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Article MASONIC FANCIES AND FOIBLES. ← Page 2 of 2 Article SOURCES OF MASONRY'S POWER AND GLORY. Page 1 of 1 Article SOURCES OF MASONRY'S POWER AND GLORY. Page 1 of 1
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Masonic Fancies And Foibles.
believe that in the event of two or more applications being made for a situation advertised by an employer who is a member of the Order , preference would be given to the applicant who might happen to be a Mason—simply on the
ground of bis being " one of ns , " and irrespective altogether of his qualifications for the work ? The idea so erroneously entertained in outside quarters is too palpably absurdlto need any denial . Would a grocer or a draper , or
any other tradesman , buy more largely of a commercial traveller with a glib tongue and a plentiful array of Masonio bullion about him , than he would of a less pretentious non-Mason , who offered him a superior article at the same price ?
It is ludicrous to entertain snch a notion , and he who supports that argument must be either a knave or a fool . There is yet another phase of thia trading propensity amongst some Masons which cannot be too severely
deprecated , inasmuch as it has a tendency to trench upon individual interests and to " whip the willing horse . " For instance , an illuminated vellum may be in request for presentation to a worthy Brother , " as a token of esteem , "
& c . There are men ready at once to suggest that Brother So-and-So , being a member of the Lodge , will surely undertake the execution of the address free of charge , he being by profession a lithographic artist ! Might it not with equal
propriety he expected that if under parallel circumstances it is deemed expedient to present a Brother with a gold watch and chain or a jewel , such members of a Lodge as may be goldsmiths should provide the testimonial at their
own expense , without the ordinary contributions on the part of the other members ? We mention these probabilities because cases nearly approaching them have come under our own personal observation , and have elicited comments
not altogether conducive to harmony and good-feeling in tbe circles most directly concerned . If such self-sacrifices were exacted , why in the name of goodness should not members of Lodges who are greengrocers be required to
furnish the potatoes and the sprouts , the celery and fche fruits , needed for our Masonic banquets ; those who are florists the decorations for the table and the button-hole ; those who are printers the menus , the programmes , and the
books of words ? One proposition is as reasonable—or rather as unreasonable—as the other , and all such vagaries are to be emphatically deprecated . This is " trading on Masonry , " of course , in a far different way from that to
which we referred earlier in this article , but it is none the less to be discouraged because less prevalent , It is these paltry and pettifogging panderings to private interests , which militate against tbe true progress of our Institution
and prevents ifc from developing those elements of stability and usefulness which are the mainspring of all the good that Freemasonry does in the world . Whilst , therefore , we are at all times prepared to receive honest criticism or
condemnation of Masonic principles , we cannot do better than now and then point to the mote that is in our own eye , and by plucking out those beams of a want of integrity and purpose which
we ourselves detect in our system , less room will be left for adverse remark and ridicule by those outside , who are ever ready to hurl their unmeaning shafts of contempt against the bulwarks of our Institution , the real value of which they know so little .
Sources Of Masonry's Power And Glory.
SOURCES OF MASONRY'S POWER AND GLORY .
THE Roman empire in the zenith of its power dominated the world . However we may criticise its methods , or its men , we cannot but admire the tremendous outcome of the leaders' genius . There may have been little poetry in their work , and no faith , but there was amazing power . Mighty Carthage civilised Egypt , refined
Greece , holy Judea , and distant Britain , all became Roman provinces . Rome was mistress of the world . She unmade nations , and one Roman emperor even destroyed the memorials of his predecessor , when Caracalla murdered Geta , and then had his name effaced from the Arch of
Severus at Rome , and from the portico of the Temple of Esneh , far away up the Nile . These conquerors of the world left their name impressed upon one of the most admired styles of architecture known to civilisation—the
Romanesque ; and even to-day remains may be examined in Great Britain of the once famous Watling-street , which ran from Dover through Canterbury and London , to Chester —that well-nigh imperishable Roman road , in which can still be seea th © rata made by chariot wheels where no
Sources Of Masonry's Power And Glory.
wheels have run for fourteen hundred years ! Which things are to us an allegory . Rome once ruled the world with a rod of iron , and decayed when the iron corroded , but Masonry rules its votaries with the evergreen of peace and goodwill towards men , and its sway will never end .
