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AA - ACA
ABBREVIATIONS
ACC - ADONI
ADONIS - AHIAH
AHIM - ALLE
ALLI - AMER
AMERICAN (MILITARY) UNION LODGE
AMET - ANDRE
ANDREA - ANTOI
ANTON - ARCHIT
ARCHIV - ASHLAR
ASHM - AZ
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ARCHIVES
This word means, properly, a place of deposit for records; but it means also the records themselves. Hence the archives of a Lodge are its records and other documents. The legend in the Second Degree, that the pillars of the Temple were made hollow to contain the archives of Freemasonry is simply a myth, and a modern one.
ARCHIVES, GRAND GUARDIAN OF THE
An officer in the Grand Council of Rites of Ireland who performs the duties of Secretary General.
ARCHIVES, GRAND KEEPER OF THE
An officer in some of the Bodies of the advanced degrees a whose duties are indicated by the name.
In the Grand Orient of France he is called Grand Garde des Timbres et Sceaux, as he combines the duties of a keeper of the archives and a keeper of the seals.
ARCHIVISTE
An officer in French Lodges who has charge of the archives.
The Germans call him the Archivar.
ARDAREL
A word in the advanced degrees, used as the name of the angel of fire. It is a distorted form of Adariel, or aw-dar-ale, meaning in Hebrew the splendor of God.
ARELIM
A word used in some of the rituals of the advanced degrees. It is found in Isaiah (xxxiii, 7), where it is translated, in the authorized version, "valiant ones", and by Lowth, "mighty men". It is a doubtful word, and is probably formed from Ariel, meaning in Hebrew the lion of God. D'Herbelot says that Mohammed called his uncle Hamseh, on account of his valor, the lion of God. In the Cabala, Arelim is the name of the third angel or sephirah, one of the ten attributes of God.
AREOPAGUS
The third apartment in a Council of Kadosh is so called. The place represents a tribunal, and the name is derived from the celebrated court of Athens.
ARGENTINE REPUBLIC
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A federal republic of south America. The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania granted a Charter on September 5, 1825, to Southern Star Lodge, No. 205, at Buenos Aires. This was the first Lodge established in the Argentine Republic, but in 1846, with other Lodges which had been formed, it was suppressed. |
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It was reported that a Grand Lodge of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite had existed in 1856 but it did not flourish for long. On April 22, 1858, however, the Supreme Council and Grand Orient of Uruguay constituted a Body similar to itself at Montevideo. About this time it is said that a Roman Catholic Bishop in Buenos Aires was active against the Freemasons to such an extent that an appeal was made against one of his Degrees to Pope Pius IX at Rome. As a result of the appeal it was claimed that a the Pope had, when a young man, taken the Degrees in 1816. This story, however, is also told with some variations in reference to there people and places. In 1861 the Grand Lodge of England and the Grand Orient of the Argentine agreed that the latter had the power to establish Lodges in La Plata and to appoint a District Grand Master to preside over the District Grand Lodge. |
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The Grand Orient of Spain has chartered two Lodges at Buenos Aires, the Grand Orient of Italy has authorized three Lodges at Bahia Blanca, four at Buenos Aires, two at Boca del Riachuclo, and one at La Plata; the Grand Lodge of Hamburg has a Lodge at Rosario de Santa Fe and another at Buenos Aires; the Grand Orient of France has also one at Buenos Aires which has been active since July 8, 1852, and the Grand Lodge of England has twenty-two scattered through the country, two being at Rosario, and seven at the capital. | |
ARGONAUTS, ORDER OF
A German androgynous or male and female society founded in 1775, by Brethren of the Rite of Strict Observance.
The name is from a Greek myth of those who sailed with Jason on the ship Argo in search of the golden fleece. Much of the myth of the Argonauts was introduced into the forms and ceremonies, and many of the symbols taken from this source, such as meeting upon the deck of a Vessel, the chief officer being called Grand Admiral, and the nomenclature of parts of the vessel being used. The motto was Es Lebe die Freude, or Joy forever.
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ARIEL In the demonology of the Cabala, the word is applied to the spirit of air; the guardian angel of innocence and purity: A name applied to Jerusalem; and to a water spirit. |
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The emblem of Jerusalem incorporates a lion, |
ARITHMETIC
That science which is engaged in considering the properties and powers of numbers, and, which, from its manifest necessity in all the operations of weighing, numbering, and measuring, must have had its origin in the remotest ages of the world.
In the lecture of the degree of Grand Master Architect, the application of this science to Freemasonry is made to consist in its reminding the Freemason that he is continually to add to his knowledge, never to subtract anything from the character of his neighbor, to multiply his benevolence to his fellow creatures, and to divide his means with a suffering Brother.
