Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Oration
ORATION
Delivered by the V . AV . the Grand Chaplain , Bro . R . J . SIMPSON , on the occasion of the Inauguration ., Festival , held at Freemasons' Hall , on Wednesday , the 14 th April . Most AVorshipful Grand Master , Grand Officers , and Brethren , —It is recorded in the volume of the Sacred
Law that gold , silver , and precious jewels were willingly offered by the Israelitish people towards the erection of the glorious temple which King Solomon afterwards reared to the honour of Jehovah , and that when these freewill offerings were laid before King David , he blessed the Lord before all the congregation
in these words : — "Blessed be Thou , Lord God of Israel . Thine , O Lord , is thc greatness , and the power , and the glory , for all that is in thc heaven and the earth is Thine : both riches and honour come of Thee , and Thou reigncst over all ; and in Thine hand is power and might and to give strength to all . Now ,
therefore , our God , wc thank Thee and praise Thy glorious name . " Let this , brethren , bo the keynote of our song of praise to-day r , assembled on this auspicious occasion ; and catching the spirit of tho King of Israel , let us ascribe unto the Great Architect of the Universe all honour and praise for tho bounty thus
vouchsafed us , for putting it into the hearts of the brethren to erect- these noble buildings now opened b y our Grand Master , for giving us power to carry out this design , and for sparing us to rejoice at its completion ; but , not least , are we bound to praise Him for His merciful kindness in protecting the builders in life
and limb , so that no death , no bone broken , no drop of blood , no cry of pain , has interrupted or marred the progress of a work of considerable extent , and occupying a period of five years , reminding us of that notable description of the peaceful growth of thc great
Temple" Like some tall palm the noiseless fabric sprung . " It is , in truth , at once a most happy augury and a most chacteristic feature in this case , that this great centre of English Freemasonry , from which is to « manate all that is to soothe distress , relieve suffering , and rejoice the heart , should not only be begun in
faith and hope , but be completed in perfect love and joy and safety . And joy , as it must be to us all , how much more to those true and trusty brethren to whose judgment , zeal , and ability were entrusted the direction and superintendence of this great undertaking , and who must feel how entirely the result has justified the
confidence reposed in them . No trilling amount of time and thought and labour must they have devoted to this work , and no ordinary amount of responsibility must they have incurred , and I am sure I am only echoing the sentiments of every Mason , not only in this Grand Lodge , but throughout the land , when I
thus give marked expression t 3 the grateful sense we entertain of the benefits they have conferred upon the Craft , and to thc unqualified admiration with which we regard the manner in which they have carried out tho work which our architect so wisely and beautifully designed .
. To possess a magnificent building which should include within its walls good offices for our charities , a handsome board-room for our meetings , convenient lodge-rooms for our lodges , a grand banqucting-hall for our social gatherings , and a restored temple more worthy of onr sacred rites ; this , Most Worshipful Sir ,
was an object grand in its design , and , as wc can testify to-day , admirable in its execution ; and , when in future days our brethren view with satisfaction this noble group of buildings , the names of Havers , Evans , Hervey , Savage , Plucknett , Stebbing , Grissell , Cockerel ! , and last , not least , our late Bro . Gray
Clarke shall not be forgotten . ¦ Nay ; shall it not be recorded of them as of our illustrious Masonic forefather who erected the grandest fabric that adorns this great city— Si monumentnm quoiras cirenmspice . " And if our children , in lime to come , inquire under whose auspices these works were
done , it shall be told with just pride and grateful memory , that on the fotuidat ion-stone , on the topstone , and on the keystone of the arch , is engraved in characters that time cannot efface , the honoured name of Zetland ; and , more than this , that the building which our Grand Master has opened this day was the
crowning act of that quarter of a century during which he has , with so much dignity , usefulness , and ability , presided over the Jlasons of England . How his reign has illustrated our Masonic annals , and how Masonry has flourished during that eventful period , I will not stop to tell , nor anticipate an occasion not less
interesting than the present , on which such recollections may be more appropriately recorded . Brethren , it is a subject of great congratulation that we are honoured on this occasion with the presence of the Grand Master of Scotland , and the Deputy Grand Master of Ireland . Wc hail them with a hearty Masonic
welcome , and we rejoice that they are present on an occasion which may testify to them , and to our brethren of Scotland and Ireland , that the Masons of England are builders in every sense of the term , and that they regard their own Grand 'Master with respect and affection . On Thursday , May 23 rd , 1770 , this hall was dedicated in solemn form , and handed down to us by ou
Oration
