Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Oration,
ORATION ,
DELIVERED BEFORE GRAND LODGE OF IOWA , AT THE 36 TH ANNUAL COMMUNICATION , DUBUQUE , IOWA , 5 TH JUNE 1879 .
BY BEO . LUCIEN C . BLANCHAED .
MOST WORSHIPFUL GRAND MASTER AND BRETHREN : HITHEBT O , on theso occasions , you liavo had brethren of distinguished ability speaking to you choice words of wisdom from minds well stored by long experience in high places in our noble Order . To-day it is appointed yon to hear the moro humble and hurried words of one coming from tho busy ( marries , so to
speaktho active duties of business life—ono who , while offering for your consideration snch suggestions aa seem to him appropriate to tho occasion , is yet frank enough to admit that his zeal and devotion to an Order which teaches him to shrink from no duty assigned him has led him to assume a task which , under ordinary circumstances , wonld seem presumptuous . Before and around mo sit tho sages of
Masonry—gleaners who have passed over the field , and garnered with snch frugality that little more is left for me than to pick np a straw here and there and add to their golden sheaves . But indivi . duals are nofc born sages ; the bud and blossom precede the mellow fruit , and knowledge is attained only by weary marches over a toilsome road . If , by persisteut effort , I have at length become bold
enough to presume to instruct those who need it far less than myself I shall have the soothing consolation of knowing that my weakness is at least common to that large class in every community who seem to have no other avocation than to givo advice to those around them . If ifc is true that Masonry makes its votaries wiser , better , and consequently happier , then it ought to be received with general favor .
Seclusion begets selfishness , and where self is made the common centre , everything is made to revolve around it , liko systems around their suns . Self impedes progress , stifles investigation , smothers the moral elements of man ' s nature , pursues virtue and all goodness , and silences conscience . Thus , the miser and the hermit , seeking to live in little worlds If thoir own creation , shun society , and with rigid
conservatism , apply the brakes to the wheels of progrees , and seek tho darkness of seclusion by making their abodes in cheerless garrets , and even in caverns and forest jungles . Bnt consociation cements the elements of the moral and physical world into one compact body , which wo denominate society . It produces the unseen and intangible fibres of that cohesive power which
forms civil or political government . Wo seek a common basis for a common fellowship ; and in the mystic ties that bind ns together , in the felicity of intimate social relations , in the facile avenues which lead to the confidential and inviolable interchange of thought and feeling , in the beautiful forms and ceremonies which cement and unify while they charm and enlighten , in tho warm sympathy engendered by
kmilreu feelings , in tlie broad charity which , recognises tho universal brotherhood of man , aro found those principles of virtue which are binding upon mankind as members of society . Destroy this , and all kindred societies , civilization wonld bo little better than barbarismthe invisible and intangible chords which hold governments together would be severed , chaos would succeed law and order , and communistic fires would soon level the accumulations of centuries . Thafc
man needs and must have society , all must agree . Masonry has defiantly braved tho storms of many centuries . Its benignant rays havo illuminated tho shores of every country where civilization has found a lodgment , and , keeping pace with the onward march of events , it has visited the islands of the seas in its errand of mercy ; and in our own fair republic are found to-day more than six
hundred thousand who have learned its stern and pure precepts , as they aro found written all over the lofty frieze of that venerable temple whose chambers you have entered . Its creed is upright and honorable . The clear and lofty language in which ifc is expressed needs no argument to elucidate its principles , and no eloquence to enforce its obligations . It seems to possess almost tho sacred savor
of Divine inspiration , and to enforce with appropriate forms and ceremonies the principles of Sinai ' s original but broken tablets . The rights and duties of Masons are not greater or different from the rights and duties of other men . Those rights aro the free enjoyment of such privileges as arc vouchsafed to mankind by Divine law and such human laws as harmonise with tho Divine law . Our duties
are the fulfilment of our obligations under such laws , both to God and to our fellow men . But Masonry has for its object the attainment of those rights and tho enforcement of such obligations . In the light of theso duties , the willing ear receives tho friendly admonition when temptations or dangers beset the pathway , and receives , perhaps , from the faltering lips of a revered brother , such
counsel as might be sought in vain from tho crowded strands of the busy world . All good men are not Masons , and it may be admitted , frankly , that all Masons are not good men . But this neither proves that Masonry is beneficial or harmful , as tbe same is also true of all benevolent societies . If we wero to apply the square and the plumb