ARIZONA
The year 1866 saw the first Lodge established in Arizona when, on October 11, Aztlan Lodge at Prescott was chartered by the Grand Lodge of California. On March 23, 1882, delegates of three Lodges:
held a Convention at Tucson, and the representatives of Solomon Lodge, under dispensation, were invited to take part in the proceedings. After adopting a Constitution a Lodge of Master Masons was opened, and the Grand Officers were elected. |
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Two days later the Grand Officers were installed, the Convention closed, and the Grand Lodge duly opened.
A Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, Arizona No. l, at Phoenix, Maricopa County, was chartered August 24, 1880.
On the invitation of Companion Past High Priest George J. Roskruge, of Tucson Chapter, No. 3, a Convention of Royal Arch Masons met in the hall of Tucson Lodge, No. 4, on November 13, 1889, to consider the organization of a Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons for the Territory of Arizona. Five Chapters were represented:
The Grand Chapter of Arizona was opened in Ample Form, Martin W. Kales was elected Grand High Priest, and G. J. Roskruge. Grand Secretary.
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By a Dispensation dated July 1, 1893, a Council of Royal and Select Masters, Olive No. l, was organized at Prescott. It was chartered on August 22, 1893 but this Charter was annulled on October 6, 1903. Phoenix Council at Phoenix had a Dispensation dated April 4 1895, but this was surrendered, February 17, 1897, and a Dispensation dated April 5, 1895, was surrendered on September 2, 1897, by Tucson Council at Tucson. At a Convention in Tucson, February 14, 1922, General Grand Master Fay Hempstead presiding, representatives from Huachuca Council No. l, chartered August 31, 191a of Bisbee; Hiram Council No. 2, chartered August 31, 1915, of Prescott; Gila Council No. 3, chartered September 27, 1921, of Globe, and Phoenix Council No. 4, chartered September 27, 1921, of Phoenix, formed the Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of Arizona, with M. I. Riekmer N. Frederieks of Preseott as Grand Master, and R. I. George J. Roakruge of Tuewn as Grand Recorder. |
Geographic location of Arizona |
On February 22, 1883, Arizona Commandery, No. l, was established by Dispensation at Tuewn, Pima County. Its Charter was granted on August 23, 1883. The Grand Commandery of Arizona was formed by Warrant from the Grand Encampment of the United States on November 16, 1893. Sir George J. Roskruge, acting as proxy for Sir Hugh Mccurdy, Grand Master of Knights Templar, summoned together on November 14, 1893, in the Asylum of Phoenix Commandery, No. 3, the representatives of the three chartered Commanderies in Arizona - Arizona, No. l; Ivanhoe, No. 2; Phoenix, No. 3. A Constitution was adopted and Grand Officers elected. The following day at the same place the Grand Officers were installed and Sir George J. Roskruge declared the Grand Commandery then assembled to be duly constituted. A Charter was granted to Arizona, No. l, as a Consistory of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, at Tucson on October 20, 1909, and on the same date to a Council of Kadosh, Santa Cruz, No. I. A Chapter of Rose Croix, Santa Catalina, No. l, was chartered on October 23, 1907, and a Lodge of Perfection, Santa Rita, No. l, on April 25, 1883.
ARJUNA SOCIETY
Arjuna is the name of a personification in the Sanskrit poem, the Bhagavad Gita, and was given to a society formed at Manchester, New Hampshire, on January 1, 1893, for archeological studies, by S. C. Gould who became president. The latter published Notes and Queries monthly up to his death in 1909, some thirty-seven volumes, and in this publication only a few meetings of the Arjuna Society are recorded.
ARK
In the ritual of the American Royal Arch Degree three arks are mentioned:
In what is technically called the passing of the veils, each of these arks has its commemorative illustration, and in the order in which they have been named.
The first was constructed by Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah;
the second by Moses, Aholiab, and Bezaleel;
and the third was discovered by Joshua, Haggai, and Zerubbabel.
ARK AND ANCHOR
See Anchor and Ark
ARK AND DOVE
An illustrative Degree, preparatory to the Royal Arch, and usually conferred, when conferred at all, immediately before the solemn ceremony of exaltation.
The name of Noachite, sometimes given to it, is incorrect, as this belongs to a Degree in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. It is very probable that the Degree, which now, however, has lost much of its significance, was derived from a much older one called the Royal Ark Mariners, to which the reader is referred.
The legend and symbolism of the ark and dove formed an important part of the spurious Freemasonry of the ancients.
