Wine, mixed with water, made it safe to drink.
Olive oil was food, medicine and fuel.
And "corn" was the primary food of ancient civilization but, not that in the old European usage corn means "grain" and is what we now call "barley" and "wheat"
"The wages, which our ancient brethren received for their labors in the building of King Solomon’s Temple, are paid no more. We use them only as symbol, save in the dedication, constitution, and consecration of a new lodge and in the laying of cornerstones, when once again the fruit of the land, the brew of the grape and the essence of the Oliver are poured to launch a new unit of brotherhood into the fellowship of lodges; to begin a new structure dedicated to public or Masonic use.
In the Great Light are many references to these particular forms of wealth. In ancient days the grapes in the vineyard, the olives in the grove and the grain of the field were not only wealth but also the measure of trade; so many skins of wine, so many cruses of oil, so many bushels of corn were then as are dollars and cents to day. Thus when our ancient brethren received wages in corn, wine, and oil they were paid for their labors in coin of the realm.
The oil pressed from the olive was as important to the Jews in Palestine as butter and other fats are among Occidentals. Because it was so necessary and hence so valuable it became an important part of sacrificial rites.
Oil was also used not only as a food but also for lighting purposes within the house, not in the open air where the touch was more effective. Oil was also an article of the toilet; mixed with perfume it was used in the ceremonies of anointment and in preparation for ceremonial appearances. The "precious ointment, which ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard" was doubtless made of olive oil suitably mixed with such perfumes and spices as myrrh, cinnamon, galbanum and frankincense. Probably oil was also used as a surgical dressing; nomadic peoples, subject to injuries, could bardly avoid knowledge of the value of soothing oil.
The corn of the Old Testament is not the corn we know. In the majority of the uses of the word a more understandable translation would be "grain." The principal grains of the Old Testament days were barley and wheat and "corn" represents not only both of these but all the grains which the Jews cultivated.
An ear of grain has been an emblem of plenty since the mists of antiquity shrouded the beginnings of mythology. Ceres, goddess of abundance, survives to – day in our cereals. The Greeks called her Demeter, a corruption of Geometer, our mother earth. She wore a garland of grain and carried ears of grain in her hand.
The Hebrew shibboleth means both an ear of corn and a flood of water. Both are symbols of abundance, plenty, wealth.
Thus corn, wine, and oil were the wages of a Fellowcraft in the days of King Solomon. Freemasons receive no material wages for their labors, but if the work done in a lodge is paid for only in coin of the heart such wages are no less real. They may sustain, as does the grain, refresh, as does the wine, give joy and gladness as does the oil. How much we receive, what we do with our wages, depends entirely on our Masonic work. Our ancient brethren were paid for their physical labors. Whether their wages were paid for work performed upon the mountains and in the quarries, or whether they received corn, wine, and oil because they labored in the fields and vineyards, it was true then and it is true now that only "in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." To receive the Masonic equivalent of the ancient corn, wine, and oil, a brother must labor. He must till the fields of his own heart or build the temple of his own house not made with hands. He must give labor to his neighbor or carry stones for his brother’s temple.
If he stand and wait and watch and wonder, he will not be able to ascend into the Middle Chamber where our ancient brethren received their wages. If he works for the joy of working, does his part in his lodge work, takes his place among the laborers of Freemasonry, he will receive corn, wine, and oil in measures pressed down and running over and know a fraternal joy as substantial in fact as it is ethereal in quality; as real in his heart as it is intangible to the profane world." --
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