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

218 DISPERSION
DODD'S
origin cannot be traced farther back than to
the period when Masonry was first divided
into three distinctive degrees ; nor could it
have been invented later than the time when
Masonry was deemed, if not an exclusively
Christian organization at least to be founded
on and fitly illustrated by Christian dogmas .
At present, this symbolism, though preserved
in the speculations of such Christian writers
as Hutchinson and Oliver, and those who are
attached to their peculiar school, finds no place
in the modern cosmopolitan rituals . It may
belong, as an explanation, to the history of
Masonry, but can scarcely make a part of its
symbolism .
Dispersion of Mankind . The dispersion
of mankind at the tower of Babel and on the
plain of Shinar, which is recorded in the Book
of Genesis, has given rise to a Masonic tradition
of the following purport. The knowledge
of the great truths of God and immortality
were known to Noah, and by him communicated
to his immediate descendants, the Nos,
chide or Noachites, by whom the true worship
continued to be cultivated for some time after
the subsidence of the deluge ; but when the
human race were dispersed, a portion lost sight
of the Divine truths which had been communicated
to them from their common ancestor,
and fell into the most grievous theological
errors, corrupting the purity of the worship
and the orthodoxy of the religious faith which
they had primarily received .
These truths were preserved in their integrity
by but a very few in the atriarchal
line, while still fewer were enable to retain
only dim and glimmering portions of the true
light .
The first class was confined to the direct
descendants of Noah, and the second was to be
found among the priests and philosophers
and, perhaps, still later, among the poets of
the heathen nations, and among those whom
they initiated into the secrets of these truths .
The system of doctrine of the former class
has been called by Masonic writers the "Pure
or Primitive Freemasonry" of antiquity, and
that of the latter class the "Spurious Freemasonry"
of the same period . These terms
were first used by Dr . Oliver, and are intended
to refer-the word pure to the doctrines taught
by the descendants of Noah in the Jewish line,
and the word spurious to those taught by his
descendants in the heathen or Gentile line .
Disputes. The spirit of all the Ancient
Charges and Constitutions is, that disputes
among Masons should be settled by an appeal
to the brethren, to whose award the disputants
were required to submit . Thus, in an Old
Record of the fifteenth century, it is provided,
among other charges, that "yf any discorde
schall be bitwene hym and his felows, he
schall abey hym mekely and be stylle at the
byddyng of his Master or of the Wardeyne of
his Master, in his Master's absens, to the holy
day folowyng, and that he accorde then at the
tion at this day by the Charges approved in
1722, which express the same idea in more
modern language.
Distinctive Title . In the rituals, all
Lodges are called Lodges of St . John, but
every Lodge has also another name by which
it is distinguished. This is called its distinctive
title. This usage is preserved in the diplomas
of the continental Masons, especially the
French, where the specific name of the Lodge
is always given as well as the general title of
St . John, which it has in common with all
other Lodges . Thus, a diploma issued by a
French Lodge whose name on the Register of
the Grand Orient would perhaps be La Write,
will purport to have been issued by the Lodge
of St . John, under the distinctive title of La
Verite, "Par la Loge de St . Jean sub la title
distinctive de la Verity ." The expression is
never used in English or American diplomas .
Distress, Sign of. See Sign of Distress .
District Deputy Grand Master . An officer
appointed to inspect old Lodges, consecrate
new ones, install their officers, and exercise
a general supervision over the Fraternity
in the districts where, from the extent of the
jurisdiction, the Grand Master or his Deputy
cannot conveniently attend in person . He is
considered as a Grand Officer, and as the representative
of the Grand Lodge in the district
in which he resides. In England, officers of
this description are called Provincial Grand
Masters .
District Grand Lodges . In the Constitution
of the Grand Lodge of England, Grand
Lodges in colonies and foreign parts are called
District Grand Lodges, to distinguish them
from Provincial Grand Lodges in England.
Diu. (The "Shining Light of Heaven .")
An Indian word applied to the Supreme God,
of the same signification as the Greek words
Zeus and Theos, and the Latin Deus Jupiter
(Jovis) ; in Sanskrit, Dewas ; in Lettis'h, Dews,
in Gothic, Thius ; and in North German, Tyr.
Divining-Rod or Pedum. The Moderator,
or Royal Master was imaged
with the ureus on his forehead, the
pedum and the whip between his
knees. The Divining-Rod was a
symbol of moderation. 7.1, Heq,
signifies a law, a statute, or custom ;
77 M , Hegq, a legislator, a scepter, a
king, moderator, and a pedum .
Hence, a staff . It is represented by a
crook surmounted on a pole . The
rod of the Rose Croix Knight is dissimilar
; it is straight, white, like a
wand, and yet may be used as a helping
or leaning staff .
Documents, Three Oldest. See Krause.
Dodd's Constitutions. This is a printed
pamphlet of twenty pages, in quarto, the title
being The beginning and the first foundation of
the Most Worthy Craft of Masonry ; with the
Charges thereunto belonging.
dispocition of his felows ." A similar regulation
is to be found in all the other old Charges
and Constitutions, and is continued in opera,
By a deceased
Brother, for the benefit of his widow . London :
printed for Mrs . Dodd at the Peacock without
Temple Bar. 1739. Price, sixpence .