THE ARS QUATUOR CORONATI CIRCLE OF CORRESPONDENCE WORKS
One Masonic Wisdom ?
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GUIGUE
Nota : for a right specialist in symbolism, numerous Pike "symbolic" statments are fanciculs. It often happened that, in this Pike time, and from the french Revolution in 1778, a very great part of the right knowledge was disapearared. The esoteric and primitive sacred knowledge was replaced by moral social and bad religious explanations.
ENTERED APPRENTICE
1. Is the Bible the only sacred book that is to be placed upon the Altar ?
pg. 11 - "The Bible is an indispensable part of the furniture of a Christian Lodge, only because it is the sacred book of the Christian religion. The Hebrew Pentateuch in a Hebrew Lodge, and the Koran in a Mohammedan one, belong on the Altar;"
2. What determines which book a candidate should take his obligation upon ?
pg. 11 - "The obligation of the candidate is always to be taken on the sacred book or books of his religion, that he may deem it more solemn and binding; and therefore it was that you were asked of what religion you were. We have no other concern with your religious creed."
3. Who is to dispense "light" in the Lodge ?
pg. 13 - "...It "is" the duty of the Master to dispense light to the Brethren, by himself, and through the Wardens, who are his ministers."
4. What is the meaning of the Black & White pavement ?
pg. 14 - "The pavement, alternately black and white, symbolizes whether so intended or not, the Good and Evil Principles of the Egyptian and Persian creed. It is the warfare of Michael and Satan, of the Gods and Titans, of Balder and Lok ; between light and shadow, which is darkness; day and night ; freedom and despotism ; religious liberty and the Arbitrary dogmas of a church that thinks for its votaires, and whose Pontiff claims to be infallible, and the decretals of its councils to constitute a Gospel."
5. What is the meaning of the Blazing Star ?
pg. 15 - "Originally it represented Sirius, or the Dog-star, ....then it became the image of Horus,......it was Hermes also......it became the sacred and potent sign or character of the Magi, the Pentalpha."
6. What is the purpose of the "G" in the East ?
pg. 15 - "In the East of the Lodge, over the Master, inclosed in a triangle, is the Hebrew letter Yod. In the English and American Lodges the letter G is substituted for this, as the initial of Dieu were used in French lodges.....To understand its mystic meanings, you must open the pages of the Zohar and Siphra de Zeniutha, and othe kabalistic books, and ponder deeply on their meaning."
7. What are the moral duties of a Mason ?
pg. 18 "the great commandment of Masonry is this : "A new commandment give I unto you: that ye love one another ! He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, remaineth still in darkness. Such are the moral duties of a Mason."
FELLOW CRAFT
8. Why does Masonry impart its knowlege with Symbolism ?
pg 22 - "the knowledge now imparted by books and letters was of old conveyed by symbols"
9. What did Masonry descend From ?
pg 22 - "Masonry, successor of the Mysteries, still follows the ancient manner of teaching."
10. How can one become an accomplished Mason ?
pg 22 & 23- "He who would become an accomplished Mason must not be content merely to hear, or even to understand, the lectures; he must, aided by them, and they having, as it were marked out the way for him, study, interpret, and develop these symbols for himself."
11. Is Masonry the same as the ancient Mysteries ?
pg 23- "Though Masonry is identical with the ancient Mysteries, it is so only in this qualified sense : that it presents but an imperfect image of their brilliancy, the ruins only of their grandeur..."
12. Can Masonry make an "evil" man, good ?
pg 36 - "Masonry does not change human nature, and cannot make honest men out of born knaves."
MASTER MASON
13. Do Symbols have only a singular Interpretation ?
pg 62 - "to present a visible symbol to the eye of another is not necessarily to inform him of the meaning which that symbol has to you."
14. In the york rite, this phrase is found : "I will always hail, ever conceal, and never reveal ;" and in the lecture, these words : Q. "I hail." Answer : "I conceal ; " What does the word "hail" here mean ?
pg 63 - "the word is really "hele," from the Anglo-Saxon verb elan, helan, to cover, hide, or conceal. Wherefore, to heal means the same thing as to "tile". Thus language too is symbolism, and words are as much misunderstood and misused as more material symbols are."
