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Article ARCHITECTURE. ← Page 3 of 3 Article OUR MASONIC POSTERITY. Page 1 of 2 Article OUR MASONIC POSTERITY. Page 1 of 2 →
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Architecture.
rock , tracery winding itself abroad in carved spTay of leaf , beautiful as tho dream of a prophet , and delicate as the thousand points of the restless sea smitten by the sunlight ,
all make the Gothic temple the home of nobler thought , the constant suggestion of the aspirations and spiritual breathing of the adoration of God .
Everywhere the true Gothic is characterised by refined delicacy and its power of raising the spirit in worship . Within and without , its houses of stone ; the buttress holdiu < r them in strength ; the spire lifting itself up a constant
incense ; the arch poised to meet the sky ; the foliage growing on carved p illar ; the windows reflecting the light in rich colours , or pictured with the form of martyr or saint , lead the mind upward from the material temple to
the temple not made with hands . And not the ProphylsBa of Greece with its chiselled stone ; not the Parthenon with its marble of Pentellicus , rising from the Acropolis ; not the Temple of Theseus with its friezes trembling under the
battle strokes of Centaurs and Lapithre ; not the academies of p hilosophy with their p illared halls , awake such lofty thought or express the grandeur of faith when it aspires to God , as the Gothic temples instinct with religion and breathing with the dreams of a consecrated imagination .
Reason alone cannot reach its sublime meaning , and the eye is baffled in reading the letters of its refined decorations . In Grecian architecture there was the design , the heat , the passion of living humanity , and this gave it the power
of satisfying the mind . In Roman architecture there was the visible mark of will and strength , and so it appealed to the stronger emotions and forces of man ; but Gothic architecture embodied dramatic action , the conflict between
truth and error , and answered to every spiritual feeling of the soul . It is grander therefore than all , because the spiritual nature of man is grander than intellect or passion or reason . The Gothic temple is not alone the revelation
of mind , but of spirit ; and the deep yearning after immortal life which had been chilled into profound stillness in Greek or Roman architecture , breaks forth into flower on every pillar and grand arch in the consecrated structure . The
Gothic aspires and teaches man to aspire . It is ever pointing upwards , drawing the vision onwards as if for new revelations of faith aud hope , until the clouds open , and the future temple of faith and aspiration is seen in its glory .
Masonry with its Royal Arch is the architecture of a moral and social structure . It is not less real because its
temples are not seen . Its various degrees rise like the many parts of the great temples of the world , until it stands complete—a finished structure , a constant aspiration . The lower degrees are not lost or destroyed , they are not
left or cast aside , but onl y consummated and brought in their meaning and purpose to loftier altitudes by the higher degrees . They are left by them , as the foundation of the
building is left , that it may be trusted with largest dependence and most confident pressure when the superstructure is farthest from it . ( To be continued ) .
Our Masonic Posterity.
OUR MASONIC POSTERITY .
WE desire to invoke the interest of our readers in behalf of the good name and fair fame of our and their Masonic posterity . Freemasons are ever ready to sound the praises of their forefathers in the Craft . For three thousand years King Solomon has been liberall y
eulogised as a man aud a Mason , and King Hiram of Tyre has been awarded a place only second to Bro . Solomon ' s ; and from that early era down to a period comparativel y recent , all of the workers in the Craft have been accorded
praise without ond . In our couutry and jurisdiction ail •are familar with the honour bestowed on the memory of Brother Daniel Coxe , the Father of Freemasonry w America—and rightly bestowed . We would uot detract
an iota from the praise which is the just reward of all of these Masonic worthies . True , we never sat in a Lodge with them , but we honour them all the same , and are glad that we live to honour them in our day , rather than in theirs
, when they possibly were not so lamous . Another reason we have for self-gratulatiou is that we are nearer to the golden age of our Masonic posterity , the millennium of the Craft—which is future , not past . Remember , zve are the heirs of all the Masonic ages which have preceded
Our Masonic Posterity.
us ; and our Masonic posterity mil be the heirs of our tvealth of knowledge as well , and more . Some Masonic historians tell us that our ancient Brethren were men of one idea ; nay , of one word—the " Mason ' s word , " while we have a
rich Masonic vocabulary that would almost require a Webster ' s Dictionary to contain it . Let us , then , cease for a moment to pay tribute to the virtues of our
greatgrandfathers in Freemasonry , and speak kindly and generously , by way of anticipation , of our great-greatgrandchildren ( so to speak ) in the Fraternity .
