Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Light.
their order are all applied to g ive us conceptions of the poiver of the Almighty , and to show us the g lory of his kingdom . Words are changeable , language has been confounded , and men in different parts of the Avorld are unintelligible to each other ; but the visible works of nature speak to us now the same sense as they spoke to Adam in
Paradise , and their language will last , without being corrupted , as long as the sun and moon endureth . " If we take the word of God , says Jones ( Fig . Lang . Script ?) we have a sound which gii'es us no idea , and if we trace it through all the languages of the world we find nothing but arbitrary soundswith varfety of
, dialect and accent , all of which leave us ivhere Ave began , and reach no farther than the ear . But when it is said ' God is a Sun and a Shield , ' then things are added to words , and we understand that the Being signified by the word of God is bright and poiverful ; unmeasurable in heightinaccessible in glory ; the
, author of light to the understanding , the fountain of life to the soul ; our security against all terror , our defence against all danger . See here the difference between the language of things . If an image is
presented to the mind Avhen a sound is heard by the ear , then we begin to understand ; and a single object of our sight , in a figurative acceptation , gives us a large and instructive lesson , such as could never be conveyed by all the possible combinations of sounds . " Thus every Mason must read , mark , learn , and inwardly digest all thafc he sees in the lodge ; for
everything which is there visibly displayed is invested ivith a moral signification , which may be beneficial to himself and others . The lodge has been compared to the world , and the tesselated flooring to the variegated carpet spread by nature over the earth ; as in the lodge , so in the lace of nature the true Mason " finds
tongues in trees , books in the running streams , sermons in stones , ancl good in every thing , " for as Martin Tupper hath it : — "That which may profit and amuse is gathered from the volume of creation , For every chapter therein teemeth Avith the playfulness of Avisdom .
The elements of all things are the same , tlio' nature hath mixed them with a difference ; And learning delighteth to discover the affinity of seeming opposites . "
To do this , hoivever , Ave require light ; not only the visible material light of day , but also the light AA-hich enli ghtens the understanding , since" ^ Wandering oft , Avith brute unconscious gaze , Man marks not Thee , mai-ks nofc the niighty hand , That , ever busy , wheels the silent spheres . " —THOMPSON .
Masonry imveils this li ght , and being " the science which comprehends all other sciences , " she unfolds to the eyes of her votaries many things Avhich escape tbe eyes of those otherwise observant . The Light ancl Uedeemer of the world said John ( xi ., 9 , 10 ) " Are there not tAvelve hours in the day ? If any man walk in the day he stumbleth not ; because he seeth the
light of this Avorld . But if a man walk in the night he stumbleth , because there is no li ght in him . " Every Mason is early taught how to divide his time ; a part for the service of God and a distressed worthy brother , a part for our usual avocations , and a part for refreshment and sleep . Those who walk in the day do not stumble , but those who walk in the night
Light.
do stumble , because they have no light . Man is a compound animal ; as regards his carnal body he is earthy , like a brute beast , but that ivhich'distinguishes him from a beast is the soul , or the light of reason implanted in him by the Divine Creator . All men , however clever they may be , understand things only by the light ivhich God throAvs on those thingsfor
, all knowledge comes from God ; he must explain and enlig hten us in all things , for without -his light men walk in darkness , and must stumble . Are we in the light ? if not , alas for us ; but hoAV shall we know ? St . John says , " He that saith he is in the light , and hateth his brotheris in darkness till nowand knoweth
, , not whither he goeth , because darkness has blinded his eyes . " Here let me quote the words of a divine of the present clay , I know not Avhether he be member of the Craft , but I am sure he is a Mason in spirit and doctrine . " Hating our brother , covetuousness , which is indeed hating our brotherfor it teaches us to prefer
, our good to our neighbour ' s good , to fatten ourselves at our neighbours expense , to get his work , his custom , his money , aAvay from him to ourselves ; "bi gotory , which makes men hate ancl despise those AA'ho differ from them in religion ; spite and malice against those
who have injured us ; suspicions and dark distrust of our nei ghbours and of mankind in general ; selfishness , AA'hich sets us ahvays standing on our own rights , makes us alivays ready to take offence , always ready to think that people mean to insult us or injuire us , and makes us moody , dark , peevish , always thinking about ourselvesand our plansor our own pleasures
, , , shut up as it AA'ere Avithin ourselves . All these sins , in proportion as any one gives way to them , darken the eyes of a man ' s soul . " One of the first great principles Freemasonry inculcates is "brotherl y love ; her light is pure , as emanating from the source of all purity and perfection ; and Masons , remembering that
they are brought out of darkness into light , are admonished to let the light which is in them so shine before all men that their good works may be seen , and the great fountain of that light glorified . Let us then , in the words of the Psalmist , pray to the Great Architect of the Universe" 0 send out thy light and thy
, truth , that they may lead me , and bring me unto thy holy hill ancl thy dwelling , " " for with thee is the well of life , ancl in thy li g ht shall we see light , " " and we shall one day , if found worthy , so defined , see our God face to face . " —E . B . W . V
Masonic Facts.
