole of creation, trace the 
 glorious Author by his works. 
 
 The doctrine of the spheres is included in the 
 science of astronomy, and particularly in this 
 section. 
 
 The globes are two artificial spherical bodies, ’on 
 the convex surface of which are represented the 
 countries, seas, and various parts of the earth, the 
 face of the heavens, the planetary revolutions, and 
 other important particulars. The sphere, with the 
 parts of the earth delineated on its surface, is called 
 the terrestrial globe ; and that with the constella- 
 tions, and other heavenly bodies, the celestial globe. 
 Their principal use, beside serving as maps to dis- 
 tinguish the outward parts of the earth, and the 
 situation of the fixed stars, is to illustrate and 
 explain the phenomena arising from the annual 
 revolution, and the diurnal rotation of the earth 
 round its own axis. They are the noblest instru- 
 ments for giving the most distinct idea of any 
 problem or proposition, as well as for enabling us 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 225 
 
 to solve it. Contemplating these bodies, we are 
 inspired with a due reverence for the Deity and his 
 works, and are induced to apply with diligence and 
 attention to astronomy, geography, navigation, and 
 the arts dependent on them, by which society has 
 been so much benefited. 
 
 These are the sections of the second lecture, 
 which, with the ceremony used at opening and 
 closing the lodge, comprehend the whole of the 
 second degree of Masonry. Besides a complete 
 theory of philosophy and physics, this lecture con- 
 tains a regular system of science, demonstrated on 
 the clearest principles, and established on the 
 firmest foundation. 
 
226 
 
 ARGUMENT XXII. 
 
 ON THE THIIID MASONIC LECTURE.— PRAYER AT INITIATION. 
 CHARGE AT INITIATION INTO THE THIRD DEGREE. — ILLUS- 
 TRATION OF THE HISTORY AND CEREMONIES CONNECTED WITH 
 THIS DEGREE. 
 
 In treating with propriety on any subject, it is 
 necessary to observe a regular course. In the 
 former degrees of Masonry, we have recapitulated 
 the contents of the several sections, and should 
 willingly have pursued the same plan in this de- 
 gree, did not the variety of particulars of which it 
 is composed render it impossible to give an abstract, 
 without violating the laws of the order. It may 
 be sufficient to remark, that in twelve sections, of 
 which the Argument consists, every circumstance 
 that respects government and system, ancient lore 
 and deep research, curious invention and ingenious 
 discovery, is accurately traced, while the mode of 
 proceeding on public as well as on private occasions 
 is satisfactorily explained. Among the brethren of 
 this degree the landmarks of the order are preserved, 
 and from them is derived that fund of information 
 which expert and ingenious craftsmen only can sup- 
 ply, whose judgment has been matured by years 
 and experience. To a complete knowledge of this 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 227 
 
 lecture, few attain ; but it is an infallible truth that 
 he who acquires by merit the mark of pre-eminence 
 which this degree affords, receives a reward which 
 amply compensates all his diligence and assiduity. 
 
 From this class the rulers of the craft are se- 
 lected ; as it is only from those who are capable of 
 giving instruction that we can properly expect to 
 receive it. 
 
 The First Section . 
 
 The ceremony of initiation into the Third Degree 
 is particularly specified in this branch of the lecture, 
 and many useful instructions are given. 
 
 Such is the importance of this section, that we 
 may safely declare, that the person who is unac- 
 quainted with it, is ill-qualified to act as a ruler or 
 governor of the work of Masonry. 
 
 Prayer at Initiation into the Third Degree . 
 
 <fi O Lord, direct us to know and serve thee aright ! 
 prosper our laudable undertakings ! and grant that, 
 as we increase in knowledge, we may improve in 
 virtue, and still farther promote thy honour and 
 glory ! Amen.” 
 
 Charge at Initiation into the Third Degree. 
 
 “ Brother, — Your zeal for our institution, the 
 progress you have made in our art, and your con- 
 formity to our regulations, have pointed you out as 
 a proper object of favour and esteem. 
 
 “ In the character of a Master Mason, you are 
 
228 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 henceforth to correct the errors and irregularities 
 of uninformed brethren, and guard them against 
 a breach of fidelity. To improve the morals and 
 manners of men in society must be your constant 
 care, and with this view you are to recommend to 
 your inferiors, obedience and submission ; to your 
 equals, courtesy and affability; to your superiors, 
 kindness and condescension. Universal benevo- 
 lence you are to inculcate; and, by the regularity 
 of your behaviour, to afford the best example for 
 the conduct of others. The ancient landmarks of 
 our order, now intrusted to your care, you are to 
 preserve sacred and inviolable ; and never suffer an 
 infringement of our rites, or countenance a deviation 
 from our established usages and customs. 
 
 “ Duty, honour, and gratitude now bind you to 
 be faithful to every trust, to support with becoming 
 dignity your new character, and to enforce, by 
 example and precept, the tenets of our system. 
 'Let no motive, therefore, make you swerve from 
 your duty, violate your vows, or betray your trust ; 
 but be true and faithful, and imitate the example 
 of that celebrated artist whom you have once 
 represented. Thus your exemplary conduct must 
 convince the world that merit is the title to our 
 privileges, and that on you our favours have not 
 been undeservedly bestowed.” 
 
 The second section is an introduction to the 
 proceedings of a chapter of Master Masons, and 
 illustrates several points well known to experienced 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 229 
 
 craftsmen. It investigates, in the ceremony of 
 opening a chapter, the most important circum- 
 stances in the two preceding degrees. 
 
 The third section commences the historical tra- 
 ditions of the order, which are chiefly collected from 
 sacred record, and other authentic documents . 1 
 
 The fourth section farther illustrates the histori- 
 cal traditions of the order, and presents to view a 
 finished picture of the utmost consequence to the 
 fraternity. 
 
 The fifth section continues the explanation of the 
 historical traditions of the order. 
 
 The sixth section concludes the historical tradi- 
 tions of the order. 
 
 1 Our transatlantic brethren have several degrees formed out of 
 these traditions, which are called Ineffable ; one of which is thus 
 described by Webb ; — “ The lodge is spread with black. The 
 Master represents Solomon coming to the temple to elect seven 
 experts. He is styled, Most Powerful. There is only one 
 warden, who is called Adoniram, after him who had the inspec- 
 tion of the workmanship done at Mount Libanus. Solomon 
 holds a sceptre in his hand, standing in the east before a trian- 
 gular altar, upon which is a crown, and some olive and laurel 
 leaves. Adoniram stands in the west. The first officer is 
 decorated with a blue ribbon, from the right shoulder to the 
 left hip, to which hangs a triangle. The second officer is deco- 
 rated with a white ribbon bordered with black, in a triangular 
 form, and an ivory key suspended thereform, with a figure of Z 
 upon it. All the other brethren are decorated in the same 
 manner with white aprons and gloves ; the strings of the apron 
 black ; the flap of the apron blue, with a golden eye upon it. The 
 lodge is enlightened by 81 candles, distributed by 9 times 9.” 
 — Editor. 
 
230 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 The seventh section illustrates the hieroglyphic 
 emblems restricted to the third degree, and incul- 
 cates many useful lessons, in order to extend 
 knowledge and promote virtue. 
 
 This section is indispensably necessary to be 
 understood by every Master of a lodge. 
 
 The eighth section treats of the government of 
 the society, and the disposition of the rulers in dif- 
 ferent degrees. It is therefore generally rehearsed 
 at installations. 
 
 The ninth section recites the qualifications of the 
 rulers, and illustrates the ceremony of installation 
 in the grand lodge as well as in private lodges. 
 
 The tenth section comprehends the ceremonies 
 of constitution and consecration, with a variety of 
 particulars explanatory of those ceremonies. 
 
 The eleventh section illustrates the ceremonies 
 used at laying the foundation-stones of churches, 
 chapels, palaces, hospitals, &c. ; also the ceremo- 
 nies observed at the dedication of lodges, and at 
 the interment of Master Masons. 
 
 The twelfth section contains a recapitulation of 
 the most essential points of the lectures in all the 
 degrees, and corroborates the whole by infallible 
 testimony. 
 
 Having thus given a general summary of the lec- 
 tures restricted to the different degrees of Masonry, 
 and made such remarks on each degree as may 
 tend to illustrate the subjects treated, little further 
 will be wanted to encourage the zealous Mason to 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 231 
 
 persevere in his researches. He who has traced the 
 art in a regular progress, from the commencement 
 of the first to the conclusion of the third degree, 
 according to the plan here laid down, will have 
 amassed an ample store of useful learning ; he will 
 reflect with pleasure on the good effects of his past 
 diligence and attention, and by applying the whole 
 to the general advantage of society, will secure to 
 himself the veneration of Masons, and the approba- 
 tion of all good men. 
 
232 
 
 ARGUMENT XXIIL 
 
 ON THE ANCIENT CEREMONIES OF THE ORDER. — THE MANNER 
 
 OF CONSTITUTING A LODGE CEREMONY OF CONSECRATION. 
 
 — CEREMONY OF INSTALLATION. 
 
 I shall now proceed to illustrate the ancient 
 ceremonies of the order, particularly those observed 
 at the constitution and consecration of a lodge, and 
 the installation of officers, with the usual charges 
 delivered on those occasions. I shall likewise 
 annex an explanation of the ceremonies used at 
 laying the foundation-stones of public structures, 
 at the dedication of public halls, and at funerals ; 
 and close this part of the treatise with the funeral 
 service. 
 
 ' The Manner of Constituting a Lodge , including the Ceremony of 
 Consecration , Sfc. 
 
 Any number of Master Masons, not under seven, 
 resolved to form a new lodge, must apply, by 
 petition, to the Grand Master, setting forth, “ That 
 they are regular Masons, and are at present, or 
 have been, members of regular lodges : that, having 
 the prosperity of the fraternity at heart, they are 
 willing to exert their best endeavours to promote 
 and diffuse the general principles of Masonry ; that, 
 for the conveniency of their respective dwellings, 
 and other good reasons, they have agreed to form a 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 233 
 
 new lodge, to be named ; that, in con- 
 
 sequence of this resolution, they pray for a warrant 
 of constitution to empower them to assemble as a 
 regular lodge, on the of every month, at 
 
 ; and then and there to discharge the 
 duties of Masonry in a regular and constitutional 
 manner, according to the original forms of the 
 order, and the laws of the Grand Lodge; that they 
 have nominated and do recommend A. B. to be 
 the first Master, and C. D. to be the first Senior 
 Warden, and E. F. to be the first Junior Warden 
 of the said lodge : that in case the prayer of the 
 petition being granted, they promise strict confor- 
 mity to every regular edict and command of the 
 Grand Master, and to all the constitutional laws 
 and regulations of the Grand Lodge.” 
 
 This petition being signed by at least seven 
 regular Masons, and recommended by the masters 
 of three regular lodges adjacent to the place where 
 the new lodge is to be held, is delivered to the 
 Grand Secretary; who, on presenting it to the 
 Grand Master, or, in his absence, to the deputy, 
 and, on its being approved by him, grants a dispen- 
 sation, authorising the brethren specified in the 
 petition to assemble as Masons for forty days, and 
 until such time as a constitution can be granted by 
 command of the Grand Lodge, or that authority be 
 recalled. 
 
 In consequence of this dispensation, a lodge is 
 held at the place specified ; and the transactions of 
 that lodge being properly recorded, are valid for 
 
234 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 the time being, provided they are afterwards ap- 
 proved by the brethren convened at the time of 
 constitution. 
 
 When the Grand Lodge has signified an appro- 
 bation of the new lodge, and the Grand Master is 
 thoroughly satisfied of the truth of the allegations 
 set forth in the petition, he appoints a day and hour 
 for constituting and consecrating the new lodge, and 
 for installing its Master, Wardens, and officers. 
 
 If the Grand Master in person attend the cere- 
 mony, the lodge is said to be constituted in ample 
 form ; if the Deputy Grand Master act as Grand 
 Master, it is said to be constituted in due form ; 
 and if the Master of a private lodge, it is said to be 
 constituted in form. 
 
 Ceremony of Constitution . 
 
 On the day and hour appointed, the Grand 
 Master and his officers, or the masters and officers 
 of any private lodge authorised by the Grand Lodge 
 for that purpose, meet in a convenient room, and, 
 when properly clothed, walk in procession to the 
 lodge-room, where the usual ceremonies being 
 observed, the lodge is opened by the Grand Master, 
 or Master in the chair, in all the degrees of 
 Masonry. After a short prayer, an ode in honour 
 of Masonry is sung. The Grand Master, or Master 
 in the chair, is then informed by the Grand Secre- 
 tary, or his locum tenens , “ That the brethren then 
 present being duly instructed in the mysteries of 
 the art, naming them, desire to be formed into a 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 235 
 
 new lodge, under the Grand Master’s patronage; 
 that a dispensation has been granted to them for 
 that purpose, and by virtue of that authority, they 
 have assembled as regular Masons, and have duly 
 recorded their transactions.” The petition is read, 
 as is also the dispensation, and the warrant or 
 charter of constitution, granted in consequence of 
 it. The minutes of the new lodge, while under 
 dispensation, are read, and being approved, are 
 declared to be regular, valid, and constitutional. 
 The Grand Master, or Master in the chair, then 
 takes the warrant in his hand, and requests the 
 brethren of the new lodge publicly to signify their 
 approbation or disapprobation of the persons nomi- 
 nated in the warrant to preside over them. This 
 being signified accordingly, an anthem is sung, and 
 an oration on the nature and design of Masonry is 
 delivered. 
 
 The ceremony of consecration succeeds. 
 
 Ceremony of Consecration. 
 
 The Grand Master and his officers, accompanied 
 by some dignified clergyman, having taken their 
 stations, and the lodge, which is placed in the centre, 
 being covered with white satin, the ceremony of 
 consecration commences, all devoutly kneeling, and 
 the preparatory prayer is rehearsed. The chaplain, 
 or orator, produces his authority, and being pro- 
 perly assisted, proceeds to consecrate. Solemn 
 music is introduced, while the necessary prepara- 
 tions are making. At length the lodge is uncovered, 
 
236 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 and the first clause of the consecration prayer 
 rehearsed, all devoutly kneeling. The response is 
 made, Glory to God on high. Incense is scattered 
 over the lodge, and the grand honours of Masonry 
 are given. The grand invocation is then pronounced 
 with the honours; after which the consecration- 
 prayer is concluded, and the response repeated as 
 before, together with the honours. The lodge is 
 again covered, and all rising up, solemn music is 
 resumed, after which a blessing is given, and the 
 response made as before, accompanied with the 
 honours. An anthem is then sung, and the brethren 
 of the new lodge advance according to rank, and 
 offer homage to the Grand Master, when the con- 
 secration ends. 
 
 The above ceremony being finished, the Grand 
 Master then advances to the pedestal, and consti- 
 tutes the new lodge in the following manner: — 
 
 “ In the exalted character to which the suftrages 
 of my brethren have raised me, I invoke the Name 
 of the Most High, to whom be glory and honour ! 
 May he be with you at your beginning, may he 
 strengthen you in the principles of our royal art, 
 may he prosper you with all success, and may your 
 zealous pursuits redound to the good of the craft ! 
 By the divine aid, I constitute and form you, my 
 good brethren, into a lodge of Free and Accepted 
 Masons ; and from henceforth empower you to act 
 as a regular lodge, constituted in conformity to the 
 rites of our venerable order, and the charges of our 
 ancient fraternity. May God be with you ! ” Amen. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 237 
 
 Flourish with drums and trumpets. 
 
 The grand honours are given, and the ceremony 
 of installation succeeds. 
 
 Ceremony of Installation. 
 
 The Grand Master asks his deputy, “ Whether he 
 has examined the Master nominated in the warrant, 
 and found him well skilled in the noble science 
 and the royal art?” The deputy answering in the 
 affirmative, by the Grand Master’s order, takes the 
 candidate from among his fellows, and presents him 
 at the pedestal, saying, “ Most Worshipful Grand 
 Master, or Right Worshipful Grand Master, (as 
 it happens,) I present my worthy brother A. B. 
 to be installed Master of this new lodge. I find 
 him to be of good morals, and of great skill, true 
 and trusty ; and as he is a lover of the whole frater- 
 nity, wheresoever dispersed over the face of the 
 earth, I doubt not that he will discharge his duty 
 with fidelity.” 
 
 The Grand Master orders a summary of the 
 ancient charges to be read by the Grand Secretary, 
 or acting Secretary to the Master elect. 
 
 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. 66 You promise not to be concerned in plots 
 or conspiracies against government, but patiently 
 
238 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 to submit to the decisions of the supreme legis- 
 lature. 
 
 4. 66 You agree to pay a proper respect to the 
 civil magistrate, work diligently, live creditably, 
 and act honourably by all men. 
 
 5. “ You agree to hold in veneration the original 
 rulers and patrons of the order of Masonry, and 
 their regular successors, supreme and subordinate, 
 according to their stations; and to submit to the 
 awards and resolutions of your brethren in general 
 chapter convened, in every case consistent with the 
 constitutions 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 
 behaviour, courteous to your brethren, and faithful 
 to your lodge. 
 
 8. cc You promise to respect genuine brethren, 
 and to discountenance impostors, and all dissenters 
 from the original plan of Masonry. 
 
 9. 66 You agree to promote the general good of 
 society, to cultivate the social virtues, and to pro- 
 pagate a knowledge of the art.” 
 
 On the Master elect signifying his assent to these 
 charges, the Secretary proceeds to read the following 
 regulations. 
 
 1. “ You admit that it is not in the power of any 
 man, or party of men, to make innovations in the 
 body of Masonry. 
 
 2. “ You promise to pay homage to the Grand 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 239 
 
 Master for the time being, and to his officers, when 
 duly installed : and 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. 
 
 3. “ 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. 
 
 4. “ You admit that no new lodge can be 
 formed without permission of the Grand Master or 
 his deputy; and that no countenance be given to 
 any irregular lodge, or to any person clandestinely 
 initiated therein, contrary to the ancient charges 
 of the order. 
 
 5. “ You admit that no person can be regularly 
 made a Mason in, or admitted a member of, a 
 regular lodge, without previous notice, and due 
 inquiry into his character^ 
 
 6. “ You agree that no visitors shall be received 
 into your lodge without due examination, and pro- 
 ducing proper vouchers of their regular initiation.” 
 
 “ These are the regulations of the Grand Lodge 
 of Free and Accepted Masons.” 
 
 The Grand Master then addresses the Master 
 elect in the following manner : — 66 Do you submit 
 to these charges, and promise to support these regu- 
 lations as Masters have done in all ages before you ?” 
 
