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Article OUR MODEL LODGE. ← Page 3 of 5 →
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Our Model Lodge.
tion , if not a longer period , should be required for eA'ery Master of a Lodge , except in the unfortunate cases where the want of competent candidates renders such an exclusive system impossible . There is no question that both practices , viz ., the admission of very youthful candidatesancl the rapid promotion to office
, , are favourable to the financial welfare of Masonry , ancl that its best purposes are in some Arise furthered by permitting some degree of indulgence on both heads . But the mischief utterly counterbalances the good . Not only does mistaken enthusiasm usurp the place of real and steady , because gradually acquired , knoAA'ledge , but the Avork of the Lodge degenerates into a mere
amusement , ancl , eventually , into little else than a means of spending time which is perhaps required for other occupations . Besides this , there is a still more serious defect inherent in this system of early taking office , AUZ ., that it leads to young men , even of promising abilities and superior education , confining themselves to the mere getting of set formularies
up , without eA er diving into the many subjects of deep and varied interest with which Masonry is concerned . Fine as are the formularies ( especially as developed in the lectures ) , it is as great a mistake to suppose that the enlightened study of Masonry
ends with them , as it ivould be to attempt to neglect them . They are the Alpha , but not the Omega , of Masonry , The whole history of secret societies—viewed , not through the distorted medium of those who scoff at everything in the world of the ancients , and of our own forefathers—the progress of art , as fostered by those who hacl a common interest in the retention of a
common secret ; ancl the no less interesting , but more painful and suggestive vicissitudes of the private life of public men ; such are but a few of the many studies which Masonry should lead us to cultivate , if we would be thought " good Masons " in the truest sense of the words . The Lodges of instruction on the continent , take a -wider range than those of our own country ,
and instead of contenting themselves with the plain routine already laid down , the brethren are glad to tax then own powers , aud to bring forward , or point out the sources of , fresh information in every point to which then reading and reflection has enabled them to furnish illustration . The same attempt has been recently made in the " United Lodge of Instruction" at
Oxford , and -with a success that seems likely to increase ancl fructify to the good of Masonry , and the fair improvement of the brethren . In connection with this important question , we must protest against the habit of crowding too much business into a single
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Our Model Lodge.
tion , if not a longer period , should be required for eA'ery Master of a Lodge , except in the unfortunate cases where the want of competent candidates renders such an exclusive system impossible . There is no question that both practices , viz ., the admission of very youthful candidatesancl the rapid promotion to office
, , are favourable to the financial welfare of Masonry , ancl that its best purposes are in some Arise furthered by permitting some degree of indulgence on both heads . But the mischief utterly counterbalances the good . Not only does mistaken enthusiasm usurp the place of real and steady , because gradually acquired , knoAA'ledge , but the Avork of the Lodge degenerates into a mere
amusement , ancl , eventually , into little else than a means of spending time which is perhaps required for other occupations . Besides this , there is a still more serious defect inherent in this system of early taking office , AUZ ., that it leads to young men , even of promising abilities and superior education , confining themselves to the mere getting of set formularies
up , without eA er diving into the many subjects of deep and varied interest with which Masonry is concerned . Fine as are the formularies ( especially as developed in the lectures ) , it is as great a mistake to suppose that the enlightened study of Masonry
ends with them , as it ivould be to attempt to neglect them . They are the Alpha , but not the Omega , of Masonry , The whole history of secret societies—viewed , not through the distorted medium of those who scoff at everything in the world of the ancients , and of our own forefathers—the progress of art , as fostered by those who hacl a common interest in the retention of a
common secret ; ancl the no less interesting , but more painful and suggestive vicissitudes of the private life of public men ; such are but a few of the many studies which Masonry should lead us to cultivate , if we would be thought " good Masons " in the truest sense of the words . The Lodges of instruction on the continent , take a -wider range than those of our own country ,
and instead of contenting themselves with the plain routine already laid down , the brethren are glad to tax then own powers , aud to bring forward , or point out the sources of , fresh information in every point to which then reading and reflection has enabled them to furnish illustration . The same attempt has been recently made in the " United Lodge of Instruction" at
Oxford , and -with a success that seems likely to increase ancl fructify to the good of Masonry , and the fair improvement of the brethren . In connection with this important question , we must protest against the habit of crowding too much business into a single