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Article MASONRY'S GOODNESS PERENNIAL. Page 1 of 3 Article MASONRY'S GOODNESS PERENNIAL. Page 1 of 3 →
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Masonry's Goodness Perennial.
MASONRY'S GOODNESS PERENNIAL .
An Oration by Bro . 71 . M . Towner , at the Laying of the Corner-Stone of the New Court House at Corning , Adams Coxwtij , Iowa , 20 th June 1890 ,
THIS day is to us all an auspicious and pleasant occasion . To the citizen it marks another step of the onward march of our people in progress and civilization . To the Ordor it demonstrates anew the majestic strength , the inherent virtues , the immutable principles , which guard , guide and preserve the Craft .
LAW This building which we here erect is to be the home of justice , tho house of courts , the throne of law . Law is the consummate flower of civilization . In tho progress of the raco from savagery and barbarism to a cultured and refined civilization , law is the anchor , the clasp which holds and
makes secure each good attained . From the ungoverned impulso of the savage to the written constitutions , the statutory enactments of the people for their own restraint and control , these steps mark tbe progress of the race , the development of man the glorious evolution of humanity .
It is a curious and interesting study , this growth of law . First , the individual impulse , uneducated and unrestrained . Then the dimly perceived limitation of rights growing out of the family , resulting in patriarchal government . ^ From this came the tribal relation and the rule of the chief .
And next tbe king , who , on his throne , was at once the Bole legislative , judicial and executive authority . Law , through all this , meant only in the last resort the will of man—sometimes just and merciful , more often tyrannical , wicked and crnel . Then began the glorious struggle of
the people after law , whioh meant for them and all the world , liberty , freedom , civilization . In Palestine the courts of the elders , in Athens tbe Areopagus , at Some the Forum , defining the rights of the people , began the reign of law . From the moment that principle became
planted in the minds of men , the tyranny of kings , the arbitrary rule of might , the authority of power was doomed . It was formulated as the express will of the people when the Barons at Runnymcde forced from King John Magna Charta . It was gradually , through a thousand years of
growth , formed into that great and glorious fountain of justice and liberty , the Common Law . . And so , when the Mayflower sailed out on the untried seas to a new world and a new hope , she brought with her more than her company of
Pilgrims—Laws , Freedom , Truth , and Faith in Go'J , Came with those exiles o ' er the waves . Through more than two centuries of growth and development , government by law has come to us secure , inviolate , sacred . Our proudest boast should ever be that
laws and not men are our governors . No man so great and high that dare challenge obedience to law . No ruler so loved and honoured but law is loved and honoured more . Times have changed ; conditions have changed ; administrations , and even governments , have changed ; wars and
revolutions have come and gone , and yet the law still stands firm as tbe eternal hills , broad as the casing air . The marvellous development of the hurrying years has changed tbe very nature of society . The unsleeping ambitions of men , the unquenchable thirst after knowledge , the
unresting baste of an age , hurried and driven by steam and electricity , have created a new world . To all these new and constantly varying conditions our laws , with marvellous flexibility , have adapted themselves , and over and above the noise , the tumult , tbe restlessness , floats a calm pure atmosphere , throngh which shine the stars of heaven .
This Court House which we here erect is to be the home , the abiding place , tbe sign and symbol of that law . Its graceful proportions , its solid foundations , its location , " beautiful for situation , " figure and picture for us all I have suggested . In this temple of justice shall our sons
and daughters , tbe coming generation , learn anew the lesson of obedience to authority , of reverence for law . Our dutv now is clear . It is not only to bow in submission to its behests , but to gladly , and with joyous hearts , bear its burdens and share its blessings .
GOVERNMENT . But this building which we here erect is not only the house of courts , tbe throne of law and justice : it is also the seat of authority , the visible embodiment of our government .
Masonry's Goodness Perennial.
It represents for us tbe reBult of all the years of struggle of the race for liberty . It brings to us the priceless treasure of free government . It stands a sign and symbol that government by the people , of the people , for tho people , has not perished , shall not perish from the earth .
