INSTRUCTIONS FOR OFFICERS 
When first addressed by the Worshipful Master, an Officer will come to  order, give and cut EA sign 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  Reverence . 
A READING BY THE OFFICERS OF THE LODGE, FIRST DEGREE  LECTURE PARTS 1 & 2 
SEC: 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. But 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  termed a Science, although for the most part it is veiled in Allegory, and  illustrated by symbols, in as much as veiling itself under terms of the former, it inculcates the principles of purest morality. To draw aside this  veil, therefore, or more properly speaking to penetrate through its  mysteries is the object of our Masonic Lectures, and by a faithful and  appropriate attention to them we hope ultimately to become acquainted  with all its mysteries. The lecture of this degree is divided into seven  sections, tonight we present the first two of these lectures and,  throughout the whole, Virtue is depicted in its most beautiful colours; the  duties of Morality are everywhere strictly enforced. The nature,  character, attributes and perfections of the Deity, are faithfully delineated  and forcibly portrayed, and are well calculated to influence our conduct  towards Him as our Father, Benefactor, and Moral Governor, as also in  the proper discharge of the duties of social life.
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WM: The mode of Masonic Instruction is the Catechetical, or, in more  familiar terms, by question and answer, therefore, Bro. SW (SW stands,  gives and cuts EA sign), 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 Square. 
WM: How do we hope to part? 
SW: On the Level. 
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. (SW sits) 
WM: Bro. JW (JW stands, gives and cuts EA sign), 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. (JW sits) 
WM: Bro. SD (SD stands, gives and cuts EA sign), 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. (SD sits) 
WM: Bro. IPM (IPM stands, gives and cuts EA sign), why free?
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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 bondwoman 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. (IPM sits) 
WM: Bro. JD (JD stands, gives and cuts EA sign), why those equalities  amongst Masons? 
JD: We are all created equal, which equality is strengthened by our  Masonic Obligation. (JD sits) 
WM: Bro. IG (IG stands, gives and cuts EA sign), Masonically speaking,  whence come you? 
IG: From a worthy and worshipful Lodge. 
WM: What recommendation do you bring? 
IG: The possession of this Sign (Gives and cuts EA sign) to greet your  worship well. (IG sits) 
WM: Bro. SW (SW stands), 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.
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WM: By this I presume you are a Mason? 
SW: I am so taken and accepted amongst Brethren and Fellows. (SW  sits) 
WM: Bro. JW (JW stands), 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. (JW sits) 
WM: Bro. IPM (IPM stands), 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 Hele (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.
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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. (IPM sits) 
WM: Bro. SD (SD stands), when were you made a Mason? SD: When the sun was at its meridian. 
WM: Freemason’s 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 in its orbit round the Sun and Freemasonry being universally spread over its surface, it  necessarily follows that the Sun is always at the meridian with respect to  Freemasonry. (SD sits) 
WM: Bro. JD (JD stands), 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. (JD sits) 
WM: Bro. DC (DC stands, gives and cuts EA sign), 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?
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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 Freemasons, and them only. 
WM: How do they reveal them? 
DC: By signs, tokens, and particular words. (DC sits) 
WM: Bro. Chaplain (Chaplain stands, gives and cuts EA sign), as  Masons, how do we expect to arrive at them? 
Chap: By the assistance of a Key. 
WM: Does that Key hang or lie? 
Chap: It hangs. 
WM: Why is the preference given to hanging? 
Chap: It should always hang in a brother’s defence and never lie to his  prejudice. 
WM: What does it hang by? 
Chap: The thread of life, in the passage of utterance. 
WM: And why so nearly connected to the heart?
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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: No metal, it is the tongue of good report. (Chaplain sits) (WM: Gavel, SW: Gavel, JW: Gavel. ALL rise, give and hold EA sign) 
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. (ALL cut sign and sit) 
FIRST LECTURE PART 2 
WM: Bro. SW (SW stands), 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 money and metallic substances and hood winked, my Right arm, Left breast and knee were made bare, my Right heel slipshod, and a cable tow with a running noose about my neck. 
WM: Why were you divested of metal?
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SW: That I might bring nothing offensive or defensive into the Lodge to  disturb its harmony. (SW sits) 
WM: Bro. JW (JW stands), 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. (JW sits) 
WM: Bro. SD (SD stands), 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?
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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. (SD sits) 
WM: Bro. JD (JD stands), 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. (JD sits) 
WM: Bro. IG (IG stands), 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 Cowans and  intruders to Freemasonry, and to see that the candidates are properly  prepared. (IG sits) 
WM: Bro. ADC (ADC stands, gives and cuts EA sign), being in a state of  darkness, how did you know it to be a door?
