Lesson Of The Corner-Stone.

LESSON OF THE CORNER-STONE .

An Extract from mi Oration by Rev . William Snivelg , at the Laijing of the Corner Stone of the Neir Masonic Temple in Xew Orleans , 'J 5 tk March 7 < s ' . 9 . / . rfTHERE are threo occasions in tho history ot * an edifice JL which havo a peculiar interest to tho . so who are

engaged in its construction . Tho first of these is tbe breaking of the ground , which inaugurates tho excavations in which the foundations are to bo laid , in which the heavy masses of stone and mortar aud coment inaugurate the work and insure tho subsequent permanence of the structure .

Tho second is the laying of tho comer-stono , when tho foundations havo reached tho surface and the superstructure is about to rise above tho earth ' s surface aud lift its completed form toward tho sky ; and the third is when the cap-stone is laid , amid shonts of rejoicing and songs

of joy , as tho finished structure stands in its completeness , ready to onter upon its career of usefulness as tho homo of active life and work . To celebrato tho second of theso events in tho erection of our Masonic Temple wo aro

gathered hero to-day . I need scarcely to refer to tho fact that years ago another corner-stone was laid , whoso superstructure was never finished , owing to circumstances over which the Order had no control .

But now , with bettor prospects of sucoess , with a stronger financial outlook which that uncompleted enterprise has given , and with tho additional experience which that effort has suppliod , we aro about to erect a now tcruplo , with its columns of boauty and of strength , and which , when

completed , will bo at onco moro convenient and attractive than tho old one ever could havo been . When we look beneath the ceremonies of this hour and ask ourselves what is their truest significance , we are at once met by the fact that it is but the process of an active life onfolding

itself in a fitting habitation . And with this thought that other one , which is an instinct of humanity , that man , whether in his rude and barbarous stages or amid the refinements of the highest civilization , must find and construct for himself a home . It may bo the rude tent of

the wandering Bedouin , the log cabin of the early settler or the palatial residence of the merchant prince and millionaire , but as soon as we pass beyond the most primitive forms of human habitation and reach the period

when mon construct their dwellings of stone and brick , meot with the fact of Masonry aa an influential force in tho development of a higher civilization and a nobler life .

In addition to this we must recognize the universal instinct of humanity which prompts men to gather themselves into organised communities , just as birds fly in flocks or fishes swim in shoals . And in a sinless world , unmarred by any departure from the Divine ideal , this

community instinct would produce a universal brotherhood of the race . God has recognised that instinct of universal brotherhood in the organisation of His own sacred family , and in the existence of that Divine corporation which we call His church . We sec the smoke of its

sacrifice ascending from patriarchal altars ; its liturgic forms are made more complete in the magnificent and elaborate ceremonies of the tabernacle and temple service ; and it has entered upon its epoch of universal dominion in the simple and significant worship of the Christian church .

But this divine brotherhood is an ideal which the centuries of time are slowly translating into fact . It is true that temples of worship have always preceded halls of legislation , and churches are built before courthouses and exchanges . But along with this slow and patient

realisation of the nmversal brotherhood , and as if to testify to its essential need , voluntary associations of men for commercial , benevolent and charitable purposes have sprung up all along the line of the centuries . The guilds of tho Middle Ages furnish an illustration , whose counterpart is

realised in the labour unions of to-day , the fundamental thought of which is mutual protection and tu- ' n amid the chances and vicissitudes of this mortal life . A - "kman may fall from a scaffolding , and , in the tedious ^ ss

which follows in the slow process of recovery , his wa are stopped and his family are in want . And in the desolation and distress which follow , his brothers gather around him with helpful sympathy and relievo his wants

Lesson Of The Corner-Stone.

and the need of those ho loves . Or , if tho accident should prove fatal , the brotherhood will lay him tenderly and decontly to rest , and there will bo a husband to his widow and a fathor to his orphans . Of all the voluntary organisations for human

brotherhood which tho past has produced , no ono stands out so eminently to-day as the venerable and dignified Order which is assembled hero this hour . Its origin dates far back into u legendary past , before tho muse of history wrote a single lino of her long record upon papyrns or

parchment . Its earliest monuments are the Pyramids , whoso structure involved mechanical forces which wo scarcely dream of to-day , and which built tho enduring tombs of the Pharaohs of Egypt with a permanence which haB resisted the decay of ages , and a skill which is tho

marvel and the mystery of modern scientific thought . It assorted itsolf in the magnificent architecture of Babylon and Nineveh , whoso relics to-day aro tho wonder of a past which the present cannot comprehend . It wrote its passing record in the architecture of Greece aud Rome ,

whoso perfect and graceful results combined boauty and strength in their most harmonious proportions and left a standard for subsequent ages whioh the architectural skill of modern times may imitate , but cannot hope to surpass . And it consecrated its highost and holiest endeavour to

the cathedrals of Europe , which tho lapse of conturies and the treasuries of kings worked together to complete . And this will interpret for us tho real significance of onr ceremony to-day . In the line of all the vonerablo past wo find that a life will inclose itself in its appropriate

surrounding ; and tho life of the Masonic Order in tho jurisdiction of Louisiana , in this new doparture , is simply clothing itself with au appropriate home , in which ita Ufo may bo mado moro permauent and its charitable work moro active . It is tho natural law of all life to provide for itsolf a home . It is tho law of a shell fish to secrete its own

shell , and of an ear of corn to generate its own protective husk , to shelter the immature beginning until it has reached its perfect growth . Precisely so this new temple which we are building is to enfold within itself tho activities of the Order , and its completed structure will bo

a cohesive bond that will at once unify and inspire all the subordinate organisations of tbe jurisdiction . And this leads ns to the closing thought which tho new temple suggests , namely , that it is not merely the token of life and brotherhood , but also of growth . When tho

foundations of tho second templo wore laid , under Zerubbabel , there were mingled emotions in the hearts of tho multitude assembled that day . The younger generation of the chosen people who had been born in tho captivity of Babylon were overjoyed at the thought of returning to

their ancestral homo and rostoring tho worship of their fathers upon the hill of Zion . But the elders of Israel wept with a sore and bitter lamentation as they contrasted

the second templo with tho greatness and glory of the first templo which Solomon had built . Wo can sympathize with them the moro tenderly to-day , because tho case is reversed with us .

We remember the old temple , with its waste of room in hall and stairways , and its excessively economical arrangements for Lodge and Chapter and Commandery ; and as we anticipate tho completion of this new structure , into whose design the highost skill of architectural science has

entered , we are willing to say a tender and pathetic farewell to the old temple , which has fulfilled its mission and passed away , and then , turning to the future to welcome the coming guest of the new and better temple , which shall henceforth be the shrine of our Masonic devotions , the home of Masonic life and the field of our Masonic work .

Within its walls we shall conduct the ceremonies of onr Order , and to its graceful and hospitable interior we shall welcome alike the brethren of our entire State and the visitors from othev jurisdictions throughout tho nation and the world .

But the growth is not merely organic ; it is also individual , and as the closing thought of this hour , I suggest the question which this corner-stone compels each of us to ask : Whether , in the growth of character—the stately structure of our soul-life—and tho consecration of our

hearts as temples of the living God , we are making that advance year by year that shall at last make these human natures of our temples fit for virtue's shrine . ' n American poet has found the analogy and parable of su "rowth in the shell of the chambered nautilus , whiCx "^ uing with but a tiny knob , advanced in its