Masonry has but one coadjutor as a peace maker , and that is in the religion of the Prince of Peace . Masonry is the handmaid of religion . If religion and morality were cast out of Masonry , ifc would be emptied of its glory and
its power . Our trust as Masons is in God , our prayers in the Lodge are offered to Him , and His Holv Word is the greatest of great Lights on our Altar . These are the powers behind the throne of Masonry which exalt and
glorify it , which give it its authority , which ensure its perpetuity . The Roman Empire was born and is dead , and we can name the day of its birth and the day of its death ,
for history has recorded them , but who can say when Masonry had its origin , or shall havo its end ? Its origin is the puzzle of the ages , and its end has never been foretold by prophet or seer .
What is that which looms up so majestically throngh the night as the mariner approaches a rock-bound coast , warning him of the perils that environ one who comes too near its fastness ? It flashes like a diamond , it seems a
star pendant from the sky , and , as more nearly approached , like a sun rising above the horizon . Ah , the light-house marks a spot of light and of blessing , as if the very finger of Deity pointed the way of safety .
What is a Masonic Lodge but a centre of Light and a fountain of blessing ? The Tyler ' s sword commands away impostors and the profane , but it returns to its scabbard when a Son of Light seeks admittance to the Lodge .
Within is light , ineffable light . Within is a threefold blrssing to all who cross the mystic threshold . Within is a peace which passeth the understanding of the profane . Within are Masons only , who are obligated to love each
other , to aid each other in distress , to disseminate to their Brother Masons all of the Light of Masonry . And what is the result ? A Mystic Tie which runs round the world , linking Lodge with Lodge , and Brother with Brother ; a
practical religion of earnest work , joined to a theoretical religion of sound faith . The Romans lived and died , and their empire is a thing of the past , but Freemasons have
been a power in the world from the remotest ages , and promise to rnle the Brethren with the evergreen symbol of Truth , Brotherly Love and Immortality , until time shall be no more .
One of the glories of Masonry is its non-proselyting character . We do not seek to add to our numbers , and we do not argue with those who oppose our principles . The best of religions has suffered from forgetfulness of that
golden rule—mind your own business ! The martyrs in all the Christian Ages , from thafc of the heathen Diocletian to thafc of the Christian Philip the Second , owed their doom to the misguided advocates of religious intolerance .
Freemasons more than tolerate , for they say , Go your own way , for if you come ours you must submit to a most rigid examination , both of your motives and of your lives . You must seek us , for we cannot and will not seek you . You
must pass the ordeal to which all good men and true before you have submitted , that of special preliminary scrutiny , and afterwards of a rigid ballot . We give nofc Light and blessing to the unworthy—if we know it , and if you prove
your unworthiness after you have come among us , you may find that there is a way ont of as well as into the Fraternity ! It is strong to receive , strong to welcome , and , if need he ,
strong to expel . Its greatest strength is not in its Constitution , or its By-Laws , but in its inherent principles . These are the reasons for its being , these guarantee its justice , and these ensure its perpetuity . —The Keystone .
