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Article LECTURES ON FREEMASONRY , ← Page 8 of 8
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Lectures On Freemasonry ,
it out of the | 3 | j provided we remain universally attached to our moral code as good subjects , adorers of God according to each Brother ' s fundamental principles of religion . Having dwelled a considerable time on the subject in how far ceremonial changes in our Fraternity will subject us to be excluded from our universal system , I shall return to the events that have taken place in our society after the destruction of the second temple and the dispersion of the Jewsand with them
, of the Masonic artists of that day . I have already remarked , that the said dispersion has by no means retarded our secret society from being as active as before in the propagation of its mysteries and labours . The Fraternity soon found a liberal field opened to them ; and instead of being confined in the arts , but more so in sculpture , to certain proportions , to go beyond which the Jewish laws prevented them , as also having by the same laws been
subject to many other inconveniences as artists , they now gave full flight to their genius , in the erection of temples to God under the Gospel dispensation , which in the east and west , in our enlightened days , baffle the skill of our most ingenious architects . Their labours
servefor schools of instruction to our young artists . In Ital y , in Gaul , and in our happy islands , we have still the good fortune of witnessing their skill in stately palaces , immense castles , and superb cathedrals . If , then , as we have reason to believe , that those structures are the productions of a wandering society of Christian artists from the 10 th to the 13 th century , and if , as Freemasons , we discover in those structures unquestionable proof that those artists were Brethren of our secret
society , and that their labours were strictly within the compass and the square , Christian Masons have an unquestionable ri ght to labour under Christian signs , and cannot be considered out of the universality of the Ei . The conscientious Israelite , although prevented from joining in our two Christian Orders , must , nevertheless , he convinced , that as brother Freemasons we jirofess in our Orders peace and good will to all menhut more especially to our Brotherhood .
, Having given my opinion on the universality of Freemasonry fearlessly , and I hope honestly , I conclude with a full hope that many of our more enlightened Brethren will see the necessity of altering our present code of laws , as to render them more consonant with the feelings of the great bulk of Freemasons in the universe .
"WHEN you have committed an offence , never tell a lie in order to deny or extenuate it . Lying is a base weakness . Confess that you have done wrong ; in that there is some magnanimity ; and the shame you will experience in making the confession will bear fruit in the applause of the good . If you have been unfortunate enough to offend any one , have the noble humility , that true criterion of the gentleman , to ask his pardon . Inasmuch as your conduct will show that you are not
a poltroon , no one will venture to call you vile for an act of frank magnanimity . But to persevere in the crime of insulting the innocent and , rather than admit your error and retract your words , to enter into mortal strife or into eternal enmity with the injured , are the mad tricks of proud and ferocious men—are infamies of so black a d ye as to make it of some difficulty for the world to veil them under the brilliant name of honour . " vol .. in . K
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Lectures On Freemasonry ,
it out of the | 3 | j provided we remain universally attached to our moral code as good subjects , adorers of God according to each Brother ' s fundamental principles of religion . Having dwelled a considerable time on the subject in how far ceremonial changes in our Fraternity will subject us to be excluded from our universal system , I shall return to the events that have taken place in our society after the destruction of the second temple and the dispersion of the Jewsand with them
, of the Masonic artists of that day . I have already remarked , that the said dispersion has by no means retarded our secret society from being as active as before in the propagation of its mysteries and labours . The Fraternity soon found a liberal field opened to them ; and instead of being confined in the arts , but more so in sculpture , to certain proportions , to go beyond which the Jewish laws prevented them , as also having by the same laws been
subject to many other inconveniences as artists , they now gave full flight to their genius , in the erection of temples to God under the Gospel dispensation , which in the east and west , in our enlightened days , baffle the skill of our most ingenious architects . Their labours
servefor schools of instruction to our young artists . In Ital y , in Gaul , and in our happy islands , we have still the good fortune of witnessing their skill in stately palaces , immense castles , and superb cathedrals . If , then , as we have reason to believe , that those structures are the productions of a wandering society of Christian artists from the 10 th to the 13 th century , and if , as Freemasons , we discover in those structures unquestionable proof that those artists were Brethren of our secret
society , and that their labours were strictly within the compass and the square , Christian Masons have an unquestionable ri ght to labour under Christian signs , and cannot be considered out of the universality of the Ei . The conscientious Israelite , although prevented from joining in our two Christian Orders , must , nevertheless , he convinced , that as brother Freemasons we jirofess in our Orders peace and good will to all menhut more especially to our Brotherhood .
, Having given my opinion on the universality of Freemasonry fearlessly , and I hope honestly , I conclude with a full hope that many of our more enlightened Brethren will see the necessity of altering our present code of laws , as to render them more consonant with the feelings of the great bulk of Freemasons in the universe .
"WHEN you have committed an offence , never tell a lie in order to deny or extenuate it . Lying is a base weakness . Confess that you have done wrong ; in that there is some magnanimity ; and the shame you will experience in making the confession will bear fruit in the applause of the good . If you have been unfortunate enough to offend any one , have the noble humility , that true criterion of the gentleman , to ask his pardon . Inasmuch as your conduct will show that you are not
a poltroon , no one will venture to call you vile for an act of frank magnanimity . But to persevere in the crime of insulting the innocent and , rather than admit your error and retract your words , to enter into mortal strife or into eternal enmity with the injured , are the mad tricks of proud and ferocious men—are infamies of so black a d ye as to make it of some difficulty for the world to veil them under the brilliant name of honour . " vol .. in . K