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Article THE USE AND ABUSE OF FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 4 →
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The Use And Abuse Of Freemasonry.
THE USE AND ABUSE OF FREEMASONRY .
IT has been matter of much difficulty amongst the uninitiated , in their endeavour to account for the superiority which Freemasonry claims over every other social order , and it has created much surprise that , in ages of oppression and powerful persecution , it should have withstood , unblemished , the iron hand of despotism , when political feuds have snapped asunder the foundations of governments , and neutralized the bonds of civil society ; and this fact , aided by the antiquity of the Order ,
which bears a stamp of truth no jealousy or metaphorical desecration can destroy , when weighed hythe hand of justice , cannot fail to produce some degree of veneration for it , even if its tenets which most deserve it , fail to have that effect .
The use of Freemasonry was notoriously originated for the cultivation of human nature , to fit man for the duties of this world , and prepare him for those of the world to come ; and in a study of this important nature , no one can expect to attain a beneficial result , unless he properly appreciates the works of his Creator—the founder , the giver , the director and instructor of all , " at whose creative fiat chaos was called into existence , " and " who has never , from the most remote period , left us
without a living witness of His power and beneficence . " The mind , the governor of our nature , must be acknowledged to be the most important as well as the most splendid monument of God's works ; and its powerful sway over man ' s natural desires and inclinations , is as astonishing as it is true . " God made man in his own image , " but it would be profane to suppose he made frail man ' s nature equally after his own ; for whilst the one , if uncultivated by society , and unmatured
by religious instruction , would partake of a character of brutality , the other permits of no earthly comparison for beauty and benign excellence . And although the Grand Architect has bestowed on man numerous acts of his bounty and care , with a view to rescue his nature from its natural impulses and desires , and has endowed the mind with a power fully capable of performing his gracious intentions , yet from the earliest ages man has been found to be predisposed to follow schemes of aggravation
and mockery of his Divine Maker ' s will , rather than those laws which were laid down for his moral guidance . The various changes , inclinations , and desires to which the mind is liable , in its formation and cultivation for moral society , are no less interesting and extraordinary ; and it is in consequence of the numerous and varying dispositions to which the mind attaches itself , that the great difficulty has arisen of
forming any one system or society , moral or intellectual , that should be open , and give equal pleasure to all ; yet , if we consult our natural feelings , we shall at once admit that there exists in us au original susceptibility of friendship—a desire to share our pleasures and our pains —our happiness and our misfortunes , with others ; no lucky chance that has befallen us would afford us pleasure , if the knowledge of it were confined to the breast on which it had fallenand our disappointments
, would , if deprived of the sympathy and soothing hand of friendship , soon overburthen and destroy us ; and it would seem extraordinary that , with this natural propensity , there should be any difficulty in forming a society into which all might merge , and to the principles of which , all minds may accord ; but with all our original susceptibility of friendship , we too often find causes of disagreement , which are as often of a nature
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Use And Abuse Of Freemasonry.
THE USE AND ABUSE OF FREEMASONRY .
IT has been matter of much difficulty amongst the uninitiated , in their endeavour to account for the superiority which Freemasonry claims over every other social order , and it has created much surprise that , in ages of oppression and powerful persecution , it should have withstood , unblemished , the iron hand of despotism , when political feuds have snapped asunder the foundations of governments , and neutralized the bonds of civil society ; and this fact , aided by the antiquity of the Order ,
which bears a stamp of truth no jealousy or metaphorical desecration can destroy , when weighed hythe hand of justice , cannot fail to produce some degree of veneration for it , even if its tenets which most deserve it , fail to have that effect .
The use of Freemasonry was notoriously originated for the cultivation of human nature , to fit man for the duties of this world , and prepare him for those of the world to come ; and in a study of this important nature , no one can expect to attain a beneficial result , unless he properly appreciates the works of his Creator—the founder , the giver , the director and instructor of all , " at whose creative fiat chaos was called into existence , " and " who has never , from the most remote period , left us
without a living witness of His power and beneficence . " The mind , the governor of our nature , must be acknowledged to be the most important as well as the most splendid monument of God's works ; and its powerful sway over man ' s natural desires and inclinations , is as astonishing as it is true . " God made man in his own image , " but it would be profane to suppose he made frail man ' s nature equally after his own ; for whilst the one , if uncultivated by society , and unmatured
by religious instruction , would partake of a character of brutality , the other permits of no earthly comparison for beauty and benign excellence . And although the Grand Architect has bestowed on man numerous acts of his bounty and care , with a view to rescue his nature from its natural impulses and desires , and has endowed the mind with a power fully capable of performing his gracious intentions , yet from the earliest ages man has been found to be predisposed to follow schemes of aggravation
and mockery of his Divine Maker ' s will , rather than those laws which were laid down for his moral guidance . The various changes , inclinations , and desires to which the mind is liable , in its formation and cultivation for moral society , are no less interesting and extraordinary ; and it is in consequence of the numerous and varying dispositions to which the mind attaches itself , that the great difficulty has arisen of
forming any one system or society , moral or intellectual , that should be open , and give equal pleasure to all ; yet , if we consult our natural feelings , we shall at once admit that there exists in us au original susceptibility of friendship—a desire to share our pleasures and our pains —our happiness and our misfortunes , with others ; no lucky chance that has befallen us would afford us pleasure , if the knowledge of it were confined to the breast on which it had fallenand our disappointments
, would , if deprived of the sympathy and soothing hand of friendship , soon overburthen and destroy us ; and it would seem extraordinary that , with this natural propensity , there should be any difficulty in forming a society into which all might merge , and to the principles of which , all minds may accord ; but with all our original susceptibility of friendship , we too often find causes of disagreement , which are as often of a nature