Province of East Lancashire

‘A Dialogue between Simon, a Town Mason ,

and Philip, a Travelling Mason’

A presentation of a Masonic Catechism c1740

‘A Dialogue between Simon, a Town Mason and Philip, a Travelling Mason’

A presentation of a Masonic Catechism c1740

PRES 1: Good evening brethren and welcome to a very unique evening.

Whilst we are setting up the room, we can perhaps take the opportunity for a few moments

explanation prior to the introduction-proper.

PRES 2: We will shortly transport you to an England of 270 years ago, of a Masonry as early as

1724, only seven years after the formation in London from four existing Lodges of the first

Grand Lodge at the Goose and Gridiron tavern in St Paul’s Churchyard, London.

PRES 1: 1724 was the year the first Lodges outside London were granted Grand Lodge

Warrants to constitute at Bath, Bristol, Norwich and York. Interesting therefore that the

dialogue we perform for you this evening came into being at the time of the new order.

Perhaps a time when Masons were becoming conscious of their mobility as speculative

Freemasons and therefore requiring an awareness of how they might seek each other out,

might ‘visit’ – a concept we take for granted today.

PRES 2: We will shortly deliver our presentation by candlelight and give you a sensation of

Masonry of a by-gone age. A masonry practised in a room above a tavern; the light of a

roaring fire flooding the room and exacerbating the shadows; bare floor boards washed and

then marked out with white tape and pins; a floor cloth with ancient symbols accompanied

by sketches made on the boards by the Tyler using charcoal and chalk. In the dark we would

see a representation of the Ark of the Covenant and other furnishings.

PRES 1: The smell of the wood-burning open fire fills a room already heavily scented by

candles, of pipe tobacco, of ales and heavy wines, of roasted meats; the sound of horses and

cart traffic permeates from outside and the noise, bustle and singing in the tavern below

competes with the masons practising their gentle art.

PRES 1: Welcome to 1724 England Brethren

BOTH: Welcome to the new age of Freemasonry.

PRES 3: The ‘Dialogue between Simon and Philip’ is contained within the same Manuscript as

‘The Whole Institution of Masonry’ (1724). It is one of several intriguing similar documents

which provide a tantalizing jigsaw representing the history and origins of Freemasonry. It is

very similar to several other Masonic Manuscripts of the 18th century, but then resembles

none of them in particular.

It appears to represent a conversation between two Masons, a sort of test presented in such

a way as to suggest that a Mason might be expected to know the questions and answers by

heart; an illustration of Masonic knowledge and working rather than a representation of any

ceremony of part of such. In addition, it is accompanied by explanatory sections of

accompanying notes which clarify or add additional detail to certain words or phrases used

in the Dialogue. We will utilise the author’s own explanations this evening as part of our

presentation.

PRES 4: So what is it? An early ritual book? A medium for the teaching of ritual? A tool for the

handing down of underpinning Masonic knowledge and folklore? Possibly a story of how two

men met as strangers and parted as brothers? Even, an example of how a brother should

approach and even test the qualifications of another on first meeting? Or could it possibly

have been used in the manner we deliver it this evening, a script for a presentation to

Masons concerning masonry – are we this evening like our forbears, about to play-out that

dramatization again? Whatever historical or allegorical camp you fall into, it is fascinating to

think that this evening you will experience the actual words and language of Masons of at

least 270 years ago.

PRES 3: Masonry demands that we speculate. Its longevity requires it. Human nature expects

that we will reflect on its import. But it only exists now because Masons of the past have

contemplated its meaning and formulated, developed and refined what we hear this evening

and what we now practice.

Our presentation this evening and hopefully, your deliberations concerning it, are in some

small measure a contribution to a process of exploration, of invigoration, of considering our

past, how it has formed our present and then speculating on how it will shape our future.