ARKANSAS
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For geographic location of Arkansas refer to enlarged image of U.S.A - Arizona [above]. The modern school of historians, Masonic and profane, write history, from original sources when possible, but in this case that method is no longer possible, as all the records of the Grand Lodge of this State were burned in 1864 and again in 1876 when all records gathered since 1864 were destroyed depriving them of all early records. |
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On November 29, 1819, the Grand Lodge of Kentucky issued a Dispensation to Arkansas Lodge, at the Post of Arkansas. Its Charter was granted on August 29, 1820, but was surrendered on August 28, 1822. Brother Robert Johnson was named in the Charter as Worshipful Master. Representatives of four Lodges, Washington, Morning Star, Western Star, and Mount Horeb, under dispensation, attended a Convention on November 21, 1838, and adopted a Constitution. Officers were elected and the Grand Lodge duly constituted. The first Chapter in Arkansas was chartered by the General Grand Chapter of the United States on September 17, 1841. With three others this Chapter organized the Grand Chapter of Arkansas, at a Convention held on April 28, 1851. Far West Chapter, No. l, joined in 1852. Companion Elbert H. English was elected the first Grand High Priest, and when the General Grand Chapter of the United States held its Convocation at Nashville on November 24, 1874, he was elected General Grand High Priest. Companion Albert Pike, elected Grand High Priest on November 10, 1853, and also on November 11, 1854, is said to have originated the Ritual employed in Arkansas, which is somewhat different from that in general use. |
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The Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite in the Southern Jurisdiction chartered five Councils in the State of which four formed the Grand Council, November 6, 1860. The Convention is said by Brother Robertson to have been called at the invitation of the Southern Supreme Council, one provision of its Constitution being that all members of that Supreme Council, resident in the State, and all the members of the Convention, should be members of the Grand Council as long as they were members of Councils in the State (see History of the Cryptic Rite, page 95).
The Hugh de Payens, No. l, Commandery was organized at Little Rock, December 20, 1853, and received a Charter September 10, 1856. On May 23, 1872, the Grand Commandery of Arkansas was constituted.
Arkansas, No. l, was established a Consistory at Little Rock by Charter dated October 10, 1892. On September 10, 1891, Charters were granted to a Council of Kadosh, Godfrey de Saint Omar, No. l, to a Chapter of Rose Croix, Excelsior, No. 1, and to a Lodge of Perfection, Acacia, No. l, all of which were located at Little Rock.
ARKITE WORSHIP
The almost universal prevalence among the nations of antiquity of some tradition of a long past deluge, gave rise to certain mythological doctrines and religious ceremonies, to which has been given the name of Arkite Worship, which was Very extensively diffused.
The evidence of this is to be found in the neared feeling which was entertained for the sacredness of high mountains, derived, it is supposed, from recollections of an Ararat, and from the presence in all the Mysteries of a basket, chest, or coffer, whose mystical character bore apparently a reference to the ark of Noah.
On the subject of this Arkite Worship, Jacob Bryant in A New System or an analysis of ancient Mythology, George Stanley Faber in a Dissertation on the Mysteries of the Cabiri, Godfrey Higgins in the Anacalypas, the Abbé Antoine de Banier, and many other writers, have made learned investigations, which may be consulted with advantage by the Masonic archeologist.
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ARK MARINER, JEWEL OF ROYAL The jewel of this Degree prefigures the teachings, which are unique, and draws their symbols from the sea, rain, ark, dove, olive-branch, and Rainbow. This last symbol, as the Almighty's sign, overshadows the ark, which really is the sign of Ishtar. The ark is said to have contained all the elements of Elohim's creative power, and in "about nine months and three days there came forth the pent-up energies of Maiya"; her symbol is the dove with the mystic olive, which are sacred to her. The whole underlying thought is that of creation. |
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ARK MARINERS
See Royal Ark Mariners
ARK, NOAH'S
Known also as the Ark of Safety. Constructed by Shem, Ham, and Japheth, under the superintendence of Noah, and in it, as a chosen tabernacle of refuge, the patriarch's family took refuge. This ark has been called by many commentators a tabernacle of Jehovah; and Doctor Jarvis, speaking of the Hebrew word, pronounced Zo-har, which has been translated window, says that, in all other passages of Scripture where this word occurs, it signifies the meridian light, the brightest effulgence of day, and therefore it could not have been an aperture, but a source of light itself. He supposes it therefore to have been the Divine Shekinah, or Glory of Jehovah which afterward dwelt between the cherubim over the Ark of the Covenant in the tabernacle and the Temple (see the Church of the Redeemed, 1, 20).
ARK OF THE COVENANT
The Ark of the Covenant or of the Testimony was a chest, originally constructed by Moses at God's command (Exodus xxv, 10), in which were kept the two tables of stone, on which were engraved the Ten Commandments.
