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way to pre-eminence through libertinism , falsehood , and dishonour . Upon applying , therefore , our second analysis to the utility of our system , namely , a contrast with the exoteric usage of the world , we must confess , that if her claim be fairly weighed , Masonry , in this aspect , commands our indisputable regard . There is also difference in the manner of assistance . If I throw a
penny to a beggar with an intention of breaking his head , says Johnson , though I miss him , and he is benefited by the coin , he has small reason to thank his untoward benefactor . Now even with the intention of charity , consideration of the feelings of the recipient , not only enhances the gift , but ( and we wish this were oftener remembered ) it may decide the whole issue of the act . Whatever damages
selfrespect , impoverishes morality ; the relief , however opportune , is swamped by the degradation of the gift , and the glow of gratitiade , pales before the blush of shame ! Charity , like the heart , ought to animate the whole system , yet its beat be silent and unseen ; and the very members which owe to it their life , ought to be unconscious of the source of their vitality . To stigmatise penury
therefore with grotesque and obsolete costume , to array the recipients of our alms as outrageously as the occupants of our prisons , is to stamp disgrace on want ; to pour not oil , but liquid fire , upon the the heart ' s sore place , and to fix , by an indelible record of mendicancy , a barrier to the ambition of a noble spirit . In this respect , then ,
Masonry deserves commendation ; many juvenile recipients of its aid are unconscious of aught approaching to eleemosynary association , and it has long since discovered that the rays of Charity ' s bright sun affect those , most easily , who bask beneath it , —without woollen coats , thick , bilious-looking stockings , or corduroys .
Our space does not permit us—for we are happy to say , the demand upon it rapidly increases from all quarters—to adduce so much evidence as we should desire of the usefulness of Masonry in stripping fictitious—or at least , in separating hypocrisy from—virtue . In the most satirical notes to a work , probably , which have appeared of late years , the Editor remarks that , — " Benevolence is but dry fare
without turbot and lobster sauce , "—thereby intimating the humiliating truth , that no inconsiderable amount of liberality , springs from gluttonous good-humour . Not that we are ascetic enough to impugn the fact , that conviviality lubricates charity as it does most business ; but leaving the festive consideration , it must be confessed that the single , spontaneous effusion of charity , unheralded by great names ,
long lists , or egotistic speeches , is of rare occurrence in the world . To test therefore the genuineness of benevolence , we have to consider its motive , as exemplified by the method , of its action , and this test vindicates the singleness of Masonic philanthropy . It is discharged by each singly , —the individual not waiting for collective encouragement , — towards the necessitous , under the tie of mutual fidelity , and to the honour of the Universal liulcr . Obligation in * Gay ' s Italics , with Annotations hy Octavius Freire Owen , M . A . F . S . A ., Hector of Burstow , Surrey . London : G . Houtledgo and Co .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
way to pre-eminence through libertinism , falsehood , and dishonour . Upon applying , therefore , our second analysis to the utility of our system , namely , a contrast with the exoteric usage of the world , we must confess , that if her claim be fairly weighed , Masonry , in this aspect , commands our indisputable regard . There is also difference in the manner of assistance . If I throw a
penny to a beggar with an intention of breaking his head , says Johnson , though I miss him , and he is benefited by the coin , he has small reason to thank his untoward benefactor . Now even with the intention of charity , consideration of the feelings of the recipient , not only enhances the gift , but ( and we wish this were oftener remembered ) it may decide the whole issue of the act . Whatever damages
selfrespect , impoverishes morality ; the relief , however opportune , is swamped by the degradation of the gift , and the glow of gratitiade , pales before the blush of shame ! Charity , like the heart , ought to animate the whole system , yet its beat be silent and unseen ; and the very members which owe to it their life , ought to be unconscious of the source of their vitality . To stigmatise penury
therefore with grotesque and obsolete costume , to array the recipients of our alms as outrageously as the occupants of our prisons , is to stamp disgrace on want ; to pour not oil , but liquid fire , upon the the heart ' s sore place , and to fix , by an indelible record of mendicancy , a barrier to the ambition of a noble spirit . In this respect , then ,
Masonry deserves commendation ; many juvenile recipients of its aid are unconscious of aught approaching to eleemosynary association , and it has long since discovered that the rays of Charity ' s bright sun affect those , most easily , who bask beneath it , —without woollen coats , thick , bilious-looking stockings , or corduroys .
Our space does not permit us—for we are happy to say , the demand upon it rapidly increases from all quarters—to adduce so much evidence as we should desire of the usefulness of Masonry in stripping fictitious—or at least , in separating hypocrisy from—virtue . In the most satirical notes to a work , probably , which have appeared of late years , the Editor remarks that , — " Benevolence is but dry fare
without turbot and lobster sauce , "—thereby intimating the humiliating truth , that no inconsiderable amount of liberality , springs from gluttonous good-humour . Not that we are ascetic enough to impugn the fact , that conviviality lubricates charity as it does most business ; but leaving the festive consideration , it must be confessed that the single , spontaneous effusion of charity , unheralded by great names ,
long lists , or egotistic speeches , is of rare occurrence in the world . To test therefore the genuineness of benevolence , we have to consider its motive , as exemplified by the method , of its action , and this test vindicates the singleness of Masonic philanthropy . It is discharged by each singly , —the individual not waiting for collective encouragement , — towards the necessitous , under the tie of mutual fidelity , and to the honour of the Universal liulcr . Obligation in * Gay ' s Italics , with Annotations hy Octavius Freire Owen , M . A . F . S . A ., Hector of Burstow , Surrey . London : G . Houtledgo and Co .