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adventures of the queen Isis were those of the moon, sung by her worshippers.

I now proceed with the

Master Mason's Degree.

This degree, as before observed, is chiefly occupied in the pretended assassination of Hiram Abiff.*

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The Temple of Solomon, like the temples of the Egyptians and other nations of the east, is said to have been constructed with a view to a representation of the world in miniature; thereby the better to adapt it to the popular prejudice in favor of performing religious rites in places where the operations of nature were exhibited before the worshippers. This temple, therefore, was well adapted for those astronomical allusions which composed the mystic rites of the ancients; and was for this reason probably selected, by the Druids, as an appropriate place in which to lay the scene of masonic mysteries.

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The equinoxes and solstices are called the gates of heaven through which the sun passes. It was only at the latter, however, that any obstructions were believed to occur to his free egress and The scene, therefore, of the death of Hiram, who takes the part of Osiris, as now acted in the lodges, is not a close imitation of the original, which has been lost sight of, but is sufficiently so to show from whence the copy is derived.

Are you a master mason?—I am; try me; prove me; disprove me, if you can. Where were you passed master?—In a perfect lodge of masters. What makes a perfect lodge of masters ?-Three. Why do three make a lodge? Because there were three grand Masons in building the world. (Master Key, and Jachin and Boaz.)

Here the Kneph, Osiris, and Isis of the Egyptians; the Agathon, Logos, and Psyche of the Platonists; and the Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty of masonry, are too clearly indicated to admit of misinterpre.

tation.

From whence came you?-From the east. Where are you going?-To the west. For what purpose?-To search for that which

There is no propriety in the addition of Abiff or Abbif to the name of Hiram. In the original Hebrew from which it is taken, the affix is Abbi, the possessive case of Abba; which signifies father, and figuratively, a superior. His proper address, therefore is my father, or, in court style, my lord. In this sense, it is equivalent to Adonis, Baal, or Osiris, all names of the sun. And as Solomon's temple was built so as to imitate the world, the grand architect was very properly entitled.

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was lost. What was that which was lost?-The master mason's word. How was it lost?-By three great knocks, or the death of our master Hiram. Where do you hope to find it?-With a center. What is a center?-A point within a circle, from which every part of the circumference is equally distant. Why with a center?— Because, from that point, no master mason can err.

The allusion here to Osiris the sun is very plain: and, when found, it is evident he must be on the imaginary circle made by his annual course, unless he should deviate from the order of nature. And the point in the center of that circle, according to the meaning evidently intended, it is equally certain, would be found in its proper place.

The story of Hiram is as follows:

At the building of Solomon's temple, fifteen fellow-crafts, perceiving that the work was nearly finished, and not having received the master's word, grew impatient, and agreed to extort it from their master Hiram the first opportunity they could find of meeting him alone, that they might pass for masters in other countries, and receive wages as such; but before they could accomplish their scheme, twelve of them recanted. The other three, being of a more determined character, persisted in their design their names were Jubela, Jubelo, and Jubelum.

Hiram having entered the temple at twelve at noon, as was his custom, to pay his devotion to God, the three assassins placed themselves at the east, west, and south doors; Hiram having finished his prayer, came to the east door, which was guarded by Jubela, who demanded of him the master's grip and word in a resolute manner; he received for answer from Hiram, that it was not customary to ask it in such a strain; that he himself did not receive it so. He told him farther, that it was not in his power alone to reveal it, except in the presence of Solomon, and Hiram, king of Tyre. Jubela being dissatisfied with this answer, struck him across the throat with a twentyfour inch guage. Hiram then flew to the south door, where he received similar treatment from Jubelo; and thence to the west door, where he was struck on his head by Jubelum, with a gavel or setting maul, (Jachin and Boaz.)

which occasioned his death. Carlile places the conspirators at the east, north, and south entrances of the temple; and makes Hiram receive the finishing stroke at the east door. Whereas, to render the parallel in strict accordance as an allegory of the death of Osiris, Hiram should expire at the north or south gate or door. The story is badly conceived, as there is no

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pretext for confining the word to Solomon and the two Hirams, nor for requiring that it should not be communicated except in the presence of the three. Besides, according to masonic tradition, there were at the same time 3,300 master masons employed on the temple, who must of course have been furnished with the master's word. To make out the parody, however, it was necessary that Hiram be put to death, and a cause must be invented to procure it; and altho the one fixed upon for the purpose, appears very mal á propos, it seems to be satisfactory to the craft.

It may be remarked, however, that Solomon and the two Hirams are here intended to represent the trinity in unity, and therefore, it may be supposed, could not act separately.

