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

Chapter 5 - Technical Terminology 319
The implement by which the Perfect Ashlar is suspended is termed a
Lewis. Lewis denotes strength, and is here represented by certain pieces
of metal dove-tailed into a stone, which forms a cramp, and enables the
operative Mason to suspend stones at the height required, preparatory to
fixing them. Lewis likewise denotes the son of a Mason, whose duty it
is to bear the burden and heat of the day, from which his parents, by
reason of their age, ought to be exempt; and to assist them in time of
need, so as to render the close of their days happy and comfortable. 971
Masonic dictionaries and encyclopedias 972 give synonymous interpretations
of the technical term "Lewis" (English), "Louveteau" or "Louvetou" (French),
and "Lufton" or "Louton" (German). The Internationals Freimaurerlexikon
furnishes an explication for the peculiarity of applying the name of a working
tool to a son of a Freemason, tracing the word back to 1737. "Lewis" originally
referred to the name "Ludwig," alluding to the hope that the wife of Frederick
Lewis, Prince of Wales, might give birth to a son. In this sense, the term "Lewis"
was used in a song, "May a Lewis be born." In French, apart from the derivation
from the working tool "louve," the deduction from the term "louveteau," "little
wolf," was also popular among the Masons:
Für die Entstehung dieser Bezeichnung wird folgende Erklärung
gegeben: Als Friedrich Ludwig von Wales in den Bund aufgenommen
wurde (1737), erwartete seine Gattin ihre Niederkunft. Ein Br. Goston
verfaßte ein Lied, in dem die Zeile vorkam: "May a Lewis be born",
möge ein Ludwig geboren werden! Das Lied ist abgedruckt im
Konstitutionenbuch von 1738 und wurde bei Tafellogen gesungen. Zu
dieser Stelle, deren ursprünglicher Sinn in Vergessenheit geriet, wurde
aus dem sprachlichen Gleichklang mit Lewis (Steinklammer) ein
Werksymbol gefunden und die Bezeichnung für den Sohn eines
Freimaurers abgeleitet.
Im Französischen heißt lewis, der Steinkeil, louve. Daraus ist wohl
Louveton entstanden, obzwar man eine Zeitlang die Ableitung
Louveteau, Wölflein, beliebte. 973
As explained in MD, the French Masons applied the term "little wolf" to their
sons because of the archaic custom of disguising candidates as wolves in
Egyptian initiation ceremonies, for example the mysteries of Isis, where the
candidate was made to wear the mask of a wolf's head: "Hence, a wolf and a
candidate [...] were often used as synonymous terms. Macrobius, in his
Saturnalia, says, in reference to this custom, that the ancients perceived a
971 The 'Standard' Ritual of Scottish Freemasonry, p. 38/39.
972 Cf. DFM, p. 161/162; IFL, p. 969/970; MD, p. 329/330.
973 IFL, p. 969/970. Cf. also EOF, p. 444, with regard to the end of the Deputy Grand Master's song:
"May a Lewis be born, whom the World shall admire, Serene as his Mother, August as his Sire."