The Spirit Of Freemasonry.

THE SPIRIT OF FREEMASONRY .

AT the banquet held in connection with tho annual installation of United Manawatu Lodge , No . 1721 ( English Con . ) at Palmerston North , a departure was made from the usual practice , as , in addition to the usual congratulatory toasts , a special one , " The Spirit of Freemasonry , " was introduced , no doubt to

emphasise the fact that on that occasion , for the first time for many years , the New Zealand Freemasons were again enabled to hold full fraternal intercourse with their Brethren holding under the English Constitution .

The toast was very ably proposed by Bro . M . Cohen P . M . of United Manawatu Lodge , who referred to the universality of the Craft , its charity , the friendship existing among Masons , its antiquity , and the striking moral lessons inculcated in it 3 teachings .

The toast was coupled with the name of Bro . W . H . Smith P . M . of Manawatu Kilwinning Lodge , No . 47 ( N . Z . ' -. ) , who , after paying tribute to the manner in which Bro . Cohen had introduced the subject , said : " It is impossible to adequately deal with such a large subject in all its aspects , so I with confine my remarks to

some of its most prominent features . Undoubtedly the first to claim our attention is its unbounded charity . Of this no more magnificent examples have been affored than those furnished by the Grand Lodge of England , at whose annual gatherings vast sums are contributed for those most laudable objects of Masonic

work—the relief and support of the widow , and the maintenance and the education of the orphan . At no time and under no circumstances have the liberality and munificence of English Freemasons been excelled . I do not wish it to be inferred that extent affords the best gauge of charity ; indeed , we have high

authority for the belief that sometimes the widow ' s mite is better evidence of true charity than the lavish gift of the man of great possessions . But I believe that on these occasions the true spirit of charity animated the givers . I have alluded to these instances because they strike outsiders most forcibly , and also

show us that not only are we quite correct in claiming that we number _ amongst us many men of affluence , but that these men have laid to heart the lessons of Freemasonry , and out of thenabundance give freely to relieve the distress and minister to the wants of their Brethren and fellows who have been less favoured by fortune .

All alms-giving , of course , is not true charity . It is not difficult to imagine cases in which a man blest with a plentitude of wealth might give freely in order to be rid of importunity , or lavishly advertise his own munificence and wealth . As Freemasons we should not consider that displaying the spirit of true

charity , however beneficial the gift may be in its results . To make the gift of charity perfect , the liberal hand mu ? t be accompanied by the voice of consolation , the sympathetic and encouraging word ; it must also be made without ostentation , and without injuring the self-respect of the recipient . It sometimes

requires more true charity to assist the fallen , to act the part of the good Samaritan , to bind up the wounds of those who have been injured moraUy or spiritually in the battle of life , to reclaim the weak and erring Brother who may have tottered over the uneven paths of temptation and adversitv—to place him on bis feet

again , " clothed , and in his right mind , " able to " look the whole world in the face " as a man and a Mason should do . There is no reason , however , to fear that chanty of these kinds will ever be neglected by Freemasons ; but there is another form of charity we are all too apt to neglect , perhaps because it does not appeal

to us so directly—I mean the charity " that thinketh no evil , " that will always put the be 3 t construction possible on a Brother ' s actions , however dubious they may seem , that will refuse to listen to the tale of the slanderer , and that will defend a Brother ' s character at all hazards and at all times .

True Masonic charity will go even further than this . It will not look with contempt or scorn upon those who have fallen , but will extend the helping hand in an earnest effort to again raise them . It will recognise that " man cannot judge of man , " that it is impossible to analyse all the motives which may lead to the

commission ot acts we may deplore , that no man truly knows the possibilities even of his own nature , and therefore cannot possibly estimate how strong the temptations of his Brother may have been , or how weak bis temperament was to withstand them . The true Mason will look on these things much as did John Bunyan

that inspired thinker , who yet " left his footprints on the sands of time . " It is related of him that on observing a man staggering along the street uttering the foulest language , he exclaimed , " There , but for the grace of God , goes John Bunyan . " If you choose to substitute for " the grace of God " strength of will or

lack 01 desire , the fact remains the same . If reason could always control the passions , then we certainly should not see so many men fall from great heights in society , church , or State , to such dismal depths of degradation . But it should be unnecessary for me to dilate on the beauties of charity to men who must have had these impressed upon them by our solemn ceremonies , and in the

