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An Oration Pronounced At The Audit-House In Southampton, August 3, 1792,
beneficent purposes of Providence . Architecture has justly been deemed the favourite child of civilization ; it is the science which has ever discriminated b y its progress refinement from rudeness ; by its presence or absence savage from " social life : In countries where operative Masonry never laid the line , nor spread the compass ; where Architecture never planned the domenor projected the columnall other evidences
, , of elegant improvement are sought for in vain—all is darkness and barbarism . If we trace our Order by the Science which gave it birth , without recurring to the creation , as has been done ; or to the chief subject of creation , man ; we shall find it of great antiquity—but , without contending for an hiher oriinwe refer itwith confidenceto the
g g , , , building of Solomon ' s Temple . The general history of this memorable building is well known ; Consummate Wisdom delineated the plan , and the Craftsmen atchieved the design of the Great Architect of the Universe . —Under this knowledge we cannot be surprised that Science and Morality went hand in hand : we are taught that the workmen were divided into classes
, under competent directors ; that the implements of operative Masonry were made symbo ' s of moral duties ; and from the nature and interpretation of those symbols , handed b y tradition down to us , we learn , that the purport of them was to form good men ; to inspire a love of fidelity , truth , and justice ; to promote friendship and social manners ; to associate men under the banners of voluntary order and
virtue . It is from this hi gh origin that we derive our existence as a Society ; from this source we draw our line , our rule , and our compass : —It is from hence that we adopt the Measure of Space , used as such by the operative Mason , and apply it to ourselves as a measure of time , < rivin « y us an orderly routine of duties . ° °
The Square , which enables the artist to form and fashion his work , teaches us , symbolically , to form and fashion our lives . It is an emblem of morality , and instructs us in that most important moral oblisration , to do as we would be done unto—to live upon the square with all mankind . The Level , used in art to make the building plain and even , morally teaches the cf nature
us equality our : it serves as a memorial that we are equally born to act our parts on this great theatre of life ; that we are equally subject to diseases—to accidents—to sorrows ; , that we are equally under the care and protection of the Great Parent of all ; that we are equally doomed to die—to be levelled with the earth—to corrupt—to be fo rgotten . Art and accident chances and
vary our situations , but , taking life altogether , we shall find a more equal participation of good and evil than is commonly imagined . In the edifice of Freemasonry , equalit y * is the great corner-stone without it we know that friendships are ' ill cemented amongst men ;—
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,
beneficent purposes of Providence . Architecture has justly been deemed the favourite child of civilization ; it is the science which has ever discriminated b y its progress refinement from rudeness ; by its presence or absence savage from " social life : In countries where operative Masonry never laid the line , nor spread the compass ; where Architecture never planned the domenor projected the columnall other evidences
, , of elegant improvement are sought for in vain—all is darkness and barbarism . If we trace our Order by the Science which gave it birth , without recurring to the creation , as has been done ; or to the chief subject of creation , man ; we shall find it of great antiquity—but , without contending for an hiher oriinwe refer itwith confidenceto the
g g , , , building of Solomon ' s Temple . The general history of this memorable building is well known ; Consummate Wisdom delineated the plan , and the Craftsmen atchieved the design of the Great Architect of the Universe . —Under this knowledge we cannot be surprised that Science and Morality went hand in hand : we are taught that the workmen were divided into classes
, under competent directors ; that the implements of operative Masonry were made symbo ' s of moral duties ; and from the nature and interpretation of those symbols , handed b y tradition down to us , we learn , that the purport of them was to form good men ; to inspire a love of fidelity , truth , and justice ; to promote friendship and social manners ; to associate men under the banners of voluntary order and
virtue . It is from this hi gh origin that we derive our existence as a Society ; from this source we draw our line , our rule , and our compass : —It is from hence that we adopt the Measure of Space , used as such by the operative Mason , and apply it to ourselves as a measure of time , < rivin « y us an orderly routine of duties . ° °
The Square , which enables the artist to form and fashion his work , teaches us , symbolically , to form and fashion our lives . It is an emblem of morality , and instructs us in that most important moral oblisration , to do as we would be done unto—to live upon the square with all mankind . The Level , used in art to make the building plain and even , morally teaches the cf nature
us equality our : it serves as a memorial that we are equally born to act our parts on this great theatre of life ; that we are equally subject to diseases—to accidents—to sorrows ; , that we are equally under the care and protection of the Great Parent of all ; that we are equally doomed to die—to be levelled with the earth—to corrupt—to be fo rgotten . Art and accident chances and
vary our situations , but , taking life altogether , we shall find a more equal participation of good and evil than is commonly imagined . In the edifice of Freemasonry , equalit y * is the great corner-stone without it we know that friendships are ' ill cemented amongst men ;—