Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Influence Exerted By Dr. Oliver's Works.
THE INFLUENCE EXERTED BY DR . OLIVER'S WORKS .
ZONDON , SATURDAY , SEPTEMBER 1 , 1866 .
The influence of the Eev . Dr . Oliver ' s writings on both the Craft and the uninitiated , worlclj has not , we think , been sufficiently appreciated and acknowledged . And , first , as regards the Craft , what mighty
effects have been produced by them ! 1 . A love of Masonic literature has thereby teen ¦ fostered . The majority of our brethren are still , it is to be feared , insensible to the beauties Avhich lie hidden in Freemasonry , and which only an
acquaintance Avith our extensive and interesting Masonic treatises can evoke and develop . Still a considerable and important minority are thoroughly imbued Avith a taste for literary research , and to these it is owing that "our savour is not abhorred" hy the profane . NOAV such a desirable
consummation is entirely to be attributed to the learned productions of our worthy Brother Dr . Oliver . 2 . Again : his writings have retained within ihe Order , men who otherwise ivould have seceded
from it . We have ourselves frequently heard brethren of high attainments express themselves thus : " We have been disappointed with Freemasons . We Avent amongst them , expecting to find some love for the literary department of their
labours . What , however , has been the case ? We have found them fully acquainted with all the mysteries of " the knife and fork , " but utterly uninformed as to the history , the achievements , the literarature of Masonry . Weshould have abandoned the Order long since in disgust , Avere it not for Dr . Oliver's writings ; Therein we learn what
Freemasonry is , und ought to be , not Avhat it is represented to be by too many who , to their own injury ,, and certainly to that of the Order , are enrolled in it . " 3 . But it is not only literary men who , thanks
to Dr . Olivei , are retained within the Craft . Religious men are also kept in it , by the " beauty of holiness , " the sound , healthy , tone that pervades the whole of our Avorthy brother ' s writings . There is no cant , no hypocrisy in them , but there is
about them the very atmosphere of that holy Book which lies open on our altars , and Avhich Masons are exhorted to consider the unerring standard of truth and justice . Alas ! hoAv many of the
brethren there are , who eA idence by their lives aud conversations , that this exhortation falls unheeded on their ears . We believe that Masons , as a body , welcome heartily to their brotherhood , the ministers of religion . If we have any such amongst
us , Ave are certain that it is to be attributed to Dr . Oliver Avho has incontroverfcibly shoAvn that "there is no antagonism between Christianity and Freemasonry ; that , on the contrary , the latter is the handmaid of the former , its truest and
staunchest friend and helper , and that a good Mason must necessarily be a good man . But important and salutary as is the influence AA'hich Dr . Oliver has produced by the labours of his pen ou the Order , Ave believe that a great deal
also of the respect and esteem in Avhich . that Order is held by the public at large , is to be traced to the same source . Such a work , as ' ' ' ' the Star in the Bast , " when put into the hands of an uninitiated candid inquirer , has a marvellous effect . We have
frequently tested it . We have heard men railing against Freemasonry as silly or wicked . We have lent them the above Avork , and almost invariably found that the perusal of it has had the effect of converting * the former enemy into a friend , and
not unfrequently into a candidate for initiation . So also his " Apology for the Free and Accepted Masons , " has induced the Clergy , in a great many instances , to cease from their opposition , and to open their churches to our yearly gatherings .
Several other very important influences may be ascribed to Dr . Oliver ' s disinterested and , as far as substantial appreciation is concerned , unrequited labours . He has , however , the great satisfaction of having done much for the benefit of
Masonry , and therefore for humanity , for Masonry is the friend of humanity . He has produced veneration and respect for our Order , throughout the civilised world ( Rome and its serfs always excepted ) , he has implanted in the brethren a taste
for literature , one of the purest and most beneficial tastes that can be indulged , and he has , Ave feel convinced , clone much to cherish a moral and religious tone in the minds of his readers . These are no slight influences for one man to exert . They are a j > recions reward for services hoAvever laborious , however unheeded and
depressing * . Let us thankfully avail ourselvas of our brother ' s mental labours . Let every brother place them on his shelves , not for ornament , but for constant perusal and reference .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Influence Exerted By Dr. Oliver's Works.
