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Article THE LODGE AS A SYMBOL OP THE WOELD ← Page 2 of 11 →
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The Lodge As A Symbol Op The Woeld
I propose to give an extended investigation of its character . And , in the first place , there is what may be called an elementary view of this abstruse ? symbolism , which seems almost to be a corollary from
what has already been described in the preceding article . As each individual Mason has been supposed to be the symbol of a spiritual temple (" a temple not made with hands , eternal in the heavens ' ) , the Lodge or collected assemblage of these Masons is adopted as a symbol of the world .
It is m the first degree of Masonry , more particularly , that this species of symbolism is developed . In its details it derives the characteristics of resemblance upon which it is founded , from the form , the supports , the ornaments ^ ^ d general construction and internal organization of a ^ Lodge , iif ^ all of which the symbolic reference to the world is beautifully and consistently sustained .
The form of a Masonic Lodge is said to be a parallelogram or oblong squares-its greatest length being from east to west , its breadth from north to south . A square , a circle , a triangle , or any other form but that of an oalong square , would be eminently incorrect and unmasbnic , because such a figure would not be an expression of the symbolic idea . which is intended to be conveyed .
Ifow , as the world is a globe , or , to speak more accurately , an oblate spheroid , the attempt to make an oblong square its symbol would seem , at first view , to present insuperable difficulties . But the system of Masonic symbolism has stood the test of too long an experience to be easily found at fault , and , therefore , this very Symbol furnishes a striking evidence of the antiquity of the Order .
At the Solomonic era—the era of the building of the Temple at Jerusalem—the world , it must be remembered , was supposed to have that very oblong form , * ' which has been here symbolized . If , for instance , on a map of the world we should inscribe an oblong figure whose boundary lines would circumscribe and include just that portion which was known and inhabited in the days of Solomon—these lines , running a short distance north and south of the Mediterranean
sea , and extending from Spain in the west to Asia Minor in the east , w ould form an oblong square , including the southern shore of Europe , the northern shore of Africa , and the western district of Asia , the length of the parallelogram being about sixty degrees from east to west , and its breadth being about twenty degrees from north to south . This oblong square , thus inclosing the "whole of what was then supposed to be the habitable globe , f would precisely represent
* " The idea , " says Dudley , " that the earth is a level surface , and of a square form , is so likely to have been entertained by persons of little experience and limited observation , that it may be justly supposed to have prevailed generally in the early ages of the world . "—Naology , p . 7 .
f I ho quadrangular form of the earth is preserved in almost all the scriptural allusions that are made to it . Thus Isaiah ( xi . 12 ) , says u the Lord shall gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth ; " and we find in the Apocalypse ( xx . 9 ) , the prophetic version of ( l four angels standing on the four corners of the earth . "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Lodge As A Symbol Op The Woeld
I propose to give an extended investigation of its character . And , in the first place , there is what may be called an elementary view of this abstruse ? symbolism , which seems almost to be a corollary from
what has already been described in the preceding article . As each individual Mason has been supposed to be the symbol of a spiritual temple (" a temple not made with hands , eternal in the heavens ' ) , the Lodge or collected assemblage of these Masons is adopted as a symbol of the world .
It is m the first degree of Masonry , more particularly , that this species of symbolism is developed . In its details it derives the characteristics of resemblance upon which it is founded , from the form , the supports , the ornaments ^ ^ d general construction and internal organization of a ^ Lodge , iif ^ all of which the symbolic reference to the world is beautifully and consistently sustained .
The form of a Masonic Lodge is said to be a parallelogram or oblong squares-its greatest length being from east to west , its breadth from north to south . A square , a circle , a triangle , or any other form but that of an oalong square , would be eminently incorrect and unmasbnic , because such a figure would not be an expression of the symbolic idea . which is intended to be conveyed .
Ifow , as the world is a globe , or , to speak more accurately , an oblate spheroid , the attempt to make an oblong square its symbol would seem , at first view , to present insuperable difficulties . But the system of Masonic symbolism has stood the test of too long an experience to be easily found at fault , and , therefore , this very Symbol furnishes a striking evidence of the antiquity of the Order .
At the Solomonic era—the era of the building of the Temple at Jerusalem—the world , it must be remembered , was supposed to have that very oblong form , * ' which has been here symbolized . If , for instance , on a map of the world we should inscribe an oblong figure whose boundary lines would circumscribe and include just that portion which was known and inhabited in the days of Solomon—these lines , running a short distance north and south of the Mediterranean
sea , and extending from Spain in the west to Asia Minor in the east , w ould form an oblong square , including the southern shore of Europe , the northern shore of Africa , and the western district of Asia , the length of the parallelogram being about sixty degrees from east to west , and its breadth being about twenty degrees from north to south . This oblong square , thus inclosing the "whole of what was then supposed to be the habitable globe , f would precisely represent
* " The idea , " says Dudley , " that the earth is a level surface , and of a square form , is so likely to have been entertained by persons of little experience and limited observation , that it may be justly supposed to have prevailed generally in the early ages of the world . "—Naology , p . 7 .
f I ho quadrangular form of the earth is preserved in almost all the scriptural allusions that are made to it . Thus Isaiah ( xi . 12 ) , says u the Lord shall gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth ; " and we find in the Apocalypse ( xx . 9 ) , the prophetic version of ( l four angels standing on the four corners of the earth . "