A Spiritual Vision of the Seven Liberal Arts · A The Seven L beral Arts | W Y The perambulations...

Worrel A The Seven L�beral Arts |

A Spiritual Vision of

the Seven Liberal Arts

Thomas D. Worrel

Wisdom builded her house; She has hewn out her seven pillars.

Proverbs :

At your leisure hours you are required to study the l�beral arts and sc�ences, and by that means, w�th a few pr�vate �nstruct�ons, you w�ll soon atta�n a competent knowledge of our mysteries.

W�ll�am PrestonIllustrations of Masonry,

ONEThe Winding Staircase

& the Seven Liberal Arts

O �mpress�ve ceremon�es of Amer�can Craft Freemasonry �s the section of the second degree known as the “staircase lecture” or the “Middle Chamber lecture.” This important part of our Masonic tradition covers many

subjects pertinent to the mysteries of Freemasonry. These are presented through the explanations of the three, ive and seven steps that compose the stairs. When the lecture arr�ves at the seven steps, the Fellow Craft �s told l�ttle more than that they collectively represent the seven liberal arts and sciences. In some rituals, these are each brie ly described. In many, however, the subjects are enumerated without detail, except for the art of geometry, wh�ch �s always expla�ned as the most �mportant of the seven.

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The Hebrew on the Ladder of the Knight Kadoshgemul deed, action גמולbinah wisdom, insight בינהtevunah understanding תבונהsabbal bearer of burden סבלamal saggi lofty effort עמל שגיאemunah faith אמונהmatok pleasantness מתוקshavah lavanah merit the white שוה לבנהtzedakah charity צדקה

ahav eloah love of God אהב אלוהahav karovo love of his neighbor אהב קרבו

In this situation, we are left with more ques-‐tions than answers. Why are these particular subjects ment�oned? It �s certa�nly debatable whether or not these are the most �mportant academic disciplines. Why are there just seven? There are certa�nly more than just seven arts and sciences. Why are they in a staircase motif? If we took the sta�rcase to represent levels of prerequisite education or understanding or of �mportance, there would be cons�derable d�s-‐agreement regarding this order. So what we are really left w�th are �mpl�cat�ons der�ved from the comments on geometry. That is, that these are subjects worthy of study and geometry �s the most important of the seven. We are then left with the broadest question of them all: Is th�s the real message to the cand�date? Many have assumed that th�s part of the

Mason�c trad�t�on �s s�mply a vest�g�al remnant of the obv�ous rel�ance of the operat�ve craft upon the science of geometry. Others may be �ncl�ned to �nterpret the Fellow Craft teach�ngs about the seven l�beral arts only as a vague mes-‐sage in favor of education generally. Either way, �t �s common for Freemasons to conclude that the arts and sc�ences refer to mundane d�sc�-‐pl�nes and sk�lls — subject�vely bear�ng only on the material well-‐being and capability of man. The h�story of the seven l�beral arts tells us a completely different story. Their origin lies in classical antiquity, and their role in the develop-‐ment of Western civilization has been immense. The�r adopt�on among the Fratern�ty suggests far more than currently realized. And because �ts h�story and relevance to both our culture and our Craft was so central, �t h�ghl�ghts a problem


�n our Lodges today: what was once a prec�ous adornment of our trad�t�on has now become perce�ved as l�ttle more than a footnote �n our second degree. I believe that the neglect of the study of these arts drains the life-‐blood from our august body. The purpose of this paper is to look at something we have lost; to try and rees-‐tablish our connection with a part of our past; and, �n a broader sense, �ssue a call to preserve one of the true beaut�es w�th�n our fratern�ty of Freemasonry. There are already many commentar�es on the w�nd�ng sta�rcase by var�ous Mason�c wr�t-‐ers. Usually the explanations of the seven liberal arts are somewhat sketchy. It is common to ind mere basic de initions of the seven subjects. Somet�mes there �s a l�ttle more elaborat�on but it never seems complete. But, as we combine the different views, the Masonic signi icance becomes clearer.

The Interpretations

of Masonic Authors

There are many Mason�c wr�ters who have considered the question of the seven liberal arts. Space permits mention of only a few, but these w�ll prov�de at least a survey of the d�f-‐fering views. There is a common thread: most Mason�c wr�ters at least sense that the w�nd-‐ing staircase is something more than it at irst appears. From that point, the opinions seem to diverge into several different directions. As H. L. Haywood states �n h�s book, Symbolical Mason-

ry: “The Three, F�ve and Seven Steps have long been a puzzle to the cand�date and a problem to Masonic writers . . . ” Wh�le most wr�ters correctly po�nt out that the classi ication of the seven arts comes from the Med�eval educat�onal curr�culum, the real question for Freemasons is not where �t or�g�-‐

nated, but why is it included in our rites. Haywood expresses a v�ew that �s w�de-‐spread among Mason�c wr�ters:

I believe that Masonry is justi ied in retaining the L�beral Arts and Sc�ences �n �ts R�tual just because they st�ll have power to human�ze us, to ‘�mprove us �n soc�al �ntercourse,’ to make us broader of m�nd, more tolerant �n op�n�on, more humane �n act�on, and more brotherly in conduct. Besides, knowledge of them . . . can make us more useful to the lodge.

He goes on to expla�n how useful �t �s for a Lodge to have members who can wr�te, play music, and speak. He seems to consider the seven arts as merely hav�ng useful educat�onal purposes. H.P. H. Bromwell ( – ) wrote in his mass�ve tome Restorations of Masonic Geom-

etry and Symbolry that “Although the number of recogn�zed sc�ences far exceeds seven, yet, g�v-‐ing to that number the bene it of its symbolic mean�ng, �t stands for the whole c�rcle of sc�-‐ences, whether speci ically named among the seven or not.” Here �s an example of someone who cons�ders that the number seven �s used �n �ts symbol�c sense of mean�ng “the whole p�c-‐ture” or “all encompassing”. We can speculate that h�s �nterpretat�on �s that the seven l�beral arts refers to all knowledge. In Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy Robert Hew�tt Brown �nterprets just about everyth�ng �n the r�tual �n an astronom�cal way:

The wages of the fa�thful craftsmen, we are told, are ‘corn, oil and wine.’ The seven signs of the zodiac, from the vernal equinox to the irst po�nt of Scorp�o, ‘w�nd�ng’ �n a gl�tter�ng curve about the heavens, may �n a l�ke manner be sa�d

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to be emblematic of seven winding steps . . . thus correspond�ng w�th the more anc�ent vers�ons of the fellow-‐craft legend . . .

Wh�le th�s �s an �nterest�ng po�nt of v�ew, �t seems to completely ignore both the speci ic subjects of the seven steps, and the h�story of the curriculum. There are Mason�c authors who �nterpret the seven l�beral arts �n ways that are not based upon h�stor�cal knowledge but �n terms of psy-‐chology, philosophy or spirituality. W. Kirk Mac-‐Nulty �s a case �n po�nt:

In the most general terms the w�nd�ng sta�rcase de ines seven ‘levels of consciousness’, from consc�ousness of the phys�cal body at the bot-‐tom to consc�ousness of the Sp�r�t and D�v�n�ty at the top. By summarizing a large body of ritu-‐al and lecture, we can say that the Sta�rs ass�gn a step or level of consc�ousness to each of the seven Of icers of the Lodge . . . .

H�s correspondences are the follow�ng: Ty-‐ler w�th Grammar, Inner Guard w�th Log�c, Ju-‐n�or Deacon w�th Rhetor�c, Sen�or Deacon w�th Ar�thmet�c, Jun�or Warden w�th Geometry, Se-‐n�or Warden w�th Mus�c, and the Worsh�pful Master with Astronomy. This type of explana-‐t�on deals more w�th how one m�ght currently �nterpret the seven l�beral arts but does not ad-‐dress the or�g�nal �ntent of the founders of the Craft. Another author �n th�s survey �s George H. Steinmetz. In his book Freemasonry: Its Hid-

den Meaning he also tackles the seven steps. He makes the cryptic statement: “ . . . the seven steps have a deep occult mean�ng wh�ch we will merely mention here. They are the vibra-‐tions producing color and sound.” He does not elaborate on th�s, but a few pages later he

states: “There are actually seven �nterpreta-‐t�ons of Mason�c symbol�sm, or more correctly, seven means of interpretation.” He goes on to expla�n how each d�sc�pl�ne can �nd�v�dually be appl�ed to the r�tes of Freemasonry to gar-‐ner ever deeper interpretations. There may be some truth here, although it is a clumsy it with some of the disciplines. Certainly there is much �n Mason�c trad�t�on of an astronom�cal nature, and much �s related to geometr�cal and number symbolism. One can make some case for the others, but it begins to get weaker and weaker. In the Scott�sh R�te’s th�rt�eth degree, t�tled Kn�ght Kadosh or Kn�ght of the Holy Sp�r�t, we again encounter the seven liberal arts. Here they are depicted on a double seven-‐runged ladder. Albert Pike’s explanation in the Liturgy �s really based around the lessons of the Kn�ght Kadosh degree, but we get h�nts of a deeper and more mystical signi icance when we consider the correspond�ng words on the other s�de of the ladder whose seven rungs are labeled �n Hebrew. It may a loose allusion to the sefirot (or “spheres”) of kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition, which themselves form a “ladder” of sorts known as the etz khaym or Tree of Life. P�ke states �n the Legenda: “[ . . . I]n this De-‐gree, the words on the seven steps of the Lad-‐der mean someth�ng more and h�gher than the mere elementary Sc�ences of wh�ch they are the names.” P�ke’s commentary then expla�ns these seven arts as steps to ever-‐larger vistas of God and Creation; and, with the correspond-‐�ng rungs on the oppos�te s�de, develops a much more exalted role of these arts and sciences. The last Mason�c wr�ter I w�sh to �ntroduce is Walter Leslie Wilmshurst ( – ). He is the author of several books �nclud�ng The Mean-

ing of Masonry, The Masonic Initiation and The

Ceremony of Passing. Wilmshurst’s perspective was unabashedly myst�cal:


The perambulations are made on the level loor of the Lodge, wh�ch the cand�date keeps on “squaring,” visiting each of its four sides in turn. But at the end of the th�rd c�rcu�t the moment comes when h�s forward mot�on on the level ceases, and he �s d�rected to mount sp�rally, by a series of winding steps. Linear motion gives way to circular; he advances now not merely forward, but up. . . . By this change of motion, th�s sp�ral ascent, �s �mpl�ed that the t�me has come when the Cand�date must leave the level of the sense-‐world and rise to the supra-‐sen-‐sual; must divert his thoughts and desires from sensuous objects and concentrate them on the �nsens�ble and much more real th�ngs of the world of mind.

