THE BUILDER MAY 1916

THE "DEW DROP LECTURE"

(Reference was made some time ago, in answer to an inquiry in the
Question Box, to the famous "Dew Drop Lecture" used years ago in
the work of the Grand Lodge of Mississippi. Just why it was called
by that name is hard to know, but it speaks for itself. There was
a tradition to the effect that it was written by Albert Pike, but
that is not correct--it having been used long before his time. We
take pleasure in reproducing it here, in response to a number of
requests, from "The Blue Lodge Text Book" of the Grand Lodge of
Mississippi, adopted in 1874--by the kindness of Brother Frederick
Gordon Speed, Grand Secretary. The lecture is not now a part of the
regular work of the Mississippi Jurisdiction, but it is frequently
used even today.)

GEOMETRY, the first and noblest of sciences, is the basis upon
which the superstructure of Freemasonry is erected. Regarding man
as a rational and intelligent being, capable of enjoyment and
pleasure to an extent limited only by the acquisition of useful
knowledge, our Order points him to the study of the Liberal Arts
and Sciences and to the possession of knowledge as the most
befitting and proper occupation for the God-like endowments with
which he is gifted.

Indeed, all who frequent our Masonic Temple, are charged to labor
faithfully in the wide and unbounded field of human improvement,
from which they are assured of reaping a most glorious harvest, a
harvest rich in happiness to the whole family of man, and in
manifestation of the goodness of God. Your attention is especially
directed to the science of Geometry, no royal road, 'tis true, but
to one prepared with an outfit it must prove more attractive than
palace walks by regal taste adorned.

The ancient philosophers placed such a high estimate upon this
science that all who frequented the groves of the Sacred Academy,
were compelled to explore its heavenly paths, and no one whose mind
was unexpanded by its precepts was intrusted with the instruction
of the young. Even Plato, justly deemed the first of the
philosophers, when asked as to the probable occupation of Deity,
replied, He geometrizes continually.

If we consider the symmetry and order which govern all the works of
creation, we must admit that Geometry pervades the universe. If, by
the aid of the telescope, we bring the planets within the range of
our observation, and by the microscope, view particles too minute
for the eye, unaided, to behold, we find them all pursuing the
several objects of their creation, in accordance with the fixed
plan of the Almighty.

By Geometry we may curiously trace nature through her various
windings to her most concealed recesses. By it we discover how the
planets move in their respective orbits and demonstrate their
various revolutions; by it we account for the return of the seasons
and the variety of scenes which each season displays to the
discerning eye; by it we discover the power, wisdom and goodness of
the Grand Artificer of the Universe, and view with delight the
proportions which connect the vast machine. Numberless worlds are
around us, all framed by the same Divine Artist, which roll through
the vast expanse and are all governed by the same unerring law of
nature. Is there not more truth than fiction in the thought of the
ancient philosopher, that God geometrizes continually ?

By geometry He rounds the dew drop; points the pyramidal icicle
that hangs from thatch-bound roof; bends into a graceful curve the
foaming cataract; paints His bow of beauty upon the canvas of a
summer shower; assimilates the sugar to the diamond, and in the
fissures of the earth-bound rocks, forms georgeous caverns,
thick-set with starry gems. By it He taught the bee to store its
honey in prismatic cells; the wild goose to range her flight, and
the noble eagle to wheel and dart upon its prey, and the wakesome
lark, God's earliest worshipper, to hymn its matin song in spiral
flight. By it He forms the tender lens of the delicate eye, rounds
the blushing cheek of beauty, curves the ruby lips and fashions the
swelling breast that throbs in unison with a gushing heart. By it
he paints the cheek of autumn's mellow fruit, forms in molds of
graceful symmetry the gentle dove, marks the myriad circles on the
peacock's gaudy train and decks the plumage of ten thousand
warblers of His praise that animate the woody shade. By it he
fashions the golden carp, decks the silvery perch, forms all fish
of every fin and tribe that course the majestic ocean, cut the
placid lake or swim in gentle brook. Nay, more, even the glassy
element in which they dwell, when by gentle zephyrs stirred, sends
its chasing waves in graceful curves by God's own finger traced in
parallel--above, beneath, around us, all the works of His hands,
animate and inanimate, but prove that God geometrizes continually.

But if man would witness the highest evidence of geometrical
perfection, let him step out of the rude construction of his own
hands and view the wide o'erspreading canopy of the stars, whether
fixed as centers of vast systems or all noiselessly pursuing their
geometrical paths in accordance with the never-changing laws of
nature. Nay, more, the vast fields of illimitable space are all
formed of an infinitude of circles traced by the compass of the
Almighty Architect, whose every work is set by the Level, adjusted
by the Plumb, and perfected by the Square. Do this, my brother, and
you must admit with Plato, that God geometrizes continually, and be
assured with Job, that He who stretcheth the earth upon emptiness
and fixeth the foundation thereof upon nothing, so it cannot be
moved, can bind the sweet influence of Pleiades or loose the bands
of Orion.

A survey of Nature, and the observation of her beautiful
proportions, first determined man to imitate the Divine plan, and
study symmetry and order. This gave rise to societies, and birth to
every useful art. The architect began to design, and the plans
which he laid down, being improved by experience and time, have
produced works which are the admiration of every age.

The lapse of time, the ruthless hand of ignorance, and the
devastations of war, have laid waste and destroyed many valuable
monuments of antiquity on which the utmost exertions of human
genius have been employed. Even the Temple of Solomon, so spacious
and magnificent, and constructed by so many artists, escaped not
the unsparing ravages of barbarous force. Freemasonry,
notwithstanding, has still survived. The attentive ear receives the
sound from the instructive tongue, and the mysteries of Freemasonry
are safely lodged in the repository of faithful breasts. Tools and
instruments of architecture, and symbolic emblems, most expressive,
are selected by the fraternity to imprint on the mind wise and
serious truths; and thus, through a succession of ages, are
transmitted, unimpaired, the most excellent tenets of our
institution.

PRACTICAL MASONRY

The Temple of Solomon was wrought according to a Divine plan by
practical workmen. Freemasonry is not a theory, neither a mere
speculative plan incapable of practical application. It must be
wrought into beauty and effectiveness by the skilled workmen who
are Freemasons in truth.
--Wm. F. Kuhn. A Basket of Chips.
