Architect Guild
Ritual of the Ideal Degree or Third Degree

1925

Ideals are the world’s Masters
-J.G. Holland

Open on First and Second Degree in meeting ritual. (If time is short, this can be omitted.)
SUPREME MASTER ARCHITECT: Secretary, is there any business to be transacted in this degree?
SECRETARY: John Doe, son of Adam, who having passed the first and second degrees of our Architect Guild, is present and is desirous of completing his study in the sublime art of building character by being passed to the Ideal Degree.
WATCHMAN: But the entrance to our Sanctum Sanctorum is barred. Its doors are not open to all who knock.
WAYFARER: What mean you? Is not the Temple of Character open to all who may wish to enter?
WATCHMAN: The entrance to the Sanctum Sanctorum is barred by Self-Respect: only those who walk on the high plane of a pure moral character are permitted to enter here.
WAYFARER: Here is the candidate, question ye him.
SUPREME MASTER ARCHITECT: Sergeant, you may conduct the candidate to the front.
He is conducted to the front.
SUPREME MASTER ARCHITECT: John Doe, son of Adam, you gained admission to our lodge through the recommendation of that venerable Patriarch, Experience, you must now stand on your own merits. I charge you: on your honor to answer truthfully the following questions:
Are you industrious? Are you clean in person and neat in your apparel? Are you pure in thought? Have you Self-respect and do you wear the Jewel of Honor?
MASTER ARCHITECT: Sergeant, you may conduct the candidate to the inner chamber there to await our further pleasure.
Chief Marshal, you may detail the proper officers to prepare the candidate for the solemn ceremony that awaits him.
After they have retired to the inner chamber:
CHIEF MARSHAL: Initiative and Decision, it is the will of the Master Architect in the north that you repair to the inner chamber, there to prepare the candidate and receive him within.
Initiative enters the chamber, whilst Decision awaits at the door.
When ready, Wayfarer raps on the door.
WATCHMAN: Who comes here?
INITIATIVE: John Doe, son of Adam, who having been properly prepared is, by order of the Master Architect to be admitted within, that he may be initiated into the mysteries of the Ideal Degree.
WATCHMAN: In the name of the Master Architect you are bidden to enter.
DECISION: The Master Architect hath commissioned me to receive and welcome you into this, the Ideal Degree. As you are ignorant of what is before you, Initiative, Decision, represented by myself, and other important officers in your character kingdom, will personate you and conduct the conversation as if it were you yourself speaking, thereby assisting you very materially in the trying ordeal before you. Initiative will now conduct us to the Master Architect in the North.
He is conducted to the Master Architect.
DECISION: Master, we present you the candidate properly prepared, that he may be initiated into the Ideal Degee.
MASTER ARCHITECT: John Doe, son of Adam, is it of your own free will that you enter this degree?
JOHN DOE: It is.
MASTER ARCHITECT: Before taking upon yourself the solemn obligation of this degree, you are informed that in it there is nothing that conflicts with the duty you owe to God, to your parents, or to your country. If you are still minded to enter this degree, you will raise your right hand and repeat after me the following:
I (repeating you name) do solemnly promise never to reveal by word of mouth, sign, printing, or any manner whatsoever the method of my initiation, except it be to my parents, minister, priest or rabbi, and then only on their special request.
I furthermore promise to love and aid to the best of my ability the poor and distressed, when in my power to do so, regardless of race, creed or nationality.
I furthermore promise to have a consistent and a definite purpose in life, and direct all my energies thereto.
I furthermore promise to obey all the rules and regulations of the Off-the-Street Club, and more especially of this degree of which I am about to be made a member; as far as I can to attend all of its meetings; to be loyal and to do all that I can to promote the interest of the same.
So help me God, and keep me steadfast in the same.
Herald, sound the trumpet that Love may come hence.
Love now steps to the front and salutes.
MASTER ARCHITECT: Love, it is my will that you should loosen the bonds that bind the candidate to the attendant; as he must now go forth to engage in the glorious adventure of life.
Love now loosens the girdle and places it properly on the candidate, saying:
LOVE: My son, in mighty love my heart yearns towards thee, and would shield thee from unseen dangers; but we are each the architect of our own character, and ye must obey the mandate of the Master Architect.
