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Article THE GENERAL ASSURANCE ADVOCATE. ← Page 2 of 8 →
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The General Assurance Advocate.
may be sufficient to say that reflecting men , while rejecting that which is intrinsically bad , see the impossibility of urging on the world to its own good by trusting to mere philanthropic motives , and not only feel justified in , but see the necessity of , setting about the work with such instruments as are ready to their hands , by waking the interested feelings and hopes of individual interest which prompt commercial
movements , and which , though when misdirected ancl abused , produce avarice , selfishness , and hardness of heart , are capable of being directed for the good of all , in consonance with the design of that power which
has done nothing unwisely , and has implanted feelings tending to the aggrandizement of self in the human mind for the best aud wisest purposes . If all men were benevolent and disinterested—if all were truly wise—if all saw that the good of all is not only consistent with , but necessary to the good of the individual , it would be unnecessary to advocate Assurance as a means of progress , as a measure of security , or
as a safeguard against destitution ; for then the loss of one would be regarded as the loss of all , ancl the common stock of a people would be applied to obviate the suffering and loss arising from exceptional mischance or misfortune . But that is not the case ; and when disinterested philanthropic charity—when feelings of universal brotherhood cannot be relied upon , it is not only excusable , but we are imperatively
called upon to endeavour , if possible , to produce these beneficial results by an appeal to hope and fear—to a desire for reward , ancl a dread of suffering—qualities not bad in themselves , although founded upon the selfish part of human nature , and not so estimable or loveable as those which take their rise in the higher regions of moral and sympathetic feeling . The truth is , that there is work to be done for the good of
humanity beyond the pale of the controversies of theologians , out of the sphere of the bickerings of political partisans , within the boundaries of which it is neither our desire nor our intention to enter ; and those who look upon the suffering which is rampant around , and who see that by foresight and sagacity much of it might , by the sufferers themselves , be prevented , feel that they should not be particularly squeamish about
the tools , but that relying upon the rightfulness of their own feelings , the propriety of their own objects , they should use those instruments which are ready to their hands , without waiting for the development of those higher moral agents which it would be more satisfactory to deal with , but which are not at present to be found ih the elements of society in sufficient abundance to be efficiently acted upon ., When to
these explanations it is added that the addition of the " General Assurance Advocate" will not in any way interfere with the efficiency of the " Freemasons' Quarterly Review , " that the same care for the interests of the Order , the same watchfulness over the proceedings of its authorities ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The General Assurance Advocate.
may be sufficient to say that reflecting men , while rejecting that which is intrinsically bad , see the impossibility of urging on the world to its own good by trusting to mere philanthropic motives , and not only feel justified in , but see the necessity of , setting about the work with such instruments as are ready to their hands , by waking the interested feelings and hopes of individual interest which prompt commercial
movements , and which , though when misdirected ancl abused , produce avarice , selfishness , and hardness of heart , are capable of being directed for the good of all , in consonance with the design of that power which
has done nothing unwisely , and has implanted feelings tending to the aggrandizement of self in the human mind for the best aud wisest purposes . If all men were benevolent and disinterested—if all were truly wise—if all saw that the good of all is not only consistent with , but necessary to the good of the individual , it would be unnecessary to advocate Assurance as a means of progress , as a measure of security , or
as a safeguard against destitution ; for then the loss of one would be regarded as the loss of all , ancl the common stock of a people would be applied to obviate the suffering and loss arising from exceptional mischance or misfortune . But that is not the case ; and when disinterested philanthropic charity—when feelings of universal brotherhood cannot be relied upon , it is not only excusable , but we are imperatively
called upon to endeavour , if possible , to produce these beneficial results by an appeal to hope and fear—to a desire for reward , ancl a dread of suffering—qualities not bad in themselves , although founded upon the selfish part of human nature , and not so estimable or loveable as those which take their rise in the higher regions of moral and sympathetic feeling . The truth is , that there is work to be done for the good of
humanity beyond the pale of the controversies of theologians , out of the sphere of the bickerings of political partisans , within the boundaries of which it is neither our desire nor our intention to enter ; and those who look upon the suffering which is rampant around , and who see that by foresight and sagacity much of it might , by the sufferers themselves , be prevented , feel that they should not be particularly squeamish about
the tools , but that relying upon the rightfulness of their own feelings , the propriety of their own objects , they should use those instruments which are ready to their hands , without waiting for the development of those higher moral agents which it would be more satisfactory to deal with , but which are not at present to be found ih the elements of society in sufficient abundance to be efficiently acted upon ., When to
these explanations it is added that the addition of the " General Assurance Advocate" will not in any way interfere with the efficiency of the " Freemasons' Quarterly Review , " that the same care for the interests of the Order , the same watchfulness over the proceedings of its authorities ,