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Article ON THE ORIGIN AND DESIGN OF MASONRY. ← Page 2 of 3 →
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On The Origin And Design Of Masonry.
gious , it is well known , ingrossed in the early ages of Christianity the whole stock of general knowledge , together with Christian learning ; and whatever mankind might be possessed of , flowed . through the channels of intolerant zeal , and religious prejudice . The i gnorance of monkish transcribers has been alread y very judiciously detectedin a former Masonic Treatise * and I fear they
, , have been less merciful , respecting the cardinal expression Phi / an . tbropy , erasing the four first letters , and inserting Mis , exposed to tile world that horrid collection of Letters , MISANTHROPY . From this mistake alone reli gious persecution raged , ' earnace strewed the plains with the mangled bodies of our noble ancestors , laid waste the ripening fields of golden harvestaud devastation
, raged , until the Masonic spirit broke open the monastic prisons and exposed the holy ciieat ; by them has the ori ginal expression ever been held sacred . ^ From that period the clouds of darkness began to disappear , Virtue travelled westerly , and meeting with patrons , has now iixetl her seat , with imperial greatness , in the Grand Lodge of English Masons .
It is a public misfortune , that the purity of manners of a * Society , which exceeds every other , should not be more generally know / i among all ranks , especially the lower orders ; the people have beeti long ignorant of the Masonic principles . Virtue , when hunted from her abode on ( he Continent , seems to have formed her only phalanx in this Society : to wipe the tear from the eye of distress , to cheer the heart of the unfortunate
, clothe the miked , feed the hungry , and prevent , by anticipation , the wants of the unfortunate , Jiiis . ahvays been the practice of Masons . We may equal , but cannot surpass such actions : ' tis not here they can be excelled , and ' tis our fervent wish that people may no longer be ignorant of the princi ples of the Institution ; such a confession indeed reflects themselves
on as men ; nor should they perplex the mind in the minute investi gation of the secret signs , when they reflect that the base of this Order is Charity , the figurative and typical emblems are illustrations of a nobler subject . Buildings , however strong or noble , will decay ; but Virtue , immortal Virtue ! takes its night from these to the celestial abodes , and is at Jast received into the bosom of it ' s God .
Far different from the design of many meetings of the day , whose prominent feature is excess , the Freemasons are a standing exception : they revel in Charity and riot in nobleness of heart . _ As a remark on the excellency of the Order , their very persecutions have been carried on by men ( which to our honor there are few instances in this country ) who enemies and not
were friends to public good ; and no sooner has Royalty made the necessary enquiry into the Institution , than it has immediately been enrolled among the Brethren of the Order , and thereby become the Champion instead of the Antagonist of this noble Society .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Origin And Design Of Masonry.
gious , it is well known , ingrossed in the early ages of Christianity the whole stock of general knowledge , together with Christian learning ; and whatever mankind might be possessed of , flowed . through the channels of intolerant zeal , and religious prejudice . The i gnorance of monkish transcribers has been alread y very judiciously detectedin a former Masonic Treatise * and I fear they
, , have been less merciful , respecting the cardinal expression Phi / an . tbropy , erasing the four first letters , and inserting Mis , exposed to tile world that horrid collection of Letters , MISANTHROPY . From this mistake alone reli gious persecution raged , ' earnace strewed the plains with the mangled bodies of our noble ancestors , laid waste the ripening fields of golden harvestaud devastation
, raged , until the Masonic spirit broke open the monastic prisons and exposed the holy ciieat ; by them has the ori ginal expression ever been held sacred . ^ From that period the clouds of darkness began to disappear , Virtue travelled westerly , and meeting with patrons , has now iixetl her seat , with imperial greatness , in the Grand Lodge of English Masons .
It is a public misfortune , that the purity of manners of a * Society , which exceeds every other , should not be more generally know / i among all ranks , especially the lower orders ; the people have beeti long ignorant of the Masonic principles . Virtue , when hunted from her abode on ( he Continent , seems to have formed her only phalanx in this Society : to wipe the tear from the eye of distress , to cheer the heart of the unfortunate
, clothe the miked , feed the hungry , and prevent , by anticipation , the wants of the unfortunate , Jiiis . ahvays been the practice of Masons . We may equal , but cannot surpass such actions : ' tis not here they can be excelled , and ' tis our fervent wish that people may no longer be ignorant of the princi ples of the Institution ; such a confession indeed reflects themselves
on as men ; nor should they perplex the mind in the minute investi gation of the secret signs , when they reflect that the base of this Order is Charity , the figurative and typical emblems are illustrations of a nobler subject . Buildings , however strong or noble , will decay ; but Virtue , immortal Virtue ! takes its night from these to the celestial abodes , and is at Jast received into the bosom of it ' s God .
Far different from the design of many meetings of the day , whose prominent feature is excess , the Freemasons are a standing exception : they revel in Charity and riot in nobleness of heart . _ As a remark on the excellency of the Order , their very persecutions have been carried on by men ( which to our honor there are few instances in this country ) who enemies and not
were friends to public good ; and no sooner has Royalty made the necessary enquiry into the Institution , than it has immediately been enrolled among the Brethren of the Order , and thereby become the Champion instead of the Antagonist of this noble Society .