brethren of that day as a rich inheritance . And hore we stand , at the distance of nearly a century , to renew and enlarge this building in a manner worthy of this later age , and more suited to our increased numbers and requirements . They worked not only for themselves but for us . We , in our turn , work for ourselves ,
but also for thoso who shall succeed us when we have fallen asleep , and who shall rejoice in this noble edifice as the central home of English Masonry . A homea sacred home—where our holy rites may be duly performed in the solemn repose of a temple and of lodges set apart for such high purposes ; a home which shall
be a type and model for the lodges of England , and which , while in no way preventing thc happy social intercourse that I trust may ever mark our festive gatherings in their proper place , shall secure a sacred enclosure for those most solemn and beautiful ceremonies which have regard to that Grand Master on
high , whom Jacob adored at Bethel , and Solomon worshipped on the Hill of Sion . And as in the material , so in the moral and intellectual world , we hope to do our part in our generation . Ifc has been well observed by an eminent writer , that " subject to certain cycles of partial revolution ,
every generation of man is a labourer for that which succeeds it , and makes an addition to that great sum total of achieved results which may , in commercial phrase , be called the capital of the race . " Every generation of men as they traverse the vale of life , are bound to accumulate new treasures for the race , and
thus leave the world ( as far as they are concerned , at least ) richer than thoy found it . Of thc mental portion of this treasure , no small part is stored . The Greeks , perhaps , had the largest ideas upon thc training of man , and produced samples of our race with gifts unsurpassed . But the nature of man , such as
they knew it , was scarcely at all developed ; nay , it was maimed in its supreme capacity in its relations to the Great Architect of thc Universe—to thc Father of Spirits . Hence , as in the visions of the Prophet , so upon the roll of history , the imposing fabrics of ancient civilization have never endured . Greece has
bequeathed to us her ever-living tongue , and tho undying labours of her intellect . Rome made ready for a later age the germs of policy and law ; but the bright collection of endowments which goes to form civilization , having no root in itself , could not weather the storms of time and change . But there is a
community that has weathered all these storms ; taking its rise in the earliest ages , founded on the purest principles of piety and virtue , it has pursued an onward course from age to age , a three-thousand years ' tale not yet full . But there is light along all its course ; a light to those who sat in darkness and in
the shadow of death , guiding their feet into the way of peace , and pointing the pathway to a happier land . Yes , brethren , Freemasonry can boast , not only a most remote origin , but a most glorious career ; like a golden thread in some texture of beauty , it has run through the varving fabric of human thought , and ,
like the great river of Egypt , it has wound its devious way through many a land , overflowing and fertilizing the nations in its course , meeting with various forms of religious belief and civil government , it has allied itself to all iu proportion as each system was disciplined by order , practised in virtue , and founded on
truth . Breaking through thc fetters of mere human systems , it has ever boldly proclaimed those great cardinal truths which cherish virtue and point to Heaven . Salted with perpetual life , it has passed through the terrors of heathen darkness , mcdiicval
corruptions , and modern Atheism , lt has kindled"That freedom of mind which no vulgar dominion , Can turn from thc path a pure conscience approves ; AVhicli , with hope iu the heart and no chain on the pinion , Holds upwards its course to the Hidit that it loves . "
Hence it is that 1 * rccmasonry has had to encounter many formidable foes ; hence , especially , has our Order beeu denounced by superstition and been persecuted by intolerance ; but , like , the granite promontory , it stands unmoved amid the wild ravings of fanaticism which surge around it only to be hurled
back into their native foam . Unhappy is he who in his morose , bigoted self-sulliciency can see nothing but evil in the history of humanity , and who overlooks all those conceptions of truth and of good—all those kind and beautiful affections which God has interwoven with our frame , and which throw almost a divine glory
over the most clouded features of the history of our kind ; or who beholds only in that varied and wonderful history the traces of a ruined being , and to pray as its noblest consummation , that all its future pages may exhibit thc aspiring faculties of human genius , bound down under one narrow system of contracted thought
and the natural flow of human affections creeping on in one dull and artificial channel . Nor does the blood of the natural man freeze in the veins when the sublime principles of faith aro impressed upon the soul , but continues to flow as before through their multiplied
windings ; neither is it meant that theso principles of a higher character should impede one rush of genuine alfection—one legitimate employment of our intellectual powers—or even ono innocent play of fancy—but that they should guide them all to right ends , and guard them with the shield of their own peculiar sanctity .
