Masonry A Perfect System.

Solving the riddle old , Shaping the Age of Gold . The love of God and neighbour ,

An oqaal-handed labour ; The richer life where beauty Walks hand in hand with duty .

There are other thoughts which might be presented in this connection , but my time is passing rapidly by and I must now briefly consider the teachings and practice of Masonry as applied to the various relations of life .

There is much being said and written in regard to the antiquity of our Order , but whether it had its origin back of the reach of the dim and musty records of the past and

beyond tradition itself , in that far distant period , which language can only faintly shadow upon the mind by the expression " In the beginning , " amid the dawning of the great truths of nature , when the morning stars sang

together , and all the hosts of heaven shouted for joy ; or

whether it may be traced back through the Building Corporations of the Middle Ages and the Roman Colleges of Artificers to the Eastern Magi and the Egyptian Mysteries of Osiris , may be interesting questions for

curious and delving minds , but it is of more practical importance to know what Masonry now is , and what it promises to be in the future , than to know its origin or even its past history . If it is to make its impress on this

age , it must rely on something more than its antiquity . It must be a living institution , labouring in the fields of the present , not a lifeless mummy from the catacombs of the past .

In the year 1717 , there met in London , England , the representatives of four Lodges , for the purpose of forming the first Grand Lodge in that country . That was only 166 years ago , and yet in that short period the Mystic

Brotherhood has grown until we now have 15 , 000 Lodges in the whole world , with a contributing membership of about 2 , 000 , 000 . These are scattered throughout the nations of the earth and the islands of the sea . The sun in his

daily course never sets on Masonry , but shines with the resplendent beauties of his meridian light upon her mystic temples . That Masonry is doing much good in the world cannot be denied ; that it fails to do more is to be regretted .

But it is unreasonable to expect perfection in any human institution , because humanity is weak and imperfect , ancl while precepts are perfect , practice fails . Our theories may reach to the stars , but our halting feet will hardly

gain the hill tops . What the future of Masonry will be depends upon what the present is , to a great extent . All truths are pre-existent and indestructible . Take the science of mathematics , and its axioms are as enduring as the

cycles of eternity . The fact that in any right-angled triangle , the square of the hypothenuse is equal to the sum of the squares described upon the sides which contain the right angle ; or that a right line is the shortest

distance between two points , cannot be changed by the mutations of time . The great truths of astronomy are unchanging and undying . The earth moved onward with resistless force , though Galileo was driven to recant the

truth , and his blind and bigoted persecutors thought they had suppressed the theory . Our Order is a symbolic institution , but all its symbols and all its legends , like the legends of the ancient poets , are designed to teach sublime

philosophical or religious truths . Look upon the Temple of Solomon , with its matchless symmetry and beauty ! This is the symbol of a perfect Masonic life . But oh , how few of us can hope to build so grandly ! Sir Christopher

Wren was an eminent Mason , and the most renowned architect of the age in which he lived . The cathedral of St . Paul ' s , which required a period of about thirty-five years in building was the great work of his life : but it

was a work that the most lofty ambition might look upon with feelings of pride . With peculiar fitness this magnihcent structure was made the last resting-place of the Master Builder , and his tomb in the crypt was inscribed

With the significant and appropriate words , " If you seek his monument look around . " How many of us , when we nave finished our work and pkssed from the labours of earth

to the refreshments of the Grand Lodge above , " would wish this inscription carved upon the ideal temple our hfe has builded up ? lhe

altar of Masonry is an important symbol . The altar is where Masonic light is first received , and at it , on ended knees , we learn some of the most important lessons and valuable truths that can be learned by man . How sweet uie memories 'chat cluster around that altar ? There we

Masonry A Perfect System.

were bound by ties stronger than a threefold cord ; there the mystic chain first bound our hearts , and there we first felt the pleasure of dwelling together in unity . Around

the altar we may assemble , away from the marts of business and weary treadmills of earth , coming from the vales of obscurity and the high stations of life—to meet on ono common level as brethren . None of the distinctions

which divide and sever men in the great ontside world should be felt or known here . Resting upon the altar are found the Holy Bible , square and compasses , which are symbols of the highest importance . If by the light of

Divine Truth , we square our actions and measure them by the square of virtue , while with the compasses we circumscribe our desires and keep them within due hounds with all mankind , but more especially with oar brethren , life becomes a majestic poem , woven of flesh and spirit , gar *

nished by the fingers of love and rhythmic with the truth

" Forenoon and afternoon and night—forenoon And afternoon and night—forenoon , and—What ? The empty song repeats itself . No more ? Yes , that ia Life ; make this forenoon sublime , This afternoon a psalm , this night a prayer , And time is cunqaered and thy crown is won . "

The Holy Bible from its central position in the L > dge pours forth refulgent rays of Divine truth upon the East , West and South . To it we look as the bright source from which are drawn the sublime lessons of our Order .

Therein is found a lesson of the power of love of country and kindred , as taught by Queen Esther , the fairest of queens and one of the noblest of women ; a lesson of the love of a father for a wayward child , as set forth in the

story of the Prodigal Son ; a lesson of the love of a wife and daughter , as taught by Ruth ; but perhaps the most pleasing and forcible lesson , excepting the direct lesson of Christ Himself , is that taught by David and Jonathan .

This is a lesson of brotherly love—that passion which springs up in the hearts of strangers and binds them with its silver cords , strong as bands of steel , that the finger of

time can never unloose . Masonry teaches this , and though it may not be found in its perfection among the Craft , it is held up as the sublime ideal , and the nearer we approach this ideal the better men and Masons we will be .

There is a charming tradition connected with the site upon which the Temple of Solomon was erected , which fitly illustrates the spirit of love which our Order teaches . The ground upon which the temple was built is said to

have been owned in common by two brothers , one of whom had a family , the other had none . On the spot was sown a field of wheat . In due time the grain was harvested and gathered into separate shocks ,

and on the succeeding evening the elder brother said to his wife : " My younger brother lives alone , without a companion ; he has no one to assist him in his labours , nor reward him for his toils , while God has

bestowed upon me a wife and children to bless me . I will , therefore , by way of compensation , take of our sheaves and place them with his , without his knowledge . " The younger brother , being actuated by like motives , said

within himself : " My elder brother has a family to support , while I have none . I will contribute to their support by taking of my sheaves and secretly adding them to his . " Judge of their mutual surprise when the following

morning they found their shocks undiminished . This course of events transpired for several nights , when each resolved in his own mind to stand guard aud solve the mystery ; they did so , and the following night met each

other half-way between their respective shocks with arms full of golden grain . Upon ground hallowed by such associations as these the magnificent temple was erected , and Masonry has been ever engaged since then in teaching

Brotherly Love , Relief and Trnth to the nations of earth . A lesson of charity is one of the first given in our Order , and like a thread of gold ifc runs through all its teachings . Faith , Hope and Charity are the principal rounds of

Jacob ' s ladder , by which all good Masons hope to arrive at that starry-decked heaven , whose columns are Wisdom , Strength and Beauty . Masons are taught not to herald their good works to the world : their charity should be

like the cooling moisture from the sylvan fountains , borne by the breath of the morning to the surrounding flowers , giving them life and beauty , yet no hand is seen and no voice heard save the song of the fountain .

But while I exalt the principles of Masonry to so high a standard , I do not claim that every member of the Craft has been true to those principles , or acted consistent with