THE ARCANE SCHOOLS - Fort Myers Beach Masonic Lodge No. 362

SPURIOUS FREEMASONRY OF ANTIQUITY. A term applied to the initiations in
the Mysteries of the ancient pagan world, and to the doctrines taught
in
those Mysteries. See _Mysteries_.
SQUARE. A geometric figure consisting of four equal sides and equal
angles. In Freemasonry it is a symbol of morality, or the strict
performance of every duty. The Greeks deemed it a figure of perfection,
and the "square man" was a man of unsullied integrity.
SQUARE, TRYING. One of the working-tools of a Fellow Craft, and a
symbol
of morality.
STONE OF FOUNDATION. A very important symbol in the masonic system. It
is
like the _word_, the symbol of divine truth.
STONE WORSHIP. A very early form of fetichism. The Pelasgians are
supposed
to have given to their statues of the gods the general form of cubical
stones, whence in Hellenic times came the Hermae, or images of Hermes.
SUBSTITUTE WORD. A symbol of the unsuccessful search after divine
truth,
and the discovery in this life of only an approximation to it.
SUN, RISING. In the Sabian worship the rising sun was adored on its
resurrection from the apparent death of its evening setting. Hence, in
the
ancient Mysteries, the rising sun was a symbol of the regeneration of
the
soul.
SUN-WORSHIP. The most ancient of all superstitions. It prevailed
especially in Phoenicia, Chaldea. and Egypt, and traces of it have been
discovered in Peru and Mexico. Its influence was felt in the ancient
Mysteries, and abundant allusions to it are to be found in the
symbolism
of Freemasonry.
SWEDENBORG. A Swedish philosopher, and the founder of a religious sect.
Clavel, Ragon, and some other writers have sought to make him the
founder
of a masonic rite also, but without authority. In 1767 Chastanier
established the rite of Illuminated Theosophists, whose instructions
are
derived from the writings of Swedenborg, but the sage himself had
nothing
to do with it. Yet it cannot be denied that the mind of Swedenborg was
eminently symbolic in character, and that the masonic student may
derive
many valuable ideas from portions of his numerous works, especially
from
his "Celestial Arcana" and his "Apocalypse Revealed."