Oration
Freemasonry rejoices in these principles , it addresses itself to every description of men , and hides the poor under the shadow of its wings from the ills and injuries of life . It is equally suited to thc north , the south , the east , the west—all are interested in its beautiful lessons of brotherly love , and all treasure its
contemplations of immortal life . Ours is indeed a glorious fabric ! founded in strength , ordered by wisdom , and adorned with beauty ! For , say , brethren , what institution can have a firmer foundation than the volume of God ' s sacred laio ? And why is this so , independent of its own claim ? Because
it sanctions all that experience teaches us respecting the natural powers of the mind . It leads us up in grateful thoughts to Him who bestowed the principles of life at the first , and who continues to impart it through successive generations . It enhances its value by asserting and provinc ; its immortality . It renders the man
useful to society by cherishing the love of goodness and encouraging hatred to vice , by unveiling the future destination of the spirit to eternal happiness as the reward of piety , or to eternal misery as the just judgment of sin , and thus affords a more powerful guard of virtue and barrier against vice than all the laws society
could impose . He , then , that- is an enemy to sacred truth is an enemy to himself . He is extinguishing so far as he can , the light which is sent to guide him home and to absorb the feebler rays of reason and of nature , and he is refusing tho only cup of consolation which is a true antidote to the bitterness of sorrow . But he
is an enemy to mankind , for lie is robbing society of the cement which holds it together ; ofthe source of its intelligence , its happiness , its glory . And he who is the enemy of man is the enemy of God ; for He is the Parent as well as the Architect of thc Universe—He stamped human nature with His imaste , and He loves
it still . Yes ! brethren , this sacred volume is our foundation-stone , which , while it records a thousand blessings for the present , points out to every wandering child of Adam , " the path of life . ' [ And if Truth lies at the foundation , AVisdom has raised the superstructure of our house . No one of thoughtful mind and
who has studied Freemasonry to any extent can have failed to " observe the connection of our whole system as well as the relative dependence of its several parts , " the great objects brought out in the various implements of art , the lessons taught by our traditional histories , the significance of every ornament that adorns our lodges , all these are striking emblems of blessed
verities—outer things mutely symbolising the highest duties of social life and the deepest truths connected with our inner life . Never can we witness a brother raised to the degree of a Master Mason without feeling a divine call to a higher life—without at least being deeply moved by the solemnities of a ceremony which
for impressiveness and instruction is second to none in this lower world . And is not our house not only strongly founded and wisely built , but beautifully adorned ? Are not purity of thought , integrity of life , benignity of manner , and
above all , sweet charity , the beautiful garments with which a true Mason is invested ? Oh ! how lovel y is this Charity ! It constitutes the highest dignity of human nature—it elevates and refines our feelings—it calms the storms of passion—it causes men to look with kindness on each other and to view no one as a
stranger whose joys wc can heighten , whose wants we can supply , or whose sorrows we can soothe . No distinction of rank will affect its operation—it will consider no object as beneath its notice that can be benefited b y its exertions , and no task to be mean by which it can promote human happiness . Where would be
the boasted dignity or reason if employed only to promote narrow selfish views ? AVhere the glory of that knowledge which never of itself advised or comforted another ? And where the honour of that power which never promoted indigent merit or wiped a tear from
the mourner ' s eye ? A fiend may possess a higher degree of reason , more knowledge and more power , than the wisest and best of men—destitute of charity , he is the more to be dreaded—not revered . Who would esteem the man of rank whose haughty selfish spirit could never smile on modest worth ? Of what avail
is wealth imprisoned in the rusty coffers of thc miser or wantonly squandered away in the dissipation ofthe prodigal ? H ho would value our influence , if never employed in promoting the prosperity of others ? If such gifts arc made subservient to personal advantage ,
they only show that we want the spirit and inclination to enjoy that greatest of all luxuries , the luxury of doing good . And do not the tenet . *! of our venerable Order ever point in this direction ? Arc not our glorious chanties practical illustrations of these truths ? Yes !