Bro . James Stevens P . M . P . Z . has accepted the invitation of Bro . Charles Letch Mason , Past Provincial Grand Treasurer West Yorkshire , and W . M . of Prudence Lodge , No . 2069 , to deliver his lecture on " The Ritual and
Ceremonial of tbe Symbolic Degrees of Freemasonry , " at the Masonic Hall , Leeds , on this Saturday , 12 th inst . The Lodge will be opened at three o ' clock , and the lecture will commence at four . A large gathering of brethren is
anticipated . We are pleased also to be in a position to announce thafc on Monday , 18 th April , Bro . James Stevens will attend , on invitation , at the Cabbell Lodge , No . 807 , where he has been requested to repeat the above lecture .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Fancies And Foibles.
believe that in the event of two or more applications being made for a situation advertised by an employer who is a member of the Order , preference would be given to the applicant who might happen to be a Mason—simply on the
ground of bis being " one of ns , " and irrespective altogether of his qualifications for the work ? The idea so erroneously entertained in outside quarters is too palpably absurdlto need any denial . Would a grocer or a draper , or
any other tradesman , buy more largely of a commercial traveller with a glib tongue and a plentiful array of Masonio bullion about him , than he would of a less pretentious non-Mason , who offered him a superior article at the same price ?
It is ludicrous to entertain snch a notion , and he who supports that argument must be either a knave or a fool . There is yet another phase of thia trading propensity amongst some Masons which cannot be too severely
deprecated , inasmuch as it has a tendency to trench upon individual interests and to " whip the willing horse . " For instance , an illuminated vellum may be in request for presentation to a worthy Brother , " as a token of esteem , "
& c . There are men ready at once to suggest that Brother So-and-So , being a member of the Lodge , will surely undertake the execution of the address free of charge , he being by profession a lithographic artist ! Might it not with equal
propriety he expected that if under parallel circumstances it is deemed expedient to present a Brother with a gold watch and chain or a jewel , such members of a Lodge as may be goldsmiths should provide the testimonial at their
own expense , without the ordinary contributions on the part of the other members ? We mention these probabilities because cases nearly approaching them have come under our own personal observation , and have elicited comments
not altogether conducive to harmony and good-feeling in tbe circles most directly concerned . If such self-sacrifices were exacted , why in the name of goodness should not members of Lodges who are greengrocers be required to
furnish the potatoes and the sprouts , the celery and fche fruits , needed for our Masonic banquets ; those who are florists the decorations for the table and the button-hole ; those who are printers the menus , the programmes , and the
books of words ? One proposition is as reasonable—or rather as unreasonable—as the other , and all such vagaries are to be emphatically deprecated . This is " trading on Masonry , " of course , in a far different way from that to
which we referred earlier in this article , but it is none the less to be discouraged because less prevalent , It is these paltry and pettifogging panderings to private interests , which militate against tbe true progress of our Institution
and prevents ifc from developing those elements of stability and usefulness which are the mainspring of all the good that Freemasonry does in the world . Whilst , therefore , we are at all times prepared to receive honest criticism or
condemnation of Masonic principles , we cannot do better than now and then point to the mote that is in our own eye , and by plucking out those beams of a want of integrity and purpose which
we ourselves detect in our system , less room will be left for adverse remark and ridicule by those outside , who are ever ready to hurl their unmeaning shafts of contempt against the bulwarks of our Institution , the real value of which they know so little .
Sources Of Masonry's Power And Glory.
SOURCES OF MASONRY'S POWER AND GLORY .
THE Roman empire in the zenith of its power dominated the world . However we may criticise its methods , or its men , we cannot but admire the tremendous outcome of the leaders' genius . There may have been little poetry in their work , and no faith , but there was amazing power . Mighty Carthage civilised Egypt , refined
Greece , holy Judea , and distant Britain , all became Roman provinces . Rome was mistress of the world . She unmade nations , and one Roman emperor even destroyed the memorials of his predecessor , when Caracalla murdered Geta , and then had his name effaced from the Arch of
Severus at Rome , and from the portico of the Temple of Esneh , far away up the Nile . These conquerors of the world left their name impressed upon one of the most admired styles of architecture known to civilisation—the
Romanesque ; and even to-day remains may be examined in Great Britain of the once famous Watling-street , which ran from Dover through Canterbury and London , to Chester —that well-nigh imperishable Roman road , in which can still be seea th © rata made by chariot wheels where no
Sources Of Masonry's Power And Glory.
wheels have run for fourteen hundred years ! Which things are to us an allegory . Rome once ruled the world with a rod of iron , and decayed when the iron corroded , but Masonry rules its votaries with the evergreen of peace and goodwill towards men , and its sway will never end .