How did the ruffians dispose of the body?—They carried it out at the west door (according to the apparent course of the sun) and hid it till twelve o'clock the next night, when they met by agreement, and buried it on the side of a hill, in a grave six feet perpendicular, dug due east and west; and stuck down a sprig of cassia,* to mark the place.

Master Hiram not coming to view the workmen as usual, king Solomon caused search to be made for him in and about the temple; which proving ineffectual, he ordered the roll of workmen to be called; when it was found that three were missing, namely, Jubela, Jubelo, and Jubelum. The twelve fellow-crafts who had recanted, then went to Solomon with white aprons and gloves, emblems of their innocence, and informed him of every thing relating to the affair, as far as they knew, and offered their assistance to discover the three others who had absconded.

Solomon then ordered twelve trusty fellow-crafts to be selected, and sent three east, three west, three north, and three south, in search of Hiram. Elder Bernard gives fifteen as the number selected for this purpose, and adds, "In some lodges they send only twelve, when their own lectures say fifteen were sent." The Elder was not aware of the vast importance of confining the number to precisely twelve. Those who were deputed for this service represented the twelve signs of the zodiac; one of whom would be sure to find their grand master Hiram, the personification of Osiris the sun.

The party that took a westerly course, fell in with a way-faring

"Cassia, my friends, did not grow about Jerusalem." (Dr. Dalcho.)

man, near the coast of Joppa, who, on being interrogated, informed them that he had seen three men pass that morning, whom from their appearance, he took to be workmen from the temple. They had been "seeking for a passage to Ethiopia, and not being able to obtain it, had turned back into the country. This party then returned, and made their report to Solomon. Of the three who steered an easterly course, one, being weary, sat down at the brow of a hill to rest and refresh' himself; and in rising, he caught hold of a twig, which coming easily up, excited his suspicions; and perceiving the ground to have been recently broken, he hailed his companions, and on searching, they found the body of their grand master Hiram, decently buried in a handsome grave, six feet east and west, and six feet perpendicular; and its covering was green moss and turf, which surprised them: whereupon they exclaimed, muscus domus Dei gratia,* which, according to masonry, is, thanks be unto God, our master has got a mossy house. So they covered him closely, and went and acquainted king Solomon.

In regard to the conspirators, it shall suffice here to say, that according to the story, they were discovered, arrested, and executed. "Jubelum's body was severed in two, and scattered in south and north." (Jachin and Boaz.)

After which Solomon ordered twelve crafts to take up the body of Hiram, in order that it might be interred in a solemn manner in the sanctum sanctorum; he also told them, if they could not find a keyword about him, it was lost; for there were only three in the world to whom it was known; and unless they were present it could not be delivered; and Hiram being dead, it consequently was lost. But the first sign and word that were made and spoken at his raising should be the master's word ever after. The twelve crafts went and cleared the rubbish, and found their master in a mangled condition, having lain fourteen days; upon which they lifted up their hands above their heads and exclaimed, O Lord my God! They failed in their attempts to raise the body, either by the grip of the apprentice, or that of the fellow-craft, the flesh cleaving from the bone: upon which they all raised their hands, and exclaimed, O Lord my God! I fear the master's word is forever lost; was there no help for the widow's son?

King Solomon then ordered a lodge of master masons to be summoned, and said, I will go myself in person, and try to raise the body by the master's grip or lion's paw. Some say, by the strong grip or

The Latin tongue seems to have been familiar to the Hebrew masons of king Solomon's temple.

lion's paw. (Bernard.) By means of this grip the body of grand master Hiram was raised.*

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If this affair would admit of serious criticism, upon the supposition that this word was a mere name, term, or phrase, it might be asked what was the use in seeking for that which when found, could not be made use of, unless the finders turned traitors, and exposed it unlawfully. The story, as before observed, wants plausibility.

This word, however, is not a name, it is the personified Logos, the key stone of the arch, the absence of which rendered the structure incomplete.

That Solomon and the two Hirams are made to personate the pagan trinity is evident from the following:

Master What supports our lodge? Ans. Three pillars. Pray what are their names, brother?-Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty. What do they represent?-Three grand masters; Solomon, king of

*The author of the Secret Discipline, &c. before noticed, remarks on the password of this degree that, "By a singular lapsus lingua, the moderns have substituted Tubal Cain in the third degree for Tymborein, to be entombed. This in the ancient Catechesis Arcani, was the pass-word, from the symbolical representation of the state of death, to the restored and undying existence."

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