SYMPOSIUM OF PAPERS CONTRIBUTED BY MEMBERS OF THE CIRCLE
(PART FIVE)

INTRODUCTION

by

Wor.Bro. R.A.L.Harland, P.M., Lodge No. 1679

President of the Circle

It is my privilege as President of the Circle to introduce to
members the fifth part of the excellent symposium of Papers
contributed in response to the invitation issued by the Governing
Council, as follows:-


"THE OPENING OF THE LODGE"

by
W.Bro. C.M.de Beer, Travellers Lodge, No. 5820, E.C.,
Johannesburg, South Africa.

"THE SPIRITUAL ASPECT OF A MASON'S WORKING TOOLS"                 

by
Bro.B.C.Portsmouth & W. Bro. W.C. Ginbey, Lodge of Research No.
277
Western Australia 

I would again take the opportunity of expressing thanks to those
Overseas members who are regularly submitting Papers to be
included in the Transactions of the Circle, and look forward to
receiving contributions from an increasing number of Brethren
resident both at Home and Overseas.  This year (1959) we are
celebrating the twenty-first Anniversary of the foundation of the
Circle, and I would therefore especially welcome Papers in order
to mark this occasion.  Manuscripts should be addressed to the
Secretary direct and will be given careful consideration.

"THE OPENING OF THE LODGE"
by

W.Bro.C.M.de BEER, Travellers Lodge, No. 5820, E.C.,
Johannesburg, South Africa.

"Ye shall seek the truth and the truth shall make you free"

"Wisdom is the principal thing: therefore
get wisdom, and with all thy getting get
understanding."

To start on the mystical quest, "to enter the Lodge", presupposes
perfect equilibrium and harmonious balance of all faculties, as
well as attunement to the higher principles.

This it is that is taken stock of at the opening of the Lodge in
the First Degree.  It is also an occasion, as are the ceremonies
of opening for passing and raising, to attune to higher
vibrations by prayers, knocks and appropriate symbols.

"When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast
shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy
Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."

The tyling of the Lodge "to ensure that none but Masons are
present "is emblematic of the entering into the closet and of the
shutting of the door thereof, shutting out all worldly
(non-spiritual) influences.

"Knock  and it shall be opened unto you."

The knocks of the degrees ensure or are emblematic of the correct
level of vibration according to the state of communion that is
sought.  They might be interpreted as follows :

First Degree - Work is in progress on all three planes of
manifestation on which man's evolution is being carried forward
at present

the physical
the desire                        world
the thought

Second Degree - The physical plane has been conquered.  Working
from the physical plane upwards, man proceeds to weld an
equilibrated being on the emotional and mental levels.  He
pierces through ignorance, makes the personality: "per sono" =
through sound, sound through.

Third Degree - Work has now advanced to the extent that the
net-work can be thrown over the columns.  Unity has been
achieved.  Work on the physical level is now conducted from the
higher plane of emotional/mental balance.

Thus do the knocks of the Second and Third Degrees when
interwoven, illustrate the "Star of David".

The Masonic cereniony is a religious service of the highest order
- hence the whole being of the candidate must be attuned to the
service; therefore, the first care of tyling having been
performed (to see that none but Masons are present), the next
care is to see that Brethren do appear to order as Masons.

The physical body (tyler), aware that the door to the closet is
shut, will ward off all intruders, helped therein by the brain
(Inner Guard), who will reject all irrelevant forms of thought
and only allow constructive images, whilst the emotive self
(Junior Deacon), at the right of (under control of) the spiritual
self (Soul) - (Senior Warden), will await the mental impulses
(Senior Deacon) to filter through from the fount of Wisdom,
(W.M.) and then transmit these to the Intellectual Faculty
(Junior Warden) which, in turn and where required, will transmit
the now consciously perceived rays of truth to the Brain (inner
Guard).

All this takes place inside the Lodge which the Tyler is
guarding, in other words, on the higher and invisible planes of
the candidate's physical body.  Hence the Tyler himself is the
convenient room adjoining the Lodge. where the first preparation
to the quest takes place.

Thus, once entered on the quest, the candidate, guided by Wisdom
as yet unmanifest, but intuitively perceived (W.M.) attuning his
Soul (Spiritual Self-Senior Warden) and seeking Light with all
the might of his Intellectual Faculty (J.W.), first curbs his
emotive life (goes round with the J.D.), then applies himself to
discipline his mind (goes round with S.D.), and finally,
trampling his physical/emotional/mental lower self underfoot,
dies to all things earthly and rises, transmuted, to a higher
plane of consciousness "in the centre" between the spiritual and
the intellectual, and embracing Wisdom in direct Union.