Clearly, W�lmshurst �s of the op�n�on that the w�nd�ng sta�rcase, wh�ch �ncludes the seven steps, �s cons�derably more than an exhortat�on on the merits of an extensive education. The w�nd�ng sta�rs become the veh�cle of h�s ascen-‐sion into the spiritual realm.

From the moment of ascend�ng the w�nd�ng sta�rcase, then, the Cand�date �s mentally leav-‐�ng the outer world more and more beh�nd h�m and rising into an inner invisible world. He is mak�ng what has often been called Itinerarium

mentis in Deo, the ascent of the m�nd to the Source of Light . . .

Th�s short survey of Mason�c wr�ters’ v�ews shows the great d�vers�ty of op�n�on that ex�sts on the topic of the winding staircase. Wh�le some see the symbol �n �ts most mun-‐dane �nterpretat�on, others cons�der �t a veh�cle to mystical heights. Exploring the seven liberal arts �n a w�der h�stor�cal context w�ll help us to develop our own view.

The Seven Liberal Arts

Through the Centuries

The h�story of the seven l�beral arts �s the h�s-‐tory of the development of educat�on up unt�l the end of the Middle Ages. Its origins are in classical Athens. The different disciplines were developing at different times and it was not un-‐til later that they crystallized into a set of seven. The term “liberal” has lead to some confusion because we use the term somewhat differently now. Today, we tend to connect it to a broad and eclect�c educat�on �n contrast to a h�ghly specialized technical or professional education. But “liberal,” in the context of the seven liberal arts, means “suitable for free men.” And the term “arts” has to be thought of in the sense of “skills.” The term liberal arts �s used as early as Plato ( – ). Both Plato and his pupil Aristo-‐tle had a model curriculum, in which different subjects were stressed at different times. In the Republic, the quadrivium are treated as sub-‐jects to prepare for the h�ghest type of knowl-‐edge. By the third century , the curr�culum often cons�sted of gymnast�cs, grammar, mus�c, drawing, arithmetic and geometry. Other sub-‐jects often taught were med�c�ne and arch�tec-‐ture. Later, the Romans adopted the Greek �deas of education. By the fourth century the pa-‐gan schools had ixed their curriculum to seven arts, an arrangement soon adopted by Chr�st�an thinkers. The irst Christian to use the term “sev-‐en liberal arts” was Cassiodorus ( – ). This curriculum remained ixed throughout the Middle Ages. Its full lowering was exempli-‐ied by the Cathedral School at Chartres in the twelfth century. These seven subjects — grammar, rhetor�c, log�c, ar�thmet�c, geometry, mus�c, and astron-‐

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omy — were considered a unity. They were di-‐v�ded �nto two parts: the tr�v�um of grammar, rhetoric and logic; and the quadrivium of arith-‐metic, geometry, music and astronomy. All sev-‐en made an �ntegrated whole wh�ch also made all seven necessary. And it must be remem-‐bered who put these subjects together. William Stahl expla�ns that “the people who were most �nterested �n the full span of subjects were ph�-‐losophers; and the seven liberal arts were in essence, and always rema�ned, a ph�losophers’ curriculum.” The study of grammar encompassed not only parts of speech and rules but also l�tera-‐ture, read�ng, expos�t�on, etymolog�es and what we now call linguistics. All instruction was in Latin; therefore, mastery of the Latin language was preliminary to everything else. Rhetoric �s the tra�n�ng of the orator or develop�ng the practice of speaking to the level of an art. But �n the Lat�n West �t took the forms of learn�ng how to produce proper letters and documents. How to make appropr�ate addresses and pe-‐titions and so on. Logic was not so much as a preparat�on for ph�losophy but the study of for-‐mal logical methods. Arithmetic was bas�cally the art of computat�on, but there was strong �nterest �n �ts myst�cal and symbol�c �mpl�ca-‐tions due to in luence from the Pythagorean traditions. Geometry was not anyth�ng l�ke we now conceive until the tenth century. It was not unt�l the twelfth and th�rteenth centur�es that complete translat�ons of Eucl�d from the Arab�c were available. Music was completely theoret�-‐cal: a mathemat�cal and speculat�ve sc�ence (a perspect�ve trad�t�onally traced to the Pythago-‐reans). Astronomy was very popular, as there was a great �nterest �n all th�ngs perta�n�ng to the heavens, including astrology. It �s well to keep �n m�nd the �ntent�on of the schoolmasters in using this curriculum. This

�s best �llustrated by the act�v�t�es go�ng on at the magni icent Gothic cathedral at Chartres in France in the twelfth century.

The Cathedral and

School of Chartres

There �s some ev�dence that, as early as the s�xth century, Chartres was a center of learning. But �t was not unt�l the twelfth century that �t be-‐came the center of Lat�n Platon�sm and a school where students locked to learn the highest phi-‐losophy of the land. The geographic area itself is interesting. There �s a legend that �t was once used by the Celtic druids as a sacred site. The cathedral also s�ts on a gran�te promontory that cuts through the limestone plain. This fact corresponds to the structure of Stonehenge where the concen-‐tr�c c�rcles were hewn out of gran�te and set on the limestone of Salisbury Plain. The cathedral and school are �mportant to us here because the seven l�beral arts reached not only a h�gh degree of perfect�on as taught but �t seems that the arch�tecture also gave w�t-‐ness to this same spirit. The seven liberal arts ‘’as a means to the knowledge of God inds vis-‐ible expression in the cathedral at Chartres.” Adolf Katzenellenbogen states �n h�s work that:

If one stud�es the representat�ons of the seven l�beral arts �n the twelfth century one real�zes that they are only a l�nk �n the whole cha�n of representat�ons of th�s subject, and that a long trad�t�on of �deas and forms l�es beh�nd the�r images. [ . . . ] It is generally agreed that the irst façade on wh�ch the seven arts were repre-‐sented was that of the Royal Portal of Chartres Cathedral. [ . . . T]hese systems of decoration in-‐dicate in different ways the relation of secular learning to theological truths.”


Th�erry was chancellor of the School when the igures were carved. He was also in charge of superv�s�ng var�ous parts of bu�ld�ng the ca-‐thedral. One may readily perceive a tangible correlation between the inal form of the archi-‐tectural des�gn and the ph�losoph�cal concep-‐tions of the designer. In Thierry’s own hand-‐book on the seven liberal arts, he de ined the speci ic role of the Quadrivium as illuminating the m�nd and that of the Tr�v�um as mak�ng �ts expression. Raymond Klibansky explains how Thierry’s in luence spread throughout Europe:

Under h�m Chartres became the center of the l�beral arts to wh�ch students came from all

over Europe. In search of new sources of knowl-‐edge, h�s pup�ls crossed the Pyrenees and the Alps. They brought back mathematical and as-‐tronom�cal works �n translat�ons made from the Arab�c, and new texts of Ar�stotle �n vers�ons made from the Greek. From Chartres this new learning was handed on to the Latin world.

It �s true that the School la�d emphas�s on the Quadrivium, but Klibansky informs us that the purpose beh�nd th�s was

to atta�n, through knowledge of the structure of the created world, knowledge of the Creator. As the world . . . is ordered according to number,

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TWOThe Art of Memory

and a Spiritual Vision of the Liberal Arts

measure, and weight, the sciences of the qua-‐dr�v�um — ar�thmet�c and geometry, mus�c and astronomy — are the �nstruments wh�ch the human m�nd has at �ts d�sposal for recogn�z�ng the art of the Creator.

It was a grand school w�th grand des�gns, fully engaged �n all of the class�c l�beral arts and sc�ences as part of a sp�r�tual �mperat�ve to create a holy structure that would truly re lect

the d�v�ne world, beaut�fully l�nk�ng heaven and earth. As David Luscombe states:

[ . . . T]he Chartrains attempted to establish the ex�stence of God by numer�cal speculat�ons, to synthes�ze Platon�c cosmology and b�bl�cal rev-‐elat�on, and to compare the Platon�c world soul with the Holy Spirit . . . [and] God was consid-‐ered to be the form of all being.

The Winding Staircase

as a Symbol of Ascension

A full understand�ng of the seven l�beral arts �n a Mason�c context must take �nto account �ts use as symbolism. The seven are actually contained within another symbol: the winding staircase. It �s �nterest�ng and �nformat�ve to look at how the symbol has been �nterpreted �n psycholog�-‐cal ways and also how �t has been portrayed �n religious art, story and legends. The w�nd�ng sta�rcase �s an �mage that re-‐fers to upward movement — of mov�ng from one level to a higher level. Related images in-‐clude ladders, mounta�ns, towers, and the act of light. We can also include the image of climb-‐

�ng a rope or a cosm�c p�llar — or �n th�s modern time, taking an elevator. Jungian psychologist Edward F. Edinger classi ies this type of image under the term Sublimatio. It is an alchemical term, and �t may be that he reta�ns the Lat�n spell�ng �n order to d�st�ngu�sh the �dea from

the Freudian term “sublimation,” which is not the same psychological mechanism. Freud uses “sublimation” to refer to the way we channel our an�mal �nst�ncts �nto soc�ally acceptable be-‐havior. In alchem�cal trad�t�on, sublimatio �s the ba-‐s�c chem�cal operat�on of turn�ng mater�al �nto a�r by volat�l�z�ng �t, �t then turns �nto a�r and reformulates in a higher place. In a lab it works like this: take a certain solid; apply heat; it turns into gas; it ascends, then cools; then it resolidi-‐ies. Distillation is related, but is applied to liq-‐

u�ds, such as when we heat water to bo�l, cap-‐ture the steam, and �t recondenses to water as �t cools — leav�ng the heavy contam�nants beh�nd in the original vessel. According to Edinger:

. . . the crucial feature of sublimatio �s an elevat-‐�ng process whereby a low substance �s trans-‐lated �nto a h�gher form by an ascend�ng move-‐ment. [ . . . ] Sublimatio �s an ascent that ra�ses us above the con ining entanglements of immedi-‐


ate earthly ex�stence and �ts concrete, personal particulars.

