10. The Molten Sea

The Molten Sea could not be produced by Hiram Abiff until man had passed completely through the fire of passion, until he had descended completely into the earthly fire. So long the Brazen Sea could not become solid. It had to remain undulating, and if it was to be thus fortified, it had to burst. The passion, having become the power, is the destroying principle, which leads everything to the ruin. But after Hiram Abiff had dived down into the fire, into the embers of the brazen sea and had come out of it again, having brought the golden triangle with him - the higher principles of wisdom, beauty and power (Manas, Budhi, Atma) - he could lead the brazen sea to perfection. The brazen sea is the fusion of the lower and higher principles in the physical existence, in the mineral round. This could be fully established only after the complete descent into the mineral world, into the solidification of the physical.