Another is the rite of circumambulation, that is, going around an altar from east to west by way of the south. Dr. Joseph Fort Newton said: “When man emerged from the night of barbarism his religion was a worship of light; to him light was life and love, darkness was evil and death; to him light was the mother of beauty, the un-veiler of colour, the radiant, illusive mystery of the world; his temple was hung with stars, his altar a glowing flame, his ritual a woven hymn of night and day.” To him the Sun was the greatest of God’s creations, it inspired his adoration and in all his religious ceremonies he followed its apparent course through the heavens, as though he were walking in the footsteps of the Most High. Through this rite, memories of that religion of the dawn linger with us in Masonry today.

The third is the rite of investiture or purification; that is, the presentation of the Apron. In a qualified way it bears the relationship to the lodge that baptism does to some churches, it is the external symbol of an inner purification. The Psalmist asked: “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?” and answering his own question said, “He that hath clean hands and a pure heart.” The Apron when correctly understood is the pledge of a clean life, the testimony that a candidate means to live pure, speak true, right wrong, and reverence conscience as king.

When we turn to the Ritual for its interpretation, we find the Apron to be an inheritance from the past, and so, in the fourth place, it is a badge of antiquity, “more ancient than the Golden Fleece and Roman Eagle.” A ministerial brother once said that the Masonic Ritual was couched in stilted phrases and extravagant language, and as an illustration referred to the ritualistic speech used in the presentation of the Apron. Let us see if he was right. The most specific way of conveying thought and expressing truth is by comparison. It is difficult to comprehend an idea unless we can correlate and compare it with something already known. The Order of Golden Fleece here referred to was founded in the year 1492 by Philip, Duke of Burgundy; the Roman Eagle became Rome’s ensign of imperial power about one century before the Christian era, while the Apron has come down to us from the very sunrise of time. “Hebrew Prophets often wore Aprons,” they were used in the ancient mysteries of India and Egypt, they were used by early Chinese secret societies, by the Jewish religious sect called Essenes, they were employed as emblems by the Incas of Peru, the Aztecs of Mexico, and the prehistoric races of the American continent.

As a badge of antiquity, it emphasizes the value of the past. Blackstone, in his commentaries on the English law, said that in the making of a new law three things must be considered, namely, the old law, the mischief, and the remedy. No man can apply an intelligent remedy to an existing mischief without regard to the antecedent conditions out of which it grew. Present progress must be based on the accumulated experience and wisdom of the ages. Albert Pike said, “It is the dead who govern, the living only obey.” “Every ship that comes to ‘America got its chart from Columbus, every novel is debtor to Homer, every carpenter who shaves with a foreplane borrows the genius of some forgotten inventor.”

As a badge of antiquity the Apron exalts the greatness and glory of the past in its present contribution to human good and happiness.

In the fifth place, the Apron is a badge of honour. It is declared to be “More honourable than the Star and Garter.” Here we have another comparison. The Order of the Star was created by John II of France at the beginning of his reign in the middle of the 14th Century. It was a royal plaything and at the time of its formation its founder was engaged in acts of despotism and destruction.

The Order of the Garter was formed by Edward III of England in 1349. It was composed of the king and twenty-five knights and originated in the false pride and fantastic pomp of medieval manners. Edward A. Freeman, an English historian, says: “The spirit of knighthood is above all things a class spirit. The good knight is bound to endless courtesies toward men and women of a certain rank; he may treat all below that rank with any degree of scorn and cruelty.” “Chivalry is in morals what feudalism is in law. Each substitutes personal obligations devised in the interest of an exclusive class, for the more homely duties of an honest man and a good citizen.”

Freemasonry is in striking contrast to such conceptions. It stands for the removal of discord and dissension, for the promotion of peace, the pursuit of knowledge and the practice of brotherhood, for clear conscience, equality of opportunity and the divine right of liberty in man, for devotion to duty, the building of character and rectitude of life and conduct. Its symbolical supports are wisdom, strength and beauty; the principal rounds of its theological ladder faith, hope, and charity. Its primary tenets are brotherly love, relief and truth; its cardinal virtues are fortitude, temperance, prudence and justice. Its temple is erected to the Master Builder, its Great Light is the Word of Revelation and at its centre is an Altar of high and holy purpose. Like the shadow of a rock in a weary land, like a shining light in the window of a home, like a mother’s kiss on a troubled brow and the breath of her prayer in the hour of despair, is the spirit of Freemasonry, calling man from the circumference of life to find God at the centre of the individual soul.

When we consider the messages delivered by these Orders and the Lambskin Apron – one speaking the language of class distinction, special privilege and the divine right of kings; the other telling the story of exact justice, equality of opportunity, and the brotherhood of man – it is not a stilted phrase and an exaggeration of speech to say that the badge of a Mason is more honourable than the Star and Garter.

As a badge of honour, the Lambskin Apron spells out integrity, honesty of purpose, probity of character, and soundness of moral principle. Therefore the Lambskin Apron is worthy of us, and we have to be worthy of it.

Original Document