From the Jung�an po�nt of v�ew, th�s pro-‐cess can take different forms. It can manifest as see�ng a problem from a broader perspect�ve: maybe someth�ng has troubled an �nd�v�dual to where h�s funct�on�ng �n some area of h�s l�fe �s restr�cted, and then by some event or change h�s v�ew of the s�tuat�on completely alters and he sees �t from a h�gher perspect�ve wh�ch less-‐ens its original hold upon him. Or even to the extreme event of some myst�cal exper�ence wh�ch usually overturns ones l�fe and washes away many of the petty th�ngs we once felt were so important; and consequently frees us — or volat�zes our consc�ousness — where we can view things “from on high.” Ed�nger po�nts out that many of the alchem�-‐cal processes overlap. Overlapping with subli-‐mat�on �s the process of separat�on or separatio. They are both extraction processes. The “spirit” is extracted from “matter.” Therefore, the ulti-‐mate subl�mat�on �s death wh�ch would rem�nd us of the degree following the Fellow Craft. The alchem�sts somet�mes referred to the sp�r�t of man as quicksilver. Ed�nger states that: “Th�s ‘expuls�on of the quicksilver’ is done by sublimatio, wh�ch releas-‐es the spirit hidden in matter [my emphasis]. In the largest sense, th�s refers psycholog�cally to the redempt�on of the Self from �ts or�g�nal un-‐conscious state.” Th�s statement �s also �nterest�ng �n a kab-‐balistic sense in Freemasonry. The words or ganuz (אור גנוז) meaning “hidden light” have the same numerological value as Hiram Abiff: that is, . The s�tuat�on as the alchem�sts saw �t was that matter and sp�r�t was �nterm�xed �n a ba-‐sic state of contamination. Thus, the need for

the alchemical procedures of extraction. The procedures produced a puri ied state by sepa-‐ration. The seven liberal arts were thought of as achieving the same ends. It was considered a way of pur�fy�ng the soul so that �t could ascend to the spiritual realms. Another aspect of sub-‐l�mat�on that Ed�nger ment�ons �s the theme of translation to eternity. As examples, he relates the stor�es of anc�ent heroes be�ng taken to the realms of the gods such as Heracles, El�jah, Christ and the Virgin Mary. We ind this theme �n anc�ent Egypt as well:

. . . the model of a ladder was often placed on or near the dead body �n the tomb, and a spec�al composition was prepared which had the effect of mak�ng the ladder become the means of the ascent of the deceased into heaven. Thus in the text wr�tten for Pep� the deceased �s made to address the ladder �n these words: “Homage to thee, O d�v�ne Ladder! Homage to thee, O Lad-‐der of Set! Stand thou upr�ght, O d�v�ne Ladder! Stand thou upr�ght, O Ladder of Set! Stand thou upr�ght, O Ladder of Horus, whereby Os�r�s came forth into heaven.”

The resurrected Os�r�s �s somet�mes p�ctured �n Egypt�an art as a ladder w�th arms hold�ng the Crook and Scourge. We ind ladder and stair symbolism in many myths wh�ch are clear symbols of ascend�ng and descending. The phenomenon is prevalent throughout the world. The historian of world rel�g�ons M�rcea El�ade comments �n h�s book on shaman�sm that:

The pre-‐eminently shamanic technique is the passage from one cosm�c reg�on to anoth-‐er — from earth to the sky or from earth to the underworld. The shaman knows the mystery of the break-‐through in plane. This communica-‐

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A section from the Regius Poem, as preserved in the Halliwell Manuscript, circa 1400 CE. See the translation on page 45.

t�on among the cosm�c zones �s made poss�ble by the very structure of the universe [ . . . . which] �s conce�ved as hav�ng three levels — sky, earth, underworld — connected by the central axis.

El�ade ment�ons a few anc�ent myster�es and rel�g�ous trad�t�ons seem to parallel our Mason-‐�c trad�t�on:

A ladder w�th seven rungs �s documented �n the Mithraic mysteries . . . . An ascent to heaven by ceremon�ally cl�mb�ng a ladder probably formed part of the Orphic initiation . . . . the symbolism of ascens�on by means of sta�rs was known �n Greece. [ . . . ] Jacob dreams of a ladder whose top reaches heaven . . . . Mohammed sees a lad-‐der r�s�ng from the temple �n Jerusalem to heav-‐en . . . . in Islamic mysticism to ascend to God, the soul must mount seven successive steps . . . . In the heaven of Saturn Dante sees a golden ladder r�s�ng d�zzy�ngly to the last celest�al sphere and trodden by the souls of the blessed.

These are only a few examples that could be given. A study of world mythology reveals this

same mot�f all over the planet from the most “primitive” tribes to the most sophisticated cos-‐mologies. We can now see the powerful use that Free-‐masonry developed �n the Fellow Craft degree as regards the seven l�beral arts and the w�nd-‐ing staircase. There is symbolism nested within symbolism. Not only do we have a symbol of ascend�ng �n that of the w�nd�ng sta�rcase, but also that of steps divided into three, ive, and seven — all myst�cal numbers w�th the�r own signi icance. Corresponding with these seven steps are the seven l�beral arts, and the myth�c context of th�s ascent as a launch�ng po�nt of the mind to scale the realms of the Spirit. It �s my content�on that the seven l�beral arts were �ncluded �n the Mason�c r�tual for a far greater purpose than secular educat�onal

An early printing of Martianus Capella’s treatise On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury, which was the first appearance of the seven liberal arts as they are known in Freemasonry.


reasons. After all, their original purpose in clas-‐sical antiquity was philosophical: their high purpose �n the Lat�n West was as a prel�m�nary study for theology. As such, they are featured prom�nently on the façade of the West portal of the Chartres Cathedral, a structure where the seven arts m�ght be sa�d to have reached the�r highest expression. In the same spirit, they are �ncorporated �nto the poetry of Dante Al�gh�er� ( – ) and into the practices we call the “art of memory,” including the use of the image of King Solomon’s temple. The formulat�on of the seven l�beral arts be-‐gan in classical antiquity. The quadrivium was taught as early as Plato. In the Republic, they are treated as subjects to prepare for the h�gh-‐est type of knowledge. It was not unt�l later that the subjects crystall�zed �nto the seven we call familiar. The curriculum of the seven liberal arts evolved from earl�er Greek and then Ro-‐man systems of education. Scholars hold that the fourth century was when the seven arts

became the standard curr�culum of the pagan schools. It wasn’t until later that it was modi ied to exhibit Christian ideals. This was a century of transition. The nomi-‐nally Chr�st�an Constant�ne the F�rst became sole emperor in . Sometime before , Mart�anus Capella, a pagan wr�ter, wrote h�s book De Nuptiis Philologiæ et Mercurii (On the Marr�age of Ph�lology and Mercury), wh�ch pre-‐served the bas�c structure of the anc�ent edu-‐cational system based on the seven liberal arts. Later �n that century, the �mper�al decree of The-‐odosius in prohibited all pagan teachings. As a result, the sanctuar�es were destroyed and the initiatic lines began to disappear. Rome was sacked by Alaric in . About nineteen years later the Vandals conquered North Africa. By

, all the remaining pagan temples were be-‐ing destroyed and non-‐Christians were banned from holding public of ice. Wh�le Chr�st�an leaders were or�g�nally sus-‐p�c�ous of the pagan ph�losoph�es, eventually

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they began to incorporate elements of them. Th�s curr�culum was adopted and bas�cally re-‐mained ixed throughout the Middle Ages—its ult�mate express�on tak�ng form at the Cathedral School at Chartres in twelfth century France.

The Old Tales

Mart�anus Capella’s treat�se The Marriage of

Philology and Mercury �s the earl�est dep�ct�on of the seven liberal arts as a uni ied course of study. Besides offering a description of the sev-‐en arts, �t also tells an allegor�cal legend:

Mercury, after some unsuccessful attempts to secure a su�table w�fe, consults Apollo, who ad-‐v�ses h�m to marry Ph�lology, an aston�sh�ngly erudite young lady. The suggestion meets with the approval of both part�es, and Ph�lology, af-‐ter cons�derable preparat�on and �nstruct�on, �s wafted to the upper heavens, where her mar-‐riage is to take place before a “Senate” consist-‐ing of gods, demigods, and philosophers. The connect�on between the sett�ng and the seven l�beral arts becomes clear when an elderly but attract�ve lady named Grammar, one of the seven learned s�sters, �s �ntroduced to present her discipline irst to the assembled wedding guests. The seven sisters, personi ications of the seven d�sc�pl�nes, have commonly been re-‐ferred to as bridesmaids. They are bridesmaids only �n the broadest sense of the word, howev-‐er. Martianus calls them feminæ dotales and, �f we cons�der h�s fondness for legal vocabulary, the term should be translated as “lad�es const�-‐tuting a dowry.” That is what they actually are: handmaids presented by Mercury to his bride. The marr�age of Mercury and Ph�lology has been taken, both early and late, to symbol�ze the union of eloquence and learning, the arts of the trivium and the quadrivium.

About a thousand years later, Dante refers to the seven l�beral arts �n both h�s Divine Comedy (started in ) and in the Convivio (wr�tten �n

). In the Comedy, we encounter the seven arts in the irst section, the Inferno:

We came to the foot of a noble castle,enc�rcled seven t�mes by tower�ng walls,defended round about by a fair stream.Over this stream we moved as on dry land.Through seven gates I entered w�th these sagesuntil we came to a fresh, green meadow.

One scholar �nterprets th�s as follows:

The ire that enveloped the castle of pagan learning was unique because within, though there had been separat�on from God, there had been no opposition. Entering the castle of sev-‐en walls by the gates of the seven l�beral arts, Dante found h�mself among the representat�ves of the greatest thought of the past.

In the Convivio or “Banquet,” a later work, Dante assoc�ates the seven planetary heavens w�th the seven l�beral arts:

To the irst seven [planetary spheres] corre-‐spond the seven sc�ences of the Tr�v�um and the Quadrivium, namely Grammar, Dialectics, Rhetor�c, Ar�thmet�c, Mus�c, Geometry, and As-‐trology. To the eighth sphere, namely the Starry Heaven, corresponds natural sc�ence, wh�ch �s called Physics, and the irst science, which is called Metaphysics; to the ninth sphere corre-‐sponds Moral Science; and to the still heaven corresponds D�v�ne Sc�ence, wh�ch �s called Theology.

There are a few old Mason�c legends beg�n-‐ning about regarding the seven arts that, in


When they passed the columns, where did they arrive?Having passed through the porch, at the entrance of which the two sacred columns were reared, the skilled craftsmen came to a winding staircase, that led to the middle chamber, where Solomon had ordered all the gifts of merit to be conferred. On every step of that staircase was stamped the name of a different art, and over each art was appointed a superintendent, to try the merit of the claimants in that art.

Who guarded the staircase?At the bottom of the staircase was posted an ingenious craftsman to whom all who approached must submit their claims.

What was the duty of this craftsman?The duty of this guard was not only to receive, examine, and arrange the claims, but to refer the candidates, who delivered them, to the superintendent, who was appointed to enquire into the abilities of each claimant. By this arrangement all attempts at imposition were prevented, and the merits of the industrious were duly honoured and rewarded.

Of how many steps is it said, did this staircase consist?This staircase is said to have consisted of seven steps.

To what do those steps refer? In reference to the seven liberal arts, one or other of which was considered as an essential qualification for preferment: every candidate was tried, and approved, in the art, in which he excelled, by the superintendent of that art; who was pledged to display his powers, and illustrate his excellence on the step, which was allotted to his profession.

