-
Articles/Ads
Article M^SOKBS: 4^ TO ← Page 7 of 8 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
M^Sokbs: 4^ To
once Was a school of philosophy as well as a brotherhood of fr ^ < ieed , it is supposed Pythagoras and Plato were partakers of our secret ar ^ s and hidden mysteries . I th inly it p slight acquaintance with part of our formulary ; but can give no credence
the idea that they Were ever im ^^ tain , and require an undoiibted assent to , doct ^^ hinted at a , nd made t ^ e subje We haVe received , on the authority of reve ^ reason , could only ^ coniecture .
v This constitutes the : superiority of our s ^ tiori ^ of patriarchs retained in testimony to the existence law maintained inviolate the knowledge of the sure rock on which Ma sonry was built . Thus thephilosophers , teaching virtue andteniperance merely for their own sahes , and on haoral grounds , vveredefim ^
exertion ^ a futttre state ^ of a hply God who loves His creatures a who stn ^ reflecting and humbly ^ sp irin g after His p ^ sublirne idealof Plato and the & miaMe dOcMm They were weighed in the balance and found wanting proclaimed the certainty of the great hereafters A ^
must take of M the Grand Geometrician of the TJniverse as the source of all wis cultivating all knowledge with regard to a future state . There are other conditions connected withihe constitutions of Masonry , which render her peculiarly interestirig to the aspirant after knowledge . And the more prominent of these , to which I propose briefly to call your attention ^ are , unity , reciprocity , suggestiveness ^ and progressiveness .
The two former of these are very nearly related , for there could be no unity vvithout reciprocity . No body of men would hold together for any length of time , when all benefits proceeded from one ^ therefore , while each Brother brings something to the general stock of knowledge , working together to one point of unity , the accumulated stores are open to . all , constituting the reciprocity . The mason , the joiner , the smithy the carver , the stainer , by their combined efforts , can build a stately edifice . The
appliance of their several crafts to one result is an example of unity , which yields success . But the material craftsman is inferior to the speculative Mason ; for , with the former , reciprocity is wanting ; with the latter / it is part of his obligation to afford assistance and instruction to his Brethren in the inferior Degrees , and so to teach and train the younger and humble minds till they arrive at their full intellectual stature . This combination of unity and reciprocity is likewise alluded to in that
part of the ceremonial where the W , M . promises to assist his Brethren in . their researches , and at the same time supplicates the blessing of the G . A . O . r . TJ . on all their undertakings . These remarks , I think , sufficiently indicate the existence of these principles in Masonry ; and their importance , which is so apparent in every situation of life , renders it hardly worth our while to dilate further npon them . Progressiveness is
the next point to which I would call your attention . Masonry and progress are identical . From the first moment that a worthy candidate sets foot within a Masonic Lodge to the latest hour of his life he will find something fresh in Masonry . To trace out and define her moral system ; to search into her history , intimately blended with that of earth ' s mightiest nations ; to examine the influence it lias had upon every sphere of society
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
M^Sokbs: 4^ To
once Was a school of philosophy as well as a brotherhood of fr ^ < ieed , it is supposed Pythagoras and Plato were partakers of our secret ar ^ s and hidden mysteries . I th inly it p slight acquaintance with part of our formulary ; but can give no credence
the idea that they Were ever im ^^ tain , and require an undoiibted assent to , doct ^^ hinted at a , nd made t ^ e subje We haVe received , on the authority of reve ^ reason , could only ^ coniecture .
v This constitutes the : superiority of our s ^ tiori ^ of patriarchs retained in testimony to the existence law maintained inviolate the knowledge of the sure rock on which Ma sonry was built . Thus thephilosophers , teaching virtue andteniperance merely for their own sahes , and on haoral grounds , vveredefim ^
exertion ^ a futttre state ^ of a hply God who loves His creatures a who stn ^ reflecting and humbly ^ sp irin g after His p ^ sublirne idealof Plato and the & miaMe dOcMm They were weighed in the balance and found wanting proclaimed the certainty of the great hereafters A ^
must take of M the Grand Geometrician of the TJniverse as the source of all wis cultivating all knowledge with regard to a future state . There are other conditions connected withihe constitutions of Masonry , which render her peculiarly interestirig to the aspirant after knowledge . And the more prominent of these , to which I propose briefly to call your attention ^ are , unity , reciprocity , suggestiveness ^ and progressiveness .
The two former of these are very nearly related , for there could be no unity vvithout reciprocity . No body of men would hold together for any length of time , when all benefits proceeded from one ^ therefore , while each Brother brings something to the general stock of knowledge , working together to one point of unity , the accumulated stores are open to . all , constituting the reciprocity . The mason , the joiner , the smithy the carver , the stainer , by their combined efforts , can build a stately edifice . The
appliance of their several crafts to one result is an example of unity , which yields success . But the material craftsman is inferior to the speculative Mason ; for , with the former , reciprocity is wanting ; with the latter / it is part of his obligation to afford assistance and instruction to his Brethren in the inferior Degrees , and so to teach and train the younger and humble minds till they arrive at their full intellectual stature . This combination of unity and reciprocity is likewise alluded to in that
part of the ceremonial where the W , M . promises to assist his Brethren in . their researches , and at the same time supplicates the blessing of the G . A . O . r . TJ . on all their undertakings . These remarks , I think , sufficiently indicate the existence of these principles in Masonry ; and their importance , which is so apparent in every situation of life , renders it hardly worth our while to dilate further npon them . Progressiveness is
the next point to which I would call your attention . Masonry and progress are identical . From the first moment that a worthy candidate sets foot within a Masonic Lodge to the latest hour of his life he will find something fresh in Masonry . To trace out and define her moral system ; to search into her history , intimately blended with that of earth ' s mightiest nations ; to examine the influence it lias had upon every sphere of society