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Article Untitled Article ← Page 3 of 3 Article SOME REASONS FOR OUR BEING A SECRET ORDER. Page 1 of 2 →
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Untitled Article
and inconsistent slanders that have been raised in relation to the forcible abduction of Morgan , be for ever silent . To the Masonic Institution it can make very little difference whether the falsehood , so widely circulated , gained much or little credence . It is our purpose , as it always has been , to live down all that may be said of us adverse
to honour and virtue . We , as Masons , pursue our onward course , c Loving our neighbour as ourself , ' and doing all the good we can in our brief passage through life ; and , in accordance with these views , we expect to receive the approbation of our God , and the good opinion of the respectable and virtuous portion of the community . "
Some Reasons For Our Being A Secret Order.
SOME REASONS FOR OUR BEING A SECRET ORDER .
Freemasonry has been denounced and suspected , in consequence of its being a secret Order . Secrecy in all things where secrecy is maintained , is not only consistent with innocence , but is also imperatively enforced by necessity , as well as demanded by every
consideration of policy . The direct benefits flowing from Masonry are of course intended for , and should be participated in , only by its members —by those who have been regularly initiated into its mysteries , and contribute to its support . They are secured by a knowledge of a universal language , which is used as a test of Brotherhood . This universal language ( universal to Masons ) is ,
under no circumstances , communicated to the world at large . The words and signs of it are secret ; for to communicate them would at once destroy their utility . And , strange as it may seem to the uninitiated , our society professes to have no secrets beyond this . There is little , very little , in the Lodge to gratify the eye of the inquisitive . We do not tempt them with offers to unfold some mighty mystery ; we can impart to them no superhuman wisdom ; we possess not the
elixir of life , nor the philosopher ' s stone , nor the spells of the Tarshun ; we cannot and do not profess to be bound by any ties but such as are consistent Avith our duty towards ourselves and families , our neighbours , our country , and our God . About the general nature of Lodge transactions , every one here can know as much as any of its members ; but , for fear of any
apprehension on this subject , we would briefly state , that nowhere are order and decorum more strictly enforced than in our Lodges ; our business there is charity and brotherly communion , the admission of candidates , and the transactions of such other matters as necessarily
pertain to every association . Now , all this is of such a character that it may , with great propriety , be kept to ourselves . We are Brothers —members of a large family—met for the purpose of transacting our own business , with which the world lias no concern ; and why should the world bo permitted to witness its disposition ? Does a needy . Brother receive assistance , it is not for us to vaunt it ; and it might
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
and inconsistent slanders that have been raised in relation to the forcible abduction of Morgan , be for ever silent . To the Masonic Institution it can make very little difference whether the falsehood , so widely circulated , gained much or little credence . It is our purpose , as it always has been , to live down all that may be said of us adverse
to honour and virtue . We , as Masons , pursue our onward course , c Loving our neighbour as ourself , ' and doing all the good we can in our brief passage through life ; and , in accordance with these views , we expect to receive the approbation of our God , and the good opinion of the respectable and virtuous portion of the community . "
Some Reasons For Our Being A Secret Order.
SOME REASONS FOR OUR BEING A SECRET ORDER .
Freemasonry has been denounced and suspected , in consequence of its being a secret Order . Secrecy in all things where secrecy is maintained , is not only consistent with innocence , but is also imperatively enforced by necessity , as well as demanded by every
consideration of policy . The direct benefits flowing from Masonry are of course intended for , and should be participated in , only by its members —by those who have been regularly initiated into its mysteries , and contribute to its support . They are secured by a knowledge of a universal language , which is used as a test of Brotherhood . This universal language ( universal to Masons ) is ,
under no circumstances , communicated to the world at large . The words and signs of it are secret ; for to communicate them would at once destroy their utility . And , strange as it may seem to the uninitiated , our society professes to have no secrets beyond this . There is little , very little , in the Lodge to gratify the eye of the inquisitive . We do not tempt them with offers to unfold some mighty mystery ; we can impart to them no superhuman wisdom ; we possess not the
elixir of life , nor the philosopher ' s stone , nor the spells of the Tarshun ; we cannot and do not profess to be bound by any ties but such as are consistent Avith our duty towards ourselves and families , our neighbours , our country , and our God . About the general nature of Lodge transactions , every one here can know as much as any of its members ; but , for fear of any
apprehension on this subject , we would briefly state , that nowhere are order and decorum more strictly enforced than in our Lodges ; our business there is charity and brotherly communion , the admission of candidates , and the transactions of such other matters as necessarily
pertain to every association . Now , all this is of such a character that it may , with great propriety , be kept to ourselves . We are Brothers —members of a large family—met for the purpose of transacting our own business , with which the world lias no concern ; and why should the world bo permitted to witness its disposition ? Does a needy . Brother receive assistance , it is not for us to vaunt it ; and it might