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Article FREEMASONS' REPOSITORY. ← Page 2 of 4 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasons' Repository.
is legible in the very frame of our being , and is demonstrated by the view of our natural condition on the earth . . Without participation there is no enjoyment , and with it there are very few evils but are supportable . A small share of the good things of this life , with the advantages of society , are far more worthy of our acceptance than all the treasures , than all the kingdoms of the earth without it . True Christian benevolence is not confined within
narrow limits ; but exerts its social qualities , expatiates with freedom in " the wide field of generosity , takes in the whole range of nature , and , like the perfumes of the East , diffuses its sweetness over everything within the compass of its influence : this doub / es . every pleasure , and - lessens every calamity . It hath , indeed , the same effect upon the mind of manas the liht of the sun on the various parts of the world :
, g it throws a lustre on every object , gilds the face of nature , gives a glow to every colour , and brightens and beautifies the whole visible creation . God has endowed the human heart with the softest feelings , with tender affections and compassionate cares ; hence we behold , pervading the actions of liberal men , an earnest commiseration , and a prompt inclination to relieve the distresses of their brethren .
From the exertion of this charitable temper flow the most chaste and ' solid pleasures . God , however , left not this social principle to the operation of nature alone , but secured it , by his express and determinate command , in the revelation of Jesus Christ , and annexed to its practice the most magnificent rewards . He , then , who resists the
dictates of sympathy , counteracts the laws of nature , and violates the designs of Heaven . If we look around us in the . world , abundant " opportunities' will present themselves , for the manifestation of this brotherly temper . To-day we may be called to the house of mourning , to mingle our tears with the widow and the orphan ; to-morrow we may be summoned to the bed of languor and sickness ; here we may goto pour the balm of consolation to the bleeding heartand
, , theie to cheer a nei ghbour drooping with recent misfortunes ; we shall never want objects to show our humanity . Let us , therfore , be ever charitable and benevolent ;—obli ging , if we expect to be obliged ; forgiving , if we expect to be forgiven . If the father expects duty and obedience from his children , he must behave with parental tenderness and affection towards them ; if the
. master would be served with care and fidelity , he must be just , compassionate , and kind to his servants ; if the husband expects love , constancy , and affection from the partner of his bed , he must be faithful , tender , and affectionate towards her ; if from our neighbours , from those who are in the same sphere of life with ourselves , we expect cheerfulness , good humour , and complacency , we must exertthe same social qualities
towards them . The principal qualification which fits a person to become an object of friendship , is moral goodness ; he . must be competently endued with probity and integrity , with modesty and ingenuousness , ' with meekness and humility , with an extensive soul , a tender heart , and a cheerful disposition . A true friend is a brother , born for adversity ; he is so fitly qualified , that he will stick the closer nnder the adverse assaults of fortune ' .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasons' Repository.
is legible in the very frame of our being , and is demonstrated by the view of our natural condition on the earth . . Without participation there is no enjoyment , and with it there are very few evils but are supportable . A small share of the good things of this life , with the advantages of society , are far more worthy of our acceptance than all the treasures , than all the kingdoms of the earth without it . True Christian benevolence is not confined within
narrow limits ; but exerts its social qualities , expatiates with freedom in " the wide field of generosity , takes in the whole range of nature , and , like the perfumes of the East , diffuses its sweetness over everything within the compass of its influence : this doub / es . every pleasure , and - lessens every calamity . It hath , indeed , the same effect upon the mind of manas the liht of the sun on the various parts of the world :
, g it throws a lustre on every object , gilds the face of nature , gives a glow to every colour , and brightens and beautifies the whole visible creation . God has endowed the human heart with the softest feelings , with tender affections and compassionate cares ; hence we behold , pervading the actions of liberal men , an earnest commiseration , and a prompt inclination to relieve the distresses of their brethren .
From the exertion of this charitable temper flow the most chaste and ' solid pleasures . God , however , left not this social principle to the operation of nature alone , but secured it , by his express and determinate command , in the revelation of Jesus Christ , and annexed to its practice the most magnificent rewards . He , then , who resists the
dictates of sympathy , counteracts the laws of nature , and violates the designs of Heaven . If we look around us in the . world , abundant " opportunities' will present themselves , for the manifestation of this brotherly temper . To-day we may be called to the house of mourning , to mingle our tears with the widow and the orphan ; to-morrow we may be summoned to the bed of languor and sickness ; here we may goto pour the balm of consolation to the bleeding heartand
, , theie to cheer a nei ghbour drooping with recent misfortunes ; we shall never want objects to show our humanity . Let us , therfore , be ever charitable and benevolent ;—obli ging , if we expect to be obliged ; forgiving , if we expect to be forgiven . If the father expects duty and obedience from his children , he must behave with parental tenderness and affection towards them ; if the
. master would be served with care and fidelity , he must be just , compassionate , and kind to his servants ; if the husband expects love , constancy , and affection from the partner of his bed , he must be faithful , tender , and affectionate towards her ; if from our neighbours , from those who are in the same sphere of life with ourselves , we expect cheerfulness , good humour , and complacency , we must exertthe same social qualities
towards them . The principal qualification which fits a person to become an object of friendship , is moral goodness ; he . must be competently endued with probity and integrity , with modesty and ingenuousness , ' with meekness and humility , with an extensive soul , a tender heart , and a cheerful disposition . A true friend is a brother , born for adversity ; he is so fitly qualified , that he will stick the closer nnder the adverse assaults of fortune ' .