by
ROY
A. WELLS
The Regius
Manuscript, which dates from circa 1390, and many of the later Rolls of
Ancient Charges, not only provided Regulations which governed the conduct of
the stonemasons’ craft, but were so constructed as to be a useful guide for
social and domestic behavior for those concerned. Invariably these Rolls included an imaginary
line of descent in the biblical history of the builders, but in addition a
legend regarding the handing down and preservation of the several liberal arts
and sciences. They were more than just
extensions of the religious teaching, which was center upon the Fatherhood of
God and the Brotherhood of Man., they provided an encouragement for the
development of talent in all forms.
Geometry, because of its continued application in design and close
association with architecture, was given considerable prominence.
Let us turn to Geometry for a description of the circle where we find it
classified as: “A plane figure bounded by a single curved line, called the
circumference, which is everywhere equally distant from a point within, called
a centre.” Similarly, the description
for a point is: “That which has position but no magnitude.” One might well say that its presence is felt
but it cannot be seen, which is a tremendously potent attribute of the
Almighty.
We all know that the size of a circle is determined by one arm of the
compasses, set according to requirement the moved through 360 degrees, whilst
the other arm revolves upon a fixed position.
Whilst the instrument was, and is in constant use by architects and
masons alike, we have no record that the operative stonemasons had symbolical
explanations or meanings applied to their working tools. However, that is not to say that religious
thoughts and Divine implications for them did not enter their minds,
particularly as vast numbers were employed in the building of magnificent
cathedrals and churches from the middle ages onward.
Religious art has long produced examples in which the theme of the
Creator setting his compasses on the face of the deep bringing order out of
chaos has been used. Perhaps the best
known of all is “The Ancient of Days” by William Blake. In chapter 40, verse 22, Isaiah refers to the
Almighty as “He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth.” Thus, because a circle is accurately
inscribed by means of the compasses, often seen in art in the hands of the
Almighty, it is viewed as a symbol of perfection.
From mediaeval times onwards, ecclesiastical writers provided material
with which the ritual compliers freely mixed legend and biblical history. Their central themes were mostly associated
with the successive temples at Jerusalem and some of the dramatic events with
which they were connected. The O.E.D. quotes from a work of 1614 which
stated: “Our ecclesiastical writers have thought Judea to be the middle of the
earth and Jerusalem as the very point.”
The circle is prominent in two places in the craft. It appears on most examples of the First
Tracing Board, in combination with much graphic symbolism, and it becomes a
developed item in an appropriate portion of the ritual text. In a familiar version of an explanation of
the First Tracing Board we find some material which dates from the mid-18th
century:
In all regular,
well-formed, constituted Lodges, there is a point within a circle round which
the Brethren cannot err. This circle is
bounded between North and South by two parallel lines, one representing Moses
and the other King Solomon. On the upper
part of the circle rests the Volume of Sacred Law supporting Jacob’s Ladder,
the top which reaches to the heavens; and were we as conversant with that Holy
Book, and as adherent to the doctrines therein contained, as those parallels
were, it would bring us to Him who would not deceive us, neither would He
suffer deception. In going round this
circle, we must necessarily touch on both those parallel lines, likewise on the
Sacred Volume; and whilst a Mason keeps himself thus circumscribed, he cannot
err.
That version, however, is considerably pruned from those which were
collected and collated by William Preston about 1772. In those, the lines were two pillars, first
dedicated to King Solomon – “because he as the first Grand Master who reduced
the present system into form…” – and
then go one to record – “In the later period of the world other distinguished
characters have our notice; hence John the Baptist stands forward as our
leading Patron.” When the question “Had
he an equal?” is posed, John the Evangelist is named because “As parallels in
Masonry we rank these two Patrons and class them as joint promoters of our
system. To their memory with King
Solomon we are taught to pay due homage and veneration….”
The second prominent place highlighting the circle is found in the
portion of ritual dealing with a search for the genuine secrets of a Master
Mason. It is stated thus:
Q. Where do you expect to find them?
A.
With the Centre.
Q.
What is a Centre?
A.
That point within a Circle from which every part of the Circumference is
equally distant.
Q.
Why do you expect to find them with the Centre?
A.
Because that is a point from which a Master Mason cannot err.
This has posed a problem with some Brethren
who ask “How can one find something with a Centre? It is a logical question but can only be
explained when symbolism is introduced.
If the created world is viewed as a Circle with mankind standing at the
perimeter, then the focal point is the point which was selected by the Almighty
as the centre, and whilst a Brother keeps himself so circumscribed to His will
and word he cannot err. Provided that
there is a belief in a Supreme Being it matters not which part of the
circumference journey is commenced in life, nor which pathway is urged or chosen,
the ultimate return to the Creator at the Centre, as the Father of All, to Whom
we must give an account of our life and actions, is an inevitability. It is that thought which will draw forth all
the cardinal virtues with which we have all been blessed.
(Adapted from an article from The Royal Arch Mason, Volume 13, Number 5,
Spring 1980, pages 154 - 157)
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