THE SQUARE
The square as an emblem is geometrical and not mechanical in its origin
according to authorities, who trace it back to the ancient Egyptians, who in
solemn processions carried the cubit of justice, by which perpendiculars, right
angles and squares might be laid our, its form being that of one arm of a
square, with the inner end cut to an angle of 45 degrees.
"The close analogy between justice and that which is perfectly upright is so
obvious as to have become universal. The terms 'an upright man' and a 'just man'
are in nearly all languages synonymous, hence the scriptural phrases: 'The way
of the just is uprightness; thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the
just;' 'He that walketh uprightly' and the admonition 'to walk uprightly before
God and man.' Besides this, the square was used in Egypt to redetermine the
boundaries of each man's possessions when, as frequently happened, the landmarks
were swept away by the inundation of the Nile, thus recovering to every man his
just rights. The Egyptian land-measure itself was an aroura or a square,
containing one hundred cubits.
"The square representing the fourth part of a circle, has a direct allusion
to division of the ecliptic and celestial equator into four equal parts,
indicative of the solstitial and equinoctial points, and the division of the
year into four seasons. By it we are also enabled to divide the circle of the
horizon into quadrants, and by the aid of the sun in the south to correctly mark
out the four cardinal points of the compass. In not only geometry, but astronomy
also, the use of the right angle is indispensible.
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