The Square and Compasses Volume 2 – by Donald H
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The Square and Compasses Volume 2 – By Donald H. B. Falconer THE SQUARE AND COMPASSES IN SEARCH OF FREEMASONRY DONALD H B FALCONER Table of Contents CHAPTER TEN – THE PERFECT POINTS OF ENTRANCE Origin Of The Expression Of, At and On Entrance As An Apprentice Freemason Preparation As An Apprentice Freemason Presenting And Greeting The Candidate Concluding Remarks CHAPTER ELEVEN – CEREMONIAL PREPARATION Origins Of The Rite Operative Background Divestiture Of Metals The Blindfold The Cable Tow The Bare Right Arm The Bare Left Knee The Slipshod Heel CHAPTER TWELVE – THE RITE OF CIRCUMAMBULATION Outline The Influence Of Egypt The Influence Of The Ancient Mysteries Ancient Mysteries And Modern Religions CHAPTER THIRTEEN – THE SYMBOLISM OF LIGHT Light And Darkness Light In The Creation The Ancient Religion In Egypt Other Ancient Doctrines Initiation Among The Ancients CHAPTER FOURTEEN – THE NAMES OF GOD The Human Concept Of God Monotheistic Beliefs Page 1 of 220 The Square and Compasses Volume 2 – By Donald H. B. Falconer The Threefold Essence Of God Ancient Egyptian Concepts Hindu Concepts Taoist Beliefs Christian Concepts Islamic Beliefs The Names Of God In Hebrew Comparisons The Names Of God In Freemasonry CHAPTER FIFTEEN – THE SYMBOLISM OF COLOURS Light and colour Colours In Ancient Cultures Colours In Ancient Egypt Colours As Modern Symbols Colours In Freemasonry Characteristic Colours Colours As Typical Symbols Lodge And Grand Lodge Colours CHAPTER SIXTEEN – THE FORM AND ORIENTATION OF THE LODGE The Model Orientation The Cube And The Double Cube The Form Of The Lodge The Symbolism Of The Lodge CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – EAST AND WEST IN SYMBOLISM Sunrise And Sunset The Sun In Ancient Religions The Sun In Central American Cultures The Sun In South American Cultures The Sun In Hinduism Religion In Ancient Egypt Ancient Hebrew Traditions The Tabernacle King Solomon’s Temple Epilogue CHAPTER EIGHTEEN – THE THREE GREAT PILLARS The Concept Of Symbolic Pillars Symbolic Pillars In Religion Other “Ways” In Religion The Pillars In Freemasonry Wisdom, Strength And Beauty References In Sacred Writings CHAPTER NINETEEN – THE INTERIOR OF THE LODGE Characteristics The Ornaments The Furniture Page 2 of 220 The Square and Compasses Volume 2 – By Donald H. B. Falconer The Movable Jewels The Immovable Jewels Concluding Remarks CHAPTER TWENTY – THE FOUR TASSELS An Ancient Operative Symbol References In Modern Rituals The Wavy Cord And The Tassels The Operative Origins Of The Four Tassels The Four Tassels In Operative Lodges CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE – THE SYMBOLISM OF LADDERS Jacob’s Ladder The Symbolism Of Jacob’s Ladder Other Masonic Ladders The “Ancient Mysteries” The Persian “Mysteries Of Mithras” The Indian “Mysteries Of Brahma” The Cabalistic “Tree Of Life” Symbolic Journeys CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO – THE JEWELS OF THE LODGE The Jewels Defined Operative Precedents Early Speculative Jewels Later Speculative Jewels Speculative Tracing Boards CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE – THE POINT WITHIN A CIRCLE Ancient Origins The Egyptian Mysteries Hinduism And Ancient India Religious Beliefs In Ancient China The Esoteric Teachings Of Judaism Ancient Beliefs In Summary Ancient Interpretations Evolution Of The Point Within A Circle Speculative Interpretations Ancient Parallels Concluding Remarks CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR – THE LEWIS Speculative Connections The Origin Of The Name The Lifting Device The History Of The Lewis Symbolism An Anachronism An Anglo-Saxon Lewis CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE – THE TWO GREAT PILLARS OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE Prelude – The Israelites In Egypt Page 3 of 220 The Square and Compasses Volume 2 – By Donald H. B. Falconer Precursors Of The Temple At Jerusalem Historical Background The Temple At Jerusalem The Two Great Pillars Subsequent History A Universal Symbolism CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX – GEOMETRY AND THE SACRED SYMBOL The Traditional Relationship The Tetragrammaton Substitutes For The Tetragrammaton The Pentagram Geometry, Pythagoras, Euclid And Plutarch CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN – THE NUMBER FIVE IN SYMBOLISM Eastern Precedents Egyptian Precedents Classical Precedents The Legacy Of Pythagoras The Pentagram Euclid’s Forty-Seventh Proposition Other Mystical Aspects CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT – THE SYMBOLISM OF SEVEN AND OTHER MYSTICAL NUMBERS Mystical Or Sacred Numbers The Symbolism Of Numbers In Ancient Egypt Significant Numbers In The Hebrew Tradition The Number Seven Symbolic Numbers In Freemasonry CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE – INTELLECT AND SYMBOLISM Intellect, Intelligence And Reason Language The Concept Of Symbolism Symbolism In The Scriptures Symbolism In Speculative Freemasonry CHAPTER