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

L
L . (Heb ., ~ ; Samaritan, 2f .) The shape of
the twelfth English letter is borrowed from
that of the Oriental lomad, coinciding with the
Samaritan . The numerical value in Hebrew
is thirty . The Roman numeral L is fifty .
Hebrew name of Deity, as an equivalent, is
it, Limmud, or Doctus . This letter also signifies
a stimulus, generally female .
Laanah . (Heb ., MN) Wormwood, a
word used in the Order of Ishmael .
Labady. A member of the G . Loge de
France, banished, in 1766, for alleged libel .
An exile to Blois, in October, 1767, for permitting
Masonic assemblies at his residence contrary
to the orders of the government .
Labarum . The monogram of the name of
Christ, formed by the first two letters of that
name, XPIZTOZ, in Greek . It is the celebrated
sign which the legend says appeared
in the sky at noonday to the Emperor
Constantine, and which was afterward
placed by him upon his standard.
Hence it is sometimes called
the Cross of Constantine . It was
adopted as a symbol by the early Christians,
and frequent instances of it are to be found in
the catacombs. According to Eusebius, the
Labarum was surrounded by the motto EN
TOTTtI NIKA, or "conquer by this," which
has been Latinized into in hoc sign winces, the
motto assumed by the Masonic Knights Templar
. The derivation of the word Labarum is
uncertain. (See In hoc signo winces .)
Labor . It is one of the most beautiful
features of the Masonic Institution, that it
teaches not only the necessity, but the nobility
of labor . From the time of opening to that of
closing, a Lodge is said to be at labor . This is
but one of the numerous instances in which the
terms of Operative Masonry are symbolically
applied to Speculative ; for, as the Operative
Masons were engaged in the building
of material edifices, so Free and Accepted
Masons are supposed to be employed in the
erection of a superstructure of virtue and morality
upon the foundation of the Masonic
principles which they were taught at their
admission into the Order. When the Lodge is
engaged in reading petitions, hearing reports,
debating financial matters, etc ., it is said to be
occupied in business; but when it is engaged
in the form and ceremony of initiation into
any of the degrees, it is said to be at work .
Initiation is Masonic labor. This phraseology
at once suggests the connection of our speculative
system with an operative art that preceded
it, and upon which it has been founded .
"Labor," says Gadicke, "is an important
word in Masonry ; indeed, we might say the
most important . For this, and this alone,
does a man become a Freemason . Every
other object is secondary or incidental . Labor
is the accustomed design of every Lodge
meeting. But do such meetings always furnish
evidence of industry? The labor of an
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LABORERS 419
Operative Mason will be visible, and he will
receive his reward for it, even though the
building he has constructed may, in the next
hour, be overthrown by a tempest . He knows
that he has done his labor . And so must the
Freemason labor . His labor must be visible
to himself and to his brethren, or, at least, it
must conduce to his own internal satisfaction .
As we build neither a visible Solomonic Temple
nor an Egyptian pyramid, our industry
must become visible in works that are imperishable,
so that when we vanish from the eyes
of mortals it may be said of us that our
labor was well done ." As Masons, we labor
in our Lodge to make ourselves a perfect
building, without blemish, working hopefully
for the consummation, when the house of our
earthly tabernacle shall be finished, when the
LOST worn of Divine truth shall at last be
discovered, and when we shall be found by
our own efforts at perfection to have done God
service .
Laborare est orare. To labor is to pray;
or, in other words, labor is worship . This was a
saying of the Medieval monks, which is well
worth meditation . This doctrine, that labor
is worship, has been advanced and maintained,
from time immemorial, as a leading
dogma of the Order of Freemasonry . There
is no other human institution under the sun
which has set forth this great principle in such
bold relief . We hear constantly of Freemasonry
as an institution that inculcates
morality that fosters the social feeling, that
teaches brotherly love ; and all this is well,
because it is true ; but we must never forget
that from its foundation-stone to its pinnacle,
all over its vast temple, is inscribed, in symbols
of living light, the great truth that labor is
worship.
Laboratory. The place where experiments
in chemistry, pharmacy, etc ., are performed
; the workroom of the chemist . An
important apartment in the conferring of the
degrees of the Society of Rosicrucians .
Laborers, Statutes of. Toward the middle
of the fourteenth century, a plague of excessive
virulence, known in history as the
Black Death invaded Europe, and swept off
fully one-halt of the inhabitants . The death of
so many workmen had the effect of advancing
the price of all kinds of labor to double the
former rate . In England, the Parliament, in
1350, enacted a statute, which was soon followed
by others, the object of which was to
regulate the rate of wages and the price of the
necessaries of life . Against these enactments,
which were called the Statutes of Laborers,
the artisans of all kinds rebelled ; but the most
active opposition was found among the Masons,
whose organization, being better regulated,
was more effective.* In 1360, statutes
were passed forbidding their "congregations,
chapters, regulations, and oaths," which were
* See Freemason .