The Concept of Beauty
Freemasonry gives you a number of tools that you can use to improve yourself and your life and for the most, they’re pretty straightforward. But one has always eluded me – beauty. In this post, I’d like to explore the concept of beauty, what it means, and how we can employ it in our lives as Freemasons.
Through the ritual, we learn that the lodge is supported by three great columns: Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty. And these great columns are represented by three great men; the WM for Wisdom, the SW for Strength, and the JW for beauty. What’s so significant about beauty? It seems like a petty endeavor compared to strength and wisdom and even less worthwhile when held up to the lofty four Cardinal Virtues. Certainly someone trying to be and remain sensible, moderate, strong of mind and body, and just shouldn’t also have keep his vanity in mind. There must be more to it than what the face value of the word today.
Some people think that Beauty is representative of the meridian Sun or Hiram Abif or divine inspiration. Some say that beauty is the bridge that links our scientific endeavors with the plan of our Great Architect. It could just be that anything great worth doing is worth adoring greatly; but that explanation seems a little hallow. In exploring the importance of Beauty and how it should guide my life as a Freemason, I like to look at the earthly embodiment of that virtue and his duty. We know that the one of the Junior Warden’s duties, after calling the craft from from labour to refreshment, is to superintend them during the hours of refreshment and to see that none are perverted to intemperance or excess. I take this to mean that while we are at rest, he maintains the beauty of the lodge by ensuring that those within act with beauty.
It seems to me that beauty is an act – not an attribute. All of the other virtues serve as character guidelines to make yourself a good man and build a good life. It doesn’t make sense that there would be a virtue on the list that is inherent and not actionable. Some are born with beauty. No-one is born with wisdom. But it’s hard enough to have beauty, how can you work on being beauty?
In my mind, it would be easier to change the word to elegance. To live beautifully is to live elegantly because you can do this regardless of your station in life or the coin in your purse. Elegance is the poise that you conduct yourself with, the civil way you do business, the manners you show at the table, and way you interact not only with brothers but with friends, family, and strangers. It is being tidy not only in your affairs and appearance but in your home as well. These are important things to keep in mind from day to day and this isn’t anything new. Etiquette books have long been around to teach us how to act; cleanliness has long been extolled; and even Brother B. Franklin in his 13 points of self improvement assigned 10 to living with elegance (temprance, silence, order, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, chastity, tranquility, and humility).
So when living your day to day life, keep our virtues in the back of your mind; especially beauty. And try to live your life elegantly.
