Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire
The First Degree Lecture
Parts 1 & 2
Edited by WBro Peter Bibby
INSTRUCTIONS FOR OFFICERS
When first addressed by the Worshipful Master, an Officer will come to order
THEN present his reading. Any subsequent addresses to that Officer will
require him to stand only.
The W.M. will stand throughout the lecture.
When a Prayer is read, the Chaplain will pause whilst all the Brethren stand
with the sign of Fidelity.
A READING BY THE OFFICERS OF THE LODGE
FIRST DEGREE LECTURE
PART 1 & 2
Masonry, according to the general acceptance of the term, is an art founded on the
principles of geometry, and directed to the service and convenience of mankind.
Freemasonry, embracing a wider range, and having a more noble object in view, namely, the
cultivation and improvement of the human mind, may, with more propriety, be called a
Science. Although its lessons for the most part are veiled in Allegory, and illustrated by
Symbols, inasmuch as veiling itself under terms of the former, it inculcates principles of
purest morality.
To penetrate through its mysteries is an object of our Masonic Lectures. The lecture of this
degree is divided into seven sections, and, throughout the whole, virtue is depicted in its
most beautiful colours; the duties of morality are everywhere strictly enforced.
The mode of Masonic Instruction is the Catechetical, or, in more familiar terms, by question
and answer, therefore, Bro. S.W., from a previous conviction that you are a Mason, permit
me to ask you in that character, how did you and I first meet?
SW:
On the Sq.
WM: How do we hope to part?
SW:
On the L.
WM
Why meet in this peculiar manner?
SW:
As masons we should so act on the one as to be enabled to part on the other with all
mankind, more particularly our brethren in Masonry.
WM: From whence come you?
SW:
The West.
WM: Bro. J.W., Wither directing your course?
JW:
The East.
WM: What inducements have you to leave the West and go to the East?
JW:
To seek a master, and from him to gain instruction.
WM: Who are you that want instruction?
JW:
A Free and Accepted Mason.
WM: Bro. S.D., what manner of man ought a Free and Accepted Mason be?
SD:
A free man, brother to a King, fellow to a Prince, and companion to a Peasant, if a
Mason, and found worthy.
WM: Bro. I.P.M., why free?
IPM: It alludes to that grand festival which Abraham made at the weaning of his son Isaac,
when Sarah, Abraham’s wife, observing Ishmael, the son of Hagar the Egyptian bondwoman, teasing and perplexing her child; she remonstrated with her husband, and
said, put away that bond-woman and her son, for such as he shall not inherit with
my son, even with Isaac. She spake as if endued with a prophetic spirit, well knowing
that from the loins of Isaac would spring a great and mighty people, such as would
serve the Lord with freedom, fervency and zeal, and fearing that if the two youths
were brought up together, Isaac might imbibe some of the slavish principles of
Ishmael, it being a general remark in those days, as well as the present, that the
minds of slaves were less enlightened, and more contaminated than those of the
free.
WM: Bro. J.D., why those equalities amongst Masons?
JD:
We are all created equal, which equality is strengthened by
Obligation
WM: Bro. I.G., Masonically speaking, whence come you?
IG:
From a worthy and worshipful Lodge.
WM: What recommendation do you bring?
our Masonic
IG:
The possession of this Sign (Gives the E.A. sign and cuts it) to greet your worship
well.
WM: Bro. S.W., any other recommendations?
SW:
Hearty good wishes to all Brethren and Fellows.
WM: As our Brother brings hearty good wishes, what do you come here to do?
SW:
To learn to rule and subdue my passions, and make further progress in Masonry.
WM. By this I presume you are a Mason?
S.W: I am so taken and accepted amongst Brethren and Fellows.
WM: Bro. J.W., how do you know yourself to be a Mason?
JW:
By the regularity of my initiation, repeated trials and approbations, and willingness
at all times to undergo an examination when properly called upon.
WM: How do you demonstrate the proof of your being a Mason to others?
