From Dark To Light.

judgment and the end of all creation . Ihe mere individual has ' therefore a tivofbld destiny to fulfil ; to live for himself as ivell as the general body of mankind . The career of the man finishes with his death , and his progressive spirit , as well as his knoiviedge , is lost to the world , and there only remains a mere atom of his contributions ton-ards the general good of mankind . The world may appropriate the vast experience of the late Baron

Humboldt and build thereon , but to whom have those extraordinary faculties been left in succession ? But this is really the way in which mankind progresses , the gradual development of his career toiA'ards perfection . This progress is certainly small , as must be admitted b y the question oftentimes raised—whether the mind of man ( I do not here mean his knowledge but his individual faculty and internal development ) has really made any

remarkable progress since the time of the Greeks and Komans . Of positive knoAi-ledge ive have acquired a great deal , but little of inu-ard experience and strength . Such reflections ivould naturally lead us to believe that the spirit of mankind is confined within certain limits , which it cannot by any means exceed , and the foundation of which is laid in man's individuality . Man is altogether so peculiar a being , that to give an account of himwc

, must be disposed to think that he is of a tivofold nature , part animal and part divine , fche former exemplifying the body , and the latter the spirit . Wc can thus account for man's daily conflict with good and ei-il , with the will and the hesitation , and can perceive the vieivs actuating our moralists , Avhen they teach us to mortif y the body to liberate the spirit . But this is after all a wrong impressionfor a spirit liberated from the body is nothing

, in relation to this earth , and much less a man . This being is ipsissiino rerbo a man , and docs not mean a creature half animal , half divine . Body and spirit arc so intimately connected , that they cannot be separated , and their necessities arc so connected One with the other , that it is often hard to distinguish what is required by the body from what is required by the spirit . This

common operation of what is sublime with what is inferior , what is spiritual ivith ivhat is material , what is heavenly with AA-hat is earthly , points out the creature man and nothing besides . His soul is said to partake of something godly ; but ; if this divine element be placed in such juxta position ivith the animal , as many believe , it would naturally become the ruling poiver , and man would be happy before his bodil y death arrives . But it forms an

inseparable union with the body , and thereby a peculiar form is created , ivhich is the human soul , and this connection can onl y be severed by death . This is the general view AVC must take of man , if he is to be understood . Under such circumstances , so long as we remain men , we cannot become more elevated beings , cannot be angels while on earth ; nor should AVC be so , for the Almighty , AVIIO has

created us men , could uot impose upon us au elevated state incompatible with our strength . In other words , " wc are ivhat wc are . " But IIOAV AA ' arc in this condition is the real question which Freemasonry only can resolve by offering to guide us in our further development , thafc being its design . For this object no extraordinary demands are to be complied with , for it , only inculcates upon us the recollection that wc arc to consider ourselves as men , or to become so again whenever we have failed to be such . In the human mind lies the germ of a continued development , but the first which there springs up , and surpasses all others , is

the knowledge of one ' s OAVU sell ' . From the moment this facultyis used , man becomes a particular being , capable of distinguishing himself from all other creatures . He then relics on himself , and begins to think- , to exercise his reasoning faculty , and to direct his understanding . As he now learns to comprehend himself , as Ave ] 1 as others , his relation to the outer world must tend to dcvelojie his feelings , and hence will arise envy , displeasure , wit , ambition ,

and hatred ; while on the other hand he ivill exhibit those of selfsacrifice , patience , humility , and love . But ns the external senses become developed and improved hy the observation of external things , and lead to internal sensation , a desire to improi-c and embellish life is resuscitated , and a presentiment overtakes him that a higher power overrules mankind , to which he is individuall y subject , and that he is graduating towards a hig her destiny , which

alone can account to him for the riddle of his present life , for in that state he will arrive at the knowledge of God , and the fact of everlasting life . These gradual steps of devetopment are performed by us all , and millions have already done so without being Freemasons any the . more ; but Masonry is here recommended to us , and offers to take us as its disciples , with a vieiv that ire may walk in the right direction towards that state of perfect development . ^ In examining man more intimately , Ave perceive that it is from his master quality of self-knoAiIedge that he is able to perceive his OAVU individuality , and hence arises the cause of his

so readily abandoning the world , to betake himself to a narrower sphere in which to labour for his own particular good—and this arises us a result of his sclf-knoivlcdge . This desire of isolation is not , however , unnatural , indeed it is suggested by nature , but in its ultimate results it litis led , as a principle , to the greatest misery on earth , both in detail and amongst the generality ol mankind . Let us for one moment take a survey of the world .

