“Renaissances”
Dear Brethern,
In 1977, the two Voyager spacecrafts launched carrying golden records that included images and sounds of the earth, illustrations of a man and a woman, and selections of music from Bach, Beethoven, Blind Willie Johnson, and Chuck Berry among others. Should the spacecrafts ever be encountered by the inhabitants of a distant civilization, these samples of artistic expressions will be a window into their understanding of the beings that set forth these interstellar travelers.
Why devote time and resources to the study of the arts? Why include them on a purely scientific mission in hopes of them being found by distant intelligent life? The lecture of the Middle Chamber teaches Masons of the seven liberal arts and sciences and how we experience them through our five senses. Whereas the sciences reveal to us knowledge of the Grand Architect’s sublime design of the universe, the arts are the conduits for us to externalize our complex inner universe. Through recovered pieces of art, archeologists obtain revealing insights into civilizations long forgotten to time. Through painting, writing, sculpting, dance, and composing, anthropologists crystallize the collective definition of what it means to be human. The arts go beyond merely serving as entertainment or decoration. In a language intelligible to the heart, they are essential in reflecting and shaping our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. They are our characteristic signature on the universe, itself the supreme artistic creation. I challenge all craftsmen in the quarries, to renew their labors to polish and adorn the mind beneath the support of the third pillar of our Temple: Beauty.
Fraternally,
Henry Da Silva
Worshipful Master