 The new Master having signified his cordial 
 submission, is regularly installed, bound to his trust 
 
240 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 and invested with the badge of office by the Grand 
 Master, who thus salutes him : 
 
 “ Brother A. B., in consequence of your cheerful 
 conformity to the charges and regulations of the 
 order, I appoint you Master of this new lodge, not 
 doubting of your care, skill, and capacity.” 
 
 The warrant of constitution is then delivered 
 over to the new Master; after which, the Holy 
 Writings, the rule and line, the square and com- 
 passes, the constitutions, the minute-book, the 
 mallet, the trowel, the chisel, the moveable jewels, 
 and all the insignia of the different officers, are 
 separately presented to him, and charges suitable 
 to each delivered. The new Master is then con- 
 ducted by the Grand Stewards, amidst the accla- 
 mations of the brethren, to the Grand Master’s 
 left hand, where he returns his becoming acknow- 
 ledgments; first to the Grand Master, and next 
 to all the officers in order, after which he is saluted 
 , by the brethren in a grand chorus suitable to the 
 occasion. The members of the new lodge advance 
 in procession, pay due homage to the new Master, 
 and signify their promise of subjection and obedience 
 by the usual congratulations, in the different degrees 
 of Masonry. 
 
 This ceremony being concluded, the Grand 
 Master orders the new Master to enter immediately 
 upon the exercise of his office, by appointing his 
 wardens. They are conducted to the pedestal, 
 presented to the Grand Master, and installed by 
 the Grand Wardens; after which the new Master 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 241 
 
 proceeds to invest them with the badges of their 
 offices in the following manner : 
 
 “ Brother C. D., I appoint you Senior Warden 
 of this lodge, and invest you with the ensign of 
 your office. Your regular attendance on our stated 
 meetings, is essentially necessary ; as in my absence 
 you are to govern this lodge, and in my presence 
 to assist me in the government of it. I firmly rely 
 on your knowledge of the art, and attachment to 
 the lodge, for the faithful discharge of the duties of 
 this important trust.” 
 
 “ Brother E. F., I appoint you Junior Warden of 
 this lodge, and invest you with the badge of your 
 office. To you I entrust the examination of visitors, 
 and the introduction of candidates. Your regular 
 and punctual attendance is particularly requested, 
 and I have no doubt that you will faithfully execute 
 the duty which you owe to your present appoint- 
 ment.” 
 
 The new Master then addresses his Wardens as 
 follows : — 
 
 “ Brother Wardens, you are too expert in the 
 principles of Masonry, to require more information 
 in the duties of your respective offices : suffice it to 
 mention, that I expect that what you have seen 
 praiseworthy in others, you will carefully imitate; 
 and what in them may have appeared defective, 
 you will in yourselves amend. Good order and 
 regularity you must endeavour to promote; and, 
 by a due regard to the laws in your own con- 
 
 M 
 
242 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 duct, enforce obedience to them from the other 
 members.” 
 
 The Wardens retire to their seats, and the 
 Treasurer is invested. The Secretary is then called 
 to the pedestal, and invested with the jewel of his 
 office, upon which the new Master addresses him : 
 
 “ I appoint you, Brother G. H., Secretary of this 
 lodge. It is your province to record the minutes, 
 settle the accounts, and issue out the summons for 
 our regular meetings. Your good inclinations to 
 Masonry and the lodge, will I hope induce you to 
 discharge your office with fidelity, and by so doing, 
 you will merit the esteem and applause of your 
 brethren.” 
 
 The Deacons are then named, and invested, 
 upon which the new T Master addresses them as 
 follows : — 
 
 “ Brothers I. K. and L. M., I appoint you Dea- 
 cons of this lodge. It is your province to attend 
 .on the Master, and to assist the Wardens in the 
 active duties of the lodge ; such as in the reception 
 of candidates into the different degrees of Masonry, 
 and in the immediate practice of our rites. Those 
 columns, as badges of your office, I entrust to your 
 care, not doubting your vigilance and attention.” 
 
 The stewards are next called up, and invested, 
 upon which the following charge is delivered to 
 them by the new Master. 
 
 “ Brothers N. O. and P. Q., I appoint you 
 Stewards of this lodge. The duties of your office 
 
MASONIC MANUAL, 
 
 243 
 
 are to introduce visitors, and see that they are 
 properly accommodated ; to collect subscriptions 
 and other fees, and keep an exact account of the 
 expenses of the lodge. Your regular and early 
 attendance will afford the best proof of your zeal 
 and attachment,” 
 
 The Master then appoints the Tyler, and delivers 
 over to him the instrument of his office, with a short 
 charge on the occasion ; after which he addresses 
 the members of the lodge at large, as follows : — 
 
 “ Brethren, — Such is the nature of our consti- 
 tution, that some must of necessity rule and teach, 
 so others must of course learn to submit and obey. 
 Humility in both is an essential duty. The brethren 
 whom I have appointed to assist me in the govern- 
 ment of this lodge, are too well acquainted with the 
 principles of Masonry, and the rules of good man- 
 ners, to extend the power with which they are 
 entrusted; and you are too sensible of the pro- 
 priety of their appointment, and of dispositions too 
 generous to envy their preferment. From the 
 knowledge I have of both officers and members, 
 I trust we shall have but one aim — to please each 
 other, and unite in the grand design of communi- 
 cating happiness.” 
 
 The Grand Master then gives the brethren joy of 
 their officers, recommends harmony, and expresses a 
 wish that the only contention in the lodge may be, 
 a generous emulation to vie in cultivating the royal 
 art, and the moral virtues. The new lodge join in 
 
244 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 their salute, and the newly installed Master returns 
 thanks for the honour of the constitution. 
 
 The Grand Secretary then proclaims the new 
 lodge three times, with the honours of Masonry ; 
 flourish with horns each time : after which the 
 Grand Master orders the lodge to be registered in 
 the Grand Lodge books, and the Grand Secretary 
 to notify the same to the regular lodges. 
 
 A song with a chorus, accompanied by the music, 
 concludes the ceremony of constitution, when the 
 lodge is closed with the usual solemnities in the 
 different degrees, by the Grand Master and his 
 officers, after which the procession is resumed to 
 the apartment whence it set out. 
 
 This is the usual ceremony at the constitution of 
 a new lodge, which the Grand Master may abridge 
 or extend at pleasure ; but the material points are 
 on no account to be omitted. 
 
245 
 
 ARGUMENT XXIV. 
 
 THE CEREMONY OBSERVED AT LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONES 
 OF PUBLIC STRUCTURES. THE CEREMONY OBSERVED AT THE 
 DEDICATION OF A MASON’S HALL, &C. &C. 
 
 This ceremony is conducted by the Grand Master 
 and his officers, assisted by the members of the 
 Grand Lodge. No private member, or inferior 
 officer of any private lodge, is admitted to join 
 in this ceremony. Provincial Grand Masters are 
 authorised to execute this trust in their several 
 provinces, accompanied by their officers, and the 
 Masters and Wardens of regular lodges under their 
 jurisdiction. The chief magistrate, and other civil 
 officers of the place, where the building is to be 
 erected, generally attend on the occasion. The 
 ceremony is thus conducted. 
 
 At the time appointed, the Grand Lodge is con- 
 vened at some convenient place, approved by the 
 Grand Master. A band of martial music is pro- 
 vided and the brethren appear in the insignia of 
 the order, elegantly dressed, with white gloves and 
 aprons. The lodge is opened by the Grand Master, 
 and the rules for regulating the procession to and 
 from the place where the ceremony is to be per- 
 formed, are read by the Grand Secretary. The 
 necessary cautions are then given from the chair* 
 
246 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 and the lodge is adjourned : after which the proces- 
 sion sets out in the following order: — 
 
 Two Tylers, with drawn swords. 
 
 Music. 
 
 Brethren, not members of any lodge, two and two. 
 
 The Lodges according to their numbers ; 
 
 Juniors going first. 
 
 Members of Grand Stewards’ Lodge. 
 
 Officers of Grand Stewards’ Lodge 
 Architect, or Builder, with the plans. 
 
 ! A Cornucopia with corn, borne by the\ 
 
 Master of a lodge. / Grand 
 
 Two Ewers with wine and oil, borne f Steward, 
 by Masters of lodges. ' 
 
 Grand Pursuivant. 
 
 Grand Organist. 
 
 Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies. 
 
 Grand Director of Ceremonies. 
 
 Grand Superintendent of Works, with the plate bearing the 
 inscription. 
 
 Past Grand Sword-bearers. 
 
 Past Grand Deacons. 
 
 Grand Secretary, with Book of Constitutions, on a cushion. 
 Past Grand Registrars. 
 
 Grand Registrar, with his bag. 
 
 Grand Treasurer bearing a phial containing the coin to be 
 deposited in the stone. 
 
 Past Grand Wardens. 
 
 Past Provincial Grand Masters. 
 
 Provincial Grand Masters. 
 
 Past Deputy Grand Masters. 
 
 Visitors of distinction. 
 
 The Corinthian Light, borne by the Master of a lodge. 
 
 The Column of J. G. W. borne by the Master of a lodge. 
 
 The J. G. W. with the plumb and rule. 
 
 Grand Steward. Banner of the Grand Lodge. Grand Steward. 
 The Doric Light, borne by the Master of a lodge. 
 
 The Column of S. G. W. borne by the Master of a lodge. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 247 
 
 The S. G. W. with the level. — The J. G. D. 
 
 Grand )The Grand Chaplain, bearing the Sacred ( Grand 
 Steward. ) Law on a cushion. ( Steward. 
 
 Deputy Grand Master, with square. 
 
 The Ionic Light borne by the Master of a lodge. 
 
 The Pro- Grand Master. 
 
 A Past Grand Master, or other brother of eminence, bearing 
 the mallet. 
 
 Steward. } The Standard of the Grand Master, j 
 Grand Sword Bearer. 
 
 The Most Worshipful Grand Master. 
 
 The S. G. Deacon. 
 
 Two Grand Stewards. 
 
 Grand Tyler. 
 
 Having arrived within a proper distance of the 
 spot, the procession halts, the brethren open to the 
 right and left and face inwards, so as to leave room 
 for the Grand Master to pass up the centre, he 
 being preceded by his] standard and sword-bearer, 
 the grand officers and brethren following in succes- 
 sion from the rear, so as to invert the order of 
 procession. The Grand Master having arrived at 
 his station, on a platform, an ode is sung or music 
 played, (as previously arranged). The stone being 
 prepared, and the plate with the proper inscription, 
 the upper part of the stone is raised, by an engine, 
 the Grand Chaplain repeats a prayer. The inscrip- 
 tion on the plate to be deposited in the stone will 
 then be read, and the Grand Treasurer having, by 
 the Grand Master’s command, deposited on the 
 plate various coins of the present reign, the cement 
 is laid on the lower stone, and the upper one is let 
 down slowly, solemn music playing. Being pro- 
 perly placed, the Grand Master descends to the 
 
248 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL, 
 
 stone, proves that it is properly adjusted, by the 
 plumb-rule, level, and square, which are succes- 
 sively delivered to him by the Junior Grand 
 Warden, Senior Grand Warden, and Deputy Grand 
 Master ; after which, the architect or builder 
 delivers to him the mallet, with which the Grand 
 Master gives three knocks. The Grand Master 
 then delivers to the architect or builder the 
 several implements for his use. The plan and 
 elevation of the building are presented by the 
 Grand Superintendent of the Works to the Grand 
 Master, for his inspection, who, having approved 
 them, delivers them to the architect for his guid- 
 ance. The Grand Master re-ascends the platform, 
 music playing. An oration, suitable to the occa- 
 sion, is delivered. Some money for the workmen 
 is placed on the stone by the Grand Treasurer. 
 
 If the building be for a charitable institution, a 
 voluntary subscription is made in aid of its funds. 
 
 The procession then returns to the place from 
 which it set out, and the lodge is closed. 
 
 The Ceremony observed at the Dedication of a Masons' Hall. 
 
 On the day appointed for the celebration of the 
 ceremony of dedication, the Grand Master and his 
 officers, accompanied by all the brethren who are 
 members of the Grand Lodge, meet in a convenient 
 room adjoining to the place where the ceremony is 
 to be performed, and the Grand Lodge is opened 
 in ample form in all the degrees of Masonry. The 
 order of procession is read by the Grand Secretary, 
 and a general charge respecting propriety of beha- 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 249 
 
 viour given by the Deputy Grand Master. The 
 lodge is then adjourned, and the procession formed 
 as follows : — 
 
 Two Tylers with drawn swords. 
 
 Music. 
 
 Members of the Grand Lodge, two and two. 
 
 A Tyler, in his uniform. 
 
 Past Grand Stewards. 
 
 Grand Tyler. 
 
 Present Grand Stewards, with white rods. 
 
 Secretary of the Stewards’ Lodge. 
 
 Wardens of the Stewards’ Lodge. 
 
 Master of the Stewards* Lodge. 
 
 Choristers. 
 
 One Brother carrying a gold pitcher, containing corn. 
 
 Two Brethren with silver Pitchers, containing wine and oil. 
 Four Tylers, carrying the Lodge, covered with white satin. 
 Architect with the plans. 
 
 Grand Secretary, with his book of Constitutions. 
 
 Grand Registrar, with his bag. 
 
 Grand Treasurer, with his staff. 
 
 Bible, Square, and Compasses, on a crimson velvet cushion, 
 carried by the Master of a lodge, supported by 
 two Stewards. 
 
 Grand Chaplain. 
 
 Provincial Grand Masters. 
 
 Past Grand Wardens. 
 
 Past Deputy Grand Masters. 
 
 Past Grand Masters. 
 
 Chief Magistrate of the place. 
 
 Two large lights. 
 
 Grand Wardens. 
 
 One large light. 
 
 Deputy Grand Master. 
 
 Constitutions carried by the Master of the oldest lodge. 
 Grand Sword-bearer, with sword of state. 
 
 Grand Master. 
 
 Two Stewards, with wands. 
 
 Grand Tyler. 
 
 m 5 
 
250 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 The ladies who attend are introduced, and the 
 musicians repair to their station. On the proces- 
 sion reaching the Grand Master’s chair, the grand 
 officers are separately proclaimed, according to 
 rank, as they arrive at that station; and on the 
 Grand Master’s being proclaimed, the music strikes 
 up and continues during the procession three times 
 round the hall. The lodge is then placed in the 
 centre, on a crimson velvet couch ; and the Grand 
 Master having taken the chair, under a canopy of 
 state, and the Masters and Wardens of the lodge 
 repair to the places which have been previously 
 prepared for their reception : the three lights, and 
 the gold and silver pitchers, with the corn, wine, 
 and oil, are placed on the lodge, at the head of 
 which stands the pedestal, on which is placed a 
 crimson velvet cushion, with the Bible open, the 
 square and compasses being laid thereon, and the 
 Constitution roll. An anthem is then sung, and an 
 exordium on Masonry is given; after which the 
 architect addresses the Grand Master in an elegant 
 speech, returns thanks for the honour conferred upon 
 him, and surrenders up the plans and implements 
 which had been entrusted to his care at laying the 
 foundation-stone. The Grand Master expresses 
 his approbation at the architect’s conduct, an ode 
 in honour of Masonry is sung, accompanied by the 
 band, and the ladies retire, with such of the musi- 
 cians as are not Masons. 
 
 The lodge is then tiled, and the business of 
 Masonry resumed. The Grand Secretary informs 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 251 
 
 the Grand Master, that it is the design of the 
 fraternity to have the hall dedicated to Masonry ; 
 upon which he orders the grand officers to assist 
 in the ceremony, during which the organ continues 
 playing solemn music, excepting only at the inter- 
 vals of dedication. The lodge being uncovered, 
 the first procession is made round it, and the 
 Grand Master having reached the East, the organ 
 is silent, and he proclaims the hall duly dedicated 
 to Masonry in the name of the Great Jehovah, to 
 whom be all honour and glory; upon which the 
 Chaplain strews corn over the lodge. The organ 
 plays, and the second procession is made round the 
 lodge, when, on the Grand Master’s arrival at the 
 East, the organ is silent, and he declares the hall 
 dedicated to Universal Benevolence; on which 
 the Chaplain sprinkles wine on the lodge. The 
 organ plays, and the third procession is made round 
 the lodg£, when, on the Grand Master having 
 reached the East, the music is silent, and the hall 
 is dedicated to Virtue; upon which the Chaplain 
 dips his fingers in the oil, and sprinkles it over the 
 lodge; and at each dedication the grand honours 
 are given. A solemn invocation is made to heaven, 
 and an anthem sung; after which the lodge being 
 covered, the Grand Master retires to his chair, and 
 the business of Masonry is again adjourned. 
 
 The ladies are then introduced ; an ode for the 
 occasion is performed; and an oration delivered 
 by the Grand Chaplain, which is succeeded by an 
 anthem. Donations for the charity are then received 
 
252 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 and the grand procession is resumed. After march- 
 ing three times round the hall, preceded by the 
 Tyler carrying the lodge as at entrance, during 
 which the music continues to play a grand piece, 
 the brethren return to the place whence they set 
 out, where the laws of the order being rehearsed, 
 the Grand Lodge is closed in ample form in all the 
 degrees. 
 
 
•253 
 
 ARGUMENT XXV. 
 
 ON THE CEREMONY OBSERVED AT MASONIC FUNERALS, ACCORD- 
 ING TO ANCIENT CUSTOM ; WITH THE SERVICE USED ON THAT 
 OCCASION AT THE PRESENT DAY. 
 
 No Mason can be interred with the formalities of 
 the order, unless it be by his own special request, 
 communicated to the Master of the lodge of 
 which he died a member, foreigners and sojourners 
 excepted : nor unless he had been advanced to the 
 third degree of Masonry, and from this restriction 
 there can be no exception. Fellow-crafts or appren- 
 tices are not entitled to the funeral obsequies. 
 
 The Master of a lodge, having received notice of 
 a Master Mason’s death, and of his request to be 
 interred with the ceremonies of the order, fixes the 
 day and hour for the funeral, and issues his com- 
 mand to summon the lodge; if more lodges are 
 expected to attend, he must make application by 
 the Grand Secretary to the Grand Master, or his 
 deputy, to preside over such brethren of other 
 lodges, as may assist in forming the procession, who 
 are to be under his direction for the time ; and all 
 the brethren present must be properly clothed. 
 
 A dispensation having been obtained, the Master 
 may invite as many lodges as he thinks proper, and 
 
254 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL 
 
 the members of those lodges may accompany their 
 officers in form ; but the whole ceremony must be 
 under the direction of the Master of the lodge to 
 which the deceased belonged, for which purpose 
 only the dispensation is granted; and he and his 
 officers must be duly honoured, and cheerfully 
 obeyed on the occasion. 
 
