God Given Work.

and deny the right of any individual , or aggregation of individuals , to set a limit to God ' s purposes , or prescribe the methods by which they shall be observed . The creeds have sought to be masters of themselves not onlybut of others as well , and have adopted lines of

con-, duct for tho guidance of the Almighty Himself . The humble Craftsman has meanwhile been , and still is , content to do right—deal justly with all mankind , but more especially with his Masonic brethren , in a spirit of charity to

allover remembering that he is not master of himself , but is driven to his work by the Supreme Grand Master of the Universe , to be in whose service is better than earthly command , to he in whose thraldom is a triumph and an infinite pleasure .

While we are thus hurried and driven , and are nofc masters of ourselves , being dependent upon and subject to each other , and all under control of Divine power , it does not follow that , under our system of brotherhood and fellowship , we must all adopt the same or a similar theology .

Ifc is enough that we recognise the existence of one All-Creative and All-controlling Power , higher than our own reason and more sublime than the whole universe—that Sp irit which is alone self-subsistent , from which all truth proceeds , and without which there is no truth—and leave the rest to individual conscience .

While Masonry is as nearly unchangeable as any human institution can be and retain its usefulness , it is , nevertheless , progressive to the extent of recognising and adopting the new truths that science has revealed to the world since its organisation ; truths , some of which were not even

suspected as late as the time of Solomon and the Hirams . Among these are the existence of the great laws of universal motion , gravitation and attraction . Where philosophers of more modern times have made clear that which in the infancy of Masonry AVHS regarded as miraculous , Masonry

has been alert to let go the false and embrace the true , and to accord to the Creator the credit of having produced these laws as a part of His Divine plan ; or even to rise above these laws to their great Author , and ascribe to them

nothing more than the uniform expression of His will , whereby nofc only are the ephemeral things we see around us governed and controlled , but worlds and systems of worlds are not masters of themselves , but are hurried and driven to do the will of their Creator .

" The spacious firmament on high , With all the bine ethereal sky And spangled heavens—a shining frame—Their great Original proclaim :

The unwearied sun , from day to day Does his Creator's power display , And publishes to every land The work of an Almighty Hand .

In reason's ear they all rejoice , And titter forth a glorious voice—For ever singing , as they shine , ' The Hand that made us is Divine . '"

Not one of all the shining hosts of heaven is master of itself . All matter is attracted by all other matter , just as all spirit , or all intelligence , is attracted by all other intelligence .

Masonry , as an Order , recognises bufc one God and Father of us all , though individual members may believe in many , if their conscience and judgment so dictate . As the

Order recognises but one God , so , in obedience to the revelations of modern science , it recognised but one kind of matter , governed by one law , and that applied by Infinite Wisdom to the control of atoms as well as of worlds

without number , crowding illimitable space , all moving harmoniously in obedience to its inflexible mandate . The great philosopher , Pythagoras , who is credited Avith having received several degrees in the " ancient mysteries " —and these are now generally conceded to have been the

forerunner , or beginning of Ancient Freemasonry—taught his benighted people , two thousand years before the birth of Copernicus , that the planets revolved about the sun;—in direct and flagrant opposition to the universally received opinions of scholars , priests and peoplewho taught and

, believed that the sun , moon , and all the stars , made daily excursions around our world—a notable instance of one , at least , of our ancient brethren who had the courage of his convictions , and AVBS willing to accept and proclaim the

truth , as it presented itself to his mind ; and this in face of the power , bigotry , and fanaticism of his time , when innovations upon the faith and teachings of the fathers were usuall y punishable by torture and death . Thousands of

God Given Work.

years have passed since Pathagoras lived ; darkness has given way to light . His great discovery lay dormant for many centuries , until another , in a moro enlightened age , revived ifc , and by the aid of geometry , which Masonry

still holds in high esteem , and which was fche basis upon Avhich the ancient mysteries , as well as tho philosophy of Pythagoras was founded , proved to the world the great truth which his ancient brother knew , bufc was unable to verify .

Science is itself necessarily progressive , else no now truth would be revealed . As the old philosophy of Ptolemy gave way to that of Copernicus , only to bo improved upon by Aristotle and further elucidated by Galileo , and again by Tycho , until astronomy , another of tho liberal sciences

much revered by all intelligent . Masons , has been brought to its present state of approximate perfection by the laborious investigations of Kepler , supplemented by tho wise discoveries of Newton , so the patriarchs of Masonry , as age has succeeded age , have abandoned tho mistaken

theories of their fathers in matters that have been disprovch by science , but have ever clung , and still cling with undying tenacity to the great unchangeable principles upon which the superstructure of Masonry was first erected , and of or about which every well-informed Mason is too well instructed to require further explanation .

It is upon these that the order has maintained so honourable and useful an existence , while empires' arid nations have arisen , flourished and sunk into oblivion ; religions , more or less true or false , according to the wisdom , honesty , or inspiration of their founders , have come

and gone before the advance of human knowledge , or progressed into better or more enduring forms . Masonry , nevertheless , in this regard , has remained unchanged , and will so remain unto the end . Yet , notwithstanding the tenacity , not to say obstinacy , with which ifc holds its

ground and adheres to these vital tenets , ifc deems it manly and Masonic in the highest degree , to acknowledge its dependence on a higher than earthly power , and that its

wisest and noblest are not masters of themselves , but aro hurried and driven to their work by an authority whoso edicts kings , priests , and Grand Masters of earth , however reluctantly , must obey . —Fbice of Maeonry .

Inquiry Of The Nearest Lodge.

INQUIRY OF THE NEAREST LODGE .

WHEN a profane desires fco receive initiation and membership in the Masonic Fraternity , there is no usage or custom of the Craft which requires him to present his petition to any particular Lodge . The field is the Masonic world . An applicant living in Philadelphia may ,

at his pleasure , present his petition to a Lodge in Pittsburgh , Pa ., or Baltimore , Met ., or Trenton , N . J ., or New York City , or London , England , for example . He alone is the judge in this matter . It is his petition ; he may present

it where he will , and the Lodge so receiving it will , in duo course , accept and act upon it . This right of an applicant to select his Lodge is unquestionable . There > is no exclusive jurisdiction in any Lodge over the material for

initiation residing within its territorial boundaries , but there is concurent jurisdiction , for the purpose of receiving petitions , in the Lodges of the Craft throughout the

Masonic world . The place of residence , however , must be correctly and truly stated . Now let us consider the Lodge action which follows .

While the Masonic Fraternity recognises , to the fullest extent , the right of a profane to choose which Lodge in the wide , wide world he will petition , ifc never makes , or at

least ifc never should make , a Mason of any applicant without first instituting proper inquiry , at his place of residence , concerning his physical , mental and moral character , his standing in society , and his general fitness to be made a Mason .

This inquiry is made , nofc directly , but through fcho local Lodge—the Lodge of his place of residence . No Lodge possesses the authority to make a Mason of a mere sojourner . It cannot do so without peril to the universal Craft . One who is a flitting traveller , and merely in

transitu through a country , cannot be surrounded by those persons who are familiar Avith his real character , and able to impart reliable information to a committee of inquiry concerning his fitness to be made a Mason . All Grand Lodges which regard and maintain the universal Land-