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The New Century.
bouring Lodges to join , there was a very large muster of Freemasons present , including members of Cuthberga Lodge ( Dorset ) , Amity Lodge ( Poole ) , Unity Lodge ( Ringwood ) , New Forest Lodge ( Lymington ) , besides individual representatives of other Lodges , and Brethren visiting
Bournemouth . The Provincial Grand Master of Plants and the Isle of Wight Bro . W . W . B . Beach , M . P ., and several of the Provincial Grand Lodge Officers were present . The Brethren donned their regalia in the school house of St . Peter ' s close by , and marched in procession to the . church ,
entering by the west door . During the procession Bro . A . T . George , Organist of St . John ' s Church , Boseombe , who presided at the organ in the unavoidable absence of Bro . Duncan Hume , played an appropriate march . The processional hymn was " O God our help in ages past , " after
which Psalms 122 , 133 , and 150 were sung . The lessons were read , the first by the Rev . F . E . Toyne , vicar of St . Michael ' s Church , and the second by Bro . the Rev . Dr . Moore White , vicar of St . James ' s , Pokesdown . Haydn ' s anthem " The Heavens are telling , " was beautifully rendered
by the choir , and the hymn before the sermon was " All people that on earth do dwell . " An eloquent and instructive sermon was preached by the Venerable Basil Wilberforce ,
D . D ., Archdeacon of Westminster , Past Provincial Grand Chaplain of Hants and the Isle of Wight He took as his text Psalm lxxviii , 41 , " They . . . limited the Holy One of Israel . " He said :
Now , why have I chosen this thought as appropriate < o such a gathering as this ? This is my reply—If there be one characteristic which has , more than another , conspicuously illuminated the venerable Order of Free and Accepted Masons , and constituted them an elevating influence
m the evoluton of religion , it is the ceaseless protest of the principles of our Order against all attempts to limit the Holy One , the Universal Soul . Freemasons are not perfect —there was a Judas among the twelve . Freemasonry , in common with every religious or philosophical system , has
had to endure the reproaches occasioned by the vices , the ignorance , the follies of those whom , from time to time , it has received into its mystic community—and thus have externs and cowans , through the faults of Masons themselves , been tempted to deride and deprecate the Ancient
Order into the secrets of which they have been unable to penetrate . But , if it were necessary to place our Ancient Order on the defensive against the indiscriminating attack
which baffled curiosity loves to make upon an institution recognising the principles of mystery and secrecy , the most effective reply is to be found in the well-known practical results of Masonry truly lived and practised .
In an ever changing world , the unchanging principles of our Order'have stood firm as a perpetual protest against tyranny over mind and body , and as a school in which to learn the paramount duties of trust in God and love of the Brethren ; as a rock over which the wild storms of political
conflicts and the battle of creeds , which alter the destinies of whole nations , have swept , without shaking its foundations . It is of the essence of . pure Masonry that it knows no creeds , recognises no politics , and can thus place itself in antagonism with no state , no religions . Purity , charity , Fraternity
are the principles it instils into the hearts of its members , and it bids them go forth boldly from every Lodge , and in the name of the Grand Architect of the Universe practice these virtues faithfully . The religions of the world have varied , have undergone intervals of disruption , of
disintegration . Masonry , in the midst of these storms has still faithfully repeated the watchword—purity , charity , Fraternity . Men have made these creeds their battlefields , and in the storm of malignant theological controversy and cruel denominational jealously , the love of many has waxed cold , and morality has suffered .
But in spite of Bulls of Excommunication and ecclesiastical censures , the ennobling influence of Freemasonry has ever sustained a high standard of social virtue and a calm trust in the Ruler of the Universe , which has helped to keep religion alive in days of rebuke and blasphemy , and contributed to the common weal of the civilised world . And
now , in the presence of this solemn gathering of our Ancient Order , I would venture to suggest that we should look back to the rock whence we are hewn , for decay in vital sincerity is the peculiar peril of long-established usage . What are we ? Whence are we ? You reply : " In days of old we were a school of practical architecture ; in modern times we
The New Century.
have changed our constitution from the practical to the speculative , and , divorced from the science of geometry and the study of architecture , we are recognised as a system of
morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbol . " The definition may suffice for the purposes of our Lodges of rudimentary instruction , but it is not exhaustive and is unsatisfactory .
There Is more in our Order than dictionaries can define or propositions limit . It is unthinkable that a society such as ours , inculcating such world purifying precepts , exercising so notable an influence in human history , maintaining so courageous and effective a protest against all tyranny over mind or body , can owe its origin solely to builders , to architects , to practical geometricians .
