In Summary:
The 5th Degree, the Perfect Master, teaches that idleness is the burial of a living man and that the degree teaches self-motivation and defeating procrastination. In this degree, the Perfect Master of the Scottish Rite is identified with similar symbols as a Past Master of the Blue Lodge, and the degree focuses on the virtues and actions of a good man’s life.

Initial Note:
[A good Mason is one who] can look upon death, and see its face with the same countenance with which he hears its story.

Regalia Notes:
The apron is of white lambskin. The lining, border, and flap are light green. Two crossed columns with three concentric circles and a golden cube superimposed from the center design of the apron. The outside circle is crimson, the center one blue, and the inner one orange. There are two letters on the top face of the cube; the one on the left is black and the other is white.

The cube represents the finite universe and the three circles symbolize the wisdom, power, and beneficence of God; the great trinity of His attributes. The letters 𐤉𐤄 (Yod, heh) are Phoenician and are the first two letters of the ancient name of God.

The jewel is the compasses, opened to sixty degrees, the points on a graduated arc. Masonic compasses are opened to sixty degrees because this is the number of degrees in each of the three angles of an equilateral triangle, always a symbol of Deity.

It is suspended from a broad grass-green watered ribbon worn from the right shoulder to the left hip. This jewel, absent the square, indicates that the candidate is moving away from the earthly and toward the heavenly: “[The Square] … is an emblem of what concerns the earth and the body; [the Compasses] of what concerns the heavens and the soul” (p. 11). The color of the ribbon symbolizes the attainment of this transition by the renewal of virtue.

Duties are:
• Be industrious and honest.

For Reflection:
• Can you measure your age, not by years but by good deeds? Does a life well lived, prepare one for death?

Lessons:
• Life is uncertain; death may call at any time. The noblest portion of humanity is a virtue for virtue’s sake.

Important Symbols:
• Branches of acacia, the coffin, and Master Hiram.

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Additional Notes:
Custom and practice from 1883 to 1935 required the candidate to prepare a last will and testament while in the preparation room of this degree. Now he may or may not prepare a will. The purpose of writing a will, or contemplating doing so, is to impress upon the candidate the uncertainty of life. Death may call at any time and it is the duty of every Mason to provide for his family and loved ones.

Sources:
Purchase ‘A Bridge To Light‘ by Rex R. Hutchens
Purchase ‘Morals & Dogma‘ by Albert Pike.