 All the brethren who walk in procession should 
 observe, as much as possible, an uniformity in their 
 dress. Decent mourning, with white stockings, 
 gloves, and aprons, is most suitable. No person 
 should be distinguished with a jewel, unless he is 
 an officer of one of the lodges invited to attend 
 in form, and the officers of such lodges should be 
 ornamented with sashes and hat-bands ; as also the 
 officers of the lodge to whom the dispensation is 
 granted, who are, moreover, to be distinguished with 
 white rods. 
 
 THE FUNERAL SERVICE. 
 
 The brethren being assembled at the house where 
 the body of the deceased lies, the Master of the 
 lodge to which he belonged opens the lodge in the 
 third degree, with the usual forms, and an anthem 
 is sung. The body being placed in the centre on 
 a couch, and the coffin in which it is laid being 
 open, the Master proceeds to the head of the corpse, 
 and the service begins. 
 
 Master — 66 What man is he that liveth, and shall 
 not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the 
 hand of the grave ? 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 255 
 
 “ Man walketh in a vain shadow ; he heapeth up 
 riches, and cannot tell who shall gather them. 
 
 €fi When he dieth, he shall carry nothing away; 
 his glory shall not descend after him, 
 
 “ Naked he came into the world, and naked he 
 must return; the Lord gave, and the Lord taketh 
 away ; blessed be the name of the Lord ! ” 
 
 The great honours are then given, and certain 
 forms used, which cannot be here explained. — - 
 Solemn music is introduced, during which the 
 Master strews herbs or flowers over the body, and 
 taking the sacred roll in his hand, he says — 
 
 “ Let us die the death of the righteous, and let 
 our last end be like his !” 
 
 The brethren answer — 
 
 “ God is our God for ever and ever : he will be 
 our guide even unto death !” 
 
 The Master then puts the roll into the coffin, 
 and says — 
 
 cc Almighty Father ! into thy hands we commend 
 the soul of our loving brother.” 
 
 The brethren answer three times, giving the 
 grand honours each time — 
 
 “ The will of God is accomplished ! so be it !” 
 The Master then repeats the following prayer — 
 66 Most glorious God ! author of all good, and 
 giver of all mercy ! pour down thy blessings upon 
 us, and strengthen our solemn engagements with 
 the ties of sincere affection ! May the present 
 instance of mortality remind us of our approaching 
 fate, and draw our attention toward thee, the only 
 
256 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 refuge, in time of need ! — that when the awful 
 moment shall arrive that we are about to quit this 
 transitory scene, the enlivening prospect of thy 
 mercy may dispel the gloom of death ; and after 
 our departure hence in peace, and in thy favour, 
 we may be received into thy everlasting kingdom, 
 to enjoy, in union with the souls of our departed 
 friends, the just reward of a pious and virtuous life. 
 Amen ! ” 
 
 An anthem being sung, the Master retires to the 
 pedestal, and the coffin is shut up. An oration, 
 suitable to the occasion, is delivered ; and the 
 Master recommending love and unity, the brethren 
 join hands, and renew their pledged vows. The 
 lodge is then adjourned, and the procession to the 
 place of interment is formed. 
 
 The different lodges rank according to seniority, 
 the junior preceding; each lodge forms one division, 
 and the following order is observed : — 
 
 The Tyler, with his sword ; 
 
 The Stewards, with white rods ; 
 
 The Brethren out of Office, two and two ; 
 
 The Secretary, with a roll ; 
 
 The Treasurer, with his badge of office ; 
 
 The Senior and Junior Wardens, hand in hand ; 
 
 The Past- Master; 
 
 The Master ; 
 
 The Lodge to which the deceased Brother belonged, 
 in the following order, all the members having 
 flowers or herbs in their hands : 
 
 The Tyler; 
 
 The Stewards ; 
 
 Martial music, drums muffled, and trumpets covered ; 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 257 
 
 The Members of the Lodge ; 
 
 The Secretary and Treasurer ; 
 
 The Senior and Junior Wardens ; 
 
 The Past-Master; 
 
 The Holy Writings, on a cushion covered with black cloth, 
 carried by the oldest Member of the Lodge ; 
 
 The Master ; 
 
 The Choristers singing an anthem ; 
 
 The Clergyman ; 
 
 The brethren are not to desert their ranks, or 
 change places, but keep in their different depart- 
 ments. When the procession arrives at the gate 
 of the churchyard, the lodge to which the deceased 
 brother belonged, the mourners, and the attendants 
 on the corpse, halt, till the members of the other 
 lodges have formed a circle round the grave, when 
 an opening is made to receive them. They then 
 
 Pall-bearers ; 
 
 Pall-bearers ; 
 
 Chief Mourner ; 
 Assistant Mourners ; 
 Two Stewards ; 
 
 A Tyler. 
 
258 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 advance to the grave; and the .clergyman and 
 officers of the acting lodge take their station at the 
 head of the grave, with the choristers on each side, 
 and the mourners at the foot. After the clergy- 
 man has concluded the solemn services of the 
 church, an anthem is sung, and the following 
 exhortation given — 
 
 “ Here we view a striking instance of the uncer- 
 tainty of life, and the vanity of all human pursuits. 
 The last offices paid to the dead are only useful as 
 lectures to the living ; from them we are to derive 
 instruction, and consider every solemnity of this 
 kind as a summons to prepare for our approaching 
 dissolution. 
 
 “ Notwithstanding the various mementos of mor- 
 tality which we daily meet ; notwithstanding death 
 has established his empire over all the works of 
 nature, yet, through some unaccountable infatua- 
 tion, we forget that we are born to die. We go on 
 from one design to another, add hope to hope, and 
 lay out plans for the employment of many years, 
 till we are suddenly alarmed by the approach of 
 death, when we least expect him, and at an hour 
 which we probably were led to expect might be the 
 most pleasant of our lives. 
 
 “ What are all the externals of majesty, the pride 
 of wealth or charms of beauty, when nature has paid 
 her last debt? Fix your eyes on the last scene, and 
 view life stripped of its ornaments, and exposed in 
 its natural meanness ; you will then be convinced 
 
MASONIC MANUAL, 
 
 259 
 
 of the futility of those empty delusions. In the 
 grave all fallacies are detected, all ranks are levelled, 
 and all distinctions are done away. 
 
 “ While we drop the sympathetic tear over the 
 grave of our deceased friend, let charity incline us 
 to throw a veil over his foibles, whatever they may 
 have been, and not withhold from his memory the 
 praise that his virtues may have claimed. Suffer the 
 apologies of human nature to plead in his behalf. 
 Perfection on earth has never been attained ; the 
 wisest as well as the best of men have erred. His 
 meritorious actions it is our duty to imitate, and from 
 his weakness we ought to derive instruction. 
 
 u Let the present example excite our most serious 
 thoughts, and strengthen our resolutions of amend- 
 ment. As life is uncertain, and all earthly pursuits 
 are vain, let us no longer postpone the important 
 concern of preparing for eternity, but embrace the 
 happy moment, while time and opportunity offer, 
 to provide against the great change, when all the 
 pleasures of this life shall cease to delight, and the 
 reflections of a virtuous life yield the only comfort 
 and consolation. Thus our expectations will not be 
 frustrated, nor ourselves be called away unprepared 
 into the presence of an all-wise and omnipotent 
 Judge, to whom the secrets of all hearts are known, 
 and from whose dread tribunal no sinner can escape. 
 
 “ Let us, while in this stage of existence, support 
 with propriety the character of our profession, ad- 
 vert to the nature of our solemnities, and pursue 
 with assiduity the sacred tenets of our order. Then, 
 
260 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 with becoming reverence, let us supplicate the divine 
 grace, to ensure the favour of that Eternal Being, 
 whose goodness and power know no bounds ; that, 
 when the awful moment arrives, be it soon or late, 
 we may be enabled to prosecute our journey, with- 
 out dread or apprehension, to that far distant country 
 whence no traveller returns. By the light of the 
 divine countenance, we shall pass without trembling 
 through those gloomy mansions where all things are 
 forgotten ; and at the great and tremendous day of 
 trial and retribution, when arraigned at the bar of 
 Divine Justice, let us hope that judgment will be 
 pronounced in our favour, and that we shall receive 
 our reward in the possession of an immortal inheri- 
 tance, where joy flows in one continued stream, and 
 no mound can check its course.” 
 
 The following invocations are then made by the 
 Master, and the usual honours accompany each : — 
 Master.— “ May we be true and faithful ; and 
 may we live and die in love,” 
 
 Answer . — “ So mote it be.” 
 
 Master . — “ May we profess what is good ; and 
 always act agreeably to our profession.” 
 
 Answer . — So mote it be.” 
 
 Master . — “ May the Lord bless us, and prosper 
 us; and may all our good intentions be crowned 
 with success !” 
 
 Answer . — “ So mote it be.” 
 
 The secretaries then advance, and throw their 
 rolls into the grave, with the usual forms, while the 
 Master repeats with an audible voice — 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 261 
 
 “ Glory be to God on high ! on earth peace ! 
 good-will towards men !” 
 
 Answer . — “ So mote it be, now, from henceforth, 
 and for evermore.” 
 
 The Master then concludes the ceremony at the 
 grave in the following words — 
 
 “ From time immemorial, it has been a custom 
 among the fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, 
 at the request of a brother on his death-bed, to 
 accompany his corpse to the place of interment, 
 and there to deposit his remains with the usual 
 formalities. 
 
 “ In conformity to this usage, and at the special 
 request of our deceased brother, whose memory we 
 revere, and whose loss we now deplore, we have 
 assembled in the character of Masons to resign his 
 body to the earth, whence it came, and to offer up 
 to his memory, before the world, the last tribute of 
 our affections ; thereby demonstrating the sincerity 
 of our past esteem, and our inviolable attachment 
 to the principles of the order. 
 
 “ With proper respect to the established customs 
 of the country in which we live, with due deference 
 to our superiors in church and state, and with 
 unlimited good-will towards men, we here appear, 
 clothed as Masons, and publicly crave leave to 
 express our submission to peace and good govern- 
 ment, and our wish to serve the interests of mankind. 
 Invested with the badges of innocence, we humbly 
 bow to the Universal Parent, and implore his 
 
262 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 blessing on every zealous endeavour to promote 
 peace and good-will, and we pray for our persever- 
 ance in the principles of piety and virtue. 
 
 “ The great Creator having been pleased, out of 
 his mercy, to remove our worthy brother from the 
 cares and troubles of a transitory life to a state of 
 eternal duration, and thereby to weaken the chain 
 by which we are united, man to man, may we, who 
 survive him, anticipate our approaching dissolution, 
 and be more strongly cemented in the ties of union 
 and friendship, that during the short space allotted 
 for our present existence we may wisely and usefully 
 employ our time ; and, in the reciprocal course of 
 kind and friendly acts, mutually promote the welfare 
 and happiness of each other. 
 
 66 Unto the grave we consign the body of our 
 deceased friend, there to remain unto the general 
 resurrection, in favourable expectation that his 
 immortal soul may then partake of joys which have 
 been prepared for the righteous from the beginning 
 of the world. And may Almighty God, of his 
 infinite goodness, at the grand tribunal of unbiassed 
 justice, extend his mercy toward him and all of us, 
 and crown our hope with everlasting bliss in the 
 expanded realms of a boundless eternity ! This 
 we beg, for the honour of his name, to whom be 
 glory, now and for ever. Amen.” 
 
 Thus the service ends, and the usual honours are 
 given ; after which the procession returns in form 
 to the place whence it set out, where the necessary 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 263 
 
 duties are complied with, and the business of 
 Masonry is renewed. The regalia and ornaments 
 of the deceased, if an officer of a lodge, are returned 
 to the Master with the usual ceremonies ; after 
 which the charges for regulating the conduct of the 
 brethren are rehearsed, and the lodge is closed in 
 the third degree with a blessing. 
 
264 
 
 ARGUMENT XXVI. 
 
 A CHARGE ON THE FESTIVAL OF ST. JOHN, AS DELIVERED BY 
 A BROTHER MASON, AT A MEETING OF THE ORDER, ON THE 
 DAY NAMED AFTER THAT APOSTLE. 
 
 “ Brethren, — Being, by your choice, exalted 
 into this chair, it is the fervent wish of my heart 
 to render myself as little undeserving as possible 
 of the distinguished honour. Many important duties 
 has the Master of a lodge to perform. To give 
 instruction is one ; I do not, however, presume upon 
 any superior abilities to dictate to my brethren ; yet 
 I think it incumbent on me, whilst I have the 
 honour to sit in this chair, on this and all other 
 occasional festivities, to exhort you to consider the 
 nature of our institution, and to remind you of 
 the duties it prescribes. These duties are very 
 various and important ; and have this day, I doubt 
 not, been expatiated upon in many places by 
 reverend brethren, in the solemn temple. 
 
 “ Our order instructs us in our duty to the great 
 Artificer of the Universe ; directs us to behave our- 
 selves as becomes creatures to their Creator; to be 
 satisfied with his dispensations, and always to rely 
 upon him whose wisdom cannot mistake our happi- 
 ness, whose goodness will not interrupt it. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 265 
 
 “ It directs us to be peaceable subjects, to give no 
 umbrage to the civil powers, and never to be con- 
 cerned in plots or conspiracies against the well-being 
 of the nation; and as political matters frequently 
 sow the seeds of discord among the nearest relations,* 
 and most intimate friends, we are wisely enjoined 
 in our assemblies, never to speak of them. 
 
 “It instructs us in our duty to our neighbour; 
 teaches us not to injure him in any of his connec- 
 tions, and in all our dealings with him to act with 
 justice and impartiality. It discourages partiality, 
 it bids us not to circulate any whisper of infamy, 
 improve any hint of suspicion, or publish any failure 
 of conduct. It orders us to be faithful to our trusts, 
 not to deceive him who relies upon us ; to be above 
 the meanness of dissimulation ; to let the words of 
 our mouths express the thoughts of our hearts ; and 
 whatsoever we promise religiously to perform. 
 
 “ It teaches inviolable secresy ; bids us never 
 to discover our mystic rites to the unenlightened, 
 nor betray the confidence a brother has placed in 
 us. It warms our hearts with true philanthropy, 
 which directs us never to permit a wretched fellow- 
 creature to pass unnoticed. It makes us stifle 
 enmity, wrath, and dissention ; and nourishes love, 
 peace, friendship, and every social virtue ; it tells 
 us to seek our happiness in the happiness we bestow, 
 and to love our neighbour as ourselves. 
 
 “ It informs us that we are the children of one 
 father; that man is an infirm, short-lived creature, 
 who passes away like a shadow ; that he is hastening 
 
 N 
 
266 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 to that place where human titles and distinctions 
 are not considered; where the trappings of pride 
 will be taken away, and virtue alone have the pre- 
 eminence; and thus instructed, we profess that 
 merit is the only proper distinction. We are not 
 to vaunt ourselves upon our riches, or our honours, 
 but to clothe ourselves with humility; to conde- 
 scend to men of low estate ; to be the friends of 
 merit in whatever rank we find it. We are con- 
 nected with men of the most indigent circumstances; 
 in the lodge our order deprives no man of the 
 honour due to his dignity or character, we rank as 
 brethren on a level; and out of the lodge, we con- 
 sider the most abject wretch as belonging to the 
 great fraternity of mankind ; and, therefore, when 
 it is in our power, it is our duty to support the dis- 
 tressed, and patronise the neglected. 
 
 cc It directs us to divest ourselves of confined and 
 bigotted notions, and teaches us that humanity is 
 the soul of religion. We never suffer any religious 
 disputes in our lodge, and as Masons, we are mem- 
 bers of the universal church, not narrowed to a sect. 
 Whilst as Christians, we worship God through Christ 
 Jesus, we believe that in every nation, he that 
 feareth God and worketh righteousness, is accepted 
 of him. All Masons, therefore, whether Christians, 
 Jews, or Mahometans, who violate not the rule of 
 right written by the Almighty upon the tablet of 
 the heart, who fear him and work righteousness, 
 we are to acknowledge as brethren; and, though 
 we take different roads, we are not to be angry with, 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 267 
 
 or persecute each other on that account. We mean 
 to travel to the same place ; we know that the end 
 of our journey is the same, and we all affectionately 
 hope to meet in the paradisaical lodge of the just 
 made perfect. How lovely is an institution fraught 
 with sentiments like these ! How agreeable must it 
 be to Him who is seated on the throne of everlast- 
 ing mercy. 
 
 “It instructs us likewise in our duty to ourselves; 
 it teaches us to set just bounds to our desires; to 
 put a curb upon our sensual appetites; to walk 
 uprightly, 
 
 “ Our order precludes the admission of women ; 
 not that it refuses to pay a proper regard to the fair 
 sex, or that it insinuates they would not implicitly 
 obey the strictest laws of secresy, but it would be 
 inconsistent with the modest economy and delicacy 
 of the female character to admit them among us ; 
 and their attractive conversation might prevent us 
 from pursuing the high objects of Masonic acqui- 
 sition in our assemblies. We, however, are pene- 
 trated with pious considerations in their behoof. 
 We are by our rules prohibited from injuring the 
 peace of families or destroying domestic happiness, 
 as fashionable libertines endeavour to do. We are 
 solemnly enjoined not to violate the first and most 
 holy institution of civil society, viz., the marriage 
 compact. To enjoy the blessing sent by divine 
 beneficence, it tells us, is virtue and obedience; 
 but it bids us to avoid the allurements of intem- 
 perance, whose short hours of jollity, are followed 
 
268 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 by tedious days of pain and dejection; whose 
 joys turn to madness, and lead to disease and to 
 death.” 
 
 Such are the duties which our order teaches us ; 
 and Masonry, like a messenger from heaven, may 
 be represented thus to address us: — 
 
 “ The order I have established, in every part of 
 it, shows consummate wisdom, founded on moral 
 and social virtue; it is supported by strength, and 
 adorned by beauty ; for every thing is found in it 
 that can make society agreeable : in the most 
 striking manner I teach you to act with propriety 
 in every station of life; the tools and implements 
 of architecture, and every thing about you, I have 
 contrived to be most expressive symbols to convey 
 to you the strongest moral truths. Let your im- 
 provement be proportionable to your instructions. 
 Be not content with the name only of Freemason ; 
 invested with my ancient and honourable badge, 
 be Masons indeed. Think not that it consists only 
 in meeting and going through the ceremonies which 
 I have appointed; these ceremonies, in such an 
 order as mine, are necessary, but they are the 
 most immaterial part of it, and there are weightier 
 matters which you must not omit. To be Masons, 
 indeed, is to put in practice the lessons of wisdom 
 and morality. 
 
