Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor
by Malcolm C. Duncan
[1866]
Preface | Chapter
1 | Chapter
2 | Chapter
3 | Chapter
4 | Chapter
5
Chapter
6 | Chapter
7 | Chapter
8 | Appendix
APPENDIX.
NOTE A, page 12.--In some Lodges the Tyler takes the sword from the altar.
NOTE B, page 18.--Some Masters repeat the words, "O Lord my God," three
times.
NOTE C, page 19--Masters differ about the proper manner of placing the
three lights around the altar. In most Lodges they are placed as represented
in the engraving, page 19; but many Masters have them placed thus:
The square represents the altar; the figures 1, 2, and 3, the lights;
the letter A, the kneeling candidate, and the letter B, the Master.
NOTE D, page 21.--Some Masters say: "I now declare this Lodge opened
in the Third Degree of Masonry for the dispatch of business."
NOTE E, page 39.--In spelling this word, "Boaz," always begin
with the letter "A," and follow the alphabet down as the letters
occur in the word.
NOTE F, page 42.--In some Lodges the reply is: "Try me, and disapprove
of me if you can;" in others, "I am willing to be tried."
NOTE G, page 43.--Some say, "In an anteroom adjacent to a Lodge of
Entered Apprentice Masons."
NOTE H, page 44.--Some say, "Three times around the Lodge."
NOTE I, page 51.--Some say, "On the highest hills and lowest valleys."
NOTE J, p. 89.--In some Lodges, the Deacon omits the single rap (•),
and opens the door when the three raps (• • •) are given.
NOTE K, page 205.--In most Lodges the candidate does not halt at the Junior
Warden's station, but passes on to the Senior Warden.
NOTE L, page 125.--Master says: "I shall now proceed to give and
explain to you the several signs and tokens belonging to the Degree." Here
the Master places his hands as the candidate's
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were when he took the oath of a Master (see Fig. 5, page 17), and explains.
Makes sign of a Master Mason, and explains. (See Fig. 6, page 18.) Makes
the grand hailing sign, and explains. (See Fig. 7, page 18.) Gives grip
of a Master Mason, and explains. (See Fig. 16, page 97.) Gives strong grip,
and explains. (See Fig. 17, page 120.)
NOTE M, page 235.--The Principal Sojourner should say: "We are of
your own brethren and kin--children of the captivity--descendants of those
noble Giblemites, we were received and acknowledged Most Excellent Masters
at the completion and dedication of the first temple--were present at the
destruction of that temple by Nebuchadnezzar, by whom we were carried captives
to Babylon, where we remained servants to him and his successors until
the reign of Cyrus, King of Persia, by whose order we have been liberated,
and have now come up to help, aid, and assist in rebuilding the house of
the Lord, without the hope of fee or reward." (See lecture.)
NOTE N, page 236.--Instead of saying: "You surely could not have
come thus far unless you were three Most Excellent Masters," etc.,
the Master of the First Veil should say: "Good men and true you must
have been, to have come thus far to promote so noble and good an undertaking,
but further you cannot go without my word, sign, and word of explanation" (See
lecture.)
NOTE O, page 235.--In some Chapters they only stamp seven times.
NOTE P, page 140.--In some parts of the country the second section of
the lecture is continued as follows:
Q. What followed?
A. They travelled as before; and as those, who had pursued a due westerly
course from the temple, were returning, one (1) of them, being more weary
than the rest, sat down on the brow of a hill to rest and refresh himself,
and on rising up caught hold of a sprig of acacia, which easily giving
way excited his curiosity; and while they were meditating over this singular
circumstance they heard three frightful exclamations from the cleft of
an adjacent rock. The first was the voice of Jubelo, exclaiming, "Oh!
