One Alone Is Supreme.

it is continuous ; it is a continuous indivisibility , and , therefore , it is eternal , and eternity is all that there is . Eternity is the presupposition of time , and time cannot be without eternity . Now , that is the truth ; this is not a metaphysical play , hut the truth , as I will show to you . Let

us see : Time , past , present , and future—three divisions . Now , neither of those can be at all—it is impossible that either of them should be—without the fourth thing that precedes and pervades them , namely , succession . If there wero no succession there could not be past present or future .

Now , still another step : unless there were another thing there could not be any succession . What is it that denotes succession ? Why , it is something that endures .

Duration is the ground of all forms of succession , past , present and future . Time is only a phenomenon of a spirit , and a spirit , a self-consciousness , is a living and unchangeable unity , and there we get God and immortality .

Now , the trouble at the present time is that physical science , which gives its attention wholly to phenomena , to mere shifting relationships , things that come and go , has lost its grip upon tho unity of the spirit , and it believes that there is nothing but phenomena ; that there is neither

God , nor moral law , nor immortality , and physical science can give us neither of the three , because it has nothing to do Avith them ; it deals merely with the laws of co-existence , cause and effect ; it cannot toll anything about God at all . You will find that the great phycicists , like Huxloy and

Tyndall , deny that there is any such thing as God . They say that all that we know are antecedents and consequents ; one set of things exists , another set follows it , and so on ,

nnd that is all that there is ; that our idea of a cause that produces those things is mere absurdity ; that no such cause exists . And so they come to utter infidelity , atheism and annihilation .

Now , the trouble with them is that they confine their thinking to the field in which they spend their lives , the field of mere phenomena . But there cannot be a phenomenon , without the existence of something of which it is the manifestation . The manifestation of a phenomenon

presupposes necessarily a being which is cause of the appearance . Now , in regard to this unity of the human spirit . The deepest thinkers who have ever lived—if it wore appropriate I conld name to you a good many , but it would seem like pedantry—all agree , without one single

exception , that the unity of spirit , tho unity of mind , is eternal ; that it has nothing to do with decay . And the trouble with unbelief is that , it being conscious only of the changing states of this unity which pass along after ono another and vanish away , it

has nothing else . Unbelievers fail to penetrate deeply enough by introspective thought beyond mere phenomena , and into the unity of self-consciousness , the existence of

which is obvious to the senses . But reason can penetrate beneath , and can grasp this necessary unity of selfconsciousness which gives the basis of eternal duration , and links the soul of man with the infinite Creator . That

is really the ground of this constantly increasing doubt and denial which are the great characteristics of the present time , this ever-spreading flood of materialism , of absorption in the external and tbe transient , without any appreciation of the profound and beautiful mysteries of the interior

man . Why , there have" been manifestations in consciousness of which not one person out of a hundred millions ever began to dream ; and how sublime and wonderful they are ! How many people are there , I would like to ask now , who are competent to grapple with the higher

region and the applications of the differential and integral calculus in mathematics F Why , perhaps , not a dozen persons on the whole earth are capable of it . All the rest take it for granted , take it on trust , on the authority of others ; and they are perfectly right in doing so . But the moment

you come to the region of religion and morality , they refuse to take anything on trust . And why ? I will tell you the reason why . Because the clergy , the established powers who have taught religion , have been so superstitious aud tyrannical that the human race has received their

teachings in rebellion , and has refused to take their word for anything . They have lied so often , havo cheated so much , and have pretended so much , that the mass of mankind have no confidence in them , and will not trust them at all . I do not blame them for that . But there is a

mixture there of right and wrong , of sophistry with correct reason , which we ought to have cleared up . The time will cjme when , as with the Catholic church now , the

One Alone Is Supreme.

temporal power being destroyed , they will have a great opportunity , which they are not ready to assume . Give them an opportunity , not to govern mankind and to bring it up to the ring by threats and compulsion , but simply by teaching what they know , and allow absolute

liberty of thought everywhere , and then , in due time , when mankind finds out that they are not pretending , find have no self-interest underneath their teachings , it will accept their authority in matters of religion and morality just as it accepts now the authority of men in matters relating to the physical science .

What is authority ? It is a perfectly right thing , but it is often abused and turned into tyranny . Authority is this : that manifestation in any one which gives the impression of competency ; it is that in any one who commands or affirms , which gives the appearance , the

impression , of competency to speak or act with regard to that which he commands or affirms ; it is that which gives the impression that he is competent and has the right to command and affirm . That is authority . Well , what is it that gives the right or the competency

to command or affirm ? Why , either the possession of tho power to enforce the sanction , or the possession of the requisite knowledge of the truth . That is perfectly legitimate . And when , as I say , we have freed the tyrannical

religious loaders and teachers of the world from all their superstition and tyranny , and have converted them into simple teachers instead of would-be rulers , " their authority will be full as sweet .

However , I am afraid that my attempts at explanation are getting a little wearisome , and I will say only one word more . I have no fear whatever myself that this present state of agnosticism , as they call it , this state of knownothingism beyond the range of phenomena , is permanent

or alarming . It is a necessary and wholesome reaction and rebellion against the excesses of the past ; and in due time , when it has fulfilled its mission , it will pass away . The intrinsic beliefs of the enlightened part of mankind , wherein they have agreed through all the ages , are

unquestionably real insights into tha everlasting truth ; and the welfare of the human race depends on their prevalence and authority , and they will not be overthrown . The fear that so many have that the great doctrines of religion are doomed to die before the advance of physical science is the emptiest of all fears .

In this our transient life here on the earth , surrounded everywhere by the awful unknown , the interests , the principles , the passions , the duties , and the faiths of men have representative structures crowning the landscape of society . Some of these are superior ; some are inferior ; one alone is

supreme , and will always remain so . Above the workshop of toil , above tho counting house of traffic , above the school-house of study , above the court-house of law , above the state-house of legislation , rises the temple of religion

the home of earth and worship , whose significance includes and transcends all the rest , even as the Creator embraces the creation , and as eternity surpasses time . —Voice of Masonry .

Past And Present.

PAST AND PRESENT .

THE assumed deterioration of Freemasonry is a proposition that we have heard affirmed , not infrequently of late , in gatherings of Craftsmen . The vital force of the organization is impaired , say some . Brethren are not bound in as close relations by the mystic

tie as formerly . There is a noticeable abatement of personal attachment to the institution on the part of its members , many of them ranking it among other fraternal societies to which they belong , and according to it no

special prominence in their thought and regard . In these and other respects Freemasonry is losing ground , we are told by our critical friends inclined to take gloomy views of the situation . They affirm that the good old days of

Freemasonry showed the institution at its best , both in the expression of its primary principles and its actual service among its own followers and in the community . It has become more subjected to selfish , wordly influences , and is

therefore less honourable and useful . While , perhaps , these assertions may be justified in part , and contain enough of truth to suggest a warning to the Craft , there is no sufficient evidence to warrant the affirmation that Freemasonry is deteriorating and no longer fulfilling the benign