The Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences
We are all familiar with the Middle Chamber Lecture in the Second Degree. For many it signifies a test of memory, to demonstrate the dedication of the Senior Deacon and his fitness to take the senior offices of Warden and Master in the Lodge. For others it is the beauty of this moving oratory which inspires. For others still it is the fact that the Lecture is pregnant with allegory. In the lecture we learn of the Winding Stairs which the last seven steps allude to the seven Liberal Arts and Sciences which are Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy and Music.
“
At the gates of the Temple of Wisdom. Bound with the cabletow of limitation, poor in spirit and body, man seeks admittance to the University of Understanding. In the Ancient Mysteries the order of the steps was seven, five and three –the seven liberal arts and sciences, the five sense and emotions, and the three steps symbolic of the Trinity of God in man
.
”
-The Lost Keys of Freemasonry by Manly P. Hall.
"
The Rosicrucian's declared that the material arts and sciences were but shadows of the divine wisdom, and that only by penetrating the innermost recesses of Nature could man attain to reality and understanding
."
- An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic Symbolical Philosophy by Manly P. Hall
"
The aspirant who attains proficiency in the work of self-perfecting to which the Fellowcraft grade alludes, has passed away from the North side of the Lodge, the side of darkness and imperfection; and now stands on the South East side in the meridian sunlight of moral illumination, but yet still far removed from that fuller realization of himself and of the mysteries of his own nature which is it possible for the… Master Mason to attain
”.
-The Meaning of Masonry By Walter L. Wilmshurst
In other words, a recognition of the God within himself, a mastery of the senses and a diligent application to the Liberal Arts and Sciences will provide the Mason with the building blocks for self-realization, but not the actual act itself. This will have to wait a few weeks until I go into "the revelations of the Third Degree."
"
You will thus perceive, Brethren, that the F.C. degree, sometimes regarded by us
as a somewhat uninteresting one, typifies in reality a long course of personal
development requiring the most profound knowledge of the mental and psychical
side of our nature. It involves not merely the cleansing and control of the mind,
but a full comprehension of our inner constitution, of the more hidden mysteries
of our nature and of spiritual psychology
."
-The Meaning of Masonry By Walter L. Wilmshurst
A summary of the arts and sciences are:
1 Grammar is the science which teaches us how to express our ideas in correct language.
2 It is by
Rhetoric
that elegance of diction is taught.
3
Logic
is that science which teaches us how to form clear and distinct ideas, and prevents us being misled by similitude or resemblances.
4
Arithmetic
is the science of numbers, or that branch of mathematics which considers the properties of numbers in general.
5
Geometry
treats of the powers and properties of magnitudes in general, where length, breadth and thickness are considered…
6
Astronomy
is that science which treats of the heavenly bodies, their motion, magnitude, distances, and physical constitutions…
7
Music
is that art which affects the passions by sound.
Educationally, they are called the
Trivium
and the
Quadrivium
and through study imparted to the student the seven liberal arts of classical antiquity. So from here on I will refer to them as such. The Latin word
Trivium
means "the place where three roads meet" and consist of the study of Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic and word
Quadrivium
is also Latin, meaning four ways, or four roads, hence, the subjects of the
Trivium
are the foundation for the
Quadrivium
, the upper division of the medieval education in the liberal arts, which comprised arithmetic (number), geometry (number in space), music (number in time), and astronomy (number in space and time). The
Quadrivium
was considered preparatory work for the study of philosophy and theology.
One of the key intentions behind applying the
Trivium
and the
Quadrivium
is to distinguish between reality and fiction. By training the mind how to think - instead of what to think - this method provides a teaching of the art and the science of the mind as well as the art of the science of matter. The
Trivium
and the
Quadrivium
are often presented in a Pythagorean triangle which represents the human way of knowing :
"Any observation enters our mind through the 5 senses. Then we use our mind and apply the
Trivium
and the
Quadrivium
in order to process the observation. This process consists of several steps which enable us to understand how the observation relates to what we already know, how we can explain this new piece of information to others and how we can store it in a methodical way."
In medieval universities the
Trivium
combined with the
Quadrivium
comprised of a teaching method based on a curriculum outlined by Plato. His teacher Aristotle who is considered to be one of the originators of the ideas behind the
Trivium
stated that "an educated man should be capable of considering and investigating any idea or concept thoroughly without necessarily embracing or dismissing it. If during any discussion it becomes obvious that the other person is emotionally involved regarding a particular subject matter, then it is impossible to have a rational discussion based on the
Trivium
with them. Any emotional attachment to a particular belief blocks any kind of rational or logical argumentation."
Ha, Being In The Box. Outward Mindset anybody.
This concept of studying of the
Trivium
and
Quadrivium
has been removed from the curriculum of public education over the last 100 years. It can be assumed that this happened because people who lack truly critical thinking skills are a lot easier to govern. Especially through mass media it is now possible for the government to spin almost every event, invent false realities and then sell them to their population. But this only works as long as people are not able to think for themselves and see through the manipulation. Especially the principle of the "Hegelian dialectic" where an artificial problem is created in order to cause a reaction within the population so that a prepared solution can be introduced would not work anymore if people were able to see the patterns by which their government is "guiding" them.
"
Because the human soul is akin to God, and is endowed with powers to which no one may set a limit, it is and of right ought to be free. Thus, by the logic of its philosophy, not less than the inspiration of its faith, Masonry has been impelled to make its historic demand for liberty of conscience, for the freedom of the intellect, and for the right of all men to stand erect, unfettered, and unafraid, equal before God and the law, each respecting the rights of his fellows
."
by John Fort Newton - Untitled Lecture 1932
Most of the source material can be found in my Dropbox folder Blue Lodge Education.
I believe that a 1/4 of the recipients have access to it. If you want access to it let me know. Some from my personal collection of this new technology called books.
Trivium: The Classical Liberal Arts of Grammar, Logic, & Rhetoric
by John Michell, Rachel Grenon, Earl Fontainelle, Adina Arvatu
Quadrivium: The Four Classical Liberal Arts of Number, Geometry, Music, & Cosmology
by Miranda Lundy, Anthony Ashton, Jason Martineau, Daud Sutton
The Lost Keys of Freemasonry & An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic Symbolical Philosophy
by Manly Palmer Hall.
The Meaning of Masonry & Masonic Initiation
by Walter L Wilmshurst
The Builders
by John Fort Newto
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