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THE QUEEN OF SHEBA
PART III
The Masonic Legend is voluminous,
circumstantial, even trivial, and seemingly far-fetched and fantastic to
the uninitiated who fail to see the important hidden meaning underlying
every word; but we will give only such fragments as have a bearing upon
our main subject and the explanation necessary to link them together.
The events which led up to the
conspiracy against the Grand Master, Hiram Abiff, mentioned in our last
chapter, and which culminated in his murder, commenced with the arrival of
the Queen of Sheba who had been attracted to the court of Solomon by tales
of his wonderful wisdom and of the splendor of the temple he was engaged
in building. She is said to have come laden with gorgeous gifts and it is
stated that at first she was much impressed with the wisdom of Solomon.
But even the Bible, which is written from the standpoint of the Jehovistic
Hierarchies, hints that she saw at the court of Solomon one that was
fairer than he, and there the Bible narrative leaves her. Her marriage
with Solomon was never consummated or the name of Mason would have faded
from memory long ere the present day and humanity at large would now be
docile children of the dominant church, without free will, choice or
prerogative. Nor could she be permitted to wed Hiram, who represented the
temporal power, or Religion would have been stamped out; she must wait for
the bridegroom who shall embody within himself the combined good qualities
of Solomon and Hiram, but who is purified from their weaknesses. For the
Queen of Sheba is the COMPOSITE SOUL OF HUMANITY, and at the consummation
of the work of our evolutionary era she will be the bride, while Christ,
whom Paul called a High Priest after the order of Melchisedec, will fill
the dual office of both spiritual and temporal head, where He will be both
king and priest, to the eternal welfare of mankind at large who are now in
bondage either to church or state but waiting, whether they realize it or
not, for the day of emancipation, symbolically represented as the
Millennium, when there will be a wonderful city, a new Jerusalem, A CITY
OF PEACE. And the earlier this amalgamation can be brought about, the
better for humanity. Therefore, an attempt was made at the time and is the
place which is said in the Legend to be the scene of Solomon's and Hiram's
love episode. There the two Initiatory Orders met for the consummation of
a definite work of amalgamation symbolically called THE MOLTEN SEA, a work
which was then attempted for the first time. It could not have been
wrought at any earlier period, for man was not sufficiently advanced. At
that time, however, it seemed as if the united efforts of the two schools
might accomplish the task, and had it not been for the desire of each to
oust the other from the affections of the symbolic Queen of Sheba, the
soul of humanity, they might have succeeded, an equitable union between
Church and State might have been effected and human evolution might have
been greatly furthered. But both Church and State were jealous of their
particular prerogative; the Church would only amalgamate upon condition
that she retain all her ancient power over mankind, and take in addition
those of the temporal government. The State was selfish in a similar
manner and the Queen of Sheba, humanity at large, is still unwed. The
Masonic Legend tells the story of the attempt and its failure as follows:
When the Queen of Sheba had been shown
the gorgeous palace of Solomon and had bestowed her choice gifts of gold
and wrought work, she asked also to be shown the great Temple which was
nearing completion. She marveled much at the magnitude of the work but
wondered at the seeming absence of workmen, and the stillness about the
place. And she therefore requested Solomon to call the workmen that she
might see who had wrought this wonder; but though the servants of Solomon
at the palace obeyed the slightest wish of the monarch, and although he
had been appointed by the God Jehovah to build the temple, these workmen
were not subject to his authority; they only yielded obedience to one who
had "THE WORD" and "THE SIGN." Therefore no one appeared at the call of
Solomon, and the Queen of Sheba could not escape the conclusion that this
marvelous miracle was wrought by another and one who was greater than
Solomon. And so she insisted on knowing and seeing this KING OF CRAFTS and
his wonderful workmen, much to the chagrin of Solomon, who felt that he
had fallen in her estimation.
The temple of Solomon is our Solar
Universe which forms the great school of life for our evolving humanity;
the broad lines of its history, past, present and future, are written in
the stars, its main outlines being discernible to anyone of average
intelligence. In the Microcosmic scheme, the temple of Solomon is also the
body of man wherein the individualized spirit or ego is evolving, as God
is in the great universe. Work on the true temple, as we are told in 2nd
Corinthians, fifth chapter, is wrought by invisible forces working in
silence, building the temple without sound of hammer. As the temple of
Solomon was visible in all its glory to the Queen of Sheba, so the
evidence of the toil of these invisible forces is easily perceived, both
in the universe and in man, but they themselves keep in the background and
work without ostentation; they hide from all who have not the right to see
them or to command them. The relation of these nature forces to the work
they do in the universe may perhaps be better understood when we use an
illustration: Let us suppose that a carpenter wishes to build a house
wherein to live. He selects a place whereon to build and brings the
materials thither, then with the tools of his trade he commences to lay
the foundation. Gradually the walls are put up, the roof put on, the
inside completed and the structure finished. During all the time while he
is working, a dog, which is an intelligent spirit belonging to another and
later life-wave of evolution, watches his actions and the whole process of
construction and sees the house gradually take shape and reach completion.
