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Article TWENTY-FOUR INCH GAUGE. ← Page 2 of 2 Article TWENTY-FOUR INCH GAUGE. Page 2 of 2
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Twenty-Four Inch Gauge.
under the boud of brotherhood , it marks his duty toward .-his brother ' men MIL . their responsive duty toward him " Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you , do y _ even so to them . " It rises beyond this to tho resultant
action of duty discharged : " With what measure ye mete , it shall be measured to you again . " There is a great principle enunciated here , which runs as a universal law through the natural , and is equall y operative in the moral world .
When Sir Isaac Newton discovered , in the falling ot the apple to the ground , the law of gravity , the value of hi . discovery was not more in the fact that the earth attracted the apple than that the apple itself attracted the earth
towards it in proportion to their respectue weight . The earth attracted the apple , but the apple also attracted the earth . Each responded in kind to the action of the other So the blow of the hammer on the anvil is responded to
with a resultant force equivalent to that of the blow struck , So nature everywhere responds to its own action , and to the acts of man . Alike in the natural and moral world
every act has its own consequence , every call has its owe answer . This is the great princi p le on which all life moves onward .
It is a fact that every pressure involves resistance , and every blow struck and every act done is measured by a blow , and an act in return is what fills the universe with life . Take a few simple illustrations of this law : Two
men stand together and look out upon our great river , St . Johns . It gives back to each of them an answer to the question uppermost in his own mind—just that and none other . The one sees only its capacity for commerce ;
the other sees only its magnificent flow and the multitude of feeding springs which make up its volume . One looks out on our great forests of pine and sees only the measure of their timber and its commercial value ; another sees
only the grandeur of each towering shaft and the beauty of its evergreen foliage . One sees in the mountain landscape only the exalting beauty of the scene , and another
only the mineral wealth which lies beneath its surface . To each Nature gives back the answer , and in due proportion to tbe question asked by each inquirer , and only that .
So , in all our intercourse with our fellow men , what we get back from daily contact with them depends not more upon what they are in themselves than what we are who come in contact with them . The angry word
brings back its own response , and "the soft answer turneth away wrath . " One man goes among the lowest and most debased , and brings back only truth and brightness to his own heart ; another goes into the best of associations and
brings back only badness and misery . Some look upon their fellows through a ¦ jaundiced vision , and see only evil . Others look ou them through a clearer lens , aud see only what is bright and good and true . " The true man with a
character of his own , will learn the possibility of being good from his own consciousness , all the more strongly because of the evil which surrounds him . No man , bad in himself , can really learn the possibility of goodness by
mere sight and touch , even of a world of saints ; and no soul can really lose the noble consciousness that man was made for goodness , though all the world beside him was steeped iu wrong . "
You may mingle among the purest associations and yet prove a Judas ; and you may mingle with hypocrites and tl ; e profane , and yet be a righteous man . In each case ym , get back , in return , the measure of your own
gaugetin- siii-wLT to the 1 question your own mind is asking . ' T u , thr pure soul may fail to make I he wretch it loves pin- , Mil it becomes U .-elt more pure by the long struggle I in t ' . ntler soui wins a deeper tenderness in the despairing i . 'Pur to eiev .-ite tlie brutal soul beside it . The brave
p " ) JUI o make his .-duggish companions spring to > i ¦ ' ¦¦¦ •¦'¦ ii ' -triy ; !> ut his effort sends down a deep p ' . > i .. ii-i . n it , to Ins own liberty . loving heart . "
ir > _ . not ibeietore , how v \ e take them , but rather how the ) g ve themselves to us , which settles the question , What - hall be the rebound from us to other lives ? Like
the hammer on the anvil , each man gets out of the world of men about him onl y the rebound , the answer , the increase , the development , of what he brings to them . Take the influence of trade , or business , upon the
formation ui character . Two men are behind the same counter , or in the same office . Their surroundings , their duties , and tbe atmosphere in which they labour , are the same . One builds up a character for truth , honesty , integrity , exhibiting the dignity of labour . The other Icarus only
Twenty-Four Inch Gauge.
