Mackey A G - Encylopedia of Freemasonry - The Grand Masonic ...

116 BREAST
BREASTPLATE
Breast . In one of the Old Lectures, quoted
by Dr. Oliver, it is said : "A Mason's breast
should be a safe and sacred repository for all
your just and lawful secrets. A brother's
secrets, delivered to me as such, I would keep
as my own ; as to betray that trust might be
doing him the greatest injury he could sustain
in this mortal life ; nay, it would be like the
villany of an assassin who lurks in darkness to
stab his adversary when unarmed and least
prepared to meet an enemy ."
It is true, that the secrets of a Mason, confided
as such, should be as inviolate in the
breast of him who has received them as the
were in his own before they were confid
But it would be wrong to conclude that in this
a Mason is placed in a position different from
that which is occupied by every honorable
man . No man of honor is permitted to reveal
a secret which he has received under the
pledge of secrecy . But it is as false as it is
absurd, to assert that either the man of honor
or the Mason is bound by any such obligation
to protect the criminal from the vindication
of the law. It must be left to every man to
determine by his own conscience whether he
is at liberty to betray a knowledge of facts
with which he could not have become acquainted
except under Some such pledge . No
court of law would attempt to extort a communication
of facts made known by a penitent
to his confessor or a client to his lawyer ;
for such a communication would make the
person communicating it infamous . In this
case, Masonry supphes no other rule than
that which is found m the acknowledged codes
of Moral Ethics.
Breastplate. Called in Hebrew j=, chosen,
or T1£'27n IV)n, chosen mishpet, the breastplate
of judgment, because through it the high
priest received divine responses and uttered
his decisions on all matters relating to the
good of the commonwealth. It was a piece
of embroidered cloth of gold, purple, scarlet,
and fine white, twined linen . It was a span,
or about nine inches square, when doubled,
and made thus strong to hold the precious
stones that were set in it . It had a gold ring
at each corner, to the uppermost of which
were attached golden chains, by which it was
fastened to the shoulder-pieces of the ephod ;
while from the two lowermost went two ribbons
of blue, by which it was attached to the
girdle of the ephod, and thus held secure in its
place . In the breastplate were set twelve precious
jewels, on each of which was engraved
the name of one of the twelve tribes . The
stones were arranged in four rows, three stones
in each row . As to the order of arrangement
and the names of the stones, there has been
some difference among the authorities. The
authorized version of the Bible gives them in
this order : Sardius, topaz, carbuncle, emerald,
sapphire, diamond, ligure, agate, amethyst,
b 1, onyx, jasper . This is the pattern genera
y followed in the construction of Masonic
breastplates, but modern researches into the
true meaning of the Hebrew names of the
stones have shown its inaccuracy. Espe-
cially must the diamond be rejected, as no
engraver could have cut a name on this impenetrable
gem, to say nothing of the pecuniary
value of a diamond of a size to match the
rest of the stones. Josephus (Ant ., III ., vii.)
gives the stones in the following order : Sardonyx,
topaz, emerald ; carbuncle, jasper,
sapphire ; ligure, amethyst, agate ; chrysolite,
onyx, beryl. Kalisch, in his Commentary on
Exodus, gives a still different order : Cornelian
(or sardius), topaz, smaragdus ; carbuncle,
sapphire, emerald ; ligure, agate, amethyst
; chrysolite, onyx, jasper. But perhaps
the Vulgate translation is to be preferred as
an authority, because it was made in the fifth
century, at a time when the old Hebrew names
of the precious stones were better understood
than now. The order given in that version is
shown in the following diagram :
EMERALD. TOPAZ . SARDIIIS .
JASPER . SAPPHIRE . CARBUNCLE .
AMETHYST. AGATE. LIGIIRE.
BERYL. ONYx . CHRYSOLITE .
A description of each of these stones, with
its symbolic signification, will be found under
the appropriate head .
On the Stones were engraved the names of
the twelve tribes, one on each stone . The
order in which they were placed, according to
the Jewish Targums, was as follows, havin g a
reference to the respective ages of the twelve
sons of Jacob :
LEVI . SIMEON. REIIBEN.
ZEBIILIIN . ISSACHAR. JUDAH .
GAD . NAPHTALI . DAN.
BENJAMIN. JOSEPH. ASHER .
The differences made by different writers in
the order of the names of the stones arise only
from their respective translations of the Hebrew
words . These original names are detailed
in Exodus (xxviii .), and admit of no
doubt, whatever doubt there may be as to the
gems which they were intended to represent .
These Hebrew names axe given on opposite
page .
The breastplate which was used in the first
Temple does not appear to have been returned
after the Captivity, for it is not mentioned in
the list of articles sent back by Cyrus. The
stones, on account of their great beauty and
value, were most probably removed from their