We do not anticipate that any Brother will satiricall y remark , " We do not oioe posterity anything—what has posterity , done for us ? " This affords a splendid opportunity for the display of the most disinterested liberality . We
have never seen our Masonic posterity , and hence can give an unbiassed opinion of them . They have never voted for or against us for any office , and hence our praise of them will not be misconstrued as given for personal reasons .
And we cannot blame them on any account , since we know not a thing to their disadvantage , whilst we must praise them , because they will be bone of our Masonic bone , and
heirs of all our property—real , personal and mixed , in Masonry . Had we not lived , they never could live . We are the cause of their being—we are to make them , every
one . In obtaining this millennial view of Freemasonry we have used a Masonic telescope of "wondrous power , and are happy to announce that we have found not a spot on the
sun . In the past there is something to regret ; in the faraway future nothing . Whilst we feel thankful that as Masons we live now , instead of two thousand years ago , how much are we inclined to wish that we were to live
two thousand years hence ! 0 ! happy day ! 0 fortunate Freemasons ! 0 ! glorious Craft !
We are conscious of this truth : that all varieties of Masonry cannot be right , and we see clearl y in the future that there will be but one rite , with no rival bodies in Masonry , no excommunication of Brother b y Brother , no
harsh and unfraternal edicts , no , not even a suspension or expulsion . Don't you wish you were there ? How unpleasant it is , every December , to lop off the unprofitable branches in the Craft . Brother Tom Jones suspended for
non-payment of dues ! Possibly he deserves it—but possibly not . We cannot put ourselves exactly in his place . In A . D . 3887 ; A . L . 7887 , no question of this sort will arise . Every Brother will pay his dues ; every Brother will be
prosperous , and willing and able to square his Masonic accounts . The millennium of the Craft will then have arrived , and the good new times will far exceed in glory the good old ones . " Ring out the old , ring in the new . "
Old St . John ' s Lodge , Philadelphia , of A . D . 1731 , was a noble Masonic body , with a membershi p of which as Masons we are justly proud ; but what if Brother William Allen , afterwards Chief Justice of Pennsylvania , and Brother
Benjamin Franklin , afterwards everything that was honourable in the loftiest political stations in Pennsylania and in the United States , were members of that old Lodge ? Look at the St . John ' s Lodge , Philadelphia , of A . D . 3887
A membership of a thousand , and every member a scientific , social , political , or religious magnate ! The Lodge "with no debt , no dues , no Labour without Refreshment . The initiation fee is large , and these fees , in connection with
freewill gifts from the Brethren , pay all expenses . And the largest expense is for ever blessed Charity ! How Brother Benjamin Franklin would like to visit St . John ' s Lodge at this new era ! And we are uot sure that he will
not . Tbe interstellar spaces may be bridged over by that time , and tbe abodes of the just may be opened for the departure of their inmates to revisit the homes of their youth . Our telescope did uot reveal this , but reasoning
from what we have seen through it , we may infer as much . The astronomers of our day have discovered that there are more worlds than one , and surmised that the suns and systems , which are but points of light to us , are inhabited
globes , as u . srful and po .-sibly more beautiful than ours . On all oi these globes of light there must , be " Sous of Light . " Freemasonry is for all time and all worlds . Two
thousand years hence the Grand Lodge of Saturn may be recognised by tbe Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania , and one of the former ' s rings may decorate and designate its Representative near this Grand Lodge 1
Who would not voice his admiration of such a M-it-. onic posterity ? The universality of Masonry an acconipli . shed fact , the supremacy of Masonic law and the ab .-oluie unity of the Craft happil y attained , every Brother loving and
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Architecture.
rock , tracery winding itself abroad in carved spTay of leaf , beautiful as tho dream of a prophet , and delicate as the thousand points of the restless sea smitten by the sunlight ,
all make the Gothic temple the home of nobler thought , the constant suggestion of the aspirations and spiritual breathing of the adoration of God .
