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Article ON FREEMASONRY, ← Page 3 of 6 →
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On Freemasonry,
hut you may be invested with a crown of olive ( corona oleagina ) as a recompense for having attempted the destruction of a benevolent society . " Tuque dum procedis , lo triumphe , Non semel dicemus , lo triumphe , Civitas omnis ; dabimusque Divis Thura benignis . "—HORACE . And if any one should impertinently ask , in the language of an offended
khan to his slave , " What dirt are you eating ? " tell him it is the earth-born giant Freemasonry which you are raging to devour . Howl away then ! anathematize the Order as much as you can ! unburden your distended budget of conjectures , as Epimetheus did the box of Pandora , no matter how unfounded or absurd ! Let your first and last breath be vituperation ; and see if Freemasonry will not eventually succumb . But you would do well to consider , that nothing can produce peace of mind , or lasting reputationbut the triumph of principle . And if you doubt
, your ability to accomplish the total subversion of Freemasonry , we think you entertain a reasonable conjecture . We have heard of clever artists who projected the extinction of the sun by pelting it with snowballs , because its light was too powerful for their organs of vision . It was a sublime idea . They have immortalized themselves by the vastness of the project . Only consider then , dearest friends , what notoriety you may acquire by a similar attempt to demolish our noble Order . What ! do you say you have already failed more than once ? Perhaps so ; but it you are desirous ofthe honour
of being classed with the venerable philosophers of Laputa , try again ; a new attack may be more successful . Look at the renown you would acquire by its destruction . And we would again advise you not to be particular about the means you adopt ,
because your reward will be certain and immediate . Down with the rascally Freemasons at any rate ! and you will enjoy the credit of having prostrated an ancient superstition , which had been extensively applied to the purposes of ameliorating the condition of society . And your triumphal car will be surrounded with destitute widows , dissolved in tears , lamenting the loss of the sustenance which you have torn from their grasp;—with male and female orphans wailing for the bread of which yon have robbed them , and clamouring for the comforts of a home;—with aged men smiting
their breasts in despair , and sinking into the grave for want of the support which you have taken away;—and with unfortunates calling upon you to restore the periodical benevolences by which their sorrows were lightened and their distresses relieved ! This will be your reward . And surely it must he highly gratifying , or you would not take such pains in its pursuit . Now we will suppose , in another point of view , that Freemasonry contains abundant references to the historical and typical portions of the Old
Testament , and to the morality of the Gospel . What of that ! Are you to be governed by a string of ancient prejudices and worn-out traditions ? What are the old law and Gospel to you , imbued , as you are , with a wholesome tincture of the new light ? Indeed , one of your number expressly affirms that "the Gospel was not intended to reform the world ; " and that " God is forming a new creation out of the ruins of the old ! " Whence he sagely deduces that " Freemasonry can never purge the conscience from guilt . " ( See Mr . E . C . Fryer ' s Substance of a Letter , p . S , et . passim . )
And , therefore , away with Freemasonry , and the Gospel , and the Jewish law , " to the moles and to the bats , and to the dark caverns whence they sprang , " ( Ibid . p . 11 , ) as a series of antiquated notions which are by no means adapted to the march of mind displayed in the present enlightened
era . Shall we catalogue your worthy accomplices ?—No , beloved friends , we are determined not to expose you , if you have sense enough not to expose
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry,
hut you may be invested with a crown of olive ( corona oleagina ) as a recompense for having attempted the destruction of a benevolent society . " Tuque dum procedis , lo triumphe , Non semel dicemus , lo triumphe , Civitas omnis ; dabimusque Divis Thura benignis . "—HORACE . And if any one should impertinently ask , in the language of an offended
khan to his slave , " What dirt are you eating ? " tell him it is the earth-born giant Freemasonry which you are raging to devour . Howl away then ! anathematize the Order as much as you can ! unburden your distended budget of conjectures , as Epimetheus did the box of Pandora , no matter how unfounded or absurd ! Let your first and last breath be vituperation ; and see if Freemasonry will not eventually succumb . But you would do well to consider , that nothing can produce peace of mind , or lasting reputationbut the triumph of principle . And if you doubt
, your ability to accomplish the total subversion of Freemasonry , we think you entertain a reasonable conjecture . We have heard of clever artists who projected the extinction of the sun by pelting it with snowballs , because its light was too powerful for their organs of vision . It was a sublime idea . They have immortalized themselves by the vastness of the project . Only consider then , dearest friends , what notoriety you may acquire by a similar attempt to demolish our noble Order . What ! do you say you have already failed more than once ? Perhaps so ; but it you are desirous ofthe honour
of being classed with the venerable philosophers of Laputa , try again ; a new attack may be more successful . Look at the renown you would acquire by its destruction . And we would again advise you not to be particular about the means you adopt ,
because your reward will be certain and immediate . Down with the rascally Freemasons at any rate ! and you will enjoy the credit of having prostrated an ancient superstition , which had been extensively applied to the purposes of ameliorating the condition of society . And your triumphal car will be surrounded with destitute widows , dissolved in tears , lamenting the loss of the sustenance which you have torn from their grasp;—with male and female orphans wailing for the bread of which yon have robbed them , and clamouring for the comforts of a home;—with aged men smiting
their breasts in despair , and sinking into the grave for want of the support which you have taken away;—and with unfortunates calling upon you to restore the periodical benevolences by which their sorrows were lightened and their distresses relieved ! This will be your reward . And surely it must he highly gratifying , or you would not take such pains in its pursuit . Now we will suppose , in another point of view , that Freemasonry contains abundant references to the historical and typical portions of the Old
Testament , and to the morality of the Gospel . What of that ! Are you to be governed by a string of ancient prejudices and worn-out traditions ? What are the old law and Gospel to you , imbued , as you are , with a wholesome tincture of the new light ? Indeed , one of your number expressly affirms that "the Gospel was not intended to reform the world ; " and that " God is forming a new creation out of the ruins of the old ! " Whence he sagely deduces that " Freemasonry can never purge the conscience from guilt . " ( See Mr . E . C . Fryer ' s Substance of a Letter , p . S , et . passim . )
And , therefore , away with Freemasonry , and the Gospel , and the Jewish law , " to the moles and to the bats , and to the dark caverns whence they sprang , " ( Ibid . p . 11 , ) as a series of antiquated notions which are by no means adapted to the march of mind displayed in the present enlightened
era . Shall we catalogue your worthy accomplices ?—No , beloved friends , we are determined not to expose you , if you have sense enough not to expose