Wisdom, however, cannot affirm itself. King Solomon (W.M.) could
not become active instead of latent without the combination of
Spiritual Love (Hiram, King of Tyre - S.W.) and Intellectual
Power (Hiram Abiff - J.W.). Hence those three form the Lodge, and
"bore sway at the building of the Temple at Jerusalem" (the
divine city).

The Lodge thus formed by three can be "held" only by five, as it
can operate only in and through the lower strata of the human
mind and emotive life.  These in turn need the Physical Body and
the Brain which controls the body (seven) to manifest, thus
making the whole a "perfect" lodge or vehicle for the
manifestation of the Most High.  As Dante says: -

"The proper operation (working or function) is not in existence
for the sake of the being, but the being for the sake of the
operation."

(De Monarchia a (3)).

The interdependence of the S.W. (Spiritual Love Light Eyes) and
the J.W. (Will - Word - Mouth) is admirably set out by Wordsworth
in his "Prelude."

"This Spiritual Love acts not nor can exist
Without Imagination, which in truth,
Is but another name for absolute power,
And keenest insight, amplitude of mind,
And Reason in her most exalted mood."

And again:

"Imagination having been our theme,
So also has this spiritual love
For they are each in each, and cannot stand
Dividually.  Here must thou be, O man
Power to thyself; no helper hast thou here!
Here keepest thou in singleness thy state.
No other can divide with thee this work.
No secondary hand can intervene
To fashion this ability: 'tis thine,
The prime and vital principle is thine,
In the recesses of thy nature, far
From any reach of outward fellowship,
Else is not thine at all. But joy to him,
Oh, joy to him who here has sown, hath laid
Here, the foundation of his future years.
For all that friendship, all that love can do,
All that a darling countenance can look,
Or dear voice utter, to complete the man,
Perfect him, made imperfect in himself,
All shall be his; and he whose soul hath risen
Up to the height of feeling intellect,
Shall want no humbler tenderness."

In similar vein, Dante, in speaking of Soul and Intellect,
follows a like trend of thought, as quoted by C. Williams in "The
Figure of Beatrice":

"The two points to which Dante chooses to direct attention are
the eyes and the mouth. These the soul mostly adorns; there she
bestows most of her subtlety, there she shows herself 'as on a
balcony'.  From the first balcony, that of the eyes, her passions
show goodwill, jealousy, compassion, envy, love and shame.  She
can, it is true, keep them from showing, but only by the exertion
of great power.  We may conclude that some part of that 'becoming
other' which is a duty for Dante and for all is precisely the
exercise of that power when it is desirable; and this adds
another relevance to the sewing up of the eyes of the envious
spirits in the Purgatorio; until they can control the appearances
in those balconies, the balconies themselves are not to be
opened.  On the mouth Dante himself had better be quoted.  'The
soul demonstrates herself in the mouth, as colour does under
glass.  And what is laughter but a corruscatioii of that delight
of the soul, as a light appearing without according as it exists
within).  And therefore it becomes a man to let his soul show in
a tempered joy, laughing in moderation, and with frank restraint
and only with slight movement of the face; so that the lady
(soul) who there shows herself should seem modest and not
uncontrolled ... O marvellous smile of my lady, of whom I speak,
which is only communicated through the eyes.' "

And C. Williams then comments:

"It is a description of that kind of joy which accompanies the
intellectual formulation of philosophy: 'dimostrare' - almost
'demonstrates herself' in figures of geometry.  This
demonstration is the half concealed smile of the divine science,
Theology, which like the empyrean holds all peace of knowledge,
and only shows herself to us in such satisfying scintillations of
mouth and eyes as gleam in the syllogisms of the great
Scholastics, or what other method other philosophers use."

The same scheme, again is expressed in a most interesting way in
the "Tarot of the Bohemians", subtitled "Absolute Key to the
Occult Science," by Papus, in which the 17th Chapter is an
extract from the work of F.-Ch. Barlet.  The Chapter is entitled:
"Le Tarot Initiatique", and in quoting parts thereof, I shall be
translating from French.

The chapter starts by comparing the Ancient Positivist Scientists
who were also Sages, and whose fundamental aphorism was that
nothing was accessible to man beyond the world of phenomena
(though they were always tempted to try and cross those limits),
with the spiritualists of the present day, who live in a world
beyond those limits, but who have no know-how, no guide and no
compass to direct their flight.
 
It then says that the ancient school of Theosophy could guide the
latter and deliver the former and bring them both to Truth. 
Theosophy - or Positive Spiritualism - transmitted by the
Cabbalists, the Mystics, the Templars, the Rosecrucians and the
Freemasons, often degenerated, yet always tended and preserved by
some hidden few in closed sanctuaries.

"The secret of Theosophy lies in a certain practical development
of the human faculties so as to extend the limits of certainty
(la certitude)."

