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Article PRESENT MASONIC NEEDS. ← Page 2 of 3 Article PRESENT MASONIC NEEDS. Page 2 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Present Masonic Needs.
great dazzling achievements which have proved her rig * to a prominent place in the history of the world ' s progress . All this is well known to you . My duty is far more difficult than this . It is , if possible , to impress you most sensibly with such a view of our obligations to the times in which
we live , that the future shall feel bound to bless us for our noble acts and not to reprove us for our ignoble neglects . An institution which has so strong , so independent , so powerful a life of its own as ours has , must find a true
power , a true inspiration , in its own past history ; mnst contain within itself the accumulations of past life ; must have inherited traditions , which supply the most healthy means of the highest improvement ; must be responsible
for much which it has received , and which it is bound to hand on nnimpaired . It is true , of course , that any such body of men as that we represent must acquire a common life . It is true , also , that when that common life has so
much variety within it , comprises so many different functions , leaves so much play to all the infinite variety of human impulses , aims at such important objects , it necessarily exercises a most important influence and possesses a
high dignity . And , therefore , it would be a real gain if we could leave this place with a stronger sense of the duty we owe to one another and to the world . Such a feeling surrounds the work and the regulations and the old
traditions with an honour of their own , and we more fully recognise the fact that we have received something from the past which we are to labour on and to transmit in the best form that we can give to it . The thing of highest value that we have received is not the traditions of the
Institution , but the spirit of striving upward and of making all things better as the condition of keeping all things healthy . Holding in our hands the lamp of a noble purpose , let us
examine our present surroundings , and then scan the horizon to see what reflections it casts forward from to-day We are taught that Masonry is a progressive science , and that as we increase in knowledge our obligations
correspondingly increase . These obligations are not alone to assist those who kneel at our altar , but rather to aid in promoting and advancing the moral and intellectual culture of man . We should , in the matter of education , then ,
feel a present as well as traditional pride . Living as we do under a republican form of government , in which the people are the rulers as well as the subjects , it is admittedly essential to the safety of our political institutions that this
great aggregation of rulers should attain a standard of morals and education at least high enough to render them capable of dealing honestly and intelligently with every political and social question which the progress of the age
forces into notice . Time was when opposition to our Craft sought justification for itself in the belief that Freemasonry was inimical to every public interest but its own , and while
proclaiming itself a patron of learning , of the arts and sciences , it did not by positive or practical methods encourage them . But happily that belief is passing away , and the time has come when it behoves us to srive more
practical proofs of the reality of our claim—of making more positive efforts to support it . For this reason , and for the benefit of Freemasonry in the future , it should become a recognised part of the general policy of our Society
to uphold and aid , in every way possible or consistent , the educational system of our country in our organised capacity as Masons , as well as in our capacity as individual members of the general government of the country .
Then , again , the loud mutterings of socialism and anarchism , heard on every hand , already warn us that the rising generation will be called on to cope with questions of social and . political gravity , demanding the exercise of
those principles upon which alone the sanctity of home and the safety of the State can be secured . When such statements can be made by men in public life as were recently made by men in New York City , before the Anti-Poverty
Society , that a poor man cannot be advised to put his trust in God—surely it is time for Freemasons to lay more positive stress upon the fundamental teachings of their
organisation . We cannot assert that our social system is right because it is ancient or because it is established . It is plain that there is much in the existing order of things which is defective , wrong , and dangerous .
The inequalities of human life in our own country are glaring , notwithstanding the advantages we enjoy above almost every nation in the world . While these inequalities exist , men will ask , " Are these differences of condition necessary and inevitable , or are they , to a great extent ,
Present Masonic Needs.
a perversion of the Divine order , and brought about by evils which are remediable ? " These questions ought to press heavily upon our minds . If we have any loyalty to our origin we will consider anxiously what relation tho
brotherhood spirit , as manifested in the primary life of our Fraternity , bears to our modern customs and opinions . Socialism is the generic and vague name of various schemes of society which are proposed as substitutes for the
established order of things . Indiscriminate vituperation of socialism is not merely idle—it is foolish and injurious ; for every true Mason basin him a germ of socialism , and
every socialist a germ of Masonry . The teachings of experience and of Holy Scripture afford all that is needed to discriminate the true from the false in socialistic
theories . Personal character can ward off many ills , but the only remedy for our social maladies is the spirit of that brotherhood which recognises the sanctity of home , the rights of property ownership , and the equality of man .
