MASONRY 



3681 



MASS 



grees .all there is or ever was of Ancient Craft 

 Masonry the so-called Blue Lodge, whose 

 three degrees are 



1. Entered Apprentice 



2. Fellowcraft 



3. Master Mason 



But Masonry invites its members to seek 

 further light in the Order. That they may re- 

 ceive it two ways have been prepared for them, 

 and any Master Mason may choose either one 

 or both of them. These are called the York, or 

 American Rite, and the Scottish Rite. Should 

 the candidate elect the York Rite he would 

 climb by one of the forks of the Y; should he 

 prefer the Scottish Rite he would follow the 

 other fork. In either direction he would eventu- 

 ally reach the thirty-second degree, and be 

 eligible for the great social club known as the 

 Mystic Shrine. 



[The Shrine is not Masonry; it is not a Masonic 

 institution, nor is it recognized by any Grand 

 Lodge. It is simply a social organization.] 



If the candidate elects the York Rite his 

 progress through the degrees in the Chapter is 

 as follows: 



4. Mark Master 



5. Past Master 



6. Most Excellent 



Master 



7. Royal Arch Mason 



He may then enter the Council of Royal and 

 Select Masters and receive two degrees: 

 8. Royal Master 9. Select Master 



Following the Council comes the Commandery 

 of Knights Templars, with three degrees: 



10. Red Cross Knight 12. Knight Templar 



11. Knight of Malta 



The preceding steps include all of the York 

 Rite. A candidate wishing- to ascend by the Scot- 

 tish Rite applies for membership in a Lodge of 

 Perfection, where the following degrees are con- 

 ferred : 



10. Elu of the Fifteen 



11. Elu of the Twelve 



12. Master Architect 



13. Royal Arch of 



Solomon 



14. Perfect Elu 



4. Secret Master 



5. Perfect Master 



6. Intimate Secretary 



7. Provost and Judge 



8. Intendant of the 



Building 



9. Elu of the Nine 



If the candidate elects to travel farther on 

 the road, he takes four degrees in Chapter Rose 

 Croix : 



15. Knight of the East 18. Knight of the Rose 



16. Prince of Jerusalem Croix 



17. Knight of the East 



and West 



The next step is the Council of Kadosh, with 

 twelve degrees: 

 231 



19. Pontiff 



20. Master of the Symbolic Lodge 



21. Noachite, or Prussian Knight 



22. Knight of the Royal Axe, or Prince of 



Libanus 



23. Chief of the Tabernacle 



24. Prince of the Tabernacle 



25. Knight of the Brazen Serpent 



26. Prince of Mercy 



27. Knight Commander , . 



28. Knight of Sun, or Prince Adept 



29. Scottish Knight of Saint Andrew 



30. Prince Kadosh 



Following the above is the Consistory, with 

 two degrees: 



31. Inspector Inquisitor 



32. Master of the Royal Secret 



The seeker after Masonic light who has gone 

 thus far has received all the degrees that most 

 men can obtain. There is but one more degree : 



33. Inspector General 



This latter degree is of the Supreme Council 

 It cannot, like the others, be obtained upon ap- 

 plication and by the payment of a fee. It is 

 conferred upon a very limited number and then 

 only as a special appreciation of work in the 

 Masonic bodies, and the aspirant for the honor 

 must be recommended. E.D.F. 



MASQUE, mask, a form of dramatic enter- 

 tainment named from the masks which the per- 

 formers wore. At its introduction, in the time 

 of Henry VIII, it was little more than a pageant 

 or spectacle, but dramatic features were added, 

 music was given a greater part, and very elab- 

 orate, fanciful plots were worked out. These 

 performances were given privately more often 

 than on the stage, and particularly at court, 

 where the chief nobles with their ladies took 

 part. No expense was spared, and the greatest 

 artists were employed in the staging of these 

 miniature plays. Perhaps of all who wrote 

 masques Ben Jonson appreciated most thor- 

 oughly the limitations and the demands of that 

 special form of drama, and those of his which 

 remain are charming in plan and in execution 

 alike. Milton's Comus, one of the most famous 

 masques ever written, was produced during the 

 reign of Charles I, when the popularity of such 

 productions was declining. Exquisite as this is, 

 it is designed to be read rather than to be acted, 

 and the same has been true of most masques 

 written since that time. 



MASS, in the Roman Catholic Church, the 

 celebration of the sacrifice of the Eucharist, 

 commemorating the passion or suffering and 

 death of Christ. There are four principal parts 

 in a mass, the gospel, the offertory, the conse- 