In AA-hat light do AVC behold man ? Arc not states divided and subdivided according to their various interests , customs and cilmalcs . and ready to indulge at any time in war for the mastery ol each other , shelving that man has consequently lost all feeling of the common origin of mankind . If we look ivithin a narroiver circle , what are the results ? Is it not to good fortune and to education that ive must trace the difference betiveen one and

another , the rich and the poor , the master and sen'ant ? Has not relig ion , which ought to bind us all the more firmly in a common fraternity , become the most powerful means of separating man from man , of exciting the most sanguinary social wars for the sake of maintaining a creed ? Amidst all this discord and antagonism where is man ? I will tell you , brethren , where he is only to be found , and that is in the peaceful temple of the Lodge

, the sanctum of Masonry , where he can become conscious of his manhood by the interchange of thoughts with brethren of the same nature , and which , amidst the tumult of the outer world , he had never been accustomed to regard in that capacity . Those whom the world in its ordinary course had separated , Masonry again unites , and gives to individual man once more that , quality u-liich his intercourse with it had caused him to lose . Its

intention is also to spread over the whole earth a national bond of fraternity between man and man , who forgetting mere self , should work together for the common good and happiness of mankind , by which means only he can arrive at that higher tendency inculcated upon him by the Almi g hty . Thus , all disscntions differing from misunderstanding through religion , and

worldly circumstances , are brought within the bounds of reconciliation , so that man may embrace each other as brethren . But AVC must be cautious that our vieiv is not mistaken , or the principles I now elucidate might lead to the suspicion that we advocate cosmopolitanism , atheism , or democratic equality . In ansiver to this , we can state that nothing of the kind is intended by Freemasonry ; it leai'es all things in statu quo , whether it be the loi-e

of country , the attachment to a certain faith , or the devotion to a particular monarch ; indeed it enjoins the observance of these duties hy man , ' its grand design being to prevent all differences and ill will amongst mankind , and to promote a friendly union of the various individual members of the human family . As to such dissentions , the } ' arise from unsocial institutions , and as such as they are , more or less deeply impressed in onr minds , and aro

hard to be removed . We go further , Ave admit that they are necessary to mankind , by inculcating the more tender sentiments of his nature , such as the love of fatherland , A-encration for the Almi ghty Creator , and the glow of patriotism . He who ivould rob me of my king and country would deprive mc of my position , for with this are- associated my recollections of childhood , my plcasures of youth , and the customs and usages I have imbibed in manhood ; he who would deprive me of my faith , says another , would take away my comfort through life , and hand me over a victim to despondency . I \ o vieiA-s of this kind , mv brethren , are

enjoined by Alasonry . Ave take man as he really is , puns vcilural ' dius , and consequently respect his feelings , being only desirous to guide him aright on the road to his higher destination , so that men in every position , of every faith , and in every country , may regard each other as brethren . Is not this grand object Avorthy of our enthusiasm , and that endless labour AVC pronounce to be necessary for its realization ? If you only perceive this design ,

and that it is capable of being realized , one important step has been attained , but it . is only the groundwork of the building to be erected thereon . Let us not , hoivever , despair at not having yet arrived beyond this point , and that attained by our forefathers , for Freemasonry only expects to obtain a trifle from each generation of mankind . In the meanwhile AVC arc invigorated by this idea , ivhich leads us away from the entanglements of the outer

world to unite us in a general bond of unity , but man must be inspired with the idea , and direct , all his aspirations and efforts towards its development . This is really the design of nature , the innate tendency of man ; and as no one can destroy the spirit , so no one can annihilate this sublime conception , of Freemasonry . In spite of all obstructions , therefore , its design must progress toivards the end when a JIason will be found in every workshop , a sovereign brother on every throne , and a Mason worshipping at every altar . At that happy period the whole world ivill become one Loda-e of Freemasonry , which the sun , the stars , and the