Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
India.
What there occurs you must take on trust from me . I , for the time , setting aside Masonry , stand before you as a Christian man ; I am myself looking forward to eternal salvation through a crucified Redeemer alone , and in comparison with Him all is but as dust and ashes . Need I say then , that if 1 , who have been a Mason for many years , nearly a quarter of a century in fact , had seen aught in masonry , anti-Christian or irreligiousyou would not see me here in this positionand clad in
, , these garments . No , had I seen it , I would renounce these badges and trample them under foot . The origin of the charges thus made against us is based on an assumption , an erroneous assumption , viz ., that Masonry is a system of religion , whereas it is no such thing . It is founded on precepts approved in , and drawn from , the volume of the sacred law , which you have seen carried in procession , and which is never closed in our lodges . It has
many customs closely connected with scripture , because our Order flourished , and was consolidated in the times of which we have no clear record but the Holy Scriptures , and when the world had not been blessed with Revelation , the types of which were not then even clearly discernible in the glimmering light of prophecy . Thus it is that Masonry , though closely allied to Christianity , is not a religious system of any kind , it neither supersedessubvertsnor is in opposition to any religion
what-, , ever . But it may be asked if Masonry is not this , what is it ? It is , as described in our writings , a beautiful system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols . This it truly is , and it is , moreover , supported by the purest principles of virtue ancl piety , but brotherly love , belief and truth are its foundation . I believe it is hardly needful for me
to point out , that though we are called upon to act on these principles more especially to one another , our dealings with the world are conducted on the same foundation , and while we are bound to relieve the brother who has in his day of prosperity contributed by his monthly mite to mitigate the distresses of others , we turn away no one of whatever denomination from the lodge door . In proof of this I confidently appeal to the large sums given by masonic lodges in all cases of public distress , as well as of private sorrow and want ; and those who have looked over
the list of subscriptions for the distressed Irish and Scotch , will find the Masons are no niggard contributors . It is for this reason , and because ours is an Order promoting peace and harmony , that the highest as well as the lowly of the land join our bands . We number among us some of the most respected names of England , aucl of those are the head of the army and of the church . His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury is a Mason , His Grace the Duke of
Wellington is a Mason also . The family of His Majesty George the third were our Patrons aud Masters , of these one was Patron of the order , and two , viz . the Dukes of Sussex and Kent the parent of our revered Sovereign , were our Grand Masters . Many other names , as eminent for piety as for rank , might be cited . In the same way , and for the same reasons we , as an Order , are recognized and protected by acts of legislature . When in times of difficulty and troubleall other
, secret societies have been abolished by law , and attendance at them rendered penal , our society has always been especially ancl honorably excepted from the statute book . There is , however , one leading feature of our Order which lays it open to the accusations to which I have above alluded—its universality . It is on certain conditions confined to no one tribe , tongue , kindred , or
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
India.
What there occurs you must take on trust from me . I , for the time , setting aside Masonry , stand before you as a Christian man ; I am myself looking forward to eternal salvation through a crucified Redeemer alone , and in comparison with Him all is but as dust and ashes . Need I say then , that if 1 , who have been a Mason for many years , nearly a quarter of a century in fact , had seen aught in masonry , anti-Christian or irreligiousyou would not see me here in this positionand clad in
, , these garments . No , had I seen it , I would renounce these badges and trample them under foot . The origin of the charges thus made against us is based on an assumption , an erroneous assumption , viz ., that Masonry is a system of religion , whereas it is no such thing . It is founded on precepts approved in , and drawn from , the volume of the sacred law , which you have seen carried in procession , and which is never closed in our lodges . It has
many customs closely connected with scripture , because our Order flourished , and was consolidated in the times of which we have no clear record but the Holy Scriptures , and when the world had not been blessed with Revelation , the types of which were not then even clearly discernible in the glimmering light of prophecy . Thus it is that Masonry , though closely allied to Christianity , is not a religious system of any kind , it neither supersedessubvertsnor is in opposition to any religion
what-, , ever . But it may be asked if Masonry is not this , what is it ? It is , as described in our writings , a beautiful system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols . This it truly is , and it is , moreover , supported by the purest principles of virtue ancl piety , but brotherly love , belief and truth are its foundation . I believe it is hardly needful for me
to point out , that though we are called upon to act on these principles more especially to one another , our dealings with the world are conducted on the same foundation , and while we are bound to relieve the brother who has in his day of prosperity contributed by his monthly mite to mitigate the distresses of others , we turn away no one of whatever denomination from the lodge door . In proof of this I confidently appeal to the large sums given by masonic lodges in all cases of public distress , as well as of private sorrow and want ; and those who have looked over
the list of subscriptions for the distressed Irish and Scotch , will find the Masons are no niggard contributors . It is for this reason , and because ours is an Order promoting peace and harmony , that the highest as well as the lowly of the land join our bands . We number among us some of the most respected names of England , aucl of those are the head of the army and of the church . His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury is a Mason , His Grace the Duke of
Wellington is a Mason also . The family of His Majesty George the third were our Patrons aud Masters , of these one was Patron of the order , and two , viz . the Dukes of Sussex and Kent the parent of our revered Sovereign , were our Grand Masters . Many other names , as eminent for piety as for rank , might be cited . In the same way , and for the same reasons we , as an Order , are recognized and protected by acts of legislature . When in times of difficulty and troubleall other
, secret societies have been abolished by law , and attendance at them rendered penal , our society has always been especially ancl honorably excepted from the statute book . There is , however , one leading feature of our Order which lays it open to the accusations to which I have above alluded—its universality . It is on certain conditions confined to no one tribe , tongue , kindred , or