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This ark contained, likewise, a golden pot filled with manna, Aaron's rod, and the tables of the covenant. It was at first deposited in the most sacred place of the tabernacle and afterward placed by Solomon in the Sanctum Sanctorum of the Temple, and was lost upon the destruction of that building by the Chaldeans. The later history of this ark is buried in obscurity. It is supposed that, upon the destruction of the first Temple by the Chaldeans, it was carried to Babylon among the other sacred utensils which became the spoil of the conquerors. But of its subsequent fate all traces have been lost. |
However, it is certain that it was not brought back to Jerusalem by Zerubbabel. The Talmudists say that there were five things which were the glory of the first Temple that were wanting in the second; namely, the Ark of the Covenant, the Shekinah or Divine Presence, the Urim and Thummim, the holy fire upon the altar, and the spirit of prophecy. The Rev. Salem Towne, it is true, has endeavored to Prove, by a Very ingenious argument, that the original Ark of the Covenant was concealed by Josiah, or by others, at some time previous to the destruction of Jerusalem, and that it was afterward, at the building of the second Temple, discovered and brought to light.
But such a theory is entirely at Variance with all the legends of the Degree of Select Master and of Royal Arch Freemasonry. To admit it would lead to endless confusion and contradictions in the traditions of the Order. Besides, it is in conflict with the opinions of the Rabbinical Writers and every Hebrew scholar. Josephus and the Rabbis allege that in the second Temple the Holy of Holies was empty, or contained only the Stone of Foundation which marked the place which the ark should have occupied.
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The ark was made of shittim wood, which is a species of acacia, overlaid, within and without, with pure gold, and was about three feet nine inches long, two feet three inches wide, and of the same extent in depth. It had on the side two rings of gold, through which were placed staves of shittim wood, by which, when necessary, the ark was home by the Levites. Its covering was of pure gold, over which was placed two figures called cherubim, an order of exalted angelic beings, with expanded wings. The covering of the ark was called nana, a Hebrew word pronounced kap-po-reth, from the word ana, pronounced kaw-far and meaning to blot out or pardon, and hence its English name of mercy-seat, as being the place where the intercession for sin was made. |
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The researches of archeologists in the last few years have thrown much light on the Egyptian mysteries. Among the ceremonies of that ancient people was one called the Procession of Shrines, which is mentioned in the Rosetta stone, and depicted on the Temple walls. One of these shrines was an ark, which was carried in procession by the priests, who supported it on their shoulders by staves passing through metal rings.
This ark was thus brought into the Temple and deposited on a stand or altar, that the ceremonies prescribed in the ritual might be performed before it. The contents of these arks were various, but always of a mystical character. Sometimes the ark would contain symbols of Life and Stability; sometimes the sacred beetle, the symbol of the Sun; and there was always a representation of two figures of the goddess Theme or Truth and Justice, which overshadowed the ark with their wings. These coincidences of the Egyptian and Hebrew arks must have been more than accidental.
ARK, SUBSTITUTE
The chest or coffer which constitutes a part of the furniture, and is used in the ceremonies of a Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, and in a Council of Select Masters according to the American system, is called by Freemasons the Substitute Ark, to distinguish it from the other ark, that which was constructed in the wilderness under the direction of Moses, and which is known as the ark of the Covenant. This the Substitute Ark was made to represent under circumstances that are recorded in the Masonic traditions, and especially in those of the Select Degree.
The ark used in Royal Arch and Cryptic Freemasonry in the United States is generally of this form:
Prideaux, on the authority of Lightfoot, contends that, as an ark was indispensable to the Israelitish worship, there was in the second Temple an ark which had been expressly made for the purpose of supplying the place of the first or original ark, and which, without possessing any of its prerogatives or honors, was of precisely the same shape and dimensions, and was deposited in the same place. The Masonic legend, whether authentic or not, is simple and connected. It teaches that there was an ark in the second Temple, but that it was neither the Ark of the Covenant, which had been in the Holy of Holies of the first Temple, nor one that had been constructed as a substitute for it after the building of the second Temple. It was that ark which was presented to us in the Select Master's Degree, and which being an exact copy of the Mosaical ark, and intended to replace it in case of its loss, which is best known to Freemasons as the Substitute Ark.
Lightfoot gives these Talmudic legends, in his Prospect of the Temple, in the following language:
"It is fancied by the Jews, that Solomon, when he built the Temple, foreseeing that the Temple should be destroyed, caused very obscure and intricate vaults under ground to be made, wherein to hide the ark when any such danger came; that howsoever it went with the Temple, yet the ark, which was the very life of the Temple, might be saved. And they understand that passage in the Second Chronicles ixxxv, 3), Josiah said unto the Levites, Put the holy ark into the house which Solomon, the son of David, did build, etc., as if Josiah, having heard by the reading of Moses' manuscript, and Huldah's prophecy of the danger that hung over Jerusalem, commanded to convey the ark into this vault, that it might be secured; and with it, say they, they laid up Aaron's rod, the pot of manna, and the anointing oil. For while the ark stood in its place upon the stone mentioned they hold that Aaron's rod and the pot of manna stood before it; but, now, were all conveyed into obscurity-and the stone upon which the ark stood lay over the mouth of the Vault. But Rabbi Solomon, which useth not, ordinarily, to forsake such traditions, hath given a more serious gloss upon the place; namely, that whereas Manasseh and Amon had removed the ark out of its habitation, and set up images and abominations there of their own-Joshua speaketh to the priests to restore it to its please again.
