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Article SYMBOLISM OP THE SHOCK. ← Page 2 of 4 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Symbolism Op The Shock.
obvious . "What , then , is the symbolic meaning of the ceremony ? Now , in attempting to explain the signification of any Masonic symbol , we must always remember that there are several forms or modes of symbolism in which the Lodge , the foundation of all our symbolic science , presents itself , and from which we are to select the one which seems to be most analogous to the character of the particular emblem under consideration , and to which we are to refer
it . Thus the Lodge is sometimes considered as the symbol of that spiritual temple which every Mason is instructed to erect in his heart ; and to this form of symbolism we refer all the working-tools of the Order . Again , it is sometimes viewed as a symbol of the universe , and
then the symbolism becomes astronomical—and to this form we refer the officers , as symbols of the sun . And , again , the Lodge is often represented as a symbol of life , when Lodge-labour becomes the symbol of the labour of life—its duties , trials , and temptations and the Mason is the type of the labourer and actor in that life . It is in this last form of symbolism that we are to seek the
explanation of the Shock of Entrance . - The Lodge , then , is here the symbol of the ' new life upon which the candidate is about to enter , and in passing through which—born as an Apprentice , acquiring wisdom and experience as a Tellow-Graft , and learning how to die as a Master , —he is to be incessantly occupied in the investigation of truth . Look , now , at the moral and intellectual condition of this candidate . There he stands , without
our portals , on the threshold of the new life upon which he is soon to enter , in darkness , helplessness , and ignorance . Justly is he called a " profane , " for he is indeed a procul a fano—far from the consecrated place . "Wandering thus amid the errors , and covered
over with the pollutions , of the outer world , he comes inquiringly to our doors , seeking the new birth , and asking a withdrawal of the veil which conceals divine truth from his uninitiated sight . And here , as with Moses at the burning bush , the solemn admonition is given , " Put off thy shoes from off thy feet , for the place whereon
thou standest is holy ground ; " and ceremonial preparations surround him , all of a significant character , to indicate to him that some good change is about to take place in his moral and intellectual condition . He is already beginning to discover that the design of Masonry is to introduce him to new views of life and its duties .
He is , indeed , to commence with new lessons in a new school . There is to be not simply a change for the future , but also an extinction of the past ; for initiation is , in truth , a death to the world , and a resurrection , as it wero , to a new life . And hence it was that among tho old Greeks tlie same word signified both to die and to he initiated . Now this new birth should be accompanied with some
ceremony to indicate symbolically , and to impress upon the mind , this disruption , of old ties and formation of new ones . Hence this impression is made by the symbolism of the Shock at the Entrance
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Symbolism Op The Shock.
obvious . "What , then , is the symbolic meaning of the ceremony ? Now , in attempting to explain the signification of any Masonic symbol , we must always remember that there are several forms or modes of symbolism in which the Lodge , the foundation of all our symbolic science , presents itself , and from which we are to select the one which seems to be most analogous to the character of the particular emblem under consideration , and to which we are to refer
it . Thus the Lodge is sometimes considered as the symbol of that spiritual temple which every Mason is instructed to erect in his heart ; and to this form of symbolism we refer all the working-tools of the Order . Again , it is sometimes viewed as a symbol of the universe , and
then the symbolism becomes astronomical—and to this form we refer the officers , as symbols of the sun . And , again , the Lodge is often represented as a symbol of life , when Lodge-labour becomes the symbol of the labour of life—its duties , trials , and temptations and the Mason is the type of the labourer and actor in that life . It is in this last form of symbolism that we are to seek the
explanation of the Shock of Entrance . - The Lodge , then , is here the symbol of the ' new life upon which the candidate is about to enter , and in passing through which—born as an Apprentice , acquiring wisdom and experience as a Tellow-Graft , and learning how to die as a Master , —he is to be incessantly occupied in the investigation of truth . Look , now , at the moral and intellectual condition of this candidate . There he stands , without
our portals , on the threshold of the new life upon which he is soon to enter , in darkness , helplessness , and ignorance . Justly is he called a " profane , " for he is indeed a procul a fano—far from the consecrated place . "Wandering thus amid the errors , and covered
over with the pollutions , of the outer world , he comes inquiringly to our doors , seeking the new birth , and asking a withdrawal of the veil which conceals divine truth from his uninitiated sight . And here , as with Moses at the burning bush , the solemn admonition is given , " Put off thy shoes from off thy feet , for the place whereon
thou standest is holy ground ; " and ceremonial preparations surround him , all of a significant character , to indicate to him that some good change is about to take place in his moral and intellectual condition . He is already beginning to discover that the design of Masonry is to introduce him to new views of life and its duties .
He is , indeed , to commence with new lessons in a new school . There is to be not simply a change for the future , but also an extinction of the past ; for initiation is , in truth , a death to the world , and a resurrection , as it wero , to a new life . And hence it was that among tho old Greeks tlie same word signified both to die and to he initiated . Now this new birth should be accompanied with some
ceremony to indicate symbolically , and to impress upon the mind , this disruption , of old ties and formation of new ones . Hence this impression is made by the symbolism of the Shock at the Entrance