Brethren , to bind up the broken-hearted , to extricate thc industrious from misfortune , to rescue the hel pless and the orphan from the prospect of want or ruin , to comfort the widow in affliction ' s hour , and to afford a peaceful home to thc aged and deserving in the evening
of their days—these arc objects worthy of the regard of every Mason who values the deli ght of blessing others , the respect duo to himself , the honour of thc Craft , anil , above all , the approbation of God . And as the child is father to the man , let us as Jlasons g ive special diligence to foster education in its highest
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Oration
ORATION
Delivered by the V . AV . the Grand Chaplain , Bro . R . J . SIMPSON , on the occasion of the Inauguration ., Festival , held at Freemasons' Hall , on Wednesday , the 14 th April . Most AVorshipful Grand Master , Grand Officers , and Brethren , —It is recorded in the volume of the Sacred
Law that gold , silver , and precious jewels were willingly offered by the Israelitish people towards the erection of the glorious temple which King Solomon afterwards reared to the honour of Jehovah , and that when these freewill offerings were laid before King David , he blessed the Lord before all the congregation
in these words : — "Blessed be Thou , Lord God of Israel . Thine , O Lord , is thc greatness , and the power , and the glory , for all that is in thc heaven and the earth is Thine : both riches and honour come of Thee , and Thou reigncst over all ; and in Thine hand is power and might and to give strength to all . Now ,
therefore , our God , wc thank Thee and praise Thy glorious name . " Let this , brethren , bo the keynote of our song of praise to-day r , assembled on this auspicious occasion ; and catching the spirit of tho King of Israel , let us ascribe unto the Great Architect of the Universe all honour and praise for tho bounty thus
vouchsafed us , for putting it into the hearts of the brethren to erect- these noble buildings now opened b y our Grand Master , for giving us power to carry out this design , and for sparing us to rejoice at its completion ; but , not least , are we bound to praise Him for His merciful kindness in protecting the builders in life
and limb , so that no death , no bone broken , no drop of blood , no cry of pain , has interrupted or marred the progress of a work of considerable extent , and occupying a period of five years , reminding us of that notable description of the peaceful growth of thc great
Temple" Like some tall palm the noiseless fabric sprung . " It is , in truth , at once a most happy augury and a most chacteristic feature in this case , that this great centre of English Freemasonry , from which is to « manate all that is to soothe distress , relieve suffering , and rejoice the heart , should not only be begun in
faith and hope , but be completed in perfect love and joy and safety . And joy , as it must be to us all , how much more to those true and trusty brethren to whose judgment , zeal , and ability were entrusted the direction and superintendence of this great undertaking , and who must feel how entirely the result has justified the
confidence reposed in them . No trilling amount of time and thought and labour must they have devoted to this work , and no ordinary amount of responsibility must they have incurred , and I am sure I am only echoing the sentiments of every Mason , not only in this Grand Lodge , but throughout the land , when I
thus give marked expression t 3 the grateful sense we entertain of the benefits they have conferred upon the Craft , and to thc unqualified admiration with which we regard the manner in which they have carried out tho work which our architect so wisely and beautifully designed .
. To possess a magnificent building which should include within its walls good offices for our charities , a handsome board-room for our meetings , convenient lodge-rooms for our lodges , a grand banqucting-hall for our social gatherings , and a restored temple more worthy of onr sacred rites ; this , Most Worshipful Sir ,
was an object grand in its design , and , as wc can testify to-day , admirable in its execution ; and , when in future days our brethren view with satisfaction this noble group of buildings , the names of Havers , Evans , Hervey , Savage , Plucknett , Stebbing , Grissell , Cockerel ! , and last , not least , our late Bro . Gray
Clarke shall not be forgotten . ¦ Nay ; shall it not be recorded of them as of our illustrious Masonic forefather who erected the grandest fabric that adorns this great city— Si monumentnm quoiras cirenmspice . " And if our children , in lime to come , inquire under whose auspices these works were
done , it shall be told with just pride and grateful memory , that on the fotuidat ion-stone , on the topstone , and on the keystone of the arch , is engraved in characters that time cannot efface , the honoured name of Zetland ; and , more than this , that the building which our Grand Master has opened this day was the
crowning act of that quarter of a century during which he has , with so much dignity , usefulness , and ability , presided over the Jlasons of England . How his reign has illustrated our Masonic annals , and how Masonry has flourished during that eventful period , I will not stop to tell , nor anticipate an occasion not less
interesting than the present , on which such recollections may be more appropriately recorded . Brethren , it is a subject of great congratulation that we are honoured on this occasion with the presence of the Grand Master of Scotland , and the Deputy Grand Master of Ireland . Wc hail them with a hearty Masonic