What became of the ark, at the burning of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar, we read not; it is most likely it went to the fire also. However it sped, it was not in the second Temple; and is one of the five choice things that the Jews reckon wanting there. Yet they had an ark there also of their own making, as they had a breastplate of judgment; which, though they both wanted the glory of the former, which was giving of oracles, yet did they stand current as to the other matters of their worship, as the former breastplate and ark had done.
The idea of the concealment of an ark and its accompanying treasures always prevailed in the Jewish church. The account given by the Talmudists is undoubtedly mythical; but there must, as certainly, have been some foundation for the myth, for every myth has a substratum of truth. The Masonic tradition differs from the Rabbinical, but is in every way more reconcilable with truth, or at least with probability. The ark constructed by Moses, Aholiab, and Bezaleel was burned at the destruction of the first Temple; but there was an exact representation of it in the second.
ARMENBUCHSE
The poor-box; the name given by German Freemasons to the box in which collections of money are made at a Table-Lodge for the relief of poor Brethren and their families.
ARMES
A corrupted form of Hermes, found in the Lansdowne and some other old manuscripts.
ARMIGER
ARMOR
In English statutes, the word armor means the whole apparatus of war; offensive and defensive arms. In the Order of the Temple pieces of armor are used to a limited extent. In the Chivalric Degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, in order to carry out the symbolism as well as to render effect to its dramas, armor pieces and articles for the use of knights become necessary, with mantling, crest, mottoes, etc. Some of these are herein enumerated as follows:
| AILLETTES | Square shields for the shoulders, the original of the present epaulet. |
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| ANLACE | A broad two-edged dagger or short sword once hung at the belt or girdle. | |
| BALDRIC | Belt diagonally crossing the body. | |
| BATTLE-AXE | Weapon with ax blade and spearhead. | |
| BEAVER | Front of helmet, which is raised to admit food and drink or permit the recognition by a View Of the face. | |
| BEAKER | The drinking-cup with mouth-lip. | |
| BELT | For body. Badge of knightly rank. | |
| BRASSARD | Armor to protect the arm from elbow to shoulder. | |
| BUCKLER | A round shield for protecting the body. | |
| CORSELET | Breastplate or body armor. | |
| CREST | Ornament on helmet designating rank and in heraldry as well to show identity. | |
| CUIRASS | Defensive armor covering the entire upper part of the trunk and including breastplate and backplate, but has also been applied to breastplate alone. | |
| GADLING | Sharp metallic knuckles on gauntlet. | |
| GAUNTLET | Mailed gloves. | |
| GORGET | Armor between the neck guard and breastplate. | |
| GREAVES | Guards for calves of legs. | |
| HALBERD | Battle-ax and spearhead on long staff formerly used as weapon but later became an emblem of authority at ceremonials. | |
| HAUBERK | Shirt of mail, of rings or scales. | |
| HELMET or CASQUE | Armor for the head. | |
| JAMBEUX | Armor for the legs. | |
| JUPON | Sleeveless jacket, to the hips. | |
| LANCE | Long spear with metallic head and pennon or small pointed flag bearing personal device. | |
| MACE | Heavy short staff of metal, ending with spiked ball. | |
| MANTLE | Outer cloak. | |
| MORION | Head armor without vizor. | |
| PENNON | A pennant, or short streamer, pointed or forked. | |
| PLUME | The designation of knighthood. | |
| SALLET | Light helmet for foot-soldiers. | |
| SOLLERETS | Shoes of mail. | |
| VIZOR | Front of helmet (slashed), moving on pivots. |
ARMORY
An apartment attached to the asylum of a Commandery of Knights Templars, in which the swords and other parts of the costume of the knights are deposited for safe-keeping.
ARMS OF FREEMASONRY
Stow says that the Freemasons were incorporated as a company in the twelfth year of Henry 1412. Their arms were granted to them, in 1472, by William Hawkesloe, Clarenceux King-at-Arms, and are azure on a chevron between three castles argent; a pair of compasses somewhat extended, of the first. Crest, a castle of the second. They were adopted, subsequently, by the Grand Lodge of England.
The Atholl Grand Lodge objected to this as an unlawful assumption by the Modern Grand Lodge of Speculative Freemasons of the arms of the Operative Freemasons.
They accordingly adopted another coat, which Laurence Dermott blazons as follows:
Quarterly per squares, counter changed vert. In the first quarter, azure, a lion rampant, or. In the second quarter, or, an ox
passant sable. In the third quarter, or, a man with hands erect proper, robed crimson and ermine. In the fourth quarter, azure, an
eagle displayed or Crest, the holy ark of the covenant proper, supported by cherubim. Motto, Kodes la Adonai, that is, Holiness to
the Lord.
