Masonry's Life And Work.

MASONRY'S LIFE AND WORK .

An Extract from the Address of Companion James W . Taylor Grand High Priest to the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons in Georgia . THERE is an unwritten history , my Companions , of thoughts and deeds never recorded . There are unseen influences which ever have worked and are now working out and shaping the destiny of men and nations . They search through society in

all of its ramifications , and are the great levers by which men are to be elevated—the motive power by which they are to be moved to nobler and grander purposes—pillars , by which they are to be supported in all undertakings which tend to benefit mankind ; and yet , powerful as these influences are , they cannot be definitely explained by human language , and the influence they exert can never be computed .

Though each of these powers are small , and with insignificant results singly , and whose influence is unfelfc or unappreciated alone , yet , combined in one channel , they are the foundation of our social and moral system , upon which rise the superstructure of our arts , our science , our morality , and our civilisation . The abandonment of old themes and the formation of new ones do not always arise from the immediate perceptible cause which the

world assigns , but are the culmination of principles which have been working in the minds of men for many years , until at last the proper time and propitious surroundings kindles the latent truths into life , and , as the light of reason flows from mind to mind , and the unity of purpose from heart to heart , enthusing all with a mighty common cause , and moving nations as one man to the accomplishment of great ends .

On this principle does the Institution of Masonry diffuse its influence to the world of mankind . It works quietly and secretly , but penetrates through all the interstices of society , in its many relations , and the recipients of its many favours are awed by its grand achievements , but cannot tell whence it came . It does not operate entirely within its own sphere immediately , but its

streams of influence are flowing and radiating from a mighty centre , in all directions , dispensing light and knowledge along the paths through which they flow . Its work goes on without as well as within , though it may not be seen of men or accompanied by trumpet blasts , or heralded by flying colours ,

yet many have felt its benign influence and been made to feel that life is worth living . Its primary and fundamental object is to promulgate the everlasting principles of truth and morality , which lie at the very foundation of all successful enterprises , and form the under-current in the tides of all enlightened national

progress . Let him , then , who would be benefitted by the Institution and advance the mighty cause of science and morality , investigate with untiring zeal and industry its profound principles , and examine with close scrutiny the nature and designs of the Order .

Do not linger at the porch , but fearlessly enter its sanctuary , and the searcher after truth will find , as he proceeds , flowers of wisdom strewn on every side of his pathway ; and as he progresses still further onward his way will be marked with increasing knowledge and an augmented love of the Order .

An Asiatic epilogue says : " In the baths of the east perfumed clay is used instead of soap . " A poet breaks out in an enthusiastic flow of admiration at the order of a lump of clay . " Alas ' . " answers the clay , "I am only an ordinary piece oE earth , but happened to come in contact with the rose , and have borrowed some of its fragrance . "

We , Companions , can imbibe the virtues and character of Masonry , if we will only come in contact with it , and however minute may be the portion we have imbibed , constant contact with its teachings will cause its beauties to permeate through our every thought , until we absorb a sufficient amount of its virtues to dispense it lavishly upon those with whom we come in contact , and thus the great cardinal principles be perpetuated

from generation to generation , gathering fresh fragrance from constant contact and association with deep thought , zealous study and research , until the world of mankind is brought under its ennobling influence—society built up , science disseminated , intelligence and morality predominating throughout the entire habitable world , and generations that come after us take up the cause where we leave it and march on to conquests greater in results and achievements .

The wages received by the Craftsman for his services in the quarries of Masonic literature tends to develop and adorn the mind , and the great truths thus obtained should not be appropriated to self only , but they are intended to instruct us how that learning can most usefully and judiciously be employed

for the profit and edification of others . It holds forth to the despondent the encouraging thought that though the envious and malicious traduce his good name within the circle of Masonry , truth abounds , and the Great I AM , who sees not with the eyes of man , may yet make that stone which the builders rejected tbe head of the corner . It inculcates the necessary exercise of all

Masonry's Life And Work.

the duties of life , and teaches the importance of performing them with Brotherly love and systematic regularity ; and thus the true Mason has exercised his talents and influence for good ; diffusing light and knowledge to the uninformed , giving strength to the weak and comfort to the distressed for ages farther than the research of man has ever penetrated , and deeper than thought has ever fathomed .