 “ With reverential gratitude, therefore, cheerfully 
 worship the eternal providence; bow down your- 
 selves in filial and submissive obedience to the 
 unerring direction of the Mighty Builder; work 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 269 
 
 by his perfect plans, and your edifices shall be 
 beautiful and everlasting. 
 
 “ I command you to love your neighbour ; stretch 
 forth the hand of relief to him if he be in necessity ; 
 if he be in danger, run to his assistance ; tell him 
 the truth, if he be deceived; if he be unjustly 
 reproached and neglected, comfort his soul, and 
 sooth it to tranquillity ; you cannot show your grati- 
 tude to your Creator in a more amiable light, than 
 in your mutual regard for each other. 
 
 “ Pride not yourselves upon your birth ; it is of 
 no essential consequence of what parents any man 
 is born, provided he be a man of merit. Pride not 
 yourselves on your honours, they are the objects of 
 envy and intemperance, and must ere long be laid 
 in the dust. Do not value yourselves on your 
 riches, they cannot gratify even the wants which 
 they create ! My moral constitution puts all con- 
 ditions on a pleasing and rational level, — pride was 
 not made for man — meekness becomes mortals in 
 their frailty and weakness. 
 
 <c I am not gloomy and austere ; I am a strict 
 moralist, but neither cruel nor severe ; for I strive 
 to render morality lovely to you by the charm of 
 pleasures which leave no sting behind ; by rational 
 delights and harmless gaiety. I bid you not abstain 
 from the pleasures of society, or the innocent enjoy- 
 ments of life : to abstain from them is to frustrate 
 the intentions of Providence. I enjoin you not to 
 consecrate your hours to solitude; society is the 
 true sphere of human virtue, and no life can be 
 
•270 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 pleasing to God but what is useful to man. On 
 this festival, in which, well pleased, my sons, I see 
 you assembled to honour me, be happy; let no 
 gloomy looks overcast the general joy, let sorrow 
 cease, let none be wretched; and let cheerfulness 
 preside at our friendly meeting. Cheerfulness is 
 a stranger to every malignant and unsocial passion ; 
 it is formed to expand, to exhilarate, and to huma- 
 nise the heart. But cheerfulness is not to be met 
 with at the table of turbulent festivity; at such 
 meetings there is often the vociferation of merri- 
 ment, but very seldom the tranquillity of cheerful- 
 ness : the company inflame their imaginations to a 
 kind of momentary jollity, by the help of wine and 
 riot; and consider it the first business of the night 
 to stupify recollection, and lay that reason asleep, 
 which disturbs their gaiety, and calls upon them to 
 retreat from ruin. True pleasure disclaims all 
 connection with indecency and excess, and declines 
 the society of rioting and wantonness. A sense of 
 the dignity of human nature always accompanies it, 
 and it admits not of any thing that is degrading. 
 Temperance is its constant attendant at the social 
 board. Yet, my sons, to what do these restraints 
 of Masonry, and the instruction I give you with 
 respect to pleasure, amount? They may all be 
 comprised in a few words — neither to harm your- 
 selves or others by a wrong pursuit of felicity. 
 Within bounds, pleasure is lawful; beyond them, 
 it becomes criminal. Are these restraints any 
 more than what a Mason would choose to impose 
 
MASONIC MANUAL, 
 
 271 
 
 upon himself? I ask you not to renounce pleasure, 
 but to enjoy it with safety. Instead of abridging 
 it, I exhort you to pursue it with propriety. I pro- 
 pose measures for securing its possession, and for 
 prolonging its duration. 
 
 “ On this festival, I say, be happy ! But remem- 
 ber now, and always remember, you are Masons; 
 and act in such a manner, that the eyes of the cen- 
 sorious may see nothing in your conduct deserving 
 of reproof; and that the tongue of the slanderer 
 may have nothing to censure in you. Be models 
 of virtue to mankind; examples profit more than 
 precepts ; lead uncorrupt lives, do the thing which 
 is right, and speak the truth from your heart ! for 
 truth is always consistent with itself, and needs 
 nothing to help it out. It is always near at hand, 
 and sits easy upon your lips, but a lie is trouble- 
 some, and sets a man’s invention upon the rack; 
 and one falsehood needs many more to support it. 
 Injure not your neighbour, not do him any damage ; 
 let your good actions convince the world of your 
 wisdom, and the advantages of my institution. 
 Oh ! my sons ! the unworthiness of some who have 
 been initiated into my order, but who have not 
 made themselves acquainted with me, and who, 
 because I am a friend to rational enjoyment, have 
 ignorantly thought excesses might be indulged in, 
 have been disgraceful to themselves, and dishonour- 
 able to me ! 
 
 “ 1 therefore warn you to be particularly cautious 
 not to initiate any but such as are worthy ; be well 
 
272 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 assured that their conduct is regulated by virtue, 
 and their bosoms penetrated with the love of wis- 
 dom and truth. All are not proper to be admitted 
 into Masonry whose influence is universal, but 
 whose privileges should not be made too common ; 
 and you are well convinced that there are some 
 among us who take the shadow for the substance, 
 who are acquainted with the ceremonies, but catch 
 not the spirit of our profession. 
 
 66 At the initiation of a candidate, you ought to 
 explain to him the nature and advantages of the 
 order, that his mind may be early and agreeably 
 impressed with its great importance. With the dif- 
 ferent lectures, it is your duty to be well acquainted ; 
 and you should constantly endeavour to display the 
 beauties, and to illustrate the difficult parts of them 
 in the most agreeable manner. Then will men of 
 worth and genius associate with you, and contribute 
 to your mutual pleasure and improvement. 
 
 “ Ye are connected, my sons, by sacred ties; I 
 warn you never to weaken, never to be forgetful of 
 them. I have only to add, that I wish you happy. 
 May your virtues give you peace of mind here, and 
 happiness in the regions of immortality.” 
 
273 
 
 ARGUMENT XXVII. 
 
 AN ADDRESS FOR A VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS IN- 
 CREASING THE FUND FOR CHARITY, AND ALSO FOR THE DIS- 
 TRIBUTION OF A COLLECTION TO DISTRESSED BRETHREN. 
 
 Charity, in the works of moralists, is defined to 
 be the love of our brethren, or a kind of brotherly 
 affection, by which we are to understand that gene- 
 rous principle of the soul which considers the human 
 species as one family, created by an All-wise Being, 
 and placed on this globe for their mutual assistance. 
 Charity must be unfeigned, constant, and out of no 
 other design than to promote human happiness. 
 This is the attractive principle or power that draws 
 men together, and unites them in bodies politic, 
 families, societies, and the various orders and 
 denominations among men. Such are the general 
 sentiments entertained of this virtue, and what the 
 moralists define it to be. 
 
 Men in general are partial, contracted, or con- 
 fined to a particular country, religion, or opinion ; 
 but our order, on the contrary, is calculated to unite 
 mankind, every individual of which is cemented 
 with the rest, and has a just claim to friendship and 
 regard. 
 
 N 5 
 
274 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 You are taught that the Divine Artificer has thus 
 cemented you for the preservation of harmony in 
 that system of things which his divine wisdom has 
 thought fit to establish ; that it is not your own 
 immediate endeavours to which you are indebted 
 for what you enjoy ; the diligence by which you 
 have acquired, or the genius by which you have 
 commanded the goods of fortune, were given to 
 you by the Supreme Benevolence, and given, not 
 as emoluments to yourselves only, or merely to be 
 employed for your own advantage. He is the 
 common Father of all ; he regards the whole specie* 
 as his children ; he never excludes the meanest from 
 his paternal care ; and his mercies, however partially 
 they may seem to be bestowed, are not given for 
 the advantage of a few, but of the whole; if He, 
 therefore, have dealt more favourably with you than 
 with thousands around you, equally the works of his 
 hands, and who have the same claim to his bene- 
 ficence, look upon yourselves as the happy agents 
 employed by him for distributing his goodness to 
 others ; show by your love to man your gratitude 
 to God ; be truly thankful, and obey his precepts. 
 “ Ye are only the stewards of his unlimited bounty,” 
 and are therefore to look upon every human crea- 
 ture, 66 whatever has the character of a man, and 
 wears the same image of God that you do,” as truly 
 your brethren, and having a just claim to your 
 kindness. 
 
 The objects of true charity among Masons are 
 merit and virtue in distress ; persons who are inca- 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 275 
 
 pable of extricating themselves from misfortunes in 
 the journey through life ; industrious men, from 
 inevitable accidents and acts of Providence, fallen 
 into ruin; widows left survivors of their husbands, 
 by whose labours they subsisted ; orphans in tender 
 years left naked to the world ; and the aged, whose 
 spirits are exhausted, whose arms are unbraced by 
 time, and thereby rendered unable to procure for 
 themselves that sustenance which they could accom- 
 plish in their youthful days. 
 
 Therefore the feelings of the heart ought to 
 direct the hand of charity, which requires us to be 
 divested of every idea of haughtiness, and to esti- 
 mate ourselves as being of the same kind and 
 race of men. In this disposition of mind we may 
 be susceptible of those sentiments which charity 
 delighteth in ; and feel the woes and miseries of 
 others with a genuine and true sympathy of soul, 
 in sincerity and truth, and without partiality or 
 hypocrisy. We should be always willing to commi- 
 serate distress, our hand being ever ready to relieve 
 it, and to bind up that which sorrow has broken, 
 and thus experience the exalted felicity of commu- 
 nicating happiness to others. 
 
 Whilst, free from care, we are enjoying the bless- 
 ings of Providence, we should not forget to raise 
 the drooping spirits, and exhilarate the desponding 
 hearts of our indigent brethren ; and whilst we know 
 one worthy brother deprived of the necessaries of 
 life, we ought not to revel in its superfluities. 
 
 The very key-stone, as it were, of our mystical 
 
276 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 fabric is charity. Let us cherish this amiable 
 virtue ; let us consider it as the vital principle of 
 the society, the constant rule of our actions by 
 which to regulate our dealings with all mankind. 
 And though pity may plead in more tender and 
 eloquent terms, for the distresses of a brother, yet 
 let us be ready to extend the hand of relief as far 
 as our circumstances will admit. But money is not 
 the only thing the unfortunate stand in need of. 
 Compassion points out many resources to those who 
 are not rich for the relief of the indigent, such as 
 consolation, advice, protection, &c. The distressed 
 often stand in need only of a tongue to make known 
 their complaints ; they often want no more than a 
 word which they cannot speak, or reason they are 
 ashamed to give, or entrance at the door of a great 
 man, which they cannot obtain. 
 
 Therefore, whilst you are in plenty, regaling and 
 enjoying the blessings sent you by the beneficent 
 Parent of the Universe, you must not be deaf to the 
 cries of distress, or divest yourselves of benevolent 
 thoughts and social affections ; you must not forget 
 the calamities of an afflicted brother. Allow me 
 the repetition of this sentiment of charity. 
 
 When you have afforded the children of misfor- 
 tune such consolation as prudence directs, you will 
 enjoy the pleasures presented to you with greater 
 relish. I say, as prudence directs ; for you are not 
 under such obligations to liberality that nothing 
 will excuse you from it. Masonry teaches you that 
 charity must be preceded by justice ; and, unless a 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 277 
 
 distressed brother’s calamities call aloud for instant 
 assistance, where humanity prompts you to bestow 
 aid, you must not be unmindful of those whom 
 nature has more immediately connected to you. 
 
 If you cannot bestow alms on the necessitous, you 
 may put an indigent individual in the road of relief, 
 and so the blessings of him who was ready to perish 
 may be upon you, even in giving but the good-will 
 of your kind recommendations. 
 
 The man who loves his fellow-creature, who 
 sympathises in his miseries, and who anxiously 
 wishes it was in his power to relieve, though his 
 circumstances allow him to give no pecuniary assist- 
 ance, may be truly charitable ; for gifts and alms 
 are the expressions, not the essence, of this virtue. 
 A man may bestow great sums on the poor and 
 indigent without being charitable ; and may be 
 charitable when he is not able to bestow anything. 
 Charity, therefore, is a habit of good-will, or bene- 
 volence in the soul, which disposes us to divine love 
 and affectionate attention and kindness to all men, 
 but especially to those who stand in need of it. 
 
 By inspiring gladness into a heart oppressed with 
 want, you receive the most rapturous, the most 
 durable pleasure of which the heart is capable ; 
 and so far as you are thoroughly sensible of the 
 satisfaction which arises from doing good, and that 
 the best way of enlarging human happiness is by 
 communicating it to others, so you are Masons in 
 truth ; and as such you will always have pity on 
 the unfortunate, and be ever ready to do them kind 
 
278 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 offices ; your hands will never be shut when bene- 
 volence commands them to be opened ; and when a 
 collection is to be made for charitable purposes you 
 will cheerfully throw in your mite to increase it. 
 
 Whatever collection is now made, you may be 
 assured will be religiously appropriated to the pur- 
 poses for which you design it : industrious but 
 unfortunate brethren, and not the idle and disso- 
 lute, will be partakers of it; some part of it will go 
 to the dwellings of poverty and disease, there to 
 procure bread for the hungry and medicines for the 
 sick ; and some parts of it will rejoice the hearts of 
 the aged. 
 
279 
 
 ARGUMENT XXVIII. 
 
 HEADS OF A CHARGE PROPER TO BE GIVEN TO NEW-ADMITTED 
 BRETHREN; POINTING OUT THE MORAL AND THE MASONIC 
 DUTIES IMPOSED UPON EVERY MEMBER OF THE ORDER, FROM 
 THE HOUR OF HIS INITIATION. 
 
 You are now admitted, by the unanimous con- 
 sent of our lodge, a fellow of our most ancient and 
 honourable society: ancient, as having subsisted 
 from time immemorial, and honourable, as tending 
 in every particular to render a man so, that will be 
 conformable to its good precepts. 
 
 The greatest monarchs in all ages, as well of Asia 
 and Africa, as of Europe, have been encouragers of 
 the royal art, and many of them have presided as 
 Grand Masters over the Masons in their respective 
 dominions, not thinking it any diminution of their 
 imperial dignities to level themselves with their 
 brethren in Masonry, and to act as they did. The 
 world’s great Architect is our Supreme Master, and 
 the unerring rule he has given us, is that by which 
 we work. Religious disputes are never suffered in 
 our lodge, for, as Freemasons, we only cultivate 
 universal religion. This is the cement which unites 
 men of the most different principles in one sacred 
 band, and brings together those who were the most 
 distant from each other. 
 
280 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 There are three general heads of duty which 
 Masons ought always to observe, viz,, to God, our 
 neighbour, and ourselves. To God, in never 
 mentioning his name but with that reverential awe 
 which becomes a creature to bear to his Creator, and 
 to look upon him always as the sovereign good 
 which we came into the world to enjoy, and accord- 
 ing to that view, to regulate all our pursuits. To 
 our neighbour, in acting upon the square, or doing 
 as we would be done by. To ourselves, in avoid- 
 ing all intemperance and excess, whereby we may 
 be led into a behaviour unbecoming our laudable 
 profession. 
 
 In the state, a Mason is to act as a peaceable 
 and dutiful subject, conforming cheerfully to the 
 government under which he lives. In society at 
 large he is to be honest and affable ; and in domestic 
 life affectionate, chaste, and discreet. In the lodge 
 he is to behave with all due decorum, lest the 
 beauty and harmony thereof should be disturbed 
 and broken. He is to be obedient to the Master 
 and presiding officers, and to apply himself closely 
 to the business of Masonry, that he may sooner 
 become a proficient therein, both for his own 
 credit, and for that of the lodge. He is not to 
 neglect his necessary avocations for the sake of 
 Masonry, nor to involve himself in quarrels with 
 those who, through ignorance, may speak evil of, 
 or ridicule it. He is to be a lover of the arts and 
 sciences, and to take all opportunities of improving 
 himself therein. If he recommend a friend to be a 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 281 
 
 Mason, he must vouch himself to be such as he really 
 believes will conform to the Masonic duties, lest 
 by his misconduct, at any time, the lodge may pass 
 under evil imputations. 
 
 Whoever considers the dignity of his own nature, 
 or consults his own ease, safety, comfort, or happi- 
 ness, will soon discover that they are to be found in 
 social life : in friendly intercourse, in communica- 
 tions of knowledge and pleasure, in mutual assist- 
 ance and support, we become a blessing to each 
 other. And, with the sincerest joy, I welcome you 
 into a society, to which the good report and per- 
 suasion of your own worth and moral character 
 have introduced you, and wherein I hope you will 
 give and receive reciprocal pleasure, satisfaction, 
 and benefit. 
 
 Knowledge and virtue, my brethren, are the 
 objects of our pursuit. These are the foundations 
 which are laid by the Great Architect of the 
 universe, upon which our wise master-builders 
 have rested secure, and completed a fabric in truth, 
 strength, and beauty, which will stand unshaken 
 till time shall be no more. 
 
 Do Masons, then, arrogate to themselves every 
 thing that is great, good, and honourable ? By no 
 means. The gates of knowledge, and the paths 
 of truth and beauty, are open to every one who 
 desires to enter and walk therein. But this I affirm, 
 that Masonry favours us with great and peculiar 
 advantages, which, if duly improved and properly 
 attended to, ought to exalt us above the rest of 
 
282 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 mankind. Though every good man is prepared in 
 his heart to be a Mason, yet none but ourselves can 
 know those ties and obligations — those particular 
 privileges by which we are distinguished, and which 
 afford us the fairest opportunities of accomplishing 
 our present honour and happiness, and of securing 
 eternal felicity; but, like every other display of 
 light and truth, will, if abused, greatly aggravate 
 our vice and folly. Favour me, then, with your 
 candid attention, whilst I propose a few things to 
 your serious consideration, which I hope may impress 
 your minds with a proper sense of the importance 
 of those objects and pursuits which we recommend 
 and enjoin of the privileges to which you are now 
 admitted, and of the real benefits of which I hope 
 you will shortly partake. 
 
 Our belief in the great God, the Architect and 
 Ruler of Nature; a submission to his will, and 
 reliance on his protection; a devout and diligent 
 inquiry into his works, and the laws by which 
 he governs the natural and moral world; a due 
 observance of moral duties and obligations, with 
 universal charity, being our first and leading prin- 
 ciples ; so our society admits and embraces all good 
 men, of whatever sect, country, or religious per- 
 suasion. No institution in the world was ever more 
 comprehensive ; harmony, peace, and brotherly love, 
 are the great ornaments of our lodges, and whatever 
 interrupts them is inimical to our constitution, and 
 in every well regulated lodge should be severely 
 reprehended. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 283 
 
 You are therefore cautiously to avoid all religious 
 disputes, as quarrels from this source have ever 
 been found prejudicial, and often destructive, to 
 society. Let every brother freely enjoy his own 
 opinion, but not lord it over another, nor introduce 
 any disputatious wranglings in the lodge. Our 
 religion is not founded in subtile metaphysical 
 disquisitions, or angry disputations about forms and 
 opinions. 
 
