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

ELEVEN
ELUS 239
nations were not always rigidly regarded .
But the early doctrine was that none but the
pure, morally, and ceremonially, could be
admitted to initiation . At first, too, the
right of admission was restricted to natives
of Greece ; but even in the time of Herodotus
this law was dispensed with, and the citizens
of all countries were considered eligible . So
in time these mysteries were extended beyond
the limits of Greece, and in the days of the
empire they were introduced into Rome,
where they became exceedingly popular .
The scenic representations, the participation
in secret signs and words of recognition, the
instruction in a peculiar dogma, and the
establishment of a hidden bond of fraternity,
gave attraction to these mysteries, which
lasted until the very fall of the Roman Empire,
and exerted a powerful influence on the
mystical associations of the Middle Ages .
The bond of union which connects them with
the modern initiations of Freemasonry is evident
in the common thought which pervades
and identifies both ; though it is difficult, and
perhaps impossible, to trace all the connecting
links of the historic chain . We see the beginning
and we see the end of one pervading
idea, but the central point is hidden from us
to await some future discoverer .
Eleven. In the Prestonian lectures,
eleven was a mystical number, and was the
final series of steps in the winding stairs of
the Fellow-Craft, which were said to consist
of 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 . The eleven was referred
to the eleven apostles after the defection of
Judas and to the eleven sons of Jacob after
Josepii went into Egypt . But when the lectures
were revived Hemming, the eleven
was struck out. In Templar Masonry, however,
eleven is still significant as being the
constitutional number required to open a
Commandery ; and here it is evidently allusive
of the eleven true disciples .
Eligibility for Initiation . See Qualifications
of Candidates .
Elihoreph . One of Solomon's secretaries .
(See Ahiah .)
Elizabeth of England. Anderson (Constitutions,
1738, p . 80) states that the following
circumstance is recorded of this sovereign :
Hearing that the Masons were in possession
of secrets which they would not reveal,
and being jealous of all secret assemblies, she
sent an armed force to York, with intent to
break up their annual Grand Lodge. This
design, however, was happily frustrated by
the interposition of Sir Thomas Sackville, who
took care to initiate some of the chief officers
whom she had sent on this duty . They joined
in communication with the Masons, and made
so favorable a report to the queen on their
return that she countermanded her orders,
and never afterward attempted to disturb
the meetings of the Fraternity . [What
authority, if any, Anderson had for the story
is unknown .]
Elizabeth of Portugal . In May, 1792,
this queen, having conceived a suspicion of the
Lodges in Madeira, gave an order to the gov-
ernor to arrest all the Freemasons in the island,
and deliver them over to the Inquisition . The
rigorous execution of this order occasioned an
emigration of many families, ten of whom repaired
to New York, and were liberally assisted
by the Masons of that city .
Elohim .
A name applied in Hebrew
to any deity, but sometimes also to the
true God . According to Lanci, it means the
most beneficent. It is not, however, much
used in Masonry .
It is an expression used throughout the first
chapter of Genesis, as applied to God in the
exercise of His creative power, and signifies the
"Divine Omnipotence, the Source of all
power, the Power of all powers," which was
in activity in the Creation . After which the
expression used for Deity is Jehovah, which
implies the Providence of God, and which could
not have been active until the world had been
created by Elohim .
Eloquence of Masonry . Lawyers boast
of the eloquence of the bar, and point to the
arguments of counsel in well-known cases ;
the clergy have the eloquence of the pulpit
exhibited in sermons, many of which have a
world-wide reputation ; and statesmen vaunt
of the eloquence of Congress--some of the
speeches, however, being indebted, it is said
for their power and beauty, to the talent of
the stenographic reporter rather than to the
member who is supposed to be the author .
Freemasonry, too, has its eloquence, which
is sometimes, although not always, of a very
high order . This eloquence is to be found in
the addresses orations, and discourses which
have usually been delivered on the great festivals
of the Order, at consecrations of Lodges,
dedications of halls, and the laying of foundation-stones.
These addresses constitute, in
fact, the principal part of the early literature
of Freemasonry . (See Addresses, Masonic .)
Elu . The Fourth Degree of the French
Rite. (See Elm .)
Elul. ~~ti . The sixth month of the ecclesiastical
and the twelfth of the civil year of
the Jews . The twelfth also, therefore, of the
Masonic calendar used in the Ancient and
Accepted Scottish Rite . It begins on the new
moon of August or September, and consists
of twenty-nine days .
Elus. The French word elu means elected ;
and the degrees, whose object is to detail the
detection and punishment of the actors in the
crime traditionally related in the Third Degree,
are called Elus, or the degrees of the Elected,
because they referred to those of the Craft
who were chosen or elected to make the discovery,
and to inflict the punishment . They
form a particular system of Masonry, and are
to be found in every Rite, if not in all in name,
at least in principle. In the York and American
Rites, the Elu is incorporated in the Master's
Degree ; in the French Rite it constitutes
an independent degree ; and in the Scottish
Rite it consists of three degrees, the Ninth,
Tenth, and Eleventh . Ragon counts the five
preceding degrees among the Elus, but they
more properly belong to the Order of Masters .