However, remember that though Industry is great, and there is none mightier than the Chief Marshal, yet Love has the key that unlocks all human hearts, that binds all the world in one common brotherhood. I charge thee to hate no man, for all are brothers and sisters, and have one common farther, even God. Human hatred and religious prejudice are born of ignorance and superstition. Again, hatred creates a poison that impairs the health of the body and the strength of the mind. Thou hast taken Wisdom, as thy companion and guide, and wisely so; now do thou let Love reign supreme within thy heart; "perfect love knoweth no fear, seeth no evil, thinketh no evil."
This girdle that I now place upon thee and around thy loins is symbolical of the three great principles of character, love, purity and truth.
To illustrate to you more fully the strength of your character, and that these three elementary principles are blended into one and thus constitute the perfect man, we have this apparatus made use of by the philosopher to explain the laws of light.
The more rapidly this disk is revolved, the more completely the colors are merged into one, and the more nearly white they become.
She turns and salutes the Master.
Master Architect, the candidate has been loosed and the girdle of character placed upon him and around his loins, and is now bound to us by the ties of our common brotherhood.
All sing "Blest Be the Tie."
MASTER ARCHITECT: It is now my pleasure to inform you, that you are the rightful heir of all the wealth of experience of all past ages centered in your own being. Though all the riches of the material world be laid at your feet this night, it would be as rubbish compared to this mighty character kingdom of thine. That the resources of this kingdom may be developed; that it may attain the greatness and glory intended for it by the Divine Master the molding power of a definite and an ideal purpose is necessary. The more vivid is this ideal the greater will be your success.
The sculptor and the potter vizualize their work; the one chisels a wonderful piece of art from the rough block of stone; the other fashions a thing of beauty out of the shapeless clay. So should we have a definite purpose, and thus evolve the perfect man out of the plastic material of childhood and youth. As the mariner on the ocean and the traveler in the midst of the desert are guided by the North Star, so sits the Master Architect in the north to remind you of this purpose in your life.
As thou art about to embark on the journey of life, thou wilt advance and receive the pass of this degree (gives the pass) that wherever thou goest, thou may be known as a Man of Honor and a Master Builder of Character. This pass you are never to reveal to any but a brother of this degree, and then only in a low whisper.
I now give you the grip of a Master Builder of Character, whereby one brother may know another in the dark as well as in the light.
Go ye now and forget not the sublime teachings thou hast received.
They pass round the room and meet Circe.
CIRCE: Thou art young and fair to look upon; allow me to entice thee; come, walk in these flowery dells and quaff the Circean cup of pleasure.
CONSCIENCE: Nay, the pleasure to which she would lure thee are vanities, rocks upon which thou wilt wreck thy soul; remember thy purpose true.
DECISION: The path I tread is hard and stony; I will go with thee.
The course is reversed and they soon meet Mammon.
MAMMON: Wherefore idlest thou thy time in foolish pleasure, it profiteth thee nothing; come with me and gather gold and riches. Wealth is everything.
DECISION: The glitter of wealth doth allure me; I think I will go with thee.
CONSCIENCE, laying hand on shoulder: Remember the North Star.
They reverse their course and meet False Ambition.
FALSE AMBITION: Thou seemst to be one who labors hard. What is thy name? How hast thou prospered?
DECISION: My name is John Doe; I have prospered greatly; see, my wealth I count by the millions.
FALSE AMBITION: You have done well; but why hoard all this wealth in thy bosom? It is sweet to hear thy name upon every tongue, and hear thyself praised wherever thou goest.
DECISION: I covet the fame and power thou speakst of. I will have it, no matter how; (Conscience tries to attract the attention of Decision) I will have it, and all men shall do me homage.
They now step off at a right angle; as they proceed they pass a distressed mother with a starving child, who make an appeal for help. Decision takes out a coin and fingers it; looks at the woman then at the coin, and finally, shutting his lips tight, puts it back in his pocket and passes on.
A little farther on they meet Usurer.
USERER: Art thou John Doe?
DECISION: Yes, what is it you would have?
USURER: I am Usurer, and have here a lien upon thy property, for which I must have satisfaction at once.
DECISION: Have mercy and I will pay thee another time.