that my throat had been cut from ear to ear, my tongue torn out by its
roots and buried in the sands of the sea at low water mark, where the tide
ebbs and flows twice in twenty-four hours, ere I had been accessory to
the death of so great and good a man as our Grand Master Hiram Abiff." The
second was the voice of Jubela, exclaiming: "Oh! that my left breast
had been torn open, my heart. plucked from thence and given to the beasts
of the field and the birds of the air as a prey, ere I
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had been accessory to the death of so great and good a man as our Grand
Master Hiram Abiff." The third was the voice of Jubelum, exclaiming
more horridly than the rest, "It was I that gave him the fatal blow!
it was I that slew him! oh! that my body had been severed in twain, my
bowels taken from thence and burnt to ashes, the ashes scattered before
the four (4) winds of heavens, that no more resemblance might be had, among
men or masons, of so vile a wretch as I am, ere I had been accessory to
the death of so great and good a man as our Grand Master Hiram Abiff." Upon
which, they rushed in, seized, bound, and brought them before King Solomon,
who ordered them to be taken without the gates of the city and executed
according to their imprecations. They were accordingly put to death.
Q. What followed?
A. King Solomon ordered the twelve fellow crafts to go in search of the
body, and if found, to observe whether the master's word, or a key to it,
was on or about it.
Q. Where was the body of our Grand Master Hiram Abiff found?
A. A due westerly course from the temple, on the brow of the hill, where
our weary brother sat down to rest and refresh himself.
Q. Was the master's word, or a key to it, on or about it?
A. It was not.
Q. What followed?
A. King Solomon then ordered them to go with him to endeavor to raise
the body, and ordered that as the master's word was then lost, that the
first sign given at the grave, and the first word spoken after the body
should be raised, should be adopted for the regulation of all Master Masons'
Lodges until future ages should find out the right.
Q. What followed?
A. They returned to the grave, when King Solomon ordered them to take
the body by the entered-apprentice grip and see if it could be raised;
but on taking the body so it was putrid, it having been dead fifteen days,
the skin slipped from the flesh. and it could not be raised.
Q. What followed?
A. King Solomon then ordered them to take it by the fellow-craft grip
and see if it could be so raised; but on taking the body by that grip the
flesh cleft from the bone, and it could not be so raised.
Q. What followed?
A. King Solomon then took it by the strong grip of a Master Mason, or
lion's paw, and raised it on the five (5) points of
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fellowship, which are foot to foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand
to back, cheek to cheek, or mouth to ear. Foot to foot, that we will never
hesitate to go on foot, and out of our way, to assist a suffering and needy
brother; knee to knee, that we will ever remember a brother's welfare in
all our adorations to Deity; breast to breast, that we will ever keep in
our own breasts a brother's secrets, when communicated to us as such, murder
and treason excepted;. hand to back, that we will ever be ready to stretch
forth our hand to aid and support a fallen brother; cheek to cheek, or
mouth to ear, that we will ever whisper good counsel in the ear of a brother,
and in the most tender manner remind him of his faults, and endeavor to
aid his reformation, and will give him due and timely notice that he may
ward off all approaching danger.
Q. What did they do with the body?
A. They carried it to the temple and buried it in due form. And masonic
tradition informs us that there was a marble column erected to his memory,
upon which was delineated a beautiful virgin weeping; before her lay a
book open, in her right hand a sprig of acacia, in her left an urn, and
behind her stood Time with his fingers unfolding the ringlets of her hair.
Q. What do these hieroglyphical figures denote?
A. The broken column denotes the untimely death of our Grand Master Hiram
Abiff; the beautiful virgin weeping, the temple unfinished; the book open
before her, that his virtues lie on perpetual record; the sprig of acacia
in her right hand, the timely discovery of his body; the urn in her left,
that his ashes were then safely deposited to perpetuate the remembrance
of so distinguished a character; Time unfolding the ringlets of her hair,
that time, patience, and perseverance accomplish all things.
Q. Have you a sign belonging to this Degree?
A. I have several.
Q. Give me a sign? (Penalty.)
Q. What is that called?
A. The duegard of a Master Mason.
Q. Has that an allusion?
A. It has, to the penalty of my obligation, and when our ancient brethren
returned to the grave of our Grand Master Hiram Abiff, they found their
hands placed in this position to guard their nostrils from the disagreeable
effluvia that arose there from the grave.
