a learned commentator, "as emblematical of that holiness and purity which
ever characterize the divine nature, and the worship which is worthy of
him."

In the Persian Mysteries of Mithras, the candidate, having first received
light, was invested with a girdle, a crown or mitre, a purple tunic, and,
lastly, a white apron.

In the initiations practised in Hindostan, in the ceremony of investiture
was substituted the sash, or sacred zennaar, consisting of a cord,
composed of nine threads twisted into a knot at the end, and hanging from
the left shoulder to the right hip. This was, perhaps, the type of the
masonic scarf, which is, or ought to be, always worn in the same position.

The Jewish sect of the Essenes, who approached nearer than any other
secret institution of antiquity to Freemasonry in their organization,
always invested their novices with a white robe.

And, lastly, in the Scandinavian rites, where the military genius of the
people had introduced a warlike species of initiation, instead of the
apron we find the candidate receiving a white shield, which was, however,
always presented with the accompaniment of some symbolic instruction, not
very dissimilar to that which is connected with the masonic apron.

In all these modes of investiture, no matter what was the material or the
form, the symbolic signification intended to be conveyed was that of
purity.

And hence, in Freemasonry, the same symbolism is communicated by the
apron, which, because it is the first gift which the aspirant