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This vanity of our time would be laughable merely , and perhaps have its recommendation as the toy , which like any other rattle , serves to amuse the grown-up childhood of " this foolish compounded dayman ; " but where its abuse leads us to take poison for fruit , and to ignore very questionable issues when veiled by specious appellation ,
the sooner things are looked at in their real shape the better . Now the fine word at present in fashion with smatterers and semi-thinkers who throng our streets , is " progress , " a fair-sounding term enough , but which , like many other ambiguities , may conceal very opposite meanings , since words like fingers maybe employed either to open doors , or to pick pockets . Now as we do not wish to identify ourselves with
those scavengers of public opinion who take up the refuse of other minds , nor dare to call a horse a horse , or a pippin an apple , before the whole world has pronounced them respectively to be such , we shall on this occasion , as on all others , think for ourselves , and ignoring all party or politics , regard the question in the truly Masonic aspect as affecting the whole human race , examining first
what the real meaning of the term " progress" is , and next some of the counterfeits which cajole us under its name . Regarding all men as equal , with the whole world as their country , Masons acting up to their character have at least the advantage of viewing questions upon the widest basis , and the largest mental liberty , and whilst politics
merge in patriotism , patriotism to them expands into philanthropy . Does any one think of asking what politics or party the sun belongs to , which shines on all , and " woos the cheek" of the outcast black " more warmly , " as if the latter stood in especial need of his favour , simply because he is an outcast ? Such is Masonry in its genial generosity to all .
What then is " progress , " legitimate , certain , and effective ? Briefly it is the necessary result of whatever influences ennoble man . It is a result , for it is an end in itself , whilst it is a means also ; and this is proved by the fact , that any interruption to it cannot annihilate at once the good already acquired , as for example , you cannot ^ nteach a man to read . It is a means , because it ever
aims at perfection , —that ocean in another world , which the streams of human improvement tend to , but never reach in this ! It is a necessary result , because the healthful exercise of every moralized mental power is invariably connected with its issue of good . Lastly , it emanates from what ennobles man , nationally and individually , the former resulting from the latter . We lay a stress upon the word " ennobles , " because vice , the parent , or deceits , tyrannies , frauds , selfishness ,
its children , could hardly be recognised as symptoms of proper progress . It is evident also that progress can only be legitimate , certain , and efficient , which imparts greater liberty of action for the individual or country to exhibit its excellences in accordance to the dictates of justice and desert ; whenever these two last are impeded excellence is at a stand-still , and a stagnation of energy from the utter hopelessness of success is necessarily a death-blow to progress . Powerful minds void of hope would sicken and die from
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
This vanity of our time would be laughable merely , and perhaps have its recommendation as the toy , which like any other rattle , serves to amuse the grown-up childhood of " this foolish compounded dayman ; " but where its abuse leads us to take poison for fruit , and to ignore very questionable issues when veiled by specious appellation ,
the sooner things are looked at in their real shape the better . Now the fine word at present in fashion with smatterers and semi-thinkers who throng our streets , is " progress , " a fair-sounding term enough , but which , like many other ambiguities , may conceal very opposite meanings , since words like fingers maybe employed either to open doors , or to pick pockets . Now as we do not wish to identify ourselves with
those scavengers of public opinion who take up the refuse of other minds , nor dare to call a horse a horse , or a pippin an apple , before the whole world has pronounced them respectively to be such , we shall on this occasion , as on all others , think for ourselves , and ignoring all party or politics , regard the question in the truly Masonic aspect as affecting the whole human race , examining first
what the real meaning of the term " progress" is , and next some of the counterfeits which cajole us under its name . Regarding all men as equal , with the whole world as their country , Masons acting up to their character have at least the advantage of viewing questions upon the widest basis , and the largest mental liberty , and whilst politics
merge in patriotism , patriotism to them expands into philanthropy . Does any one think of asking what politics or party the sun belongs to , which shines on all , and " woos the cheek" of the outcast black " more warmly , " as if the latter stood in especial need of his favour , simply because he is an outcast ? Such is Masonry in its genial generosity to all .
What then is " progress , " legitimate , certain , and effective ? Briefly it is the necessary result of whatever influences ennoble man . It is a result , for it is an end in itself , whilst it is a means also ; and this is proved by the fact , that any interruption to it cannot annihilate at once the good already acquired , as for example , you cannot ^ nteach a man to read . It is a means , because it ever
aims at perfection , —that ocean in another world , which the streams of human improvement tend to , but never reach in this ! It is a necessary result , because the healthful exercise of every moralized mental power is invariably connected with its issue of good . Lastly , it emanates from what ennobles man , nationally and individually , the former resulting from the latter . We lay a stress upon the word " ennobles , " because vice , the parent , or deceits , tyrannies , frauds , selfishness ,
its children , could hardly be recognised as symptoms of proper progress . It is evident also that progress can only be legitimate , certain , and efficient , which imparts greater liberty of action for the individual or country to exhibit its excellences in accordance to the dictates of justice and desert ; whenever these two last are impeded excellence is at a stand-still , and a stagnation of energy from the utter hopelessness of success is necessarily a death-blow to progress . Powerful minds void of hope would sicken and die from