Masonic Notes And Queries.

attacks of any kind of insect or other animal , thus symbolising the incorruptible nature of the soul . Hence wo see the propriety of placing the sprig of acacia , as au emblem of immortality , among the symbols of that degree , all of whose ceremonies are intended to teach us the great truth , that " the life of man , regulated by morality , faith , and justice , will be rewarded at its

closing hour by the prospect of eternal bliss" ( Dr . Crucifix , MS . quoted by Oliver , " Landmarks , " II ., 2 ) . So , therefore , says Dr . Oliver , when the Master Mason exclaims " My name is acacia , " it is equivalent to saying , " I ha \ 'e been in the grave , I have triumphed over it by rising from the dead ; and , being regenerated in the processI have a claim to life everlasting . "

, The sprig of acacia then , in its most ordinary signification , presents itself to the Master Mason as a symbol of the immortality of the soul , being intended to remind him , by its evergreen and unchanging nature , of that better and spiritual part withiu us , which , as an emanation from the Grand Architect of the Universe , can never die . And as this is the most ordinary , the most

generally accepted signification , so also it is the most important ; for thus , as the peculiar symbol of immortality , it becomes the most appropriate to an order , all of Avhose teachings are intended to inculcate the great lesson that " life rises out of the grave . " But incidental to this , the acacia has two other interpretations , Avhich are well Avorth investigation .

Secondly , then , the acacia is a symbol of innocence . The symbolism here is of a peculiar and unusual character , depending not on any real analogy in the form or use of the symbol to the idea symbolised , but simply on a double or compound meaning of the word . For aicaicia , in the Greek language , signifies both the plant in question and the moral quality of innocence or purity of life . Iu this sense the symbol refers , primarily , to him

over whose solitary grave the acacia was planted , and whose virtuous conduct , whose integrity of life , and fidelity to his trusts , have over been presented as patterns to the Craft , and consequently to all Master Masons , who , by this interpretation of the symbol , are invited to emulate his example . Hutchinson , Avhen he comes to this signification of the

symbol , thus enlarges on the interpretation -. " We Masons , describing the deplorable estate of religion under the Jewish law , speak in figures : — 'Her tomb was in the rubbish and filth cast forth of the Temple , and acacia wore its branches over her monument ; aitaicia being the Greek word for innocence , or being free from sin ; implying that the sins and corruptions of the old

law aud devotees of the Jewish altar , had hidden religion from those Avho sought her , and she Avas only to be found Avhere innocence survived , and under the banner of the divine lamb ; and as to ourselves , professing that Ave Avere to be distinguished by our Acacy , or as true Acacians in our religious faith and tenets " ( " Spirit of Masonry , " Lect . ix ., p . 99 ) .

Among the nations of antiquity it Avas common thus , by peculiar plants , to symbolise the virtues and other qualities of the mind . In many instances the symbolism , has been lost io the moderns , but in others it has been retained is well understood even at the present day . Thus the olive Avas adopted as the symbol of peace , because , says Lee , " its oil is A ery useful in some way or

other , in all arts manual Avhich principally flourish in times of peace . ( "The Temple of Solomon , " ch . ix ., p . 233 . ) The quince among the Greeks Avas the symbol of love and happiness , and hence , by the laws of Solon , in Athenian marriages the bride and bridegroom were required to eat a quince together . It is probable that the quince derived this symbolism , like the aeaeia , from its name ; for there seems to be some connection between the Greek

word KuotbyLos , which means a quince , and tho participle Kvdiiiv , which signifies rejoicing , exulting . The palm was the symbol of victory , and hence , in the

catacombs of Borne , the burial place of so many of the early Christians , the palm leaf is constantly found as an emblem of the Christian ' s triumph over sin and death . The rosemary Avas a symbol of remembrance , and hence was used both at marriages and at funerals , the memory of the past being equally appropriate iu both rites .

Tho parsley , was consecrated to grief , and hence all the Greeks decked their tombs with it ; and it Avas used to croAvn the conquerors in the jSTernean games , Avhich Avere of a funereal character . But it is needless to multiply instances of this symbolism . In adopting the acacia as a symbol of innocence , Freemasonry has but extended the princile of an ancient

p and universal usage , which thus consecrated particular plants by a mystical meaning to the representation of particular virtues . But , lastly , the acacia is to be considered as the symbol of initiation . This is by far the most interesting of its interpretations , and was , wo have every reason to believe , the primary and original ; the others being but incidental .

It leads us at once to the investigation of that significant fact that in all the ancient initiations and religious mysteries , there was some jslant peculiar to each , which was consecrated by its own esoteric meaning , and which occupied an important position in the celebration of the rites , so that the plant , Avhatever it might be , from its constant and prominent use in the ceremonies of initiation , came

at length to be adopted as the symbol of that initiation . A reference to some of these sacred plants—for such , Avas the character they assumed—and an investigation of their symbolism will not , perhaps , be uninteresting or useless in connection with tho subject . In the mysteries of Adonis , which originated in the Phoenicia , and were afterwards transferred to Greece , the death aud resurrection of Adonis was represented . A part of the legend accompanying these mysteries was , that when Adonis was slain by a wild boar , Yenus laid

out the body on a bed of lettuce . In memorial of this supposed fact , on the first day of the celebration wheu funeral rites were performed , lettuces were carried in procession , newly planted in shells of earth . Hence the lettuce became the sacred plant of the mysteries of Adonis . The lotus was the sacred plant of the Brahminical

rites of India , and was considered as a symbol of their elemental trinity—earth , water , and air—because , as an aquatic plant , it derived its nutriment from all of these elements combined , its roots being planted in the earth , its stem rising through the Avater , and its leaves exposed to the air . The Egyptians , who borrowed a large portion of their reliious rites from the Eastadopted the lotus

g , , which was also indigenous to their country as a mystical plant , and made it the symbol of their initiation , or the birth into celestial light . Hence , as Champollion observes , they often on their monuments represented the god Phre , or the sua , as born Avithin the expanded calyx of the lotus . The lotus bears a flower similar to that of the poppy , Avbile its large tongue-shaped leaves

float upon the surface of the water . As the Egyptians had remarked that the plant expands when the sun rises , and closes ivhen it sets , they adopted it as the symbol of the sun ; and as that luminary was the principal object of the popular worship , the lotus became iu all their sacred rites a consecrated and mystical plant . The Egyptians also selected the erica , or heath , as a

sacred plant . The origin of the consecration of this plant presents us Avith a singular coincidence , that will be peculiarly interesting to the Masonic student . We are informed that there was a legend in the mysteries of Osiris , which related that Isis , Avhen in search of the body of her murdered husband , discovered it interred at the brow of a hill near which an erica , or heath plant , greAV ; and hence , after the recovery of the body and resurrection of the god , Avhen she established the mysteries to commemorate her loss and recovery , she adopted