Freemasonby Outside The Lodge.

takes an interest in all movements having for their object the extension of the spirit of brotherly love -which has so long been recognised as a prominent feature in the working of Freemasonry , but which , in years gone by , may perhaps have been confined within somewhat narrow limits .

Masonic Temple, True Ideal Of.

MASONIC TEMPLE , TRUE IDEAL OF .

An Extract from an Oration by Bro . Jonas W . Brown , Grand Orator , at the laying of the Corner Stone of the new Masonic llall , at Caldwell , Idaho , 7 th June 1890 .

THAT Masonry lives as an independent Order , and tbat its benign principles and ballowed influences are constantly going forth into the world from an ever-living fountain , shaping and controlling the destinies of mon aud of nations , is a fact everywhere acknowledged . Ifc bears

npon its brow the marks of antiquity , ancl the language ifc speaks is bufc in accordance with its genealogical tables , whioh run back to a time when Israel ' s king , renowned the world over for his wisdom , contrived and executed that

superb model of excellence , the Temple ; whilst from the catalogue of its votaries , wbich tradition bath placed in our hands , we read the names of tbe great , good and wise who lived and passed away ere tbe day-spring from on high dawned npon tbe earth .

The interesting age of Masonry is nofc to bo found alone in the dim past , amid dusty tombs—tbe records of years gone by , and made venerable on account of age , whose ponderous volumes are freighted with the rich treasures of countless centuries , which stand as so many towering

pyramids to mark its ancient glory ; nor yefc is ifc confined alone to the present , around which the thoughts of a common brotherhood love to linger in fond delight as they view its symbols and read the impressive lessons to be drawn from each , or walk about this majestic temple whose

steeple stretches its towering height up into the pure ether of heaven and there is lost to sight j but ifc looks forward to and lays hold npon a coming future , which promises a full realisation of all that was believed and hoped for concerning it by those in whose wisdom it was conceived , and

by whose hands its majestic walls were reared , upon those living principles which form its enduring and everlasting foundations . When all this shall have been accomplished , then shall the Lion of the tribe of Judah prevail , and to

Him shall the gathering of the nations be . Then shall our peace be as a river , and our righteousness as the waves of the sea . Then shall the hills clap their hands , and all the trees of the wood shall be glad .

Ifc has been well said , ' lhat he who lives with the past , the present , and the future all before him , wbo looks backward and forward and around him , wbo makes the past tell on the present , the present on the future , he is the live man understanding the great end of life , exhibiting

the truest philosophy , the highest wisdom , and will ultimately secure the greatest good . " The ceremonies of this occasion , the laying of the corner-stone of this temple which is to be " erected to God , " and when completed dedicated to " Freemasonry , morality and universal

benevolence , necessarily forces upon the mind thoughts of the past , and in imagination we are carried back to the threshing floor npon tbat sacred mountain where Israel ' s king laid the foundation of the first temple . And as we view the massive stones , the one fitting the other with exact

nicety , which resembles the handiwork of God , binding the several parts of the building into one harmonious whole , we are forced to say of the wisdom of Him who laid them "the half had not been told us . " Bnt , vast as was this magnificent structure , and ponderous as recent discoveries

show many of the materials to have been which entered into its construction , and curious and ingenious as was the workmanship , yet it is an historic fact " that there was neither hammer , nor axe , nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was in building . " The wisdom of Solomon

the wealth of Hiram , king of Tyre , and the curious and ingenious workmanship of a son of a daughter of Dan , were all combined in the production of tin ' s model of excellence ; beautiful for situation , ifc was the joy of all the earth . Alone and apart it stood a model to succeeding ages , clad in its own beauty , with its massive brazen pillars

Masonic Temple, True Ideal Of.

reaching upward in height eighteen cubits apiece , and these adorned with lily and pomegranate work , fit emblems of purity and abundance , unrivalled in its splendour and unsurpassed ia its glory , it stood the masterpiece of architectural skill . Taking its rise , as is maintained by some

that tbe Order of Freemasonry did , at this period , and having for its model so magnificent a structure , and founded upon principles deduced from the sacred record , taking for its guide the Holy Bible , which is tho light of

tbe world , it is built upon an enduring foundation , having truth as the headstone of tbe corner . Starting with a long ancestral line whose every member was eminent for wisdom , purity and goodness , and with such a model of excellence after which to fashion the materials whioh shall

enter into the construction of the Masonic temple , it is to be presumed that none will be received except such as have been inspected and pronounced fit for the builder ' s use . Truth in its entirety , truth in all its ramifications , truth ,

and nothing but the truth , is its foundation . Standing npon such a foundation , the principles which it seeks to inculcate must be pure , and the fruit which it yields good .

He who gave ns the great light says : " I am the truth , " and Freemasonry teaches among its tenets thafc " truth is a divine attribute and the foundation of every virtue . " To be good and true is among the first lessons we are taught in Masonry . Professing then , as we do , this tenet , and

claiming to build upon it as the foundation of this Institution , we must follow after truth . To know and to do the truth are duties everywhere enforced upon the mind of the Masonio student . The principles professed are sound and wholesome , but it is their practice which eventuates in

good . The initiatory rite through which the candidate passes in entering our portals only puts him in possession of the implements of labour , and as he progresses each succeeding step but points out to him the avenue through

which he musfc pass in reaching the desired end . His introduction into the mysteries of the Order only places him at the beginning of tbe race conrse , and the command there given is , " So run that ye may obtain . "

These rites but nncover to the initiate the mine of truth , and he must enter there and work if he would become tho possessor of the rich treasures deposited in this inexhaustible storehouse . The diligent alone are rewarded , and truth fco be valued musfc be loved and sought after for

its own sake . The foundation which we have this day laid—the corner-stone placed and declared well formed , true and trusty , and correctly laid according to the rules of our " ancient Craft "—is nofc the building complete . This is bufc tbe fouudation . It is bnt tho beginning . The walls

have yefc to be reared , the superstructure erected thereon step by step , and nofc until tho capstone is laid , and tho entire building garnished , will it have reached completion . And just so it is in Freemasonry , with its teeming millions of votaries and initiates who enter the Masonic temple ,

which for ages past has been in progress of building . In a way that they know not of they were led to the greab corner-stone and instructed , as it were , how , when , and with what tbey shonld build . Truth lies at the foundation , truth is the material , and truth must crown it all .

The ceremonies of the Order , the initiatory rites thereof , aro simply the key to its mysteries , and these , to be appreciated , must be studied and pondered in all their bearings upon tbe man's present and future destiny . The vision of the Patriarch as he lay with his head pillowed

upon the stones , with fche green earth for his bed and tbe clouded canopy for his covering , was truth veiled in an allegory . The distance between heaven and earth was there spanned , and the way by which we may reach these joys above marked oufc . The one end of the ladder stands

upon the earth , whilst the other pierces the blue expanse above , witb its top against the walls of the everlasting temple . The rounds of this ladder are faith , hope , and oharifcy . To-day we stand , as it were , upon the first round , but above and beyond us are the other two , and

these we musfc reach if we attain unto perfection . To fall short of this would be to fail . Let us , then , with a firm hold grasp the round of hope , and press forward after truth , until we have reached tbe last round , which is charity , and when gained we shall nob only look in upon

the unseen glories , but enter in and enjoy them for ever . And just here ifc may nofc be amiss to inquire what is the character of that temple which we as Masons are building ? What is the character of the materials which enter into its construction ? Have they been inspected , and will each