It thus taught man to train himself in order to work and develop
in the regions of extra-sensory perception.  This teaching
constitutes the Initiation, which consists of two distinct but
complementary parts: Theory and Practice.

The Theory man can study, accept or reject, but the Practice will
eventually lead him to become an Initiate. (Compare our word
"entered apprentice".)

The chapter then proclaims the ultimate formula which positive
science gives of the manifest world:

"NO MATTER WITHOUT POWER:
NO POWER WITHOUT MATTER"

But the combination of those two is extremely fluid, as power
draws matter along according to its (power's) own infinite
variety of mobility.  Power thus draws matter as if by a current
from one pole to the other, and matter manifests therein by a
return countercurrent, due to its (matter's) own essential
inertia.

As an example (still quoting this chapter):

"An atom of phosphorus drawn by the vegetal from mineral
phosphates will become the element of a cell of the human brain,
but will eventually again disintegrate into the realm of mineral
inertia."

But the movement of this fluid or unstable state of equilibrium
is not uncoordinated.  It forms a series of harmonious links
which we call laws and the synthesis of which we formulate as
Evolution.

Hence one reaches the conclusion that there is a WILL guiding
this evolution.  Thus it is the WILL which manifests in the
unstable but progressive equilibrium of Power and Matter ....

This, therefore, brings me back to the main theme of this piece
of architecture.

The chapter then proceeds to subdivide the Universe, in the
following FOUR sub-divisions:

1) The supreme incomprehensible ABSOLUTE (transcendental or
divine)
2) The Idea (intelligible or logic)
3) The Will                    (manifest)
4) The Cosmos

It then divides the first three in opposite poles:

      Positive             Negative
1)  Conscious            Unconscious
2)  Affirmation          Negation
3)  Power                Matter

Here ends my quotations from the Chapter by Barlet.

I have tried to apply his division and sub-divisions to the
Officers in the Lodge, and the rest of this piece of architecture
is thus based on my own deductions which flow therefrom:

                  Positive              Negative
                  (RIGHT)               (LEFT)

THE ABSOLUTE     conscious             unconscious
                    W.M.                 I.P.M.

THE IDEA         affirmation            negation
                    J.W.                  S.W.

THE WILL           power                 matter
                    S.D.                  J.D.

THE COSMOS         brain              physical body
                    I.G.                 TYLER

In humbly submitting this arrangement of the Officers, I would
state that it would appear to explain quite a lot in the ritual
in a most satisfactory way.

If we examine the position of the Officers, we find that those on
the right hand side (positive) of the Chart are all at the Right
of those officers quoted in the left hand side (negative).

The W.M. at the right of the I.P.M.
The J.W. towards the right of the S.W.
The I.G. at the right of the Tyler.
and the S.D. again at the right of the W.M.

The S.D. at the extreme right side of his pole, acts as the
enisowered ambassador in the Manifest of the Logic flowing from
the Absolute.

The reverse proves true as well, of course:

The I.P.M. at the left of the W.M.
The S.W. towards the left of the J.W.
The Tyler at the left of the I.G.

But the J.D. is found at the right of the S.W. whereas we might
have expected him at the S.W.'s left hand side.  One could
conclude therefrom that on balance the odds are loaded in favour
of composite man and that, in reality, he has no excuse to let
his emotive self run riot to wallow in earthly mud.  I confess,
however, that in this exposition the position of the J.D. is not
yet quite clear to me.

Much else, however, both inside and outside of the Lodge, now
stands in a new light, as far as I am concerned.

Eve (Matter) was created from Adam (Power) and this fact
illustrates that the story of the Old Testament is a graphic
depiction of the involution of Spirit into Matter.  The New
Testament teaches the way by which the redemption can be
achieved, and this evolution (by initiation) is the subject
matter of the Freemason's ritual.

Our life on earth is (or should be) in the first place a
preparation for initiation, and Lord Baden Powell, in founding
the Scout Movement, must have known of this goal.  It is highly
significant that the Scout greetings are given with the LEFT
hand, the hand of Matter.  Only when we have achieved a pure
heart and an attitude of devotion and service, can we proceed to
become an apprentice for initiation, and learn signs with the
RIGHT hand.

This thought also throws new light on the one and only sign in
Freemasonry which is given with the left hand (in one of the
higher degrees).

The oaths in the three degrees are given with the RIGHT hand on
the V. of the S.L. (the WAY).  But the left hand must first
subdue and discipline Matter and Passionate Nature, - then having
ascended the winding staircase - offer up this Passionate Nature
and all matters earthly, to God, and finally, only after having
trampled this lower nature underfoot, can the left hand join the
right hand on the Way to Redemption, thus achieving Unity.