Q. Give me a token. (Pass grip.)
Q. What is that called?
A. The pass grip from a fellow craft to a Master Mason.
Q. What is its name?
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A. Tubal Cain.
Q. Who was Tubal Cain?
A. The first known artificer or cunning worker in metals.
Q. Pass that? (Strong grip.)
Q. What is that?
A. The strong grip of a Master Mason, or lion's paw.
Q. Has it a name?
A. It has.
Q. Give it me?
A. I cannot, nor can it be given except on the five (5) points of fellowship,
and heard then in a low breath.
Q. Advance and give it.
A. The word is right.
Q. How many grand masonic pillars are there?
A. Three.
Q. What are they called?
A. Wisdom, Strength and Beauty.
Q. Why are they so called?
A. Because it is necessary there should be wisdom to contrive, strength
to support, and beauty to adorn, all great and important undertakings.
Q. By whom are they represented?
A. By Solomon, King of Israel, Hiram, King of Tyre, and Hiram Abiff, who
were our first three Most Excellent Grand Masters.
Q. Why are they said to represent them?
A. Solomon, King of Israel, represents the pillars of wisdom, because
by his wisdom he contrived the superb model of excellence that immortalized
his name; Hiram, King of Tyre, represents the pillar of strength, because
he supported King Solomon in this great and important undertaking; Hiram
Abiff represents the pillar of beauty, because by his cunning workmanship,
the temple was beautified and adorned.
Q. What supported the temple?
A. It was supported by 1453 columns and 2906 pilasters, all hewn from
the finest Parian marble.
Q. How many were employed in building the temple?
A. Three Grand Masters, three thousand three hundred masters, or overseers
of the work, eighty thousand fellow crafts in the mountains and in the
quarries, and seventy (70) thousand entered apprentices, or bearers of
burdens. All these were classed and arranged in such a manner by the wisdom
of King Solomon, that neither envy, discord, nor confusion was suffered
to interrupt that universal peace and tranquillity which pervaded the world
at this important period.
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Q. What is meant by the three steps usually delineated on the Master's
carpet?
A. They are emblematical of the three principal stages of human life,
viz.: youth, manhood, and age, etc., etc. (Monitorial.)
Q. How many classes of Master's emblems are there?
A. Nine.
Q. What is the ninth (9th)?
A. The setting maul, spade, coffin, and sprig of acacia. The setting maul
was that by which our Grand Master Hiram Abiff was slain; the spade was
that which dug his grave; the coffin was that which received his remains,
and the sprig of acacia was that which bloomed at the head of his grave.
These are all striking emblems of morality, and afford serious reflections
to a thinking mind; but they would be still mere repining were it not for
the sprig of acacia that bloomed at the head of the grave, which serves
to remind us of that imperishable part of man which survives the grave
and bears the nearest affinity to the Supreme Intelligence which pervades
all nature, and which can never, never, never die. Then, finally, my brethren,
let us imitate our Grand Master Hiram Abiff in his virtuous conduct, his
unfeigned piety to his God, and his inflexible fidelity to his trust, that
like him we may welcome the grim tyrant Death, and receive him as a kind
messenger, sent by our Supreme Grand Master to translate us from this imperfect
to that all perfect, glorious, and celestial lodge above, where the Supreme
Architect of the universe presides.
NOTE Q., page 148.--(Extract from the Annual Address of M. W. P. Al. Tucker,
G. M. of Vermont.)
In my address of last year I endeavored to condense what little information
I had about the Masonic lectures, and that attempt has been, in general,
quite favorably noticed by the Craft. In one distinguished Masonic quarter,
however, some parts of my address on this subject seem to have met with
marked disfavor. One particular thing found fault with is, that I thought
myself justified in saying that the lectures in use, received through Webb
and Gleason, were the true lectures of Preston. I certainly did not mean
to say that they were identical in length with those of Preston. I had
already said that Webb changed the arrangement of Preston's sections, but
that he had left the body of the lectures as Preston had established them.
