The Lion's Paw.

It has a deep significance as it relates to the primitive days of Osiris . By great strength and perseverance was the body recovered as the legend records it . Later on , by the strong grip , was tho body of the Master Builder raised ,

for reasons so well known to every Craftsman . A thousand years later Jesus of Nazareth gave us additional lessons upon the real nature of the Lion ' s Paw .

It means life , death , and resurrection . It required great strength to preach the doctrine of the new dispensation to the people of Herod's day . To my mind this is the real

definition of the emblem now under consideration . Its use is to lift up . Not by ordinary means ; we must have something far more powerful . It needs the strength of the lion .

This was ~ fully demonstrated in the life of our Saviour . He met death to accomplish the purpose of His mission . The good principles of Masonry lift a man up to a higher appreciation of life and the future .

By the excellent precepts he sees beyond the vail . He is reminded that the great object of life is to prepare for the better one . Masonry is strictly a progressive system of morality . All this is demonstrated in the speculative

journey through the "various degrees and ceremonies . Even after the aspirant has travelled almost over the whole distance , and he thinks that he is nearly afc the top of the ladder , he is told that the most critical part is yet to come , and that there is doubt of his being equal to the

emergency . The person thafc carefully considers this ceremonial and all its teachings will discover immediately that it refers to tho most important period of a man's life .

Is not this a lesson on strength , and an exceedingly important one ? Does ifc not admonish the Craftsman that Masonry can only be attained by great fortitude and perseverance ? By this I mean to attain what is called

ideal Masonry , for I still claim that ifc is not every brother that fully comprehends what is the real significance of the term Master Mason , as we use it in this far advanced age , as it relates to our Ancient and Honourable Order . What

I call the ideal Mason is not the man whose zeal for the Order seems to bo unlimited , who rushes into it blindly , and who appears to perform very promptly and willingly every duty that comes within the sphere of his labours .

The man who cannot swim and yet would jump into the water to save a drowning man would be called brave , but tho man who would make a similar move , with such preparation as makes success assured , would very properly be

called heroic . And so ifc is with the neophyte in Masonry . He has reason to doubt and to tremble , and even to fear that he may not reach the summit of his ambition . These

qualifications just named are tho experiences of all ideal patrons . Ifc is righfc afc this point that strength of purpose is requisite . And this is the mission of the Lion ' s Paw .

In St . Matthew this verse is recorded , which has especial reference to the thought now under consideration : "And he went a little further and fell on bis face and

prayed , saying , ' 0 my Father , if it be possible , let this cup pass from me ; nevertheless , not as I will , but as thou wilt . '" I do nob repeat this verse to explain a scriptural truth in

the connection that it is generally used , but to illustrate thafc even the most zealous and sincere have their doubts as to their ability to accomplish fully their purpose . Here

is positive evidence that the Son of-Man , now on the verge of betrayal , actually lost His courage and fell on His face to appeal for help , which act has left the future ages an everlasting lesson of fear and doubt .

The remedy for success is that of devotion , as clearly portrayed in the illustration just quoted . I look upon Masonry as somewhat of primitive design . We cannot term ifc otherwise , and this comes readily by

comparison with ancient times . Compare the ancient Egyptian system with our own and the similarity will be surprising . They worshipped certain animals with a zeal

that was ardent , and while to all appearances it would seem that tho animal itself was the one worshipped , yet ifc was the benefit centered upon the nation by the particular animal thafc was x-eaSly the object of fche veneration .

It is in this view that we must look at those old systems , as well as the great system of mythology . A perusal of the standard works of Masonic literature will readily confirm what I have just stated .

It is in a similar spirit thafc we adore the plain , simple working tools of Masonry , not as implements of toil , but lor the lessons that their uses signify . 1 imagine , as I look

The Lion's Paw.

back into the remote ages , when man depended entire ! v upon the strength of his hands , that the lion's paw \ va < regarded by him as something of great power . Be ore fciu . ages of mechanical arts the lion was the strongest known

thing , hence , in hieroglyphical language , power and majesty are represented by this particular animal Strength was highly esteemed by the ancients . Coriolanus

was condemned to death , but he was so strong that no one could arrest him , and the result was that the sentence was changed to banishment .

What relation , may be asked , has the lion to Masonry ? Of course it is used only in the symbolic sense . Oliver gives this explanation : " The lion was a symbol of Jeremiah , because of the terrible voice of his threatenings

and of St . Mark , because the gospel begins with the voice in the wilderness ; but principally of Christ , who is denominated the lion , of the tribe of Judah , and will ultimately subdue all things to Himself , for He must reign till He has put all His enemies under His feet . "

If we very carefully study our moral system of Masonry we will discover that it is very closely interwoven with the religion of the " Great Light . " In the early ages it is said there were two important

divinities , one the good principle , and the other the evil principle . A sharp war took place between these two personages , and the result was tho good principle got the better . As a retaliation the other principle scattered over fcho earth all sorts of evils and miseries . Here comes in

the mission of Masonry . I firmly believe thafc it is a part of fche programme of the Supremo Architect that , this society should exist and do just the work that it is now performing . Only our interest should be so strong that greater results should be achieved .

Some writers place the birth of Masonry in the second stone age , and this age , which was of two thousand years ' duration , ended about the age of Abraham . If this is correct , ifc had its origin among the strong men ; hence ifc is

easily understood why strength occupies so important a part in Masonry . It is so in fche operative world and also the same in the speculative . In erecting the temple there must be entire soundness and firmness in ail its Darts , and

the same rule holds good with the mystic temple . Freemasonry , in the speculative sense , must be guided by tbe same rules that govern the operative system . The story or drama of the Lion ' s Paw is a myth , and as such cannot

be strictly relied upon . Like William Tell and many oth ' . r myths , their origin is lost in obscurity . It , is hardly a century ago that a being thought to be the Wandering Jew was supposed to be traversing the earth . He refused

to let the Saviour rest , and , in obedience to the curse , has wandered over tbe globe ever since . When he reaches the allotted ago of man he is transformed into a youth , and so suffers asrain for a refusal of the characteristic which is

one of the fundamental principles of Freemasonry . Of course , this seems absurd to us , but who can deny it ? Myths were the products of ages anterior to printing . Then everything was told orally ; now ifc is recorded . By

the wonderful progress of mechanical art we have outlived the system of myths , hence it is that many reject the myth of the Lion ' s Paw as it relates to the legend of the third degree .

My conclusion is that to ascertain the real significance of this symbol , we must delve deep into the pages of antiquity . A persual of the Ancient Mysteries will point out to us

very many of the present forms of Freemasonry . The Persian Mysteries of Mithras especially convey the very ideas and forms somewhat similar that we use to-day in unfolding the history associated with the Lion ' s Paw .

I therefore give a very broad significance to this myth as referring to the movements of the planets which give us tbe seasons . All the myths and fables are supposed to

refer directly to the origin first named , and the characters introduced are simply the creations of enthusiastic minds of remote antiquity .

I think we can reject all uncertainties as irrelevant to the cause of Masonry , as we find it to-day , and ask ourselves , " What is a Craftsman ' s duty ?" " If we live righteously , the way to heaven is open to us .

If we wipe away the tear from the orphan ' s cheek , and bring him up to virtue and to God—if we make the widow ' s heart to sing for joy- —i £ we cheer our worthy

aged and infirm hrother in his onward passage to the grave , we shall have cause to rejoice in the testimony of our conscience , that in all simplicity and godly sincerity we have had our conversation with the world . " Such ia