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Article THE EMBLEM OF INNOCENCE. ← Page 2 of 2 Article CHARACTER BUILDING. Page 1 of 1 Article THE ALL-SEEING EYE. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Emblem Of Innocence.
anew , as taught in the first great lesson of Freemasonry , the candidate becomes " a new creature , " and the mystery that puzzled the philosopher of old as to how the sins of the past could be forgiven and blotted out when repentance was made , is here unfolded in the grand , beautiful , and inspiring lesson of this emblem of innocence—the badge of a Mason !
" It may be that in the coming years upon your head shall rest the laurel leaves of victory ; from your breast may hang jewels fit to grace the diadem of an Eastern potentate ; nay , more than these , with light added to the coming light , your ambitious feet may tread round after round of the ladder that
leads to fame in our mystic circle , and even the purple of our Fraternity rest upon your honoured shoulders ; but never again from mortal hands , never again until your enfranchised spirit shall have passed upward and inward through the pearly gates , shall any honour so distinguished , so emblematical of purity and
of all perfections , be bestowed upon you as this which I confer to-night . It is yours to wear throughout an honourable life , and at your death to be deposited upou the coffin which shall enclose ¦ your lifeless remains , and with them laid beneath the clods of the valley .
" Let its pure and spotless surface be to you an ever-present reminder of an unblemished purity of life and rectitude of conduct ; a never-ending argument for nobler deeds ; for higher thoughts ; for purer actions . And when at last your weary feet shall have come to the end of your toilsome journey , and from your nerveless grasp shall drop forever the working tools of life ,
may the record of your life and conduct be as pure and spotless as the fair emblem which I place in your hands to-night . And when your trembling soul stands free and alone before the Great White Throne , may it be your portion , oh , my Brother , to hear from Him who sittethas the Judge Supreme , the welcome words : Well done , good and faithful servant ; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord . "
The first degree of Ancient Craft Freemasonry is strictly the germ of the third degree . Every step which the candidate takes , and every sign which he is taught , are symbolical of the redemption of the Craft , who in the happening of one event became mvsteriously involved in a huge calamity . All the
designs on the tracing boards in the first and second degrees are explained in the third , just as all the figures of the Law are answered in the third dispensation of revealed truth . Life and immortality are the unseen mysteries of the Lord's temple . We can here only have a shadowy idea of the glory of the soul and
the glory of the flesh m the redeemed state . When the Almighty Master shall approach us from the East to raise the dead , we are assured that none will be invested with a knowledge of the ineffable word until they are raised upon the five hallowed wounds or points of His fellowship .
The " Tyler , " then , respectfully , yet earnestly , enters its protest against the substitution of an apron of any other material than that of the white lambskin . Your apron made of linen may be ever so white , but it represents nothing ; and to use it as we have lately seen it used by a Grand Lodge at the burial of a
Brother is a mockery and also a crime that should not be tolerated . It symbolised the offering of Cain . Masonry is a prophecy witli reference to the soul after death . She brings you to the grave , where all the honours and greatness of life perish , and where king and slave lie clown together , but she looks , not upon
its darknes 3 , as a gloomy materialist . She symbolises the imperishable condition of the spirit and the resurrection of the body . When she buries her dead she buries the apron of a Freemason with them in token that through faith in the sacrifice made—which the white lambskin apron expresses—the soul has
admission into the temple where they need no light of the sun , nor of the moon , for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the light thereof . And through her tears at the grave she ever beholds the acacia springing and blooming a sweet emblem of the soul's immortality .
The white lambskin apron also speaks in the language of Masonic symbolism of that great company that the beloved Evangelist saw standing before the throne and the Lamb , arrayed in white robes , who had come up out of great tribulation and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb .
Let us then , Brethren , not look upon the work of the Lodge as a series of dead and unmeaning forms , but as an outward representation of some deep duties analogous to those forms ; and that no duty is more vital to the Freemason than that connected with the lambskin or white leather apron .
" When the king came in to behold the guests , he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment ; and he saith unto him : Friend , how earnest thou in hither not having a wedding garment ? And he was speechless . Then the king said to the
servants , bind him hand and foot , and cast him out into the outer darkness ; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth . For many are called , but few chosen . "— " American Tyler . "
Character Building.