 Political disputes, having an equal tendency to 
 inflame the passions and sour the temper, are there- 
 fore with equal propriety excluded from our lodges. 
 You are enjoined to pay a due obedience to the laws, 
 and respect to the government of your country; 
 and to live as peaceable subjects, but never to 
 disturb or embroil the lodge with your particular 
 opinions of state affairs. 
 
 Neither are you to let any private quarrels or 
 animosities accompany you, to defile what is pecu- 
 liarly devoted to the purest brotherly love. If you 
 differ from any of your brethren, hear them with 
 patience, and reason with coolness and moderation ; 
 and take care that hastiness of temper or expression 
 betray you not into an improper behaviour. It 
 would indeed be well if every wrangling, overbear- 
 ing, turbulent, or mischievous temper could be 
 utterly excluded from our lodges. We have all our 
 imperfections, prejudices, and passions; but Masons 
 profess, and should study and labour diligently to 
 reform or suppress them ; to bear with the infirmities 
 
284 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 of our brethren, which are never helped by wrath 
 or contention, but may be much assisted by mutual 
 affection and good offices. 
 
 You are likewise exhorted to avoid, especially 
 whilst the lodge is sitting, a certain levity of 
 behaviour, or trifling impertinence ; which, however 
 harmless it may be thought, is seldom consistent 
 with good manners ; but is more highly culpable, 
 when it rudely draws the attention of the brethren 
 from important truths and rational pleasures; it is 
 inconsistent with your characters as Masons and 
 gentlemen ; it shows a contempt of the company, 
 where true politeness ought to appear in mutual 
 respect. 
 
 The laying or offering of wagers, is justly pro- 
 hibited as incompatible with the dignity of our 
 conversation. 
 
 You are likewise enjoined to refrain from all 
 profane and obscene discourse. The first is an 
 insolent contempt of the Supreme God, who, both 
 in our outward conversation and deportment, and 
 the inmost recesses of our minds, claims our highest 
 adoration and reverence ; the other is brutal and 
 unmanly, a most indecent affront and injury to that 
 sex which, though not admitted into our lodges, we 
 are bound as Masons and men, tenderly to respect, 
 support, and defend. 
 
 Your punctual and willing attendance upon our 
 stated meetings is expected, so far as it may not 
 interfere with your duty to yourself, family, or 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 285 
 
 friends. Diligence and fidelity in our respective 
 callings and professions are what Masonry recom- 
 mends and enforces. 
 
 As the Worshipful Master and presiding officers 
 are placed in their several departments by the voice 
 of the brethren, you are required to behave towards 
 them with a becoming respect ; to address them by 
 their accustomed titles, and candidly submit to their 
 just orders, admonitions, and reproofs; consider 
 that every affront to them is an offence to the whole 
 society, whom they represent, and over whom they 
 are appointed to preside. 
 
 As the different regular lodges and brethren, 
 wherever dispersed, not only through this kingdom, 
 but over the whole face of the globe, are united 
 into one grand body, provincial and general officers, 
 whose duty it is to preside over all the lodges in 
 their several provinces or districts, are appointed 
 by the fraternity, to preserve all ancient laws and 
 land-marks of the constitution ; and everything 
 relative to the general interests of Masonry ought, 
 by them, to be duly weighed and properly regulated. 
 We are therefore to pay a due regard to the Book of 
 Constitutions, which is published by their authority; 
 to prevent or endeavour to heal any jealousies, 
 animosities, or differences, which may unhappily 
 arise among those societies, which are, or ought to 
 be, united in one common interest and under one 
 common head. Let this band of union be broken, 
 and we lose that strength, weight, and influence 
 which concord and unanimity will secure us. 
 
286 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 Though your first engagement and principal 
 attachment ought to be to the lodge of which you 
 are members, to the bye-laws of which you are 
 required to conform, and the true interests of which 
 you are bound to support; yet you are allowed, 
 when proper and convenient, to visit the neigh- 
 bouring lodges, so that you conform to their laws 
 and customs : but you are not to interfere in their 
 particular business ; nor is it well to enter into any 
 discourse but what materially concerns the manifest 
 interests of the society at large, or the general 
 welfare of your brethren, to which you must be 
 constantly and particularly attentive. 
 
 So far as you can do it, without injury to your- 
 selves or families, you are bound to study your 
 brethren’s interests as your own, and to relieve and 
 assist them in all their difficulties and distresses ; to 
 pay a due regard to their merits, and to maintain a 
 tender concern for their failings. But do not sup- 
 pose that Masonry confines these offices to the fra- 
 ternity alone, or absolves you from your duty to the 
 rest of mankind. Far from it ; it inculcates univer- 
 sal benevolence, and extends its benign influence 
 to the whole world. It is a moral association, and 
 not a partial confederacy. For surely, whilst I love 
 my brother from moral principles as a man, I may 
 without injury to any part of society, be allowed to 
 distinguish him as a Mason. 
 
 And this leads me to recommend to you a parti- 
 cular care and circumspection, that you betray not 
 our distinguishing marks and characteristics to any 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 287 
 
 stranger: not to your nearest and dearest affec- 
 tionate nor most intimate and confidential friend. 
 It will be prudent in you, at least for some time, 
 not to exhibit them even to a brother, except in a 
 lodge, or where you well know your company. Time 
 and patience will fully evince to you the importance 
 of this precaution. 
 
 You will keep a strict guard over your discourse, 
 looks, and gestures ; so that the most piercing eye, 
 the quickest ear, or the most penetrating obser- 
 vation, may not possibly discover what ought to 
 be concealed ; and if you meet with prying inqui- 
 sitive people, endeavour to turn and divert the 
 discourse ; but beware of manifesting any offence 
 or discomposure. 
 
 Whatever passes in the lodge, ought to be kept 
 inviolably secret; and though some things may 
 appear more trivial than others, you are not to make 
 any of the transactions there the subject of your 
 discourse among your family or friends. Nor will 
 it generally answer any good purpose to be perpe- 
 tually talking of them to your brethren. 
 
 So far as you have opportunity, cultivate an esteem 
 for, and a knowledge of the liberal arts and sciences ; 
 beside their use and importance in every part of 
 life, they improve the understanding, enlarge and 
 adorn the mind, render your friendship important, 
 and your conversation solid and entertaining. 
 
 Geometry is particularly recommended to the 
 attention of Masons. By geometry, I mean not 
 only a study of the properties of lines, superfices, 
 
288 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 and solids, but the geometrical method of reason 
 and deduction, in the investigation of truth. In 
 this light, geometry may very properly be considered 
 as a natural logic; for, as truth is ever consistent, 
 invariable, and uniform, all truths may be inves- 
 tigated in the same manner. Moral and religious 
 definitions, axioms, and propositions, have as regular 
 and certain a dependence upon each other, as any 
 physics or mathematics. For instance, the moral 
 relations of husband and wife, parent and child, 
 king and subject, physician and patient, tradesman 
 and customer, are equally certain and demonstrable 
 as between square and triangle, cube and pyramid, 
 or cone and sphere. 
 
 In our future lectures and instructions, you will 
 find that all our emblems, allegories, and peculiar 
 characteristics, have a beautiful and lively tendency 
 to that point. And almost every branch of science 
 is so applied, and so moralized, as to become at 
 ' once useful and instructive. 
 
 From the attention with which you have now 
 honoured me, I hope you will seriously determine 
 to pursue such knowledge, and cultivate such dis- 
 positions, as will secure to you the brotherly respect 
 of this society ; the honour of your farther advance- 
 ment in it; your peace, comfort, and satisfaction in 
 this life, and in the next, your eternal felicity. 
 
ARGUMENT XXIX. 
 
 AN ADDRESS MADE TO A BODY OF FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS, 
 POINTING OUT THE VIRTUES WHICH THEY OUGHT TO CULTI- 
 VATE, AND THE VICES WHICH THEY OUGPIT TO AVOID. 
 
 The chief pleasures of society, — viz., good con- 
 versation, and the consequent improvements, — are 
 rightly presumed, brethren, to be the great motive 
 of our first entering into, and then of propagating 
 our craft, wherein advantages, I am bold to say, 
 may be met with more than in any society now in 
 being ; provided we are not wanting to ourselves, 
 and will but consider that the basis of our order 
 is indissoluble friendship, and the cements of it 
 unanimity and brotherly love. 
 
 That these may always subsist in this society, is 
 the sincere desire of every worthy brother ; and that 
 they may do so in full perfection here, give me leave 
 to lay before you a few observations, w r herein are 
 pointed out those things which are most likely to 
 stop improper discourse, especially when it turns 
 upon controverted points. It is, brethren, a very 
 delicate thing to interest oneself in a dispute, and 
 yet preserve the decorum due to the occasion. To 
 assist us a little in this matter, is the subject which 
 
290 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 I have at present to offer to your consideration, and 
 I doubt not but the bare mention of what may be 
 disagreeable in any kind of debate will be heedfully 
 avoided by a body of men united by the bonds of 
 brotherhood, and under the strictest ties of mutual 
 love and forbearance. 
 
 By the outward demeanour it is that the inward 
 civility of the mind is generally expressed ; the 
 manner and circumstances of which, being much 
 governed and influenced by the fashion and usage 
 of the place where we live, must in the rule and 
 practice of it be learned by observation, and the 
 carriage of those who are allowed to be polite and 
 well-bred; but the more essential part of civility 
 lies deeper than the outside, and is that general 
 good-will, that decent regard and personal esteem 
 for every man, which makes us cautious of showing 
 in our carriage towards him any contempt, disres- 
 pect, or neglect. It is our disposition that makes 
 us ready on all occasions to express, according to 
 the usual way and fashion of address, a respect, 
 a value, and esteem for him, suitable to his rank, 
 quality, and condition in life. It is, in a word, a 
 disposition of the mind visible in the carriage, 
 whereby a man endeavours to shun making another 
 uneasy in his company. 
 
 For the better avoiding of which in these our 
 conventions, suffer me, brethren, to point out to 
 you four things : — 
 
 The first of these is a natural roughness, which 
 makes a man uncomplaisant to others ; so that he 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 291 
 
 retains no deference, nor has any regard to the 
 inclinations, tempers, or condition of those he con- 
 verses with. It is the certain mark of a clown not 
 to mind what either pleases or offends those he is 
 engaged with. And yet one may sometimes meet 
 with a man in clean and fashionable clothes, giving 
 an unlimited liberty to his own humour therein, and 
 suffer it to overbear every thing that stands in its 
 way, with a perfect indifference how people have 
 reason to take it. This is a brutality every one sees 
 and abhors. It is what no one can approve, or be 
 easy with, and therefore it finds no place with those 
 who have any tincture of good breeding ; the end 
 and design of which is to soften asperities, and 
 to subdue the rude temper pursuant to civility and 
 courtesy. 
 
 Contempt is the second thing inconsistent with 
 good breeding, and is entirely averse to it. And 
 if this want of respect be discovered, either in 
 a man’s looks, words, or gestures, come it from 
 whom it will, it always brings uneasiness and pain 
 along with it ; for no one can contentedly bear to 
 be slighted. 
 
 A third thing of the like nature is censoriousness, 
 or a disposition to find fault with others. Men, 
 whatever they are guilty of, would not choose to 
 have their failings displayed and set in open view. 
 Failings always carry some degree of shame with 
 them; and the discovery, or even the imputation 
 of any defect, is not borne by them without 
 uneasiness. 
 
292 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 Raillery must be confessed to be the most refined 
 way of exposing the faults of others ; and, because 
 it is commonly done with some wit, in good lan- 
 guage, and entertains the company, people are apt 
 to be led into a mistake that where it keeps within 
 fair bounds, there is no incivility in it. The plea- 
 santry of this sort of conversation introduces it 
 often, therefore, among people of the better sort ; 
 and such talkers, it must be owned, are patiently 
 heard, and generally applauded by the laughter of 
 the stander-by ; but it ought at the same time to 
 be considered that the entertainment of the com- 
 pany is at the cost of the person made the subject 
 of ridicule ; who, therefore, cannot be without some 
 uneasiness on the occasion, unless the object on 
 which he is railed be matter of commendation ; in 
 which case the pleasant images which make the 
 raillery carry with them some praise, and the rallied 
 person finding his account in it, may also take a 
 part in the diversion. 
 
 But in regard to the right management of so 
 nice a point, wherein the least slip may spoil all, 
 is not every body’s talent, it is better that such as 
 would be secure of not provoking others should 
 wholly abstain from raillery, which, by a small 
 mistake or wrong turn, may leave upon the minds 
 of those who are stung by it, the lasting memory of 
 its sore attack. 
 
 Contradiction is also a sort of censoriousness, 
 wherein ill-breeding much too often shows itself. 
 Complaisance does not require that we should admit 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 293 
 
 of all reasonings, or silently approve of all the 
 accounts of things that may be mentioned in our 
 hearing. The opposing the ill-grounded opinions, 
 and rectifying the mistakes of others, is what truth 
 and charity sometimes require of us : nor does 
 civility forbid it, so it be done with proper caution, 
 and due care of the circumstances. But there 
 are some men who seem so perfectly possessed, 
 as it were, with the spirit of contradiction and per- 
 verseness, that they steadily, and without regard 
 either to right or wrong, oppose some one, and 
 perhaps all the company, in whatsoever is ad- 
 vanced. 
 
 This is so evident and outrageous a degree of 
 censuring, that no one can help thinking himself 
 injured by it. 
 
 All sort of opposition to what another man says, 
 is so apt to be suspected of censoriousness, and is 
 so seldom received without some hurt or humilia- 
 tion, that it ought to be made in the most courteous 
 manner, and couched in the mildest expressions; 
 and such as with the whole deportment, may express 
 no forwardness to contradict. All possible marks 
 of respect and good-will ought to accompany it; 
 that, whilst we gain the argument, we may not lose 
 the good inclinations of any that hear, and especially 
 of those that may happen to differ from us. 
 
 And here we ought not to pass by an ordinary, 
 but a great fault, that frequently happens in almost 
 every dispute ; I mean that of interrupting others 
 while they are speaking. This is a failing which 
 
294 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 the members of the best regulated confraternities 
 among us have endeavoured to guard against, 
 in the bye-laws of their respective societies ; and is 
 what the Worshipful Master in the chair should 
 principally regard, and see well put in execution. 
 Yet, as it is an ill practice that prevails in the 
 world, and especially where less care is taken, it 
 cannot be improper to offer a word or two against 
 it here. 
 
 There cannot be a greater rudeness than to inter- 
 rupt another in the current of his discourse ; for if 
 it be not impertinence and folly to answer a man 
 before we know what he has to say, yet it is a plain 
 declaration that we are weary of his discourse ; that 
 we disregard what he says, as judging it not fit to 
 entertain the society with ; and is, in fact, a down- 
 right desiring that ourselves may have audience, 
 who have something to produce better worth the 
 attention of the company. As this is no ordinary 
 .degree of disrespect, it cannot but always give very 
 great offence. 
 
 The fourth thing, brethren, that is against civility, 
 and therefore apt to interrupt the harmony of con- 
 versation, is captiousness. And it is so, not only 
 because it produces misbecoming and provoking 
 expressions and behaviour in a part of the company, 
 but because it is a tacit accusation and a reproach 
 for something ill taken from those we are displeased 
 with. Such an intimation, or even suspicion, must 
 be always uneasy to society; and as one angry 
 person is sufficient to discompose a whole company, 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 295 
 
 so, for the most part, all mutual happiness and 
 satisfaction ceases therein on any such jarring. 
 This failing, therefore, should be guarded against 
 with as much care, as either the boisterous rusticity, 
 contempt and crossness, already considered, and 
 disapproved of. For as peace, ease, and satisfac- 
 tion constitute pleasure and happiness, and are the 
 very soul of conversation, if they be interrupted, 
 the design of the society is undermined; and in 
 that case how should brotherly love continue ? 
 Certain it is, that unless good order, decency, and 
 temper be preserved by the individuals of the 
 society, confusion will be introduced, and a disso- 
 lution will in all probability be the consequence. 
 
 What therefore remains, is to remind the brethren, 
 that Masons have ever been lovers of order, and 
 that the number of their lights, and the declared 
 end of their coming together, intimate the frame 
 and disposition of mind wherewith they are to 
 meet, and the manner of their behaviour when 
 assembled. 
 
 Shall it then ever be said, that those who by 
 choice are distinguished from the gross of mankind, 
 and who voluntarily have enrolled their names in 
 this most ancient and honourable society, are so far 
 wanting to themselves and the order they profess, 
 as to neglect its rules ? 
 
 We are, let it be considered, the successors of 
 those who reared a structure to the honour of 
 Almighty God, the Great Architect of the world, 
 which, for wisdom, strength, and beauty, has never 
 
2 A 6 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 yet had any parallel. We are intimately related to 
 those great and worthy spirits, who have ever made 
 it their business, and their aim, to improve them- 
 selves and to inform mankind. Let us then copy 
 their example, that we may also hope to obtain a 
 share in their praise. This cannot possibly be done 
 in a scene of disorder ; pearls are never found but 
 when the sea is calm ; and silent water is generally 
 deepest. 
 
 It has been long, and still is, the glory and hap- 
 piness of the society, to have its interests espoused 
 by the great, and noble, and honoured of the land ; 
 persons who, after the example of the wisest and 
 the grandest of kings, esteem it neither a condescen- 
 sion nor dishonour to patronize and encourage the 
 professors of the craft. It is our duty, in return, 
 to do nothing inconsistent with this favour; and, 
 being members of this body, it becomes us to act 
 in some degree suitable to the honour we receive 
 'from our illustrious head. 
 
 If this be done at our general meetings, every 
 good and desirable end will the better be promoted 
 among us. The craft will have the advantage of 
 being governed by good, wholesome, and dispassion- 
 ate laws ; the business of the lodge will be smoothly 
 and effectually carried on ; your officers will com- 
 municate their sentiments, and receive your advice 
 and opinions with pleasure and satisfaction : in a 
 word, true Masonry will flourish, and those that are 
 without will soon come to know that there are more 
 substantial pleasures to be found, as well as greater 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 4 297 
 
 advantages to be reaped, in our society, orderly 
 conducted, than can possibly be met with in any 
 other bodies of men, how magnificent soever their 
 pretensions may be. For none can be so amiable 
 as that which promotes brotherly love, and fixes 
 that as the grand cement of all our actions, to the 
 performance of which we are bound by an obliga- 
 tion, both solemn and awful, and which is entered 
 into by our own free and deliberate choice ; and, as 
 it is to direct our lives and actions, it can never be 
 too often repeated, nor too frequently inculcated. 
 
