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Article THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON AS A SYMBOL OF FKE... ← Page 13 of 15 →
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The Temple Of Solomon As A Symbol Of Fke...
labours were entrusted . The stones having been prepared by the apprentices , * ( for hereafter , in speaking of the workmen of the temple , I shall use the equivalent appellations of the more modern Masons ^) were now to be deposited in their destined places in the building , and the massive walls were to be erected . Eor these purposes implements of a higher and more complicated character than the guage and gavel
were necessary . The square was required to fit the joints with sufficient accuracy , the level to run the courses in a horizontal line * and the plumh to erect the whole with due regard to perfect perpendicularity . This portion of the labour finds its symbolism in the second degree of the speculative science ; and in applying this symbolism we still continue to refer to the idea of erecting a spiritual temple in the heart .
The necessary preparations , then , having been made in the first degree , the lessons having been received by which the aspirant is taught to commence the labour of life with the purification of the heart ; as a Fellow Craft he continues the task by cultivating those virtues which give form and impression to the character , as welladapted stones give shape and stability to the building . And hence
the " working tools" of the Fellow Craft are referred , in their symbolic application * to those virtues . In the alphabet of symbolism we find the square , the level , and the plumb appropriated to this second degree . The square is a symbol denoting morality . It teaches us to apply the unerring principles of moral science to every action of our
lives , to see that all the motives and results of our conduct shall coincide with the dictates of divine justice , and that all our thoughts , words , and deeds , shall harmoniously conspire , like the well-adjusted and rightly-squared joints of an edifice , to produce a smooth , unbroken life of virtue .
The plumb is a symbol of rectitude of conduct , and indicates that integrity of life and undeviating course of moral uprightness wdiich can alone distinguish the good and just man . As the operative workman erects his temporal building with strict observance of that plumbline , which will not permit him to deviate a hair ' s breadth to the right or to the left , so the speculative Mason , guided by the unerring
principles of right and truth inculcated in the symbolic teachings of the same implement , is steadfast in the pursuit of truth , neither bending beneath the frowns of adversity nor yielding to the seductions of prosperity . f - ^ : S The level , the last of the three working tools of the operative craftsman , is a symbol of equality of station . Not that equality of civil or social position which is to be found only in the vain dreams
* It must he remarked , however , that many of the Fellow Crafts were also stonecutters in the mountains , chotztb bahor , and , with their nicer implements , more accurately adjusted the stones which had been imperfectly prepared by the apprentices . This fact does not at all affect the character of the symbolism we are describing . The due preparation of the materials , the symbol of purification , was necessarily continued in all the degrees . The task of purification never ceases .
f The classical reader will here be reminded of that beautiful passage of Horace commencing with " Justum et tenacem propositi virum , "—Lib , in . od , 3 . 2 o 2
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Temple Of Solomon As A Symbol Of Fke...
labours were entrusted . The stones having been prepared by the apprentices , * ( for hereafter , in speaking of the workmen of the temple , I shall use the equivalent appellations of the more modern Masons ^) were now to be deposited in their destined places in the building , and the massive walls were to be erected . Eor these purposes implements of a higher and more complicated character than the guage and gavel
were necessary . The square was required to fit the joints with sufficient accuracy , the level to run the courses in a horizontal line * and the plumh to erect the whole with due regard to perfect perpendicularity . This portion of the labour finds its symbolism in the second degree of the speculative science ; and in applying this symbolism we still continue to refer to the idea of erecting a spiritual temple in the heart .
The necessary preparations , then , having been made in the first degree , the lessons having been received by which the aspirant is taught to commence the labour of life with the purification of the heart ; as a Fellow Craft he continues the task by cultivating those virtues which give form and impression to the character , as welladapted stones give shape and stability to the building . And hence
the " working tools" of the Fellow Craft are referred , in their symbolic application * to those virtues . In the alphabet of symbolism we find the square , the level , and the plumb appropriated to this second degree . The square is a symbol denoting morality . It teaches us to apply the unerring principles of moral science to every action of our
lives , to see that all the motives and results of our conduct shall coincide with the dictates of divine justice , and that all our thoughts , words , and deeds , shall harmoniously conspire , like the well-adjusted and rightly-squared joints of an edifice , to produce a smooth , unbroken life of virtue .
The plumb is a symbol of rectitude of conduct , and indicates that integrity of life and undeviating course of moral uprightness wdiich can alone distinguish the good and just man . As the operative workman erects his temporal building with strict observance of that plumbline , which will not permit him to deviate a hair ' s breadth to the right or to the left , so the speculative Mason , guided by the unerring
principles of right and truth inculcated in the symbolic teachings of the same implement , is steadfast in the pursuit of truth , neither bending beneath the frowns of adversity nor yielding to the seductions of prosperity . f - ^ : S The level , the last of the three working tools of the operative craftsman , is a symbol of equality of station . Not that equality of civil or social position which is to be found only in the vain dreams
* It must he remarked , however , that many of the Fellow Crafts were also stonecutters in the mountains , chotztb bahor , and , with their nicer implements , more accurately adjusted the stones which had been imperfectly prepared by the apprentices . This fact does not at all affect the character of the symbolism we are describing . The due preparation of the materials , the symbol of purification , was necessarily continued in all the degrees . The task of purification never ceases .
f The classical reader will here be reminded of that beautiful passage of Horace commencing with " Justum et tenacem propositi virum , "—Lib , in . od , 3 . 2 o 2