CHAPTER XXXIII.

MASONIC SYMBOLS.-THE LEVEL.

THE Level is used by operative masons to lay surfaces perfectly horizontal. In speculative Masonry it is a symbol reminding us of that level on which all men naturally stand in the sight of God, advancing alike towards death and eternity; liable to the same infirmities, temptations, dangers, and woes; partakers of the same hopes and fears; subject to the same authority of the divine law; and all destined to be tried at last by the same infallible Judge,―nay, all sinners needing God's mercy. It thus teaches us humility, and not to despise those of low estate, nor to look with envy on those who are exalted above us by wealth, rank, or any adventitious circumstance which may give them a high position in the world. It does not teach us, however, to refuse to men, in the ordinary affairs and intercourse of life, such marks of respect as are commonly accorded to their worldly rank or station: nor does it teach us to disregard the attainments of merit, which, on the contrary, every Mason is bound to acknowledge with respect. accordance with the teaching of this symbol, no distinctions of rank are recognised on the tesselated floor of the Masonic Lodge, but those of Masonic rank itself, which always is, in theory at least, and ought to be in reality, the reward of merit. All meet, as brethren, on the same level, and all the proceedings of the Lodge are conducted upon this principle.

In

It is almost impossible to contemplate the level as a symbol without thinking of the levelling hand of death and the equality of the grave. "The small and the great are there, and the servant is free from his master" (Job iii. 19).

"All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and turn to the dust again" (Eccl. iii. 20).-"There is no discharge in that war" (Eccl. viii. 8), no escape from death. The most favoured of the inhabitants of the world, who rejoice in the abundance of their riches, are as liable to the stroke of death, as those who contend with the greatest adversities, and pine in poverty. "They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave (Job. xxi. 12, 13).

But it is not only at the foundation of a building that the mason uses a level. Horizontal lines and surfaces appear also throughout it and at its summit. Ought not this to suggest the thought of the new degrees of grace bestowed by God, of the various attainments which He enabled us to make, and of that which is above all, and is the consummation of all, the upper sanctuary where all who enter it shall rejoice for ever in their common salvation? The copestone of the building shall be brought forth with shoutings, "Grace, grace, unto it!" In heaven, all may in one sense again be said to stand on one level, to which we on the earth must continually aspire, all being "raised in glory" (1 Cor. xv. 43); but yet there will be differences even amongst the glorified, for the Apostle Paul says," One star differeth from another star in glory" (1 Cor. xv. 41). And we have reason to believe that according to the degrees of grace received on earth, and of attainments made, will be the degrees of glory in heaven,—that is, on first entrance into heaven, for there also we must surely suppose that there will be continual progress, continual increase of knowledge, joy, and glory.

G

CHAPTER XXXIV.

MASONIC SYMBOLS. THE PLUMB.

THE third and last of the working tools appropriated in Speculative Masonry to the Fellow-Craft's Degree, is the Plumb. It is used by operative masons to ascertain the perpendicularity of their work, for if a wall were not perpendicular, it could not long stand. The symbolic meaning is obvious. The Freemason is to construct a temple free from danger of falling, and this he can only do by just and upright conduct, whether in circumstances of prosperity or adversity. The plumb-line is regarded as symbolic of truth, and so of rectitude. We read in Scripture that they who believe in God, must be careful to maintain good. works (Tit. iii. 8). Of this the plumb reminds us.

The symbolic use of the plumb is very ancient. We find reference to it in the Book of the Prophet Amos, in which the plumb-line is introduced as a figure, in a sense perfectly corresponding with that which is attached to it in the symbolism of modern Masonry: "Thus he showed me; and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumb-line in His hand. And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, a plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst of My people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more" (Amos vii. 7, 8).

The Mason may well be reminded, as he looks upon the plumb-line, not only of the perfect truth by which all his conduct ought to be characterised, but of the perfect truth by which it must all be tried. The standard is invariable. The plumb-line cannot vary from its perpendicular position, but necessarily assumes it so soon as it comes to rest,

hanging in a direct line towards the centre of the earth, and therefore at right angles to a plane extended on its surface; and even so, the moral plumb-line never varies, but points always in its own proper direction, whatever may be the variety of circumstances in which it is applied. The conduct of a man is ever brought to the test of truth, of undeviating and unchangeable rectitude. It is well for a man to bring his own conduct to this test, and that habitually, so that he may reform what is amiss, and that the work which he labours to build may be stable, and not overwhelmed in sudden ruin. There can be no greater mistake than to suppose that the laws of morality are capable of change, according to diversity of circumstances. They are indeed such as to apply in all cases and to all variety of circumstances, but they are themselves unchangeable as the attributes of God, their author, exhibiting in their perfection the perfection of these attributes. There is one law for rich and poor; and although the temptations to which men are exposed vary according to their varying circumstances, and the criminality of transgressions of the moral law may be regarded as varying with these temptations and circumstances, yet there is criminality in every transgression of that law, the degree of which can be thoroughly estimated by the Divine Lawgiver and Judge alone.

CHAPTER XXXV.

MASONIC SYMBOLS.-THE TROWEL

ALL the working tools of Masonry are reckoned in Speculative Masonry as belonging to the master Mason, but the Trowel peculiarly belongs to this degree. Being used by operative masons for spreading the cement, which binds together the stones of a building, it becomes beautifully significant in Speculative Masonry of Charity or Brotherly Love, that admirable characteristic of the order by which all its members are bound together for mutual support and helpfulness. The brotherly love of Freemasons extends beyond all the bounds of near kindred, of neighbourhood, of country, and of race, so that wherever a Freemason may travel, or on whatever shore he may by any accident be cast, he may expect to find in any other Freemason to whom he makes himself known, a brother and a friend. Innumerable instances have occurred of Freemasons in circumstances of great difficulty and distress, thus obtaining aid and relief from brethren even of strange language, with whom they could only communicate by Masonic signs. It is one of the objects of Freemasonry-often described, and not improperly, as its great object to promote brotherly love amongst the whole human family. "Love as brethren" (1 Pet. iii. 8), "Let brotherly love continue" (Heb. xiii. 1), are mottoes as appropriate to Freemasonry as to Christianity. As without cement a wall can have no coherence or stability, so without the uniting power of charity or brotherly love, the social fabric cannot hold together. And therefore the highest place is assigned to this grace in the scheme of religion, as that to which all the other graces lead and in which they are consummated.