It is an unfortunate fact that those who have and enjoy can never fully appreciate the value of their blessing . The child of to-day , enjoying as his right all the innumerable blessings with which be is surrounded , cannot know , and
does not appreciate tho fact that back of every blessing which ho accepts as bis by right , there lie long , weary years of toil and suffering and sacrifice . The blood and sweat of centuries make the soil for the flowers of
civilization . The cross and Calvary are back of Christianity ; aud long years of martyrdom and suffering back of tbe church . We see the school house now on every hill , and universal education and intelligence diffused ; but back of these lie dreary wastes of ignorance , and vice , and crime . We see
science , the pole star of progress , the handmaid of religion , the universal helper of man * , but back of its light lie the dark shadows of superstition , intolerance , bigotry and hate . And so to day we see a perfect system of government , free , noble , advancing with tho age , expanding with the years ,
adapting itself to every community , and to every varying condition of life , and we are apt to forget that back of this lie centuries of tyranny , oppression and wrong ; that onlythrough the fire of ruined homes , that only throngh the
dust of burned cities , that only through tbe baptism of the blood of patriots has liberty come to-day . I wonld not mar the pleasure of to-day by sombre thoughts , but it cannot be unwise to count the cost of that which we have attained . It cannot be unwise to measure
the value of to-day by what it coat unnumbered yesterdays . Perhaps these scenes of verdure and calm , this peace of restful homes , this happiness of security and hope , this blessing of unrestrained and encouraged faith , benevolence and charity , will seem more dear if we recall the price with
which we purchased them . We should recall the long and weary struggles of the pioneer ; the sleepless vigils watching for the savage foe ; the long and arduous years of privation and constant toil ; the almost hopeless struggle with a stubborn soil and an ungenial clime , with no tools
but those their own hands had wrought . I see before me heads silvered and forma bowed and tottering , not alone from age , but from the price paid by them for our civilization . They bore for us the burdens of the ago . Thoy gave for us health , comfort , life itself , that we might
have and enjoy the blessings which they cannot share . We take with easy grace the equal rights our government bestows . But have we a right to forget the Continental soldier who won for us those rights ? Should we forget the burned houses , the destroyed capital , the hunger of
Valley Forge , the bloody footprints in the snow , the thousands of lives that through seven long years marked the price they paid ? We see a land united , free from ocean to ocean , the blight of slavery for ever extirpated from our soil . But shall we forget Bull Run and
Gettysburg and Shiloh ? Shall we forget the men who thus preserved and kept it the eternal home of liberty ? God forbid ! And on this day , when we here lay the cornerstone of the beautiful structure which shall typify for us our government , let not one thought of the past be
forgotten , let not one remembrance of the years that made us what we are be lost;—but , with reverent gratitude for tho past , with earnest endeavour in tbe present , with heartfelt hope for the . future , let us go forward on the way marked oub for us , to brighter scenes , to higher hopes , to a gladder future .
THE CRAFT . All those influences , all those institutions which have for their object the betterment of man , deserve , and should receive the encouragement of the age . And this brings me to a brief consideration of Masonry and its relation to
the event we celebrate and to society . A Mason is a builder . Masonry means building , constructing , forming . First as operative , and second as theoretical builders , from earliest times , they have with aporopriate signs and symbols laid the corner-stones or
important structures and public buildings , including ^ w capitols of nations and of states . From the fact that it i 9 a secret society , misapprehensions as to its objects auc purposes have given rise to objections to its thus assuming public functions . It is impossible for me to g °
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonry's Goodness Perennial.
MASONRY'S GOODNESS PERENNIAL .
An Oration by Bro . 71 . M . Towner , at the Laying of the Corner-Stone of the New Court House at Corning , Adams Coxwtij , Iowa , 20 th June 1890 ,
THIS day is to us all an auspicious and pleasant occasion . To the citizen it marks another step of the onward march of our people in progress and civilization . To the Ordor it demonstrates anew the majestic strength , the inherent virtues , the immutable principles , which guard , guide and preserve the Craft .
LAW This building which we here erect is to be the home of justice , tho house of courts , the throne of law . Law is the consummate flower of civilization . In tho progress of the raco from savagery and barbarism to a cultured and refined civilization , law is the anchor , the clasp which holds and
makes secure each good attained . From the ungoverned impulso of the savage to the written constitutions , the statutory enactments of the people for their own restraint and control , these steps mark tbe progress of the race , the development of man the glorious evolution of humanity .
It is a curious and interesting study , this growth of law . First , the individual impulse , uneducated and unrestrained . Then the dimly perceived limitation of rights growing out of the family , resulting in patriarchal government . ^ From this came the tribal relation and the rule of the chief .
And next tbe king , who , on his throne , was at once the Bole legislative , judicial and executive authority . Law , through all this , meant only in the last resort the will of man—sometimes just and merciful , more often tyrannical , wicked and crnel . Then began the glorious struggle of
the people after law , whioh meant for them and all the world , liberty , freedom , civilization . In Palestine the courts of the elders , in Athens tbe Areopagus , at Some the Forum , defining the rights of the people , began the reign of law . From the moment that principle became
planted in the minds of men , the tyranny of kings , the arbitrary rule of might , the authority of power was doomed . It was formulated as the express will of the people when the Barons at Runnymcde forced from King John Magna Charta . It was gradually , through a thousand years of
growth , formed into that great and glorious fountain of justice and liberty , the Common Law . . And so , when the Mayflower sailed out on the untried seas to a new world and a new hope , she brought with her more than her company of
Pilgrims—Laws , Freedom , Truth , and Faith in Go'J , Came with those exiles o ' er the waves . Through more than two centuries of growth and development , government by law has come to us secure , inviolate , sacred . Our proudest boast should ever be that
laws and not men are our governors . No man so great and high that dare challenge obedience to law . No ruler so loved and honoured but law is loved and honoured more . Times have changed ; conditions have changed ; administrations , and even governments , have changed ; wars and
revolutions have come and gone , and yet the law still stands firm as tbe eternal hills , broad as the casing air . The marvellous development of the hurrying years has changed tbe very nature of society . The unsleeping ambitions of men , the unquenchable thirst after knowledge , the
unresting baste of an age , hurried and driven by steam and electricity , have created a new world . To all these new and constantly varying conditions our laws , with marvellous flexibility , have adapted themselves , and over and above the noise , the tumult , tbe restlessness , floats a calm pure atmosphere , throngh which shine the stars of heaven .