welcome , and we rejoice that they are present on an occasion which may testify to them , and to our brethren of Scotland and Ireland , that the Masons of England are builders in every sense of the term , and that they regard their own Grand 'Master with respect and affection . On Thursday , May 23 rd , 1770 , this hall was dedicated in solemn form , and handed down to us by ou
Oration
brethren of that day as a rich inheritance . And hore we stand , at the distance of nearly a century , to renew and enlarge this building in a manner worthy of this later age , and more suited to our increased numbers and requirements . They worked not only for themselves but for us . We , in our turn , work for ourselves ,
but also for thoso who shall succeed us when we have fallen asleep , and who shall rejoice in this noble edifice as the central home of English Masonry . A homea sacred home—where our holy rites may be duly performed in the solemn repose of a temple and of lodges set apart for such high purposes ; a home which shall
be a type and model for the lodges of England , and which , while in no way preventing thc happy social intercourse that I trust may ever mark our festive gatherings in their proper place , shall secure a sacred enclosure for those most solemn and beautiful ceremonies which have regard to that Grand Master on
high , whom Jacob adored at Bethel , and Solomon worshipped on the Hill of Sion . And as in the material , so in the moral and intellectual world , we hope to do our part in our generation . Ifc has been well observed by an eminent writer , that " subject to certain cycles of partial revolution ,
every generation of man is a labourer for that which succeeds it , and makes an addition to that great sum total of achieved results which may , in commercial phrase , be called the capital of the race . " Every generation of men as they traverse the vale of life , are bound to accumulate new treasures for the race , and
thus leave the world ( as far as they are concerned , at least ) richer than thoy found it . Of thc mental portion of this treasure , no small part is stored . The Greeks , perhaps , had the largest ideas upon thc training of man , and produced samples of our race with gifts unsurpassed . But the nature of man , such as
they knew it , was scarcely at all developed ; nay , it was maimed in its supreme capacity in its relations to the Great Architect of thc Universe—to thc Father of Spirits . Hence , as in the visions of the Prophet , so upon the roll of history , the imposing fabrics of ancient civilization have never endured . Greece has
bequeathed to us her ever-living tongue , and tho undying labours of her intellect . Rome made ready for a later age the germs of policy and law ; but the bright collection of endowments which goes to form civilization , having no root in itself , could not weather the storms of time and change . But there is a
community that has weathered all these storms ; taking its rise in the earliest ages , founded on the purest principles of piety and virtue , it has pursued an onward course from age to age , a three-thousand years ' tale not yet full . But there is light along all its course ; a light to those who sat in darkness and in
the shadow of death , guiding their feet into the way of peace , and pointing the pathway to a happier land . Yes , brethren , Freemasonry can boast , not only a most remote origin , but a most glorious career ; like a golden thread in some texture of beauty , it has run through the varving fabric of human thought , and ,
like the great river of Egypt , it has wound its devious way through many a land , overflowing and fertilizing the nations in its course , meeting with various forms of religious belief and civil government , it has allied itself to all iu proportion as each system was disciplined by order , practised in virtue , and founded on
truth . Breaking through thc fetters of mere human systems , it has ever boldly proclaimed those great cardinal truths which cherish virtue and point to Heaven . Salted with perpetual life , it has passed through the terrors of heathen darkness , mcdiicval
corruptions , and modern Atheism , lt has kindled"That freedom of mind which no vulgar dominion , Can turn from thc path a pure conscience approves ; AVhicli , with hope iu the heart and no chain on the pinion , Holds upwards its course to the Hidit that it loves . "
Hence it is that 1 * rccmasonry has had to encounter many formidable foes ; hence , especially , has our Order beeu denounced by superstition and been persecuted by intolerance ; but , like , the granite promontory , it stands unmoved amid the wild ravings of fanaticism which surge around it only to be hurled
back into their native foam . Unhappy is he who in his morose , bigoted self-sulliciency can see nothing but evil in the history of humanity , and who overlooks all those conceptions of truth and of good—all those kind and beautiful affections which God has interwoven with our frame , and which throw almost a divine glory
over the most clouded features of the history of our kind ; or who beholds only in that varied and wonderful history the traces of a ruined being , and to pray as its noblest consummation , that all its future pages may exhibit thc aspiring faculties of human genius , bound down under one narrow system of contracted thought
and the natural flow of human affections creeping on in one dull and artificial channel . Nor does the blood of the natural man freeze in the veins when the sublime principles of faith aro impressed upon the soul , but continues to flow as before through their multiplied
windings ; neither is it meant that theso principles of a higher character should impede one rush of genuine alfection—one legitimate employment of our intellectual powers—or even ono innocent play of fancy—but that they should guide them all to right ends , and guard them with the shield of their own peculiar sanctity .
