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

26 ADOPTIVE
ADOPTIVE
did not actually threaten to be fatal to the
interests and permanence of the Masonic
Institution. The Grand Orient, therefore,
yielded its objections, and resolved to avail
itself of that which it could not suppress . Accordingly,
on the 10th of June, 1774, it issued
an edict by which it assumed the protection
and control of the Lodges of Adoption . Rules
and regulations were provided for their government,
among which were two : first, that no
males except regular Freemasons should be
permitted to attend them ; and, secondly,
that each Lodge should be placed under the
charge and held under the sanction of some
regularly constituted Lodge of Masons, whose
Master, or, in his absence, his deputy, should
be the presiding officer, assisted by a female
President or Mistress ; and such has since been
the organization of all Lodges of Adoption .
A Lodge of Adoption, under the regulations
established in 1774, consists of the following
officers : a Grand Master, a Grand Mistress,
an Orator (dressed as a Capuchin), an Inspector,
an Inspectress, a Male and Female
Guardian, a Mistress of Ceremonies. All of
these officers wear a blue watered ribbon over
the shoulder, to which is suspended a golden
trowel, and all the brothers and sisters have
aprons and white gloves .
The Rite of Adoption consists of four degrees,
whose names in French and English are
as follows :
1 . Apprentice, or Female Apprentice .
2. Compagnone, or Craftswoman.
3 . Mattresse, or Mistress .
4. Parfaite Maconne, or Perfect Mason .
It will be seen that the degrees of Adoption,
in their names and their apparent reference to
the gradations of employment in an operative
art, are assimilated to those of legitimate Freemasonry
; but it is in those respects only that
the resemblance holds good . In the details
of the ritual there is a vast difference between
the two Institutions .
There was a fifth degree added in 1817-by
some modern writers called " Female elect "
-Sublime Dame Ecossaise, or Sovereign Illustrious
Dame Ecossaise ; but it seems to be a
recent and not generally adopted innovation.
At all events, it constituted no part of the
ongm al Rite of Adoption .
The first or Female Apprentice's degree, is
simplp preliminary in its character, and is
intended to prepare the candidate for the more
important lessons which she is to receive in
the succeeding degrees . She is presented
with an apron and a pair of white kid gloves .
The apron is given with the following charge,
in which as in all the other ceremonies of the
Order, le Masonic system of teaching by
symbolism is followed :
" Permit me to decorate you with this
apron ; kings, princes, and the most illustrious
princesses have esteemed, and will ever
esteem it an honor to wear it, as being the symbol
of virtue ."
On receiving the gloves, the candidate is
thus addressed :
" The color of these gloves will admonish
you that candor and truth are virtues inseparable
from the character of a true Mason .
Take your place among us, and be pleased to
listen to the instructions which we are about
to communicate to you."
The following charge is then addressed to the
members by the Orator :
"MY DEAR SISTERS :-Nothing is better calculated
to assure you of the high esteem our society
entertains for you, than your admission as a member
. The common herd, always unmannerly,
full of the most ridiculous prejudices, has dared
to spripkle on us the black poison of calumnybut
what judgment could it form when deprived
of the light of truth, and unable to feel all the
blessings which result from its perfect knowledge?
" You alone, my dear sisters, having been repulsed
from our meetings, would have the right
to think us unjust ; but with what satisfaction do
you learn to-day that Masonry is the school of
propriety and of virtue, and that by its laws we
restrain the weaknesses that degrade an honourable
man, in order to return to your side more
worthy of your confidence and of your sincerity .
However whatever pleasure these sentiments
have enabled us to taste, we have not been able
to fill the void that your absence left in our midst ;
and I confess, to your glory, that it was time to
invite into our societies some sisters who, while
rendering them more respectable will ever make
of them pleasures and delights. We call our
Lodges Temples of Virtue, because we endeavor
to practise it. The mysteries which we celebrate
therein are the grand art of conquering the
passions and the oath that we take to reveal nothing
is to prevent self-love and pride from entering
at all into the good which we ought to do .
"The beloved name of Adoption tells you sufficiently
that we choose you to share the happiness
that we enjoy, in cultivating honour and
charity ; it is only after a careful examination
that we have wished to share it with you, now
that you know it we are convinced that the light
of wisdom will illumine all the actions of your
life, and that you will never forget that the more
valuable things are the greater is the need to preserve
them ; it is the principle of silence that we
observe, it should be inviolable . May the God
of the Universe who hears us vouchsafe to give
us strength to render it so."
It will be seen that throughout this char~
there runs a vein of gallantry, which gives the
true secret of the motives which led to the organization
of the society, and which, however
appropriate to a Lodge of Adoption, would
scarcely be in place in a Lodge of the legitimate
Order.
In the second degree, or that of Compagnone,
or "Craftswoman," corresponding to
our Fellow-Craft, the Lodge is made the symbol
of the Garden of Eden, and the candidate
passes through a mimic representation of the
temptation of Eve, the fatal effects of which,
culminating in the deluge and the destruction
of the human race, are impressed upon her in
the lecture or catechism .
Here we have a scenic representation of the
circumstances connected with that event, as
recorded in Genesis . The candidate plays the
role of our common mother . In the center of
the Lodge, which represents the garden, is
placed the tree of life, from which ruddy apples
are suspended . The serpent, made with the-