Page 33 - Education Programs

pleasure the human soul experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting.” It was
this essentially mathematical character of music that leads to its being included in the quadrivium.
The Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences, represented by the seven steps in the Fellowcraft Degree,
symbolize for the Mason an idealization of education, that intellectual and cultural discipline
necessary for man in his quest to obtain perfection and understand his Maker. From a symbolic
standpoint, these seven subjects must be considered a single symbol composed of seven parts of
equal dignity. While geometry is exalted by Masonry, it is dealt with separately within the
Fellowcraft Degree in another context and should not be provided additional significance in the
context of the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences.
This seven-part symbol represents education and all its attendant values, not the precise content of
education. When one examines each of the parts of this symbol, one discerns not only the nature
and content of each part, but also an idealized purpose of education as well. The view provided by
the symbol coincides with Plato’s view of education, that education tends to lift the mind above
the mundane and routine considerations and enables it to comprehend the final aim of philosophy,
an understanding of the Supreme Architect of the Universe, God. This is the ultimate essence of
Freemasonry that man should continually strive to develop his understanding of his own spiritual
being and the essence of God. So Masonry’s Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences together symbolize
the conscious effort to control the mind and spirit so that reason prevails and man will always
strive to obtain a perfect relationship with God.

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