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Article THE FREEMASONS' REPOSITORY. ← Page 3 of 5 →
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The Freemasons' Repository.
EXTRACTS moM rnorEssoi . r . ois . soN ' s WOBK ON THK CONSPIHACY or FUEEHASONS , & C . THE Professor , having failed in his endeavour to ascribe to masonry the corruption of the public mind , the overthrow of the French monarchy , and the introduction of Jabobinism , gis obliged to have recourse to other causes ; on which he makes the following ingenious
observations . 'IN all nations that have made much progress in cultivation , there is a great tendency to corruption , and it requires all the vi g ilance and exertions of magistrates , and of moral instructors , to prevent the spreading of licentious princip les and maxims of condnCt . They arise naturally of themselves , as weeds in a rich soil ; and , like weeds , they are perniciousonlbecause they arewhere they should not
, y , be , in a cultivated field . Virtue is the cultivation of the human soul , and not the mere possession of good dispositions ; ail men have these in some degree , and occasionally exhibit them . But virtue supposes exertion ; and , as the husbandman must be incited to his laborious task by some cogent motive , so must man be prompted to that . exertion which is necessary on the part of every individual for the very
existence of a great society : for man is indolent , and he is luxurious -, he wishes for enjoyment , and this with little trouble . The less fortunate envy the enjoyments of others , and repine at their own inability to obtain the like . They see the idle in affluence . Few , even , of good men , have the candour , na )' , I may call it the wisdom , to think on the activity and the labour which had procured those comforts to the rich or to their ancestors ; and to believe that they are idle only because they are wealthy , but would be aCtive if they were needy . Such spontaneous reflections cannot be expeCted in persons who are
engaged in unceasing labour , to procure a very moderate share ( in their estimation at least ) of the comforts of life . Yet such reflections would , in the main , be just , and surely they would greatly tend to quiet the minds of the unsuccessful . ' Relig ious and moral instructions are , in their own nature , unequivocal supports to that moderate exertion ofthe authority arising from civil subordinationwhich the most refined philanthropist or
cos-, mopolite acknowledges to be necessary for the very existence of a great and cultivated society . I have never seen a scheme of Utopian happiness that did not contain some system of education , and I cannot conceive any system of education of which moral instruction is not a principal part . Such establishments are dictates of nature , and obtrude themselves on the mind of every person who begins to form plans of
civil union . And in ail existing soeietes they have indeed been formed , and are considered as thegreatestcorreClorand soother ofthose discontents that are unavoidable in the minds of the unsuccessful and the unfortunate . The magistrate , therefore , whose professional liabits lead him frequently to exert himself for the maintenance of public peace , cannot but see the advantages of such stated remembrancers of our duty . ' Entail the evils of society do not spring from the discontents and the vices of the poor , The rich come in for a large and a conspicuous
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Freemasons' Repository.
EXTRACTS moM rnorEssoi . r . ois . soN ' s WOBK ON THK CONSPIHACY or FUEEHASONS , & C . THE Professor , having failed in his endeavour to ascribe to masonry the corruption of the public mind , the overthrow of the French monarchy , and the introduction of Jabobinism , gis obliged to have recourse to other causes ; on which he makes the following ingenious
observations . 'IN all nations that have made much progress in cultivation , there is a great tendency to corruption , and it requires all the vi g ilance and exertions of magistrates , and of moral instructors , to prevent the spreading of licentious princip les and maxims of condnCt . They arise naturally of themselves , as weeds in a rich soil ; and , like weeds , they are perniciousonlbecause they arewhere they should not
, y , be , in a cultivated field . Virtue is the cultivation of the human soul , and not the mere possession of good dispositions ; ail men have these in some degree , and occasionally exhibit them . But virtue supposes exertion ; and , as the husbandman must be incited to his laborious task by some cogent motive , so must man be prompted to that . exertion which is necessary on the part of every individual for the very
existence of a great society : for man is indolent , and he is luxurious -, he wishes for enjoyment , and this with little trouble . The less fortunate envy the enjoyments of others , and repine at their own inability to obtain the like . They see the idle in affluence . Few , even , of good men , have the candour , na )' , I may call it the wisdom , to think on the activity and the labour which had procured those comforts to the rich or to their ancestors ; and to believe that they are idle only because they are wealthy , but would be aCtive if they were needy . Such spontaneous reflections cannot be expeCted in persons who are
engaged in unceasing labour , to procure a very moderate share ( in their estimation at least ) of the comforts of life . Yet such reflections would , in the main , be just , and surely they would greatly tend to quiet the minds of the unsuccessful . ' Relig ious and moral instructions are , in their own nature , unequivocal supports to that moderate exertion ofthe authority arising from civil subordinationwhich the most refined philanthropist or
cos-, mopolite acknowledges to be necessary for the very existence of a great and cultivated society . I have never seen a scheme of Utopian happiness that did not contain some system of education , and I cannot conceive any system of education of which moral instruction is not a principal part . Such establishments are dictates of nature , and obtrude themselves on the mind of every person who begins to form plans of
civil union . And in ail existing soeietes they have indeed been formed , and are considered as thegreatestcorreClorand soother ofthose discontents that are unavoidable in the minds of the unsuccessful and the unfortunate . The magistrate , therefore , whose professional liabits lead him frequently to exert himself for the maintenance of public peace , cannot but see the advantages of such stated remembrancers of our duty . ' Entail the evils of society do not spring from the discontents and the vices of the poor , The rich come in for a large and a conspicuous