The Lost Word.

as we grow from infancy to youth , and through youth into manhood , we all of us realise that there is more or less of a falling away from the standard of a faithful life . We know more than we practice . We are ambitious to forsee the secrets of a higher life—the knowledge of the secret word ,

which is the name of Him who is self-existent , and the cause of existence in all—but we are not willing to wait until we are properly prepared by the deeds of our life to receive the knowledge . The Kingdom of Heaven in us suffereth violence , and the violent lusts and passions of our corporeal

nature seek to take it by force with the sad result , m the great majority of cases , that our power to do unto others as we would have them do unto us is slain , and the true and secret word of the name of names , which stands for all that is good and true and useful in human existence , is lost .

" The children of Israel , the seed of Abraham—whose name was changed by the insertion of the middle letter of the Ineffable Name , from Abram to Abraham—are carried away into captivity , and they serve the King of Babylon , who represents the evil lusts of the flesh , for seventy years ,

which means until such time as is necessary to complete the work of subjugation in us of those rebellious principles . Then there always arises a Messiah—a Cyrus , if you please , as a Flebrew ; or a Jesus , if you please , as a Christian—a

time when the edict goes forth that the people may go free , and a Zerubbabel comes forth to lead us back again—back into the states of our early days , back into the condition of our early childhood , back amid the ruins caused by our wrongful lives .

To this work we must come with honest hearts , actuated by a sincere desire to rebuild the house of the Lord without expectation of fee or reward . There must be nothing mercenary or selfish about it . We must be moved by a genuine love of the good and true . In such a condition

of mind and effort , we shall , sooner or later , discover that which was lost . The Book of the Law , long lost , now found , will be re-opened in the sanctum sanctorum of our heart ' s true love and revealed to us as a newer and more glorious

light . The jewel of the ancient Lodge , with its mysterious significance , will be found safely preserved , and the ancient , true and secret word will be once again in our possession . We shall have the name of the Divine as a memorial to all

the future generations of thought and feeling within us . " He who knows the true name of the Deity , knows also His essential nature and character . As we learn the genuine truth that God is love and wisdom , combined in everlasting unity and concord , and ever working for the good of all His

creatures , we have the ancient , true and secret word- —the genuine name of the Deity—restored to us , and in this supreme condition of most excellent wisdom we are prepared

to practice those pnncrples of peace on earth and good will among men , symbolised by the graving upon our frontlets of ' Holiness to the Lord '—holiness which permeates with its sweet savour of charity our every thought , word and action .

My dear Companions , it is a consummation most devoutly to be wished that every one of us may , sooner or later , clear away the rubbish of his past life , and upon the ruins of the old waste places rebuild the true spiritual temple of the Lord , and find once more established in strength the

essential signified by the word which was lost , but which , having been found and loved and obeyed , will pass us through the white veil of the sanctuary above , and secure to us the white stone of an innocent character , in which is written the New Name of Holiness to the Lord forever . "—" Masonic Advocate . "

Innovators.

INNOVATORS .

T HOUGH admitting the firm establishment and the absolute unchangability of the fundaments of Masonry , innovators constantly arise , clamouring for revision and improvement in some particular or other . Grand Masters express set opinions and attempt to legislate them into

governing regulations . While it is often true that there is no progress without change , and that increasing light and the vagaries of time frequently bring the necessity tor the embodiment of new ideas adapted to the present day , still it must

be distinctly kept in mind that there is no one influence so deteriorating to Masonry as the tendency towards innovation . Masonry at bottom is as immutable as Truth itself , and must remain so . Who are we that we should presume to adapt and re-adapt to our narrow views that which has come down

Innovators.

to us in such perfect form- Latter-day Masons , it seems , are too prone to desire change , to consider their ideas , because they are new ideas , the only correct ones . There is too much worry in some jurisdictions over the form of the ritual , or minor regulations , none of which are unimportant .

We like the attitude taken by P . G . M . James Bradley , of Michigan , who , in 1899 , while expressing his personal opposition to the regulation barring an applicant who had lost part of two fingers and a thumb , nevertheless made no attempt to accomplish an innovation nor to circumvent the

law . We may think many regulations useless , many forms unmeaning , but they are there , were set . there for good reason , and must be obeyed . Greater minds than ours conceived the plan , in detail and ensemble , of Masonry , and ours " not to reason why . "

Many jurisdictions are to-day at marked variance upon points seemingly insignificant , but which might easily , under certain conditions , bring up embarrassing and perplexing questions . In union there is strength . When jurisdictions vary too greatly they begin to draw away from each other

and in the end disintegration sets in and retrogression is in sight . Beware the man who continually cries innovation , and seeks to " remedy" and " improve" existing laws and regulations . The Brother who yields a faithful , implicit and unquestioning obedience contributes most to the strength and enduring qualities of Freemasonry . — " Tyler . "

The Obligation.

THE OBLIGATION .

IT is a matter for deep regret that of late the idea seems to be gaining ground amongst us that the obligation of a Master Mason does not extend to and cover his relations with the Brethren in private life , but only extends

to the converse and work of the Lodge room—that want of Brotherly love , and unkindness and injustice amongst the Brethren in their relations as private citizens , is a matter entirely beyond and outside Masonic cognisance . If this view is correct and should become generally adopted and

acted upon , it must surely eventually tend not only to render the terms of a most solemn obligation uriintel ' . io-ible and foolish jargon but also in a very great measure nullify thi principle of Brotherly kindness , which is as strictly enjoined as any other of the tenets to which we give assent in that

obligation . If Brethren are only to be kind , just and true to one another when in Lodge assembled , and when unclothed are absolved from their obligation in this respect , then will we in vain seek to impress upon the profane that there can be in our system consistency , integrity and stability .

But I do most earnestly contend , in the words of one of the most able living exponents of the tenets of Masonry , '" that the Brotherly love inculcated by Masonry is no such mere abstraction , nor , is its character left to the general and careless understanding of a Mason who may feel disposed

to give much or little of it , according to the peculiar constitution of his own generous or selfish disposition . It is closely defined , the mode and manner and extent of its practice detailed in words and illustrated in symbolism , so that there can be no excuse for error nor apology for

indifference . " It is but necessary to mention the five points of fellowship , once and forever to stamp out the idea that a Mason can ever , any time or in any way wilfuily injure a

Brother Mason , and at the same time maintain unsullied his own honour and reputation or remain true either to the spirit or the letter of his obligation . —Rev . Bro , C , W . Culley , in " Toronto Freemason , "

Increasing Masonic Knowledge.

INCREASING MASONIC KNOWLEDGE .

WE meet with the following transaction in the history of the- Grand Lod ge of the State of New York in the year 1842 : " The desire to more extensively educate the Brethren in Masonic matters gave rise to a promise by the Grand Lodge that it would cause to be prepared annually , and to

have sent to the Lodges , a circular imparting instruction and giving such instruction as would tend to the edification of the Brethren ; and the Lodges were urged to appoint ,

from time to time , the most competent of their Brethren to lecture on subjects of interest and practical utility , as should be deemed beneficial to themselves and to the Fraternity , " This was a most glorious idea , conceived in the true