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Untitled Article
not a pecuniary one , and required merely personal influence , with a little trouble , to grant , but upon application to A ., his old chum of twenty years , C . was first met with protestations of inability , and the usual courteous falsehood veiling disinclination ; and upon his manly refusal to be stultified by such trash , forced the hollow professor of
friendship to drop the mask of deceit . He applied to B . ; few words passed , the assurance was given that the latter " would see what he eould do ; " in a few days it was done , but B ., not content with one kind act , repudiated all thanks , and learning that 0 . desired another exercise of good-will , never rested until that had been
manifested also . " Enend , did ' st thou ever feel for him in thy pocket ? "— - was the Quaker ' s calm inquiry of the fulsome hypocrite , who loudly proclaimed his sympathy with another ; the sacrifice of the pocket is a great test of sincerity , but how many proofs teem upon us that even that , is forgotten in the absorbing influence , which makes the Mason feel , in Ms heart , for his Brother ' s need ?
Benevolence , also , does not sit at home in our Lodges , neither is it of such a truly domestic nature as never to stir abroad . It seeks out , we affirm , the distressed ; indeed , volumes could be filled with facts attesting how the Fraternity ratifies the solemn obligation practically , which binds it morally . We know an instance of a Brother ^ whose time was his money , yet who gave up three whole days to find
an impoverished Mason , whom he had never seen before , but whose credentials were good , and having found him , placed him far above want , at once . Selfishness is the antagonistic element to Masonry * Whilst recognising due subservience to authority , and every claim of meritorious distinction , Masonry distinguishes none but the meritorious ; and viewing man in his affinity to woe , not to wealth ,
reflects upon the nakedness of birth , anticipates the equality of dissolution ; and renders the entrance to her Lodges an appropriate emblem of the grave , where all comers , prince and peasant , leave their clay-born greatness , like the Turk his slippers , at the door ! Man , like the monarch in a play , retains his sceptre only " till the fall of the curtain . " He needs to be reminded constantly of this ; but
when the lesson is instuled by ingrafting another virtue , twin-born with humility , namely , universal love , the system which imparts the wholesome discipline is inestimable . Does Masonry promote stupidity because of its alliance to Smith , or repudiate merit because it happens to be associated with Brown ? Do we hear of kindred superseding desert , or of dulness , from its relationship with Masonic magnates , being fastened by the latter , like a slug , upon our noble
institutions , to devour and waste away the glory of our ancient landmarks ? We are aware of the usual and surest accesses to worldly patronage , and doubtless we shall , by those who know life ' s ways , be thought to dream , when we boldly assert that the adultery of a wife , or the vitiation of a sister , or any similar immemorially successful passage to mundane greatness , does not assist a Mason ' s advancement ; nay , that such practices even would retard , and disgrace him Yet—singular as it appears—such is the 'fact , and we hare no path-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
not a pecuniary one , and required merely personal influence , with a little trouble , to grant , but upon application to A ., his old chum of twenty years , C . was first met with protestations of inability , and the usual courteous falsehood veiling disinclination ; and upon his manly refusal to be stultified by such trash , forced the hollow professor of
friendship to drop the mask of deceit . He applied to B . ; few words passed , the assurance was given that the latter " would see what he eould do ; " in a few days it was done , but B ., not content with one kind act , repudiated all thanks , and learning that 0 . desired another exercise of good-will , never rested until that had been
manifested also . " Enend , did ' st thou ever feel for him in thy pocket ? "— - was the Quaker ' s calm inquiry of the fulsome hypocrite , who loudly proclaimed his sympathy with another ; the sacrifice of the pocket is a great test of sincerity , but how many proofs teem upon us that even that , is forgotten in the absorbing influence , which makes the Mason feel , in Ms heart , for his Brother ' s need ?
Benevolence , also , does not sit at home in our Lodges , neither is it of such a truly domestic nature as never to stir abroad . It seeks out , we affirm , the distressed ; indeed , volumes could be filled with facts attesting how the Fraternity ratifies the solemn obligation practically , which binds it morally . We know an instance of a Brother ^ whose time was his money , yet who gave up three whole days to find
an impoverished Mason , whom he had never seen before , but whose credentials were good , and having found him , placed him far above want , at once . Selfishness is the antagonistic element to Masonry * Whilst recognising due subservience to authority , and every claim of meritorious distinction , Masonry distinguishes none but the meritorious ; and viewing man in his affinity to woe , not to wealth ,
reflects upon the nakedness of birth , anticipates the equality of dissolution ; and renders the entrance to her Lodges an appropriate emblem of the grave , where all comers , prince and peasant , leave their clay-born greatness , like the Turk his slippers , at the door ! Man , like the monarch in a play , retains his sceptre only " till the fall of the curtain . " He needs to be reminded constantly of this ; but
when the lesson is instuled by ingrafting another virtue , twin-born with humility , namely , universal love , the system which imparts the wholesome discipline is inestimable . Does Masonry promote stupidity because of its alliance to Smith , or repudiate merit because it happens to be associated with Brown ? Do we hear of kindred superseding desert , or of dulness , from its relationship with Masonic magnates , being fastened by the latter , like a slug , upon our noble
institutions , to devour and waste away the glory of our ancient landmarks ? We are aware of the usual and surest accesses to worldly patronage , and doubtless we shall , by those who know life ' s ways , be thought to dream , when we boldly assert that the adultery of a wife , or the vitiation of a sister , or any similar immemorially successful passage to mundane greatness , does not assist a Mason ' s advancement ; nay , that such practices even would retard , and disgrace him Yet—singular as it appears—such is the 'fact , and we hare no path-