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But increase of commercial enterprise does not , of necessity , secure national progress ; for it does not always tend to real good , nor to the induction of the highest moral motive , hence does not " ennoble" the individual by elevation in the only worthy rank , viz ., honest , upright men . Nay , it puts forth evils peculiarly parasitical to itself , as selfishness , imprudence , & c , and , like a child with cards , piles a
precarious tower , whose very altitude threatens its stability . To acquire is not to retain . Bees labour vastly , and amass stores ; yet , when the majority of them are absent , these fall easily before the wasp . Again , it induces avarice—the father , by speculation , of imprudence , whence sprang ruin ; or the descent of the last from the original ancestor—commercial enterprise—may be traced , through
refinement wedded to indolence , whence sprang luxury , who married imprudence , mother to ruin . Here we have the pedigree on both sides , and no Newmarket lineage—the surest descent our age can boast of—could produce a clearer ! Such are a few of the counterfeits of progress ; but the last consists not in these , though it should possess their good without their evil
tendencies ; whilst so closely does the false resemble the real , that with the history of past nations before us , we should exercise extraordinary vigilance over the use of terms we employ in respect of this subject , lest poison may lurk within the flower . With the rapid influx of prosperity and aggrandizement , we view their aspects with some anxiety as to their ennobling issues . We rejoice , therefore , at the increase of Masonry ; for its proper application is a searching cure to the concomitant evils of which we treat , if it observe closely the
simple self-subserviency to the behests of the Great Supreme , which constitutes its surest excellence . Selfishness and neglect of others , under the specious pretext of prudence , find no home in its broad , expansive breast ; power is narrowly inspected , and knowledge also , to ascertain whether their bases be in responsibility and moral principle ; whilst intellect , encouraged to its loftiest flight after truth in the regions of art and science , is never permitted to soar beyond the horizon of religion—that canopy of genuine genius , nor out of the sight of humility—the ground of all the virtues . We
unhesitatingly affirm , that the more Freemasons are inhabitants of a country , the safer and the higher in the scale of progress that country is , if they maintain the moral singleness of purpose which has survived the shock of empires , and , like Ararat , was the rock on which pale science found a footing from the deluge of barbaric invasion . Associated by the closest ties of patriotism , with all the influences of kindred and affinity , its sons will be the defenders of their
country ' s freedom , without slavish fear , or venal adulation of any , or restricted charity to each brother amongst men ; intellect will adorn its Lodges , and thence diffuse a genial light to increase the gleam of civilization ; and the spread of progress in its purest sense , individual and national , will run parallel with the growth of a Fraternity founded upon the sublime precept ., " Love as Brethren , " and rendering " all honour to God alone ! "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
But increase of commercial enterprise does not , of necessity , secure national progress ; for it does not always tend to real good , nor to the induction of the highest moral motive , hence does not " ennoble" the individual by elevation in the only worthy rank , viz ., honest , upright men . Nay , it puts forth evils peculiarly parasitical to itself , as selfishness , imprudence , & c , and , like a child with cards , piles a
precarious tower , whose very altitude threatens its stability . To acquire is not to retain . Bees labour vastly , and amass stores ; yet , when the majority of them are absent , these fall easily before the wasp . Again , it induces avarice—the father , by speculation , of imprudence , whence sprang ruin ; or the descent of the last from the original ancestor—commercial enterprise—may be traced , through
refinement wedded to indolence , whence sprang luxury , who married imprudence , mother to ruin . Here we have the pedigree on both sides , and no Newmarket lineage—the surest descent our age can boast of—could produce a clearer ! Such are a few of the counterfeits of progress ; but the last consists not in these , though it should possess their good without their evil
tendencies ; whilst so closely does the false resemble the real , that with the history of past nations before us , we should exercise extraordinary vigilance over the use of terms we employ in respect of this subject , lest poison may lurk within the flower . With the rapid influx of prosperity and aggrandizement , we view their aspects with some anxiety as to their ennobling issues . We rejoice , therefore , at the increase of Masonry ; for its proper application is a searching cure to the concomitant evils of which we treat , if it observe closely the
simple self-subserviency to the behests of the Great Supreme , which constitutes its surest excellence . Selfishness and neglect of others , under the specious pretext of prudence , find no home in its broad , expansive breast ; power is narrowly inspected , and knowledge also , to ascertain whether their bases be in responsibility and moral principle ; whilst intellect , encouraged to its loftiest flight after truth in the regions of art and science , is never permitted to soar beyond the horizon of religion—that canopy of genuine genius , nor out of the sight of humility—the ground of all the virtues . We
unhesitatingly affirm , that the more Freemasons are inhabitants of a country , the safer and the higher in the scale of progress that country is , if they maintain the moral singleness of purpose which has survived the shock of empires , and , like Ararat , was the rock on which pale science found a footing from the deluge of barbaric invasion . Associated by the closest ties of patriotism , with all the influences of kindred and affinity , its sons will be the defenders of their
country ' s freedom , without slavish fear , or venal adulation of any , or restricted charity to each brother amongst men ; intellect will adorn its Lodges , and thence diffuse a genial light to increase the gleam of civilization ; and the spread of progress in its purest sense , individual and national , will run parallel with the growth of a Fraternity founded upon the sublime precept ., " Love as Brethren , " and rendering " all honour to God alone ! "