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Article ON FREEMASONRY. ← Page 8 of 9 →
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On Freemasonry.
don ; but the work which crowns his name with immortality is St . Paul ' s Cathedral , inferior onl y in size to St . Peter ' s at Rome . This magnificent structure began in the year 1675 , was finished under one architect , the actual Grand Master of Freemasons ; one Bishop of London , Dr . Henry
Compton , in the short space of 35 years . The illustrious Wren reposes beneath its shade —he needs no other monument . In tracing the progress of architecture from the rude design of the hut , through the gorgeous eras of the massy Egyptian , the sacred Jewishthe statelGrecianthe
com-, y , posite Roman , the heavy Saxon , the debased Italian , the ornamented English—the revival of the ancient styles up to the present age , we have , in fact , traced the progress of our Order , which has fluctuated between the extremes of
princel y patronage and cruel persecution , to its now immutable state of honour and stability . Its ori g in is a mystery , its preservation a miracle ; persecution never drew the sword in its defence , blood hath never been shed to accelerate its progress . It hath disarmed cruelty by patience , ignorance by the Divine Li ght of Truth ; superstition b y knowledge .
Its virtues render it beloved by the good ; its unostentatious yet frequent charities , are its silent blazoners . Should the philosopher demand the utility of the Order , let him remember that the liberal arts have been preserved b y it . Should the cynic sneer , let him view the asylum of unprotected innocence erected by the Miison ' s bounty ; soon to
be increased , we trust , by a refuge for decayed and worth y Brethren in their age . To the worthy and deserving alone , our ranks are open . Without courting proselytes , we may fairl y state the advantages which Masonry presents : knowledge , to which the uninitiated are strangers ; sublime and majestic as its foundation , truth ; friendshi p , hallowed b y the purest sentiments , and the means of gratif ying the noblest impulse of human nature—the desire of doing good .
ILLUSTRATION . HAIL Masonry ! thy sacred art had birth When the glad Angels hymn'd the young born earth ; Divinely fair , o ' er Eden ' s vale it shone , A ray of light from the Eternal ' s throne , To guide mankind in knowledge and in truth , Their prop in age , the safeguard of their youth . 'Twos thine to see the first rude hut arise , The earliest shelter from inclement skies ;
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry.
don ; but the work which crowns his name with immortality is St . Paul ' s Cathedral , inferior onl y in size to St . Peter ' s at Rome . This magnificent structure began in the year 1675 , was finished under one architect , the actual Grand Master of Freemasons ; one Bishop of London , Dr . Henry
Compton , in the short space of 35 years . The illustrious Wren reposes beneath its shade —he needs no other monument . In tracing the progress of architecture from the rude design of the hut , through the gorgeous eras of the massy Egyptian , the sacred Jewishthe statelGrecianthe
com-, y , posite Roman , the heavy Saxon , the debased Italian , the ornamented English—the revival of the ancient styles up to the present age , we have , in fact , traced the progress of our Order , which has fluctuated between the extremes of
princel y patronage and cruel persecution , to its now immutable state of honour and stability . Its ori g in is a mystery , its preservation a miracle ; persecution never drew the sword in its defence , blood hath never been shed to accelerate its progress . It hath disarmed cruelty by patience , ignorance by the Divine Li ght of Truth ; superstition b y knowledge .
Its virtues render it beloved by the good ; its unostentatious yet frequent charities , are its silent blazoners . Should the philosopher demand the utility of the Order , let him remember that the liberal arts have been preserved b y it . Should the cynic sneer , let him view the asylum of unprotected innocence erected by the Miison ' s bounty ; soon to
be increased , we trust , by a refuge for decayed and worth y Brethren in their age . To the worthy and deserving alone , our ranks are open . Without courting proselytes , we may fairl y state the advantages which Masonry presents : knowledge , to which the uninitiated are strangers ; sublime and majestic as its foundation , truth ; friendshi p , hallowed b y the purest sentiments , and the means of gratif ying the noblest impulse of human nature—the desire of doing good .
ILLUSTRATION . HAIL Masonry ! thy sacred art had birth When the glad Angels hymn'd the young born earth ; Divinely fair , o ' er Eden ' s vale it shone , A ray of light from the Eternal ' s throne , To guide mankind in knowledge and in truth , Their prop in age , the safeguard of their youth . 'Twos thine to see the first rude hut arise , The earliest shelter from inclement skies ;