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Article GLEANINGS FROM MASONRY. Page 1 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Gleanings From Masonry.
GLEANINGS FROM MASONRY .
THE exemplary and unspotted life of a good Mason , and true , ivould unquestionably bs the best treatise that could be written in the defence of our beautiful system , against the attacks of the bigot , and the evilminded , ivould the world attribute his many virtuous actions to the moral perfection he had attained , while treading the chequered , though beautiful pavement of Masonry ' s mostholy temple . But , unfortunately , prejudice and bigotry are ever readto seekand imagine they findthe
y , , source of his virtues in some other spring . The wickedness of undeserving Masons , they are ever ready to imagine , as springing from our mysterious rites and ceremonies ; but our good ivorks cannot be allowed by them to arise from the same source . Such being the case , Masonry not only requires us to act up to her promptings , anel consequently be good men and true : she requires more , she requires that we should rouse ourselves from the apathy ivhich holds us silent , while foes decry , and
false friends shame her , and boldly anel fearlessly speak out , and declare to tlie world that , while our vices are our own , our virtues are gems , gathered in the rich and lustrous storehouses of her immaculate science . Does the friend of your soul thank you in accents of gratitude for the support you have given him in the hour of adversity ? Tell him he owes it to Masonry . Do your parents mention with pride the prop and stay of their declining years ? Tell them you learned the lesson of filial duty in the records of Masonry . Does a wife cling to your bosom , and confident ofthe fidelity of your affection , find a haven there , amid the jarring and contending elements of this mortal existence ? Bid her behold
in Masonry the oasis in the desert of human passion , from whence you have culled the soft affections and the love unstained , which , summed up , compose ths heaven of her existence . Do children cling to your knees and bless you for the light you have shed upon their souls , the precepts , illustrated by example , you have given them , ivhich enable them to steer the bark of this life over the rough seas of passion , without quitting the helm of rectitude ? Tell them Masonry pointed out to you the advantages of educationand bade you tend with viilance and care the
, g unfolding instincts of your offspring ' s mind , and guide it to the paths of A'irtue ant ! honour . Act in this manner ; give to Masonry the honour Avhich is her clue , and the wretched cavilling of her opponents will be drowned in the applause of an admiring world . In accordance with this plan , I shall from time to time , give the public such practical lessons , as I may be enabled to glean from the rich harvest before me ; leaving to more metaphysical temperaments the task of unravelling its more subtle
and abstruse secrets ; while , I fancy , I shall he able to prove , even from the few scattered grains , the produce of my gleaning , that Masonry is very far from being the useless system which some ivould intimate . I will commence with that , which all men , from the philosopher with spectacle on nose , to the unwashed artisan—alike profess to seek and admire ; but which has been tortured , strained , and perverted , in exact proportion ivith the expressed desire of the world for its
possessiontruth . What is truth ! A iAiason would tell you that it is the foundation of ei'ery Masonic virtue . And so it is . It is the basis on which the Mason rests that ladder , by ivhich he hopes to ascend to those blessed mansions , from whence all goodness emanates . It is the Avritten Avord VOL . 11 . x
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Gleanings From Masonry.
GLEANINGS FROM MASONRY .
THE exemplary and unspotted life of a good Mason , and true , ivould unquestionably bs the best treatise that could be written in the defence of our beautiful system , against the attacks of the bigot , and the evilminded , ivould the world attribute his many virtuous actions to the moral perfection he had attained , while treading the chequered , though beautiful pavement of Masonry ' s mostholy temple . But , unfortunately , prejudice and bigotry are ever readto seekand imagine they findthe
y , , source of his virtues in some other spring . The wickedness of undeserving Masons , they are ever ready to imagine , as springing from our mysterious rites and ceremonies ; but our good ivorks cannot be allowed by them to arise from the same source . Such being the case , Masonry not only requires us to act up to her promptings , anel consequently be good men and true : she requires more , she requires that we should rouse ourselves from the apathy ivhich holds us silent , while foes decry , and
false friends shame her , and boldly anel fearlessly speak out , and declare to tlie world that , while our vices are our own , our virtues are gems , gathered in the rich and lustrous storehouses of her immaculate science . Does the friend of your soul thank you in accents of gratitude for the support you have given him in the hour of adversity ? Tell him he owes it to Masonry . Do your parents mention with pride the prop and stay of their declining years ? Tell them you learned the lesson of filial duty in the records of Masonry . Does a wife cling to your bosom , and confident ofthe fidelity of your affection , find a haven there , amid the jarring and contending elements of this mortal existence ? Bid her behold
in Masonry the oasis in the desert of human passion , from whence you have culled the soft affections and the love unstained , which , summed up , compose ths heaven of her existence . Do children cling to your knees and bless you for the light you have shed upon their souls , the precepts , illustrated by example , you have given them , ivhich enable them to steer the bark of this life over the rough seas of passion , without quitting the helm of rectitude ? Tell them Masonry pointed out to you the advantages of educationand bade you tend with viilance and care the
, g unfolding instincts of your offspring ' s mind , and guide it to the paths of A'irtue ant ! honour . Act in this manner ; give to Masonry the honour Avhich is her clue , and the wretched cavilling of her opponents will be drowned in the applause of an admiring world . In accordance with this plan , I shall from time to time , give the public such practical lessons , as I may be enabled to glean from the rich harvest before me ; leaving to more metaphysical temperaments the task of unravelling its more subtle
and abstruse secrets ; while , I fancy , I shall he able to prove , even from the few scattered grains , the produce of my gleaning , that Masonry is very far from being the useless system which some ivould intimate . I will commence with that , which all men , from the philosopher with spectacle on nose , to the unwashed artisan—alike profess to seek and admire ; but which has been tortured , strained , and perverted , in exact proportion ivith the expressed desire of the world for its
possessiontruth . What is truth ! A iAiason would tell you that it is the foundation of ei'ery Masonic virtue . And so it is . It is the basis on which the Mason rests that ladder , by ivhich he hopes to ascend to those blessed mansions , from whence all goodness emanates . It is the Avritten Avord VOL . 11 . x