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Article JOHN COUSTOS, FOR FREEMASONRY, ← Page 4 of 5 →
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John Coustos, For Freemasonry,
" of this noble art ; noble , not only on account of the almost infinite " number of illustrious personages who profess' it , but still more so " from the sentiments of humanity with which it equally inspires the " rich and poor , the nobleman and artificer , the prince and subject : " for these , when met together , are upon a level as to rank , are all " Brethren , and remarkable only for their superiority in virtue : in " short , this art is noble from the charity which the Society of
Free" masons professedly exercise , and from the fraternal love with which " it strongly binds and cements together the several individuals who " compose it , without any distinction as to religion or birth . Your " prisoner thinks it very hard to iind himself thus become the victim " of this tribunal , merely because he belongs fo so venerable a
so" ciety . The rank and exalted dignity of many who have been , and " still are , members thereof , should be considered as faithful and " speaking witnesses , now pleading in his defence , as well as in that " of the brotherhood , so unjustly accused . " Farther : Could any one suppose , without shewing the greatest " rashness , or being guilty of the hig hest injustice , that Christian " princeswho are God's vicegerents upon earth , would not only
to-, " lerate in their dominions a sect that should favour the abominable * '" crimes of which this tribunal accuses it , but even be accomplices " therein by their entering into the Society in question ? " What I have said above should be more than sufficient to con'' vince your Lordships that you are quite misinformed as to
Macc sonry , and oblige you to stop all prosecution against m . e . How'" ever , I will here add some remarks , in order to corroborate my " former assertions ; and destroy the bad impressions that may have " . been made on your Lordships minds concerning Freemasonry . " The very strict enquiry made into the past life and conduct of " all persons that desire to be received among the Brotherhood , and " who are . never admitted except the strongest and most indisputable
" testimonies are given of their having lived irreproachably , are " farther indications , that this society is no ways guilty of the crimes " with which it is charged by your tribunal ; the utmost precautions " being taken to expel from this Society not only wicked wretches , " but also disorderl y persons .
" The works of charity which the Brotherhood think it incumbent " on themselves to exercise towards such as are real objects of com" passion , and whereof I have given your Lordships some few in' stances , shew likewise that it is morally impossible for a Society so '• " execrable , as you have described that of the Freemasons to be , to " practise a virtue so generally neglected , and so opposite to the " love of riches , at this time the predominant vice , the root of all evil .
" Besides , wicked wretches set all laws at defiance , despise kings , " and the magistrates established by them for the due administration " of-justice . —Abandoned men , such as those hinted at here , foment " insurrections and rebellions ; whereas Freemasons pay an awful . re" gard to the Prince in whose dominions they live , -yield implicit " obedience to his laws , and revere in the magistrates the sacred per' son of the king hv whom they were nominated ; rooting tip , to tits
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
John Coustos, For Freemasonry,
" of this noble art ; noble , not only on account of the almost infinite " number of illustrious personages who profess' it , but still more so " from the sentiments of humanity with which it equally inspires the " rich and poor , the nobleman and artificer , the prince and subject : " for these , when met together , are upon a level as to rank , are all " Brethren , and remarkable only for their superiority in virtue : in " short , this art is noble from the charity which the Society of
Free" masons professedly exercise , and from the fraternal love with which " it strongly binds and cements together the several individuals who " compose it , without any distinction as to religion or birth . Your " prisoner thinks it very hard to iind himself thus become the victim " of this tribunal , merely because he belongs fo so venerable a
so" ciety . The rank and exalted dignity of many who have been , and " still are , members thereof , should be considered as faithful and " speaking witnesses , now pleading in his defence , as well as in that " of the brotherhood , so unjustly accused . " Farther : Could any one suppose , without shewing the greatest " rashness , or being guilty of the hig hest injustice , that Christian " princeswho are God's vicegerents upon earth , would not only
to-, " lerate in their dominions a sect that should favour the abominable * '" crimes of which this tribunal accuses it , but even be accomplices " therein by their entering into the Society in question ? " What I have said above should be more than sufficient to con'' vince your Lordships that you are quite misinformed as to
Macc sonry , and oblige you to stop all prosecution against m . e . How'" ever , I will here add some remarks , in order to corroborate my " former assertions ; and destroy the bad impressions that may have " . been made on your Lordships minds concerning Freemasonry . " The very strict enquiry made into the past life and conduct of " all persons that desire to be received among the Brotherhood , and " who are . never admitted except the strongest and most indisputable
" testimonies are given of their having lived irreproachably , are " farther indications , that this society is no ways guilty of the crimes " with which it is charged by your tribunal ; the utmost precautions " being taken to expel from this Society not only wicked wretches , " but also disorderl y persons .
" The works of charity which the Brotherhood think it incumbent " on themselves to exercise towards such as are real objects of com" passion , and whereof I have given your Lordships some few in' stances , shew likewise that it is morally impossible for a Society so '• " execrable , as you have described that of the Freemasons to be , to " practise a virtue so generally neglected , and so opposite to the " love of riches , at this time the predominant vice , the root of all evil .
" Besides , wicked wretches set all laws at defiance , despise kings , " and the magistrates established by them for the due administration " of-justice . —Abandoned men , such as those hinted at here , foment " insurrections and rebellions ; whereas Freemasons pay an awful . re" gard to the Prince in whose dominions they live , -yield implicit " obedience to his laws , and revere in the magistrates the sacred per' son of the king hv whom they were nominated ; rooting tip , to tits