Hence we see the propriety of placing the sprig of acacia, as an emblem of immortality, among the symbols of that degree, all of whose ceremonies are intended to teach us the great truth, that “the life of man, regulated by morality, faith, and justice, will be rewarded at its closing hour by the prospect of eternal bliss.” [185] So, therefore, says Dr. Oliver, when the Master Mason exclaims, “My name is Acacia,” it is equivalent to saying, “I have been in the grave,—­I have triumphed over it by rising from the dead,—­and being regenerated in the process, I have a claim to life everlasting.”

The sprig of acacia, then, in its most ordinary signification, presents itself to the Master Mason as a symbol of the immortality of the soul, being intended to remind him, by its evergreen and unchanging nature, of that better and spiritual part within us, which, as an emanation from the Grand Architect of the Universe, can never die.  And as this is the most ordinary, the most generally accepted signification, so also is it the most important; for thus, as the peculiar symbol of immortality, it becomes the most appropriate to an order all of whose teachings are intended to inculcate the great lesson that “life rises out of the grave.”  But incidental to this the acacia has two other interpretations, which are well worthy of investigation.

Secondly, then, the acacia is a symbol of INNOCENCE.  The symbolism here is of a peculiar and unusual character, depending not on any real analogy in the form or use of the symbol to the idea symbolized, but simply on a double or compound meaning of the word.  For [Greek:  akakia], in the Greek language, signifies both the plant in question and the moral quality of innocence or purity of life.  In this sense the symbol refers, primarily, to him over whose solitary grave the acacia was planted, and whose virtuous conduct, whose integrity of life and fidelity to his trusts, have ever been presented as patterns to the craft, and consequently to all Master Masons, who, by this interpretation of the symbol, are invited to emulate his example.

Hutchinson, indulging in his favorite theory of Christianizing Masonry, when he comes to this signification of the symbol, thus enlarges on the interpretation:  “We Masons, describing the deplorable estate of religion under the Jewish law, speak in figures:  ’Her tomb was in the rubbish and filth cast forth of the temple, and Acacia wove its branches over her monument;’ akakia being the Greek word for innocence, or being free from sin; implying that the sins and corruptions of the old law and devotees of the Jewish altar had hid Religion from those who sought her, and she was only to be found where innocence survived, and under the banner of the divine Lamb; and as to ourselves, professing that we were to be distinguished by our Acacy, or as true Acacians in our religious faith and tenets.” [186]