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Article VANITY OF LODGE OFFICIALS. ← Page 2 of 2
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Vanity Of Lodge Officials.
and dictations . With some , this is tho fault of old age ; with others enthusiastic pedantic youthfulness ; with others , natural want of practical good sense . Want of education will sometimes make a Master wilful and stubborn , and , honestly ,
he cannot be otherwise . A " little learning is a dangerous thing , " when controlled by a naturally strong and imperious disposition . Ignorance is the great incubus of a Masonic Lodge . Ignorance is not always vain , but vanity is almost sure to be
accompanied by ignorance ; yet there are some very high Masonic ! officials that we know of that are very vain who cannot be classed as ignorant . The exceptions , however , might prove the
rule . We have heard an imperious , forgetful old brother murder ritual , grammar , fand common sense by dictating the work as he " learned it for forty years ago . " The forty years ago with him was real , but his ritual was bastard to the pure
and intelligent work of that day . We have heard the young pedant recite the work as he pretended to receive it from some " shining light , " and make his decision , as he claimed , in accordance with a Mitchell , a Mackey , a S cott , or a Morris , when a
boy of good common sense and education might draw a more sensible and logical deduction . Yet vanity prevents some persons from correcting errors and irregularities , and the Lodge must suffer the consequences .
Among so many subordinate officials , however , ifc is but natural to expect to find some old , superannuated gentleman , some ignorant , obstinate man , or some pedantic , premature youth , acting as Master , who is full of conceit and vanity .
What we are willing sometimes to expect in our lower bodies , we are not prepared or willing to believe exists in our grand bodies . Here the full , true , perfect light should shine , undimmed by the most repulsive elements in our nature—conceit ,
vanity , and presumption . Grand officers should be elected for superior merit or strength , aud he who is constantly thrusting himself forward , making himself unnecessarily officious , or resorting to any cunning device for promotion , should
be spurned and rejected as a leader of the " sons of light . " We have no affinity for a brother that will electioneer for a Masonic office . We are willing to overlook many of the frailties that human nature is heir to ; but in a grand official we will not tolerate undue conceit and vanity . As
far as our personal knowledge , our grand bodies are comparatively free from these vain officeseekers and holders ; yet , they have existed , may now , and may again . One fruitful cause of vanity is the habit of naming subordinate lodges ,
chapters , & c , after the principal grand officernot for any particular merit he may possess , but as a sort of compliment to his position . We knew a Grand Master who was so vain on this subject that he promised some brothers a
dispensation and a full set of jewels and lodge furniture , if they would get up a lodge and name ifc after him . Ifc was done . A magnificent set of jewels , & c , was presented to the lodge by the Grand Master ; and a year or two since that same lodge
was petitioning her Grand Lodge for a change of name , owing to the unpopular manner and outrageous conduct of their namesake , the then Past Grand Master . We cannot take up a Grand Lodge report but what we see a lodge named after
some man that now , perhaps , is unpopular , or unworthy of Masonic remembrance . To prevent all these unpleasant after-years reflections , and to stop this tempter to Masonic vanity , grand bodies
should make it a rule that no lodge , chapter , & c , should be named after a living man or Mason . Humanity is so frail , and grand officials are so apt to be like other men , that it is safer to let death close their earthly career ere we erect monuments
to their memory . In this way we shall avoid ever having a Lodge , Chapter , Council , or Commandery named after a perjurer , a renegade , a drunkard , a knave , a libertine , or any person that has brought reproach upon the Order .. We confess
that when a noble and worthy brother has lived to a good old age , and is soon to end his earthly career , this objection cannot exist . We also admit that it looks arbitrary to prevent a Masouic body from assuming the name of a truly great
and deserving Mason ; and the chances are as thousands to one that the namesake will go down with honour and respect to his grave . Yet , from past experience , the objection exists in naming any of our bodies after living men ; and ifc is better
the rule should exist than that even one Lodge , Chapter , Council , or Commandery should bear the ignominy and shame of having the name of one who had disgraced or brought infamy upon the Order . Masonic Jewel .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Vanity Of Lodge Officials.
