Test questions for 2°

The Fellowcraft Degree is emblematic of manhood, representing a period of continued schooling, research, and intellectual growth 2. Historically rooted in the operative craft, an apprentice passed into the ranks of Fellowcrafts after completing seven years of service and presenting a masterpiece, thereby becoming a free man entitled to choose his employer, select a Mason's mark, and receive wages 3. In speculative Masonry, William Preston framed the degree as an urge to study and a celebration of education, incorporating classical subjects such as the Five Orders of Architecture, the Five Senses, and the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences 2. Albert Mackey noted that early scholars read the degree as symbolic of the Mosaic Dispensation—a period of expanding religious knowledge and divine truth—though modern cosmopolitan rituals treat its teachings symbolically rather than dogmatically 1.

The degree's central symbols include the two brazen pillars, the flight of winding stairs leading to the Middle Chamber, and the letter "G" 2. The pillars, standing before the temple entrance and named Jachin and Boaz, represent strength, stability, and dependence on divine guidance 1.

Unlike the candidate entering the first degree, the brother being passed into the second is received with instruction rather than warning, and his working tools advance from mere preparation to actual construction 2. The working tools of a Fellowcraft are the Plumb, the Square, and the Level 2. While the apprentice merely prepares the stone with gauge and gavel, the Fellowcraft uses the Square to test work, the Level to lay horizontal courses upon the level of time, and the Plumb to raise perpendiculars 2. In connection with the prophetic vision of Amos, the Plumb teaches upright conduct and just judgment—judging work by a standard set in the midst of the builder 2.