DATES, MASONIC.
See Calendar.
DATHAN.
A Reubenite who, with Korah and Abiram, revolted against Moses and unlawfully sought the priesthood. In the first chapter of the Book of Numbers, where the whole account is given,
it is said that as a punishment the earth opened and swallowed them up. The incident is referred to in the Order of High Priesthood, an honorary Degree of the . American Rite, which is conferred upon the installed High Priests of Royal Arch Chapters.
DAUGHTER, MASON'S.
See Mason's Wife and Daughter.
DAUGHTER OF A FREEMASON.
The daughter of a Freemason is entitled to certain peculiar privileges and claims upon the Fraternity arising from her relationship to a member of the Craft. There has been some difference of opinion as to the time and manner in which the privileges cease. Masonic jurists, however, very generally incline to the opinion that they are terminated by marriage. If a Freemason's daughter marries a profane, she absolves her connection with the Fraternity. If she marries a Freemason, she exchanges her relation of a Freemason's daughter for that of a Freemason's wife.
DAVID.
David has no place in Masonic history, except that which arises from the fact that he was the
father of King Solomon, and his predecessor on the throne of Israel. To him, however, were the Jews indebted for the design of a Temple in Jerusalem, the building of which was a favorite object with him. For this purpose he purchased Mount Moriah, which had been the threshing-floor of Oman the Jebusite; but David had been engaged in so many wars, that it did not seem good to the Lord that he should be permitted to construct so sacred an edifice. This duty, therefore, he left to his son, whom, before dying, he furnished with plans and with means to accomplish the task. Though David is a favorite subject among the Cabalistic and the Mohammedans, who relate many curious traditions concerning him, he is not alluded to in the legends or symbolism of Freemasonry except incidentally as the father of Solomon.
DAVID I, KING OF SCOTLAND,
1124--53; known as Protector of Freemasons and Patron of the building art (see Alexander lll).
DAVID, SHIELD OF.
See Shield of David.
DAZARD, MICHEL FRANÇOIS.
Born at Chateaudun, in France, May 2, 1781. He was a devoted student of Freemasonry, and much occupied in the investigation of the advanced Degrees of ail the Rites.
He was an opponent of the Supreme Council, against which body he wrote, in 1812, a brochure in French of forty-eight pages entitled Eztrait des colonnes gravées du Père de Famille, vallée d'Angers ( meaning Extract from the Graven Columns of the Father of the Family, Valley of Angers). Kloss calls it an important and exhaustive polemic document. It attempts to expose,
supported by documents, what the author and his party called the illegal pretensions of the Supreme Council, and the arrogance of its claim to exclusive Jurisdiction in France. Dazard was the author of several other interesting discourses on Masonic subjects.
DEACON.
In every Symbolic Lodge, there are two officers who are called the Senior and Junior Deacons. In America the former has been appointed by the Master and the latter by the Senior Warden, both have been elected according to the respective Codes of the Jurisdictions, Pennsylvania, for example, has the Deacons appointed, Ohio has them elected; in England both are appointed by the Master. It is to the Deacons that the introduction of visitors should be propeoy entrusted. Their duties comprehend, also, a general surveillance over the security of the Lodge, and they are the proxies of the officers by whom they are appointed Hence their jewel, in allusion to the necessity of circumspection and justice is a square and compasses. In the center, the Senior Deacon wears a sun, and the Junior Deacon a moon, which serve to distinguish their respective ranks. In the English system, the jewel of the Deacons is a dove, in allusion to the dove sent forth by Noah. In the Rite of Mizraim the Deacons are called acolytes.
The office off Deacons in Freemasonry appears to have been derived from the usage's of the primitive church. In the Greek church, the Deacons were always the wvxwpoí, the pylori or doorkeepers, and in the Apostolica Constitutions the Deacon was ordered to stand at the men's door, and the Subdeacon at the women's, to see that none came in or went out during the oblation
In the earliest rituals of the eighteenth century, there is no mention of' Deacons, and the duties of
those officers were discharged partly by the Junior Warden and partly by the Senior and Junior Entered Apprentices, and they were not generally adopted in England until the Union of 1813.
