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

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Chapter 7 - Rituals
The lecture continues that "[t]o the careless and thoughtless the lesson would
end here; but the upright and true Mason must pursue it further, and apply it to
the eternal salvation of his soul" (p. 184). This immortality is represented by the
sprig of acacia, and according to the metaphorical phraseology of the ritual, "all
the profane and initiated will stand before His judgement seat in the Grand
Orient of the Universe to render unto Him their dread account" (p. 185).
When the lecture is finished, the symbols of the Third Degree are explained
to the candidate, and he listens to the charge. The symbols are the "Three
Pillars," the "Three Steps," the "Pot of Incense," the "Beehive," the "Book of
Constitution" (guarded by the Tyler's sword), the "Sword & Naked Heart," the
"All-Seeing Eye," the "Anchor & Ark," the "Forty-Seventh Problem of Euclid,"
the "Hourglass," the "Scythe," and the "Setting Maul, Spade, Coffin, and Sprig
of Acacia." 1288
The final charge contains moral guidelines: the first duty, the one of an
Entered Apprentice, is to God; the second duty, that of a Fellow Craft, is to his
neighbor; and the third duty, that of a Master Mason, is to oneself (cf. 191). God
comes first, then the other, and then the self. Without the duty to one's neighbors,
one would lack the "Golden Rule 1289 ," that shows a man the duty he owes to
himself.
The charge concludes the ceremony of "raising." The ritual contains in
addition the catechetical question-and-answer dialogue of this degree for the
candidate to memorize. Finally, the candidate signs the by-laws at the Secretary's
desk and thereby consummates his membership with the lodge.
1288
Cf. our chapter on symbolism.
1289
Note that the Odd Fellows have obviously adopted this thought of "Golden Rule" from Masonry
to name a degree after it.