The principles of our Order bid us look higher for an adequate explanation of its existence . Water does not rise higher than its sources . The principles of the Order are divine , its origin must be divine . It is impossible not to recognise in it one of those out-breathings or self
disclosures of the universal soul purposed to provide , down the ages , a reaction from and a protest against the ceaseless tendency of organised religions to enclose God within the limits of a proposition , and unchurch and curse all who uu not accept the proposition . The antiquity of our noble Order
is beyond controversy ; the initiated can trace it in the very earliest records of human history . It was never a religion , but always existing side by side with the religions of the world as a confraternity of pure living , God-fearing men , in possession of divine mysteries which they were not permitted
to disclose , and ceaselessly representing the noble plea that God shall never be limited by human thought into dogmatic finality . In , therefore , laying aside the practical , and re-assuming the speculative condition , our' Order is but returning to its original constitution from which , it had
deviated in obedience to the call of the Almighty for the purpose of bulling the Tabernacle in the wilderness . There are , of course , numerous points connected with the early history of our Order , which can only be treated of within the precincts of a Lodge duly tyled . The secrecy
which enshrouds our proceedings , and the adoption of symools and hieroglyphics arise partly from our connection with the Ancient Chaldeans and Egyptians , and partly as a protection against persecution amongst nations overwhelmed with superstition . There were two prominent occasions in
ancient history when the Brethren of our Order appeared before the world as artificers : the erection of the Tabernacle in the wilderness , and the building of Solomon ' s Temple . In the first instance Moses turned naturally to those versed in religious mystery , and eminent for purity and piety for aid
in erecting the Tabernacle . Those whom he selected knew nothing of practical architecture , indeed so ignorant were they that it was necessary for them to be instructed by God for the purpose , as we read in 36 th chapter of Exodus . Again , when our Grand Master , King Solomon , wouM build
the first Temple at Jerusalem , he naturally selected for the work those enlightened with the knowledge of God and full of piety , and , therefore , he employed the Brethren of our Ancient Order . From these circumstances , and from the fact Freemasons devoted themselves in after years especially
to improvements in architecture , the science of building has come to assume a name which appertains more properly to religious mystery . For whether the word Masonry be derived from the French word " maison , " a house or family , or , as I
believe , from the Greek word " musterion , " mystery , it is certain that it has come to signify the trade of the builder from the fact that the first artificers were selected from amongst those primitive confraternities whose bond of union was religious mystery , or " speculative" Freemasonry .
It is not necessary to elaborate the influence exercised by Freemasonry in every age since the building of Solomon ' s Temple upon practical architecture . Suffice' it to say that throughout the middle ages the inventions and improvements in architecture were due to the skill of Freemasons , and to
them is due the invention and dissemination of the wellknown Gothic architecture . From first to last , Freemasonry has represented an important element in English history . In the reign of Edward III we find a King ' s Freemason
attached to the Royal household as naturally as any officer of the realm . In the childhood of Henry VI , at the instigation of the clergy , infuriated because the Freemasons inexorabl y refused to violate their secrets in the Confessional , an Act of Parliament was passed for their suppression ; it was never
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The New Century.
bouring Lodges to join , there was a very large muster of Freemasons present , including members of Cuthberga Lodge ( Dorset ) , Amity Lodge ( Poole ) , Unity Lodge ( Ringwood ) , New Forest Lodge ( Lymington ) , besides individual representatives of other Lodges , and Brethren visiting
Bournemouth . The Provincial Grand Master of Plants and the Isle of Wight Bro . W . W . B . Beach , M . P ., and several of the Provincial Grand Lodge Officers were present . The Brethren donned their regalia in the school house of St . Peter ' s close by , and marched in procession to the . church ,
entering by the west door . During the procession Bro . A . T . George , Organist of St . John ' s Church , Boseombe , who presided at the organ in the unavoidable absence of Bro . Duncan Hume , played an appropriate march . The processional hymn was " O God our help in ages past , " after
which Psalms 122 , 133 , and 150 were sung . The lessons were read , the first by the Rev . F . E . Toyne , vicar of St . Michael ' s Church , and the second by Bro . the Rev . Dr . Moore White , vicar of St . James ' s , Pokesdown . Haydn ' s anthem " The Heavens are telling , " was beautifully rendered
by the choir , and the hymn before the sermon was " All people that on earth do dwell . " An eloquent and instructive sermon was preached by the Venerable Basil Wilberforce ,
D . D ., Archdeacon of Westminster , Past Provincial Grand Chaplain of Hants and the Isle of Wight He took as his text Psalm lxxviii , 41 , " They . . . limited the Holy One of Israel . " He said :
Now , why have I chosen this thought as appropriate < o such a gathering as this ? This is my reply—If there be one characteristic which has , more than another , conspicuously illuminated the venerable Order of Free and Accepted Masons , and constituted them an elevating influence
m the evoluton of religion , it is the ceaseless protest of the principles of our Order against all attempts to limit the Holy One , the Universal Soul . Freemasons are not perfect —there was a Judas among the twelve . Freemasonry , in common with every religious or philosophical system , has
had to endure the reproaches occasioned by the vices , the ignorance , the follies of those whom , from time to time , it has received into its mystic community—and thus have externs and cowans , through the faults of Masons themselves , been tempted to deride and deprecate the Ancient
Order into the secrets of which they have been unable to penetrate . But , if it were necessary to place our Ancient Order on the defensive against the indiscriminating attack
which baffled curiosity loves to make upon an institution recognising the principles of mystery and secrecy , the most effective reply is to be found in the well-known practical results of Masonry truly lived and practised .
