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Extracts From The Memoirs Of The Life And Writings Of Edward Gibbon, Esq.
prospect of futurity is dark and doubtful . This day may possibly be my last ; but the laws of probability , so true in general , so fallacious in particular , still allow about fifteen years . I shall soon enter into the period which , as the most agreeable of his long life , was selected by the judgment and experience of the sage Fontenelle . His choice is approved by the eloquent historian of nature , who fixes our moral
happiness to the mature season in which our passions are supposed to be calmed , our duties fulfilled , our ambition satisfied , our fame ancl fortune established on a solid basis . In private conversation , that great and amiable man added the weight of his own experience ; and this autumnal felicity might be exemplified in the lives of Voltaire , Hume , and many other men of letters . I am far more inclined to
embrace than to dispute this comfortable doctrine . I will not suppose any premature decay of the mind or body ; but I must reluctantl y observe , that two causes , the abbreviation of time , and the failure of hope , will always tinge with a browner shade the evening of life . " ( TO BE CONTINUED . )
On The Masonic Jewels.
ON THE MASONIC JEWELS .
'"PHIS Magazine ' having been embellished with engravings of the - " - JEWELS of a LODGE , the illustration of those emblems requires attention . Our JEWELS then , or ornaments , imply , that we try our affections by justice , and our actions by truth , as the workmanshi p is tried and adjusted by the SQUARE . We regard our mortal statewhether dignified btitle or not
, y , whether opulent or indigent , as being of one nature in the beginnino- , and of one rank in its close . In sensations , passions , and pleasures , in , infirmities , maladies , and wants , all mankind are on a parallel ; nature has given us no superiorities : for real superiority , only wisdom and virtue can constitute . From such maxims we make estimates of our brother , when his calamities call for our counsels , or our
aid : the works of charity are from sympathetic feelings , and benevolence acts upon the LEVEL . To walk uprightly before heaven and before men , neither inclining to the ri ght nor to the left , is the duty of a mason , neither becoming an enthusiast nor a persecutor in religion , nor bendino- toward innovation or infidelity . In civil government , firm in our alliance , yet stedfast in
our laws , liberties , and constitution . In private life , yielding up every propensity , inclining neither to avarice nor injustice , to malice , nor revenge , to envy , nor contempt , with mankind ; but uprightly and with integrity should the mason carry himself toward the world , as the builder raises his column by the perpendicular , or PLUMB . To rule our affections by justice , and our actions by truth , is to wear a jewel which would ornament the bosom of the hi ghest poten-T t 2
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Extracts From The Memoirs Of The Life And Writings Of Edward Gibbon, Esq.
prospect of futurity is dark and doubtful . This day may possibly be my last ; but the laws of probability , so true in general , so fallacious in particular , still allow about fifteen years . I shall soon enter into the period which , as the most agreeable of his long life , was selected by the judgment and experience of the sage Fontenelle . His choice is approved by the eloquent historian of nature , who fixes our moral
happiness to the mature season in which our passions are supposed to be calmed , our duties fulfilled , our ambition satisfied , our fame ancl fortune established on a solid basis . In private conversation , that great and amiable man added the weight of his own experience ; and this autumnal felicity might be exemplified in the lives of Voltaire , Hume , and many other men of letters . I am far more inclined to
embrace than to dispute this comfortable doctrine . I will not suppose any premature decay of the mind or body ; but I must reluctantl y observe , that two causes , the abbreviation of time , and the failure of hope , will always tinge with a browner shade the evening of life . " ( TO BE CONTINUED . )
On The Masonic Jewels.
ON THE MASONIC JEWELS .
'"PHIS Magazine ' having been embellished with engravings of the - " - JEWELS of a LODGE , the illustration of those emblems requires attention . Our JEWELS then , or ornaments , imply , that we try our affections by justice , and our actions by truth , as the workmanshi p is tried and adjusted by the SQUARE . We regard our mortal statewhether dignified btitle or not
, y , whether opulent or indigent , as being of one nature in the beginnino- , and of one rank in its close . In sensations , passions , and pleasures , in , infirmities , maladies , and wants , all mankind are on a parallel ; nature has given us no superiorities : for real superiority , only wisdom and virtue can constitute . From such maxims we make estimates of our brother , when his calamities call for our counsels , or our
aid : the works of charity are from sympathetic feelings , and benevolence acts upon the LEVEL . To walk uprightly before heaven and before men , neither inclining to the ri ght nor to the left , is the duty of a mason , neither becoming an enthusiast nor a persecutor in religion , nor bendino- toward innovation or infidelity . In civil government , firm in our alliance , yet stedfast in
our laws , liberties , and constitution . In private life , yielding up every propensity , inclining neither to avarice nor injustice , to malice , nor revenge , to envy , nor contempt , with mankind ; but uprightly and with integrity should the mason carry himself toward the world , as the builder raises his column by the perpendicular , or PLUMB . To rule our affections by justice , and our actions by truth , is to wear a jewel which would ornament the bosom of the hi ghest poten-T t 2