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Allegory always strives to combine
entertainrrent with instructirn. As a teachirg trethcd,
it is sacntioned by long usage. The older and briefer
specimens are known by other names. Aesop's Fables,
with their moral lessons, are nothing but allegories.
The greatest Teacher of all time taught by allegories,
but He called them parables.
In Masonary, the Sequence of the three degrees is itself
allegorical, and represents the course of human existence.
In like manner, the building of the Temple prefigures
the erection of our moral edifice. Of cardinal importance
is the Traditional History of the Third Degree. Because
it is an allegory, its truth dces mt reside in its factual
narrative.
The literal minded can always find flaws in it. For
examle, how came "those secrets" to be lost
at the death of our Grand Master ? There were, after
all, two other Grand Masters who presurrably knew them.
The truth of the story is rather to be sought in the
moral lesson it intends to teach.
The words "veiled in allegory" imply that
some of the truths of Masonry are concealed from the
uninitiated, but that they can be discovered by one
who is privileged to join. It takes practice to leanr
how to recognise and appreciate symbol and allegory.
Only through sincere, intelligent, and sustained effort,
reinforced by irraginative and ermtional sensitivity,
can the reward be reaped.
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