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Article MASONIC MEMOIR. ← Page 3 of 9 →
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Masonic Memoir.
my fellow-creatures , in whose sight all well-intentioned and well-inclined men have an equal claim to his mercy . The answer of my conscience always was—follow the directions of your Divine Master , love one another , and do not to others what you would not have them do unto you . And upon this doctrine I am acting . The present life cannot be the boundary of our destination . It is but the first stage—the infancy of our existence :
it is a minority , during which we are to prepare for more noble occupations ; and the more faithfully we discharge our duties here below , the more exalted will be the degree of protection and felicity that we may hope to attain hereafter .
" His Royal Highness may be justly said to be our modern Mecsenas of the arts and sciences , and the recognised protector of charity—what ennobling titles . ' and to what qualifications is he indebted for this supremacy , but to the influence of his opinion in the combination of social with moral improvement . " It would , however , be a task beyond our effort to trace even the
outline of that diffusive range through which his influence and example extend ; we shall , therefore , conclude these general remarks with an extract frem the Anniversary Address delivered by him , in 1831 , as President of the Royal Society : —
" For many of those functions I feel myself to be somewhat prepared by my habits of life , as well as by my public occupations ; and , for some of them more especially , if I may be permitted to say so , by that very rank in which Providence has placed me as a member of the Royal Family of this country ; for , though it would be most repugnant to my principles and my wishes , that the weight of my station should in any way influence the
success of an application which it was either improper to ask or inexpedient to grant , I should feel it to be equally due to the dignity of this Society and to my own , that the expression of your opinions and of your wishes should experience both the respect and the prompt attention to which it is so justly entitled . But , while I should consider it my duty to exert the just authority of an English Prince in the assertion of your rights , and in tbe
promotion of the success of those objects which you may intrust to my advocacy without these walls , yet within them I trust that I never have made , and that I never shall make , use of it , either for the promotion of party purposes , or for the suppression of the candid , free , and unbiassed expression of your opinions . In this chair I appear as the official head of a Society comprising a great majority of the most distinguished men in
science and literature within the three kingdoms , and in this character alone I wish to be recognized ; and it is my most anxious desire to witness around me the free expression and interchange of opinions , subject to no restraints but such as are requisite for the regularity and well government of every numerous and mixed society .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Memoir.
my fellow-creatures , in whose sight all well-intentioned and well-inclined men have an equal claim to his mercy . The answer of my conscience always was—follow the directions of your Divine Master , love one another , and do not to others what you would not have them do unto you . And upon this doctrine I am acting . The present life cannot be the boundary of our destination . It is but the first stage—the infancy of our existence :
it is a minority , during which we are to prepare for more noble occupations ; and the more faithfully we discharge our duties here below , the more exalted will be the degree of protection and felicity that we may hope to attain hereafter .
" His Royal Highness may be justly said to be our modern Mecsenas of the arts and sciences , and the recognised protector of charity—what ennobling titles . ' and to what qualifications is he indebted for this supremacy , but to the influence of his opinion in the combination of social with moral improvement . " It would , however , be a task beyond our effort to trace even the
outline of that diffusive range through which his influence and example extend ; we shall , therefore , conclude these general remarks with an extract frem the Anniversary Address delivered by him , in 1831 , as President of the Royal Society : —
" For many of those functions I feel myself to be somewhat prepared by my habits of life , as well as by my public occupations ; and , for some of them more especially , if I may be permitted to say so , by that very rank in which Providence has placed me as a member of the Royal Family of this country ; for , though it would be most repugnant to my principles and my wishes , that the weight of my station should in any way influence the
success of an application which it was either improper to ask or inexpedient to grant , I should feel it to be equally due to the dignity of this Society and to my own , that the expression of your opinions and of your wishes should experience both the respect and the prompt attention to which it is so justly entitled . But , while I should consider it my duty to exert the just authority of an English Prince in the assertion of your rights , and in tbe
promotion of the success of those objects which you may intrust to my advocacy without these walls , yet within them I trust that I never have made , and that I never shall make , use of it , either for the promotion of party purposes , or for the suppression of the candid , free , and unbiassed expression of your opinions . In this chair I appear as the official head of a Society comprising a great majority of the most distinguished men in
science and literature within the three kingdoms , and in this character alone I wish to be recognized ; and it is my most anxious desire to witness around me the free expression and interchange of opinions , subject to no restraints but such as are requisite for the regularity and well government of every numerous and mixed society .