But to achieve this it is the RIGHT hand of the Candidate which
sets the necessary vibrations in motion, first by the knocks on
the door (which he is supposed to give), then by knocking on the
right shoulder of the J.W. and S.W. Hence three times three
knocks reverberate through the threefold nature of the MAN, and
the echo thereof trembles in the great Absolute.  Woe to him who,
having set off these vibrations, lets them die or tries to use
them to wrong purpose!

The first step taken, the candidate is restored to light, in that
he now has an inkling of the Path, but Wisdom is still far from
his sight and therefore the new initiate is at that stage only
meant to see the V. of the S.L. (the Way) and NOT the W.M. (the
Fount).

Yet, from that Fount knowledge now flows to the faithful
candidate (communicated to him at the left side of the altar and
from the Right side of the W.M.) and in the ensuing
perambulations the teachings are impressed more forcibly on his
mind at the S.W.'s chair, where a longer time is spent in
communicating them.  Is it not matter that must be overcome?

And it is to the J.D. (his lower passionate self) that the
candidate declares himself devoid of any metallic substances, and
states that had he still such substances on him (in him) he would
give (relinquish) them gladly for the sake of the quest.  Thus
the J.D. is permitted to make obeisance to the W.M. and Lower
Self submits to God.

Thus submitting and purifying himself, the candidate is rewarded
by raiment of increasing splendour at the S.W.'s chair, for is it
not his earthly vesture that becomes increasingly purer, holier
and full of spiritual light?

His advancement to the various places in the Lodge, however, is
again conferred to him from the left of the altar and from the
right hand of the W.M. as, by performing his allotted task, he
opens up new channels for the reception of further teachings, and
it is his earthly self that so advances.

Yet, once admitted to full initiation and accepted as a W.M., he
obtains his further investitures at the right of the altar and
from the Left of the Chair of King Solomon.  It is now his
spiritual attire that achieves great and yet greater splendour
and from colours of blue he is promoted to colours of purple.

Before he gets thus far, however, his advancement in matter is
achieved by the correct application of symbols, which his
spiritual self discovers at the Right of the Altar: the tools. 
The Universal symbolism of the tools is thus drawn from the
unconscious or unmanifest Absolute.

It is from the J.W.'s chair, the ostensible steward of the Lodge,
that flows the affirmation of the Idea stemming from and finding
its roots in the Absolute.

The square is indeed the fourth part of a circle, but it is a
circle in depth, a spiral, a winding staircase.

Hence, the spiral staircase is a two-way route, for involution of
spirit into matter, and for evolution from spiritualised matter
towards its Fount.

Thus the candidate finally achieves complete resurrection from
the grave of matter, and the raising then naturally takes place
by the concerted and completely unified action of the J. and
S.W.'s. who by now are in full command of the J. and S. Deacons,
who they now replace at the side of the candidate and the latter
now reaches the ultimate consummation of being received into the
bosom of Wisdom, of the Sophia.

SO MOTE IT BE

As an added note I would like to disclaim all merit for this
paper and for any truth it may have brought to light for our
little group (as it certainly did for me).  I drew heavily from
the Dormer transactions, then from my own studies in Dante, but
was actually "led" to the chapter in Papus' book and merely had
to put the shine into position in the arch I had been building
from material from the quarries.  The completed arch provided a
sort of illumination in my mind the following night, which was
the night after Ascension Day. I submit the paper came into being
from the positive current built up by our little group in our
earnest groping towards LIGHT.


 "THE SPIRITUAL ASPECT OF A MASON'S WORKING TOOLS"
by
Bro.B.C. Portsmouth and W. Bro.W.C.Ginbey,
Lodge of Research, No. 277, Western Australia.


The thinking man could compare the development and the
advancement of a Mason, with its ordered progress, and its
opportunities for mental awakening, to the literary progress of
the average human in this world of today.

The child of kindergarten age could do nothing with a pile of
precious literary volumes . . . except to build a "castle", climb
the steps, and sit on the topmost book of the pile.

The beauty and the splendour of the world of ideas contained
within those covers, would mean to him absolutely nothing.

The kindergarten child must first learn his letters, by sight and
by sound, and after a few months he is taught to begin to combine
those familiar symbols into words . . . that is, names for
familiar things, and for known actions.  Later, these
word-combinations are linked with others into "sentences" . . .
and the pupil thus becomes able to give individual expression to
thoughts and ideas.

He still could not make much sense out of those calf-bound
volumes, but he would know it was "reading". Here and there he
would be able to pick out familiar symbols and groups of words. .
. but most of the "reading" would be little more to him than
black lines on a white background, with here and there a familiar
outline.

The tiniest child finds familiarity in nothing but a book of
pictures ... people, animals, household objects, fruit, etc.

Once the child  can read short sentences, you can introduce him
to a whole new world of make-believe and fantasy, by giving him a
book of fairy-tales.  When you find his mind reaching out, as his
vocabulary increases, you can change that make-believe world
all-most overnight, by giving him an adventure-story, a tale of
discovery, of historical or fictional action.  That fantasy-world
will from henceforth have characters like the story-book heroes,
and he will tend to model his own actions on their supposed
doings.

