Early Masonic Tortoise Shell Snuff Box
This early Tortoise Shell Snuff Box carries many of the emblems of Blue Lodge
Masonry. The most prominent are Prudence (on the left) and Justice (on
the right)! Prudence - Preston
first introduced it into the Entered Apprentice Degree as referring to what
was then, and long before had been called the Four Principal Signs,
but which are now known as the Perfect Points of Entrance. Preston's
eulogium on prudence differs from that used in the lectures of the United
States, which was composed by Webb. It is in these words: "Prudence is the
true guide to human understanding, and consists in judging and determining
with propriety what is to be said or done upon all our occasions, what dangers
we should endeavor to avoid, and how to act in all our difficulties."
And Justice - The Freemason who remembers how emphatically he has been charged
to preserve an upright position in all his dealings with mankind, should never
fail to act justly to himself, to his Brethren, and to the world. This is the
corner-stone on which alone he can expect "to erect a superstructure alike
honorable to himself and to the Fraternity." In iconology, the general
science pertaining to images, Justice is usually represented as a
matron, her eyes bandaged, holding in one hand a sword and in the other a pair
of scales at equipoise. But in Freemasonry the true symbol of Justice,
as illustrated in the First Degree, is the feet firmly planted on the
ground, and the body upright.