298 
 
 ARGUMENT XXX. 
 
 AN ADDRESS DELIVERED IN A LODGE OF FREE AND ACCEPTED 
 MASONS, IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE , EXPULSION OF A MEMBER, 
 WHO HAD BEEN REPEATEDLY, BUT IN VAIN, ADMONISHED FOR 
 THE ILLIBERAL PRACTICE OF BACKBITING AND SLANDERING HIS 
 BRETHREN. 
 
 As in all numerous bodies and societies of men 
 some unworthy will ever be found, it can be no 
 wonder that, notwithstanding the excellent prin- 
 ciples and valuable precepts laid down and incul- 
 cated by our venerable institution, we have such 
 amongst us — men who, instead of being ornaments 
 or useful members of our body, I am sorry to say, 
 are a shame and disgrace to it ! 
 
 These are sufficiently characterized by a natural 
 propensity to backbite and slander their brethren : 
 a vice truly detestable in all men, and more pecu- 
 liarly so in Freemasons, who, by the regulations 
 of their institution, are especially exhorted and 
 enjoined 66 to speak as well of a brother when 
 absent as present ; to defend his honour and repu- 
 tation wherever attacked, as far as truth and justice 
 will permit; and, where they cannot reasonably 
 vindicate him, at least to refrain from contributing 
 to condemn him.” 
 
 But, alas ! regardless of their duty in general, 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 299 
 
 and of these laudable injunctions in particular, we 
 frequently find such men assiduously employed in 
 traducing the character of their brethren, and — 
 instead of rejoicing at their good fortune, pitying 
 their misfortune, and apologising for their weak- 
 ness and errors — envying their prosperity ; and, 
 unaffected by their adversity, with a secret and 
 malicious pleasure, exploring and publishing their 
 defects and failings : like trading vessels, they pass 
 from place to place, receiving and discharging 
 whatever calumny they can procure from others, or 
 invent themselves. 
 
 As we have just now had a mortifying instance 
 of the necessary consequence of such base conduct 
 in the expulsion of one of our members, permit 
 me to deliver to you some sentiments of the great 
 Archbishop Tillotson on the subject. He assigns 
 various causes for this evil, and also furnishes direc- 
 tions which, if adhered to, will greatly contribute 
 to prevent and remedy it. 
 
 “ If we consider the causes of this evil practice, 
 we shall find one of the most common is ill-nature; 
 and, by a general mistake, ill-nature passes for wit, 
 as cunning does for wisdom ; though, in truth, they 
 are as different as vice and virtue. 
 
 66 There is no greater evidence of the bad temper 
 of mankind than their proneness to evil speaking ; 
 for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth 
 speaketh ; and, therefore, we commonly incline, 
 through censoriousness, to the uncharitable side. 
 
 “ The good spoken of others we easily forget, 
 
300 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 or seldom mention ; but the evil lies uppermost in 
 our memories, and is ready to be published on all 
 occasions ; nay, what is more ill-natured and unjust, 
 though many times we do not believe it ourselves, 
 we tell it to others, and venture it to be believed, 
 according to the charity of those to whom it is told. 
 
 “ Another cause of the frequency of this vice is 
 that many are so bad themselves : for to think and 
 speak ill of others, is not only a bad thing, but a 
 sign of a bad man. When men are bad themselves 
 they are glad of an opportunity to censure others, 
 and endeavour to bring things to a level, hoping it 
 will be some justification of their own faults if they 
 can but make others appear equally guilty. 
 
 “ A third cause of evil speaking is malice and 
 revenge. When we are blinded by our passions, 
 we do not consider what is true, but what is mis- 
 chievous ; we care not whether the evil we speak 
 be true or not ; nay, many are so base as to invent 
 and raise false reports, on purpose to blast the repu- 
 tations of those by whom they think themselves 
 injured. 
 
 “ A fourth cause of this vice is envy. Men look 
 with an evil eye upon the good that is in others, and 
 do what they can to discredit their commendable 
 qualities ; thinking their own character lessened by 
 them, they greedily entertain, and industriously 
 publish what may raise themselves upon the ruins 
 of the reputation of other men. 
 
 “ A fifth cause of evil speaking is impertinence 
 and curiosity, and an itch of talking of affairs which 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 301 
 
 do not concern us. Some love to mingle them- 
 selves in all business, and are loth to seem ignorant 
 of such important news as the faults and follies of 
 men ; therefore, with great care they pick up ill 
 stories, to entertain the next company they meet, — 
 not perhaps out of malice, but for want of some- 
 thing better to talk of. 
 
 “ Lastly, many do this out of wantonness and for 
 diversion, so little do they consider that a man’s 
 reputation is too great and tender a concern to be 
 jested with, and that a slanderous tongue bites like 
 a serpent and cuts like a sword. What can be so 
 barbarous, next to sporting with a man's life, as to 
 play with his honour and good name, which to some 
 is better than life. 
 
 66 Such, and so bad, are the causes of this vice. 
 
 u If we consider its pernicious effects, we shall 
 find that to such as are slandered it is a great 
 injury, commonly a high provocation, and always 
 matter of grief. 
 
 66 It is certainly a great injury; and if the evil 
 which we say of them be not true, it is an injury 
 beyond reparation. It is an injury that descends to 
 a man’s children ; because the good or evil name 
 of the father is transmitted down to them, and 
 many times the best thing he has to leave them is 
 an unblemished virtue. And do we make no con- 
 science to rob his innocent children of the best part 
 of their small patrimony, and of all the kindness 
 that w ould have been done them for their father’s 
 sake, if his reputation had not been undeservedly 
 
302 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 stained ? Is it no crime, by the breath of our 
 mouth, at once to blast a man’s reputation, and to 
 ruin his children perhaps, to all posterity ?, Can 
 we jest with so serious a matter — an injury so very 
 hard to be repented of as it ought ? because, in 
 such a case, no repentance will be acceptable 
 without restitution, if in our power. 
 
 “ Even suppose the matter of the slander true, 
 yet no man’s reputation is considerably stained, 
 though never so deservedly, without great hurt to 
 him ; and it is probable that the charge, by passing 
 through several hands, is aggravated beyond truth, 
 every one being apt to add something to it. 
 
 “ Beside the injury, it is commonly a high provo- 
 cation, the consequence of which may be dangerous 
 and desperate quarrels. One way or other, the 
 injured person will hear of it, and will take the first 
 opportunity to revenge it. 
 
 66 At best, it is always matter of grief to the per- 
 son defamed ; and Christianity, which is the best- 
 natured institution in the world, forbids us to do 
 those things whereby we may grieve one another. 
 
 A man’s character is a tender thing, and a 
 wound there sinks deep into the spirit even of a 
 wise and good man ; and the more innocent any 
 man is in this respect, the more sensible he is of 
 this uncharitable treatment ; because he never treats 
 others so, nor is he conscious to himself that he has 
 deserved it. 
 
 “ To ourselves the consequences of this vice are as 
 bad, or worse. He that accustoms himself to speak 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 303 
 
 evil of others, gives a bad character of himself, even 
 to those he desires to please, who, if they be wise, 
 will conclude that he speaks of them to others, as 
 he does of others to them. 
 
 66 And this practice of evilspeaking may be in- 
 convenient in many other ways. For who knows, in 
 the chance of things, and the mutability of human 
 affairs, whose kindness he may stand in need of 
 before he dies ? So that, did a man only consult 
 his own safety and quiet, he ought to refrain from 
 evil speaking. 
 
 66 How cheap a kindness it is to speak well, at 
 least not to speak ill, of others. A good word is 
 an easy obligation, but not to speak ill requires 
 only our silence. Some instances of charity are 
 chargeable ; but were a man ever so covetous, he 
 might afford another his good-will ; at least, he might 
 refrain from speaking ill of him, especially if it be 
 considered how dear many have paid for a slan- 
 derous and reproachful word. 
 
 “ No quality ordinarily recommends one more to 
 the favour of men, than to be free from this vice. 
 Such a man’s friendship every one desires ; and, 
 next to pity and righteousness, nothing is thought 
 a greater commendation, than that he was never, 
 or very rarely, heard to speak ill of any. 
 
 “ Let every man lay his hand upon his heart, and 
 consider how himself is apt to be afflicted with this 
 usage. Nothing, sure, is more equal and reasonable 
 than that known rule, what thou wouldst have no 
 man to do thee, that do thou to no man. 
 
304 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 “ The following direction, if duly observed, will 
 greatly contribute to the prevention and cure of this 
 great evil. 
 
 “ Never say any evil of another. 
 
 “ Whenever you positively accuse a naan of any 
 crime, though it be in private and among friends, 
 speak as if you were upon your oath, because God 
 sees and hears you. This, not only charity, but 
 justice, demands of us. He that easily credits a 
 false report is almost as culpable as the first inventor 
 of it. Therefore, never speak evil of any upon 
 common fame, which for the most part is false, but 
 almost always uncertain. 
 
 “ Before you speak ill of another, consider whe- 
 ther he has not obliged you by some real kindness, 
 and then it is a bad turn to speak evil of him that 
 hath done you good. Consider, also, whether you 
 may not come hereafter to be acquainted with him, 
 related to him, or in want of his favour, whom you 
 have thus injured; and whether it may not be in 
 his power to revenge a spiteful and malicious attack 
 made upon him ? So, if a man be careless how he 
 hurts others, yet he should, in prudence, have some 
 consideration of himself. 
 
 « Let us accustom ourselves to be truly sorry for 
 the faults of men, and then we shall take no 
 pleasure in publishing them. Common humanity 
 requires this of us, considering likewise how severe 
 a punishment every crime is to itself, how terribly it 
 exposeth a man to the wrath of God, both here and 
 hereafter. 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 305 
 
 “ Whenever we hear a man evil spoken of, if we 
 have heard any good of him, let us mention it. It 
 is always more human, and more honourable, to vin- 
 dicate others than to accuse them. W r ere it necessary 
 that a man should be evil spoken of, his good and 
 bad qualities should be represented together, other- 
 wise he may be strangely misrepresented, and an 
 indifferent man may be made a monster. 
 
 “ They that will observe nothing in a wise man, 
 but his oversights and follies; nothing in a good, 
 but his failings and infirmities, may render both 
 despicable. Should we heap together all the 
 passionate speeches, all the imprudent actions of 
 the best individual, and represent them at one 
 view, concealing his virtues, he, in this disguise, 
 would look like an insane or outrageous man ; and 
 yet, if his life were fairly represented in the manner 
 it was led, he might appear to all the world to be 
 an amiable and excellent person. But how nume- 
 rous soever any man’s ill qualities are, it is but just 
 that he should have due praise of his virtues, what- 
 ever they be. 
 
 66 That you may not speak ill, do not delight in 
 hearing any one evil spoken of. Give no counte- 
 nance to busy-bodies; if you cannot decently reprove 
 them because of their quality, divert the discourse 
 some other way, or by seeming not to mind it, 
 signify that you do not like it. 
 
 66 Let every man mind his own concerns. Do but 
 endeavour in good earnest to amend yourself, and 
 
306 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 it will be work enough, and leave you little time to 
 talk of others.” 
 
 In the foregoing sentiments, the back-biter and 
 slanderer may see himself fully represented as in a 
 true mirror ; and detestable as the spectacle natu- 
 rally appears, much more so does it seem when 
 masonically examined. May all such, therefore, 
 contemplate the nature and consequences of this 
 abominable vice ; and that they still may become 
 worthy men and Masons, let them constantly pray 
 in the words of the royal psalmist, (Psalm cxii.), 
 “ Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth keep thou 
 the door of my lips ! ” Being assured for their 
 encouragement, that he who backbiteth not with 
 his tongue, nor doth evil to his neighbour, nor 
 taketh up a reproach against his neighbour, shall 
 abide in the tabernacle of the Lord, and shall dwell 
 in his holy hill. 
 
 I have in this illustration, as a specimen of the 
 mode of excluding an offending brother from the 
 honours of the lodge and the society of the frater- 
 nity, confined myself to the offence of betraying 
 secresy, or being guilty of defamation and slander. 
 Such features of infidelity and abuse, so dangerously 
 injurious to the good name of a brother Mason, 
 or even a neighbour in civil life, were selected on 
 this occasion with a reference to the sacred obliga- 
 tions of Masons in particular, who are obliged, by 
 the most religious regulations, to keep the confidence 
 imparted to them for ever unrevealed and inviolate 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 307 
 
 in the silent recesses of the breast, as also to pre- 
 serve a most lively sense of the divine duty of good- 
 will, and sincerity, and respect to all mankind, as it 
 were stamped upon the living tablet of the heart. 
 A Mason is most solemnly instructed in the inesti- 
 mable value of a good name in his own instance 
 and the cases of his brethren and neighbours ; he 
 knows, of a truth, that therein consists a possession 
 which the markets of the merchant cannot expose 
 for sale, because it is above all price invaluable. 
 Our first Grand Master, the sapient king, says, 
 it is better than 'precious ointment , no doubt meaning 
 the exquisite excellency of its essential sweetness, 
 and the actual suavity of its delightful odours. If 
 any Mason, therefore, could be discovered (for 
 even such a possibility is questioned,) regardless 
 of the secrets confided to him, which he is bound 
 to keep, as the vestal fire used to be found and 
 saved alive, or even unimpressed with a pious sen- 
 sibility to value and save his neighbour’s character, 
 he would deserve to be put out beyond the bounds 
 of the camp of the Israelites without guile , and so to 
 remain unfit for admission among the brethren, as 
 being unclean , or covered with blemishes of moral 
 turpitude. Such peccability and offensive ness, when 
 found out as his mental leprosy , could not but sub- 
 ject him to the severest penalty which the rules of 
 the fraternity provide, viz., the casting him out as a 
 dead member — dead to the intents and purposes of 
 integrity and faith, and also of the relations of com- 
 mon amity and charity. 
 
308 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 Having made every effort to give a general 
 outline of the constitutions and discipline of the 
 brotherhood, so far as it is allowable to do, and 
 made a concise Manual, in which is offered, in 
 a small compass, an interesting summary of the 
 polity and learning of the fraternity ; I submit it 
 as a pledge of my own faithful adherence to the 
 high principles on which Masonry is builded from 
 the beginning, as well as my most cordial regard 
 and affectionate good wishes for the brethren them- 
 selves, in all their widely extended classification and 
 undivided attachment of honour and concord. We 
 are erected, we should be all aware, as a city upon 
 a hill ; our government, in the dark ages of error 
 and ignorance, shed a divine illumination upon 
 a benighted world. And, although we rejoice at 
 present that the age in which we live is enlightened, 
 the purity of our institution is alike salutary and 
 gratifying in the brightness of its shining. Every 
 Mason, therefore, must be sensible that he is to let 
 his light shine in propriety and virtue, knowing that 
 Masonry, like the temple at Jerusalem, was erected 
 to maintain and show the worship of Jehovah, and 
 the virtues which ought to dignify and distinguish 
 the true worshippers therein, who worshipped in the 
 spirit and truth of its shining symbols, and hallowed 
 emblems and ordinances ! Masonry in this way will 
 be looked upon as an establishment honourable and 
 venerable, if its members will conspire, as they 
 ought to do, to render it a great lens , collecting 
 within the focus of the order the beams of true philo- 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 3Q9 
 
 sophy, piety, and benevolence. So their unanimity 
 in honour and righteousness must still lift them up, 
 as an illustrious beacon in this sublunary and imper- 
 fect state of being, wherein, unfortunately, mankind 
 cannot be cemented by the celestial medicine of 
 harmony supplied in the gospel of Jesus Christ, 
 who brought down a marvellous light with the taber- 
 nacle of the Father of Heaven, which descended in 
 his angelic mission on earth ! Individuals are known 
 to allege against our order, the usages of emblems, 
 when it is urged by them, that the significations 
 and types of the Mosaical institute subsided and 
 ceased in the New Law. Conceding the truth of 
 what they urge in the matter of evangelical interest 
 which they bring forward, their own argument is 
 turned against them. Are the sects enlightened 
 enough, are they capable at all to worship in truth 
 and cultivate virtue in real charity, although the 
 emblems of Aaron were put down at the altar of 
 the Redeemer? This fulfilment, which dispensed 
 with much of the ceremonial law, was a revelation, 
 no doubt, of vast import and advantage in our 
 present valley and shadow of death ; and it ought to 
 have instructed mankind in unity, philanthropy, 
 godly love, — those better things which the old law 
 anticipated in the dispensation of Messiah. Yet 
 we perceive the Christian sects still walking in the 
 darkness of uncharitable difference ; their glass is, 
 alas ! so dark, that often they appear to ascertain 
 no glimpse of the divine benevolence ; they do not 
 live in unity, or connected by the amiable bonds 
 
310 
 
 MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 which the gospel-covenant enjoins them to do as 
 brethren among themselves, and followers of their 
 founder, Christ the Lord. The very light of what 
 a sect sometimes calls its religion, is known in its 
 economy to cover its votaries with darkness, and 
 how great is that darkness which makes men hos- 
 tile each to the other, and build walls of exclusion 
 in Christ’s church and kingdom ! Emblems are not 
 entirely laid aside by the sects of societies of Chris- 
 tians. The Church of Rome retains much of the 
 ceremonial law, and most of the reformed churches 
 cherish the religion of baptism, as a sacrament or 
 symbol of divine signification. In short, our present 
 dark estate, it would seem, can never acquire that 
 pure unbeclouded economy which shall emancipate 
 man from all allusions and emblematical rites. 
 But whenever the sun of righteousness shall so 
 gloriously arise on the earth, Masons shall be glad 
 indeed, and then it may be consistent with the 
 purposes of the Father of Light to suspend or dis- 
 solve Masonry, when truth shall appear without the 
 spots and stains of vulgar ignorance, or that sec- 
 tarian dishonour which unhappily obscures it by a 
 partial eclipse even in this age, wherein the sciences 
 have acquired a fine and a bright progress. May 
 they shine more and more unto that perfect day of 
 brightness and benevolence which has been alluded 
 to as the epoch when Masons may put down their 
 emblems of light ! 
 
 With this Masonic sentiment, I conclude my 
 “ Masonic Manual” and may every member of our 
 
MASONIC MANUAL. 
 
