the remotest
antiquity. A consecrating--a separating from profane things, and making
holy or devoting to sacred purposes--was practiced by both the Jews and
the Pagans in relation to their temples, their altars, and all their
sacred utensils. The tabernacle, as soon as it was completed, was
consecrated to God by the unction of oil. Among the Pagan nations, the
consecration of their temples was often performed with the most sumptuous
offerings and ceremonies; but oil was, on all occasions, made use of as an
element of the consecration. The lodge is, therefore, consecrated to
denote that henceforth it is to be set apart as an asylum sacred to the
cultivation of the great masonic principles of Friendship, Morality, and
Brotherly Love. Thenceforth it becomes to the conscientious Mason a place
worthy of his reverence; and he is tempted, as he passes over its
threshold, to repeat the command given to Moses: "Put off thy shoes from
off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."

The corn, wine, and oil are appropriately adopted as the Masonic elements
of consecration, because of the symbolic signification which they present
to the mind of the Mason. They are enumerated by David as among the
greatest blessings which we receive from the bounty of Divine Providence.
They were annually offered by the ancients as the first fruits, in a
thank-offering for the gifts of the earth; and as representatives of "the
corn of nourishment, the wine of refreshment, and the oil of joy," they
symbolically instruct the Mason that to the Grand Master of the Universe
he is indebted for the "health, peace, and plenty" that he enjoys.

After the consecration of the lodge, follows its dedication. This is a
simple ceremony, and principally consists in the pronunciation of a
formula of words by which the lodge is declared to be dedicated to the
holy Saints John, followed by an invocation that "every Brother may revere
their character and imitate their virtues."

Masonic tradition tells us that our ancient Brethren dedicated their
lodges to King Solomon, because he was their first Most Excellent Grand
Master; but that modern Masons dedicate theirs to St. John the Baptist and
St. John the Evangelist, because they were two eminent patrons of Masonry.
A more appropriate selection of patrons to whom to dedicate the lodge,
could not easily have been made; since St. John the Baptist, by
announcing the approach of Christ, and by the mystica