Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Address Of Dr. Boerne To The Lodge Of Frankfort.†
ner , and the conquered darkness returned in ' victory , Existence drew the sword against existence ; love against hatred ; fidelity against treachery ; and death against all . Nature had parted with all her power , and nothing remained unowned . What was gained by the one was lost by the other ; each breath was a theft—each beating of the pulse a murder . Thus grew the plant of discord , touching the clouds with her branchesand her blossom was MAN . AS the sublimity of the creation
, developes itself in mankind , so also does corruption ; for the highest trees are the most deeply rooted . If the irrational creatures of nature strove thoughtlessly in their contests against each other—if their grief was accompanied with neither expectation nor recollection , —inman , not the deed alone , but also the will , was bloody ; repentance followed after the sin , and before the evil , went threatening fear . Tyranny was born , and with it slavery . Right yielded to strengthfortune was sacrificed
, to cupidity , and innocence left at the mercy of wickedness , Each tree of joy bore the poisoned fruit of envy , and innocent generations reaped the mischief sown by others . Madness had seized man ; he forgot that but one heart beats in the bosom of creation ; he tore his own members with suicidal hand , —man slew his brother . Thus was continued the contest for thousands of years : the conquered lost , but the conqueror
gained nothing , and corpses only kept the field . The object for which they fought none obtained ; the shallow eup of joy was turned over in rashness ; and , sooner than wished for , the avaricious earth grasped her spoil . What was the source of this everlasting enmity , and what its object ? It was not the prize of victory for which men fought ; they fought merely for the enjoyment of the fight : for often people returned tired of strife , satisfied was each desire , and each wish appeased .
Silence of death reigned over the field of corpses , and the dawn of peace rose brightly . Thereon the wicked were frightened , and held their sinful council . Shall our realms sink into ruins ? Does nothing exist which may stir up the extinguished flame ; and has Heaven no li ghtnings to inflame the world of peace ? They sought such lightnings , and found them also . The most sacred thing which appertaineth to earth and Heaven , the highest good which man possessed , they robbed shamelessly ,
threw it down on the field of battle , and the flame of war blazed anew . What was this sacred thing , which must serve as a pretext to ignorance ? What the name of this divine object which man used as a whetstone for his malice ? How it was called?—None shall ask me . I know it well , yet dare not say it . I shall not pronounce the word in this bouse of peace and joy , that , like an evil charm , tears away the curtains from bloody ages . I may not name the word , which in a few syllables shows the most horrible , —the murder , the murderer , and the murdered , at
once . The good and best of all ages saw how mankind thus tore their own entrails ; they saw it and mourned . They mourned , yet they despaired not ; for the plant of salvation grew up in their hearts , and the hope of recovery made them recover . They resolved again to invest banished reason with her former prerogatives ; they harangued the people of darkness , and words of peace and reconciliation flowed from their lips . Oh ! yc kings of nature , have ye taken possession of life for an eternity , that you do not deem lost centuries wasted away in hatred ? Shall ye leave to your children some balm to heal the wounds caused by their fathers ? Have ye a magic spell , to raise again the generations ye have
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Address Of Dr. Boerne To The Lodge Of Frankfort.†
ner , and the conquered darkness returned in ' victory , Existence drew the sword against existence ; love against hatred ; fidelity against treachery ; and death against all . Nature had parted with all her power , and nothing remained unowned . What was gained by the one was lost by the other ; each breath was a theft—each beating of the pulse a murder . Thus grew the plant of discord , touching the clouds with her branchesand her blossom was MAN . AS the sublimity of the creation
, developes itself in mankind , so also does corruption ; for the highest trees are the most deeply rooted . If the irrational creatures of nature strove thoughtlessly in their contests against each other—if their grief was accompanied with neither expectation nor recollection , —inman , not the deed alone , but also the will , was bloody ; repentance followed after the sin , and before the evil , went threatening fear . Tyranny was born , and with it slavery . Right yielded to strengthfortune was sacrificed
, to cupidity , and innocence left at the mercy of wickedness , Each tree of joy bore the poisoned fruit of envy , and innocent generations reaped the mischief sown by others . Madness had seized man ; he forgot that but one heart beats in the bosom of creation ; he tore his own members with suicidal hand , —man slew his brother . Thus was continued the contest for thousands of years : the conquered lost , but the conqueror
gained nothing , and corpses only kept the field . The object for which they fought none obtained ; the shallow eup of joy was turned over in rashness ; and , sooner than wished for , the avaricious earth grasped her spoil . What was the source of this everlasting enmity , and what its object ? It was not the prize of victory for which men fought ; they fought merely for the enjoyment of the fight : for often people returned tired of strife , satisfied was each desire , and each wish appeased .
Silence of death reigned over the field of corpses , and the dawn of peace rose brightly . Thereon the wicked were frightened , and held their sinful council . Shall our realms sink into ruins ? Does nothing exist which may stir up the extinguished flame ; and has Heaven no li ghtnings to inflame the world of peace ? They sought such lightnings , and found them also . The most sacred thing which appertaineth to earth and Heaven , the highest good which man possessed , they robbed shamelessly ,
threw it down on the field of battle , and the flame of war blazed anew . What was this sacred thing , which must serve as a pretext to ignorance ? What the name of this divine object which man used as a whetstone for his malice ? How it was called?—None shall ask me . I know it well , yet dare not say it . I shall not pronounce the word in this bouse of peace and joy , that , like an evil charm , tears away the curtains from bloody ages . I may not name the word , which in a few syllables shows the most horrible , —the murder , the murderer , and the murdered , at
once . The good and best of all ages saw how mankind thus tore their own entrails ; they saw it and mourned . They mourned , yet they despaired not ; for the plant of salvation grew up in their hearts , and the hope of recovery made them recover . They resolved again to invest banished reason with her former prerogatives ; they harangued the people of darkness , and words of peace and reconciliation flowed from their lips . Oh ! yc kings of nature , have ye taken possession of life for an eternity , that you do not deem lost centuries wasted away in hatred ? Shall ye leave to your children some balm to heal the wounds caused by their fathers ? Have ye a magic spell , to raise again the generations ye have