 311 
 
 order remember the sentiment whilst he opens it. 
 If so, I shall not have catered Masonic provisions 
 to no purpose. At all events, I shall not lose my 
 labour. I am an older brother ; I took delight, in 
 the years of my youth in the theory, and exercise of 
 our instituted laws and usages : and knowing that 
 they are sometimes arraigned by the ignorant and 
 malevolent, I was indeed interested to implead the 
 ill-founded allegations of illiberality and gross ill- 
 will. In this I can have no interest to deceive 
 mankind, whilst my aim is pursuant to the patriotic 
 sentence of Father Paul, (viz., esto perpetua ), to say 
 and pray for Masonry in her sacred principle, may 
 it obtain for ever among men ! 
 
 THE END. 
 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM WILCOCKSON, ROLLS BUILDINGS, FETTER LANK. 
 
JUST PUBLISHED, 
 
 Price 7 s. 6d. cloth boards , 9s. Q>d. half-bound , 12s. 6d. whole 
 bound blue Masonic calf gilt. 
 
 THE 
 
 SPIRIT OF MASONRY, 
 
 EY 
 
 WILLIAM HUTCHINSON, F.A.S. 
 
 A NEW EDITION, 
 
 WITH COPIOUS NOTES, CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY, 
 
 EY 
 
 THE REV. GEORGE OLIVER, D.D. 
 
 PAST D. P. G. M. FOR LINCOLNSHIRE ; 
 
 HONORARY MEMBER OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND LODGE, LONDON ; THE SHAKSPEARE 
 LODGE, WARWICK; THE FIRST LODGE OF LIGHT, BIRMINGHAM ; THE ST. PETER’S 
 LODGE, WOLVERHAMPTON; THE OLIVE UNION LODGE, HORNCASTLE ; THE 
 ST. PETER’S LODGE, PETERBOROUGH, ETC. ETC. ETC. 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 “ THE HISTORY OF INITIATION,” “ ANTIQUITIES OF FREEMASONRY,” 
 
 “ STAR IN THE EAST,” ETC. ETC. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 RICHARD SPENCER, 314, HIGH HOLBORN. 
 
 MDCCCXLIII. 
 
THIS EDITION 
 
 OF 
 
 HUTCHINSON’S SPIRIT OF MASONRY, 
 
 IS 
 
 Iftespectfullg SMuatet! 
 
 TO 
 
 THE GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND, 
 
 THE 
 
 GRAND LODGE OF IRELAND, 
 
 THE 
 
 GRAND LODGE OF SCOTLAND, 
 
 AND 
 
 TO THE CRAFT IN GENERAL, 
 
 BY THEIR FAITHFUL 
 
 SERVANT AND BROTHER, 
 
 THE PUBLISHER, 
 
THE 
 
 SANCTION* 
 
 OBTAINED FOR THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 Whereas Brother William Hutchinson 
 has compiled a book, entitled “ The Spirit 
 of Masonry,” and has requested our Sanc- 
 tion for the publication thereof ; we, having 
 perused the said book, and finding it will 
 be of use to this Society, do recommend the 
 same. 
 
 PETRE, G.M. 
 
 ROWLAND HOLT, D.G.M. 
 
 THOMAS NOEL, S.G.W. 
 
 JOHN HATCH, J.G.W. 
 
 ROWLAND BERKELEY, G.T. 
 
 JAMES HESELTINE, G.S. 
 
 * This Sanction is undated, but the above Grand Officers 
 were appointed May, 2, 1774; and the First Edition, penes me, 
 is dated 1775 — Editor. 
 
WILLIAM HUTCHINSON, F.A.S. 
 
 The much respected Author of this work, paid 
 the debt of nature on the 7th of April, 1814, at 
 the Grove, Barnard Castle, at the advanced age 
 of eighty-two years of an active and well-spent 
 life. Notwithstanding an extensive practice as 
 an Attorney-at-Law, such was Mr. Hutchinson’s 
 indefatigable industry, that he compiled and wrote 
 “ A History of the County of Durham,” in three 
 large quarto volumes ; <c A View of Northumber- 
 land,” in two volumes ; “ A History of Cumberland,” 
 in two quarto volumes ; 66 The Spirit of Masonry,” 
 which has gone through many editions; with a 
 number of other publications, to which his name 
 .was not prefixed. He was a Member of the Royal 
 Society of Antiquaries, and much respected for 
 his extensive literary acquirements, his cultivated 
 mind, and suavity of manners. His death was 
 preceded only two or three days by that of his 
 wife, in the 78th year of her age ; and they were 
 both interred in the same grave* 
 
THE AUTHOR’S ADDRESS PREFIXED TO THE 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 TO THE ANCIENT AND HONOURABLE SOCIETY OF FREE 
 AND ACCEPTED MASONS- 
 
 Brethren, — The following Lectures were com- 
 posed for the use of the Barnard Castle Lodge 
 of Concord, over which I presided for several 
 successive years. Explanatory notes are given to 
 support my positions, or exemplify the principles 
 of the work. 
 
 These Lectures, it is hoped, may serve to detect 
 the wretched artifices used by wicked men to 
 impose upon the world ; and may also excite in 
 you the due exercise of those moral works which 
 our profession enjoins. 
 
 From the nature of our Society and its laws, 
 it is difficult to write on the subject of Masonry. 
 We are not allowed that explicit language any 
 other topic would admit of. The moral intention 
 of the work must plead for what is couched in 
 allegory, or comprehended in that peculiarity of 
 language which our mysteries prescribe. 
 
 To this edition many valuable Lectures, Obser- 
 vations, and Proofs, are added. 
 
 The Author. 
 
ADDRESS BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 All writers on Freemasonry appear to have been 
 influenced by a desire to impress on the fraternity 
 a love for its science and philosophy ; and although 
 their works usually include much practical in- 
 struction in Masonry, it is so blended with other 
 useful matter, that an anxious brother, who is 
 desirous of becoming acquainted with our secret 
 mysteries, may be deterred from the task of 
 analyzation by its apparent difficulty. He may 
 be in doubt where to begin — he may be at a loss 
 how to arrange the materials before him ; and 
 thus, incapable of any certain classification, may 
 give up the attempt in despair. 
 
 I admit that the beneficial use of such publica- 
 tions pre-supposes some knowledge of our general 
 Hectures ; and as this knowledge can only be 
 attained in tyled lodges, it may, in many instances, 
 be difficult of access in the Provinces ; because, 
 unfortunately, the practice of lecturing is not 
 
ADDRESS# 
 
 very prevalent. This is the more to be regretted, 
 because, when scientific men are induced to enrol 
 their names amongst us, from a desire to become 
 acquainted with the abstruse knowledge which 
 the Order undoubtedly contains, they retire, after 
 a long period of anxious attendance on our Lodge- 
 meetings, very much disappointed at the meagre 
 and unsatisfactory character of proceedings, which 
 a little attention to a judicious system of lecturing 
 would have invested with dignity and effect. 
 
 To obviate this evil, the brethren should resort 
 to such published works as the volume before us, # 
 as well as others which profess to furnish an 
 analysis of the Lodge Lectures; and by using 
 them with diligence and industry, they will soon 
 discover a mine of information which will enrich 
 their minds with a knowledge of the great and 
 valuable truths furnished by the science and 
 philosophy of the Order. 
 
 The Editor. 
 
 Scop wick Vicarage, 
 
 June, 13 , 1843 . 
 
 * See list of works on Freemasonry. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 OF 
 
 HUTCHINSON'S SPIRIT OF MASONRY. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION ON THE STATE OF FREEMASONRY 
 IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, BY THE EDITOR 
 THE DESIGN . . . . . . 
 
 ON THE RITES, CEREMONIES, AND INSTITUTIONS OF THE 
 ANCIENTS . . . 
 
 THE NATURE OF THE LODGE . . . . 
 
 FURNITURE OF THE LODGE ..... 
 
 THE APPAREL AND JEWELS OF MASONS . . . 
 
 THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM ..... 
 
 ON GEOMETRY . . . . . . 
 
 THE MASTER MASON’S ORDER .... 
 
 THE SECRECY OF MASONS . . . . . 
 
 ON CHARITY . ...... 
 
 ON BROTHERLY LOVE . . . . . . 
 
 ON THE OCCUPATIONS OF MASONS .... 
 
 A COROLLARY. . . . • . . . 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 A. A CHARGE FOR THE FESTIVAL OF ST. JOHN 
 
 B. AN ADDRESS FOR A VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION . 
 
 C. AN ADDRESS TO A BODY OF FREEMASONS 
 
 D. AN ADDRESS AFTER THE EXPULSION OF A MEMBER 
 
 E. A CHARGE BY THE W.M. ON LEAVING THE CHAIR 
 
 F. A CHARGE DELIVERED ON THE INSTALLATION OF A W.M. . 
 
 G. AN ADDRESS TO THE NEWLY-INSTALLED OFFICERS 
 
 H. AN ORATION AT THE DEDICATION OF A NEW MASONIC HALL 
 
 I. AN ORATION ON MASONRY ..... 
 
 K. - AN ORATION AT THE DEDICATION OF FREEMASONS’ 
 
 HALL, IN SUNDERLAND, JULY ] 5, 1778 
 
 L. LETTER FROM MR. LOCKE TO THE EARL OF PEMBROKE . 
 
 M. AN OLD MANUSCRIPT ON FREEMASONRY 
 
 N. REMARKS ON THE OLD MANUSCRIPT . . . . 
 
 O. A VINDICATION OF FREEMASONRY 
 
 P. A LESSON FOR FREEMASONS . . . . . 
 
 PAGE 
 
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 45 
 
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 128 
 
 135 
 
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 155 
 
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WORKS ON FREEMASONRY, 
 
 BY 
 
 THE REV. G. OLIVER, D.D. 
 
 LATELY 
 
 PUBLISHED BY BROTHER RICHARD SPENCER, 
 
 314, HIGH HOLBORN, LONDON. 
 
 In demy 8vo. 10s. 6d., royal 8vo. 16s., 
 
 Handsomely bound in blue cloth, and decorated with gilt 
 Masonic Tooling, 
 
 A NEW AND REVISED EDITION OF 
 
 THE HISTORY OF INITIATION, 
 
 In Twelve Lectures ; comprising a detailed account of the 
 Rites and Ceremonies, Doctrines and Discipline, of all the 
 Secret and Mysterious Institutions of the Ancient world. 
 
 BY THE REV. GEORGE OLIVER, D.D . , 
 
 Late D.P.G.M. for Lincoln, &c. &c. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Dedication — To the Right Hon. Charles Tennyson D’Eyncourt, M.P., 
 P.G.M. for Lincolnshire. 
 
 Preface — Explaining the indispensable qualification of the Master of a Lodge. 
 Lecture 1— General Introduction — Antiquity of Initiation, &c. 
 
 Lecture 2 — History of Initiation in Hindostan. 
 
 Lecture 3 — Philosophy of the Eastern Mysteries. 
 
 Lecture 4 — Initiation in Persia. 
 
 Lecture 5 — History of Initiation in Greece. 
 
 Lecture 6— Ceremonies of Initiation into the Mysteries of Elacchus. 
 
 Lecture 7 — Places of Initiation into the Celtic Mysteries. 
 
 Lecture 8 — Ceremonies of Initiation in Britain. 
 
 Lecture 9 — Symbols and Doctrines of the Druids. 
 
 Lecture 10 — History of Initiation into the Gothic Mysteries. 
 
 Lecture 11 — Doctrines and Morality — Splendour and Importance of the 
 Spurious Freemasonry, &c. 
 
 Lecture 12— History of Initiation in America. 
 
 Corollary — The Mysteries Funereal, &c. 
 
 Brother R. S. respectfully informs his Brethren the above 
 may be had in a handsome blue calf binding, with the Masonic- 
 Tooling full gilt, price 15s. 6d. small, and 24s. large paper; the 
 latter forming a splendid Lodge present. 
 
 The Publisher begs to call the attention of his Brethren to 
 the following Testimonials of the public Press in favour of this 
 work : — 
 
 “ The learned doctor, in the above work, has investigated the superstitions 
 and idolatrous systems, notions, and observances, patent and occult, of ancient 
 India, Persia, and Greece ; of the Celts, Goths, and Mexicans; in the course 
 of which his inquiries have penetrated into the abstruse contents of many 
 learned works, seldom explored, we fear, in these degenerate days of superficial 
 reading, whence he has extracted curious facts to elucidate the views developed 
 in these Lectures.”— Times. 
 
WORKS ON FREEMASONRY, BY DR. OLIVER, 
 
 “ This book will be read with delight by every Mason who is really imbued 
 with a love of the order.” — Bristol Standard . 
 
 “ The author has furnished a key by which the study of this subject may be 
 successfully prosecuted.” — Lincoln Standard. 
 
 “We can confidently recommend this interesting book to all persons who may 
 have a taste for such investigations, assured that its contents will afford them a 
 treat of no common order.” — Nottingham Journal. 
 
 ** The work is learned, curious, and ingenious.” — Gentleman’s Magazine. 
 
 “ This is a new edition of a previous work that has been already received 
 with the highest gratification by the order ; it has undergone much careful 
 revision , and contains valuable and important additions. The expected reve- 
 lations of those truths with which the author has stored his gifted mind have 
 been fully realized. As a literary composition, the present volume is polished 
 and elegant ; as a Masonic illustration, it is plain yet vigorous. We observe, with 
 much admiration, the vast number of learned authorities which have been 
 consulted, not merely as proving the great extent of the author's research, but 
 as comprising the value of a course of study which thereby saves the Masonic 
 reader a vast deal of trouble— enables him, with less difficulty, to comprehend 
 those mysteries which unite morality to science — deduces the origin of Free- 
 masonry — conducts the examination through every system of philosophy — 
 explains errors — and leaves no opportunity for the sceptic or the casuist to 
 exercise his vocation. It is a work good for all men, and a text-book for 
 Masonic Lodges.”-— Freemasons' Quarterly Review. 
 
 “A work from which we do not doubt but our readers will derive consider- 
 able amusement, and reap a proportionate degree of instruction.” — Imperial 
 Magazine. 
 
 “ This will be a great acquisition to those who take an interest in such studies. 
 Even to the general reader, it offers new and striking evidences of the eccentricity 
 of the human mind ; but the library of the Brother must want one of its lights, 
 until it possesses this volume.” — Weekly Review . 
 
 ” No Masonic Brother should be without this book in his library.” — Lincoln 
 Gazette. 
 
 “ It is a work of extensive reading and erudite research.” — Staffordshire 
 Examiner . 
 
 “ The mantle of the learned historian of Freemasonry, Mr. Preston, has 
 fallen aptly upon the shoulders of Dr. Oliver, who holds a distinguished posi- 
 tion amongst the members of the Craft in the province of Lincolnshire. But 
 while to those in the secret of Masonry the present volume is one which 
 possesses a peculiar charm, its contents are such as cannot fail to interest the 
 general reader, as the learned author has embodied in its pages the result of 
 multifarious but well-digested reading on the general subject of the mysteries 
 of the nations of old, from the Egyptians and Chaldeans to the Druids and 
 more modern inhabitants of Europe. There is an easy and graceful style per- 
 vading the book, which gives its contents an additional charm in the perusal.” 
 — Globe. 
 
 “ The Rev. Dr. Oliver is a Freemason of repute, and an enthusiast in the 
 Craft ; considering pure or primitive Masonry ‘ was certainly derived from 
 above.’ In his eyes the mysteries of Egyptian and classical antiquity, together 
 with the religions of Persia and Hindostan, as well as the mysteries of the Celts, 
 the Druids, the Goths, and the different American nations, were all branches of 
 Freemasonry — pure in their fountain, but corrupted in the streams. The object 
 of his book is to describe the ceremonies of initiation into all these brotherhoods 
 of yore, and to unfold their philosophy or tenets. In the pursuit of this object 
 he brings together a vast number of particulars from a vast number of sources.” 
 — Spectator. 
 
 “ In this volume we have the substance of twelve lectures, comprising a 
 detailed account of the rites and ceremonies, doctrines and discipline, of all the 
 secret and mysterious institutions of the ancient world. The work is got up 
 with evident care, and the arrangement being in a great measure new, and pro- 
 portionably abstruse, * I have,’ observes the author, the Rev. Dr. Oliver, 
 ‘ advanced with much caution, and have not ventured to introduce any single 
 fact without its accompanying authority.’ We may add, that the volume dis- 
 plays, in every page, marks of extensive research ; that the materials are well 
 digested, and the language of the lectures uniformly recommended by ease and 
 perspicuity. Those who take an interest in Freemasonry, will read it with 
 pleasure.” — Sun . 
 
PUBLISHED BY RICHARD SPENCER. 
 
 “ The work before us professes to contain the history of all these idolatrous 
 Initiations and Mysteries. It would be impossible for us to attempt to follow 
 the author through the vast accumulation of antiquarian evidence which he 
 has collected together with astonishing talent and industry, but we can recom- 
 mend the perusal of it to the curious inquirer into the subjectupon which it 
 treats. Whether Dr. Oliver has succeeded in establishing the antiquity and 
 purity of the rites of Masonry, we cannot undertake to determine, but we 
 cannot avoid being impressed with the importance of the fact, that the mysteries 
 of idolatry bear a striking similarity to each other — that they all exhibit traces 
 of the belief in the triple godhead — of the creation and the fall of man— and of 
 the promise of a Mediator, who should expiate sin by the shedding of His 
 blood.” — Sunday Times. 
 
 “ A learned essay on the Antiquities of Freemasonry, which the author 
 believes to be legitimately descended from the mysteries of ancient nations.” — 
 Athenaeum. 
 
 Demy 8vo., 9s. cloth, 15s. 6d. in blue calf binding, 
 with gilt Masonic Tooling, 
 
 SIGNS AND SYMBOLS, 
 
 Illustrated and Explained in a course of Twelve Lectures on 
 Freemasonry ; a New Edition enlarged. 
 
 “ This book is well written, and merits a place in every gentleman’s library, 
 whether he be a Brother or not.” — Gentleman's Magazine. 
 
 “We hope enough has been said to induce every Brother who would be 
 really a Mason, to purchase the volume; and we can in fraternal sincerity 
 assure him that his acquisition will be a jewel beyond price. To our learned 
 Brother, the Rev. Dr. Oliver, we unaffectedly offer the homage of grateful and 
 sincere respect for the labours he has undertaken, — for the perseverance he has 
 shown. — for the spirit of intelligence, goodwill and true piety, which, while 
 they shed a lustre around his * Signs and Symbols,’ teach the heart of the 
 Mason to love, and the soul to praise and to magnify Him who liveth in the 
 heavens.’' — Freemasons' Quarterly Review. 
 
 Also, just published, 12mo. Price 4s. bound in cloth, 
 
 THE HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY, 
 
 From 1829 to 1841. 
 
