The Lost Key: An Explanation of Masonic Symbols

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68The Lost Keyyour imagination and picture yourself breaking off the roughcorners of your character. What is a rough corner? It is any viceor weakness which you have and which makes your characterimperfect. How do you get rid of such a vice or weakness? Not bywishing, certainly. You have to work. You have to stifle that viceor weakness, to fight against it, to throttle it. It is not easy. It is ahard task. It is well symbolized by the breaking off of the roughknobs on the stone. But how do you do it? Well you do it by theexercise of the Will Power. Is not that true? You know thatwishing will not do it. You must use force. And that force must bedirected by the will. Hence the common Gavel is a symbol of WillPower directed by the intelligence or spirit.205. In the First Degree the candidate has been given certainsymbolic teaching. Now he is told that he must put that teachinginto practice and that it will require Will Power and Self Criticismto do it. The Gauge is a symbol of Self-Criticism, not a detailedcriticism such as is given by the other tools but that first, roughestimate of the powers and capacities. The Gavel is a symbol ofwill power and involves pain and suffering for the ashlar, could itfeel, would undoubtedly cry out in pain when its corners wereknocked off by the vigorous blows of the Gavel. So the individualfeels pain when he applies the Gavel to the ashlar of his characterand knocks off the defects, the most prominent defects, whichwould unfit his ashlar for building into the wall.206. Then he takes the Square and determines whether the sides ofthe ashlar are square to each other. He has knocked off the knobsso far as he is able by the use of the Gavel and now he comes to apoint where the self criticism must be much deeper and moresearching. This is symbolized by the Square. The Square as aWorking Tool has somewhat different meanings from the Squareas a Great Light, yet there is the basic relationship of squarenessand right conduct. The Square, applied to the surface of the
Chapter VI. 69ashlar, will tell him where the bumps and hollows are, thoseinequalities which are not possible to be removed by the Gavelalone. So the Square, as a Working Tool, is a symbol of SELF-CRITICISM.207. Then he takes the Gavel of Will Power and the Chisel ofCorrective Training and goes to work to smooth off these roughplaces and inequalities which the critical Square has pointed out.The Chisel cuts and again we must imagine the ashlar endowedwith feeling as its prototype, the character or personality of thecandidate does feel. The Chisel is actuated by the blows of theGavel and so it stands for those educational and correctivemethods by which the workman in the School of Morality smoothsout the inequalities of his character. But it also symbolizes painand suffering for it cuts and hurts as all corrective measures do.208. In order to make these functions of the Working Tools clearand plain it would be well to consider the following diagram whichwill help you to see the meanings of the different Tools:Twenty-Four-Inch Gauge1
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First published 1927 e.v.by Harry M
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CONTENTSSECTIONSPAGEQuestions on th
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2The Lost Key25. What is the symbol
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4The Lost Key80. What are the Worki
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6The Lost Keyother details with whi
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8The Lost Key6. So the Flag is an A
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10The Lost Key17. Suppose that a ma
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12The Lost Key24. Now that we have
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14The Lost Keymeaning. Let us quote
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16The Lost Keyordinary, uninstructe
Page 22 and 23: 18The Lost Keyof religion and is th
Page 24 and 25: 20The Lost Keysupposed to have gain
Page 26 and 27: 22The Lost Keythe intelligence? The
Page 28 and 29: 24The Lost Keyexcept PREJUDICE? The
Page 30 and 31: 26The Lost Keytreatise, he will be
Page 32 and 33: 28The Lost Keythe activities or the
Page 34 and 35: 30The Lost KeyHANDS—Symbolize dir
Page 36 and 37: 32The Lost Keyand knowledge is of a
Page 38 and 39: 34The Lost KeyTHE OBLONG SQUARE93.
Page 40 and 41: 36The Lost Key101. There are other
Page 42 and 43: 38The Lost Keynature, the mind, etc
Page 44 and 45: 40The Lost Keyhis love for sports.
Page 46 and 47: 42The Lost Key121. Bending the knee
Page 48 and 49: 44The Lost Keythe members of the pa
Page 50 and 51: 46The Lost Key135. All outgoing cur
Page 52 and 53: 48The Lost KeyMasonic membership. U
Page 54 and 55: 50The Lost Keydefinite enough to se
Page 56 and 57: 52The Lost KeyCosmos. It is very im
Page 58 and 59: 54The Lost Keyone which falls the m
Page 60 and 61: 56The Lost Key167. Beginning at the
Page 62 and 63: 58The Lost Keyby Christ Himself but
Page 64 and 65: 60The Lost Keyrealize that the vari
Page 66 and 67: 62The Lost Key184. Now, since we ar
Page 68 and 69: 64The Lost Keyservice and help woul
Page 70 and 71: CHAPTER SIXThe Working Tools199. In
Page 74 and 75: 70The Lost KeyGavelSquareChisel2209
Page 76 and 77: 72The Lost Keylet down from above.
Page 78 and 79: 74The Lost Keyobservation. The form
Page 80 and 81: 76The Lost KeyTHE SECOND DEGREE228.
Page 82 and 83: 78The Lost Keybody firmly fixed in
Page 84 and 85: 80The Lost Keythe present day and o
Page 86 and 87: 82The Lost Key246. The meaning of t
Page 88 and 89: 84The Lost Keythe symbology to suit
Page 90 and 91: 86The Lost Key257. The first Sectio
Page 92 and 93: 88The Lost Keyunknown meaning, so m
Page 94 and 95: 90The Lost Keythe penalties of law
Page 96 and 97: CHAPTER NINEThe Method of Teaching
Page 98 and 99: 94The Lost Keysymbolism is understo
Page 100 and 101: 96The Lost Keya tremendous effect e
Page 102 and 103: 98The Lost Keyof the clothing was n
Page 104 and 105: 100The Lost Keythis intuition had b
Page 106 and 107: 102The Lost Key292. This is the tea
Page 108 and 109: 104The Lost KeyOUGHT to mean. There
Page 110 and 111: 106The Lost Keyhe is to progress, t
Page 112 and 113: 108The Lost Keyheld by the ancient
Page 114 and 115: 110The Lost Keythe clothing. The Mo
Page 116 and 117: 112The Lost Keyto meet the peculiar
Page 118 and 119: 114The Lost Key320. The Lost Word,
Page 120: SectionAllegory . . . . . . . . . .
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