THE BUILDER FEBRUARY 1916

THE SQUARE AND THE CROSS

BY BRO. A.S. MACBRIDE, SCOTLAND

(One of the most delightful of recent Masonic books is that
entitled, "Speculative Masonry: Its Mission, Its Evolution, and Its
Landmarks," by Brother A.S. Macbride; a series of lectures
delivered in the Lodge of Instruction in connection with Progress
Lodge, Glasgow, Scotland. The lectures follow the well-established
conclusions of Masonic scholarship, as revealed in the work of
Gould, Speth, Crawley and Pike, but they give the results of that
learning in popular and suggestive form, with many exquisite
studies in symbolism. One of the most interesting chapters in the
book is that on "The Law of the Square," which the writer discusses
under five heads: the law of the Square in Nature, in material
building, in moral building, in relation to the Circle and, finally
in relation to the Cross. We give here an excerpt from the study of
the Square and the Cross, having already reviewed the book in our
Library column.)

MASONS, generally, do not associate the square with the cross; yet
essentially they are the same. The cross is composed of right
angles, or squares. It is found on rocks chiselled in the
prehistoric ages and in graves carved on rude pottery buried with
bodies whose very bones in the course of thousands of years have
crumbled into dust, and on the top of which lie the ruins of
periods and of peoples of whom history has not the faintest trace.
It is found thus, not in an isolated spot, but in regions scattered
far apart. It is the most universal of all symbols. In the Hindu
temples, in the Egyptian pyramids, in the ruined altars of America,
and in the churches of Christendom, ancient and modern alike, it
occupies a conspicuous position.

The cross--with a circle round it--is associated with the earliest
known relics of humanity, with the most ancient carvings and
records of India, and with coins and medals belonging to a
pre-Christian age in France and elsewhere.

In all kinds the cross is formed of right angles, and the circle is
implied where not shown. In the Latin and Greek forms generally the
circle has disappeared, but it is still found at times,
particularly in paintings, where it is shown as a halo of light
behind the cross. As the craftsman in making the cross has first to
form the circle and from its center work out the limbs, the circle
must always be assumed to be present, even where it does not
appear. The oldest form always has the circle. In the Egyptian
form, the circle is placed on the top, and the vertical limb is
lengthened, evidently to form a handle. To the Egyptians this
circle symbolized the generative, or productive power, in nature.
It is the transverse section of the egg, which was also used
sometimes in its upright shape, in the form of a loop or oval. We
find the Hindus representing the same idea, also by a loop, but in
every case the circle, or loop, is associated with the cross. The
basis of Gothic architecture is the cross, the triangle and the
loop, all of which are inter-related. The cross and triangle form
the base of the plan, and the loop forms the plan for the windows,
doors, and sometimes the roof.

Laying aside details not helpful to our present purpose, let us
turn our attention to the general ideas connected with this symbol.
The ancients of Asia, Africa and Europe considered the circle as
the symbol of the Divine One circumscribing Himself, so as to
become manifested to us. The limitations of human nature demand
this restriction, for, otherwise, we could have no knowledge of
Him. Without the limiting circle we gaze on boundless space,
incomprehensible and void of any idea to our minds. We must have
form before we can have ideas. The blank page of a book conveys
nothing. Draw on it a flower, or an animal, and an idea is
presented to the mind. Thus, the Divine One circumscribed Himself
in His Creation and for our sakes clothed Himself in a garment of
matter, so that he might be manifested to us. The material universe
is everywhere a circumscribing of the Infinite and the cross
symbolizes the Divine manifestations of Power, Light, Life and
Love.

The first Divine manifestation symbolized-by the cross is that of
Power. The two lines of the cross, intersecting at right angles in
the center and extending to the utmost limits of the circle,
represent the two great central forces which dominate all matter
and which we have already considered in the law of the square in
nature. If we work with these forces the Divine Power in them will
manifest itself by working with us. If we work against them, it
will manifest itself by destroying our work. They work on the
square . . . and we must therefore work on the square if we are to
have the Divine Power with us.