MASONIC FACTS .
( Continued from page 188 . ) 121 . John de Ebor , Abbot of Fountains ( 1203 to 1211 ) , laid the foundations , ancl began to build the Abbey Church ( Choir ) . —Leland's Collectanea , vol . iii ., p . 109 . Figs . 29-4-1 . 122 . The foundation-stone of 'Whalley Abbey , laid
on the morroAv of St . Barnabas , in 1296 , by Henry de Lacy in person . A great part of the Abbey , and the whole precincts were consecrated by Thomas , Bishop of Candida on 4 th of the Kalends of March , ISOe . —WMtta / cer ' s Craven , p . 154 . 123 . " Fratri Eoberto de Ulmo magistro ingeniatori ,
ad vadia Eegis , ix . den . per diem , & c . " —lab . Garderobce Fdward Primi , Anno 1299 . 124 John de Brampton erected the transept of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Light.
their order are all applied to g ive us conceptions of the poiver of the Almighty , and to show us the g lory of his kingdom . Words are changeable , language has been confounded , and men in different parts of the Avorld are unintelligible to each other ; but the visible works of nature speak to us now the same sense as they spoke to Adam in
Paradise , and their language will last , without being corrupted , as long as the sun and moon endureth . " If we take the word of God , says Jones ( Fig . Lang . Script ?) we have a sound which gii'es us no idea , and if we trace it through all the languages of the world we find nothing but arbitrary soundswith varfety of
, dialect and accent , all of which leave us ivhere Ave began , and reach no farther than the ear . But when it is said ' God is a Sun and a Shield , ' then things are added to words , and we understand that the Being signified by the word of God is bright and poiverful ; unmeasurable in heightinaccessible in glory ; the
, author of light to the understanding , the fountain of life to the soul ; our security against all terror , our defence against all danger . See here the difference between the language of things . If an image is
presented to the mind Avhen a sound is heard by the ear , then we begin to understand ; and a single object of our sight , in a figurative acceptation , gives us a large and instructive lesson , such as could never be conveyed by all the possible combinations of sounds . " Thus every Mason must read , mark , learn , and inwardly digest all thafc he sees in the lodge ; for
everything which is there visibly displayed is invested ivith a moral signification , which may be beneficial to himself and others . The lodge has been compared to the world , and the tesselated flooring to the variegated carpet spread by nature over the earth ; as in the lodge , so in the lace of nature the true Mason " finds
tongues in trees , books in the running streams , sermons in stones , ancl good in every thing , " for as Martin Tupper hath it : — "That which may profit and amuse is gathered from the volume of creation , For every chapter therein teemeth Avith the playfulness of Avisdom .
The elements of all things are the same , tlio' nature hath mixed them with a difference ; And learning delighteth to discover the affinity of seeming opposites . "
To do this , hoivever , Ave require light ; not only the visible material light of day , but also the light AA-hich enli ghtens the understanding , since" ^ Wandering oft , Avith brute unconscious gaze , Man marks not Thee , mai-ks nofc the niighty hand , That , ever busy , wheels the silent spheres . " —THOMPSON .