Brother W,J. Chetwode Crawley has some comments upon the subject in Caementaria Hibernica
(Fasciculus i, pages 9-10). He advises that :
"We must carefully distinguish between the Deacon of the early Scottish Minute Books, and the Deacon of Irish ritual. The former occupied almost, if not altogether, the highest post among his Brethren, and having precedence over the Warden and presiding over the meeting when occasion required. The latter corresponded to the Dean-that is Deacon-of Faculty ; the latter to the lost order of the Ministry, the Deacon in Ecclesiastical parlance. The similarity does not go beyond the name.
The appointing of Deacons served in latter days, as a distinction between Irish and English work, for the Lodges under the Constitution of the Antients naturally followed the Irish use. It must be observed that the office of Deacon was confined to supporting Lodges. During the first one hundred and twenty years of its existence, the Grand Lodge of Ireland never elected Grand Deacons . when their services were required they were selected for the occasion from the Masters then present. Their first appearance as prominent Grand Officers is in the addition of the Irish Constitutions, promulgated in 1850, though thirty-seven years previously the United Grand
Lodge of England had adopted the office, in deference to the usage of the Antients.
(See also references under Titles.)
DEACON'S ROD.
See Rod, Deacon's.
DEAF AND DUMB.
Deaf mutes, as imperfect men, come under the provisions of the Old Constitutions, and are disqualified for initiation. At one time, however, a Lodge in Paris, captivated by the éclat of
the proceeding, and unmindful of the ancient landmark, initiated a deaf mute, who was an intelligent professor in the Deal and Dumb Asylum. All the instructions were given through the medium of the language of the deaf mutes. lt. scarcely need be said that this cannot be recognized as a precedent.
DEATH.
The Scandinavians, in their Edda, describing the residence of Death in Hell, where she was
east by her father, Loke, say that she there possesses large apartments, strongly built, and fenced with gates of iron. Her hall is Grief; her table, Famine Hunger, her knife; Delay, her servant ; Faintness, her porch ; Sickness and Pain, her bed ; and her tent, Cursing and Howling. But. the Masonic idea of death, like the Christian's, is accompanied with no gloom, because it is represented only as a sleep, from whence we awaken into another life. Among the ancients,
sleep and death were fabled as twins. Old Gorgias, when dying, said, "Sleep is about to deliver me up to his brother''; but the death sleep of the heathen was a sleep from which there was no awaking. The popular belief was annihilation, and the poets and philosophers fostered the people's ignorance, by describing death as the total and irremediable extinction of live. Thus Seneca says-and he was too philosophic not to have known better-''that after death there comes nothing'';
while Vergil, who doubtless had been initiated into the Mysteries of Eleusis, nevertheless calls death "an iron sleep, an eternal night": yet the Ancient Mysteries were based upon the dogma of eternal live, and their initiations were intended to represent a resurrection.
Freemasonry, deriving its system of symbolic teachings from these ancient religious associations, presents death to its neophytes as the gate or entrance to eternal existence. To teach the doctrine of immortality is the great object of the Third Degree. In its ceremonies we learn that live here is the time of labor, and that, working at the construction of a spiritual temple, we are worshiping the Grand Architect for whom we build that temple. 'But we learn also that, when that live is ended, it closes only to open upon a newer and higher one, where in a second temple and a purer Lodge, the Freemason will find eternal truth. Death, therefore, in Masonic philosophy, is the symbol of initiation completed, perfected, and consummated.
DEATH IN THE ANTIENT MYSTERIES.
Each of the ancient religious Mysteries, those quasi-Masonic associations of the heathen world, was accompanied by a legend-,which was always of a funereal character representing the death, by violence, of the deity to whom it was dedicated, and his subsequent resurrection or restoration to life. Hence, the first part of the ceremonies of initiation was solemn and lugubrious in character, ,while the latter part was cheerful and joyous. These ceremonies and this legend were altogether symbolical, and the great truths of the unity of God and the immortality, of the soul were by them intended to be dramatically explained.
This representation of death, which finds its analogue in the Third Degree of Freemasonry, has
been technically called the Death of the Mysteries. It is sometimes more precisely defined, in reference to any special one of the Mysteries, as the Cabiric death or the Bacchic death, as indicating the death represented in the Mysteries of the Cabiri or of Dionysus.