We cannot all expect to attain the same honours and rewards . Our ancient Grand Master Solomon , King of Israel , when he first instituted the Fraternity of Freemasons , divided the members into orders and ranks—some
higher degrees , and some lower—according to their proficiency in their several stations and places . The highest honours and rewards were open to all , but only those who prove themselves most proficient could receivo them . Honours and rewards of the lower kind could be obtained
by others in the several subordinate ranks of the Fraternity , but the same opportunities were open to all who showed a spirit of upward striving , and any dissatisfaction at failure
to reach the highest was dissipated by self-judging justice . The same way is open to all in secular life to-day . The same order has subserved the best interests of society in the past , and the same order should continue to be
maintained . Men generally should be made to realise that Freemasonry has the power to protect them in their varied interests , and to harmonise , in a measure , the inequalities of life which produce so many ills . The questions naturally arise : — " How can Masonry
produce a more healthy feeling in the public mind , and what action , if any , is necessary to that end ? " These are difficult of solution , but we must admit it to be a selfevident truth that any institution or society is beneficial in
proportion as it assists individuals to attain a higher manhood ; for it is from the social stand-point that human life is to be viewed . The better and higher plane that individual manhood attains , the more healthy and peaceful
is the social life . The fundamental lessons taught in Masonry , we all know , are the basis of true manhood ; and those who most fully embody these lessons in their everyday life attain to the highest eminence and wield the most useful influence in society .
Is not much of the present existing state of society due to a tendency to individualism as against community feeling—the life-giving principle of society ? Has not self-love , instead of brotherly love , moulded the actions of individuals in their relations in life with others to such an extent as
to produce the existing state of affairs ? That Masonry , in membership , has been and is rapidly increasing , is well known , yet this unhealthy and disorganising sentiment in society has been as rapidly
increasing . Can we then say that Masonry , in its own true spirit , has been keeping progress with time ? Wo are taught that persons upright before God and of good repute among men ( the qualifications of a true Mason ) , when associated
together , naturally seek each other s welfare equally with their own . Is it not evident that in Masonry members are not to-day all imbued with the same spirit which animated our ancient Masters when they founded the institution of
Free and Acccepted Masons r Is it not evident that our portals have not been properly guarded in admitting to membership , or that the rough ashlars have not been hewn to that state essential to form a perfect stone in the moral and social edifice ?
While our numbers have been fast increasing , the number has also increased who , after having been admitted into our Fraternity and taught the high principles
of morality and virtue by beautiful ceremonies and lectures , have become non-affiliates—Masons in name , not in spirit .
A diseased portion of the human body sends with each pulsation of the heart its poison into the whole body , and . unless removed , ultimately produces death ; so with societies , unhealthy , unworthy membership will constantl y spread the disease of discontent , and , if permited to con-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Present Masonic Needs.
great dazzling achievements which have proved her rig * to a prominent place in the history of the world ' s progress . All this is well known to you . My duty is far more difficult than this . It is , if possible , to impress you most sensibly with such a view of our obligations to the times in which
we live , that the future shall feel bound to bless us for our noble acts and not to reprove us for our ignoble neglects . An institution which has so strong , so independent , so powerful a life of its own as ours has , must find a true
power , a true inspiration , in its own past history ; mnst contain within itself the accumulations of past life ; must have inherited traditions , which supply the most healthy means of the highest improvement ; must be responsible
for much which it has received , and which it is bound to hand on nnimpaired . It is true , of course , that any such body of men as that we represent must acquire a common life . It is true , also , that when that common life has so
much variety within it , comprises so many different functions , leaves so much play to all the infinite variety of human impulses , aims at such important objects , it necessarily exercises a most important influence and possesses a
high dignity . And , therefore , it would be a real gain if we could leave this place with a stronger sense of the duty we owe to one another and to the world . Such a feeling surrounds the work and the regulations and the old
traditions with an honour of their own , and we more fully recognise the fact that we have received something from the past which we are to labour on and to transmit in the best form that we can give to it . The thing of highest value that we have received is not the traditions of the
Institution , but the spirit of striving upward and of making all things better as the condition of keeping all things healthy . Holding in our hands the lamp of a noble purpose , let us
examine our present surroundings , and then scan the horizon to see what reflections it casts forward from to-day We are taught that Masonry is a progressive science , and that as we increase in knowledge our obligations
correspondingly increase . These obligations are not alone to assist those who kneel at our altar , but rather to aid in promoting and advancing the moral and intellectual culture of man . We should , in the matter of education , then ,
feel a present as well as traditional pride . Living as we do under a republican form of government , in which the people are the rulers as well as the subjects , it is admittedly essential to the safety of our political institutions that this
great aggregation of rulers should attain a standard of morals and education at least high enough to render them capable of dealing honestly and intelligently with every political and social question which the progress of the age
forces into notice . Time was when opposition to our Craft sought justification for itself in the belief that Freemasonry was inimical to every public interest but its own , and while
proclaiming itself a patron of learning , of the arts and sciences , it did not by positive or practical methods encourage them . But happily that belief is passing away , and the time has come when it behoves us to srive more
practical proofs of the reality of our claim—of making more positive efforts to support it . For this reason , and for the benefit of Freemasonry in the future , it should become a recognised part of the general policy of our Society
to uphold and aid , in every way possible or consistent , the educational system of our country in our organised capacity as Masons , as well as in our capacity as individual members of the general government of the country .
