Masonic Ideal Of Manliness.

of ancient art bear testimony to its presence . The gladiator , whose moulded form in the attitude of defence now compels admiration as a perfect representation of manly

power and beauty , would never havo been possible had there not lived among the ancients those who felfc that physical perfection represented the greatest achievement possible to the race .

The Indian of these later days who strives for supremacy in tho games and exercises which delight the Indian heart , knows that his success therein is dependent upon the development of muscular strength and the possession

of the quick perceptions which will enable him to bring his powers into instant and perfect play . To him , as well as to the people of old , the physical ideal represents perfection . It is said tbat when the barbaric hordes launched

themselves out of the steppes of Asia upon the eastern portions of Europe , they represented almost in its perfection the development of the physical side of man . These warriors , who carried terror and destruction into Europe , and for a time threatened the very existence of civilisation ,

were accustomed to such severe training that their muscles had become hardened to the endurance of great fatigue . Their leader , it is said , had no place in his army for one who could not live in a country where all the vestiges of

previous habitation had been destroyed . Physical excellence was their highest ideal , and it enabled them , coupled with their great numbers , to almost accomplish their object in the invasion of Europe .

But another ideal has had its follower ? , another excellence has appealed to the human mind as the chief attainable good , and its adherents , while not as numerous as thoso who looked npon physical perfection as the sum of human happiness , yet have represented many of the best

and most serviceable among mankind . Physical perfection represented the triumph of matter , while to those holding the second ideal the greatest attainable perfection was the triumph of mind . While fche former strengthened every muscle of the body , this latter class , by exercise ,

strengthened the faculties and developed the mental powers . The athlete who trained himself to appear before the public in contests of muscle was no more an athlete than those travelling philosophers who in the days of Socrates commanded the attention of the people by their

mental gymnastics . The sophists whom Socrates ridiculed , and whom he took every occasion to bring before the public as unfitted for leadership , were mental gymnasts who had trained certain faculties for the exclusive purpose of parading mental quickness . Others , however , fonnd

delight in the cultivation of the mind in order that through its cultivation they might accumulate large stores of knowledge and become familiar with principles of nature , and thus have a power among their fellows which the possession of wisdom always bestows . Among the

philosophers of the early period , and the scholastics of the middle ages , there existed a class to whom fche powers of tbe mind , in their amplest development , represented the possession of a beneficent power calculated to add to the sum of human happiness . These always

represented tho highest and purest class of those who adhered to the mental ideal of human excellence . Many of this class added to the simple ideal of mental development the additional idea of moral purity . This simply eliminated the idea of pure mentality . Morality ,

when added to this ideal of a man , expanded and developed through the mind , gives practically a third ideal of what should constitute the standard of human life . Morals or moral ideas have always existed . No matter how low in the scale or how debased a people may have been , still to

that people there Ivis ever been granted some moral suggestions which have largely m < uldod and controlled their existence . It is almost inconceivable that any race should exist without moral ideas , and the most advanced of all peoples have always been those in whom the ethical

nature has been most largely developed . Thns ifc has been proved of every tribe and people , thafc the governing principles enlightening them havo eventually taken form in ideals more or less perfect according as those constituting the tribe have been influenced morally . Modern societies

arc not exempt from this dominance of ideals . Every commonwealth stands upon certain principles which to that commonwealth represents the ideal , and every society .

whether social or political or ceremonial , exists for the perpetuation of ideal ? . It follows , therefore , that Masonry is not exempt from tho operation of this law . It exist * because it is the embodiment of certain standards of

Masonic Ideal Of Manliness.

thought and character , and because there exists an ideal which has attractive power ancl which gives life and vitality to the institution . Masonry's claim to the consideration of thoughtful men is based upon its presentation of its ideal standard of life . Perhaps no

one of its members over has yet attained to thafc standard which lies in the minds of the thoughtful members of the Fraternity . Perhaps in some point there has been failure to attain that perfect harmony of character and complete development of power which

represents the ideal Masou , and yet Masonry exists to-day because it has ever approached and sought to reach forward to its ideal of excellence . That ideal has been accorded recognition as a true and beautiful conception of life , by thoughtful men who are not members of the Fraternity .

We are sometimes led to think that our society is independent of the influence of those who are not numbered with us , but this is a mistake . Every social movement is influenced by those who do not directly participate in the movement , and every institution in theso modern days is

affected either favourably or unfavourably by the opinion of the community in which ifc exists . So Masonry feels the impulse of the advanced thonght of thc age , and ifc partakes in a large degree of the spirit Avhich moves all tho people onward in the path of civilization . One who might

have had the confidence of his brethren generations ago might not to-day receive the countenance of the conservative members of the Craft . The boon companions who long ago met in their taverns , and made the meeting

of the Lodge an occasion of good fellowship and revelry , would hardly feel themselves at home afc the present time when throughout the length and breadth of our land the spirit of temperance is so developed as to have made itself felt in the enactment of Masonic law . The Mason who

strives after the ideal endeavours to conform himself to those recognized principles which insure the standard of character . A Mason who would command the respect of his brethren , and who would bring no discredit upon the Fraternity , must have strongly developed characteristics of

manliness . With these he can everywhere find recognition as one worthy of the friendship and confidence of the people , and without these elements in his character , he will not be considered as a worthy associate of those who strive to represent the Masonic standard of life . According to

the older law he should be physically perfect in so far as to conform to the ancient physical ideal of perfection , bufc ifc is now required that he should havo more than this side of his being developed ; he must be a well balanced man , mentally endowed as well as physically perfect , and so

morally developed as to understand his relations , with his fellows , and he must also be so spiritually quickened aa to exhibit in his life the influence of a religious spirit and a personal conception of his obligations to the Supreme

Architect of the Universe . As a well balanced man , possessing these four traits of character , ho is a fair representative of the harmony of being and entitled to the favourable consideration of those who love to look upon the perfect man .

Thc physically perfect ideal of the old masters is an impossibility . No man is physically perfect . In some way or other nature will have tired in her labours and there will remain a want of development in some parfc or organ , or in some muscle or nerve , or in some of the

various aud numerous members which make up the whole of physical life , which will prevent him reaching the physical perfection which the old Masters deemed desirable . It is BO longer an unalterable rale and landmark that perfect development of the physical man be considered

absolutely essential to membership in the Order . If one be so far physically perfect as to be able to conform to the ceremonial requirements , he is considered to come fairly up to the standard of excellence required . Bufc mental equipment must be of a far different typo from the

endowments which were satisfactory in initiates in the years long ^ one by . No man is now fit to become an honoured member of the Order in whom the mental powers have not reached a certain amount of development , and he by study and thought rendered himself capable of understanding the

system of which he is to become a part . Aud it is also true that essential and indispensable has bscome the requirement of moral excellence on the part of every

candidate . If there bo lacking this clement , though a man possesses all other things , ho is utterly unfit for Masonry , and will be immediately rejected if Masons do their duty . And this is consequent upon fche spiritual quickening of