The reader in following the above language of heraldry will note, with reference to the colors, that of the words in French, taking them in order, azure means blue, argent means silver, vert means green, or means gold, sable means black.
These arms as described by Dermott and adopted by his Grand Lodge are derived from the tetrarchical, as Sir Thos. Browne calls
them, or general banners of the four principal tribes; for it is said that the twelve tribes, during their passage through the
wilderness, were encamped in a hollow square, three on each side, as follows:
Judah, Zebulun, and Issachar,
in the East, under the
general banner of Judah; Dan, Asher, and Naphtali,
in the North; under the banner of Dan; Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin,
in the
West, under the banner of Ephraim; and Reuben, Simeon, and Gad,
in the South, under Reuben
(see Banners).
ARNOLD, BENEDICT
Born at Norwich, Connecticut, January 14, 1741, and died at London, England, June l4, 1801. Settled in New Haven, 1762, and as captain of the local militia offered his services in Revolutionary War, becoming Major-General in 1777, and a trusted associate of Washington but his progress embroiled by several serious conflicts with other officers and his sensitive waywardness matching his bravery, his vexations resulted in an attempt to betray West Point to the British. The plot was discovered but Arnold escaped and as Brigadier-General led an attack upon the Americans at Richmond, Virginia, and New London, Connecticut. The same year, 1781, he removed to England. The published history, 1917, Hiram Lodge No. l, New Haven, Connecticut, page 20, Past Grand Master Wallace S. Moyle writes:
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Arnold is recorded as being present as a visiting Brother. Page 82 of the history gives the date as April 10, 1765. Past Master George E. Frisbie, Secretary of Hiram Lodge, was, however, of the opinion (letter dated October 21, 1926) ArnoldAmold was made a Freemason in Hiram Lodge and held membership there until his death. |
A temperate account is the Life of Benedict Arnold by Isaac N. Arnold, 1880, Chicago. Nathan Whiting was Master for several years, was with the Colonial Army in the wars against Canada, was at the fall of Quebec, 1761, and from the outbreak of hostilities to the end Whiting, with other members of the Lodge, was at the front.
AROBA
Pledge, covenant, agreement. Latin, Arrhabo, a token or pledge. Hebrew, Arab, pronounced aw-rab, which is the root of Arubbah, pronounced ar-oob-baw, surety, hostage. This important word, in the Fourteenth Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, is used when the initiate partakes of the Ancient Aroba, the pledge or covenant of friendship, by eating and drinking with his new companions. The expression is of greater import than that implied in mere hospitality. The word aroba appears nowhere in English works, and seems to have been omitted by Masonic writers.
The root arab is one of the oldest in the Hebrew language, and means to interweave or to mingle, to exchange, to become surety for anyone, and to pledge even the life of one person for another, or the strongest pledge that can be given. Judah pleads with Israel to let Benjamin go with him to be presented in Egypt to Joseph, as the latter had requested. He says:
"Send the lad with me; I will be surety for him" (Genesis xliii, 9)
and before Joseph he makes the same remark in Genesis (xliv, 32). Job (xvii, 3), appealing to God, says:
"Put me in a surety with thee; who is he that will strike hands with me?" (see also First Samuel xvii, 18).
In its pure form, the word arubbah occurs only once in the Old Testament (Proverbs xvii, 18):
"A man void of understanding striketh hands, and becometh surety in the presence of his friend".
In Latin, Plautus makes use of the following phrase:
Hunc arrhabonem amoris a me accipe, meaning Accept from me this pledge of love, or more freely, Accept this pledge of my love.
ARRAS, PRIMORDIAL CHAPTER OF
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Arras is a town in France in the department of Pas de Calais, where, in the year 1747, Charles Edward Stuart, the Pretender, is said to have established a Sovereign Primordial and Metropolitan Chapter of Rosicrucian Freemasons. A portion of the charter of this body is given by Ragon in his Orthodoxie Maçonnique. In 1853, the Count de Hamel, prefect of the department, discovered an authentic copy, in parchment, of this document bearing the date of April 15, 1747, which he deposited in the departmental archives. This document is as follows:
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We have in favor of them created and erected, and do create and erect by the present Bull, in the aforesaid city of Arras, a Sovereign Primordial Chapter of Rose Croix, under the distinctive title of Scottish Jacobite, to be ruled and governed by the Knights Lagneau and Robespierre; Avocats Hazard, and his two sons, physician ; J. B. Luoet, our upholsterer, and Jérome Cellier our clockmaker, giving to them and to their successors the power not only to make knights, but even to create a Chapter in whatever town they may thank fit, provided that two Chapters shall not be created in the same town however populous it may be.
