Masonry's Distinguished Virtues.

every age ? In the Masonic ranks have been found the most distinguished men of every ago and country . Kings , princes , nobles , bishop" -, havo nofc hesitated to avow their attachment to our Order . Washington , whose name will ever bo dear to tho heart of every American , was a zealous

member of this Fraternity . In Masonry there is nothing inconsistent with rigid morality . He who becomes . a member of our Order has no motive offered him to become vicious . We do not pretend to put Masonry on a level with our holy religion , yet we do assert thafc next to it there

is nothing better calculated to make men wise and virtuous . What mean these badges in which tho Order now appears ? What mean these various symbols ? Why givo we the Scrip tures such a prominent situation as that which they

now occupy r Think not that they are only appendages , intended merely to excite the curiosity of tho ignorant , and that Masons deal in somo very mysterious arts . No ! Thoy are all expressive , and to the enlightened fraught with instruction . To fear God is the first lesson inculcated in

our Lodges . Under circumstances of peculiar solemnity Masonry endeavours to impress upon the mind that a Being go infinitely above the comprehension of man—a Being whose goodness is inscribed upon all creation , has unquestionably claims to our highest regard . To implore

and ask His mercy , to depend upon His protection , to reverence His name and to rely upon His protection , however rough the journey of life may prove , are duties which are constantly enforced at our meetingp . Brothcily love , truth , temperance , fortitude , justice and charity , have

always been held in high repute by the friends of mankind , and by none" more so than by the members of this Fraternity . Indeed , these have been called Masonic virtues , from the great importance Masons attach to them . Brotherly love , how amiable in itself ! No wonder that

the poet king exclaimed , " Behold how good and joyful a thing ifc is for brethren to dwell together in unity . " The Saviour not only taught thia duty , but exemplified it in every action of his life ; wherever he directed his steps this virtue appeared to animate him . Tho disciple who was

honoured with a large portion of his Master ' s affection , John the Evangelist , the patron of our Order , in his beautiful writing lays the greatest stress upon this virtue ; and history records that wheu the infirmities of old age disqualified him from any considerablo participation in the

privileges of the brotherhood , he would request to be carried to their assemblies , and would say to them , " Let us love one another . " Oh ! thrice happy would it be for the world if the influence of this principle were more extensively prevalent . " The world in which we live , "

says a beautiful writer , "is full of beautiful sights and sweet sounds ; ifc is a treasure-house of melody . Whether the eye ranges over the face of nature at large , and marks all the varied , the magnificent , the sweet , the bright , the gentle in wood and mountain and valley and stream , or

rests wondering and admiring on the bright , delicate fabric of a flower , the rich hues of a butterfly , or the lustrous plumage of the birds—beauty and brightness are everywhere . The air we breathe , too , is full of sweet sounds , whether in the singing of the birds , the murmuring music

of the stream , or the hum of insect world upon the wing , is replete with harmony . But of all lovely sights , and of all the touching sounds whereof the world is full , there is nothing so beautiful as the sight and the words of benevolence . "

Misery is man ' s inheritance , and ho who alleviates it to the extent of his power makes the nearest approach to his Creator . God is merciful , and the best acknowledgment we can render to Him is to imitate His mercy , and then propitious heaven takes such acknowledgment as fraerrant

incense , and doubles all its blessings . " Brotherly love is the peculiar characteristic of Masonry . In discoursing upon the frailties of man , aud the mutation of earthly good , it softens the heart , restrains fcho impetuosity of temper , and calms the agitated waters of strife . Truth is another

virtue upon which much importance is placed by Masons . Viewed in every respect , truth possesses the highest value . Ifc is the foundation of all confidence between intelligent bemgs , and without it misery would reign uncontrolled throughout every region of intellectual existence If a

regard to truth generally prevailed , what a change would be effected in the condition of the world ! Confidence would exist in every department of society ! What endless disputes would be prevented ! How many ruinous litigations would be obviated ! Character would then possess a sacred ness which the unhallowed hand of calumny dare

