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Article FREEMASONRY VINDICATED, ← Page 7 of 8 →
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Freemasonry Vindicated,
very wise , or quite faultless . Masonic symbols and emblems , by that ingenious means , serve as typical lines for the conduct of the wise , and as envelopes to the rules of our morals and obligations . At the same time that they remain hidden from the inquisitive eye of the vulgar they become perspicacious and palpable to those who are animated by real zeal , and are endowed with the requisite
happy disposition to read that sort of mystic writing to minds capable of embracing its extent , and of penetrating its jirofundity . The Virtue which Freemasonry is bound to practise the most , is BENEFICENCE , that which brings man most near to Providence . A Freemason will extend his charity to all those who claim his assistance , without inquiring about their country , their tenets , or
their opinions : it suffices to him that the claimants are deservingmen and unfortunate , they are entitled to his sympathy , to his solicitude , and to his regard . I have limited myself to tbe principal dogmas and duties of the
Order . For the enlightened portion of Freemasons I need not to have been more explicit or more diffuse ; while the ordinary sagacity of the uninitiated world , as well as that of those who have onl y heen initiated in simple Masonry , will not fail to discern the useful ideas which its symbolic figures express . I shall merely add , therefore , that the essence of the Craft , throughout its various
ramifications up to the hi gher degrees , is to exclude , in its resjiective sessions , all those distinctions which are in use among profane societies , without , however , deviating from those rules of urbanity ancl decorum which are always to be observed everywhere . We assemble like brothers , and call each other by that sweet name , that we may constantly bear in mind our obligations .
Moderation , indulgence , regard , and charity , enter essentiall y in our Masonic habits ; fraternity , humanity , and toleration , constitute our sacred device . Behold , then , the principles of Freemasonry—behold what it professes and what it practises , aud the difference that passes between this institution and all the other institutions that ever
existed . Such being , therefore , the actual state of Masonry— such being the spirit which animates its members , and the scope of their labours , I shall ask the candid and unbiassed reader whether there can exist a more philanthropic as well as strictly moral institution calculated to alleviate the human race from the existing evils , ancl
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry Vindicated,
very wise , or quite faultless . Masonic symbols and emblems , by that ingenious means , serve as typical lines for the conduct of the wise , and as envelopes to the rules of our morals and obligations . At the same time that they remain hidden from the inquisitive eye of the vulgar they become perspicacious and palpable to those who are animated by real zeal , and are endowed with the requisite
happy disposition to read that sort of mystic writing to minds capable of embracing its extent , and of penetrating its jirofundity . The Virtue which Freemasonry is bound to practise the most , is BENEFICENCE , that which brings man most near to Providence . A Freemason will extend his charity to all those who claim his assistance , without inquiring about their country , their tenets , or
their opinions : it suffices to him that the claimants are deservingmen and unfortunate , they are entitled to his sympathy , to his solicitude , and to his regard . I have limited myself to tbe principal dogmas and duties of the
Order . For the enlightened portion of Freemasons I need not to have been more explicit or more diffuse ; while the ordinary sagacity of the uninitiated world , as well as that of those who have onl y heen initiated in simple Masonry , will not fail to discern the useful ideas which its symbolic figures express . I shall merely add , therefore , that the essence of the Craft , throughout its various
ramifications up to the hi gher degrees , is to exclude , in its resjiective sessions , all those distinctions which are in use among profane societies , without , however , deviating from those rules of urbanity ancl decorum which are always to be observed everywhere . We assemble like brothers , and call each other by that sweet name , that we may constantly bear in mind our obligations .
Moderation , indulgence , regard , and charity , enter essentiall y in our Masonic habits ; fraternity , humanity , and toleration , constitute our sacred device . Behold , then , the principles of Freemasonry—behold what it professes and what it practises , aud the difference that passes between this institution and all the other institutions that ever
existed . Such being , therefore , the actual state of Masonry— such being the spirit which animates its members , and the scope of their labours , I shall ask the candid and unbiassed reader whether there can exist a more philanthropic as well as strictly moral institution calculated to alleviate the human race from the existing evils , ancl