How were these arts used? These seven arts, which were marked as objects of merit, were thus named and arranged: Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, Astronomy, and in these arts the professors were appointed under Royal commission, to exemplify at stated periods their skill and talents. Grammar, the First step. On the first step, there the Grammarian usually displayed, the excellence of his art. He taught the proper

William Preston’s 1775 Lecture on the Liberal Arts

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arrangement of words, according to idiom or dialect; and how to speak or write a language, with justice and accuracy, according to reason and correct usage. On the Second step, the Rhetorician displayed the powers of his art. He taught the mode of speaking copiously, and fluently, on any subject; not merely with propriety alone, but with all the advantages of force, and elegance; wisely contriving to captivate the hearer by the strength of argument, and beauty of expression. On the Third step, the Logician exerted his talents, he taught the art of guiding reason discretionarily, in the general knowledge of things; and how we were to direct our enquiries at the truth: instructing his disciples to infer, deduce, and conclude, on a regular train of argument, according to certain premises laid down, or granted; and to employ their faculties of conceiving, reasoning, judging, and disposing in true gradation, till the point in question should be finally determined. On the Fourth step, the Arithmetician distinguished his skill: he taught the powers and properties of numbers, by letters, tables, figures, and instruments, giving reasons and demonstrations, to find any certain number whose relation to another number was already known. To every mechanical branch or profession he recommended the virtues of his art. On the Fifth step, the Geometrician displayed the superiority of his science: he treated on the powers, and properties of magnitude in general, where length, breadth, and thickness were considered. He taught the architect to construct his plans; the general to arrange his troops, the engineer to mark out ground for encampments the geographer to give us the dimensions of the world, delineate the extent of seas, and specify the divisions of Empires, kingdoms and provinces; and the astronomer to make his

observations, and fix the duration of times, and seasons. In short he proved Geometry to be the foundation of architecture, and the root of mathematics. On the Sixth step, the Musician displayed his eminence, he taught the art of forming concords, and to compose delightful harmony by a proportion and arrangement of acute, grave, and mixed sounds. By a series of experiments he evinced the power of his art, with respect to tunes, and the intervals of sound only; and in his enquiry into the nature of the concords and discords he fixed the proportion between them by numbers. On the Seventh step, the Astronomer vies to excel, he taught the art of reading the wonderful works of the Creator in the sacred pages, the celestial hemispheres; by observing the motion, measuring the distances, comprehending the magnitudes and calculating the periods, and eclipses of the heavenly bodies. The use of the globes, the system of the world, and the primary law of nature, were the subjects of his theme, and in the unparalleled instances of wisdom and goodness that were displayed through the whole of the creation, he traced the omnipotent Author by his works.

What were the effects that were derived from this establishment? The effects of this establishment were at that time sensibly felt, under the sanction of the wisest Prince that ever reigned; the most eminent artificers were collected, instructed, and improved; talents and ingenuity were encouraged and protected; knowledge was spread and disseminated, and works of eminence were produced, which stand unrivalled, in the annals of history and fame.


my op�n�on, prov�de h�nts as to the�r more sp�r-‐itual purpose. Older but similar legends occur �n the surv�v�ng l�terature of the anc�ent Near East — even back to Babylonia. The apocry-‐phal Life of Adam and Eve, wh�ch surv�ves �n a Chr�st�an Lat�n vers�on ult�mately der�ved from a Hebrew original circa – , related that just before Eve’s death, she called Seth and all of her other ch�ldren and gave them a pecu-‐l�ar order:

[ . . . L]isten to me, my children! Make now tab-‐lets of stone and other tablets of clay and wr�te �n them all my l�fe and your father’s wh�ch you have heard and seen from us. If [God] should judge our race by water, the tablets of earth w�ll dissolve and the tablets of stone will remain; but if he should judge our race by ire, the tab-‐lets of stone w�ll break up and those of clay w�ll be thoroughly baked.

The book then relates that wh�le many saw the tablets after the lood, only Solomon read them and understood them, as a result of wh�ch he establ�shed h�s Temple upon the s�te at wh�ch they were found. Other anc�ent accounts transform the tablets into pillars; the details of who creates the pillars and what knowledge �s wr�tten upon them var-‐ies. The oldest text that t�es the seven l�beral arts to the p�llars �s the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a med�eval text that comp�led many anc�ent tra-‐ditions. After noting that Zoroaster discovered “the art of Nagirā (נגירא)” or necromancy, the account relates that he

had wr�tten down the seven sc�ences (or arts) on fourteen p�llars, seven of brass and seven of br�ck, so that they should be proof aga�nst the water — of the lood — and against the ire of the day of judgment.

The early Mason�c manuscr�pts known as the Old Charges generally reta�n the concept of the l�beral arts �nscr�bed upon the two anted�-‐luv�an p�llars, and somet�mes cla�m that “both p�llars were found, one by Pythagoras and one by Hermes, who each taught the secrets they found written thereon.” Another early vers�on of the story of the transm�ss�on of the arts and sc�ences comes from the Regius Poem (dated about ). Fol-‐lowing the segment about the Quatuor Coronati (“Four Crowned Artisans”) and the Tower of Babel — wh�ch was sa�d to be bu�lt seven m�les h�gh — �s the reference to the seven arts:

Many years after the good scholar EuclydeTaught the craft of Geometry wonderfully wide.So he d�d at that t�me �ntroduce Many other d�vers crafts Through the grace of Christ in Heaven. He established the Seven Sciences.

In the Dowland . (c. ) we ind basi-‐cally the same story: It tells of how the worthy sciences were preserved through the Deluge. Simply, Lamech’s children (one was Tubal-‐cain) knew God was go�ng to destroy the world but did not know in what fashion — ire or wa-‐ter — so they ch�seled the�r knowledge on two pillars of stone. Another tale �s told �n a seventeenth century copy of an earl�er work called a Commentary by

Toz Graecus, philosopher of great renown, on the

books given by Solomon to Rehoboam concern-

ing the Secret of Secrets. We are told that:

The preface reveals that Solomon gathered h�s vast learn�ng �nto a book �ntended for h�s son Rehoboam, wh�ch he locked up �n an �vory cof-‐fer concealed in his tomb. Later Toz (Thoth) d�scovered �t, and as he was weep�ng for h�s

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Stained glass representation of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Upper Rhine, circa 1450.

�ncapac�ty to understand �ts contents, an angel of the Lord came to reveal �ts mean�ng to h�m, but enjo�ned h�m not to d�sclose �t to any but those who were worthy of it. We also learn, thanks to the Liber de secretissimo philosopho-

rum opere chemico ( ifteenth century) that Hermes traveled to the Valley of Hebron, where Adam was bur�ed, and there found seven tab-‐lets of stone wr�tten before the Deluge, con-‐taining the doctrine of the seven liberal arts.

In an art�cle about the Royal Ark Mar�ner de-‐gree, the author R. M. Hand ield-‐Jones, in speak-‐�ng about the assoc�at�on of Noah w�th Freema-‐sonry makes the follow�ng observat�on:

In the irst known Const�tut�on, the Reg�us Poem, there occurred on line a passing reference to Noah and the Flood. From then onwards from the Cooke every Mason�c Const�tut�on conta�ns allus�ons to Noah, not however to the Flood and the Ark but to h�s inding the two great pillars inscribed with the seven liberal arts and sciences. The date of the Regius poem is about but like the Cooke �t bears ev�dence of be�ng der�ved from an ear-‐lier document written in . Here therefore as early as the middle of the th century we have the Noah story appear�ng �n assoc�at�on w�th Masonry, but the lood and the Ark take a sec-‐ondary place to the two p�llars found by Noah after the Flood.

In fact, representat�ons of the seven l�beral arts were emerg�ng �n many places dur�ng the Middle Ages. Some believe that the twelfth century stone carv�ngs on Chartres Cathedral were the irst personi ications of the seven in the v�sual arts (they had, of course, been per-‐soni ied in literature since Martianus Capella’s De Nuptiis Philologiæ et Mercurii �n the fourth


century). We ind many examples in painting, such as a fourteenth-‐century fresco of Thomas Aquinas. It pictures Aquinas in the midst of a very crowded scene with igures representing sa�nts, the v�rtues, the patr�archs, and at last the seven liberal arts. This fresco can be found on the walls of a Dom�n�can convent �n Florence, and there ex�st many s�m�lar art�st�c represen-‐tations in manuscripts of the era. In the irst Book of Constitutions, published at the beg�nn�ng of the era of organ�zed Free-‐masonry in , James Anderson wrote:

Adam, our irst parent, created after the Image of God, the great Arch�tect of the Un�verse, must have had the L�beral Sc�ences, part�cularly Ge-‐ometry, written on his Heart; for ever since the Fall, we ind the Principles of it in the Heart of his Offspring . . . .

William Preston’s lecture on the liberal arts and sciences [see pages – ] went into eloquent detail regarding each of the seven dis-‐ciplines. These were d�rectly adapted �nto the work taught by Thomas Sm�th Webb �n North America in , and retained by later editors such as Jeremy Ladd Cross in and Charles Whitlock Moore in . In England, the Eng-‐l�sh Emulat�on r�tual that developed after the

union of the Antients and Moderns taught:

Q: Why do seven or more make it [the Lodge] perfect?

A: Because K�ng Solomon was seven years and upwards �n bu�ld�ng, complet�ng, and ded�-‐cat�ng the Temple at Jerusalem to God’s service.

Q: They have a further allusion?A: To the seven liberal arts and sciences . . .

The seven are then named �nd�v�dually and

followed by a short de inition of each, derived from Preston’s earlier lectures.

Strange and Mixed Companies

This section introduces St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the Knights of the Temple, and Dante Alighieri. There are more than a few �nterest�ng �nter-‐connect�ons between the three — some actual, some inferred. By bringing these to light here, I hope to demonstrate the h�gh esteem �n wh�ch the seven arts were once held.

. ( – )

Bernard was born �nto a fam�ly of some nob�l-‐ity in the Burgundy region of France. His father was a knight, as were his brothers. By the time Bernard had reached his twenty-‐ ifth birthday he had become the abbot of a C�sterc�an mon-‐astery. The Cistercians, by the way, were known for their architectural skill.

Goth�c appeared everywhere at the same t�me in the Christian west; always in the Benedictine or Cistercian abbeys, Cistercian above all . . . . Gothic appeared after the irst Crusade and more particularly after the return in of the irst nine Knights Templar.

