Free Masonry - The Masonic Trowel

290 ABBE BARIIUEL'S VIEWS
one of the masters discovers the corpse, and, taking it by
the Anger, the finger parted from the hand; he took it by
the wrist, and it parted from the arm; when the master, in
astonishment, cried out Mac Benac, which the craft inter*
prets by * the flesh parts from the bones?
" Lest Adoniram should have revealed the word, the masters
convened and agreed to change it, and to substitute
the words Mac Benac ;* sacred words, that Free Masons
dare not pronounce out of the lodges, and there each ojily
pronounces one syllable, leaving his neighbour to pronounce
the other.
" The history finished, the adept is informed, that the
object of the degree he has just received* is to recover the
word lost by the death of Adoniram, and to revenge this
martyr of the masonic secrecy. The generality of Masons,
looking upon this history as no more than a fable, and
the ceremonies as puerile, give themselves very little trouble
in searching farther into these mysteries.
" These sports, however, assume a more serious aspect
when we arrive at the degree of elect.! This degree
is subdivided into two parts; the first has the revenging
of Adoniram for its object, the other, to recover the
word, or rather the sacred doctrine which it expressed, and
which has beep lost.
" In this degree of elect, all the brethren appear dressed
in black, wearing a breast-piece on the left side, on which
is embroidered a death's head, a bone, and a poniard, encircled
by the motto of conquer or die. The same motto
is embroidered on a ribbon which they wear in saltier.
Every thing breathes death and revenge. The candidate
is led into the lodge blind-folded, with bloody gloves on his
hands. An adept, with a poniard in his hand, threatens to
* This is the word of the ancients.
t Dalcho gives two degrees of elect. One, Elect Knights of 9, the other
of 15 ; and a third, called Sublime Knight Elected.