PRES 4: Brethren. Come with us on a journey this evening as we retrace a voyage of self

discovery which our forebears followed hundreds of years ago, to a destination … who

knows where or what it was called. Enlightenment? Knowledge? Self-improvement? We

would suggest that the destination to which we travel is of lesser consequence when you

consider the profundity of the journey and the capacity it has to enrich us; how it can make a

good man a better one. And in being here this evening we ensure that the path to

enlightenment will continue to be taken whilst there are masons tonight and on similar

nights in years to come, who will take the time to retrace our steps, rediscover our

knowledge, consider our interpretations, reinvent our journey and that of Simon and Philip

… and in doing so, make it their own.

PRES 1: What you will shortly hear, with the exception of some interjections by way of

explanation, is the language of Freemasons of the 18th century and which has not been

changed in any way.

PRES 2: Brethren, we present to you ‘A dialogue between Simon, a Town Mason and Philip a

Travelling Mason’.

PRES 1: Brother Inner Guard, please extinguish the lights

***

SIM Sir. I have just now received enclosed in a letter a piece of Paper in this form. Pray

what do you mean by it?

PHIL I am a Stranger, want company and hearing you was a Brother Mason made bold to

summons you

PRES 1: Next to the phrase ‘piece of paper’ the Manuscript contained a drawing in the shape of

a square and which the Sloane Manuscript of c1700 explained in this way:

PRES 2 “Another sign is by lending you … a bit of paper cut in the form of a square on receipt

of which you must come from what place or company soever you are in by virtue of

your oath.”

PRES 1: It was also described in 1722/3 in ‘The Freemason; a Hudibrastic Poem’, (‘Hudibrastic’

being a type of English verse) as follows:

PRES 2: “A man when he needs must drink, sends letters without pen and ink, unto some

brother who at hand, and does the message understand, the paper’s of the shape

that’s square, thrice folded with the utmost care”.

PRES 1: Do we hear in this simple description, the origins of what we now call a ‘Summons’?

SIM And are you a Mason?

PHIL I am so taken to be by all Fellows and Brothers

SIM And how shall I know you to be a Mason?

PHIL By Words, Signs, Tokens and Points of my Entrance.

SIM And what’s the Word of a Mason?

PHIL The word is Right.

SIM If it be Right give it me Right.

PHIL I’ll letter with you, if you please.

SIM Give me the first Letter and I’ll give you the second.

PHIL B

SIM O

PHIL A

SIM Z

PRES 1: In our age, in our language, in our masonry the term ‘… the word is Right’ sounds

unusual. The word provided to a mason at initiation, was and is still clearly ‘BOAZ’, but

the use of an alternative word is possibly a subtle and purposeful substitute as a guard

against those ‘intruders and cowans to masonry’. It is also a substitute which still has

Masonic connotations as it is a theme which runs through our ceremonies; right

bended knee, right hand upon the bible etc. The word BOAZ itself is taken from the 7th

Chapter, 1st Kings, 21st verse:

PRES 2: “And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple and he set up the right pillar and

called the name thereof BOAZ.”

PRES 1: In addition this verse and indeed the whole chapter were often read to the candidate

after the obligation was taken; a sad loss from our ritual.

PHIL The Word then is BOAZ, but as you are a Stranger to me, as I am to you. And we in good

Policy are not to answer above three questions proposed, least we should be imposed

on by a Pre­tender. I ask you, what are Signs?

SIM Signs are all Squares, Angles and Perpendiculars.

PHIL And what are Tokens?

SIM All Brotherly gripes on the hand by which Brothers distinguish one another.

PRES 1: The notes that accompanied the Manuscript then make an interesting comment. It

refers to the first knuckle joint of a brother’s right hand as ‘BOAZ the pillar’.

PRES 2: It explains further that the grip of a fellow craft is named after that second great pillar

at a certain porch way or entrance and that it is also the word of a Warden.

PHIL And what are points of your entrance?

SIM To Heal and Conceal the Secrets of a Mason.

PHIL How was you admitted a Mason?

SIM By Three knocks on the Door the last at a double distance of time from the former and

much larger.

PRES 1:‘ We now need to pause and look at not only the words but the form of the 17th century

ritual that the author of the Manuscript kindly explains. ‘Hele and conceal’ occurs in

most early catechisms and it is a term we are familiar with in our own ritual. Hele is

nothing to do with hailing, as in saluting or calling, but is an old word meaning to cover

or hide. It can be spelt ‘hele’, ‘heel’, or ‘heal’— to hide, conceal or cover.