Perhaps I should have said, the substance instead of the "body" of
those lectures. I now state, what I supposed was well understood before
by every tolerably well-informed Mason in the United States, that Webb
abridged as well as changed the arrangement
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of the lectures of Preston. I believed that I knew then, and I believe
I know now, that Webb learned and taught the Preston lectures in full,
as well as that he prepared and taught his own abridgment of them. I have
a copy in key, both of Webb's abridgment and of Preston in full, which
I have reasons, wholly satisfactory to myself, for believing are true manuscripts
of both those sets of lectures, as Gleason taught them. But my reviewer
has got the "very rare" book of a certain J. Browne, published
in London in 1802, called the "Master Key," containing the whole
course of lectures in an "abstruse cypher," and presumes them
to be the Prestonian lectures. Reviewers, it seems, tolerate "presumption" in
themselves, while nothing short of demonstration is allowable with them
as to others, who are required to speak from "their own knowledge." I
am ready to compare my copy of the Preston lectures in full with J. Browne's "Master
Key," if my reviewer understands Browne's "abstruse cypher,"--a
fact about which he has not yet informed us. Again, I am criticized for
saying that Gleason visited England and exemplified the Preston lectures,
as he had received them from Webb, before the Grand Lodge of England, whose
authorities pronounced them correct, and I am charged with taking this
from "hearsay," and my critic places "no faith in it." I
received that statement from the highest authority--from one who knew--and
I wrote it down at the time. There are existing reasons why I do not choose
to gratify my critic by naming that authority at this time, and I leave
the Craft to judge whether my statement of that fact, upon undoubted authority,
is not worthy of as much credit as any reviewer's doubt about it. I do
not possess anything in writing or published of Gleason's, as to his lecturing
before the Grand Lodge of England, but that Masonry abroad did not ignore
the lectures, as Gleason taught them, we have his own published letter
to prove. In the 2d edition of the Masonic Trestleboard, under the date
of Nov. 26th, 1843, in a letter from him to Brother Charles W. Moore, I
find the following language:
"It was my privilege, while at Brown University, Providence, R. I.,
(1801-2), to acquire a complete knowledge of the lectures in the three
first degrees of Masonry, directly from our much esteemed Brother T. S.
Webb. author of the Free Mason's Monitor; and, in consequence, was appointed
and commissioned by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and Maine, Grand Lecturer,
devoting the whole time to the instruction of the Lodges under the jurisdiction.--and,
for many years subsequently (as Professor of Astronomy and Geography),
visiting all the different States in the Union, and (1829-30) many parts
of Europe--successfully communicating, to numerous Lodges and Associations
of Brethren, the same 'valuable lectures of the Craft,' according to the
ancient landmarks."
Here, then, we have the assertion of Gleason himself, that the
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lectures he received from Webb were, "in many parts of Europe," as
well as in the States at home, communicated by him to "numerous Lodges
and Associations of Brethren, according to the ancient landmarks," without
the slightest hint or intimation of any objection being made to them abroad,
as not being the true lectures of the Order. This is, at least, prima facie
evidence of their having been substantially what I claimed them to be.
But if I am still told that it carries no conclusive evidence that Brother
Gleason knew anything of the true Preston lectures, I call that brother
upon the stand again. On the 24th day of June, 1812, "Brother Benjamin
Gleason, A. M.," delivered an "Oration" at "Montreal,
Lower Canada," before St. Paul's Lodge No. 12, and Union Lodge No.
8, by "special request" of the former Lodge. It was published
at Montreal, and a second edition of it was soon after published at Boston.
I copy from this second edition the following remarks of Brother Gleason:
"On the subject of our Lectures, we notice with pleasure, this day,
the venerable Preston of England, whose 'Illustrations of Masonry' redound
to the honor of the Craft, and whose estimable system of improvements,
while with precision and certainty they define, with purity and eloquence,
aggrandize, the immovable landmarks of our ancient Society."
