Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Sermon,
disputes , ancl all secrets but such as any worthy man may know , ~ on the same terms as they themselves received them . Having then shown that secrecy is not necessarily improper in'fitself , but that it is capable of being applied to the most righteous as well as to the most flagitious purposes , I leave you , my Christian brethren who are not of our order , to judge , from the characters of those who preside over usand the principles we openlprofessto which of these purposes
, y , it is most likely to be applied by a set of men whose bye-laws are every ivhere foundetl entirely on social order , ancl whose constitutions are framed with the strictest subservience to the laws ancl ordinances of the realm . I therefore crave your further attention to a few observations upon tbe ancient and honourable Society of Free and Accepted Masons . Of its antiquity I can say nothing , without reference to those sources of information which are necessarily withholden from the popular
world . It is honourable ; for in all ages since its institution , the most honourable men have borne testimony to its purity and excellence , by belonging to it themselves : and kings have not blushed to call us brethren . Their late Majesties , George IV . and William IV ., were both patrons of the ( Jrder , ancl his late Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex was our Grand Master . Her Majesty ' s father , the late Duke of Kent , was a Member ;
and her Majesty the Queen Dowager is I'atroness of the Freemasons ' Girls' School , and a liberel donor to the Asylum for the Aged ancl Decayed Freemason . The Craft is at present presided over by noblemen of distinguished character , and the provinces each are ruled by chiefs equally distinguished in most instances in rank and station , and quite altogether so by every moral ancl social worth . These facts alone may suffice to silence tbe busy tongue of calumny , and to pacify the
restlessness of suspicion . I alluded to two of our charities . To complete the square I must name two more—our School for Boys , and the Royal Annuity Fund for pensioning worthy , distressed , and aged Masonsbesides the Board of Benevolence for the relief of casual cases of
Masonic indigence . It has been asked , what becomes of your funds ? Let these facts answer the query . Again , Masonry is free ; for it is open to all men , of every religious persuasion , ivho believe in God . Think not , however , that it is , therefore , any branch of theism , and designed to contravene the ( hristian covenant . God Forbid ! Dr . Oliver , in his work , now publishing— " Historical Landmarks—strives to prove by evidencecertainly very plausiblehowever open to controversy—that many
, of our rites and symbols teach and illustrate Christian doctrines , and are mystical depositories of some of its great leading principles ancl historical facts . Be this as il may , they certainl y inculcate morality as pure as the Gospel ; and , if we respect ancl cultivate the principles of our Order , many of us still more respect and cultivate , as we ought to do , in common with the rest of our countrymen , the principles of that divine religion which alone can give salvation to us all .
Otherwise , why are we met here , and why do we constantly meet on the festival of St . John the Evangelist , and often on that of St . John the Baptist ? < . It is continually asked , why females are excluded from our society ? Take this answer , once for all . Many of the best husbands , ancl others who most respect the purity of the female character , are to be found in a lodge . But we cannot meet together as Freemasons , without con-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Sermon,
disputes , ancl all secrets but such as any worthy man may know , ~ on the same terms as they themselves received them . Having then shown that secrecy is not necessarily improper in'fitself , but that it is capable of being applied to the most righteous as well as to the most flagitious purposes , I leave you , my Christian brethren who are not of our order , to judge , from the characters of those who preside over usand the principles we openlprofessto which of these purposes
, y , it is most likely to be applied by a set of men whose bye-laws are every ivhere foundetl entirely on social order , ancl whose constitutions are framed with the strictest subservience to the laws ancl ordinances of the realm . I therefore crave your further attention to a few observations upon tbe ancient and honourable Society of Free and Accepted Masons . Of its antiquity I can say nothing , without reference to those sources of information which are necessarily withholden from the popular
world . It is honourable ; for in all ages since its institution , the most honourable men have borne testimony to its purity and excellence , by belonging to it themselves : and kings have not blushed to call us brethren . Their late Majesties , George IV . and William IV ., were both patrons of the ( Jrder , ancl his late Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex was our Grand Master . Her Majesty ' s father , the late Duke of Kent , was a Member ;
and her Majesty the Queen Dowager is I'atroness of the Freemasons ' Girls' School , and a liberel donor to the Asylum for the Aged ancl Decayed Freemason . The Craft is at present presided over by noblemen of distinguished character , and the provinces each are ruled by chiefs equally distinguished in most instances in rank and station , and quite altogether so by every moral ancl social worth . These facts alone may suffice to silence tbe busy tongue of calumny , and to pacify the
restlessness of suspicion . I alluded to two of our charities . To complete the square I must name two more—our School for Boys , and the Royal Annuity Fund for pensioning worthy , distressed , and aged Masonsbesides the Board of Benevolence for the relief of casual cases of
Masonic indigence . It has been asked , what becomes of your funds ? Let these facts answer the query . Again , Masonry is free ; for it is open to all men , of every religious persuasion , ivho believe in God . Think not , however , that it is , therefore , any branch of theism , and designed to contravene the ( hristian covenant . God Forbid ! Dr . Oliver , in his work , now publishing— " Historical Landmarks—strives to prove by evidencecertainly very plausiblehowever open to controversy—that many
, of our rites and symbols teach and illustrate Christian doctrines , and are mystical depositories of some of its great leading principles ancl historical facts . Be this as il may , they certainl y inculcate morality as pure as the Gospel ; and , if we respect ancl cultivate the principles of our Order , many of us still more respect and cultivate , as we ought to do , in common with the rest of our countrymen , the principles of that divine religion which alone can give salvation to us all .
Otherwise , why are we met here , and why do we constantly meet on the festival of St . John the Evangelist , and often on that of St . John the Baptist ? < . It is continually asked , why females are excluded from our society ? Take this answer , once for all . Many of the best husbands , ancl others who most respect the purity of the female character , are to be found in a lodge . But we cannot meet together as Freemasons , without con-