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Untitled Article
us back- to earth , once more , by convincing us he is mortal— -this is nauseating in the extreme . It savours of the venality of courts , not of the plain-dealing of our earlier Brethren , whose wit was more pungent , hearts as warm , and who , though necessarily insincere , being human , vet had the tone of right-down honest speaking amongst
them , however inconsistent their lives might be . The evil of which we at present speak generates also divisions , and , together with the third and last we shall touch upon , produces party spirit in that Fraternity wherein party is especially ignored . 3 . This corruption is a general desire to share the benefits and
accumulate the honours , without manifesting qualifications suitable to the duties of the Craft . It was glorious to belong to a system where merit reached the highest apex by its own unaided effort—why should we have to exclaim " Ichabod " in this respect ? If men would only make their own jewels and wear them inwardly , instead of on their coats , we should have fewer stars , but greater dignitaries , in our lodges . We do not say that promotion is not dealt out to desert ; we only state our belief that there are other methods of obtaining it
besides talent , and these are not unfrequently most successful ; and although the circumstance of a Mason of twenty years' standing yet without an office may be easily accounted for , by his own indifference , locomotion , temporary relinquishment of Masonry , or the rare virtue of independent disposition , yet high intellect and sterling quality are not unfrequently amongst the undistinguished , and sadly reflect upon the want of insight into character , or upon the injustice exemplified
by those whose duty it is to seek out ability and place it m its proper sphere . Were this element more investigated , our lodges would be better worked , and consequently Masonry in a far healthier condition . At present it seems a matter of chance whether in our visits we plump upon an intellectual president or a parrot . But there are , notwithstanding these clouds , rays of light behind
them , which augur a forthcoming glory . We are but the exponent of opinions already concurrent with those enunciated , not less by the presence of the ills we denounce than by the increasing dissatisfaction expressed by the Craft at their existence . Our own experience of two short months amply suffices to prove how true the old Masonic nature is to itself , and how readily it turns to recognize and join with the desire to ameliorate all classes . No sooner had our leading address ,
and the articles which followed it , informed the Fraternity of our determination to render our pages second to none in the promotion of practical and useful information suited to the times wo live in , than congratulatory addresses reached us from all sides ; communications were at once established with America and France ; the Brethren in both hemispheres welcomed our efforts , and forwarded intelligence ;
gifted men expressed their willingness to aid us , many from unseliish zeal to the cause ; whilst the Magazine rose at once , in the month , so rapidly as seldom occurs in the annals of any periodical . This , therefore , is a proof itself sufficient to demonstrate the alliance between true Freemasonry and knowledge , and if the instruments
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
us back- to earth , once more , by convincing us he is mortal— -this is nauseating in the extreme . It savours of the venality of courts , not of the plain-dealing of our earlier Brethren , whose wit was more pungent , hearts as warm , and who , though necessarily insincere , being human , vet had the tone of right-down honest speaking amongst
them , however inconsistent their lives might be . The evil of which we at present speak generates also divisions , and , together with the third and last we shall touch upon , produces party spirit in that Fraternity wherein party is especially ignored . 3 . This corruption is a general desire to share the benefits and
accumulate the honours , without manifesting qualifications suitable to the duties of the Craft . It was glorious to belong to a system where merit reached the highest apex by its own unaided effort—why should we have to exclaim " Ichabod " in this respect ? If men would only make their own jewels and wear them inwardly , instead of on their coats , we should have fewer stars , but greater dignitaries , in our lodges . We do not say that promotion is not dealt out to desert ; we only state our belief that there are other methods of obtaining it
besides talent , and these are not unfrequently most successful ; and although the circumstance of a Mason of twenty years' standing yet without an office may be easily accounted for , by his own indifference , locomotion , temporary relinquishment of Masonry , or the rare virtue of independent disposition , yet high intellect and sterling quality are not unfrequently amongst the undistinguished , and sadly reflect upon the want of insight into character , or upon the injustice exemplified
by those whose duty it is to seek out ability and place it m its proper sphere . Were this element more investigated , our lodges would be better worked , and consequently Masonry in a far healthier condition . At present it seems a matter of chance whether in our visits we plump upon an intellectual president or a parrot . But there are , notwithstanding these clouds , rays of light behind
them , which augur a forthcoming glory . We are but the exponent of opinions already concurrent with those enunciated , not less by the presence of the ills we denounce than by the increasing dissatisfaction expressed by the Craft at their existence . Our own experience of two short months amply suffices to prove how true the old Masonic nature is to itself , and how readily it turns to recognize and join with the desire to ameliorate all classes . No sooner had our leading address ,
and the articles which followed it , informed the Fraternity of our determination to render our pages second to none in the promotion of practical and useful information suited to the times wo live in , than congratulatory addresses reached us from all sides ; communications were at once established with America and France ; the Brethren in both hemispheres welcomed our efforts , and forwarded intelligence ;
gifted men expressed their willingness to aid us , many from unseliish zeal to the cause ; whilst the Magazine rose at once , in the month , so rapidly as seldom occurs in the annals of any periodical . This , therefore , is a proof itself sufficient to demonstrate the alliance between true Freemasonry and knowledge , and if the instruments