PRES 2: Of more interest is the description of the knocks on the door. The notes provided by the

author state:

PRES 3: “At the door before you are admitted stands an ‘Entered Prentice’ with a drawn sword

to guard against droppers, as they call them, from Hearkening”

PRES 4: “For in this they are very cautious and the question is frequently asked

PRES 3: “Is the House Tiled?”

PRES 4 If safe from hearing the answer is

PRES 3: “T’is Tiled”.

PRES 4: If not or any person in company not a mason, “Untiled”

PRES 3: And the Junior Prentice takes you by the hand and knocks three times at the door. The

Master asks

PRES 4: “Who’s there?” And the Prentice answers

PRES 3: “One that has a desire to be made a Mason” The Master replies

PRES 4: “Bring him in”

PRES 2: The 18th century explanation continues:

PRES 3: “The reason for the three knocks is not known to Prentices but to the Master, which is

from Hiram the Grand Master in Solomon’s Temple. Being murdered by his three

Prentices, and was dispatched by the third blow the last Prentice gave him and this

because he would not discover the secrets to them”

PRES 1: The whole issue of the knocks, their number and most importantly, their significance

have other possible explanations such as in the First Lecture: seek and ye shall find; ask

and ye shall have; knock and it shall be opened unto you. Note also the last of the

knocks on the door being the loudest, the most emphasised, thus stressing the

importance of such during the third degree ceremony. Vitally, this is a good example of

that important Masonic principle which demands that aspects of Masonry have more

that one meaning, more than one import. Our duty is to reflect and moralise on them

and in this respect, there is no one answer: my understanding, my interpretation may

be just as valid as yours. The crux is finding our own personal import which ensures a

vital thing: that the language of the 17th century Mason has a message for the Mason in

the 21st century. The dialogue continues:

PHIL What was the first question that the Master asked you when you was admitted?

SIM Whither it was of my own free will that I came thither to be made a Mason.

I answered yes

PHIL What did you see before you was made a Mason?

SIM Nothing that I understood.

PHIL What did you see afterwards?

SIM Three grand Lights

PHIL What do you call them?

SIM The Sun, The Moon and the Master

PHIL How do they Rule and Govern?

SIM The Sun the Day, the Moon the Night, the Master the Lodge,

PRES 1: Here, we return to the author’s explanation which gives a fascinating insight into the

practicalities of 17th century masonry:

PRES 3: “The Sun, the Moon and the Master is three large candles in large wooden candlesticks

carved in all orders and placed in a triangular form upon the lodge

PRES 2: Those Royal Arch Masons present may like to reflect on this point! He continues:

PRES 4: “The lodge … is commonly made with white tape nailed to the floor round, as you see the

letters E for East and S for South etc, are made of thin silver or tin very thin, and likewise

the letter G at the top. In the new constituted lodges is a Quadrant, a Square, a pair of

Compasses and plum line placed at the top of the Lodge. The officers of the Lodge stand

upright in their proper places with their right foot making a square upon their left, their

left hand hanging down in a perpendicular line, their right hand upon their left breast

making a square with their fingers and thumb, with their white aprons on and gloves

stitched on their right side. This is the Posture and great sign that will fetch any mason

from the top of a house and is called the Posture of a Mason.”

PHIL Where stood your Master?

SIM In the East

PHIL Why in the East?

SIM To wait the rising of the Sun to set the Men to their Work.

PHIL Where stood the Wardens?

SIM In the West.

PHIL Why in the West?

SIM To wait the Setting of the Sun and to discharge the Men from their labour.

