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Article AN ADDRESS TO THE MASON BRETHREN*. ← Page 3 of 4 →
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An Address To The Mason Brethren*.
ought not to consider their admission into a Mason Lodge as being designed to enlarge the circle of mere frolic and dissipation . Let them , on the contrary , view it as laying them under an additional obligation to submit to the rules of decency and propriety , and as a happy mean of forming in them a taste for the delicate and refined moral p leasures of the heart . For that reason , every species of riot
and wanton levity , and opposition to the rules of good order and manly behaviour , are perfectly inconsistent with the spirit of MASONRY . As that old age is the most agreeable in which we find a certain degree ofthe cheerfulness and gaiety of youth , so youth appeals more amiable , by its having a certain and a well-timed proportion ofthe gravity and solidity of old age .
Above all , let young men begin early to reverence Truth , which is a qualification indispensably necessary to the existence of friendship among Brethren . Falsehood is inimical to good brotherhood , and to every thing joyous and beneficial to society . A deceitful man is incapable of being a true friend , or a good citizen . Falsehood implies double-mindedness , and hypocrisy , and treachery , and all
thosevices of the heart whose direct tendency is to mislead and deceive the Sincere and the Upright , and to sow strife and discord among Friends and Brethren . As candour is essential to true friendshi p , so the want of it implies every thing that is baneful to the pleasures and . interests of social life . So long as truth guards fhe heart , it will be the seat of Virtue and of steady Friendship ; but if that guard is once dismissed , the heart is at once laid open to every species
pf depravity . Accordingly , the first early symptom of a mean and worthless character , in which you can place no confidence , is always that of a want of regard to the sacred law of Truth . Let all men , therefore , and especially the young , as they regard their honour , and happiness , and usefulness in this life , and their hope of being admitted into tlie New Jerusalem , into which , saith the Holy Spirit" nothing shall be admittd that maketh a lie : " Jet themI
, , say , beware of falsehood , and be always sincere in every thing that they both say and do . Then will all men honour and put trust in them . Forms and ceremonies are necessary to the being and the preservation of every great institution ; but forms are of no value , except in so far as they produce a regard to the spirit or principle of the institution itself . Therefore , use their forms as being only so many handmaids
to your feeling the power of the moral and beneficial influence of the art . Strive to make your science subservient to the purpose of strengthening in you pious and charitable dispositions , that these may not only operate at Masonic Meetings , but may give a colour to your whole life . Unless the practice of your art shall produce in you a refined benevolence of souland improve the social and charitable
, dispositions of the heart , not only toward the Brethren of your respective Lodges , but toward all mankind , ye frustrate , with respect to yourselves at least , one main end ofthe Masonic Institution . Although your Institution had no higher object than that of an ordinary Social Club , it would stand foremost even in that class of brotherly meetings . Even in that view , ye enjoy the pleasures
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
An Address To The Mason Brethren*.
ought not to consider their admission into a Mason Lodge as being designed to enlarge the circle of mere frolic and dissipation . Let them , on the contrary , view it as laying them under an additional obligation to submit to the rules of decency and propriety , and as a happy mean of forming in them a taste for the delicate and refined moral p leasures of the heart . For that reason , every species of riot
and wanton levity , and opposition to the rules of good order and manly behaviour , are perfectly inconsistent with the spirit of MASONRY . As that old age is the most agreeable in which we find a certain degree ofthe cheerfulness and gaiety of youth , so youth appeals more amiable , by its having a certain and a well-timed proportion ofthe gravity and solidity of old age .
Above all , let young men begin early to reverence Truth , which is a qualification indispensably necessary to the existence of friendship among Brethren . Falsehood is inimical to good brotherhood , and to every thing joyous and beneficial to society . A deceitful man is incapable of being a true friend , or a good citizen . Falsehood implies double-mindedness , and hypocrisy , and treachery , and all
thosevices of the heart whose direct tendency is to mislead and deceive the Sincere and the Upright , and to sow strife and discord among Friends and Brethren . As candour is essential to true friendshi p , so the want of it implies every thing that is baneful to the pleasures and . interests of social life . So long as truth guards fhe heart , it will be the seat of Virtue and of steady Friendship ; but if that guard is once dismissed , the heart is at once laid open to every species
pf depravity . Accordingly , the first early symptom of a mean and worthless character , in which you can place no confidence , is always that of a want of regard to the sacred law of Truth . Let all men , therefore , and especially the young , as they regard their honour , and happiness , and usefulness in this life , and their hope of being admitted into tlie New Jerusalem , into which , saith the Holy Spirit" nothing shall be admittd that maketh a lie : " Jet themI
, , say , beware of falsehood , and be always sincere in every thing that they both say and do . Then will all men honour and put trust in them . Forms and ceremonies are necessary to the being and the preservation of every great institution ; but forms are of no value , except in so far as they produce a regard to the spirit or principle of the institution itself . Therefore , use their forms as being only so many handmaids
to your feeling the power of the moral and beneficial influence of the art . Strive to make your science subservient to the purpose of strengthening in you pious and charitable dispositions , that these may not only operate at Masonic Meetings , but may give a colour to your whole life . Unless the practice of your art shall produce in you a refined benevolence of souland improve the social and charitable
, dispositions of the heart , not only toward the Brethren of your respective Lodges , but toward all mankind , ye frustrate , with respect to yourselves at least , one main end ofthe Masonic Institution . Although your Institution had no higher object than that of an ordinary Social Club , it would stand foremost even in that class of brotherly meetings . Even in that view , ye enjoy the pleasures