The grand old Order of Masonry has stood the test of wars , pestilence and persecution , and has never been forsaken by its votaries . Here it stands , the wonder and admiration of the world , its antiquity undenied and its benefits eternal . Who founded it , or when was it founded , no one can tell . History upon history has been written relative to its origin , but beyond a given period of our acknowledged chronology , at which all records

of its annals are lost , no one has been able to penetrate the dark haze of the antiquity that conceals its origin . Masonry has adapted itself to all ages and periods of time , and stages of civilisation . Just when the explorer for knowledge is about to congratulate himself on a successful solution of the period and " date of its foundation , the scenery changes , and a new phase of its existence meets the view , stretching out into the limitless beyond .

Institutions after Institutions have been modelled after its pattern , but none has ever reached its grandeur or equalled its grace ; and still , who instituted it or when it was founded are among the greatest mysteries that lie hidden in its bosom . The hieroglyphics on the Egyptian Pyramids , or the broken columns of the temples of the ancient heathen , would indicate

that we possess only the fragment of some vast original , forever lost to us in its entirety ; but this can only be said of its material construction , for while the ruins of these old temples stand , the unquestioned evidence of their beauty , grace and grandeur , . the idols that rested thereon , have fallen from the elevated positions and are seen no more , and around the capitals of these standing

columns twine the wild vine and clinging moss of ages . No worshipper strays , no incense burns , or voice of supplication arises—nothing but quiet reigning within—silently pointing . to the past of their former glory ; but the temples of Masonry still resound with songs of adoration and praise by living votaries who with eager feet throng its courts and surround its altars , on

which burns the light of truth , and from which ascend , the incense of the love of warm and grateful hearts , proclaiming to the world their erection and dedication to Abraham ' s God , and , like Him , will remain impregnable and lasting as eternity—as universal as the God in whose honour Masonry was instituted , and expansive as the human family , filling a world or a single heart the same .

It is capable of a variety of apparition , according to the manipulation of the student ; but in every view , whether the lowest or the highest , it will show that the intellectual , moral and scientific culture and improvement of man is designed as its

. We cannot , Companions , be unmindful of the advice to improve the mind in the cultivation of the liberal arts and sciences , and in the zealous investigation of nature , that we may be better enabled to trace the hand of God in all His works , and contemplate Him in all His wisdom , or be insensible to the invitation to be true and good men , that by struggle , toil and

earnest endeavour , we may advance with courage and hope , until free from every fetter and in the full light of virtue and knowledge , we shall stand face to face with the mighty secrets of the universe , and attain that lofty height whence we can look back over the rough and tortuous paths of life through , which we have been victorious , and forward to a life sublime in elevation and glorious realisation . — " Voice of Masonry . "

A Mighty Factor For Good.

A MIGHTY FACTOR FOR GOOD .

OUTSIDE the first and paramount positions which the Church must ever occupy in our thought , Freemasonry stands as the noblest Order ever instituted . It had its inception

in the needs of humanity , and sprang into being at the very : dawn of history ; becoming a mighty civilising force in Egypt and Phoeuicia , taking refuge at first in the mysteries of the Isian and Dionysian rites ; then was broadened and elevated by the magic touch of Solomon ; ages later was transported to Rome , whence its influence spread throughout Europe , where it was fostered and honoured by princes , kings and emperors .

Its members were men of proud renown , the architects and builders of the wondrous temples of Egypt and Tyre , whose Titanic ruins still attest the skill aud ingenuity of the ancient Craftsmen . They too were the constructors of the sacred Judean

temple of Jehovah , the pride of Israel , the wonder of the world , the despair of the archaeologist , whose polished walla arose from foundation to keystone without the sound of hammer , or extra touch of chisel , so perfect was the system under which the