PRES 1: Many early catechisms contain a question concerning the number of lights in a Lodge

and they vary considerably such as the Edinburgh Register House Manuscript which

describes them as:

PRES 3: “The sun the master and the square”

PRES 2: The Sloane Manuscript describes them as:

PRES 4: “The sun, the master and the square”

PRES 1: A Manuscript called “The Grand Mystery” says they are:

PRES 3: “Father, sun and Holy Ghost”

PRES 1: … which is an interesting reference back to the Christian origins of Masonry and a time

when Christian references were fundamental to the teachings and understanding of the

Order. These were gradually removed in the ensuing years to intentionally make

Freemasonry an order that encompassed all faiths, all beliefs, all men. The difficulty this

then presents to the modern mason trying to get to grips with the meaning of Masonry,

is that the feel of the ceremonies does on occasion still retain that Christian flavour and

we can in reflecting on it’s import be drawn into still doing so.

PRES 2: And other interpretations can be found such as:

PRES 4: “The Sun, the Sea and the Level”

PRES 3: “Sun, Moon and Master Mason”

PRES 1: And a final example from three other Manuscripts, including the Graham Manuscript …

which has no less than twelve lights!

PRES 4: “Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Sun, Moon, Master Mason, Square, Rule, Plum, Line, Mell, and

Chisel”

PRES 2: We now continue and again, see if you can pick out another Christian reference1:

PHIL Where stood the Fellow Crafts?

SIM In the South.

PHIL Why in the South?

SIM To receive and Instruct all strange Brothers.

PHIL Where stood the Entered Prentices?

SIM In the North to Heal and Conceal and wait of the Master.

PHIL You say you see three great Lights, did you see no other Light?

SIM Yes one far surpassing Sun or Moon.

PHIL What was that?

SIM The Light of the Gospel1

PHIL Why was you made a Mason?

SIM For sake of the Letter G.

PHIL What does it signify?

SIM Geometry

PHIL Why geometry?

SIM Because it is the Root and foundation of all Arts and Sciences.

PHIL And pray how much money had you in your pocket when you was made a Free Mason?

SIM None at all

PRES 1: The author now explains this important point which our present ceremony of initiation

does not expand upon:

PRES 3: “This is a very cunning question to discover a Pretender because they dismiss you of all

metal about you, as your money and your buckles from your shoes and give this reason

for it: That at the building of the Temple, nothing of metal was heard. According to the

6th Chapter, Kings 1, verse 7:

PRES 4: “And the House when it was in building was built of stone made ready before it was

brought thither. So that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in

the house while it was in building”

PRES 2: We now continue again and this time, note the similarities in our present ceremony

PHIL And how was you made a Mason?

SIM Neither Naked nor Clothed, Standing nor Lying, Kneeling nor Standing, Barefoot nor

Shod, but in due form.

PHIL How is that Form?

SIM Upon my bare-bended knee with a pair of Compasses extended square in my Breast.

And then and there I took the sacred and solemn Oaths of a Mason.

PHIL Repeat your Oaths.

SIM I do Solemnly Vow and Protest before God and this Wor­shipful Company that I will

Heal or Hear, Conceal and never Reveal the Secrets or Secrecy of a Mason or Masonry

that has been hereto­fore or shall be here or hereafter disclosed unto me, to neither

Man, Woman nor Child, neither print them, stamp them or Engrave them or cause

them to be written stamped or Engraved upon anything Moveable or Immoveable or

any other ways. Whereby the Secrets of a Mason or Masonry may be discovered. Upon

the Penalty of my Heart plucked from my Left breast, my Tongue plucked from the roof

of my mouth, my Throat cut, my Body to be torn to pieces by Wild Horses, to be buried

in the Sands of the Sea where the Tide flows in 24 Hours, taken up and burnt to Ashes

and Sifted where the four winds blow that there may be no more Remembrances of me.

So help me God. Then the Senior Warden put me on a White apron with these words. I

put you on the Badge of a Mason, more Ancient and Honourable than the Knights of

the Garter.

PHIL I am satisfied you are a Mason by the Repeating of your Oath. If you please you may ask

me what Questions you think proper

SIM I ask you where your Lodge was kept

PHIL In the Vale of Jehosophat, out of the Cackling of a Hen, the Crowing of a Cock, the

barking of a Dog.