The Spirit Of Freemasonry.

beautiful and stately language of our ritual , which I cannot hope to emulate . I will , therefore , pass on to consider the religious aspect of Freemasonry , though here I tread ou dangerous ground . I fully recognise the wisdom and propriety of our ancient regulation that no Brother shall introduce any topic of religious or political discussion , and I do not purpose doing so . I take it

that this regulation can only refer , to sectarian topics , because it is impossible to consider Freemasonry without referring to its religious aspect , as it is a religion in itself—the only religion , indeed , professed by some men . The word " religion" simply means something that " binds together , " and may be applied to beliefs " wide as the poles asunder . " In this sense where can

you find anything more binding , more comprehensive in its scope , or more universal in its application than " the mystic tie " of Freemasonry '! A poem of Kipling ' s , " The Mother Lodge , " published in a recent " Craftsman , " helps me to illustrate what I mean . His Mother Lodge was in India , where the " caste " system prevails so strongly that large sections of men ' s religions were represented in it . He says :

We dursn'fc give no banquets , Lest a Brother ' s caste be broke . That illustrates a tenderness for the feelings of others which I wish to emulate . Another quotation from the poem helps me still further when he says :

We'd all ride 'omo to bed , With Mahommed , God , and Shiva , Changin' pickets in our " ' ead . " We are evidently intended to infer from this that men were present in the Lodge representing sects which for centuries , in that very land , have been clutching at each others' throats ; yet ,

thanks to the tolerant and beneficent spirit of Freemasonry , they could assemble together in the Lodge , and work in perfect harmony . Toleration has not been a characteristic or dogmatic religion—could not be such , in fact . When we look into the past , down what Longfellow calls the " corridors of time , " we find many instances of this want of toleration . It has made little difference which particular form of reiigious belief has held sway ;

it has always had drastic methods of dealing with scoffers and unbelievers . If , on the one hand , you hear the shrieks and groans of the victims of bigotry and intolerance under the Spanish Inquisition , on the other you may see the baleful fires of Smithfield , or the harrying of the Covenanters in Scotland , when " fierce persecution bared her fiery sword and chased them up to Heaven . " It is a singular fact , too , that no sect ever appears to have learnt from its own sufferings the lesson of toleration .

In Scotland , for instance , a system of religious tyranny was subsequently established , to which many would doubtless have preferred the raidiDgs of Olaverhouse , for it is at least an open question whether it is worse to maim and slaughter the body than to fetter the mind , obscure the soul , enchain the spirit , and destroy the freedom of the thought of man . Freemasonry has

always been all-tolerant , never aggressive , and has trusted to the benign influence of its teachings to effect by moral suasion that which force can never accomplish—that is , to curb the passions , regulate the lives , and purify the hearts of men . Many and varied have been the ideas of man as to the origin of all things , the government of the universe , his own duties in this life , and

his prospects in futurity . Some of the old religions are of special interest to us as Freemasons , because connected with them were " mysteries" very similar in many respects to ceremonies practiced in our Lodges at the present time . Some of the most noticeable of these were the mysteries of Isis in Egypt , the Eleusinian mysteries , chiefly practiced thioughout Greece and in Italy , and the ancient Scandinavian mysteries .

Some Masonic writers are fond of tracing our own mysteries back to those of the religions that prevailed in the childhood of the world . However that may be , for us Isis no longer wanders along the banks of the Nile searching for the body of her murdered 03 iris , and all the gods of ancient Egypt , a very multitude in number , are as dead as its own mummies . Thor ' s

hammer smites no more ; the thunders of Jove are silent , and all the deities of Olympus , who once animated the hearts and ruled the actions of . the men who ruled the world , have vanished into the limbo of the past . All these now serve only to decorate classic story , " to point a moral or adorn a tale . " The shores of the ocean of time are strewn with the wreckage of religious

systems . Each has no doubt been the highest conception attainable by man in those stages of his mental and moral development , and iu so far as they have represented some earnest effort to solve the problems of life , to endeavour to further perfect the organisation of society , or have assisted in the development of art and science , or aided man to free himself from the shackles

of some grosser superstition , they have marked milestones on the way of progress , on the inarch of humanity to what Teunyson calls " that great , far-off , divine event , to which the whole creation moves . " Crude as they may have been in their inception , and absurd as the superstitions appear to us at this distant day , we must not forget that they influenced the lives and guided the