4th. The grand treasurer, repsesenting Joa-bert, in the north, with a golden key to his fifth buttonhole, and upon it the letters I. V. I. L. Ju venis verbum intre Leonis. 5. The grand secretary, representing Stockin, in the south. The four last mentioned officers to be ornamented with the same ribbon and jewel as the M. P. and to sit covered. The three last to have robes of blue without vestments.. No person can be admitted to this degree without having previously taken all the preceding degrees. History and Charge of this Degree.. "My Worthy Brother, "It is my intention at this time to give you a clearer account than you have yet been acquaint ed with, of masonry; of which at present you barely know the elements. In doing this it will be necessary to explain to you some circumstances of very remote antiquity. Enoch, the son of Jared, was the sixth son in descent from Adam, and lived in the fear and love of his Maker.. Enoch, being inspired by the Most High, and in commemoration of a wonderful vision, built a temple under ground, and dedicated the same to God. Methuselah, the son of Enoch, constructed the building, without being acquainted with his father's motives. This happened in that part of the world which was afterwards called the land of Canaan, and since known by the name of the Holy Land. Enoch caused a triangular plate of gold to be made, each side of which was a cubit long; he enriched it with the most precious stones, and encrusted the plate upon a stone of agate, of the same form. He then engraved upon it the ineffable characters, and placed it on a triangular pedestal of white marble, which he deposited in the deepest arch. When Enoch's temple was completed, he made a door of stone, and put a ring of iron therein, by which it might be occasionally raised; and placed it over the opening of the arch, that the matters enclosed therein might be preserved from the uni versal destruction impending. And none but Enoch knew of the treasure which the arches contained. And, behold, the wickedness of mankind increased more, and became grievous in the sight of the Lord, and God threatened to destroy the whole world. Enoch, perceiving that the knowledge of the arts was likely to be lost in the general destruction, and being desirous of preserving the principles of the sciences, for the posterity of those whom God should be pleased to spare, built two great pillars on the top of the highest mountain, the one of brass, to withstand water, the other of marble, to withstand fire; and he engraved on the marble pillar, hieroglyphics, signifying that there was a most precious treasure concealed in the arches under ground, which he had dedicated to God. And he engraved on the pillar of brass the principles of the liberal arts, particularly of masonry. Methuselah was the father of Lamech, who was the father of Noah, who was a pious and good man, and beloved by God. And the Lord spake unto Noah, saying, "Behold, I will punish the sins of mankind with a general deluge; therefore build an ark, capable of containing thyself and family, as also a pair of every living creature upon earth, and those only shall be saved from the general destruction which I am about to inflict for the iniquities of the people." And God gave unto Noah a plan by which the ark was to be constructed. Noah was one hundred years in building the ark; he was six hun dred years old when it was finished, and his son Seth was ninety-nine. His father Lamech had died a short time before, aged 777 years. There was not at this time any of the ancient patriarchs living, save Methuselah the grandfather of Noah, who was about 969 years old, and it is supposed that he perished in the general ruin. The ark being finished, Noah, agreeable to the instructions he had received from the Most High, went into it with his family, and took with him such things as he was commanded. The flood took place in the year of the world 1656, and destroyed most of the superb monu. ments of antiquity. The marble pillar of Enoch fell in the general destruction; but, by divine permission, the pillar of brass withstood the water, by which means the ancient state of the liberal arts, and particularly masonry, has been handed down to us. We learn from holy writ, the history of succeeding times, till the Israelites became slaves to the Egyptians; from which bondage they were freed under the conduct of Moses. The same sacred book informs us that Moses was beloved of God, and that the Most High spoke to him on Mount Sinai. To Moses God communicated his divine law, written on tables of stone; with many promises of a renewed alliance. He also gave him the true pronunciation of his sacred name: and God gave a strict command unto Moses, that no one should pronounce it; so that in process of time the true pronunciation was lost. • The same divine history particularly informs us of the different movements of the Israelites, until they became possessed of the land of promise, and of the succeeding events until the Divine Providence was pleased to give the sceptre to David who, though fully determined to build a temple to the Most High, could never begin it; that honour being reserved for his son. Solomon, being the wisest of princes, had fully in remembrance the promises of God to Moses, that some of his successors, in fulness of time, should discover his holy name; and his wisdom inspired him to believe, that this could not be accomplished until he had erected and consecrated a temple to the living God, in which he might deposit the precious treasures. Accordingly, Solomon began to build, in the fourth year of his reign, agreeably to a plan given to him by David his father, upon the ark of alli ance. He chose a spot for this purpose, the most beautiful and healthy in all Jerusalem. The number of the grand and sublime elected, were at first three, and now consisted of five; and continued so until the temple was completed and dedicated; when king Solomon, as a reward for their faithful services, admitted to this degree the twelve grand masters, who had faithfully pre |