While this reaching-out process is developing the boy's
vocabulary, his discovery and understanding of words is
constantly growing . . . and you are able to explain the simple
rules (and later, the more complicated rules) of Grammar ... the
SCIENCE OF LANGUAGE.  His daily living adds daily to his
experience, and the child adds this experience to his literary
knowledge, until, eventually, he reaches the parting of the ways.

Either, he will decide that he has read enough, learned enough of
this Science of Language ... or, he will continue to study.

If he ceases to study ... that pile of calf-bound books will
represent to him, in all probability, "highbrow stuff " . . .
pages and pages of literature which he can certainly read, but
which leaves him cold because he cannot understand it!

If he continues his studies, his delving into the works and
writings of the great men of literature, perchance he may
eventually feel within himself, the vital, creative spark which
every true artist feels, whatever his medium of expression.

And exactly is it so with a Mason!

The Ritual is the letter, the elementary part of Masonic
learning! The Cermony is the word . . . and anyone with a good
memory can soon become word-perfect.  He can use his Ritual to
enable him to play his part in the Ceremony, in any of the
Ceremonies contained within the Ritual.

Lectures constitute the Grammar of Masonry, wherein a Mason is
taught the meanings of Words, and how Words are used . . . and no
Mason can be considered completely educated, whose instruction
has not included the Grammar of his Craft.

And there, right there, so very many Masons reach the parting of
the ways.  They decline to go on to the higher degrees . . . they
have no inclination to read Masonic teachings or history . . .
the deeper searching into Freemasonry's esoteric significance
(which should constitute a Mason's full development), is entirely
neglected.

Rudyard Kipling once said:

"To know the ritual is not to know all.  It is the inside
meaning, not the words, that counts.  Learn the words, but get
the ritual into your spirit!"

In other words . . . we should become word-perfect in the
beautiful, symbolical wording of our Ritual . . . but, we should
not stop there! We should seek the inner meanings of those words
we learn . . . and, having learned the meanings, we should
enshrine them in our innermost beings, not lock them away in a
little-used cupboard!

J. Morgan Pryse says that "The craving for knowledge may cause
one to lose sight of the fact that Wisdom comes, not from
listening to the words of others, but from the gradual unfolding
of the inner faculties."

And so, as we consider the Mason's Working Tools I shall
endeavour to suggest ideas to you . . . ideas which may help to
guide your thinking on these matters ... ideas which may assist
you, not to amass knowledge for its own sake, but to begin the
process of KNOWING ONESELF!

One of the world's modern thinkers, Gandhi of India, said not
long before he died:

"I am striving to reach the Kingdom of Heaven, which is called
'liberation of the soul'.  In order to reach this, I need not
seek refuge in a cave ... I carry my cave with me."

Every man, as he seeks for Truth ... every Mason, as he seeks the
Light ... can retire into that inner fastness, his own "cave",
where none other can be.  He can, if he wishes, delve beneath the
surface, where Truth lies hidden.

Masonic symbols are meant to be pointers in that search for Light
and Truth, and the Mason who seeks the meaning behind the
symbols, will find revealed a whole new world of understanding.

Let us first discuss the Working Tools of the 1st Degree, and
their spiritual aspect.

The E.A. when he is presented with the Working Tools of this
Degree, has already been duly initiated, and accepted as a Mason. 
Before his name was accepted as a Candidate for Initiation, his
character was carefully scrutinised . . . and his moral soundness
was certified.

So, therefore, he is regarded as rough stone, rough but sound
building-material, worthy of being shaped and tooled.

We should all take note of this condition, and apply it
personally to our spiritual understanding.

Before any one of us can hope to travel far along the mental
path, we must cleanse our minds, and certify ourselves as
spiritually sound . . . else will our search for Light be in
vain.

The Working Tools of the 1st Degree are essentially Tools of
Action!

The 24 in. G ..., the symbol to measure our work in the world,
represents the 24 hours of the day, and how they should be spent.

From our own personal experience, we each of us know that Time
(represented by these 24 hours of each day) is squandered more
wastefully than any other existing commodity!

So many men, in the world of today, are governed by a "clock-in"
mechanism ... a bell or a hooter or a siren . . . and when, for
any reason these mechanical aids to discipline are withdrawn, the
average man, left to his own resources, has no idea how he can
spend Time!

The G.A. has assigned hours for labour, and hours for
refreshment, beyond the possibility of mistake . . . and this is
the ETERNAL RULE . . . that to make progress upon this Road of
Earthly Experience, we must fill every hour of every day, with
honest physical labour, with honest, genuine thinking, with
clean, health-promoting sport or recreation, with well-earned
rest, with simple, honest prayer!

