As part of the questions to the Candidate before Passing to the Second Degree, the Master asks: ‘What is Freemasonry?’ The Candidate responds: ‘A peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols.’ Upon reflection, this dialogue is quite remarkable.
    In the first place, since the question is put to a mason whose experience in the Craft can be measured in months, if not weeks, his knowledge of our Order is restricted to the Initiation ceremony. If he was asked, ‘What actually took place upon that memorable occasion?’ His reply would possibly be neither comprehensive nor coherent.
    To be invited to define Freemasonry at this stage of his masonic career is difficult to comprehend. It would not be unreasonable to assume that a most learned and experienced Preceptor from a long established Lodge of Instruction would require many well considered short talks to do justice to an answer to this question. Even then the subject would certainly be open to debate.
    We must refer back to the answer given by the Candidate for the second Degree: we need to ask, what does this mean?
    Whilst allegory and symbolism play a prominent role in Freemasonry they are by no means restricted to it. To make a study of the subject will enable Brethren to have a clear idea of how these devices work. It will, then, be possible to find a deeper understanding of how masonry operates and what it means. We should begin with the phrase ‘Illustrated by symbols.’

Illustrated by symbols

    A symbol is ‘something that stands for, or denotes, something else – not by exact resemblance, but by vague suggestion.’ The simple act of driving a car depends upon the use of symbols in order to arrive safely at the intended destination. The numbers on the speedometer are symbols, various designs of the highway signs are symbols, the knobs on the dashboard all hold different symbols. They are there to ensure understanding regardless of the language of the driver. So it may be concluded that symbols are an effective means of communication to ensure accurate understanding regardless of language, education or intellect. Other symbols in use include the numerals, mathematical and monetary signs, musical notation, scientific formulae and such symbols as computer icons.
    Another type of symbol is found in the Arts. They represent something that is abstract or hard to visualise in terms of something that can be perceived by our sense of sight. In this way purity is symbolised by the colour white, peace by the dove and olive branch, poison by the skull and cross-bones; Canada by the maple leaf, Christianity by the Cross of Calvary, Judaism by the Star of David.
    In Freemasonry, every character, figure and emblem has a moral tendency and serves to inculcate the practice of virtue in all its many facets. The twentyfour inch gauge, the gavel and the chisel stand for accuracy, labour and perseverance; the three great pillars represent wisdom, strength and beauty. The star in the Mosaic pavement stands for Divine Providence. The four tassels represent temperance, fortitude, prudence and justice. An ear of corn near to a fall of water denotes plenty. The square represents morality, the level equality and the plumb-rule justness and uprightness. The list goes on and on.
    Symbols need not always be consistent: the square stands for morality but it also stands for the Master of a Lodge. In the First Degree, darkness is the symbol of ignorance, in the Third Degree, it is the darkness of death.
    The symbols of the Craft are not always explained to us. If you have a flair for interpreting them there is ample scope to indulge your talents. Harry Carr – secretary of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge of Research for many years – said that ‘every man is fully entitled (and should be encouraged) to work out his own symbolism and when he has done this to his own satisfaction, his symbolism is valid for him.’

