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               ANOTHER VIEW OF SYMBOLISM
          
               by Howard R. Stewart, MPS
                           
               The subject of Masonic Symbolism has been
          extensively covered in the literature, yet there are Masons who
          do not know the difference between a symbol and an emblem. 
          Most dictionaries treat the two as synonyms that does little to
          clear the confusion.  Actually, there is a significant difference. 
          The flag of the United States is an emblem, but it becomes a
          symbol when a lump in the throat and a prickly sensation is
          experienced while standing with hand over heart listening to
          the strains of the Star Spangled Banner.  A symbol is then a
          visible sign with which an emotion or spiritual feeling is
          associated.  In Masonry the eye is always resting upon an
          emblem, but no symbolism is present until the spiritual emotion
          comes through.
               In the 1920s, author D.D. Darrah said that in order to
          understand Masonry, a student must understand the symbols
          by which it conveys its principles and truths.  At first glance,
          that statement represented a marked change, since less than
          a century before, Albert Pike had said.
                              The blue
                                   degrees are but the
                                   outer court and
                                   portico of the
                                   Temple.  Part of the
                                   symbols are
                                   displayed there to
                                   the Initiate, but he is
                                   intentionally misled
                                   by false
                                   interpretations
                                   [italics mine].  It is
                                   not intended that he
                                   should understand
                                   them; but it is
                                   intended that he
                                   shall imagine that he
                                   understands them.
                                   Their true
                                   explication is
                                   reserved for the
                                   Adepts, the Princes
                                   of Masonry.1
          
               What was Pike's point?  Why would anyone
          intentionally mislead a candidate by false interpretations? 
          Surely he had a reason.  It is possible that he and Darrah were
          saying the same thing, or at least implying the same principle,
          that being that a Mason must understand the symbolism of
          Masonry if he is ever to be a true Mason.  And, in order to do
          that, he must search for the answers on his own.  Pike thought
          and wrote in complex times.  This can be shown through a
          contemporary of his, Albert Mackey, who regretted that the
          letter "G" was ever admitted into the Masonic system, fearing
          that the use of it as an initial would confine it to the English
          language and to modern times.2
          
               I am not isolating these scholars for ridicule; rather to
          serve as examples of many who wrote in the declining years
          of an age of confusion, close on the heels of the fantasies and
          follies that poured from the pens of Masonic writers during the
          seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.  The symbols of which
          Pike and Mackey wrote carried the same meaning as they do
          today, but modern researchers offer rational explanation rather
          than complication.
               Prior to formal language, men used symbols and
          emblems as a means of communication.  Were they
          Freemasons?  No.  These have been used by all men in all
          ages, and when the time came, the ritual-makers chose the
          ones that best served their purposes, added the working-tools
          of the stonemason, and attached spiritual meanings to them. 
          This has since been refined into an understandable system
          that neither requires nor permits fanciful interpretation. 
          Today's Mason would have not trouble with the system if he
          diligently applies himself and keeps an open mind.
               Of course, residuals of the ancient cultures exist, and
          old beliefs crop up periodically.  Ecclesiastes said there is
          nothing new under the sun, and in the vernacular of today, that
          equates to "what goes around comes around."  In the 1600s,
          Rosicrucian scholars added a twist to the ancient templar
          legend of the 120 year cycle, believing that at the end of 120
          years the grave of their alleged founder, Christian
          Rosenkreuz, would be discovered and the Brotherhood
          revealed.  More recently, author Umberto Eco added
          Foucault's Pendulum to the 120 year legend and wove a novel
          around it.  Even the ancient science of alchemy comes around
          occasionally.  In 1993, a project to make gold from mercury
          was funded at a major American university.  Many of the
          institution's professors were upset by this, one of them
          comparing it to mining green cheese on the moon.  That is how
          we look at alchemy today, but ancient alchemists not only
          believed that the transformation of base metals into gold was
          possible, they practiced it.  Their search for the solution, felt to
          be a universal solvent that might also be the elixir of long or
          even eternal life, symbolized another transformation of great
          importance to Masonry--immortality of the soul.
          
               It is generally accepted that during the seventeenth and
          eighteenth centuries, certain intellectuals known as Hermetic
          Philosophers sought admission into the fraternity, were
          accepted, and exerted considerable influence.  These men
          were of extreme importance to Masonry since many of our
          symbols came with them or were introduced by them.  Much of
          their knowledge had come from a series of translations
          compiled in Alexandria, Egypt, during the first, second and
          third centuries, under the banner of Hermes Trismegistus. 
          When the bishops of the early Christian church set out to
          destroy the old civilizations, Alexandrian scholars translated
          old manuscripts into Greek and Latin in an effort to save them
          from destruction.  The old civilizations did perish, but the
          translations survived.3
               It was indeed fortunate for Masonry that the ancient
          knowledge survived, but at the time, only the learned few
          benefited.  Until the thirteenth century, anything beyond
          commonplace occurrence was looked upon as mysterious or
          supernatural, and for most, determining where myth ended and
          reality began was difficult.  Today, this is relatively simple, and
          although classical mythology retains a certain charm, only the
          savant takes it seriously.  However, another form of myth--the
          legend--continues to reflect our hopes and fears and dreams.
           One of these, the legend of Hiram Abif, is of great importance
          to Masonry.
               The increased religious freedom that followed the
          Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation led to the
          concept of a rational God working through Nature rather than
          through miraculous acts.  Philosophers revived the teachings
          of Pythagoras and Plato and sought to establish a natural
          religion based upon reason and free inquiry.  Out of this came
          the belief that the soul's only means of escape from the
          material world was by progressive steps or degrees of
          purification.  No comment concerning the value of this concept
          to Masonry is needed.
               In summary, I have mentioned the wide gulf of
          difference that exists between emblems and symbols. 
          Admittedly, the wheel has not been reinvented.  There is an
          abundance of literature on symbolism.  Unfortunately, there
          are more than a few Masons who view the emblems their
          lodges as carpenter's tools and a Sacred Volume and can see
          no farther.  This is written for them.  They sorely need to learn
          two things: (1) that Masonic Symbolism is based upon serious
          and everlasting truths; and (2) that the story of how they came
          to Masonry is an educational and rewarding experience.
               It is usual for an author to close with his own words, but
          the man quoted at the onset, D.D. Darrah, has summarized
          Masonic Symbolism so eloquently that his words seem more
          appropriate:
                         The whole system of
                              Masonry has become a series of
                              pictures with the lesson so
                              harmonized as to leave a lasting
                              impression upon the mind. It is an
                              album of scenes drawn from life,
                              through which there is Portrayed
                              that never ending drama which
                              commences at the cradle and
                              ends with the grave. The
                              symbolism of Masonry is simply
                              human life in pictures--an
                              illustrated picture gallery of the
                              heart, a complete compendium
                              expressive of man's constant duty
                              to the God who made him and his
                              fellow traveler in life's journey.
          
          
          
                         NOTES
          
          1.   Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma (Washington,
          D.C.:Supreme Council, 330, 1950),  819.
          
          2.   Mackey's Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry (1966)
          1:385.
          
          3.   Ibid. 3:1257.
          
          4.   Delmar D. Darrah, Evolution of Freemasonry
          (Bloomingdale, Ill.; The Masonic   Publishing Co., 1920),
          Chapter XXIV.
          
          
          EDITOR'S NOTE:
          
          Bro. Howard R. Stewart, MPS is the Worshipful Master of The
          Texas Lodge of Research
          
          