Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
An Oration Pronounced At The Audit-House In Southampton, August 3, 1792,
AN ORATION , PRONOUNCED AT THE AUDIT-HOUSE IN SOUTHAMPTON , AUGUST 3 , 1792 ,
ON OCCASION OF LAYING THE CHIEF CORNER- STONE OF A BUILDING CONSECRATED TO THE WORSHIP OF GOD .
[ Inscribed to the Mayor and Corporation of Southampton , and to the R . W . Provincial Grand Master , THOMAS DUNCKERLEY , Esq . and Brethren of the Society of Free and Accepted Masons , who , associated in public Procession , were present when it was spoken * . ]
I PRESENT myself before this very respectable audience in order to fulfil my duty as a Freemason—of whom obedience is a strong characteristic . Obedient , therefore , to the commands which I have received , it is my intention to diffuse all explanatory lig ht , not strictly forbidden , respecting this ancient and mysterious Society , that such of my hearers as are nut Freemasonsand particularly those who form the chief
, delii'ht of man in every civilized association , ma )* have some . idea of the orig in from whence , and of the principles . on which , we act . ¦ Freemasonry is a speculative science ( if 1 may use the term ) , issuing from that important practical science Geometry ; the laws of which were observed in the creation , and still are manifest in the regulation of the world .
And as the Grand Lodge cf the universe , this stupendous globe , excels in magnificence of design , and stability of foundation , demonstrative of its Builder—so , contemplating this mighty scale of perfection and wonder , with a view to useful application , does our Society proceed—conceiving the importance of order and harmony , and catching the spirit of beneficencefrom what is observed of wisdom ,
regu-, larity , and mercy , in tire world of nature . Nature , indeed , surpasses art in the boldness , sublimity , and immensity of her works ; ' man can only contemplate , in awful amazement , her mig htier operations ; but , in her lesser designs , the ingenuity of man advances , with admirable success , from stud y to imitation—as is demonstrated in thewonderful variety and beauty of the works of art
. —the imitative arts particularly , and chiefly in those of painting and sculpture . _ But of all the works of human art , Masonry is certainly the first : as most useful , and therefore , approaching nearer , in effect , to the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
An Oration Pronounced At The Audit-House In Southampton, August 3, 1792,
AN ORATION , PRONOUNCED AT THE AUDIT-HOUSE IN SOUTHAMPTON , AUGUST 3 , 1792 ,
ON OCCASION OF LAYING THE CHIEF CORNER- STONE OF A BUILDING CONSECRATED TO THE WORSHIP OF GOD .
[ Inscribed to the Mayor and Corporation of Southampton , and to the R . W . Provincial Grand Master , THOMAS DUNCKERLEY , Esq . and Brethren of the Society of Free and Accepted Masons , who , associated in public Procession , were present when it was spoken * . ]
I PRESENT myself before this very respectable audience in order to fulfil my duty as a Freemason—of whom obedience is a strong characteristic . Obedient , therefore , to the commands which I have received , it is my intention to diffuse all explanatory lig ht , not strictly forbidden , respecting this ancient and mysterious Society , that such of my hearers as are nut Freemasonsand particularly those who form the chief
, delii'ht of man in every civilized association , ma )* have some . idea of the orig in from whence , and of the principles . on which , we act . ¦ Freemasonry is a speculative science ( if 1 may use the term ) , issuing from that important practical science Geometry ; the laws of which were observed in the creation , and still are manifest in the regulation of the world .
And as the Grand Lodge cf the universe , this stupendous globe , excels in magnificence of design , and stability of foundation , demonstrative of its Builder—so , contemplating this mighty scale of perfection and wonder , with a view to useful application , does our Society proceed—conceiving the importance of order and harmony , and catching the spirit of beneficencefrom what is observed of wisdom ,
regu-, larity , and mercy , in tire world of nature . Nature , indeed , surpasses art in the boldness , sublimity , and immensity of her works ; ' man can only contemplate , in awful amazement , her mig htier operations ; but , in her lesser designs , the ingenuity of man advances , with admirable success , from stud y to imitation—as is demonstrated in thewonderful variety and beauty of the works of art
. —the imitative arts particularly , and chiefly in those of painting and sculpture . _ But of all the works of human art , Masonry is certainly the first : as most useful , and therefore , approaching nearer , in effect , to the