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Article PEEEMASONET ILLTJSTEATED. ← Page 6 of 10 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Peeemasonet Illtjsteated.
borough is the pnly English cathedral possessing this feature , which adds greatly to the magnificence of the building . In taking a retrospect of Other institutions , whether founded for the purposes of government , science , mutual security , or any other purpose , we find they have all been unstable in their duration , and generally
failing in the accomplishment of the design for which they were framed . Kingdoms , with their mighty founder ^ have had th eir rise , their meridian , and their decline . In vain we ask who were the founders of Palmyra ' s boasted temples , of Baalbec ' s gorgeous domesj or the gigantic works of Egypt—the wrecks of their mouldering grandeur only seeming to frown contempt on their founders ' schemes .
Masonry has witnessed the rise , revolutions , and wane of empires ; withstood the inroads of war , and the still more desolating ravages of barbarous ignorance and the gloomy superstition of ancient and modern times . Through the dark ages , from the sixth to the
sixteenth century , Masonry was the chief lamp of knowledge that illumined the gloom of the then degraded human mind ; it was the nurse that fostered , the guardian that watched over , and the ark that preserved amidst the deluge of gothic gloom that overspread the earth , all the science that had survived the wrecks of the Grecian
and Roman empires . Preemasonry in its general and universal application , as Comprehending the two divisions of human and moral science—operative and speculative , —is wisely planned and adapted for the welfare of man ; for as man is a compound of body and soul , so Masonry , as a compound of human and moral science , is admirably calculated for the promotion of man ' s highest interests in his present as well as future state , and to make him what his Creator intended him to be
—useful , wise , happy . And not only to be happy in himself , but , as far as humanity will admit , to make all around him equal happy . The teachings of Masonry in its operative and speculative departments , will be treated upon in their proper divisions . The good Mason might justly say with Job , that " The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me ; and I caused the widow ' s
heart to sing for joy . I was eyes to the blind , and feet to the lame . I was a father to the poor ; and the cause which I knew not I searched out . The stranger did not lodge in the street , but I opened my doors to the traveller . "When the ear heard me then it blessed me , and when the eye saw me it beamed with delight ; because I delivered the poor that cried , and the fatherless , and him that had none to help him . "
The law as promulgated by Moses lias a clause to a like effect . " And if thy brother be waxen poor and fallen in decay with thee then thou shalt relievo him ; yea though he be a stranger or a sojourner , that he may live with thee . " —Leviticus xrv . 35 . Masonry is a progressive science , and not to be attained in any degree of perfection excepting by time , patience , and a considerable degree of application and industry ; for no one should be admitted
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Peeemasonet Illtjsteated.
borough is the pnly English cathedral possessing this feature , which adds greatly to the magnificence of the building . In taking a retrospect of Other institutions , whether founded for the purposes of government , science , mutual security , or any other purpose , we find they have all been unstable in their duration , and generally
failing in the accomplishment of the design for which they were framed . Kingdoms , with their mighty founder ^ have had th eir rise , their meridian , and their decline . In vain we ask who were the founders of Palmyra ' s boasted temples , of Baalbec ' s gorgeous domesj or the gigantic works of Egypt—the wrecks of their mouldering grandeur only seeming to frown contempt on their founders ' schemes .
Masonry has witnessed the rise , revolutions , and wane of empires ; withstood the inroads of war , and the still more desolating ravages of barbarous ignorance and the gloomy superstition of ancient and modern times . Through the dark ages , from the sixth to the
sixteenth century , Masonry was the chief lamp of knowledge that illumined the gloom of the then degraded human mind ; it was the nurse that fostered , the guardian that watched over , and the ark that preserved amidst the deluge of gothic gloom that overspread the earth , all the science that had survived the wrecks of the Grecian
and Roman empires . Preemasonry in its general and universal application , as Comprehending the two divisions of human and moral science—operative and speculative , —is wisely planned and adapted for the welfare of man ; for as man is a compound of body and soul , so Masonry , as a compound of human and moral science , is admirably calculated for the promotion of man ' s highest interests in his present as well as future state , and to make him what his Creator intended him to be
—useful , wise , happy . And not only to be happy in himself , but , as far as humanity will admit , to make all around him equal happy . The teachings of Masonry in its operative and speculative departments , will be treated upon in their proper divisions . The good Mason might justly say with Job , that " The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me ; and I caused the widow ' s
heart to sing for joy . I was eyes to the blind , and feet to the lame . I was a father to the poor ; and the cause which I knew not I searched out . The stranger did not lodge in the street , but I opened my doors to the traveller . "When the ear heard me then it blessed me , and when the eye saw me it beamed with delight ; because I delivered the poor that cried , and the fatherless , and him that had none to help him . "
The law as promulgated by Moses lias a clause to a like effect . " And if thy brother be waxen poor and fallen in decay with thee then thou shalt relievo him ; yea though he be a stranger or a sojourner , that he may live with thee . " —Leviticus xrv . 35 . Masonry is a progressive science , and not to be attained in any degree of perfection excepting by time , patience , and a considerable degree of application and industry ; for no one should be admitted