JW:
By signs, tokens, and the perfect points of my entrance.
WM: What are the signs?
JW:
All Squares, Levels, and Perpendiculars are true and proper signs to know a Mason
by.
WM: What are Tokens?
JW:
Certain regular and friendly grips, by which we know a Brother by night, as well as by
day.
WM: Bro. I.P.M., will you give me the points of your entrance?
IPM:
If you will give me the first, I will give you the second.
WM: I H.E.L.E. (Pronounced I Hail)
IPM:
I conceal.
WM: What do you wish to conceal?
IPM:
All signs and Mysteries, of or belonging to, Free and Accepted Masons in Masonry.
WM: You are now in open Lodge, so you may safely reveal.
IPM:
Of, At and On.
WM: Of, At and On what?
IPM:
Of my own free will and accord, … at the door of the Lodge, … and on the point of a
sharp instrument presented to my naked left breast.
WM: Bro. S.D., when were you made a Mason?
SD:
When the sun was at its meridian.
WM: Masons' Lodges being usually held in the evening, how do you account for that which
at first view appears a paradox?
SD:
The earth constantly revolving on its axis round the Sun, and Freemasonry being
universally spread over its surface, it necessarily follows that the Sun is always at its
meridian with respect to Freemasonry.
WM: Bro. J.D., what is Freemasonry?
JD:
A peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory, and illustrated by symbols.
WM: Where were you made a Mason?
JD:
In the body of a Lodge, just, perfect, and regular.
WM: Bro. D.C., what is a Lodge of Masons?
DC:
An assemblage of the Brethren met together to expatiate on the mysteries of the
Craft.
WM: When so met, what makes them just?
DC:
The Volume of the Sacred Law unfolded.
WM: And what perfect in number?
DC:
Seven or more regularly made masons.
WM: And what regular?
DC:
The Charter or Warrant from the Grand Lodge.
WM: Why are you made a Mason?
DC:
To obtain knowledge of the secrets and mysteries preserved amongst Masons.
WM: Have Mason’s secrets?
DC:
They have many, and valuable ones.
WM: Where do they keep them?
DC:
In their hearts.
WM: To whom do they reveal them?
DC:
To masons, and them only.
WM: How do they reveal them?
DC:
By signs, tokens, and particular words.
WM: Bro. Chaplain, as Masons, how do we expect to arrive at them?
Chap: By the assistance of a Key.
WM: What is the position of the Key?
Chap: It hangs.
WM: Why is the preference given to hanging?
Chap: It should always hang in a brother’s defense, and never lie to his prejudice.
WM: What does it hang by?
Chap: The thread of life, in the passage of utterance, between Guttural and Pectoral.
WM: And why so nearly connected to the heart?
Chap: That being the index of the mind, it should never utter anything but what the heart
truly dictates.
WM: It is a curious Key; can you unravel its mystery, and tell me of what metal it is
composed?
Chap: Of no metal formed by mortal hands, but a tongue of good report.
CHARGE.
WM: Brethren, That excellent Key, a Freemasons tongue, which should speak as well of a
Brother absent as present; and when that cannot be done with honour and propriety, let it
adopt that excellent virtue of the Craft, which is silence.
FIRST LECTURE.
PART 2
WM: Bro. S.W., where were you first prepared to be a mason?
SW:
In my heart.
WM: Where next?
SW:
In a convenient room adjoining the Lodge.
WM: Who brought you to be made a mason?
SW:
A Friend, whom I afterwards found to be a Brother.
WM: Describe the mode of your preparation?
SW:
I was divested of all metal and hood-winked, my R. arm, L. breast and knee were
made bare, my R. heel slipshod, and a cable tow placed about my neck.
WM: Why were you divested of metal?
SW:
That I might bring nothing offensive or defensive into the Lodge to disturb its
harmony.
WM: Bro. J.W., there is a second reason?
JW:
As I was received into Masonry in a state of poverty, it was to remind me to relieve
my indigent Brethren, finding them to be worthy, and not being detrimental to
myself or connections.
