Scottish Masonic Lectures.

should be no longer a mere question of adding so much money to a lodge fund ; that whilst the tivo great festivals should be kept up , meetings at least monthly , and weekly , if possible , should be held for the purpose of instruction aud improvement ;

that the utmost care should be taken that none of the ancient landmarks be removed , but their true use and purpose sought for in the inherent evidences within themselves . We need scarcely say the results have been those of " p leasure and profit , " in

the instruction given and received , in the attendance of many members of intelligence ancl worth Avho had formerly ivithdraivn themselves , and in additional members of moral and social standing . Whilst a portion of each evening Avas devoted to

the practice and explanation of our ceremonies , an hour or so AA as devoted to lectures and readings ou subjects comprehended iu the codes of teaching of each degree . In the first , that Avhich mi ght advance

the cause of morality , m teaching charity and goodwill ; in the second , that which mi ght aid in the improvement of the intellect ; and , in the third , subjects which mi ght direct the mind towards preparing ourselves for a hi gher and holier state .

The interest ancl attendance has exceeded the most hopeful expectations . The publication of the lectures has been urged , not Avith the pretence of instructing the readers of a journal ivhose general knoivledge will probably far exceed that possessed

by the lecturers in a country lodge , but to SIIOAV by Avhat methods an humble but successful effort has been made to aid in the maintenance and proper understanding of the true purpose of our grand old Order . Several of tho lodges in the

province have their periodical lectures . The session of No . 225 commenced with a lecture ' given b y Bro . Cowie , entitled , " The Utilit y of Ceremony /' ( To be continued . )

Fifth Decade Of Masonic Precepts.

FIFTH DECADE OF MASONIC PRECEPTS .

( Fro . ii Bro . Pua . ox COOPER ' 2 Ia-Miseri . pl Collections . ) XLI . —UNEXPECTED SUCCESS . Brother , if thou bast aehici-ed any unexpected success , attribute it not to thy ability and skill ; but attribute it to the goodness of the Great Architect of the Universe ;

for , brother , is it not the Great Architect of the Universe who gave thee such skill and ability ? XLII . —HISSOETUXES . There arc some misfortunes , brother , against ivhieh it is vain to struggle . Pray the Great Aohitect of the Universe , and learn to support them .

Fifth Decade Of Masonic Precepts.

XLIII . —BAXTER . —ARGUMENT . Brother , banter is often ill-timed ; argument rarely . XLIV . —TOLERATION . Brother , much that may not be tolerated iu our English lodgo , is necessarily tolerated in society .

XLV . —DEVELOPMENT or INSTITUTIONS . Brother , it is by a slow but certain development , that institutions commonly acquire what are often looked upon as their most precious parts . XLVI . —PHILOSOPHICAL DEMONSTRATIONS .

Brother , although philosophical demonstrations hare not the same force as geometrical demonstrations , yet they are abundantly sufficient for the solution of thoseproblems in which man is most interested .

XLVII . —DEVOTIONAL PASSAGES . Brother , store thy memory with devotional passages in verse and prose ; and repeat them silently , or aloud , when thou lvould ' st drive out unbecoming and trivialthoughts . XLVIII . — "WILL or THE GREAT ARCHITECT or THE

UNIVERSE . Matter , spirit , and their properties . —Eegard , brother ,, the mere existence of these as incomprehensible to thehuman mind , ivithout a First Cause , ivithout the Will of a Supreme Being , of that Being Avhom Ave call the Great Architect of the Universe .

XLIX . —LIBERTY AND TOLERATION . Brother , as even in the state ivhieh is most free , liberty necessarily has limits , so in the true Freemasons ' lodge , and in the family , toleration also necessarily has limits .

L . —BRITISH AND AMERICA * FREEMASONS If British and American Freemasons talk rarely of ancient consanguinity , it is that they have now become Brothers .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

STAXJDAKD 01 " MORALS . An inquiry into the standard of morals cannoi be considered alien to true Ereemasonry . The ensuing are the names of the principal writers of our OAVU country upon the subject . I have annexed to the name of each writer the vear of his birth : —Ilobbes ,

15 S 8 ; Cudworth , 1017 . Locke , 1 G 32 : William Wollaston , 1 G 59 ; Lord Shaftesbury , 1 G 71 ; Dr . Samuel Clarke , 1675 ; Bishop Butler , 1 G 92 ; Hutcheson , 1 G 9-1 ; Hume , 1711 ; Adam Smith , 172 ' }; Adam Ferguson , 1724 ; Beat-tie , 1735 ; Paley , 1713 ; Jeremy Bentham , 174 S ; Dugald Stcivart , 1758 ; Sir James Mackintosh ,

17 CG ; James Mill , 1773 ; Thomas Brown , 1778 ; John Austin , ; Doctor Whew ell , ; John Stuart Mill , 1 S 0 G . —C . P . COOPEE . OUB HASOSIC WKITERS . —GOD AXD TEE SOUL ' S IIMOBTALITY . In answer to the letter of a correspondent , in which sundry passages of our Masonic writers are cited , I say that no intelligent and impartial critic