Veiled in Allegory

    And what of the phrase, ‘veiled in allegory?’ An allegory is ‘a narrative description of a subject, under the guise of another suggestively similar,’ or even more interestingly, ‘a narrative picture intended to be understood symbolically.’ In other words, it is a story in which the characters are in fact symbols.
    At first, an unwary reader or listener, may believe that he is beginning a novel or is listening to a true story. As the information unfolds it gradually dawns upon him that his understanding is about something quite different; that he is being ‘preached to’. The best known allegory in English literature in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress.
    Ostensibly it is a series of random adventures met with by a hero named Christian on his journey to the Celestial City. However, in another dimension it portrays the tribulations endured by the soul of a believer during the course of his life.
    The reader of C. S. Lewis’ Narnia series of books gradually comes to the realisation that the compassionate, just and awesome lion is none other than God! Tolkien’s magnificent trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, is in some sense a portrayal of the struggle between good and evil.
    Not infrequently, allegory is combined with satire: in George Orwell’s Animal Farm the beasts take over and proceed to behave like various recognisable breeds of politician. Allegory always strives to combine entertainment with instruction. As a method of teaching it is sanctioned by long usage. The older and briefer specimens of allegory are known by other names: Aesop’s Fables, with their moral lessons, are nothing but allegories. In the New Testament Christ teaches by allegories but he calls them ‘parables’.
    In masonry the three degrees of the Craft are themselves allegorical and can be viewed as representing the course of human existence. The First Degree can be seen as birth; the Second Degree as maturity; and the Third as death. In like manner the building of King Solomon’s Temple reminds us of the erection of our own moral edifice. Of course, the traditional history of the Third Degree is of cardinal importance. The message is ‘ the triumph of good over evil.’ Because it is allegorical, its truth does not reside in its factual narrative. It is quite extraordinary to find that the literally minded and the historians can always find flaws in it, as for example, ‘The story of Hiram Abiff cannot be confirmed in the Bible.’
    The truth of this story is to be sought rather in the moral lesson it is intended to teach not in its historical accuracy. In fact, it could be said that this particular important point is really one of the ‘secrets of masonry’.
    The words, ‘Veiled in allegory’ imply that some of the truths of masonry are concealed from the uninitiated but they can be discovered by one who is privileged to join. It takes practice to learn how to recognise and appreciate symbol and allegory. Only through sincere, intelligent and sustained effort reinforced by imaginative and emotional sensitivity can the reward be reaped. This is what can justly be called , ‘an advancement in masonic knowledge.’

A Provocative Thought

    Why does Freemasonry veil in Allegory and conceal in object or picture or story a meaning quite different from its name? That Freemasonry conceals in symbols in order to arouse curiosity to know their meaning is often considered to be the explanation. However there are more lofty ideas why this great system of truth, philosophy and ethics is hidden behind symbols. Here is an interesting and thought provoking answer: Man has a triple nature. He has a body, and senses which bring him into contact with and translate the meanings of, the physical world around him of earth, air, fire and water that is about him. He has a mind by which he reasons and understands – but above all he has something beyond that; call it his Soul, his Spirit or his imagination. It is something that is allied to, rather than part of, his power to reason. It is connected with the physical side of life only though its sensory contacts.
    The Soul or the Spirit comprehends a language that the brain does not understand.
    The keenest minds over time have attempted without success to understand this mystic language. When we hear music which brings tears to our eyes and grief or joy to our hearts, then our body is responding to a language that the brain does not understand or explain. It is not with the brain that one loves a mother, a child, or a wife; it is with ‘Something Beyond’ something quite indefinable that cannot be spoken.
    A symbol is a word of that language which the brain does not understand. If we translate that symbol into words which appeals only to the mind then the spirit of the meaning is lost. Words appeal to the mind but meanings that cannot be expressed in words appeal to the spirit.
    All that we have in Freemasonry that can be set down in words on a page of a book frequently omits the Spirit of the Order. Freemasonry expresses truths which are universal, and expresses them in a universal language, universally understood by all men without words. That language is the language of the symbol and the symbol is universally understood because it is the means of communication between like-minded Spirits, Souls and Hearts.
    Thus Allegory does not mean a literal translation. Many Freemasons do not seem to understand that Freemasonry does not, and has never presented, literal meanings of historical events. They are meanings that are there for individuals to discover for themselves. Confusion arises, understandably because of the sheer volume of allegorical meanings and interpretations within Freemasonry.
    A masonic lodge is in itself an allegory for something else. To complicate matters further; there is no one person who can speak for Freemasonry. Therefore no definitive allegorical meaning can be prescribed to any particular aspect. Therefore any individual Freemason can come to different allegorical meanings of the same thing.
    Correctly, there is a consensus on many matters within Freemasonry but that is not imposed upon any individual brother. He is free to come to his own conclusion; even though it is possibly not a commonly held view. In other words unlike a doctrinal system of principal as laid down by a Church for example – there is not, and can never be, a masonic dogma about these subjects.

Ray Hollins is author of the series of volumes of essays on Freemasonry, A Daily Advancement in Masonic Knowledge. He is a Past Master of Stechford lodge, No. 3185, Worcestershire and a Past Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies.