Why Masonry Is Popular.

the individuals composing the membership . Assuming such to he the fact , it is obvious then to every intelligent Mason that Freemasonry has derived her greatest popularity from the moral and social worth of her

members . As proof of this , it is only necessary to examine her lists , where we shall find the names of men illustrious in the affairs of government , in educational •" 1 institutions , and in all the benevolent enterprises and

business relations of the world . I assert , then , that the Institution has drawn to 'it such men as have given it dignity and character , and being entitled to their confidence and support , it has won their love and devotion .

It may be said that impure and bad men have been patrons of Freemasonry . In sorrow and in deep humiliation we bow our heads and confess it to be true . And yet I assert in the face of such humiliating

acknowledgment that " a tree is known by its fruit . " We confess in sorrow that the unworthy have sometimes found their way into our Lodges , and that too many of that class remain in them undisturbed . And so there are tares to be found

among the wheat , but the husbandman in his wisdom never fails to distinguish the wheat from the tares , nor does the world in its wisdom mistake the unworthy for the

worthy Mason . It follows , therefore , that an unworthy man can be admitted to the membership of a Lodge only at the expense of such Lodge .

To you , Masters and Wardens , I would say that , if you desire your Lodges to flourish and command the respect of the best citizens of your town or city , you must insist on a degree of moral worth and " exalted manhood that can admit of no doubt . Suffer no man to be admitted and to

enjoy your presence whose life cannot be tested and found reasonably perfect by the square , level and plumb . If you desire a true manhood in your Lodges , you must insist on such a manhood when admitting members ; and if we

want to command the respect of the pure and good , we must , as individuals , conduct ourselves so as to win it . Masons shonld not forget that the daily life of a man is the in lex of his character .

By this you cannot fail to understand that Freemasonry in Maine , as in all other places , will be commended or condemned by its merits or demerits—as Masons live up

to , or depart from , the tenets of their professions , and the cardinal virtues of the Institution ; because it is by its fruit that every tree is known .

The keeping of Masonry , then , is in our own hands . Its prosperity and glory rest with us . As Masons , we should feel that we have a duty—a high duty—to perform in trying to maintain the dignity and glory of

Freemasonry as handed down to us from the fathers . It stands before us to-day , as it has stood from time immemorial , unsullied and unscarred by vandal hands , though its would-be destroyers have continued for ao-es to

hurl their anathemas against its fair proportions ; and as such it will continue to stand , if Masons will be true to their professions , because the Institution was founded upon the eternal principles of Truth , and Truth will live for ever , for " The eternal years of God are hers . "

The lesson , then , that I would impress on your minds is that the diameter of Freemasonry and its slahility as an Institution , depend and rest upon the individual character and moral worth of its patrons . Rightly appreciating this

responsibility and having that thought constantl y before us , we have nothing to fear for the perpetuity of the Institution . Freemasonry which we so much prize and cherish , will be preserved in her ancient dignity aud exalted character . —Voice of Masonry .

" Let There Be Light !"

" LET THERE BE LIGHT !"

THE most majestic words ever uttered were those embodied in the Omnific fiat of the Grand Architect of the Universe— " Let there be light ! " They marked an epoch on earth between the eternity of the past and the eternity of the future . The great geologic , formative

periods , concerning which we know so little , were drawing to a close . Unorganized matter was to yield obebieuce to the command of Deity , and chaos was to become cosmos . There was no battle of the elements , no

struggle between matter and mind , between darkness and light , but instantly the words " Let there be light I" were spoken by Him who was and is all-powerful in heaven and earth—the only "I Am "—our world was illumined , and

" Let There Be Light !"

" God saw the light that it was good . " This scene may not , can not , be adequately pictured , either to the eye or the understanding . It occurred once for all , never to be

repeated . Material light has not ceased from the earth sinco the Creator spoke it into existence . Well might majestic Milton pen his apostrophe :

" Hail , holy light ! offspring of heaven first-born . " And it is the minister of life as well as of light . To animal and plant it is physician and friend . The flowers

turn to it , in joyful transport . In darkness lurks disease and death , while in its opposite we find that which Swift justly styled " the two noblest things , which are sweetness and light . "

" Sons of Light" is in appropriate designation for members of the ancient and honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons . From the time when the initiate crosses the threshold of our mystic Temple , until the

period when he finally passes from the Lodge below to the presence of the light ineffable , he is continually in the light . The first lesson of the first degree is enlightenment , and the last lesson of the last degree includes the

impartation of " more light . " But , materially , with all the blaze of light which sun , moon and stars bestow , and , intellectually , with all the knowledge which the Craft can

confer , great as all this is , it is as nothing compared with that which will be the reward to those who shall be gifted beyond the grave with a blessed immortality .

Did you ever reflect upon the Craft ' s gift of light ? Did you ever understand its full import ? Not every one who has eyes sees , or who has ears hears . Seeing may be believing , but it is not understanding . Suppose no initiate

could advance from the reception of Freemasonry ' s lesser mysteries to the reception of its greater ones until he had comprehended this gift of light ! And should he ? Is any one entitled to advancement before he has shown

proficiency in the preceding degree ? Masonic Light is two-fold . It is material—exhibiting to the gaze the lesson teaching symbols of the Fraternity , which are intended not merely to be seen , but to be understood . But Light is

itself the greatest symbol of all , bemg the sign or representative of Truth . Freemasonry is , in one of its leading aspects , the apostle of truth—that triad of truths , Faith in God , Hope in Immortality , and Charity or Love

to the Brotherhood , and even to the entire human family . The truth of Brotherly Love is the very Corner-stone of Masonry . We are tenderly to regard each other , to be custodians of each other's fair fame , to enjoy each other ' s

society , to aid each other in distress . The light of Masonry shines on every Craftman , and exhibits him to his Brethren either as an object of personal enjoyment , or a suhject for special relief .

The " First Great Light in Masonry" is ever open on the Masonic Altar , to be a guide to our feet and a lamp to our path . Without it , so far as we now can see , there would be no Masonry . It is not merely the sanction of the initiate ' s

obligation , but it is the fountain and source of the chiefest lessons taught in the Craft . Its very language is often used , and its spirit is everywhere in our work . It is no exaggeration of language to style Freemasonry the

handmaid of religion , since it teaches the worship of the true God , and the practice of the purest morality . If a Freemason be immoral , he is so in spite of his Masonry , and as soon as he manifests immorality he should at least be

debarred all preferment . Officers in Masonry should invariably be examples of moral worth . It is ribald profanity for one who is loose in life to assume to be a Mentor , and take upon his lips the words of a Master of a

Lodge , the High Priest of a Chapter , or the Commander of a Commandery . Each of these offices is in some sense a consecrated office , and he who fills one of them , is set apart

to exercise its functions , and is expected himself to fulfil the obligations which he administers to others . A symbol of truth in the hands of a teller of untruths is a symbol of falsehood . Solemn and serious words in the mouth of him

who is profane are but ribald jests and parodies of truth . Let there be light in all Masonic officers . Let them understand the force of their official obligations , the

dignity of their stations , and the import of the words which they utter in the name of the Craft ; for if they do not understand them , neither will the initiates who are before them , nor the Brethren who are around them .

The culminating degree of Masonry , the Royal Arch , has its own peculiar light . What Royal Arch Mason can ever forget the lesson of the Burning Bush ? There he realized ,