Masonry imveils this li ght , and being " the science which comprehends all other sciences , " she unfolds to the eyes of her votaries many things Avhich escape tbe eyes of those otherwise observant . The Light ancl Uedeemer of the world said John ( xi ., 9 , 10 ) " Are there not tAvelve hours in the day ? If any man walk in the day he stumbleth not ; because he seeth the
light of this Avorld . But if a man walk in the night he stumbleth , because there is no li ght in him . " Every Mason is early taught how to divide his time ; a part for the service of God and a distressed worthy brother , a part for our usual avocations , and a part for refreshment and sleep . Those who walk in the day do not stumble , but those who walk in the night
Light.
do stumble , because they have no light . Man is a compound animal ; as regards his carnal body he is earthy , like a brute beast , but that ivhich'distinguishes him from a beast is the soul , or the light of reason implanted in him by the Divine Creator . All men , however clever they may be , understand things only by the light ivhich God throAvs on those thingsfor
, all knowledge comes from God ; he must explain and enlig hten us in all things , for without -his light men walk in darkness , and must stumble . Are we in the light ? if not , alas for us ; but hoAV shall we know ? St . John says , " He that saith he is in the light , and hateth his brotheris in darkness till nowand knoweth
, , not whither he goeth , because darkness has blinded his eyes . " Here let me quote the words of a divine of the present clay , I know not Avhether he be member of the Craft , but I am sure he is a Mason in spirit and doctrine . " Hating our brother , covetuousness , which is indeed hating our brotherfor it teaches us to prefer
, our good to our neighbour ' s good , to fatten ourselves at our neighbours expense , to get his work , his custom , his money , aAvay from him to ourselves ; "bi gotory , which makes men hate ancl despise those AA'ho differ from them in religion ; spite and malice against those
who have injured us ; suspicions and dark distrust of our nei ghbours and of mankind in general ; selfishness , AA'hich sets us ahvays standing on our own rights , makes us alivays ready to take offence , always ready to think that people mean to insult us or injuire us , and makes us moody , dark , peevish , always thinking about ourselvesand our plansor our own pleasures
, , , shut up as it AA'ere Avithin ourselves . All these sins , in proportion as any one gives way to them , darken the eyes of a man ' s soul . " One of the first great principles Freemasonry inculcates is "brotherl y love ; her light is pure , as emanating from the source of all purity and perfection ; and Masons , remembering that
they are brought out of darkness into light , are admonished to let the light which is in them so shine before all men that their good works may be seen , and the great fountain of that light glorified . Let us then , in the words of the Psalmist , pray to the Great Architect of the Universe" 0 send out thy light and thy
, truth , that they may lead me , and bring me unto thy holy hill ancl thy dwelling , " " for with thee is the well of life , ancl in thy li g ht shall we see light , " " and we shall one day , if found worthy , so defined , see our God face to face . " —E . B . W . V
Masonic Facts.
MASONIC FACTS .
( Continued from page 188 . ) 121 . John de Ebor , Abbot of Fountains ( 1203 to 1211 ) , laid the foundations , ancl began to build the Abbey Church ( Choir ) . —Leland's Collectanea , vol . iii ., p . 109 . Figs . 29-4-1 . 122 . The foundation-stone of 'Whalley Abbey , laid
on the morroAv of St . Barnabas , in 1296 , by Henry de Lacy in person . A great part of the Abbey , and the whole precincts were consecrated by Thomas , Bishop of Candida on 4 th of the Kalends of March , ISOe . —WMtta / cer ' s Craven , p . 154 . 123 . " Fratri Eoberto de Ulmo magistro ingeniatori ,
ad vadia Eegis , ix . den . per diem , & c . " —lab . Garderobce Fdward Primi , Anno 1299 . 124 John de Brampton erected the transept of