Everywhere the true Gothic is characterised by refined delicacy and its power of raising the spirit in worship . Within and without , its houses of stone ; the buttress holdiu < r them in strength ; the spire lifting itself up a constant
incense ; the arch poised to meet the sky ; the foliage growing on carved p illar ; the windows reflecting the light in rich colours , or pictured with the form of martyr or saint , lead the mind upward from the material temple to
the temple not made with hands . And not the ProphylsBa of Greece with its chiselled stone ; not the Parthenon with its marble of Pentellicus , rising from the Acropolis ; not the Temple of Theseus with its friezes trembling under the
battle strokes of Centaurs and Lapithre ; not the academies of p hilosophy with their p illared halls , awake such lofty thought or express the grandeur of faith when it aspires to God , as the Gothic temples instinct with religion and breathing with the dreams of a consecrated imagination .
Reason alone cannot reach its sublime meaning , and the eye is baffled in reading the letters of its refined decorations . In Grecian architecture there was the design , the heat , the passion of living humanity , and this gave it the power
of satisfying the mind . In Roman architecture there was the visible mark of will and strength , and so it appealed to the stronger emotions and forces of man ; but Gothic architecture embodied dramatic action , the conflict between
truth and error , and answered to every spiritual feeling of the soul . It is grander therefore than all , because the spiritual nature of man is grander than intellect or passion or reason . The Gothic temple is not alone the revelation
of mind , but of spirit ; and the deep yearning after immortal life which had been chilled into profound stillness in Greek or Roman architecture , breaks forth into flower on every pillar and grand arch in the consecrated structure . The
Gothic aspires and teaches man to aspire . It is ever pointing upwards , drawing the vision onwards as if for new revelations of faith aud hope , until the clouds open , and the future temple of faith and aspiration is seen in its glory .
Masonry with its Royal Arch is the architecture of a moral and social structure . It is not less real because its
temples are not seen . Its various degrees rise like the many parts of the great temples of the world , until it stands complete—a finished structure , a constant aspiration . The lower degrees are not lost or destroyed , they are not
left or cast aside , but onl y consummated and brought in their meaning and purpose to loftier altitudes by the higher degrees . They are left by them , as the foundation of the
building is left , that it may be trusted with largest dependence and most confident pressure when the superstructure is farthest from it . ( To be continued ) .
Our Masonic Posterity.
OUR MASONIC POSTERITY .
WE desire to invoke the interest of our readers in behalf of the good name and fair fame of our and their Masonic posterity . Freemasons are ever ready to sound the praises of their forefathers in the Craft . For three thousand years King Solomon has been liberall y
eulogised as a man aud a Mason , and King Hiram of Tyre has been awarded a place only second to Bro . Solomon ' s ; and from that early era down to a period comparativel y recent , all of the workers in the Craft have been accorded
praise without ond . In our couutry and jurisdiction ail •are familar with the honour bestowed on the memory of Brother Daniel Coxe , the Father of Freemasonry w America—and rightly bestowed . We would uot detract
an iota from the praise which is the just reward of all of these Masonic worthies . True , we never sat in a Lodge with them , but we honour them all the same , and are glad that we live to honour them in our day , rather than in theirs
, when they possibly were not so lamous . Another reason we have for self-gratulatiou is that we are nearer to the golden age of our Masonic posterity , the millennium of the Craft—which is future , not past . Remember , zve are the heirs of all the Masonic ages which have preceded
Our Masonic Posterity.
us ; and our Masonic posterity mil be the heirs of our tvealth of knowledge as well , and more . Some Masonic historians tell us that our ancient Brethren were men of one idea ; nay , of one word—the " Mason ' s word , " while we have a
rich Masonic vocabulary that would almost require a Webster ' s Dictionary to contain it . Let us , then , cease for a moment to pay tribute to the virtues of our
greatgrandfathers in Freemasonry , and speak kindly and generously , by way of anticipation , of our great-greatgrandchildren ( so to speak ) in the Fraternity .
