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Article THE WELL OF TRUTH; ← Page 2 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Well Of Truth;
the strictest rules of science , and their Grand Master a prince chosen from the royal house . Few buildings in that city of wonders attracted more admiration , from its stately design and purity of material , than the house of that ancient order ; its foundations were laid upon a rock , and ^ the skiM of the workmen had responded to the beauty and wisdom of the plan . Though many ages had passed since its erection , its strength was unimpaired , and its corner-stones so nicely adjusted , that the more support they gave , the stronger they became .
Man , like the generous vine , supported lives ; The strength he gains is from the embrace he gives . On either side of this palace was a fair garden ; the one to the right , which was first planted , contained a simple temple , upon whose shrine stood a lovely statue of female innocence . From the delicacy of the design , the temple had been found necessary to shelter it , lest exposure to the air should sully the purity of the marble , which was of so fine a texture , that the sli ghtest stain would have destroyed the beauty of the work .
The garden to the left of the palace had been designed with equal skill , and was adorned with a statue of male innocence , as beautiful as its neighbour , and , in the opinion of some , as liable to injury from exposure to the action of the atmosphere , but unlike it unprovided with a temple to enshrine it . This defect the Brethren , whose voluntary labour and gifts kept both gardens in perfect order , had often proposed to remedy , by the erection of a similar edifice to that which shielded the statue of
female innocence from the storm ; but their offer had been invariabl y refused by the reigning Grand Master , Opiniatus , whose answer invariably was : " Let well alone ; my predecessors never sanctioned the undertaking—why should I ? " A dicta which , if generally followed , woulcl bar the noblest exercise of human reason , fetter genius , and put a stop to those daily improvements which tend to exalt the condition of mankind .
Honestas , a distinguished workman of the Craft , seeing that the space between the two gardens , which 1 have endeavoured to describe , was an uncultivated , uprofitable waste , proposed to certain zealous Brothers to reduce it to a state of fertility ; to plant it with acacia trees , and other verdant shrubs , so as to form a grove , beneath which the aged workmen might repose after their labour . The want of such an accommodation had long been acknowledged , and the proposition was hailed by all the and zealous of the Order with
pure the enthusiasm it merited . Some were for asking the consent of their ruler , Opiniatus , to the plan-a step to which the more experienced objected . Let ns first , tbey argued , show by the result of our labours the practicability of the undertaking , and then solicit the sanction of our chief , lest our scheme be termed foolishness ere it be fairly tested . A counsel so prudent prevailed , and overseers ' and collectors were appointed to direct and obtain materials for the design .
One great difficulty , which appeared to all , was the want of sufficient water to fertilize the ground . Ages of neglect had left it arid and barren ; the occasional showers which fell being insufficient to produce more than scanty patches of verdure , which , like the oasis of the desert , served to render the surrounding waste more dreary and unprofitable-a defect winch the skill of the workmen soon enabled them to supply . In the midst of the desert plain ivhich it was proposed to reduce tt , cultivation , existed an ancient well , ulme mouth hud long been closed
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Well Of Truth;
the strictest rules of science , and their Grand Master a prince chosen from the royal house . Few buildings in that city of wonders attracted more admiration , from its stately design and purity of material , than the house of that ancient order ; its foundations were laid upon a rock , and ^ the skiM of the workmen had responded to the beauty and wisdom of the plan . Though many ages had passed since its erection , its strength was unimpaired , and its corner-stones so nicely adjusted , that the more support they gave , the stronger they became .
Man , like the generous vine , supported lives ; The strength he gains is from the embrace he gives . On either side of this palace was a fair garden ; the one to the right , which was first planted , contained a simple temple , upon whose shrine stood a lovely statue of female innocence . From the delicacy of the design , the temple had been found necessary to shelter it , lest exposure to the air should sully the purity of the marble , which was of so fine a texture , that the sli ghtest stain would have destroyed the beauty of the work .
The garden to the left of the palace had been designed with equal skill , and was adorned with a statue of male innocence , as beautiful as its neighbour , and , in the opinion of some , as liable to injury from exposure to the action of the atmosphere , but unlike it unprovided with a temple to enshrine it . This defect the Brethren , whose voluntary labour and gifts kept both gardens in perfect order , had often proposed to remedy , by the erection of a similar edifice to that which shielded the statue of
female innocence from the storm ; but their offer had been invariabl y refused by the reigning Grand Master , Opiniatus , whose answer invariably was : " Let well alone ; my predecessors never sanctioned the undertaking—why should I ? " A dicta which , if generally followed , woulcl bar the noblest exercise of human reason , fetter genius , and put a stop to those daily improvements which tend to exalt the condition of mankind .
Honestas , a distinguished workman of the Craft , seeing that the space between the two gardens , which 1 have endeavoured to describe , was an uncultivated , uprofitable waste , proposed to certain zealous Brothers to reduce it to a state of fertility ; to plant it with acacia trees , and other verdant shrubs , so as to form a grove , beneath which the aged workmen might repose after their labour . The want of such an accommodation had long been acknowledged , and the proposition was hailed by all the and zealous of the Order with
pure the enthusiasm it merited . Some were for asking the consent of their ruler , Opiniatus , to the plan-a step to which the more experienced objected . Let ns first , tbey argued , show by the result of our labours the practicability of the undertaking , and then solicit the sanction of our chief , lest our scheme be termed foolishness ere it be fairly tested . A counsel so prudent prevailed , and overseers ' and collectors were appointed to direct and obtain materials for the design .
One great difficulty , which appeared to all , was the want of sufficient water to fertilize the ground . Ages of neglect had left it arid and barren ; the occasional showers which fell being insufficient to produce more than scanty patches of verdure , which , like the oasis of the desert , served to render the surrounding waste more dreary and unprofitable-a defect winch the skill of the workmen soon enabled them to supply . In the midst of the desert plain ivhich it was proposed to reduce tt , cultivation , existed an ancient well , ulme mouth hud long been closed