though incidental result of
all its moral teachings; while its social tendencies are still cultivated
as the tenacious cement which is to unite so fair a fabric in symmetry and
strength, the masonic mind is everywhere beginning to look and ask for
something, which, like the manna in the desert, shall feed us, in our
pilgrimage, with intellectual food. The universal cry, throughout the
masonic world, is for light; our lodges are henceforth to be schools; our
labor is to be study; our wages are to be learning; the types and symbols,
the myths and allegories, of the institution are beginning to be
investigated with reference to their ultimate meaning; our history is now
traced by zealous inquiries as to its connection with antiquity; and
Freemasons now thoroughly understand that often quoted definition, that
"Masonry is a science of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by
symbols."

Thus to learn Masonry is to know our work and to do it well. What true
mason would shrink from the task?

Synoptical Index.

A

AB. The Hebrew word AB signifies "father," and was among the Hebrews a
title of honor. From it, by the addition of the possessive pronoun, is
compounded the word _Abif_, signifying "his father," and applied to the
Temple Builder.

ABIF. See _Hiram Abif_.

ABNET. The band or apron, made of fine linen, variously wrought, and worn
by the Jewish priesthood. It seems to have been borrowed directly from the
Egyptians, upon the representations of all of whose gods is to be found a
similar girdle. Like the zennaar, or sacred cord of the Brahmins, and the
white shield of the Scandinavians, it is the analogue of the masonic
apron.

ACACIA, SPRIG OF. No symbol is more interesting to the masonic student
than the sprig of acacia.

It is the _mimosa nilotica_ of Linnaeus, the _shittah_ of the Hebrew
writers, and grows abundantly in Palestine.

It is preeminently the symbol of the immortality of the soul.

It was for this reason planted by the Jews at the head of a grave.

This symbolism is derived from its never-fading character as an evergreen.

It is also a symbol of innocence, and this symbolism is derived from the
double meaning of the word [Greek: akakia], which in Greek signifies the
plant, and innocence; in this point of view Hutchinson has Christianized
the symbol.

It is, lastly, a symbol of initiation.

This symbolism is derived from the fact that it is the sacred plant of
Masonry; an