In speculative Freemasonry the Apron represents the badge of innocence and the bond of friendship. But for our ancestors , the operatives masons, the apron was just a garment worn to protect their clothes while at work. To that purpose the flap of the Apron was positioned upwards particularly in the case of the Apprentice to whom we may suppose were given the dirtier jobs.
But let’s set aside the question of what caused this tradition from not being regularly followed anymore and concentrate, briefly , on what the Apron really signifies.
That the Apron is the badge of innocence is a clear reference to the story of Hiram Habiff’s death that is so colourfully and scenically illustrated in the 3rd degree. The bond of friendship, instead, is a reminder of the oath of brotherly love and truth that the initiate undertakes when entering the Order.
But there are other and more in-depth interpretations of the Apron which span from the mathematical to the intellectual.
The explanation of the Apron that I am going to bring to your attention is one that is captivating and which I totally agree with. It was put forward in a bygone Masonic publication quite a long time ago and here it is again for your enjoyment and instruction.
Aldo Reno
Horace Greeley, the founder of the New York Tribune, used to say that he would not give a cent for a man who could not spell a word in more than one way – it showed a lack of versatility and inventive genius.
Much the same may be said of Masonic symbolism, which is as flexible as it is suggestive and may be interpreted in many ways by each initiate according to his light.
“Each sees what he carries in his heart” is what can be found written in the prologue of Faust. In a passage in the valuable book “True principles of masonry” the author tells us what the Apron means to him.
This Apron is composed of a square surmounted by a triangle or of by seven lines, four in the square and three in the triangle.
THE LOWEST LINE
To me this represents selfishness, the lowest and most degrading of all human passions! It has been the common saying, from time immemorial, that “the love of money is the root of evil”.
Selfishness is the root of all evil if you ask me because in its very worst form it may be entirely free from love of money, like that selfishness of Creed and Dogma, for example, that is not willing to concede to another the same freedom of thought , of speech and of conscience that we demand for ourselves.
Selfishness is the progenitor of all the base passions of the human heart, like vanity, cruelty, envy, deceit, jealousy , intolerance, greed, malevolence, lust, inhumanity and brutality.
TWO PERPENDICULAR LINES
Rising from the above described low plane of selfishness we have two perpendicular lines ; I call one “intellectuality” and the other “spirituality”. The first one might possibly be termed an attribute of the mind, the latter of the soul; and each of them is capable of development independently of each other.
For example, a man may have reached the summit of all human knowledge. He may have the intellectual ability of a Euclid or a Sir Isaac Newton but at the same time be wholly lacking in spirituality, or that faculty of his nature may be wholly dormant.
On the other hand even if he is endowed with the most brilliant intellect that can be conceived, he may be a moral degenerate.
Another man’s spirituality may be abnormally developed to the utter exclusion of intellectuality in which case he will be a religious fanatic. So we are forced to the conclusion that in order to secure good work, true work and square work…the development must proceed along both lines of intellectuality and spirituality in due proportion and harmony with each other.
THE TOP LINE
This line represents Faith – a logical faith that has grown out of the two lines of intellectuality and spirituality. A faith that satisfies the longings of man’s spiritual nature and at the same time meets with the approval of our reasoning faculties.
THE LINE AT THE BASE OF THE TRIANGLE
This line runs parallel with the top line of the Apron’s square and it may represent unselfishness and self-sacrifice.
Rising from this line are the two converging lines of the triangle.
THE TWO CONVERGING LINES
The one is the Love of God and the other is the Love of my fellow man. Their intersection at the apex of the triangle generates the great undying Light of Freemasonry.
Not everybody will accept this interpretation of the symbolism of the Apron, yet we may all convene that it is a wise, good and inspiring teaching which every man ought to lay to heart. It brings the opportunity for advancement towards that coronation of character which is the crown of Life and the defeat of Death.
Anon
So mot it be !
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