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

DARMSTADT
DEACON 197
taught in the degree, while the subsequent
renewal of light refers to that other and subsequent
lesson of eternal life .
Darmstadt, Grand Lodge of. The
Grand Lodge of Darmstadt, in Germany,
under the distinctive appellation of the Grand
Lodge zur Eintracht (of Concord), was established
on the 22d of March, 1846, by three
Lodges, in consequence of a dissension between
them and the Eclectic Union . The latter body
had declared that the religion of Freemasonry
was universal, and that Jews could be admitted
into the Order . Against this liberal declaration
a Lodge at Frankfort had protested,
and had been erased from the roll for contumacy
. Two other Lodges, at Mainz and at
Darmstadt, espoused its cause, and united
with it in forming a new Grand Lodge for
southern Germany, founded on the dogma
"that Christian principles formed the basis on
which they worked ." It was, in fact, a dispute
between tolerance and intolerance . Nevertheless,
the body was taken under the patronage
of the Grand Duke of Hesse, and was recognized
by most of the Grand Lodges of Germany
. It has eight Lodges under its jurisdiction
.
Dassigny, Fifleld, M .D. A Mason of
Dublin, Ireland, who published, in 1744, at
Dublin, A Serious and Impartial Enquiry into
the Cause of the present Decay of Freemasonry
in the Kingdom of Ireland. It contained an
abstract of the history of Freemasonry, and
an allusion to the Royal Arch Degree, on account
of which it has been cited by Dermott
in his Ahiman Rezon . The work is important
on account of its reference to Royal Arch
Masonry, but is very scarce, only three copies
of it being known to exist, of which one belongs
to the Grand Lodge of Iowa, and one
to the West Yorkshire Masonic Library of
which a facsimile was published in 1893, while
a third copy was discovered in 1896. The
writer's name is spelled D'Assigny or Dassigny,
but is given in the latter form on the title-page
of the Serious Enquiry . Dr . W. J . Chetwode
Crawley has investigated the history of the
D'Assigny family . (Comentaria Hibernica.
Fasc. II .) [E . L . H .]
Dates, Masonic . See Calendar .
Dathan . A Reubenite who, with Korah
and Abiram, revolted against Moses and unlawfully
sought the priesthood . In the first
chapter of the Book of Numbers, where the
whole account is given, it is said that as a punishment
the earth opened and swallowed them
up . The incident is referred to in the Order
of High Priesthood, an honorary degree of the
American Rite, which is conferred upon the
installed High Priests of Royal Arch Chapters.
Daughter, Mason's . See Mason's Wife
and Daughter.
Daughter of a Mason . The daughter of a
Mason is entitled to certain peculiar privileges
and claims upon the Fraternity arising
from her relationship to a member of the
Craft. There has been some difference of
opinion as to the time and manner in which the
privileges cease. Masonic jurists, however,
very generally incline to the opinion that they
are terminated by marriage . If a Mason's
daughter marries a profane, she absolves her
connection with the Fraternity . If she marries
a Mason, she exchanges her relation of a
Mason's daughter for that of a Mason's wife .
David . David has no place in Masonic
history, except that which arises from the
fact that he was the father of King Solomon,
and his predecessor on the throne of Israel .
To him, however, were the Jews indebted for
the design of a Temple in Jerusalem, the building
of which was a favorite object with him .
For this purpose he purchase Mt. Moriah,
which had been the threshing-floor of Ornan
the Jebusite ; but David had been engaged in
so many wars, that it did not seem good to
the Lord that he should be permitted to construct
so sacred an edifice . This duty, therefore,
he left to his son, whom, before dying, he
furnished with plans and with means to accomplish
the task. Though David is a favorite
subject among the Kabbalists and the
Mussulmans, who relate many curious traditions
concerning him, he is not alluded to in
the legends or symbolism of Masonry, except
incidentally as the father of Solomon .
David, Shield of. See Shield of David .
Dazard, Michel Frangols. Born at
Chateaudun, in France, May 2, 1781 . He was
a devoted student of Masonry, and much occupied
in the investigation of the high degrees
of all the Rites . He was an opponent of the
Supreme Council, against which body he
wrote, in 1812, a brochure of forty-eight pages
entitled Extrait des colonnes gravees du Pbre de
Famille, vallee d'Angers . Moss calls it an important
and exhaustive polemic document .
It attempts to expose, supported by documents,
what the author and his party called
the illegal pretensions of the Supreme Council,
and the arrogance of its claim to exclusive
jurisdiction in France. Dazard was the author
of several other interesting discourses on Masonic
subjects .
Deacon . In every Symbolic Lodge, there
are two officers who are called the Senior and
Junior Deacons . In America the former is
appointed by the Master and the latter by
the Senior Warden ; in England both are appointed
by the Master . It is to the Deacons
that the introduction of visitors should be
properly entrusted . Their duties comprehend,
also, a general surveillance over the security
of the Lodge, and they are the proxies of the
officers by whom they are appointed . Hence
their jewel, in allusion to the necessity of circumspection
and justice is a square and compasses
. In the center, the Senior Deacon
wears a sun, and the Junior Deacon a moon,
which serve to distinguish their respective
ranks. In the English system, the jewel of
the Deacons is a dove, in allusion to the dove
sent forth by Noah . In the Rite of Mizraim
the Deacons are called acolytes .
The office of Deacons in Masonry appears
to have been derived from the usages of the
primitive church . In the Greek church, the