Masonry A Perfect System.

MASONRY A PERFECT SYSTEM .

IN my remarks at this time I am inclined to consider Masonry under two heads , to wit : First—the philo

sophy of the Order in so far as it engages in speculations on the nature of man as an immortal , social and responsible

being ; and second—its teachings and practice as applied to the various relations of life .

Darwin , in his " Origin of Species , " refers to the fact which is well known by naturalists , that in the animal kingdom there is a constant tendency on the part of the

different varieties of the same species of domestio animals

to revert to one wild original stock ; and so it appears to be with the human family . There is a constant tendency to go back to the original state of barbarity and ignorance from which the elevating and refining forces in constant

operation have redeemed it . During the present century discoveries have been made in Oriental lands which have brought to light , from the gray and mouldering past , the astonishing fact that away back in the ages , two or three thousand years anterior to our earliest sacred or classical history , there existed distinct and well organized

nationalities in Egypt and India , far advanced in all the elements of civilization , possessing a language perfect after its plan and a rich and copious literature . But these nations passed away ; their sun set in darkness , and we have only

buried cities and scattered fragments of their greatness to tell the sad tale of their fall . Traces of a fallen people and an extinct civilization are also found in Central and South America , and the Mound Builders of the Mississippi valley

seem to have been a superior race to the natives found there when that country was first explored . What caused the downfall of those nations and the passing away of their civilization can only be conjectured . No

light can penetrate the blackness that surrounds their history , and tradition , like a sphinx , looks out over the desert of years , but utters no voice and gives no clue to even their names . Advancing up the pathway of time until we reach authentic history , we know that the decline and ultimate

destruction of Greece and Rome was caused by the licentiousness and general corruption of the people . Had not

virtue departed from Rome , and luxury enervated her citizens , the Goth and Vandal could not have preyed upon the seven hilled city ' s pride , and spread the pall of barbarism where once the light of a splendid civilization

shone . We may then conclude that the causes which brought about the " dark ages" of our history , also , in former ages , brought barbarism upon the civilization of the far distant past , and that the former , within given cycles

of time , has over-run and engulfed the latter , as vast waves might a green island of the sea . Whether the light of this age shall go out in darkness , or continue to shine on through the future with ever brightening rays , depends

upon the strength and persistency of the forces and influences that are building up and sustaining our grand system of civilization . Let us , therefore , briefly inquire into the nature of these forces and influences . They may be

divided into three generic groups , namely , those that pertain to the physical man , and relate to the laws of health , including the medical science , with all its rules and appliances for the development of the body and preservation of health ; those that train , enlarge and strengthen the mind

as the various drills , studies and sciences of the schools , together with history and general literature ; and those which give strength , breadth and depth to the moral or spiritual nature of man , as the various moral and religious organizations that have grown np and made their impress upon the present age . Masonry occupies a prominent place in this important group , and while I would not detract from the well-earned honours of other organizations founded upon purely moral principles , I am persuaded that it is better designed for the accomplishment of its high purposes than any other

organization of this class . The church is not taken into consideration in this connection , for the reason that , while it teaches morality , it goes furthor , and claims , through its instrumentality , to lead men to that Divine source of light and

purity where they are regenerated in their spiritual natures and freed from the condemnation of sin through the blood of Christ . Masonry does not claim so exalted a mission ,

but it may well be termed the handmaid of religion , as there is not a thought in all its teachings bnt what may be traced to God ' s writtten word ; not one but is recognized by every devoted Christian , and not a word among its

Masonry A Perfect System.

passwords , save one , but is found in the Holy Bible . I know that modern scepticism has condensed a survey of all the powers of mankind into the well known epigram of

Goethe : — Wherefore drift the people and strive ? They seek to provide for themselves , and beget children and support them as well as they are able . Farther no man can go , let him try however he may .

prehensible under three categories , which wholly ignores his spiritual nature . This epigram might apply to the lower animals , but not to man . But Masonry , unless

This makes all the complicated activities of man

comwithin the jurisdiction of the Grand Orient , is not tinctured with scepticism . The first confession demanded of a candidate for its mysteries is a belief in God , and the last sad rite it performs by the open grave is to drop into

the portals of the tomb the evergreen emblem of immortality . The doctrine of the immortality of the soul is also forcibly taught in the third degree of onr Order , and this is the very foundation of all forms of religious faith . Max Muller has truly said that , " Without a belief in personal immortality religion is surely like an arch resting on one pillar ; like a bridge ending in an abyss . " Masonry teaches the All-Fatherhood of God and the

All-Brotherhood of Man , and all its forms and ceremonies are designed to elevate and ennoble its votaries . The design and influence of our organisation being good , as affecting human society , let us next consider its durability .

It is founded upon symbols and surrounded by traditions which cannot change . Every Lodge represents King Solomon ' s Temple , and all its furniture and fixtures are symbolic in their nature and use : while the members

represent Craftsmen engaged in their daily labours . Now , as the temple was a physical structure , which is minutely described in both classical history and the Holy Bible , its exact plan can never be lost until history fails and the

Bible is destroyed . The language of Masonry is universal , and is spoken by every tongue and people , and its mystic chain binds together all nations of the earth in one common Brotherhood . And while cities may crumble and nations

die , it will exist among men until the last vestige of civilisation is blotted out and all literature destroyed . If our civilisation is built up and sustained by the forces and influences of Masonry , and other organisations designed to

teach purity of heart and rectitude of purpose , acting in harmony with the Christian religion , it must follow that as long as these shall fulfil their high mission tho waves of darkness and barbarism can never again bring devastation and ruin upon the world .

I have not discussed the forces mentioned in the first

two groups , since the physical and mental welfare of the human family depends almost entirely upon its moral and spiritual condition . The knowledge of the laws of health and tbe splendid physical development of her citizens did not save Rome . Let Phidias and Praxiteles tell if the Arts

saved Greece . The melancholy pages of all past history prove that nothing but the moral worth of the people can exalt and maintain a nation . I do not claim that Masonry

alone is to-day sustaining the civilisation of the world , but I do claim that it is an important factor therein , which could not be removed or destroyed without serious results . In the moral world the same harmony must be preserved ,

and the equal balance maintained as in the physical world .

From Nature ' s chain whatever link yon strike , Tenth , or ten thousandth , breaks the chain alike , And , if each system in gradation roll

Alike essential to the amazing whole ; The least confusion bat in one , not all That system only , but the whole must fall .

The present is grand both in its possessions and possibilities . Plagues and dire diseases that in former times swept over entire nations and filled the land with sickening scenes of death and sounds of woe , are now being

brought under the control of medical science and healing art . There is intense intellectual activity throughout the earth , and while wars and bloodshed seem to be decreasing and the banner of Moloch trailed in the dust , the trained

soldiers of the plow-share , the anvil and the loom , are bearing aloft the iron cross of Industry , gilded with the glow of the harvest and the blaze of the furnace . And it the forces and influences which sustain the morals of m *

kind do not fail , we may soon realise : — A dream of man and woman Diviner bnt still human ,