Masonry has but one coadjutor as a peace maker , and that is in the religion of the Prince of Peace . Masonry is the handmaid of religion . If religion and morality were cast out of Masonry , ifc would be emptied of its glory and
its power . Our trust as Masons is in God , our prayers in the Lodge are offered to Him , and His Holv Word is the greatest of great Lights on our Altar . These are the powers behind the throne of Masonry which exalt and
glorify it , which give it its authority , which ensure its perpetuity . The Roman Empire was born and is dead , and we can name the day of its birth and the day of its death ,
for history has recorded them , but who can say when Masonry had its origin , or shall havo its end ? Its origin is the puzzle of the ages , and its end has never been foretold by prophet or seer .
What is that which looms up so majestically throngh the night as the mariner approaches a rock-bound coast , warning him of the perils that environ one who comes too near its fastness ? It flashes like a diamond , it seems a
star pendant from the sky , and , as more nearly approached , like a sun rising above the horizon . Ah , the light-house marks a spot of light and of blessing , as if the very finger of Deity pointed the way of safety .
What is a Masonic Lodge but a centre of Light and a fountain of blessing ? The Tyler ' s sword commands away impostors and the profane , but it returns to its scabbard when a Son of Light seeks admittance to the Lodge .
Within is light , ineffable light . Within is a threefold blrssing to all who cross the mystic threshold . Within is a peace which passeth the understanding of the profane . Within are Masons only , who are obligated to love each
other , to aid each other in distress , to disseminate to their Brother Masons all of the Light of Masonry . And what is the result ? A Mystic Tie which runs round the world , linking Lodge with Lodge , and Brother with Brother ; a
practical religion of earnest work , joined to a theoretical religion of sound faith . The Romans lived and died , and their empire is a thing of the past , but Freemasons have
been a power in the world from the remotest ages , and promise to rnle the Brethren with the evergreen symbol of Truth , Brotherly Love and Immortality , until time shall be no more .
One of the glories of Masonry is its non-proselyting character . We do not seek to add to our numbers , and we do not argue with those who oppose our principles . The best of religions has suffered from forgetfulness of that
golden rule—mind your own business ! The martyrs in all the Christian Ages , from thafc of the heathen Diocletian to thafc of the Christian Philip the Second , owed their doom to the misguided advocates of religious intolerance .
Freemasons more than tolerate , for they say , Go your own way , for if you come ours you must submit to a most rigid examination , both of your motives and of your lives . You must seek us , for we cannot and will not seek you . You
must pass the ordeal to which all good men and true before you have submitted , that of special preliminary scrutiny , and afterwards of a rigid ballot . We give nofc Light and blessing to the unworthy—if we know it , and if you prove
your unworthiness after you have come among us , you may find that there is a way ont of as well as into the Fraternity ! It is strong to receive , strong to welcome , and , if need he ,
strong to expel . Its greatest strength is not in its Constitution , or its By-Laws , but in its inherent principles . These are the reasons for its being , these guarantee its justice , and these ensure its perpetuity . —The Keystone .
Bro . James Stevens P . M . P . Z . has accepted the invitation of Bro . Charles Letch Mason , Past Provincial Grand Treasurer West Yorkshire , and W . M . of Prudence Lodge , No . 2069 , to deliver his lecture on " The Ritual and
Ceremonial of tbe Symbolic Degrees of Freemasonry , " at the Masonic Hall , Leeds , on this Saturday , 12 th inst . The Lodge will be opened at three o ' clock , and the lecture will commence at four . A large gathering of brethren is
anticipated . We are pleased also to be in a position to announce thafc on Monday , 18 th April , Bro . James Stevens will attend , on invitation , at the Cabbell Lodge , No . 807 , where he has been requested to repeat the above lecture .