The 24 in.  G ... is the symbol of a measure, by which to gauge
our efforts.  We all have, within us, that spiritual measure ...
and this outer symbol of Masonry gives us a hint to look inwards
for the hidden Plan, and to shape our stone to its
specifications.

The stone we are to shape, must be in harmony with the
Architect's design ... so we must cultivate precision and
accuracy, and measure our work as we proceed.

In the spiritual understanding, the 24 in.  G . . . reminds us
that we must cultivate a definiteness, in our aims and actions. 
We must aim to occupy all our time fully and usefully, so that we
will derive from it every smallest particle of benefit and
happiness.

Next, the C.G.

This is known as the symbol of order.  It is said that in the
hands of the W.M. in the old days, the Common Gavel was called
"Hiram", and (in the words of an old Ritual), "As K.S. controlled
the workmen by the assistance of H ... the Builder, so to an E.A.
it symbolises obedience." The modern teaching is that the C.G.
represents the force of Conscience.  Many regard this unseen
"Conscience " as a frail plant which might wither and die if
neglected ... but it should be regarded rather as a positive,
driving Force in life and action, keeping in subjection vain,
unbecoming, and evil thoughts.

As the Rough A . . . is cumbersome and unwieldy . . . so is the
untried seeker-after-Truth.

The knobs and excrescences of pride, self-esteem, and
self-seeking, must be knocked away, before we can even begin to
find the real material within.  We are taught that "A blunt heavy
tool is used for crude and unshapely stone, as a firm, strong
hand removes the roughness of the exterior."

In the spiritual understanding, we can be quite ruthless with our
crudities and imperfections, and firmly refuse to allow them any
further place in our lives.  As a determined and oft-repeated
effort removes the outer crust of selfishness, we are able
gradually to transmute our feelings and actions, until they
become pure and unpolluted. The outer forms and habits once had
their use, as a protection for the growing shape within . . . but
when that inner structure becomes strong enough, the temporary
scaffolding must be removed.

One Masonic writer says that "the C.G. is an important implement
of labour, and highly esteemed as an instrument of art.  Though
known to workmen under different appellations, it is recognised
by all that no work of manual skill can be completed without it!"

In spiritual understanding, this simply means that skill without
exertion is of little avail. "Knowing what to do, and how to do
it" is not sufficient! The Mason must be positive!

He must use his abilities and his knowledge in a practical way!
No man can think for another! No man can act for another!

And the Path to the East is a road which every man must travel
alone! Life itself is to each man a solo . . . for no matter how
many share the outer seeming, each man is ALONE in his own mind!

When we begin to find the stones of our Selves taking some
definite shape, we are able to work more carefully, and the Ch. .
. . comes into use to chip off what remains of the old habits and
customs.

The modern teaching is that the Ch ... is the symbol of
Education, "by which means we are rendered fit members of
regularly organised Society". One writer points out that as
Education is a continuing process, entailing application and
perseverance for good results ... so must the rude material
receive its fine polish but from repeated efforts alone.

In the spiritual understanding, we realise that this
character-improvement must also be a continuing process . . . bad
habits cannot be discarded and forgotten once and for all! Rather
does it need constant, unflagging effort, and unabated enthusiasm
for the task ahead.

Summing up the lessons to be learned by understanding the
symbolism of the 1st Degree Working Tools . . . we can say that
Knowledge, to be effective in aiding our progress towards the
Light, must

1...be grounded on accuracy.
2...be aided by labour &
3...be supplemented by perseverance.

These requirements are spiritual, as well as material ... for
while accuracy, diligence, and perseverance are certainly
required in the erection of a building, such virtues are doubly
necessary if a Mason is seeking the deeper Truth of his Craft ...
and even though by accuracy and diligence, he has qualified
himself to be raised to the 2nd Degree ... still is perseverance
a vital necessity, for he is only at the beginning of learning!

The Working Tools of the 2nd Degree have a different theme to
those of the 1st Degree.  The latter, the Tools of Action, are
now to be replaced by the Tools of Testing and Proving! First,
the Sq . . . .

More, I think, than any other of the Mason's Working Tools, is
this one essentially a true symbol.

Just as a building must have true corners, strong and tested, if
it is to endure . . . even so must the spiritual structure a
Mason builds be tried and tested, and stand the test of strain.

Long centuies ago the Sq . . . was adopted as a symbol of Truth
and right-dealing ... so many centuries ago that those seeking to
delve into Masonry's historical beginnings will always have to
include the Sq . . . as a "sign". Always has the Sq . . . been a
sign of justice and morality . . . of a member's own
individuality balanced with that of fellow-members . . . cogs,
yon could say, in the social wheel, for the common good.