Another scholar puts it simply that “[t]he in luence of Cistercian upon the irst Gothic ar-‐chitecture is beyond question.” Bernard went on to become one of the most in luential men in twelfth century Europe. By the time he died, he had written at least , pages of religious work. Although there are many colorful aspects of h�s l�fe, there are only a few pert�nent here, namely, h�s spec�al type of myst�c�sm, h�s con-‐nect�on w�th the Chartres Cathedral and h�s

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relation with the Knights Templar. Even after his death his in luence was strong; we ind him aga�n portrayed �n Dante’s Divine Comedy. Bernards’ myst�cal theology was based on love and knowledge. He taught that there were four consecut�ve degrees �n the soul’s progress in experiencing God’s love. The soul becomes more �mmersed �n D�v�ne Love as �t conforms to Divine Will. The disorder of human life is ulti-‐mately due to the separation and con lict of the human will from the Divine Will. Changing and redeem�ng can only come about through love, in Bernard’s view. It is only love that can unite the division of wills. That is why his mysticism has been labeled “affective mysticism” or “bride mysticism.” The mystical union with God comes about through a un�on of w�lls, not personal�-‐t�es or be�ngness, and sp�r�tual�ty becomes al-‐most a courtship between two lovers. One of his masterpieces is his eighty-‐six sermon mystical commentary on the esoter�c symbol�sm of the Song of Songs attributed to King Solomon. The myst�c�sm of Bernard balanced contempla-‐tion and action. It was a process of bringing the will closer and closer to re lect the Divine Will through contemplat�on and br�ng�ng that W�ll into the world through action. Another aspect of Bernard’s theology was his dedication to the Holy Virgin. “He gave im-‐petus to two devotions that lourished in the later M�ddle Ages, becom�ng major forces �n subsequent spirituality: devotion to Mary and to the humanity of Christ.” T�tus Burckhardt speaks of the amb�ance of the t�mes:

[ . . . V]arious currents lowed together and formed a new and reawakened cult of the Holy V�rg�n: the long�ng for the Holy Land, the true home, the need to turn to the maternal mercy of God, and the ch�valr�c cult of the celest�al Lady as the ep�tome of nob�l�ty of soul, �nnocence

and beauty. St. Bernard himself, who knew how to call forth the h�ghest sp�r�tual powers of h�s contemporaries, is said to have been the irst to use the ch�valr�c mode of address Notre Dame (Our Lady) for the Mother of God.

Bernard had many connect�ons w�th both the cathedral and school at Chartres. There were many po�nts of contact between Bernard and the Knights Templar. The Coun-‐cil of Troyes ( ) set the regulations (the so-‐called Rule) by which the Templars would act. It was Bernard’s cous�n, Hugh of Payens, who became the irst Grand Master of this Order that had been established in Jerusalem. And it was Hugh of Payens who requested Bernard to wr�te h�s famous treat�se In Praise of the New

Militia (sometime between – ). Bernard was obv�ously torn �n regards to the �dea of monks (holy types) and kn�ghts (warr�or types) and the problem of un�t�ng them �nto one per-‐son. This was quite a struggle for Bernard but one he gradually resolved. Being that their du-‐t�es l�e �n the Holy Land, Bernard wrote a collec-‐t�on of med�tat�ons for the Templars that were based upon the sacred s�tes of the area (such as the Temple, the c�t�es of Bethlehem and Nazareth, on Calvary and the Holy Sepulcher) and events that occurred there. In this way, the kn�ghts could lead a contemplat�ve l�fe wh�le “out in the ield.” Yet, the main point here is that the C�sterc�ans were the gu�d�ng force of the Templars who later bu�lt castles and churches themselves. Finally, it is well to remember St. Bernard’s p�votal role �n the Divine Comedy. The Comme-

dia �s a story about Dante’s journey through the three reg�ons of hell, purgatory, and para-‐dise. On this journey he describes what he ex-‐per�ences and who he meets at every level, and sometimes sublevels of these three zones. He


has three guides through this process. Initially, he �s led through the underworld realms by the Roman poet Virgil. Then he is guided by his beloved Beatr�ce, an embod�ment of all that �s good and beaut�ful, who she leads h�m to h�gh-‐er and h�gher realms — almost but just short of the highest sphere of Paradise. It is at this point that he meets St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who then guides his vision to the ultimate sphere.

The Kn�ghts of the Temple were started by a few knights probably in about eighteen years after the irst crusade. Their irst Grand Mas-‐ter was Hugh of Payens. By they were of-‐icially established by the Council of Troyes, but consisted of only nine knights. They gradually grew �n power and prest�ge to become a major power in Europe. Malcolm Barber, the leading scholarly h�stor�an of the subject, descr�bes the p�nnacle of the�r success:

Dur�ng the th�rteenth century the Order may have had as many as , knights, sergeants and serv�ng brothers, and pr�ests, wh�le �ts associate members, pensioners, of icials, and subjects numbered many times that igure. By about it had built a network of at least castles, preceptor�es, and subs�d�ary houses, examples of wh�ch could be found �n almost ev-‐ery country in Western Christendom.

Th�s all ended w�th the mass arrests of the kn�ghts �n France �n October on Fr�day the th�r-‐teenth, . The twenty-‐second and last Grand Master Jacques de Molay, after being held and tortured for almost seven years, was executed March , . But not all of the Templars could be arrested. Despite the popular legend of their

complete erad�cat�on, the fact �s that some of those who were arrested were later released for various reasons. Again Barber explains that even after be�ng arrested and later released: “Most of those . . . received pensions and some even cont�nued to l�ve �n former Templar hous-‐es; others were sent to the houses of other or-‐ders l�ke those of the C�sterc�ans and August�n-‐ians, especially in England . . . . ” And then some just went back into society. Professor Antoine Fa�vre of the Sorbonne tells us that “the Kn�ghts Templar supported and cons�derably devel-‐oped the freecrafts and, after the d�sappear-‐ance of the order, entered �nto the corporat�ons of builders.” Th�ngs were eas�er �n Portugal for the Templars. In , the Militia of Christ was formed and some former Templars were mem-‐bers. But at this time the religious military or-‐ders were go�ng out of publ�c favor and secular knighthood became increasingly popular. Some of the more �nterest�ng orders to Freemasons (because they are ment�oned �n our lecture on the apron) �ncluded the Order of the Garter (England, ), the Order of the Star (France,

), and the Order of the Golden Fleece (Bel-‐gium, ). Faivre notes the enduring in luence of th�s last soc�ety upon later ph�losoph�cal de-‐velopments:

The year was marked by an event having a major in luence on the esoteric thought of mod-‐ern times; this was the creation of the Order of the Golden Fleece by Ph�l�ppe the Good, duke of Burgundy . . . . The Order possessed a beautiful symbol�sm �n dress and r�tual, over wh�ch gen-‐erat�ons of alchem�sts would ponder, at least up to the eighteenth century.

The Orders of ch�valry were spr�ng�ng up all over Europe, often w�th the central theme of the �deal�zed woman, who—much l�ke

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Dante’s — appears as the gu�de for man on h�s quest. The concept was also expressed by the troubadours, the lyr�c poets of the eleventh through the th�rteenth centur�es �n France who sung of chivalry and courtly love.

Dante began work on the Commedia in , and started the Convivio in . These works offer a str�k�ng cosmolog�cal map of the three zones of the un�verse as understood �n the Western tra-‐dition. Titus Burckhardt points out that:

The type of ep�c poem descr�b�ng the path of the knower of God �n symbol�cal form, �s not rare in the Islamic world. It may be surmised that certa�n of these works were translated �nto the Provençal language, and we know that the commun�ty of the ‘Fedel� d’Amore’ to wh�ch Dante belonged, was �n commun�cat�on w�th the Order of the Temple, wh�ch was establ�shed �n the East and open to the �ntellectual world of Islam.

The ph�losopher René Guénon, who wrote a book speci ically on the esoteric symbolism in Dante’s work, comments upon some art�facts bear�ng upon th�s last po�nt:

In the V�enna Museum there are two medall�ons, one representing Dante . . . . [O]n the reverse side both bear the letters . . . . . . ., wh�ch Aroux �nterprets as: Frater Sacroe Kadosch, Imperialis

Principatus, Frater Templarius. [ . . . W]e think it should read Fidei Sanctoe Kadosch. The Associa-‐t�on of the Fede Santa, of wh�ch Dante seems to have been a leader, was a tert�ary order of Tem-‐plar iliation, justifying the name Frater Tem-

plarius; its dignitaries bore the title of Kadosch,

a Hebrew word mean�ng ‘holy’ or ‘consecrated’, wh�ch has been preserved to our days �n the high grades of Masonry. It is not without rea-‐son then that Dante takes St. Bernard, who es-‐tabl�shed the rule of the Order of the Temple, as h�s gu�de for the complet�on of h�s own celest�al journey.

In try�ng to understand Dante’s work, Guénon considers the signi icance of the symbolic re-‐g�ons that Dante �llustrates �n the Divine Come-

dy. The hints Guénon says are in the later work, the Convivio or Banquet where Dante associates the seven liberal arts with the celestial realms. Dante says: “To see what �s meant by th�s th�rd heaven . . . I say that by heaven I mean ‘science,’ and by heavens, ‘the sciences.’” Guénon says that: “These reg�ons are �n real�ty so many different states, and the heavens are, literally, ‘sp�r�tual h�erarch�es’, that �s to say, degrees of initiation.” And he l�nks them all:

But what exactly are these ‘sc�ences’ under-‐stood under the symbol�c des�gnat�on of the ‘heavens’, and must we see there�n an allus�on to the ‘seven l�beral arts’ so often ment�oned elsewhere by Dante and h�s contemporar�es? What leads us to th�nk that th�s must be the case �s that accord�ng to Aroux, ‘the Cathars had, as early as the twelfth century, some s�gns of rec-‐ogn�t�on, passwords, and astrolog�cal doctr�ne (they conducted the�r �n�t�at�ons at the vernal equinox). Their scienti ic system was founded on the doctr�ne of correspondences: Grammar corresponded to the Moon, D�alect�c to Mercu-‐ry, Rhetor�c to Venus, Mus�c to Mars, Geometry to Jup�ter, Astronomy to Saturn, and Ar�thmet�c or Illumined Reason to the Sun.’ Accordingly, to the seven planetary spheres — the irst seven of Dante’s n�ne heavens — corresponded the seven liberal arts respectively; and precisely


these same des�gnat�ons are dep�cted on the seven rungs of the left upr�ght of the Ladder of

the Kadosch ( th degree of Scottish Masonry).

We can conclude th�s sect�on by po�nt�ng out the �ncred�ble tapestry �nterwoven �n th�s pe-‐riod. We know of the connections between Ber-‐nard and the C�sterc�ans w�th the Cathedral and School of Chartres (just to name one actually), and the Templars. We know their architectural in luence upon both. We also know the impor-‐tance the seven l�beral arts were to arch�tec-‐ture and theology. And we know that they were taught extensively at the school of Chartres; so much so, �t �s generally accepted that the seven liberal arts reached their zenith at this place. Later we see Dante represent them �n a celes-‐tial and spiritual way. We also see a version of the Celest�al Lady �n Dante that we saw earl�er w�th Bernard and as well �n the stonework of Chartres where personi ications of the seven arts surround the Virgin. It is natural that this leads us to a closer exam�nat�on of the deeper mean�ngs that may be assoc�ated w�th the sev-‐en l�beral arts, and how these arts �nform the spiritual dimension of architecture.

