Masonry Universal

When a Lodge of Free-Masons, are cloath'd in their Aprons,
   In order to make a new Brother;
With firm Hearts, and clean Hands, they repair to their Stands,
   And justly support one another.

The Master stands due, and his Officers too,
   While the Craftsmen are plying their Station;
The Apprentices stand, right for the Command
   Of a Free and an Accepted Mason.

Now traverse your Ground, as in Duty you're bound,
   And revere the authentick Oration,
That leads to the Way, and proves the first Ray
   Of the Light of an Accepted Mason.

Here's Words, and here's Signs, and here's Problems and Lines,
   And here's Room too for deep Speculation;
Here Virtue and Truth are taught to the Youth,
   When first he is called up to a Mason.

Hieroglyphicks shine bright, and here Light reverb Light,
   On the Rules and the Tools of Vocation;
We work and we sing the Craft and the King,
   'Tis both Duty and Choice in a Mason.

pp. 324–5

In this copperplate engraving, we see the three traditional founders of Freemasonry—King Solomon of Israel, King Hiram of Tyre, and Hiram Abiff—holding counsel in Solomon's court as subjects bring them materials for review. King Solomon holds out his hand in approbation toward a volume entitled The Constitutions of Masonry Universal. The figure on the left is holding a scroll that reads:

The scene is brilliantly lit by means of a lodge arrangement: the three lesser lights, the two pillars (here surmounted by the sun and moon), and a glorious orb in noonday splendor clearly symbolic of philosophical or Masonic light.

Curiously, at the center of this "spiritual sun" is found the Hebrew letter ayin. This is not a common feature in Masonic art. The name of the letter is the same as the word for "eye," and it may be that this is an attempted to represent the All-Seeing Eye surrounded by a glory of spiritual Light—a very popular image in Freemasonry. According to traditional sources, the letter ayin is a symbol for the original light of Genesis. For example, in Michael Munk's Wisdom in the Hebrew Alphabet, we learn in his entry about this letter that:

[L]ight is the element that "awakens" creation to development. Just as physical light influences plants to grow, spiritual and intellectual light prods man to achieve his potential. (p. 174)

Notes by Shawn Eyer, P∴M∴