Theos-Talk Archives (May 2003 Message tt00162)

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Daniel H. Caldwell" <inquire@blavatskyarchives.com>
To: <theos-talk@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2003 4:42 PM
Subject: Theos-World Wes on Dallas and Judge


Wes, you wrote:

"What might be open to interpretation would [be] Dallas' view that
changes made by William Q. Judge to a work originally published by
H.P. Blavatsky are acceptable. It really comes down to how one views
their relationship, and what value we place on Mr. Judge's works.
HPB's writings contain a great many statements that indicate quite
clearly that she held Judge in the highest regard. Since she wrote

<Snip>>>


>Why change the phrase "thin oblong squares"?

The Reason that Judge changed the phrase is that Judge (as well as
Olcott) were Freemasons. The phrase is a Masonic phrase.

The Masons use the language of carpentry, and stone masonry to
illustrate -in a higher level- moral lessons. Is supposed to give
one's fellows a square deal, deal with them on the level, and so
forth. They use the individual tools of a stone mason to illustrate a
higher purpose.

>From Ronayne's Hand Book of Freemasonry, Part one, originally printed
in 1917, and reprinted by Health Research,
www.healthresearchbooks.com, concerning "Brotherhood", "..The trowel
is an instrument made use of by operative Masons to spread the cement
which unites the building into one common mass: but Free Masons are
taught to make use of it for the more noble purpose of spreading the
cement of brotherly love, ...", and so on. Page 253

The little book of SUNRESE, April/May 1996, special W. Q. Judge issue,
notes that Judge and his father were quite interested in Masonry, and
some of the records of the Olcott/ Judge conversation when Besant and
Olcott were planing to hold a trial of Judge, quote Judge saying to
Olcott, a Masonic phrase which in essence asks for his help in
quashing the proceedings. It was something like, "Is there no help for
the Widow's Son?"

According to Ronayne, it is only to be used by one Mason to another
seeking quarter, and would only be understood by another in the
fraternity.

The Oblong Square would be the ordinary building block, which needed
to be true and square, and level, and all that. It would probably be
considered bad karma if a stone mason were building a high wall of
stone, and it toppled over on him because he had not paid particular
attention to the individual stones being square.

In the story, which has Christian overtones, of Christ being the stone
that the builders rejected, the one stone that was useful was the one
that was not square, the Keystone (of the arch).

I have the feeling that Judge modified the phrase out of a sense of
his oath to not reveal all of the Masonic teachings, and so left out
part of the phrase, perhaps with the feeling that the phrase would not
mean anything to the ordinary Theosopist anyway.

I don't recall seeing all of the original quote that the phrase came
from, but I suspect that it had something to do with being straight,
on the level, and giving one a square deal.

Dennis