Scottish Rite Masonry Illustrated - The Masonic Trowel

1~
396 SUBLIME PRINCE OF THE ROYAL SECRET.
reiterate the same in all its parts, in the spirit as well as
in the letter, as fully as if dictated by your heart and
every sentence had been uttered by your own lips?
Candidate—I do.
Commander i~n Chief—Then your hopes of admission
here, and of ultimate victory in the great contest that
approaches are well founded. We are satisfied as to the
purity of your motives and that you possess the requisite
resolution and courage; but you are aware that more is
needed, in him who would be invested with the highest
rank, and take upon himself the responsibilities of Command.
To wear that honor worthily and perform
efficiently the duties it imposes, you must possess intellect,
the talent to command and ample information.
We demand of you that proof. My brethren, free
this aspiring brother from his bonds, and bid him lay
his poniard on the altar. (The candidate places his two
poniards on the altar, the cord is taken off and the two
brothers retire to their places, the Grand Master of
Ceremonies remaining alone with the candidate.)
Commander in Chief—My brother, the cause to which
you desire to devote yourself -is a noble one. Their devotion
to it, has ~ all the great patriots and
philanthropists, of all ages of the world illustrious, and
their names and memories the richest inheritance of the
human race. It is most honorable in you to seek to follow
their example, and so to be the benefactor of your kind.
His is a poor ambition who does not long to do some
good, that shall last beyond the limits of his own brief
life.
If you have learned all that the Ancient and Accepted
Rite has offered you the means of learning, you are prepared.
We must know that you have at least endeavored
to do so. Have you learned the first lesson? Have
INITIATION. 397
you fitted yourself to command, by first learning how to
obey? Are you ready now, and always hereafter, to
obey the lawful orders of this Grand Consistory and its
Illustrious Commander in Chief for.the time being; and
to peril yopr life in the great battle that is to be fought
against the enemies of God, and the foes of human
liberty and human progress? Do you dare to do and
suffer, and have you a hand to burn, like Scaevola, for
your country or your friend? Can you, and do you answer
these questions in the affirmative?
Candidate—I can and I do.
Commander in Chief—Then let your vows be sacred,
and your promises made upon the altar of your heart.
Go now and study the symbolism of this degree, and
learn its meaning, that you may be prepared to do what
further we shall require of you. Sublime Prince Grand
Master of Ceremonies, conduct the candidate to the camp
of the Masonic army, and halt first at the quarters occupied
by the Masons of the symbolic degrees. (The Grand
Master of Ceremonies conducts the candidate to the
tent numb”red nine.)
Master of Ce’remonies—My brother, the 32nd degree
of the Ancient and Accepted Rite, which we are now
conferring on you, is the military organization, as the
31st degree is the judicial organization, of the order.
The camp which you are entering and its several
parts are all symbols, the meaning of which we will
hereafter endeavor to explain to you.
As you pass around and through this symbolic camp,
we will give you the necessary, explanations as to its
external features, and recall briefly to your mind the
characteristics of the several degrees, whose standards
float over the camp, to aid you in hereafter understanding
the esoteric meaning of the whole. You will then