 A new edition (15th) of “ Preston’s Illustrations of Man 
 sonry,” (being an exact reprint of the 14th edition, printed in 
 1829, and edited by the Rev. Dr. Oliver,) having appeared last 
 year without any continuation to the Historical part of that 
 volume, the present Work is now published to supply that defi- 
 ciency and the Publisher anticipates the design will be pecu- 
 liarly acceptable to the Craft, as it embraces a period of more than 
 common interest : a period of stirring energy, which has produced 
 incidents and transactions in every quarter of the globe, that 
 have placed Freemasonry before the public in a new and im- 
 posing form. 
 
 The following is extracted from the learned Doctor's Preface. 
 
 “ In the execution of this little Work, the Author professes a strict indepen- 
 dence of principle, and impartiality of action.” 
 
 “Historical truth disclaims prejudice and partisanship; and whatever opi- 
 nions the Author may entertain as an individual Mason, he has endeavoured to 
 preserve the strictest neutrality as an Annalist. How far he may have been 
 successful will depend on the opinion of his readers. He has adhered most 
 faithfully to that law of the Grand Lodge which prohibits the printing of any 
 private transactions that require to be withheld from the public eye ; and has 
 
WORKS ON FREEMASONRY, BY 1IR. OLIVER, 
 
 inserted no matter but what he has found in the printed Quarterly Communi- 
 cations of the Grand Lodge, or other sources equally available for the purposes 
 of discussion and remark.’’ 
 
 “With this avowal, the work is committed to the judgment of the Craft; 
 and, it is hoped, will be found not altogether uninteresting, as a detail of 
 Masonry in its most palmy and prosperous state.” 
 
 *** As the above History forms a continuation of the 
 15th edition of PRESTON’S ILLUSTRATIONS OF 
 MASONRY, edited by Dr. Oliver, they maybe had bound 
 together, price 13s. in cloth, or 18s. in handsome blue calf 
 binding, with Gilt Masonic Tooling. 
 
 Testimonials of the Public Press. 
 
 “ A narrative of the most important matters connected with the Craft, from 
 the year 1829 to the present day.” — Athenaeum. 
 
 “ This is a work from the pen of the learned author of * The History of 
 Initiation,’ and other able productions connected with Masonry. It contains 
 much interesting information connected with the proceedings of the Brethren 
 all over the world, having especial reference to the progress of Masonic Institu- 
 tions in this country. The work will be very acceptable to every member of 
 this ancient body.’’ — Bristol Standard. 
 
 “A work highly interesting, containing accurate information of all the 
 remarkable occurrences and events during the period to which it refers ; and 
 therefore must become a valuable record, highly acceptable to the Order, ema- 
 nating, as it does, from an author of so high and established reputation as the 
 Rev. Brother, whose literary productions have extended, like the Order to 
 which it refers, all over the surface of the universe.” — Lincoln Standard. 
 
 “ The work is well written, and Dr. Oliver has drawn an exceedingly good 
 comparison between Masonry on its revival in England a century and a quarter 
 ago, and Masonry in the present day.” — Freemasons ’ Monthly Magazine. 
 
 Demy 8vo. price 10s. 6d., in handsome cloth boards, or 15s. 6d. 
 in blue calf binding, with Gilt Masonic Tooling, 
 
 THE THEOCRATIC 
 
 PHILOSOPHY OF FREEMASONRY, 
 
 In Twelve Lectures, 
 
 On its Speculative, Operative, and Spurious Branches. 
 
 contents. 
 
 Preface — Explaining the Philosophy of Masonry. 
 
 Lecture 1 — Speculative Masonry examined under its denomination of Lux. 
 
 Lecture 2 — View of Speculative Masonry as a system of Charity. 
 
 Lecture 3 — The perfection to which Operative or Scientific Masonry was 
 carried in the earliest times. 
 
 Lecture 4 — Historical account of the Origin, Progress, and Design of the 
 Spurious Freemasonry. 
 
 Lecture 5— On the origin of Hieroglyphics. 
 
 Lecture 6 — Exemplification of the Symbols used in those Spurious Institu- 
 tions which attained the most permanent celebrity in the Ancient World. 
 
 Lecture 7 — The true Freemasonry in all ages shewn to have been “ veiled in 
 allegory, and illustrated by symbols.” 
 
 Lecture 8— Enquiry whether the Union of Speculative and Operative 
 
 - Masonry was accomplished at the building of King Solomon’s Temple. 
 
 Lecture 9 — The details of this famous Edifice considered, for the purpose of 
 showing that the above Union conveyed essential benefits to mankind. 
 
 Lecture 10 — On the Form and Disposition of a Mason’s Lodge. 
 
 Lecture 11— On the ceremonies of Opening, Closing, Labour and Refresh- 
 ment. 
 
 Lecture 12— The beauties of Freemasonry exemplified, and its peculiar 
 Ceremonies and Observances shown to be judiciously selected, rationally 
 maintained, and highly advantageous to those who are versed in their 
 moral and symbolical reference. 
 
 Corollary. — Freemasonry worthy the attention of all good men. 
 
PUBLISHED BY RICHARD SPENCER. 
 
 Testimonials of the Press . 
 
 “ To a Lodge possessed of the means amongst its own members of eluci- 
 dating the beauties of Freemasonry in the working Lectures, this work is most 
 valuable. It illustrates much that these colloquial lessons leave imperfect, and 
 renders them of still greater value to the proficient. A nd a Lodge ignorant of, 
 or but partially versed in those Masonic expositions, the Twelve Lectures are 
 absolutely indispensable. How many a young and zealous Mason might diffuse 
 delight and improvement to his Brethren, by reading aloud one of the Twelve 
 Lectures at each monthly meeting of the Lodge Who is there who can quietly 
 estimate the benefits which would arise to Freemasonry from emulation thus 
 excited ? And what better use could be made of these beautiful results of 
 his persevering assiduity — of the exercise of the rare talents with which the 
 Almighty Architect of the Universe has blessed him— who has thus placed them 
 at our disposal ? In their universal use, we hope to see a grateful and most 
 fruitful response.” — Freemasons’ Quarterly Review. 
 
 “ If others should still be sceptical— if they want any thing more to convince 
 them that this silent system is maintained for some good and wise purpose, 
 then we would recommend a perusal of this work, which, although it may 
 neither explain nor simplify, must create confidence and assurance— not by the 
 power of its argument and reasoning, of which it has plenty when it is necessary 
 to exhibit it— not by the practical character of its matter, in which it no doubt 
 abounds to the initiated — but simply by the tone of charity, benevolence, and 
 good-will to all, which is no less apparent in the writings than in the conduct 
 of the learned author. It is impossible to rise from this book without saying, 
 ‘ Although there is much that is incomprehensible here, yet there is enough, and 
 more than enough, to convince me that that system must be a pure one which 
 numbers such a writer among its leaders.’ ” — Staffordshire Examiner. 
 
 Just published, fcp. 8vo., price 5s. 6d. cloth, 7s. 6d. half-bound, 
 10s. whole bound blue calf, with gilt Masonic Tooling, 
 
 A NEW EDITION OF 
 
 THE STAR IN THE EAST; 
 
 Showing the .Analogy which exists between the Lectures of 
 Masonry, the Mechanism of Initiation into its Mysteries, and 
 the Christian Religion. 
 
 The above has undergone a thorough revision, and is illus- 
 trated by a copious addition of Notes, &c., as will be more 
 clearly shown by the Author’s 
 
 PREFACE TO THIS EDITION. 
 
 A new edition of this Work is now presented to the Masonic 
 public. It has been long called for, and its delay has been 
 owing to other and more pressing avocations. I hope, however, 
 that its appearance in a new form will be acceptable to the Craft. 
 The additions, which are principally in the form of Notes, will 
 be found to contain much novel information, alike illustrative of 
 the subject and of the present state of the Author’s feelings on 
 this important question. A great revolution has taken place in 
 the public mind on all the points connected with Freemasonry, 
 since the first publication of this little Manual, which is decidedly 
 favourable to the view here taken of the connection which sub- 
 sists between Masonry and Religion ; and the addition of some 
 
WORKS ON FREEMASONRY, BY DR. OLIVER, 
 
 high authorities will not diminish its value. My inquiries have 
 been directed to one object — the discovery of truth ; and increas- 
 ing years and experience, as well as a more extensive reading, 
 have tended to strengthen my opinion that the conclusions are 
 correct. I commit myself, therefore, once more to the judgment 
 of my Brethren, assured of an impartial tribunal and an indulgent 
 sentence. G. O. 
 
 Scopwick Vicarage. 
 
 “ Of all Dr. Oliver’s works, we cannot but consider this as the gem, con- 
 tained in a casket of sterling value, of which the lock and key are of superior 
 workmanship. The authorities which Dr. Oliver has brought, not so much 
 in aid, as correlative proof of his clear and undeniable truths, are placed in 
 honourable position. It is impossible to offer any other opinion on the Star in 
 the East , which we have read with a grateful sense of the obligation conferred 
 on the Craft, than that it is a shining light, by which the Apprentice, the 
 Craftsman, the Master, and the perfect Master, may equally see their way.” — 
 Freemasons' Quarterly Review. 
 
 Just Published, price 10s. 6d. DemySvo., 16s. Royal 8vo., hand- 
 somely bound in Blue Cloth, and decorated with Gilt Masonic 
 
 Tooling, a new Edition, with considerable improvements, of 
 
 THE 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF FREEMASONRY; 
 
 Comprising Illustrations of the Five Grand Periods of Ma- 
 sonry, from the Creation of the World to the Dedication of 
 King Solomon’s Temple. 
 
 The above may be had in a handsome blue calf binding, with 
 the Masonic Tooling full Gilt, price 16s. small, and 24s. large 
 paper ; the latter printed uniform with “ The History of Initi- 
 ation,” and forming a splendid Lodge present. 
 
 Bro. Spencer respectfully informs his Brethren all the fore- 
 going W orks of Dr. Oliver’s were patronized by his late Royal 
 Highness the Duke of Sussex, Most Worshipful Grand 
 Master, the late Earl of Durham, Pro- Grand Master, and a large 
 number of Grand and Provincial Grand Officers. 
 
 Demy 8vo. price Is. 6d. 
 
 BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WITHAM 
 LODGE, No. 374, 
 
 Holden in the City of Lincoln; with a description of the 
 Ceremonial used at the levelling of the Foundation Stone of a 
 New Masonic Hall, and the Sermon preached on the occasion, 
 15 th April, 1841. 
 
 “ It would be well for many Lodges, if the honourable example of our rev. 
 Brother were more generally adopted. It is by many considered that the tran- 
 sactions of Masonic meetings will not bear the light ; this most absurd notion 
 is dangerous at once to the peace and good order of the members, whose gene- 
 ral conduct and their affairs should always be so conducted as to court the 
 more critical examination of the profane world. In this case the Minute Book 
 
PUBLISHED BY RICHARD SPENCER. 
 
 of the Lodge has been examined, and many interesting data are given. But the 
 great object of the history is, to comprise within its limits the founding of a 
 Masonic hall, which took place on the 15th April, 1841, under the happies, 
 auspices, and on which occasion a sermon was preached by the Rev. Dr. Olivert 
 
 D. P.G.M. of the province. The discourse is replete with the soundest moral 
 
 truth, and incontrovertibly combines the holy beauties of Christianity with 
 Freemasonry.” * * * “ After the banquet, the several addresses embraced 
 
 all that moral eloquence, combined with true social feeling, could possibly 
 effect. The speech of the rev Doctor was especially brilliant; and that of Sir 
 
 E. Lytton Bulwer, Bart., was remarkable for its eloquence. This * Brief 
 History’ we recommend for general perusal, and hope to find many similar 
 emanations from the Craft.” — Freemasons' Quarterly Review . 
 
 Demy 8vo., price Is. 6d ., 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE CENTENARY OF THE 
 WITHAM LODGE, No. 374. 
 
 Holden in the City of Lincoln, June 9, 1842: with the Cere- 
 monies used at the Dedication and Consecration of a New 
 Masonic Hall ; and the ORATION delivered on that 
 occasion. 
 
 Demy 8vo., price 6c?., 
 
 ORNAMENTS, FURNITURE, AND 
 JEWELS ; 
 
 A Sermon, preached at Boston, before the P. G. Lodge of 
 Lincolnshire, on 15th September, 1841. 
 
 Published at the request of the Provincial Grand Lodge. 
 
 Just published, price 5s. plain, 7s. 6d. India paper, 
 
 A LITHOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT 
 
 OF 
 
 THE REV. GEORGE OLIVER, D.D., 
 
 Past D. P. G. M. for Lincolnshire, &c., &c. 
 
 Taken from life, by O. G. Rejlander. 
 
 The likeness has been pronounced most excellent ; and the 
 Artist entertains a well-grounded expectation that many of those 
 who have profited by the researches and gifted talents of the 
 Author, may be desirous of possessing a copy of the original 
 Portrait. 
 
 Lately published, 8vo., price 3s. 6c/., 
 
 LEBANON: OR, A c LIGHT' FROM THE 
 LEBANON LODGE AT GLOUCESTER ; 
 
 being Explanatory Lectures on the Spirituality of Freemasonry. 
 By Bro. Joel Nash. 
 
LIST 
 
 OF 
 
 MASONIC BOOKS ON SALE, 
 
 AT BROTHER RICHARD SPENCER’S LIBRARY, 
 
 314, HIGH HOLBORN, LONDON. 
 
 Published annually, price 36’. 
 
 FREEMASON’S POCKET-BOOK & CALENDAR. 
 THE ENTERED APPRENTICE’S SONG, 
 
 Printed the size of the Freemason’s Calendar, price 1$. per dozen. 
 
 Price 26. 6c/., bound in cloth, 
 
 A FREEMASON’S POCKET COMPANION; 
 
 Containing a brief Sketch of the History of Masonry, with 
 Chronology, Entered Apprentice’s Song, & c. By Brother 
 Walter B. Mant, M.A., Archdeacon of Down. 
 
 Price 3s. each number, 
 
 FREEMASONS’ QUARTERLY REVIEW. 
 
 R.S. Has a Copy of the First Series of this Work in 9 vols., from 1834 to 1842, 
 half bound blue Masonic calf gilt, price £6. 15s. 
 
 N.B.— The complete Series of this Review is becoming scarce, from some of the 
 Numbers being out of Print. 
 
 Price 5s. 
 
 ROSENBERG’S (D.) MASONIC AND 
 SYNOPTICAL TABLEAU, 
 
 In French and English, illustrating the Mystical Reasonings, 
 and rendering them perfectly clear to the Initiated. 
 
 “ Our indefatigable Brother has, in the Tablet before us, given additional 
 proof of his learning and zeal. There is also an advantage to the English 
 Fraternity in having the illustration given in their own language/’ 
 
 “ A very valuable Tablet, containing a synopsis of essential materials, and 
 may be considered as a key to the development of our sacred mysteries ; and 
 the enthusiastic author deserves the support of the Craft. We may add, our 
 late M. W. G. M. expressed his unqualified approbation of this Tablet.” — 
 Freemasons' Quarterly Review. 
 
 Price If. 
 
 MASONIC ORATION, 
 
 Delivered at the Jubilee of the Shakspeare Lodge, No. 356, 
 Warwick, on August 16th, 1841, by Brother James Sharp, 
 Jun., W. M. — (N.B. The profits of this work appropriated to 
 the Masonic Charities.) 
 
 “ Being present at its delivery, we can vouch for its Masonic orthodoxy, and 
 therefore do not hesitate most strongly to recommend it to the attention of the 
 Fraternity at large,— persuaded, as we are, that its own meritsare alone sufficient 
 to ensure for it a ready passport to public favour, independent of those higher 
 claims it has upon the liberality of every benevolent Mason — claims, which 
 cannot fail to hallow and prosper a publication that has its origin in the exercise 
 of that God-like virtue which forms the chief corner-stone of our mystic order.” 
 Editor of Freemasons' Quarterly Review. 
 
MASONIC BOOKS, SOLD BY BRO. R. SPENCER. 
 
 Price 6c?., 
 
 MASONIC SERMON, 
 
 Preached December 27th, 1839, by the Rev. H. R. Slade 
 — ( This Sermon was preached in aid of the “ Aged Mason’s 
 Asylum.”) 
 
 “ The probable sneer of the popular world that Freemasons have no Asylum, 
 is met by a fervent hope that such apathy may no longer exist. His apostrophe 
 to the female sex merits attention.” — Freemasons' Quarterly Review. 
 
 Price 6d. 
 
 MASONIC SERMON, 
 
 Preached at Portsmouth, on the Installation of Sir Lucius 
 Curtis, Bart., as Prov. G. M. for Hampshire, on July 4th, 1842, 
 by the Rev. Bro. T. T. Haverfield. 
 
 “Few preachers reach — none surpass — Bro. Haverfield in the choice of sub- 
 ject, or the delicacy of treating it. His language is always clear and emphatic ; 
 and his earnestness of delivery has a solemnity in it that fixes the hearers 
 attention ; the piety of his discourses is of the puresHfaith.”— Freemasons* 
 Quarterly Review . 
 
 EARLY HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY IN 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 Copied from a MS. in the British Museum, by J. O. Halliwell, Esq., F.R.S., 
 8vo., price 2s. 
 
 Price 3s. , bound in cloth, 
 
 SANDY’S, W., (P.M. Grand Master’s Lodge,) 
 
 SHORT VIEW OF THE HISTORY OF 
 FREEMASONRY. 
 
 Nearly ready, price 7 s. 6J. bound in cloth, a New Edition of the 
 
 HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY, 
 
 AND OF THE 
 
 GRAND LODGE OF SCOTLAND, 
 
 Continued to the present time, with Copious Appendix of 
 Masonic Forms, Documents, &c. 
 
 By WILLIAM ALEX. LAURIE, C.T., F.S.A., 
 Secretary to the Grand Lodge of Scotland. 
 
 *** The former Editions of this Work, which were translated 
 in France and Germany, and much esteemed by Masonic Authors 
 in these Countries, as well as in America, having long since 
 disappeared, a New Edition, continued to the present time, has 
 been thought of importance, in order to •preserve to the Craft a 
 record of the many great works and events in which the Order 
 m Scotland has been concerned during the last Forty Years. 
 
 As a great many Lodges, at home and abroad, are forming 
 MASONIC LIBRARIES, 
 
 Bro. Spencer will feel pleasure in forwarding Lists of New and 
 Old Works on Freemasonry he has on sale. 
 
MASONIC BOOKS, &C. 
 
 SCRIPTURE EXTRACTS, 
 
 For the use of Royal Arch Masons and Chapters ; as directed 
 by the Grand Chapter to be read during the ritual of Exaltation, 
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