WM: There is likewise a third reason?
JW:
At the building of King Solomon’s Temple there was not heard the sound of a
metallic tool throughout the structure.
WM: Is it possible that so stately an edifice as King Solomon’s Temple is represented to
have been, could have been carried on and completed without the assistance of
metal tools?
JW:
It was; the stones were hewn in the quarry, there squared, carved, marked and
numbered also, from thence they were floated to Joppa, then conveyed to
Jerusalem, and there set up with wooden mauls, and other implements expressly
prepared for the purpose.
WM: Bro. S.D., why were the materials prepared at so great a distance?
SD:
To distinguish the excellence of the Craft in those days, for although the materials
were prepared at such a great distance, when they were put together at Jerusalem
each piece fitted with that exactness that it appeared more like the work of the
Great Architect of the Universe than of human hands.
WM: Why were Metal tools prohibited?
SD:
King Solomon, considering it to be the divine wish that no metal tools should be used
in the building of that house he was about to erect and dedicate to the service of the
Great Architect of the Universe, prohibited their use.
WM: Why were you hood-winked?
SD:
In case I had refused to go through any of the ceremonies observed in making a
Mason, I might have been led out of the Lodge without discovering its form.
WM: Bro. J.D., there is a second reason?
JD:
As I was received into Masonry in a state of darkness, it was to remind me to keep all
the world so in respect to our Masonic secrets, unless they came as legally by them
as I was about to do.
WM: There is likewise a third reason?
JD:
That my heart might conceive before my eyes were permitted to discover.
WM: Why were you slipshod?
JD:
In allusion to an ancient custom practiced by the eastern nations when they slipped
off their shoe as a pledge of their fidelity, and to render any solemn compact
binding.
WM: Bro. I.G., being divested of all metal and otherwise properly prepared, where did
your friend or brother conduct you?
IG:
The door of the Lodge.
WM: How did you find that door?
IG:
Shut, and close Tyled.
WM: By whom?
IG:
One whom I afterwards found to be the Tyler.
WM: What is his duty?
IG:
Being armed with a drawn sword to keep off all intruders and Cowans to Masonry,
and to see that the candidates are properly prepared.
WM: Bro. A.D.C., being in a state of darkness, how did you know it to be a door?
ADC: By first meeting with an opposition, and afterwards gaining admission.
WM: How did you gain admission?
ADC: By three distinct knocks followed by an alarm.
WM: They have an illusion?
ADC: To an ancient and venerable exhortation, in which it is said, “Seek and ye shall find,
Ask and ye shall receive, Knock and it shall be opened unto you.”
WM: How did you apply that exhortation to your then situation?
ADC:
Having sought in my mind, I asked of a friend; he knocked, and the door of
Freemasonry became open to me.
WM: When the door of Masonry became opened, who first came to your assistance?
ADC: One whom I afterwards found to be the Inner Guard.
WM: Bro. I.G., what is your duty?
IG:
To admit Masons on proof; receive the candidates in due form; and obey the
commands of the J.W.
WM: What did you demand of your friend or the Tyler?
IG:
Whom have you there?
WM: Bro. I.P.M., the Tylers answer?
IPM:
Mr. A. B., a poor candidate in a state of darkness, who has been well and worthily
recommended, regularly proposed, approved, and balloted for in open Lodge, and
now comes, of his own free will and accord, properly prepared, humbly soliciting to
be admitted to the mysteries and privileges of ancient Freemasonry.
WM:
What did he say?
IPM:
He asked me how I hoped to obtain those privileges.
WM: Your answer?
IPM:
By the help of God, being free and of good report.
WM: What did he further say?
IPM:
He desired me to halt, while he reported to the W.M., who was afterwards pleased
to order my admission.
WM: On what were you admitted?
IPM:
On the poniard presented to my naked left breast.
WM: Why was the poniard presented to your naked left breast on gaining your admission
into the Lodge?