This Court House which we here erect is to be the home , the abiding place , tbe sign and symbol of that law . Its graceful proportions , its solid foundations , its location , " beautiful for situation , " figure and picture for us all I have suggested . In this temple of justice shall our sons
and daughters , tbe coming generation , learn anew the lesson of obedience to authority , of reverence for law . Our dutv now is clear . It is not only to bow in submission to its behests , but to gladly , and with joyous hearts , bear its burdens and share its blessings .
GOVERNMENT . But this building which we here erect is not only the house of courts , tbe throne of law and justice : it is also the seat of authority , the visible embodiment of our government .
Masonry's Goodness Perennial.
It represents for us tbe reBult of all the years of struggle of the race for liberty . It brings to us the priceless treasure of free government . It stands a sign and symbol that government by the people , of the people , for tho people , has not perished , shall not perish from the earth .
It is an unfortunate fact that those who have and enjoy can never fully appreciate the value of their blessing . The child of to-day , enjoying as his right all the innumerable blessings with which be is surrounded , cannot know , and
does not appreciate tho fact that back of every blessing which ho accepts as bis by right , there lie long , weary years of toil and suffering and sacrifice . The blood and sweat of centuries make the soil for the flowers of
civilization . The cross and Calvary are back of Christianity ; aud long years of martyrdom and suffering back of tbe church . We see the school house now on every hill , and universal education and intelligence diffused ; but back of these lie dreary wastes of ignorance , and vice , and crime . We see
science , the pole star of progress , the handmaid of religion , the universal helper of man * , but back of its light lie the dark shadows of superstition , intolerance , bigotry and hate . And so to day we see a perfect system of government , free , noble , advancing with tho age , expanding with the years ,
adapting itself to every community , and to every varying condition of life , and we are apt to forget that back of this lie centuries of tyranny , oppression and wrong ; that onlythrough the fire of ruined homes , that only throngh the
dust of burned cities , that only through tbe baptism of the blood of patriots has liberty come to-day . I wonld not mar the pleasure of to-day by sombre thoughts , but it cannot be unwise to count the cost of that which we have attained . It cannot be unwise to measure
the value of to-day by what it coat unnumbered yesterdays . Perhaps these scenes of verdure and calm , this peace of restful homes , this happiness of security and hope , this blessing of unrestrained and encouraged faith , benevolence and charity , will seem more dear if we recall the price with
which we purchased them . We should recall the long and weary struggles of the pioneer ; the sleepless vigils watching for the savage foe ; the long and arduous years of privation and constant toil ; the almost hopeless struggle with a stubborn soil and an ungenial clime , with no tools
but those their own hands had wrought . I see before me heads silvered and forma bowed and tottering , not alone from age , but from the price paid by them for our civilization . They bore for us the burdens of the ago . Thoy gave for us health , comfort , life itself , that we might
have and enjoy the blessings which they cannot share . We take with easy grace the equal rights our government bestows . But have we a right to forget the Continental soldier who won for us those rights ? Should we forget the burned houses , the destroyed capital , the hunger of
Valley Forge , the bloody footprints in the snow , the thousands of lives that through seven long years marked the price they paid ? We see a land united , free from ocean to ocean , the blight of slavery for ever extirpated from our soil . But shall we forget Bull Run and
Gettysburg and Shiloh ? Shall we forget the men who thus preserved and kept it the eternal home of liberty ? God forbid ! And on this day , when we here lay the cornerstone of the beautiful structure which shall typify for us our government , let not one thought of the past be
forgotten , let not one remembrance of the years that made us what we are be lost;—but , with reverent gratitude for tho past , with earnest endeavour in tbe present , with heartfelt hope for the . future , let us go forward on the way marked oub for us , to brighter scenes , to higher hopes , to a gladder future .
THE CRAFT . All those influences , all those institutions which have for their object the betterment of man , deserve , and should receive the encouragement of the age . And this brings me to a brief consideration of Masonry and its relation to
the event we celebrate and to society . A Mason is a builder . Masonry means building , constructing , forming . First as operative , and second as theoretical builders , from earliest times , they have with aporopriate signs and symbols laid the corner-stones or
important structures and public buildings , including ^ w capitols of nations and of states . From the fact that it i 9 a secret society , misapprehensions as to its objects auc purposes have given rise to objections to its thus assuming public functions . It is impossible for me to g °