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Article MASONIC DIDACTICS; ← Page 2 of 3 →
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Masonic Didactics;
stedfast in "doing good , " yet the nature of man is so prone to do evil , that , in due course of time and events , the bad would predominate ; and such an issue triumphantly prevailing would , in all reason , materially injure the established order and welfare of society . This inference is consistent with the Apostle ' s apothegm : "Evil communications corrupt good manners . " Whereas , by wise laws , and virtuous institutions , the good are protected and encouraged ; whilst the bad are kept in awe b dread of the executive
y a power . Thus the tempers of all men are curbed by a judicious government , and to each is allotted a sphere wherein every person ' s talents and ingenuity may be displayed . " What , " says an old writer , "is judicature instituted for , but to protect the liberties and morals of the people ; and indeed , religion should produce the latter effect , without any subsidiary authority . " What are the rocks and banks
steep upon our coasts but a prudent provision of nature to guard our lands against an overflux of the absorbing element . So , too , are men ' s aspiring and wicked intentions opposed by the restraints of justice and the interference of her ministers , and thereby all classes are preserved from an insubordinate inundation . The statutes of the constitution , and the precepts of Hol y Church , then , having set bounds to our desires , and traced out the proper line of demarcation , it becomes a paramount duty not to overstep them but to be submissive and obey , bearing in mind the great responsibility which is attached to our conduct either way . For
" Interest Magistratus tueri bonos , Animadvertere . in malos . " 'Tis the Magistrate's concern the good to save , The vicious to visit with the terror of the Laws Author . No . VI . —POETRY THE OFFSPRING OF GENIUS . Prudens renrehendet versus inertes . —Horace . Genius loves not jingling rhyme . —Author .
POETRY may he defined to be a certain harmonious arrangement of ideas and words . It is most eminent when the product of a genius endowed by nature . Some have supposed it to ori ginate in divine inspiration , such is the peculiar melody with which , like its sister music , it charms all high-wrought minds . While others , not ascribing to it so high a source , consider that it springs out of an enthusiastic temperament , wild in its nature , though refined and polished by art and literature .
One fact is , however , positive , that , from many ebullitions now extant men at a very early period of the creation , discovered the suavity and harmony of conversing in numbers . According to modern taste these primitive essays were probabl y devoid of worth and beauty ; but they wanted not the genuine spirit of Poetry . Education and its handmaid civilisation may certainly give the finishing polish to such rude productionsbut neither can lthe absence of the real material
, suppy . A taste for poetry so universally prevails , that barbarous nations and other savages adopt it in their war songs and other martial strains ; such is the stimulating impetus which it gives even in a crude state to the mind and actions of man . Ancient history seems to favor an illiberal opinion of some philosophers , " that poetry , like the other fine arts , arrives only at perfection
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Didactics;
stedfast in "doing good , " yet the nature of man is so prone to do evil , that , in due course of time and events , the bad would predominate ; and such an issue triumphantly prevailing would , in all reason , materially injure the established order and welfare of society . This inference is consistent with the Apostle ' s apothegm : "Evil communications corrupt good manners . " Whereas , by wise laws , and virtuous institutions , the good are protected and encouraged ; whilst the bad are kept in awe b dread of the executive
y a power . Thus the tempers of all men are curbed by a judicious government , and to each is allotted a sphere wherein every person ' s talents and ingenuity may be displayed . " What , " says an old writer , "is judicature instituted for , but to protect the liberties and morals of the people ; and indeed , religion should produce the latter effect , without any subsidiary authority . " What are the rocks and banks
steep upon our coasts but a prudent provision of nature to guard our lands against an overflux of the absorbing element . So , too , are men ' s aspiring and wicked intentions opposed by the restraints of justice and the interference of her ministers , and thereby all classes are preserved from an insubordinate inundation . The statutes of the constitution , and the precepts of Hol y Church , then , having set bounds to our desires , and traced out the proper line of demarcation , it becomes a paramount duty not to overstep them but to be submissive and obey , bearing in mind the great responsibility which is attached to our conduct either way . For
" Interest Magistratus tueri bonos , Animadvertere . in malos . " 'Tis the Magistrate's concern the good to save , The vicious to visit with the terror of the Laws Author . No . VI . —POETRY THE OFFSPRING OF GENIUS . Prudens renrehendet versus inertes . —Horace . Genius loves not jingling rhyme . —Author .
POETRY may he defined to be a certain harmonious arrangement of ideas and words . It is most eminent when the product of a genius endowed by nature . Some have supposed it to ori ginate in divine inspiration , such is the peculiar melody with which , like its sister music , it charms all high-wrought minds . While others , not ascribing to it so high a source , consider that it springs out of an enthusiastic temperament , wild in its nature , though refined and polished by art and literature .
One fact is , however , positive , that , from many ebullitions now extant men at a very early period of the creation , discovered the suavity and harmony of conversing in numbers . According to modern taste these primitive essays were probabl y devoid of worth and beauty ; but they wanted not the genuine spirit of Poetry . Education and its handmaid civilisation may certainly give the finishing polish to such rude productionsbut neither can lthe absence of the real material
, suppy . A taste for poetry so universally prevails , that barbarous nations and other savages adopt it in their war songs and other martial strains ; such is the stimulating impetus which it gives even in a crude state to the mind and actions of man . Ancient history seems to favor an illiberal opinion of some philosophers , " that poetry , like the other fine arts , arrives only at perfection