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masonry dissected
THE MASTER'S DEGREE
chapter III
Samuel Prichard
Q. Are you a
Master-Mason?
A. I am; try me, prove me, disprove me if you
can.
Q. Where was you pass'd Master?
A. In a Perfect Lodge of
Masters.
Q. What makes a Perfect Lodge of Masters?
A.
Three.
Q. How came you to be pass'd Master?
A. By the Help of
God, the Square and my own Industry.
Q. How was you pass'd
Master?
A. From the Square to the Compass.
Ex. An Enter'd
'Prentice I presume you have been.
R. Jachin and Boaz I have
seen;
A Master Mason I was made most rare, With Diamond,
Ashler and the Square.
Ex. If a Master Mason you would be, You
must rightly understand the Rule of Three. And *M.B. shall make
you free: *Machbenah And what you want in Masonry, Shall in
this Lodge be shewn to thee.
R. Good Masonry I understand; The
Keys of all Lodges are all at my Command.
Ex. You're an heroick
Fellow; from whence came you?
R. From the East.
Ex. Where are
you going?
R. To the West.
Q. What are you a going to do
there?
R. To seek for that which was lost and is now found.
Ex.
What was that which was lost and is now found?
R. The
Master-Mason' Word.
Ex. How was it lost?
R. By Three Great
Knocks, or the Death of our Master Hiram.
Ex. How came he by his
Death?
R. In the Building of Solomon's Temple he was Master-Mason,
and at high 12 at Noon, when the Men was gone to refresh
themselves, as was his usual Custom, he came to survey the Works,
and when he was enter'd into the Temple, there were Three
Ruffians, suppos'd to be Three Fellow-Crafts, planted themselves at
the Three Entrances of the Temple, and when he came out, one
demanded the Master's Word of him, and he reply'd he did not
receive it in such a manner, but Time and a little Patience would
bring him to it: He, not satisfied with that Answer, gave him a
Blow, which made him reel; he went to the other Gate, where being
accosted in the same manner and making the same Reply, he received
a greater Blow, and at the third his Quietus.
Ex. What did the
Ruffians kill him with?
R. A Setting Maul, Setting Tool and
Setting Beadle.
Ex. How did they dispose of him?
R. Carried
him out at the West Door of the Temple, and hid him under some
Rubbish till High 12 again.
Ex. What time was that?
R. High
12 at Night, whilst the Men were at Rest.
Ex. How did they
dispose of him afterwards?
R. They carried him up to the Brow
of the Hill, where they made a decent Grave and Buried
him.
Ex. When was he miss'd?
R. The same Day.
Ex. When was
he found?
R. Fifteen Days afterwards.
Ex. Who found him?
R.
Fifteen Loving Brothers, by Order of King Solomon, went out of
the West Door of the Temple, and divided themselves from Right to
Left within Call of each other; and they agreed that if they did
not find the Word in him or about him, the first Word should be
the Master's Word; one of the Brothers being more weary than the
rest, sat down to rest himself, and taking hold of a Shrub, which
came easily up, and perceiving the Ground to have been broken, he
Hail'd his Brethren, and pursuing their Search found him decently
buried in a handsome Grave 6 Foot East, 6 West, and 6 Foot
perpendicular, and his Covering was green Moss and Turf, which
surprised them; whereupon they replied, Muscus Domus Dei Gratia,
which, according to Masonry, is, Thanks be to God, our Master has
got a Mossy House: So they cover'd him closely, and as farther
Ornament placed a Sprig of Cassia at the Head of his Grave, and
went and acquainted King Solomon.
Ex. What did King Solomon
say to all this?
R. He order'd him to be taken up and decently
buried, and that 15 Fellow-Crafts with white Gloves and Aprons
should attend his Funeral [which ought amongst Masons to be
perform'd to this Day.]
Ex. How was Hiram rais'd?
R. As all
other Masons are, when they receive the Master's Word.
Ex. How is
that?
R. By the Five Points of Fellowship.
Ex. What are
they?
R. Hand to Hand, Foot to Foot, Cheek to Cheek, Knee to
Knee, and Hand in Back.
N.B. When Hiram was taken up, they took
him by the Fore-fingers, and her Skin came off, which is called
the Slip; the spreading the Right Hand and placing the middle
Finger to the Wrist, clasping the Fore-finger and the Fourth to the
Sides of the Wrist; is called the Gripe, and the Sign is placing
the Thumb of the Right Hand to the Left Breast, extending the
Fingers.
Ex. What's a Master-Mason nam'd.
R. Cassia is my
Name, and from a Just and Perfect Lodge I came.
Ex. Where was
Hiram inter'd?
R. In the Sanctum Sanctorum.
Ex. How was he
brought in?
R. At the West-Door of the Temple.
Q. What are the
Master-Jewels?
A. The Porch, Dormer, and Square Pavement.
Q.
Explain them.
A. The Porch the Entring into the Sanctum
Sanctorum, the Dormer the Windows of Lights within, the Square
Pavement the Ground Flooring.
Ex. Give me the Master's
Word.
R. Whisper him in the Ear, and supported by the Five Points
of Fellowship before mentioned, says Machbenah, which signifies
The Builder is smitten.
N.B. If any Working Masons are at Work,
and you have a desire to distinguish Accepted Masons from the
rest, take a Piece of Stone, and ask him what it smells of, he
immediately replies, neither Brass, Iron, nor Steel, but of a Mason;
then by asking him, how old he is, he replies above Seven, which
denotes he has pass'd Master.
The End of the Master's
Part.
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