has been adopted as a material symbol of the world (as I have already
shown in former articles), while the legendary history of the fate of its
builder is a mythical symbol of man's destiny in the world. Whatever is
visible or tangible to the senses in our types and emblems--such as the
implements of operative masonry, the furniture and ornaments of a lodge,
or the ladder of seven steps--is a _material symbol_; while whatever
derives its existence from tradition, and presents itself in the form of
an allegory or legend, is a _mythical symbol_. Hiram the Builder,
therefore, and all that refers to the legend of his connection with the
temple, and his fate,--such as the sprig of acacia, the hill near Mount
Moriah, and the lost word,--are to be considered as belonging to the class
of mythical or legendary symbols.

And this division is not arbitrary, but depends on the nature of the types
and the aspect in which they present themselves to our view.

Thus the sprig of acacia, although it is material, visible, and tangible,
is, nevertheless, not to be treated as a material symbol; for, as it
derives all its significance from its intimate connection with the legend
of Hiram Abif, which is a mythical symbol, it cannot, without a violent
and inexpedient disruption, be separated from the same class. For the same
reason, the small hill near Mount Moriah, the search of the twelve Fellow
Crafts, and the whole train of circumstances connected with the lost word,
are to be viewed simply as mythical or legendary, and not as material
symbols.

These legends of Freemasonry constitute a considerable and a very
important part of its ritual. Without them, the most valuable portions of
the masonic as a scientific system would cease to exist. It is, in fact,
in the traditions and legends of Freemasonry, more, even, than in its
material symbols, that we are to find the deep religious instruction which
the institution is intended to inculcate. It must be remembered that
Freemasonry has been defined to be "a system of morality, veiled in
allegory and illustrated by symbols." Symbols, then, alone, do not
constitute the whole of the system: allegory comes in for its share; and
this allegory, which veils the divine truths of masonry, is presented to
the neophyte in the various legends which have been traditionally
preserved in the order.

The close connection, at least in design and method of execution, between
the institution of Freemasonry a