Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Didactics; Or, Short Moral Essays Of Universal Adaptation.
MASONIC DIDACTICS ; OR , SHORT MORAL ESSAYS OF UNIVERSAL ADAPTATION .
BY BROTHER II . B . SLADE , LL . B . ' Masonry is a peculiar system of morals . " NO . XXXI . —RETIREMENT AND LITERATURE CONDUCIVE TO PEACEABLENESS OF LIFE AND SERENITY OF MIND .
PlacWos se _ vat secura quies . —SBSKOA . Oh ' how happy is the man , if he could appreciate the privilege—who , blessed by competency and contentment , spends his days in the classical retirement of rural shades , secured from the apprehensions of indigence , the ceaseless bickerings of conventional associations , ancl able to indulge which exalt the soul refine the human
in those literary occupations nature , and fit them for the hig her destinies of heaven . The imnd , en-aged in no other pursuit but that of virtue and wisdom , enjoys a tranquillity which is denied to a life of the bustle and anxiety produced l . v ¦ nrnviflino- for dailv wants , and to-morrow ' s supplies . Away from the
"busy haunts of men , " the mental capacities can be solely directec to the attainment of those good and wholesome maxims which purify the inherent debased nature of mankind ; or , perhaps , to the employment of its active powers in developing and assisting those innocent diversions , or more profitable , but peaceful avocations , which more strongly recommend , to some tastes , the pastoral than the commercial life , although the transactions of the latter may be attended with greater lucrative results . often attainable in the country
Ease and self-possession of mind are , whilst they are frequently banished amid the din and clamours of the town In the calm solitude of retirement , enjoying freedom from the slavish chains of custom and fashion , a well-cultivated understanding will find a pleasure totally unknown to the thoughtless and dissipated votaries of folly . No jarring strifes of envy , no petty jealousies , no from the minded richnor lectful repulses from
pitiful sneers coarse- , neg the pampered man of power and place , will intermingle their bitter drugs in the cup of its uniform , undisturbed , and serene tranquillity . All will be placid , and the current of life gently ebb unpolluted by the junction of streams less pure and more turgid . tne ami
But such a seclusion can only be properly esteemed by simple the intellectual ; ancl , however ordinary minds may picture to their imagination pastoral pleasures , rural employments , or the devotion ot the ascetic to literature and the polite arts , such chaste and refined amusements and labours would quickly pall on the vitiated taste of the everyday man of the world . His equivocal habits , and artificially-excited desires , would discover no peace in such rational and innocent engagements , and he would soon again be absorbed in the vortex of sensuality , or mercantile speculation . So it is , therefore , that unmolested repose can be duly appreciated only by the mind active in its operations , Du .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Didactics; Or, Short Moral Essays Of Universal Adaptation.
MASONIC DIDACTICS ; OR , SHORT MORAL ESSAYS OF UNIVERSAL ADAPTATION .
BY BROTHER II . B . SLADE , LL . B . ' Masonry is a peculiar system of morals . " NO . XXXI . —RETIREMENT AND LITERATURE CONDUCIVE TO PEACEABLENESS OF LIFE AND SERENITY OF MIND .
PlacWos se _ vat secura quies . —SBSKOA . Oh ' how happy is the man , if he could appreciate the privilege—who , blessed by competency and contentment , spends his days in the classical retirement of rural shades , secured from the apprehensions of indigence , the ceaseless bickerings of conventional associations , ancl able to indulge which exalt the soul refine the human
in those literary occupations nature , and fit them for the hig her destinies of heaven . The imnd , en-aged in no other pursuit but that of virtue and wisdom , enjoys a tranquillity which is denied to a life of the bustle and anxiety produced l . v ¦ nrnviflino- for dailv wants , and to-morrow ' s supplies . Away from the
"busy haunts of men , " the mental capacities can be solely directec to the attainment of those good and wholesome maxims which purify the inherent debased nature of mankind ; or , perhaps , to the employment of its active powers in developing and assisting those innocent diversions , or more profitable , but peaceful avocations , which more strongly recommend , to some tastes , the pastoral than the commercial life , although the transactions of the latter may be attended with greater lucrative results . often attainable in the country
Ease and self-possession of mind are , whilst they are frequently banished amid the din and clamours of the town In the calm solitude of retirement , enjoying freedom from the slavish chains of custom and fashion , a well-cultivated understanding will find a pleasure totally unknown to the thoughtless and dissipated votaries of folly . No jarring strifes of envy , no petty jealousies , no from the minded richnor lectful repulses from
pitiful sneers coarse- , neg the pampered man of power and place , will intermingle their bitter drugs in the cup of its uniform , undisturbed , and serene tranquillity . All will be placid , and the current of life gently ebb unpolluted by the junction of streams less pure and more turgid . tne ami
But such a seclusion can only be properly esteemed by simple the intellectual ; ancl , however ordinary minds may picture to their imagination pastoral pleasures , rural employments , or the devotion ot the ascetic to literature and the polite arts , such chaste and refined amusements and labours would quickly pall on the vitiated taste of the everyday man of the world . His equivocal habits , and artificially-excited desires , would discover no peace in such rational and innocent engagements , and he would soon again be absorbed in the vortex of sensuality , or mercantile speculation . So it is , therefore , that unmolested repose can be duly appreciated only by the mind active in its operations , Du .