The Vision of the Temple

One way of understand�ng our work as Freema-‐sons �s the �dea that we are bu�ld�ng “that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” We have our symbol�c tools to bu�ld and des�gn, our arts and sc�ences to �nform and gu�de our work, and the prototype to emulate — K�ng Sol-‐omon’s Temple. Throughout h�story there have been many monuments that have sought to embody that very sp�r�t �n order to be a l�v�ng �con for the

world to see. The Cathedral of Chartres is con-‐sidered by many to be one of the inest exam-‐ples. Like many Gothic cathedrals, it was dedi-‐cated to the Holy Mother, herself a common symbol of the human soul. Titus Burckhardt expla�ns:

Accord�ng to the Med�eval theolog�ans the V�r-‐g�n Mary, by v�rtue of the �nnate perfect�on of her soul, possessed all the w�sdom of wh�ch man is capable. A direct reference to this wis-‐dom �s to be found �n the allegor�es of the seven l�beral arts wh�ch, just outs�de an �nner c�rcle of ador�ng angels, decorate the tympanum of the Door of the Virgin. In the Medieval context the seven sc�ences were not exclus�vely emp�r�-‐cal sciences, as are those we know today. They were the express�on of so many facult�es of the soul, facult�es demand�ng harmon�ous develop-‐ment. This is why they were also called arts . . . . The seven planets, on the other hand, govern, accord�ng to the anc�ent v�ewpo�nt, the world of the soul. And Mary is the human soul in all its perfection.

We can naturally come to the question of how do we express and develop these facult�es and where does �t lead us? Burckhardt answers that there �s a “rec�procal relat�onsh�p between knowledge and will,” and that “Knowledge of the eternal truths �s potent�ally present �n the human sp�r�t or �ntellect, but �ts unfold�ng �s directly conditioned by the will . . . ” Th�s very Platon�c sent�ment �s echoed �n the Mason�c teach�ng that “a fund of sc�ence and �ndustry is implanted in man.” So �f we assume that knowledge of the eternal truths �s ava�lable and within the human soul, the question then be-‐comes how do we ga�n access �nto that �nter�or Temple? Burckhardt has already answered by say�ng that the key �s the will. To fully under-‐

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stand the solut�on �t �s necessary to understand the m�ndset of the people who �nhab�ted the medieval world. In their world-‐view, everyday l�fe was l�ved �n the presence of the supernat-‐ural, and under the not�on that could behold at least part of sacred reality with the senses. Therefore, to approach the Cathedral was to be on the threshold of the sp�r�tual d�mens�on, for �t was cons�dered to actually be a representa-‐tion of ultimate reality. The seven arts gu�ded the �ntellect to ap-‐proach the hidden light behind the world. The �nv�s�ble, underly�ng structure of Real�ty — the Truth — could be apprehended, and th�s ap-‐prehension had the senses as its foundation. So the temple of God demanded exact bu�ld�ng codes — and the prototype for the House of God was Solomon’s Temple. The key to building the Temple was geometry. One author on the sub-‐ject of sacred geometry expla�ns that:

In the same way that the Logos �s a med�ator between un�ty and mult�pl�c�ty, the temple �s a med�ator between heaven and earth, the t�me-‐less and the temporal. Therefore, ever since the earl�est t�mes, rel�g�ous arch�tecture has been rooted �n the t�meless pr�nc�ples of “sacred ge-‐ometry.” By basing sacred architecture on the pr�nc�ples of transcendent form and harmony, temple arch�tects expressed the harmony of heaven on earth. Not only do ancient temples express th�s harmony, but, through the use of gematr�a, they were des�gned to attract the spirit to which they were consecrated.

Included �n the concept of sacred geometry are all the liberal arts. If nature is the true tem-‐ple of God’s dwell�ng, then cosm�c and natural laws must be the trestle board. These laws are the laws d�scovered by the pract�ce of the seven arts. These include such things as the intercon-‐

nect�on between numbers, rat�os and propor-‐t�ons �n such areas as ar�thmet�c, geometry, mu-‐sic and astronomy. It was thought that the same laws l�nked and even bound the m�crocosm to the macrocosm. The masters of Chartres (and Dante af-‐ter them) were �nher�tors of the trad�t�on of Augustine, the Platonists and the Pythagoreans. L�ke these ph�losophers of old they cons�dered geometry to have an anagog�c funct�on: “that �s, �ts ab�l�ty to lead the m�nd from the world of appearances to the contemplat�on of the d�-‐vine order.” Or, �n other words, “that number may gu�de the �ntellect from the percept�on of created things to the invisible truth in God.” It m�ght be sa�d that �t was the comb�nat�on of the Platon�c cosmology and the sp�r�tual�ty of Cla�r-‐vaux that produced Gothic art. Another very pertinent concept we ind at Chartres �s that God �s the arch�tect of the un�-‐verse. The teachers of the school of Chartres:

�dent�fy the Platon�c world soul w�th the Holy Ghost in its creative and ordering effect upon matter; and thy conceive this effect as musi-‐cal consonance. The harmony it establishes throughout the cosmos �s represented, how-‐ever, not only as a mus�cal compos�t�on but also as an artistic one, more speci ically, as a work of architecture. [. . . F]or the theologians of Chartres, the not�on of the cosmos as a work of arch�tecture and of God as �t arch�tect has a spe-‐cial signi icance, since they assume a twofold act of creat�on: the creat�on of chaot�c matter and the creation of cosmos out of chaos. Since the Greek word kosmos signi ied ornament as well as order, �t was plaus�ble to v�ew matter as the bu�ld�ng mater�al, the creat�on proper as the ‘adorn�ng’ of matter by the artful �mpo-‐sition of an architectural order. In the Platonic cosmology, moreover, the masters of Chartres


could detect the des�gn and method accord�ng to wh�ch the d�v�ne arch�tect had bu�lt the un�-‐verse, the cosmic temple . . . .

Th�s dom�nant v�ew �s also thought to have caused a sociological phenomenon. Here is an-‐other fact that should be of part�cular �nterest to Freemasons in search of their roots. It is in-‐terest�ng to real�ze that cler�cs were mostly re-‐spons�ble for bu�ld�ng, and the term architectis

was not used very often. But:

the revival of the term in the mid-‐thirteenth century co�nc�ded exactly w�th the soc�olog�cal change that transformed the humble master mason �nto the arch�tect of the th�rteenth cen-‐tury, no longer cons�dered a mere craftsman but the ‘sc�ent�st’ or theoreticus of his art.

It was then cons�dered that only he who had mastered the seven l�beral arts was ent�tled to the title of “architect.”

[ . . . I]t was the School of Chartres that drama-‐tized the image of the architect . . . by depicting God as a master bu�lder, a theoreticus creat�ng without toil or effort by means of an architectur-‐al science that is essentially mathematical. The Platonists of Chartres, moreover, also de ined the laws according to which the cosmic edi ice had been composed. . . . And in submitting to ge-‐ometry the med�eval arch�tect felt that he was imitating the work of his divine master.

We could, as well, character�ze �t as part�c�-‐pating in the divine work. Another aspect of the Goth�c cathedral was its impressive advancement in the use of light. Goth�c arch�tecture prov�ded opportun�t�es for more l�ght:

In the Cathedral of Chartres the arch�tect has real�zed the cosmolog�cal order of lum�nos�ty and proport�on to the exclus�on of all other ar-‐ch�tectural mot�fs and w�th a perfect�on never achieved before. Light trans igures and orders the composition in the stained-‐glass windows. Numbers, the number of perfect proport�on, harmonize all elements of the building. Light and harmony . . . are not merely images of heav-‐en, symbolic or aesthetic attributes. Medieval metaphys�cs conce�ved them as the format�ve and order�ng pr�nc�ples of creat�on, pr�nc�ples, however, that only �n the heavenly spheres are present with unadulterated clarity. Light and harmony have prec�sely th�s order�ng funct�on in the Gothic cathedral.

The Art of Memory

The pract�ce of the art of memory developed to a very high level in the Medieval world. This pract�ce was done by memor�z�ng a ser�es of places such as that found in a building. Within these rooms, one mentally establ�shes other �mages to serve as rem�nders of whatever �s �n-‐tended to be remembered or meditated upon. Mary Carruthers relates �n her work, The Book

of Memory, that records �nd�cate that the art of memory was cultivated at Chartres. Its sp�r�-‐tual employment �s �llustrated by the reference to the word arca, wh�ch means a wooden chest or box used for storage.

But there �s another mean�ng of arca wh�ch �s assoc�ated from earl�est t�mes w�th the process of Scr�ptural lectio and study. As arca sapientiæ, one’s memory �s the �deal product of a med�eval educat�on, la�d out �n organ�zed loci. One de-‐s�gns and bu�lds one’s own memory accord�ng to one’s talent, opportunities, and energy. That makes �t a construct�on, an ædificatio. As some-‐


Frances Yates’ reconstruction of Giordano Bruno’s memory wheel, as described in his book, De Umbris Idearum, published in 1582.

th�ng to be bu�lt, the tra�ned memory �s an arca �n the sense understood by the B�bl�cal object called Noah’s Ark, the construct�on of wh�ch occup�es some deta�l �n Genes�s, and the Ark of the Covenant, �nto wh�ch the books of the Law were placed . . . .

The reason one m�ght w�sh to pract�ce the art of memory, apart from the ab�l�ty to reta�n an extraordinary amount of “book knowledge,” is expla�ned by the Pers�an ph�losopher Av�cenna ( – ). He taught that there is a connec-‐tion between memory and spiritual experience. As Carruthers summar�zes:

The �mages produced dur�ng dreams and tranc-‐es w�ll d�sappear unless they are assoc�ated w�th �mages that are already �n memory stor-‐age, already fam�l�ar and access�ble to recol-‐lection. Thus even direct inspiration requires the �mmed�ate ass�stance of human memory, though �n a way more myster�ous than that of ord�nary dream�ng or consc�ously controlled recollection.

In August�ne’s Confessions we read that he inds God through the memory. August�ne’s

teach�ng �s a d�rect adaptat�on of the Platon�c concept that knowledge of the d�v�ne �s a type of recollection or remembrance. The ancient Greeks called �t anamnēsis. According to this perspect�ve, knowledge about the ult�mate na-‐ture of things is buried deep in our minds, “lost” only to the extent that it is generally forgotten. Th�s knowledge �s rega�ned p�ecemeal through the random lessons and exper�ences of l�fe, or better yet more systemat�cally through the pur-‐suit of philosophical education. Gregory Shaw

descr�bes �t as

a process of reawaken�ng by means of contacts w�th the sens�ble world that funct�oned as mne-‐mon�c prods, rem�nd�ng the soul of the Platon�c Forms. Theurgy should be seen as the develop-‐ment and translat�on of th�s ep�stemolog�cal theory �nto a r�tual prax�s where the prods of sensate exper�ence were carefully controlled �n r�tes des�gned to awaken the soul to the Forms.