CHARACTER BUILDING .
IT is by various contributing influences that a man ' s character is formed . What is called the environment of life has much to do with the development and shaping of the individual nature . Daily associations furnish helps or hindrances , as the case may be , to the right moulding of human character . There are ministries of homo life , of friendship , and of
institutions , which cannot be left out of account where an estimate is made of the forces which have contributed to the production of a manly character . In this work of moulding and building character , Freemasonry furnishes some potent helps . As a system of moral teaching and suggestion it has value in the directions noted . Its precepts touch the higher lines of
sentiment and duty . Its lessons hear upon the unfolding and use of man ' s noblest attributes of being . In all Masonic instruction there is a recognition of man ' s greatness of endowment—the large and rich possessions with which he is blessed in his equipment of mind , heart and soul —together with a constant reminding of the corresponding truth of his moral accountability . The ceremonies , the symbolism of Freemasonry , and its impressive
illustrations of the personages so much honoured in its regard , all have a like contributing influence . So it is , a man being a Mason is taught to respect himself , to believe in the possibilities of his moral being , and to make his life career correspond with the best ideals . The lessons and symbols of Freemasonry not only admonish and instruct in matters pertaining to every-day duty , but they excercise also a potent , though perhaps unrealised influence , in building and advancing character .
And the fellowship of high-minded and true hearted Brethren has a like ministry . Not all Masons are gentle and true , noble and strong , for with all the care that is exercised some men are admitted who are far from being examples in either faith or duty . But the rule is otherwise ; Masons
generally are men of intelligence and of good reputation , whose characters show many of the elements which most distinguish and ennoble our humanity . The genuine representative Mason is such a one as the poet sketches : " True and tender and brave and just , That a man might honour and woman trust . "
And the proposition which we seek to establish in this connection is that Freemasonry by its teachings , its ceremonies , and its fellowship , stimulates man's tendencies of good , the higher and better aspirations of his being and thus constitutes an important aid in character building . It may
not , it cannot , do everything . The material on which it works is imperfect ; yet in the face of many difficulties , and sometimes under adverse conditions , it does succeed in fashioning the rough ashlar into a better form , and so justifies itself in the lives and characters of its followers .
It is not difficult to delineate the character of a true Mason . He should have a noble heart and a worthy purpose in living . He should be generous , gentle and brave , a lover of truth and a lover of humanity . He should fill up the measure of the poet's sketch , being a man who is , " Slave to no sect , who takes no private road ,
But looks through Nature up to Nature ' s God ; Pursues that chain which links the immense design , Joins heaven and earth and mortal and divine ; Sees that no being any bliss can know ,
But touches some above and some below , Learns from this union of the rising whole The first , last purpose of the human soul , And knows where faith , law , morals all began , All end—in love to God and love to man . " — " Freemasons Repository .
The All-Seeing Eye.
THE ALL-SEEING EYE .
WHAT would a man be without memory ? Memory connects us with tha past . And yet how many people there are who are only living in the present . How many there are , too , who , if they make use of the faculty of memory , only remember grudges , injuries , scandals , but do not remember goodness of God or the kindnesses of their friends . How few there are , too ,
that ever take time to lift their faces from the earth ? If Masons , they see " the sword pointing to a naked heart , demonstrating that justice will , sooner or later , overtake them ; but they forget " that although their thoughts , words and actions may . be hidden from the eyes of man , yet that All-Seeing Eye , whom the sun , moon and stars obey , and under whose watchful care even
comets perform their stupendous revolutions , pervades the inmost recesses of the human heart . " But , forgetting a truth does not destroy it ; neglecting a duty , because it may be deemed trivial , is not being faithful ; denying that every transgression shall not be brought to light does not remove either the transgression or the light . Dr . E . H . Conwell says that in London one of
the banks had a very unique and ingenious arrangement to watch their watchman . Each square in the marble floor of the bank rested upon a steel point , and that steel point connected with an electric wire , and each square in the bank was numbered . Those wires ran through the building to the private office of the bank officials . The watchman was told to keep awake
and to keep moving all the time . He thought it was very foolish for him to keep moving . He said the place was safe . So he took a newspaper or a novel , and sat down on a chair by a light . There he would sit and read , when he should have been looking about . One day they sent word to him that his services were unsatisfactory . He went in great indignation to see
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Emblem Of Innocence.
anew , as taught in the first great lesson of Freemasonry , the candidate becomes " a new creature , " and the mystery that puzzled the philosopher of old as to how the sins of the past could be forgiven and blotted out when repentance was made , is here unfolded in the grand , beautiful , and inspiring lesson of this emblem of innocence—the badge of a Mason !
