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Article ADDRESS OF BROTHER DENIS MOORE, ← Page 2 of 3 →
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Address Of Brother Denis Moore,
but for their combination with the lofty principles of morality and virtue , inculcated in the volume of the sacred law . Men whose minds were habituated to see in every practical detail of art an allusion to some great moral virtue , came to regard as sacred the arts themselves , which thus became the exponents of the most sublime truths ; and then it was that when the ancient Israelites went forth against nations greater and mightier than theyunder the Divine commandconquering and to
con-, , quer ; and when , in all other nations of the earth , strength was the sole law , and violence the only governor , the arts of peace were preserved and fostered , secretly and in clanger , by a devoted few , their existence unknown till they became manifested to the world in the erection of the noblest works of architectural art , founded on the highest principles of abstract science . Dangers and difficulties were encountered , and obstacles were overcomeby our ancient Brethrenagainst which nothing
, , could have supported them but the lofty feeling arising from their mental association of their material works , with a Divine plan of moral law , and thus their efforts in the cause of human science and human arts , became a humble type of those more sublime exertions of a chosen ancl devoted fevi , in the preservation and extension through the whole world of a Divine revelation , when peace and salvation were proclaimed to the faithful ancl obedient of the human race . It was a natural consequence
that the instrument of art , and the figure of abstract science , should come to bear a symbolical and even mystical character ; ancl accordingly these emblems became peculiar in their signification , and sacred in their use ; they are traced in every land and in every period— they are found in the temple of the Hindoo , ancl in the Christian cathedral—hi the pyramids of Egypt , and the halls of the Alhambra—in the noblest architectural works of ancient Greece , ancl in the mysterious round towers of
Ireland ; and the silent spread of the deep-set principles of peace is curiously evidenced by our finding the most mysterious emblem of our Order engraven on the weapons of the most remote and least knoivn nations of the east .
It was thus that in the union of operative art with the highest speculative principles of morality , Freemasonry did its work—as science spread , and art was fostered , that was no longer necessary , but though , as a body , our Order abandoned the operative , it has still preserved the speculative portion of its institution , and ceases not , in its rites and ceremonies , to inculcate those divine lessons of morality ancl virtue , the observance of which , as it formed the rule , so it constituted the bond of defence of our ancient Brethren . Ancl if Freemasonry instils into the mind the sacred
precepts of justice , honour , and mercy , as found in that sacred volume , which , in her Lodges , is never closed ; if she continually appeals to that book , not for the purposes of polemical controversy , or the discussion of mere doctrinal subtleties , but as the rule and guide of all our actions— , if still , under the guidance of the principles of moral truth , she directs the minds of her votaries to the cultivation of the liberal arts and sciences , to the improvement of those wondrous faculties with which
God has endowed the beings formed after his own image , that they may thereby be the better enabled to show forth his glory , ancl promote the good of their fellow creatures . If the objects of Freemasonry are to purify the mind of man from every malignant passion , and to prepare it for the reception of truth ancl virtue , and all this only as a means of instruction how to meet that last awful change of his inevitable destiny : and if , by these gradations , his eyes are eventually fixed on the most VOL . III . n D
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Address Of Brother Denis Moore,
but for their combination with the lofty principles of morality and virtue , inculcated in the volume of the sacred law . Men whose minds were habituated to see in every practical detail of art an allusion to some great moral virtue , came to regard as sacred the arts themselves , which thus became the exponents of the most sublime truths ; and then it was that when the ancient Israelites went forth against nations greater and mightier than theyunder the Divine commandconquering and to
con-, , quer ; and when , in all other nations of the earth , strength was the sole law , and violence the only governor , the arts of peace were preserved and fostered , secretly and in clanger , by a devoted few , their existence unknown till they became manifested to the world in the erection of the noblest works of architectural art , founded on the highest principles of abstract science . Dangers and difficulties were encountered , and obstacles were overcomeby our ancient Brethrenagainst which nothing
, , could have supported them but the lofty feeling arising from their mental association of their material works , with a Divine plan of moral law , and thus their efforts in the cause of human science and human arts , became a humble type of those more sublime exertions of a chosen ancl devoted fevi , in the preservation and extension through the whole world of a Divine revelation , when peace and salvation were proclaimed to the faithful ancl obedient of the human race . It was a natural consequence
that the instrument of art , and the figure of abstract science , should come to bear a symbolical and even mystical character ; ancl accordingly these emblems became peculiar in their signification , and sacred in their use ; they are traced in every land and in every period— they are found in the temple of the Hindoo , ancl in the Christian cathedral—hi the pyramids of Egypt , and the halls of the Alhambra—in the noblest architectural works of ancient Greece , ancl in the mysterious round towers of
Ireland ; and the silent spread of the deep-set principles of peace is curiously evidenced by our finding the most mysterious emblem of our Order engraven on the weapons of the most remote and least knoivn nations of the east .
It was thus that in the union of operative art with the highest speculative principles of morality , Freemasonry did its work—as science spread , and art was fostered , that was no longer necessary , but though , as a body , our Order abandoned the operative , it has still preserved the speculative portion of its institution , and ceases not , in its rites and ceremonies , to inculcate those divine lessons of morality ancl virtue , the observance of which , as it formed the rule , so it constituted the bond of defence of our ancient Brethren . Ancl if Freemasonry instils into the mind the sacred
precepts of justice , honour , and mercy , as found in that sacred volume , which , in her Lodges , is never closed ; if she continually appeals to that book , not for the purposes of polemical controversy , or the discussion of mere doctrinal subtleties , but as the rule and guide of all our actions— , if still , under the guidance of the principles of moral truth , she directs the minds of her votaries to the cultivation of the liberal arts and sciences , to the improvement of those wondrous faculties with which
God has endowed the beings formed after his own image , that they may thereby be the better enabled to show forth his glory , ancl promote the good of their fellow creatures . If the objects of Freemasonry are to purify the mind of man from every malignant passion , and to prepare it for the reception of truth ancl virtue , and all this only as a means of instruction how to meet that last awful change of his inevitable destiny : and if , by these gradations , his eyes are eventually fixed on the most VOL . III . n D