We do not anticipate that any Brother will satiricall y remark , " We do not oioe posterity anything—what has posterity , done for us ? " This affords a splendid opportunity for the display of the most disinterested liberality . We
have never seen our Masonic posterity , and hence can give an unbiassed opinion of them . They have never voted for or against us for any office , and hence our praise of them will not be misconstrued as given for personal reasons .
And we cannot blame them on any account , since we know not a thing to their disadvantage , whilst we must praise them , because they will be bone of our Masonic bone , and
heirs of all our property—real , personal and mixed , in Masonry . Had we not lived , they never could live . We are the cause of their being—we are to make them , every
one . In obtaining this millennial view of Freemasonry we have used a Masonic telescope of "wondrous power , and are happy to announce that we have found not a spot on the
sun . In the past there is something to regret ; in the faraway future nothing . Whilst we feel thankful that as Masons we live now , instead of two thousand years ago , how much are we inclined to wish that we were to live
two thousand years hence ! 0 ! happy day ! 0 fortunate Freemasons ! 0 ! glorious Craft !
We are conscious of this truth : that all varieties of Masonry cannot be right , and we see clearl y in the future that there will be but one rite , with no rival bodies in Masonry , no excommunication of Brother b y Brother , no
harsh and unfraternal edicts , no , not even a suspension or expulsion . Don't you wish you were there ? How unpleasant it is , every December , to lop off the unprofitable branches in the Craft . Brother Tom Jones suspended for
non-payment of dues ! Possibly he deserves it—but possibly not . We cannot put ourselves exactly in his place . In A . D . 3887 ; A . L . 7887 , no question of this sort will arise . Every Brother will pay his dues ; every Brother will be
prosperous , and willing and able to square his Masonic accounts . The millennium of the Craft will then have arrived , and the good new times will far exceed in glory the good old ones . " Ring out the old , ring in the new . "
Old St . John ' s Lodge , Philadelphia , of A . D . 1731 , was a noble Masonic body , with a membershi p of which as Masons we are justly proud ; but what if Brother William Allen , afterwards Chief Justice of Pennsylvania , and Brother
Benjamin Franklin , afterwards everything that was honourable in the loftiest political stations in Pennsylania and in the United States , were members of that old Lodge ? Look at the St . John ' s Lodge , Philadelphia , of A . D . 3887
A membership of a thousand , and every member a scientific , social , political , or religious magnate ! The Lodge "with no debt , no dues , no Labour without Refreshment . The initiation fee is large , and these fees , in connection with
freewill gifts from the Brethren , pay all expenses . And the largest expense is for ever blessed Charity ! How Brother Benjamin Franklin would like to visit St . John ' s Lodge at this new era ! And we are uot sure that he will
not . Tbe interstellar spaces may be bridged over by that time , and tbe abodes of the just may be opened for the departure of their inmates to revisit the homes of their youth . Our telescope did uot reveal this , but reasoning
from what we have seen through it , we may infer as much . The astronomers of our day have discovered that there are more worlds than one , and surmised that the suns and systems , which are but points of light to us , are inhabited
globes , as u . srful and po .-sibly more beautiful than ours . On all oi these globes of light there must , be " Sous of Light . " Freemasonry is for all time and all worlds . Two
thousand years hence the Grand Lodge of Saturn may be recognised by tbe Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania , and one of the former ' s rings may decorate and designate its Representative near this Grand Lodge 1
Who would not voice his admiration of such a M-it-. onic posterity ? The universality of Masonry an acconipli . shed fact , the supremacy of Masonic law and the ab .-oluie unity of the Craft happil y attained , every Brother loving and