Brother Gleason then, did, upon his own statement, understand Preston's "estimable
system of improvements," their "precision and certainty," their "purity
and elegance," and their relation to our "immovable landmarks." And
with these and Webb's teachings fully in his mind, was probably as good
a judge as any modern critic, of the relations they bore to each other.
Can any reasonable man, in this state of things, believe that if they had
conflicted with each other he did not know it, or that, if conflicting,
he would have taught both; or that he could have taught either "in
Europe" without objection, had they not been substantially the same
teachings, differing only in their length?
But my critic says:--"It is wrong to talk in this careless strain
of the Prestonian lectures as existing in the United States, while in all
probability they never did, and most certainly never will. It is time to
quit writing Masonic history in this loose and random style."
It is no part of my purpose to convince my reviewer that the "Prestonian
lectures" exist in the United States, or to persuade him, that (though
confessedly a strong Masonic writer), he does not quite embody in his learning
all the Masonry of this Western continent. His liberality might perhaps
concede that, among all who have made Masonry a study, or with their united
investigations, enough of Masonic learning might have been preserved to
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make itself respected at least as against simple negation. But I do not
write to convince or satisfy him. I do so that the Craft may have an opportunity
to understand something of their own affairs, as they exist; to examine
and investigate them as matters of fact and principle; and that they may
have no apology for "pinning their faith" upon the mere negations
of any writer, whatever may be the strength of his masonic reputation.
In an account of the Installation of Mount Lebanon Lodge at Boston, on
the 29th of December, 1858, Brother Charles W. Moore, Editor of the Freemasons'
Monthly Magazine, has the following remarks: "Among the Past Masters
of this Lodge we notice the name of the late Benjamin Gleason, Esq., who
was the associate and co-laborer of the late Thomas Smith Webb, in introducing
into the Lodges of New England, and subsequently into other sections of
the country, what is known as the Prestonian system of work and lectures.
The labor of promulgating the work mainly devolved on Brother Gleason,
and it is not too much to say, that as an accurate, consistent, and intelligent
teacher, he had no superior, if an equal, in this country. He was a thoroughly
educated man, and he understood the literary as well as the mental requirements
necessary to a faithful and creditable discharge of the important duty
he had assumed. In 1804, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts adopted the Preston
ritual as its standard of work, and employed Brother Gleason to communicate
it to the Lodges under its jurisdiction, then including what is now the
State of Maine. In the performance of this duty, he was exclusively employed
during the whole of the year named, on account of the Grand Lodge; and
we think a large part of the following two or three years, on his own private
account. Indeed he never ceased his labors, as a lecturer, until his death
in 1847, and there are many brethren now living--among them myself--who
will ever take pride in remembering and acknowledging him as their master
and teacher, in the purest and most perfect Masonic ritual of ancient Craft
Masonry ever practised in this country. It was the 'work' of Masonry, as
revived by Preston, and approved and sanctioned by the Grand Lodge of England,
near the close of the last century, and practised by authority of that
body, until the 'union' in 1813, when, for the purpose of reconciliation,
it was subjugated to a revision, which, in some respects, proved to be
an unfortunate one, inasmuch as the revised system, though exceedingly
beautiful, has so many incongruities and departures from the original,
and is so elaborate withal, that it has never met with that cordial approval,
even among our English brethren, which is necessary to its recognition
and acceptance as a universal system. The verbal
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ritual, as revised by Preston, was brought to this country about the year
1803--not by Webb, as we have seen it stated, for he never went abroad--but
by two English brethren, one of whom, we think, had been a pupil of Preston,
and both of whom had been members of one of the principal Lodges of Instruction
in London. It was first communicated to Webb, and by him imparted to Gleason,
who was at the time a student in Brown University, at Providence, and being
an intelligent and zealous brother, became a favorite of Webb, who was
