The Broken Column

Vocabulary · 6

The Monument

The composite emblem, published in Webb, of a broken column standing on its plinth, with figures arranged around it. The lecture identifies the entire scene as a monument to the unfinished labor of the Master Mason.

Broken column

A marble shaft snapped in two: the published emblem of a great work cut short. The published lecture reads the broken column as the loss of one of the chief supports of the Temple, by figure the loss of any Master Mason at the height of his labor.

The weeping virgin

A figure standing or seated before the broken column, weeping. In Webb she holds an open book in one hand (the published lecture identifies it as the book of his labors) and a sprig of acacia in the other (the published emblem of immortality).

Time

The bearded figure standing behind the weeping virgin in the published image, his fingers in her hair as if counting the ringlets. The monitor identifies him as Time, who unfolds the ringlets to teach that what cannot be measured at once becomes plain in the long pass of years.

Sprig of acacia

The evergreen sprig held by the weeping virgin (and laid on the open grave at a Masonic funeral). It is the published emblem of the immortality of the soul. In the same tableau it also serves as the emblem of memory: the sprig planted to mark a place that should not be forgotten.

Use in public funeral

At a Masonic funeral conducted in public, the symbols of the Monument are present in fact or in word: the open Bible, the sprig of acacia, the apron. The published service speaks of the column, the virgin, and Time as the emblems by which the Craft remembers what it has lost.

Practice questions · 5

1. Where does Webb's Monitor describe the Monument?

   • a. In the Entered Apprentice lecture, alongside the working tools
   • b. In the Master Mason lecture, as the great image of mourning ✓
   • c. In the Fellowcraft lecture, after the winding stairs
   • d. In the installation ceremony

2. What does the broken column itself published represent?

   • a. A failed building
   • b. The loss of a chief support of the Temple; a Master Mason cut short ✓
   • c. The strength of the Lodge
   • d. The end of the operative period

3. In Webb's published image, what does the weeping virgin hold?

   • a. A sword and a banner
   • b. An open book in one hand and a sprig of acacia in the other ✓
   • c. A trowel and a gavel
   • d. A plumb and a level

4. Who is the bearded figure standing behind the weeping virgin?

   • a. The Tyler
   • b. Hiram
   • c. Time ✓
   • d. King Solomon

5. What does the sprig of acacia laid on the grave published symbolize?

   • a. The end of the labors of the Craft
   • b. The immortality of the soul, and the memory of the brother who lies there ✓
   • c. The lawful authority of the Worshipful Master
   • d. The mortar of brotherly love