THIRTY – THE NOBILITY OF LABOUR Labour In Myth And Religion Symbolism In The Judæo-Christian Scriptures The Teachings Of Muhammad The Teachings In Hinduism The Teachings Of Buddhism Other Eastern Religions Labour In Masonic Symbolism CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE – THE WORKING TOOLS OF THE CRAFT The Craft Lodges Of Operative Freemasons Training In Operative Lodges Speculative Lodges Page 4 of 220 The Square and Compasses Volume 2 – By Donald H. B. Falconer Religious Influence Operative Working Tools The Apprentice's Working Tools The Fellow's Working Tools The Master's Working Tools The Symbolism Of The Square The Symbolism Of The Level The Symbolism Of The Plumb Rule The Symbolism Of The Pencil The Symbolism Of The Skirret The Symbolism Of The Compasses CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO – THE TRACING BOARDS Operative Origins Speculative Development Speculative Craft Freemasonry Mark And Royal Arch Freemasonry The Ancient And Accepted Rite CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE – THE TRACING BOARD OF A MASTER MASON The Modern Format The Emulation Tracing Board Important Biblical Names Significant Hebrew Words The Physical Components The Characters That Form A Triangle The Inscriptions On The Coffin The scroll and the temple Inscriptions On The Emulation Scroll The Eulogy The Epitaph The Symbols On The Scroll Interpreting The Hebrew Inscriptions Page 5 of 220 The Square and Compasses Volume 2 – By Donald H. B. Falconer CHAPTER TEN – THE PERFECT POINTS OF ENTRANCE The proof of being a Freemason is demonstrated in the Perfect Points of his Entrance. Origin Of The Expression The expression “perfect points of entrance” appears in several forms and is derived directly from the usages of operative freemasons, especially in Scotland, where it was included in the Catechisms or Test Questions regularly used to examine apprentices and unidentified freemasons seeking work. The first known reference is in a catechism that is part of the Edinburgh Register House MS of 1696, under the heading “Some questions that masons use to put to those who have ye word before they will acknowledge them”. In that catechism “ye word” was the Mason Word that is discussed in the two chapters of this book entitled The Legacy of Operative Freemasonry and History – A Key Element in Freemasonry. The expression was carried forward into Scottish speculative freemasonry during the direct transition of many of the old Scottish operative lodges into speculative lodges. Evidence of the use of the expression and its interpretation, before the establishment of the original Grand Lodge of England in 1717, can also be found in the Chetwode Crawley MS of about 1700 and in the Kevan MS of about 1714, both of which are of Scottish origin. The first known text that reveals a specifically English usage is the Sloane MS, also of about 1700. The text in the Sloane MS differs significantly from its Scottish counterparts, but as the answers given to the questions are almost the same they confirm that the purpose of the questions and their interpretations were similar wherever used. In this context other references of particular interest are the Dumfries No 4 MS of about 1710 and the Trinity College, Dublin MS of 1711, which indicate how widespread the usage of the expression was geographically. The Wilkinson MS of about 1727 and Samuel Prichard’s Masonry Dissected of 1730 provide evidence of the continued use of the expression long after the original Grand Lodge of England was established. They also attest to the consistent form of the catechisms over a long period and confirm their operative origins. The catechisms in these two documents refer to one of the several operative signs no longer used in speculative freemasonry, that are still included in the rituals of the Worshipful Society of Free Masons, Rough Masons, Wallers, Slaters, Paviors, Plaisterers and Bricklayers, commonly referred to as “The Operatives”. The consistent and long term usage of the expression is further confirmed in an early French exposure that dates from about 1745, in which the “perfect points of my entrance” are described as “the circumstances of my reception”, although the interpretations of the questions and their answers are substantially the same. Page 6 of 220 The Square and Compasses Volume 2 – By Donald H. B. Falconer During the period from 1751 to 1813 many of the English lodges that had refused to join the original Grand Lodge of England formed a Grand Lodge of their own known. They were known as the Antients and referred to the original Grand Lodge of England as the Moderns. The rituals of the Antients were based on the rituals of the English operative freemasons, which were similar to those of the operative freemasons in Scotland and Ireland who used the expression “perfect points of entrance” as a matter course. The expression was already in use among the Antients when the Earl of Blessington, who had ruled over the Grand Lodge of Ireland as Viscount Mountjoy in 1738 and 1739, was installed in proxy as Grand