But it lacks the proper understanding of what he is doing and of what is
the ultimate purpose in his mind. Let us now suppose that the dog were
unable to see the carpenter or to hear the noise made by his hammer and
other tools. Then it would be in the same relation to this builder, as
humanity at large is to the Architect of the Universe and the forces which
work under His command. For the dog would then see only the materials
coming together slowly and taking shape, finally forming a finished
structure. Humanity also sees the silent growth of plant, of beast and of
bird, but is unable to understand what causes this physical growth and the
changes in the visible universe, for it does not see the immense army of
invisible workmen who are silently toiling in the soundless silence to
bring about these results. Nor do they respond to the call of anyone who
has not the sign and the word of power, no matter how high his standing or
station in the world.
The Churchman always emphasizes the
necessity of faith, while the Statesman emphasizes, and places his
reliance on, WORK. But when faith flowers into work we reach the highest
ideal of expression. Humanity may, and does, admire lofty sentiment and
brilliant oratory; but when a Lincoln unbinds the shackles of a
downtrodden race or when a Luther revolts in behalf of the fettered
spirits of humanity and secures religious freedom for them, the outward
action of these emancipators reveals a beauty of soul never discernible in
those who soar in cloudland, but fear to soil their hands by actual work
in the temple of humanity. The latter are not true temple-builders and
would be unable to gain inspiration from the sight of that wonderful
temple described by Manson in "The Servant in the House." The author calls
him "Man-son;" this may mean that he regards him as the Son of Man, but it
may also be that he meant Mason, for the Servant in the House was also a
temple-builder. It is wonderful what insight the author of the play must
have had when he planned the scene where his servant, the workman in love
with his work, tells the worldly minded Churchman, who is full of
platitudes and as vile as a whited sepulcher, of the temple which he, the
workman, built. This conception is a mystic gem and we append it for the
reader's meditation:
"I am afraid you may not consider it an
altogether substantial concern. It has to be seen in a certain way, under
certain conditions. SOME PEOPLE NEVER SEE IT AT ALL. You must understand
this is no dead pile of stones and unmeaning timber; IT IS A LIVING THING.
"When you enter it you hear a sound--a
sound as of some mighty poem chanted. Listen long enough and you will hear
that it is made up of the beating of human hearts, of the nameless music
of men's souls, that is, if you have ears. If you have eyes you will
presently see the church itself, a looming mystery of many shapes and
shadows leaping sheer from floor to dome, the WORK OF NO ORDINARY BUILDER.
"The pillars of it go up like the brawny
trunks of heroes; the sweet human flesh of men and women is molded about
its bulwarks, strong, impregnable. The faces of little children laugh out
from every cornerstone; the terrible spans and arches of it are the joined
hands of comrades; and up in the heights and spaces are inscribed the
numberless musings of all the dreamers in the world.
It is yet building, building and built
upon. Sometimes the work goes forward in deep darkness, sometimes in
blinding light, now beneath the burden of unutterable anguish, now to the
tune of great laughter and heroic shoutings like the cry of thunder.
Sometimes in the silence of the night time one may hear the tiny
hammerings of the comrades at work in the dome--THE COMRADES THAT HAVE
GONE ALOFT."
It is such a temple that the Mystic
Mason is building. He endeavors to WORK on the temple of Humanity at
large, but since "when the rose adorns itself, it adorns the garden," he
aims also to cultivate his own spiritual powers, as foreshadowed in THE
MOLTEN SEA.
Solomon had already sued for the hand of
the Queen of Sheba, and had been accepted, so, feeling that the meeting
with Hiram Abiff might change her affections, he endeavored to consummate
their marriage before granting her wish to meet the Grand Master. But the
Queen was obstinate, she sensed the grandeur of the Master Workman whose
skill had wrought the marvelous Temple and she felt intuitively drawn
towards this man of action, as she had never been moved by the wisdom of
Solomon, which only found verbal expression in flowery speeches and high
ideals which he was unable to carry into realization. Therefore the
reluctance of Solomon to let her meet Hiram Abiff made the Queen all the
more anxious and importunate, so that at last Solomon was forced to accede
to her request, and he grudgingly sent for the Grand Master. When Hiram
Abiff appeared, and Solomon saw the love light kindle in the eyes of the
Queen of Sheba, jealousy and hatred took root in his heart; he was,
however, too wise to betray his feelings. But from that moment the plan of
reconciliation and amalgamation of the Sons of Seth and the Sons of Cain
which had been mapped out by the divine Hierarchies was doomed to failure,
wrecked upon the rocks of jealousy and self-seeking.
