Masonic Literature.

MASONIC LITERATURE .

IT appears somewhat strange , though it is nevertheless true , that as a rule in this country the literature of the Craft is neither sought after nor read as it is on the other side of the Atlantic . A . variety of reasons may be assigned for this want of interest in publications whose

object it is to supply information and to reproduce , from the dusty records of ages past , some of the pristine light which illumined the minds of the Fathers of Masonry . We all admit that the "beautiful system of morality " is veiled in allegory so sublime and holy that the deeper

tbe draught the more is revealed of tbe grandeur of a system which has withstood the bufferings of centuries , against the wiles of kingcraft , priestcraft , and all the ills that follow in the wake of tyranny and oppression . The " hidden mysteries of nature and science " lie embalmed in

a casket so impervious as to resist attack from wheresoever it might come , and all the shafts that envy , hatred and malice have hurled against them have failed to dim their

lustre or sully their purity . These are the treasures which we as Masons hold most sacred , and which we are bound to cherish as the very foundations upon which the superstructure of our Ancient and Honourable Institution rests .

To become more familiar with the origin and aims of our benefioent Order , historians have written and poets sung . Philanthropists have derived their inspiration to deeds of charity aud benevolence from the precepts which Freemasonry has taught—precepts as sublime and broad in

their intense benignity as any that were ever presented to the world , seeing that they are founded on the volume of the Sacred Law itself . Springing from these are the efforts of the antiquarian and the archaeologist , whose experiences in travel , learning and research have enriched

the pages of our English literature , and bespangled them with gems of thought and inspiration more brilliant than ever did the writers of ancient Greece and Eome . From the mouldy archives of the past have been dug out nuggets of interesting lore , of quaint but telling testimony to the

antiquity of the Craft , and of the uniformly unselfish sympathy and love it has shed upon mankind . Even in our own day there are writers who thus glance back upon the chequered pages of history , and by means of their perception and research weave for us a link which connects the

present with the past . With such a fund of interesting stud y within the reach of all of us , the wonder is , we say , that these aids to . Masonic knowledge find so few to apply Miem to their individual necessities or luxury . The complete Masonic library teems with volumes laden with the

fragrance of tradition such as might well compare with 'he idylls of the classics ; of adventure as thrilling , and Pathos as deep as are to be found in the works of any authors extant ; whilst running through them all is the silver w » read of unbroken " brotherly love , relief and truth . "

fining down in the scale to our periodical literature , w hose more humble sphere is to chronicle events , and cornet upon current topics , occurring at the moment , there toV * ° * ° ^ an a P y the P t of the brethren Juch it is difficult to explain . And we are prone to ask he reason of these things . In America and some of the

Masonic Literature.

Continental nations , Masonic reading is sought after with avidity ; in the States especially the publications of the Craft are of the most varied , comprehensive and elaborate description , and their number , as compared with our own , is legion . Can it be that our Transatlantic brethren are more eager to store their minds with the real and intrinsic knowledge that all Masons should possess than we are in this phlegmatic and changeable clime ? Or is it that we in England are too tenacious of our seclusion , and of the halo of secrecy which '

surrounds our doings ? We are inclined to believe that neither is the case . Our belief is , that a majority of those who unite with the Brotherhood do so with an instinct of sociable goodheartedness , mingled with a genuine desire to make themselves more useful to their fellow creatures .

They are actuated , first of all , by a desire to' penetrate behind the veil of what to them had hitherto been a sealed ¦ i i •i •n i ji " » "i ¦ j * J . t _ -. A "L — __ bookand it will be their universal that whereas

, testimony they expected to find a true and beautiful and beneficent system unfolded to their vision , the realisation has been of a far different and infinitely more gratifying kind . They have

here presented a boundless field for the exercise of the highest and loftiest attributes of human character ; of sentiments , the expanse of which they never before contemplated ; a perfect system of peace and goodwill to man , as divine as the origin from which it sprung . But here they are content to rest . To a majority of those who meet upon the common

platform , where prince and peasant assemble on the only ground of liberty , fraternity , and equality the world knows , the source of the wisdom , strength , and beauty that are the illars of our Order flow as from a far-off landhidden 10 / i ui wiv

p , vuw ( J ... UI . v »* . w .. uu .. « ... ... v . — « . . — . ™ , —™ in the vista of the unknown . There is a sufficiency in the glorious tenets unfolded to them in the degrees through

which they have passed that bids them hesitate to follow the more dauntless explorers of the hidden mysteries into the paths that are strewn with new-found pleasures , and illumined with a more effulgent light . And yet , with that

disinterestedness which runs concurrent with the genuine unselfishness of Masonry , they have left upon the pages of our literature glowing records of the territory they have

explored , and have thus gathered up for such as choose to garner it , a vast store of elevating and refining knowledge . We should smile at the intending emigrant who , without a scrap of information of the country to which he is bound , steps on board the vessel which is to transmit

him to a distant shore . The intelligent man who goes to seek his fortune in another land is sagacious enough to fortify himself with all the information he can command as to the climate , products , and natural characteristics of as to the climate , products , ana natural cnaractenstics or

his future home . He does not rest content with the transitory life aboard ship , with its alternate calms and storms , and the humdrum condition of his short span of " life on the ocean wave . " His heart and mind are far ahead , calculating upon the prospects he has before him as new Idifciug UUU 1 L VUVJ uivau & uuo JJO uao n / fxuit / mm ug UWH

fields of enterprise and progress open up and point to the bright prosperity in store . So should it be with he who dons the apron blue . A stagnant Masonic life is that which struggles through the initiatory stages , reaches the coveted chair , and then subsides into the calm retirement of an inactive Past Master . To many men this is the acme of ambition ; there is no goal beyond . And thus it is that in

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