DEBATE.
Debates in a Masonic Lodge must be conducted according to the fraternal principles of the
Institution. Masonic debate or discussion should not become wrangling disputes nor quarrelsome contention. in the language of Doctor Oliver, ''the strictest courtesy should be observed during a debate, in a Mason's Lodge, on questions which elicit a. difference of opinion; and any gross violation of decorum and good order is sure to be met by an admonition from the chair." It must be always remembered that the object of a Masonic: discussion is to elicit truth, and not simply to secure ,victory. When, in a debate, a Brother desires to speak, he rises and addresses the chair. The presiding officer calls him by' his name, and thus recognizes his right to the floor. while he is speaking, he is not to be interrupted by any other member, except on a point of order. If called to order by any member, the speaker is immediately to take his seat until the point is stated, when the Master will make his decision without debate. The speaker will then rise and resume his discourse, if not ruled out by the Master. During the time that he is speaking, no motion is permissible. Every member is permitted to speak once on the subject under discussion ; nor can he speak a second time, except by permission of the Master, unless there is a more liberal provision in the by-laws of the Lodge. There are to this rule two exceptions, namely, when a member rises to explain.
and when the mover of the resolution closes the debate by a second speech to which he is entitled by parliamentary law.
DECALOGUE.
The ten commandments of the Masonic law, as delivered from Mount Sinai and recorded in the twentieth chapter of Exodus, are so called. They are not obligatory upon a Freemason as a Freemason, because the Institution is tolerant and cosmopolite, and cannot require its members to give their adhesion to any, religious dogmas or precepts, excepting those which express a belief in the existence of God, and the immortality of the soul. No partial law prescribed for a particular religion can be properly selected for the government of an Institution whose great characteristic is its universality (see Moral Law).
DECANUS.
An officer in the Knights Templar system of Baron Hund, who, in the absence of the Grand Master and his Prior, possessed the right to preside in the Chapter.
DECATUR, STEPHEN.
There Were two of this name, father and son. 0ne, born at Newport, Rhode Island, exact date unknown, died in 1808, at Philadelphia. Captain in the United States Navy from its birth, Brother Decatur was in charge of the Delaware, sloop of war, and later on commanded the Philadelphia, until the close of the differences with France. He moved from Philadelphia to Sinnepuxent,
Maryland, and there, January 5, 1779, his son, Stephen Decatur II, was born. In August, 1777,
Brother Decatur, the father, was initiated in Lodge No. 16, at Baltimore, and later in the same year received the Second and Third Degrees. Baltimore Lodge No. 16 was chartered by the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in 1770. In 1781 its Charter was forfeited but was restored in 1785 as Saint ,Johns Lodge No. 20, Fells Point, Baltimore, and which later went out of existence. Grand Secretary John A. Perry, Pennsylvania, writes to us that on "revering to the Minute Book of Lodge No. 3, I find the signature of Stephen Decatur of the outside leaf. The minutes show:
Stated Lodge opened in due form April 18, 1780.
Brother Decatur of Lodge No. 16 in Maryland petitioned to become a member of this Lodge, was balloted or and unanimously approved of.
Lodge closed and a Master's Lodge opened.
Brothers Jackway and Decatur were raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason, returned and gave thanks.
Brother Decatur paid his fees $100.00 in the hands of the Treasurer.
" He no doubt previously received the Entered Apprentice Degree in Lodge No. 16, Baltimore, Maryland, whose Warrant was granted by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, September 21, 1779, but was not in existence very long." The claim is made but not fully proven that the younger Stephen Decatur was initiated in Saint Johns Lodge, either of Maryland or Rhode Island, October 12 1799. He became a naval commander of prominence and met with great success in various enterprises (see History of Freemasonry in Maryland , E.T. Schultz volume 1, pages 60, 102; also Builder, George W. Baird, May, 1920).
DECIUS.
The nom de plume, meaning in French the pen name, of C. L. Reinhold, a distinguished
Masonic writer ( (see Reinhold).
DECLARATION OF CANDIDATES.
Every candidate for initiation is required to make. "upon honor," the following declaration before an appropriate officer or committee.