to the most charitable of institution . " , or even to the orthodox churches , which have been , and still are , doing such a noble work for the advancement of mankind , intellectually , morally , and spiritually , and if , tested by these unyielding and rigid implements , we exclude all imperfections , and require exact measurements , I fear that few members would be left to pay their quarterage . The test of merit is said to be success ; and , whatever may be our professions or scheme ,
however powerfully supported by argument , it must be ever trne that Masonry will be judged by the moral character of its votaries ; and it is , therefore , a truism which must be universally admitted , that the interests of the Order imperatively demand the highest traits of character in every one who voluntarily assumes to wear its charitable mantle . We are not bold enough to say that there are not those who clothe themselves with its raiment the better to accomplish selfish ends— pcrchaugc hoping that it may shield them from some misdeed
Oration,
or promote somo scheme to attain position and power . How sadly they misjudge , they learn when they meet tho discomfiture which their folly justly merits . Tho fair templo of Masonry haa no room for such men , and they havo but a faint conception of the objects and purposes of the institution who thus seek to debase it to their own level . Every high-minded and cultivated society will demand highminded and cultivated members , as herein lies tho surest bulwark of
defence against assaults from within and without . The society thafc demands less than this—thafc fails to require a high standard of morality and intelligence—ought to perish from the faco of ths earth . Could we divest our minds of the vicious thought that Masonry will help us whether wo help ourselves—that it is in some way our debtor —that it owes us something grand and noble—power , position , fame —wo should be fche better prepared to receive its pure precepts and to profit by its sublime principles .
I repeat , thafc there is no place in the saored templo for selfish schemes . Their presence saps the foundation of its venerable walls . They belong with tho idlers and vagabonds who infest life ' s highways , and who make night hideous with the robber ' s cry thafc the world owes them a living . The Order owes to tho one what tho world owes to the other—a short rope and a stont limb .
Of all species of slavery , ignorance is the most deplorable . Something moro is required than to learn tho forms and rituals . If we would be worthy of the age in which we live , we must quicken outsteps so as to keep pace with the onward march of progress . Science sits peering into the hidden mysteries of nature , over evolving and developing somo new principle , or unfolding the powers of some new
combination which an all-wise Providence has held in reserve for the wants of man as he advances , step by step , toward tho ideal—the perfect man . The discoveries within our own age have been no moro marvellous to onr comprehension than in tho changes already wrought in bnsiness and commerce , as well as in the habits , and even in the morals , of our people . The possibilities of tho future are beyond our
comprehension . Nature , in tho economy of her benevolence , has hoarded its latent powers , as she has the vast fields of coal and minerals , until man has sufficiently developed for their use . The Great Master demands progress of ns all ; and that society which relies alone for its stability upon its ancient traditions and ritualistic forms , careless alike of the intelligence and virtue of its membera , will find its walls crumbling with tho dry vot of ages , and its usef
alness at an end . The highest standard of moral philosophy , not less than tho economy of political government , requires men of knowledge , of thought , of progress . We do not pass through tho rituals of the Order , as ono passes through a door—to leave ifc behind . The great lights are over shining upon us . The tenets , pure and elevated , gnide us through the lights and shadows , circumscribing our actions , and , failing to keep us within duo bounds , they will plant thorns far down in fche tender depths of an ever-wakeful and troubled
conscience . Problematical as life is , it needs all the aids which an enlightened society can give . The ritualistic forms are the aids , not the ends , of Masonry . Their purposes aro pure aud simple . The years of early manhood are not given to be wasted , and the energies of zealous natures are too precious to be thrown away . Each one of us needs
what is wrought by others . If we walk in tho dim light of selfish seclusion , the world will profit little by our lives , and will mourn less afc our departure . But combined results are ever leading to new developments and perpetual advancement . The man who tills the soil feeds tho miner , the miner supplies the forge , and tho forge produces metal which the mechanic wields into ten thousand forms
for tho use of all . The philosopher discovers the principle , conceives the machine , which his hands are not cunning to execute ; but the mechanic , with quick apprehension and cleft fingers , grasps the plan which ho was unable to devise , and produces the marvel of mechanism , which lessens life ' s burdens for all , and advances society in physical and moral prosperity .