USURER: Mercy is not in my vocabulary; I demand that which is mine. If thou dost not liquidate this debt of thine in three days, I will foreclose this mortgage. And then – my gold, mine precious gold.
Usurer passes on muttering and takes a seat.
SOUL: I have no money with which to pay my debts.
INITIATIVE: Let us start a new enterprise.
They are now set upon and robbed by ruffians.
INITIATIVE: Our pockets are empty, (turning them wrong side out) they have taken all.
Disillusion steps to the front.
SOUL, bitterly: And who art thou? Hast thou too come to rob and slay me?
DISILLUSION: Nay, I have come to open thine eyes to the hollow mockery of thy life.
INITIATIVE: What meanest thou?
DISILLUSION: A gift I give unto thee.
INITIATIVE: Why (removing the lid) this is but dust and ashes.
DISILLUSION: Even so; such is thy life.
Disillusion passes on and takes his seat.
They continue around the room.
SOUL: "I'm weary of my part. My torch is out; and the world stands before me,
Like a black desert at the approach of night; I'll lay me down and stray no farther on."
Soul now lies down on the grass. He is supposed to fall asleep and has the following dream. Candidate is kept a little in the rear.
SOUL: An surely, if one may jest, this is a merry gift; (looks at it) it is productive of such happy thoughts. I will place it beneath my pillow, and, perchance, I may dream thereon.
He falls asleep, turns over uneasily, and then suddenly raises up on his elbow (as picture of Despair is thrown upon the sheet). What is that I see? (Swoons.)
In the dim light shrouded spirits in turn glide forward and say their part standing by the sleeping figure.
REMORSE: Flouted by every wind that did blow; seered by indulgence and the lust of un1holy desires, the ravages of disease doth consume the marrow of thy bones; the hot fever rages within thy veins, and delirium hath seized upon thee, and anon, death shall come.
WISDOM: My son, wherefore art thou here? Hast thou forgotten the sublime teachings of thy Architect Guild, which thou didst swear to follow? Behold, thou standest upon the brink of Eternity, and thy character is a shrivelled and despicable thing.
Spectre of Mammon now stands before him and mockingly sprinkles a little of the ashes from the case upon the reclining body, saying: Mine gold, ah, mine precious gold.
FIRST VOICE: "For what is a man profited if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul."
The spectre of the starving child appears and looks at him reproachfully.
Two Master Builders now pass round the room and come upon him.
FIRST MASTER BUILDER: Who is this?
SECOND MASTER BUILDER: I fear he is dead; (examining) he wears not the Jewel of Honor and cannot be a brother.
FIRST MASTER BUILDER: The marks of sordid greed and dissipation are stamped upon his features; yet, methinks I do remember him.
SECOND MASTER BUILDER: It must be John Doe; poor fellow, his life has been a failure. According to our vows of charity we must bury him; bring hither the winding sheet and place it upon him.
"Blest be the Tie" is sung. Eternity and Father Time now come in from opposite sides of the room.
ETERNITY: Hail, Father Time, once again we meet. Who bringest thou hither? Comes he not before his time?
FATHER TIME: It is John Doe, he would be admitted to the Land of the Leal.
ETERNITY: Who mourns for him?
FATHER TIME: Alas, there are none.
ETERNITY: What! Are there none? Has he done no act of kindness? Has his heart never vibrated in sympathy with his fellow mortals that no one mourns for him. (They reach the body.)
FATHER TIME: No one, (hanging his head). Not even a dog. On the Desert of Selfishness (turns and looks at Eternity) lone and bare I found him.
ETERNITY: What! Is his life so utterly barren? Bring hither the Judge's chair that he may sit therein, and place upon him the robe of justice, that he may sit in judgment upon his own self. (Folds his arms.)
All lights out and candidate sits in chair. A picture of candidate pointing an accusing finger at himself, is thrown upon the screen.
DECISION: What good thing didst thou do whilst you were yet in the body?
FATHER TIME: He is speechless; but, this box of ashes I found beneath his pillow.
ETERNITY: Ashes (sadly) are but the symbol of his earthly riches and availeth him nothing. (With gesture of command) Tear open his heart. (They open his coat.) Wears he the Jewel of Honor?
FATHER TIME: He wears it not.
