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Article CHAPTER II. ← Page 2 of 5 →
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Chapter Ii.
avowed purpose of producing a genial effect on the morals of the people ; and is displayed in those valuable publications on the subject , which have received the sanction and patronage of successive Grand Masters , and are considered to contain the fundamental principles of the Order . These books are open to the inspection of the public ; ancl their operation is by no means equivocal . It is not to be believed that they are read only by Masonsand that uninitiated persons feel no interest in
, their perusal . They are read more universally than is generally supposed , and the effects they have produced are not hidden under a bushel . A comparison between the public feeling with regard to Freemasonry in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries , will place this result in a clear and intelligible light . In the eighteenth century Freemasonry was regarded with great suspicion . It was believed to be a vehicle for the inculcation of principles
which were opposed to human happiness and the general welfare of society . Some thought it a system of alchymy and superstition—others pronounced it to be concealed atheism or infidelity—some supposed it to be political and revolutionary—while others , more indulgent , considered it to be a mere convivial society , which afforded materials for spending
a social evening with a company of known friends ; but all pronounced it to be useless—a waste of time—and an insult to the softer sex—of that sex which Ledyard , the universal traveller , justly says , are " in all countries civil , obliging , tender , and humane . " And he adds , that " in wandering over the barren plains of inhospitable Denmark , through honest Sweden , frozen Lapland , rude and churlish Finland , ancl the wide spread regions of the wandering Tartar ; if hungry , dry , cold , wet , or
sick , the women have ever been friendly to me , and uniformly so ; and to add to this virtue , so worthy of the appellation of benevolence , these actions have been performed in so free and so kind a manner , that if I was thirsty , I drank the sweetest draught ; and if hungry , I ate the coarsest food with a double relish . " This confession is highly honourable to the sex , ancl is , in fact , the exercise of practical Freemasonry . At the present timea radical change has taken place in public opinion
, on the merits of Freemasonry , which has been produced chiefly through the influence of masonic publications . The Order is no longer proscribed as a baleful institution , unproductive of useful fruits ; nor is it believed to be either infidel , superstitious , political , or revolutionary . Its public administrations are attended freely by all classes of people—¦ its members enjoy the respect of the public—and its influence is allowed freely to operate for the general benefit of the community .
The second point proposed for our consideration is example ; which , being publicly enunciated hy the fraternity , is calculated , by its influence , to produce the most salutary effects on society at large ; thus showing , in a striking point of view , the essential benefits which it derives from the operation of Freemasonry . Example is all powerful in virtue or in vice . The human mind is weak ancl unstable , and man being an imitative animal , is easily led away by appearances . How very essential it isthenthat those appearances should range themselves on
, , the side of virtue . As the parent is , so will the child become . The servant will be like his master ; and those who occupy the superior ranks of life ivill always lead their inferiors to good or evil . Here , then , we see the advantages that society derives from the beneficent example of Masons in their brotherly love—their mutual assistance—their support of each other in prosperity and adversity , in trouble and in joy .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Chapter Ii.
avowed purpose of producing a genial effect on the morals of the people ; and is displayed in those valuable publications on the subject , which have received the sanction and patronage of successive Grand Masters , and are considered to contain the fundamental principles of the Order . These books are open to the inspection of the public ; ancl their operation is by no means equivocal . It is not to be believed that they are read only by Masonsand that uninitiated persons feel no interest in
, their perusal . They are read more universally than is generally supposed , and the effects they have produced are not hidden under a bushel . A comparison between the public feeling with regard to Freemasonry in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries , will place this result in a clear and intelligible light . In the eighteenth century Freemasonry was regarded with great suspicion . It was believed to be a vehicle for the inculcation of principles
which were opposed to human happiness and the general welfare of society . Some thought it a system of alchymy and superstition—others pronounced it to be concealed atheism or infidelity—some supposed it to be political and revolutionary—while others , more indulgent , considered it to be a mere convivial society , which afforded materials for spending
a social evening with a company of known friends ; but all pronounced it to be useless—a waste of time—and an insult to the softer sex—of that sex which Ledyard , the universal traveller , justly says , are " in all countries civil , obliging , tender , and humane . " And he adds , that " in wandering over the barren plains of inhospitable Denmark , through honest Sweden , frozen Lapland , rude and churlish Finland , ancl the wide spread regions of the wandering Tartar ; if hungry , dry , cold , wet , or
sick , the women have ever been friendly to me , and uniformly so ; and to add to this virtue , so worthy of the appellation of benevolence , these actions have been performed in so free and so kind a manner , that if I was thirsty , I drank the sweetest draught ; and if hungry , I ate the coarsest food with a double relish . " This confession is highly honourable to the sex , ancl is , in fact , the exercise of practical Freemasonry . At the present timea radical change has taken place in public opinion
, on the merits of Freemasonry , which has been produced chiefly through the influence of masonic publications . The Order is no longer proscribed as a baleful institution , unproductive of useful fruits ; nor is it believed to be either infidel , superstitious , political , or revolutionary . Its public administrations are attended freely by all classes of people—¦ its members enjoy the respect of the public—and its influence is allowed freely to operate for the general benefit of the community .
The second point proposed for our consideration is example ; which , being publicly enunciated hy the fraternity , is calculated , by its influence , to produce the most salutary effects on society at large ; thus showing , in a striking point of view , the essential benefits which it derives from the operation of Freemasonry . Example is all powerful in virtue or in vice . The human mind is weak ancl unstable , and man being an imitative animal , is easily led away by appearances . How very essential it isthenthat those appearances should range themselves on
, , the side of virtue . As the parent is , so will the child become . The servant will be like his master ; and those who occupy the superior ranks of life ivill always lead their inferiors to good or evil . Here , then , we see the advantages that society derives from the beneficent example of Masons in their brotherly love—their mutual assistance—their support of each other in prosperity and adversity , in trouble and in joy .