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Article ON THE MASONIC CHARACTER. ← Page 2 of 2
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Masonic Character.
in these endeavours the true professors of Masonry may frequently he successful ; but against the pretended assumptions of their forms and doctrines bv whole societies of men , for views and purposes different from those of real Masonry , they have no protection , and cannot therefore be justly considered responsible for any mischievous consequences of such impositions . In asserting the fact of such conthat the ot
sequences , it may , however , be charitably presumed , pen the accuser would be prompted bv the impulse of clear and strong conviction : for , there may be a period in the hisfoiiy and temper of society , in which such accusations cannot escape the suspicion , at least , of being indiscriminate and erroneous . In the political explosions which have recently agitated the continent , respectable classes of men have been violently and unjustly deprived of the comfort and privileges attached to their professions tor is mai ui
and their rank . The feeling ot resentment nijuiy na- , » during its prevalence the mind certainly is not best adapted to collect the evidence necessary to influence its judgment . It is not , therefore , surprising , that in the eagerness of such privileged orders to identify the source of their persecutions , Masonry should be suspected of mvsterious hostility , or that some Pandora ' s Box should be discovered * abounding with the ingredients of all those moral and political evils
which have of late deformed the civilization and disturbed tlie tranquility of Europe . The best way for the true Mason to refufe such charges , whether made anonymously , or supported by a description of proof unworthy of more ostensible sanction , is to shew , by his peaceable and moral dethat while his tenets teach him to feel in their full force
meanour , the principles of general benevolence , they also qualify him to be a support and ornament to the particular society in which he lives * Thus illustrated by the calm and virtuous firmness of its professors , the probability that ' genuine Masonry will survive "the imitations of imposture and the attacks of misrepresentation , is not without an
illustrious example . . ' ¦ It is no reproach to the truth of Christianity , that false professors and ' false doctrines have abused the sanction of its name . Such impostures were predicted by the hig hest authority ; and while they have faded away , the permanency of that sublime and rational system has been the strongest proof of its orig in audits excellence . thereforeMrEditor who is really suchshould
Every person , , . , , consult the purity of his own intentions , and employ his best judgment to determine whether the Masonic institutions are calculated to give them a more extensive and efficient operation . If he be persuaded of these points , the same goodness of heart and soundness of judgment will induce him to persevere , and to disregard the misconception or artifice which attempt to disunite him from his
may rational purposes , or labour to expose him to the suspicion of his fellow subjects , by the use of the too hackneyed , political expedient , ¦ Hinc spargere voces ' Iiivulgumambiguas— - *_ m somCVS
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Masonic Character.
in these endeavours the true professors of Masonry may frequently he successful ; but against the pretended assumptions of their forms and doctrines bv whole societies of men , for views and purposes different from those of real Masonry , they have no protection , and cannot therefore be justly considered responsible for any mischievous consequences of such impositions . In asserting the fact of such conthat the ot
sequences , it may , however , be charitably presumed , pen the accuser would be prompted bv the impulse of clear and strong conviction : for , there may be a period in the hisfoiiy and temper of society , in which such accusations cannot escape the suspicion , at least , of being indiscriminate and erroneous . In the political explosions which have recently agitated the continent , respectable classes of men have been violently and unjustly deprived of the comfort and privileges attached to their professions tor is mai ui
and their rank . The feeling ot resentment nijuiy na- , » during its prevalence the mind certainly is not best adapted to collect the evidence necessary to influence its judgment . It is not , therefore , surprising , that in the eagerness of such privileged orders to identify the source of their persecutions , Masonry should be suspected of mvsterious hostility , or that some Pandora ' s Box should be discovered * abounding with the ingredients of all those moral and political evils
which have of late deformed the civilization and disturbed tlie tranquility of Europe . The best way for the true Mason to refufe such charges , whether made anonymously , or supported by a description of proof unworthy of more ostensible sanction , is to shew , by his peaceable and moral dethat while his tenets teach him to feel in their full force
meanour , the principles of general benevolence , they also qualify him to be a support and ornament to the particular society in which he lives * Thus illustrated by the calm and virtuous firmness of its professors , the probability that ' genuine Masonry will survive "the imitations of imposture and the attacks of misrepresentation , is not without an
illustrious example . . ' ¦ It is no reproach to the truth of Christianity , that false professors and ' false doctrines have abused the sanction of its name . Such impostures were predicted by the hig hest authority ; and while they have faded away , the permanency of that sublime and rational system has been the strongest proof of its orig in audits excellence . thereforeMrEditor who is really suchshould
Every person , , . , , consult the purity of his own intentions , and employ his best judgment to determine whether the Masonic institutions are calculated to give them a more extensive and efficient operation . If he be persuaded of these points , the same goodness of heart and soundness of judgment will induce him to persevere , and to disregard the misconception or artifice which attempt to disunite him from his
may rational purposes , or labour to expose him to the suspicion of his fellow subjects , by the use of the too hackneyed , political expedient , ¦ Hinc spargere voces ' Iiivulgumambiguas— - *_ m somCVS