Lodge
of Perfection Degree Descriptions
The Degree
description below is reprinted with the permission of the
Scottish Rite Journal.
Ninth Degree
Elu of the Nine, The Weapons of Truth
Jim Tresner, 33°, Grand
Cross
In the Ninth Degree of the Scottish Rite,
ignorance, error, and intolerance -- the great enemies of mankind --
are symbolized by the black border of the apron and the black cordon.
Throughout history, there has been a basic conflict between those who
seek to suppress others and those who seek to free them. The conflict
has usually been bloody. The white of the apron represents both Masonry
and Truth, while the gold blazing star on the flap symbolizes the light
and knowledge for which we must always seek.
On the apron is a dark cavern in which burns
a candle, again symbolic of the light which, however small, dispels the
darkness and leads the seeker toward truth. The jewel of the Degree is
a dagger with gold hilt and silver blade. The gold and silver represent
the sun and moon, and recall the symbolism of the Blue Lodge in which
they combine to form the complete and balanced man, in control of his
own passions and free in his own thought. The gold and silver or sun
and moon also suggest that truth never rests; it leads and shines both
by day and by night. The red of the cordon represents the blood of
those who have been persecuted for Truth and for Masonry. Their number
is legion -- DeMolay, burned at the stake because a tyrant regarded
wealth more than honor; Tyndall, murdered because he dared to translate
the Bible; millions of Jews and Masons in Hitler’s death
camps, exterminated simply because they were Jews and Masons; millions
of intellectuals and other inconvenient persons in Cambodia, massacred
simply because they were intellectuals and inconvenient.
The cordon’s nine red rosettes
symbolize the nine Elus (Elected ones) chosen to seek out the murders
of Hiram. In symbolic terms, we as Elus are elected to seek out
ignorance, error, and intolerance (the murderers) which always seek to
destroy the best in human nature (Hiram).
The rosettes also symbolize the nine special
virtues of the Degree which serve as additional weapons for the Mason:
disinterestedness, courtesy, devotion, firmness, frankness, generosity,
self-denial, heroism, and patriotism. The term disinterestedness
sometimes causes confusion, as some people assume it to mean
“lack of concern or commitment.” But that is not
the meaning at all. Disinterestedness means “without being
self-serving.” The person who tries to do right, simply
because it IS right, and not because it will benefit himself in any
way, is being disinterested.
The virtues of the Degree give rise to its
duties -- to enlighten our souls and minds; to share that light with
the people; and to defend the interests and honor of our country so
that its freedoms may be preserved and extended. Pike never allows us
to forget that we are in a battle to the death with the forces which
seek to enslave the spirit of men and women. And it is a battle fought
just as really with truth and justice and virtue as it ever was with
sword or cannon.
The problem of toleration is especially
difficult because it is so easy to “feel good”
about being intolerant. The highest price we are called upon to pay for
freedom is not in taxes to defend the country, nor even on the
battlefield. The highest price we must pay for freedom is to allow
others to be free.
Religious toleration means that we must allow
others the same right to freedom of worship we demand for ourselves,
even if we find their practices wrong or repugnant.
Intellectual toleration means that we must
allow the free and full exploration of every idea, even if we think it
wrong or dangerous.
Social toleration means that we must allow
others to live lifestyles we may find strange or uncomfortable, whether
on a commune or in a convent.
Of all the lessons a man or woman must learn
to be truly human, toleration may well be the hardest.
The Scottish Rite Journal
- June 1998
Jim Tresner
is Director of the Masonic Leadership Institute and Editor of The
Oklahoma Mason. A frequent contributor to the Scottish Rite Journal and
its book review editor, Illustrious Brother Tresner is also a volunteer
writer for The Oklahoma Scottish Rite Mason and a video script
consultant for the National Masonic Renewal Committee. He is the
Director of the Thirty-third Degree Conferral Team and Director of Work
at the Guthrie Scottish Rite Temple in Guthrie, Oklahoma, as well as a
life member of the Scottish Rite Research Society, author of the
popular anecdotal biography Albert Pike, The Man Beyond the Monument,
and a member of the steering committee of the Masonic Information
Center. Ill. Tresner was awarded the Grand Cross, the Scottish Rite's
highest honor, during the Supreme Council's October 1997 Biennial
Session.
