The Antiquity And Teachings Of Masonry.

Greece never saw the day , though she boasted the Academy , when the many were virtually the slaves of the few ; and her vaunted democracy was but a name . But Masonry recognises with generous sensibility the dangers and needs of individual man , and watches with genial care over his rights . Its primary object is to bless the racenot iu the aggregatebut in its unitwhile its

, , ; ultimate aim is not to exert a power over society , but to achieve its amelioration and perfection by silent influences in its component parts . This characteristic of her system is the reversal ofthe thrones of ancient days , which were tried only to fail , and have left tho wrecks of their destruction scattered

over the earth . Masonry has never sought to establish her sway over men , but within them . She exerts her power as a pervading influence , and never in the form of arbitrary control . She meets man in all the varieties of his condition with sympathy , and comprehends him in all the wants of his complex nature . The first aud last teaching of Masonry is that the

highest human development is in the direction of personal virtue and individual excellence ; that the true nobility is goodness ; that the common duties of life have in them the elements of heroism and sanctity ; that self-respect is a virtue ; and that every man possesses a dignity derived from his original endowments and inherent capabilitiesShe esteems man the of

. every peer his fellow in nature and rights . Before her altars distinctions vanish , and all men meet on tbe level . The ¦ prince and the peasant stand alike in his presence . Whatever is common to man is not foreign to her regard . : She provides for the physical wants of the body and the yearning needs of the soul . Masonry stands as man's instructor and guidehis

, protector and friend . And so it is that Masonry points to its monuments of usefulness , not among the few who attain greatness and renown , but among the quiet and peaceful crowd unknown to fame . Her beneficial influence is not so cous 23 ieuous in the seats of wealth and power , where rights seek not for protection , and affluence craves not sympathy and aid ; but with the masses of

¦ mankind , who need defence and sympathy , and whose wants demand relief . The chief element . of Strength in Masonry is its principle of association . Man by nature is formed for society . It is impossible for bim to live without it , without degenerating . The law of attraction in the material universe is not more necessary than the law of attraction in tho social woz-ld .

And as the one produces its mighty effects in sustaining systems of worlds and the cohesion of their parts , so the other by its combining energy supports and unites ¦ society in indissoluble bonds . But while it is absolutely true that union is strength , yet it is also true that the character of the objects of human association and the nature of the means of

¦ obtaining them determine tho degree of its efficiency and the length of its duration . History aud experience bear unmistakable testimony to the fact that any society , not based on virtuous principles , by a natural law must inevitably perish . The want of moral cohesion ensures -its rupture aud decay . On the other band the three-fold ¦ cord of association , woven of high moral principles , is not

easily broken . Its strength is in proportion to tho elevation of its aim , and its vitality is commensurate with the extent of its scope . Now , Masonry stands on a higher vantage ground in both these respects than any other human institution . No aim can be higher than that which she professes to accomplish—the physical , mental , and moral improvement of her members ; and the circle in which her operations extend embraces tho race .

In making this declaration , it is not pretended that her primary object is an undistinguishing and unbounded benevolence . Masonry was instituted to promote the immediate good of her members , Avherever they may be ,

and does not claim to sacrifice that good for the benefit ofthe uninitiated . She provides for her own in the first instance , and . the peculiarity of her association , ensuring the performance of this obligation , is the grand element of her continued life . She is necessarily a propagandist , and furnishes within herself the motive for a perpetual and universal increase . It is her interest to enlarge her

means of usefulness , and her doors turn on ready hinges to all applicants for her benefits not disqualified by irreligion or vice . Brotherly love contributes essentially to the strength of Masonry . The fraternal feoling which is characteristic of Freemasonry does not originate in a mere congeniality of sentiment or similarity of disposition . It is a

principle incorporated in the framework of her system . It is not dependent on personal preferences , nor left to grow out of frequent and agreeable intercourse . Social companionship developes a kindly feeling iu Masonry , as elsewhere , and often ripens into friendship , which gives a zest to the enjoyment of life . This form of brotherly love , however , is the effect of circumstances ;

desirable and profitable , and promoted in our Order as much or more than in any other institution . But , in a more enlarged and comprehensive sense , brotherly love is obligatory on all Masons , and extends its regards to the whole fraternity , wherever dispersed . Thus universal in its relations , it secures a unity and harmony which renders our Order not only invincible to external assaults ,

but precludes the possibility of disruption and ruin from internal causes . This tie of brotherly love , regarded not as a sentiment , but as an obligation , is the glory of Masonry , and clothes it with a universal power . Overlapping all geographical divisions , rising above all religious and political differences , and ignoring all diversities of race , it establishes a common bond of kindly intercourse among the Craft . Over all the world , wherever a Mason discovers another Mason , he finds a brother and a friend . If he is in

want , he can claim relief , which will not be denied . If he is a stranger , he can demand and receive hospitality . If in danger , he can command succour . On the tented field , the stroke which would have fallen in death has often been arrested by this mysterious power , and the clams of brotherhood have been recognised in savage warfare . The Masonic sign of distress is potent in all

calamities which affect life or fortune , wherever the fraternal eye may discern it . Such effects are produced only by Masonry . She alone speaks that universal language whose whispers may be heard amid the thunders of war , in the crash of shipwreck , and in the roar of violence , and whose words , like Pentecostal utterances , are intelliible among all les and tongues .

g peop The Beauty of Masonry consists not merely in the fair proportions of her design or the antique grandeur of her drapery , but in the magnitude and glory of her operations . Through the long ages , as now , she has stood the friend of man and the benefactor of society . In all the earth she has distilled her genial dew of blessing , and her path is everywhere marked with verdure and

fruitfulness . Her works praise her in the gates , and the grateful tears of the poor and unfortunate sparkle like jewels in her diadem of glory . Her very genius is love , the spirit of which connects her members in an unbroken phalanx as a band of brothers , but overflows those bounds and expands itself in a stream of charity embracing all mankind . The identification of Masonry

and charity forms the popular idea of our Order . By general consent it stands at the head of charitable institutions . But alms-giving is not the most important part of charity in the Masonic sense . This consists rather in the cultivation and exercise of kindly dispositions and active sympathies . It is a charity which leads men to judge of others with lenity , and to speak of them without reproach—the charity which makes the good name of another as precious as our own . It is exercised in the