24 Inch Gauge
“The 24 Inch Gauge is an instrument used by operative masons to measure and lay out their work; but we’ as Free and Accepted Masons are taught to make use of it for the more noble and glorious purpose of dividing our time. It being divided into twenty-four equal parts, it is emblematical of the twenty-four hours of the day, which we are taught to divide into three equal parts; whereby we find a portion to the service of God and distressed Worthy brethren, a portion for our usual vocations, and a portion for refreshment and sleep.”
The above is all we talk about the 24 Inch Gauge in the ritual. Unfortunately, we never go deeply into the symbolism of any of the Tools which we are shown.
For example, when shown the Common Gavel we are not told how to “…divest the hearts and consciences of all the vices and superfluities of this life…”, or even what exactly that means. However, we receive direct instruction: when shown the 24 Inch Gauge: 8 hours for service, 8 for work, and 8 for refreshment.
There is no further clarification on how to enforce this division in our own lives, or reflection on what each of those pieces means.
Leaving it to us to dig out for ourselves its concealed meanings, and learn from it, as we are able to learn; thinking through it, as we are able to think.
The three divisions of the day associated with the 24 Inch Gauge teach this and introduce the entered apprentice to this essential concept; and the common gavel, by their teaching about conscience internal and application external, and of flow-through of force, reinforce the teaching of the gauge by emphasizing the opposing directions of the spectrum (the gauge / the soul), demonstrating which way the force flows (from within outward), and provide clearer specifics of how the parts of our self are utilized and expressed in life.
W.L. Wilmshurst wrote in, "The Ceremony of Initiation " about the 24 Inch Gauge " The measuring gauge, is itself threefold in its application. It allocates one's daily time to the performance of three distinct duties, duties not necessarily involving equal expenditure of time, but duties each of which is of equal value".
It inculcates 1. a duty to God and a persistent devotion to spiritual things, 2. a duty to oneself, involving due attention to material pursuits and the care of one's own person, and 3. an altruistic duty to those less fortunate than oneself; as it were an equilateral triangle of duties each of which is as important as the other two, indeed it will be helpful to think of the sides of such a triangle as signifying God, oneself, and one's Brother respectively, and constituting a unity, a whole of which each part is necessary to the others.
In Signs and Symbols of Primordial Man Albert Churchward writes Our 24 Inch Gauge "is the old cubit of the ancient Egyptians. It is the ideographic hieroglyphic, and has the phonetic value of
Maat,
(click link for Definition of Maat)
and indicated, primarily, " that which is straight," and was the name given to the instrument by which the work of the " Craftsmen " was kept straight and measured."
All around us are many different men with just as many different ideas of how time should be spent. Every person has the same number of minutes in an hour, of hours in a day, of days in a year. Some have little or nothing to show for their thirty, forty, or fifty years of work on this mortal coil. Others have great accomplishments, or have left a lasting impression on their fellow man as the product of their time well spent.
We may never arrive at a perfect 8-8-8 division of our days, but in being industrious and striving for this ideal will help us to become more productive, more a help to society, and more a positive influence in our community. Let the 24 in. gauge represent an ideal for which we strive.
We all as Masons must find a way of balancing his performance of these three duties so as to make of them an equilateral and not an unequally-sided triangle. Equal attention is called for to spiritual things, to himself, and to what is other than himself, i.e., his Brother; undue preponderance in either direction will prevent a true balance. That is why, whilst told to give altruistic help to his Brother, he is also told that he should not do so unless he can do it without detriment to himself or connections. " At first blush these qualifying words sound selfish, contrary to the spirit of self-sacrifice. But there is great wisdom in them. For only he can really serve and help another who has first discharged his duty to himself and made himself competent to serve. Shakespeare says "Self-love is not so vile a sin as self-neglect" ; and there are many people who neglect to improve themselves, whilst fussily trying to improve others. But selfishness will itself disappear if devotion be habitually accorded to what is higher than self, and this attainment will then in turn qualify him to help his Brother.
The Mason interested in a further interpretation of our 24 hours (divided by three) need look no further than the Great Light upon the Altar - indeed, turn back from Ecclesiastes 3 to find the inspiration for this admonition that there is a time for everything.
We read:
"3-1To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven;
2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace."
But nowhere in the VSL , is there a time set aside to ‘… waste time’. Time is the very substance of life; its golden minutes are the only stones we have with which to build. Every accomplishment of man, be it for the Temple of marble or our Temple of character, act of selfishness or selfless giving to others, building a nation or building a house, it must be accomplished with "Time."
Albert Pike made himself a learned scholar by constant use of his spare time. This man knew what the 24 Inch Gauge really meant, and how profound a symbol it really is.
Without time nothing is ever finished. Hence he who wastes either his time or another’s squanders something that he can’t recover.
Reference:
W.L. Wilmshurst -"The Ceremony of Initiation "
Albert Churchward - "Signs and Symbols of Primordial Man"
Claudy, Carl - "The Twenty-Four Inch Gauge"
Masonic Service Association - "The Short Talk Bulletins"
King James Version of the Holy Bible
Michigan Masonic Ritual