And that credit may be given to our present Bull, we have signed it with our hand and caused to be affixed there unto the secret seal, and countersigned by the Secretary of our Cabinet, Thursday, 15th of the second month of the Year of the Incarnation, 1747.
ARREARS, EXCLUSION FOR
See Exclusion
ARREST OF CHARTER
To arrest the Charter of a Lodge is a technical phrase by which is meant to suspend the work of a Lodge, to prevent it from holding its usual communications, and to forbid it to transact any business or to do any work. A Grand Master cannot revoke the Warrant of a Lodge; but if, in his opinion, the good of Freemasonry or any other sufficient cause requires it, he may suspend the operation of the Warrant until the next Communication of the Grand Lodge, which Body is alone competent to revise or approve of his action.
ARS QUATUOR CORONATORUM
Ars Quatuor Coronatorum are the volumes of Transactions published each year since its constitution in 1886 by the Quatuor Coronati Lodge of Research, No. 2076, London, England.
They contain the treatises read before the Lodge, discussions, Minutes of the Lodge, miscellaneous short articles, many illustrations as informative as the text, book reviews, obituaries, lists of members, etc. The typical treatise is a one-part essay (though some are of two or more parts) prepared with much care and labor by a specialist in some chosen field of Masonic study or research; it usually contains a bibliography, and is followed by discussions, written out with care and oftentimes in advance, which have in many instances been as weighty and as instructive as the treatise they have criticized.
Treatises and discussions both are independent, responsible, uncolored by personal feelings; are critical of each other. With their more than fifty volumes the Ars are now a larger set of books than the Encyclopedia Britannica, and perform the function for Masonic knowledge that is performed by the Britannica and similar works for general knowledge; since almost every contributor to the Ars has been a trained scholar, at least has been a specialist in some field of scholarship, the academic standards are higher than those of popular encyclopedias.
Book dealers catalogs for 1945 (to give one year for purposes of comparison) list complete sets at from $500 to $ 1200. Masonic students however need not wholly deny themselves ownership of Ars because the lack of early volumes has created a scarcity value for the whole set; there is no continuity from one volume to another, therefore without reader's loss he can start with whatever earliest volume he can find.
In its Masonic Papers, Vol. l, page 263, Research Lodge, No. 281, Seattle, Washington, publishes a complete Index of Ars Quatuor
Coronatorum;
Part I, an index of titles;
Part II, an index of authors.
The last item in Part I is numbered 770; this is somewhat in excess of the total number of treatises in A.C. because of cross-indexing
and because inaugural Addresses, etc., are included. The treatises on Freemasonry in the United States (which is 200 years old and in
which are some 90% of the Masons of the world) are:
ARTHUSIUS, GOTTHARDUS
A learned native of Dantzic, Rector of the Gymnasium at Frankfort-the-Main, who wrote many works on Rosicrucianism, under the assumed name of Irenaeus Agnostus (see agnostus).
ARTILLERY COMPANY, ANCIENT
Like the Worshipful Company of Musicians (which see) the history of the Ancient and Honorary Artillery Company of England runs a cotirse singularly parallel with the course of Masonic history, so that each throws light on the other.
The parent Company received its charter in England, in 1537. Because artillery was a modern invention (first used by the Turks when they captured Constantinople) this gild, "art", or society was not as ancient as others, but it claimed to be an integral part of the art of war, and on that ground had traditions and legends as old as any and older than most. A branch company was set up in Boston, Mass with a charter from the parent company dated January 13, 1638; the relation between the two was similar to the relations between an American Provincial Grand Lodge and the Grand Lodge at London. (see The Historic Book, by Justin H. Smith; printed privately, by the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Co. in Town of Boston; 1903.)
ARTISAN, CHIEF
An officer in the Council of Knights of Constantinople
ART, ROYAL
See Royal art
ARTS
In the Masonic phrase, "arts, parts, and points of the Mysteries of Freemasonry"; arts means the knowledge, or things made known, parts the degrees into which Freemasonry is divided, and points the rules and usages (see Parts, and also Points).
ARTS, LIBERAL
See Liberal Arts and Sciences.
|
ARUNDEL, THOMAS HOWARD, EARL OF Tradition places Arundel as the Grand Master of English Freemasons from 1633 to 1635. This claim is in accordance with the accounts of Anderson and Preston. |
Thomas Howard |
ARYAN
One of the three historical divisions of religion - the other two being the Turanian and the Shemitic. It produced Brahmanism, Buddism, and the Code of Zoroaster.
ASAROTA
A variegated pavement used for flooring in temples and ancient edifices.
ASCENSION DAY
Also called Holy Thursday. A festival of the Christian church held in commemoration of the ascension of our Lord forty days after Easter. It is celebrated as a feast day by Chapters of Rose Croix.
ASES
The twelve gods and as many goddesses in the Scandinavian mythology.