And thus it is with knowledge or with labor not corporeal . Knowledge in one field advances knowledge in other fields . As tho minister acquires knowledge in theology , tho physician in medicine , and the lawyer legal knowledge—each one the lore pertaining to his vocation—society receives the information it requires , and profits by their joint labors . By harmonious and united action , we too shall be
able to advance , not alone our individual interest , but fche welfare of society ; and it will be found thafc fche usefulness of onr institution will be measured by the extent to which it may be made available in the education and improvement of the human race . The Divine injunction , " In tho sweat of thy face shaft thon earn thy bread , " is as applicable to the labor of mind as of
hands" Evil is wrought By want of thought , As well as by want of heart . " Thero wero no idlers lounging around King Solomon ' s temple , and , as wo are informed , each one was required to work according to the
designs npon the trestle-board . While yet in the vigour of youth , we must draw our designs with care , or our work will not be effective . Robust hands may build ephemeral temples , but it is ours to build for that temple more enduring than earthly temples—eternal in tho heavens . All else will pass
away" The cloud-capt towers , the gorgeous palaces , The solemn temples , the great globe itself—Yea , all which it inherits—shall dissolve , And like an insubstantial pageant , faded , Leave not a rack behind . "
Our course in life is laudable in proportion to its general usefulness , and any one who is called upon to exercise any privilege , or fill any station , is bound to qualify himself for its functions by obtaining an understanding of the trne character and cbjects of his work . Only the well-informed and well-disciplined are competent to investigate the science and execute the demands of social economy , and thus
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Oration,
ORATION ,
DELIVERED BEFORE GRAND LODGE OF IOWA , AT THE 36 TH ANNUAL COMMUNICATION , DUBUQUE , IOWA , 5 TH JUNE 1879 .
BY BEO . LUCIEN C . BLANCHAED .
MOST WORSHIPFUL GRAND MASTER AND BRETHREN : HITHEBT O , on theso occasions , you liavo had brethren of distinguished ability speaking to you choice words of wisdom from minds well stored by long experience in high places in our noble Order . To-day it is appointed yon to hear the moro humble and hurried words of one coming from tho busy ( marries , so to
speaktho active duties of business life—ono who , while offering for your consideration snch suggestions aa seem to him appropriate to tho occasion , is yet frank enough to admit that his zeal and devotion to an Order which teaches him to shrink from no duty assigned him has led him to assume a task which , under ordinary circumstances , wonld seem presumptuous . Before and around mo sit tho sages of
Masonry—gleaners who have passed over the field , and garnered with snch frugality that little more is left for me than to pick np a straw here and there and add to their golden sheaves . But indivi . duals are nofc born sages ; the bud and blossom precede the mellow fruit , and knowledge is attained only by weary marches over a toilsome road . If , by persisteut effort , I have at length become bold
enough to presume to instruct those who need it far less than myself I shall have the soothing consolation of knowing that my weakness is at least common to that large class in every community who seem to have no other avocation than to givo advice to those around them . If ifc is true that Masonry makes its votaries wiser , better , and consequently happier , then it ought to be received with general favor .
