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Seeking enlightenment
- Thread starter 1mic2
- Start date
dfreybur
Premium Member
It's a shallow spot in a river where you can wade across without a bridge. The river is the water; fording is the act of wading across. Not specific to Masonry.
Beyond the lesson taught, and the basic definition Bro. Doug mentioned, there are a few of us for whom Waterford stands for hand-crafted American bicycles, one of the last pieces of the Schwinn family legacy.
#bikegeek
#bikegeek
I don't think the OP has received the Degrees, hence his question.
1mic2
Registered User
Bro. Mraymc4 I understand that it goes back to the 2nd. I was just trying to dog for deeper meaning. And I have received all my degrees I'm a J.D in my lodge. Thanks again brothers. I didn't think me seeking more light on a subject would have me deemed as. Not being qualified or not having my degrees.
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My apologies for misunderstanding the root of your question, Brother, and mistaking you for a new Seeker.
dfreybur
Premium Member
There's a fine crystal company with a name like that as well. When I heard the word in the degree I was like "Who talks that way any more even a couple hundred years ago?" Vocabulary building is one of the many subtle pieces of the puzzle of how Masonry makes good men better.
It's a good name for a lodge because it's an indirect reference to an indirect reference. If anyone likes epic poetry (ancient Greek or Norse myths) it's called a kenning. A reference that works through the emotions before it reaches the reason.
dfreybur
Premium Member
I did hear that once in my travels. I chuckled. If you think about the story at that point you probably will also. Guards stationed at waterfalls to question people who across a river at a waterfall? That's a mistake made by a ritualist who didn't have a dictionary and did parrot-only memorization without thinking about how the words fit into the story line. It's also a mistake made by a ritualist not familiar with the geography of the region around Jerusalem where a hill of several hundred meters is called a mountain.
There are all sorts of little details in various versions of the ritual that work like that. In Illinois at the opening the Junior Deacon circles the lodge checking that everyone present is known to him. He walks counterclockwise. That's a variation done by someone who was not aware that the floor work also has symbolic meaning. Whoever made that change didn't think "let's change the floor work to symbolically represent time flowing backwards not forwards". More likely it was details of foot placement and removing one turn during the walk.
I rather like having a couple of mistakes like that in a version of the ritual. It teaches how to find meaning in the work. It teaches that those who memorize and those who understand do not always overlap. It teaches that our predecessors were humans. It teaches that ritualists who memorize but do not understand are to be valued for their work. The skills and talents of our brothers give Masonry a rich tapestry that is seen in little idiosyncrasies like these.