The Petroglyphs In Argyllshire.

glyphs , and reading all the information I have been able to meet with on this very obscure subject . But I chiefl y look forward with hope to the collection of facts which Dr . C . Bruce is known to be making from all quarters where the Celtic race

have been established , for obtaining any real knowledge on this difficult question . G . B . H .

Freemasonry And Its Teachings.

FREEMASONRY AND ITS TEACHINGS .

The following address was delivered at the centenary of the Caledonian Lodge ( iNo . 13-1 ) , on Tuesday , Nov . 15 , 1864 , by Bro . the Rev . George Richards , D . D ., F . R . G . S ., W . M .. — BRETHREN , —For a few sacred moments we are standing aside from the great world-tramp , as it is

being hurried on in its ceaseless course towards that vast ocean of eternity which terminates all things , and we review the past and speculate on the future . Vain task this , unless we are thereb y influenced in dealing with the present . We recall the deeds of our ancestors in the Craft ; but to little purpose unless we imitate their virtues and avoid their faults . We

summon before our eyes a picture of the destiny that is in store for it ; but to little purpose unless we are winning for ourselves a share of its glories . Wretched state ours if for our splendour we depend upon suns which have long since set ; wretched if to those who come after us we delegate our duties , and with them bequeath an example colddarkand depressing as

, , the word without the beams of li ght and life . Standing before you , then , as the representative of the present , I would urge you zealously to uphold not only with your lips , but also iu your lives , the principles of Freemasonry , as highly conducive to promote the religious and social welfare of the human

race . This is no new subject . Like all other advantages which flow from our refreshing fountain , it is well known , and repeatedly has it been well elucidated ; and the fear is that the subject become not only flat and stale , hut also unprofitable , especially when handled by one who is but a novice in the Craftwith

, an audience that numbers many who are veterans , and deeply versed in Masonic lore . Yet it may be well at times to listen to others' thoughts , to see , as it were , with others' e } 'es , and to view the subject from their peculiar stand point . Now , I am perfectly willing to confess that I have , almost as a necessity ,

viewed Freemasonry with a professional—I may even say with a jealous—eye ; and , strongly as I should he opposed to anything that would militate against that wonderful and mysterious scheme , divinely appointed for the renovation of mankind , I unhesitatingly avow my conviction that Freemasonry cannot fairly be

regarded as such . Opponents will tell us that we are setting up a religion which is no reli gion—a charge tantamount to that of practising a mockery , a delusion ; and even among our own ranks there are some who , in a discretionless zeal , would have our system regarded as a system of reliion . Others again there

g are who , too generous and philosophical to oppose what they do not understand , and yet too indifferent , or , it may be , too cautious , to join the secret assemblies of our brotherhood , allege against us that we adopt lower motives when higher motives are at our

command . The first of these classes makes Freemasonry to be what it never professes itself to be ; . for modesty is a characteristic of our Order , and it is well content to be designated—and truly is it designated—¦ " a beautiful system of morality , veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols . " The second of these classes wouldI apprehendadmit this definition

, , to be true , and yet reject a mere system of morality in favour of some definite form of faith . Now , we claim not for the Craft—our love for it is too great , to put it in a false position—the character of religion ,, for reli gion , as I understand it , implies a correct faith , andbeyond the bare faith in the existence of the

, Supreme Being , Freemasonry makes no profession , and requires none , because this would defeat one of its great objects . It is " a system of morality , " and morality is not religion more than a part of anything is the whole , however largely it may partake of its nature . It is to religion what the moon is to the sun :

it has a portion of its light , though it shares not and therefore dispenses not its warmth . And sure I am that Freemasonry , as a system of morality , is a fitting handmaiden for the purest of faiths , and that the purest of faiths need not blush to have such a handmaiden as Freemasonry . Grant that it he lower , and

meaner , and weaker ; why , for this very reason is it often the better adapted to deal with our fallen , humbled , and debilitated nature . Shall all light be excluded from us because we have not the eagle ' s eye to face the overpowering brilliancy of the sun ? Shall the sick man be neglected until he can eat strong meats and drink strong drinks ? Shall one line of tactics only be used to repel a dangerous foe because others may be regarded as elaborate fancies of

a military theorist r Call the motive low , it you will ; but , if by any fair means I can draw a fellow-creature from the brink of a precipice , beneath which yawns an abyss of perdition , and can lead him into a path of life wherein he may run a course honourable tohimself and useful to others , I am well content to bear the reproach ; but reproach must be unjustfor

, the volume of the Sacred Law , without which our lodges cannot he pronounced "just , aud perfect , aud regular , " affords the highest authority for so actingtowards men . And , judging means by results , these very frequently seem to be the best means ; for we find men more disposed to their duty by some system

of morals , such as the law of honour , or Freemasonry , than by some peculiar form of faith . The question is not whether this be a state of things such as we desire , but it is , practically , which influences a man the more—a system of morality , or a distinct form of faith , supposing him not to be decidedly under the

influence of strong religious feelings . My own experience bears witness in favour of the former . By becoming Masons , men do not , indeed , bind themselves to other , or more duties than they were before bound to observe ; but they do feel themselves in some way more personally , by their own act and deed ,

involved in the performance of them . And there is no difficulty in understanding this . A man ' s form of faith has been professed for him in his infancy . It has grown as it were with his growth , though it may not have strengthened with his strength . He has probably never investigated it more thau he has his animal structure , and by the way in which he treats it he seems very often to be half ashamed to acknowledge it and talk about it . Such is not the case as