his senior both in years and in Masonry. On being submitted to the Grand
Lodge of this Commonwealth it was approved and adopted, and Brother Gleason
was employed to impart it to the Lodges, as before stated. From that time
to the present it has been the only recognized Masonic work of Massachusetts,
and though we are not unmindful that many unwarrantable liberties have
been taken with it, and that innovations have crept in, which would have
been better out--yet, as a whole, we are happy to know that it has been
preserved in the Lodges of this city--and in view of the recent instructions,
by authority of the Grand Lodge, we may add, the Lodges of this Commonwealth--in
a remarkable degree of purity; and that it is still taught in the Lodge
of which, in 1809, Brother Gleason was Master, with so close a resemblance
to the original, that if it were possible for him to be present at the
conferring of the degrees to-day, he would find very little to object to
in the work of his successors. The system underwent some modifications
(which were doubtless improvements) in its general arrangement and adaptation--its
mechanism--soon after its introduction into this country; but in all other
respects it was received, and has been preserved, especially in the Lodges
of the older jurisdictions, essentially, as it came from the original source
of all our Craft Masonry. In many parts of the country it has hitherto
had to contend against the corrupting influences of ignorant itinerant
lecturers and spurious publications; but it is believed that an effectual
check has been put to this class of dangerous evils, and that they will
hereafter be treated as they deserve. If so. we may reasonably hope to
be able to pre-serve the ritual, and transmit it to our successors, in
something like its original purity, but not otherwise." We have, then,
added to Gleason's own assertion as to his knowledge of Preston's "estimable
system of improvements," the statement of one of the most intelligent
and reliable Masons in this country, that Webb had "the Prestonian
system of work and lectures," and that the labor of promulgating them "mainly
devolved on Brother Gleason." And I wholly content to let that evidence
stand as my authority and justification against the remarks of
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a reviewer who accuses me of "talking in a careless strain" when
I maintain that these lectures exist in the United States.
Our Grand Lecturer has compared, with critical care, my copy of the Preston
with that of the Gleason Lectures. I have not had sufficient leisure since
the former has been in my possession, to compare them, as fully as I design
to do hereafter. The Preston Lectures are very lengthy, and if written
out in full the Grand Lecturer thinks they would cover nearly one hundred
pages of foolscap paper. He thinks them wholly too long for ordinary use,
and that if all Masons were required to commit them in extenso, it would
be a task which very few would successfully accomplish; and so far as my
own examination has gone, I entertain the same opinion. The Grand Lecturer
also entertains the opinion that Webb has preserved, in the abridgment
and new arrangement of them, all that was substantially of practical value,
and that the language used by him is preferable to much that was used by
Preston.
I regret to say that in the criticism of which I have spoken, there appears
a most palpable intention to undervalue all the lectures of Masonry. The
believers in the importance of preserving the lectures intact are sneered
at; called "parrot Masons," who, taken off the "beaten path," know "nothing
at all of Masonry, of its history, its philosophy, or its symbolism." And
we are dismissed with the cool remark--"Let us talk more, therefore,
of the philosophy of Masonry, and something less of the Lectures of Webb," and
as opposed to the idea of the importance of the Lectures, we are called
on, "in Heaven's name, to inaugurate a new era."
This is, at least, sufficiently cool for a teacher of Freemasonry.
"Inaugurate a new era." That is the idea precisely. Some of
us ignorant Masons had supposed that, at least, some portion of our Masonic "history,
philosophy, and symbolism," was suggested in our Lectures. Our "history"--written
and unwritten--the "philosophy" of our system, and something
of our "symbolism," were imagined to be secure in the past. But
a "new era." About what? Can our "history" be changed;
can our "philosophy" be changed? Not a million of critics, however
distinguished, can brush the first particle of consecrated dust from either. "There
they stand, and there they will stand forever--unshaken by the tests of
human scrutiny, of talents and of time."
Original text scanned at sacred-texts . com, January, 2005.
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