the tricks of trade , shrewdness and cunning , and a capacity for gratifying his greed in ways that avoid legal penalty . The one builds upward , integrity of character ; the other builds downwards , its degradation . And this
because each receives the fitting answer to his own inquiry —the resultant measure in full of his own gauge . A great deal has been said , and is continually being said , of tho influence of bnsiness life on the character of men
who are engaged in it . By far too little has been said upon the influence the man himself brings to bear on the business lie is engaged in . Aud yet on this latter , rather than the foru . er , depends the character developed in the
atmosphere of business , and its daily pressing occupations , either exalting or degrading . The mechanic has formed his own conception of what he wants to do , and how to do it , before he measures his material . And in the business
and moral workshop of life you have formulated your own plans , and chosen your own ideal , before you apply the gauge ; and according to these you select heart timber or sap , wind-shaken , seasoned or green . The brave man is never a liar—the coward is never true . Because the one
makes life the field for true and noble deeds , while the other makes it simply a game to be played , with the gains on the side of shrewdness and cunning . Life gives back fco each , out of its full treasury , just what his own heart
craves and values—solid worth or a gilded bauble ; uplifting to the one , debasing to the other . To the one , success is king ; to the other , defeat is moral victory .
Like every other Institution for the betterment of mankind , Masonry has , unfortunately , been graded in public estimation rather by the character of its members than by its principles and its intrinsic excellence . It is a symbolic
system of real moral instruction . But the life is not in its symbols , but what the symbols represent . Its first lesson is the duty of reverence to God , the authenticity and inspiration of the sacred Scriutures ; that human life is a
pilgrimage ; the certainty of death ; the bri g ht resurrection hope , and the awards of a final judgment , measured by the thoughts , words , and deeds of a life of probation . On these as a foundation , a foundation which mast of necessity lie
at the base of all true life , in man it demands a certain , definite aud distinct character . First of all , " to be good and true is the first duty of a Mason . " True to what , and to whom ? True in his fealty aud filial relation to God .
To reach that , by the geometrical lines drawn to this one great centre , from every point in the circle of life , and between fche parallels of fche two Saints John . This , negatively , prohibits nofc only every word and act of profanity ,
but" every act and thought ; of irreverence . Positively , it demand- * of every Mason the worship of God , with body , soul and spirit . In other words , to be a faithful member of our ancient Order , ifc is required that religion shall
underlie aud permeate the entire character aud life of the man . To be a true Mason , a man must , be true in his relations to God , to himself , and to the brotherhood of man . Am I nob correct in my position ? If nofc , then every
institute , symbol and ritual of the Order is and has been a fatal deception through all the centuries of its existence . Loving the Order , I speak for its honour . I am your
orator—your mouthpiece to the brethren within , and to the cavillers without , the Lodge . Faithfulness to duty as Masons will exalt your individual character , and bring honour to the " Mystic Tie . "
Astothe discharge of the . se duties , I pass into your hands theonly true rule with which Masonry measures manly lifethe twenty-four inch gauge . As yon would have God's bless , ing , be true to Him . As you would help your brother man ,
be true to him ; aud as you love your own life , be true to its manhood . "For with what measure ye mete , it shall be measured to you agaiti , full measure , pressed down and running over . "—Voice of Masonry .
Music IS THH LODGE . —MUSIC m a Masonic Lodge ia essential to the rendering of the work iu a most impressive manner . In the opening and closing ceremonies and in the fonferring of degrees , there ia abundant opportunity for musical services thafc will deepen
tho influence intended to accompany those exercises . Tho chant or hymn at tbe proper place in the ceremony may help to fasten tho spoken words npon the mind , or give significance to tho symbolism that is presented . Then , too , appropriate music will enliven tho
ordinary proceedings , thus lending au additional attraction to the gathyriiit :. The best musical talent may well find use in the Lodge ; but if the best cannot be had let the brethren press ir . to -orvice that
which id available . Let them have an organ or piano in tho Lodgo room , aud if they can do no more , sing together tho familiar hyuiud of the Order .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Twenty-Four Inch Gauge.
under the boud of brotherhood , it marks his duty toward .-his brother ' men MIL . their responsive duty toward him " Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you , do y _ even so to them . " It rises beyond this to tho resultant
action of duty discharged : " With what measure ye mete , it shall be measured to you again . " There is a great principle enunciated here , which runs as a universal law through the natural , and is equall y operative in the moral world .
