Freemasonry's Fruitage.

FREEMASONRY'S FRUITAGE .

Freemasonry * s Great Age , Teachings and Influence for Good . From Out this Temple Comes ths Perfect-Man . Freemasonry ' s Disinterested Spirit and

Purpose is building to the Future . An Oration by Albert G . Price , at the Dedication ofthe new Masonic Temple in New Orleans , Louisiana , i ' iff , th July 1892 .

THIS day is full of interest to Masons throughout tho civilized world It is the festival of our patron St . John the Baptist . A year ago , in classic periods , our oars were feasted with an ^ exquisitely beautiful pen picture of thia grand character , whose life was a prophecy of severe realities , and whioh , for gift to her who " wa « t begot in

Deraogorgon ' * Hall , " was rounded to a finish , forming n sublime epio , illustrative of the greatness of true courage , the " Mighty force of Truth , " and the heroism of devotion to duty . What more appropriate day for the dedication of our Temple ! Its completion marks an epoch in tho

history of Masonry in Louisiana . This splendid structure wherein we are assembled is this day delivered to tho Grand Lodge , finished and complete in all its parts Today it is dedicated and set apart with appropriate ceremonies , to Masonic purposes .

May we not , as did Solomon of old , address our supplication to the Lord , and say : We "have surely built Thee an house to dwell in , a settled place for Thee to abide in for evar . "

It was on the occasion of the dedication of the Temple of Solomon that our Ancient Grand Master " assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes , the

chief of the fathers of the children of Israel into King Solomon in Jerusalem , that they might bring np the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord out of the city of David , which is Zion . "

" And at that time Solomon held a feast , and all Israel with him , a great congregation , from the entering in of Hamath nnto the river of Egypt before the Lord our God , seven days and seven days , even fourteen days . " According to chronology this great feast of dedication

began on Friday , 30 th October , two thousand eight hundred and ninety-six years ago . Picture to yourself this convocation of all Israel , convened by royal decree to assist in the ceremony , and to rejoice with him on the contemplation of the house of God .

Memorable Friday , two thousand eight hundred and ninety-six years ago ! What an event in the world ' s history ! In all the years of the life of man on earth—and who will determine the ajons thereof ?—this was the first instance in the record of the world ' s history of a house

built by man and dedicated to the worship of one only God . Go back with me in imagination to that memorable day , and behold on Mount Moriah that splendid edifice—the temple—finished ; and then , in the presence of all the people , behold Solomon ; he has "turned his face about , "

and as the congregation stands , he begins that sublime invocation to the Lord God of Israel . Tnrn to 1 King * viii ., and read it , and ponder upon every word of it . The hour and the occasion are full of promise to the congregation , and for those who shall come after them .

In that temple were deposited the tables of stone , the moral law , and perhaps the Urim and Thnmmim—the Light and the Perfection—that reveals the Divine Will . It is from out this temple comes the story of the life and death of the Perfect Man . It is immaterial at this

date , whether we treat the tradition as real or mythological . It portrays a lesson rich in philosophy , in ethics , in all that typifies the perfect type of the upright man . It is thia lesson that gives it its real value and will continue to do so to the end of recorded time . A man , such as

tradition here portrays , leaves his impress on the world ' s history , and , in the ages gone , dying , such a man was translated to a seat with the gods . In our day his name is translated directly to the hearts of the people , wherein he lives , an example worthy of imitation .

As of old , the Masons of Louisiana have come np to dedicate their temple . The building has been long in course of construction . Trials and serious obstacles have

interfered with the work these many years . We had the promise of it years ago , before any one of you within the sound of my voice was born . People have their periods of adversity and prosperity .

Freemasonry's Fruitage.

The people of Louisiana have experienced thoir full share of the former , and barely their modicum of the latter . The lessons of adversity , however so valuable , affect business , Hociety , public and private life . In such times no one escapes . Tho Masonic Fraternity came under its

allporvadmg influence . U p to 1873 the Lodges prospered , and numbered on thoir rolls seven thousand seven hundred aud eighty members . Then gathered the clouds of adversity . Misfortunes came , heads were bowed , many

went to their long homes . Por fourteen years there was an annual decrease in the number of the members , and in 1888 we were reduced to three thousand six hundred and one . But the deep of the valley was reached . The poet tells

us" Sweet are the usea of adversity , WLioh , like the toad , ugly ud -enemous , Wears yet a precious jewel in its head . " If the people during these fourteen years were apparently

less devotional , omitted to gather into the Lodges , it was from no failure or lack of inherent force in the teachings of Masonry . Its teachings and usefulness were as grand during that period as when they first came to light up the heart of man .

The clouds that hung around and overshadowed tho Lodges in this jurisdiction , in 1888 began to break and snatter . The days brightened as the clouds rolled away . Tho L ; d gcs again began to refill ; the members of the Order awakened from their lethargy ; prayers were said ,

and songs of rejoicing were again heard within the sacred walls of the Lodge rooms . And as the Fraternity began to remount the hill of prosperity , the necessity for a temple took more earnest and practical shape . Two years ago it was resolved the house shonld be built . The spirit that formed that resolve took

shape" And gave to airy nothing A local habitation and a name . " The temple—here it is in all its magnificent proportions —a splendid testimony to the devoted Masons who formed that resolve and who have worked early and late , never

doubting that success wonld crown their labours . To-day they have their reward in beholding this princely honse , beautiful in form , grand iu proportions , Gothic in outline , with sufficient of graceful tracery and pointed arch to give to the whole a most pleasing and noble appearance .

It is said that architecture had its origin in our religious feelings as well as in our needs ; that monuments and temples in all lands speak to the eye of the mind . The actuating thought of the builder is wrought out in their construction : that on the rude structures of the oldest to

the noblest and most beautiful buildings of the present generation—from the most rugged forms , massive pillars , chiselled columns , mullions , featherings and tracery , we may read lessons of earnest thought , of religious devotion . In the cruder forms r , c the Doric and Ionic the sermons

are in solemn prose , expressive , out wrought , clear , strong and comprehensive . In the later composite , where the cumbrous yielded to the beautiful and harmonious , whero the massive was modified into graceful lines , curves ,

clusters , mouldings and carvings , with lights and shadows , and where traceries appears as lace , the feelings of rhythmic measure are awakened in the soul—add the Gothic , aud you have the " painted imagery . "

You who have feasted your eyes on the wonderful cathedrals of York , or of Cologne , will not fail to comprehend the flowing harmony , soft , sweet , touching ; and how the hand of the artist has inspired the solid stone with the very soul of poetry .

In these cathedrals there is not a single ornament , from the foundation to the lofty arches , thence to the more lofty towers , but touches and awakens the snblimest and purest sentiments .

Of this , our temple , how near does it attain to the conception of similar sensations ? May I say , with truth , in kind , if not in degree ? From its foundation to spiro

the grand purpose , intelligently expressed , is unwrought in its form ; it speaks its purpose—a house dedicated to Masonry . Those who como after ns will read upon its front : Faith , Hope , Charity .

In the words of the Psalmist our temple speaks to you this day : " Go ye around about Jerusalem , tell the towers thereof , mark ye well her bulwarks , consider ber palaces that ye may tell it to the generations following . " As the years roll on the splendid evidence of yonr faith in Father God and brotherhood of man shall find testimony