Architecture.

there is in Masonry the rounded arch with its simpler sculpture which binds the moral structure . It binds the past to the present by tho truths and the principles of which ifc is the expression . In its humbler carvinff there is the name of tbe true

artificer who received the title of father for his noble deeds . As master and artist he is enshrined in the most sacred memory ; but he stands forth the embodiment of fidelity to trust , of faithfulness even to death for the work committed

to him . But he illustrates in splendid parable a truth underlying all Masonry , and which reconciles man to death , that there is a life beyond in which man shall appear in a diviner form . Amid the manifold changes , amid the

passing of the spirit from the body , God who made man in His own likeness , shall preserve man ' s personality . The life that succeeds this life shall be a measureless progress , a ceaseless approach to the stature and Being of Him who

created man and raised him from the dead . The body which sinks into dust and in which man has wrought his work ; which has been imbued with thought and glorified as the temple of spirit , shall have in its refined and spiritual

state a deathless reality . For man ' s life shall not be broken and shattered into nothingless by death , but made complete as it passes from perfection to perfection . The burden that

weighed down and hindered the growth of his divinely given powers shall fall away and his personality be clothed with immortal beauty and rejoice in immortal youth .

Tyre sent skilled workmen for the fashioning of the temple in Jerusalem . The Tyrians were the Anglo-Saxons of the East . Great in mannfacfcures , great in the arts that refine and benefit mankind , they raised their city to a

splendid position in eastern life . They trafficked with all lands , receiving the burdens and sending out the products of their industry North and South , East and West . Their harbours were thronged with ships , by which are kept in

constant motion the currents of commercial life . Forests of masts rise out of the waters like trees , and straight from their shores to the open sea vessels carry the rich freightage of a continent . Along the coasts of the Mediterranean

they founded colonies , and overcoming the dangers of travel , they push to the farthest lines of the known world in the West and leave an impress of their life which abides

to modern times . And this rich history of the past is our Masonic memory in that heroic worker who has set the pattern of true Masonic work . But it is ours in the commerce which illustrates the law of brotherhood and is a

potent agent m all higher civilisations , for commerce is the expression of the will and purpose of man , the visible outgrowth of his hopes and trust . In the interchange of ideas , of the commodities , the inventions , the wealth and

possession of a people , it is a means of binding nations together as sustaining their own interests in sustaining the interests of others . In its felt and subtile movements , it draws the various tribes of mankind into one , and establishes and cultivates the great Masonic truth , the brotherhood of

man . In the word "widow" there is a world of meaning . There is the desolation in the bonds that are dearer than life , broken by separation and death . In ancient times

the widow was dependent on the kindness of relatives , but more especially on the oldest son . And , through her , how the law of charity has penetrated and given lustre to the Masonic Order , in the wants of the widow supplied ; in the son and the orphans ministered to in their necessities .

And it shows that the Royal Order recognises the power of woman in society . Though not permitted to enter the mysteries of Masonry , still she has , by her relationship with it , a large and enduring influence . As in society , so in

Masonry , much of its strength and purity lies in the hand of woman . Apart from the religious fervour which inspired the Crusades , it was woman that gave energy and brought into splendid action the powers of a nobler manhood .

Peoples and nations were quickened , and the flower of chivalry went forth for conflict and new forces arose to regenerate the world . Political , social , industrial and commercial life was changed . The tyranny of false

opinions was broken in pieces , and a way opened for the establishment of laws that were not for one kingdom , but for all the commonwealths of man . The energy set in motion sent navigators , each a new Columbus , over wide

seas in search of other lands , until another continent was discovered , in which new civilisations and new forces should work for human liberty and human development . The East and West were brought into contact ; thought was interchanged , and art and learning were advanced .

Architecture.

The crusades of the knights fighting for God and woman were not , therefore , a passage of arms , but tho opening of the hiding place of a power to change the face of Europe , and set in abiding form ideals which educate even amid

the marvellous achievements of to-day , tbe noblest nations of modern life . A humane and civilizing influence was introduced , which shines with new lustre in the deeds and discoveries , the literature and inventions of the splendid pageantry and progress of humanity .

And that word , as it is revealed to the toiling or waiting craftsman , is an inspiration to manliness and to a larger respect for woman . And as this inspiration finds generous

reception in the hearts , ifc will shape a nobler form of manhood and of courage , of charity and esteem for woman , until the Mason goes forth an influence aud a power to lift up and adorn society .

Then we have the message of Masonry sent to us . It is not alone the work and skill of Hiram , but it is the assertion of the mission of Masonry . In its principles and teachings it is a perpetual witness for him who made the

worlds . Its philosophy is the philosophy of truth , and it teaches the Mason to study the beauty and the order , the harmony of this marvellous architecture of the universe . " From nature , it leads up to nature ' s God , " and urges

reverence to him as due from the created to the Creator , It moves among men a law to restrain the passions ; to guide the temper , and to harmonise the discordant interests of society . Its mission is to hold out like the dove over the seething and angry waters , the olive branch of peace .

Had its mission been recognised , its message heard , its brotherhood understood and followed , doubtless the dark blot of human servitude and degradation would have been cleansed and left the nation free . The wounds would not

have been made ; the blood would not have flowed ; and the conflicts that marred the land would not have arisen ; and the flag that floats—the symbol of this magnificent union of States—would have floated without the smoke of

battle or the stains of a brother s blood in all its folds . It , is a great message to men . And like that brief word " to , " which may be a thousand times repeated and a thousand times forgotten , it is a binding force . As the

moments and minutes bind the days and weeks and months and years , so this message of Masonry binds the Order not alone to the past , but to the present and future , and man to man , brother to brother in unseen but splendid fellowship .

To an eastern mind greatness combined and found its best expression in a Monarch . Bufc in that Temple that furnishes the parable and pattern for the Order , the Monarch had a high and sacred meaning . It was the first

name for the Supreme Being as the Ruler of Israel . And when it was transferred to man it came with great authority , as claiming the honour and the obedience of the subject , for the Monarch stood as the visible representative of

Jehovah . He was set apart and anointed as Ruler . But every man is a Monarch when , in the fullness of his manhood , he consecrates himself to the control of his being , the mastery of his passions and the development of his

powers . He is the ruler of man when by his inventions and discoveries , by his learning and genius , he sets forth the arts that culture a people and make ifc prosperous and

strong . He has the divine right of a King , more grand in its influence than the mere Caesar who sits in empire . For ifc has been said : " Let us make man after Our image ; and let him have dominion over the works of Our hands . "

To the Mason , he who built the Temple of Jerusalem is , in the purest parts of his life , ever a teacher . Endowed with wisdom more than other men , clothed with authority ,

gifted with wealth , he had the wisdom to design , the wealth to furnish , and the power to build the temple until it stood in Mount Zion a home of faith , the imperial shrine for a nation's worship .

Architects and builders have their place in this moral temple of Masonry , and in that inner sanctuary of the heart where the message of Masonry is striving to work into fche outer life , its mission instinct with moral beauty , strong

with law as a supreme force , and where the Keystone takes its place in thafc rounded arch which holds the structure together as firmly and grandly as the visible firmament which overarches the race of man .

From the squared and sculptured stones of the quarry of our inner being , the Great Architect of the Universe is ever suggesting that we build living shrines to His name .

And these shrines shall be more beautiful in their proportions than Greek or Gothic temples , because built out of the spiritual nature of man , and immortal as he is immortal