Freemasonry Is Brotherhood.

created or responsible for his own existence ho and his fellows must own a common Creator , a source of light , life and being , and the suggestion of paternity arose in his breast—the germ of the great idea of the Fatherhood of

God . Thus from the earliest days of creation wo see evolved two principles , destined to have the greatest controlling power over the future welfare and destiny of mankind—the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of

man . Antagonised to these principles we find another , by which they have been subverted and even for a timo suppressed and altogether neutralized , which is expressed by

the word selfishness . At the first men were constrained to meet as brethren , rather than as enemies , by the krowledge that they were creatures of a common Creator , bub this did not suffice to restrain the stronor from

oppressing tbe weak , the mighty from trampling upon the ri ghts of those who were powerless to resist . Selfishness then , as now , was stronger than generosity , and the contest which will end only with time itself , commenced when

men first began to accumulate this world ' s goods . How to restrain the strong and defend the weak always was , and always will remain , the mightiest problem of society . In the bnneficenee of God there is implanted in every

man ' s heart an instinctive resistance against that which is wrong and unjust and a desire to maintain that which is right , true and noble , and happily , in spite of selfishness , man is drawn towards and bound to his brother by a

common hope and destiny and by common interests iu life . Naturally each individual finds others towards wholesome peculiar regards and affections will Qo \ v , by means of which , as between them fraiernity and friendship become

correlative . Mutual protection and action for each other ' s welfare beget a sign of recognition which carries the mystery of fellowshi p in the bri g htness of the noonday and darkest shades of ni ght . To the Hebrew basking in the

light o ! the Divine favour , as the chosen people of Jehovah , the idea of the paternity of God carries with it as a natural and inevitable result , the sense of brotherhood . The grand and imposing rites and ceremonies which

characterised their acts of worship were a perpetual reminder of their association as brethren amongst whom their could be no profane intrusion . The thunders of Sinai , the awful voice of God speaking to his peculiar servants

the utterance of the sacred prophets , the glories of Lebanon , the excellency of Carmel and the wonders of Jerusalem blending in concordant harmonies the human and Divine

were voices which proclaimed with equal emphasis the yearning of the Hebrew soul alike towards its brother and its Father .

The Greek exhibited the same blending of the spirit of brotherhood with the spirit of reverence for the gods of his mythological system and the ono higher God , which

alone could satisfy the demands of his philosophy , and the imposing rites of Eleusis , guarded with zealous care from the sight of the profane , were but secret forms of the manifestation of brotherhood .

Emerging from the simplicities of the merely pastoral life , the arts of construction arose from the necessities of social progress and men began to build temples for their gods , statues for their heroes , and shelters for themselves . As

progress was made in the art of building , naturally those most skilled became separated into a class , and common interests and aspirations united those classes into harmonious bands of brethren .

When Israel ' s King had brought the Ark of God into the City of David he prepared to build a houso in which it might dwell , but Jehovah , by Nathan , his prophet , forbade ifc , saying that when his days should be fulfilled and he

should sleep with his fathers , his son should build the house of the Lord . David purchased the threshing floor of Oman and prepared material for the building of the Temple , and accordingly Solomon , his son , in the fourth

year of his reign began to buud the house . To prosecute the work Solomon drafted men of the different tribes and procured the services of many foreigners , a vast army , which he divided into classes distinguished from each

other by the nature of their employment , and by signs and words by which to recognise each other , and it was promised that when the Temple should be completed those most faithful should be elevated in rank and invested with

privileges of great value to them by which they would be known as initiates everywhere . The disposition by King Solomon of the artists and builders into a harmonious band of brethren , moved alike by one common impulse toward the promotion of their lofty designs , was in itself so wise

Freemasonry Is Brotherhood.

and practical as to need no special evidence for its demonstration . That the men thus associated , for fche long period of seven years and six months which was occupied in the construction of the Temple , could have prosecuted their

mutual plans and labours ; could have developed hopes and possibilities of beauty and grandeur and overcome trials and anxieties , while isolating themselves , or working alone and pursuing only the ends of selfishness , is a far stronger

test of credulity than to assume that they had the most complete form of organization . How nearly such organization corresponds with the Masonio outgrowths of a later time is of course a fair speculative question for the philosophic student and inquirer . At the birth of Jesus Christ we find thafc the firsfc act of

earthly homage he received was rendered by three men who came from no one knows where , and returned no one knew whither , and who left for record only the fact that they were " Magi . " G . B . Thrall says : " Remembering the

divinations of the magicians at the court of Pharaoh in opposition to Moses , and also the record of Saint John the Evangelist , as to fcheir doctrines asset forth by the Gnostics and the Essenes , we find that all through the history of

man there has been alongside of the sacred fold another institution occasionally flashing out in startling boldness , and then receding into the dark . The first establishment on record of this strange organization seems to have been in

Higypt in the time of the Pharaohs , when we find thafc Joseph married a daughter of one of these Magi . They were the ones who built the pyramids and the venerable ruins on the banks and islands of the Nile . The Ions

passages of the huge structure of Cheops were the entry ways of the Initiates and the vast corridors of Philte were the courts for the services of the Magian priesthood . These buildings were simply Masonic temples , erected for the

rites which for thousands of years went by the name of ' the Mysteries . ' Whether these mysteries originated in Egypt , or in Chaldea , is a question ; but it is clear that from Egypt they gradually spread throughout the world .

Modified by the habits of the different nations among whom they were introduced , they became in Greece fche Mysteries of Ceres , established fourteen hundred years before Christ ; in Rome of Bona Dea , the Good Goddess ; in Gaul , the

School of Mars , and in Sicily the Academy of Sciences . We find them among the sacred retreats of Persia , and the Pagodas of India ; they gave direction to the minds of our

Scandinavian ancestors , and these temples , rough copies of Phil _ o , are still seen as the Druidical remains of the Ancient Britions . "

What were these mysteries ? In a word , they were the science of natural religion . The fundamental truth was the existence of one , all wise , all powerful , everywhere present , God , architect , creator and preserver of all things .

Relating to man , the precepts were that matter was the principle of all the passions that trouble the reason and strain the soul and the highest duty of man is to subjugate

the human within us to the divine , to put the appetites under the moral sense . They taught the immorality of the soul , and immortality rising out of death was symbolised in a thousand ingenious ways .

After the completion and dedication of Solomon ' s Temple , many of the brethren are said to have travelled into foreign countries where they pursued their craft and became indentified with the people . Carrying with them

the knowledge of the being and attributes of the true God and the lessons of brotherhood taught them , it is not singular thafc they shonld have set up new altars and received fresh initiates and that so the royal art became propagated throughout all fche then known world .. ( To be continued . )

At the nexfc meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Cheshire it is proposed to grant fifty guineas to fche funds of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys . The Prov . Grand Master ( the Right Hon . Lord Egerfcon of Tatfcon ) is

advocating an exceptional effort this year in aid of muchneeded funds for maintaining the Boys' School iu a state of efficiency . At his Lordship ' s request , Brother Newhouse

P . G . Sec . will represent the Province as Steward , and he will attend to the interests of the various Cheshire Lodges on the occasion of the annual meeting .

Ar00201

' FUNERALS properly carried out and personally attended , in London and Country , by Bro . G-. A . HUTTON , 17 Newcastle ' Street , Strand , W . C . Monuments erected . Valuations made .