The Letter “G”
Q. Is the custom of displaying the letter “G” in masonic lodges of any great antiquity?
A. That it can not be must appear evident when we reflect that masonry existed long before the English language. The letter “G” as displayed in the lodge is, however, a necessary and appropriate substitute for the equilateral triangle, so prominently used as a sacred symbol by our ancient brethren.
The Equilateral Triangle
Q. Why so?
A. For two reasons:
1. The triangle is the true significator of that noble masonic science, geometry—since, without a knowledge of its form and properties, that science is impossible. It was upon the triangle that Pythagoras erected his celebrated and invaluable “Forty-seventh Proposition.” He is also said to have discovered that the sum of all the angles of any triangle is equal to two right angles. It is more probable, however, that he brought these two propositions, together with a knowledge of the true system of the universe, with him from Egypt, where he went to pursue his studies, and was initiated into the Mysteries.
2. The equilateral triangle is also a sacred symbol of the Deity, being the same in its form as the ancient Greek delta, or letter “D.” The Phoenician letter “D,” as well as the Egyptian, was of a similar form. The equilateral triangle, in the Greek tongue, as well as many other ancient languages, was thus the initial letter of the name of Deity. In the days of Pythagoras we are told that, whenever an oath of unusual importance was to be taken, it was administered on the equilateral triangle, as, by so doing, the name of God was directly invoked. This oath is said never to have been violated.
The EQUILATERAL TRIANGLE, therefore, since it is at once the emblem and essence of geometry, and the initial letter of the name of Deity, should be seen in the midst of every regular masonic assembly.