Rectified Rite: Beneficent Knights of the Holy City, Ritual for the Novitiate

Deputy Master: To the glory of the Great Architect of the Universe, in the name and by the authority of our legitimate Superiors, and by the power that has been entrusted to me, I open this Symbolic work of the said Class for the final examination and preparatory instruction of a Scottish Master aspiring to the interior order. He beats 4 blows .. .. the Wardens [do so] each in their turn without repeating the battery.

My brethren, the Symbolic work of the said Class is opened. The Deputy Master gives the sign of the Scottish class, which is repeated by all the brethren, whom he invites to sit; they do so while returning their sword to the scabbard. Then the Deputy Master places his sword on the table and says:

Brother Master of Ceremonies, go fetch the Scottish Master who requests his advancement, and you will bring him in. Here are the necessary certificates for his admission.

The Master of Ceremonies goes to fetch the aspirant in the preparation room and brings him to the door of the Lodge, dressed and decorated as a Scottish Master, then he strikes 4 blows on the door according to the rite of the Scottish class.

2nd Warden: Worshipful Deputy Master, there is a knocking at the door in the manner of a Scottish Master.
1st Warden: He repeats it to the Deputy Master.
Deputy Master: See who it is.
1st Warden: He repeats the order to the 2nd Warden.

The 2nd Warden opens the door and, without closing it, asks the following questions successively, to which the Master of Ceremonies dictates the answer to the aspirant.

2nd Warden: Who are you and what motive brings you?
Aspirant: I am a Scottish Master who requests to be received into the interior order to find new means there to perfect myself and to make myself useful to men.
2nd Warden: What is your name, your surname, your age, the place of your birth, and that of your domicile?
Aspirant: He answers these various questions.
2nd Warden: Where do you come from?
Aspirant: From Scotland.
2nd Warden: Has your legitimate Superior consented to your advancement?
Aspirant: Yes, and here are the proofs. (He hands the 2nd Warden the certificates that the Deputy Master had given to the Master of Ceremonies.)
2nd Warden: He closes the door, repeats the answers to the 1st Warden, and hands him the certificates.
1st Warden: He repeats them to the Deputy Master and brings him the certificates.
Deputy Master: Since this Scottish Master has fulfilled all his duties to the satisfaction of his superiors, have him enter.

1st Warden: He repeats the same to the 2nd [Warden]. The latter opens the door and introduces the aspirant, who makes the Scottish sign upon entering. He is placed standing between the 2 Wardens.

Deputy Master: What do you ask?
Aspirant: I desire to be admitted into the interior order, if I am judged worthy, to make myself more useful to humanity there.
Deputy Master: My Brother, your expectation will be fulfilled if you enter courageously. In the legitimate classes of this Worshipful Order, we must unveil [things] to you and admit you; it is necessary to instruct you on the nature [of the order] and your duties so that you may judge for yourself if you feel enough strength to fulfill them.

It is not without reason that, at every step of the symbolic career, you have had placed before your eyes the famous temple built in the Holy City by Solomon to the glory of the God of the Universe, as well as the history of the revolutions it underwent until the time of its total destruction. Accompanied by the ancient law, a law that was perfect, simple, holy, and sublime in truth and light replaced this law of rigor and promises by substituting reality for the figures of love and fear.

The true disciples of this second law, placed between the debris of the temple of the old [covenant] and the altar of the new alliance, deserved, by the ardor and purity of their desires, to cooperate in the building of a more perfect temple, where they called all the peoples of the earth through their salutary instructions. But it was mainly in the Holy City, and near the ruins of this place once sanctified by divine powers, that they initiated those who were led by a pure zeal, a solid piety, and a sincere love for the truth. It is in these revered places that our generous predecessors devoted themselves to the exercise of the virtues that made them respected and rendered them famous. Contemplating the mysteries of nature in the temple of the new law, they adored in its sanctuary the unique and infinite source of all truth, of all wisdom, of all good, and hurried to the courtyards to serve and console suffering humanity. It was through this active beneficence, this ardent love of men drawn from gratitude and respect for the Supreme Being, that the order they established became useful to humanity and was universally esteemed, cherished, and respected as long as it did not lose sight of the fundamental [purpose] of its institution. It is in what I have just unveiled to you that you must seek the motive for which you have always been so strongly recommended to study the Egyptian Masonry, which under three points