Gerry

On the Level

This phrase is believed to have derived from a Freemasonry ritual in which the tools used for stone cutting and building were used to symbolise moral qualities. For example, newcomers to the Lodge are told as part of their initiation that the square implies straight dealing and the compasses suggest ‘within the compass or purview’ of the Craft. Freemasonry is believed to have brought many everyday sayings such as ‘fair and square’ or ‘on the level’ into popular argot although such concepts would possibly have emerged quite naturally without Freemasonry to set them into the language.

Freemason symbol.

The phrase obviously goes back a long way. The origins of Freemasonry are not clear even to the initiated, and the idea that the original masons protected their secrets by having a guild, or society, with admission only to fellow stonemasons may have some truth. That such guilds evolved into the secretive society of modern Freemasonry may be less accurate, but it is a nice tale.

Initiation of an apprentice Freemason around 1800. This engraving is based on that of Gabanon on the same subject dated 1745. The costumes of the participants are changed to the English fashion at the start of the 19th C and the engraving is coloured, but otherwise is that of 1745.

In the 13th century, and with limited written records, much of the skill of stonework was passed from master to apprentice by word of mouth. To disclose such trade secrets was taken very seriously, which is why the legendary punishments meted out to transgressors were so terrifying. Loss of the skills and knowledge of masonry working to non-masons would be damaging to the craft. Evidence of the guilds can be found in the late Medieval era, you can still find Masonic symbols carved discreetly into the door pillars of cathedrals, and many of the human faces depicted in the carved frescoes are almost certainly portraits of the Masons and other craftsmen who helped build the great work.

The phrases ‘on the square or on the level’ appear in the ritual of Freemasonry and both are of legendary antiquity. In the rites of the lodges, however, the level, an instrument used by builders to determine a common plane, is actually a symbol of equality. The square, an instrument of equally great precision for determining accurately an angle of ninety degrees, the fourth part of a circle, is a symbol of morality, truth, and honesty. In the ‘The Encyclopedia of Freemasonry’ (1916 edition) we can find

‘In the year 1830, the architect, in rebuilding a very ancient bridge called Baal Bridge over Limerick, in Ireland, found under the foundation-stone an old brass square, much eaten away, containing on the two surfaces the following inscription dated 1517.  Note ‘V’  carved as ‘U’.

: I. WILL. STRIUE. TO. LIUE –
: WITH. LOUE. & CARE. –
: UPON. THE. LEUL. –
: BY. THE. SQUARE.”

Not a bad motto for today.

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