IPM:
It was to intimate to me that I was about to engage in something serious and
solemn, likewise to distinguish the sex.
WM: Having gained your admission, what was the first question put to you by the W.M.?
IPM:
As no person can be made a Mason unless he is free and of mature age, I demand of
you are you a free man and of the full age of 21 years, which I answered in the
affirmative.
WM: What did he next desire of you?
IPM:
Kneel and receive the benefit of a prayer.
WM: Which the next Bro. will repeat.
All:
All rise with the sign of fidelity.
Chap:Vouchsafe Thine aid, Almighty Father and Supreme Governor of the Universe, to our
present
convention, and grant that this Candidate for Freemasonry may so dedicate
and devote his life to Thy service as to become a true and faithful brother amongus. Endue
him with a
competency of
Thy divine wisdom, that, assisted by the secrets of our
Masonic art, he may the better be enabled to unfold the beauties of true godliness, to the
honour and glory of Thy Holy Name.
ALL:
So mote it be. Cut the sign and sit.
WM: Bro. S.W.; after the recital of this prayer, how did the W.M. address you?
SW:
In all cases of difficulty and danger, in whom do you put your trust?
WM: Your answer?
SW:
In God.
WM: The W.M.'s reply?
SW:
Right glad I am to find your faith so well founded; relying on such sure support, you
may safely rise, and follow your leader with a firm but humble confidence, for where
the name of God is invoked we trust no danger can ensue.
WM: How did the W.M. then address the Lodge?
SW:
The Brethren in the N., E., S., and W. will take notice that Mr. A. B. is now about to
pass in view before them, to show that he is a candidate properly prepared to be
made a Mason.
WM: Bro. J.W., how did your leader, the J.D., then dispose of you?
JW: I being neither naked nor clothed, barefoot nor shod, but in a humble halting moving
posture, he friendly took me by the right hand and led me up to the N, past the W.M.
in the E, down the S and delivered me over to the S.W. in the W.
WM: What was required of you during your progress round the Lodge?
JW:
To undergo a similar examination by the Junior and S.W. as I had heard at the door
of the Lodge.
WM: Bro. D.C., why was he led round the Lodge in this conspicuous manner?
DC:
It was to represent figuratively a state of poverty and distress, the miseries of which,
if realised, were he but for a moment to contemplate, would not but fail to make
such an impression on his mind as to cause him never to shut his ears unkindly
against the distressed, particularly a Bro. Mason. By listening with attention to their
complaints, pity would naturally flow from his breast, accompanied with that relief
which their necessity required and by means could afford. It was likewise to show to
the attending Brethren that he was a candidate properly prepared, and a fit and
proper person to be made a Mason.
WM: Bro. A.D.C., Who are fit and proper persons to be made Masons?
ADC: Just and upright free men, of mature age, sound judgment, and strict morals.
WM: Why are the privileges of Freemasonry restricted to free men?
ADC: That the vicious habits of slavery may not contaminate the true principles of freedom
on which our order is founded.
WM: Why of mature age?
ADC: The better to be enabled to judge for ourselves as well as the fraternity at large.
WM: Why of sound judgment?
ADC: That both by precept and example we may be the better enabled to enforce a due
obedience to those excellent tenets laid down for us in Freemasonry.
WM: Bro. S.W., being delivered over to you, how did he proceed?
SW:
I presented him to the W.M. as a candidate properly prepared to be a made a
Mason.
WM: The W.M.'s reply
SW:
Bro. S.W., your presentation shall be attended to, for which purpose I will address a
few questions to the Candidate, which I trust he will answer with candor.
WM: The first of those questions?
SW:
Mr. A. B., do you seriously declare on your honour that, unbiased by the improper
solicitations of friends against your own inclination, and uninfluenced by mercenary
or other unworthy motives, you freely and voluntarily offer yourself as a candidate
for the mysteries and privileges of ancient Freemasonry?
WM: Bro. J.W., the second question.
