Degree of Past Master

Little has been published concerning the degree of Past Master; there are two classes of Past Masters – actual and virtual.  Actual Past Masters are those who have served as Masters of lodges.  Virtual Past Masters are those who have never actually served as lodge as Master, but who have been elected and symbolically installed in order to qualify them for advancement in the capitular rite.

      The Square, which is one of the emblems of the degree, is explained and given a new interpretation; in the symbolic degrees, it was explained as an instrument for squaring your work; here it becomes the symbol of one who has so squared his work that it is now an emblem of advancement, for it is the proper jewel of a Past Master.

     Much might be said about the Square, for within its angles and sides are contained the ancient secrets set forth by Pythagoras – told to use in our symbolic degrees, but never explained.  It is the ancient symbol of the 3-4-5, of which we will hear more in a later degree.  While little is said about the square, the student Freemason will devote his time to a full consideration of its value.

      Principal among the emblems of the degree is the Gavel.  It is presented as an emblem of power or authority.  It is necessary in any society to have organization.  There can be no organization without some head.  Freemasonry designates its head by bestowing the Gavel upon him who presides.  He who receives the Gavel is cautioned to use it wisely and justly, for true Freemasonry tolerates no dictator.  As long as the Gavel is used in maintaining dignity, decorum, and harmony among the membership, it is true to its Masonic purpose.  If its holder becomes intolerant, prejudiced, unfair, and impressed with his own authority – then he is not fulfilling his duty to the Craft and he should be removed.  Abuse of power quite often comes from the young or inexperienced, yet it is also found among the aged as well, especially the senile, whose faculties are so dulled as not to be able to evaluate modern conditions.

 TEACHINGS OF THE DEGREE

     The candidate for the degree is cautioned never to let the question of rank of power influence him or create any feeling of superiority, which occasionally comes to those of advance degrees.  Freemasonry which produced such a feeling is not true Freemasonry.  The Past Master degree teaches that all brethren are of equal rank and entitled to the same consideration, and while, by reason of our rules, certain brethren must be selected to preside, yet it is not meant that this is to place them above their fellows.

      No degree in all Freemasonry dwells so much on the Sacred Law as does this degree.  The Past Master is taught the necessity of having the Sacred Law present at each meeting, the preservation of it and its teachings for future generations.  In these days of atheistic and communistic leanings, it is good to know that one organization continues to stress the lessons contained in the Holy Writ.  We cannot imagine Freemasonry without the Volume of Sacred Law!

     Finally, the candidate is taught that only those can teach who have studied the laws and customs of the fraternity; that those prove to be the best and most capable teachers who have themselves undergone the necessary experiences of life.  That those who would rule should have been subjects; those who expect to be Masters should first be Craftsmen; and that the best ruler is he whose scepter is justice, whose throne is in the heart of humanity, and whose kingdom is builded in Love.

     The degree of Past Master has been much maligned in the past by those who have failed to see, or to appreciate, the beauty of the lessons it teaches.

     It is true the real beauty of the teaching is not readily apparent in many rituals, while in some jurisdictions a certain amount of “horse-play” is injected which is calculated to ruin the effect of any lesson upon a candidate of culture and refinement.

     The great lesson taught in this degree is that of Obedience to Constituted Authority, Self Control, and Respect of the Sacred Law, virtues certainly deserving of cultivation in this busy and upturned world in which we live.

     A World which would accept the lessons taught in the degree of Past Master would never become the home of anarchy!

     A Lodge governed by one who had received the Past Master degree, would never be governed except by Justice and Decorum!

     A State actuated by the virtues taught in the degree, would never be governed by a Hitler or a Mussolini!

      Surely, there are no greater values in civilization than Harmony, Unanimity, and Concord.  These are the characteristics of a Past Master.

     Where the degree is conferred in a dignified and impressive manner, it constitutes an essential feature of the Capitular system; where it is not so conferred, it serves no useful purpose except to add another degree to an already overdone Masonic system of degrees and rites.

 (Reprinted from The Royal Arch Mason, Volume V, Number 2, June 1955, pages 47 – 48)