The second Divine manifestation symbolized by the cross is that of
Light. Darkness is infinite and expresses nothing. Light is
circumscribed that it may be manifested. It comes out of darkness
and is lost in darkness. The energy from the sun comes to our earth
through the boundless ether: cold, silent, and in darkness. Did it
come in the form of direct Light the whole heavens would be a blaze
and we would see nothing else. Not until it impinges on our
atmosphere does it burst into light. In the same way, electricity
is unseen in the wire until it meets with the resisting carbon.
Coal-gas, the common candle, and the lamp, are all enveloped in
darkness until they manifest their light in almost essentially
similar, although apparently, different conditions. In all these
varied conditions, however, light manifests itself on the square.
The energy from the sun strikes our atmosphere at right angles and
bursts into light. A rope, stretched out with one end fastened and
the other end shaken by the hand, appears to have waves running
from end to end. In reality it is moving up and down, at right
angles to the line of progress. Science tells us it is in this way
light moves. It works on the square, and the circle with the
square, or cross, is a fitting symbol of the manifestation of
material light.

But this symbol is particularly representative of moral light. That
only can be light morally that is true and square. Beliefs and
doctrines that do not accord with the right angle of our
conscientious convictions, can never give light.

The third Divine manifestation symbolized by the cross is that of
Life. Through all nature there are two great elemental principles
variously called the active and the passive, the positive and the
negative, the male and the female. The various units of atoms,
molecules, vegetables and animals possess one, or both, of these
principles. In the inanimate kingdom, the term "polarity" and
"affinity" are employed to indicate the action of these principles
and the relation of the one to the other. In the animate kingdom
the word "sex" is used for the same purpose. In both kingdoms
everywhere we find these two elemental principles at work. The
formation of a crystal and of a crystaloid, the building of a tree
and of a man, all seem to proceed along the lines of two main
forces working at right angles--that is, working on the square. The
atoms, which form the basis of the material creation, have their
positive and negative poles. According to the latest scientific
discoveries, they are the product of electricity and something
called protyle, the one being active and the other passive.

But it is for the spiritual truths which this symbol reveals and
yet conceals that it is of greatest importance to us. In the
frescoes of the pyramids we see it in the hands of the god, as the
symbol of regeneration. The dead one is shown lying on the ground
in the form of a mummy, and the god is coming to touch his lips
with it and revivify his body. Ages before Egyptian civilization
dawned, it was carved on pottery, and buried with human bodies
along with food and weapons, the evidence, even in that early
period, of a faith in a resurrection and a life beyond the tomb.

It is a somewhat saddening and peculiar fact that this sacred
symbol should have been associated with, what appears to us to be,
a vile and most degrading worship. While the phallic cult may have
originally been the recognition of a Divine purpose running through
all the arrangements for the propagation of life, and of the
symbolic lesson therein of a spiritual regeneration, yet the broad
fact remains that the multitude saw in it the reflex of their own
animal passions. It brought ruin on the Greek and Roman empires.
Had the glory of art, the abundance of wealth, the grandeur of
philosophy, or the culture of the intellect, possessed any power of
salvation, these peoples would have survived. But salvation is
neither possible to the individual nor to the community that is
impure. If you worship the brute, a brute you will be. If you would
be divine, worship the Divine.

The fourth Divine manifestation symbolized by the cross is that of
Love. From the degrading associations of phallic worship this
symbol had to be purged and purified by blood and sorrow. For many
years it was an instrument of tyranny for the infliction of cruel
and intense suffering. There can be little doubt but thousands
suffered on it whose only fault was in being too good to be
understood. The divine soul everywhere is at first misunderstood.
His language is heaven-born and his earth-bound hearers cannot
interpret it. Hence the thorny crown of derision. The good are not
allowed to pursue their quiet path. They are dragged into the full
blaze of fame and their pains and punishment become their glory.
Love's best work is most likely to be rejected and despised. . . .
Suffering is the perfecting process of the perfect ashlar.
Insensibility is the sign of degradation. Capacity for suffering is
the mark and insignia of rank in the scale of evolution. The higher
the love, the deeper the sorrow. Through tribulation the higher
forms of life are born.

WHY NOT TRY

Scowling and growling will make a man old;
Money and fame at the best are beguiling; 
Don't be suspicious and selfish and cold,-- 
Try smiling.

Happiness stands like a maid at your gate;
Why should you think you could find her by roving ?
Never was greater mistake than to hate,-- 
Try loving.

--John Esten Cooke.
