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Extracts From Two Sermons, Preached Before The Ancient And Honourable Society Of Freemasons,
speaking be put away from you , with all malice . And be ye kind one to another , tender-hearted , forgiving one another , even as God for Christ ' s sake hath forgiven you . Which God grant may be our character , now , henceforth , and for evermore . Amen , and Amen .
To The Editor Of The Freemasons' Magazine.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE .
Sis , Brecon , Oct . 9 , 1794 . IT is well known to every Mason , that one of the primary principles of our Institution is Charity . Thousands of deserving though distressed objects have felt ,, and I trust will still feel the seasonable relief which pur fund has afforded . Sorry am I to observe , painful is it to me to assert , that this principle is most grossly abused , that
this , charity is frequently and most egregiously misapplied . I see with regret daily instances that this Society , which , like every human , and , of course , fallible institution , reckons among its members men who are a . disgrace , to their name , men who , though in the prime of life , and in full enjoyment of their health , make it a practice to go from town to . town , and from Lodge to Lodge , with a plausible tale
in their mouths , and support themselves in habits . of idleness and intemperance by . imposing upon the well-meant , though ill-directed benevolence . of their more industrious Brethren . To put a stop to this . ( I am sorry to say ) growing evil is the duty of every member of qur Community ; I shall , therefore , suggest to you , and through you to the Grand , Lodge , some few hints for remedying this evil ; and though the mode which I may recommend may occasionally hurt
the feelings of some of our distressed Brethren , yet I trust that when they reflect upon the mischief it is intended to prevent , and the cause it is meant to serve , they will , painful as those feelings maybe , submit to a measure calculated for the general good of the Society . I should propose , that when an indigent Brother is relieved by a Lo . dge , the cause of his distress should be first enquired into , and his general character in his neighbourhood particularly ascertained ;
for which reason , in case of shipwreck , accidents , failures in trade , & c . the first application for relief should be made to the Lodge next to the . place where such accident or misfortune happens . A certificate should , then be granted under the hands of the master and wardens , and the seal of the Lodge , stating the nature of such accident , & c . the destination of the Brother if he means to travel , the date- of his
appearance there , the sum with which he was relieved , and such other circumstances as the Lodge may choose to communicate ; by this means the different Lodges will be enabled to judge of the necessities of the Brother : whether he has properly made use of his time in attaining the place of his destination , and the amount of the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Extracts From Two Sermons, Preached Before The Ancient And Honourable Society Of Freemasons,
speaking be put away from you , with all malice . And be ye kind one to another , tender-hearted , forgiving one another , even as God for Christ ' s sake hath forgiven you . Which God grant may be our character , now , henceforth , and for evermore . Amen , and Amen .
To The Editor Of The Freemasons' Magazine.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE .
Sis , Brecon , Oct . 9 , 1794 . IT is well known to every Mason , that one of the primary principles of our Institution is Charity . Thousands of deserving though distressed objects have felt ,, and I trust will still feel the seasonable relief which pur fund has afforded . Sorry am I to observe , painful is it to me to assert , that this principle is most grossly abused , that
this , charity is frequently and most egregiously misapplied . I see with regret daily instances that this Society , which , like every human , and , of course , fallible institution , reckons among its members men who are a . disgrace , to their name , men who , though in the prime of life , and in full enjoyment of their health , make it a practice to go from town to . town , and from Lodge to Lodge , with a plausible tale
in their mouths , and support themselves in habits . of idleness and intemperance by . imposing upon the well-meant , though ill-directed benevolence . of their more industrious Brethren . To put a stop to this . ( I am sorry to say ) growing evil is the duty of every member of qur Community ; I shall , therefore , suggest to you , and through you to the Grand , Lodge , some few hints for remedying this evil ; and though the mode which I may recommend may occasionally hurt
the feelings of some of our distressed Brethren , yet I trust that when they reflect upon the mischief it is intended to prevent , and the cause it is meant to serve , they will , painful as those feelings maybe , submit to a measure calculated for the general good of the Society . I should propose , that when an indigent Brother is relieved by a Lo . dge , the cause of his distress should be first enquired into , and his general character in his neighbourhood particularly ascertained ;
for which reason , in case of shipwreck , accidents , failures in trade , & c . the first application for relief should be made to the Lodge next to the . place where such accident or misfortune happens . A certificate should , then be granted under the hands of the master and wardens , and the seal of the Lodge , stating the nature of such accident , & c . the destination of the Brother if he means to travel , the date- of his
appearance there , the sum with which he was relieved , and such other circumstances as the Lodge may choose to communicate ; by this means the different Lodges will be enabled to judge of the necessities of the Brother : whether he has properly made use of his time in attaining the place of his destination , and the amount of the