What Freemasonry Is.

WHAT FREEMASONRY IS .

An Oration Delivered at the Dedication of ihe Masonic Temple , at Waterbury , Conn ., by the Rev . Bro . J . W . Richardson .

I CONGRATULATE you over the completion of this beautiful temple . It is graceful and majestic in outline and proportion , and reflects praise ou the skill of architect and builder . We have this day partipitated in ceremonies

which dedicate this magnificent pile to the uses of the fraternity hereafter for over . Bufc this bnilding and this room have taken on a deeper meaning this day . For

months the populace of this busy city has rushed to and fro , past the closed door of this building ; and although

the people knew its intended purpose , yet as a temple it had no tongue to speak . But the solemn services of this

day have given birth to the real meaning of this pile . And now every stone and brick have become vocal with instruction . True , among the unitiated there are those

who complain because Masonry is so symbolical ; and what to us are characters in the alphabet of love and fraternity to them is empty mummery . Yet tho great brotherhood only conforms to the universal law , thafc which

teacbes men to express their dearest thoughts by signs and tokens . The plain golden band , which encircles the finger of the young bride , is eloquent in its symbolism . The Psalmist affirms : " The heavens declare the glory of

God , and the firmament showeth his handiwork . Day unto day uttereth speech , and night unto night showeth knowledge . " Nature is full of symbols , that talk English to us . Individuals and nations are constantly expressing some great idea by the use of symbols .

It is , as George Dana Boardman says : " What power there is in a symbol we need not go to the books to learn . Visit with me a Gettysburg of civil war . All around us the red sea of battle heaves and roars . But look ! by

yonder turn in tbe valley the billow swells highest and reddest . Here is the maelstrom of the fury ; the crucial spot of the fight . Here platoon blends with platoon , bayonet crosses bayonet , breast hurtles against breast .

And now another awful shock , fiercest of all ; and then above the groan of dying and boom of gun swells a shout , long , clear , ecstatic , ' It is ours , ' * It is ours ! ' What is

ours ? A . smoke-blackened , shot-riddled , bayonet-rent bit of bunting—as a piece of cloth , nothing—as the star spangled banner , everything .

"' Into that banner are gathered country , and constitution , and government , and liberty , and glory , and fireside and altar . As a piece of cloth it is absolutely nothing ; as

a symbol it is the concentrated essence of the United States . And this is its power . So long as the flag floats over his ranks , the soldier feels that he has everything to fight for —everything to make him fight . "

So to Masons this temple , and this hall , compose a symbol full of deep meaning and power . In it is concentrated the essence of those principles that go to make manhood glorious and worth contending for . This temple

is but a human life symbolised . This temple hall is like a soul within a tabernacle of clay ; here Masonic thought and activity are born ; here that life courses which gives meaning to all the externals . The time was when the

smooth and polished stones were in the quarry , rongh and misshapen , when the bricks were unmolded in their native clay ; when even the rafters and posts were without comeliness , and in the dark forest were smitten by every wintry

blast . But master hands have quarried the stone , and pressed the brick , and planed the timber . And now , in a symmetrical and beautiful whole , the uncomeliness of the past overcome by struggles—perfected—is surmounted by

the cross and crown ! Such are the struggles of a man He comes into the world naked and helpless ; blind fco tbe beauties of nature , and ignorant of antagonistic forces . But in due time he is brought to light : Wisdom and

truth become his teachers . He learns that his thoughts and deeds are the forest , are the quarry , out of which shall come the timber and stone that shall form the temple of character . He wars with sin and temptation , and

through the sign of the cross conquers . By the help of the "Master Carpenter of Nazareth " all uncomeliness is removed ; in the dawn of the morning , the temple of his sonl receives a crown and the " well done . " Never in the history of the world has there been a sacred building like unto the temple of Solomon . Beautiful

What Freemasonry Is.

for situation , magnificent in its appointments , holy in its uses , it became the earthly dwelling place of the Most High . When the pilgrim bands came together from all

parts of the land to behold the beauty of the Lord and to worship in His temple , they stood enraptured with its unrivalled beauty , and they shaded their eyes from the burning glory that encircled it like a sun . The architectural design for fche structure was drawn on a divine

trestleboard and came down from heaven . The ark , which was the symbol of Jehovah's presence , was set down in the holy place . The hallowed worship of God was accompanied by all the accessories which tended to

impress the minds of the people with a realism of God ' s near presence . There was roll and swell of music in hymns of praise ; then the priest came before the people , and spread forth his hands in prayer , and all hearts were

bowed in worship ! Their external rites wero expressive of the internal Spirit that dwelt in their courts . So in fche more modern temple of Masonry , the services express our love for God , and our good will toward men . Like

Solomon ' s building , in many respects the temple of Masonry serves to draw true manhood nearer to God ! This may sound like " strange doctrine" to some who havo been taught to look upon the fraternity as a Godless institution .

There are those in every community who have the prejudiced thought that Freemasonry is the foster mother of atheism . But when they witness those whom they trust going np into the temple ; when many of those they fondly

love are the same devout , painstaking husbands , fathers and brothers in the home , church and state , they are nonplussed . We who handle the treasures of the " inner place " ought to be in a position to satisfactorily answer

their inquiries concerning the Craft . Not that Freemasonry needs any defence ! for , like Gibraltar , ifc has been lashed by the storms , and tbe mutations of time have

passed over it ; but its bosom of granite truth has hurled the divided waves back upon themselvep , while its pinnacles tower hierher than ever ! Yet there are those who

have been attracted by the symmetry and beauty of our fabric , and these might become nobler if the implements of our Craft were laid upon their characters . The laws of this great institution recognise the fact thafc man is

struggling with sin and adversity , and that help may be given to him that he may better construct the moral and spiritual temple of his character . Let us therefore endeavour to make an exposition of some of tho great principles which underlie this institution .

1 . What is Freemasonry ? Some erroneously think that the countersigns and ceremonials of our great Order are Freemasonry—but it is something beyond signs and degrees , beyond the grips and passwords . Freemasonry uses these

things only that it may couple its power on to human life , just as a wire connects the electricity of the battery with one ' s hand . Iu the religious world it is not the hymn book , nor the order of service , nor the sermon , that contains the

power which performs a good work in the worshippers heart—these are only a vehicle by which the Holy Spirit reaches the soul and performs His function . So you do find any well informed Mason laying great stress on the

symbols and rituals . We may admire them as one admires the symmetrical proportion , the shining brass and steel rods , the great wheels and cylinders of the locomotive . But the power which we respect is within and cannot be

seen ; it is this unseen power that does the work and makes the brass and iron of value . The Freemason may commend some beautiful symbol , some impressive degree , but it is the living Spirit which fills the symbol and

degree , and through them touches and uplifts the heart tbat he adores 1 The devout Catholic adores the crucifix , not because he thinks the brass and wood of which it is made have any efficacy ; but because the truth behind the

symbol , and which the crucifix helps him grasp , has power to aid him . Just so with Freemasonry ! Back of the material which catches the natural eye , und the words that fall upon the ear , are great living principles which are the

heart and lungs of the organisation . These manifold principles centre in truth—but what kind of truth ? Oh , Freemasonry has never assumed the office of a prophet and claimed to present to men a newer revelation . Ifc

takes the principles of this old truth which Jesns and the prophets taught , and in its own way seeks to apply them to the needs of its craftsmen ! Nowhere does Freemasonry assume the authority , or even attempt to bring before men novel inventions which have only the semblances of trnth . In this respect Freemasonry is vastly more orthodox than