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ADC: By first meeting with an opposition and afterwards gaining  admission. 
WM: How did you gain admission? 
ADC: By three distinct knocks. 
WM: To what do these three distinct knocks allude? 
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. (ADC sits) WM: Bro. IG (IG stands), what is your duty? 
IG: To admit Freemasons on proof; receive candidates in due form; and  obey the commands of the JW. 
WM: What did you demand of your friend or the Tyler? 
IG: Whom have you there? 
WM: Bro. IPM (IPM stands), the Tylers answer? 
IPM: Mr. ********, a poor candidate in a state of darkness, who has been  well and worthily recommended, regularly proposed and approved, 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.
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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 WM, who was  afterwards pleased to order my admission. 
WM: On what were you admitted? 
IPM: On the point of a 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 WM? 
IPM: As no person can be made a Freemason 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. (IPM sits) 
WM: Which the Bro. Chaplain will repeat. (WM: Gavel, SW: Gavel, JW:  Gavel) 
ALL: (All stand with the sign of Reverence.) 
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 among us. Endue him with a  competency of Thy divine Wisdom, so 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.
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ALL: So mote it be. (ALL cut the sign and sit.) 
WM: Bro. SW ,(SW stands) after the recital of this prayer, how did the  WM 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 WM'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 WM then address the Lodge? 
SW: The Brethren in the North, East, South, and West take notice, that  Mr. ******* is now about to pass in view before them, to show that he is  the candidate, properly prepared and a fit and proper person to be made  a mason. (SW sits) 
WM: Bro. JW (JW stands), how did your leader, the JD 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 the North, past the West to the East, down the South and  delivered me to the SW in the West. 
WM: What was required of you during your progress round the Lodge? 
JW: To undergo a similar examination by the Junior and SW as I had  heard at the door of the Lodge. (JW sits) 
WM: Bro. DC (DC stands), why was he led round the Lodge in this  conspicuous manner?
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DC: It was to figuratively to represent the seeming state of poverty and  distress in which he was received into Masonry, on 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 Brother Mason. By listening with attention to their complaints, pity would  naturally flow from his breast, accompanied with that relief which their  necessity required and his ability 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. ADC (ADC stands), who are fit and proper persons to be  made Masons? 
ADC: Just, upright, and free men, of mature age, sound judgment, and  strict morals. 
WM: Why are the privileges of Masonry 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 and strict morals? 
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. (ADC sits) 
WM: Bro. SW (SW stands), being delivered over to you, how did he  proceed? 
SW: I presented him to the WM as a candidate properly prepared to be  a made a Mason. 
WM: The WM's reply
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SW: Bro. SW, 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. *******, 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? (SW sits) 
WM: Bro. JW (JW stands), the second question. 
JW: Do you likewise pledge yourself that you are prompted to solicit  those privileges by a favourable opinion preconceived of the Institution,  a general desire of knowledge, and a sincere wish to render yourself  more extensively serviceable to your fellow creatures? (JW sits) 
WM: Bro. SD (SD stands), the third question? 
SD: Do you further seriously declare, on your 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 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 WM then order? 
SD: The SW to direct the JD to instruct the candidate to advance to the  East in due form. 
WM: I will thank you to show the method of advancing from West to East  in this Degree. 
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?
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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. IPM (IPM stands), when brought before  the WM, 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 many 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 Great and Solemn Obligation 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: I knelt on my Left Knee with my feet in the form of a square. My  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. (IPM sits) 
WM: Bro JD (JD stands), 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  should the recollection ever prove to my mind, should I at any future  period be about improperly to disclose any of those Masonic secrets I  was then on the point of being entrusted with. 
WM: In that attitude, what were you about to do?
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JD: Take the Great and Solemn Obligation of an Entered Apprentice  Freemason. 
WM: Having taken the Great and Solemn Obligation of an Entered  Apprentice Freemason, how did the WM address you 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, you will seal  it with your lips, on the Volume of the Sacred Law. (JD sits) 
WM: Bro IPM (IPM stands), how did the WM then further address you? 
IPM: 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 JD, by the WM's command was pleased to  restore to me. 
WM: How did he then address you? 
IPM: Having been restored to the blessing of material light, l will now  direct your attention to what we consider the three Great though  emblematical lights in Freemasonry; they are the Volume of the Sacred  Law, 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? 
IPM: He friendly took me by the right hand, and said, Rise, duly  Obligated Brother among Masons. (IPM sits) 
(WM: Gavel, SW: Gavel, JW: Gavel. ALL stand, give and hold EA sign) 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. 
(ALL cut sign and sit)
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Thank you brethren for your assistance with this Lecture.
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