MANUAL OF FREEMASONRY - Masonic High Council the Mother ...

MANUAL OF FREEMASONRY 9
and are meant to represent the Sun, Moon, and Master of
the Lodge. The Sun to rule the day, the Moon to govern the
night, and the Master to rude and direct his lodge.
By your meek and candid behaviour this evening, you have
escaped two great dangers ; but there is a third which will
await you to the latest period of your existence. The dangers
which you have escaped are those of stabbing and strangling ;
for, at your entrance into the lodge, this sword was presented
to your naked left breast, so that, had you rashly attempted to
rush forward, you would have been accessory to your own
death by stabbing. Not so with the Brother who held it ; as he
would have only remained firm to do his duty. There was
likewise this Cable Tow, with a running noose about your
neck, which would have rendered any attempt to retreat equally
fatal by strangling. But the danger which will await you to
your latest hour, is the penalty of your obligation, that you
would rather have your throat cut across, than to improperly
divulge the secrets of Masonry.
As you have taken the solemn obligation of Masonry, I am now
permitted to inform you, that there are several degrees in Freemasonry,
and peculiar secrets restricted to each. These, however,
are not communicated indiscriminately, but are conferred
on candidates according to merit and abilities. I shall now
proceed to intrust you with the sign of this degree, or those
marks by which we are known to each other and distinguished
from the rest of the world. I must first premise, for your
general information, that all squares, levels, and perpendiculars
(alluding to the positions of the body and its limbs), are
proper signs by which to know a Mason. You are, therefore,
expected to stand perfectly erect, with your feet formed into a
square, your body being thus considered an emblem of your
mind, and your feet the rectitude of your actions. On your
advancement from West to East, you advanced by three irregular
steps; irregular from the situation you were then in,
not knowing where you were then going ; but they allude to
three more regular steps, namely, right lines and angles,
morally teaching us upright lives and well-squared actions.
You will now advance towards me by one pace with your left
foot, bringing the right heel into its hollow.—That is the first
regular step in Freemasonry; and it is in this position that the
secrets of the degree are communicated. They consist in a
sign, a grip or token, and a word.