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

48 ALL-SOULS',
ALNWICK
and the earth, for no longer a space of time
than thou hast slept, they would at once fall to
ruin and confusion, like as the cup fell from
thy hand."
On the same principle, the Egyptians represented
Osiris, their chief deity, by the symbol
of an open eye, and placed this hieroglyphic
of him in all their temples . His
symbolic name, on the monuments, was represented
by the eye accompanying a throne, to
which was sometimes added an abbreviated
figure of the god, and sometimes what has been
called a hatchet, but which may as correctly
be supposed to be a representation of a square .
The All-Seeing Eye may then be considered
as a symbol of God manifested in his omnipresence-his
guardian and preserving character-to
which Solomon alludes in the Book
of Proverbs (xv . 3) when he says : "The eyes
of the Lord are in every place, beholding (or,
as in the Revised Version, keeping watch
upon) the evil and the good ." It is a symbol of
the Omnipresent Deity .
All-Souls' Day . The 2d of November .
A festival in the Romish Church for prayers in
behalf of all the faithful dead . It is kept as a
feast day by Chapters of Rose Croix .
Almanac, Masonic . Almanacs for the
special use of the Fraternity are annually
published in many countries of Europe, but
the custom has not extended to America . As
early as 1752 we find an Almanach des Francs-
Macons en Icosse published at The Hague .
This or a similar work, was continued to be
published annually at the same place until the
year 1778. (Moss, Bibliographic, Nos. 107-9 .)
The first English work of the kind appeared in
1775, under the title of The Freemason's Calendar,
or an Almanac for the year 1775 containing,
besides an accurate and useful Gtalendar
of all remarkable occurrences for the year,
many useful and curious particulars relating to
Masonry . Inscribed to Lord Petre, G . M ., by
a Society of Brethren. London, printed for
the Society of Stationers. This work was
without any official authority, but two years
after the Freemason's Calendar for 1777 was
published " under the sanction of the Grand
Lodge of England." A Masonic Year Book
is now issued annually by the Grand Lodge of
England, and most of the English Provinces
publish Masonic Almanacs .
Almighty . In Hebrew IV ~X, El Shaddai.
The name by which God was known to the
patriarchs before he announced himself to
Moses by his tetragrammatonic name of Jehovah.
(See Exodus vi. 3 .) It refers to his
power and might as the Creator and Ruler of
the universe, and hence is translated in the
Septuagint by ,rawrorcpdrwp, and in the Vulgate
by omnipotens .
Almond-Tree. When it is said in the passage
of Scripture from the twelfth chapter of
Ecclesiastes, sometimes read during the ceremonies
of the Third Degree, " the almond-tree
shall flourish," reference is made to the white
flowers of that tree, and the allegoric signification
is to old age, when the hairs of the head
shall become gray.
I Almoner . An officer elected or appointed
in the continental Lodges of Europe to take
charge of the contents of the alms-box, to
carry into effect the charitable resolutions of
the Lodge, and to visit sick and needy brethren
. A physician is usually selected in preference
to any other member for this office . An
almoner may also be appointed among the
officers of an English Loge . In the United
States the officer does not exist, his duties
being performed by a committee of charity .
It is an important office in all bodies of the
Scottish Rite .
Alms-Box. A box which, toward the
close of the Lodge, is handed around by an
appropriate officer for the reception of such
donations for general objects of charity as the
brethren may feel disposed to bestow. This
laudable custom is very generally practised
in the Lodges of England, Scotland and Ireland,
and universally in those of the continent.
The newly initiated candidate is expected
to contribute more liberally than the
other members . Bro . Hyde Clarke says
(Lon . Freem. Mag ., 1859, p . 1166) that " some
brethren are in the habit, on an occasion of
thanksgiving with them, to contribute to the
box of the Lodge more than on other occasions
." This custom has not been adopted in
the Lodges of America, except in those of
French origin and in those of the Ancient and
Accepted Scottish Rite .
Almsgiving . Although almsgiving, or the
pecuniary relief of the destitute was not one
of the original objects for which the Institution
of Freemasonry was established, yet, as
in every society of men bound together by a
common tie, it becomes incidentally, yet necessarily,
a duty to be practised by all its
members in their individual as well as in their
corporate capacity . In fact, this virtue is intimately
interwoven with the whole superstructure
of the Institution, and its practise is a
necessary corollary from all its principles . At
an early period in his initiation the candidate
is instructed in the beauty of charity by the
most impressive ceremonies, which are not
easily to be forgotten, and which, with the same
benevolent design, are repeated from time to
time during his advancement to higher degrees,
in various forms and under different
circumstances . " The true Mason," sa s
Bro. Pike, " must be and must have a ri t
to be, content with himself ; and he can be so
only when he lives not for himself alone, but
for others who need his assistance and have a
claim upon his sympathy ." And the same
eloquent writer lays down this rule for a Mason
a almsgiving : " Give, looking for nothing
again, without consideration of future advantages
; give to children, to old men, to the unthankful,
and the dying, and to those you shall
never see again ; for else your alms or courtesy
is not charity, but traffic and merchandise .
And omit not to relieve the needs of your
enemy and him who does you injury ." (See
Exclusiveness of Masonry .)
Alnwick Manuscript . This manuscript,
which is now in the possession of th8 New-