The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

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Chapter 4 - Signs & Symbols
corn, suspended near a waterford." 349 Then, they ascended the winding staircase,
consisting of three flights, the first numbering three, the second five, and the
third seven steps, according to the formula: "Three rule a Lodge; Five hold a
Lodge; and Seven or more make it perfect." 350 This is explained as follows:
The three that rule a Lodge are the R.W. Master and his two Wardens.
The five that hold a Lodge are the R.W. Master, two Wardens, and two
Fellows of Craft. The seven that make it perfect are two Entered
Apprentices or other Freemasons added to the former number. 351
According to the explanations of the Scottish ritual, three rule a lodge,
because there were three Grand Masters at the building of the first Temple at
Jerusalem, viz. Solomon King of Israel, Hiram King of Tyre, and Hiram Abiff.
Five hold a lodge, in allusion to the five noble orders of architecture, respectively
Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite, and to the five senses. Seven
or more make a perfect lodge, because it
took King Solomon seven years and
upwards to build, complete, and dedicate the
temple. The number seven likewise alludes
to the seven liberal arts and sciences, which
are grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic,
geometry, music, and astronomy.
In the Middle Chamber, the attention of
the Fellow Crafts was arrested by Hebrew
characters nowadays depicted by the letter
G, referring to T.G.G.O.T.U. 352
The carpet of the Third Degree 353
illustrates the porch, the dormer, and the
square pavement, the porch being a
reminder of the moral duties, which, on
crossing the threshold of Freemasonry, are
impressed on the Mason, to polish and
adorn his character before studying the
hidden mysteries and receiving the rewards
of the Middle Chamber. The dormer typifies
"that Divine Radiance, without which the
Holy of Holies itself would be in
impenetrable darkness, and bids us lift our
eyes to that Source of light which reveals
349 Cf. Simons, p. 90.
350 Ibid, p. 61.
351 Ibid, p. 61/62.
352 "The Grand Geometre of the Universe," cf. Section 8.1.2, p. 414.
353 Cf. The 'Standard' Ritual of Scottish Freemasonry, p. 95/96.