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

448 LILTS
LITERATURE
line . The ligure in the breastplate was ref
erred to the tribe of Dan .
Lilts or Lilith. In the popular belief of
the Hebrews, a female specter, in elegant
attire who secretly destroys children . The
fabled wife of Adam, before he married Eve,
by whom he begat devils .
Lily . The plant so frequently mentioned
in the Old Testament under the name of lily,
as an emblem of purity and peace, was the lotus
lily of Egypt and India . It occupied a conspicuous
place among the ornaments of the
Temple furniture . The brim of the molten
sea was wrought with flowers of the lotus ; the
chapiters on the tops of the pillars at the
porch, and the tops of the pillars themselves,
were adorned with the same plant. Sir Robert
Ker Porter, describing a piece of sculpture
which he found at Persepolis, says, "Almost
every one in this procession holds in his hand
a figure like the lotus . This flower was full
of meaning among the ancients, and occurs all
over the East . Egypt, Persia, Palestine, and
India present it everywhere over their architecture,
in the hands and on the heads of their
sculptured figures, whether in statue or in
bas-relief . We also find it in the sacred vestments
and architecture of the tabernacle and
Temple of the Israelites . The lily which is
mentioned by our Savior, as an image of
peculiar beauty and glory, when comparing
the works of nature with the decorations of
art, was a different flower ; probably a species
of lilium . This is also represented in all pictures
of the salutation of Gabriel to the Virgin
Mary ; and, in fact, has been held in mysterious
veneration by people of all nations and
times. `It is the symbol of divinity, of purity,
and abundance, and of a love most complete
in perfection, charity, and benediction ; as in
Holy Scripture, that mirror of purity, Susanna
is defined Susa, which signified the lily flower,
the chief city of the Persians, bearing that
name for excellency . Hence, the lily's three
leaves in the arms of France meaneth Piety,
Justice, and Charity .' So far, the general impression
of a peculiar regard to this beautiful
and fragrant flower ; but the early Persians
attached to it a peculiar sanctity ." We must
not, however, forget the difference between
the lotus of the Old Testament and the lily
of the New . The former is a Masonic plant ;
the latter is scarcely referred to . Nevertheless,
through the ignorance of the early
translators as to sacred plants, the lotus is
constantly used for the lily ; and hence the
same error has crept into the Masonic rituals .
(See Lotus .)
Lily-of-the-Valley . A side degree in the
Templar system of France .
Lily Work . The lily work which is described
as a part of the ornamentation of the
two pillars in the porch of Solomon's Temple
is said to be, from the whiteness of the plant,
symbolic of purity and peace . Properly, it is
lotus work . (See Lily, Lotus, and Pillars of
the Porch .)
Limbs . See Quali~ cations, Physical .
Lindner, Friederich Wilhelm. A pro-
fessor of philosophy in Leipsic, who published
in 1818-19 an attack on Freemasonry under
the title of Mac Benac ; Er lebet im Sohne; oder
das Positive der Freimaurerei . This work contains
some good ideas, although taken from an
adverse point of view ; but, as Lenning has
observed, these bear little fruit because of the
fanatical spirit of knight errantry with which
he attacks the Institution .
Line . One of the working-tools of a Past
Master, and presented to the Master of a
Lodge at his installation . (See Plumb Line .)
Linear Triad . Oliver says that the Linear
Triad is a figure which appears in some old
Royal Arch floor-cloths . It bore a reference
to the sojourners, who represented the three
stones on which prayers and thanksgivings
were offered on the discovery of the lost Word ;
thereby affording an example that it is our
duty in every undertaking to offer up our
prayers and thanksgivings to the God of our
salvation .
Lines, Parallel . See Parallel Lines .
Lingam. The lingam and the youi of the
Indian mysteries were the same as the phallus
and cteis of the Grecian . (See Phallic Worship
.)
Link. A degree formerly conferred in
England, in connection with the Mark Degree,
under the title of the "Mark and Link or
Wrestle ." It is now obsolete .
Linnecar, Richard . The author of the
celebrated Masonic anthem beginning
"Let there be Light! th' Almighty spoke ;
Refulgent beams from chaos broke,
T' illume the rising earth ."
Little is known of his personal history except
that he was the Coroner of Wakefield, England,
and for many years the Master of the
Lodge of Unanimity, No . 238, in that town .
He was a zealous and studious Mason. In
1789 he published, at Leeds, a volume of plays,
poems, and miscellaneous writings, among
which was an essay entitled Strictures on Freemasonry,
and the anthem already referred to.
He appears to have been a man of respectable
abilities.
Lion, Chevalier du . (Knight of theLion .)
The twentieth grade of the third series of the
Metropolitan Chapter of France .
Lion of the Tribe of Judah . See Tribe
of Judah, Lion of the .
Lion's Paw. A mode of recognition so
called because of the rude resemblance made
by the hand and fingers to a lion's paw . It
refers to the "Lion of the tribe of Judah ."
Literature of Masonry . Freemasonry
has its literature, which has been rapidly developed
in the last few decades of the present
century, far more than in any preceding ones .
This literature is not to be found in the working
of its degrees, in the institution of its
Lodges, in the diffusion of its charities, or in
the extension of its fraternal ties . Of all
these, although necessary and important ingredients
of the Order, its literature is wholly
independent . This is connected with its
ethics as a science of moral, social, and relig-