That unbiased by the improper solicitation of friends, and uninfluenced by mercenary motives, he freely and voluntary offers himself as a candidate for the Mysteries Freemasonry: that he is prompted to solicit the privileges of Freemasonry by a favorable option conceived of the constitution and a desire of knowledge; and that he will cheerfully conform to all the ancient usage's and established customs of the Fraternity.
This form is very old. It is to be found in precisely the same words in the earliest edition of Preston. It is required by the English Constitution, that the candidate should subscribe his name to this declaration, But in America the declaration is made oral;, and usually before the Senior Deacon or the Stewards.
DECLARATION OF THE MASTER.
Every Master of a Lodge, after his election and before his installation, is required to give, in the presence of the Brethren, his assent to the following fifteen charges and regulations:
- 1, Do you promise to be a good man and true, and strictly to obey the moral law?
- 2. Do you promise to be a peaceable citizen, and cheerfully to conform to the laws of the country in which you reside'?
- 3. Do you promise not to be concerned in plots and conspiracies against the government of the country in which you live, but patiently to submit to the decisions of the law and the constituted authorities'?
- 4. Do you promise to pay proper respect to the civil magistrates, to work diligently , live creditably, and act honorably by all men'?
- 5. Do you promise to hold in veneration the original rulers and patrons of' the Order of Freemasonry, and their regular successors, supreme and subordinate, according to their station ; and to submit to the awards and resolutions of your Brethren in Lodge convent , in every case consistent with the constitutions of the Order'?
- 6. Do you promise, as much as in you lies, to avoid private piques and quarrels, and to guard against intemperance and excess'.>
- 7. Do you promise to be cautions in your behavior, courteous to your Brethren, and faithful to your Lodge'?
- 8. Do you promise to respect genuine and true Brethren, and to discountenance impostors and all dissenters from the Ancient Landmarks and Constitutions of Masonry?
- 9. Do you promise, according to the best of your abilities to promote the general good of society, to cultivate the social virtues, and to propagate the knowledge of the mystic art, according to our statutes'?
- 10. Do you promise to pay homage to the Grand Master for the time being, and to his officers when duly installed, and strictly to conform to every edict of the Grand Lodge or General Assembly of Masons that is not subversive of the principles and groundwork of Masonry'?
- 11. Do you admit that it is not in the power of any man or body of men, to make innovations in the Body of Masonry'?
- 12. Do you promise a regular attendance on the committees and communications of the Grand Lodge, on receiving proper notice, and to pay attention to all the duties of Masonry , on convenient occasions?
- 13. Do you admit that no new Lodge can be formed without permission of the Grand Lodge; and that no countenance ought to be given to any irregular Lodge, or to any person clandestinely initiated therein , as being contrary to the ancient charches of the Order?
- 14. Do you admit that no person can be regularly made a Freemason in, or admitted a member of, any regular Lodge, without precious notice, and due inquirer into his characters
- l5. Do you agree that no visitors shall be received into your lodge without due examination and producing proper vouchers of their having been initiated in a regular Lodge?
With very slight differences, such as might properly be called editorial variations, these charges and regulations are generally in use.
DECLARING OFF.
When a brother ceases to visit and pay his monthly subscription, he thereby declares himself off the Lodge" (see the Symbolical Dictionary). In England, the Brother resigns. Various designations rule in the United States, the chief one being dropped from the roll. In some States the Brother is punished by suspension. If, however, in certain States, he is clear of the books, upon application he can receive a certificate to that effect, and be dropped from the roll. In England he gets a clearance certificate. in Scotland a demit is issued by the Daughter Lodge and countersigned by the Grand Secretary.
DECORATIONS.
A Lodge-room ought, besides its necessary furniture, to be ornamented with decorations which, while they adorn and beautify it, will not be unsuitable to its sacred character. On this subject, Doctor Oliver (in his Book of the Lodge, chapter v, page 70) makes the following judicious remarks:
The expert Mason will be convinced that the walls of a Lodge room ought neither to be absolutely naked nor too much decorated. A chaste disposal of symbolical ornaments in the right places, and according to propriety, relieves the dullness and vacuity of a blank space and, though but sparingly used, will produce a striking impression and contribute to the general beauty and solemnity of the scene.
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