" It may be that in the coming years upon your head shall rest the laurel leaves of victory ; from your breast may hang jewels fit to grace the diadem of an Eastern potentate ; nay , more than these , with light added to the coming light , your ambitious feet may tread round after round of the ladder that
leads to fame in our mystic circle , and even the purple of our Fraternity rest upon your honoured shoulders ; but never again from mortal hands , never again until your enfranchised spirit shall have passed upward and inward through the pearly gates , shall any honour so distinguished , so emblematical of purity and
of all perfections , be bestowed upon you as this which I confer to-night . It is yours to wear throughout an honourable life , and at your death to be deposited upou the coffin which shall enclose ¦ your lifeless remains , and with them laid beneath the clods of the valley .
" Let its pure and spotless surface be to you an ever-present reminder of an unblemished purity of life and rectitude of conduct ; a never-ending argument for nobler deeds ; for higher thoughts ; for purer actions . And when at last your weary feet shall have come to the end of your toilsome journey , and from your nerveless grasp shall drop forever the working tools of life ,
may the record of your life and conduct be as pure and spotless as the fair emblem which I place in your hands to-night . And when your trembling soul stands free and alone before the Great White Throne , may it be your portion , oh , my Brother , to hear from Him who sittethas the Judge Supreme , the welcome words : Well done , good and faithful servant ; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord . "
The first degree of Ancient Craft Freemasonry is strictly the germ of the third degree . Every step which the candidate takes , and every sign which he is taught , are symbolical of the redemption of the Craft , who in the happening of one event became mvsteriously involved in a huge calamity . All the
designs on the tracing boards in the first and second degrees are explained in the third , just as all the figures of the Law are answered in the third dispensation of revealed truth . Life and immortality are the unseen mysteries of the Lord's temple . We can here only have a shadowy idea of the glory of the soul and
the glory of the flesh m the redeemed state . When the Almighty Master shall approach us from the East to raise the dead , we are assured that none will be invested with a knowledge of the ineffable word until they are raised upon the five hallowed wounds or points of His fellowship .
The " Tyler , " then , respectfully , yet earnestly , enters its protest against the substitution of an apron of any other material than that of the white lambskin . Your apron made of linen may be ever so white , but it represents nothing ; and to use it as we have lately seen it used by a Grand Lodge at the burial of a
Brother is a mockery and also a crime that should not be tolerated . It symbolised the offering of Cain . Masonry is a prophecy witli reference to the soul after death . She brings you to the grave , where all the honours and greatness of life perish , and where king and slave lie clown together , but she looks , not upon
its darknes 3 , as a gloomy materialist . She symbolises the imperishable condition of the spirit and the resurrection of the body . When she buries her dead she buries the apron of a Freemason with them in token that through faith in the sacrifice made—which the white lambskin apron expresses—the soul has
admission into the temple where they need no light of the sun , nor of the moon , for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the light thereof . And through her tears at the grave she ever beholds the acacia springing and blooming a sweet emblem of the soul's immortality .
The white lambskin apron also speaks in the language of Masonic symbolism of that great company that the beloved Evangelist saw standing before the throne and the Lamb , arrayed in white robes , who had come up out of great tribulation and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb .
Let us then , Brethren , not look upon the work of the Lodge as a series of dead and unmeaning forms , but as an outward representation of some deep duties analogous to those forms ; and that no duty is more vital to the Freemason than that connected with the lambskin or white leather apron .
" When the king came in to behold the guests , he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment ; and he saith unto him : Friend , how earnest thou in hither not having a wedding garment ? And he was speechless . Then the king said to the
servants , bind him hand and foot , and cast him out into the outer darkness ; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth . For many are called , but few chosen . "— " American Tyler . "
Character Building.
CHARACTER BUILDING .
