CHAPTER XLIX.

MASONIC SYMBOLS.-JUSTICE.

JUSTICE Consists in rendering to every man his due, and is a virtue which gives an especial nobility and excellence to the character. Justice, indeed, is one of the glorious attributes of God himself. "Justice and judgment are the habitation of Thy throne" (Ps. lxxxix. 14). And in justice, as it appears in men, much of that conformity or likeness to God consists which is the glory of His saints. The laws of Freemasonry require a strict observance of justice in all things, small and great. The Freemason is enjoined, on his very initiation into the Order, to make justice the guide of all his actions.

It would require many pages to quote all the passages of Scripture which might be quoted, to show the importance ascribed to this virtue in the divine law. "I know him," saith the Lord, making promise to Abraham of the multitude and greatness of his posterity, "that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He hath promised him" (Gen. xviii. 19). "Judges and officers," it is said in the law of Moses, "shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment. Thou shalt not wrest judgment: thou shalt not respect persons, nor take a gift, for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous" (Deut. xvi. 18, 19). In another part of the law, we find it said, "Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment; thou shalt not respect the

person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty, but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour (Lev. xix. 15). Again, "Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in mete-yard, in weight, or in measure. Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the Land of Egypt " (Lev. xix. 35, 36).

Justice is not only to be displayed by judges, whose impartiality is beneficial to society, and honourable not only to themselves but to the people and country to which they belong; it ought to govern the conduct of all men and in all the transactions of life. "A false balance is an abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is His delight" (Prov. xi. 1). "A just weight and balance are the Lord's; all the weights of the bag are His work" (Prov. xvi. 11). "To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice" (Prov. xxi. 3). And as lies are often uttered in the transactions by which men perpetrate injustice, over-reaching and defrauding those who deal with them, these texts may also be appropriately quoted here. "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are His delight" (Prov. xii. 22). "The getting of treasures by a lying tongue, is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that love death" (Prov. xxi. 6). Justice is impossible without strict truthfulness; and he who sets a watch over his lips, so that no word may ever escape them that is not perfectly true, only does what is essential to the practice of this virtue. Justice is violated in transactions such as that spoken of in the Book of Proverbs: "It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer, but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth" (Prov. xx. 14).

CHAPTER L.

MASONIC SYMBOLS.-PEACE.

AMONGST the most important doctrines of Masonry is that of the connection of Peace and Unity with Plenty. The Freemason is taught that it is by peaceful labour that he is to live, diligently carrying on whatever may his be proper occupation. And as in operative masonry, no work can be carried on without the combined labours of many, the benefit of unity is apparent. But so it is, likewise, in almost all the works in which men can engage. They cannot carry out their schemes unaided, but must secure the co-operation of others. Unity is strength in the family, in the nation, in the Masonic Brotherhood, in every association of men. Freemasonry, therefore, teaches and in many ways seeks to impress upon all the members of the Order, the importance of living in peace, even according to the apostolic rule, "As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." A good and worthy Freemason must be no brawler, he must not be contentious, nor given to strife.

PEACE is represented in masonic symbolism as a matron holding forth ears of corn in her hand, crowned with leaves of olive, and laurel, and with roses. The matronly form and aspect are well suited to convey the ideas of dignity and calm happiness. The ears of corn are symbolical of plenty, and are held forth in the hand of the figure of peace, because plenty is the reward of peaceful labour, when brethren dwell together in unity, no one disturbing his neighbour or hindering him in his work, but each helpful to the rest. The crown of olive, laurel, and roses, is symbolical of the joy which peace diffuses. The leaves of

the olive suggest the thought of its oil, as used for the anointing of the head. "Thou anointest my head with oil," says David (Ps. xxiii. 5), recounting the abundant blessings which he had received from God. The ancients were accustomed to anoint the head profusely with oil upon all festive occasions. The leaves of the laurel suggest the idea of triumph, and remind us that a great victory is always won whenever peace is established, and wherever it is maintained; a victory more truly glorious than that of the warrior in the field of battle; a victory over the evil passions of the human heart. The roses are a fit symbol of joy. When peace prevails, men can take delight in those things which gratify the æsthetic taste, that love of the beautiful which has been implanted in us by God, to be the source of much pure enjoyment.

Another symbol of peace is the caduceus, or white staff, which, according to the custom of the ancients, was carried by ambassadors as an emblem of their office and purpose, when they went to treat of peace. It is unnecessary to add anything in explanation of this symbol. The reference to the ancient use of the caduceus is enough for this purpose.

CHAPTER LI.

MASONIC SYMBOLS.-UNITY.

"BEHOLD, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! it is like the precious ointment upon the head, which ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard; that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore" (Ps. cxxxiii.). Thus speaks the inspired psalmist, the King of Israel; and the lesson which this short but exquisitely beautiful psalm teaches, is one which Freemasonry seeks to impress upon the mind of every member of the Order.

Clasped hands are a symbol of unity, much employed and very natural and significant. It is customary for friends to "shake hands" when they meet, in token of their friendship, and a refusal to accept a proffered hand is always understood as a refusal to acknowledge friendship or as a renunciation of it when it has subsisted before. To shake hands or clasp hands is also a common teken of reconciliation after a quarrel, and it often also indicates the conclusion of a bargain, when the subject of it is important. The hands of the contracting parties are always clasped together in the solemnisation of marriage.

As a symbol of unity, clasped hands have been employed from the most ancient times to which we can trace back the symbolism of Freemasonry. We find this emblem or symbol carved on very ancient buildings, and introduced in very ancient paintings, not unfrequently in connection with other symbols which are now used in Freemasonry, although sometimes apart from them.