When Sir Isaac Newton discovered , in the falling ot the apple to the ground , the law of gravity , the value of hi . discovery was not more in the fact that the earth attracted the apple than that the apple itself attracted the earth
towards it in proportion to their respectue weight . The earth attracted the apple , but the apple also attracted the earth . Each responded in kind to the action of the other So the blow of the hammer on the anvil is responded to
with a resultant force equivalent to that of the blow struck , So nature everywhere responds to its own action , and to the acts of man . Alike in the natural and moral world
every act has its own consequence , every call has its owe answer . This is the great princi p le on which all life moves onward .
It is a fact that every pressure involves resistance , and every blow struck and every act done is measured by a blow , and an act in return is what fills the universe with life . Take a few simple illustrations of this law : Two
men stand together and look out upon our great river , St . Johns . It gives back to each of them an answer to the question uppermost in his own mind—just that and none other . The one sees only its capacity for commerce ;
the other sees only its magnificent flow and the multitude of feeding springs which make up its volume . One looks out on our great forests of pine and sees only the measure of their timber and its commercial value ; another sees
only the grandeur of each towering shaft and the beauty of its evergreen foliage . One sees in the mountain landscape only the exalting beauty of the scene , and another
only the mineral wealth which lies beneath its surface . To each Nature gives back the answer , and in due proportion to tbe question asked by each inquirer , and only that .
So , in all our intercourse with our fellow men , what we get back from daily contact with them depends not more upon what they are in themselves than what we are who come in contact with them . The angry word
brings back its own response , and "the soft answer turneth away wrath . " One man goes among the lowest and most debased , and brings back only truth and brightness to his own heart ; another goes into the best of associations and
brings back only badness and misery . Some look upon their fellows through a ¦ jaundiced vision , and see only evil . Others look ou them through a clearer lens , aud see only what is bright and good and true . " The true man with a
character of his own , will learn the possibility of being good from his own consciousness , all the more strongly because of the evil which surrounds him . No man , bad in himself , can really learn the possibility of goodness by
mere sight and touch , even of a world of saints ; and no soul can really lose the noble consciousness that man was made for goodness , though all the world beside him was steeped iu wrong . "
You may mingle among the purest associations and yet prove a Judas ; and you may mingle with hypocrites and tl ; e profane , and yet be a righteous man . In each case ym , get back , in return , the measure of your own
gaugetin- siii-wLT to the 1 question your own mind is asking . ' T u , thr pure soul may fail to make I he wretch it loves pin- , Mil it becomes U .-elt more pure by the long struggle I in t ' . ntler soui wins a deeper tenderness in the despairing i . 'Pur to eiev .-ite tlie brutal soul beside it . The brave
p " ) JUI o make his .-duggish companions spring to > i ¦ ' ¦¦¦ •¦'¦ ii ' -triy ; !> ut his effort sends down a deep p ' . > i .. ii-i . n it , to Ins own liberty . loving heart . "
ir > _ . not ibeietore , how v \ e take them , but rather how the ) g ve themselves to us , which settles the question , What - hall be the rebound from us to other lives ? Like
the hammer on the anvil , each man gets out of the world of men about him onl y the rebound , the answer , the increase , the development , of what he brings to them . Take the influence of trade , or business , upon the
formation ui character . Two men are behind the same counter , or in the same office . Their surroundings , their duties , and tbe atmosphere in which they labour , are the same . One builds up a character for truth , honesty , integrity , exhibiting the dignity of labour . The other Icarus only
Twenty-Four Inch Gauge.
