ARGUMENT XI.

ON THE FURNITURE OF THE LODGE, AND ON THE APPAREL AND JEWELS USED BY THE OFFICIAL PART OF THE FRATERNITY, THE WHOLE ILLUMINATED WITH EmbleMATICAL CORUSCATIONS.

It is with pleasure I pursue the duty I have imposed upon myself, to give solutions of the mysteries 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 furniture 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 constantly remind us of what we are, and what is required of us.

The third emanation of Abrax, in the Gnostic hierarchy, was Phronosis, the emblem of Prudence, 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 dictates, and steadfast 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 forever: 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 steadfast purpose, and firm will of doing those things which na

ture has dictated to us as the best and most salutary;— a habit of the soul by which mankind 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, Temperance, 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 steadfast principles, being the moderating or restraining of our affections and passions, especially in sobriety and 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, Temperance, 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 staradorned zone of prudence, all the virtues are enfolded.

We may apply this emblem to a still more religious 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 ignorance he erred; having whatever the Great Architect 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 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 dictates 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 implication 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 voluptuousness, discord and malice, envy and reproach; and prompting brotherly love, morality, charity, cordiality, and innocent recreation; that the assembly of the Brethren may be maintained in harmony and love.

To try the works of every Mason, the square 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; 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 world, that, through our light so shining unto men, they may glorify the great Master of the universe; and, therefore, "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:-" The ancients were also wont to put a white garment on the person baptized, 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, '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:- 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

1 In the Star in the East, passim, this subject is copiously discussed, and the present system of Masonry assimilated with the Christian religion.-EDITOR.

2 White doves, or doves with silver wings, (Ps. lxviii., 13,) were esteemed the favourite bird of the Deity, like the robin in our own country; and hence it was esteemed sinful to disturb or kill them. Thus Tibullus, (lib. 1, eleg. 8,)

Quid referam, ut volitet erebras intacta per urbas,
Alba Palæstino sancta columba suo ?-EDITOR.

Whilst the apron with which we are clothed indicates. 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 invidious

ness.

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 succeeded with a belief that He can approve of nothing that is evil; and when first our predecessors 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 devoted to His will. The Druids were apparelled in white at the time of their sacrifices and solemn offices. The Egyptian priests of Osiris wore snow white cotton vestments in the service of Ceres, under whom was symbolized the gifts 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

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.