PRES 2: The Jews believe that the Messiah will arrive in Jerusalem from the Mount of

Olives. Along the slope of this mount is the oldest continually used cemetery in the

world. Graves date back as far as four thousand years. Tradition holds that the people

buried here will be the first to rise when the Messiah comes. Many believe that this is

the area prophesied by Joel as the "Vale of Jehosophat" and place of final judgment

(Joel 3:2). Hence the Dialogue could be making reference for the need for it to be a

place of tranquillity, of respect, reverence and awe.

SIM How high was your Lodge?

PHIL As high as the Heavens and as low as the Earth

PRES 2: Interestingly, the author clarifies this reference as follows:

PRES 3: “As low as the Earth as high as the Heavens because all Lodges were kept formerly in

the open fields”

SIM How many Pillars had your Lodge?

PHIL Three

SIM What did you call them?

PHIL Beauty, Strength and Wisdom.

SIM What do they represent?

PHIL Beauty to Adorn, Strength to Support, And Wisdom to Contrive.

PRES 1: Three other early Manuscripts also refer to Pillars. In the Dumfries No.4 Manuscript we

find:

PRES 3: “How many pillars in your lodge?”

PRES 4: “Ye square, the compass and ye bible”

PRES 2: In The Grand Mystery Manuscript:

PRES 3: “How many pillars?”

PRES 4: “Two, Jachin and Boaz”

PRES 3: “What do they represent?”

PRES 4: “Strength and Stability of the Church in all Ages”

PRES 1: And in Pritchard’s exposure, Masonry Dissected, we have much similar as in this

exchange:

PRES 3: “What supports a Lodge?”

PRES 4: “Three Great pillars”

PRES 3: “What are they called?”

PRES 4: “Wisdom, Strength and Beauty”

PRES 3: “Why so?”

PRES 4: “Wisdom to Contrive, Strength to Support and Beauty to Adorn”

PRES 1: The final sequence of our Dialogue runs as follows:

SIM What Lodge are you of?

PHIL Of the Right Worshipful Lodge of St. John's

PRES 2: The Saint’s John appear to Freemasons in several places in our Manuscript. Their use in

our rituals has been questioned for many years. Looked at together, it is said that Saint

John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist serve to represent the balance in Masonry

between zeal for the fraternity and learned equilibrium. The Saints John, stand in

p e r f e c t p a r a l l e l h a r m o n y r e p r e s e n t i n g t h a t b a l a n c e .

From a historical approach, The Saint John’s festival is said to be a widely celebrated

Masonic holiday in some parts of the world. Traditionally June 24th (or the summer

Solstice) is taken to be John the Baptist’s day, which is celebrated in many cultures

around the world. According to McCoy’s Masonic Dictionary, the Festival of St. John in

summer is a duty of every Mason to participate in, and should serve to be a renewal

and strengthening of fraternal ties and a celebration of Masonry from “olden-times”. It

essence, functions as a connection between the past and the future. And finally, our

Manuscript concludes:

SIM How many Signs has a Free Mason?

PHIL Five

SIM What do you call them?

PHIL Pedestal, Manual, Pectoral Guttural, Oral

PRES 1: And we leave you with a thought concerning Simon’s final question to Philip, which was:

“How many Signs has a Free Mason?” Philip answers “five” and states they are

“Pedestal - Manual - Pectoral - Guttural - Oral.”

So what does he mean, what do these allude to and what do YOU think is their origin?

Is there some part of our current ceremonies that this still alludes to?

Masonry should not just comprise one person speaking and the words simply washing

over the remainder; neither should it comprise the simple repetition of text. There must

also be a goal of understanding which comes from reflection, consideration and forming

your own opinion on what Masonry was and is. So why not be bold, be adventurous,

reflect on this simple question and form your own opinion on your own journey of

Masonic awareness and fulfil your obligation, by doing as you promised and making that

daily advancement.

Martin Roche, 2008

Prepared by:

THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

Freemasons’ Hall Bridge Street

M3 3BT

The lecture given herein has been reproduced with the kind permission of:

WBro. Martin Roche

Chairman of the Education Committee

Who has given permission for the lecture to be given in Craft Lodges throughout

the Province of East Lancashire.

For further copies please contact your

DISTRICT MENTOR