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

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Chapter 4 - Signs & Symbols
the four cardinal virtues: Fortitude, Prudence, Temperance, Justice
Thus, Fortitude, illustrated in Masonic manuals by a woman standing next to
a broken column (the symbol of death), is the "noble and steady purpose of the
mind whereby we are enabled to undergo any pain, peril, or danger." 592
According to the Virginia Text Book, it "should be deeply impressed upon the
mind of every Mason, as a safeguard [...] against any illegal attack that might be
made by force [...] to extort from him any of those valuable secrets with which
he has been entrusted [...]." 593
Prudence is depicted as a woman holding a mirror, which alludes to the
Masonic motto "know thyself." It teaches the Masons to regulate their lives
agreeably to the dictates of reason, and thus is the habit by which they wisely
judge: "This virtue should be the peculiar characteristic of every Mason, not only
for the government of his conduct while in the Lodge, but also when abroad in
the world." 594 As stated in the Virginia Text Book, again with reference to the
secrecy of Freemasonry, prudence should be particularly attended to in all
strange and mixed companies, "never to let fall the least expression or hint
whereby the secrets of Free Masonry [sic] might be unlawfully obtained." 595
Temperance is the "due restraint upon our affections and passions, which
renders the body tame and governable, and frees the mind from the allurements
of vice." 596 It is illustrated in Masonic textbooks by a woman pouring a liquid
from a pitcher into a cup. The Virginia Text Book admonishes the candidate that
"[t]his virtue should be the constant practice of every Mason, as he is thereby
taught to avoid excess or contracting any vicious or licentious habit, the
indulgence of which might lead him to disclose some of those valuable secrets
592 Dove, p. 101.
593 Ibid.
594 Dove, p. 102.
595 Ibid, p. 102.
596 Ibid, p. 100.