Seclusion begets selfishness , and where self is made the common centre , everything is made to revolve around it , liko systems around their suns . Self impedes progress , stifles investigation , smothers the moral elements of man ' s nature , pursues virtue and all goodness , and silences conscience . Thus , the miser and the hermit , seeking to live in little worlds If thoir own creation , shun society , and with rigid
conservatism , apply the brakes to the wheels of progrees , and seek tho darkness of seclusion by making their abodes in cheerless garrets , and even in caverns and forest jungles . Bnt consociation cements the elements of the moral and physical world into one compact body , which wo denominate society . It produces the unseen and intangible fibres of that cohesive power which
forms civil or political government . Wo seek a common basis for a common fellowship ; and in the mystic ties that bind ns together , in the felicity of intimate social relations , in the facile avenues which lead to the confidential and inviolable interchange of thought and feeling , in the beautiful forms and ceremonies which cement and unify while they charm and enlighten , in tho warm sympathy engendered by
kmilreu feelings , in tlie broad charity which , recognises tho universal brotherhood of man , aro found those principles of virtue which are binding upon mankind as members of society . Destroy this , and all kindred societies , civilization wonld bo little better than barbarismthe invisible and intangible chords which hold governments together would be severed , chaos would succeed law and order , and communistic fires would soon level the accumulations of centuries . Thafc
man needs and must have society , all must agree . Masonry has defiantly braved tho storms of many centuries . Its benignant rays havo illuminated tho shores of every country where civilization has found a lodgment , and , keeping pace with the onward march of events , it has visited the islands of the seas in its errand of mercy ; and in our own fair republic are found to-day more than six
hundred thousand who have learned its stern and pure precepts , as they aro found written all over the lofty frieze of that venerable temple whose chambers you have entered . Its creed is upright and honorable . The clear and lofty language in which ifc is expressed needs no argument to elucidate its principles , and no eloquence to enforce its obligations . It seems to possess almost tho sacred savor
of Divine inspiration , and to enforce with appropriate forms and ceremonies the principles of Sinai ' s original but broken tablets . The rights and duties of Masons are not greater or different from the rights and duties of other men . Those rights aro the free enjoyment of such privileges as arc vouchsafed to mankind by Divine law and such human laws as harmonise with tho Divine law . Our duties
are the fulfilment of our obligations under such laws , both to God and to our fellow men . But Masonry has for its object the attainment of those rights and tho enforcement of such obligations . In the light of theso duties , the willing ear receives tho friendly admonition when temptations or dangers beset the pathway , and receives , perhaps , from the faltering lips of a revered brother , such
counsel as might be sought in vain from tho crowded strands of the busy world . All good men are not Masons , and it may be admitted , frankly , that all Masons are not good men . But this neither proves that Masonry is beneficial or harmful , as tbe same is also true of all benevolent societies . If we wero to apply the square and the plumb
to the most charitable of institution . " , or even to the orthodox churches , which have been , and still are , doing such a noble work for the advancement of mankind , intellectually , morally , and spiritually , and if , tested by these unyielding and rigid implements , we exclude all imperfections , and require exact measurements , I fear that few members would be left to pay their quarterage . The test of merit is said to be success ; and , whatever may be our professions or scheme ,
however powerfully supported by argument , it must be ever trne that Masonry will be judged by the moral character of its votaries ; and it is , therefore , a truism which must be universally admitted , that the interests of the Order imperatively demand the highest traits of character in every one who voluntarily assumes to wear its charitable mantle . We are not bold enough to say that there are not those who clothe themselves with its raiment the better to accomplish selfish ends— pcrchaugc hoping that it may shield them from some misdeed
Oration,
or promote somo scheme to attain position and power . How sadly they misjudge , they learn when they meet tho discomfiture which their folly justly merits . Tho fair templo of Masonry haa no room for such men , and they havo but a faint conception of the objects and purposes of the institution who thus seek to debase it to their own level . Every high-minded and cultivated society will demand highminded and cultivated members , as herein lies tho surest bulwark of
defence against assaults from within and without . The society thafc demands less than this—thafc fails to require a high standard of morality and intelligence—ought to perish from the faco of ths earth . Could we divest our minds of the vicious thought that Masonry will help us whether wo help ourselves—that it is in some way our debtor —that it owes us something grand and noble—power , position , fame —wo should be fche better prepared to receive its pure precepts and to profit by its sublime principles .
