p. 49The Five Pillars in the Lodge Room

The Voice of Masonry on pages 567, 568 and 569 had this to say about these pillars: “In the city of the Sun, Heliopolis, in ancient Egypt, there was erected, about 2,700 years before our era, a temple to Amun-Ra, the Sun-God. Before this temple there stood two immense columns, dedicated to Osiris the sun and Isis the moon. The pillar of Osiris was eighteen cubits high, referring to the highest point of the inundation of the river Nile. The height of the pillar of Isis was twelve cubits to denote the twelve signs of the Zodiac through which the sun passes. These two columns are symbolic of the whole existence of mankind, and the old and continuous struggle between light and darkness in which the right triumphs. Here then was the sun emblematic of activity and life, and the moon symbolic of sleep and death; and these two upright columns of unequal size were placed in pairs before the temple to signal the final victory of light over darkness, right over wrong, righteousness over evil.”

“… The two deities, Osiris and Isis, sun and moon, produce, govern and nourish everything connected with the visible universe. … The sun is the father, the moon the mother of all things. …”

“The larger column in the East is near the Master of the lodge, who stands in the East and represents the sun. He rises and sets his men to work, … and the Senior Warden who stands on the West represents Isis paying men their wages.”

In the mysteries of Osiris and Isis the bull, Apis, to which divine honors were paid, played an important part. He is symbolic of the generative power in nature, as the cow is symbolic of the productive power.

The three smaller columns are thus described on the same pages: “The Corinthian is one of the five columns of Freemasonry, the beauty of the lodge. It is the column indicative of the loveliness, the poetry and splendor of the luxuriant city of Corinth in rich and ancient Greece. It is splendid in art and culture as the old Corinthian city with her avenues of marble and bronze, her gardens and groves, innumerable fountains and temples. The Corinthian column is placed in the south of the lodge. It may aptly be termed the jewel of light, belonging to the Junior Warden. It is set in the eyes and the care of the youthful Junior Warden to perpetually remind him of his responsibility in bringing the initiate from darkness into light, unto an appreciation and understanding of the beauty of the principles and teachings of the Worshipful Craft of Free and Accepted Masons.”

“The Doric is another of the great columns of Freemasonry, the strength of the lodge. It is the middle pillar of the lodge and its attributes are gracefulness and strength. A massive column, without the ornamentation of the Corinthian, yet gracefully constructed. The Doric column, strong and enduring, is the chief of those marble creations which made Greece famous.”

“While the Corinthian column is beauty, the Doric column is symbolic of strength. It takes its name from Dorus, a mythological god, said to have erected a temple, or caused one to be constructed, dedicated to Juno. The Greeks did not then know the proper proportion of a column, but they were muscular people and would naturally make a strong column; moreover, they sought to make all their creations picturesque, being lovers of art, and so it was the purpose of their masons to construct a column which should not only be strong but graceful, handsome and enduring. And it is said, to carry out such ideas, they found that the measure of a man’s foot was about one-sixth of his height, and upon such calculations they made a column six times the height of the foot of it. So that the Doric column has the proportion, the strength and the grace, relatively speaking, of the body of a man. The Dorians lived in the southern part of Greece, and were a very hardy people, claiming to be descendants of the mighty Hercules, the historical predecessor of Samson.”

“The Dorians and Spartans were masters in the south of Greece, and there, where great trees grew and flourished, they took the trunks of the oak and the olive as the first support of their houses. Afterwards came the knowledge of carving their columns out of marble and then they wrought the massive and graceful Dorian temples. But the chief feature of the Dorian column is strength, and therefore it is placed in the west of the lodges, because strength is the characteristic of the Senior Warden. And strength in Masonic symbolism is more than the power of Hercules and Samson; it is the everlasting moral strength and towering power of right; it is the upbuilding, uplifting and soaring might of truth; it is the spiritual brilliancy and universal luster of light. In the city of Acropolis, in Greece, devoted to art, science and philosophy, upon a mountain there stood a temple, a Doric temple, named the Parthenon. It was the first sight which met the gaze of a traveler going towards Greece and it had withstood the assaults of time for more than two thousand years. It is an example of great strength with the grace of Grecian architecture with which we as Freemasons are made acquainted through the symbolism of the Doric column.”

“The Ionic is the last and most important of the three Grecian columns. It is one of the richest jewels of Masonic symbolism and the column of the Worshipful Master of the lodge. The Ionic column is said to have been copied from a temple built to Bacchus. The architects of the Ionic column lived in Ionia, Greece, and they were celebrated for their learning and refinement.”

“Probably more buildings of modern times are constructed after the Ionic style than any other order of architecture. The style is simple and elegant, a fine form in a beautiful dress, and it is placed in the east of the lodge because it is a symbol of wisdom.”

“In the south the Master became acquainted with the beauty of the Corinthian column, typical of the classical beauty of the women and art of lovely Greece; in the west the Master pondered upon the strength of the Doric column, representing the matchless skill of the incomparable athletes, the men and warriors of splendid Greece; but the philosophy and wisdom of that gorgeous and poetical nation is fittingly shown by the perfection of the Ionic column. It is a jewel of philosophy and wisdom and it belongs in the east as a helpmate of the Worshipful Master, to remind him of his responsibility to be guided by philosophy, and his duty to be governed by wisdom.”