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Article THE FREEMASON. No. II. Page 1 of 3 →
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The Freemason. No. Ii.
THE FREEMASON . No . II .
Probatum est . TT has been hinted by some insidious and malevolent characters J |_ who are excluded from the secrets of Freemasonry , that , therefore , such Society cannot be good , " If , " say they , " their meetings " be for the promotion of probity and virtuewhy are there so many
, " secrets ? " Nothing but what is mischievous , they think , is ever concealed . As I mean to devote this Number to the subject of secresy , I hope in the course of it to prove , that it is the foundation of wisdom . The philosophers of old informed , us , that to be secret ( or silent ) was to be wise . None but fools babble ; wise men keep their counsel .
This is surely verified in the present times ; and I am certain , if the world had been acquainted with the nriysteries of Freemasonry , notwithstanding the many excellencies it possesses , it would'not have been in existence now ; for , seeing that by secresy friendship is proved , so by secresy friends are united . It is the chain which unites our hearts and affectionsand without which there can be no
, honour . When friends part , they should faithfully lock up in their hearts each other ' s secrets , and exchange keys . But why is it supposed that secrets imply some mischievous or unworth y designs ?—Are there not secrets in every family , and why not in a society ? Does not a member thereby feel himself secure
and is not he , through this decorum , enabled to relate any secret misfortune which he would be very loth to advertise the public of ? — Secresy is the union of hearts , and the more important the secrets , the greater is his confidence who imparts them- —the greater his honour who preserves them ! The utility of having secrets in a society is to prove , by secresy , that the members thereof are men of probitytruthand honour ;
, , who can withstand all inducements to violation of a trust , and prove themselves above deceit , and too strong for temptation . We aie . told that there are secrets above . — -Many of the divine determinations no man knoweth , not even the angels which are in Heaven ; and seeing that we are enjoined to be secret even in charity , there is ., to use a common phrase , much virtue in secresy . —
Why then attribute to the arcana of Freemasonry aught that is improper or unjust , when the most noble of all virtues , charity , may ( for aught they know ) be included among those secrets ? In order to prove the utility of secresy , I shall here delineate tv / o characters which form a perfect contrast : Tom Tattle and Jack Wary . Tom is a vsild unthinking fellow , so much addicted to loquacity , that if entrusted with a secret , he would die if he did not tell it iiri' VOL . IV . N ' "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Freemason. No. Ii.
THE FREEMASON . No . II .
Probatum est . TT has been hinted by some insidious and malevolent characters J |_ who are excluded from the secrets of Freemasonry , that , therefore , such Society cannot be good , " If , " say they , " their meetings " be for the promotion of probity and virtuewhy are there so many
, " secrets ? " Nothing but what is mischievous , they think , is ever concealed . As I mean to devote this Number to the subject of secresy , I hope in the course of it to prove , that it is the foundation of wisdom . The philosophers of old informed , us , that to be secret ( or silent ) was to be wise . None but fools babble ; wise men keep their counsel .
This is surely verified in the present times ; and I am certain , if the world had been acquainted with the nriysteries of Freemasonry , notwithstanding the many excellencies it possesses , it would'not have been in existence now ; for , seeing that by secresy friendship is proved , so by secresy friends are united . It is the chain which unites our hearts and affectionsand without which there can be no
, honour . When friends part , they should faithfully lock up in their hearts each other ' s secrets , and exchange keys . But why is it supposed that secrets imply some mischievous or unworth y designs ?—Are there not secrets in every family , and why not in a society ? Does not a member thereby feel himself secure
and is not he , through this decorum , enabled to relate any secret misfortune which he would be very loth to advertise the public of ? — Secresy is the union of hearts , and the more important the secrets , the greater is his confidence who imparts them- —the greater his honour who preserves them ! The utility of having secrets in a society is to prove , by secresy , that the members thereof are men of probitytruthand honour ;
, , who can withstand all inducements to violation of a trust , and prove themselves above deceit , and too strong for temptation . We aie . told that there are secrets above . — -Many of the divine determinations no man knoweth , not even the angels which are in Heaven ; and seeing that we are enjoined to be secret even in charity , there is ., to use a common phrase , much virtue in secresy . —
Why then attribute to the arcana of Freemasonry aught that is improper or unjust , when the most noble of all virtues , charity , may ( for aught they know ) be included among those secrets ? In order to prove the utility of secresy , I shall here delineate tv / o characters which form a perfect contrast : Tom Tattle and Jack Wary . Tom is a vsild unthinking fellow , so much addicted to loquacity , that if entrusted with a secret , he would die if he did not tell it iiri' VOL . IV . N ' "