The Ritual bids the F.C. to strive to "regulate his actions
according to Masonic line and rule" . . . and every F.C. should
realise that this injunction is one of the most important ever
given him . . . for by his actions, will other men judge him
(and, oft-times, will, by his actions, judge Masonry!)

A Man, or a Mason, who thinks squarely, can do no mean action!

It is well known that, in Ancient Egypt, amulets were placed with
the body of the deceased person, as protection on the journey
into the unknown, and as proof of the fact that he or she had
been possessed of virtues in life.

Of these, the most often used, was an amulet in the form of a
square (as symbol of piety and moral virtue), and a plummet (to
secure justice and moderation for the soul of the deceased, in
his coming trials of the After life.)

Building Tool our Sq . . . may be . . . but in its spiritual
significance, its value is untold . . . and the need for its use
ever-present, in whatever walk of life a Mason may be.  Judge of
the High Court ... Surgical Specialist... Doctor of Divinity or
"doctor" of motorcars . . . Traffic-policeman or salesman in a
shop . . . each and every one needs the Sq . . . to regulate his
thinking, and his action.

The second of the 2nd Degree Tools is the L ..., used, the
builders say, to lay levels and to prove horizontals.

Symbolically, the L . . . is used to remind us that although in
the outer world riches and rank are counted as desirable, in the
Lodge we all are Brethren, and equal in the sight of our Master.

Spiritually, of course, the meaning goes deeper . . . for every
human being is a child of the G.G., irrespective of colour,
creed, or rank . . . and we all are equal. We shall realise that
fact as we face Death, even if we do not allow ourselves to face
it before.

We brought nothing into the world, and we shall find that we can
take nothing out, except the vibrational record of our earthly
doings.  Men call this record "Memory" . . . we weave it as we go
along . . . and every single man and woman, equal children of the
G.G., takes with them this single possession, when Death, the
"Great Leveller", claims his own!

The 3rd Working Tool of the 2nd Degree is the P ... R . . . .
used, the builders say, to try and adjust all uprights, while
fixing them on their proper bases.

The symbolic meaning of this Tool is not far to seek . . . the
Ritual likens it to "Jacob's Ladder", which forms a line of union
between Heaven and Earth, and hence calls it "the criterion of
moral rectitude and truth."

The mind of Man, in all truth, should be able to ascend that
symbolic ladder, to the spiritual heights . . . for all men are
born equal sons of the G.G., but there are so many things which
prove hindrances (revenge, avarice, malice) ... (the sins of
passion and persecution, the sins of omission as well as the sins
of commission).  The "line of union" which each man should be
able to find with his Maker, becomes, in most of us, sadly fogged
and clouded.

Every F.C. should be taught to realise that this "line of union",
to which our Ritual Book so specifically refers, does indeed
exist . . . and only by the use of the P . . . R . . . can he
keep that "line" open . . . only by ruthlessly clearing away from
his life the "doubtful" thoughts and actions, can he enable his
mind to become a clear channel to the Great Planner.

Summing up the lessons to be learned by understanding the
symbolism of the 2nd Degree Working Tools, we can say that in
attempting to construct our Spiritual Temple, we strive for

1 ... individual integrity, as we square our personal conduct.
2 ... humility, as we realise that we all stand level, in the
sight of the G.G., and
3 ... uprightness, and knowledge of that wondrous birthright, the
Ritual's "line of union".

The Working Tools of the 3rd Degree give rise to a new idea, the
keynote of which is PLAN.

For any building, large or small, to be a success, there must
originally have been a Plan.

These Working Tools, officially the tools of a builder, are the S
... t the P . . . , and the C ....

The first of these, the S . . . t, is described as an instrument
which acts on a centre-pin, whence a line is drawn to mark out
the ground plan of the intended structure.

As speculative Masons, we understand that our conduct should
conform to a straight and undeviating line of righteousness . . .
but in the deeper, spiritual understanding, this Tool means even
more.

Every human being is a son of the M... H.... and every human
being has a mind! Thus, your mind is one of millions, and at the
same time an infinitesimal part of the Great Mind, whom, in this
Degree, we know as the M . . . H . . .

That "Jacob's Ladder", which the Ritual Book calls the "line of
union between Earth and Heaven", is, in reality, the mind-link
between you and the Great Mind. So, when we are told that the S .
. . t represents a straight and undeviating line of
righteousness, that simply means that our "mind-line" to the M
... H ... must be kept clean and clear, unaffected by the
movement of the many forces that would pull many ways.  Actually,
the symbol implies "restraint", not the destruction of the forces
that impinge, but the using of them, to further our own aims.

The 2nd Working Tool, the P . . allows the Architect's Plan to
become visible to the builder.  Before, the edifice has been
merely a vision in the mind of the planner.  Now ... the
architect's vision can be shared by others.

