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even yet cast onus , that our Institution exists in the main for the purpose of social conviviality , and is therefore entitled to no higher deference than is awarded to those societies whose chief objects are boon companionship and freedom from inconvenient restraints .

My Brethren , — -Your presence here to-day is an evidence in favour of Masonry . The many gifted individuals now in attendance , eminent in various walks of life , proves that it cannot tend to darkness and degradation . None of you could have given it the sanction of your name and station , and indirectly have acted as decoys to other men , if you had thought unfavourably of it . You would blush to lend yourselves to a mere mockery ; you would spurn the thought that idle show or sensuality was its summum bonum . Beyond all question , you adhere to the Ancient Order , and appear here to-day as its supporters , because you believe , that if its principles are understood , cultivated , and faithfully carried out , it can produce , as it has in bygone days produced , much good both to individuals and societies .

My Brethren , —With your bias and prepossessions already engaged , I shall not experience much difficulty in addressing you on the uses of Masonry ; and indeed , if I were to attempt to recount them all , the bright orb of day would disappear before the task was accomplished , and the mantle of night would overspread the face of nature . Solomon says , "A word in season , how good is it . '' May we utter that word , briefly , well , and wisely ! We think that Masonry should act as a stimulus and provocative to the cause of religion and morality ; as enlightening the mind , by fostering and encouraging the arts and sciences , and as repressing

selfishness , and leading man to recognise in every member of the human family a brother of the dust . See then its use , —first as a provocative to religion . According to the definition of the Roman orator Cicero , " Beligion consists in the study and practice of Divine worship . " But we , as Christian Masons , go far beyond the heathen in the interpretation of this word ; we require the head and the heart to

be affected , as well as the lip and the hand . The religion of the Mason is practical , and includes duty to God and our neighbour ; it is a system of practical duties , and thus stands opposed to theology , which is a system of speculative truths ; it admits the certainty of an account , and an equitable recompense according to that account , from the even hand of impartial justice . This sort of religion , with

rewards and punishments plainly set forth , is a constant stimulus to the performance of duty . Hence firmness under affliction ; hence the upturned eye and solemn prayer to Heaven for relief under pressure of actual or impending calamity ; hence the absolute necessity of ruling the passions , doing justice , loving mercy , avoiding slander and dissimulation , of taking the volume of the sacred law , the

Bible , as the rule of faith , and regulating the actions by the precepts it contains . This is the business of Masonry , and for this it is entitled to the consideration of the thoughtful mind ; and in this way it is of use in enforcing piety and holiness , duty to God and duty to man ; upon the fulfilment of which , according to the language of the greatest moralist that ever lived , Christ Jesus the Lord , depend " all the law and the prophets . "

But Masonry is useful as a help to the development of the mmd , and she may be termed the foster-parent of the learned arts and sciences . Myriads upon myriads , who must have perished in the sloughs and damps of despondency , have been crowned with victory over barbarism and ignorance through her instrumentality : she has put the aspirant after knowledge upon the right track ; she has

held up the weak hand and strengthened the feeble knee in the search after light ; she has long proclaimed that " unity is strength , " and shown what determination and perseverance could accomplish under the most adverse circumstances , amidst sordid selfishness and bigoted prejudice . The ancient proud memorials of the physical toil of her sons may yet be seen outliving the corroding shower and the flight of centuries , in the dim aisle and fretted roof , the

heavenward-pointing spire and ivy-mantled tower of our sacred temples ; and the moral effects of her strengthening power may be traced in the courage and perseverance , the undaunted and unconquerable fidelity of many of her professors . A writer of standard reputation , in referring to the origin of Masonry , and its general advantages , says , — " No art , no science , preceded it . In the dark periods of antiquity , when literature was in a low state , and the rude manners of our