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

EVERGETEN
EXAMINATION 255
a society presumed to be a branch of Weishaupt's
Illumines that existed in Italy .
Evergeten, Bung der . (From the Greek
dvepy4oms, a benefactor.) A secret order after
the manner of the Illuminati . It was founded
in Silesia about 1792, by a certain Zerboni of
Glogau, Lieut. von Leip zinger, the merchant
Contessa, Herr von Reibnitz, and five others ;
that Fessler worked in it ; that it used Masonic
forms. Some of the members were imprisoned
at Breslau in 1796, and about 1801 the
society became defunct. (Kenning's
pxdia of F. M. s.v .)
Cycle
Evergreen. An evergreen plant is a symbol
of the immortality of the soul . The ancients,
therefore, as well as the moderns,
planted evergreens at the heads of graves .
Freemasons wear evergreens at the funerals of
their brethren, and cast them into the grave .
The acacia is the plant which should be used
on these occasions, but where it cannot be obtained,
some other evergreen plant, especially
the cedar, is used as a substitute . (See
Acacia.)
Evora, Knights of . There is a very ancient
cit y in Portugal of 1200 population .
Quintus Sertorius took it 80 B .C . The Roman
antiquities are unrivaled . The aqueduct
erected by Sertorius has at one end a marvelous
architectural tower rising high above
the city, perfect in its condition as when built,
70 B .C . In 1147, King Alfonso I ., of Portugal,
instituted the Order of the New Militia in
consequence of the prowess exhibited by the
troops in the siege of Lisbon against the Moors .
When they conquered Evora in 1166, the king
~y decree changed their name to Knights of
Evora.
Exalted . A candidate is said to be exalted
when he receives the Degree of Holy Royal
Arch, the seventh in American Masonry . Exalted
means elevated or lifted up, and is applicable
both to a peculiar ceremony of the degree,
and to the fact that this degree, in the Rite in
which it is practised, constitutes the summit of
ancient Masonry.
The rising of the sun of spring from his
wintry sleep into the glory of the vernal equinox
was called by the old sun-worshipers his
"exaltation" ; and the Fathers of the Church
afterward applied the same term to the resurrection
of Christ . St. Athanasius says that
by the expression, "God hath exalted him,"
St . Paul meant the resurrection . Exaltation,
therefore, technically means a rising from a
lower to a higher sphere, and in Royal Arch
Masonry may be supposed to refer to the being
lifted up out of the first temple of this life
into the second temple of the future life. The
candidate is raised in the Master's Degree, he
is exalted in the Royal Arch. In both the symbolic
idea is the same .
Examination of Candidates . It is an
almost universal rule of the modern Constitutions
of Masonry, that an examination
upon the subjects which had been taught
in the preceding degree shall be required of
every brother who is desirous of receiving a
higher degree ; and it is directed that th,a
examination shall take place in an open Lodge
of the degree upon which the examination is
made, that all the members present may have
an opportunity of judging from actual inspection
of the proficiency and fitness of the candidate
for the advancement to which he aspires .
The necessity of an adequate comprehension
of the mysteries of one degree, before any
attempt is made to acquire a higher one, seems
to have been duly appreciated from the earliest
times ; and hence the 13th Article of the
Regius MS . requires that if a Master has an
Apprentice he shall teach him fully, that he
may know his Craft ably wherever he may
go . (vv ., 239-244 .) But there is no evidence
that the system of examining candidates as
to their proficiency, before their advancement,
is other than a modern improvement, and first
adopted not very early in the present century .
Examination of the Ballot-Box . This is
sometimes done during the ballot for a candidate,
by presenting the box first to the Junior
Warden, then to the Senior, and lastly to the
Master each of whom proclaims the result as
"clear" or "foul." This order is adop ted so
that the declaration of the inferior officer, as
to the state of the ballots, may be confirmed
and substantiated by his superior .
Examination of Visitors . The due examination
of strangers who claim the right to
visit, should be entrusted only to the most
skilful and prudent brethren of the Lodge .
And the examining committee should never
forget, that no man applying for admission is
to be considered as a Mason, however strong
may be his recommendations, until b y undeniable
evidence he has proved himself to be
such .
All the necessary forms and antecedent
cautions should be observed . Inquiries should
be made as to the time and place of initiation,
as a preliminary step the Tiler's OB, of course,
never being omitted. Then remember the
good old rule of "commencing at the beginning
." Let everything proceed in regular
course, not varying in the slightest degree
from the order in which it is to be supposed
that the information sought was originally
received . Whatever be the suspicions of imposture,
let no expression of those suspicions
be made until the final decree for rejection is
uttered . And let that decree be uttered in
general terms, such as, "I am not satisfied,"
or "I do not recognize you," and not in more
specific language, such as, "You did not answer
this inquiry," or "You are ignorant on
that point ." The candidate for examination is
only entitled to know that he has not complied
generally with the requisitions of his
examiner . To descend to particulars is alwa
improper and often dangerous . Above
never ask what the lawyers call "leading questions,"
which include in themselves the answers,
nor in any manner aid the memory or
prompt the forgetfulness of the party examined,
by the slightest hints . If he has it in him
it will come out without assistance, and if he
has it not he is clearly entitled to no aid . The
Mason w io is so unmindful of his obligations