and dictations . With some , this is tho fault of old age ; with others enthusiastic pedantic youthfulness ; with others , natural want of practical good sense . Want of education will sometimes make a Master wilful and stubborn , and , honestly ,
he cannot be otherwise . A " little learning is a dangerous thing , " when controlled by a naturally strong and imperious disposition . Ignorance is the great incubus of a Masonic Lodge . Ignorance is not always vain , but vanity is almost sure to be
accompanied by ignorance ; yet there are some very high Masonic ! officials that we know of that are very vain who cannot be classed as ignorant . The exceptions , however , might prove the
rule . We have heard an imperious , forgetful old brother murder ritual , grammar , fand common sense by dictating the work as he " learned it for forty years ago . " The forty years ago with him was real , but his ritual was bastard to the pure
and intelligent work of that day . We have heard the young pedant recite the work as he pretended to receive it from some " shining light , " and make his decision , as he claimed , in accordance with a Mitchell , a Mackey , a S cott , or a Morris , when a
boy of good common sense and education might draw a more sensible and logical deduction . Yet vanity prevents some persons from correcting errors and irregularities , and the Lodge must suffer the consequences .
Among so many subordinate officials , however , ifc is but natural to expect to find some old , superannuated gentleman , some ignorant , obstinate man , or some pedantic , premature youth , acting as Master , who is full of conceit and vanity .
What we are willing sometimes to expect in our lower bodies , we are not prepared or willing to believe exists in our grand bodies . Here the full , true , perfect light should shine , undimmed by the most repulsive elements in our nature—conceit ,
vanity , and presumption . Grand officers should be elected for superior merit or strength , aud he who is constantly thrusting himself forward , making himself unnecessarily officious , or resorting to any cunning device for promotion , should
be spurned and rejected as a leader of the " sons of light . " We have no affinity for a brother that will electioneer for a Masonic office . We are willing to overlook many of the frailties that human nature is heir to ; but in a grand official we will not tolerate undue conceit and vanity . As
far as our personal knowledge , our grand bodies are comparatively free from these vain officeseekers and holders ; yet , they have existed , may now , and may again . One fruitful cause of vanity is the habit of naming subordinate lodges ,
chapters , & c , after the principal grand officernot for any particular merit he may possess , but as a sort of compliment to his position . We knew a Grand Master who was so vain on this subject that he promised some brothers a
dispensation and a full set of jewels and lodge furniture , if they would get up a lodge and name ifc after him . Ifc was done . A magnificent set of jewels , & c , was presented to the lodge by the Grand Master ; and a year or two since that same lodge
was petitioning her Grand Lodge for a change of name , owing to the unpopular manner and outrageous conduct of their namesake , the then Past Grand Master . We cannot take up a Grand Lodge report but what we see a lodge named after
some man that now , perhaps , is unpopular , or unworthy of Masonic remembrance . To prevent all these unpleasant after-years reflections , and to stop this tempter to Masonic vanity , grand bodies
should make it a rule that no lodge , chapter , & c , should be named after a living man or Mason . Humanity is so frail , and grand officials are so apt to be like other men , that it is safer to let death close their earthly career ere we erect monuments
to their memory . In this way we shall avoid ever having a Lodge , Chapter , Council , or Commandery named after a perjurer , a renegade , a drunkard , a knave , a libertine , or any person that has brought reproach upon the Order .. We confess
that when a noble and worthy brother has lived to a good old age , and is soon to end his earthly career , this objection cannot exist . We also admit that it looks arbitrary to prevent a Masouic body from assuming the name of a truly great
and deserving Mason ; and the chances are as thousands to one that the namesake will go down with honour and respect to his grave . Yet , from past experience , the objection exists in naming any of our bodies after living men ; and ifc is better
the rule should exist than that even one Lodge , Chapter , Council , or Commandery should bear the ignominy and shame of having the name of one who had disgraced or brought infamy upon the Order . Masonic Jewel .