Oration
Freemasonry rejoices in these principles , it addresses itself to every description of men , and hides the poor under the shadow of its wings from the ills and injuries of life . It is equally suited to thc north , the south , the east , the west—all are interested in its beautiful lessons of brotherly love , and all treasure its
contemplations of immortal life . Ours is indeed a glorious fabric ! founded in strength , ordered by wisdom , and adorned with beauty ! For , say , brethren , what institution can have a firmer foundation than the volume of God ' s sacred laio ? And why is this so , independent of its own claim ? Because
it sanctions all that experience teaches us respecting the natural powers of the mind . It leads us up in grateful thoughts to Him who bestowed the principles of life at the first , and who continues to impart it through successive generations . It enhances its value by asserting and provinc ; its immortality . It renders the man
useful to society by cherishing the love of goodness and encouraging hatred to vice , by unveiling the future destination of the spirit to eternal happiness as the reward of piety , or to eternal misery as the just judgment of sin , and thus affords a more powerful guard of virtue and barrier against vice than all the laws society
could impose . He , then , that- is an enemy to sacred truth is an enemy to himself . He is extinguishing so far as he can , the light which is sent to guide him home and to absorb the feebler rays of reason and of nature , and he is refusing tho only cup of consolation which is a true antidote to the bitterness of sorrow . But he
is an enemy to mankind , for lie is robbing society of the cement which holds it together ; ofthe source of its intelligence , its happiness , its glory . And he who is the enemy of man is the enemy of God ; for He is the Parent as well as the Architect of thc Universe—He stamped human nature with His imaste , and He loves
it still . Yes ! brethren , this sacred volume is our foundation-stone , which , while it records a thousand blessings for the present , points out to every wandering child of Adam , " the path of life . ' [ And if Truth lies at the foundation , AVisdom has raised the superstructure of our house . No one of thoughtful mind and
who has studied Freemasonry to any extent can have failed to " observe the connection of our whole system as well as the relative dependence of its several parts , " the great objects brought out in the various implements of art , the lessons taught by our traditional histories , the significance of every ornament that adorns our lodges , all these are striking emblems of blessed
verities—outer things mutely symbolising the highest duties of social life and the deepest truths connected with our inner life . Never can we witness a brother raised to the degree of a Master Mason without feeling a divine call to a higher life—without at least being deeply moved by the solemnities of a ceremony which
for impressiveness and instruction is second to none in this lower world . And is not our house not only strongly founded and wisely built , but beautifully adorned ? Are not purity of thought , integrity of life , benignity of manner , and
above all , sweet charity , the beautiful garments with which a true Mason is invested ? Oh ! how lovel y is this Charity ! It constitutes the highest dignity of human nature—it elevates and refines our feelings—it calms the storms of passion—it causes men to look with kindness on each other and to view no one as a
stranger whose joys wc can heighten , whose wants we can supply , or whose sorrows we can soothe . No distinction of rank will affect its operation—it will consider no object as beneath its notice that can be benefited b y its exertions , and no task to be mean by which it can promote human happiness . Where would be
the boasted dignity or reason if employed only to promote narrow selfish views ? AVhere the glory of that knowledge which never of itself advised or comforted another ? And where the honour of that power which never promoted indigent merit or wiped a tear from
the mourner ' s eye ? A fiend may possess a higher degree of reason , more knowledge and more power , than the wisest and best of men—destitute of charity , he is the more to be dreaded—not revered . Who would esteem the man of rank whose haughty selfish spirit could never smile on modest worth ? Of what avail
is wealth imprisoned in the rusty coffers of thc miser or wantonly squandered away in the dissipation ofthe prodigal ? H ho would value our influence , if never employed in promoting the prosperity of others ? If such gifts arc made subservient to personal advantage ,
they only show that we want the spirit and inclination to enjoy that greatest of all luxuries , the luxury of doing good . And do not the tenet . *! of our venerable Order ever point in this direction ? Arc not our glorious chanties practical illustrations of these truths ? Yes !
Brethren , to bind up the broken-hearted , to extricate thc industrious from misfortune , to rescue the hel pless and the orphan from the prospect of want or ruin , to comfort the widow in affliction ' s hour , and to afford a peaceful home to thc aged and deserving in the evening
of their days—these arc objects worthy of the regard of every Mason who values the deli ght of blessing others , the respect duo to himself , the honour of thc Craft , anil , above all , the approbation of God . And as the child is father to the man , let us as Jlasons g ive special diligence to foster education in its highest