Masonry's Distinguished Virtues.

not touch . The obnoxious race of slanderers would be extinct ; they would no longer swarm like wasps about the haunts of society , infusing their deadly sting in every fair

flower of promise , and feeding tho locust on the fresh verdure of growing reputation and fame . The sentiments of England ' s immortal bard would then be universally appreciated : —

Good name in man or woman la the immediate jewel of thoir souls ; Who steals my purse steals trash ; 'twas something , nothing ;

'Twas mine , ' tis his , and has been slave to thousands j But ho that filches from me my good name Eobs me of that which not enriches him , And makes me poor indeed .

In this Institution an inviolable regard to truth is maintained and illustrated by emblems of fcho most significant character . The upright Mason despises falsehood . Not only the grosser methods of dishonest gain are objects of his abhorrence , bufc tho more genteel artifices of fraud and circumvention .

Temperance ranks among the Masonic virtues , and when we use this term we Avould be understood to use it , not in tho popular sense , as meaning moderation or an entire abstinence from tho use of intoxicating drugs , but in tho restraining of every passion , humour or habit thafc might

prove injurious to man in his individual or social capacity . Wo rejoice over the incalculable amount of good achieved by the labourers of temperance societies . The genius of Masonry is decidedly favourable to the subjects which they

contemplate , but there is a species of intemperance to which it is peculiarly opposed , and which has not been formally recognised by the temperance effort . We mean religious intemperance or bigotry . Would to God that some benevolent individuals would form an association for the

suppression of religious bigotry ; for of all the detestable evils that disgrace the Christian world this is certainly the mosfc tobedreacled . It is fashionable to declaim against the evils of enthusiasm and fanaticism , but what are theso when compared with the dark , malignant spirit of bigotry .

He felt and spoke the language of Masonry who said : " Enthusiasm has the glory of the sun fco kindle up its mists and clouds with beauty . Fanaticism has thunder and lightning and meteors in its gloom , and the tempest which threatens may soon be dispersed ; but bigotry is the

palpable , obscure , solid temperament of darkness mixed with drizzling rain ; its pestilential vapours blast the lovely fruit of piety and goodness , while all noxious , all prodigious tilings crawl forth and increase the horrors of tbe night .

Those wbo yield to its influences possess no common sympathies . Ho must belong to their sect , imbibe their prejudices , enter into thoir antipathies , believe every article of their creeds , or unto them no better than a heathen or a publican . " Of bigotry it may be said :

She hath no head , and cannot think ; she hath No heart , and cannot feel : where ' er she moves It is in wrath ; or panses , 'tis in rnin . Her prayers are enrses ; her communion death j Eternity her vengeance ; in the blood Of victims her red decalogue is written .

Masonry has reason to congratulate itself that ifc has ever been the inveterate foe to bigotry . Ifc is her creed that not to man is man accountable for his religious opinions , bat to God , and indignantly frowns upon any attempt to interfere with that sacred union which subsists between man and his Creator .

To intemperance of every kind Masonry is opposed , and they who assert the contrary do the institution a great injustice . Fortitude is also a cardinal virtue wifch Masons . B y it wo understand the calm and steady habit of the mind

which either enables us bravely to encounter the prospects of ill , or renders us serene and invincible under its pressure . We all know that affliction is the lot of humanity . Upon tho permanency of this world ' s comforts none can place reliance . Cases frequently occur in which a single week ,

a day , an hour , sweeps away all vestige of a memorable felicity , in which the ruin travels faster than the flying showers upon the mountainside—faster than a musician scatters sounds in which it was , and it is not , are words of fche self-same tongue , in tho self-same minute , in which the

sun which at noon beheld all sound and prosperous , long before its setting looks out upon a total wreck , and sometimes too upon a total abolition of any fugitive memorial that there had ever been a vessel to be wrecked , or a wreck to be obliterated . Fortitude enables us to submit to the adverse changes of life with firmness . Never to be dis-