I repeat , thafc there is no place in the saored templo for selfish schemes . Their presence saps the foundation of its venerable walls . They belong with tho idlers and vagabonds who infest life ' s highways , and who make night hideous with the robber ' s cry thafc the world owes them a living . The Order owes to tho one what tho world owes to the other—a short rope and a stont limb .
Of all species of slavery , ignorance is the most deplorable . Something moro is required than to learn tho forms and rituals . If we would be worthy of the age in which we live , we must quicken outsteps so as to keep pace with the onward march of progress . Science sits peering into the hidden mysteries of nature , over evolving and developing somo new principle , or unfolding the powers of some new
combination which an all-wise Providence has held in reserve for the wants of man as he advances , step by step , toward tho ideal—the perfect man . The discoveries within our own age have been no moro marvellous to onr comprehension than in tho changes already wrought in bnsiness and commerce , as well as in the habits , and even in the morals , of our people . The possibilities of tho future are beyond our
comprehension . Nature , in tho economy of her benevolence , has hoarded its latent powers , as she has the vast fields of coal and minerals , until man has sufficiently developed for their use . The Great Master demands progress of ns all ; and that society which relies alone for its stability upon its ancient traditions and ritualistic forms , careless alike of the intelligence and virtue of its membera , will find its walls crumbling with tho dry vot of ages , and its usef
alness at an end . The highest standard of moral philosophy , not less than tho economy of political government , requires men of knowledge , of thought , of progress . We do not pass through tho rituals of the Order , as ono passes through a door—to leave ifc behind . The great lights are over shining upon us . The tenets , pure and elevated , gnide us through the lights and shadows , circumscribing our actions , and , failing to keep us within duo bounds , they will plant thorns far down in fche tender depths of an ever-wakeful and troubled
conscience . Problematical as life is , it needs all the aids which an enlightened society can give . The ritualistic forms are the aids , not the ends , of Masonry . Their purposes aro pure aud simple . The years of early manhood are not given to be wasted , and the energies of zealous natures are too precious to be thrown away . Each one of us needs
what is wrought by others . If we walk in tho dim light of selfish seclusion , the world will profit little by our lives , and will mourn less afc our departure . But combined results are ever leading to new developments and perpetual advancement . The man who tills the soil feeds tho miner , the miner supplies the forge , and tho forge produces metal which the mechanic wields into ten thousand forms
for tho use of all . The philosopher discovers the principle , conceives the machine , which his hands are not cunning to execute ; but the mechanic , with quick apprehension and cleft fingers , grasps the plan which ho was unable to devise , and produces the marvel of mechanism , which lessens life ' s burdens for all , and advances society in physical and moral prosperity .
And thus it is with knowledge or with labor not corporeal . Knowledge in one field advances knowledge in other fields . As tho minister acquires knowledge in theology , tho physician in medicine , and the lawyer legal knowledge—each one the lore pertaining to his vocation—society receives the information it requires , and profits by their joint labors . By harmonious and united action , we too shall be
able to advance , not alone our individual interest , but fche welfare of society ; and it will be found thafc fche usefulness of onr institution will be measured by the extent to which it may be made available in the education and improvement of the human race . The Divine injunction , " In tho sweat of thy face shaft thon earn thy bread , " is as applicable to the labor of mind as of
hands" Evil is wrought By want of thought , As well as by want of heart . " Thero wero no idlers lounging around King Solomon ' s temple , and , as wo are informed , each one was required to work according to the
designs npon the trestle-board . While yet in the vigour of youth , we must draw our designs with care , or our work will not be effective . Robust hands may build ephemeral temples , but it is ours to build for that temple more enduring than earthly temples—eternal in tho heavens . All else will pass
away" The cloud-capt towers , the gorgeous palaces , The solemn temples , the great globe itself—Yea , all which it inherits—shall dissolve , And like an insubstantial pageant , faded , Leave not a rack behind . "
Our course in life is laudable in proportion to its general usefulness , and any one who is called upon to exercise any privilege , or fill any station , is bound to qualify himself for its functions by obtaining an understanding of the trne character and cbjects of his work . Only the well-informed and well-disciplined are competent to investigate the science and execute the demands of social economy , and thus