the tricks of trade , shrewdness and cunning , and a capacity for gratifying his greed in ways that avoid legal penalty . The one builds upward , integrity of character ; the other builds downwards , its degradation . And this
because each receives the fitting answer to his own inquiry —the resultant measure in full of his own gauge . A great deal has been said , and is continually being said , of tho influence of bnsiness life on the character of men
who are engaged in it . By far too little has been said upon the influence the man himself brings to bear on the business lie is engaged in . Aud yet on this latter , rather than the foru . er , depends the character developed in the
atmosphere of business , and its daily pressing occupations , either exalting or degrading . The mechanic has formed his own conception of what he wants to do , and how to do it , before he measures his material . And in the business
and moral workshop of life you have formulated your own plans , and chosen your own ideal , before you apply the gauge ; and according to these you select heart timber or sap , wind-shaken , seasoned or green . The brave man is never a liar—the coward is never true . Because the one
makes life the field for true and noble deeds , while the other makes it simply a game to be played , with the gains on the side of shrewdness and cunning . Life gives back fco each , out of its full treasury , just what his own heart
craves and values—solid worth or a gilded bauble ; uplifting to the one , debasing to the other . To the one , success is king ; to the other , defeat is moral victory .
Like every other Institution for the betterment of mankind , Masonry has , unfortunately , been graded in public estimation rather by the character of its members than by its principles and its intrinsic excellence . It is a symbolic
system of real moral instruction . But the life is not in its symbols , but what the symbols represent . Its first lesson is the duty of reverence to God , the authenticity and inspiration of the sacred Scriutures ; that human life is a
pilgrimage ; the certainty of death ; the bri g ht resurrection hope , and the awards of a final judgment , measured by the thoughts , words , and deeds of a life of probation . On these as a foundation , a foundation which mast of necessity lie
at the base of all true life , in man it demands a certain , definite aud distinct character . First of all , " to be good and true is the first duty of a Mason . " True to what , and to whom ? True in his fealty aud filial relation to God .
To reach that , by the geometrical lines drawn to this one great centre , from every point in the circle of life , and between fche parallels of fche two Saints John . This , negatively , prohibits nofc only every word and act of profanity ,
but" every act and thought ; of irreverence . Positively , it demand- * of every Mason the worship of God , with body , soul and spirit . In other words , to be a faithful member of our ancient Order , ifc is required that religion shall
underlie aud permeate the entire character aud life of the man . To be a true Mason , a man must , be true in his relations to God , to himself , and to the brotherhood of man . Am I nob correct in my position ? If nofc , then every
institute , symbol and ritual of the Order is and has been a fatal deception through all the centuries of its existence . Loving the Order , I speak for its honour . I am your
orator—your mouthpiece to the brethren within , and to the cavillers without , the Lodge . Faithfulness to duty as Masons will exalt your individual character , and bring honour to the " Mystic Tie . "
Astothe discharge of the . se duties , I pass into your hands theonly true rule with which Masonry measures manly lifethe twenty-four inch gauge . As yon would have God's bless , ing , be true to Him . As you would help your brother man ,
be true to him ; aud as you love your own life , be true to its manhood . "For with what measure ye mete , it shall be measured to you agaiti , full measure , pressed down and running over . "—Voice of Masonry .
Music IS THH LODGE . —MUSIC m a Masonic Lodge ia essential to the rendering of the work iu a most impressive manner . In the opening and closing ceremonies and in the fonferring of degrees , there ia abundant opportunity for musical services thafc will deepen
tho influence intended to accompany those exercises . Tho chant or hymn at tbe proper place in the ceremony may help to fasten tho spoken words npon the mind , or give significance to tho symbolism that is presented . Then , too , appropriate music will enliven tho
ordinary proceedings , thus lending au additional attraction to the gathyriiit :. The best musical talent may well find use in the Lodge ; but if the best cannot be had let the brethren press ir . to -orvice that
which id available . Let them have an organ or piano in tho Lodgo room , aud if they can do no more , sing together tho familiar hyuiud of the Order .