The Masonic Temple, Jersey.

tion , m imitation of an ancient artist , the memory of whom , preserved in our annals and traditions , is ever venerated among us , the plans have been formed and perfected ; under ivhose persevering and skilful superintendence the work has been carried on to maturity , so that these stones , this timber , these adornments , combine to form a harmonious and beauteous whole , apt emblem

of " the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that ivhieh every joint supplieth , according to the effectual working in the measure of every part , making increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love . " Carrying on the quotation a little farther , let ns add the earnest exhortation that , moved by the evidence that surrounds us of the labour of love that has been

accomplished , " Ye henceforth walk not as others walk , in the vanity of their mind . " " Let all bitterness , and wrath , and anger , aud clamour , and evil speaking , be put away from you , with all malice , and be ye kind one to another , tender-hearted , forgiving one another . " Prom our " Book of Constitutions " we learn that ive are forbiddenin our Masonic intercourseto enter on

, , certain subjects ivhieh might be a source of discord , namely , politics and religion . Tet ive are exhorted to be faithful to our God , our country , and our laws ; to perform our civil duties with fidelity and zeal ; to cultivate all the sciences , among which that of government is surely one of the most important , embracing , as it does , everything that pertains to the happiness and moral and

social condition of each community ; to study the revealed word of God , to act upon the precepts therein contained , to _ make them the rule of our lives , to look up to the Divine Architect for assistance and support iu all our lawful undertakings , and to rely on His aid , if sought in faith , humility , and sincerity . What , then , mean the restrictions under which ive are placed ? Simply that we

are not to offer these as subjects for discussion and dispute in our private assemblies , so as to be sources of discord and unseemly contention , but that , ivhile acting on general principles , acknowledged by all good men and civilized nations , wo are to allow each one , in his individual capacity , to follow tbe dictates of his own conscience , in the worship of his God , in the creed he adopts , in the

manner in which civil and social obligations shall be enforced , so long as he is a peaceful citizen , and acknowledges a Supreme Being , the disposer of events , reigning in heaven and ruling on earth , to whom he pays reverence and divine homage . A writer on onr Craft remarks , " Shall then this temporary and happy accommodation of sentiment to good

purposes stamp us as Deists ? "Very . far from it . When the lodge is closed , each departs untainted by tho other ; the Jew to his synagogue , the Turk to his mosque , the Christian to his church , as fully impressed as ever with the divine origin and rectitude of his own faith , from the principles of which he has never for one moment swerved in thought or deed . " And again , "Whoever

first conceived the idea on which the Masonic fabric has been reared , must have been endued with a wisdom almost superhuman . Brotherly love and relief are its grand objects , and how could these be effectually pursued if the jarring tenets and unessential and ceremonial peculiarities of different religious sects , and persuasionswere suffered to stand as a bar between men

, inclined toadopt andco-operate inthe universal system ?" Whosover " feareth God and worketh righteousness , " him we regard as entitled to the privileges of our Order , if he seeks them in the manner prescribed by our ancient regulations , freely and voluntarily , and him who cometh so prepared and strengthened Ave " ivill in no wise cast out . "

In such a spirit , on a common ground of agreement , "we trust it is , that ive are now assembled , to dedicate this edifice to the service of the Most High , to devote it to the practice of a branch of science , ivhieh we believe to have in au especial manner emanated from Him , the fountain of all knoivledge , as having been established

in those early times of our world ' s history , when He condescended to hold intercourse ivith His creatures through inspired men of old . Thus it is that , from their resemblance to , and connexion with , forms adopted by mankind thousands of years , ago , our rites and ceremonies to the profane appear ridiculous , antiquated , stale , unprofitable . Masonry involves , and is founded upon

symbolism , that medium of communication which was necessarily used by our remote forefathers , in their intercourse , iu their records of knowledge , in their preservation of such science as they possessed , in their transmission of God ' s will and laiv ; and we confidently affirm that so long as the Bible exists , which must be till the-Almihty vouchsafes another revelation to mankind as a

g substitute for it , a study of symbolism can never be out of place among those who regard that Holy Book with veneration . Nay , farther , we say that an examination into teachings originally conveyed in this form is necessary to a right understanding of the sacred records , and that the neglect of it , and of a distinction between tho symbol and its correlative signification , has laid the

foundation of innumerable errors in the comprehension of the Sacred Text , and has led to many of those dissensions and heart-burnings , which have of late agitated the mind of even good and sincere men , causing them toanathematise and to hate such as venture to transgresstho narrow limits within which they would desire to bind them , regardless of the . great Masonic virture of

charity . Let it not be imputed that any want of reverence is implied in these expressions ; far the contrary , for it is my firm belief that the more closely thesematters are inquired into , the greater ivill be our confidence that " the crooked shall be made straight and the rough places plain ; " the more purely will shine forth the light of Divine Truth ; the less ground will there be for the numerous divisions into sectaries now existing , each guided by its own peculiar idiosyncracies . The fruits of the neglect of this wonderful study are visible

in the scoffs of the infidel , the indifference of the careless and irreverent , the want of charity and sincerity on the part of tho bigot . Among the duties particularly charged upon Masonsin the course of their progress , is the study of the liberal arts and sciences , though , in the present day , the injunction is almost disregarded , so far as regards our

intercourse iu the lodge , often causing disappointment to an inquiring mind , whose hopes of intellectual culture are raised when the object is first communicated to him . Such has not been the case in past times , for evidence of which ive need not go farther back than the period of the erection of the grand ecclesiastical edifices of our forefathersrequiring an immense amount of talent

, , skill , and combination , in all the countries of Europe where our Order flourished , for ivhieh . Freemasonry generally takes credit . The institution being , as I havebefore said , founded upon symbolism , it is greatly to be regretted that this interesting branch of study has not at all times of our history been made an especial object of research among Freemasons to whom it more

peculiarly appertains . Undoubtedly it was in a manner kept in view by those who advanced architecture in the middle ages by the construction of cathedrals , churches , and monasteries , but not in the sense bo which I refer . That very much of the symbolism of our Order is derived from the ancient Egyptians is generally admitted , among whom there were , doubtless , at least two descriptions of

symbolic writing , namely , the hieroglyphic and the hieratic ; the one in common use for tbe instruction of the people , the other adopted by the priesthood , with the express view of concealing their mysteries from the eyes of the vulgar , who had not passed through the ceremony of initiation . Moses , the author of the early sacred writings , was , we are told in the Acts of the Apostles , " learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians , " or , adopting our method of expression , Ave may suppose that he Avas initiated . It cannot be a matter of surprise , then ,