JW:
Do you likewise pledge yourself that you are prompted to solicit those privileges by a
favourable opinion pre-conceived of the Order, a general desire of knowledge, and a
sincere wish to render yourself more extensively serviceable to your fellow
creatures?
WM: Bro. S.D., the third question?
SD:
Do you further seriously declare, on you honour, that, avoiding fear on the one hand
and rashness on the other, you will steadily persevere through the ceremony of your
Initiation, and, if once admitted, will ever afterwards act and abide by the ancient
usages and established customs of the order. To all questions, answers in the
affirmative were given?
WM: What did the W.M. then order?
SD: The S.W. to direct the J.D. to instruct the candidate to
form.
advance to the pedestal in due
WM: You will show the method of advancing to the pedestal.
SD:
(SD goes to the front of the WM and advances to the pedestal by the proper steps)
WM: Of what do those steps consist?
SD:
Right lines and angles.
WM: What do they morally teach us?
SD:
Upright lives and well squared actions. (Salutes the WM and resumes his seat)
WM: (Wait for the SD to sit) Bro. I.P.M., when brought before the W.M. how did he
address you?
IPM:
It is my duty to inform you that Masonry is free, and requires a perfect freedom of
inclination in every Candidate for its mysteries. It is founded on the purest principles
of piety and virtue. It possesses great and invaluable privileges, and, in order to
secure those privileges to worthy men, and we trust to worthy men alone, vows of
fidelity are required; but let me assure you that in those vows there is nothing
incompatible with your civil, moral or religious duties. Are you therefore willing to
take a S.O. founded on the principles I have stated, to keep inviolate the secrets and
mysteries of the Order?
WM: Having answered those questions in a satisfactory manner, were you made a Mason?
IPM:
I was, and that in due form.
WM: Describe the due form observed in making a Mason.
IPM:
My Left Knee and Breast Bare, Right Foot in the form of a square, Body erect within
the square, Right Hand on the Volume of the Sacred Law while my left was employed
in supporting a pair of Compasses, one point presented to my naked left breast in
such a manner as not to injure myself.
WM: Bro JD, why were the compasses presented to your naked left breast at that
particular time?
JD:
As the Compasses were then an emblem of torture to my body, so might the
recollection ever recur to my mind, should I ever be about illegally to reveal any of
those Secrets I was then on the point of being entrusted with.
WM: In that solemn attitude of body, what were you about to do?
JD:
Take the great and solemn Obligation of an E.A.F.
WM: Having taken the great and solemn Obligation of an E.A.F., what did the W.M.
require of you?
JD:
What you have repeated may be considered a serious promise, as a pledge of your
fidelity, and to render it a solemn Obligation binding on you so long as you shall live,
you will seal it with your lips, on the V.S.L.
WM: Bro IPM, how did the W.M. then further address you?
ChSt: Having been kept a considerable time in a state of darkness, what in your present
situation is the predominant wish of your heart? To which I answered, Light. This, the
J.D., by the W.M.'s command was pleased to restore to me.
WM: How did he then address you?
ChSt: Having been restored to the blessing of material light, let me point out to your
attention what we consider to be the three great though emblematical lights in
Freemasonry; they are the V.S.L., and the Square and Compasses. The Sacred
writings are to govern our faith, the Square to regulate our actions, and the
Compasses to keep us in due bounds with all mankind, particularly our Brethren in
Freemasonry.
WM: How did he then proceed?
ChSt: He friendly took me by the right hand, and said, Rise, newly Obligated Brother among
Masons.
CHARGE
WM: Brethren, I charge you that the heart that conceals, and the tongue that never
improperly reveals any or either of the secrets or mysteries of, or belonging to, Free
and Accepted Masons in Masonry, is in all of us.
Thank you brethren for your assistance with this Lecture.
**********
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The ideas presented herein have been reproduced with the
kind permission of the editor of this version:
WBro Peter Bibby
Who has given permission for this form of presentation
to be used in Craft Lodges throughout
the Province of East Lancashire.
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