In th�s way, �t was bel�eved, externally per-‐formed r�tual (properly des�gned and executed) �s able to help us as we search the �nner reaches of our souls for the “deep memory” or recollec-‐tion of eternal truth. There were many systems of tra�n�ng the memory. The development of these systems gradually became extremely elaborate. One ex-‐ample of th�s complex�ty �s found �n the treat�se on memory by Johannes Romberch ( – ). Frances Yates expla�ns Romberch’s system as using the “cosmos as a place system,” encom-‐pass�ng

the spheres of the elements, of the planets, of the ixed stars, and above them the celestial spheres and those of the n�ne orders of an-‐gels . . . . This type of arti icial memory may be called the Dantesque type . . . because Dante was in luenced by such an interpretation of arti icial memory . . . .

Giulio Camillo ( – ), who was one of the most famous men of the s�xteenth century, constructed an elaborate wooden memory the-‐ater. Yates gives an account of its complexity:

The theater r�ses �n seven grades or steps, wh�ch are d�v�ded by seven gangways represent�ng

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the seven planets. [ . . . T]he solitary spectator stands where the stage would be and looks to-‐wards the aud�tor�um gaz�ng at the �mages on the seven t�mes seven gates on the seven r�s�ng grades. [ . . . T]he whole system of the Theatre rests bas�cally upon seven p�llars, the seven p�l-‐lars of Solomon’s House of Wisdom. . . . By these columns, s�gn�fy�ng most stable etern�ty, we are to understand the seven Sephiroth of the super-‐celest�al world, wh�ch are the seven measures of the fabr�c of the celest�al and �nfer�or worlds, �n wh�ch are conta�ned the Ideas of all th�ngs both in the celestial and in the inferior worlds. . . . As Seph�roth �n the supercelest�al world they are here equated with the Platonic ideas. Camillo is basing his memory system on irst causes, on the Sephiroth, on the Ideas; these are to be the ‘eternal places’ of his memory.

And h�s way of us�ng �t �s �llustrated by the follow�ng descr�pt�on:

Thus, follow�ng the custom �n anc�ent theatres �n wh�ch the most �mportant people sat �n the lowest seats, Cam�llo has placed �n h�s lowest grade the seven essent�al measures on wh�ch, according to magico-‐mystical theory, all things here below depend, the seven planets. Once these have been organ�cally grasped, �mpr�nted on memory w�th the�r �mages and characters, the m�nd can move from th�s m�ddle celest�al world in either direction; up into the super-‐ celest�al world of the Ideas, the Seph�roth and the angels, enter�ng Solomon’s Temple of W�s-‐dom . . . .

The result of th�s pract�ce �s noth�ng short of profound:

In th�s atmosphere, the relat�onsh�p between man, the m�crocosm, and the world, the mac-‐

rocosm, takes on a new signi icance. The mi-‐crocosm can fully understand and fully re-‐member the macrocosm, can hold �t w�th�n h�s d�v�ne mens or memory. . . . That there is a strong Cabalist in luence on the Theatre is ob-‐vious. . . . For Camillo, it is the correspondence of the seven planetary measures of the celest�al world w�th the supercelest�al Seph�roth wh�ch g�ves the Theatre �ts prolongat�on up �nto the supercelest�al world, �nto the abyss of the d�-‐v�ne w�sdom and the myster�es of the Temple of Solomon.

In much of th�s work, the essent�al �dea �s to reproduce the celestial world within. Giordano Bruno’s ( – ) work continues the same theme:

In relat�on to the fundamental zod�acal �mages, the planet �mages, moon stat�on �mages, houses of the horoscope �mages of Bruno’s l�st of mag�c �mages, move on the wheels of memory, form-‐�ng and reform�ng the patterns of the un�verse from a celestial level. And the power to do this depends on the Hermet�c ph�losophy, that man �s �n h�s or�g�n d�v�ne, and organ�cally related to the star-‐governors of the world. In ‘your pr�mord�al nature’ the archetypal �mages ex�st in a confused chaos; the magic memory draws them out of chaos and restores the�r order, g�ves back to man his divine powers.

The development of the art of memory grew to encompass a mental representat�on of the entire cosmos as conceived in medieval times. Its use became as an object of contemplat�on through the use of will and imagination. Much of the structure of the process was �nsp�red by the Hermet�c sc�ences �nclud�ng kabbalah and astrology as well as Pythagorean number mys-‐ticism. As the building of this cosmic temple


proceeded, �t prov�ded the necessary l�nk of the mind with the divine world. Our journey has taught us that �t �s the understand�ng of the Py-‐thagorean and Platon�c v�ew of the un�verse as well as the knowledge of the Hermet�c art that prov�des us w�th the key to un�t�ng the m�cro-‐cosm w�th the macrocosm, heaven and earth, and rediscovering that which was lost.

Conclusion

We now ind that we have come full circle and have ended up back to the two p�llars — the opening subject. From these old tales we re-‐member that one p�llar was found by Hermes and the other was found by Pythagoras. Re-‐member also that w�th�n these two p�llars the whole w�sdom of the world was sa�d to be �n-‐scribed. And this wisdom was divided into basi-‐cally seven categories — the seven liberal arts. From these old tales we can rece�ve some gl�m-‐mer of the h�gh esteem �n wh�ch these arts and sciences were held. They were not only tales told among the publ�c but were woven �nto the old Masonic legends. We then cons�dered the role of the C�ster-‐c�ans on Goth�c arch�tecture and the bu�ld�ng crafts and that one special monk, St. Bernard, having in luence all over Europe, promoted the devot�on to the Blessed V�rg�n, developed a mys-‐t�c�sm based on love and set down the Rule for the Knights Templar. The Templars increased in power and in luence, built castles and churches all over Europe, had numerous contacts w�th the rel�g�ous orders �n the Holy Land, and after the�r suppress�on, many went �nto the bu�ld�ng trades or back to the monastaries. We know that the School of Chartres stud�ed deeply the Platon�c, Neoplaton�c, and Pythagorean ph�-‐losophy and blended it with Christianity. The seven l�beral arts were developed to the�r ze-‐

n�th at th�s t�me and place — scholars from every part of Europe went to study there. We exam�ned how the Cathedral was a symbol of the Holy V�rg�n (that also represents the human soul �n �ts perfect�on), and �t was the study of the seven l�beral arts that promoted th�s ac-‐complishment. We then considered Dante’s al-‐leged �nvolvement w�th the F�del� d’Amore and h�s masterp�ece of the Commedia wh�ch repre-‐sents the Idealized Woman and St. Bernard as his guides to the highest spiritual realms. In the inal section, the subject shifted to the human endeavor of bu�ld�ng w�th the express purpose of represent�ng the sp�r�tual d�men-‐sion. Understanding the nature of the spiritual d�mens�on demanded extens�ve study of the seven l�beral arts so that what was bu�lt was �n harmony with and embodied the divine. We also d�scussed how at one po�nt there developed the �dea that only one who had mastered the seven arts could be designated an architect. From there th�s paper cons�dered the development of the art of memory ut�l�z�ng temple des�gn to en-‐hance its purpose. And, that some practitioners �ncorporated kabbal�st�c, hermet�c, astrolog�cal and numerolog�cal symbol�sm to develop th�s art into a spiritual practice. It was considered that develop�ng mental representat�ons to m�r-‐ror the eternal and unchang�ng d�v�ne world and processes would br�ng about sp�r�tual rev-‐elations. In other words, the practices would aid the soul in its ascent to the divine world. It would, surely, g�ve one the v�s�on of the celest�al temple. A number of em�nent scholars — �nclud�ng Frances Yates, Dav�d Stevenson, and Marsha Ke�th Schuchard — have theor�zed that the or�g�ns of the fratern�ty of Freemasonry can be found emerging from this background. Stevenson notes that the Second Schaw Stat-‐utes of command the leaders of lodges to

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“tak tryall of the art of memor�e and sc�ence tha�rof, of euer�e fallowe of craft and euer�e pr-‐enteiss,” and th�s, w�th other ev�dence, led h�m to conclude that:

[ . . . I]t is not implausible to think of William Schaw as see�ng one aspect of the secret lodges he created as be�ng a graft�ng of the amb�t�ons that led to the found�ng of secret Hermet�c so-‐c�et�es onto a craft wh�ch already cla�med that it had a connection with Hermes . . . . In this l�ght, the core of r�tual wh�ch lay at the heart of the new lodges can be seen as �nvolv�ng them in some sense in the Hermetic quest. . . . One branch of the Hermetic quest centred atten-‐tion on the art of memory . . . a technique which could harness myst�cal or mag�cal powers �n the pursu�t of the lost w�sdom of the anc�ents and of revelation of the divine.

Wh�le �t has been popular to regard the modern fratern�ty as merely a romant�c con-‐t�nuat�on of the bu�ld�ng gu�lds, �t �s gener-‐

ally overlooked that th�s does not necessar�ly translate �nto the humble and nonph�losoph�cal origin so often imagined. The operative stone-‐masons — espec�ally the masters and arch�tects among them — were often pursu�ng lofty sp�r�-‐tual ambitions. The central �mportance of the l�beral arts and sc�ences �n both operat�ve and speculat�ve Freemasonry may represent an �mportant key to understand�ng our past, and br�ghten�ng our future. Some are concerned that the fraternity appears to be diminishing in recent decades. But the trad�t�on that Freemasonry perpetu-‐ates and �s the foremost custod�an of rema�ns v�brant, and �t �s my conv�ct�on that th�s eros�on �s not �nev�table �f the fratern�ty w�ll renew �t-‐self by a fresh look at its original purposes. The key to th�s refreshment �s a rev�val of the means by wh�ch a speculat�ve Mason be-‐comes an architect of the soul. And the means, my brothers, are the study and pract�ce of the seven liberal arts. )

The irst part of this paper was originally prepared by W∴ Bro∴ Worrel for the Northern Cal�forn�a Research Lodge in March, . It was later pre-‐sented at a sem�annual meet�ng of the Ph�lalethes Society, in San Diego on September , . The author made major rev�s�ons to the manuscr�pt �n January and August . The second section of the paper was written in – for Ahiman, which is pleased to inally present the revised edi-‐tion in its totality. A highly abridged version will be found in the Spring edition of Philalethes.

. Harry L. Haywood, Symbolical Masonry: An Interpretation of the Three Degrees (Wash�ng-‐ton, D.C.: Masonic Service Association, ),

.

