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Article FREEMASONRY VINDICATED, ← Page 2 of 6 →
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Freemasonry Vindicated,
It is the impartial attention of these neophites in particular , and that of every unbiassed mind , of every lover of truth , that I now claim , while I confidently appeal to their candour and honour , to hear frankly what I have as frankly to say . The generality of those who condemn Freemasonry evince their
hostilities against its secrets , which they cannot penetrate , and thus " damnant quod non intelligunt . " Nothing , however , will be more easy than to controvert the erroneous notions that prejudiced Ignorance , or any other sordid motive , oppose to this truly philanthropic order . " Si tibi vera videtur ,
JDede manus , et si falsa est , accmgere contra . " MAN has not been thrown upon the earth by the hand of Chance : his orig in is more elevated , his descent more holy ; an infinite Wisdom presided over his birth ; the sublime genius of a Divine Architect regulated all the prodigies of his organization . In recalling to our mind the sublimity of our Ori gin , to us tbe
grandeur of our destiny is revealed ; we feel that we have not been brought into existence merely to vegetate , like the rest of the animal creation , in this sublunary globe—to suffer much , to enjoy little , and to die as if we had never lived . Our thoughts tell us that this earth is not the bound of our pilgrimage ; that another abode , more grand and more happy , calls us ; and that
we ought , therefore , to render ourselves meritorious of a place therein . But which is the road that is to lead us to that blissful harbour through the storms of this life ? There is only one , that of Science and Virtue combined . I said combined , because Science without Virtue makes of man a knave ; Virtue without Science makes him a dupe and useless to society .
Thus , in His adorable Providence , the great Architect of the Universe endowed us with a stimulum which urges us in search of Science , and with sufficient intelligence for us to acquire it ; at the same time He caused to speak in us the unextinguishable voice of conscience , which makes us discern evil from good . And , as if these inward monitors had not been sufficient , He sanctioned
His laws by placing them under the safeguard of om- own interests , saying to man , " be thyself the arbiter of th y fate . I make thee thy own master ; choose either thy happiness through Virtue and Science , or thy wretchedness through Vice and Ignorance ; follow the dictates of Reason , or be a slave lo thy passions .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry Vindicated,
It is the impartial attention of these neophites in particular , and that of every unbiassed mind , of every lover of truth , that I now claim , while I confidently appeal to their candour and honour , to hear frankly what I have as frankly to say . The generality of those who condemn Freemasonry evince their
hostilities against its secrets , which they cannot penetrate , and thus " damnant quod non intelligunt . " Nothing , however , will be more easy than to controvert the erroneous notions that prejudiced Ignorance , or any other sordid motive , oppose to this truly philanthropic order . " Si tibi vera videtur ,
JDede manus , et si falsa est , accmgere contra . " MAN has not been thrown upon the earth by the hand of Chance : his orig in is more elevated , his descent more holy ; an infinite Wisdom presided over his birth ; the sublime genius of a Divine Architect regulated all the prodigies of his organization . In recalling to our mind the sublimity of our Ori gin , to us tbe
grandeur of our destiny is revealed ; we feel that we have not been brought into existence merely to vegetate , like the rest of the animal creation , in this sublunary globe—to suffer much , to enjoy little , and to die as if we had never lived . Our thoughts tell us that this earth is not the bound of our pilgrimage ; that another abode , more grand and more happy , calls us ; and that
we ought , therefore , to render ourselves meritorious of a place therein . But which is the road that is to lead us to that blissful harbour through the storms of this life ? There is only one , that of Science and Virtue combined . I said combined , because Science without Virtue makes of man a knave ; Virtue without Science makes him a dupe and useless to society .
Thus , in His adorable Providence , the great Architect of the Universe endowed us with a stimulum which urges us in search of Science , and with sufficient intelligence for us to acquire it ; at the same time He caused to speak in us the unextinguishable voice of conscience , which makes us discern evil from good . And , as if these inward monitors had not been sufficient , He sanctioned
His laws by placing them under the safeguard of om- own interests , saying to man , " be thyself the arbiter of th y fate . I make thee thy own master ; choose either thy happiness through Virtue and Science , or thy wretchedness through Vice and Ignorance ; follow the dictates of Reason , or be a slave lo thy passions .