The Queen of Sheba, according to the
Masonic Legend, then requested Hiram Abiff to show her the workmen on the
Temple. The Grand Master struck a nearby ROCK with his HAMMER so that the
fire sparks flew, and at the sign of FIRE coupled with the work of power,
the toilers of the Temple flocked around their Master in a great
multitude, which no one could count, all ready and anxious to do his
bidding. And this spectacle so impressed the Queen of Sheba with the
wonderful power of this man that she determined to jilt Solomon and win
the heart of Hiram Abiff. In other words, Humanity, when its eyes are
opened to the impotence of the Churchmen, the Sons of Seth, who are
themselves dependent upon divine favor, and when it sees the power and
potency of the rulers of temporal fame is then ready to rush to them, and
leave the spiritual for the material. This from the Microcosmic angle of
matter.
From the Cosmic angle or view point we
note again that Solomon's Temple is the Solar Universe and Hiram Abiff,
the Grand Master, is the Sun which travels around the twelve signs of the
Zodiac, enacting there the mystic drama of the Masonic Legend. At the
Vernal Equinox the Sun leaves the WATERY SIGN OF PISCES, which is also
feminine and docile, for the belligerent, martial, energetic, FIERY SIGN
ARIES, the ram or lamb, where it is exalted in power. It fills the
universe with a creative fire which is immediately seized upon by the
innumerable billions of nature spirits who therewith build the Temple of
the coming year in forest and fen. The forces of fecundation applied to
the countless seeds slumbering in the ground causes them to germinate and
fill the earth with luxuriant vegetation while the group spirit mate the
beasts and birds in their charge so that they may bring forth and increase
sufficiently to keep the fauna of our planet at normal. According to the
Masonic Legend, Hiram Abiff, the Grand Master, used a hammer to call his
workmen, and it is significant that the symbol of the sign Aries, where
this wonderful creative activity commences, is shaped like a double ram's
horn, which also resembles a hammer. It is also worthy of notice that in
the ancient Norse Mythology, the Vanir or water deities are said to have
been conquered by the Assir, or fire gods. The hammer wherewith the Norse
God Thor struck fire from the sky finds its counterpart in the thunderbolt
of Jove; like Hiram, the Assir belong to the Hierarchy of Fire, the
Lucifer Spirits, THE SONS OF CAIN, striving for positive Mastership
through individual effort, and therefore upholding the MALE ideal, which
is diametrically opposite to that of the hierarchy which works in the
plastic element Water. In the present day Temples of the latter Order,
magic water stands at the door, and all who enter are required to apply
this lethal liquid to the point in the forehead where the Spirit resides;
their reason is drowned in dictums and dogmas, and the FEMALE ideal is
worshipped in the Virgin Mary. Faith is the prime factor in their
salvation, the attitude of unquestioning childlike obedience being
cultivated.
It is different in the Temple of the
other Order; when the candidate enters there, "poor," "naked" and "blind,"
he is asked at once what he is seeking, and when he answers "LIGHT," it is
the duty of the Master to give what he asks and make him a PHREE MESSEN--a
Child of Light. It is his duty also to teach him to work, and A MALE
IDEAL, HIRAM ABIFF, the Master Workman, is presented for emulation. He is
taught to be always ready to give a reason for his faith. As he qualifies
in the work, he rises step by step, and at each degree more light is
given. There are 3x3 degrees in the lesser Mysteries; when the candidate
has passed the 9th Arch, he is in the Holy of Holies, which forms the gate
to greater fields beyond the scope of Masonry. For further elucidation of
that subject the student is referred to the chapters on Initiation,
Volcanic Eruption and the number 9 in the Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception.
Advancement and promotion in Mystic
Masonry is not dependent on favor; it cannot be given till it has been
earned and the candidate has stored in himself the power to rise, any more
than a pistol can be fired till it has been loaded. INITIATION IS MERELY
LIKE PULLING THE TRIGGER, and consists in showing the candidate how to use
the power latent within himself.
There were some among the workmen on the
Temple who thought they ought to be promoted to a higher degree, but who
had not the power within; therefore Hiram Abiff could not initiate them,
and as they were unable to see that the lack was in themselves, they felt
provoked at Hiram, as over-ambitious candidates of today feel slighted and
stamp a spiritual teacher a fraud who is unable to give them immediate
illumination and induction into the invisible, while they are still eating
of the "flesh-pots of Egypt," and unwilling to sacrifice themselves upon
the altar of self-denial. The dissatisfied among Hiram's men entered into
a conspiracy to spoil his great Masterpiece, the Molten Sea. back to top |
