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Article THE PRESENT ASPECT. ← Page 6 of 8 →
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The Present Aspect.
A spirit of union produces community of thought : and the consequences that naturally result , is an activity that tends to promote public good . This has been so gradually and clearly manifested for these two years pastthat to
, doubt tiie fact is to close our senses from the happiness of sight and hearing : —our community is the wide world itself , not a portion of it;—we therefore feel that in the
advancinoimprovement ofthe craft , the world at large is in proportion benefitted . We shall be ready to forego individual views ; if , by so doing , we can advance the greater object of public utility : for ; first , it should be borne in mind , that it is the happiness of an aggregate body that ought to be promoted , and not the mere opinions and interests of individual
portions of that bod y . If this wholesome construction of the duty of a writer be lost sight of , and thoughts , however they may deli ght his mind , are suffered to escape his pen , they may be looked upon as excellent conceptions ; but they may produce a serious harm , if they have not a pointed
reference to existing circumstances , and if they do not in themselves tend to illustrate and not merely precede public opinion . Civilization does not improve by speculation ;
, in proportion to their boldness , require a corresponding examination ; yet there will come a . time when the ideas and conceptions , if carefull y preserved , may by timely discussion be comprehended and adopted . It is in this sincerity we think and write ; and feel assured that we
are fully understood by our intelligent readers . We cannot close our observations upon this all-engrossing subject , without stating that the mover of the amendment in the last Grand Lodge , was placed in a very trying situation . His address , if not convincing was
modest—, was marked by a careful avoidance of personality ; and we should state that , without forfeiting either self-respect or self-importance , that Brother ' s manner in Grand Lodge may be hailed as an example by others who think with him .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Present Aspect.
A spirit of union produces community of thought : and the consequences that naturally result , is an activity that tends to promote public good . This has been so gradually and clearly manifested for these two years pastthat to
, doubt tiie fact is to close our senses from the happiness of sight and hearing : —our community is the wide world itself , not a portion of it;—we therefore feel that in the
advancinoimprovement ofthe craft , the world at large is in proportion benefitted . We shall be ready to forego individual views ; if , by so doing , we can advance the greater object of public utility : for ; first , it should be borne in mind , that it is the happiness of an aggregate body that ought to be promoted , and not the mere opinions and interests of individual
portions of that bod y . If this wholesome construction of the duty of a writer be lost sight of , and thoughts , however they may deli ght his mind , are suffered to escape his pen , they may be looked upon as excellent conceptions ; but they may produce a serious harm , if they have not a pointed
reference to existing circumstances , and if they do not in themselves tend to illustrate and not merely precede public opinion . Civilization does not improve by speculation ;
, in proportion to their boldness , require a corresponding examination ; yet there will come a . time when the ideas and conceptions , if carefull y preserved , may by timely discussion be comprehended and adopted . It is in this sincerity we think and write ; and feel assured that we
are fully understood by our intelligent readers . We cannot close our observations upon this all-engrossing subject , without stating that the mover of the amendment in the last Grand Lodge , was placed in a very trying situation . His address , if not convincing was
modest—, was marked by a careful avoidance of personality ; and we should state that , without forfeiting either self-respect or self-importance , that Brother ' s manner in Grand Lodge may be hailed as an example by others who think with him .