15. What were the ancient Mysteries from which Masonry descended ?
pg 64- "The Mysteries were a Sacred Drama, exhibiting some legend significant of nature's changes, of the visible Universe in which the Divinity is revealed, and whose import was in many respects as open to the Pagan as to the Christian"
16. Why are some of our symbols left unexplained ?
pg. 64 - "In the Mysteries, beyond the current traditions or sacred and enigmatic recitals of the Temples, few explanations were given to the spectators, who were left, as in the school of nature, to make inferences for themselves."
17. What about those initiates who cannot comprehend the philosophical meaning of our ritual ? Is masonry of any benefit to them ?
pg 64 - "If their philisophical meaning (is) above the comprehension of some, their moral and political meanings are within the reach of all."
18. What is the meaning behind the name HIRAM ?
pg 78 & 79 - " The word Khairum or Khurum is a compound one. Khur meaning "white, noble." The Egyptian deity called by the Greeks, "Horus," was Her-Ra Khurum, therefore, improperly called Hiram, is Khur-om, the same as Her -ra, Her-mes, and Her-acles......the personification of Light and the Son, the Mediator, Redeemer, and Saviour.
19. From whence came the Master's gavel and the Lion paw grip ?
pg. 80 - "this hyeroglyphic picture, copied from an ancient Egyptian monument, ...may also enlighten you as to the Lion's grip and the Master's gavel ?"
20. Do all who are raised to the degree of Master Mason understand the secrets of Masonry ?
pg 104-105 - "Masonry, like all the religions, all the Mysteries, Hermeticism and Alchemy, conceals its secrets from all except the Adepts and Sages, or the Elect, and uses false explanations and misinterpretations of its symbols to mislead those who deserve only to be misled; to conceal the Truth, which it calls Light, from them, and to draw them away from it. Truth is not for those who are unworthy or unable to receive it, or would pervert it."
SECRET MASTER
21. How are Masonic Degrees organized ?
pg 106 - "Masonry is a succession of allegories, the mere vehicles of great lessons in morality and philosophy. You will more fully appreciate its spirit, its object, its purposes, as you advance in the different Degrees, which you will find to constitute a great, complete, and harmonious system.
22. In the first three degrees, the lessons of morality that was taught - I could learn in church and the scientific instruction was rudimentary and the symbols were imperfectly explained. Why is this ?
pg 106 - "...remember that the ceremonies and lessons of those degrees have been for ages more and more accomodating themselves.....they have come to us from an age when symbols were used, not to reveal but to conceal; when the commonest learning was confined to a select few, and the simplest principles of morality seemed newly discovered truths; and that these antique and simple degrees now stand like the broken columns of a roofless Druidic temple. They are but the entrance to the great Masonic Temple, the triple columns of the portico.
23. How can I apply myself to learn the most of Masonry ?
pg 107 - "Imagine not that you will become indeed a Mason by learning what is commonly called the "work," or even by becoming familiar with our traditions. Masonry has a history, a literature, a philosophy. Its allegories and traditions will teach you much; but much is to be sought elsewhere. The streams of learning that now flow full and broad must be followed to their heads in the springs that well up in the remote past, and you will there find the origin and meaning of Masonry."
24. What does "light" and "darkness" in Masonry symbolize ?
pg 107 - "Knowledge....is Light, as Ignorance is Darkness."
25. How important is the secrecy to which I swore ?
pg 109 - "Secrecy is indispensable in a Mason of whatever Degree. It is the first and only lesson taught to the Entered Apprentice."
26. How important is it that I keep the secrets of a fellow Master Mason?
pg 109 - "The secrets of our brother, when communicated to us, must be sacred"
27. Who can benefit from Freemasonry ?
pg 113 - "Masonry is useful to all men: to the learned, because it affords them the opportunity of exercising their talents upon subjects eminently worthy of their attention ; to the illiterate, because it offers them important instruction ; to the young, because it presents them with salutary precepts and good examples, and accustoms them to reflect on the proper mode of living; to the man of the world whom it furnishes with noble and useful recreation; to the traveller, whom it enables to find friends and brothers in countries where lese he would be isolated in solidarity; to the worthy man in misfortune, to whom it gives assistance ; to the afflicted, on whom it lavishes consolation; to the charitable man, whom it enables to do more good, by uniting with those who are charitable like himself; and to all who have souls capable of appreciating its importance, and of enjoying the charms of a friendship founded on the same principles of religion, morality, and philanthropy."
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