Then , again , the loud mutterings of socialism and anarchism , heard on every hand , already warn us that the rising generation will be called on to cope with questions of social and . political gravity , demanding the exercise of
those principles upon which alone the sanctity of home and the safety of the State can be secured . When such statements can be made by men in public life as were recently made by men in New York City , before the Anti-Poverty
Society , that a poor man cannot be advised to put his trust in God—surely it is time for Freemasons to lay more positive stress upon the fundamental teachings of their
organisation . We cannot assert that our social system is right because it is ancient or because it is established . It is plain that there is much in the existing order of things which is defective , wrong , and dangerous .
The inequalities of human life in our own country are glaring , notwithstanding the advantages we enjoy above almost every nation in the world . While these inequalities exist , men will ask , " Are these differences of condition necessary and inevitable , or are they , to a great extent ,
Present Masonic Needs.
a perversion of the Divine order , and brought about by evils which are remediable ? " These questions ought to press heavily upon our minds . If we have any loyalty to our origin we will consider anxiously what relation tho
brotherhood spirit , as manifested in the primary life of our Fraternity , bears to our modern customs and opinions . Socialism is the generic and vague name of various schemes of society which are proposed as substitutes for the
established order of things . Indiscriminate vituperation of socialism is not merely idle—it is foolish and injurious ; for every true Mason basin him a germ of socialism , and
every socialist a germ of Masonry . The teachings of experience and of Holy Scripture afford all that is needed to discriminate the true from the false in socialistic
theories . Personal character can ward off many ills , but the only remedy for our social maladies is the spirit of that brotherhood which recognises the sanctity of home , the rights of property ownership , and the equality of man .
We cannot all expect to attain the same honours and rewards . Our ancient Grand Master Solomon , King of Israel , when he first instituted the Fraternity of Freemasons , divided the members into orders and ranks—some
higher degrees , and some lower—according to their proficiency in their several stations and places . The highest honours and rewards were open to all , but only those who prove themselves most proficient could receivo them . Honours and rewards of the lower kind could be obtained
by others in the several subordinate ranks of the Fraternity , but the same opportunities were open to all who showed a spirit of upward striving , and any dissatisfaction at failure
to reach the highest was dissipated by self-judging justice . The same way is open to all in secular life to-day . The same order has subserved the best interests of society in the past , and the same order should continue to be
maintained . Men generally should be made to realise that Freemasonry has the power to protect them in their varied interests , and to harmonise , in a measure , the inequalities of life which produce so many ills . The questions naturally arise : — " How can Masonry
produce a more healthy feeling in the public mind , and what action , if any , is necessary to that end ? " These are difficult of solution , but we must admit it to be a selfevident truth that any institution or society is beneficial in
proportion as it assists individuals to attain a higher manhood ; for it is from the social stand-point that human life is to be viewed . The better and higher plane that individual manhood attains , the more healthy and peaceful
is the social life . The fundamental lessons taught in Masonry , we all know , are the basis of true manhood ; and those who most fully embody these lessons in their everyday life attain to the highest eminence and wield the most useful influence in society .
Is not much of the present existing state of society due to a tendency to individualism as against community feeling—the life-giving principle of society ? Has not self-love , instead of brotherly love , moulded the actions of individuals in their relations in life with others to such an extent as
to produce the existing state of affairs ? That Masonry , in membership , has been and is rapidly increasing , is well known , yet this unhealthy and disorganising sentiment in society has been as rapidly
increasing . Can we then say that Masonry , in its own true spirit , has been keeping progress with time ? Wo are taught that persons upright before God and of good repute among men ( the qualifications of a true Mason ) , when associated
together , naturally seek each other s welfare equally with their own . Is it not evident that in Masonry members are not to-day all imbued with the same spirit which animated our ancient Masters when they founded the institution of
Free and Acccepted Masons r Is it not evident that our portals have not been properly guarded in admitting to membership , or that the rough ashlars have not been hewn to that state essential to form a perfect stone in the moral and social edifice ?
While our numbers have been fast increasing , the number has also increased who , after having been admitted into our Fraternity and taught the high principles
of morality and virtue by beautiful ceremonies and lectures , have become non-affiliates—Masons in name , not in spirit .
A diseased portion of the human body sends with each pulsation of the heart its poison into the whole body , and . unless removed , ultimately produces death ; so with societies , unhealthy , unworthy membership will constantl y spread the disease of discontent , and , if permited to con-