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

priests, the senators, the Roman knights, and a number of citizens, all
acting with one effort and general demonstrations of joy, laid hold of
the
ropes and dragged the ponderous load to its destined spot. They then
threw
in ingots of gold and silver, and other metals, which had never been
melted in the furnace, but still retained, untouched by human art,
their
first formation in the bowels of the earth."--_Tac. Hist._, 1. iv. c.
53,
Murphy's transl.
[109] As, for instance, in Psalm cxviii. 22, "The stone which the
builders
refused is become the head-stone of the corner," which, Clarke says,
"seems to have been originally spoken of David, who was at first
rejected
by the Jewish rulers, but was afterwards chosen by the Lord to be the
great ruler of his people in Israel;" and in Isaiah xxviii. 16,
"Behold, I
lay in Zion, for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious
corner-stone, a sure foundation," which clearly refers to the promised
Messiah.
[110] In the ritual "observed at laying the foundation-stone of public
structures," it is said, "The principal architect then presents the
working tools to the Grand Master, who applies the plumb, square, and
level to the stone, in their proper positions, and pronounces it to be
_well-formed, true, and trusty_."--WEBB'S _Monitor_, p. 120.
[111] "The square teaches us to regulate our conduct by the principles
of
morality and virtue."--_Ritual of the E. A. Degree._--The old York
lectures define the square thus: "The square is the theory of universal
duty, and consisteth in two right lines, forming an angle of perfect
sincerity, or ninety degrees; the longest side is the sum of the
lengths
of the several duties which we owe to all men. And every man should be
agreeable to this square, when perfectly finished."
[112] Aristotle.
[113] "The cube is a symbol of truth, of wisdom, and moral perfection.
The
new Jerusalem, promised in the Apocalypse, is equal in length, breadth,
and height. The Mystical city ought to be considered as a new church,
where divine wisdom will reign."--OLIVER'S _Landmarks_, ii. p. 357.--
And
he might have added, where eternal truth will be present.
[114] In the most primitive times, all the gods appear to have been
represented by cubical blocks of stone; and Pausanias says that he saw
thirty of these stones in the city of Pharae, which represented as many
deities. The first of the kind, it is probable, were dedicated to
Hermes,
whence they derived their name of "Hermae."