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Article THE FREEMASONS' REPOSITORY. ← Page 3 of 4 →
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The Freemasons' Repository.
and ambition , compared with those of the generous affectionate heart , J hat silent , overflowing stream of unassuming goodness , how beautiful does it appear ! Such , were the dispositions of John ; no wonder , therefore , that he should be our Saviour ' s favourite disci ple . Ecclesiastical history informs us , that St . John survived all the other apostles , and that he was about an hundred years old when he dieduntil which advanced
, period , when he could not support the fatigue of delivering long discourses to the people , he was " still cirrted every Lord ' s day to the place where they assembled , and , like a dying father to his beloved offspring , continued to repeat those charadensfic words , ' My lltth cbildn .. love one another . ' Nor was it unbecoming the friend of Jesus to spend his last breath in expressions of kindnessLet
. us emulate this great and noble character , and pursue those means by which he obtained the first rank among the friends of Jesus . Mean and illiberal is the man , whose soul the good of himself can alone engross : true benevolence , as exsensive as the light of the sun , takes in all mankind . ¦ Now , ¦ my friends , there is no community on the face of this ha-. Citable whose laws
globe , and regulations embrace more of the gospel essence , and enforce the performance of the divine laws orT its members , than this antient and honourable institution of FREEMASONRY . During many ages , and in many different countries , Masonry has flourished ; no art , no science has preceded it . In the dark periods of antiquity , when literature was in a low state , and the rude manners of our forefathers withheld from them the biowj . ' -dce
we now so amply share , Masonry began gradually to diffuse her in-, fluence ; arts and sciences instantl y arose ; civilization topk place : and the progress of knowled ge and philosophy dispelled the gloom of ignorance and barbarism . Government being settled , authority was given to laws , and our assemblies acquired the patronage of the great and good ; whilst the tenets of our profession were attended with general and unbounded
. utility . Masonry is amoral science , calculated to bind men in the ties of true friendship , to extend benevolence , and to promote virtue . It passes and is understood under two denominations : It is operative and speculative . By the former , we allude to the useful rules of architecture , whence a structure derives figurestrengthand beautyand whence results due proportionand
, , , , a just correspondence in all parts . By the latter , we learn to subdue the passions , act upon the square , keep a tongue of good report , maintain secrecy , and practise charity . The lapse of time , the ruthless hand of ignorance , and the devastations of war , have kid waste and destroyed many valuable monuments of antiquity : even the temple of King Solomon , so spacious and magnificent , and constructed b
y so many celebrated artists , was yet lafd in ruins , and escaped not the unsparing ravages of barbarous force . Freemasonry , notwithstanding , has been able still to survive . The attentive ear receives the sound from the instructive tongue ; and its sacred mysteries are safely lodged in the repository of faithfrl breasts . The tools and implements of architecture imprint on the mind wise and serious truths , and transmit , unimpaired , through the succession of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Freemasons' Repository.
and ambition , compared with those of the generous affectionate heart , J hat silent , overflowing stream of unassuming goodness , how beautiful does it appear ! Such , were the dispositions of John ; no wonder , therefore , that he should be our Saviour ' s favourite disci ple . Ecclesiastical history informs us , that St . John survived all the other apostles , and that he was about an hundred years old when he dieduntil which advanced
, period , when he could not support the fatigue of delivering long discourses to the people , he was " still cirrted every Lord ' s day to the place where they assembled , and , like a dying father to his beloved offspring , continued to repeat those charadensfic words , ' My lltth cbildn .. love one another . ' Nor was it unbecoming the friend of Jesus to spend his last breath in expressions of kindnessLet
. us emulate this great and noble character , and pursue those means by which he obtained the first rank among the friends of Jesus . Mean and illiberal is the man , whose soul the good of himself can alone engross : true benevolence , as exsensive as the light of the sun , takes in all mankind . ¦ Now , ¦ my friends , there is no community on the face of this ha-. Citable whose laws
globe , and regulations embrace more of the gospel essence , and enforce the performance of the divine laws orT its members , than this antient and honourable institution of FREEMASONRY . During many ages , and in many different countries , Masonry has flourished ; no art , no science has preceded it . In the dark periods of antiquity , when literature was in a low state , and the rude manners of our forefathers withheld from them the biowj . ' -dce
we now so amply share , Masonry began gradually to diffuse her in-, fluence ; arts and sciences instantl y arose ; civilization topk place : and the progress of knowled ge and philosophy dispelled the gloom of ignorance and barbarism . Government being settled , authority was given to laws , and our assemblies acquired the patronage of the great and good ; whilst the tenets of our profession were attended with general and unbounded
. utility . Masonry is amoral science , calculated to bind men in the ties of true friendship , to extend benevolence , and to promote virtue . It passes and is understood under two denominations : It is operative and speculative . By the former , we allude to the useful rules of architecture , whence a structure derives figurestrengthand beautyand whence results due proportionand
, , , , a just correspondence in all parts . By the latter , we learn to subdue the passions , act upon the square , keep a tongue of good report , maintain secrecy , and practise charity . The lapse of time , the ruthless hand of ignorance , and the devastations of war , have kid waste and destroyed many valuable monuments of antiquity : even the temple of King Solomon , so spacious and magnificent , and constructed b
y so many celebrated artists , was yet lafd in ruins , and escaped not the unsparing ravages of barbarous force . Freemasonry , notwithstanding , has been able still to survive . The attentive ear receives the sound from the instructive tongue ; and its sacred mysteries are safely lodged in the repository of faithfrl breasts . The tools and implements of architecture imprint on the mind wise and serious truths , and transmit , unimpaired , through the succession of