Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Thought.
as the hand of benevolence shall direct the helm—and it has been , too , tiie stream to the poor man , whose rich overflowings have given plenty and wealth on the barren rocks of sterility , has softened down the asperities of life and illumined the dark valley of adversity with the smile : to each it has been—the rose in the wilderness , —the spring in the desert , —the shelter from the thunder-storm , —and the resting-place to tlle weary .
What need we , then , a vindication of such a society , —that can boast all that is great in learning , worth , influence , or power ; that has numbered amongst its members the prophets and fathers of old : that can tell its lawgivers and warriors ; the royal psalmist , whose " poetry of song" shall continue to be admired so long as the heart shall possess one joy to be grateful for , one grief to be told , and can point to the templewhose fretted roof echoed the loud acclaims of a thousand hearts
, in song devout of praise and joy , and claiming it as its own , acknowledge it the proudest monument that ever spoke the power of the great Architect of the Universe , or devotion of his people ; and that now breathing a spirit of love over the heart of each newly-made Brother , sends him forth to the world as a missionary of universal benevolence ; untrammelled , it is true , by even the fairest system that ever was
desecrated in the arena of theological controversy , but bearing with him a message of heavenl y kindness to his felloiv man , and inculcating in him a confident but humble hope that he who fashioned old chaos into this beauteous earth , intersecting it with all the gorgeous furniture of the mountain and wanderings of the valley ; arraying it ivith all that can charm the eye or gratify the taste , and throwing over the beauteous whole , the heavens as a canopy , enamelled them with worlds as the reservoirs of his mercyfrom ivhich the child of immortality miht drink
, g and be happy ; that he who has accomplished this , and more than this , will not permit his erring hut penitent child to wander unaided and unassisted through life ' s dull way , but will guide his footsteps , and engrave on his heart the most sublime precept that ever gilded the page of divine command— " To do unto others , as he would they should do unto him ?"
Such being the principles on ivhich our institution is founded , and such its spirit and intent ( the contrary we dare the most painstaking inquiry to establish ) , fearless of the calumnies by which we may be assailed , we will commit it to the billows of time , with the sure and certain hope that so long as we shall abide by the principles and precepts it inculcates , "no danger will ensue ; it shall lead us calmly to contemplate our inevitable destiny , and guide our reflections to that
most interesting study , the knowledge of ourselves . It shall teach us to be careful to perform our allotted task while it is yet day ; to listen to the voice of nature , which hears witness that even in this perishable frame resides a vital and immortal principle , which inspires a holy confidence that the Lord of light and life will enable us to trample the king of terrors beneath our feet , and lift our eyes to that bright morning star whose rising shall bring peace and salvation to the faithful and obedient of the human race . " S . B . 113 .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Thought.
as the hand of benevolence shall direct the helm—and it has been , too , tiie stream to the poor man , whose rich overflowings have given plenty and wealth on the barren rocks of sterility , has softened down the asperities of life and illumined the dark valley of adversity with the smile : to each it has been—the rose in the wilderness , —the spring in the desert , —the shelter from the thunder-storm , —and the resting-place to tlle weary .
What need we , then , a vindication of such a society , —that can boast all that is great in learning , worth , influence , or power ; that has numbered amongst its members the prophets and fathers of old : that can tell its lawgivers and warriors ; the royal psalmist , whose " poetry of song" shall continue to be admired so long as the heart shall possess one joy to be grateful for , one grief to be told , and can point to the templewhose fretted roof echoed the loud acclaims of a thousand hearts
, in song devout of praise and joy , and claiming it as its own , acknowledge it the proudest monument that ever spoke the power of the great Architect of the Universe , or devotion of his people ; and that now breathing a spirit of love over the heart of each newly-made Brother , sends him forth to the world as a missionary of universal benevolence ; untrammelled , it is true , by even the fairest system that ever was
desecrated in the arena of theological controversy , but bearing with him a message of heavenl y kindness to his felloiv man , and inculcating in him a confident but humble hope that he who fashioned old chaos into this beauteous earth , intersecting it with all the gorgeous furniture of the mountain and wanderings of the valley ; arraying it ivith all that can charm the eye or gratify the taste , and throwing over the beauteous whole , the heavens as a canopy , enamelled them with worlds as the reservoirs of his mercyfrom ivhich the child of immortality miht drink
, g and be happy ; that he who has accomplished this , and more than this , will not permit his erring hut penitent child to wander unaided and unassisted through life ' s dull way , but will guide his footsteps , and engrave on his heart the most sublime precept that ever gilded the page of divine command— " To do unto others , as he would they should do unto him ?"
Such being the principles on ivhich our institution is founded , and such its spirit and intent ( the contrary we dare the most painstaking inquiry to establish ) , fearless of the calumnies by which we may be assailed , we will commit it to the billows of time , with the sure and certain hope that so long as we shall abide by the principles and precepts it inculcates , "no danger will ensue ; it shall lead us calmly to contemplate our inevitable destiny , and guide our reflections to that
most interesting study , the knowledge of ourselves . It shall teach us to be careful to perform our allotted task while it is yet day ; to listen to the voice of nature , which hears witness that even in this perishable frame resides a vital and immortal principle , which inspires a holy confidence that the Lord of light and life will enable us to trample the king of terrors beneath our feet , and lift our eyes to that bright morning star whose rising shall bring peace and salvation to the faithful and obedient of the human race . " S . B . 113 .