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

Chapter 4 - Signs & Symbols 247
an equivalent for it. German Masons call it "Merkmal," that is a sign or
representation, whereas French Masons name it "attouchement," which is the act
of touching, comparable to the German "Griff," in English, "grip." It can be
assumed that in English Masonry, the terms "grip" and "token" convey about the
same meaning.
Grips and signs, according to classical sources, are a very ancient form of
intercommunication. Reference can be found in the dramas of Plautus, who says
in Miles Gloriosus, iv. 2, "Cede signum, si harum Baccharum es;" - "Give me the
sign if you are one of these Bacchantes." 700 In the following, three grips, those of
the first three degrees, will be illustrated and explained as given in Duncan's
Ritual and Monitor. Duncan distinguishes the grips into "real grips" and "pass
grips." The latter are the grips that mark the transition from a grip of a lower
degree to a grip of a higher degree, and thus constitute a passing. The first grip is
the grip of an Entered Apprentice. When the candidate is brought to light, the
Worshipful Master approaches him from the East, making the "dueguard," the
sign, and the step of the First Degree, and takes the candidate by the right hand.
The grip is made as described in the first of the following illustrations, and it is
accompanied by a ritualistic question-and-answer dialogue between the
Worshipful Master and the Senior Deacon, who answers for the candidate. The
form of this dialogue is thus:
W. M. I hail.
S. D. I conceal.
W. M. What do you conceal?
S. D. All the secrets of Masons in Masons, to which this (here
presses his thumb-nail on the joint) token alludes.
W. M. What is that?
S. D. A grip.
W.M. Of what?
S. D. Of an Entered Apprentice Mason.
W. M. Has it a name?
S. D. It has.
W. M. Will you give it to me?
S. D. I did not so receive it; neither can I so impart it. 701
Then follows the procedure of "lettering and halving" as described in Section
4.7.2.1. The secret name of the Entered Apprentice grip in the time of Duncan
was BOAZ, which is the name of one of the two columns on the porch of King
Solomon's temple.
The catechism is different in the Second Degree, where the Worshipful
Master asks the Senior Deacon whether he will be "off or from," to which the
Senior Deacon answers, "from." This means "from the real grip of an Entered
700 Cf. TRMC, p. 675.
701 Duncan, p. 36. Illustrations taken from Duncan, p. 36, 66, 67, 97, 120.