Brother Rob Morris was once named the Poet Laureate of Freemasonry. The following, written in August, 1854, is one the most popular Masonic Poems of all time.

THE LEVEL AND THE SQUARE by Brother Rob Morris We meet upon the Level and we part upon the Square, What words of precious meaning those Masonic words are! Come, let us contemplate them! They are worthy of a tho't; In the very walls of Masonry the sentiment is wrought! We meet upon the Level, though from every station come The rich man from his palace and the poor man from his home. For the rich must leave their wealth and state outside the Mason's door, And the poor man finds his best respect upon the Checkered Floor. We act upon the Plumb,-tis the order of our Guide - We walk upright in every way and lean to neither side; Th' All-Seeing Eye that reads our hearts doth bear us witness true, That we still try to honor God and give each man his due. We part upon the Square, for the word must have its due, We mingle with the multitude, a faithful band and true, But the influence of our gatherings in Masonry is green, And we long upon the Level to renew the happy scene. There is a world where all are equal, we are hurrying to it fast, We shall meet upon the Level when the Gates of Death are past; We shall stand before the Orient and our Master will be there, To try the blocks we offer with His own unerring square. We shall meet upon the Level there, but never thence depart, There's a Mansion, tis all ready for each trusting, faithful heart, There's a Mansion and a welcome and a multitude is there; Who have met upon the Level and been tried upon the Square. Let us meet upon the Level then while laboring patient here, Let us meet and let us labor though the labor be severe; Already in the western sky the signs bid us prepare To gather up our working tools and part upon the Square. Hands round! Ye faithful brotherhood, the bright fraternal chain, We part upon the Square below and meet in Heaven again; And the words of precious meaning, those words Masonic are: "We meet upon the Level and we part upon the Square."

Brother Rob Morris was born Robert Williams Peckham in New York City, August 31, 1818. At the death of his father, he was placed in a foster home where he took his foster father's name of Morris. Young Rob Morris spent his childhood and young manhood in New York. Here he received many educational advantages, including a splendid college training. Later in life the Degrees of Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Laws were conferred upon him. Robert Peckman Morris married Charlotte Mendenhall. Mrs. Morris was an inspiration and a real helpmate to Bro. Morris for nearly 50 years. Dr. Morris was an educator of high esteem. One of his positions as an educator was principal of The Mount Sylvan Academy, a school established by Freemasons in Oxford Mississippi. While principal at the Academy, he became a Master Mason on March 5, 1846. He received his Masonic degrees in the Oxford Lodge #33, Mississippi. Through the years he held many Masonic Officers. Bro. Morris also received the "Ladies Degrees" while in Oxford, Mississippi. These degrees later became the basis of the Order of the Eastern Star. He began writing the ritual as we know it today in 1849. They were first published under the title of "The Rosary of the Eastern Star." However at this time, the structure of Grand Chapter and subordinate chapters had not yet been established. Bro. Rob Morris traveled extensively in foreign countries researching Masonic origins and lore. Before leaving on an extended tour in the Holy Land in 1867, Bro. Morris gave Bro. Robert MaCoy authority to use his work of the rituals. Using Bro. Morris's work, although it was revised extensively, the first Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star was organized in Michigan in 1867. To eliminate the confusion and diversity in the work of the early chapters, the General Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star was organized. In 1880, the General Grand Chapter conferred the title of "Master Builder of the Order of the Eastern Star" on Bro. Rob Morris. Bro. Morris wrote a great number of Masonic books and periodicals. Bro. Morris was also a talented poet, having written over 400 poems. His best known poem is "The Level and the Square" (see above). In 1884, in New York, Bro. Rob Morris was crowned "Poet Laureate of Freemasonry" by the Grand Lodge of New York. He was the first living person to be so honored. Bro. Morris's talent did not stop at writing books, periodicals and poems. He was also a song writer and wrote many religious songs which are still used by Churches and Sunday Schools today. For example, he wrote the song "O, Galilee" while seated on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in Palestine. After failing health, Brother Robert Peckman Morris died July 31, 1888. He was buried in the cemetery in La Grange, Kentucky, where a tall marble shaft has been erected in his memory. On one side of the shaft is the Square and Compasses and on the other side is the Five Pointed Star. His home in LaGrange, Kentucky, where his family was reared and educated, is now property of the Grand chapter of Kentucky and is maintained as a Shrine in honor of Bro. Rob Morris, the Master Builder of the Order of the Eastern Star. The "Little Red Brick School Building" in Mississippi where he once taught is maintained as a Shrine in honor of Bro. Morris' writing of the Ritual. Bro. Rob Morris will live on in the hearts of all of us, as we treasure the memories of our years in the Order of the Eastern Star.

� 2006 forward

Kirkwood Chapter No. 358, Order of Eastern Star. All rights reserved.