ETERNITY, very sternly and with eyes blazing: Bring hither those secret pages upon which the scribe, Memory, did write with an iron pen. Lay bare his life that nothing may be hid.
The book is laid upon a little table before him.
DECISION: What readest thou?
CONSCIENCE: That I am weighed in the balance and found wanting.
CHIEF MARSHAL: Bring hither the witnesses.
The starving child now comes forward.
Soul sits up suddenly, shivers, then staggers to his feet and wipes perspiration from his forehead.
DECISION: Why art thou so terror stricken? Behold the perspiration stands in beady drops upon thy brow.
SOUL: I have had a most terrible dream.
INITIATIVE: Come tell it to us.
SOUL: Methought I was sick, nigh unto death, and all the evil that ever I did came back to haunt me; then I did die, and my spirit bereft of its mortal garment, naked and shrivelled, stood on the border line of the Great Beyond. Eternity himself appeared and looked at me in such a dreadful manner that even now my soul doth sicken and grow faint with fear.
INITIATIVE: It was a gruesome dream? What said he unto thee?
SOUL: He demanded that the Scroll of Memory be brought,
and that a most searching inquiry be made into my life.
Wisdom steps before the candidate.
SOUL: An thou! Art thou here? I saw thee too in my dream.
WISDOM: It was more than a dream; it was a vision that the Divine Master sent to warn thee of the error of thy ways ere it is too late. Come now, let us counsel with thy officers, and take a just account of all thy shortcomings and of thy good qualities; turn thy thoughts inward and let there be a most searching inquiry that thou mayst realize thy true condition.
A period of silence now ensues.
SOUL: As to my good qualities they are nil; see, a score of years have elapsed since the Master Architect sent me forth on life's journey, and, according to those high and lofty ideals which he did seek to impress upon me, I have gotten no where and have gathered naught but ashes. Yes, I will do as thou hast said.
Conscience, what hast thou to say?
CONSCIENCE: Thou didst listen unto Circe.
SOUL: Alas, I did trifle with unlawful pleasures, and now, the lusts of mine appetite doth mock me and hath left their insidious marks upon both mind and body.
CHIEF MARSHAL: As Self-Control, the Chief Marshal of thy kingdom, I hang my head in shame.
DECISION: Wherefore dost thou hang thy head?
CHIEF MARSHAL: I have been weak of will, as are all those who yield to temptation. I was a weathervane and did drift with every wind. The lusts of the flesh, the greed of wealth, and the sordid ambition of fame, did each in turn grip my soul and laid me low. The scum of evil thoughts dimmed my moral vision, and I walked not on the high plane of a pure moral character.
O great and mighty Love, hast thou naught to say that will comfort me?
LOVE: Wherefore comest thou to me? Thy heart! It is shrivelled and gristly; the springs thereof are dried up. The starving child.
SOUL: My infamy is great; (covering his face with his hands) my heart is black. (Looking upwards) is it not enough?
WISDOM: Spare not; probe the innermost recesses of the heart; flood it with the sunlight of Truth, that Love with gentle hands may heal the wounded spirit.
SOUL, in a piercing wail: My heart quivers in its naked wretchedness.
The chimes now strike the hour of midnight. The picture of the clock with the quotation of "periunt et imputantur" is thrown upon the screen. Soul starts and looks affrighted.
WISDOM: It is the knell of thy departed hours, "periunt et imputantur," that is, the hours perish and are laid to our charge.
SOUL: Alas, it might have been.
WISDOM: Lift up thine eyes. What seest thou?
SOUL: The North Star.
WISDOM: Even so. It was given thee as the symbol of thy most holy purpose. Around this seemingly fixed star, all other stars revolve in a perfect system; so in thy life one fixed purpose should be the dominant note and systematize all of thy activities, and thus thy life will become one grand harmonious refrain.
SOUL: Henceforth "in covenant with ideals, fixed-aye, firm as a mountain wall." I shall forever walk on the high plane of a pure moral character. With love in my heart; with faith in the goodness of God; with the firm hand of self-control on the rudder, I shall steer for the Star of a Purpose True. I no longer a weakling shall be; but in the strength of my manhood I shall arise, and fan to life the spark of Divinity within my soul.
Song of My Soul is now sung.
Soul gradually fades away while song is being sung.
For a moment all sit quiet after song is finished.