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Article CORRESPONDENCE ← Page 2 of 3 →
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Correspondence
Board of General Purposed , so as to assist the Masons of West Yorkshire , who desire to prevent the creation of any unconstitutional authority in their midst , I am , Worshipful Sir , yours fraternally , A West Yorkshire Mason .
THE ROYAL ARCH SASH . TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIRROB . Sir and Brother , —Soon after my exaltation , three years since , I inquired the reason of the sash being worn over the left shoulder and descending across to the right hip . Not being satisfied with the replies then received , I have since frequently made similar inquiries of a number of Companions , and many of standing and position in Royal Arch Masonry , and all the information I could glean was , in substance , the following
:--Our ancient Brethren were armed with a sword by their side tei protect them from the attacks of their enemies while _ using their tools in the building of the Temple . The sash is intended to ' remind us of the wearing of the sword . Now , a sword is always worn on the left side , and being in this position an emblem of war , Royal Arch Masons dispensed with the weapon and r ^ wrf the position of the sash , which was thereby made emblematical of peace .
A Companion , who is well known and respected in the Craft , a short time since boldly asserted that not only was the sash figurative of the wearing of a sword , but that , at the time above mentioned , that weapon was purposely worn on the right side , and was drawn and used by the left hand , lthe right beingoccupied with the implements of labour . . These replies did not appear to me to be at all satisfactory or consistent with common sense for the following reasons : —
1 st . It requires a great stretch of the imagination to believe that our ancient Brethren were left-handed , or that if any of them were attacked while at work , they would retain the working tools in their right hands and fight at a disadvantage with their left hands rather than relinquish the implement . I could as easily understand a policeman searching out some dark corner with his lantern in his right hand , and being then attacked , drawing his staff with his left and so defending himself rather than change the lantern to his left , or dropping it altogether , and using the hand most suitable for his protection .
2 nd . How can the mere reversing of the position of a sash change it from an emblem of war to one of peace ? The question which naturally occurs is—has the sash anv reference to a sword at all ; or must we look elsewhere for an explanation ? I apprehend the latter . Let us consider the material of which the sash is composed—the colours , which have their peculiar symbolic reference . " The sacredness of the emblem is further depictedUn its radiated form . " We are also informed that the " ribbon is
that sacred emblem denoting light . " Again , the triangle and . ~ j ~ are also significant of its sacred tendency . And lastly , in the ceremony we are " decorated with a ribbon [ not a sword ] as the insignia of our Order . "
These reasons appearing to me of some weight in upsetting the warlike theory , and being desirous of setting the question at rent , I wrote to the Rev . Dr . Oliver , D . D . ( with whom none of our fraternity can compete for depth of knowledge and extensive study of all the symbols and ornaments of Freemasonry ) , upon this subject , and his reply is as follows ;—
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence
Board of General Purposed , so as to assist the Masons of West Yorkshire , who desire to prevent the creation of any unconstitutional authority in their midst , I am , Worshipful Sir , yours fraternally , A West Yorkshire Mason .
THE ROYAL ARCH SASH . TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIRROB . Sir and Brother , —Soon after my exaltation , three years since , I inquired the reason of the sash being worn over the left shoulder and descending across to the right hip . Not being satisfied with the replies then received , I have since frequently made similar inquiries of a number of Companions , and many of standing and position in Royal Arch Masonry , and all the information I could glean was , in substance , the following
:--Our ancient Brethren were armed with a sword by their side tei protect them from the attacks of their enemies while _ using their tools in the building of the Temple . The sash is intended to ' remind us of the wearing of the sword . Now , a sword is always worn on the left side , and being in this position an emblem of war , Royal Arch Masons dispensed with the weapon and r ^ wrf the position of the sash , which was thereby made emblematical of peace .
A Companion , who is well known and respected in the Craft , a short time since boldly asserted that not only was the sash figurative of the wearing of a sword , but that , at the time above mentioned , that weapon was purposely worn on the right side , and was drawn and used by the left hand , lthe right beingoccupied with the implements of labour . . These replies did not appear to me to be at all satisfactory or consistent with common sense for the following reasons : —
1 st . It requires a great stretch of the imagination to believe that our ancient Brethren were left-handed , or that if any of them were attacked while at work , they would retain the working tools in their right hands and fight at a disadvantage with their left hands rather than relinquish the implement . I could as easily understand a policeman searching out some dark corner with his lantern in his right hand , and being then attacked , drawing his staff with his left and so defending himself rather than change the lantern to his left , or dropping it altogether , and using the hand most suitable for his protection .
2 nd . How can the mere reversing of the position of a sash change it from an emblem of war to one of peace ? The question which naturally occurs is—has the sash anv reference to a sword at all ; or must we look elsewhere for an explanation ? I apprehend the latter . Let us consider the material of which the sash is composed—the colours , which have their peculiar symbolic reference . " The sacredness of the emblem is further depictedUn its radiated form . " We are also informed that the " ribbon is
that sacred emblem denoting light . " Again , the triangle and . ~ j ~ are also significant of its sacred tendency . And lastly , in the ceremony we are " decorated with a ribbon [ not a sword ] as the insignia of our Order . "
These reasons appearing to me of some weight in upsetting the warlike theory , and being desirous of setting the question at rent , I wrote to the Rev . Dr . Oliver , D . D . ( with whom none of our fraternity can compete for depth of knowledge and extensive study of all the symbols and ornaments of Freemasonry ) , upon this subject , and his reply is as follows ;—