In an ever changing world , the unchanging principles of our Order'have stood firm as a perpetual protest against tyranny over mind and body , and as a school in which to learn the paramount duties of trust in God and love of the Brethren ; as a rock over which the wild storms of political
conflicts and the battle of creeds , which alter the destinies of whole nations , have swept , without shaking its foundations . It is of the essence of . pure Masonry that it knows no creeds , recognises no politics , and can thus place itself in antagonism with no state , no religions . Purity , charity , Fraternity
are the principles it instils into the hearts of its members , and it bids them go forth boldly from every Lodge , and in the name of the Grand Architect of the Universe practice these virtues faithfully . The religions of the world have varied , have undergone intervals of disruption , of
disintegration . Masonry , in the midst of these storms has still faithfully repeated the watchword—purity , charity , Fraternity . Men have made these creeds their battlefields , and in the storm of malignant theological controversy and cruel denominational jealously , the love of many has waxed cold , and morality has suffered .
But in spite of Bulls of Excommunication and ecclesiastical censures , the ennobling influence of Freemasonry has ever sustained a high standard of social virtue and a calm trust in the Ruler of the Universe , which has helped to keep religion alive in days of rebuke and blasphemy , and contributed to the common weal of the civilised world . And
now , in the presence of this solemn gathering of our Ancient Order , I would venture to suggest that we should look back to the rock whence we are hewn , for decay in vital sincerity is the peculiar peril of long-established usage . What are we ? Whence are we ? You reply : " In days of old we were a school of practical architecture ; in modern times we
The New Century.
have changed our constitution from the practical to the speculative , and , divorced from the science of geometry and the study of architecture , we are recognised as a system of
morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbol . " The definition may suffice for the purposes of our Lodges of rudimentary instruction , but it is not exhaustive and is unsatisfactory .
There Is more in our Order than dictionaries can define or propositions limit . It is unthinkable that a society such as ours , inculcating such world purifying precepts , exercising so notable an influence in human history , maintaining so courageous and effective a protest against all tyranny over mind or body , can owe its origin solely to builders , to architects , to practical geometricians .
The principles of our Order bid us look higher for an adequate explanation of its existence . Water does not rise higher than its sources . The principles of the Order are divine , its origin must be divine . It is impossible not to recognise in it one of those out-breathings or self
disclosures of the universal soul purposed to provide , down the ages , a reaction from and a protest against the ceaseless tendency of organised religions to enclose God within the limits of a proposition , and unchurch and curse all who uu not accept the proposition . The antiquity of our noble Order
is beyond controversy ; the initiated can trace it in the very earliest records of human history . It was never a religion , but always existing side by side with the religions of the world as a confraternity of pure living , God-fearing men , in possession of divine mysteries which they were not permitted
to disclose , and ceaselessly representing the noble plea that God shall never be limited by human thought into dogmatic finality . In , therefore , laying aside the practical , and re-assuming the speculative condition , our' Order is but returning to its original constitution from which , it had
deviated in obedience to the call of the Almighty for the purpose of bulling the Tabernacle in the wilderness . There are , of course , numerous points connected with the early history of our Order , which can only be treated of within the precincts of a Lodge duly tyled . The secrecy
which enshrouds our proceedings , and the adoption of symools and hieroglyphics arise partly from our connection with the Ancient Chaldeans and Egyptians , and partly as a protection against persecution amongst nations overwhelmed with superstition . There were two prominent occasions in
ancient history when the Brethren of our Order appeared before the world as artificers : the erection of the Tabernacle in the wilderness , and the building of Solomon ' s Temple . In the first instance Moses turned naturally to those versed in religious mystery , and eminent for purity and piety for aid
in erecting the Tabernacle . Those whom he selected knew nothing of practical architecture , indeed so ignorant were they that it was necessary for them to be instructed by God for the purpose , as we read in 36 th chapter of Exodus . Again , when our Grand Master , King Solomon , wouM build
the first Temple at Jerusalem , he naturally selected for the work those enlightened with the knowledge of God and full of piety , and , therefore , he employed the Brethren of our Ancient Order . From these circumstances , and from the fact Freemasons devoted themselves in after years especially
to improvements in architecture , the science of building has come to assume a name which appertains more properly to religious mystery . For whether the word Masonry be derived from the French word " maison , " a house or family , or , as I
believe , from the Greek word " musterion , " mystery , it is certain that it has come to signify the trade of the builder from the fact that the first artificers were selected from amongst those primitive confraternities whose bond of union was religious mystery , or " speculative" Freemasonry .
It is not necessary to elaborate the influence exercised by Freemasonry in every age since the building of Solomon ' s Temple upon practical architecture . Suffice' it to say that throughout the middle ages the inventions and improvements in architecture were due to the skill of Freemasons , and to
them is due the invention and dissemination of the wellknown Gothic architecture . From first to last , Freemasonry has represented an important element in English history . In the reign of Edward III we find a King ' s Freemason
attached to the Royal household as naturally as any officer of the realm . In the childhood of Henry VI , at the instigation of the clergy , infuriated because the Freemasons inexorabl y refused to violate their secrets in the Confessional , an Act of Parliament was passed for their suppression ; it was never