Between The Square And Compass.

BETWEEN THE SQUARE AND COMPASS .

By Bro . Ermilo G . Canton , Mexico , translated for " The Tyler " by Bro . Eli Broad . AN institution so ancient as Masonry , respected by all civilised people , and aided by all governments that render cult to liberty and to noble and generous ideas , has not unjustly merited the honourable title of being eminently moralising . Let us survey the world from east to west , and from south to septentrion ;

there will not be found one single centre of culture , a solitary point where the virtues of the human heart are not in action , where Masonry does not exercise with the mystery which characterises it , the beneficent influence that at all times has ^ p laced it in the first rank of moral forces regenerating humanity . And by virtue of what causes has it offered such a beautiful reality

amid so many corruptions as have detained the progress of the people ? By reason of its purest doctrine and of its principles , which do not clash with religions , because it respects them all ; nor with the governments of nations , because it acknowledges and obeys them ; nor with the sciences , because it studies them and helps them , as its mission is not to bring war to the people ,

but peace and light . It has selected man ' s reason as a vast and fecund field , where to develop its activity , and universal moral as a light to guide it in the path it has taken—a light that will never be eclipsed , because it is eternal , like the principle from whence it emanates . And what indispensable and absolute conditions does

it exact from the profane who desire to be initiated into its august mysteries ? That they must be free and of good customs , we reply ; that is to say , that their minds must be free from absurd prejudices ; that religious and political or any other kind of fanaticism is not a shadow that obscures

their reason , and they cease to be just ; that they must be men of probity , tolerant , friends of universal " progress , and capable of feeling the flame of love towards their fellows , and for them impose some sacrifices upon themselves ; that they must be the owners of their own , conscience , so as not to enslave it to vile interest , nor to the flattery of pleasure and vice ;

nor to the haughtiness of fortune ; that honest labour—magic talisman that permits man to realise the greatest wonders for himself and society—has facilitated them the means of realising felicity with independence ; that their procedure has never been placed in contradiction with the precepts of honesty ; that their customs , pure at home , pure in contact with the outer world ,

pure in all the senses that morality embraces , makes them worthy of wearing the apron of the Masonic Craftsman—a white apron as a symbol of purity , and on which the smallest stain is noticeable . See here the secret of why Masonry has maintained itself powerful at all times ; all has depended on its principles , its doctrine and its severe practices . Masonry is nothing more than duty in exercise , morality in action without pride or boasting .

The Mason should be such not only within the precincts of its temples where he goes to submit his passions and to excavate a sepulchre for his vices ; but also without those serene regions ; in the midsfc of the world ' s din ; in the midst of the vortex that can powerfully draw him to its unfathomable abysm ; in the midst of all the things that surround him , seduce his fancy and burn his heart and exalt him ; in the midst , finally , of all that can offer inveiglement to his nature , which , being human , is weak .

The Square and Compass are symbols of moral recititude to the son of the Masonic Institution . The Mason who , unfortunately , does not understand that by deviating from the precepts which those symbols outline for him with singular eloquence , he fails to his most sacred and essential duties , let him cast off his vesture then profaned , let him flee from the temple of

mysteries m whose naves solemnly resounded his vows ; let him hide his brow , which should be coloured by shame , because Masonry—which accorded him a fond reception full of immense joy—rejects him as unworthy of wearing the insignia that opened the doors of universal fraternity unto him . No ; Masonry cannot be tolerant with the unfulfilled moral and social duties of those

who belong to it . It is the school of moral perfection ; is a light that guides man in the midst of all obstacles that obstruct his path ; is like a beautiful and placid oasis planted in the midst of the candent sands of the profane world , and to fulfill its very noble and high mission must be zealous of its principles , which it preserves and will maintain with incolumity throughout time .

Our Order has , therefore , a sure means of knowing who are its true sons , who love it and honour it : to watch those who do not deviate from its wholesome teachings ; those who with their worthy and meritorious deeds augment the prestige which from ancient times has been recognised by history , and which proclaimed its fame ; those who have offered on the tables of its

altars their intelligence , their fortune , their labours , their tranquility and all kinds of sacrifices for a pure sentiment of love and charity towards their Brethren . Masonry reckons upon an immense number of its members who have lavished on humanity all sorts of comforts and riches . In France , England , Germany , Belgium , Italy , Greece , in the United States , and even in Mexico

Between The Square And Compass.

the profane world contemplates with astonishment the great works of Freemasonry , and its benevolence—always concealedbut not for that reason less grand , noble aud generous . Inquire in any of those countries where the abandoned orphans have been sheltered ; those in which food has also been given to the spirit ; those that have taken care to offer to valetudinary age sweet

repose to await with resignation the end of their existence ; those , which , in the tremendous catastrophes produced by nature , by the revolutionary fever of the people , and in the sorrowful and dreadful days of'implacable epidemics , haste , always mysteriously , to alleviate suffering , to protect misery and to lavish consolation , and you will find that Masonry is the tutelar angel fchat hurries

spontaneously to the relief of all kinds of misfortunes . Yes , those are the Masons : the Masons , those condemned , those perverse men , those criminals , who only serve to barbarise civilised people , and from whose banquets the poor do not obtain even tbe leavings , according to the recent and perversive declamation of a profane clerical paper of this city of Mexico .

It is well known that Masons have contracted the duty in a serious and formal manner of practicing all virtues , and to do good during all moments of their lives ; to present themselves as models of moderation and of dignity , because only thus are they worthy to carry the credentials of the institution to which they belong . He who does not feel any love towards his fellow creatures is not

a Mason . He who does not contribute within the circle of his faculties to increase the advancement of the Societies , and he who becomes daunted by the adversities that furiously irritate him , is not a Mason . He who attempts a crime against the honour of his fellow being , injuring him in his most profound soul , and against his well-being to raise his own position on his ruins , is

not a Mason . He who forgets fraternal harmony to satisfy his passions is not a Mason . He who does not understand that his hands must always be clean of any unworthy action is not a Mason . In one word , he who has not been able to make himself conversant with the fact that Masonry has a more transcendental

end than that of giving the obolus of its charity to the necessitous brother , and to preserve in mystery its signs , words , and tokens , is not a Mason . He is a Mason who can display that title with honour , who , united by a sacred bond to the Order , practices all virtues , and marches , therefore , between the Square and the Compass—symbols of rectitude , perfection and labo ur .

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