A Masonic a L P H a B
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The heart may conceive and the head devise in vain if the hand be not prompt to execute the design. A masonic alphabet............................ 1 Rev. Dr.James Anderson .....................1 Palmer Cox’s Brownies....................... 2 The golden mean .................................2 The Inquisition..................................... 2 Old Charges.......................................... 3 Lodge notes ......................................... 4 Our Grand Master’s itinerary............ 4 A masonic This portrait of the Rev. Dr . James An d e r son (1680-1739), compiler of the first Book of Constitutions, ap p e a r ed in Arthur Edward Wai t e ’ s Ne w Encyclopædia of Freemasonry in 1921. Bonus points for anyone who knows al p h a b e t what is wrong with this portrai t . A is for Antient. This spelling, been purged from most usages, a square and compasses, and Some masonic scholars have common enough in Scotland to this day the Canadian Wor k below the urn was a Bi b l e , pr oposed the theory that the and Ireland, comes down to us Installation found in our Fo rm s sq u a r e and compasses, colour of the Grand Lodge fr om a revisor of James and Cerem o n i e s refers to the in t e r twined with laurel. of ficers clothing was adopted An d e r s o n ’ s 1723 Co n s t i t u t i o n s Antient Charge s . C is for colour. The pred o m i - fr om the ribbon of the Most of Free m a s o n s , John B is for Broken Column. nant colour of the Craft is sky- Noble Order of the Garter; and No o r thouck, who in 1784 Widely used as a symbol of blue, said to denote durability, that of the Grand Stewards ’ changed Anderson’s spelling of mo r tality since ancient times, it be n e fi cence and charity. It is regalia from the Most ancient to antient throu g h o u t is not ref e r red to in our rituals. also said to signify eternity and Honourable Order of the Bath. the text, perhaps in imitation of The introduction and history of im m o rt a l i t y . In blazonry it The Scottish Grand Lodge the Antient Grand Lodge of what has been termed the si g n i fi es chastity, loyalty and undoubtedly copied the gree n En g l a n d ’ s constitutions, Ah i m a n Monument to the Master fide l i t y . While early free m a s o n s ribbon of the Most Ancient Re z o n . This Grand Lodge— Builder should be of interest to simply wore a white apron , and Most Noble Order of the pr operly styled the Grand all students of masonic often highly and individually Thistle, and the Grand Lodge Lodge of England according to symbolism. While Jeremy L. illustrated, by 1731 the Grand of Ireland anticipated the the Old Institutions—was not Cr oss (1783-1861) is often Lodge of England had adopt fo r mation of the Most pa r ticularly consistent in their cr edited with devising this blue for its Grand Lodge Illustrious Order of St. Patrick in own spelling, with freq u e n t gr ouping of symbols incorpo- of ficers’ reg a l i a . continued on page 2 oc c u r ences of ancient rating a broken column, suggesting that the usage was weeping maiden, Father Tim e , often at the whim of either ur n and acacia, they clearly printers or individual authors. pr edated his writings. The firs t This spelling has been suggestion of a monument for inconsistently applied in our Hiram is thought to have been own jurisdiction since its pr esented in Thomas Johnson’s V o l u m e 6 7 / N u m b e r 2 founding, with Master Mason’s A Brief History of Free m a s o n r y EDITED by Trevor W. McKeown for the Grand Secretary’s Office and published by the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of British Columbia and Yukon. The V I E W S ce rt i fi cates spelt Ancient and in 1782. It rep r esented a De s i g n AND OPINIONS e x p ressed in the Masonic Bulletin a re those of the individual authors and our Annual Proceedings title for a Monument, in Honor of a writers, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this Grand Lodge. The editor reserves the right to edit submissions. CORRESPONDENCE: 1495 West Eighth Avenue, pages—until the early 1990s— Gr eat Arti s t , which showed an Vancouver, British Columbia V6H 1C9 Canada. WEB: http://freemasonry.bcy.ca TELEPHONE: spelt Antient. While antient has ur n on the top and above was +1-604-736-8941. FA C S I M I L E: +1-604-736-5097. E M A I L: editor@f re e m a s o n ry. b c y. c a A masonic alphabet E is for Euclid who founded a G is for the golden mean. insofar as it promotes the study fr om page one school of mathematics at Found in much post-Hellenic and knowledge of the liberal Alexandria in the time of arc h i t e c t u r e, the ratio of the ar ts and sciences. 1788 by selecting sky-blue. This Ptolemy I Soter (c. 300 BC E ). He lengths of the two sides is I is for Inquisition. This severe is, of course, supposition. compiled the thirteen books of equal to the ratio of the longer tribunal, established by Pope Al b e r t G. Mackey (1807- the El e m e n t s fr om the earlier side to the sum of the two Gre g o r y IX in 1231 exists today 1881) developed the idea that works of Hippocrates of Chios, sides. Or a/b = b/a+b = as the Sacred Congregation for blue was anciently sacred Theætetus and others. From a+b/a+2b = a+2b/2a+3b = the Doctrine of the Faith. While among the Druids as the Book I of the El e m e n t s we take 2a+3b/3a+5b et c . If a square is many freemasons met their symbol of truth; that the his 47th proposition: in right- added to the long side of a death at the hands of the Egyptians esteemed blue as a angled triangles the square on golden rectangle, a large r Catholic Inquisition, three sa c r ed colour, painting the body the side subtending the right golden rectangle is formed. This names stand out. of Amun, the principal god of angle is equal to the squares on ratio forms the foundation of Hippolyto Joseph Da Costa their theogony, light blue; and the sides containing the right the Fibonacci series of numbers is rem e m b e r ed for his persecu- that the ancient Babylonians angle. 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, tion by the Inquisition and his clothed their idols in blue. Euclid plays a key rôle in the 89, 144..., where each number subsequent rescue by English Th e r e is a widespread tendency early legend of masonic history, is formed by adding the bre t h r en “who got him under in Free m a s o n r y to extend the appearing as a central character pr evious two numbers. The the protection of the British limits of true speculative in a manuscript originally titled Fibonacci series can be found in flag.” He published a narra t i v e res e a r ch and to exaggerate Hic incipiunt constituciones arti s na t u r e, from the natural of his persecution in 1811. symbolical values. gemetriae secundum Eucyldem branching of rivers and John Coustos moved to D is for Dermott and but better known as the Re g i u s lightning, to the spiral of our Lisbon In 1743 where he was a De s a g u l i e r s . Elected the third Po e m , because it lay in the ga l a x y . founding member and Master Grand Master of England in li b r a r y of King George II for The geometric prop o rt i o n s of a lodge. He was shortl y 1719, the Rev. Dr. John many years, or the Ha l l i w e l l of the pentagram are those of th e r eafter arrested and Theophilus Desaguliers (1683- Ma n u s c r i p t , because it was the Golden Section, aurio sectio subsequently tortu r ed on nine 1744) was a zealous collector di s c o v e r ed and translated by a or golden mean, giving furth e r occasions over a two month of early masonic manuscripts. non-mason, James O. Halliwell meaning to the inclusion of the period by the Inquisition. Although attributed to Dr. in 1840. This poem, dating to pentagram in masonic reg a l i a Sentenced to work at the James Anderson (1680-1739), 1390, contains the lines: such as the collar jewel of our galleys for four years, he was the General Regulations fo u n d On thys maner, thro good Deputy Grand Master.