. Ibid., . Haywood is here arguing that the liberal arts are useful enough to be “retained,” because Roscoe Pound, a prom�nent Free-‐mason of the day who became Dean of the Harvard Law School, had publ�shed Lectures on the Philosophy of Freemasonry (Anamosa, Iowa: Nat�onal Mason�c Research Soc�ety,

), in which he argued strongly that the Preston�an lectures regard�ng the arts and sc�-‐ences should be scrapped as outdated. They should be replaced, he sa�d, w�th new ones “wh�ch set forth a regular system of mod-‐ern knowledge demonstrated on the clear-‐est principles and established in the irmest foundation.” ( ) Pound particularly stressed the notion that then-‐current theories of “so-‐

Notes


cial science” should be taught in the Lodges. (Ibid.) Thankfully, this disastrous call for revi-‐sion was never embraced.

. Henry Pelham Holmes Bromwell, Restorations of Masonic Geometry and Symbolry (Denver, Col.: The H. P. H. Bromwell Masonic Publish-‐ing Company, ), .

. Robert Hewitt Brown, Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy (New York: D. Appleton,

), .. W. Kirk MacNulty, Freemasonry: A Journey

through Ritual and Symbol (New York: Thames & Hudson, ), .

. George H. Steinmetz, Freemasonry: Its Hidden Meaning (New York: Macoy, ), .

. Ibid., .. Albert Pike (uncredited), Legenda to

(Charleston, S.C.: Supreme Council, n.d.), – . Modern students of the Scottish Rite

may locate th�s essay �n Arturo de Hoyos, The Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor and Guide, Second Ed�t�on (Wash�ngton, : Supreme Counc�l,

), beginning at p. .. W. L. Wilmshurst, The Ceremony of Passing

(London: J. M. Watkins), .. Ibid., .. Paul Abelson, The Seven Liberal Arts: A Study

in Mediæval Culture (New York: Russell & Rus-‐sell, ), .

. William Harris Stahl & R�chard Johnson, Mar-tianus Capella and the Seven Liberal Arts (New York: Columbia University Press, ), : .

. René M. Querido, The Golden Age of Chartres (New York: Anthroposophic Press, ), .

. Raymond Klibansky, “The School of Chartres,” in M. Clagett, G. Post & R. Reynolds (Eds.), Twelfth-Century Europe and the Foundations of Modern Society (Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, ), .

. Adolf Katzenellenbogen, “The Representation of the seven liberal arts,” in M. Clagett, G. Post & R. Reynolds (Eds.), Twelfth-Century Europe and the Foundations of Modern Society (Mad�-‐son, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, ), .

. Klibansky, “The School of Chartres,”. Ibid.. David E. Luscombe in Paul Edwards (Ed.), The

Encyclopedia of Philosophy (New York: Mac-‐millan, ), : .

. Edward F. Edinger, Anatomy of the Psyche: Alchemical Symbolism in Psychotherapy (La Salle, Ill.: Open Court, ), – .

. Ibid., .. The or ha-ganuz �s a term used w�dely �n me-‐

d�eval Jew�sh myst�cal texts to refer to the or�g�nal l�ght of Genes�s, wh�ch was under-‐stood to be of a h�gher form than mere phys�-‐cal l�ght, and wh�ch �s h�dden away except for the elect.

. E. A. Wallis Budge, Egyptian Magic (London: Tuebner, ), – .

. Mircea Eliade, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy (New York: Pantheon, ), .

. Ibid., – .

. Plato, Republic a– e.. Stahl & Johnson, Martianus Capella, : .. Inferno , – (trans. by Robert Hollander and Jean Hollander).

. See Helen Flanders Dunbar, Symbolism in Me-dieval Thought and Its Consummation in the Divine Comedy (New York: Russell & Russell,

), .. Dante, Convivio , . (trans. by Richard H. Lansing).

. Douglas Knoop & G. P. Jones, The Genesis of Freemasonry (Manchester, : Manchester University Press, ), .

. The Life of Adam and Eve . – (trans. by M. D. Johnson). Latin: Sed audite me, ilii mei! fac�te ergo tabulas lap�deas et al�as tabulas luttea et scr�b�te �n h�s omnem v�tam meam et patris vestri quae a nobis audistis et vidis-‐tis. Si per aquam iudicabit genus nostrum, ta-‐bulae de terra solventur et tabulae lap�deae perma nebunt. si autem per ignem iudicabit genus nostrum, tabulae lap�deae solventur et de terra luteae decoquentur.

. The Life of Adam and Eve . – . Latin: Et post d�luv�um a mult�s v�debantur hom�n�bus ta-‐bulae illae scriptæ et a nemine legebantur. Salomon autem sap�ens v�d�t scr�pturam et deprecatus est dom�num et apparu�t e� ange-‐lus domini dicens: ego sum qui tenui manum Seth, ut scr�beret cum d�g�to suo lap�des �stos, et er�s sc�ens scr�pturam, ut cognoscas et �n-‐

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telligas quid contineant lapides isti omnes et ub� fuer�t orator�um, ub� Adam et Eva adora-‐bant dominum deum. et oportet te ibi aedi i-‐care templum domini id est domum orationis. Tunc Salomon supplev�t templum dom�n� de� et vocav�t l�teras �llas ach�l�acas hoc est s�ne verborum doctr�na scr�ptas d�g�to Seth, te-‐nens manum eius angelus domini.

. Knoop & Jones, Genesis of Freemasonry, .. Chronicles of Jerahmeel . (trans. Moses Gaster).

. Ibid.. Knoop & Jones, Genesis of Freemasonry, .. Halliwell ., lines – .. William James Hughan, The Old Charges of

British Freemasons (London: S�mpk�n, Mar-‐shall & Co., ), – .

. Antoine Faivre, The Eternal Hermes: From Greek God to Alchemical Magus (Grand Rap-‐ids, Mich.: Phanes Press, ), .

. R. M. Hand ield-‐Jones, The Royal Ark Mariner Degree : Its Origin and History (London: Grand Mark Lodge, ), -‐ .

. James Anderson, The Constitutions of the Free-Masons (London: W. Hunter, J. Senex & J. Hooke, ), .

. Colin Dyer, William Preston and His Work (Shepperton, : Lewis Masonic, ), –.

. Thomas Smith Webb, The Freemason’s Moni-tor, or Illustrations of Masonry in Two Parts (Albany: Spencer & Webb, ), – ; Jer-‐emy Ladd Cross, The True Masonic Chart, or Hieroglyphic Monitor, th ed. (New Haven, : J. L. Cross, ), – ; Charles Whitlock

Moore & S. W.B. Carnegy, The Trestleboard (Boston: Charles W. Moore, ), – .

. The Complete Workings of Craft Freemasonry, rev. ed. (Hersham, : Lewis Masonic, ),

. The earliest appearance of this particular word�ng may be �n R�chard Carl�le’s exposure of the Craft, pr�nted �n h�s per�od�cal, The Re-publican ( ) : .

. Louis Charpentier, The Mysteries of Chartres Cathedral (New York: Avon, ), .

. Otto von Simson, The Gothic Cathedral, d ed�t�on (Pr�nceton, : Pr�nceton Un�vers�ty Press, ), .

. Translated in a four volume set: Bernard of Cla�rvaux, On the Song of Songs, trans. Irene Edmonds (Kalamazoo, Mich.: Cisterian Publi-‐cations, ).

. Ewert H. Cousins, preface to Bernard of Clair-vaux: Selected Works, ed. Gillian R. Evans (St. Paul, Minn.: Paulist Press, ), .

. Titus Burckhardt, Chartres and the Birth of the Cathedral (Bloomington, Ind.: World Wisdom,

), .. Malcolm Barber, The New Knighthood: A His-

tory of the Order of the Temple (Cambr�dge, : Cambridge University Press, ), .

. Ibid., .. Antoine Faivre, “Ancient and Medieval Sourc-‐es of Modern Esoteric Movements,” in Modern Esoteric Spirituality, ed. Antoine Faivre & Ja-‐cob Needleman (New York: Crossroad, ), .

. Faivre, “Ancient and Medieval Sources,” . . Titus Burckhardt, The Mirror of the Intellect (Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, ), .

. René Guénon, The Esoterism of Dante (H�lls-‐dale, N.Y.: Sophia Perennis, ), .

. Dante, Convivio , . – (trans. by Richard H. Lansing).

. Guénon, Esoterism of Dante, .. Ibid., – .. Burckhardt, Mirror of the Intellect, .. Ibid., .. This statement is commonly found in Ameri-‐

can Mason�c r�tual, and or�g�nated �n W�ll�am Preston’s May , address to the Grand Of-‐icers: “Operative masonry furnishes us with

dwell�ngs, and conven�ent shelters from the v�c�ss�tudes and the �nclemenc�es of the sea-‐sons. It displays human wisdom in a proper arrangement of mater�als, and demonstrates that a fund of sc�ence and �ndustry �s �m-‐planted �n the rat�onal spec�es for the most wise, salutary, and bene icent purposes.” Wil-‐l�am Preston, Illustrations of Masonry, st ed. (London: J. Williams, ), . This notion of �nnate knowledge �s expressed �n the open�ng sentences of Anderson’s Constitutions of : “Adam, our irst parent, created after the Im-‐age of God, the great Arch�tect of the Un�verse,


must have had the L�beral Sc�ences, part�cu-‐larly Geometry, written on his Heart; for ever since the Fall, we ind the Principles of it in the Heart of his Offspring . . . . ” Anderson, Con-stitutions, . The teaching itself is one of the core Mason�c pr�nc�ples, �mpl�c�t �n the Old Charges that pre-‐date the Grand Lodge era.

. David R. Fideler, Jesus Christ: Sun of God (Wheaton, Ill.: Quest, ), .

. Simson, Gothic Cathedral, . . Ibid., .. Ibid., .. Ibid., .. Ibid., .. Ibid., , .. Ibid., .. Mary Carruthers, The Book of Memory: A Study

of Memory in Medieval Culture (Cambr�dge, : Cambridge University Press, ), .

. Ibid., .. Ibid., .. Augustine of Hippo, Confessions . – .

. Gregory Shaw, Theurgy and the Soul: The Neo-platonism of Iamblichus (Ph�ladelph�a: Penn-‐sylvania State University Press, ), .

. Frances A. Yates, The Art of Memory (Ch�cago: University of Chicago Press, ), – .

. Ibid., – . . Ibid., – . . Ibid., . . Ibid., .. See Yates, Art of Memory, – , for the initial suggestion. Later researchers detail poten-‐t�ally support�ve ev�dence �n Dav�d Stevenson, The Origins of Freemasonry: Scotland’s Cen-tury, – (Cambr�dge, : Cambr�dge University Press, ); David Stevenson, The First Freemasons, d ed. (Edinburgh: Grand Lodge of Scotland, ); and Marsha Keith Schuchard, Restoring the Temple of Vision: Cabalistic Freemasonry and Stuart Culture (Leiden: Brill, ).

. Stevenson, Origins of Freemasonry, . . Stevenson, The First Freemasons, .

A Spiritual Vision of the Seven Liberal Arts · A The Seven L beral Arts | W Y The perambulations...

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