THE INFLUENCE EXERTED BY DR . OLIVER'S WORKS .
ZONDON , SATURDAY , SEPTEMBER 1 , 1866 .
The influence of the Eev . Dr . Oliver ' s writings on both the Craft and the uninitiated , worlclj has not , we think , been sufficiently appreciated and acknowledged . And , first , as regards the Craft , what mighty
effects have been produced by them ! 1 . A love of Masonic literature has thereby teen ¦ fostered . The majority of our brethren are still , it is to be feared , insensible to the beauties Avhich lie hidden in Freemasonry , and which only an
acquaintance Avith our extensive and interesting Masonic treatises can evoke and develop . Still a considerable and important minority are thoroughly imbued Avith a taste for literary research , and to these it is owing that "our savour is not abhorred" hy the profane . NOAV such a desirable
consummation is entirely to be attributed to the learned productions of our worthy Brother Dr . Oliver . 2 . Again : his writings have retained within ihe Order , men who otherwise ivould have seceded
from it . We have ourselves frequently heard brethren of high attainments express themselves thus : " We have been disappointed with Freemasons . We Avent amongst them , expecting to find some love for the literary department of their
labours . What , however , has been the case ? We have found them fully acquainted with all the mysteries of " the knife and fork , " but utterly uninformed as to the history , the achievements , the literarature of Masonry . Weshould have abandoned the Order long since in disgust , Avere it not for Dr . Oliver's writings ; Therein we learn what
Freemasonry is , und ought to be , not Avhat it is represented to be by too many who , to their own injury ,, and certainly to that of the Order , are enrolled in it . " 3 . But it is not only literary men who , thanks
to Dr . Olivei , are retained within the Craft . Religious men are also kept in it , by the " beauty of holiness , " the sound , healthy , tone that pervades the whole of our Avorthy brother ' s writings . There is no cant , no hypocrisy in them , but there is
about them the very atmosphere of that holy Book which lies open on our altars , and Avhich Masons are exhorted to consider the unerring standard of truth and justice . Alas ! hoAv many of the
brethren there are , who eA idence by their lives aud conversations , that this exhortation falls unheeded on their ears . We believe that Masons , as a body , welcome heartily to their brotherhood , the ministers of religion . If we have any such amongst
us , Ave are certain that it is to be attributed to Dr . Oliver Avho has incontroverfcibly shoAvn that "there is no antagonism between Christianity and Freemasonry ; that , on the contrary , the latter is the handmaid of the former , its truest and
staunchest friend and helper , and that a good Mason must necessarily be a good man . But important and salutary as is the influence AA'hich Dr . Oliver has produced by the labours of his pen ou the Order , Ave believe that a great deal
also of the respect and esteem in Avhich . that Order is held by the public at large , is to be traced to the same source . Such a work , as ' ' ' ' the Star in the Bast , " when put into the hands of an uninitiated candid inquirer , has a marvellous effect . We have
frequently tested it . We have heard men railing against Freemasonry as silly or wicked . We have lent them the above Avork , and almost invariably found that the perusal of it has had the effect of converting * the former enemy into a friend , and
not unfrequently into a candidate for initiation . So also his " Apology for the Free and Accepted Masons , " has induced the Clergy , in a great many instances , to cease from their opposition , and to open their churches to our yearly gatherings .
Several other very important influences may be ascribed to Dr . Oliver ' s disinterested and , as far as substantial appreciation is concerned , unrequited labours . He has , however , the great satisfaction of having done much for the benefit of
Masonry , and therefore for humanity , for Masonry is the friend of humanity . He has produced veneration and respect for our Order , throughout the civilised world ( Rome and its serfs always excepted ) , he has implanted in the brethren a taste
for literature , one of the purest and most beneficial tastes that can be indulged , and he has , Ave feel convinced , clone much to cherish a moral and religious tone in the minds of his readers . These are no slight influences for one man to exert . They are a j > recions reward for services hoAvever laborious , however unheeded and
depressing * . Let us thankfully avail ourselvas of our brother ' s mental labours . Let every brother place them on his shelves , not for ornament , but for constant perusal and reference .