Notes On American Freemasonry.

it may be said even by our enemies , that our practice equals our profession , that we love each other as brethren , and g * o about doing * good . Of this new manifestation of opposition we have no greater fears than we have of political persecution .

The former will also fade in the sunlight of truth , when inquiring minds will discover the beauties of Masonry , ancl agree with us that although she is not religion , she is her aid and her assistant , who prepares the hearts of men for the reception of holier truths than she teaches .

" Before concluding this report , we desire to congratulate the fraternity upon their flourishing condition , ancl the large number of noble charities that , in the shape of schools , asylums , libraries and cemeteries , are springing up all over the country ,

under the auspices of our Order ; ancl not onl y these , but histories are being written of the good and great men of Masonry . In our former report we said : " Many of the greatest , most learned and best men of Pennsylvania , have been Masons .

The recollections of their actions ancl their virtues are fast fading away . Even now , many of them are traditional . " But on this subject we then made no recoinmenelation , but we do now ; and beg leave to ask that a Committee be appointed on the Masonic history and biography of Pennsylvania . "

Masonic Education.

MASONIC EDUCATION .

It is emphatically the duty of Masons to he educated in Masonry . Not very far on our journey towards the East , we are instructed that we are expected , before advancing farther , to become versed in the liberal arts and sciences , ancl thus render ourselves worthy of promotion .

In ancient times , when operative as well as speculative Masonry was practised , ifc is probable that those who aspired to be initiated into the " Sublime Degree" hacl to pass an examination before a board of grave old sages , and give satisfactory evidence , that they were mathematiciansastronomersaud

rhetor-, , icians before they were permitted to pass on . Of course , when the Craft ceased to be a body of artisans , this educational training was no longer necessary , and the rule concerning it has been gradually relaxed , and at this day is little more than a mere formality .

But it does not follow , by any means , that Masonry no louger imposes any intellectual burdens upon those who would become sharers in tho ancient mysteries . The Mason of to-day is bound in honour to make himself familiar with at least so much of the work , that he can without difficulty gain admission to

Masonic Education.

any regular lodge in the land , and in this jurisdiction , if the requirements of the Grand Lodge are obeyed by the subordinate Lodges , no brother will in any instance ( save under dispensation ) he advanced to a higher degree until he can pass a creditable examination in the one that precedes it . Ifc is disgraceful

for any Mason to be under the necessity of sitting like a statue in the anteroom until some brother can vouch for him to the lodge lie desires to visit ; and we hope to see the time when all lodges will so discharge their duty to candidates , thafc such a thing cannot occur .

But something more is requisite than a parrofc-like ability to give set answers to a series of set questions , and to recite verbation a part or the whole of the ritual of the several degrees . There are great principles underlying our fraternity which each brother must study and understand for himselfif he desires

, to receive any real benefit from Masonry , and to occupy any other position in the Masonic world , than one which might be filled about as effective !] ' - by a respectably carved figure-head .

The Moral Of Silence.

THE MORAL OF SILENCE .

We are taught by the Divine Word , the maxims of Sages , and a hundred sacred and classical allegories the moral beauty and excellence of Silence in due season . In the Book of Ecclesiastes we are told , in language sublime through its marvellous simplicity , that there is " a time to every purpose under heaven ; " ' and in an admirable enumeration of the varying

p hases of life which produce bright or shadowy thoughts , is included " a time to keep silence , and a time to speak . The philosopher , who advised his pupil— " if you think twice before you speak once , you will speak twice the better for it , '—gave an admirable practical interpretation of this passage from

Ecclesiastes ; as did Zeno also , when he admonished a "fast young man" of his acquaintance , who spoke too glibly or frequently , that " we have two ears and hut one tongue , because we should hear much and speak little . " The Apostolic James had a strong conception of the evils of much talking , since he calls the tongue " a world of iniquity . "

We wish to deduce a moral from these remarks—a very simple one . "We have heard ( iu a double sense ) , that talking in Lodges , during the performance of portions ofthe ceremonial , is becoming quite common . This we say at once is a serious mistake . It is distracting to the W . M ., annoying to those brethren who have a right sense of decorumancl must be

dis-, edifying to Masonic neophytes . It is the plain and positive duty of every W . M ., or whoever occupies the chair of K . S ., to put down all such interruptions . It is needless to magnify the circumstance . Brethren who may have involuntarily indulged in conversational whispers during lodge workhave only to be reminded

, of their fault to amend it . They know very well silence is a virtue iu itself , and a handmaid of other virtues . It exercises self-restraint , induces modesty of demeanour , and produces habitual attenion and mental repose—conditions indispensable to * ho acquisition of knowledge .