The Speculative Mason is taught that the P . . . is, in fact a
symbol of Past, Present and Future . . . for in due time there
will be a detailed check on all our doings, for, and against, the
Plan.

So the P . . . reminds us to be true, in the light of our
understanding. Spiritually, the P . . . teaches us to form in
advance, clear plans of what we intend to do, so that our
spiritual seeking may be intelligent and well-proportioned, in
whatsoever branch of learning we aim to excel.

Finally, the last of the Working Tools, we have the C ... The
builders say the tool is intended to determine. With accuracy and
precision, the building's several parts.

The Speculative Mason learns that the C . . . remind us of the
limits of good and evil, "which we must studiously discover, and
heedfully observe".

The spiritual meaning of this Tool is that the C . . . keep us
within bounds. Thomas a Kempis once said, " He who has not been
tested, knows nothing," . . . and until a man, a Mason in
particular, comes up against those unknown forces, in his quest
for mind-mightiness, he does not know for certain what his
reactions will be.

If this "line of union" is clean and clear (the S ... t that
teaches restraint) . . . and if his plan of action is sure and
determined on the path of right (the P . . . which delineates
that Plan), then will the C ... act truly, and our actions will
be those of a good Mason, however sorely we nmy be tried.

The still, small voice of Conscience is with us all the time, and
it is not only when we are finally, summoned "from this sublunary
abode" that we feel the need of assessing our character-status!

A famous Sculptor was oncc asked how he carved rough masses of
stone into lovely statues.  His reply was . . . " I merely knock
away with gavel and chisel the stone I do not need . . . and the
statue is there . . . it was there all the time, I only FOUND
it!"

This idea may help us to understand that old teaching that "The
Kingdom of Heaven is within You."

Just as the perfect Ashlar is within the Rough Ashlar, so is
Virtue and Perfection within Man, if he but strives to find it!

These implements and Tools which are assigned to the Mason as he
progresses, are given to him that he may judge himself,
fearlessly, honestly and truthfully.

And the more we listen to that "still small voice," the clearer
will become that "line of union" spoken of in our Ritual Book.

Every Force, every Emotion, every Power, can be used for good or
for evil. Electricity, as everyone knows, is a good servant but a
bad Master. If you think about the matter, you will soon realise
that the power of Electricity is entirely neutral, and entirely
unconscious . . . so therefore, it is Man, the conscious being,
who must learn to use that unconscious power!

The power of the Universe is likewise entirely neutral, and
entirely unconscious.

A man can think malicious, envious, murderous thoughts . . . and
from out of the immense mind-field of the M.H., power will aid
the man's evil-planning, for his "line of union" will be with
minds like his own! A man can think with truth and faithfulness,
and can place the ideal of duty and honour in the forefront of
his mind . . . and from out of the immense mind-field of the
M.H., power will aid his good designs!

Freemasonry represents, in itself, a wondrous journey of
exploration.  When we become Masons, we become, in effect,
spiritual explorers!

Before our minds can be made fit to engage in this exploration,
we must submit to certain tests and trials.

If our minds are shallow, and filled with worldly things . . .
the Working Tools with which the Mason is progressively
presented, are to us little more than building-tools! . . . Sq .
. .'s and L . . .'s and C . . .'s. If our minds are seeking Aids
to Living, under the guise of Tools, then the Ritual shows us
these meanings, pointers on the Mason's Roadway of Living!

But if our minds have already realised that each man, with his
own individual mind, is an integral part of the Great Mind, then,
in modern spiritual understanding, our Working Tools can in truth
guide our deeper discernment.

The poet who wrote these words must have known of these things
when he said:

So shalt thou conquer Space and lastly climb
The walls of Time,
And by the golden Path the great have trod 
Reach up to God!"

He was not speaking of the clever politician, the financial
wizard, the great in rank or riches ... he meant the mind-great
sons of God . . . those who rose above the sordid and ordinary,
by knowing themselves.

The path of the Mason is full of symbols . . . signs, tokens,
words, gestures, knocks, tools, the furniture and accoutrements
of a Lodge, the clothing and adomments of a Mason . . . and every
symbol has a meaning!

As with the things of Matter, so with the things of Mind, and so
also with the things of our beloved Craft . . . most things have
a deeper, spiritual meaning but unless you search for it, you
will never find it.

May I leave with you this thought . . . DO NOT BE CONTENT WITH
LIFE'S SYMBOLS! Strive to get behind the allegory and the parable
and the emblem . . . delve into the deeper meanings . . . for he
who is content to take things at their face-value, he who is
content with the symbol, can never rise above it, and misses all
the real Beauty and Glory of Life.

"We learn of Path we seek to tread,
Of Compass point, and Plumb and Line.
With halting steps, and blind, we're lead ...
To Thee, oh Architect Divine."