IT is by various contributing influences that a man ' s character is formed . What is called the environment of life has much to do with the development and shaping of the individual nature . Daily associations furnish helps or hindrances , as the case may be , to the right moulding of human character . There are ministries of homo life , of friendship , and of
institutions , which cannot be left out of account where an estimate is made of the forces which have contributed to the production of a manly character . In this work of moulding and building character , Freemasonry furnishes some potent helps . As a system of moral teaching and suggestion it has value in the directions noted . Its precepts touch the higher lines of
sentiment and duty . Its lessons hear upon the unfolding and use of man ' s noblest attributes of being . In all Masonic instruction there is a recognition of man ' s greatness of endowment—the large and rich possessions with which he is blessed in his equipment of mind , heart and soul —together with a constant reminding of the corresponding truth of his moral accountability . The ceremonies , the symbolism of Freemasonry , and its impressive
illustrations of the personages so much honoured in its regard , all have a like contributing influence . So it is , a man being a Mason is taught to respect himself , to believe in the possibilities of his moral being , and to make his life career correspond with the best ideals . The lessons and symbols of Freemasonry not only admonish and instruct in matters pertaining to every-day duty , but they excercise also a potent , though perhaps unrealised influence , in building and advancing character .
And the fellowship of high-minded and true hearted Brethren has a like ministry . Not all Masons are gentle and true , noble and strong , for with all the care that is exercised some men are admitted who are far from being examples in either faith or duty . But the rule is otherwise ; Masons
generally are men of intelligence and of good reputation , whose characters show many of the elements which most distinguish and ennoble our humanity . The genuine representative Mason is such a one as the poet sketches : " True and tender and brave and just , That a man might honour and woman trust . "
And the proposition which we seek to establish in this connection is that Freemasonry by its teachings , its ceremonies , and its fellowship , stimulates man's tendencies of good , the higher and better aspirations of his being and thus constitutes an important aid in character building . It may
not , it cannot , do everything . The material on which it works is imperfect ; yet in the face of many difficulties , and sometimes under adverse conditions , it does succeed in fashioning the rough ashlar into a better form , and so justifies itself in the lives and characters of its followers .
It is not difficult to delineate the character of a true Mason . He should have a noble heart and a worthy purpose in living . He should be generous , gentle and brave , a lover of truth and a lover of humanity . He should fill up the measure of the poet's sketch , being a man who is , " Slave to no sect , who takes no private road ,
But looks through Nature up to Nature ' s God ; Pursues that chain which links the immense design , Joins heaven and earth and mortal and divine ; Sees that no being any bliss can know ,
But touches some above and some below , Learns from this union of the rising whole The first , last purpose of the human soul , And knows where faith , law , morals all began , All end—in love to God and love to man . " — " Freemasons Repository .
The All-Seeing Eye.
THE ALL-SEEING EYE .
WHAT would a man be without memory ? Memory connects us with tha past . And yet how many people there are who are only living in the present . How many there are , too , who , if they make use of the faculty of memory , only remember grudges , injuries , scandals , but do not remember goodness of God or the kindnesses of their friends . How few there are , too ,
that ever take time to lift their faces from the earth ? If Masons , they see " the sword pointing to a naked heart , demonstrating that justice will , sooner or later , overtake them ; but they forget " that although their thoughts , words and actions may . be hidden from the eyes of man , yet that All-Seeing Eye , whom the sun , moon and stars obey , and under whose watchful care even
comets perform their stupendous revolutions , pervades the inmost recesses of the human heart . " But , forgetting a truth does not destroy it ; neglecting a duty , because it may be deemed trivial , is not being faithful ; denying that every transgression shall not be brought to light does not remove either the transgression or the light . Dr . E . H . Conwell says that in London one of
the banks had a very unique and ingenious arrangement to watch their watchman . Each square in the marble floor of the bank rested upon a steel point , and that steel point connected with an electric wire , and each square in the bank was numbered . Those wires ran through the building to the private office of the bank officials . The watchman was told to keep awake
and to keep moving all the time . He thought it was very foolish for him to keep moving . He said the place was safe . So he took a newspaper or a novel , and sat down on a chair by a light . There he would sit and read , when he should have been looking about . One day they sent word to him that his services were unsatisfactory . He went in great indignation to see