ASHE, D.D., REV. JONATHAN
A literary plagiarist who resided in Bristol, England. In 1814 he published The Masonic Manual; or Lectures on Freemasonry. Ashe does not, it is true, pretend to originality, but abstains from giving credit to Hutchinson, from whom he has taken at least two-thirds of his book. A second edition appeared in 1825, and in 1843 an edition was published by Spencer, with valuable notes by Dr. Oliver.
ASHER, DR. CARL WILHELM
The first translator into German of the Halliwell or Regius Manuscript, which he published at Hamburg, in 1842, under the title of Alteste Urkunde der Freimaurerei in England. This work contains both the original English document and the translation.
ASHLAR
This is defined by Bailey as "Freestone as it comes out of the quarry". In speculative Freemasonry we adopt the ashlar, in two different states, as symbols in the Apprentice's Degree. The Rough Ashlar, or stone in its rude and unpolished condition, is emblematic of man in his natural state ignorant, uncultivated, and vicious. But when education has exerted its wholesome influence in expanding his intellect, restraining his passions, and purifying his life, he then is represented by the Perfect Ashlar, which, under the skillful hands of the workmen, has been smoothed, and squared, and fitted for its place in the building. In the older lectures of the eighteenth century the Perfect Ashlar is not mentioned, but its place was supplied by the Broached Thurnel.
(L) - Perfect Ashlar // Rough Ashlar - (R) |
ASHLAR, PERFECT
The publication of a number of Minute Books of old Lodges since it was written calls for a revision of the paragraph on ASHLAR, on page 107. In one of his memoranda on the building of St. Paul s, Sir Christopher Wren shows by the context that as the word was there and then used an ashlar was a stone, ready-dressed from the quarries (costing about $5.00 in our money), for use in walls; and that a "perpend asheler" was one with polished ends each of which would lie in a surface of the wall; in that case a "rough" ashlar was not a formless mass of rock, but was a stone ready for use, no surface of which would appear in the building walls; it was unfinished in the sense of unpolished. In other records, of which only a few have been found, a "perpend" ashlar was of stone cut with a key in it so as to interlock with a second stone cut correspondingly.
It is doubtful if the Symbolic Ashlars were widely used among the earliest Lodges; on the other hand they are mentioned in Lodge inventories often enough to make it certain that at least a few of the old Lodges used them; and since records were so meagerly kept it is possible that their use may have been more common than has been believed. On April 11, 1754, Old Dundee Lodge in Wapping, London, "Resolved that A New Perpend Ashlar Inlaid with Devices of Masonry Valued at £2 12s. 6d. be purchased". The word "new" proves that the Lodge had used an Ashlar before 1754, perhaps for many years before; the word "devices" suggests long years of symbolic use.
It is obvious that the Ashlars as referred to in the above were not like our own Perfect and Imperfect Ashlars. It is certain that our use of them did not originate in America; there are no known data to show when or where they originated, but it is reasonable to suppose that Webb received them from Preston, or else from English Brethren in person who knew the Work in Preston's period. Operative Masons doubtless used the word in more than one sense, depending on time and place; and no rule can be based on their Practice.
The Speculative Masons after 1717, as shown above, must have used "Perfect Ashlar" in the sense of "Perpend Ashlar"; nevertheless the general purpose of the symbolism has been the same throughout - a reminder to the Candidate that he is to think of himself as if he were a building stone and that he will be expected to polish himself in manners and character in order to find a place in the finished Work of Masonry. The contrast between the Rough Ashlar and the Perfect Ashlar is not as between one man and another man, thereby generating a snobbish sense of superiority; but as between what a man is at one stage of his own self-development and what he is at another stage.
In Sir Christopher Wren's use of "ashlar" (he was member of Lodge of Antiquity) the stone had a dimension of 1 x 1 x 2 feet; and many building records, some of them very old, mention similar dimensions; certainly, the "perpend" or "perfect" ashlar almost never was a cube, because there are few places in a wall where a cube will serve. Because in our own symbolism the Perfect Ashlar is a cube, a number of commentators on symbolism have drawn out of it pages of speculation on the properties of the cube, and on esoteric meanings they believe those properties to possess; the weight possessed by those theorizing is proportionate to the knowledge and intelligence of the commentator; but in any event these cubic interpretations do not have the authority of Masonic history behind them.
NOTE:
During the many years of building and re-building at Westminster Abbey the clerk of the works kept a detailed account of
money expended, money received, wages, etc. These records, still in existence, are called Fabric Rolls. In the Fabric Roll for 1253
the word "asselers" occurs many times, and means dressed stones, or ashlars. A "perpens" or "parpens", or "perpent-stone" was "a
through stone", presumably because it was so cut that each end was flush with a face of the wall. It proves that "perpend ashlar" was
not a "perfect ashlar" in the present sense of being a cube.
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© 2008 Lodge St. Andrew #518
